Page 18 of Hard Knock Hero

I considered my next words carefully. I was already pissing him off, which I didn’t necessarily mind. But if Owen threw me out of his office, or decided to arrest me after all, that wouldn’t help anyone. “You booked Jeremy after he attacked Jessi. You gathered the video footage, made all the reports. You must’ve been a witness against him.”

“Yes. The case didn’t go to trial because he pled out, but I led the investigation and turned over the case to the county prosecutor.”

“Even though you’re related to the Rigsby family?”

Owen’s eyes narrowed to slits. “I will explain this one time to you. Not because I owe you anything, but for Jessi’s sake, because I consider her a friend. And this is off the record. You got that?”

I twirled my fingers.Go ahead.

“This story starts a few decades ago. Before you or I were born. In the 1970s, when the whole country was in recession after recession, Hartley was on its last legs. Tourism had dried up around here, and the businesses were shuttering. A man named Sawyer Rigsby came to town. Invested, started up new enterprises, brought in new jobs. He saved Hartley. And ever since, anybody with the last name Rigsby has had a special shine on them around here. Especially Sawyer Rigsby’s sons.”

“Is one of them your father?”

“No,” he snapped. “Sawyer Senior was my grandfather. His daughter was my mother. I’m talking about my uncles: Sawyer Junior, Dale, and Gary.” He hunched forward. “Are you following this so far? Should I draw you a diagram?”

“I’m no genius, but I’m keeping up.”

“Good. Uncle Sawyer is the eldest. He took over his father’s empire after my grandpa died. Expanded investments all over Hartley and in the surrounding towns too. Real estate, mining, even a candy-making company. He’s the president of the town’s Board of Trustees, founder of half the charities. He’s well-loved.”

“Does he deserve it?”

“I’m biased.”

I inclined my head, appreciating Owen’s honesty. But he hadn’t said if he was biased for Sawyer, or against.

“The next son after Sawyer Junior was my uncle Gary. He set out to fight for his country and make Hartley proud. He became an Air Force captain. He was shot down during Operation Iraqi Freedom. KIA.”

“Jessi mentioned him. Stationed in Colorado Springs. Jeremy’s father?”

“That’s right. My favorite uncle, and I hope he rests in peace.”

“And Dale?”

“He’s Uncle Sawyer’s right hand. The problem solver. Contract negotiations that turn ugly, evictions. Trying to boss around law enforcement. That kind of thing.”

Ah. Now I was getting a clearer picture. It didn’t sound like Owen was fond of his Uncle Dale. “And let me guess. Chester and Mitch are Dale’s kids.”

“Plus two daughters and Theo, who’s the youngest.” Theo must’ve been the third guy at the diner last night. “Uncle Sawyer has no children. After Gary died, Sawyer wanted Jeremy and his mom to move to Hartley. Join the Rigsby clan. She declined because she had family and a life in Colorado Springs. But three years ago, Jeremy finally moved here, and he brought Jessi Novo with him. I assume you know what happened then.”

“More or less.” Jeremy had beaten up his girlfriend and gotten himself sent to prison. And Owen Douglas, disfavored relation, had helped prosecute him. But Owen hadn’t been driven out of town for it. Interesting.

These were some of the town dynamics that Jessi had mentioned last night. She was right—it was complicated. And yet, it was a common enough story. Fathers, sons, brothers. Men who ruled over a place, and the women who sometimes got caught in between. In other variations of such stories, women were the ones in charge, but that didn’t seem to be the case with the Rigsby family.

Owen hadn’t mentioned much about his own mom, and I figured there was another story there. Maybe something that explained why he was on the outskirts of the group. But nothing I needed to know about.

“I’m worried about what’s going to happen when Jeremy gets back,” Owen said. “A protective order bars Jeremy from going near Jessi. He’s also on parole, which puts further limits on him. If Jeremy was smart, he’d just leave her be. But Chester and Mitch have made it clear they don’t approve of Jessi sticking around anymore. I’ve told them to stay away from her. They don’t listen to me. They see me as a nuisance and only tolerate me because I’m technically family. But if I can get hard proof that Chester or anyone else has crossed the line, I’ll take it to the district attorney.”

“And your uncles? What about them?”

Owen turned contemplative. “Sawyer keeps himself above the fray. That’s what he did when Jeremy was arrested. He stayed out of the mess entirely. Dale is trickier, but he cares about their finances, not petty grievances. My hunch is that my cousins are plotting against Jessi on their own.”

“But do you think your uncles will welcome Jeremy back?”

“Jeremy’s out of prison, and he’s paid his debt. That’s how they’ll see it.”

“Is that howyousee it?”

“That’s how our justice system works, so yes. But we were talking about my uncles, not me. Dale is kind of a jerk. Uncle Sawyer is tougher to predict. If he has to choose between his prized nephew and a woman who isn’t a Hartley native?” He heaved a sigh. “I like to think he’ll make the right choice.”

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