After suffering the consequences of a physical beating from her father with a belt, Beth Culbertson decides she will not take any more abuse and runs away. Still, the father has a different story to tell until he's discovered dead.


On the other side of town, Ty lies in a hospital bed, falsely accused of drug trafficking, hijacking, and so much more. The proof of his innocence lies murdered on a dark country road.




Peter stared at the young, affluent man in the mirror. He’d never given much thought to his wealth other than it was always there. His charm and good looks had gotten him everything he wanted except out from under Daddy’s thumb. Now was his chance. Today, Peter hoped to prove himself to O’Shea and the Gulf Shores people. 

Satisfied with his casual business attire, he hurried downstairs to grab a cup of coffee before he headed out to the warehouse. At first, he’d hoped Nancy would join him, but once she’d declined and suggested it was his time to shine, the idea grew on him. Since they were young, Nancy was always the powerhouse of the duo. Now, he was ready to take the reins.

As he drove toward Cobden, his mind drifted to last night’s phone call. He’d heard the tension in Nancy’s voice, and for the first time, he felt she lacked confidence in the operation. Maybe it was connecting with Spider again; if so, that was something they’d have to address later. Her voice had sounded wistful when she told him goodbye. Odd, but at the time, he’d wanted to comfort her. Then, the line disconnected, and the moment was gone. This morning was a different day, and he had something to prove to her, to his father, and O’Shea.

************

After making preparations throughout the night, each team knew their assigned spot, and Garth had briefed them on how he hoped everything would go down. One group, disguised as an electrical outage crew, had their truck and equipment on the side of the road about a half-mile away. The guy in the crow’s nest was the spotter for approaching vehicles. Other agents were working in the vineyard, loading boxes of wine into the vineyard’s truck. It appeared one agent was changing a flat tire. 

Peter spotted the green warehouse and slowly pulled into the overgrown parking lot. Weeds were growing everywhere. Spider had chosen a spot further off the road where the van was not visible to passing traffic. He waved to Peter and indicated a parking place next to his.

“Man, why do we have to park in these overgrown weeds?” Peter complained as he picked several burrs off his trouser leg. 

Spider sighed. “It’s an abandoned warehouse, knucklehead. Parking out front would draw  attention to us.”

“Oh yeah, I knew that.” Peter walked toward the side door. “Can we get in this way?”

“Yup, I’ve already checked out the place. Where’s O’Shea? He’s coming, right?”

“Don’t worry about O’Shea. We can do this without him. I have no idea why he decided to muscle into the meeting anyhow.”

“Don’t ask me. I’m here because Nancy asked me to help out.” 

“Speaking of the woman, have you talked to her?” Peter watched for a reaction from Spider.

“To Nancy?” The question caught Spider off guard. He wondered if Peter had any idea she’d turned on him. ”She called and left a message about the time change. Why? Should I have talked to her?”

“No, of course not. Last night, she seemed distraught, different.” Peter sighed. “Forget it! It’s not important.”

Peter checked his watch. It wasn’t like Dan O’Shea to be late to anything. It made him uncomfortable, but he couldn’t precisely say why.

************

Two unmarked shiny black cars entered the underground garage and parked near the elevator. The gates were locked, and agents had thoroughly checked for anything or anyone suspicious. 

Two men exited the elevator, checked with the posted guards, quickly acknowledged Hank, and returned to the elevator. As the door opened, the wheelchair carrying a smiling Amanda exited and moved toward the first car. Tiny wiggled and barked with excitement. Hank, Bert, and Beth hurried to her side. 

“Amanda, we just wanted to thank you again for saving Beth. Without your tapes, documents, and knowledge, none of this would be coming together. The entire town of Columbia owes you a big thank you.” Hank was lavish with his praise, but he meant every word.

“Now, don’t be jumpin’ the gun, Hank. Ya don’t have it wrapped wit’ a bow just yet.” Amanda stretched her hands out to Beth. “You just make sure ya take care of this girl.” Beth hugged her.

“Oh, Amanda, I’ve got the best news to tell you. Bert’s adopting me. Isn’t that awesome?” Beth squealed and grinned.

“It certainly is, child. Tiny and I are happy for ya.” Amanda ruffled the hair on top of her pup’s head. “I won’t be gone too long; I don’t suspect. You and your friends make sure you stay out of trouble. Ya won’t have ole Amanda keepin’ an eye out for ya.”

“Not to worry, Amanda. She’s got lots of family now. We’ll all watch out for her. You just stay well too, okay?” Bert gave Amanda a quick hug. “She’ll miss the both of you.”

“Okay, it’s time to load up. Say your goodbyes.” Hank expected the girls’ love fest could go on for hours if he didn’t intervene. “Thanks again, Amanda. I’ll be in touch as soon as I can.” He squeezed Amanda’s hand and scratched Tiny’s back. “I’m happy you two are together.”

Hank nodded to the agents, and they helped Amanda into the vehicle. The Agency had decided to keep her in an undisclosed location that would protect her from whatever flashback occurred. The dragnet was claiming a lot of influential people with octopus arms stretching into every walk of life. They needed to guarantee her safety.

Once Amanda was safely loaded, the elevator doors opened again. 

Two men exited and checked the area. Inside the elevator, two men flanked a woman in handcuffs. The once flamboyant mistress was gone. In her place stood a plain ordinary woman dressed in an unbecoming, prison-issued orange jumpsuit. Minus the makeup and fancy hair-do, she was barely recognizable. Each agent held her arm as they moved forward toward the awaiting vehicle. Her blank eyes stared straight ahead.

Beth gasped. “Oh, Nancy. I’m sorry.” Tears started to roll down her cheeks. 

Bert grabbed Beth and turned her away. “You listen to me. You did nothing wrong. She brought this on herself.”

Through her tears, Beth choked, “It doesn’t even look like her.”

Hank placed a comforting hand on Beth’s back. “Honey, she used all the fancy clothes and makeup to hide the evil person she was. It’s washed away, and she’s learning what awaits her. Trust me, it might be a shock to her now, but Nancy will do fine. Women like her have a way of bouncing back.”

Bert tried to move Beth toward Hank’s Mercedes and out of Nancy’s sight. Beth stopped and turned for one last look. At that moment, as Nancy was climbing into the vehicle, she turned, and their eyes locked. Nancy mouthed, “I’m sorry, too,” as the car door slammed closed. She stared out the window at Beth until the vehicle rolled away.

************

Inside the warehouse, Peter paced back and forth. 

The buyer and two rough-looking thugs were standing outside the rear of the building. Peter could see them through one of the dingy, grease-stained windows. He had no idea what they were talking about, but he knew he couldn’t wait for O’Shea much longer. His crisp tailored shirt was clinging to his body from sweat. 

Spider approached Peter. “Where’s O’Shea?”

“How the hell do I know.” Peter snapped. “He said he was coming.”

“Well, I’m not waiting around much longer. Something’s not right.” Spider walked toward the van. “I’ve got my Harley.”

“Wait! It looks like they are walking this way. Guess we do this without O’Shea.” Peter watched the men outside. Peter’s shoulders slumped. “Great! The big guy’s on the phone again.”

Garth answered his cell, “What’s up? Anything on O’Shea?” The agent in the crow’s nest was on the other end of the line.

“Yeah, he came into town, but then he pulled off to the side of the road. It looks like he’s on his phone. Want us to grab him or wait it out?”

“No, put a tail on him. Then, if by chance, he heads to the warehouse, let me know. But my gut tells me someone just spilled the beans.”

“Okay, boss.”

“We’ll wrap this up. Let Ric and Jack Flannigan know it’s a go at their end too.”

************

Sitting along the side of the road, Dan O’Shea listened as Bailiff Conley filled him in, “Sir, I just talked to my girlfriend. She works in Judge Preston’s office. There’s a lot of scuttlebutt going on.”

“What do you mean, Conley?” 

“Well, now I know it’s hearsay, sir, but she heard that the FBI were in Judge McKay’s chambers after court yesterday, and nobody’s seen him today. Her friend was at the Last Chance and Detective Santiago was asking questions. He took Nancy to her office and nobody’s seen her either. Seems a little strange with people disappearing.”

“Well, like you said, Conley, people like to gossip.  I’m sure I would have heard from the Judge if it was true.” Fighting to remain calm, Dan O’Shea took shallow breaths. “Did your girlfriend say anything else?”

“I don’t want you thinking I’m one of those gossips, sir.”

“Believe me, Conley, I am extremely grateful for your call. I’m minutes away from an important meeting, but was there anything else I should know?”

The phone was quiet on the other end. “Conley, are you still there?”

“I’m not getting my girlfriend in trouble, am I? She didn’t tell anyone but me.” Conley was worried.

“I’ll take care of everything. You did the right thing by calling me. But I need to know what else your girlfriend said.” The clock was ticking if everything Conley was saying was true.

“Yes, sir. It’s my understanding that there’s a slew of warrants issued. And the FBI is moving Nancy to a safehouse in Oakdale. It’s all supposed to be on the hush-hush, but this is your town, and it’s not right if you don’t know what’s going on.”

“Thanks, Conley. You’re going to get a commendation from my department for helping us out like this. Great job.”    

It just isn’t going to be from the Chief of Police. 

“That’s awesome, sir. Just trying to do my job!”

“I understand, but I’ve got to go. Thanks again.”

O’Shea hung up the phone and scanned the area. He didn’t see anything suspicious, but he wasn’t taking any chances. He needed to make a phone call and then head out of town. Peter would have to deal with the Gulf Shores people by himself. He dialed the number.

When a voice answered the call, O’Shea’s voice was brisk, “We are in a High Priority Red Alert.”

“What’s the password, sir?” The voice on the other end sounded monotone.

“Are you kidding me?” O’Shea growled.

“No, sir, that’s why we have precautionary measures. The password, sir?”

"Begin Again.” O’Shea snapped,  “Now hit the robocall key; it will send a text message to everyone. Meet me on the highway headed to Manchester and bring the briefcase. Oh yeah, make sure someone tosses a stick of dynamite into the Last Chance.”

“Yes, sir.”