Free Mad Dog Justice by Mark Rubinstein Page B

through his pockets, grabbing his wallet, dumping it in the plastic bag Danny’s holding open as he leans over the front seat. Kenny’s screaming he wants to keep the shylock’s Rolex, but Roddy tells him to drop it in the bag. Then Kenny’s taking off Grange’s belt and shoes, and tossing them out the window into the vegetation along the highway, only a few miles from Snapper Pond.
    Yes, Danny knew exactly what they were going to do; Kenny certainly did. There’s no doubt about it: from the moment Grange passed out after drinking the spiked scotch, it was clear they were gonna put him in the ground. Danny’s just getting off on some self-serving bullshit—he’s convinced himself he had no idea what was going down until it was too late.
    But maybe Danny’s right: maybe it was possible for them to have paid Grange off before the vig got too high. Maybe, justmaybe, the bastard would’ve gone away, just disappeared like the ghost he claimed to be. Maybe things would be different now if Roddy hadn’t been so quick to go mad dog and veer in a lethal direction.
If
… the biggest little word in the English language. You can change the entire course of world history by using the word
if
.
    Don’t kid yourself. Half a million would never’ve been enough for that loan shark. He’d’ve come back for more … and more after that
.
    Besides, it doesn’t matter now. It’s over and done. Now they have to come up with some plan of action. But what? What can they do except run and hide?
    Roddy snaps himself back to the present. He presses the “Contacts” icon on his cell. He hits the number and hears the ringing at the other end. Roddy knows from their years together that his partner always answers his cell phone on the first tone.
    “Yeah, Roddy, where are you?” says Ivan Snyder. “The guys in the OR are waiting for you.”
    “Ivan, you have a few minutes?”
    “Yeah, sure. I’m between surgeries. But where
are
you?”
    “Listen, Ivan. I have to leave town for a while. Have David do my surgeries today and for the duration. He’s very good. I have complete confidence in him.”
    “For the
duration
? Whaddaya talkin’ about?”
    “Something personal. I have to leave.”
    “Now? We’re busy as hell. I’m swamped. We have wall-to-wall patients. Our schedule is insane, and—”
    “I know, Ivan, but I’ve got no choice.”
    “When will you be back?”
    Roddy now realizes how tentative his life has become. He can’t even answer the simple question about when he’ll return. His throat closes off as he looks through the windshield at the hospital workers entering St. Joseph’s.
    “I don’t know. I have to call hospital administration and tell them I’m taking a leave.”
    “A leave? You don’t know when you’ll be
back
? Hey, Roddy, we’re running a busy practice here. I can’t keep it going myself. I need to know when you’ll be back.”
    “I wish I could give you a definite on that, Ivan, but I can’t.”
    “Listen, we’re already handing surgeries off to the Isler brothers. With you gone, our income’s gonna plummet and I’ll be overloaded. Sylvia and I are looking at some huge expenses these days. My kid’s about to start college and … oh, forget that. I can’t afford to cut back right now. What the hell’s going on?”
    “We’ll straighten it all out when I get back.”
    “When you get
back
? And you don’t even know when that is? What’s going on?” There’s a long pause. Roddy hears Ivan exhale loudly. “Listen, Roddy. I’ve been thinking for a while we have to take on a junior partner, and now this shit you’re dumping in my lap …”
    “Who do you like?”
    “You already mentioned David. I know he’s good.”
    “Sounds fine, Ivan. Do what you think is best.” Roddy’s foot taps a rapid tattoo on the Rogue’s floorboard. He grips the steering wheel with one hand and pushes. He feels it bend forward.
    There’s silence on the other end. Roddy can almost hear