Thelen gestured at the chair opposite Donny’s desk.

Donny looked at the bust of Socrates, and wondered if it was heavy enough to serve as a weapon. Then he looked at the driver body-blocking him in the doorway, and sat down.

“I gotta say, this place is a disaster, Donny. No wonder you can’t pay your bills.”

Thelen was the fastidiously tidy sort. Donny had seen his office.

“I make my rent every month.”

“Not the bills I’m talking about, Donny. Come on, don’t give me that crap.”

Donny sighed.

“You owe us a hundred grand, Donny. Which we’re okay with. But not when you go six months without making a payment.”

The original loan was for a third of that.

“I know, Terry, I know. I’ve just been totally invested in this case, a big one. And I should be able to get it wrapped up next week.”

“Yeah, Donny, we’ve been following that case too. Got a report this afternoon. That’s the other reason I wanted to stop by.”

“Who’s your source?”

“We have a lot of friends at the courthouse, Donny.”

“Probably one of those Poindexters from P&C.”

“Good guess. But no, someone more impartial.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Donny, we helped you out when you were desperate.”

“I wasn’t desperate. You know that. It wasn’t about me.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, you needed to save your honey.”

“My friend.”

“Your ex, whatever. She got in trouble, and you couldn’t lawyer your way into getting her sprung, so you needed to make a deal. We understand. If you recall, we even helped you set the table on that one. No extra charge.”

“You’re a regular fucking Santa Claus, Terry.”

“Sometimes I am,” said Thelen. “I don’t like hearing about people being tortured, even if I don’t agree with their politics. But that was three fucking years ago, Donny.” He hit three hard beats on the table with his index finger when he said that. “And this year, you haven’t been very good. I even hear you’re spending what money you have in all the wrong places.”

“Fuck off, Terry, I’m too busy to party.”

“And a little too old, if you don’t mind me saying. It’s starting to show, bro.”

Donny looked in the glass of the frame on the wall, but the only reflection he saw was Thelen’s.

“What’s the plan, Donny?”

“I’m going to get my client to get his ass up here next week, and then I’m going to get AMR to settle for enough to pay you guys twenty times over.”

“That’s a nice plan, Donny. Except for the part about your client being dead.”

“Don’t assume he’s dead. That kid just has a knack for disappearing whenever he smells trouble. He’s like a coyote, man. And even if he is dead, I have a backup plan.”