Page 93 of Deadly Revenge

“I agree,” Max said. “Once we get the photos of Sebastian’s allies, we’ll show them to Kirk and Bryan Bishop. Maybe they’ll recognize one of Sebastian’s men in the photos.”

Max and Jenna searched the narrow beach until a text popped up on Jenna’s phone. “Taylor’s here. I’ll go get her.”

“I’ll come with you.”

Once Taylor made the casts, they followed her out of the woods, stopping once again at the barn where Jenna downloaded the photos Alex had sent and showed them to Kirk. He couldn’t match any of the photos with the men he’d seen at the farm next door. “But there were some new cars over there today.”

Max arched an eye at the boy. “I hope you didn’t disobey your grandfather and drive your four-wheeler to the property.”

“I didn’t. I promise,” he said, shooting his grandfather a quick glance before shifting back to Max. “But if you take that path, you can see the cars from over by the trees.”

“Where?” Jenna asked.

“There’s a path on the other side of the house. I can show you.”

They followed Kirk to the back side of the house where a narrowpath led toward the neighbors’. “Just follow this and it’ll take you to the edge of their property.”

“Is this how you saw the cars?”

Kirk kicked at a clod of dirt. “They didn’t see me, I promise. There’re trees you can hide behind.”

“Promise you won’t do that again,” Jenna said. “At least not until the people who are there move.”

“But—”

“No buts,” Max said. “It could be dangerous.”

The boy’s shoulders drooped. “Okay. But I could sneak in there.”

“Kirk, you have to promise us you won’t go near this property again,” Jenna said. When he nodded, she said, “I want to hear you say it.”

“I promise.”

“Good. Now go back to the barn with your grandfather.”

They waited until Kirk disappeared inside the barn. Max chuckled. “He’ll probably make a good deputy one day.”

“Probably—if he doesn’t get into trouble before that.”

Max led the way to the farmhouse next door as they followed the path until the trees thinned except for a row of cedar trees. Probably the property line. Through the breaks in the trees a plank house came into view. Several cars were parked in the drive, all backed in where they couldn’t see the license plate.

“Too bad Tennessee doesn’t have a plate on the front,” Max muttered.

“I’ve wished that more than once,” Jenna replied.

“Any chance Alex might assign deputies to watch the house on the off chance the occupants might do something that would justify getting a warrant?”

“If the county had enough deputies, she would, but we’re stretched thin as it is, especially with Mark Lassiter at the field trials and Alex’s latest hire, Hayes Smithfield, at the police academy.Besides, we don’t have a crime—just our intuition that something is wrong.”

They watched the house for a good half hour, and nothing moved, not even a grasshopper. Even so, his gut told him something was going on at the old farm place, and it wasn’t good.

47

Max offered to drive, and as they neared town, she said, “The library used to have old copies of our local newspaper on microfilm. Maybe we can access information about what went on during Carter’s tenure as mayor.”

He checked his watch. “It’s almost six. What time do they close?”

“Eight, I believe.”

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