Page 18 of Fourth Heartwarmers Trilogy
Ralph snickered in his arrogant way. Even while the deputy forced him against the vehicle and put the handcuffs on him, he scoffed, “Hell, I barely touched him. This is a travesty of justice, Deputy Taylor. My friend here saw the whole thing and can attest to this being a bogus charge.” Ralph was still smirking while being pushed headfirst into the back seat.
Noel knew that Deputy Taylor had broken up what could have led to extreme violence, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Thingswere about to get ugly, and he had no taste for that type of hostility. On the other hand, he’d never have condoned it either.
Feeling sorry for Rory, he spoke reassuringly, “Come back to the house with me, Rory. Dinner will be soon, and we’ll have time for a beer beforehand. I have some interesting information I want to share. Trust me, this news will bring a smile to your face.”
Rory, staring down Ralph’s sidekick, Josh, who finally shrugged and sauntered away, faced Noel and unclenched his hands. “Yeah, okay. Thanks for stepping up, Noel. I’m glad the deputy came along when he did.”
“Me, too. That Ralph is one sick puppy.”
“Hey, don’t insult the canine world. He’s not their fault.”
Laughing now, Noel agreed. “Right. Excuse the reference. He’s just a bad seed.”
Within a short time, they ended up in Mary’s living room, where Mary and Maddy joined them for cocktails in celebration of Noel’s good news.
“Do you think you were able to get enough evidence against whatever is going on at the plant?” Rory’s expression glowed with hopeful excitement.
“From the files I saw that were being downloaded, I’m pretty sure there’s evidence to issue warrants so the FBI can go through their files with a fine-tooth comb. And who knows what they’ll find in the laptop.”
“Man, I sure hope you’re right.”
“While I worked there, I saw enough funny business that couldn’t have been above-board; odd shipments that weren’t accounted for, trucks loaded with cargo not on their manifests. Those were the unique shipments they had certain crews dealing with. I’m convinced they’ll be arrested—”
Before Noel could finish his sentence, the doorbell rang and Mary went to open the door.
Bill Harrison held out his hand, “You must be Mary Star. Noel has spoken about you. I’m his cousin, Bill Harrison.”
“Bill, come in.” Noel approached and possessively slipped his arm around Mary’s waist. “We were just talking about the situation at the plant.”
Bill laughed, “You’re something else, Cuz. Dale told me about your adventures.”
“Truthfully, I’m glad it’s over and thankful my normal job isn’t full of such danger and stress.” Noel beamed and added, “This is my friend, Mary.”
Bill again held out his hand and then laughed when she ignored it and moved in to hug him.
Her soft tone welcomed. “I’m thrilled to meet you. And I’m hoping from the happy look on your face, you have good news.”
“It’s the best news I’ve ever shared, and I’m beyond thrilled.” His eyes teared up, and he stepped closer to Noel as if in support. Then he gestured toward the door where a man with crutches suddenly appeared.
“Harry!” Noel’s voice rang with pure happiness. His face glowed and his voice broke. “Har-ry!” He rushed to sweep the other man into a fierce hug.
“How did this happen? I thought you were dead.”
Harry pulled back so he could look at Noel, his hand grabbing his neck as tears filled his eyes. “Nope. We didn’t die. None of us. Mom and Dad are in the hospital in Aspen and send you their love. They’ll be home on Christmas Eve. Mom’s determined, and you know she’ll make it happen.”
“But the car… In the lake. They showed me photos. The Search and Rescue took them with their powerful telescopes. It was your vehicle.”
“Yes, that’s true. But after we slid over the cliff, the car got held up on a rock formation about fifty feet from the top. The front end wedged in just long enough for us all to tumble out and rollaway before it continued to its plunge. Lucky for us, there was a cabin above the lake where we’ve been holed up all this time, waiting for the storm to pass.”
Chapter Twenty-six
Noel had never felt such joy in his life. His family given back to him by a miracle he couldn’t in a million years have foreseen.
Once Mary had welcomed Harry with her own brand of gentleness, and made sure everyone was comfortable with drinks, they all resumed their seats to listen to the update from Bill.
“We’ve arrested Duggan and his crew of misfits. Your own Deputy Taylor is holding Ralph, who’ll be remanded into the custody of the Justice Department. We’ve filed your charges of attempted murder, Noel. You having witnesses to confirm that he pulled the trigger, even if the gun failed to fire, will prove fatal for him when it comes time for his sentencing. In fact, they’ll all go to jail for a very long time. And it’s thanks to you taking the opportunity during the forklift fiasco to get us the evidence we needed to make the arrests.”
Harry piped up and added, “It must have looked bad when you thought that Dad and I had cooked the books and embezzled money from our own company. I’m sorry, Bro, that we didn’t share the situation with you. By the time we were aware there was a problem; you were deeply involved in the lawsuit and working fifteen-hour days. We believed we were doing the right thing by keeping quiet and letting the FBI do their undercover criminal investigation. We knew the crooks had subverted one of the board members, but we didn’t have evidence as to which one they’d gotten to. Turns out, one of our newer members was being blackmailed and had helped them infiltrate the business to the extent they were able to.”
