Page 4 of Venom's Sting

“What don’t hardly make no sense, is for you to still be circling around my ranch after all these years, accusing me of doing things I didn’t do.”

Years? My step-grandmother died eighteen months ago, it wasn’t long after that I stopped dropping by. I wonder for a moment if my grandfather is going a bit cuckoo, but then I stop feeling sorry for him. I’m here to find my mom. I decided to be sly, like he’s always trying to be. “What if I called the police to do a wellness check on the person you claim isn’t here, would they find all those meds or are they gone? If the pharmacist says they were delivered and you can’t produce them, either you sold them, or gave them to her.”

He steps out to meet me, his expression inscrutable. “You tryin’ to set me off today, youngin’? Y’aint spoken to your old Pa in years. Why come back now?”

“I’m just trying to find my mom.” Taking a step closer, I gaze up into his cold eyes. “She’s your daughter as well as my mother. I find it strange that you aren’t moving heaven and earth trying to find her as well. One would almost think you’re not worried because you know where she is.”

His hand comes out hard and fast. I step back before he can grab me, and he only gets the tail end of my long scarf. I reach out to yank it out of his hand, but the old buzzard is stronger and snatches it from me, causing it to jerk from around my neck.

The minute he kneels down and lets his dogs sniff at it, I know I’m in deep shit. He’s not gonna let me leave here today, just like he didn’t let my mom leave seven months ago I suspect. Only, I’ve got to escape or there’ll be no one left to look for her.

Whirling around, I make a run for my car.

“That’s right girlie, run away, just like you did years ago.” I can hear him laughing as I head towards the cornfields.

Then I hear the blood chilling howls as his dogs start baying. The bastard is gonna hunt me down like a deer. I run as fast as I can. Running for my life. The highway is just on the other side of the field. If only I can get that far, I can hitch a ride to town and alert the police to what just happened.

I’m athletic and flight of foot, so I eventually pull away from his sniffing hounds by running through the narrow stream that runs through his land. I know it won’t stop the dogs for long and they’ll pick up my scent, but it will buy me some time.

I can hear the dogs howling as I run through those cornstalks for what seems like forever. Eventually, I scramble up the embankment and reach the edge of the highway, waving my hands frantically for a vehicle to stop.

By a stroke of luck, the first car I wave down is my old Sunday school teacher, Mrs. Buren. She comes to a skidding stop and her eyes widen when she sees me. “Amy Beth Grayson! What are you running from girl, the devil himself?”

I run around and get into her passenger seat. Giving her a nervous glance, I respond honestly, “Almost as bad. I was running from my grandfather’s hunting dogs.”

She makes a disgruntled sound and hits the gas. “Those creatures need to be put down. Did you know they bit my Jimmy Jay when he was deer hunting a couple of years back?”

“No, ma’am. I’m real sorry that happened to him though. I hope he wasn’t too badly injured.”

“Those mangy mutts travel in pairs. He ended up with sixteen stitches in his leg. It probably would have been worse if he hadn’t fought them off with the butt of his rifle.”

I’m honestly horrified to hear about her son. My heart is still racing, and I can hardly pay attention to all her complaints about the dogs, because I’m still coming to grips with the fact that my own grandfather tried to attack me just now. The situation sounds surreal, but my gut tells me that’s what his intention was.

“Rufus thinks because he owns a big spread, he can do as he likes. I should have sued the pants off him, but my husband said that would be asking for trouble.”

“Well, you’re not wrong about him being an island unto himself. He certainly deserved a lawsuit over all the pain and suffering your son endured.”

She gives me firm nod. “If I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t let my husband dissuade me from doing what was right.”

We keep trash talking my grandfather because we’re both rightly pissed with him. He’s a gigantic pain in the ass. My mind keeps going back to what he was saying about me, it’s like he thought I was my mom. But if he was holding her, why wouldhe be saying that? Nothing makes sense. However, by the time she lets me out at the police station, I’m feeling more elated than scared, because now I have enough justification for them to get a search warrant for his house and property.

The minute I walk in, Sergeant Pike begins shaking his head. “I don’t know what you’re up to this morning, Amy Beth, but the answer is no.”

I take a deep calming breath and square my shoulders before saying, “All I want is for you to do your job. I found evidence that my grandfather might be involved in my mother’s disappearance.”

“Not that again. Look, Amy Beth, we investigated that and found no indication of foul play. Rufus might be an ornery old coot, but he’s an upstanding member of this community.”

My hand comes up and I put my palm out. “My mom’s case is still open, therefore it’s still your job to continue the investigation and I’m telling you, I’ve found proof that she’s at the farm.”

His voice becomes exasperated. “I’ve personally looked at this from every angle, Amy Beth. There was no break in at your old place, no sign of a struggle inside, and that fifty bucks is still sittin’ in her bank account.”

I try shaming him because I’ll do absolutely anything to get my mom back. “You used to be a good cop. You fought the good fight, and people could count on you to do the right thing. What the hell happened?”

His expression shuts down and he grits out, “I’m just as dedicated as I ever was, girl. I’ve just learned to prioritize thecases I have some hope of solving. We’re understaffed and don’t have the manpower to go gallivanting off every time you get a wild idea in your head that you think might be a clue.”

Since nothing else is working, I lure him with a promise. “You should be eager to hear this new information. It might bust the case wide open.”

His eyes light up for a second before his expression turns suspicious. “You better not be feeding me a line, Amy Beth.”

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