"Lake View Resort." Mark looked grimly at his young friend.
"And what is Lake View Resort?" Jesse asked puzzled.
"It's a project that Clay Ashton and his investors are trying to push through. And guess where it's to be located?" Mark asked.
"I'm just guessing here, but I bet it is probably right smack dab in the middle of what is known at the moment as the Tanner property." Jesse smiled at Mark satisfied that they had at least gained a toehold in the investigation.
"You win the prize, my friend. They made an offer on the land about nine months ago. The Tanners turned them down. Now suddenly there is a threat of foreclosure on the property for overdue taxes. A coincidence? I don't think so. Apparently, since Ashton couldn't get the property one way he decided to get it another. From what I have read it's his favorite way." Mark looked disgusted over the information he had just conveyed to Jesse.
"This can't be legal. I mean he can't just go and put a property tax on the land and walk off with it." Jesse looked at Mark wondering how this could happen.
"You can if you're Clay Ashton, worth about twenty million dollars. According to the information I gathered he has just about every bank CEO in his hip pocket."
"Gee. I guess money really does talk." Jesse looked at the sheets of paper Mark handed him.
"According to these records it's not the first time he's pulled this. By the time anyone finds out about his methods, the deal is already done and the project is half finished. Most of the the poor victim are so overwhelmed by all that is happening they just sell at a much lower price, afraid they might lose everything if they don't. His lawyers keep the authorities at bay with litigations and other legal mumbo jumbo. The only people who get hurt or lost in the whole damn thing are the Tanners of this world. My guess is they decided to take care of things themselves." Mark looked like a man who was about to launch an assault of his own.
"So, what do we do first?" Jesse asked only too eager to help out anyway possible.
"First I plan to talk with Steve's Captain. I want him to be well aware of Ashton's interest in that land. He might have information that can help the police find Steve. Then I plan to make a little visit to the bank president and see what he has to say." Mark was already headed for the door when Jesse fell into step not wanting to be left out of the loop.
DM
Steve woke up slowly feeling sluggish and a little disoriented. He was confused at the fact that he wasn't in his room. This thought made him pause as a smile crossed his face. He wasn't sure when it happened but now he no longer felt like a prisoner but a part of this small family. His feelings for these people were not of hostility or resentment but of genuine concern and affection. A lot had happened since Isaiah had forced him into the back seat of that old station wagon.
With caution, he began to rise from the bed. The events of last night came back to him in a flood. He remembered the dream and his reaction to it. He felt bad that it seemed to have upset Isaiah to the point that the older man was feeling guilty. Steve knew that reliving those days had probably triggered the nightmare, but there was no reason for the older man to blame himself. Steve also remembered the last words that Isaiah had said to him before he drifted off to sleep. This spurred the cop in him into action. If he could just get the Tanners to come back to LA with him, he knew they had a better chance of clearing up this whole mess.
Steve made his way to the kitchen which he found to be empty. This was rather unusual since Emma was always in there puttering around with fixing meals or doing laundry. By the position of the sun, he knew it was well up in the day by farm life standards.
"So where is everybody?" he wondered to himself. Walking out the back door, Steve made his way to the outhouse noting that neither of the old people seemed to be in sight. He did notice that the dog was, as usual, barking at birds and causing the chickens to uproar every once in a while. He had begun to get use to their constant clucking and hardly noticed any more unless something caused them to fuss louder.
When Steve stepped back into the kitchen, he still hadn't seen Emma or Isaiah. An anxious feeling of total isolation overcame him, and he realized a solitary life was something he was never meant to live. He enjoyed the little noises of living among others. Laughter that floated in on a breeze. The slamming of a car door, or the sound of traffic in front of the house. These were noises that he had taken for granted, but now missed.
He quickly made his way back to the bedroom that he now considered his and found the bed made up neatly and his own clothes laid out, freshly laundered and pressed. Steve quickly changed and when he turned to the dresser to comb his hair he noticed his phone, badge, and gun laying there waiting for him. Quickly he clipped the gun and badge to his belt and pocketed the rest of his things. Going back through the house Steve searched for his new friends. He found them both by a shed off to the right of the barn. He noticed that both were dressed as if they were going to a social function.
"What's up?" Steve asked the older couple as he approached them.
"We decided to take a little trip into town. Thought maybe you would like to go along with us. I was hopin' that we could talk about what it is you might do for us about the law an' all." Isaiah had jammed his hands into his pockets and seemed to be nervous asking his new friend for help.
"I'm sure we can work this out. It's the best thing. It will only get worse if you continue to wait. My dad can help. He seems pretty good at figuring out solutions to problems like this. Why don't we go back inside first and discuss what our options are?" Steve looked at Emma and Isaiah and both nodded leading the way back to the house.
DM
"You don't know what you're talking about, Dr. Sloan. I have done nothing to break the law." Edward Moss all but exploded in Mark's face.
"You didn't decide to raise the property taxes on this piece of land then? Strange the tax office doesn't even remember that piece of property ever coming into question. As far as they are concerned, the taxes were paid in February and that was the end of it. They don't even have a record of any tax hike." Mark glared at the balding man who was by this time sweating profusely.
"I don't know what you're accusing me of but you had better have proof. I'm well acquainted with several people who are associated with the Police department. I'm sure if I call them I can have you arrested for slander and harassment." Moss licked his lips as he fumbled for the phone on his desk.
It was a bluff and Mark called him on it.
"Go ahead and call the police. I've already made my own phone calls requesting that an investigation be launched into the recent activities that this bank has seen fit to get involved with concerning the Tanner's estate. My son was taken at gunpoint over this particular piece of land. I want to know why your bank held a title to a piece of property that was paid for nearly 15 years ago. I also want to know why taxes on it went from 4 thousand dollars to 12 thousand dollars in just a few short months." Mark gave Moss no slack in his interrogation.
"Well, you have been busy haven't you? How did you manage to get all of that information? Why should I believe that anything you have told me is true?" Moss once again licked his lips while wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"It is all a matter of public record. The Tanners surprised you didn't they? You never expected them to pull what they did. Now it's about to blow up in your face and no matter how many lawyers Ashton comes up with, you will still have to answer these same questions before a board of inquiry. You better think about it. Ashton may not go down but I promise, you will." Mark gave Edward Moss one final look of disgust before he finally turned and stalked out of the man's office.
With a very shaky hand, Moss reached for the phone and dialed, waiting rather impatiently for someone to pick up on the other end of the connection. A woman answered asking whom he wished to speak with. "I need to speak with Clay Ashton NOW!" came the desperate voice.
"Mr. Ashton is not taking any calls this afternoon. May I leave a message with him?" replied the voice over the line.
"Listen. You tell Ashton that he better call me back and quick. There's a problem and if he doesn't get back with me soon, I'm going to do whatever I have to do to stay out of jail. You tell him that Edward Moss will only be waiting for about one hour then I'm going to the cops myself and tell them everything I know." With that Moss hung up the phone and looked for the number to his lawyer. He then sat down and tried to calm his nerves.
DM
"What did he say when you told him you knew about the tax hike?" Jesse asked Mark.
"He denied everything of course, but he knows he is in some hot water. I bet he tries to get a hold of Ashton today. The police are already watching both of them waiting for one or the other to make a mistake. I can't help but believe that somehow they know where the Tanners are holed up. Ashton wants that land very badly. He probably knows every rock and tree on that place. I just hope he goes out there and tries to make one last deal.
"What if he doesn't try to make a deal? What if he decides it's too hot to pursue at this time?" Jesse knew the answer before he even voiced the question.
"He's too deep now to back away from it. If he doesn't try to make a deal with the Tanners then he only has one other option, and I don't want to think about the results of that." Mark could feel a sense of foreboding as he realized that his son could be caught in the middle of a land war.
DM
"I don't want Emma to get in trouble. That whole dang thing was my harebrained idea. She just went along 'cause she's my wife. She was against it from the beginnin'." Isaiah sat and, with a determined look on his face was trying to convince Steve to keep Emma out of it.
"Look, I know that you want to protect her. So do I. Actually I want to protect both of you. But the fact of the matter is she went in the bank holding that shot gun and waved it in the air." Steve held up his hand to ward off Isaiah's protests. "I know the guns weren't loaded but it is still a serious charge. The only thing that might save us is if I can prove that your backs were up against the wall.
"You have no priors. You've proven to be law abiding up to this point. I think that the circumstances will go a long way into getting you both out of this with a minimum of trouble."
"What about kidnappin' and assault?" Isaiah looked Steve square in the face.
"I would have to press charges. I could just say that I refuse to. If I'm unwilling to press them then they can't file charges against you on that count." Steve patted the old man on the arm and smiled at him.
"I ain't no lawyer but even I can see how that might cause you some problems, Boy." Isaiah looked at Steve with concern in his eyes. He had imposed on the young man enough, and he certainly didn't want to cause him any trouble with his bosses.
"You let me worry about that. You coming in on your own will go a long way to smoothing a lot of this over. If I know my father an investigation is already underway on the tax fraud against this place."
DM
The helicopter landed in a clearing about a mile from where Steve and the Tanners were discussing and planning their next move. Four men dropped from inside and began heading towards the house. With the stealth and the precision of a seasoned reconnaissance patrol, the men moved towards their target. Three were armed with the latest in long-range firepower. The fourth held in his gloved hands a 30'06 equipped with a scope. A high-powered hunting rifle that could be bought in any hunting store. This particular rifle just happened to be registered to Isaiah Robert Tanner.
Ashton had gone into defense mode the moment he got off the phone with Edward Moss. After making a few calls, the plan to take over the Tanner place changed. He had been brewing on this idea for the past three days. He found out from Moss that the old couple had taken the cop during their little hold up. His sources had kept him apprised of all that went on in the police department. Lucky for him the detective had not been found yet. This could work to his advantage if the old couple were still holding him hostage.
It would be so easy to put a bullet in the cop and have the whole thing blamed on those crazy hillbillies. No one would have any trouble believing that he had been killed by the Tanner's while possibly trying to escape.
Not many people knew about the old house. Isaiah and his father had both been born there. His grandfather had built it almost a century earlier and started a family. When Isaiah Tanner grew up, he had married Emma Dixon almost 50 years ago. He built a new house and started farming on the southern section of the land that belonged to the Tanner family. They had raised their son there. A few months ago after the bank approached Isaiah claiming he owed more taxes the old couple had closed up their home and packed their belongings, moved the livestock and simply disappeared. No one seemed to know where they had gone.
The old farm had been forgotten after his father had died. It had been assumed that the house and other buildings had been removed. No one was aware that Isaiah and Emma had spent many days throughout the years keeping up the place. They would often spend as much as a week living there, repairing and keeping the house in good shape. Now it seemed to be paying off.
Ashton had been puzzled for quite a while until he started looking at some of the old deeds and property maps. It had been a hunch but he sent scouts to search discreetly to see if he had been right. Sure enough, the old couple had managed to move everything to the original farm that had been hidden in the hills. It wasn't much for raising crops but there was good grazing land up there for a few head of cattle. Like many others he had figured the original house and out buildings were all but gone. He was surprised to find a well-built home and barn still standing and in good shape. The old couple had fooled him and apparently a lot of other people as well.
It had never been updated with modern plumbing or electricity. This however, didn't really matter to Isaiah or Emma as they were quite use to doing without these things since they had spent so much time there. It took a couple of weeks after they had moved to get every thing settled but the old couple had been happy enough to be away from the bank people and the so called law bothering them about back taxes and eviction notices. No one knew where they were and no one had ever been to the old farm except them until Steve was taken that day.
DM
Steve and Isaiah sat at the kitchen table going over some of the details of what to expect when they headed back to town. He wanted the older people to be prepared for what would happen once they gave themselves up. Steve was trying to decide if he should try and contact his dad first or just take the couple straight to the station when something caught his attention.
"Do you hear that?" he looked at Isaiah and asked.
"Hear what, Boy? I don't hear nothin'." Suddenly it dawned on Isaiah as to what Steve meant.
"I don't hear chickens or the dog." Steve rose to go and look out at the back door.
Usually the chickens could be heard clucking around in the yard. The dog was normally busy barking at birds and other small animals that unfortunately got too close to him.
"Something's going on out here. It's way too quiet for this time of the day." Steve stood just inside the door surveying the area around the house.
Placing his hand on Steve's shoulder Isaiah grinned at him. "I just might make a country boy out you yet, Son."
Picking up the shotgun that was kept loaded by the door, Isaiah stepped outside followed by Steve. The two men split up, Isaiah heading for the wooded area while Steve headed for the barn.
The silence gave the area an eerie feeling as if something was there but not visible. Both men approached their destinations with caution. The hair on the back of their necks standing on end as the air seemed to be electrified with an unknown charge of foreboding.
Then suddenly, out of nowhere, the quietness was shattered as a shot rang out catching both men off guard. Steve spun around to where Isaiah had headed as the old man did the same. Both stared at each other with shock on their faces. For one of them the world started to grow dim around the edges and, as the other watched in horror, began to descend towards the ground.
Emma appeared suddenly and was immediately kneeling down beside the fallen man. He seemed to be gasping for breath and she placed her hand under him to try and gather hislimp form into her arms. As the other man joined her she watched him haul the unresisting body onto his shoulder, screaming for her to get into the house. Once inside the kitchen he shouted out orders for her to stay low as he carefully placed Steve on the floor by the old sink.
Isaiah searched the windows closest to him trying to see if he could tell who might have fired the shot. He couldn't see anything moving as he went from room to room in hopes of catching a glimpse of the sniper. The whole time Steve's words kept ringing in his ears. He now had some idea of what it must have been like for him and his son Robbie. It was a feeling he didn't relish and knowing that these boys had to live with it every day they spent over there broke his heart.
Unable to see anything, and hoping that whoever had shot Steve was well on his way back to where he had come from, Isaiah quickly made his way to the kitchen. Emma had managed to get Steve's jacket and shirt off. She had him lying on his stomach and from what Isaiah could see there was a wound in his right shoulder. Emma worked feverishly trying to staunch the flow of blood. The old couple looked at each other with concern. There was way too much blood and they knew that if they didn't get the younger man to a doctor soon he would more than likely bleed to death. While keeping his ears tuned to any noise that would alert him to anyone approaching the house, Isaiah tried to help his wife stabilize their young friend for a fast trip into town.
Once they felt like Steve could be moved Isaiah went to get the car. Before he left, he brought another gun for Emma and handed it to her without saying a word. He then crept out the door and cautiously made his way to the backside of the old barn. Inside was a fairly new Oldsmobile that he and Emma kept hidden. He got into the car and started her up quickly making for the back door. As soon as he had parked the car close enough he went back in to get his wounded friend. Carefully, he hauled him over his shoulder and followed his wife out the door. Emma crawled into the back seat and gently helped to maneuver Steve in with her, placing him over onto his side so that she could keep pressure on the wound in his shoulder.
Isaiah took one more look around trying to see if anyone was watching them. Fairly certain that they would not be followed he climbed into the driver's side of the car and headed down the road.
Once the car was out of sight and the man in camouflage was certain the area was deserted he headed to the back door and placed the 30'06 on the table where it could easily be found when the police came to investigate the shooting of one of their officers. With the gun planted the four men made their way back to the waiting helicopter now that their assignment was finished.
It seemed like it was taking hours to reach the city. Isaiah was sure that he was breaking every speed law ever written. For the first time he surely wished that a cop or a highway patrolman would catch him and maybe help him get the boy to a doctor. He kept pushing the accelerator to the floor only slowing down enough to keep from losing control as they went around curves.
He stole a glance to the back seat where Emma was hunched over Steve talking to him in a quiet and soothing tone. She glanced up once and Isaiah saw the same haunted look in her eyes as the day they had been told of Robbie's death. Tears were running down her pale face.
This was all wrong he thought. Suddenly he did something he hadn't done in a long time. "I can't go through this again, Lord. It ain't like I'm askin' for myself. It's all my fault that boy is back there fightin' for his life. Please don't punish him for what I done." Then more quietly. "Please."
As if the Heavens had just opened up and delivered, a highway patrol car pulled in behind the Oldsmobile and flashed his lights. "Wow. That sure was fast!"
Isaiah pulled off immediately and stuck his head out the window yelling at the approaching officer to come help. When the officer saw Steve laying in the back seat with blood everywhere he told Isaiah to turn on his emergency lights and to stay right on his tail. Soon the little convoy was on their way to the nearest hospital.
DM
Aston sat in his office and listened to the voice on the other end of the phone. A satisfied smile settled on his face as he listened to the report from his man. It sounded as if everything had gone according to plan. The cop was probably dead by now and the rifle planted in plain sight. The fact the stubborn couple had that car was unfortunate but still it would look like the old man shot the detective in the back while he was trying to escape. He felt sure they were trying to find a place to hide the body now. Sometimes things worked out as if you had planned it that way all along. With the Tanners behind bars for murder nothing could stand in his way of acquiring that land now.
Everything had seemed to go wrong from the start, although that didn't matter any longer. He never even considered the old couple would turn out to be so obstinate. Usually after a little shady persuasion he managed to get what he wanted and for whole lot less than it was worth.
The Tanners had proven they couldn't be manipulated as easily as the others. Aston had to give the old couple this though. When they arrived at the bank and took that worthless deed it showed they had guts. He had to admire that.
Of course taking that cop was probably their downfall. Even if he hadn't found that old map, which clearly marked the original farm, they would have eventually been forced to get rid of their hostage or turn themselves in.
Then as if things had not been bad enough, the cop's father had gotten involved. It was unfortunate for him that Dr. Sloan seemed to be so clever and equally determined to get his son back in one piece. The good doctor had gotten way too close to his personal affairs which left him no other choice but to be finished with this nasty business as soon as possible. Killing the cop was going to get him more than he could have asked for. The Tanners would be out of the way in prison and Mark Sloan would be too busy grieving for his son to continue with any more meddling.
DM
Mark stared at the map that lay in front of him. It was old and faded. The edges were tattered and it had so many creases you almost couldn't read it. He was sure that somewhere on that land the old couple was hiding out holding Steve. He wasn't particularly worried about his son being mistreated or hurt, but the parent in him would like for his child to be back home where he belonged.
After watching the tape over and over, Mark felt sure that taking Steve had just been a desperate decision at the last minute. They had been caught off guard by the presence of a cop during the fiasco. The whole thing looked to be a very miscalculated attempt to secure what rightfully had belonged to them to begin with.
According to some of the older documents, the land had belonged to the Tanners for nearly a century. There was no mention however, of where the family had built the original cabin. About 48 years ago Isaiah had built a house just before he married his wife. They had lived there until recently and that was the residence the police had found and searched thoroughly.
The police had found nothing but a locked up home that looked as if no one had lived there for several weeks. Mark was pretty sure some where in those hills the original farm still existed. Many of the records had mysteriously disappeared and Mark was lucky to get his hands on what he had.
He had wanted the police to use a helicopter to search the hills more closely in hopes they might find the home of Isaiah's ancestors. Unfortunately, Mark's theory wasn't enough to convince the police that an air search was prudent. With no proof of another house existing, or Steve still being held by the Tanners, all he could do was stare at the map for now and hope that maybe something would come into focus that would help him find his son.