Second Chance:

[Grand58742]

I've hesitated to comment, want to make sure everyone has a chance to see that Grand has posted a new chapter.

You sir, have a gift! I check the site at LEAST 3 times a day to see if there's a new chapter! I try to be patient, but it is difficult when the story & writing are of this caliber.
Do you possible have older stories you could post that would feed our reading beasts? I'll try harder to be patient.

Please don't hesitate! Writers feed on comments, feedback and the criticism (constructive or otherwise).

And I have a few stories off site. My first and a sequel.

Thanks for the remarks. I really appreciate it.

[Grand58742]

CHAPTER 23



Steven Waters walked into the office as instructed and headed towards his supervisor

[Cimarron]

As level headed as Charlie seems to be, he's putting Cindy's name and the connection to him and his name in a news paper?! With pictures no less.
Those thugs in NY could do a search and easily find her.
It's killin me man, it's killin me lol

[eeyore]

The story has me on the edge of my seat also, i wish i would not have started reading it until you were finished, like the stories about the Ranch. Keep up the excellent work and i hope one day i run into those guys in NY

[Grand58742]

CHAPTER 24



Charlie finished up at the hardware store in downtown Erwin and headed out to Jonesborough to his “normal” gun shop. While he shopped around quite a bit for the best prices, he often came back to this place since they tended to have the best selection and were willing to work with you on prices. While he and Cindy chatted the entire way, especially over the fact they were going to the oldest town in Tennessee, she could still see the foul mood on his face the entire time. Not a worried look, but rather one of concentration and deep thoughts.

He promised to bring her back another day to let her fully explore the historical value of the town as well as promising to let her visit the President Andrew Johnson National Historic Site and the birthplace of Davy Crockett since she discovered the signs along the drive down. As they entered the older town, her eyes just about popped out of her head at the older buildings as she scanned back and forth on the short trip towards the downtown area. But the oldest buildings weren’t seen as he pulled onto a cross street and headed towards Highway 11E. After pulling out into traffic, he drive down about a mile and pulled in to a small commercial building.

“What are we doing here?” she asked.

“I got you new shoes on Saturday, I get to shop for myself today,” he said.

“You buying a gun?” she asked.

“Probably not, but if something catches my fancy I might,” he said.

“How much are guns anyway?” she asked.

“I’ll let you see,” he said and traveled up the older stairs connecting the upper stores with the ground level. It was a smaller shop, but it was stuffed to the gills with various amounts of firearms. Cindy had never seen that many firearms in one place before and her eyes popped out of her head.

“Is this like a militia store or something?!” she exclaimed.

“No, just a regular good old gun store,” he said. “Howdy.”

“Hey Charlie, been a while since you’ve been in here,” said the man behind the counter.

“Yeah, I’ve been busy with my farm and all,” he said and shook the man’s hand. “This is my niece Cindy.”

“Miss,” said the man with a nod.

“Hi,” she said and stared at the walls of various autoloading rifles and under the glass at the various pistols there.

“You got any more bulk ammo in?” asked Charlie.

“Sure did, second aisle,” said the man and nodded his head towards the right area.

“You going to be okay in here by yourself?” Charlie chuckled at her wide eyed appearance.

“Yeah,” said Cindy as she continued looking around.

“Charlie, you looking for anything in particular?” asked the man as he nodded to two customers leaving the store. “Come on back anytime.”

“Some .22 and some 5.45,” he said, looking through the boxes.

“The .22 is supposed to come in this week and we’re sold out right now. Maybe the Wal-Mart still has some. And I have five hundred round half cases of the commercial 5.45 right there next to your right foot and some surplus in the back,” said the man.

“What kind of surplus?” asked Charlie.

“Russian made,” said the man.

“What happened to JJ?” asked Charlie.

“He went out to grab lunch,” said the man.

“I’d take it out of his pay,” laughed Charlie. “We all know he just takes up a chair in here.”

“I can’t talk bad about my boss,” laughed the man.

“What kind of deal can you cut me on the Russian stuff here,” asked Charlie.

“Let’s see…listed as $135…I think I can go down to $125 for you,” said the man.

“And the surplus?” asked Charlie.

“Those are the corrosive primers, the ten-eighty cases…we can part with them for $175,” said the man.

“You know J&G Sales has them listed at $140,” said Charlie.

“Plus shipping and handling, how about $170?” asked the man.

“Okay, sold. Grab me a case,” said Charlie.

“Anything else?” he asked.

“I’ll just browse around for a moment,” said Charlie. The man disappeared into the back and came back out huffing slightly at the heavy case of ammo.

“Seem to remember these things being slightly lighter,” he laughed. “See anything you like miss?”

“I don’t know much about guns so I’d rather not handle them,” said Cindy, still looking around.

“Your Uncle Charlie hasn’t taught you to shoot yet?” he asked.

“I honestly haven’t asked,” said Cindy.

“Good skill to learn,” said the man.

“How come?” asked Cindy.

“Well, when you’re old enough, you should apply for a concealed carry permit. A pretty girl like you will have all sorts of bad men tripping over themselves trying to take advantage of you. A handgun could come in right handy to deter some of them from doing bad things,” said the man.

“Trust me, I know about bad men wanting to do bad things,” said Cindy.

“Otherwise, never hurts to know how to shoot around the house and home. You never know what happens in the dead of night,” said the man. The door opened and another man was seen coming back inside with a McDonalds bag. “I see you didn’t go to Subway.”

“Line was too long,” said the new man. “Hey Charlie, been a while.”

“Hey JJ, sure has,” said Charlie as he went over to greet the man.

“You find everything you’re looking for?” asked JJ.

“Oh yeah, getting my arm ripped off in the process,” laughed Charlie.

“You know you can’t find a better deal in the local area,” said JJ.

“I know, maybe I should open up my own gun store,” laughed Charlie.

“You’ve got your license, maybe you should,” laughed JJ.

“Nah, paperwork is a pain in the rear,” said Charlie as he stole one of the man’s fries.

“We’re going to have to charge you double. It’s a sin to steal a man’s fries!” exclaimed JJ.

“What’s the new one you have back there?” asked Charlie.

“That’s one of the Para-Ordnance AR versions. Just got some Gucci stuff set up on the rails,” said the other man.

“Haven’t seen them yet,” said Charlie. The other attendant went over and grabbed the rifle from the wall and handed it over. Charlie cleared it out and looked over it for several minutes, manipulating the actions and adjusting the stock.

“I saw an article on them,” he observed. “And I like this stock.”

“Pretty ingenious with an adjustable side folder,” said the man.

“No price tag; dare I ask?” asked Charlie.

“Going for two grand flat,” said JJ.

“Little expensive,” said Charlie.

“That one is already sold, just here on layaway,” said JJ.

“You get them very often?” asked Charlie.

“Not in particular, but it’s probably something we’ll carry at least one of,” said the man.

“Might have to look at one of those,” said Charlie.

“Well, your niece needs something,” laughed the man.

“Sorry, Cindy, this is JJ, we went to school together. JJ, this is Cindy,” said Charlie.

“Hi,” said Cindy in her traditional greeting.

“Didn’t know Charlie had a niece,” remarked JJ.

“We don’t talk about him at family reunions,” she laughed.

“Don’t blame you. I could tell a few stories about your uncle there,” laughed JJ.

“Well, much as I’d like to sit around and have you tell embarrassing stories to my niece, I think we’ll be good,” said Charlie as he plopped down another five hundred round case of imported 9mm ammo and a five hundred round case of the 5.45mm ammo.

“Doing some plinking?” asked JJ.

“Yeah, haven’t been able to roll my own like I should be doing,” said Charlie. “And I can’t reload this stuff anyway.”

“Takes a little time, but cheaper in the long run,” said JJ. The other man ran up the tally and took the cash from Charlie. He preferred to do his firearms and ammo transactions in cash when he could and had a special account set up for when he couldn’t. After receiving the change, he enlisted Cindy’s help in carrying down the ammo and opening the door. He said goodbye to the man and walked out the door.

“Bullets are heavy!” she said as she walked with the half case of rifle ammo.

“And I thought you were going to work out,” observed Charlie.

“Well, I do,” said Cindy.

“You should start with my cases of .308, they are pretty hefty,” laughed Charlie.

“We going to eat soon?” asked Cindy as they arrived at the truck.

“Hungry?” he asked.

“Perpetually,” said Cindy.

“Have to check you for a tape worm,” he laughed and put the cases inside the box at the back of his truck. “We’ll grab something on the way in.”

“Okay,” she said and hooped into the passenger seat. “Why do they have so many guns?”

“Because they sell good. They have a good selection and the prices are good,” said Charlie.

“That one you looked at was two thousand dollars!” she exclaimed.

“Cheap at the price,” said Charlie.

“You could use that for a down payment on a car!” she exclaimed.

“But a car won’t keep you alive when you’re attacked,” said Charlie.

“I guess not,” she said as they took the other route back in by going through Johnson City.

“You still want to learn to shoot?” he asked.

“Maybe,” she said.

“I’m going to be shooting a little this afternoon,” he said.

“Maybe I’ll just watch, is that okay?” she asked.

“I think we can do that,” said Charlie. After pulling through Johnson City, they stopped at a Burger King and grabbed lunch before heading on home. When they arrived, they found Charlie’s helper busy getting the truck loaded. “Greg, appreciate this.”

“No problem, the driver would have waited, but he has another pickup,” said the man named Greg and wearing a Michigan Wolverines T-Shirt.

“What did you do with that Tennessee shirt I got you for Christmas?” laughed Charlie.

“Had the wife use it for a cleaning rag. About all the good that orange will do except keep you from getting shot in hunting season,” laughed the man.

“Or picking up garbage alongside the road,” Charlie laughed.

“Hi Greg,” said Cindy who had met the man in passing before.

“Hi Cindy, your Uncle keeping you busy?” he asked.

“Child labor! Making me carry this heavy stuff!” she grunted as she picked up the box of ammo. “Where’s it going?”

“Downstairs to the basement. Just leave it upstairs for now and go eat,” he instructed.

“The sheriff stopped by about a half an hour ago, said he was going to be back any time now,” said Greg.

“You want to finish out the truck and head on home?” asked Charlie.

“Yeah, no classes today so I can do that,” said Greg.

“Where are the rest of the kids at?” asked Charlie.

“Mostly down in the corn patch except the Jones brothers. They are busy splitting up your firewood,” said Greg.

“How come?” asked Charlie.

“Dunno, they said something about helping the girl out. Think they meant your niece,” said Greg.

“Bet they did,” said Charlie. “I hope they didn’t go after that piece of walnut I had out there,” said Charlie.

“Don’t know if they did, but I saw them carrying a bow saw out,” said Greg.

“Let me go check on them,” said Charlie with a sigh. And sure enough, they had cut up a piece of walnut he was looking at making a rifle stock out of. It was intended to be used for the rifle Karl had suggested and was sitting outside to season a little more. “You boys cut up that piece of walnut?”

“Sure did Mister Gray! Cut and stacked!” said Nick Jones.

“You realize I was going to use that for a rifle stock?” asked Charlie.

“Umm, you were going to what?” asked Nate.

“It was seasoning outside in the sun before I was going to move it inside,” said Charlie.

“I’m sorry sir, we were just trying to help,” said Nick.

“Why don’t you head on over to the corn patch and help them out,” suggested Charlie.

“We just didn’t want Cindy to hurt herself out here,’ said Nate.

“She can take care of herself,” said Charlie.

“We didn’t know sir,” said Nick.

“I know, head on over to the corn patch,” said Charlie with a sigh knowing he would have to find another piece of walnut to replace the one they had cut up for firewood. And the further seasoning time and the correct shape…lots of details. Charlie headed back to the house as Greg was finishing up with the truck driver.

“Let me guess, cut up to stove length?” he asked with half a smile.

“They are trying to impress Cindy, but failing miserably at impressing me,” said Charlie.

“Boys tend to do that with girls they like,” said Greg. “I’ll be heading off now if that’s okay.”

“Yeah, go ahead,” said Charlie as he pulled out the cash to pay the man for his work.

“What’s this for?” asked Greg, looking at the additional money.

“You’ve got your son’s birthday coming up. Get him a toy or something from me,” said Charlie.

“Oh, well thanks Charlie. Just give me a call if you need any more help,” said Greg as he departed. Charlie went inside the house to find Cindy finishing up on her lunch.

“Something happen?” she asked.

“Yeah, the Jones twins are trying to impress you again,” said Cindy.

“What did they do now?” she asked.

“Cut up a piece of walnut I was saving for a rifle blank,” said Charlie.

“Want me to go beat them up?” asked Cindy.

“Nah, not worth breaking your knuckles on their thick skulls,” he chuckled and sat down to eat.

“Got anything for me to do?” she asked.

“Nothing for the moment,” he said.

“Mind if I get on the computer?” she asked.

“Surely,” he said and started eating the now cold burger. He popped it into the microwave for a moment and heated it back up. But no matter what, he couldn’t reheat the fries and ended up tossing them into the garbage. He hated reheated fries with a passion and substituted them for regular chips. He wandered back into the living room to find her looking up some math equations.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Studying some math,” she answered and made an annotation on a notepad.

“Really?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’ve got a few years of learning to catch up on,” said Cindy. “I’ve been working at it for a while in my spare time.”

“Oh,” was all he had to say about it.

“I like learning, remember?” she asked. “Although math is kinda hard.”

“Suppose you did say that,” he said and went back to eating. A honk was heard from the front of the house and he saw Mitch had arrived. He finished off the rest of the burger quickly and met the sheriff on the front porch.

“Charlie,” said Mitch as he walked up.

“Mitch, give me the bad news,” said Charlie who knew it couldn’t be good.

Mitch handed over a couple of pieces of paper for Charlie to read, a copy of the e-mail sent by New York in reference to Cindy. Charlie took them and started reading, his lips turning into a frown and his face getting darker with each line.

“This has enough crap in it to fertilize my entire farm for ten years!” he exclaimed when he finished reading.

“I know and it’s contrary to everything we are being told here,” said Mitch.

“So what? We are just supposed to pack her up and send her right back to the same situation she was in before?!” demanded Charlie.

“You always knew she was going to be leaving Charlie, don’t let this get personal,” said Mitch.

“Screw personal Mitch! I’ve got a vested interest here!” growled Charlie.

“We all do Charlie, which is why I went ahead and set up another appointment with a counselor. A different one. We can include the additional reports when we send her back and hopefully it gets their attention enough to hold off on reuniting her with her family until they do more investigating,” said Mitch.

“So I’m out another couple hundred bucks and she goes right back into the same environment she escaped from?” demanded Charlie.

“Charlie, you’re like my brother, but you got too wrapped up in this,” said Mitch.

“Mitch, you know as well as I do what’s going to happen,” said Charlie forcefully.

“I told the State Patrol you weren’t to be any problem. Are you going to have a problem with this?” asked Mitch directly.

“I have a problem with this Mitch!” Charlie exclaimed while popping the papers against his hand.

“I know and so do I, but we have to let the investigators do as they will. As soon as they start interviewing her, I can flat guarantee you they will change that story,” said Mitch.

“Then have them come here!” exclaimed Charlie.

“Don’t make this a big issue Charlie. I know how you feel, but if we have to, the State will come in and remove her from this home,” said Mitch.

“Are you threatening me?” demanded Charlie.

“No, I’m just telling you what IS going to happen if you keep going along this line,” said Mitch as he crossed his arms. He never had Charlie this upset before and didn’t know quite what to do with him right then.

Charlie walked off a few steps, breathing heavily. Mitch could see he was thinking everything through the logical conclusion and he didn’t like the outcome. While he and Charlie were lifelong friends, he still had to uphold the law and in this case, their friendship would stop at the paved road outside his property.

“There isn’t any way around this?” asked Charlie a little calmer, but with his back still turned.

“They didn’t give us a date to have her up there,” said Mitch. “That’s something.”

“It’s nothing Mitch and you know it. As soon as she is reintroduced into that home, she will be abused again. Maybe not physically, but psychologically,” said Charlie reasonably.

Mitch let out a long sigh before responding. “Charlie, I know how you feel, I really do. But let’s face it, you knew from the start this was only going to be a temporary thing.”

“I know and that’s the only reason I’m still here talking to you about it,” said Charlie.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” said Mitch with a slight plea in his voice.

“No, I wouldn’t,” said Charlie. “Not because of me, but what it could do to her.”

“Don’t do it for you as well Charlie. I want to keep you out of jail,” said Mitch with a slight chuckle.

“I can’t laugh right now, I hope you understand,” said Charlie.

“Yeah, I understand,” said Mitch.

“I just can’t believe I’ve got so much invested in her to see her leave,” said Charlie. “And not only that, but under circumstances that are shady at best.”

“Again, you know it was going to happen eventually,” said Mitch. “There could be a good reason she is heading back. Could be God’s will and all.”

“He has a funny way of showing us what we need to do sometimes,” said Charlie.

“Have a little faith. I’ve got this gut feeling it will work out for us in the long run,” said Mitch.

“How’s that?” asked Charlie.

“I don’t know, just a feeling I get,” said Mitch.

“I hope you’re right,” said Charlie, still looking out at the open field to the front of the house and not at his friend.

“What are you going to do now?” asked Mitch.

[Grand58742]

CHAPTER 24 CONTINUED

[Grand58742]

CHAPTER 25



“Well?” asked Kurt.

“Report will be ready tomorrow,” said Waters.

“And the girl?” asked Kurt.

“I’ll send a message on to Tennessee to work out the transportation arrangements,” said Waters.

“Simple as that?” asked Kurt.

“Doesn’t have to be complicated,” said Waters.

“Suppose not,” said Kurt who wanted to ask about the money again, but decided not to. He had stashed the money in the crawlspace of his garage and had not informed his wife about it yet. He would wait until the opportune time to discuss the matter with her, but had left a letter for her just in case something happened to him along the way.

“Do we want to go get her or have the Tennessee folks bring her up?” asked Waters.

“Whichever is cheaper. If Tennessee volunteers to bring her up, don’t argue with it,” said Kurt.

“We’ll probably have to go get her,” said Waters.

“If that’s the case, you can go get her,” said Kurt. “Take a little vacation.”

“If you insist,” said Waters, who acted like nothing had happened the previous week.

“Just get the case closed,” said Kurt.

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

“Well, you’re semi famous,” said Charlie.

“How am I semi famous?” asked Cindy.

“Well, Cindy Grant isn’t a hometown hero, but Cindy Gray happens to be,” said Charlie.

“What?” she asked, peeking over at the newspaper as they walked through the grocery store. As she read through the article, she noticed the mistake on her name. “What’s that all about?”

“I’ll call and ask to fix your name if you want,” he said.

“Nah, not a big deal,” said Cindy.

“Well it is. You might like to point to your children someday and say ‘look, mom was a hero once.’ It’s important to get the name right,” said Charlie.

“It’s not a pressing issue,” she said.

“I’ll give him a call about it,” said Charlie.

“At least it’s a good picture,” said Cindy, looking over the article.

“I can buy you a copy from the paper if you want,” he said.

“I’d like that,” she remarked after thinking about it for a split second.

“When we get back home, I’ll look them up on their website,” he said.

“I’m on the internet? Way cool!” she remarked. “Maybe I’ll get my own website of ‘who loves Cindy dot com.’ Or something just as cool.”

“I’m afraid it might die from lack of hits,” laughed Charlie.

“Hey! I know at least three people like me!” she objected.

“Oh really? Who?” he asked.

“Toby, Nate Jones and Erica,” she replied with her nose in the air.

“You sure about that?” he asked with a grin.

“Maybe even you as well!” she grinned back at him.

“Nah, I’d say mean things in your comments section,” he said.

“There’s nothing you could say about me that’s mean!” she objected. “I’m an angel!”

“Something like that,” he said and checked his messages as his phone beeped at him. He had one from Erica saying little more than “hiya” and “how R U” but his spirits were lifted once he saw who it was from. He typed out a quick reply and sent it back to her.

“From a nice doctor we both know?” asked Cindy.

“Nosey!” exclaimed Charlie with a grin. They continued through the grocery store before Cindy turned back to him.

“I was thinking we could do a shrimp alfredo night once again,” said Cindy.

“That sounds really good,” said Charlie. “Want to grab the items to make it with?”

“Sure!” said Cindy as she bounced off in the store to collect the items to make the supper with. She also had alternate motives, but didn’t tell Charlie. Collecting the items, she came back and dumped them into the shopping cart and they went to the front and paid.

After arriving home and storing away the items they picked up (to include rotating the canned goods downstairs) she heard him drop his items into the basket in the hallway and went into his study. She snuck behind him and pulled the cell phone off the charger and went out back to make a quick call. Searching through the numbers stored, she finally found the one she was looking for.

“Hi…no it’s Cindy…no, he’s doing something in the study…no, everything’s great actually…we were doing an Italian night tomorrow and he wondered if you wanted to come along…say tomorrow at six…no, nothing formal…okay, see you then…bye,” said Cindy as she ended the call and was able to replace the phone. He was still in the study cleaning his pistol once again.

“Why do you clean it so much?” she asked.

“Well, you need to clean it three times after firing to get all the carbon off. Plus, once a month or so just for good measure,” he informed her.

“It gets that dirty?” she asked.

“Sometimes, depending on the ammo. I was shooting some cheaper stuff out of this last time and it makes quite a mess,” said Charlie.

“Need some help?” she asked.

“Your hand is still healing,” he remarked and looked over her knuckles once again as he did frequently.

“I’m not sore anymore,” she said.

“No, I’ve almost got it finished,” he said.

“You just telling me that because you don’t want my help?” she asked.

“No, because I want your hand to heal. The bruises aren’t a good thing,” said Charlie.

“They aren’t that noticeable,” said Cindy.

“Too much for my tastes,” he said and finished up before oiling the rails and putting the pistol back together.

“Why do you have so many guns?” she asked.

“Because I like shooting,” he replied.

“But you haven’t done it that much,” she observed.

“I typically don’t in the summer since the farm keeps me a little busy,” he said.

“You never did teach me to shoot,” she said.

“I didn’t and I can’t now on account of your hand,” he said.

“It will be fine!” she exclaimed.

“I know! With proper rest and not injuring it further it will be fine!” he exclaimed in the same voice she used.

“So if I’m healed by the time I leave, will you let me go shooting with you?” she asked.

“I suppose I could,” he said.

“No magical southern potion that will heal my hand faster,” she asked.

“Actually, there is,” he said and took a break from loading the magazines. He walked out and took a book off the shelf after looking through the collection. He flipped the pages until it appeared he found the area he was looking for. “Here it is. Southern recipe for mending a busted hand. One: rest. Two: more rest. Three: do nothing to aggravate it further. Four: don’t argue with the adult about it.”

“You sure it says all that?” she asked with a tone.

“Read the book and find out,” he said and put it back.

“You know I would,” said Cindy.

“Gives your hand plenty of time to heal while you are reading it,” he said and went back to load the final magazine.

“You’re mean,” she said.

“You like that quality in me,” he said.

“I suppose so,” she said. “So I can’t help?”

“You’re cooking your alfredo aren’t you?” he asked.

“No, not until tomorrow,” she said.

“Why then? Why not tonight?” he asked.

“Well, it’s Friday. I was thinking we might do it tomorrow and rent some movies or something,” she remarked.

“Well, that sounds okay,” he said.

“Maybe even get you to watch a girlie movie,” she remarked.

“Speaking of which, you know Erica turned down the movie you picked out,” he said.

“She did?” asked Cindy.

“Yeah, wanted a blood, guts and glory action movie instead,” he chuckled.

“Sounds like your kind of girl,” said Cindy. “If she likes guns, you’re all set.”

“We’ve been out on one date and you think we’re ready to get married!” he exclaimed and he started to unload the Sig-Sauer to clean and put it back in the safe.

“Can I be the flower girl?” she asked with a twinkle.

“You’re too old for that,” he said dryly.

“Bridesmaid then?” she asked with her cheesy grin.

“You’re no angel. You’re Satan disguised to torment me,” he said and took apart the next pistol.

“So since you are cleaning a different pistol, can I help?” she asked.

“You know what you’re doing?” he asked.

“I’m sure I have a good teacher to show me,” she said.

After disassembling the pistol, he handed her over the barrel and the cleaning supplies. “It’s not going to need a lot since I’ve not been shooting it lately.”

“What’s this thing?” she asked, holing up the rope looking thing.

“That’s a Boresnake. Once you get the outside completed, I’ll show you how it works,” he said.

“And the outside?” she asked.

“Use the brush and a little bit of that window cleaner. Scrub it down and then wipe it dry,” he said.

She went to work on the barrel, cleaning it as instructed as he got the frame and slide. She finished up before him and he showed her how the Boresnake worked. She ran it through three times from each side before pronouncing it complete. He gave her the spring and guide to get completed as well and she finished up those just as he was finishing up the slide. He oiled the rails and put the pistol back together before cycling the actions several times and function checking the weapon. Once he was satisfied, he put it back in the safe and locked it up.

“I’m hungry,” she stated.

“Already?” he asked.

“It’s five o’clock,” she said.

“Supper isn’t for another hour,” he remarked.

“I know,” she said.

“Want to go out and eat?” he asked.

“Sure, where at?” she asked.

“I don’t know. Where do you want?” he asked.

“Well, depending on the place, I’ll have to wash the gun oil off my hands,” she said.

“I might not. That’s a pretty attractive scent you know. Might even have a bunch of boys asking you on a date for that,” he chuckled.

“Yeah, like that’s going to happen,” she said.

“Trust me, as pretty as you are combined with liking the outdoors, your feisty attitude and the hint of gun oil, the boys will be following you around like crazy,” he laughed.

“My feisty attitude?” she asked.

“Drives men up the wall. Couldn’t tell you why, but it does,” he laughed.

“Personal experience?” she asked.

“Well, yeah,” he laughed. “Annie was a feisty one.”

“And Doctor Chase?” asked Cindy. “I’m just asking.”

“No, she’s different from Annie. I don’t know if she has a feisty streak or not,” he replied.

“Well, time will tell,” said Cindy.

“Maybe,” he said. “Go ahead and get cleaned up. We’ll figure out what’s for dinner while we head over.”

“No gun oil perfume?” she laughed.

“Not unless you want the raging horde of boys following you around,” he laughed.

“I’ll pass,” she said and bounced upstairs. Charlie was amazed the subject of her going home hadn’t come up at all since they first talked about it. He wasn’t sure if she was resigned to the fact she was heading home or the subject just bothered her that much. But both the appointments with the two different counselors said the same thing, she wasn’t making any of the story up. And Charlie knew there had to be more behind the scenes than was being let on in New York. But with no proof, he had to go with what the investigators were saying at the moment.

But a part of him still wanted to charge off to New York to see for himself. He still wanted to go and ask the demanding questions to the investigator and to the father himself. But he made a promise to Mitch he wouldn’t do anything rash right then and would wait and see what was going to happen. While he was being somewhat emotional about it, he was also being rational and would wait and see what else was being said before doing anything stupid.

But one thing Charlie knew for certain was the fact if anything went majorly wrong in New York and Cindy called for help, he would be there as quick as possible and deal with the problems. He knew he wouldn’t worry about the consequences and would certainly go to jail trying to help her.

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

“When?” asked Mohammed Hassan.

“I’ll send off the message tomorrow and probably by early next week,” said Stephen Waters.

“Why did it take so long?” asked the Imam.

“You want things done correctly and without any questions? This had to go for at least two weeks. And plus my follow up reports with the family so I’ll have to be back at least once or twice for a check. In order to make the story stick, we have to have some time involved,” said Waters.

“As long as she comes back to her family,” said the Imam.

“And how will she be reunited with us?” asked Hassan.

“Probably in a neutral location like my office. Maybe bring along your wife to show solidarity,” said Waters.

“I would prefer it just be me,” said Hassan.

“Trust me, bring the wife. It shows the entire family is concerned. Maybe even your other kids as well, but that’s fairly theatrical,” said Waters.

“When?” asked Hassan.

“I’ll give you a call after she gets to New York,” said Waters.

“What will you say to her?” asked the Imam. “I mean, what will you tell her of her concerns.”

“The same thing I put in the report. And duly take her statement on the matter as well,” said Waters.

“And if she raises additional concerns?” asked the Imam.

“They will be addressed the same way I’m dealing with this,” said Waters.

“Anything else?” asked the Imam.

“No, do you have anything for me?” asked Waters.

“Just to keep up your end of the bargain,” said the Imam.

Waters stood and left without saying anything else. His report in the matter was already complete and would be signed the next day. He would call the Tennessee State Patrol office and deal with them directly on the issue. And for some odd reason, the Tennessee Child Services hadn’t been involved. Or if they had, the involvement was kept at a low level and the matter was put in the hands of the police. But such things didn’t concern him right then as he didn’t really care whether the other Child Services were involved. He just knew he needed to keep his mouth shut and make sure his report was bulletproof enough to pass muster.

As they watched him walk towards his vehicle, the Imam turned to Hassan.

“I know you have a hard time dealing with him,” he said.

“Yes, I would like to mash him into a pulp,” said Hassan.

“Patience,” said the Imam and looked at Abdul Ali.

“An accident for one at the least. Ideally we would like to recover the money given to him as it’s quite the sum. And frankly, the supervisor might concern us. He is a man of morals and principles,” said Abdul.

“And?” asked the Imam.

“He would be the first to blow the whistle if it came down to it,” said Abdul.

“An accident for both would seem too…what’s the word I’m looking for?” asked Hassan.

“Convenient?” asked Abdul.

“Yes, I think so; especially this close to the investigation,” said the Imam.

“At least one instead of both,” said Abdul. “And we still have that evidence over our dog’s head.”

“Patience,” said the Imam.

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

“Can we stop in here right quickly?” asked Cindy as they passed an electronics store.

“Sure…why?” he asked.

“Maybe to look at movies and such. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to browse through the movies,” she said.

“Okay, no problems there,” he said and pulled into the store. They went inside and headed towards the movie section and more or less parted ways with each looking for something different. After he was engrossed in finding something he liked, she snuck away and started looking for the item she was really after. She finally found it and saw the price was within reason as she still had a little left over from her “traveling expenses.” She paid for the item quickly before heading back towards the movie section and finding Charlie.

“Find anything you like?” he asked.

“Nah, just browsing around,” she lied.

“I think I’ll grab something for tomorrow. Want to help pick it out?” he asked.

“Sure!” she said and actually got down to looking at the movies. They finally agreed on one and went to the front to pay for it. Cindy hoped the little electronic thing in the pack of the item in her rain jacket wouldn’t set the alarms off as they left the store. But after departing, she found her fears were unfounded. She had been thinking of her situation over the past few days and had come to the decision she lacked any kind of evidence of wrongdoing save the bruises on her back. And strangely enough, the investigators must have dismissed that in its entirely. So this time she would be prepared and have more proof of wrongdoing. This time she wouldn’t just have one side of the story, but more compounding evidence to get someone involved. She hoped she wouldn’t have to use it, but would make sure the evidence this time was enough to get more people involved and help her family out.

After they got home and before she went to bed, she tested the device and found it worked as advertised. She followed the instructions in the package and found it simple to install and the attachment worked like a charm. This time, she would be ready. But little did she know of the forces that were at work against her. She had no idea of the plans cooked up by Waters to negate any of her testimony and the fact her name had already been marred enough by her own father to where any additional testimony would fall on deaf ears. Cindy was unaware of the cruel nature of this world and how it would affect her in ways yet unseen.

Sometimes cruel lessons are learned in life and Cindy would be taught one the hard way.

[Grand58742]

CHAPTER 26



“And travel arrangements?” asked Steven Waters as he finished up the phone conversation.

“Depends,” said Captain Parker.

“On?” asked Waters.

“Are you all willing to come pick her up?” asked Parker.

“Either way. We are kind of swamped here and could use a little assistance,” said Waters.

“We’ll send her up with a State Trooper,” said Parker.

“Flying or driving?” asked Waters.

“Probably driving. Cheaper that way. And we will be reimbursed?” asked Parker.

“Oh certainly. We can give your trooper directions on how to fill out the travel voucher when she gets here…you are sending her with a female right?” asked Waters.

“Yes, we can do that,” said Parker.

“Okay, I’ll e-mail you the directions to our office and some hotels that offer discounts to visiting State Officials,” said Waters.

“We’ll probably wait until Monday. Our female trooper has this weekend off and can charge overtime if she gets called in,” said Parker.

“Yeah, overtime pay can get steep,” laughed Waters. “Just shoot me an e-mail on Monday to let us know the timeline.”

“Will do,” said Parker and hung up the phone. He was confused at the phone call. He was expecting a complete horse’s rear end after reading the e-mail from Stephen Waters, but had found the man fairly affable from the phone conversation. Parker refrained from asking the pointed questions about the investigation and would leave that to Sarah instead. He was certain she would be asking some fairly direct questions of her own after getting there and wouldn’t leave until she got the answers she was looking for. And Parker knew she was stubborn enough to get answers. He called her into his office.

“Sir?” she asked after knocking lightly on his door.

“Monday you are taking Cindy back to New York. Take the unmarked and plan on a two day trip,” he informed her.

“Want me to talk to Charlie about it?” asked Sarah.

“If you don’t mind. How was his reaction?” asked Parker.

“Mitch said he wasn’t happy about the e-mail. What was that snake like on the phone anyhow?” she asked.

“How did you know I talked to him?” asked Parker.

“I didn’t, just guessed he would have been the one to call,” said Sarah.

“Screening my calls again?” asked Parker with a slight grin.

“Okay, the secretary told me you had a call from an Agent Waters in New York,” Sarah admitted.

“He wasn’t what I was expecting,” said Parker.

“Is that good or bad?” asked Sarah.

“I was kind of expecting to be able to see his tail, horns and hoofs over the phone, but he seemed like a decent guy. Kind of affable,” said Parker.

“Yeah, decent enough to call a fifteen year old girl a liar,” grumped Sarah.

“Again, we are not getting personally involved. But I have this notion in my head you are going to be demanding answers to questions when you get up there. So I’ll leave you with one piece of advice: do not, and I repeat not, get into a confrontation with anyone up there. I cannot help you if you are sitting in a jail in upstate New York if you get into it with a State Agent. And you certainly will not help Cindy by doing anything rash,” said Parker.

“I’ll be on my best behavior, I promise. But yes, I will be asking some pointed questions,” she confirmed.

“Do so with tact please Sarah. Don’t let your personal feelings come out about this,” urged Parker.

“I have tact!” she objected.

“Yeah, just like my wife,” he chuckled.

“I love your wife to death, but she is a little direct,” said Sarah.

“She was just like you at your age,” he said.

“This is why you put up with me?” she chuckled.

“No, because you are a good cop. Just remember to separate personal life from the job and you’ll do fine,” said Parker.

“And when are we allowed to have personal feelings?” she asked.

“When you are retired or dead,” he said. “Take the rest of the day off and head on home. Check in on Monday before you leave.”

“Okay, see you on Monday,” said Sarah as she grabbed her things and headed out of the office. She wasn’t very happy with the situation as it stood and certainly wasn’t happy knowing the agent in question was “affable.” She saw him as a barrier to having Cindy get real results from an investigation. And knowing such, he was the enemy. She sent Mitch a quick text letting him know she was on the way home. Hopefully he would be able to get away from the office to spend some time with her before she left. Sarah had moved the previous week into his house and was busy planning their wedding. Mitch honestly had no idea of how to plan a wedding and was hopelessly lost when she asked his opinion on the ideas. His typically answer was “looks great” or “that’s nice” to everything she proposed. It wasn’t that he was dodging the questions, it was the fact he really didn’t know what flowers were appropriate and which ones weren’t. Her girlfriends helped out as well so she wasn’t entirely burdened with planning everything out.

As she drove towards Erwin, her mood became darker knowing that poor girl was heading back into a situation she didn’t deserve to be in. And the Captain was right; she would be asking some pretty serious questions about the conduct of the investigation once she arrived in New York. She wouldn’t accept any half answers before releasing Cindy from the premier Tennessee law enforcement agency into their custody.

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

Charlie and Cindy were out on the porch taking a break and enjoying the cooler day when a truck pulled in. Charlie didn’t immediately recognize it until it got closer. He saw who was driving and immediately went on guard.

“Looks like Jeff Tilson,” said Charlie.

“Who is Jeff Tilson?” asked Cindy.

“Nobody I care for you to meet. Go on in the house,” said Charlie as he stood up. Cindy went into the house as instructed, but watched from inside. Jeff Tilson coming around could mean a lot of things, typically none of them good.

“Afternoon Charlie,” said Jeff as he got out of his truck.

“Jeff,” said Charlie with a nod of his head. “What brings you around here?”

“Well, came by to see if you had any fresh eggs I could buy from you,” said Jeff.

“I do,” said Charlie. “How many?”

“Figure a dozen would do it. My Grandma wanted some fresh ones. Just don’t like the taste of store bought,” said Jeff.

“How’s your Grandma doing these days?” asked Charlie, being somewhat social.

“Oh, same as always, still ornery as the dickens, but doing okay,” said Jeff.

“Thought she had her own chickens,” said Charlie.

“Used to, but she’s getting some age on her and can’t tend to ‘em like she used to be able to. But still loves the taste of a fresh egg in the morning,” he answered.

“Jeff, there’s probably a dozen people between the south end of the county and my place you coulda asked for fresh eggs. What are you really doing here?” asked Charlie pointedly.

“I can’t stop by and be social?” he asked with a grin.

Charlie’s face turned into a frown and he cocked his head slightly while raising his eyebrows. “What do you want Jeff?”

“Cut to the chase then. You mind if I have a seat? Just ‘cause we might not agree on everything don’t mean you have to be unfriendly ‘bout me being ‘round here,” said Jeff.

Charlie sighed and nodded with his head, wondering if it was a good idea or not. “Come on up and have a glass of tea.”

“I ain’t here to cause trouble, I promise. But my visit is more than just social. It’s business,” said Jeff as he walked up the steps.

“I hope you understand I don’t trust you as far as I could throw you,” said Charlie.

“Well, can’t say I blame you,” said Jeff, grabbing a glass, some ice and poured in the tea. He grabbed one of the porch seats and took a sip. “Brewed today?”

“Yeah, Cindy’s first batch from this morning,” said Charlie.

“Not bad, but needs more sugar,” observed Jeff.

“Took me a while just to get her to put it in,” chuckled Charlie. “So besides some eggs and general chit chat, what led you to my doorstep today?”

“I understand you got some problems,” said Jeff.

“Don’t everyone these days?” asked Charlie.

“Well, understand yours are a little different than everyone else’s,” said Jeff.

“Jeff, if you know I have problems, I also hope you can appreciate how paranoid I am about them. You best start talking and telling me what I want to hear,” said Charlie.

“Alright, got a visit from the Sheriff some time back, threw a hypothetical situation at me about needing some of my assistance. Needed an untraceable cell phone. So in my civic duties, I assisted the good Sheriff, but not without an explanation. Seems he told me there might have been a problem with a little girl being sent back to be married to some Muslim or some such nonsense. Little thing, ‘bout fifteen or so and certainly not of the marrying age. It did kind of hit a tender spot as my daughter is about that same age. Didn’t think much about it until he came calling again a few days later, told me to keep my mouth shut ‘bout it. So he and I agreed but I let him know if he needed help to come find me.”

“So the other day I saw you in the Whites with a young girl, maybe fifteen or sixteen. Now I know for a fact you ain’t got any kin that you know of and Annie didn’t have any either. Might have been your cousin or a friend for all I knew, but I’m pretty smart and figured out you and the Sheriff had been talking. I mean, you two have been friends since the day you met and if would be natural for you to bring a problem like that to his attention, especially one of that kind of magnitude. Now for the life of me I can’t understand why he might want to keep it a secret, but I could understand the paranoia behind having her around,” said Jeff.

“Jeff, you ain’t helping my paranoia at all,” said Charlie.

“I’m getting there…anyway, again, I’ve got one ‘bout her age and I know how I’d feel ‘bout the whole situation if I had it happening to me. I’d be out ‘bout right now digging a hole in the back forty and making sure I had a real good alibi. But that’s just me being me, you know. Plus, I’ve got a patriotic sense and all as well. Don’t care for those kinds, never have and never will. Don’t know if you knew it or not, but my cousin was killed over in Afghanistan during the war. So to say I’ve got a personal bone to pick with some of ‘em would be an understatement,” said Jeff.

“Which involves me how?” asked Charlie. He knew Jeff was the distant cousin of a local man killed in Afghanistan, but in East Tennessee it didn’t matter; family was family no matter if it was your brother or twelfth cousin.

“Just letting you know if you ever need some help, you give me a call. I figured the Sheriff hadn’t mentioned that little fact to you. Now I know the Sheriff…Mitch’s a good guy and all. I don’t care for the law, but he’s at least honest when many of them ain’t. So I respect him for that. You might say we agree to disagree. But anyway, Mitch’s got to do things official like and you and I both know that ain’t the way to do things from time to time. Sometimes these things need to be taken care of…quiet like,” said Jeff.

“I hope you understand, I can’t just call you to make my problems go away,” said Charlie. “I’m not even sure what the problems are for certain.”

“No, I understand, even if it’s just a couple of boys to watch over your place, we’ll help,” said Jeff.

“I’ll remember that…but why?” asked Charlie.

“Like I said, got a bone to pick with a few of them. Also with a daughter that age, you know?” asked Jeff.

“I ain’t asking for anything illegal, but if I need help, I’ll give you a call,” said Charlie.

“Just letting you know I’m available,” said Jeff. “Along with my family if you need it.”

“Why come to me? Why not go to Mitch?” asked Charlie.

“Well, first off, if I’m seen with the Sheriff, might give some folks the wrong idea you know. And again, Mitch’s got to do things the legal way. Then there’s my way of doing business. We have our way, he has his and they tend not to go together too well,” said Jeff.

“Jeff, I’m not sure I can follow you on this path,” said Charlie, knowing he wouldn’t want to get others involved in cases he might have to take care of himself.

“Charlie, you’ve lived in this place your whole life. I remember when you used to be far worse than I ever thought of being. Well, maybe not, but you ain’t no angel. Best you remember we have the country way of dealing with some of our problems out here,” said Jeff.

“I’ve changed and you know that,” said Charlie.

“Yeah, Annie, God rest her soul, got your life on track. I just wanted to let you know you ain’t got to do some of the things like that, there’s always others that will do that,” said Jeff.

“I’ll bear that in mind,” said Charlie.

“So you need anything, you give me a holler,” said Jeff.

“You know I’ll probably tell Mitch ‘bout this conversation,” said Charlie, hoping Jeff would back off his stance.

“Reckon I might as well if I was in your shoes. It’s the proper thing to do,” said Jeff. “Not every day you get the chance to help someone out in a situation like this.”

“You tell anyone else?” asked Charlie.

“Laws no! I tell some of my kin ‘bout this and they’d be off forming their own lynch mob,” laughed Jeff. “I can keep a secret.”

“Best if you did. Things can get downright ugly with those sorts of people. Plus, we don’t like what we’re hearing out of the State,” said Charlie.

“And that is?” asked Jeff.

“New York claims there isn’t anything going on. But she’s been interviewed three times here and each time the psychologists say the same thing; it’s not being made up. But I think New York ain’t pressing the matter like they should be,” said Charlie.

“Durn Yankees,” said Jeff. “So what’s the game plan now?”

“Out of our hands for the most part. It’s at the New York State level now,” said Charlie.

“Yankees will screw it up,” spat Jeff.

“I hope not and I hope they’re taking a keen interest in this one. Ain’t a one of ‘em alive from this State that’ll send a young girl back there knowing she is going into that kind of situation. I would certainly hope nobody from New York would do the same,” said Charlie.

“Well, again, you can get my number from the phone book if you need it. You give me a call if you need anything,” said Jeff. “How much for the eggs?”

“For your Grandma? Shoot, I’ll give you two dozen,” said Charlie.

“I think a dozen will be fine. She thinks the world of you,” said Jeff. “Always has.”

“Yeah, I should get up there and see her. Been a while now,” said Charlie.

“It’d tickle her to death to see you. And of course I’d hear ‘bout it for weeks on end. ‘Why can’t you be more like that Charlie Gray boy’ she’d ask me,” said Jeff with a chuckle.

“She does tend to speak what’s on her mind,” said Charlie.

“She’ll give you down the road for not coming sooner, best that I warn you now,” laughed Jeff.

“Well, at the very least let her know I said hello ‘til I get a chance to get up there,” said Charlie as he got up and went into the house to grab an empty egg carton.

“Is it safe to come out now?” asked Cindy.

“Yeah, come on out, he ain’t here as just a social call,” said Charlie.

“Business?” she asked as he dug into the Styrofoam containers in the laundry room.

“Sort of,” said Charlie.

“What kind of business is he in?” she asked.

“He’s the county’s number one grower of marijuana,” said Charlie.

“You’re buying weed?!” exclaimed Cindy.

“No, you asked what business he was in, not what we talked about,” said Charlie with a laugh. He found an empty container and went over to the fridge to grab the eggs they had pulled out that morning. They only had a half dozen of the freshest eggs, but for Mrs. Tilson, he would have given her a hundred without any question.

“So what did you guys talk about?” she asked.

“I’ll tell you later. Come on out with me so he gets a good look at you. I’ll explain later,” said Charlie as they departed the house.

“Miss,” said Jeff as he nodded his head after Cindy came out.

“Hi,” was all Cindy was able to say. She had no idea what was going on, but went with Charlie on it.

“Come on ‘round the back Jeff, we’ll get the rest of ‘em from the coops,” said Charlie.

“You got some hens laying?” asked Jeff.

“A couple here and there,” said Charlie. “Had a few from this morning that shoulda laid by now.”

“I thank you kindly,” said Jeff.

Charlie went into the pens and along into the coops. There were a few hens brooding on the top of their nest and Charlie managed to get them off without getting pecked to death. He knew the brooding was bad in some cases, but he had high hopes to get a few new batches of chicks before the winter. He also needed to “get rid” of some of the old stock as well and the new chicks would help replenish that problem. After going inside, he found enough eggs for the dozen and left the rest in the nest until tomorrow. Handing over the carton, Jeff thanked him once again and they departed around the house out of earshot from Cindy.

“Jeff, it’s been years since you spoke a word to me. Why now?” asked Charlie.

[Grand58742]

CHAPTER 26 CONTINUED

[OR Medic]

This story keeps getting better with each installment.

It makes one wonder though, just who is getting a second chance.....Charlie? Cindy? Cindy's family? Someone else??

Thank you for your efforts, Grand. Great story!

Jim

[Abigailnumber2]

This is by far one of my favorite storys going!

[Ken]

OK, this is killing me.
Usually when I get engrossed into a book or something, I can't put it down until I have finished it.
This suspense is going to put me in an early grave! :D

Great story line and writing, keep up the great work!

Ken.

[Grand58742]

CHAPTER 27

[Grand58742]

CHAPTER 27 CONTINUED

[OR Medic]

Very nicely done, Sir. The way you described the parting of Cindy from Charlie's care was very touching, almost to the point of tears.

I am, as I am sure others are, anxiously waiting the next installment of this very well written story. Hope it doesn't take too long, but the wait will be completely worth every moment.

Simply saying "thank you" is terribly inadequate for the depth you have taken this story, but I hope it is enough.

Great job, Grand!

Jim