by Wendy Davy
Public opinion was divided. Some people were outraged that such an operation could have gone on so long and were thrilled that it was stopped. Others felt like there wasn’t anything wrong with making moonshine. Some of them were probably moonshiners themselves.
It had been five days since the moon-shining bust, and even though she spoke to James every day, she hadn’t seen him since the morning he came and made a show about removing the moon-shining supplies. He had arrived with three agency vehicles, seven agents and a truck to haul the load away. If anyone had been watching them, there would be no suspicion that the A.T.F. was still around.
Victoria lived with tension headaches from the stress of waiting and watching. She felt like there may be someone arriving at her doorstep at any given moment to confront her or Gramps. She still wondered who would want to hurt them, but as of yet couldn’t come up with any plausible explanation as to who or why.
Victoria kept to her usual routine as much as possible. James wanted them to appear as if they lived a normal life again. Today, she planned on venturing out into town. James would follow her and keep close tabs on her, while Tyler remained assigned to Gramps. Gramps had been out several times with no incidences as Tyler had followed and watched.
It was mid-morning when Victoria walked down to the dock to sit on the swing. She made sure she locked the door behind her, something she had never felt the need to do before when she took a trip down to the water. Her cell phone rang as soon as she sat on the swing.
“Hello?”
“Hey baby.” James’ deep voice resonated in her ear, sending a warm tingle down her spine. “Did I ever tell you how beautiful you are?”
Victoria glowed. “Once or twice.”
James chuckled. “I can see you smiling from here.”
She looked toward the rental house that James watched her from and blew a flirty kiss in his direction.
“I love you, too.”
Victoria worked hard to keep her mouth from dropping open at his admission. She knew he was watching her and didn’t want to give away her shock. She looked down at her toes instead.
“After all we’ve been through, it’s a little late to be shy isn’t it?”
Victoria looked up and nodded. “Yes. James…” She hesitated before speaking again. “I need to tell you something. I wanted to tell you in person, but I’m afraid to wait until I see you again. In case anything happens to prevent me from telling you.”
“Nothing’s going to happen. What is it?” he asked as he lowered his voice.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about what happened between us. I know you have a job to do and you’ve been doing it well. I can’t fault or blame you for that.”
“I do have a job to do, but I shouldn’t have hurt you the way I did. I wanted you to trust me so I could find out what you knew,” James said.
“I did trust you and it hurt me deeply when you betrayed that trust. But I forgive you.” Victoria took a deep breath. “And I trust you again….with my life.” She was relieved to get the words out in the open and was surprised to find herself a little shaken.
James spoke up after clearing his throat, “I’m glad to hear it.”
Victoria could hear a satisfaction in his voice as he spoke the words.
“I want to see you.” he admitted.
“I want to see you, too. But it isn’t a good idea, is it?”
“No. Not yet.”
“I didn’t think so. So, are you ready to follow me into town?”
“Yes. Give me about fifteen minutes. I’ll park on the road outside of your driveway and call you when I get there. That way I’ll be behind you the whole way.” James voice took on a professional tone as he answered her.
“That sounds good to me. I’ll see ya.” Victoria flipped her cell phone closed. She smiled the whole way back up the hill to the cottage. She had forgiven James. She felt the heavy burden disappear.
She checked her watch. It had been a little over seven minutes since she spoke with James and she headed outside to wait until he called her back. She could always take the extra few minutes to pick a few weeds in the flowerbed in front of the house. As she walked around the house, she looked over to where the old truck had been. James had gotten it running and fixed up so well that Gramps had had no trouble in selling it. She thought of how long ago that had seemed, even though it had only been several weeks. She thought of how her life had changed so dramatically in such a short period of time. At first, she had resented James’ intrusion on her solitude. Now she couldn’t even imagine not having met her handyman extraordinaire.
She bent her knees to retrieve a few stubborn weeds from the flowerbed and turned toward the driveway when she heard a vehicle approaching. She thought for a moment it may be James, but remembered he was adamant about not being seen with her. When the vehicle approached, she didn’t recognize it at first. But it soon became familiar to her as memories of the past came flooding back. She stood and dusted off her hands, leaving the weeds to tend to later. She wished she had left just a few minutes earlier.
Phillip Maddox unfolded his long, gangly legs from the expensive car after parking it behind hers and placed a manicured hand on the top of the sleek vehicle. His face held a smile, but his eyes only revealed contempt as he looked her over.
“Victoria Connor,” he stated as his dark eyes met hers. He walked to the passenger side of the car and leaned back on it. Leave it to Phillip Maddox to come for a visit and expect her to come over to him.
The man took the word arrogance to a new level. He dressed like he was taking time out from an important business meeting to come and see her. The suit and tie stood out like a sore thumb in the relaxed atmosphere surrounding the lake. He must have been roasting in that outfit. It was already a hot day and the humidity could be seen floating in the air.
Her clipped words cut through any pleasantries he may have intended to offer. “What do you want?”
“It’s nice to see you haven’t changed a bit, Victoria. I always liked a bit of fire in my women.”
“I’m not your woman.” Victoria started to steam, and it had nothing to do with the heat. She crossed the yard but stayed at a safe distance from the man. “You’ve changed. You’ve lost more hair, you look older.” Victoria had never been so rude to anyone in her life, but she had a feeling Gramps would approve in this particular case.
Maddox pulled a handkerchief out of his back pocket and wiped beads of perspiration from his shiny forehead. He stuffed the vile cloth back into his pants before saying, “What happened to good old southern hospitality?”
“You aren’t going to find any here. What do you want Maddox?”
He stood up tall and cleared his throat. “More than you are willing to give, sweetheart,” Maddox said as he looked past her shoulder. “Do it.”
Victoria felt a subtle shift in the air behind her as Maddox spoke his last words. She whirled around but it was too late. She felt a needle plunge into her skin and her world faded to black.
****
James drove as fast as the curvy road allowed. He dialed Victoria’s cell phone again. No answer. He dialed Tyler’s cell.
“Ty, the alarm went off on the property. Someone drove in. Victoria’s not answering her phone. Where are you?”
“I’m at least half an hour away, James.”
“Okay. Get over there as fast as you can, bring Gramps. I don’t care if you break your cover. Just get over there. Something’s wrong.”
James had to steady his hands on the wheel. Fear for Victoria’s safety stayed foremost in his mind as he sped along the narrow country roads. Lord, please keep her safe. And thank You for bringing her into my life. Because of her I’ve learned to forgive and deal with the past. I know You brought her to me, please, don’t take her away.
****
Victoria stirred and lifted her head. She felt an incredible pain, throbbing in her temples. She squeezed her eyes shut before anything came into focus. Memories came flood
ing back to choke her with fear. She tried to move her arms and legs but they felt weighted down, like someone had siphoned concrete into her veins.
A rough, gravelly voice spoke through her foggy mind, “It will take only a few minutes to clear your head, Victoria. The drugs wear off quickly. Then we’ll talk.”
She let her head drop back down, helpless to do anything more. She didn’t know how long she slept, but when she woke again her head felt better and she could see clearly. She looked around the room. It was dark and cold despite the hot summer day. The furnishings looked expensive and masculine, impersonal. Books lined several shelves along the wall and a computer sat on a desk in the middle of the room.
The deep brown, leather couch squeaked under her as she moved to sit up. It was cold against her damp skin. She had been perspiring and felt like she had just come out of a high fever that left her body weak. Chills ran down her arms when she looked across the room to find Phillip Maddox staring at her.
He held a glass of liquor in one hand and a stinky cigar in the other. He puffed away on it as he studied her and gave her a crooked smile. A dim lamp illuminated the room as the setting sun cast looming shadows across the length of the large space. She turned to see the same slatted windows that she had seen on the castle when she had taken the boat ride with James. This time she sat on the inside looking out, trapped.
Surprise ran through Victoria. Maddox had not restrained her. Instead of feeling relieved she felt even more unease. He must have guards, or dogs, maybe both. She knew he wouldn’t let her walk out of here.
“So this is your castle?” Victoria’s voice creaked as she spoke. She already knew the answer to the question, but wanted to test out her voice to see if it betrayed the weakness in her body.
“Yes, it is. Care for a brandy?” he offered.
She ignored his question and fired back a few of her own. “You hired Red Miller. Why? What do you want from us?”
A low menacing sound erupted from his throat. The hoarse laugh carried across the room exemplified by the high ceiling. Victoria felt every hair on her body stand on end. Maddox had the laugh of a madman.
“What do I want? Mmm. Let’s see,” he said as he stood up. In an instant, he whirled around and threw his glass of liquor into the stones of a huge fireplace. The glass shattered into a thousand pieces along with Victoria’s nerves. The unexpected move had catapulted the fear in her stomach higher until she felt it clawing its way to her throat.
Maddox gathered his composure before looking back at her. His voice lowered a notch as he stepped closer and said, “I’m disappointed in you, my dear.” He blew a puff of cigar smoke into her face, assaulting her with its stench. She choked back a gasp. The smell made her want to retch.
“Haven’t you figured it out by now?” He let out a deep, wheezing cough. “I want your land!” His voice took on a high pitch as the veins in his forehead popped out.
“What does Red Miller have to do with our land?”
Maddox slunk back to his chair and sat in it, composing himself. He straightened his tie as if trying to regain some of his lost dignity. “Last year, after your grandfather refused to sell his land to me, I came upon an opportunity that was too good to pass up. I found out about the Bentley’s moonshine operation. It was a perfect set up. I hired Red Miller to get Connor deeply involved in it. You see, that’s why I couldn’t let Connor quit buying moon-shining supplies. He needed to be caught red handed by the feds along with the Bentley’s. Then, Connor would go to jail for moon-shining, his property would be confiscated by the government and put up for auction. I would bid the highest and the land would be mine! I would acquire the Bentley’s property the same way. The plan was perfect. Until you had to come along and mess it up! You!” He pointed a finger at her and sat forward in his chair close to the edge, all but coming out of it.
“You were the anonymous caller.”
“Yes. I sent the A.T.F. in your direction. Then you had to go and romance the A.T.F. agent and convince him to let you and Connor go free. I should have known you would do something like that. You harlot!”
Victoria couldn’t believe the lengths at which this man was willing to go, to gain access to their land. “So, now that your plan has failed, what do you intend to do about it? You might as well give up. You’ll never have our land.”
“Oh, I’ll get it. I’m sure that your ever faithful gramps will come running to sign over the deed to the property when he sees the video tape of you begging for your life.” Maddox pressed a button beside his chair and spoke into an intercom. “Bring it in.”
A burly man entered the room carrying a video camera, duct tape and a large knife. He had been waiting in the hallway for a word from his employer. Fear tore through her at the sight.
“What are you going to do?” she asked and scattered across the room to stand far away from them both at a bank of windows. She thanked God that her ankle had healed enough in the past few days for her to walk on it again. She looked for an avenue of escape, but they were up too high for her to jump out of one of the slender windows. As the tall, beefy man set up the video camera, she tried to slip past him and out the door. It was locked! She hadn’t seen the man lock it behind him.
“You can’t escape, Victoria. It’s too late.”
“You won’t get away with this.”
“Why not? I have money and influence. That’s all I need, sweetheart. After Connor signs the deed over to me, you’ll both disappear and no one will know the truth.”
“You’re insane to want to kill for land. You don’t need it. You have more money than you could spend in ten lifetimes. But it’s not that is it? You want the power. The prestige. Well let me tell you something, Mr. Maddox. In the end, you can’t take it with you. Nothing passes beyond the grave but your soul, and you’d better start being more concerned about where it’s going to end up.”
“I’m a healthy man.” His voice took on an all new aggression. He was defensive when he said, “I’m not going anywhere, but you and Connor are!”
“Oh, you will eventually. One day, every single person will be held accountable for their actions. You’d better start thinking about that!”
“Spare me the details. Tell it to someone who cares!” If it were possible, he would be spitting venom. Hate seeped out of his pores as he went into a tirade. He began knocking over chairs and lamps. “No one has more power than I. No one has more riches. It’s mine I tell you, all mine!”
Victoria looked at the man in horror. She saw the madness in his wild eyes as he stomped about the room. She was thankful that she had told James that she had forgiven him, she didn’t think she would ever get the chance again.
Victoria held her breath when Maddox whirled around and ordered his employee to tape her wrists and secure her to a chair.
“No!” Victoria backed up toward the fireplace and reached for the poker. She held the long, heavy object like a sword. “Stay away from me.” She started swinging it, hitting lamps and books off of tables. Maddox screamed when a vase hit the floor and shattered, he ran to it and cuddled some of the pieces to his chest.
“You have no idea how much that vase was worth. Get her!” he ordered his employee.
Victoria ran to the door and tried to open it again, it wouldn’t budge. She hit the door handle hard with the poker several times before the burly man wrenched it from her grasp. Victoria turned to face him and was met with a hard slap across her face. Searing pain shot through her. He knocked her off her feet and she landed in a heap to the right of the door. She held her arms up in defense as the man held the poker high over his head as if to strike her with it.
Suddenly the door burst open and several men dressed from head to toe in black came in shouting, “A.T.F. Drop your weapons! On the ground.” The masked men came swarming into the room taking immediate control of the situation. She heard shouts and curses, threats and demands.
Victoria came up to her knees and turned her head around to see Maddox an
d his employee being apprehended. An agent roughly pressed Maddox to the ground and put a knee in his back. The agent quickly cuffed him and turned his eyes on her. Victoria could see only his eyes, but knew without a doubt that it was James.
The second their eyes met, she knew James had kept his promise in keeping her safe and it was finally, completely over. She mouthed a silent thank you to James and tucked her head into her knees. She thanked God over and over for sending this man into her life and for keeping her safe.
The voices and words blurred around her as she concentrated on her prayers. She felt herself being lifted into strong arms and looked up into James’ face. He had taken the mask off and carried her into the hallway.
“You’re carrying me again.”
His smile was worth more than her life savings. “I told you before, I don’t mind at all.”
Victoria’s laughter echoed in the long, cold hallway before she asked, “How did you find me?”
“I went to pay a visit to our good friend, Red Miller. He was the only one that could tell me who hired him and where I could find you.”
“He wouldn’t tell you who hired him before. What was different this time?”
“I managed to get him alone for five minutes.”
“He didn’t stand a chance did he?”
“Nope. Not a chance.”
A Matter Of Trust
Epilogue
James peered through the high-powered telescope once more before packing it away. With the assignment completed, it was time to leave and move on to another. As he scanned the old white farmhouse on the hill and cottage below it, he remembered the first time he had seen and studied the area. He thought it was going to be a routine assignment, one he could handle quickly and move on to the next one. He had no idea how wrong he had been. Victoria had touched his life like he never would have expected. He couldn’t walk away from that. He couldn’t walk away from her.
