IT WAS WILD chapter 3 part 2 of 4

IT WAS WILD chapter 3 part 2 of 4


“Sean,” Scarlett whispered when she broke the kiss, “do you think Sandy will be okay with the baby?”

“I think she will be even more protective of her than she is of you. Dogs take their behavioral cues from their owners. We will show how much we love our daughter and that will show Sandy what to do. Isn’t she great with Nellie and Allison? Now, what about dinner?”

“How about The Pit Stop?”

“No, not tonight; Nick will see that you are not drinking wine and he will know before we tell my parents and Sandra. I think we should have everyone for dinner next Saturday and we can tell them then…after dinner. If we do it beforehand the meal will be bedlam.”

Scarlett agreed, and we spent the next hour planning the meal. We would buy a spiral-sliced smoked ham at Zen’s tomorrow. I could pick up some large potatoes for baking and some tomatoes and green peppers for a salad. They would not be local, but they would still be better than anything from the market. Before we knew it my watch said 7:10. By the time we showered and dressed it would be too late to go out for a big meal. We opted instead for Chinese, so I drove us to Beijing Gourmet--my favorite, by far.

Once again, we ordered combination plates—orange chicken for me and General Tso’s chicken for Scarlett. We had a good meal, not the celebration feast we had hoped for, but—given the choice—I’d take making glorious love with Scarlett overeating every time.

After my impromptu meeting with the Republican candidates, I thought I’d likely heard the last of Mr. Hudson, but that only showed how wrong I could be. Scarlett and I had a lovely dinner at Stokesay Castle the following night and, she was right—the food was better at The Pit Stop. We had made love once we were home and were ready for sleep when Sandy jumped up from her bed running in circles and growling. I knew then that something was wrong.

“What’s going on, Sean,” Scarlett asked.

“Something or someone is in the backyard if Sandy is to be believed. Stay here and keep the lights off. Turn your phone on and I will call you when I have more information.”

“How could anything get into the yard?”

That was a good question. I had cut my factory buildings and my house from what was a major area of thick woods. There were all kinds of animals there—deer, raccoons, skunks, and other small animals like bobcats, foxes, and possums. Then there were the bigger animals like coyotes and brown bears. That was why I had sought a zoning variance for an eight-foot chain link fence all around the backyard. It would not keep all the animals out, but I knew from experience that few could climb or jump over. That meant entering through the gate which was always kept closed and latched.

“I think the only way would be to go through the gate.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I am going to get my rifle. Do not worry, I will be fine.” I leaned down to kiss Scarlett then walked with Sandy to my office where I opened my gun safe. Like many local boys, I had been hunting since I had been able to carry my first rifle. I was six then and my rifle was a bolt-action .22 caliber rifle that Dad had bought used from a dealer in Reading. I still had that gun, but my weapon of choice was my Winchester 94 lever-action 30-30. I had taken plenty of deer over the past ten years and now I had several major enhancements. I clipped a red laser sight onto the top of the barrel and a high-power LED flashlight onto the bottom. Once they were in place, I loaded five cartridges into the slot. That should be more than enough. I slipped back to my closet for a tee shirt, shorts, and sandals then I led Sandy out to the garage. Once Sandy was leashed, I led her out through the garage door and around the corner to the gate. I padlocked it and let Sandy lead me into the yard.

We picked our way through the construction materials for the pool enclosure into the backyard. There I could just make out the silhouette of a man sneaking away from the house. He was still a good two hundred feet from the rear fence when I decided to stop him. I flicked the laser sight on and the safety off then I cocked the lever, chambering a round. “Stop right where you are. Take a good look and if you think you can beat the dog to the fence go ahead and run. But before you do that, I suggest you turn around and check out the red light in the middle of your torso. This rifle will cut you in two at this range.”

He stopped, and I turned the light on. The first thing I saw was the light green jacket. Goddamn! I was hoping I had seen the last of this bastard. “Put your hands on your head. Stay, Sandy. Sit and stay there.” Sandy sat, but she growled, and it was more than enough to convince Hudson to follow my orders. I stepped behind him to pat him down. I pulled his wallet and keys from his jeans and put them into my pockets. “Okay, let’s go, asshole…to the house.” I phoned Scarlett, telling her to open the door to the family room.

I sat Hudson on the couch while I pressed 9-1-1 to report a prowler. “I live at the end of Hidden Knoll Lane. It is a private road just one block east of Zen’s Market on Route 73. I will have my wife turn on the exterior lights and open the garage for the deputies. I have the situation under control between my rifle and my dog.” I rang off and Scarlett, now also dressed, walked out to open the garage doors, and turn on the exterior lights. While she was gone, I asked Hudson, “What is this all about? You do not even live in this school district.”

“Please be careful with that gun. I got a wife and two kids. I did it for the money. I do not have money. I have been out of work for months.”

“I do not understand. Werner told me he wanted nothing to do with you; that the county committee was going to claim you were demented.”

He gave me a wry smile. “Welcome to politics. Werner needs this election. He wants to run for state office in a few years and then for congress, so he needs a history of success. He is really nothing but a colossal shit. I am sorry, but I needed the money.”

“You could have applied with me. I just hired almost eighty workers. Too bad; now you are going to have a criminal record, but I do have a few with worse records working for me.”

“You mean you’d still hire me after all this?”

“A man must support his family. Just tell the police officers the truth when they show up.” No sooner had I finished than a familiar face strode through the door to the garage. “Rory! Do not tell me they still have you working nights.”

“No, I was passing by when the call came through, so I thought I would stop in. This the prowler?”

“Yeah, but he has an interesting story to tell. Let me unload my rifle and we can talk.” I worked the lever five times until the five cartridges were in my hand. I put them onto the counter and leaned my Winchester against the wall. Scarlett walked in a few seconds later with two deputies.

“Scarlett, this is an old friend of mine—Reinhard Calhoun, but everyone calls him Rory after the old-time actor. How did you ever get a name like Reinhard, anyway?”

“Some rich uncle of my mother’s; she thought she might get a few of his bucks if I was named after him. She should have checked before I was born. She could have saved me a lot of grief. He hated the name as much as I do. Okay,” he continued once Hudson had been searched and handcuffed. “Let’s hear why you’re trespassing on Mr. Sloan’s property.”

Over the next ten minutes, Charles Hudson told his tale of woe—from losing his job and almost losing his house and family to being approached by John Werner and several members of the Montgomery County Republican Committee about digging up as much dirt as possible against me and asking as many embarrassing questions about my behavior at political meetings. I was surprised to learn that he had been paid by check. “If you can get a copy, you’ll see that it says, ‘campaign expenses’ in the memo area.” Rory gave me a look that said more than a thousand words could have. This could evolve into a big scandal with lots of negative publicity.

I was inclined to withdraw charges until Rory took me aside. “If I know you, Sean, you are thinking of dropping charges. I suggest you wait until we investigate so we will have some leverage. At most, we are dealing with trespassing and harassment, neither of which is much of a deal, but it is better than nothing.” I nodded my agreement and escorted the deputies and Rory out through the garage. Five minutes later Scarlett and I were back in bed. It could have been sooner, but we spent a few minutes thanking our pet for her vigilance.

It was Monday morning before I heard anything from Rory. “There is some guy on the phone who says he’s Rory Calhoun. Is this joke?”

“Trust me, Sandra, it is anything but. We had a prowler at the house Friday night. Rory’s a friend…a sergeant for the Montgomery County Sheriff.”

I picked up the phone and spent the next ten minutes listening in amazement to what they had learned over the weekend. Armed with a warrant, deputies had contacted Hudson’s bank and with their records, they had then contacted officials of Werner’s bank. Now they had several checks written by John Werner for campaign activities that were seriously unethical if not actually illegal. He agreed to my request that Werner is taken in for interrogation late Wednesday afternoon so he would miss the final candidate’s night. That alone would give me a measure of justice and revenge.

To be continued