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CHAPTER 28
Charlie was walking through the house when his home phone rang. He went through and recognized the caller ID as being the Jones residence and answered it.
“Hello?” he asked.
“Charlie? It’s Susan Jones, how are you doing?” she asked.
“Been better, but still alive,” he said.
“Something happen lately?” she asked.
“Yeah, no big deal though. How’s it going?” he asked.
“Doing okay. I called to ask whether or not Nate and Nick could spend the night in your cabin tonight. They are heading out on a five day hiking trip and wanted to start it on the north end of the county. You think it’s possible for them to stay with you tonight?” she asked.
“I don’t see why that would be a problem,” he said. “What time can I expect them?”
“Probably around seven or so after they’ve had supper. Harry will drop them off,” she said.
“Need me to feed them tomorrow morning?” he asked.
“No, I think they will be fixing their own,” said Susan.
“Yeah, just tell them to stop in before they get into the cabin,” he said.
“I appreciate it Charlie,” she said. “Bye.”
“Later,” he said and hung up the phone. He headed out back to the cabin to make sure it was okay for when they arrived. Unlocking the door, he had a flashback of the first night Cindy was here and how scared she had looked at life in general. He hoped he had bolstered her confidence enough to be able to deal with the problems of her family and make herself a better life. She had forgotten the old towel in the bathroom and he removed it to put it in the laundry for later washing. Otherwise, the cabin was still in good shape and relatively clean. He would break down and give it a good cleaning later in the week before the harvest workers used it.
But everywhere he went he saw images of Cindy. He had no idea just how much that girl had impacted his life until she was gone. He wondered what it might have been like to have raised her through adulthood, but again realized she was not his daughter to take care of. But it didn’t mean he wouldn’t ever have a family of his own either. Pulling out his cell phone, he sent Erica a quick message thanking her for the nice talk they had the previous evening and how he was thinking of her. He headed into the woodshop to work on the rifle stocks since it would divert his mind away from thinking of Cindy and his current situation. But he also remembered having her around when he was working on them as well, but he grabbed the sandpaper and started working away on the piece of wood sitting on the table.
After an hour of work, he heard a noise outside of the woodshop and went on alert. He grabbed at the pistol in the small of his back before Mitch announced his presence.
“You in there?” asked Mitch.
“Yeah, come on in,” said Charlie and immediately relaxed.
“Working?” asked Mitch.
“Yeah, since my hired help is gone, these will take a little longer,” said Charlie as he looked up and down the piece of Bastogne.
“You’ve already got a pretty good start on them,” said Mitch.
“Yeah, I need to get ready to start inletting them, but I’m waiting on John to bring up the actions,” said Charlie.
“Does he know you are building two of them?” asked Mitch.
“Actually no, I keep forgetting to call him and let him know. Let me go ahead and call JJ to have him order another of those Montana actions,” said Charlie as he wiped his hands and pulled the cell phone from his pocket. After a brief conversation, the receiver for the additional rifle was ordered and would be arriving at the store in about four days. The next call was to John who was at work. He was somewhat busy, but pleasantly surprised to hear there could be two made instead of just the one. He agreed to go to the gun store and pick up the additional action as well as bring the original up. Charlie told him he would need to buy additional parts and could do so easier since he had the catalogs ready to go. John instructed him to “do so and put it on my tab” before ending the phone call.
“Nice to have something that keeps you busy,” observed Mitch.
“Trying to divert my attention away from the fact Cindy isn’t here?” asked Charlie.
“Yes,” said Mitch frankly.
“Everywhere I turn I remember her. It’s hard to think she spent such a little time here and had such an impact on me,” said Charlie.
“It’s the first time in a long time you had someone to care about,” said Mitch.
“True enough,” said Charlie as he looked over the stock again and sanded another part.
“Maybe you should get a dog or something,” suggested Mitch.
“Yeah, right,” said Charlie with a half a laugh.
“No, I’m serious, what good is a farm without a dog?” asked Mitch.
“Yeah, a big ol lazy hound dog that sits on the porch with me,” said Charlie with a chuckle.
“I know a few folks that have some good dogs,” suggested Mitch.
“I’ll be fine,” said Charlie.
“Well, I’ll be heading out then. Just stopped by to check on you,” said Mitch.
“Can I expect regular visits from you in the near future?” asked Charlie.
“Maybe so. I give a darn about you Charlie, be glad some friends do,” said Mitch.
“Any word from Sarah?” asked Charlie.
“Said she dropped off Cindy and signed her over,” said Mitch.
“Nothing else?” asked Charlie.
“She was fairly emotional about the whole thing so I didn’t press the matter,” said Mitch.
“If you hear anything, please let me know,” said Charlie, wondering what Cindy was doing right then.
“…and I will be making somewhat regular visits to the house to ensure everything is going okay,” said Steven Waters.
“And my daughter?” asked Mohammed Hassan.
“I will let you see her after I’ve had the chance to talk to her,” said Waters.
“Why is this taking so long?” asked Hassan.
“Just part of the administrative process. I have to go through all this to make sure the reunification goes through okay,” said Waters.
“I want to get my daughter and leave,” said Hassan.
“In good time. Listen, we have to do these things or else the rest of the plan we came up with won’t work,” said Waters.
“Your plan, not mine or Allah’s,” said Hassan.
“My plan is the one that matter the most right now,” said Waters. “And you need to stop with that religious rhetoric. It only makes matters worse in case someone else from the State comes in to check on my work.”
“Is that a possibility?” asked Hassan.
“We all get checked out from time to time. There is always a chance of someone coming in to verify I’m doing my job,” said Waters.
“I thought we had a deal,” said Hassan.
“And we do. But this is part of the bureaucratic process and something you will have to accept. I can’t tell them to back off,” said Waters.
“Listen we paid you a considerable sum to make this go away,” said Hassan.
“Paid what? I have no idea what you’re talking about,” said Waters.
“Don’t play games with me Waters,” growled Hassan.
“And you should keep your big mouth shut. I’m the one in control here,” said Waters.
“I want what any father would want. I want my child back,” said Hassan.
“And you will have her back when the process is complete,” said Waters.
“And why is it taking so long?” asked Hassan.
“Because you continue to interrupt me. If you would just shut up and let me do my job, you would be out of here. So sit there, listen to what I have to say and keep your mouth shut,” said Waters.
“I should punch you in your dishonest mouth,” growled Hassan.
“And I should just look for a better alternative than giving your daughter back. It won’t take much for me to pull her out of the home and send her elsewhere while the case is still running,” growled Waters.
“You wouldn’t dare!” objected Hassan.
“Wanna bet?” asked Waters as his mouth grew into a frown and a look of determination.
“Your past will come back to haunt you,” warned Hassan.
“And your daughter will never move back into your home. I may go down, but I can still make a lot of things happen before I hit the bottom,” growled Waters.
“They won’t believe you,” said Hassan with a scoff.
“Suspected domestic terrorist cell, marks indicating physical abuse, emotional trauma, forced marriages and religious traditions, terrorizing your family, falsifying official statements and three, count them three psychologist reports saying everything was real. Plus the fact your wife had the remains of a black eye already. Yes, I can see that through her veil she is wearing. How hard do you think my job will be if I decide to keep her at a foster home while I bring down the entire weight of the division here in an investigation?” asked Waters.
“You won’t,” scoffed Hassan.
“Try me. If I go down, they restart the investigation. The first thing they do is pull her out along with your other two children. Then they start an in depth investigation into your family, the community and the additional residents. How long before your little cult is broken wide open for everyone to see?” asked Waters, knowing he had the upper hand.
Hassan sat quietly before saying anything. His mouth opened once, but he decided against saying anything further. He knew it would not take a competent investigator fifteen minutes before deciding the community wasn’t a good place for Haseena. So he swallowed his pride and was quiet for the moment. But someday he would have his revenge on the infidel and make him pay the price for his uncontrolled mouth.
“Now, this is the way we are going to play this out. I will go in and talk with Cindy-” started Waters, but was interrupted by Hassan.
“Her name is Haseena,” said Hassan.
“I’ll go talk with Haseena and let her know the game plan,” he started and emphasized the name Haseena. “Then I bring in your wife and let them talk then I bring you in last. That’s how this is going to work. Are we clear?”
“This should take very long. My wife knows better than to talk at length,” said Hassan.
“Well, I might have a bit of paperwork to work over with her,” said Waters.
“She needs to be clothed as well,” said Hassan.
“She is wearing clothing already and it is acceptable to me. It’s conservative enough for my tastes,” said Waters.
“She needs to be wearing this!” growled Hassan while shaking the abaya. “No man should look on her with lust!”
“Can you stop this nonsense for five minutes? Can you not see the gasoline you are pouring on the bonfire here? Knock this religious stuff off!” growled Waters.
“It is our tradition!” shot Hassan.
“Once you get through that door I don’t care if you go running around start naked! While you are here, you need to calm that nonsense down!” said Waters through gritted teeth.
“It is not nonsense! It is our religion!” growled Hassan.
“God, you just cannot stop yourself!” said Waters and got up to leave.
“Do not use His name in vain!” spat Hassan.
“My office and I can do anything I want. You will sit there, shut up and do exactly as I say! Now I’m going to go cool off and then I’m going to talk to Cindy. You will sit outside my office here and shut up. Don’t say anything to anyone, period!” growled Waters.
“And if I don’t?” asked Hassan.
“Then you will never see your daughter again. I promise you that,” said Waters in an even voice.
Hassan decided it was better to keep his mouth shut for the moment instead of saying what was on his mind and acting the way he wanted to act. He personally wanted to mash the agent into a pulp, but refrained from doing so. He would have an outlet for his anger once he got Haseena home and decided to wait it out and let the anger grow. After Waters left the office, he went over to the water cooler and grabbed a cup. After drinking it down, he mangled the cup before throwing it into the waste basket by the cooler. He headed over to the room where Cindy was in and stopped before heading inside. He would cool down a little bit before heading in.
“Trouble?” asked a coworker of Waters.
“Some people,” said Waters evasively.
“Trouble on this case?” asked the coworker.
“Nothing I can’t handle,” said Waters evasively.
“Religious nutjobs are the worst kinds to deal with,” said the coworker.
“Sometimes,” said Waters.
“Going in to talk to her?” asked the coworker.
“Not yet, I’ll let her stew in there for a few more minutes,” said Waters, wondering if he was letting her stew or letting himself calm down first.
Inside the room, Cindy sat nervously, waiting for someone to appear. She had seen a glimpse of her father before being shuffled into the interview room. He didn’t look happy, but Cindy didn’t expect him to look happy over the situation. But the waiting was killing her since she had no idea what was happening right then and wasn’t sure what was going to happen once her father came into the room. As she continued to wait, the dread continued to build inside of her and she wondered if it was a good idea coming back so soon to try and reconcile with her family.
“Hey Charlie,” said Harry Jones as he got out of his SUV and opened the back cargo area.
“Harry, it’s been a while,” said Charlie.
“Sure has,” said Harry as the twins scurried to grab their gear out of the vehicle. “How are things going?”
“About as well as could be expected,” said Charlie.
“You don’t mind them staying over the night in your cabin do you?” asked Harry.
“Not at all,” said Charlie.
“They told me you fussed at them the other day over a piece of walnut,” he chuckled.
“Them boys,” laughed Charlie with a shake of his head. “I had it set off to the side and was going to start cutting on it soon for a rifle stock. They beat me to the cutting part.”
“They were trying to impress your niece,” laughed Harry. “Apparently they didn’t impress you.”
“You have no idea,” said Charlie with a chuckle.
“They are going to apologize, right boys?” asked Harry.
“Sorry for cutting up your gun stock Mister Gray,” said Nick.
“Just ask me next time. I don’t have a problem with you two going above and beyond, but at least ask first,” said Charlie.
“Sorry sir,” said Nate as he looked around.
“Cindy’s not here,” said Charlie, knowing what or more specifically who he was looking for.
“She coming back this evening?” asked Nate.
“Nope,” said Charlie simply. “The cabin is open already.”
“Come on Nate, grab your crap,” said Nick as he grabbed his pack and headed towards the cabin.
“I was kinda hoping to meet her. Nate took to her I think,” said Harry.
“Yeah, that he did along with just about every other teenage boy that comes around,” said Charlie.
“Said she was a feisty one,” said Harry. “I think she might have punched Nate.”
“Oh?” asked Charlie.
“Came in a few days ago with a fat lip. Said something about getting hit by a piece of flying wood, but it’s a punch if I ever saw one,” said Harry.
“He say what it was about?” asked Charlie.
“No, he clammed up over it. But I figure if she had a good reason to go punching him in the face and he doesn’t want to talk about it, I’d let sleeping dogs lie,” said Harry.
“Mind if I ask?” asked Charlie.
“Go for it, but I doubt he’s going to tell you anything different,” said Harry. Nick and Nate came back and grabbed the remainder of their gear out of the back of the Expedition.
“Nate, hang back for a moment,” said Charlie as Nick carried his rifle case towards the cabin. “You get into it with Cindy last week?”
“Umm, no sir,” said Nate as he looked at the ground.
“You sure about that?” asked Charlie.
“Yes sir,” said Nate as he continued to look at the ground.
“Funny thing, you didn’t have a busted lip when I talked to you after I got done on the shooting range,” said Charlie.
“I was cleaning up and a piece of wood hit my mouth,” said Nate.
“And Cindy didn’t hit you?” asked Charlie.
“Umm, no sir,” said Nate.
“You aren’t lying to your daddy and me are you?” asked Charlie.
“No sir,” said Nate.
“Then why did Cindy have a busted hand?” asked Charlie.
“I don’t know,” said Nate.
“Go on and get your stuff stowed,” said Charlie.
“Figure he said something to set her off and she tagged him,” said Harry after Nate had walked away.
“Might have,” said Charlie, knowing the story didn’t add up.
“Good for her. Any girl that isn’t afraid to pop a boy in the mouth when he gets out of line is a good one,” said Harry.
“She’s a sassy one, that’s for certain,” said Charlie, remembering how sassy she was when she first arrived. But she had calmed herself down after the first couple of days.
“If you want, I can ask about it again after their hiking trip,” said Harry.
“Nah, he got a busted lip for it and he probably said something he shouldn’t have. Her hand got busted up as well, but that’s what happens when you connect it to a thick skull,” Charlie chuckled.
“And we weren’t any different. We both said and done some things that would have gotten our mouths busted,” he laughed in return.
“That we did,” laughed Charlie. “I figure let it go. He got what he deserved.”
“Well, I thank you for letting them stay the night,” said Harry.
“Which way are they heading?” asked Charlie.
“Heading up the mountain here and hooking up with the Appalachian Trail. Going south from there and I’m picking them up in Sam’s Gap in six days,” said Harry.
“Pretty rough country heading up the mountainside,” observed Charlie.
“They are young and full of energy,” said Harry. “They’ve been planning this for about six months and this is the last chance they have before school starts.”
“They have everything they need?” asked Charlie.
“Yeah, for the most part. They’ve used their hard earned money to buy their stuff and Susan and I pitched in a little as well. They were fairly responsible with their money for the most part. I personally don’t think they are carrying enough food, but they plan on doing a little squirrel hunting while out there,” said Harry.
“Out of season, they best not get caught,” said Charlie.
“Them two are pretty good woodsmen. They can hide and hunt with the best of them,” said Harry.
“I’ve got some extra camping food that’s close to expiring. I’ll hand it off to them,” said Charlie.
“I appreciate it. How much you want for it?” asked Harry.
“Don’t bother. It needs to get eaten anyway,” said Charlie.
“You’re a good man Charlie,” said Harry as he shook his hand. “If we need those two tonight we’ll give you a call.”
“Take care,” said Charlie as Harry departed. He went back into the basement and grabbed the freeze dried food that was close to expiring and tossed it into a box. Heading back out to the cabin, he saw they were busy repacking for the third time that day. The two surplus MOLLE desert packs were sitting half filled on the floor. They weren’t the best choice for a long distance hike, but would be sufficient for the trip as they could always call for help and a replacement if needed.
“No stupid! You carry the tent and I carry the poles!” objected Nate.
“I thought you were going to carry the whole tent and I was going to carry the cooking gear!” Nick exclaimed.
“No! We split it up!” objected Nate.
“That’s not the way we packed this morning!” objected Nick.
“What kind of cooking gear you boys have anyway?” asked Charlie.
“Mister Gray! We didn’t hear you come in!” exclaimed Nate as he jumped.
“I’m sneaky like that,” said Charlie.
“We’ve got our mess kits and a frying pan,” said Nick.
“Mind if I take a look?” asked Charlie as he set the box down. Nick handed over the GI surplus mess kit which had a black bottom from being cooked on over an open fire. While durable, it was heavy and took up a lot of room. “You boys want to borrow one of my kits?”
“We’ll be okay sir,” said Nick.
“I’ve got a couple of spare cooking kits,” said Charlie.
“Well, let’s at least take a look at what you’ve got,” said Nate. Charlie led them back to the basement where their eyes popped out of their heads at the amount of gear he had stashed away. Charlie let handed them over two aluminum sets of cookware and a titanium pot.
“What do we need a pot for?” asked Nick.
“I’ve got some camping food that you boys can have. It’s going to expire soon,” said Charlie.
“We’re planning on living off the land,” said Nate.
“I heard, but you always need to be prepared for the worst case. What happens if you can’t find any squirrels?” asked Charlie.
“Well…we’ve got our Daddy’s old Boy Scout Handbook with edible wild plants and stuff,” said Nick.
“Good reference to use. But just in case, it’s best to have a little extra,” said Charlie. “You boys can borrow that stuff and bring it back when you get done. I’ll hold on to your other until you get back.”
“We appreciate it Mister Gray,” said Nate as he looked over the pot and pan set. “It’s light!”
“Best thing for long distance hiking,” said Charlie.
“I didn’t know you were into hiking Mister Gray,” said Nick.
“I haven’t gone out on a long trek in a while now. Maybe I should,” said Charlie.
“Wouldn’t hurt,” said Nate. “Always good to get into the outdoors. Maybe you and Cindy could join us for a hike sometime.”
“Maybe,” said Charlie, not mentioning the fact she wasn’t around and wouldn’t ever be again.
“Well, we thank you kindly. Anything else?” asked Nick.
“Got enough ammo?” asked Charlie after he saw the two .22 rifles leaned up in the small living room of the cabin.
“We’ve both got about a hundred rounds,” said Nate.
“Should be plenty,” said Charlie. “You two need anything tonight, just bang on the door.”
“We’ll be leaving early, like around six or so,” said Nick.
“You boys going to eat before you go?” asked Charlie.
“We had planned on eating once we got on the trail,” said Nate.
“You two come on up to the house before you leave. No sense starting a long trip without eating first,” said Charlie.
“We wouldn’t want to impose,” said Nate.
“You two come up to the house at six. I’ll have breakfast ready,” ordered Charlie.
“Yes sir. If you’ll excuse us, we’ve got to go repack everything,” said Nick.
“Just leave the stuff you aren’t taking in the box I brought out. And take that food with you as well,” said Charlie.
“We will sir,” said Nate as they departed the basement, eyes still darting around looking at the items.
Charlie watched them depart before putting the extra boxes back up and tidying up in the basement. As he walked upstairs, he could hear the two arguing over something or other as they headed back to the cabin. He chuckled at the two brothers that argued continually, but still backed each other up no matter what.
The remainder of the evening Charlie spent looking at the computer screen and the open Word document. He would start a sentence from time to time and suddenly erase everything he put on the screen. He just couldn’t find what he wanted to convey and put down. Eventually he gave up and started looking through some of his preparedness sites and adding a few tidbits of information here and there and gaining knowledge in the process. At around ten, he finally called it a night and checked on the cabin before heading to bed. The lights were out and he assumed the twins were asleep already.
Charlie tossed and turned thinking about his situation and trying not to dwell on it too much. But the more he tried to ignore it, the most he thought about it. But he was determined not to fall into the same slump he had been in before and decided right then and there to do something about it. He needed something in his life that he could shoot for and made the decision to do something he had wanted to do all his life. He was going to through hike the Appalachian Trail come next spring. It gave him a goal to work towards and something to take his mind off his current troubles. It would mean an entire spring and quite a bit of the summer away from the farm and more importantly Erica, but in his state of mind, he needed to have something in his life to work towards and he hoped she would understand the idea. He fell asleep with the resolve to do something constructive with the feelings he had and do something out of the ordinary enough to divert his attention.
3:21 AM
Charlie was dead asleep when the doorbell rang. He wasn’t expecting anyone at this early in the morning and immediately became suspicious. But since he had the Jones twins staying the night in the cabin before they took off on their hiking trip he worried something might be wrong with them. He grabbed the pistol he had in the nightstand just in case, pulled on some sweat pants and a t-shirt and headed for the front door as the doorbell rang again. As he arrived at the front door, he pulled back the curtain slightly door and peeked out the window. It was dark and he couldn’t make out the figure and flipped on the light switch to the front porch. His jaw about hit the floor when he saw who it was and opened the door.
“Still need some help for harvest?” asked Cindy as she stood on his doorstep with her pack in her hands.
Charlie was walking through the house when his home phone rang. He went through and recognized the caller ID as being the Jones residence and answered it.
“Hello?” he asked.
“Charlie? It’s Susan Jones, how are you doing?” she asked.
“Been better, but still alive,” he said.
“Something happen lately?” she asked.
“Yeah, no big deal though. How’s it going?” he asked.
“Doing okay. I called to ask whether or not Nate and Nick could spend the night in your cabin tonight. They are heading out on a five day hiking trip and wanted to start it on the north end of the county. You think it’s possible for them to stay with you tonight?” she asked.
“I don’t see why that would be a problem,” he said. “What time can I expect them?”
“Probably around seven or so after they’ve had supper. Harry will drop them off,” she said.
“Need me to feed them tomorrow morning?” he asked.
“No, I think they will be fixing their own,” said Susan.
“Yeah, just tell them to stop in before they get into the cabin,” he said.
“I appreciate it Charlie,” she said. “Bye.”
“Later,” he said and hung up the phone. He headed out back to the cabin to make sure it was okay for when they arrived. Unlocking the door, he had a flashback of the first night Cindy was here and how scared she had looked at life in general. He hoped he had bolstered her confidence enough to be able to deal with the problems of her family and make herself a better life. She had forgotten the old towel in the bathroom and he removed it to put it in the laundry for later washing. Otherwise, the cabin was still in good shape and relatively clean. He would break down and give it a good cleaning later in the week before the harvest workers used it.
But everywhere he went he saw images of Cindy. He had no idea just how much that girl had impacted his life until she was gone. He wondered what it might have been like to have raised her through adulthood, but again realized she was not his daughter to take care of. But it didn’t mean he wouldn’t ever have a family of his own either. Pulling out his cell phone, he sent Erica a quick message thanking her for the nice talk they had the previous evening and how he was thinking of her. He headed into the woodshop to work on the rifle stocks since it would divert his mind away from thinking of Cindy and his current situation. But he also remembered having her around when he was working on them as well, but he grabbed the sandpaper and started working away on the piece of wood sitting on the table.
After an hour of work, he heard a noise outside of the woodshop and went on alert. He grabbed at the pistol in the small of his back before Mitch announced his presence.
“You in there?” asked Mitch.
“Yeah, come on in,” said Charlie and immediately relaxed.
“Working?” asked Mitch.
“Yeah, since my hired help is gone, these will take a little longer,” said Charlie as he looked up and down the piece of Bastogne.
“You’ve already got a pretty good start on them,” said Mitch.
“Yeah, I need to get ready to start inletting them, but I’m waiting on John to bring up the actions,” said Charlie.
“Does he know you are building two of them?” asked Mitch.
“Actually no, I keep forgetting to call him and let him know. Let me go ahead and call JJ to have him order another of those Montana actions,” said Charlie as he wiped his hands and pulled the cell phone from his pocket. After a brief conversation, the receiver for the additional rifle was ordered and would be arriving at the store in about four days. The next call was to John who was at work. He was somewhat busy, but pleasantly surprised to hear there could be two made instead of just the one. He agreed to go to the gun store and pick up the additional action as well as bring the original up. Charlie told him he would need to buy additional parts and could do so easier since he had the catalogs ready to go. John instructed him to “do so and put it on my tab” before ending the phone call.
“Nice to have something that keeps you busy,” observed Mitch.
“Trying to divert my attention away from the fact Cindy isn’t here?” asked Charlie.
“Yes,” said Mitch frankly.
“Everywhere I turn I remember her. It’s hard to think she spent such a little time here and had such an impact on me,” said Charlie.
“It’s the first time in a long time you had someone to care about,” said Mitch.
“True enough,” said Charlie as he looked over the stock again and sanded another part.
“Maybe you should get a dog or something,” suggested Mitch.
“Yeah, right,” said Charlie with a half a laugh.
“No, I’m serious, what good is a farm without a dog?” asked Mitch.
“Yeah, a big ol lazy hound dog that sits on the porch with me,” said Charlie with a chuckle.
“I know a few folks that have some good dogs,” suggested Mitch.
“I’ll be fine,” said Charlie.
“Well, I’ll be heading out then. Just stopped by to check on you,” said Mitch.
“Can I expect regular visits from you in the near future?” asked Charlie.
“Maybe so. I give a darn about you Charlie, be glad some friends do,” said Mitch.
“Any word from Sarah?” asked Charlie.
“Said she dropped off Cindy and signed her over,” said Mitch.
“Nothing else?” asked Charlie.
“She was fairly emotional about the whole thing so I didn’t press the matter,” said Mitch.
“If you hear anything, please let me know,” said Charlie, wondering what Cindy was doing right then.
********************
“…and I will be making somewhat regular visits to the house to ensure everything is going okay,” said Steven Waters.
“And my daughter?” asked Mohammed Hassan.
“I will let you see her after I’ve had the chance to talk to her,” said Waters.
“Why is this taking so long?” asked Hassan.
“Just part of the administrative process. I have to go through all this to make sure the reunification goes through okay,” said Waters.
“I want to get my daughter and leave,” said Hassan.
“In good time. Listen, we have to do these things or else the rest of the plan we came up with won’t work,” said Waters.
“Your plan, not mine or Allah’s,” said Hassan.
“My plan is the one that matter the most right now,” said Waters. “And you need to stop with that religious rhetoric. It only makes matters worse in case someone else from the State comes in to check on my work.”
“Is that a possibility?” asked Hassan.
“We all get checked out from time to time. There is always a chance of someone coming in to verify I’m doing my job,” said Waters.
“I thought we had a deal,” said Hassan.
“And we do. But this is part of the bureaucratic process and something you will have to accept. I can’t tell them to back off,” said Waters.
“Listen we paid you a considerable sum to make this go away,” said Hassan.
“Paid what? I have no idea what you’re talking about,” said Waters.
“Don’t play games with me Waters,” growled Hassan.
“And you should keep your big mouth shut. I’m the one in control here,” said Waters.
“I want what any father would want. I want my child back,” said Hassan.
“And you will have her back when the process is complete,” said Waters.
“And why is it taking so long?” asked Hassan.
“Because you continue to interrupt me. If you would just shut up and let me do my job, you would be out of here. So sit there, listen to what I have to say and keep your mouth shut,” said Waters.
“I should punch you in your dishonest mouth,” growled Hassan.
“And I should just look for a better alternative than giving your daughter back. It won’t take much for me to pull her out of the home and send her elsewhere while the case is still running,” growled Waters.
“You wouldn’t dare!” objected Hassan.
“Wanna bet?” asked Waters as his mouth grew into a frown and a look of determination.
“Your past will come back to haunt you,” warned Hassan.
“And your daughter will never move back into your home. I may go down, but I can still make a lot of things happen before I hit the bottom,” growled Waters.
“They won’t believe you,” said Hassan with a scoff.
“Suspected domestic terrorist cell, marks indicating physical abuse, emotional trauma, forced marriages and religious traditions, terrorizing your family, falsifying official statements and three, count them three psychologist reports saying everything was real. Plus the fact your wife had the remains of a black eye already. Yes, I can see that through her veil she is wearing. How hard do you think my job will be if I decide to keep her at a foster home while I bring down the entire weight of the division here in an investigation?” asked Waters.
“You won’t,” scoffed Hassan.
“Try me. If I go down, they restart the investigation. The first thing they do is pull her out along with your other two children. Then they start an in depth investigation into your family, the community and the additional residents. How long before your little cult is broken wide open for everyone to see?” asked Waters, knowing he had the upper hand.
Hassan sat quietly before saying anything. His mouth opened once, but he decided against saying anything further. He knew it would not take a competent investigator fifteen minutes before deciding the community wasn’t a good place for Haseena. So he swallowed his pride and was quiet for the moment. But someday he would have his revenge on the infidel and make him pay the price for his uncontrolled mouth.
“Now, this is the way we are going to play this out. I will go in and talk with Cindy-” started Waters, but was interrupted by Hassan.
“Her name is Haseena,” said Hassan.
“I’ll go talk with Haseena and let her know the game plan,” he started and emphasized the name Haseena. “Then I bring in your wife and let them talk then I bring you in last. That’s how this is going to work. Are we clear?”
“This should take very long. My wife knows better than to talk at length,” said Hassan.
“Well, I might have a bit of paperwork to work over with her,” said Waters.
“She needs to be clothed as well,” said Hassan.
“She is wearing clothing already and it is acceptable to me. It’s conservative enough for my tastes,” said Waters.
“She needs to be wearing this!” growled Hassan while shaking the abaya. “No man should look on her with lust!”
“Can you stop this nonsense for five minutes? Can you not see the gasoline you are pouring on the bonfire here? Knock this religious stuff off!” growled Waters.
“It is our tradition!” shot Hassan.
“Once you get through that door I don’t care if you go running around start naked! While you are here, you need to calm that nonsense down!” said Waters through gritted teeth.
“It is not nonsense! It is our religion!” growled Hassan.
“God, you just cannot stop yourself!” said Waters and got up to leave.
“Do not use His name in vain!” spat Hassan.
“My office and I can do anything I want. You will sit there, shut up and do exactly as I say! Now I’m going to go cool off and then I’m going to talk to Cindy. You will sit outside my office here and shut up. Don’t say anything to anyone, period!” growled Waters.
“And if I don’t?” asked Hassan.
“Then you will never see your daughter again. I promise you that,” said Waters in an even voice.
Hassan decided it was better to keep his mouth shut for the moment instead of saying what was on his mind and acting the way he wanted to act. He personally wanted to mash the agent into a pulp, but refrained from doing so. He would have an outlet for his anger once he got Haseena home and decided to wait it out and let the anger grow. After Waters left the office, he went over to the water cooler and grabbed a cup. After drinking it down, he mangled the cup before throwing it into the waste basket by the cooler. He headed over to the room where Cindy was in and stopped before heading inside. He would cool down a little bit before heading in.
“Trouble?” asked a coworker of Waters.
“Some people,” said Waters evasively.
“Trouble on this case?” asked the coworker.
“Nothing I can’t handle,” said Waters evasively.
“Religious nutjobs are the worst kinds to deal with,” said the coworker.
“Sometimes,” said Waters.
“Going in to talk to her?” asked the coworker.
“Not yet, I’ll let her stew in there for a few more minutes,” said Waters, wondering if he was letting her stew or letting himself calm down first.
Inside the room, Cindy sat nervously, waiting for someone to appear. She had seen a glimpse of her father before being shuffled into the interview room. He didn’t look happy, but Cindy didn’t expect him to look happy over the situation. But the waiting was killing her since she had no idea what was happening right then and wasn’t sure what was going to happen once her father came into the room. As she continued to wait, the dread continued to build inside of her and she wondered if it was a good idea coming back so soon to try and reconcile with her family.
********************
“Hey Charlie,” said Harry Jones as he got out of his SUV and opened the back cargo area.
“Harry, it’s been a while,” said Charlie.
“Sure has,” said Harry as the twins scurried to grab their gear out of the vehicle. “How are things going?”
“About as well as could be expected,” said Charlie.
“You don’t mind them staying over the night in your cabin do you?” asked Harry.
“Not at all,” said Charlie.
“They told me you fussed at them the other day over a piece of walnut,” he chuckled.
“Them boys,” laughed Charlie with a shake of his head. “I had it set off to the side and was going to start cutting on it soon for a rifle stock. They beat me to the cutting part.”
“They were trying to impress your niece,” laughed Harry. “Apparently they didn’t impress you.”
“You have no idea,” said Charlie with a chuckle.
“They are going to apologize, right boys?” asked Harry.
“Sorry for cutting up your gun stock Mister Gray,” said Nick.
“Just ask me next time. I don’t have a problem with you two going above and beyond, but at least ask first,” said Charlie.
“Sorry sir,” said Nate as he looked around.
“Cindy’s not here,” said Charlie, knowing what or more specifically who he was looking for.
“She coming back this evening?” asked Nate.
“Nope,” said Charlie simply. “The cabin is open already.”
“Come on Nate, grab your crap,” said Nick as he grabbed his pack and headed towards the cabin.
“I was kinda hoping to meet her. Nate took to her I think,” said Harry.
“Yeah, that he did along with just about every other teenage boy that comes around,” said Charlie.
“Said she was a feisty one,” said Harry. “I think she might have punched Nate.”
“Oh?” asked Charlie.
“Came in a few days ago with a fat lip. Said something about getting hit by a piece of flying wood, but it’s a punch if I ever saw one,” said Harry.
“He say what it was about?” asked Charlie.
“No, he clammed up over it. But I figure if she had a good reason to go punching him in the face and he doesn’t want to talk about it, I’d let sleeping dogs lie,” said Harry.
“Mind if I ask?” asked Charlie.
“Go for it, but I doubt he’s going to tell you anything different,” said Harry. Nick and Nate came back and grabbed the remainder of their gear out of the back of the Expedition.
“Nate, hang back for a moment,” said Charlie as Nick carried his rifle case towards the cabin. “You get into it with Cindy last week?”
“Umm, no sir,” said Nate as he looked at the ground.
“You sure about that?” asked Charlie.
“Yes sir,” said Nate as he continued to look at the ground.
“Funny thing, you didn’t have a busted lip when I talked to you after I got done on the shooting range,” said Charlie.
“I was cleaning up and a piece of wood hit my mouth,” said Nate.
“And Cindy didn’t hit you?” asked Charlie.
“Umm, no sir,” said Nate.
“You aren’t lying to your daddy and me are you?” asked Charlie.
“No sir,” said Nate.
“Then why did Cindy have a busted hand?” asked Charlie.
“I don’t know,” said Nate.
“Go on and get your stuff stowed,” said Charlie.
“Figure he said something to set her off and she tagged him,” said Harry after Nate had walked away.
“Might have,” said Charlie, knowing the story didn’t add up.
“Good for her. Any girl that isn’t afraid to pop a boy in the mouth when he gets out of line is a good one,” said Harry.
“She’s a sassy one, that’s for certain,” said Charlie, remembering how sassy she was when she first arrived. But she had calmed herself down after the first couple of days.
“If you want, I can ask about it again after their hiking trip,” said Harry.
“Nah, he got a busted lip for it and he probably said something he shouldn’t have. Her hand got busted up as well, but that’s what happens when you connect it to a thick skull,” Charlie chuckled.
“And we weren’t any different. We both said and done some things that would have gotten our mouths busted,” he laughed in return.
“That we did,” laughed Charlie. “I figure let it go. He got what he deserved.”
“Well, I thank you for letting them stay the night,” said Harry.
“Which way are they heading?” asked Charlie.
“Heading up the mountain here and hooking up with the Appalachian Trail. Going south from there and I’m picking them up in Sam’s Gap in six days,” said Harry.
“Pretty rough country heading up the mountainside,” observed Charlie.
“They are young and full of energy,” said Harry. “They’ve been planning this for about six months and this is the last chance they have before school starts.”
“They have everything they need?” asked Charlie.
“Yeah, for the most part. They’ve used their hard earned money to buy their stuff and Susan and I pitched in a little as well. They were fairly responsible with their money for the most part. I personally don’t think they are carrying enough food, but they plan on doing a little squirrel hunting while out there,” said Harry.
“Out of season, they best not get caught,” said Charlie.
“Them two are pretty good woodsmen. They can hide and hunt with the best of them,” said Harry.
“I’ve got some extra camping food that’s close to expiring. I’ll hand it off to them,” said Charlie.
“I appreciate it. How much you want for it?” asked Harry.
“Don’t bother. It needs to get eaten anyway,” said Charlie.
“You’re a good man Charlie,” said Harry as he shook his hand. “If we need those two tonight we’ll give you a call.”
“Take care,” said Charlie as Harry departed. He went back into the basement and grabbed the freeze dried food that was close to expiring and tossed it into a box. Heading back out to the cabin, he saw they were busy repacking for the third time that day. The two surplus MOLLE desert packs were sitting half filled on the floor. They weren’t the best choice for a long distance hike, but would be sufficient for the trip as they could always call for help and a replacement if needed.
“No stupid! You carry the tent and I carry the poles!” objected Nate.
“I thought you were going to carry the whole tent and I was going to carry the cooking gear!” Nick exclaimed.
“No! We split it up!” objected Nate.
“That’s not the way we packed this morning!” objected Nick.
“What kind of cooking gear you boys have anyway?” asked Charlie.
“Mister Gray! We didn’t hear you come in!” exclaimed Nate as he jumped.
“I’m sneaky like that,” said Charlie.
“We’ve got our mess kits and a frying pan,” said Nick.
“Mind if I take a look?” asked Charlie as he set the box down. Nick handed over the GI surplus mess kit which had a black bottom from being cooked on over an open fire. While durable, it was heavy and took up a lot of room. “You boys want to borrow one of my kits?”
“We’ll be okay sir,” said Nick.
“I’ve got a couple of spare cooking kits,” said Charlie.
“Well, let’s at least take a look at what you’ve got,” said Nate. Charlie led them back to the basement where their eyes popped out of their heads at the amount of gear he had stashed away. Charlie let handed them over two aluminum sets of cookware and a titanium pot.
“What do we need a pot for?” asked Nick.
“I’ve got some camping food that you boys can have. It’s going to expire soon,” said Charlie.
“We’re planning on living off the land,” said Nate.
“I heard, but you always need to be prepared for the worst case. What happens if you can’t find any squirrels?” asked Charlie.
“Well…we’ve got our Daddy’s old Boy Scout Handbook with edible wild plants and stuff,” said Nick.
“Good reference to use. But just in case, it’s best to have a little extra,” said Charlie. “You boys can borrow that stuff and bring it back when you get done. I’ll hold on to your other until you get back.”
“We appreciate it Mister Gray,” said Nate as he looked over the pot and pan set. “It’s light!”
“Best thing for long distance hiking,” said Charlie.
“I didn’t know you were into hiking Mister Gray,” said Nick.
“I haven’t gone out on a long trek in a while now. Maybe I should,” said Charlie.
“Wouldn’t hurt,” said Nate. “Always good to get into the outdoors. Maybe you and Cindy could join us for a hike sometime.”
“Maybe,” said Charlie, not mentioning the fact she wasn’t around and wouldn’t ever be again.
“Well, we thank you kindly. Anything else?” asked Nick.
“Got enough ammo?” asked Charlie after he saw the two .22 rifles leaned up in the small living room of the cabin.
“We’ve both got about a hundred rounds,” said Nate.
“Should be plenty,” said Charlie. “You two need anything tonight, just bang on the door.”
“We’ll be leaving early, like around six or so,” said Nick.
“You boys going to eat before you go?” asked Charlie.
“We had planned on eating once we got on the trail,” said Nate.
“You two come on up to the house before you leave. No sense starting a long trip without eating first,” said Charlie.
“We wouldn’t want to impose,” said Nate.
“You two come up to the house at six. I’ll have breakfast ready,” ordered Charlie.
“Yes sir. If you’ll excuse us, we’ve got to go repack everything,” said Nick.
“Just leave the stuff you aren’t taking in the box I brought out. And take that food with you as well,” said Charlie.
“We will sir,” said Nate as they departed the basement, eyes still darting around looking at the items.
Charlie watched them depart before putting the extra boxes back up and tidying up in the basement. As he walked upstairs, he could hear the two arguing over something or other as they headed back to the cabin. He chuckled at the two brothers that argued continually, but still backed each other up no matter what.
The remainder of the evening Charlie spent looking at the computer screen and the open Word document. He would start a sentence from time to time and suddenly erase everything he put on the screen. He just couldn’t find what he wanted to convey and put down. Eventually he gave up and started looking through some of his preparedness sites and adding a few tidbits of information here and there and gaining knowledge in the process. At around ten, he finally called it a night and checked on the cabin before heading to bed. The lights were out and he assumed the twins were asleep already.
Charlie tossed and turned thinking about his situation and trying not to dwell on it too much. But the more he tried to ignore it, the most he thought about it. But he was determined not to fall into the same slump he had been in before and decided right then and there to do something about it. He needed something in his life that he could shoot for and made the decision to do something he had wanted to do all his life. He was going to through hike the Appalachian Trail come next spring. It gave him a goal to work towards and something to take his mind off his current troubles. It would mean an entire spring and quite a bit of the summer away from the farm and more importantly Erica, but in his state of mind, he needed to have something in his life to work towards and he hoped she would understand the idea. He fell asleep with the resolve to do something constructive with the feelings he had and do something out of the ordinary enough to divert his attention.
3:21 AM
Charlie was dead asleep when the doorbell rang. He wasn’t expecting anyone at this early in the morning and immediately became suspicious. But since he had the Jones twins staying the night in the cabin before they took off on their hiking trip he worried something might be wrong with them. He grabbed the pistol he had in the nightstand just in case, pulled on some sweat pants and a t-shirt and headed for the front door as the doorbell rang again. As he arrived at the front door, he pulled back the curtain slightly door and peeked out the window. It was dark and he couldn’t make out the figure and flipped on the light switch to the front porch. His jaw about hit the floor when he saw who it was and opened the door.
“Still need some help for harvest?” asked Cindy as she stood on his doorstep with her pack in her hands.
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