“Those cars don’t look right; neither do the officers’ uniforms. The only people that should be out here are our sheriff’s department,” Benny says as he pulls out his phone.
Jared and Tommy are off their horses, making their way over to where Sutton is arguing with an officer, Dr. Reed, and his colleagues.
“Hey, this is Benny. I’m out at the Bishop Ranch, and there are about twenty unmarked cars. Frank Bishop is in the back of a police car. You get any wind of this?” he says to the dispatcher.
I try calling Sheriff Clark again, and this time, he picks up.
“You need to get out to the Bishop Ranch ASAP,” I say.
“I’m about ten minutes out,” he says. “Dr. Reed out there?”
“Yup, as well as a police presence.”
“That’s impossible.”
“I’m here, right now, looking at it.”
There’s radio chatter in the background, and Benny is beside me, relaying the information to the 9-1-1 dispatcher. He hangs up the phone, and Sheriff Clark lets out a groan.
“I’ll be there shortly. No department would step into my territory without acknowledging me prior and asking for assistance. I talked to the ag office Dr. Reed supposedly works for, and he doesn’t exist in their database.”
“I’ll stall until you get here.”
We hang up the phone. Benny and I get out of the truck, and some of the officers put their hands out to stop us.
“Do y’all have a warrant to be taking those cattle?” I ask the closest officer, a tall, burly blond man.
“That’s none of your business,” he says.
“What are you guys, agriculture police?” Benny chuckles as he points at their badge.
“Sheriff Clark should be out here for this. Y’all are trespassing,” I say.
“I’ll handcuff you and put you in the back of that cop car like I did the old man.”
“If you feel froggy, kid, let’s go,” Benny goads him. “You feel like it’s an accomplishment to handcuff a seventy-year-old man?”
He nods toward where Frank is in the back of the car. The officer puffs out a breath and takes a step toward Benny. I move off to the side and beeline for Sutton.
“You can’t do this! You have no right!” she’s saying in a very calm and controlled voice.
“We have all the right in the world,” Ms. Langley laughs. “Your father broke the law.”
“My father didn’t break any laws. You have no right to come in here without a warrant, trying to seize his property. The bank said we had two weeks before…”
“This isn’t a foreclosure,” I interject. “Sheriff Clark would have been out here if it was, but it’s been taken care of anyway.”
“Your father knowingly caused the outbreak in town. That comes with steep fines and…” Dr. Reed states.
“Knowingly? My ass! You think he put his ranch in jeopardy willingly? Do you really think that man tried to take the entire town down on purpose? You’ve got to be kidding me!”
“We have reason to believe that he did this as an attempt to save the ranch from foreclosure,” Ms. Langley interjects.
Why would the ag office know anything about financial issues?
“That’s preposterous. Besides, you should be giving written notification of said fines as well as time to make those violations right by remedying the issues. There’s a protocol for this. You don’t start stealing people’s property,” Sutton hisses. “If I hadn’t been here…”
“Where is the list of violations or a warrant or whatever gives you access to trespass on the property and start loading up this man’s cattle?” I ask.
