Page 16 of Operation: Unify

“What are we going to do today? I mean, after I shower.” She laughed as she whipped the covers off.

“I’d like to talk to that cop again. We could take him out for a cup of coffee and tell him what you suspect. Even if he can’t do anything, it will be on record that you’re afraid of Tod and what he could be planning.”

“Or it will look like I’m creating my own alibi.” Melinda took a labored breath and let it out. “Sorry, Tod told me this was how it would play out. He’s so paranoid that he won’t even get a phone because he’s sure they would be listening to him and proving him wrong. I wonder if we’ll ever beat him at this game.”

“I don’t want to beat him. I want him arrested for what he’s done to you.” Lacy turned to look fully at Melinda. “How many days a week have you had to cover up bruises so you could go outside?”

Melinda looked away and that was answer enough.

“That’s not right, Melinda. That’s not what life is supposed to be like. I know this kind of thing happens slowly until you’re convinced you can’t leave, but you can. It’s not God’s will that you stay in a place where you could die.”

“How do you know? I thought I loved him. I thought he was a good guy.” She took two steps toward the bathroom, then stopped. “He told me time and again that I’d never do better.”

“And right now, would you choose anyone else?”

Melinda snorted. “Never. I don’t want to be married ever again.”

“Exactly. He wanted you to feel worthless. Even knowing you’d never want to impress anyone else, he still used that against you.”

“I don’t want to feel dumb for this.”

Lacy stood and gently laid a hand on Melinda’s shoulder. “I can say with certainty that you’re not dumb. You were mentally abused and that led to physical abuse. Now, we just need to get you out of it and far, far away from Tod McFarland.”

Chapter Six

Connor read the email for a third time to make sure he hadn’t missed anything, then he entered the address of the hotel into Google to see how far away Lacy really was. Hours. He’d have to drive hours to help her if she found herself in a terrible situation and she wasn’t close to any airports.

Part of him wanted to race off and be there at her side even without her asking him to. What would it hurt to be there? Then again, she’d indicated that her friend was in an abusive relationship. Having him around might make Melinda feel stressed and she’d be stressed enough.

Edwyn came in and laid a few printed pages on his desk. “That’s the report on the land you asked me to do. Taxes will go up this year because of the acquisition of the Homestead. In the spring, we’ll be able to check the fences over there, what’s left of them.”

His dad had been a cattle man up until Connor had wanted to start Wayside as a place for healing. Dad had gone along with it, but he’d always missed seeing the cows grazing and going to auctions. That was part of Connor’s childhood that he couldn’t get back as long as Wayside had the purpose it did.

“And will there be room for cattle?” Connor glanced at the pages, only skimming quickly over the numbers.

“Yes. Not the size herd your father had. It’s a smaller place. Probably closer to a farm than a ranch. Most of the buildings were burned down in the fire, but I got the impression they did more farming than husbandry.” Edwyn frowned. “Nadine was up late into the night, worried about Viceroy. She’s not a worrier. What can we do to take some of this stress off her plate?”

“I knew she’d be worried since she offered to testify against him. She might even be in danger. We’re keeping an eye on our perimeter.” He was concerned with everyone’s safety, but Lacy was his top priority.

“Any other news from the jail?” Edwyn pushed further back in his chair.

“No, it’s been quiet for the last twenty-four hours. But if they hoped to have the element of surprise, that makes sense. Security will be higher for a little while until they let it go back to normal.”

“I know, but they don’t have much time. What about the others who were arrested?”

There were many underlings arrested over the last year in connection with Viceroy. All but his wife Ramona were now dead. That left the list of people able to testify against him perilously small. That also meant those who could testify were in grave danger.

“There’s only Ramona and she has refused to testify. They even got to Evie. They found her hanging in her cell from a cord made of her jumpsuit.”

Edwyn’s brow rose. “And let me guess, the security cameras went down right before it happened?”

Connor couldn’t laugh, that was too morbid, but Edwyn was right. “It didn’t come back on until ten minutes after they found her. Are you shocked?”

Edwyn relaxed his face until it was completely emotionless. “This is my shocked face.”

Finally, Connor laughed. “Look, if you need to take Nadine and go somewhere she feels protected, then you should. It could be somewhere other than here, it’s fine. I get it. We’ll manage. Dad can come back and work security for a little while. Moira might want to get out, too. Her son didn’t want to testify about what happened to him, but if he changed his mind, he could be in danger. They might consider him a danger anyway. Evie had sworn to silence. She hardly spoke to anyone, and they still got to her.”

“It makes me wonder if they were trying to rescue him or kill him. What if he wasn’t the top dog?” Edwyn took a deep breath. “Maybe I’m just worried this will never be over, but I can’t help thinking this is a demon with more than one head.”

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