My 6-year-old granddaughter phoned me in panic just after midnight. “Mommy says the baby is coming! Help!” I asked, “Where’s daddy?” She answered, “He k!cked mommy’s tummy and left.”…..

He drives to the casino in Billings every Tuesday night. Takes Highway 89 through Miller Canyon. That’s 20 m of empty road with no cell service. Consider it done. What else? I need you to spread a rumor. Trent’s bookie in Billings is skimming money from his operation. Make it sound like you heard it from someone reliable, someone with connections to the gambling world. That’s easy enough.

Half the guys who come through here have gambling debts. I’ll drop the rumor with Bobby Martinez. He owes money to three different bookies and has a mouth like a broken faucet. Harry’s next stop was the copper mine in where June was preparing for the lunch rush. The bar was empty except for one old-timer nursing a beer and reading a newspaper that was probably 3 days old. Morning June.

Harry, you look like a man with a plan. Getting there. I need a favor. Name it. Tonight, when Trent comes in for his regular drinks, I want you to mention that you heard his Billings bookie has been bragging about how easy it is to skim money from small town operators. June raised an eyebrow.

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