Page 33 of Caleb's Cause
“Manchester? You on your way?”
“Sorry, I’m calling to say something came up. I won’t be able to make it today.”
“I came all this way, you better get your ass here to meet me, and make sure you have that fucking little bitch with you. I mean it, Manchester. You don’t want to mess with me!”
Duane immediately hung up the phone, then removed the battery. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that Katherine was telling the truth, because not once had he ever mentioned his witness was a female. He saw Caleb lower his phone and wrap his arms around Katherine. They stayed there until the three men stormed away, got into a vehicle, and Laurie made sure to get the license plate, and they peeled out of the parking lot. They almost hit several pedestrians, but the reckless driver behind the wheel only blew his horn at them. They sat there for another ten minutes before Duane started the vehicle, but stopped before putting it in gear when he felt a small hand on his upper arm.
“I’m sorry,” Katherine said.
He reached up and put a hand over hers. “No, I’m sorry. I know this won’t make any sense to you, but it’s all becoming clearer to me. Let me get it all sorted out in my head on the drive home, then I’ll explain it to everyone. Caleb, could you call Ryan and tell him that we need everyone at my office at Erin’s Way in an hour?”
“I can. Anything, or anyone else?”
“Yes, call Erin, and tell her that we will explain everything, but could she contact Jake from Brotherhood Protectors and have him and six men meet us with the others? Tell him that we need a secure phone and laptop.”
“On it.” With an arm still around Katherine, who had her head burrowed in his chest, he called his uncle first, then Erin. When he hung up, he saw Duane’s eyes in the mirror and only gave a brief nod. The only thing you could hear on the drive home was the hum of the tires. When Caleb felt his shirt stick to his chest, he saw that Katherine had silent tears running downher cheeks. He only reached for the box of tissues in the seat ahead of him, and pulled several of them out to stuff in her hands.
It seemed like the entire vehicle breathed a sigh of relief when Duane slowed down to pull into the driveway to Erin’s Way.
As he rounded the bend, he had to slam on his brakes when there was a wall of people, all standing there with their legs spread, guns in their hands, and when Clark came to the front window and saw them, he only asked, “Did you invite Jake here?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, they just arrived. Do we need to have a guard?”
“I don’t think at this time, but after you hear what happened, we can discuss it.”
“Understood.” Clark stood back and allowed Duane to park. As they exited, Caleb had his arm around Katherine, and Erin broke away from the pack.
“Are you okay?”
“No, but I will be. We’ll explain.”
“Okay, before we go into the office I have one question.”
“What’s that?”
“Whiskey? Wine? Tea? Water? Coffee?”
Katherine laughed and shook her head. “That was more than one question, but I would love a cup of hot tea.”
“Coming right up,” Erin turned on her heel, but whipped back around to point her stump at Duane. “Do not start without me.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” He helped Laurie from the vehicle, and they all allowed the four of them to enter the office first. Duane liked that there were chairs, several pads of paper, and even a portable whiteboard off to the side. Everyone settled, without saying a word, and when Erin returned she had an electric tea kettle fullof water and plugged it in. As she did, she turned to Duane and the others.
“I took the liberty to tell Jake Katherine’s story. I knew if you wanted Brotherhood Protectors here, then you wouldn’t want them in the dark. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” Katherine said. “It will save time.” She looked around and drew in a deep breath and let it out in a rush. “Since you know what I went through, are there any questions?”
“One,” Jake said as he introduced himself. “Well, maybe two. One, are you of legal age?”
“Yes, I’m twenty-four.”
“Okay, good. Two, why did you run like you did? I mean why didn’t you contact the authorities?”
“Because the people that showed up at my mother’s home the night they were going to come and get me to teach me a lesson? Three of them were local cops, one was my step-father, Larry Mason, and the other one was George Babcock. The father of the man that had caused the accident. The man that had just been sentenced to life in prison.”
“Okay, we were able to look at the evidence while we waited for you. What happened?”
