Chapter 7 #2
“Oh, I’ll be interfering all right, … a lot if need be,” she stated.
“And, if it turns out you’ve been helping these assholes fleece these poor seniors, who barely have enough money to buy food as it is, I’ll call in the feds, since this involves veteran’s pay from the government.
I won’t rest until you are held accountable.
Do you realize these losers have been making our senior citizens sign documents to turn over their bloody pensions to them, plus any other assets, like their homes?
” she asked, staring at Jimmy. “And, when Jackson Russell refused, they literally pulled him out of his wheelchair, packed him up here, and left him for dead. If you have one bit of anything to do with that bullshit, you better use it to convict them or I’ll see to it that you lose every ounce of credibility you have.
If the local police don’t fire you, I’ll file a civil lawsuit against you personally. ”
Jimmy stared at her in shock. “It’s got nothing to do with you, lady. You’re a bloody veterinarian.”
She shook her head. “If you think I have no stake in this, you’re wrong. We all have a stake if we don’t want to live in a town where our elders suffer at the hands of these middle-aged thugs and losers, while the cops look the other way.”
“Not me!” Jimmy protested.
“Yeah, I’ll believe that when I see it,” she snapped, glaring at him, “because you’ve already admitted to having helped him in the past.”
“I did not,” he sputtered. “I didn’t admit anything.”
“Yeah, you did,” she argued, “not five minutes ago. Right in front of police witnesses too.”
He stared at her, shook his head, and then looked back at Paul, who was also giving him an eyeful.
Wilden just seemed to be enjoying the show.
Jimmy muttered, “You’re crazy, lady.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t be saying that to her right now,” Wilden suggested, standing tall beside her.
“We’re all pretty fed up with these losers who do this to veterans and seniors—or anybody else for that matter.
You’ve already aligned yourself with one of them, Jimmy, so I wouldn’t make the mistake of trying to see yourself as the victim here. That won’t wash.”
Jimmy glared at him and muttered, “You don’t know shit.”
“Yet I’m learning, and very quickly now.”
Paul interjected, holding out a hand. “That’s enough, all of you,” he said, looking from Jimmy to Wilden to Vivian, then back to Cooper.
“The police chief will deal with this, not any of us,” he explained, “but I can tell you that, if Jimmy’s done something wrong, the investigation will bring it to light.
He’s already been walking a fine line, so just hold your horses, and let the process play out. ”
Wilden looked over at him and nodded. “Absolutely. We’ll be watching how that turns out because you’re not the only ones here with friends in high places.
We’ve seen way-too-many military vets get taken advantage of by people who think these retired vets don’t matter and don’t have anybody to defend them. I’m here to tell you that they do.”
“And who the fucking hell are you?” Jimmy asked, chewing on his words.
“We’re part of a team, and I do have all the authorization and clearance I need.”
Paul eyed him in surprise. “Just calm down,” he began. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but we will get to the bottom of it.”
Wilden nodded slowly. “What was your name again?”
“Paul, Paul Hanson.”
“Paul, you’ll need to provide us an update on all this.”
“I’m not sure I can do that.”
“You’ll be getting an official request, through the US War Department.
They’ll want to know that you are doing everything you can to stop the exploitation of war veterans.
I came here representing the US War Department to check on the status of this War Dog, after it was found without his owner.
I took possession of the dog, then set out to check on the welfare of his owner, Jackson Russell.
As you know, I was able to find him in these woods but in a terrible state after these fools kidnapped him, roughed him up, and left him up here for dead.
So, believe me that a lot of people will be watching to see just how this local investigation is handled. ”
Paul frowned, then looked over at his partner and shook his head. “Jimmy, I sure as hell hope you didn’t have anything to do with this.”
Frustrated, Jimmy snapped back at him. “I didn’t. I don’t know what they’re talking about.”
“It sure sounds as if they think they have reason to say you did,” Paul noted, as he marched their prisoner forward.
They all followed him. Paul wasn’t very happy about that either, but no way Wilden would leave them to take the prisoner on their own. When they got back to their vehicles, Wilden watched as they loaded him up.
Paul walked over to him and added, “Look. I don’t know what’s going on, but we will figure it out.”
“That will depend on whether your department is crooked or it’s just Jimmy,” Vivian snapped.
He looked at her and asked, “You’re the veterinarian, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I am,” she confirmed. “I’m also the one who got called when poor Jackson was picked up and brought in, so scared and injured that he was terrified to go to the hospital and get checked over, for fear he’d get locked away in a home.
So, I’m the one who checked him over to confirm he would make it through the night.
We’ve all got a personal stake in this. What they did to that old man is disgusting.
Plus, I had to file a restraining order against John Hookman, so you’ll find that in your records. ”
Paul nodded. “We need to run this through the formal channels.”
Wilden added, “Tell your chief that the formal channels may be broader and higher than he thinks. So, in case anybody gets the idea it would be better to let it quietly fade away, just know we’ll be watching with interest.”
Paul flushed. “No threats, please.”
“No threats, just the facts,” he claimed, “so nobody thinks they can sweep this under the rug.”
With that, Paul returned to his vehicle. Vivian and Wilden stood and watched while the cops drove away with their prisoner.
Wilden looked back at her and sighed. “We don’t seem able to have a walk in peace, you know?”
She laughed and looked over at him. “After all that, I’m starving.”
His face lit up. “I have an answer for that, at least,” he declared, with a smile, “because I came prepared.”
“As in Boy Scout prepared?” she teased as she watched him pull out his backpack.
“Even better than that,” he replied, with a smile. “I’ve been doing stuff like this for a very long time. Let’s head over to the waterfall, have dinner there, because it’s not very far away, and then we can decide what to do afterward.”
When she realized he had sandwiches and muffins and drinks, she was absolutely delighted. “And a thermos of coffee?”
He chuckled. “At least now I know what matters to you.”
“Absolutely,” she said, and they quickly retraced their steps.
The animals were delighted that the trip wasn’t over, and they all sat down to enjoy a few minutes of peace and the silence of the evening as it settled around them.
The joy of food and a friendship in the making made the entire experience something that neither of them really expected.
Now that it was here and happening, neither wanted to let it go.
She smiled at him. “I never really expected this.”
He looked down at his sandwich, at the dogs, at her, and added, “That’s usually when the best things happen.”
“Agreed.” She then proceeded to take another bite of her sandwich, sitting in the joy of just being here, and realizing that something special had turned a corner, and she was all for it.