Sheldon sneaks through the kitchen door and tiptoes across the porch. He’s in the driveway, feeling confident he’s escaped the house without his wife knowing, when the spotlight comes on and Ollie’s voice stops him dead in his tracks. “Where do you think you’re going in the middle of the night?”
He slowly turns around. “I need to check on something at Love-Struck. By the way, it’s only eleven o’clock, not the middle of the night.”
Pulling her robe tight around her, she steps down off the porch. “Why are you dressed in black?”
Sheldon feigns surprise as he glances down at his black jeans and polo shirt. “Just a coincidence. I didn’t want to wake you, so I grabbed whatever I could find in the dark.”
“Mm-hmm.” She throws a thumb over her shoulder. “Your car’s right there. Are you planning to walk?”
“I am, actually. I know the trails like the back of my hand. I told you I was best friends with the kids who lived here at Foxtail. We used to go back and forth between the vineyards all the time.”
She spreads her arms at the night sky. “But it’s pitch-dark out.”
He tugs a flashlight free of his back pocket. “That’s why I have this.”
Ollie moves closer to him. “You’re up to something. I have a feeling I’m better off not knowing what it is. But please be careful. You have a wife and child who need you.”
He gives her a quick hug and a peck on the lips. “Nothing’s going to happen to me, Ollie. I just need to check on something at The Nest. I’ll be back in a flash.”
“And I’ll be waiting,” Ollie says, and turns back toward the house.
Memories transport Sheldon back to his childhood as he navigates the dark trails through the woods separating the two farms. He’s been fighting branches about ten minutes when the trees thin and The Nest comes into view. The mansion is dark aside from a few outdoor spotlights and a dim glow from his father’s window. Daniel, who has a fetish for spy novels, often reads well into the night.
Continuing around the front of the house, Sheldon is relieved to find Hugh’s car missing from the driveway. He waves at the security camera in the roof's eave where the main house connects with the children’s wing. He’s nagged Jeremy several times, but the security head has yet to pull recent footage from the surveillance cameras. Either Jeremy has grown lazy in his old age or he’s hiding something. Regardless of the reason, Sheldon intends to fire him when all this is over.
Sheldon slips inside the children’s wing to Hugh’s room. Removing a screwdriver from his back pocket, he jimmies the lock on the bottom desk drawer. Inside, he finds plastic bags of pills in a variety of shapes and colors, as well as a bag of white powder he assumes is cocaine. He’s reaching inside the drawer when a blow from behind knocks him out of the way.
Hugh’s face is red and angry. “What’re you doing, bro? This is my room. Who do you think you are breaking into my desk?”
“I was worried about Dad’s safety. Are you trafficking drugs?” Sheldon points his screwdriver at the drawer. “You have enough pills and cocaine in there to get all of New York City high.”
Hugh slams the desk drawer shut. “It’s not what you think. I needed to make some extra money, and I took a part-time gig repping for a pharmaceutical company.”
Sheldon barks out a laugh. “Be real. I know Xanax bars when I see them.”
Hugh expels a huff of air. “Look, Sheldon, I got in a bit of a bind, but I’m figuring my way out of it. Now go home and pretend you saw nothing.”
“Like hell I will. You need to turn yourself into the police. Or I’ll do it for you.”
Grabbing Sheldon by the arm, Hugh wrestles him out into the hall. “Now beat it,” he says, giving Sheldon a kick in the butt.
Sheldon stumbles a few feet before righting himself. “Not while you’re dealing drugs out of Dad’s house.”
“I told you I’m taking care of the situation. I’m getting rid of the drugs. They are only here temporarily.”
“I’m coming back tomorrow, and that drawer better be empty,” Sheldon says, jabbing his finger toward Hugh’s room.
Hugh’s demeanor changes from hard ass to concerned big brother. “For your own good, Sheldon, stay out of this. You have a wife and kid to protect.”
“I’m sorry, Hugh. But I can’t leave this alone. Not while you’re putting Dad’s life in danger.” Sheldon turns his back on Hugh and hurries out of the children’s wing. He runs around the side of the house and down the lawn, not slowing down until he reaches the woods.
He removes his phone from his pocket and clicks on Casey’s number. After four rings, she answers in a groggy voice. “The situation with Hugh is worse than we thought. But I can’t tell you about it on the phone.”
“You woke me up to tell me you can’t talk about it?”
“I woke you up to make sure you’re safe. Is your gun nearby?”
“In the top drawer of my nightstand. You’re scaring me, Sheldon.”
Guilt overcomes him at the sound of fear in Casey’s voice. His snooping around has put all their lives in jeopardy. “I’m a little weirded out myself, honestly. I’ll tell you everything in the morning. Can you come to the farm?”
“I’ll stop by on my way to work around eight.”
“I’ll be waiting on the porch with coffee,” he says and ends the call before she can interrogate him further.
Sheldon jogs the rest of the way home through the woods. He checks all the locks on the windows and doors before heading upstairs. The lights are out in their bedroom, but Ollie is still awake.
“Is everything okay?” she asks in a sleepy voice.
“Everything is fine,” he lies.
Sheldon waits until Ollie is snoring softly before removing his handgun from his nightstand and sliding it under his pillow.
* * *
After a sleepless night, Sheldon rises at dawn, brews a tall tumbler of coffee, and rides his four-wheeler deep into the vineyard. When the fresh air clears his head, he weighs the situation from every angle and comes to one conclusion. He has no choice but to turn Hugh in to the police.
He’s returning to the house to meet Casey when two dark-skinned men step from a row of vines into his path. He slams on the brakes to keep from hitting them. The bald man jerks him off the four-wheeler to the ground, and the man with the tatted-up face jumps on top of him, pummeling Sheldon with his fists. Excruciating pain tears through him when Baldie kicks him repeatedly in the ribs with his pointy-toed cowboy boot. Tattoo dude frees Sheldon’s gun from its holster and presses the barrel to his forehead.
“Today’s your lucky day. Your brother convinced us to let you live. But if you don’t mind your own business, I’ll come back and rape your pretty little wife and kill your kid.”
Taking his gun with them, the men disappear into the vines. Sheldon lies still until he’s certain they’re gone. He tries to sit up, but the pain is too great. He pats his pockets for his phone but comes up empty. Turning his head to the side, he spots his phone on the ground over near the four-wheeler. Biting his lip against the agony, he slides on his back across the ground. His progress is slow. He’s only gone a few feet when he hears Casey calling for him. He tries hollering back, but the pain takes his breath. He’s close enough to the four-wheeler to pound on the metal fender. Fortunately, Casey hears him and comes running.
“Oh my god, Sheldon! Who did this to you?”
“Long story,” he gasps out.
She pulls out her phone. “I’m calling 9-1-1.”
Sheldon snatches her phone. “No. Not safe. Help me up.” He holds out his arm. “Do it quick.”
Casey stares at his arm. “I can’t. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Do it, damn it! I can take it,” he says, and lets out a guttural scream when she pulls him into a sitting position. Holding onto the four-wheeler for support, he pulls himself to his feet. “You drive. I’ll sit on the back. But go slow. And hand me my phone.”
The pain is unbearable, and he vomits several times on the way to the house. Casey parks the four-wheeler beside the porch and kills the engine. “We need to get you to the emergency room.”
“No way. There’s no treatment for broken ribs anyway.”
Casey throws her leg over the seat and helps Sheldon down. He leans against her as they climb the steps and cross the porch to the kitchen.
“How did you find me?” he asks, as she drags a wet dish towel over his face.
“You said you’d be waiting on the porch with coffee. When you weren’t here, after your phone call last night, I got worried something had happened to you. Obviously, I was right. Where’s Ollie by the way?”
“Took Henry for a doctor’s checkup.”
“Right.” Casey opens the freezer and removes two bags of frozen peas, handing them to Sheldon. “Put these on your face. Anyway, I drove down to the barn. When I saw the door open and the four-wheeler gone, I figured you were in the fields.”
Placing the peas against his cheeks, Sheldon says, “I’m in trouble here, Casey. These guys mean business.” He tells her about finding the drugs in Hugh’s room and his attackers warning him to mind his own business. “They said they’d come back and rape my wife and kill my kid. And now I’ve dragged you into it.” He winces as he lowers himself to a counter stool.
Casey pops a K-cup in the Keurig machine. “You didn’t drag me into anything. I was already here. What are we gonna do?”
“Call an old friend about security,” Sheldon says, accessing his contacts and clicking on Brad’s number.
“Let me talk to him.” Casey takes the phone from him and sits down next to Sheldon with her coffee. When Brad answers, she introduces herself and briefly explains the situation.
Sheldon is close enough to the phone to hear Brad say, “Sit tight. I’m on my way.”
Twenty minutes later, they hear cars in the driveway and Casey goes outside to greet Brad and bring him into the kitchen. Sheldon hasn’t seen his old high school friend in several years. “You look good. You’ve lost some hair but gained some muscles.”
Brad chuckles. “I have to stay fit in my line of work.”
“What, exactly, is your line of work?” Casey asks, and Brad explains, “I own a private security firm based out of Hope Springs. Tell me what happened?”
Sheldon lets Casey do most of the talking as they bring Brad to speed about Hugh’s criminal activities.
“I’m tempted to turn Hugh into the police,” Sheldon says.
“That’s the last thing you should do,” Brad says. “These men warned you to mind your own business. And you need to heed that warning. At least for appearance’s sake. Meanwhile, we’ll hire a private investigator to get to the bottom of Hugh’s drug trafficking.”
Sheldon furrows his brow. “Where are we gonna get one of those?”
“Believe it or not, Kathy Sinclair, the best investigator in the state, lives in Lovely. She travels a lot on business but likes to come home to peaceful surroundings on the weekends.” Brad thumbs off a text. “It may take Kathy a while to get back to me. I’ll be in touch when she does. In the meantime, I’ll station two patrol units outside your door. You should be safe here for now.”
Sheldon salutes him. “Thanks, Brad.”
Casey walks Brad out and returns with Ollie and the baby. Sheldon expects Ollie to be furious about Sheldon’s beating, but she’s understanding.
Ollie lifts her phone to her ear. “I’m calling the doctor. Bare minimum, you need pain meds.”
“Don’t call the doctor. Call Hugh. He has plenty of narcotics,” Sheldon jokes, although neither Casey nor Ollie finds him funny.
Sheldon drops his smile. “Whatever you do, don’t tell the doctor the truth about what happened. Tell him I had an accident on the four-wheeler.”
Ollie nods as she walks outside to speak to the doctor’s office.
“Are you okay?” Sheldon asks Casey.
Casey shakes her head. “Not really. I’m mad as hell at Hugh for dragging all of us into his problems. He deserves to be locked up in jail.”
“That’s exactly where he’s going,” Sheldon says, and makes a silent vow to put his brother away for a very long time.