Chapter 30

When I got inside, I immediately got in touch with Pete and ran my new idea by him, asking if it could be done this evening while there was still light. He informed me it would take about an hour to do, and that he and two of his men were on their way. I got off the phone with him and called Jerry. I was told that he was out of town for the evening, and that my message would be passed on to him as soon as he called in. I sat back, thinking about everything that had happened today. Although I was worried about Carver, I had to admit I was glad to find out they weren't after me. To have harm come to anyone in my circle of friends and family, would really piss me off, but I was smart enough to realize that Carver was well able to take care of himself. It was the innocents who always got hurt in these power struggles. I had seen it first hand all over the world, as I was sure Carver had. I was wondering how Myrna was doing, convincing Kat to leave, when a deputy leading a dog came in my door. The dog hit on the safe and the bottom drawer of my desk, but other than that it was clear. Myrna came in after the deputy went out with a big smile on her face. When I looked at her, she busted out laughing. I waited until she calmed down a little to hear the reason for the mood change from what it was earlier.

"Oh Jon, that's quite a lady you have there. When I finally got her on the phone and explained everything, and why we were leaving early instead of next week, she only had one thing to say to you. I am supposed to pass the message on word for word. I quote; "If I leave tomorrow and lose my job, and Jon doesn't make an honest woman out of me, I will sue him for breach of a verbal contract." Oh God, it was so funny the way she said it!

"Jon, I have another question I want to ask but you don't have to answer. It has been bothering me since you got cut."

"Go ahead, Myrna, you know I won't lie to you."

"Where did you learn to use flour as a clotting agent for open cuts and wounds? I read about it when I was in college, but never heard of anyone doing it until today."

"When we were in the Legion, half the time we didn't have proper medical care in the field. Since most of the rebels we fought used machetes, our medic made all of us carry a large bag of flour in our field packs. He saved a lot of lives with it, and we all got in the habit of using it for almost anything, including gunshot wounds. It was the best clotting agent we had in the field, and it worked."

"I remember reading about it in my nursing class, but to see it used that way is almost unbelievable. Jon, who do you think is after Carver?"

"That one I can't answer, Myrna, but I will say, I wouldn't want to be the one who got on his bad side."

"Jon, I know you, and I know you had him checked out. Will you tell me what you found out? He has only told me a little, and I want to know more about his time in the service."

"Myrna, I have his whole file, but to be fair to him, I won't let you see it unless he gives me permission to do so. Myrna, I love you and Sally, but you have to remember that Carver and I are a lot alike. We talk about some of our past, but there's a lot of it we don't want to talk to anyone about. And sure as hell, we don't want to relive the bad parts all over again."

"I understand, Jon, but I love him, and if there's something I can help with I want to know about it. I am not trying to be nosey but, oh never mind, I will talk to him about it. Jon, thanks for thinking about all of us and Carver too. I guess I always took our lives here at the farm for granted. Your grandfather always had a security detail around him, so we never had to worry about strangers. I guess I hadn't realized how much stress you have been under with all of this going on. Jon, if you need help with all the extra expenses, will you ask me? I have the money, and I might as well use it for something constructive for a change. Right now, it just sits in the banks, doing nothing but making them money. Oh, and Kat said she would be here ready to go after she got off work."

After that last statement, she was smiling as she walked out of my office. I heard Jimmy corral her, wanting to know if there was anything to snack on. I heard Myrna laugh and tell him to come with her. I sat back, thinking about the church again. I wondered what Jubal and Farley had found out that had Jeb saying it would be good news for me. I heard the sound of a drill working and headed out the front door again. Pete and two men were just finishing up drilling two holes to put the final touches on the two massive iron gates, which were up and closed. I looked around and saw there were still two sheriff's units at the garage, but no one was around them. I walked down to where Pete was putting away his tools, and when he saw me coming, he smiled and waved. When I got up to the gates, I saw how heavy they were. I wondered how the three of them had managed to get them mounted to the two large steel posts set on either side of my driveway.

"Well, Jon, they're up and working just fine. We will finish them up and run the electronics when the package comes in. I don't think it will arrive for a couple more weeks though. These came in this morning, and we were going to come out tomorrow to mount them. By doing it today, I won't have to pay any overtime."

"Pete, we will be gone for awhile, so any work other than this will have to wait until we get back. I'll call as soon as we do. I need you to do one more thing for me before you leave. Can you take a drive around the fence and make sure it's intact? I am going to turn a couple of dogs loose in here, and I don't want them getting out through a hole. There will be a security company watching the place while we're gone, and they will have several guard dogs roving loose."

"Be glad to, Jon. When we finish, I will call you and let you know. If there are any holes, which I doubt, we will patch them immediately. I have some fencing with me we can use. Jon, I heard what happened this morning. Jeb is going to spread the word to everyone who lives in your area to keep an eye out for any strangers. If there's anything I can do to help, don't hesitate to call me."

"Thanks, Pete, I appreciate it. Do you want a check now for the gates, or do you want to wait until the whole thing's done?"

"Let's wait till the job's finished. I have already been paid for the fencing, so it won't hurt me to wait till I finish this up before you pay me. Oh, I have a couple of almost new doors that will fit your barn. I can put them in while you're gone and haul off the smashed ones, if you want. You can have them, and I will only charge you for the labor for hanging them. They are just taking up room I could use in the warehouse."

"That would be great, Pete. I was wondering what I was going to do about the repairs. I probably shouldn't have run my truck through them, but I was a little pissed at the time."

He smiled and the other two broke out laughing. I heard one of them murmur to the other something about that being a helluva way to treat a nice truck. I had to smile at that one, because I agreed with him. I watched as they piled into Pete's truck and drove to the edge of the garage. They made a u-turn and came back, driving along side the fence until they disappeared into the distance. I started back to the house when I heard a horn honking. I turned to see two cars and what looked like a dog pound truck come up to the gate and stop. I walked back and opened both gates. They drove in and parked to the side. I closed both gates and heard another beep that sounded like a sick puppy. It was Kat in her little car. I just smiled at her, opened one gate, and pointed toward the garage. When she came up to where I was standing, she motioned me to bend down and got a kiss for doing so. I almost let loose of the gate it startled me so bad.

"I hope Myrna passed on my message, Mr. Morgan, you are mine from now on."

I got a grin from her and another sick puppy beep as she drove to the garage. I did let loose of the gate in shock and it smacked me as it went swinging by. I had to run to catch it, laughing to myself at her actions. I finally got them closed again, but not before looking down the road in both directions to make sure there wasn't anyone else coming. I walked up to the security guards, who were unloading several Rotties from the pound truck.

"Hey, Jon, I know we never met, but I am Bert. I talked to Pete earlier and he told me he was putting up the gates. We brought three roving dogs that are trained to guard the property. Since they don't require handlers and can live on premises, the only cost to you is their food and water. If you have an outside hose, I won't have to worry about hauling water for them. Besides, it's good for me, because they hate to be locked up in the kennel all the time. They won't bother any livestock you have, and if they catch a prowler, they are trained to hold him or her until one of the men show up. When everyone is here that is part of your home, and is considered ok to be inside the gates, let one of the men know. They will call the dogs in and let them have a smell of everyone. That way, if someone is out walking around, they won't bother them. Jon, I guarantee when they are out roving your property, nobody is going to get inside without them knowing it. I will ask that you leave the garage door open for a few days until they get used to the place."