Dig two graves, p.16
Dig Two Graves, page 16
Agent Shivers was in Texas, still dealing with the fallout from Kevin Argyle’s death, when he received word that both Hugh Davies and Brian Carson were dead. There was no way that was a coincidence, he thought to himself. There was a new player here that he was unaware of. He had thought Kevin Argyle had been the mastermind, and the person in charge who was calling the shots. Now he wasn’t so sure. He was going to have to pull some resources together to get to the bottom of it. There was no way Congressman Nedders was pulling the strings on this thing. He didn’t have the clout, plus he would try to strike out through political channels. The information he had from the crime scenes on Davies and Carson told him this was professional. Not mercenaries, more a seasoned hit man. He called his second in command and ordered all the files they had on Kevin Argyle sent to him. He needed to find the link from Argyle to whoever had Davies and Argyle killed. The files were sent over, and Shivers printed them off, and set himself up in an unused office in the Dallas Field Office to begin pouring through the information. He hoped it wouldn’t take him long to find the link between the two.
Shivers spent the night in the temporary office he had set up. He ordered take out to be delivered to him. He poured through the file on Argyle. He had set up a bulletin board and had started a rough timeline and chain of events. After he had finished studying the file the first time, he went to the board he had set up. Not finding what he was looking for, he poured through the file on Argyle again. After a second reading, and coming up with nothing new, he moved on to the file the FBI had compiled on Brian Carson. Using Carson’s file, he added new names and events to the board. Dawn was fast approaching when he began going through Carson’s finances. After going through the various deposits that had been made to Carson’s account, a name stood out to Shivers. Merriman Capitol. That name had deposited various sums in Carson’s account numerous times. Shivers went back to the Kevin Argyle file. Finding Argyle’s finances, he began reading through the information, and sure enough, there were deposits to Argyle from Merriman Capitol as well. Shivers put the name of the company on his board and drew a line from it to Argyle and Carson. To cover all of his bases, he picked up Hugh Davies’ file and checked his accounts. There were no deposits from Merriman to Davies. Shivers suspected that both Argyle and Carson had been on the Merriman Capitol payroll. Now that he had a link, he needed to find out more about Merriman Capitol. He cleaned up the office he was using, put the files in his briefcase and headed out of the building. He was going to go back to his hotel room, freshen up and get a couple hours of sleep before coming back to the Dallas Field Office to see what he could find out about this new link.
Chapter Thirty Four
The past week had gone by quickly for Joe. Christmas was fast approaching, and he had helped Ashley decorate the old farmhouse. They had a tree up, with several presents wrapped up underneath it. It was nice to be able to settle into a somewhat normal routine. The holidays had brought forth a welcome calm to their lives. The two of them had settled in comfortably together without a constant threat of some kind looming over them. With Kevin Argyle dead, and Ray and his minions in jail headed for prison, things returned to normal around the Ramsey house. Phillip and Sarah were getting along very well, and things were fast becoming serious with the new couple. They would come over for dinner with Joe and Ashley once a week to catch up.
Ashley had noticed the change in Joe. He still kept up a good situational awareness, but it was like a weight had been lifted off of him. He no longer seemed worried about whatever boogie man was behind the door waiting to get them. He had started to enjoy life again. She herself had been thrilled upon hearing the news that Ray had violated his parole so quickly after being released. He would go back to prison, and she wouldn’t have to worry about him for a long while. She had settled in to married life well. This time around was so much different than her marriage to Ray. There was no torment and abuse here. Joe genuinely loved her. He was quick to help her out around the house with anything she needed, even if it was something as small as opening the lid of a jar. She was getting into the Christmas spirit and was looking forward to the small gathering they had planned. She still had a few more presents to pull out of the closet she had stashed them in and get them wrapped and under the tree. She hoped Joe would work outside, or go to town today, so she could get that done. The gifts that were left to get under the tree were for him from her. Of course, she could always make up something that she needed from town to get him out of the house for an hour or so if she had to. Luckily for her, Joe came into the kitchen as she was cleaning up breakfast and told her he had to meet with the Judge in town. He asked if she would like to come along, but she declined. He kissed her firmly and headed out the door. Once she was sure that he was down the driveway and headed for town, she went to the closet and pulled out his gifts. She had given it a lot of thought as to what she would get him. She wanted to get him something that would show how much she appreciated everything that he had done for her. She had found a really nice knife while she had been out shopping with her mom. It was a Tops M-PAT knife, it was a bit smaller than the one he usually carried on his back. She hoped he would like it. She had also gotten him a new pair of Justin Bent Rail boots, as the pair he had were old and worn out. She gathered all the materials she needed and began wrapping the gifts. She got it all wrapped up and put it off to the side of the tree towards the back. She wrapped a few of the smaller things that she had gotten him as well. Mission accomplished; she had gotten it all done before Joe had returned home from running his errands. Feeling happy with herself, she went back to cleaning up around the house. She put on some music and got busy. By the time Joe had returned from town, she was sitting on the couch in the living room, enjoying a margarita.
Joe had come to town today, to meet with the Judge. The results of the special election had come in, and he was now the new Sheriff of Coyote County. He informed the Judge that he would meet with Deputy James while he was still in town and would officially begin the role of Sheriff after the holidays. Joe left the Judge, met with James then headed to the local jewelers. He was getting Ashley’s gift. He had picked out a nice necklace and earring set. The jeweler had even gift wrapped the set for him. Once he was finished there, he stopped off at the gun shop and picked up the Wilson Combat 1911 he had ordered for Phillip and more ammo. His last stop for the day was the local grocery store. Ashley had said they needed a few things, and he said he could grab them for her. The liquor store was in the little strip that was connected to the grocery store, so it was almost a one stop shop. He wanted to pick another bottle of Wild Turkey. Once done, with everything loaded in the Silverado, he pulled back onto the main street, headed for home. The trip to town had taken him a little longer than he had planned for it too, but he had still made decent time. He cranked the stereo in the truck as he drove. He was listening to Godsmack’s first album. He liked his country music, but every now and then he was in the mood for some hard rock, or metal. Today was one of those days. He drove the familiar route back to his house while jamming to the music, and before long was pulling into his driveway. He parked the truck and began toting the stuff from town inside. Once he had everything in, he went to the tree to put Ashley’s gift under it. That’s when he noticed a few gifts that weren’t there when he left this morning. That’s why she didn’t want to go to town with him, she was being sneaky. Joe smiled to himself, wondering what in the world she could have gotten him. As he was standing there looking at the tree, Ashley walked up behind him, and wrapped her arms around him. They stood there for a moment, looking at the tree. Ashley noticed the new box that was under it and thought to herself that she wasn’t the only one putting last-minute gifts under the tree. She was looking forward to this Christmas more than she had any other Christmas since she was a child. She was with the man that she loved.
They had dinner, then settled in on the couch to watch one of her favorite Christmas movies. Joe liked it as well and hadn’t seen it in several years. It was about a young boy who only wanted a bb gun for Christmas. When the movie was over, Ashley came over to him and straddled his lap. She kissed him passionately. Joe returned the kiss. “I love you Joe, I want us to be happy for a lifetime.” She said. “I love you too, and we will Babe, always.” He replied. He lifted her off of him, then led her to the bedroom. She removed her top and shorts while Joe was busy removing his jeans. He laid her on the bed and spread her legs. He crawled between them and began to go down on her. Ashley was in heaven, her ex, Ray, had never performed oral sex on her, but had always expected her to perform it on him. Joe seemed to love it and was very talented at it. When he was finished, he turned her over and took her from behind. They made love until they were both spent, then laid down in each other’s arms. Joe held her close, as she laid her head on his chest. He laid there thinking about how much he loved her, and that he wouldn’t let anyone harm her again. His thoughts drifted back to all that they had been through since they had first started dating. Everything from the fair up to recently. Here they were, married and still together after all of it. He kissed her forehead, as she drifted off to sleep. Soon he was asleep himself.
Chapter Thirty Five
75 miles away from the Ramsey house was the small Texas town of Horsefly Gap. The town had experienced a recent boom in the economy, due to people moving out of the bigger cities of Dallas, Ft. Worth, and Austin. Several big real estate developments had sprung up the last couple of years, and the town had nearly tripled in population. Dan Allen was the Chief of Police for the town. He had been for nearly 10 years. He had watched his small department grow from only 3 officers, to over 30. With all the prosperity came lucrative deals. His bank account had grown substantially. Then 2 years ago he was put in a position to help a wealthy real estate investor. The investor had returned the favor by introducing Dan to a group simply called the network. He met with several high-ranking members of the group, and after hearing of the favor he had done for their colleague, Dan was invited to join the group. He liked what the network had to offer. Things had only gotten better for him since then. He had grown from the Chief of a small Texas hick-town, into a well-respected member of a growing metropolis. Membership into the network had come with a laptop computer. It was encrypted and secure and was updated frequently. Dan checked his several times a day. He had just finished for the day and had just arrived home. He opened the laptop and noticed that he had a new message. The message was from one of the high members. It included a file on a man that Dan recognized immediately, he was the hero who had saved countless lives during the attack at the State Fair in Dallas. Dan read the information and saw what the network needed from him. He replied that he would get to work on it immediately. He would need to do his research. The network required that this matter be handled discreetly. There had already been too much media attention surrounding this individual lately.
Dan Allen made himself dinner, then once he was finished with that, he took a shower. After his shower, he took the file he had printed off of the laptop and began digging through it. He worked the file like he would have had he been investigating a crime. 20 years of police experience. He had surveillance photos of the target, his house, and layout of his property. Kevin Argyle had done his research, the file was extensive. He had photos of the targets vehicles as well. From the file he found out that he drove a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck. That was common in Texas. The target was recently married, and looking at the surveillance photos, Dan could see that she was very attractive. The network didn’t want Dan to kill this man. They needed him to apprehend him, so he could be turned over to other members of the network. He had been warned in the brief that several unsuccessful attempts had been made to kill the target, and he would have his guard up. Combining that with the fact that he was a former Green Beret, with years of combat experience, meant that this task wasn’t going to be easy. Dan Allen didn’t like easy. He liked the challenge. He wouldn’t out fight this man. He would outthink him. Dan would prove to the network that he could succeed where others had failed. He would take some vacation time that he had saved up, and travel to the target’s area. There he would observe him and formulate a plan to apprehend him.
He awoke the next morning, got dressed and made his way to the local precinct. Today was Friday, and he would clear his schedule for the next week. He would meet with his police captain and inform the man of his expectations for the week he would be gone. Once that was finished, he would leave early and drive to Coyote County, secure a hotel room, and begin the surveillance on Joe Ramsey. The key to this operation was to find something on Ramsey that Dan could exploit to get him to travel to Horsefly Gap. Then once Ramsey was in his jurisdiction, apprehending him would be easy.
Chapter Thirty Six
Joe awoke shortly after 7am. The dawn was just breaking, and the sun was starting to rise. He opened his eyes and rolled over. Ashley was still fast asleep next to him. He eased out of bed, grabbing his phone and 45 off of the nightstand as he did. He walked into the kitchen, poured a glass of sweet tea from the refrigerator, and sat down. He opened the weather app on his phone. The temperature was going to be in the 70s today. Got to love Texas he thought to himself. 2 weeks of snow, then spring like weather 2 days before Christmas. Phillip and Sarah were coming over tomorrow, and the couples were going to have an early Christmas dinner. He didn’t have any pressing plans for the day though. As he was browsing the latest news stories, he heard gravel crunch in his driveway. He walked outside in just his jeans, the 45 tucked into his waistband. A sheriff’s office SUV had come to a stop in his driveway. Deputy James got out of the truck. “Good morning, Boss.” James greeted. Joe waved back. James walked over to newly elected Sheriff Ramsey and handed him a badge. “You will be needing this. I know you aren’t officially starting until after the holidays, but wanted to bring this to you, just in case.” James said. Joe thanked him, and the two talked for a few minutes. Joe told James that even though he wasn’t starting until after the holidays, to call if something came in and they needed his help. James said that he would, then walked back to his SUV. Joe watched him drive down the driveway and turn onto the highway. He walked back inside and sat the badge down on the kitchen table.
He was sitting at the table when Ashley walked up behind him. She wrapped her arms around him, and he could feel her bare breasts on his bare back. She hadn’t put a shirt on. He pulled her around in front of him. She straddled him. She leaned down to kiss him, then sucked his tongue into her mouth. Joe kissed her passionately then began kissing and sucking on her breasts. She unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans and fished out his member. In one quick, hard thrust, he bottomed out inside her. She rode him hard. He had brought her to 3 orgasms when he paused, lifted her up, turned her around, and bent her over the kitchen table. Joe entered her once again, this time thrusting faster and faster, bringing himself closer to release. In one final grunt, he thrust one last time, finishing. Ashley turned around and kissed him. “That was way fucking hot babe. We have to do that more.” She said. “You will get no complaints from me.” He replied.
The couple made their way to the shower. Joe loved showering with Ashley. After they finished, they got dressed. Joe went to the dresser and placed the badge that James had given him on top of it. He would go into town later and see if Andy had any leather badge holders that clipped onto a belt. He picked up his Kimber Custom II and placed it in a Galco holster that he had. He had grown tired of using the kydex one. He fastened his belt, letting the holster ride in the 4 O’clock position that he preferred. He put on a magazine pouch made by the same company and inserted 2 magazines into it. Ashley walked up behind him, wrapped her arms around him, and kissed the back of his neck. She noticed the holster change. “You look hot babe.” She told him. “Not as hot as you.” He replied. He told her that he was going to go down to the range and do some more shooting. She said that she would like to join him and went to get her CDP. She had been carrying the Kimber instead of her Glock 43 since she had shot it last week. Joe packed some ammo in a range bag, and the pair walked down to the back of their property.
Joe ran through several magazines, engaging different targets from different distances, and while moving. He ran through different drills, changing magazines as needed. Ashley stood back and watched. She loved watching Joe work. He could work an outdated weapon better than most people could operate their plastic wonder 9s. Joe paused to reload his magazines, then ran through one final set of drills. It was now early afternoon. Joe reloaded his pistol; he didn’t want to be caught with an empty gun on the walk back up to his house. Then he had Ashley run through a few of the drills with her CDP. She was getting better each time they came down here. She ran through several magazines herself, Joe coaching her on the reloads. Once she was finished, Joe packed their gear in his bag so they could walk back up to the house. The guns were dirty from the mornings range session, he would have to clean them. He didn’t mind, he found cleaning weapons therapeutic. He holstered his 1911 and walked over to Ashley. She stood smiling at him. He wrapped his arms around her. She playfully nipped at his neck and ear. Joe kissed her, then took her by the hand, and led her back up to the house.
Meanwhile at the Sheriff’s Office in town, Ashley’s ex-husband, Ray was being released from jail. His parole officer had said that since they didn’t find Ray actually in possession of the firearm, there was no parole violation. Deputy James had no choice but to release him. Ray walked out into the parking lot of the Sheriff’s Office, and waited as they brought his firebird around from the impound. He was a free man once again. He put the filtered end of a cigarette in his mouth and lit the opposite end. He inhaled deeply. He watched as they brought his car to him. He finished his cigarette, sat down inside the vehicle, put it in gear, and sped out of the parking lot. He was headed to a garage about 10 miles from the jail. He didn’t need any mechanical work, but there was a man there that would be able to sell him a pistol under the table. He knew it was risky but ignored it. He was still planning to get Ashley back, and he would need a gun to pull that off. He had come up against the law and won this time. He had heard while he was in jail, that Ashley’s new husband, the Green Beret, was now the new Sheriff, but that didn’t worry him. As the Sheriff, Joe Ramsey would have rules that he would have to follow, while Ray had no rules. He figured it would be a piece of cake to take this man down. He parked the firebird at the garage and went inside. A few minutes later he returned with a nice FN 509 9mm pistol. It was hot of course, but Ray didn’t care. He had gotten it cheap because the mechanic that also delt in stolen guns had owed an old debt to Ray. He got back into his firebird and put the pistol under the seat. He pulled out of the garage’s parking lot and headed for the property owned by Joe Ramsey. Ray wanted to get some more surveillance done tonight. He wouldn’t do anything other than watch the house from the woods, like he had done before.
