“So what happened?”
He blew out his cheeks. “I wish I knew for sure. He would say it’s because of the way I treated my other son — Riley. But I don’t see that.”
“Explain.”
“Riley was my eldest. After graduating he took off to San Francisco to make his mark. He blew through the money we gave him. I sent him more then he vanished. A few years later, he contacts us, apologizing for going radio silent. He was all excited about some new venture he had stumbled across, and he just needed money to invest. I was hesitant but gave it to him and that was it. He stopped calling, wouldn’t answer his phone. I traveled to the address he’d given—you know, to surprise him and catch up. I never found him. He wasn’t there. A year after our last conversation, he phoned and told me that he’d been living on the streets. A drug addict. He apologized, cried on the phone. He felt so ashamed. I told him he could come home if he was willing to go into treatment.”
“And he bailed on it, right?” Colby said.
“No. He went through and completed it. He looked completely different. It was good to have him back. However, Bill didn’t like it. He felt that Riley had taken advantage of us. He resented him and our decision to let him return. He said he’d squandered most of our retirement money on his next big idea. He felt he didn’t deserve to be back. Bill also felt he should have been treated better than Riley because he’d done everything we’d asked.”
“So he was jealous.”
“Something like that.” Jeb expelled a large lungful of air. “Anyway, things were good for a time until I had to draw up my will. Bill found out that I’d included Riley in it, and that half of the farm would go to him. After, he blew his top. He got really angry. Confronted me and told me that it wasn’t fair. If I recall, he said it wasn’t right that Riley could go off and do whatever he liked and be welcomed back and still given half of the farm. When I told him that he should be happy his brother wasn’t dead from an overdose, he didn’t see it that way. Bill took off. Collected all his belongings and left the house.” He lowered his head. “A week later, Riley was found dead with a needle in his arm. An overdose.”
There was silence.
“And you think it was Bill.”
“I can’t be sure but after the funeral, someone spray-painted his gravestone with the words ‘I told you so.’”
Colby squeezed the bridge of his nose. “That’s messed up.”
Jeb shrugged. “Anyway, he cut off all communication, fell in with the wrong crowd, and spent some time in and out of jail for misdemeanors before I got word of what he’d got tangled up in.”
“Trafficking women. So, how did you find out?”
“Because one managed to escape. Our church ran a pregnancy crisis center. It took a while to get the girl to open up as she was scared. She said she’d escaped and when she described who was running the show, I knew it was him. She didn’t need to say his name.” Jeb dropped his chin again. “So I did what any parent might do in my position, I went to see him. Told him to hand himself in to the police, told him that if he didn’t I would tell them.”
“What did he say?”
He laughed. “He threatened me. Told me that he would make my life a misery. And he has.” He turned to Colby. “Leaving you in that field was just his way of getting back at me. It was his way of sending a message. Then those men showing up demanding to take what they wanted. I’m afraid this is just the beginning. It will get worse.”
Colby lifted the binoculars to his eyes. “So why hasn’t he taken this town?”
“Besides the obvious? Like you said, people don’t roll over that easy.”
“Then how does he intend to do it?”
“With firepower, additional muscle. I’m not entirely sure. What I have been able to glean from those in town is that he’s focused on a gun store.” He pointed. “You won’t be able to see it from here. There’s an intersection at 5th Avenue and 5th Street. There is a gun store on the corner of the intersection. I know the owners. If he gets his hands on that supply there will be no stopping them.”
Colby brought the binoculars down. “Where is your son now?”
“I don’t know exactly. I know where he was staying before the blackout but I haven’t seen him since.” He sighed. “Look, I know you want answers but maybe it’s just best to count your blessings, and move on. When he finds out his three friends haven’t returned he’ll send others and I want to make sure you’re not around.”
“And what about you, Carol and Jenna?”
“I’ll make arrangements for Jenna. I have friends in town. I’m too old to run and he won’t harm me.”
“You sure about that, Jeb? If he killed his brother and he thinks you killed those men — there’s no telling what he will do.”
“But that’s not your problem, now is it?”
Colby stared back. “You helped me.”
“That we did but there were no strings attached. Look, I don’t know what your name is, but, understand we’re not the killing type. Carol abhors it. God forbids it. If my son shows up, I will deal with him. But now we should get going before you’re spotted.”
Colby followed him down off the roof and back to the horses that were tied nearby. As he mounted his horse, Colby held a tight grip on the reins and turned to him. “Jeb, I need to know what happened to me. I need to
