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“I’ll be there in five minutes. I need you to check the reading with me at the meter. There have been some anomalies. We need to get this worked out, otherwise Ms. Ames’ bill will be over a thousand dollars next month.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? You guys are nothing but cheats!”

“We’re trying to be pro-active. Meet me at the meter in five minutes.”

“Damn right I will.” He hung up the phone.

I looked over at Beau.

“I’m worried about his aunt,” Beau said.

“Me, too.”

“How do we get dad out of the house? If he’s there?” Beau asked.

“We’ll play it by ear.”

Before we drove into the trailer park, I unlocked the tool chest in the bed of my truck, gave Beau the Colt, and I made sure my Glock was handy. I stopped the truck four trailers before Number 41 and let Beau out, then continued to Via’s. A guy with long, greasy hair stood by the side of a single-wide trailer that had seen better days. He was shaking the gas meter. His clothes looked like they hadn’t been washed in the past month. When he heard my truck, he turned around and scowled, then stomped over to me.

“Who in the hell are you?”

“I told you. Marcus Roberts. I’m with the gas company.”

“Why aren’t you wearing a uniform? Why aren’t you in a gas company truck?”

“They laid off damn near everybody last year. Now they hired back a bunch of us scabs. Those higher-ups are nothing but assholes if you ask me.”

“So, why are you working for them?” Willie asked.

“It’s a job. Need to put food on the table for my kids.”

Willie shrugged. “Guess so.” He turned around and went back to the meter. “So how is the damn company trying to steal from me?”

“Let me show you. And it’s a damn good thing I caught it. I’m telling you. They are trying to screw everybody.”

“I hate all of them big companies.” Willie spit out a big stream of tobacco juice that nearly hit my boot.

And he stank to high heaven.

“Look here.” I pointed at the meter. I had no idea what I was pointing at. “Do you see how this is over here?”

Willie nodded.

“Well, this needle should really be way over here.”

“Yeah, it should.” He nodded. Great, we were bullshitting one another.

“So, because it’s not, we’re talking a thousand-and-nineteen-dollar bill.”

“Are you fucking with me?”

“No sir, I am not.”

“How are you going to fix it?” Willie demanded.

“I’m going to turn this in to my supervisor. There is no way that a trailer as small as yours could be using this much gas. Unless, of course…”

This might work.