Page 67 of Pick Your Spot

Inside the old building, the station appeared to have been newly refurbished. The space was clean and modern. Marcus stood near the back wall with a woman in a deputy’s uniform. He waved when he saw them, finished up his conversation, and came to the front. “Hi Knox, Thea. What can I do for you?”

“We had a bit of an incident at the farm, and I’d like to run it by you.”

Marcus frowned. “You’re both okay?”

They nodded, and Marcus waved them to follow him into his office across the hall. Knox’s attention was immediately pulled to wanted posters and a sketch on the wall behind the chief’s desk.

The wanted posters were cartoon sketches of Marcus, Troy, and the other men from their team. The sketch showed all six men in their army uniforms. “Those are amazing.”

Marcus glowed with pride. “Elina drew them. They make me grin every time I walk into this office.”

Thea smiled as they studied the comic artist’s work. Knox was damn glad he’d been able to help her escape captivity when he’d been deployed overseas. Not only would the world have been robbed of her talent, but his new friend would never have found the love of his life.

Now Knox needed to ensure he didn’t lose his.

Marcus sat and gestured for them to do the same. “Tell me what happened.”

Thea sighed. “I’m not sure if we should bother you with this.”

“Let me be the judge of that. It’s always better to have records of little things in case they become big things.”

Knox took her hand as she nodded and spoke. “Okay. Before I came to work on Jay’s farm, I worked as a soil consultant back in Iowa. My employer was Andy Gammon. Things were fine for a couple of years. Then the farmers I worked with stopped wanting to work with me.”

She sighed. “It took me a while to figure it out. Andy was taking credit for my ideas and my work. Told the farmers I was only following his exact instructions and that was the reason the farmers were prospering. When I found out the truth, I quit.”

Marcus nodded. “Good choice. Sounds like Gammon is an asshole.”

Knox watched the tension ease from Thea’s shoulders. “A few months ago, he emailed me offering me my job back with a pay increase. I sent the email to trash and blocked his email but he sent another with a new account. I trashed it as well. A few days ago, he called me and offered me my job back with a bigger increase in pay. I said no.”

“Another good choice.”

Thea smiled. “He left two messages but I didn’t answer those. In both he spoke as if I’d accepted the job. I blocked his number after that but Knox has recordings of both messages.”

Knox pulled out his phone and played the messages, which Marcus recorded on his own. “When you worked for him, did he show any signs of having delusions?”

Thea shook her head. “I didn’t interact with him much, but I never saw any signs of mental instability.”

Marcus frowned. “And what happened today to trigger your visit?”

“He showed up at the farm.”

Marcus’s eyebrows shot up. “Did you give him your location?”

Thea’s shoulders hunched again so Knox put his arm around the back of her chair and played with her hair.

She shook her head. “No. He asked me where I was when he called the first time.”

Knox grinned. “She deflected him like a pro. Didn’t mention anything about her whereabouts. Instead, she asked him why he wanted to know.”

Marcus smiled. “Good response. So how did he find you? How many people back in Iowa know where you are? And how many of those people does Gammon know?”

Thea shrugged. “No one knows where I am. I don’t have any family and I wasn’t close enough with anyone to keep in touch. I didn’t have a destination in mind when I left.”

Marcus nodded. “I doubt Jay would have had contacts in Iowa. Did he ever mention any?”

Thea smiled. “No. In fact, he said he was amazed I knew anything of importance, not being from Vermont.”

Knox laughed. “That sounds exactly like something my grandfather Fox would have said. They were so much alike. I wish they’d kept in touch.”

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