Chapter Fourteen

Nattie listened with the phone to her ear, but Joe could hear it ringing. It rang a number of times before he finally heard someone answer. He couldn’t tell what was said or even if it was a man or a woman.

“Hi, Mom. This is Nattie. I’m using a friend’s phone to call you this time.” She then listened for a moment before saying, “So Dad’s not home yet? It’s getting late.” Nattie listened again. Her face clouded over, and she slowly sank to the barn floor. When she spoke, her voice was all choked up. “Mom, please, you can’t do that to me. I’m sorry I left with Lucas. You and dad were right about him. I did a terrible thing. But I need you guys. Please,” she begged and began to cry.

Joe could tell something bad was going on, so he motioned for Nattie to activate the speaker. She nodded in understanding and did so. At that point, he and Melia could both hear what was being said by Nattie’s mother. What he heard made him seethe. Mrs. Shrader could be clearly heard to say, “Your father is not happy with you, Nattie. He said you made your bed and that you can lie in it.”

“But, Mom, you said you would come get me,” Nattie said, sobbing. “I don’t know what to do. I’m afraid of Lucas. I can’t go back to his apartment.”

“I’m sorry, Nattie. You should have thought about something like this happening when you went against our wishes and left home to be with Lucas. We told you he was rotten and you shouldn’t go with him, but you defied us and did it anyway,” Mrs. Shrader said coldly.

“Mom, please, I’m going to have a baby, your granddaughter. Don’t you care about that?” Nattie begged.

“Oh, your father just came in. Here, I’m going to let you talk to him. It’s Nattie, Sean,” they all heard Mrs. Shrader say. “You talk to her. It’s your decision to let her work out her own problems.”

“My decision? I thought we agreed on this, Eugena. Here, give me that phone.” A moment later, Sean Shrader was on the phone, and he was shouting in anger. “Nattie, if you’d listened to me in the first place, none of this would have happened. You wouldn’t be pregnant with that scum’s child, and you wouldn’t need us to help you. You’re just going to have to figure this out on your own. It’s not our problem. It’s yours!”

“Daddy, please,” Nattie begged. “I am going to have your granddaughter in a few weeks. I need help. My baby needs help. I’ve got to leave. I need you guys. I was wrong, and I don’t ever want to see him again. Don’t you care?”

“We warned you about that man. Don’t say we didn’t. As a matter of fact, as far as I’m concerned, your baby is not our grandchild. If you can’t take care of it, you need to have it aborted. I don’t ever want to see a child of that guy you ran off with. When I know the baby is gone, then you may come home, and your mother and I will help you get a new start in life.”

“Daddy, I can’t believe what you’re saying. This baby is alive and you want me to have it killed?” she screamed into the phone. “Never!”

She ended the call and handed the phone back to Joe, tears streaming down her face. Melia dropped to the cold concrete floor beside Nattie, put her arms around her shoulders, and cried with her. Joe was stunned. What he had just heard made his blood run cold. Nattie’s dad was as bad as Lucas. He wondered what Nattie had gone through growing up. Maybe there was a reason she’d left home the first chance she got.

At least five minutes passed, and Melia was still comforting Nattie when Ron came out of the house using a cane, as he sometimes did, and approached the barn. He was not a healthy man, but he was a generous, kind, and loving person. “I see something is wrong,” he said. “Would you guys like to tell me about it?”

Melia stood up and stepped back from Nattie and tried to answer her grandfather, but the words couldn’t get past the tears. Joe stepped in and told Ron what had just occurred. He’d never seen Ron really angry before, but he did now. Ron was trembling with fury. “What a horrid thing for a father to say. Surely he didn’t mean it.”

“Oh, he meant it all right,” Joe said. “We had the phone on speaker. He meant exactly what he said. He wants her to abort her baby.”

Ron stepped over to Nattie, who was now standing, facing away from the others, and still sobbing softly, her face covered with her hands. Ron spoke gently to her as he walked around and faced her. “Nattie, you do not have to go back to your house. Melia and I have lots of room in this big old farmhouse of ours. You’re welcome to stay here as long as you like.”

She dropped her hands from her face. “What?”

Ron smiled as Melia joined them. “Grandpa wants you to live with us, and so do I. We will be your family. We’ll keep you safe, and I’ll help you with your baby when she’s born.”

Fresh tears poured from one who had already shed so many tears that there should not have been any more available. But there were, and they flowed freely.

Melia once again put her arms around Nattie. “Come on, Nattie. Let’s go find you a room and get you settled in.”

Joe had wiped tears from his eyes that the others had not seen. Then he stepped beside Ron and watched as the two girls walked slowly toward the house. “Ron, that is the most generous thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Joe, she needs someone. We’re here and can help her. It’s the right thing to do. It is what the Savior would want me to do,” he said as he watched the girls. “She needs things from her house. After she’s had time to get her emotions under control and maybe take a shower, we’ll take her there and get whatever she wants. I know it’s getting late, but we need to do it.”

“That sounds good, but I’ll call Bo. If Lucas were to come while we were there, it would be dangerous for Nattie and for the rest of us,” Joe said.

Bo’s phone began to ring as he and Jim walked toward the sheriff’s office. They had driven by Nattie’s house earlier and saw that Lucas’s truck was not there, so they hadn’t stopped. The Price police had officers all over the area searching for both the truck and for Lucas.

Bo looked at his phone’s screen, saw that it was Joe calling, and answered with, “Hey, Joe, is everything okay?”

He could feel the emotion in his cousin’s voice as Joe responded. “No, it’s not. Nattie can’t go home. Her father said that unless she has an abortion, she’s not welcome. He said her baby is not his grandchild. I can’t believe any father would say something like that even if his daughter had not listened to them earlier. No one deserves to be treated like that, Bo,” Joe said. “Whoever killed Emil did a terrible thing, but why would anyone want to kill an unborn baby? It’s horrible, Bo. He could at least have suggested she release it for adoption, but he didn’t.”

“I agree with you. I don’t know what this world is coming to. But that discussion is for another time. Right now we’ve got to think about Nattie and her baby. Her father has put Nattie in an impossible position.”

“Ron asked her to live with him and Melia,” Joe said. “So at least she doesn’t have to go back to her home.”

“Joe, she’s in danger. Her being there could put Ron and Melia in danger as well,” he said. “And you too, for that matter.”

“I’m already in danger,” Joe said. “I’m learning to live with it.” He forced a chuckle but did not feel the humor.

Bo had stopped walking. As he held the phone away from his head, he said to Jim, “We’ve got to go back to the Brady farm,” and turned back toward the parking lot. Then to Joe he said, “We’re coming there. We’ll talk to Ron. We’ve got to figure something else out.”

“I don’t think you can change Ron’s mind,” Joe said. “I know him pretty well. He’s a stubborn man, and when he makes up his mind, he isn’t likely to change it.”

“We’ll see about that. No one has been able to find Lucas, so you keep your eyes open. He could be near there for all we know,” Bo warned. “Jim and I are on our way.”

The killer was at his preferred hiding spot, spying on the Brady farm. He had arrived in time to see the two young women and the farmer walking toward the house. Joe was still standing near the large barn, talking on his cell phone. The killer did not like what he was seeing. Anger built in him.

Joe should be in jail. Clearly further action needed to be taken. Oh yes, Joe and his friends would pay dearly for their treachery. He wasn’t a man who ever let anyone get in his way or go against what he wanted. Joe was going down for murder. He would do whatever it took to make that happen.

He continued to watch, and a few minutes later, his anger almost boiled over when he saw two deputies arrive, get out of the sheriff department SUV, then walk over to Joe, who was just coming out of the barn with a wheelbarrow. The farmer’s dog ran from somewhere near the house and greeted the big ugly bulldog of Deputy Buckley’s. Sometime, when he got a chance, he’d shoot that dog like he’d shot the collie.

The killer’s anger and hatred had become so intense that killing anyone or anything didn’t sear his conscience in the least. He’d seen enough for now, so he left. He’d be back, and when he came, no one would be expecting him. He had some ideas, and one of them involved that pregnant girl. He knew where she and her Hispanic boyfriend lived. He’d sneak into the house and do something that would get her attention. He’d do it just to make a point with Joe. Joe would see that he was going to have to admit to murder. Nothing else would do.

“Joe, we’ve got to change Ron’s mind. Let’s go in the house and talk to him. We can probably put Nattie in a safe house somewhere so she can have her baby and not have to worry about being in danger,” Bo said.

“I’m sure you could do that, but Bo, you don’t know Ron Brady like I do. He’s a kind man and a generous one. He’s sure been good to me. But there is no way he’ll change his mind, and I don’t think Nattie will either.”

“I aim to try,” Bo said firmly, and the three men started for the house.

“Bo, you guys go ahead. I still have a lot of work to do,” Joe said as he stopped walking. “Thanks for coming out. I’ll be here somewhere when you finish talking to Ron if you need me.”

“Okay,” Bo said. He walked with determination toward the house. Jim strode alongside him.

Bo knocked on the door, and Melia answered it. “Hey, Bo, Jim. Come on in. I guess Joe called you.”

“He did. We’d like to speak with your grandfather,” Bo said.

“He’s upstairs with Nattie. He’s getting her some bedding. I was helping until you guys knocked.” Melia grinned. “Where’s Joe?”

“He said he had to keep working,” Bo said.

“I guess I should go help him. But first I’ll go tell Grandpa that you want to see him,” she said.

With that, she turned and ran up the stairs. A minute later, she reappeared and ran back down. “You guys can sit down. Grandpa will be down in a minute. I’ll go help Joe now.”

Bo watched Melia as she put on her coat, gloves, boots, and hat and then hurried out the door. “She’s a good girl,” Bo said. “She’s not afraid to work. That’s for sure. Ron’s got to be proud of her.”

“I can see that,” Jim agreed.

The two officers talked about what they needed to do once they got Nattie and Ron convinced that she needed to be in a safe house and that it needed to be somewhere a long way from Price. “We’ll need to get Family Services involved,” Bo said. “They should be able to get her to where she needs to be.”

Ron came slowly down the stairs a moment later. “Gentlemen,” he greeted them as he headed for his recliner and sank wearily into it. “It’s been a hard day. My old ticker isn’t like it used to be. I’m exhausted.”

“We need to talk to you about Nattie,” Bo said, diving right into the matter he’d come for.

“What about her?” Ron asked. “She has a home here for as long as she needs it. She’s upstairs resting right now.”

“That’s what we need to talk about,” Bo said. “We believe she’s in danger. And by you allowing her to stay here, you’re putting yourself and your granddaughter in danger as well. Lucas Soto is a treacherous man. He may have already killed, and if so, he probably wouldn’t hesitate to kill again.”

“She’ll be safe here,” Ron protested weakly. “I’ll make sure she’s never alone.”

Bo shook his head. “I don’t think that’s good enough, Ron. She needs to be in a safe house where she will have all the care she needs, both her and her baby when she’s born. We’ll contact Family Services and ask them to make sure she’s where Lucas can’t find her.”

“What makes you think he can find her here?” Ron asked stubbornly. Bo could see that Joe was right; Ron was going to be hard to convince.

“Ron, just having someone with her only puts a second person in danger. You don’t want to do that to Melia, do you?”

Ron smiled weakly. “Of course I don’t, but you don’t understand. I plan to keep the doors locked at all times. I’ll keep a gun handy. I can shoot, you know. I’ll teach Melia and Nattie to shoot as well. Joe will be here a lot, and I’ll let him keep a gun close as well. He knows how to use guns.”

“Please, Ron. Think about this. If you guys have to be armed, that means you realize that Lucas could come and that he could be armed too,” Bo said.

“I suppose so,” Ron responded. “But I really think you officers are overreacting. She needs to be taken care of, and we can do that here. She only has a few weeks until the baby is due, and I’ll see to it that her medical bills are covered. I can afford that, you know. We will not leave her alone at the hospital when the time comes. Of that I can assure you.”

“Ron,” Bo began again.

Ron waved a hand at him. “She’ll be fine. I’ll make sure. Anyway, she wants to be here. Go up and talk to her if you’d like. You’ll see.”

“I think we’ll do that,” Bo said with a grim face.

“She’s in the last room upstairs at the end of the hallway. I don’t think I’ll come with you. In case you’re thinking that I look pretty weak, you have to admit it’s been a rather tough day, and it’s about my bedtime now. All I need is a little rest, and then I’ll be able to take Nattie to her house and help her get her things. Joe and Melia will help too.”

Bo shook his head. “We’ll go talk to Nattie. I think she’ll see that she needs to be in a safe house. Now, Ron, don’t think that I think you are being too generous. You are a good man, but I just want to make sure everyone is safe.” With that, he and Jim got to their feet and headed for the stairs.

Nattie was not asleep. In fact, she wasn’t even lying down when Bo and Jim approached the door, which was wide open. But her eyes were red, evidence of a lot of crying, for which Bo couldn’t blame her in the least. “Hi, Nattie. Can we visit for a minute?” Bo asked gently.

“Sure, come on in. Has anyone found Lucas?” she asked as she rose to her feet from the side of the bed.

“I’m afraid not, but a huge manhunt is on for both him and a man by the name of Bryan Bayle,” Bo said. “Do you know who Bayle is?”

“I think I remember Lucas talking about meeting him when he was picking up some heroin from Emil,” she said. “What’s he wanted for?”

“He killed his wife this morning,” Bo said.

Nattie went pale and sat back on the bed. “Oh no,” she said as her hand flew to her mouth.

“Nattie, I’m only telling you that because I don’t want the same thing to happen to you,” Bo said. “I know that Mr. Brady is being generous by letting you stay here, but Deputy Grizzel and I think that you would be safer if you were in a secure safe house somewhere outside of this area. We will ask Family Services to arrange it for you.”

Nattie sat silently for a moment. Tears began to flow again, but she wiped them away. “I don’t want to be in a safe house. I don’t want an abortion,” she said. “Mr. Brady wants me to stay here, and I want to stay here if I can. He makes me feel like I matter and like my baby matters.”

“It will be dangerous until we catch Lucas. And it could put Ron and Melia in danger too,” Bo said sternly.

“I told Mr. Brady, Ron . . . he wants me to call him Ron. Anyway, I told him that, but he says that he thinks I should stay anyway, that he’d make sure I was safe.”

Bo shook his head. “He does have guns, and he can lock his doors, but if Lucas is as dangerous as we think he could be, that might not be enough. You can stay here until Family Services comes to get you.”

“Please. I feel like these people care about me, more than anyone in a safe house ever would. I know I barely met them, but they are such good people, and I could even go to church with them if I could get a nice dress,” she said.

Bo could see that he was losing this fight. “Let’s go down and talk to Ron again,” he finally said. “He’s got to understand how dangerous it could be for you to stay here.”

Nattie slowly rose to her feet, walked past the two officers, and headed for the stairs. Over her shoulder, she said, “Maybe you’re right.”

Bo felt some hope at her words. They followed her down. Ron was asleep in his recliner, but he stirred when he heard them enter the room. “I guess I dozed for a minute,” he said.

“You need the rest,” Nattie said softly. “Ron, these officers think I should leave. I don’t want to, but maybe they’re right.”

Ron came fully awake. “Nattie, I want you to stay. Please. I will make sure no one hurts you. I may not be in the best of health, but I’m not an invalid. I am a good shot with any kind of gun. I was an Army Ranger in my younger days before my father left this farm to me. I know how to fight, and I am still capable of fighting if I have to, but frankly, I don’t think it will come to that.”

“I don’t want you or Melia to get hurt because of me. I deserve what’s happening to me,” she said. “I disobeyed my parents.”

“No one deserves to be treated the way you’ve been treated, Nattie,” Bo said, coming to her defense. “That’s why all of us want to keep you safe.”

For ten minutes, the pros and cons were batted back and forth, Bo feeling strongly one way and Ron just as strongly the other. Finally, Nattie said, “I think I should go.”

“Please,” Ron said.

“I appreciate what you’ve done for me and what you’ve offered to do, but I think I should go. I don’t have any right to put you and Melia in danger.”

“Will you come back as soon as they arrest Lucas?” Ron asked.

“Oh yes, for sure, if you want me to,” she said with a catch in her voice.

“Thank you, Nattie. I will hold you to that,” Ron said. Then to Bo and Jim, he suggested, “Why don’t we help her get her things from her house. We can store what she doesn’t need to take with her here in my house.”

“I think that would be fine, but first give me a few minutes to see what I can work out with Family Services,” Bo said. “I may not be able to reach them tonight, but I’ll try. We’ll be back in a little while. In the meantime, have your doors locked and a gun near you.”