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“You don’t think it’s one of these…” I swallowed hard, my throat getting tight at the thought.
“Bailey, don’t you worry. We are still working on it, okay? Just ignore the fact that these guys are even in here, and if they cause any trouble, call the station.”
I nodded, looking at the ground. “Will do.” I glanced around and noticed I was being flagged to a couple of tables. “I’ve got to go. Enjoy your drinks.”
The night went on, Ryan and Dave left and two hours later, the only patrons in the bar were the three Green Cobras members and two other tables of two. It was then that three other men walked in that I didn’t recognize. Glenn was in the back doing the order, and I was minding the bar. I watched as the three men walked over to where Garrick, Linden, and Dorian were playing pool. They exchanged words between them, and I watched out of the corner of my eye as I wiped down the bar. They looked at one another, and then one of them placed a pile of cash on the edge of the pool table and they racked a set of new balls.
I knew Glenn wasn’t a fan of the Green Cobras being in here, never mind them betting in his bar, but he said nothing to them. I did as Dave said and continued on with my job, pouring drinks and waiting on the two tables that were here. Once I’d delivered drinks to everyone, I began loading glasses into the dishwasher. I watched the game going on over in the corner. The three men I’d never seen before cheated their way to winning, only I wasn’t the only one who had seen it. Garrick had seen it, too.
As one man threw it in their face, he picked up the money. Garrick grabbed the other by the throat and shoved him up against the wall. The force of him hitting the wall caused me to drop a glass to the floor, shattering it.
“Fuck,” I whispered under my breath, afraid that the shatter of glass would turn their attention to me, but none of them noticed.
“You cheated, you fucker?” Garrick hissed, reaching around, and pulling a knife from his belt, holding it up to the guy’s throat. Linden and Dorian pulled their knives too and approached the other two men, completely ignoring the fact that they were in the presence of other people.
I didn’t wait another minute for this to move ahead any further. Instead, I stepped into the back room and dialed the police.
Jackson
The first half of my shift had been uneventful. I was making my way back to the station to catch up on some paperwork and grab a bite to eat when a call came over the radio. There was a problem at The Crooked Judge, and they were requesting police backup. It was an odd call for a weeknight. Normally, the place was full of couples having dinner. I radioed the station, letting them know I was on my way over to the bar.
I’d just pulled up outside the bar when Greg and Matt brought two men I recognized as members of the Green Cobras. Both men were in cuffs, and Matt and Greg took them over and placed them in the back of their cruiser.
“Gentlemen, what happened?” I asked as I climbed out of my car and approached them. I glanced into the back of their cruiser and recognized Dorian Patten and Linden Becker.
“Pool game gone bad. There were apparently three Cobra members here, but the one who started it all took off just as we arrived. Almost knocked Matt over on our way in. These two were still inside, causing shit.”
“You alright, Matt?”
“I’ll be fine. I didn’t even know what hit me.”
“Did you get a look at him or a name from these two?”
“No, these two aren’t talking,” Greg answered.
I nodded, looking over my shoulder in both directions. The street was quiet, and there wasn’t anyone to be seen in either direction. It looked like a normal Wednesday night.
“What about the other guys, the ones they fought with?”
“They are inside, sitting at the bar. These two roughed them up a little, pulled knives on them for cheating.”
“All right, so you taking these two in? Did you get statements?”
“We are taking them in, but we didn’t get statements. The bartender who saw it all had gone for a break when we got there. I guess she was a little rattled, being new in the area, so we are waiting for her to return.”
I frowned. I’d just been here two nights ago. There wasn’t a new bartender. “New employee?” I questioned.
“Yeah, apparently her first night on the job.” Greg chuckled.
“All right, well, if you two want to take these two in, I can go in, talk to the guys they fought with. I’ll also get a statement from the bartender and any other witnesses there may have been.”
“Matt can take them in. I’ll stay and give you a hand,” Greg said, heading back toward the door.
“Sounds good.”
Matt got into his car and drove off toward the station while we headed into the bar. While Greg went to talk to the three men who had been involved, I walked around the bar talking to the other customers to see if they had witnessed anything. I sat down at every table and took down notes as each person provided me statements of their version of what had happened. It all seemed to be started by the one guy who got away.
When I finished, I walked up to the bar. Glenn stood there, rag slung over his shoulder, and smiled. “Hey, Jackson, thanks for coming.” He extended his hand out, and we quickly shook.
