Jennifer sat down with Freeway and immediately began going through the file.
Holt Gregory. Age 55. Born in Idaho, moved to California at the age of 10. Graduated from USC, with two degrees in business and international business. Graduated from Harvard Law School, and opened his own practice in California, specializing in tax and contract law.
Married, first to Angela, later to Melinda. 3 children, all grown adults.
Property records indicate that he owns several hundred acres in Northern California, as well as several hundred acres in Wyoming.
She started looking through the rest of what Stanley found, which was bank records, phone records, and old publicity photos.
On the very bottom of the pile, she found a picture that had been printed in a society magazine.
Mr. Hart-thought you would find this interesting, given your current situation and who you asked me to investigate. Stanley.
The picture showed Holt Gregory in the middle, with a Senator on one side and another businessman on the other.
Looks like I'm going to have my work cut out for me.
***Bridge***
Jack and Bill snuck up to the shallowest part of the river and climbed in. They began to walk towards the bridge, carrying the duffle bags of bombs with them.
After they got everything into place, they ran the fuse back to Jonathan and Jennifer's property, and up onto the bank.
As soon as they heard Jonathan whistle, they got into position.
Bill quickly connected the fuse to the plunger and motioned for Jack to get down.
"3…..2….1….."
Boom.
Pieces of the bridge flew in all directions. Chunks of concrete mixed in with chunks of wood. The bridge was now just a shell of what it used to be. A few seconds later, they heard the unmistakable sound of water flowing down through the river once more.
They quickly and quietly picked up their supplies and headed back towards the house.
Just as they rounded the corner out of sight, they heard yelling and gun shots.
They made it to the house without anyone following them.
Jonathan was right behind them.
They all three came into the house at the same time.
"That was beautiful".
"Yeah, it did exactly what we wanted it to".
He pulled up the footage from the camera and hooked it up to the tv.
They watched it a couple of times from a couple of different angles.
"The best part about this is, they have no room to get angry at us about it".
Jennifer picked up Freeway and then turned to look at Bill and Jack.
"Are you three insane? Between the three of you, are you all sharing part of one brain or something? And please, tell me who got the intelligence, because I really and truly cannot tell in this moment. You three exploded a bridge. You sent pieces of wood and cement flying into the air who knows how far, without any warning that it was going to take place. I think you can reasonably expect them to be angry about it, especially since they built what you blew up in the first place".
"Well, they can be mad. But they can't say we did anything illegal. They don't own the river. And the entire time, we were either in the river or on your property".
"Oh, like that's really going to make a difference!"
Jennifer's eyes were blazing and she was so mad she was shaking.
Before they could argue about it further, the doorbell rang.
Jennifer looked at Jonathan.
"Give me a minute".
She quickly got all her paperwork put away and out of sight, and then nodded at him.
He went and answered the door.
Sheriff McDougal was on the other side.
"Hello Mr. Hart. We need to have a chat."
"Come on in".
Sheriff McDougal came into the living room and found Jennifer, Bill and Jack.
Freeway started growling, so Jennifer got him in her lap and got him quiet.
"Mr. Hart, I'll get right to the point. We received a call at the station that you and your friends here were trespassing on some property and that you exploded a bridge that didn't belong to you. Would you like to tell me why you did that?"
"We never trespassed. We were on my property, or in between the banks of the river, which is owned by the state".
"Fine. I'll give you that one. However, you had no right to blow up a bridge".
"They had no right to block the flow of water from the part of the river that we had access to".
"Mr. Hart, I'm not here to mediate some petty drama. Now I did some looking into your background. You're a businessman. And as long as I've been the sheriff, I've never seen you and your wife here for more than a week or two at a time. Don't you have a business to get back to?"
"Until we stop being harassed, the only business I need to tend to is right here on this ranch".
"Fine, have it your way. But I'm warning you-any more reports of you trespassing on someone else's property or blowing things up-that's it. I'm taking you in. This has gone too far".
"So, maybe you should focus on getting them to leave us alone, and then we won't have a reason to trespass or blow things up!"
"Are you telling me how to do my job?"
"What my husband was trying to say is-all of this started because we refused to sell our ranch to them. They didn't ask once, they didn't ask twice, they asked 5 times. And my husband said no, it's not for sale each and every time. And they called our home, and threatened my life if he didn't sell. They came here and shot a bullet through our window. They have altered the property lines on our ranch, they have stolen our hay and feed for our horses, they have restricted water access for our horses, and they tried to run me off the road a few days when I went into town. So, if you are ready for this feud to end, perhaps you should turn your attention to the ones who started the feud instead of us, the ones trying to end it".
"Have a good day, Mr. and Mrs. Hart".
The sheriff saw himself out.
They decided to have a low-key evening. Jonathan made sure the property was locked down tight, and they closed the gates and just kept to themselves.
***The Next Morning***
Jennifer made sausage biscuits for everyone. Pretty soon, talk turned to what the next steps needed to be.
"Got any ideas, Valentine?"
Jonathan turned to Bill.
"You guys want to help me put up some cameras?"
"Would love nothing better".
"Darling, do you really think it's wise to be outside right now?"
"Jennifer, I'm not going anywhere but in my own backyard".
"Bullets don't know boundaries, Jonathan".
"I promise you, I'll be careful".
He kissed her forehead and then he and Bill and Jack headed outside.
Jennifer was too keyed up to relax or work or anything, so she decided to walk out front with Freeway and get the mail.
As soon as she got to the mailbox, she spied two cars down the street stopped, talking to each other. She watched them talk for several minutes and then began to gather the mail from the mailbox. A few seconds later, the two cars went their separate ways.
As one of the cars passed her, Jennifer realized that it was the same car that tried to run her off the road.
She grabbed the mail and headed back into the house.
She went immediately to the file that Stanley had put together. She looked all through it and found the piece of paper he had included about what he found when he ran the license plate.
"I knew it!", she whispered.
She went to the phone and called Hart Industries.
"Deanne, this is Jennifer. Can you connect me to Stanley, please?"
A few seconds later, he came on the line.
"Stanley, this is Mrs. Hart. Can you do some more digging as a personal favor? There's a Sheriff up here. Sheriff Pete McDougal. Can you investigate him for me, please? Just find out whatever you can about him. And see if you can find a link between him and Holt Gregory".
"Yes, Mrs. Hart".
"Thank you".
She hung up and went and sat at the computer again, and began organizing her thoughts into a word document.
She took a break about 2 hours later, and was in the kitchen making some lemonade when Jonathan came in.
"Hi".
"Hello".
"Look, I know you're mad, but our hands were tied. We had to do something. We had to send a message".
"Jonathan-you could have been hurt! You could have gotten all of us killed".
"I know, but you know that I would have never let that happen".
"Oh? They put a bullet through our window the other night, just because we were sitting on the couch. You blew up their bridge, I'm surprised they didn't storm over here and take us hostage and torture us to death".
"Jennifer-"
"And where exactly did you and Bill learn how to make those bombs?"
"In the Navy. A buddy of ours showed us how."
"You could have gotten yourself killed!"
"I'm sorry. But we had to do something to get the upper hand here".
He wrapped his arms around her.
"Well you better pray that all they are planning on doing is sending the sheriff to talk to us. And you're damned lucky he didn't arrest all three of you".
"Yeah, I know. But you never know, going to jail might have had its advantages".
He was rubbing her back while he hugged her.
"Oh? Like what?"
"Well for starters, I've known Bill most of my life, and I've known Jack for a long time. So, it's not like I would have been locked up with strangers, darling. And you know that thin mattress that you have to sleep on in jail? Well, that just means you would give me a nice, long backrub after you bailed us all out".
"Ha ha. Nice try. And how nice of you to assume I would bail you out. I could just let you stay in jail, darling".
"Now you wouldn't do that to me. It's me, the person you married, for better or for worse, forever".
"And if you don't quit pulling these dangerous stunts, our marriage isn't going to be forever, Jonathan".
She took a sip of her lemonade and went to set it back down on the counter.
He took it from her and took a sip himself.
"For the record, I was more scared than mad. You could have been killed. You belong to me, you know".
"I understand. I love you, I better get back outside and finish installing the cameras with Bill and Jack".
"I love you too".
They shared a few kisses and then he went back outside.
She decided to write an article about this whole situation, and began to do so while she waited for Stanley to call her back.
Bill, Jack and Jonathan came in and grilled some hamburgers for lunch. All three of them insisted that they were going to do the grilling, prepping, and cooking, and they were going to wait on Jennifer hand and foot.
They were bringing her fresh glasses of lemonade, and they made her a salad with all of her favorite vegetables and her favorite dressing.
Just before dinner, the doorbell rang.
Jennifer went to answer it, and found Sheriff McDougal on the other side.
"Hi, come on in".
Jonathan and Jennifer and Jack and Bill all gathered with the sheriff in the living room.
"So, I came here with a truce offering of sorts. The people at the ranch that think you trespassed met with me today. At first, they were all set to have me arrest you three for trespassing and blowing up the bridge. But I presented to them your side of the story, which is that they purposely restricted the water access, and that you actually didn't trespass. So, they proposed a truce. You leave them alone, and they'll leave you alone. Both of you can access the river from your personal property or from the street, but not from the other property, without prior permission. I made it very clear to them that you all don't wish to sell your property, and they said they will accept that. Now, if you ever do decide to sell, they will probably be your first interested showing. And with all the changes you are making to the property and the upgrades, you shouldn't have any problems finding a buyer".
"I can live with that. And I think we will all respect the no-trespassing truce, as long as they respect it as well".
"Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Hart, gentlemen."
"Thank you, Sheriff".
Jonathan saw him out, and then locked the door behind him.
He came back into the living room.
"Well, that was an unexpected turn".
"Manzoni Mistreatment", said Bill.
"Manzoni what?"
Jennifer was totally confused.
Jonathan turned to Bill.
"You're right! It is just like Mason Manzoni".
"Darling, who is Mason Manzoni?"
"He was a guy that Bill and I knew in the Navy. And he was two-faced, conceited and downright deceitful. He had a thing he did that the rest of us called 'the Manzoni Mistreatment'. He would pester someone mercilessly with no end in sight, and then he would call a truce, like it had been bothering him or something. And he would always be the first one to extend the olive branch, but it wasn't because he truly felt bad. It was because he wanted to gain points with the captain".
"So what you are saying is the truce may not be well intended?"
"Exactly".
"Did you have any problems or issues when you three were outside putting the cameras up?"
"NO, we didn't".
"So, what makes you think it's not a well-intended truce?"
"Just a gut feeling".
"Well, let's look at the facts. We are making changes to the ranch, and now they know they can't just come on to our property, as we've made it practically impossible. They obviously know that we are watching the river so they would be stupid to try and block it again. They haven't been over here bothering us, and we haven't been having any more incidents of them trespassing on our property, so there's nothing that indicates that they are planning something".
"Maybe you're right. At least they offered a truce".
"Dinner will be ready momentarily".
"No, no little lady. The menfolk made you lunch, and the menfolk will make you dinner".
"The royal treatment continues? I like the sound of that".
They grilled steaks, and Jonathan made some of Jennifer's famous garlic mashed potatoes, and some roasted veggies. Bill and Jack even set the table and made a fresh pitcher of sweet tea.
They had a nice dinner, and then the men insisted on doing the dishes.
"How long is the Royal treatment going to last?"
"Until you forgive us".
"Yeah, that's right. Freeway can't be the only guy in your life that you aren't mad at".
"I'm not mad at Max".
"Very funny. But Bill's right. We all agreed that we would wait on you hand and foot till you weren't mad at us for trying to protect you any longer".
"Well, when you put it like that, it might take a while".