The Road to Wrinkle Ranch

by Nick Russell

  John Lee looked at her and she could see the longing in his eyes. She leaned in for a kiss, and he put his arms around her. Their tongues met for the first time and she moaned. God, how she had wanted this. Tentatively at first, he touched her breast through her T-shirt. She kissed him hard, and after a while his hand moved down to the hem of her shirt and then under it. She pulled away from the kiss to gasp when she felt his hand stroke her naked breast, then the kiss resumed, even more passionately.

  A thousand thoughts were going through John Lee’s mind all at once. He wanted Maddy. He wanted her more than he had ever wanted anyone in his entire life. But at the same time, he was worried that something might trigger a negative reaction in her. Ever since the brutal rape Maddy had suffered at the hands of Somerton’s police chief and one of his officers, she had been through hell. Depression, terrifying nightmares, an ugly bout verging on alcoholism, and even a suicide attempt. As much as he wanted to be with her, not just that night, but forever, he was afraid of doing something wrong and pushing her away from him once again.

  Maddy’s nipples felt like they were on fire from his touch, and she wanted to just melt into his arms and stay there forever. But instead, she gently pulled his arm from under her blouse.

  “I’m sorry, Maddy.”

  “For what?”

  “I’m sorry for getting carried away.”

  “We both got carried away, John Lee. You know, this is crazy. Ever since I was old enough to know what happened between boys and girls, you’re the only boy I ever wanted to be with. And that didn’t change when we grew up and became a man and a woman. You have no idea how many times I wanted to have you fuck my brains out, John Lee. I wish it could’ve happened back then.”

  “I was stupid, Maddy. I was so worried about losing your friendship that I…”

  She put her fingers on his lips to quiet him. “That’s all water under the bridge, John Lee. For what it’s worth, as much as I wanted you to fuck my brains out, I also wanted you to make love to me. That’s what I wanted more than anything.”

  “Me too.”

  “I told you earlier tonight that I was almost there, just not quite.”

  “I understand,” he told her.

  “No, John Lee, you don’t understand. I don’t want to send you home with blue balls. I don’t want to send you home at all. It’s taking all I can do not to pull my jeans off and lay down across the seat of this truck right now. But… I started my period today. I don’t want our first time together to be messy.”

  “It wouldn’t bother me.”

  “Yeah, but it would me. How about a rain check?”

  “You tell me the time and place, Maddy. I’ll be there with bells on.”

  She laughed and said, “Bells? Okay. I guess I can live with that. I was planning to ring your chimes, but if it’s bells, it’s bells.”

  They both laughed and she leaned in and kissed him again, this time tenderly, then she slid across the seat and opened the door. Just before she got out, she said, “I love you, John Lee. You keep those bells polished, okay?”

  “Believe me, as soon as I get home, I’m going to polish those bells,” he told her.

  He could hear her laughing all the way to her front door. He sat there until she was inside, then started the truck and drove home.

  Chapter 6

  “All right, people, quiet down so we can get this show on the road,” D.W. said as his deputies gathered for a briefing the next morning.

  Everybody took their seats and D.W. said, “We’ve got a lot to go over, so let's get started. First off, I want to welcome Deputy Madison Westfall back. We've missed you, Maddy.”

  There was a chorus of hoots and whistles and clapping, and those around her reached over to pat Matty on the shoulder or squeeze her arm, showing her how happy they were to see her back.

  “I wish you were gonna have an easy first day back, Maddy,” D.W. said. “Unfortunately, we got ourselves a mess to deal with from that train wreck yesterday. I'm gonna step back and let Chief Deputy Schroeder take it from here. Go ahead, Dick.”

  Chief Deputy Schroeder stood up and replaced D.W. at the front of the room.

  “Good morning, everybody. And Maddy, let me add to what D.W. said. Having you back is a real treat for all of us. Our little family hasn't been the same with you gone.”

  There were more claps and whistles from the crowd, and when it subsided, Schroeder said, “You all know about the accident at the train crossing out off Coburn Road yesterday. It's early in the investigation, but what we know so far is that a late model red Corvette approached the track as the train was coming. Cameras mounted on the front of the train show that the car was at the gate and the arm was down when the train came into the crossing. But for some reason still to be determined, once the engine and first few boxcars were past the crossing, the car went through the gate, snapping it off, and into the side of the train. From there it was pulled under the wheels and pretty much it, and the people in it, were shredded.”

  “Do we know who the occupants of the car were?”

  “Hold your questions and I'll cover as much as I can, then we'll take it from there, Deputy Carson,” Schroeder said. “It's gonna take the medical examiner a while to figure out who the victims are, but based on phone calls and some evidence obtained at the scene, it would appear that they are, and don't quote me on this, people,” Schroeder cautioned, then continued, “because nothing is for sure yet. But we have reason to believe they were a fellow by the name of Lonnie McBride and a woman named Audrey Rittenhouse.”

  Both names were well known in Somerton County, and there were murmurs for a moment, then Schroeder held his hand up and said, "Quiet down, people, we’ve got more to cover. Okay, the reason we think that the victims were Mr. McBride and Ms. Rittenhouse is based upon several things. Number one, a license plate was found in the wreck. It was pretty mangled, but there was enough left that we were able to read the number and it comes back to a red Corvette registered to Lonnie McBride. We also found an emblem from the car identifying it as a Corvette, so I think that's fairly cut and dried. As for Ms. Rittenhouse, we received a phone call from her employer after news of the accident got out, because she apparently had some meeting to close on a piece of property yesterday and she didn't show up. According to her boss, that's not like her. She said that she is a dedicated worker and an overachiever, and for her not to show up or call or anything, there had to be something bad that happened.”

  "Both of the assumed deceased are real estate agents," Schroeder continued. "Mr. McBride worked for Somerton County Land and Homes and Ms. Rittenhouse worked for Alice Shaw and Associates. Now, as to how the accident happened, we don't know but we have some suspicions." Schroeder picked up a remote control and pushed a button and an image came on the large screen attached to the wall. “Here's the crossing. You can see the gate over here on the side, or what’s left of it. And here are a couple of pictures of what was left of the car. I'm gonna warn you, these are kind of graphic, folks, so brace yourself."

  There were a couple of moans and someone said “Oh my God" when the image of the mangled wreck came on the screen.

  "Now, at the crossing, the video doesn't show any other vehicle except the red Corvette. However, take a look at these tire marks. As Deputy Mayhew pointed out yesterday, the ones here toward the front look to be made by a passenger car. Now look at these," the screen changed to a close up of another set of tracks. "These here are from something with dual wheels. That much burned rubber leads us to believe that it’s possible that the Corvette was pushed onto the tracks by a larger vehicle."

  There were more murmurs from the crowd and Schroeder looked around the room and said, “I don’t need to tell any of you that this particular piece of information does not, and let me repeat that, DOES NOT leave this room. Does everybody understand that?”

  Heads nodded in acknowledgment and Schroder said, “I'm going to turn this over to Mr. Dan Lehman, who is an investigator with the N
ational Transportation Safety Board. He was sent down here to check out the accident scene and help us determine what happened. Mr. Lehman, it's all yours."

  A man who had to be the tallest human being John Lee had ever seen walked to the front of the room from where he was standing against the wall in the back. He was dressed in tan slacks, a blue button shirt, and he had a friendly smile.

  "Okay, I know what you are wondering. I'm 6'14" tall, and no, I don’t play basketball," the investigator said, drawing a laugh from the deputies. There were more chuckles when he added, “But that doesn't mean my head’s in the clouds. I'm here to help you figure out what happened yesterday at that railroad crossing.” He pushed a button on the remote control Schroeder had been using and an image of the National Transportation Safety Board logo appeared on the screen.

  "In case anybody doesn't know, our mission is to investigate accidents, whether they involve trains, commercial trucks, aircraft, anything like that. We're not here to do your jobs for you or to take anything away from you folks because you guys are the ones that do the real work. Our job is to assess the information and evidence and try to present a scenario for what happened.”

  John Lee found himself liking what he had seen of the big man so far. Unlike some Federal people he had encountered, Lehman seemed like a good guy, down to earth and without an agenda to push.

  “I have three of our people out at the accident site right now. All we know at this point is pretty much what Chief Deputy Schroeder told us already,” Lehman said. “The red Corvette with two occupants pulled up to the crossing, and video cameras mounted on the front of the locomotive show it stopping for the arm that was down and the flashing lights. At some point after the locomotive passed the crossing, the car went through the gate and into the side of the train. From there, it was like one of those big shredders you see at salvage yards. It pretty much ground the car and its occupants into pulp. Excuse the graphic description, but that's about the only way to say it. We don't know why it went through the gate. However, based on the tire tracks of the vehicle with the dual wheels, I think it's possible that it had some help getting there."

  He looked around the room and then said, "I don't know anybody in this room or anybody in this town and I'm open to any help I can get from anyone. If you have any suggestions, any ideas, please don't hesitate to speak up. At this point it's early, but getting to the bottom of a case like this is just like eating an elephant, one bite at a time. Any questions from anybody for me or for Chief Deputy Schroeder?"

  “You said there were cameras on the front of the train,” Samuel Garrison said. “Were any on the sides that might show what happened?”

  “Unfortunately not,” Lehman replied. “I wish there were because it would certainly make our jobs easier.”

  Deputy Barry Portman raised a hand and asked, “Do we know what those two were doing together?"

  "No, we don't," Schroeder replied. "Like I said, they both worked in real estate so maybe they were checking out properties or something like that."

  “You mentioned something about phone calls and you said that Ms. Rittenhouse’s boss called. Were there others?"

  “Yes, we got calls from Lonnie McBride’s wife and her brother-in-law after word of the accident got out. Apparently, Lonnie is pretty good about calling his wife between appointments, and when he didn't, she called him two or three times with no response. Then when they heard about the accident and the red Corvette being involved, well, you know how that must have gone."

  “Dick, do you think this was an accident or did someone actually push that Corvette into the side of the train?"

  "We don't know anything yet, Deputy Portman," Schroeder said, shaking his head.

  "Any ideas on who might have been in the truck or whatever it was that had the dual wheels?"

  “Not a thing yet,” Schroeder said. “It’s one of the things we need to determine."

  Deputy Kimberly Streeter asked, “Why would two agents from different companies be out together looking at houses? Is that normal?"

  "That's a good question, Kimberly," Schroeder said. "And I have no idea. I've never worked in real estate, so I don't know how it works. I don't know if everybody gets on a bus or in a car to look at all new listings, or if people keep their listings to themselves."

  “If I may, I think I can answer that,” Lehman said.

  “Please do,” Schroeder said.

  “My son works in real estate up in Maryland. Assuming it’s the same way in Florida, they have a multiple listing arrangement where no matter what agent or company writes up a listing, any agent from any company can show and sell a property. But if one agent took the listing and another one makes the sale, they split the commission. I’m not sure how the percentages work out on that. And some agents have exclusive listings on properties that only they can show.”

  “Thanks for that information,” Schroeder said. “Any other questions?”

  “There were no witnesses at all? Nobody driving by that saw the train and the car and a big vehicle at the crossing all at once?"

  "If there was, we haven't heard from them yet, John Lee," Schroeder said. "But you guys know how it is in this county. When something happens, tongues start wagging. If someone did see something, hopefully they’ll contact us."

  Schroeder looked around the room, noticed a hand up in the back and asked, “Yes, Deputy Livingston?"

  "Have we talked to the families of the assumed victims yet?"

  "Not a lot. We’re kind of waiting for confirmation, but at the same time, we have to be realists. We'll be sending some people to talk to them once we’re done here. Okay, any other questions from anybody?"

  He looked around the room and when he didn't see any hands raised, he said, “I guess that's all I've got right now. Anything else, Sheriff? Mr. Lehman?”

  “Just a quick mention of something on a different subject,” D.W. said. “We got reports from Columbia County about somebody passin’ funny money in the Lake City area. Y'all might want to mention that to store owners and clerks when you talk to them. Remind them to be alert just in case whoever’s doin’ it shows up around here.”

  The sheriff looked around the room and asked, “Anybody got any questions about anything? Okay, those of you on duty, hit the streets. And if you're off-duty, go home and get some rest. Spend time with your families, scratch your puppy on the belly, swat your wife on the behind, or mix it up, if you want to. Whatever you’re into behind closed doors ain’t none of my business."

  There was laughter from the group as the meeting broke up.

  “John Lee, hang on a minute. You too, Maddy,” the sheriff said. “I’d like you to run over and talk to Lonnie McBride’s wife and brother-in-law. I hear tell you know the brother-in-law. Fellow name of Vince Agosti."

  “Really? He's the brother-in-law?"

  "Is that a problem, John Lee?"

  John Lee sighed. "No, not at all, I've dealt with him a couple of times."

  “Has there been some kind of problem?"

  "No, he's just a jerk," John Lee said. “Not a problem. I'm happy to talk to him.”

  “Okay. Maddy, I'd like you to tag along with John Lee. Having the two of you, one might pick up on something that the other missed. Not that I'm sayin’ either one of you ain’t not fully capable.”

  “No problem,” Maddy said.

  “And talk to Ms. Rittenhouse’s husband if you would. His name is," D.W. referred to his notes and said, “Sonny Rittenhouse. He's called a couple of times, reporting his wife and her car missin’ since yesterday. I told him we'd send somebody over."

  While D.W. was giving John Lee and Maddy their assignments, Schroeder was detailing Deputies Donny Ray Mayhew and Manny Stengel to work with Dan Lehman, giving the NTSB agent any assistance he and his team might need.

  Chapter 7

  When they were in John Lee’s Charger, he asked, “Were you hoping to start out on patrol and ease your way back into things, or is helping with an investi
gation better for you?”

  “It doesn't really matter to me," Maddy said, then added, "but getting to spend the day with you isn't bad. Not bad at all."

  John Lee smiled and said, “No complaints here."

  He pulled out of the courthouse parking lot, and as he was driving to the Agosti house, Maddy said, "John Lee, about last night…"

  "It's okay, Maddy. I'm sorry if I pushed you."

  "Not at all," she told him. "Remember, I was the one that said something about making out in the cab of your pickup. I wanted it, John Lee. I wanted it more than you can imagine. It’s just this girl stuff that kept me from going all the way."

  "Maddy, it'll happen when it's time. I don't want you to rush into anything. I want you to…"

  "Rush into anything? Jesus Christ, John Lee, I've been trying to rush into this with you since I was 13 years old. I want to be with you as much as you want to be with me. I just need to know I'm not going to be making a mess, okay?"

  "Okay. You take the lead on this, Maddy. We waited this long, we can wait a while more."

  "So," she said, changing the subject, “what do you know about Lonnie McBride, or his wife or this brother-in-law of his, Vince?”

  “I don't think I've talked to Lonnie since high school," John Lee said. “As I recall, he was a year behind me, and kind of a hotshot on campus."

  "Not near as much of a big man on campus as you were."

  "Me? No, I was just another face in the crowd."

  “Well, I always noticed your face," Maddy told him. “What about Lonnie’s wife?”

  “I have no idea who the wife is," John Lee said. “But I know the brother-in-law, Vince. He lives down the road from me a bit. He's a Yankee. New York, New Jersey, someplace like that. He’s a little guy who packs a bad attitude."

  “Short man syndrome?"

  "No question about that," John Lee said. “He's got a trophy wife that looks damn good, and he never lets you forget that she's bought and paid for with his money."