“And what do my son and his friends say about all that?” Richard asked.
Devon tilted his chin up and grinned. “Daddy, we didn’t do anything, and that bi…lady threatened me when she fired that gun right at me. See that hole in the wall? That’s where the bullet landed.”
Knox stepped over to Richard’s side and played the videofor him. “Officer Harrison not only has this on his phone, but it’s been sent to the police lab to use as evidence. Lottie fired into the air while still outside. An officer already has the spent shell bagged for evidence. And, sir, if you will look closely, that hole is the size of the snout of the saw, not peppered with bird shot.”
Lottie wanted to tell them that had she been firing at the boy, he would be moaning with bits of bird shot in his body, not lying about what happened, but instead she said, “The police have the gun and will find the other slug in the gun if you want to see what it’s filled with.”
Officer Harrison held up a bag. “This is the shell we found on the ground outside. Your son is lying, Richard. We have to take them all in for questioning, and I’m sure they’ll all tell the same story. But the video shows a different one. I’m afraid you can’t get them off so easy this time.”
Devon glanced over at his buddies, and a wide grin covered his face. “We’ll be out in a couple of hours, won’t we, Dad?”
“Not this time, Son,” Richard said with sadness in his tone. “Do what you have to do with the lot of them, Harrison. They’re all fifteen years old, so I expect they’ll spend some time in juvie. If there is any leniency at all, I will send my kid to military school. The rest of the parents can handle this any way they want. I won’t represent any of them. They can get a public defender.”
“You can’t do this to me,” Devon screamed.
“Yes, I can, and should have done it before now,” Richardsaid. “That truck out there is mine as well as the chainsaw. I’m sure both will be taken away to be locked up for evidence, but I would like them back when this is over. And send me a bill for all this damage. I’ll pay for it.” He turned around and walked outside.
“Da…dee…” Devon yelled.
“Okay, boys,” Officer Thomas said, “hands behind your backs. You’re going to lock up for the weekend. There’s no arraignment until Monday morning, so if you have other weekend plans, they are canceled.”
“Before we put the cuffs on, I’ll need all your cell phones,” Officer Thomas said.
The other boys handed theirs over without question, but not Devon. He glared at the policeman and said, “Over my dead body. No one touches my phone.”
Harrison put the cuffs on him and then slipped the phone from the back pocket of his baggy jeans and handed it to Tisdale. “Take the phones to the lab and tell them to look at Devon’s first to see what these boys have been texting about.”
“It’s password protected,” Devon snapped.
“We’ve got some excellent tech guys,” Tisdale said.
Lottie looped her arm in Knox’s when the boys were finally in the back of the two police cars. Devon was still spitting threats and telling his buddies that his father didn’t mean what he said and would have them out within an hour.
“I’m sorry that y’all have to deal with this damage,” Officer Harrison said, “but it could have been much worse ifthey’d taken that saw to one of the buildings you are putting up. And I’m so glad you caught it on a video that we can use in court. Richard might have a change of heart and try to get them out of jail like always, but this time is going to be different since we’ve got proof. So, thank you for having the good sense to start filming when you walked in the door.”
“How many times have they been in trouble?” Lottie asked.
“I’d have to take my shoes off to count them,” Officer Tisdale said with a chuckle. “They’ve been hell-raisers since they were ten years old, and this won’t be their first time to stand before the judge.”
“Mydaddy would have let me sit it out in jail from the beginning,” Knox said.
“He raised you right, like mine did,” Harrison said. “Thanks again. There will probably be a plea bargain, but we’ll call you if we need you to testify.”
“Sure thing,” Knox said. “Would y’all mind stretching some crime scene tape around the building so there won’t be any problems when the insurance adjuster arrives?”
“And letting us know what happens if they do all take a plea deal? When we finish this job, we could be miles away for the next one,” Lottie said.
“Of course we will, and we’ll do one better than crime scene tape. Tisdale is already in there taking pictures. Just tell the adjuster to come down to the station, and we can give him copies of everything,” Harrison answered. “Cell phones capture things very well, but we like to have photos takenwith a high dots-per-inch ratio for court. I doubt it goes that far, but one never knows.”
“Thank you,” Knox said. “Then it will be all right if we use the other end of the rec room until our boss gets in touch with the insurance folks?”
“Sure thing,” Harrison said.
Tisdale came out of the rec hall and gave Harrison a thumbs-up. The other two officers carried out several bags with evidence tape stretched across them. They all loaded their things into the patrol cars and drove away.
“Do you think it’s safe for six elderly couples to be living in a place so far from town?”
“The police were here in less than the ten minutes the dispatcher thought, so yes, I do. Besides, we held our own against four of those little hoodlums. There will be six men and as many women living here. Plus, tomorrow I’m driving into town and getting an inexpensive security system to attach to the fence out front. After the place is finished, I’m sure there will be something more sophisticated put in to open the front gates. Until then, Jack, you, and I are going to have an alert when someone comes onto the property in the evenings,” he said. “For now, though, we’ve had enough excitement for the night. Let’s go get some sleep.”
