Page 78 of Gideon

Gideon’s knee bounced as he waited for the agent to look through it.

“You mentioned on the phone,” Beck said, lifting one sheet of paper out of the way while he read from the one underneath, “that you believe Mayor Andrew Fairfax has a number of illegal immigrants living and working on his farm and that he is mistreating them?”

“That’s correct.”

“You have evidence of this.”

“Possibly. We had to rescue one of the women who he had abused so badly she lost the baby she was carrying.”

“Whose?”

“The baby? His.”

“The mayor’s?”

“Yes.”

Beck lifted several more sheets and frowned. “That’s a very serious charge. Especially against someone so highly regarded in this town.”

“I wouldn’t necessarily call him highly regarded. I think most people are afraid of him, which goes to show the nature of his character.”

Beck studied Gideon for a moment, then looked back at his notes. “But it’s true that you only came into town a few weeks ago?”

“I grew up here, but I’ve been away for a few years.”

“How many?” Beck clicked his pen and held it over the paper, waiting to write the answer on the paper.

“About seven. I’ve been back for over a month now. Initially, I had intended to stay for only a week or so.”

Beck scribbled a note. “For what purpose?”

“My dad had a stroke, and I came here to see how he was doing. I wanted to see if I could help.”

“He’s incapacitated?”

“To a degree. One side of his body doesn’t work as well as it used to.”

“Is he unable to live on his own?”

“He does pretty well, considering.”

Beck wrote again. “But he doesn’t need ongoing care?”

“No. He’ll be fine on his own once I leave.”

“So, youareleaving again? You won’t be staying permanently?”

“My intention was never to stay. Part of the reason I’m still here is because his home and business were burned down in a fire. But he has another place to live now.”

Beck nodded as he looked through several sheets. “Multiple premises were lost in the fire.”

“That’s correct.”

“But you sound like you believe it started at your dad’s?”

“Yes. In the workshop.”

Beck read some more. “My report says it was deliberately lit.”

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