Bottom Feeder by Maria G. Cope

deception. Underneath
it all I am clothed in the grace God has given me. The pursuit to
buy my silence was not done in vain, as you will never hear from me
again after today.
    As I read Grace Carrington’s words,
the realization of why he is telling me the details of his family’s
history settles in. This is Cordell’s way of reeling me into a deal
I cannot back away from. I have been set up to be part of something
I should have never known about. He is showing me details of his
life and his home to trap me into silence.
    I fold the letter carefully, handing
it back without making eye contact.
    “ I called the sheriff
personally. I wanted to keep things quiet so Grace could avoid
embarrassment. The sheriff brought the coroner with him to
pronounce her official death. A handful of pills and a bottle of
Tennessee’s Finest apparently did the job. Hell, I didn’t even know
she drank. Because Grace took her own life and this little incident
would raise too many questions about me, I asked the coroner to make it
look like she had a heart attack. We cleaned up the bathroom and
cleaned up Grace, even put clothes on her.” Cordell shrugs like
it’s no big deal to have a sheriff and coroner in your back
pocket.
    “ People are easily bought,
Jackson. You see, son, I acquire money like other people acquire
junk mail. Toss out a few thousand here and there, invite them to a
few parties and people are clay in your hands, waiting to be molded
into anything you need them to be.”
    Cordell’s solemn,
controlled voice rises to an excited pitch in his next breath. “I’m
getting married, Jackson. My future wife had a beautiful baby girl
just a few months after Grace died. She is everything Maddy could
never be. We are moving away from Savannah as soon as Maddy is out
of my life for good . That child has been a thorn in my side since the day she
was born. I’ve given her everything she could ever want but the
girl is . . . strange . She handled Grace’s death like it was another day in her
pathetic life. She was already shut down by that time anyway.
Stopped talking. Stopped wearing what I needed her to wear and
acting how I needed her to act in order to keep up appearances.
Maddy became the opposite of everything I needed her to do in order
to keep up with what a Carrington should be. She’s useless; a
bottom feeder, at best.”
    I wince as he talks about this girl
like she is nothing more than dirt beneath his overpriced
Ferragamo’s. What have I gotten myself caught up in? Is it too late
to refuse his offer?
    “ Important people in
charge of certain prestigious performing arts schools look well
upon generous monetary donations from fathers who want their
daughter enrolled. With that said, this is where you come in. Take
Maddy to New York City on the scenic
route. Everything is ready for her there. Tuition and car are paid
in full. The apartment is, too. It’s a nice high-rise with views
overlooking the city. The building is under renovation so I only
dropped four point two million. I’m guaranteed double on my
investment when Maddy is gone. Money will be deposited into her
bank account each week. She’ll have everything she needs to stay
out of my hair. This house sold two months ago. Everything will be
cleared out, shut down and shut off within two weeks. All calls
will be directed to my business partner, Larry Duvall. He agreed to
communicate with her so I don’t have to. Eventually Maddy will get
the hint that she is not wanted.”
    I don’t know whether to be frustrated,
outraged, or thankful he didn’t ask me to commit a
felony.
    I put on my best poker
face and look him in the eyes. “So you’re saying, sir, that if I
take her to New York City—scenic route — you will give me this car and ten thousand
dollars? Deliver her, go back to Fort Bragg and get on with my
life? Nothing more?”
    He nods. “That’s exactly what I’m
saying. I’ll transfer everything to you today. A plane ticket will
be waiting at