The Greedy Three

Praise for The Greedy Three“Tense, darkly funny, and deeply entertaining, with quirky characters that are wholly original. Katchur’s clever crime thriller surprised me in all the best ways and kept me riveted till the very last page.”—Laura McHugh, award-winning author of What’s Done in Darkness“A darkly funny mystery with a cast of quirky characters, a scintillating premise, and a beating heart. It’s the perfect book for fans of the Coen brothers and Tarantino films.”—Robyn Harding, bestselling author of The Perfect FamilyAdditional Praise for Karen Katchur“Karen Katchur is a master at writing into the dark spaces of our intimate family relationships.”—Mindy Mejia, author of Everything You Want Me to Be“I’m entranced by Karen Katchur’s direct, well-crafted prose, artful plotting, and characters that leap from the page.”—Marissa Stapley, bestselling author of Things to Do When It’s Raining“Karen Katchur knows how to write and write well about ordinary people stretched to their limits.”—David Bell, bestselling author of The Forgotten Girl ALSO BY KAREN KATCHURRiver BodiesCold WoodsSpring GirlsThe Sisters of Blue MountainThe Secrets of Lake Road THEGREEDYTHREEa thrillerKAREN KATCHUR All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission from Podium Publishing.This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living, dead, or undead, is entirely coincidental.Copyright © 2023 by Karen KatchurCover design by Podium PublishingISBN: 978-1-0394-1629-1Published in 2023 by Podium Publishing, ULCwww.podiumaudio.com To Bigfoot “To be clever enough to get all that money, one must be stupid enough to want it.”—G. K. CHESTERTON CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE CHAPTER THIRTEEN CHAPTER FOURTEEN CHAPTER FIFTEEN CHAPTER SIXTEEN CHAPTER SEVENTEEN CHAPTER EIGHTEEN CHAPTER NINETEEN CHAPTER TWENTY CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE CHAPTER THIRTY CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE CHAPTER FORTY CHAPTER FORTY-ONE CHAPTER FORTY-TWO CHAPTER FORTY-THREE CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE CHAPTER FORTY-SIXABOUT THE AUTHOR CHAPTERONEIn the backwoods of upstate New York, Noah Weber waits for his contact. A bag full of money lies on the ground at his feet, and a .44 Magnum presses against his kidney. In the near distance, thunder rumbles across a blackened sky. It’s not long before the rain starts, pattering the leaves of the tall trees.Well, that’s just great, he thinks.A part of him wants to turn around and walk away, forget he was ever here. But this is his job. He shouldn’t have to remind himself it’s how he makes his money, and yet, it’s always in these moments CHAPTERTWOHester has just sat down to work on a puzzle when the lights flicker. Thunder rattles the windows and at the same time a strong updraft carries the rain to freezing heights, then tosses it back at the cottage as hail. It’s eleven o’clock at night. She can’t remember a summer when they’ve had so many storms.“We’re going to set records with this weather.”She gets up from the card table, releasing a cacophony of creaks and pops from her joints. Reaching under the sink, setting off another round of crackling in her bones, she collects the lantern she bought with her