Chapter Sixteen
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The sheriff wasn’t available when Brody called so he left a message, then moments later Annie finished speaking to her parents. She was dying to see them so they hurried out to his truck, and as she was climbing in, Bella suddenly jumped up over her, and perched between the seats. Chuckling at her antics, Brody settled behind the wheel, but during the drive he noticed Annie was constantly glancing into the side mirrors.
“Annie, Geoff’s gone, you don’t have to worry.”
“I guess it’s still hard to believe.”
“Believe it, and pretty soon you’ll be talkin’ to the police, then Geoff will be the one lookin’ over his shoulder.”
“I hope they can nail him.”
“You know what, I’m willin’ to bet there are others who have suffered at his hands but too afraid to speak up. You wait and see. When the news breaks the cops will start gettin’ a bunch of calls.”
“You know, Brody, I think you’re right. I remember one of my backup singers was really quiet when he was around. I thought she was just in awe of him.”
“Scared, more like,” Brody replied, turning into her parent’s driveway.
“Oh, my gosh, it’s Andy,” she shouted, seeing her brother step from the house with her mother and father.
Hurriedly climbing from the truck she ran up to hug him, and as Brody followed he felt his heart swell.
“Thank you for takin’ care of our girl, Brody,” her father said gratefully walking up to greet him. “Are you comin’ in for coffee?”
“Thanks, but you should enjoy your reunion and I have a bunch of stuff to do at the ranch.”
“You’ll be back for dinner though.”
“I wouldn’t miss it.”
“Then we’ll see you around six.”
Saying a quick goodbye to Annie who was now being smothered by her mother, Brody returned to the truck and headed off, but halfway home he received a call from the sheriff.
“Hello, sheriff. If you’re lookin’ for Annie I just dropped her off at her parent’s house.”
”Good to know, but I’m glad you’re alone. I have good news and bad news. I’ll start with the bad. I just got confirmation from the airfield. The jet did take off, but with only two passengers.”
“You’re kiddin’. That means Geoff and two of his goons must still here.”
“I’m sorry, Brody. It looks that way.”
“Dammit. What’s the good news?”
“I have the name and phone number of the person Annie needs to speak to about her press release, Jenny Miller. But more importantly, I also talked with the FBI agent assigned to her case, Special Agent Kevin McCade. I explained how she’d been in fear of her life from her manager, Geoffrey Palmer, and that I believe he’s still here in Smoky Hill. He wanted to speak with her right away, so I gave him her parent’s telephone number, and yours as well.”
“I assume this agent will be coming here.”
“He will, but he said he’d put out a statement right away. He thinks it will stop Geoff taking his vendetta any further.”
“I hope he’s right. Any advice? Should Annie stay with her parents now?”
“I’ve been thinkin’ about that. If Geoff Palmer finds out she’s there, he just might break into the family home and threaten to hurt her mother if she doesn’t go back to Nashville with him. Maybe even her father too. That’s a scenario we want to avoid. I believe your place would be safer. I’ll contact the county office and get some deputies over there, and tell them to keep their eye on the family home as well.“
“Her brother’s there now. Does that make a difference?”
“Yes. I know Andrew and he’s a great kid, but if anything happened he’d try to be a hero. Annie is definitely better off with you.
“Ah, I understand. I’m just not sure her parents will want her leavin’.”
“I’ll drive over and talk to them. They need to hear about Geoff anyway, and I should tell them in person. I’ll call you when I’m done and let you know how it goes.”
“Thanks, sheriff. I’ll be at the ranch until around six, then I’ll be headin’ over there to join them for dinner.”
“I’ll be in touch soon. Bye, Brody.”
“Bye, sheriff.”
Rolling down his driveway and stopping near his back door, Brody climbed from the truck. As Bella jumped out after him, he stared across at the paddocks, the barn, and the forest beyond. Geoff and his thugs would be exposed if they tried to approach the house from the back. Even trying to creep in from the road would be difficult. The brush clearance to help prevent fires had just been finished so there was no cover there either. When the deputies arrived and their cruisers made their presence known, Brody was confident his ranch would be a safe haven until the bastard was found.
“Come on, girl, let’s get that fencin’ repaired,” he said, but as he was bending down to pet her, his phone announced a call. “Dammit, now what?”
His impatience quickly left him.
It was Annie.
“Hey, baby, is everything okay?”
“Better than okay. I just spoke to the FBI agent in charge of finding me. He believed everything I told him and he’s going on national television in a few minutes to announce that I’ve been found, and also to say something about Geoff.”
“You’re kiddin’. How can they make that happen so fast? Never mind, you’re famous and the entire country has been lookin’ for you. I forgot that for a minute.”
“He pretty much said the same thing. Anyway, before you go out to the horses and start doing your thing, turn on your TV. He should be on any minute now.”