Herrera read Dale\u2019s message twice.<\/p>\n
\u201cCould be a trap.\u201d<\/p>\n
June was already moving toward the machine-shed door.<\/p>\n
Herrera blocked her.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt could also be true.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich is why officers will check.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Bible was beside Grandpa when he died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, you don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
June stopped herself.<\/p>\n
The words had come out sharper than she intended.<\/p>\n
Herrera did not react.<\/p>\n
June tried again.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandpa asked me to read to him Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you read?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing. He fell asleep before I found his glasses.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes went toward the farmhouse.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Bible was on the nightstand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Herrera called the officers inside.<\/p>\n
No response.<\/p>\n
She tried again.<\/p>\n
Static.<\/p>\n
Then one voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cLieutenant, rear door movement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Herrera straightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat movement?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossible entry. East side.\u201d<\/p>\n
Every officer near the shed changed posture.<\/p>\n
June\u2019s heart started pounding.<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStay here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Herrera drew her weapon and moved outside.<\/p>\n
Mark caught June\u2019s arm.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t going anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
He gave her a look.<\/p>\n
\u201cFine. I was thinking about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re terrible at lying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo is Dad, apparently.\u201d<\/p>\n
We waited.<\/p>\n
Gunmetal minutes.<\/p>\n
A shout came from the direction of the house.<\/p>\n
Then another.<\/p>\n
Flashlights moved through the yard.<\/p>\n
June gripped the workbench.<\/p>\n
A radio crackled.<\/p>\n
\u201cSuspect running north.\u201d<\/p>\n
Herrera\u2019s voice answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cDescription?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMale, dark clothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnknown.\u201d<\/p>\n
June looked at Mark.<\/p>\n
The cattle gate.<\/p>\n
The old pasture route.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows the farm.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo do the officers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot like us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJune.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe can reach the creek.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark knew she was right.<\/p>\n
Grandpa\u2019s property contained old lanes, drainage cuts, fence gaps, and abandoned equipment paths invisible to anyone who had not grown up there.<\/p>\n
But June had.<\/p>\n
So had Robert.<\/p>\n
Herrera returned at a run.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone entered through the kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Bible?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOfficers are checking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho ran?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
A flashlight signal came from the porch.<\/p>\n
Herrera listened to her radio.<\/p>\n
Then looked at June.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bedroom was searched.\u201d<\/p>\n
June\u2019s face fell.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Bible?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGone.\u201d<\/p>\n
She closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
Robert had beaten them.<\/p>\n
Or Martin.<\/p>\n
Or Dale.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNightstand drawer emptied.\u201d<\/p>\n
June thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was in it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you identify contents?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cReading glasses. Tissues. Nitroglycerin tablets. Rosary that belonged to Grandma.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd a photograph.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat photograph?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandpa and Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Herrera watched her.<\/p>\n
\u201cRecent?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
June looked toward the dark house.<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert was nineteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
The old photograph showed father and son beside a tractor. Robert was lean and sunburned, one arm across Grandpa\u2019s shoulders. Grandpa was barely forty, smiling in a way June had rarely seen him smile later.<\/p>\n
Why would someone take that?<\/p>\n
Unless Robert had.<\/p>\n
At 9:32, an officer found footprints behind the house.<\/p>\n
They led north.<\/p>\n
Then disappeared at the gravel lane.<\/p>\n
Tire marks suggested a waiting vehicle.<\/p>\n
Herrera\u2019s team began searching roads.<\/p>\n
June was finally allowed into Grandpa\u2019s bedroom after photographs were taken.<\/p>\n
She stopped in the doorway.<\/p>\n
The hospice bed remained against the wall.<\/p>\n
Sheets stripped.<\/p>\n
Oxygen tubing coiled on the floor.<\/p>\n
His dresser drawers had been opened.<\/p>\n
The nightstand lay on its side.<\/p>\n
June picked nothing up.<\/p>\n
Her eyes went to the empty place where the Bible had been.<\/p>\n
\u201cI should have taken it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood beside her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had no reason.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew people had keys.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were burying your grandfather.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at the hospice bed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was thinking about flowers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s normal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was thinking about whether we had enough sandwiches for the church.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso normal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMeanwhile Dad was thinking about documents.\u201d<\/p>\n
I had no answer.<\/p>\n
Mark called from the hallway.<\/p>\n
\u201cJune.\u201d<\/p>\n
He held something in a gloved evidence bag an officer had given him permission to show us.<\/p>\n
A torn corner of paper.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFound under the bed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Albright examined it.<\/p>\n
Only a few typed words remained.<\/p>\n
\u2026beneficial interest described herein shall terminate if\u2026<\/p>\n
June stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cTerminate if what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rest is gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Albright looked toward the empty Bible space.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis likely came from page two.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Robert tore it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOr someone did earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould Grandpa have hidden only page two?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
June thought of the photograph Robert sent.<\/p>\n
Page one intact.<\/p>\n
A promise.<\/p>\n
Half the farm.<\/p>\n
Page two contained the conditions.<\/p>\n
Maybe Robert had known the condition all along.<\/p>\n
Maybe that was why he needed Grandpa\u2019s other records altered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kinds of conditions would contracts like this have?\u201d<\/p>\n
Albright shrugged.<\/p>\n
\u201cContinued employment. Repayment. Performance. No transfer. Survival. Any number.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark leaned against the doorframe.<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert left the farm after seven years.\u201d<\/p>\n
June looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the agreement required him to stay\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe lost the interest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Albright nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cPotentially.\u201d<\/p>\n
June\u2019s phone rang.<\/p>\n
Dale.<\/p>\n
She answered immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice was low.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t talk long.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you with Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGas station.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat town?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDale.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI got away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Herrera moved closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cPut him on speaker.\u201d<\/p>\n
June did.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you hurt?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s Robert?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe went to the farm.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe already came.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale swore.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he get the Bible?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
June gripped the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was on page two?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never saw it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew it was in the Bible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKeene told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s Keene?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did you run from the bank?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale breathed hard.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Robert told me police were coming for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t funny.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
June\u2019s voice sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cNeither is putting your company on forged transfer documents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t forge Grandpa\u2019s name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who did?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou expect me to believe that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKeene prepared the documents.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone looked at Herrera.<\/p>\n
She began writing.<\/p>\n
Dale continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said they were drafts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Grandpa\u2019s signature?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t see the signed version until later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo weeks ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell anyone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Robert said Grandpa had signed an earlier agreement giving him rights to the farm.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe page-one agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you believed him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe showed it to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he show you page two?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
June closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you think your company was doing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cReceiving the property temporarily.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRestructuring.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark whispered an obscenity.<\/p>\n
Dale heard.<\/p>\n
\u201cShut up, Mark.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
June interrupted.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy your company?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Robert\u2019s businesses had liens.\u201d<\/p>\n
That mattered.<\/p>\n
\u201cLiens from what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLoans. Lawsuits. I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Dad couldn\u2019t receive property directly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what Keene said.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you agreed to hold it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it was legal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Grandpa know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought he did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did you run?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale stopped.<\/p>\n
June waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause three days ago Keene showed me the signature page.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt looked wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
June closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI suspected.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou still said nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was scared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo was Grandpa.\u201d<\/p>\n
That silenced him.<\/p>\n
Herrera took the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cDale, this is Lieutenant Herrera. Tell me exactly where you are.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not getting arrested.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat depends on evidence and prosecutors. Right now I\u2019m more interested in keeping you alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t I be alive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the people you were working with are destroying evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale breathed heavily.<\/p>\n
Herrera continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you just became a witness.\u201d<\/p>\n
He gave the gas station name.<\/p>\n
A patrol unit was sent.<\/p>\n
Before hanging up, June took the phone back.<\/p>\n
\u201cDale.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho sent the threat to me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe video?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKeene recorded it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy midnight?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert said your rescission period ended then.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vernon shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
June said, \u201cDad lied to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n
She almost felt sorry for him.<\/p>\n
Almost.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he ever say what happens after I rescind?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe becomes trustee.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale went quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandpa amended it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert gets nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale exhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, God.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe doesn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe figured that out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale\u2019s voice became urgent.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert doesn\u2019t think he can lose.\u201d<\/p>\n
June looked at Herrera.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Keene told him the amendment can\u2019t matter if the original trust disappears.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vernon stepped closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat original trust?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe signed master copy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vernon\u2019s face drained.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere does Robert think it is?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cPrairie State Bank.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone turned toward Vernon.<\/p>\n
He was already reaching for his phone.<\/p>\n
The bank\u2019s security company answered on the second call.<\/p>\n
The alarm had triggered six minutes earlier.<\/p>\n
Herrera read Dale\u2019s message twice. \u201cCould be a trap.\u201d June was already moving toward the machine-shed door. Herrera blocked her. \u201cIt could also be true.\u201d \u201cWhich is why officers will … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1145,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feel-one-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1155"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1171,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1155\/revisions\/1171"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}