THE DEVIL’S TRAIL PROLOGUE

PROLOGUE

Greg Anderson sat at Shooter’s Bar, sipping his drink and watching the billiards game in the back, and he thought back to everything that had brought him to that moment.

It had been just over a month earlier when he met the man, Sam, who had called his office earlier in the day and asked to meet him there for a drink. He wasn’t sure what he wanted, but maybe he had decided to buy an insurance policy with Langley after all.

In some ways, it didn’t seem that long ago that they had met, while in others, it seemed like even longer. Not only had his life changed drastically with the sudden passing of his wife, but it had all happened so unexpectedly that he hadn’t had a chance to really process everything. Now he was back to work and ready to sell policies whenever and however he could.

When Sam walked into the bar, Greg noticed his approach in the mirror reflecting behind the bar. He came over and sat right next to him. “How are you, old friend?”

The old friend comment took him a bit off guard, but Greg felt it might be easier to sell him more insurance if he played along. “I’m alright,” he said, thinking about their previous conversation. “So much has happened since I last talked to you. I lost my wife a few weeks back.”

“Oh, I know,” he said, looking really pleased with himself. “And you’re welcome.”

Greg barely let those words sink in when he realized there was something off about them. “I’m sorry?”

Sam leaned in closer and whispered, “I said you’re welcome.”

Greg didn’t understand what was happening. But the discomfort it brought him was immediate. “I’m not quite sure I understand the joke,” he said when the man chuckled at his confused expression.

The bartender approached, and Sam called out his order while Greg sat waiting for his response.

The man’s smile broadened as the bartender walked away. Sam turned his attention back to him with the same shit-eating grin. “You and I had a deal, didn’t we? I told you I’d take care of it.”

“Take care of what? My wife?” Greg felt his blood pressure soaring as the man gave another casual smirk and looked him dead in the eyes. “What are you saying?”

Sam leaned in closer. “I think I did a fabulous job. I mean, I must have, right? That was one hell of a payout you got. Or at least, I’d imagine. And all for doing nothing. Just like that, all your dreams come true. Must be nice.”

Greg thought back to their previous conversation, a conversation he had surely had in jest, but had this man taken it seriously?

The night he met Sam, a man whose last name he realized he hadn’t gotten, he was at the bar escaping a night at home with his wife, Hilary, who had been in a rotten mood all afternoon.

Sam the stranger had sat next to him, and when the talk of insurance reared its head, Greg didn’t miss a beat talking about policies and what they had to offer.

“Surely you can’t be referring to our last conversation,” he told the man.

“You’re the one who said you’d be much better off if your wife had a horrible accident. I believe you chuckled at the idea of how it might happen.”

“That was a joke,” he said, growing nervous. Was this man for real? “I meant financially, but I wasn’t serious.”

The bartender returned with Sam’s martini and set it down before walking back to his buddy, who was seated at the opposite end of the bar.

Sam shrugged. “Oh? Well, while we sat plotting how it would happen and the enormous amount of money you’d receive, I thought for sure you were serious.”

“You didn’t,” said Greg, shaking his head. He put down his drink and started to feel ill. “I was bullshitting you. I was just trying to sell you a policy through humor.” He thought of the things he said and how his life would be so much different.

“Well, I was amused,” said Sam. “And so, I helped you out. That was the deal, right? I help you, and you help me?” He pointed his fingers back and forth between them.

Greg thought back to what he had said to the man. They had joked about helping each other out. The whole plan, which he assumed was a fantasy born out of drunkenness, was that Sam would kill his wife so Greg could collect, and whenever the man wanted a policy on his own future partner, he would sell him one.

“That was all a joke,” he said, looking around the room to see if anyone else was hearing them. No one seemed to be paying attention to the felonious discussion.

“Oh, don’t even try to get out of it now. I already upheld my end of the deal, just like you asked me to.”

The man’s callous delivery gave Greg a helpless feeling. What could he do? He couldn’t let him get away with it.

“Hey, I never asked you to do anything,” he said, his heartrate growing so rapid he could feel it thumping loudly in his ears.

“Sure, you did.” The man was so convincing he made Greg doubt himself.

Had he said something else while drunk? They had a great time daydreaming that night. And the man even picked up the tab, encouraging him to drink more.

“You’re insane,” said Greg. It would be his word against this man’s. And Sam was a man who seemed to have little to lose.

“I did you a favor,” he said with a chilling tone. “You were stuck, and I helped you get out.”

“I loved my wife.” He knew it would be hard to convince this man who had taken her from him, especially after all he had said against her. It was never meant to be taken seriously, and he truly believed that everything had been said in jest.

“Oh, sure you did. I believe you called her a tyrant. A spoiled brat. You said she was just like her old bitch of a mother and that, just like her, she was sucking you dry. Let’s see. What else did you say about her?”

Greg took out his phone. “Fuck this. I’m calling the cops. You’re mental.”

“I wouldn’t do that. I’ll have to prove what I’m saying is true. And how would that look for you?”

“Exactly, and you’re mad. No one is going to believe you.”

“The recordings won’t show that. In fact, I have proof that could take you down with me.” Sam shrugged. “Like it or not, we’re in this together.”

“Me with you? No way. I’m not going down for this. I didn’t plan anything. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” His voice rose a bit, but he didn’t want to draw the attention of the others across the room. “You’re going to pay for what you’ve done.”

“You’ll pay with me.”

Greg stared into the man’s eyes. There was no humor there. Fear chilled him to the bone, and he suddenly felt trapped.

In Greg’s fuzzy memories from that drunken conversation, he recalled saying things that would be considered incriminating. Not to mention, he had collected on his wife’s policy and much earlier than the average person.

What should have been a month-long process had taken him less than two weeks. Obviously, it was because he worked for the company. It would look suspicious to the police, and the higher-ups at the company would see it as an abuse of power and fire him. Everything he worked for would be gone.

He knew exactly how it would look. He knew what Sam could say. And while it wasn’t true, it would cause a whole lot of trouble for him.

“I’m still waiting on my thank you,” said Sam, interrupting his thoughts.

“I’m not going to thank you,” he said, feeling outraged.

“You should, though. I know how much you got. You’re practically a millionaire now, aren’t you? Or close to it? You can go anywhere you want and do what you want. You could even quit your job if you wanted to.”

His entire life had changed for sure. “Now that you mention it, I’m giving the office time to find someone who can replace me, and I’m out. I bought a place on the lake earlier today, and I plan to live there and spend my days fishing in solitude and peace.”

“I bet it’s nice and peaceful on that lake. Nothing like when you were home with your nagging wife. I bet she didn’t let you go fishing.”

There could only be one reason the man was doing this to him but he asked anyway. “What do you want?”

“Well, for starters, you can’t leave your job. That’s an absolute hell no. I need you there too badly. Or all of this is for naught.”

“I beg your pardon. That’s too bad. I’m leaving my job. I’m going to tell them next week. It’s all planned.” Greg shook his head regretfully. “The wheels are already in motion.”

“No, you’re not leaving. You’re staying, and you’re going to help me. Or I’ll make sure that you never get to enjoy that beautiful lake or the peace it brings. Now, you and I can be best of friends, or you can cross me and see what happens. Don’t forget I was in your house, Greg. There’s no telling what I was able to learn about you.”

“I have nothing to hide,” he said. “What you did was wrong, and I never wanted any part of it.”

“The recording of the plans we made will say otherwise. Try defending yourself against them when I talk about how it was all so well planned. I even made sure you were well out of the way when it happened so you wouldn’t be accused.”

Greg frowned. “That was just foolish talk while we were drinking. It won’t hold up.”

“Is that a chance you’re willing to take?” Sam asked. “I mean, that’s going to be a hard road to travel. When the easy path is staying on my side of things.”

 “You’re blackmailing me!” He had never expected to find himself in this situation. It was like a bad dream he couldn’t wake up from. But the nightmare was only beginning.

“That’s an ugly accusation between friends, Greg.” Sam’s intimidating glare pierced right through him. “I’m providing you with a choice.”

“I’m not your friend. I’ll never be your friend.” Greg had never been so repulsed by a human being.

“Oh, I think you will. Just think of what you could have and what else you have to lose. With me, you can keep working a job you’re a master at. Dare I say one you love? And you can settle into that massive fucking log cabin you bought at the lake, a dream home no doubt, or you can go with me to a dark, smelly cell, where your only regret is ever opening your fucking mouth against me as you get spit-roasted in the showers. I can be your best friend or your worst nightmare. It’s really up to you.”

“What do you want?” he asked. Men like him always wanted something.

“I want you to sell me a policy when I come asking. And when I need to collect, I don’t want any red tape. And don’t even pretend that you can’t help me with that. I already know you can. I know all about you, Greg.”

Greg stared at the man, knowing he had probably planned all of this out for weeks. How much did he know about him?

He still couldn’t believe he was in this situation. Hilary hadn’t died in an accident. Any whiff of murder and he could kiss his money and his lake house goodbye. Not to mention, he’d have to face her family, who had all been so supportive of him. He couldn’t lose that. What would people think of him? His friends? His own family? He would be ruined.

“So, I’m just supposed to do this for you?” Greg asked. “Just like that.”

“For my silence, yes. But don’t worry. I’ll give you a little kickback. We’ll say ten percent. The more you sell me. The more I collect. And the more you get. That should be one hell of an incentive.”

“Who do you want to get a policy on?”

Sam gave him a knowing look and glanced around the room. “It doesn’t matter,” he said. “Any warm body will do. Probably some poor woman with no one to mourn her. Not like your sweet Hilary.”

Greg felt sick, but he couldn’t see a way out of the corner he had been backed into. “When is this happening?” he asked.

“Oh, soon. I’ll come in this week.”

“Just fill out the paperwork and give it to me. “Greg shook his head. “I don’t want to know anything else, including who you’re insuring. Just keep it business between us, alright? I don’t have the stomach for this shit.”

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing for both of us that I do.” He took a sip of his drink and sighed as if it was all too easy for him.

There wasn’t anything Greg could do but play along. If he didn’t, his life would be over. Maybe with time, he could find a way out, but for the time being, he was stuck on a runaway train with no stops in sight.