Page 106 of Bad Seed

It was nearing noon when Rusty started down the mountain into Jubilee. Brendan and Harley weren’t the only people she was going to talk to. Sonny Warren and his officers had been knee-deep in Rusty’s trafficking case, and she wanted them to know that loose end had just been tied in a great big knot.

But she was telling Harley first. She needed to know she was no longer under the gun. She made a quick call to Brendan to let them know she was coming.

***

Brendan was putting a load of clothes into the washer, and Harley was folding the clean towels he’d just taken from the dryer, when his phone began to ring. He glanced at the screen and then answered. “Morning, Rusty.”

“I’m almost at your house. I have news you are never going to believe. And don’t panic. It’s all good.”

“What’s happened?” he asked, then frowned. “Dang it. She hung up.”

Harley heard just enough of the conversation to worry. “What’s happening?”

“That was Rusty. Nothing bad, she said, but she said she’s almost at the house. She has news we’re not going to believe.”

“All I want to hear is that this madness is over,” Harley said as she put the last washcloth on the stack and started to shove her hair back from her face whenshe remembered the healing wound. She’d taken the bandage off yesterday because it kept coming unstuck. The area that had been raw was already dry and healing and hidden by her curls, and it felt good to have it off.

Brendan walked up behind her, slipped his arms around her waist, and kissed the back of her neck. “You taste as good as you smell,” he said.

Harley turned in his arms and kissed him. “Hmm, so do you,” she whispered. Moments later, the doorbell rang.

He groaned. “Hold that thought. I’ll get the door. You get first dibs by the fire,” he said, and went to the door as Harley took a left into the living room.

Rusty breezed in, bringing the cold air with her. Brendan took her coat and hung it on a hook by the door, then ushered her into the living room. “Can I get you some coffee?” he asked.

Rusty shook her head. “No, and quit fussing. Come sit. I’m fit to busting with news.”

As soon as everyone was seated, she unloaded.

“First off, Harley, you are officially safe. Tip Crossley has been arrested. You were so right to suspect him. Hewasthe man behind it all, and it was his father who found the proof. Special Agent Howard didn’t go into details because this case is pending, but he said the old man was so devastated by what he’d discovered that by the time he got to the field office to tell them what he’d found, he was too shaken to get out of the car, so they came out to get him.”

“Poor Wilhem,” Harley said.

“So, Harley is truly safe now?” Brendan asked.

“From all of this, yes. Besides what Wilhem found and the other evidence they have uncovered, they also have the testimony of two gang members. Tipton Crossley’s reign is over. But there was a huge shock at the end of this for me as well. Harley, you won’t have known about this. It’s even before Shirley moved back to Jubilee with the boys, but I first came to Jubilee as an undercover agent for the FBI. Single women had been going missing from this area for months, and there were suspicions that because of the number of tourists funneling in and out of Jubilee, that it might have been targeted as ample shopping grounds for women who came on their own.

“As it turned out, that was happening, and between me, Cameron, and the entire Jubilee police department, as well as County Sheriff Rance Woodley, we were instrumental in bringing the gang down. We even recovered some women before they disappeared in the chain of command, but we never found the head of the snake, so to speak.” Rusty paused, thinking of what her son said about the snake biting itself, and then continued. “The feds have physical proof that that gang was part of Tipton Crossley’s combine. Having his headquarters in his hometown was risky, but convenient because of international shipping. What he never counted on was his father noticing something wrong or foreseeing that he might hire an auditor like you. You didn’t just crunch numbers; you followed the money and found out aboutthe crime. The fact that you and Wilhem took it to the feds was the break they’d been searching for. They send high praise and thanks to you.”

Harley was speechless. “How many years ago was that?”

“Eight, nearly nine years ago, I guess. Mikey is seven, nearing eight. And all that was right before Cameron and I got married.”

“I’ve heard people talk about it,” Brendan said. “And about Cameron’s run up the mountain to rescue Lili from the kidnappers.”

“They were taking babies?” Harley said.

Rusty nodded. “She was just a toddler, and they already had a buyer waiting for her when she was snatched. But that’s a story for another day. I’m heading to the police department to tell Chief Warren about this, too. The Jubilee PD was instrumental in helping bring it to an end here.”

Brendan frowned. “Didn’t you wind up getting shot before all that was over?”

“Yes, but again, that’s also a story for another day.” Then she gave Harley a hug. “Thank you for coming to me. For trusting me to help you.”

“I’m just grateful you were willing to get involved,” Harley said. “Now we can get on with our lives.”

Rusty had been watching the expressions coming and going on Brendan’s face and knew he’d become involved with Harley, but she didn’t know to what level and wasn’t too shy to ask.

“So, what are your plans, if you don’t mind me asking? I’m going to be selfish enough to hope they include sticking around.”

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