“I guess we are,” nodded Ernie. “I’ve always felt this way. As a little boy, I’d drive the tractor for my dad or grandpa. I wasn’t more than seven or eight at the time. I could barely see over the steering wheel. But I knew how important it was for me to help my father.”
“That’s why this land needs you and you need this land,” said Chief. “They looked pretty damn spooked by seeing us there.”
“They definitely were,” nodded Pat. “I think they thought they would just run over the land, destroy it and we would just roll over and sell. I’m sure glad it didn’t work out that way.”
“No, not this time,” said Chief. “But there could be a next time. We’ll leave you when it’s time and leave the security measures in place. We can hire a few people that will be willing to keep up with it while we’re gone. Our contract remains intact and you’ll never be alone. But I can’t fathom that they’re going to give up that fast.
“They want this land and until we know why, we won’t fully understand how to fight them. But rest assured, we will fight them and we will win. We don’t give up easily.”
“When will we know?” asked Ernie.
“Rachel and the others are working that angle for us,” said Christian. “Lucy is looking at tissue samples from the animals that died. If she can find any evidence of what killed them, it will be a good start for us.”
Ernie and Pat both frowned, looking down at their food, picking at it. They seemed bothered by something but so far, everything was relatively good news.
“Everything okay?” asked Chief.
“Yeah. I mean, I guess so,” said Ernie. “I was just thinking, what if they’ve done this to other communities or if they do it to someone else when they leave us. We were lucky in that we knew who you guys were but others don’t.”
“We’ll keep our eyes and ears open for anything similar happening,” said Bone. “I do want to ask about your mayor though. He seemed pretty tight with those two. How much do you trust him?”
“Not at all,” said Pat. “He’s from this area but left right out of high school. Went to college in Tennessee, met his wife and got married, had a couple of kids and when they left for college he came back here and ran for mayor.”
“Just like that?” asked Major.
“Just like that. Some of the people were saying he shouldn’t have been allowed to run because he hadn’t lived in the county for two years. Folks are stuck on siding with their own people and he was seen as a local in spite of someone running that had lived here consistently for twenty years. Carter is seen as one of us, even though he was gone for thirty years.”
“What makes you not trust him?” asked Major.
“I don’t know,” said Ernie. “Just a feeling that he’s always hiding something. You saw him. We’re a farming community and he shows up in a suit and tie that costs more than my truck. I’m not blaming him. If he can afford it, that’s great. But he only gets paid a thousand dollars a month as the mayor. Previous mayors always had other jobs to support themselves and their family. So, where is he getting the money for suits like that or for the Cadillac SUV he drives?”
“Those are all great questions,” frowned Major. “I’ll have the team back home look into that as well. What about the sheriff?”
“Another home-grown guy,” said Pat shrugging. “He’s been sheriff for more than twenty-five years now. Since long before I left for the Army. We don’t get many problems here. A few speeders now and then, kids throwing pumpkins or drinking, but nothing serious.”
“He seemed to be on your side in the conversations,” said Chief.
“He is,” they both nodded. “Again, he grew up here so he probably knows how we feel better than anyone.”
“And all the farmers?” asked Sebastian. “The others that we met and who were at the meeting. Do you think they all feel like you do?”
“Of course,” said Ernie a bit surprised by the question.
“Listen, we’re just asking. Someone could have a hidden agenda we don’t know about. Are they all in the same boat as you guys?” Ernie and Pat stared at one another, then at the men.
“We didn’t ask everyone’s financial status but no one is making a killing around here being a farmer, that’s for sure. They’ve all owned the land for a long time and seem to be all in. That’s about all I can tell you for sure,” said Ernie. “If they weren’t on board with us, they would have already sold and they’d be off enjoying their new-found wealth.”
“We’ll make sure to check all of it out,” nodded Chief. “Tonight, let’s enjoy our victory, however brief it might be.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
When the team met with Rachel and Lucy, they could already tell they were not going to be happy about what was found.
“I received permission from all the farms to take soil samples at varying depths. I wanted to be sure of what I was looking for. The geological surveys and mineral surveys were done at appropriate levels.
“For my studies, the soil, up to four feet is typical soil we would see on farms that have been worked for decades. You can see that they turn the soil and crops, it’s healthy, no pesticides, good, rich soil that’s probably growing some of the finest produce in the country,” she said with a smile. “It was really wonderful to see.”
“I feel like there’s a ‘but’ coming,” frowned Chief.
