About an hour later, the police finally showed up.
"Hi, I'm Detective Griffin, with the sheriff's office".
"Hi, come on in, I'm Jonathan Hart, and this is my wife, Jennifer".
"Pleasure, ma'am".
"Hello".
"What seems to be the problem?"
"Well, about a day or two ago, we had some visitors come by and give us a welcome gift. It was a cactus, and they said that they grew them, and it was a special kind of cactus. They said their names were Danny and Kemper Thompson, and that they lived around the corner, from our ranch".
"Ok. What kind of cactus was it?"
"Electrical".
"Ahh. Well, that would raise some concerns".
"And there are a few other issues. We've been noticing that someone is trying to encroach on our property, like planting trees without asking, in an effort to move our property line closer and closer to the house. Someone also planted some spike strips along one side of our property, where we normally ride our horses. And then yesterday, we went for a ride through our property, and our main stable hand told us that he thinks someone has been stealing bales of hay. So, we took a ride, didn't see anything concerning, and then we came back to the house. I moved our Jeep out of the garage last night, so we could grill during the storm. This morning, we were going to head out on a drive, and we went outside and all 4 of our tires have been slashed".
"Who do you think is coming onto your property?"
"We aren't sure. We got an offer on the property, but we told them we weren't interested in selling. And it's been ever since then, that these things have been happening".
Jonathan handed the listening device to Detective Griffin, in a plastic bag.
"Where's your vehicle right now?"
"This way".
He followed Jonathan outside, while Jennifer began sweeping the cactus pieces up into a dustpan.
Jonathan came back inside.
"Darling, the detective and I are going to go ride down to the stables, on the golf cart. Can you call the auto club and see if they can bring us either 4 new tires for the Jeep, or come tow it? Here's the last receipt for the tires, that should tell you what kind".
"Certainly. Be careful, I love you".
"I love you too".
He gave her a quick kiss and then they headed out.
About an hour and a half later, they were back.
"Ok, Mr. and Mrs. Hart, I'm going to make a lengthy police report. I'm also going to go and track down the Thompsons, and ask them about the cactus. If they bring another plant buy, be very hesitant about accepting it. And if anything else happens, here's my card. Keep your gate locked, and you might want to think about investing in some cameras around the property that will show you who is doing what at night".
"Good idea. Thank you, detective".
"Thank you".
"Ya'll have a nice day".
Jennifer locked the door behind him, and then turned towards Jonathan.
"Auto club is coming by 5".
"Wonderful".
Jennifer set about making them lunch, while Jonathan went outside and took the old tires off the Jeep.
After a nice lunch on the back porch, Jennifer decided to head down to pick the blackberries while Jonathan waited for the auto club.
"Be careful. Take this walkie-talkie in case you need me".
"I'll be fine."
She drove the golf cart to the stables, and then selected her horse, and saddled up. After she had picked a nice amount of blackberries, she got back on the horse again and headed to the other side of the property where the other bushes were.
She let her horse, Brownie, get some water from the river while she picked the berries.
After she filled her basket, she went to climb back up on the horse. After she was settled, and had the reigns in her hand, she looked down at the river, and was shocked at what she saw.
She rode Brownie back to the stable, and got her squared away, and then rode the golf cart back to the house.
She came inside and set her basket down.
"Darling, are you in here?"
"Yeah, what is it?"
"Do we have a rain gauge already set up somewhere?"
"No, we don't".
"Hmm. I need to know how many inches of rain we got last night".
"Well, the news is about to be on, we can watch it and see".
"Great idea".
She began washing the berries, while he turned the tv on and searched for the news.
About 5 minutes later, he came in and leaned against the counter next to Jennifer.
"News just said this area got almost 3 inches of rain last night".
"Hmm…"
"What are you thinking?"
"Well, I'll have to show you tomorrow. But when I went to get the berries, I took Brownie and rode her over to the bushes by the river. And I'm not a weather expert by any means, but that river is almost bone dry, and I just think especially with how hard it stormed last night, it should be more full than that".
"So, do you think the river is leaking somewhere?"
"I didn't see any evidence of that, but that rain water had to go somewhere and it hasn't been long enough for it to have evaporated".
"Well, we'll give it a day or two and then look again".
Jennifer started making a blackberry pie, while Jonathan sat down on the back porch and painted the pieces to a birdhouse.
Once the pie was in the oven, she went out and helped him.
"This is looking good".
"Yeah, it's really coming along".
They got all the pieces painted, and then went inside just as the timer went off.
Jonathan built them a fire, and got the blankets out of the chest that Jennifer liked.
After dinner, they decided to get into their pajamas and have a relaxing evening by the fire.
Jonathan made them some cocktails, and Jennifer gave him a back massage.
"Oh, that feels so good".
She rubbed his shoulders and gave him a scalp massage while they watched a movie.
"Darling, did you move the Jeep inside after we got the new tires?"
"Yes, I did."
She rubbed his back till he was totally and completely relaxed, and practically in a coma.
They laid on the couch, with her behind him, and his head just underneath hers. She started to lightly scratch his head for a few minutes, and then stopped.
He picked her hand up and put it back on his head.
She smiled and kept rubbing his head, and a few minutes later, realized he had fallen asleep.
She laid there with him till their movie ended, and then gently climbed over him and off the couch.
She went and got them each a glass of water, and put it by the bed.
She turned the tv off, and made sure all the doors were locked and all the unnecessary lights were out, and then gently began to wake him up.
"Darling, come on, let's go to bed".
"Hmmm?"
"Let's go to bed".
He sleepily sat up and headed to bed.
She followed behind him and turned out all the lights.
"Did you lock the doors?"
"Yes, I did. And I turned out the lights, and I got you water".
No sooner had they climbed into bed, Jennifer heard the sound of glass breaking.
"Jonathan! Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"That noise. I think we have a burglar".
"Stay here".
"No, I'm not letting you go alone. I'm coming with you".
She got up and grabbed her robe and slippers.
They crept to the living room and Jonathan turned on a light.
They immediately saw what had happened.
"Darling, look! Our beautiful vase is broken. But how?"
"By this bullet. Someone shot out our back window".
Jonathan grabbed the phone and called the police, and they started turning on some lights.
Jennifer came over to him and put her hand on his chest.
"Darling, don't go out there".
"I swear to God, I am going to load this place up, with cameras, motion activated everything, lights, fences, gates, you name it, we are getting it. I don't care if it bankrupts us, we are going to figure out why people are so interested in this property".
"Darling, maybe we should just sell it to them and cut our losses and walk away. If they want the property this badly-"
"No. it's a matter of principle now. They asked, we said no, and they need to accept that and respect it".
"Well, actually, 'we' didn't say anything".
"You know what I meant."
"I do. Look, I don't want to fight with you, and I don't want to fight with whomever this is. But Jonathan, they fired a bullet into our home. You and I were laying here on this couch just a few minutes ago. Imagine if we had been laying there when they pulled the trigger".
Before they could continue their argument, the doorbell rang.
Jonathan went and turned the light on and answered the door.
"Hi, I'm Sheriff McDougal. You must be Mr. Hart".
"Hello, Sheriff. Sorry to bother you at this time of night."
"What seems to be the trouble?"
They walked into the living room.
"My husband and I watched a movie on this couch tonight, and then got up and headed to bed".
"Good for you, Mrs. Hart".
Jennifer's eyes were blazing.
"No sooner had we gotten into bed, we heard a noise. We came out to the living room to find that someone shot a bullet through our window and it shattered this vase."
"We were unable to see who it was, though".
"Probably just a wayward hunter".
"At this hour? Who in their right mind would be hunting at this hour?"
"Lots of people do it. That's why they make those night-vision goggles."
"Well, considering the issues we've been having lately, I highly doubt the person who did this was hunting for anything on four legs."
"What else is out there for them to hunt?"
"Us. Clearly they want to kill one of us, in order to take over this ranch".
"You mean to tell me you woke me up and got me out of bed to listen to a conspiracy theory?"
"No. We woke you up and got you out of bed because a crime was committed. And we want to press charges".
"You've had one incident, ma'am. And we don't even know the details surrounding that incident".
"No, we've had several incidents. Your officer came out and took a report. We found evidence that someone is trying to harm our horses, through the use of spike strips, and also by stealing our hay. We found evidence that someone has been trespassing on our property, and planted trees in an attempt to skew the property lines. We had someone come into our driveway and slash all 4 tires on our vehicle. And tonight, someone shot a bullet through the window and destroyed a very expensive vase".
"Like I said, a hunter's bullet doesn't always hit its' target. But hey, if you want us to investigate and do a report, we are happy to do so".
"And like I said, we want you to investigate so that we can press charges".
"Hey, be my guest. I'm happy to radio my boys and have them come investigate this crime scene, so that we can find out who is on the hunt for the two of you".
"Thank you".
Jennifer sat down on the couch, and crossed her arms, while the sheriff called for backup.
Jonathan went and unlocked the back door and turned on the lights on the back of the house.
As soon as the other officers arrived, the scene was rather chaotic.
Sheriff McDougal directed his officers to examine every single inch and question the Harts as many times as they needed to in order to make the report as accurate as possible.
About an hour into the investigation, Jonathan came over and sat next to Jennifer.
"Look, what if we just call this off and don't press charges, get everyone out of here and go to bed?"
She turned to him. She couldn't believe what he was saying.
"Not on your life!"
"Jennifer, it's obvious they don't believe that this is as serious as we do. They are drawing this out on purpose to be spiteful. Let's just call it a loss and go to bed".
"It is our right to press charges if we want to, Jonathan. And remember, we were sitting right here in the line of fire just moments before it happened. If we don't press charges, then it's like saying our lives don't matter. Is that what you're saying?"
"No, of course not. I just think we aren't going to get anywhere, that's all".
Sheriff McDougal came back in and came to the living room.
"Ok folks. We are going to wrap this up. We found some tire tracks, but unfortunately, they aren't that distinguishable. Meaning, 95% of the folks that live around here have the same type of tires on their ATV's as you do. I gotta tell you, I really and truly thought you two were making something out of nothing, until I got outside. Whomever this shooter was, they left a box of bullets and a ladder just over your brick wall there. So, yeah, there was someone here. But the property to the direct east of your property isn't gated, so it's impossible to figure out who this person was or when they accessed that property in order to access yours. But we'll write up a report and if we come across something, we can still press charges up to a year from now".
"Thank you".
Jonathan put a piece of cardboard over the window, while Jennifer cleaned up the pieces of the vase. The Sheriff took the bullet for evidence, and then Jonathan signed his report.
"Thanks for coming out".
"Have a good night, Mr. Hart".
By the time Jonathan got the doors locked again and the lights back off, Jennifer was in bed, fast asleep.
He climbed into bed next to her, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her head, before falling asleep next to her.