A Love for all Ages (Crockett County Trilogy Book 1) (23 page)

Sliding the broken window open he crouches low to allow
him access to enter the dark basement.
Once inside the room he
straightens and looks around, mentally checking for intruders.
He
chuckles softly at the situation, since he is the intruder, but still he
has to reassurance himself his hiding place is still a secret.
Walking
quietly he moves to the other side of the room, unable to turn on
lights he moves slowly not wanting to bump into anything.

Hearing footsteps on the ceiling he stops moving and holds
his breath.
He releases his air and continues walking when the
footsteps fade.
Finding his sleeping area, he sits down on the old
mattress then scoots across it, stopping when he bumps the wall he
leans back trying to relax.
Closing his eyes, he thinks about the
day’s events.

The Cain farm was overrun with people.
He had thought
after her “accident” she would have went back to where she came
from.
But today he saw the Sheriff and another man walking
around the property.
Hell, he needed to get back inside the house.
And now he has the problem of figuring a way to get the men off
the property.
The woman doesn’t matter, he can take care of her
if need be, but both men had guns with them today, he had seen
them tucked into the back of their jeans.
They hadn’t even tried to
hide them.
He didn’t know the other man, but the Sheriff has
always been a cocky asshole.
Thinking about the Sheriff made him
want to hurt someone or something, the hatred for the Sheriff is
almost greater than his hatred for the Cain family.

Both acted as if butter wouldn’t melt in their mouths, they
think of themselves as high class and everyone else is below their
standards.
Well he knows for a fact the Cain family is thieves, they
had stolen from his family years ago.
Their wealth belongs to him;
he knows the information is accurate because his Granddad Daniel
had told him the story.
Everything the Cain family has was brought
with ill- gotten money.
For generations the family has cheated him
and his Granddad out of what is rightfully theirs. His Granddad has
passed away, so it only left him to correct the injustices done to his
family.

Hearing footsteps again above him, he opens his eyes and
looks at the ceiling.
take on an evil glare.
how to kill him and make no mistake he will kill him.
Does he want
quick or long and suffering for the man that spawned him?
The
bastard had disowned him, cut him off financially. Not caring if he
ended up homeless. If it hadn’t been for his Granddad Daniel, he
would have been homeless and begging for food.
His Granddad
was the only one in the town who believed him when he said he
hadn’t done the crimes he had been accused of.
He had been an
up and coming defense attorney, why would he try to bribe the
judge and tamper with the witness?

Thinking back to the day he was arrested, he knew the
Sheriff had already judged him.
Sheriff Peterson had put the
handcuffs on him after church, while he was still talking with the
other parishioners.
He had asked the Sheriff to wait until he got
home, he could follow him to his house.
But the big badass Sheriff
Peterson, had informed him he was under arrest and then made
him turn around and be handcuffed in front of the whole town.
Having been arrested that way he knew he didn’t have a chance for
a fair trial.
you were.
of this hick county.

Even though he had only gotten thirty-six months in prison
and then probation for a year, it was the fact he was disbarred that
made him hate the Sheriff.
He will make sure the Sheriff suffers
for that.

Not hearing footsteps any longer, he lies down and tries to
plot how he was going to get back inside the Cain’s house.
He
thought he had gotten the right ledger, but looking through it, he
hadn’t found any useful information.
His Granddad Daniel was
certain he needed the ledger from 1863.
But his Great, Great,
Knowing it’s his Father, the bastard.
His eyes

Thinking about his Father, he tries to decide

In this town if the Sheriff thought you were guilty then
Thank goodness his Granddad had the trial moved out
Great, Grandfather William hadn’t been mentioned.
He had gone
through the ledger over a hundred times to make sure he hadn’t
missed anything.
Thinking his Granddad Daniel had the year
wrong, he plans to take the year before and the year after 1863.

Closing his eyes too tired to plot his next plan of action he
resolves to start fresh tomorrow.

The last week had flown by, with everyone busy.
Chase
had taken the paint scrapping to a friend at the FBI, explaining about
the investigation and stressing the importance of urgency.
Andy
had contacted his Captain requesting more time away from his
other duties, he had to do some fast talking to receive the Captain’s
permission to stay to pursue the evidence here.
They had
reviewed reports making numerous notes.
They had compared
their findings, only to start over again.
Stephanie had worked on
her assignment, completing it ahead of schedule and received her
bonus check within hours of submitting the design to the author.
The delivery company had finally brought her belongings; however
not in the mood to deal with sorting through the boxes she had
Chase store them in the attic.

Archie had tried to keep out of everyone’s way; he had
stayed in the attic most of each day.
At night he would patrol the
house, concentrating on the down stairs area.
He had spoken to
Chase about his plan to help keep Stephanie safe while allowing the
men to sleep without concern.
Chase had consented to the
proposal, as long as Archie agreed to wake him if he suspected
something was wrong.

This being the seventh night of his patrolling, Archie moves
through each room downstairs, stopping at the windows to observe
the estate.
Entering the living room he glances at the portrait,
smiling at his Beloved Della, floating to the far side of the room he
stares through the glass at the darkness. He is only able to make
out the outlines of the two barns and the garage.
The moonless
night would provide a perfect cover for an intruder.
Keeping his
guard up, he moves to the next window, scanning the yard.
With
no moon, he is unable to see past the glow from the porch lights,
yet he continues to do the sentry.
Fatefully he makes his
walk-throughs of the house, checking each room and each window.

Shifting from the window at the front of the house, Archie
begins moving towards the door leading to the foyer; it is time to
start the rooms again.
Each night he begins checking room by
room, when they have been cleared he starts the process over.
Feeling a sensation at base of his neck he turns back, looking around
the room, he observes nothing out of place.
Floating to the far
window, he stares out at the night. Not seeing anything out of the
ordinary Archie starts to turn away, stopping when he notices a
small flicker of light.
The light is tiny and from this position it looks
too small to be a flash light.
The distance from the house he
judges to be less than an acre away.

As Archie continues to concentrate on the light, it moves,
seemingly to appear closer.
Remembering his promise to Chase he
takes one last look at the light then vanishes.
Archie reappears in
the guest room, standing beside the bed he looks down at Andy.
Not wanting to frighten him, Archie stands looking down trying to
figure out the best way to wake him.
Deciding he didn’t have time
to waste, he leans closer to Andy and says, “Andy, you need to wake
up, now.”

Stepping back when Andy opens his eyes, he tells him, “I saw
a light outside, it was about an acre away, but now it’s drawing
closer.”

As Archie relates the details to him, Andy raises up sitting on
the side of the bed, he puts his shoes on, moving to the dresser he
picks up his gun.
On his way to the door Andy tells Archie, “Go
wake up Chase, tell him I am going out the back door, he can go out
the front.”
Not looking back Andy jogs down the stairs.

Chase is sliding his feet in his shoes when Archie appears in
their room.
Without looking up Chase tells Archie, “Talk fast, what
did you see?”

Glancing over at the bed Archie see Stephanie is now sitting
up with the covers pulled under her chin; not wanting to scare her
he looks back at Chase, “There is a light out by the property line on
the north side, less than acre away.”
Chase leans over Stephanie
giving her a quick kiss.
He straightens then begins walking to the
door as Archie informs him, “Andy said for you to go out the front
door, he went out the back.”

Nodding in understanding, Chase grabs his gun from the
bureau then continues on his way out.
Stopping at the front door,
he reaches for the porch light switch.
His hand rises to flick it off;
he drops his hand to the door knob instead.
The porch light will
give away his presence but so will the light being turned off.
Deciding to just walk outside and pretend he is doing a scheduled
check, Chase opens the door and steps onto the porch.
Preceding
with caution Chase moves away from the front door, realizing
standing in the light he is a visible target.

Walking to the north side Chase stops at the railing, allowing
his eyes to adjust to the darkness.
Now with the light behind him,
Chase is able to make out the barns and the garage.
Chase scans
the property line as he tries to see the light Archie saw, he hears a
whisper saying his name.
“Did you see anything?”
Not waiting
for Andy to answer Chase vaults over the railing landing on the
ground a few inches from him.

Andy puts his hand on Chase’s arm stopping him from
moving.
“When I came down stairs I looked out the window, I saw
a light of some sort.
It was just as Archie said.
As I watched the
light it flickered then went out.
I think the person or persons are
gone.”
Releasing his hold on Chase, he glances at the window
behind them; he sees Stephanie and the faint outline of Archie.
Shifting his attention back at Chase he shares his theory, “I think
tonight was to observe only.
He knows we are here with
Stephanie, I think he wanted to check our schedules.”
Turning he
scans the property line again.

Chase rakes his fingers through his hair, his frustration
apparent, “I still want to check the area.”
He walks away, not
waiting for Andy.
He acknowledges to himself he is grateful to
Archie doing the sentry at night, he is grateful he seen the light, and
he is grateful no one was hurt.
But what if the person had made it
to the house, with him and Andy both sleeping, it would take time
for Archie to wake them.
Maybe they need a plan for action, not
just Archie sentry at night.
Maybe they need to take turns, each
man taking a couple of hours.
As Andy falls in beside him Chase
shares his thoughts.

Turning to Andy he sees the same determination as his own.
Chase experiences an overwhelming feeling of urgency to find the
person responsible. The perpetrator has to be stop. The
break-ins are minor; however the person or persons have
committed at least three murders and in his opinion will kill again.
Walking beside Andy, Chase lost in his thoughts he flinches when he
hears Archie’s voice.

Archie appears beside Chase, “I was thinking I messed up
tonight.”
Shaking his head at his mistake he explains, “I should
have come out here when I saw the light.
I may have been able to
see his face.
Find out if this is one person or more.”
The feeling
of dread fills his chest, he has failed again.
It would seem he was
always failing people he cares about.

Andy hears the self-contempt in Archie’s tone; Andy stops on
the path he waits until both men turn to face him, scratching his
cheek he tells them, “This is not your fault Archie and it’s not
Chase’s fault either.
This is the fault of the bastard who is causing
this.”
Looking straight at Archie he asks, “Did you do exactly as
Chase told you do?”
Seeing Archie nod he continues, “You
followed orders.
It was your job to patrol the downstairs.
You
did that, when you saw the light, you came and reported it.”
Still
looking at Archie he continues, “None of us thought about you
investigating on your own.
Look, man…we are a team.
We now
have to come up with a different plan of action.”
Focusing his
attention to Chase he inquires, “Did you want Archie to come out
here and investigate?
Not waking us?”

Not having to think about his answer Chase immediately
responds, “Hell no, I don’t.”
Directing his words to Archie he
concurs with Andy, “You did great tonight.
I don’t want you to
think about what you should have done.
You did exactly as I
directed.” Huffing out a breath he tries to express his own
inadequacies, “I need to keep Stephanie safe.
The fact the bastard
was again watching makes ME feel I failed her.”
Holding up his
hand to stop them from interrupting he resumes, “I know I am
missing something important, something that will help solve this.”
Flexing his shoulders he concludes, “We have dots on paper, just no
way to connect them.
It drives me crazy knowing Stephanie is not
safe until all the dots are connected and the S.O.B is behind bars.”
Skimming the property line again with his eyes, he begins walking
again.
Both Andy and Archie flank him; they move silently towards
the edge of the property, each lost in their own thoughts.

Stephanie stands at the window watching the men as they
walk across the yard, speculating about what they are discussing.
Laying her forehead against the window’s glass, she feels the cool
surface.
She wonders about the time, but doesn’t move to check
the clock on the wall.
She is tired, she feels as if she had just dozed
off when they were waken.
Knowing with her nerves feeling wired
she wouldn’t be able to sleep; she allows her mind to wander as she
stands surveying the yard.