Chapter 31
The two agents watched in awe as the blonde woman scurried around in the kitchen chattering away, while fixing them coffee and something to eat. Glancing over at the tall agent, Jack couldn't help thinking how tired Annie was making him feel just watching her.
"If we could just bottle that energy, mate, we'd make millions," Bobby whispered to Jack when he thought she was out of earshot.
"Believe me we've thought of it," Danni startled the two men, having caught the Aussie's words as she and Craig came through the living room.
"But we never could hold Froggy still long enough to figure out what makes her tick," Craig smiled, wrapping his arm around Danni's waist as they stopped beside the two men standing in the doorway of the kitchen.
"And you never will," Annie smirked, carrying the tray towards them.
Jack quickly moved forward, taking the heavy tray from her hands. Their eyes met over the coffee cups and plates, a pink blush covering Annie's cheeks before she dropped her eyes. Murmuring her thanks to the dark-haired agent, she stepped passed him towards the table.
"We figure she's something of a scientific anomaly," Craig muttered quietly to Bobby earning himself a playful slap from his sister.
"Anomaly?" Bobby questioned, unsure of the young man's accent.
"You know…abnormality!" Danni supplied laughing, earning a glare from Annie as she moved to the end of the table to sit down.
"Is Aubrey back in her pen?" Annie questioned.
"Yep, took a little persuading but we got her there," Danni smiled.
"You named your goat Aubrey?" Bobby asked as Jack set the tray down on the table.
"Well, not really," Craig grinned, turning to Annie to explain.
"A friend of mine has a two-year old little girl named Aubrey that just feel in love with the goat when she was born a few months ago," Annie started while everyone gathered in the dining room. "We kept calling it Aubrey's goat while we waited for Ms. Traci's daughter to name it but it gradually just got shortened to Aubrey."
"Unfortunately, it's still a baby so it tends to get into more trouble than the others," Danni smirked.
"Ahh," Jack smiled, holding out the chair for Annie causing Craig and Danni to snicker behind their hands, while the blonde woman's blush deepened. Bobby glanced between his best friend and Annie, concerned about the looks he was seeing.
"So, Myles told us that Deputy Webster has been working this protection racket for a while…" Bobby began as everyone else settled into the chairs around the table.
Jack sat to Annie's left with Bobby on her right almost as if they both knew she was the focal point of this interview. Danni plopped into a chair next to Bobby so Craig scooted his chair close to her, draping his arm across the back of hers as he listened.
"It's been going on for almost 10 years, I guess," Annie stated, looking at Craig for confirmation. When he nodded, she continued, "We were just kids when Webster first threatened our father…"
"Ended up killing him!" Craig interrupted passionately.
"Shh," Danni turned to calm him down, her eyes compassionate as she embraced him.
"Webster killed your father," Jack asked Annie quietly, the silent rage at this man building inside him. Glancing over at Bobby, he could see the Aussie felt the same way.
"Did he murder him? No," Annie replied, her face masking her sadness. Looking down at her hands as she clasped them on the table in front of her, she explained, "But he did physically kill him with all the years of torturing him with the extortion and threats."
"Webster would threaten to hurt us kids if our parents didn't pay," Danni continued, seeing how hard it was for Annie and Craig. "I lost my parents to a 'mysterious' fire when I was fifteen and Ms. Kersting came to live with me…"
"Yeah, poor Ms. Kersting getting stuck with you, OUCH!" Craig hollered when Danni slugged him.
"As I was saying…while Ms. Kersting was my guardian, she told me every time Deputy Webster came by and it was A LOT," Danni continued, letting Craig put his arm back around her shoulders as she leaned back on the chair. "We lost two barns, a truck, a tractor, several horses, several heads of cattle, our chicken house…twice…"
"Don't forget about when you were run off the road," Craig offered, squeezing her shoulder.
"Whoa," Bobby stopped them by holding up his hand. "This is what happened to you AND your parents?" he questioned.
"No, this is what happened since my parents died," Danni answered matter-of-factly, shocking both Jack and Bobby. "Granted I'm a little more stubborn than most of the people here on the mountain, but…" she shrugged leaving the rest unsaid.
"Well, it looks like we have quite a bit of investigating to do, but just from what you three have told us, Webster and the men we've picked up will be spending a long time paying for what they've done," Jack stated reviewing his notes from their conversation.
"And if we can find the evidence to pin the fire the killed your parents on Webster, we'll do that too," Bobby assured Danni.
"But Webster didn't kill my parents," Danni told him. "Kelly did."
"Huh?" Bobby asked his mouth dropping open.
"Who's Kelly?" Jack questioned, his brow furrowing with worry.
"Genn Kelly," Craig informed them, looking back and forth between the two confused agents. "We told them about him when Webster was arrested."
"Don't tell me he hasn't been arrested yet?" Annie cried. "He's still out there?"
Jack took the blonde woman's hand in his, patting it reassuringly as he cast a concerned glance over at his Aussie friend. Excusing himself from the room, Bobby quickly grabbed his phone from his pocket, dialing the number of the nearest field office. They needed backup and they needed it now, Jack thought.