Chapter 16 - The Night of the Fire
The night before the courtroom hearing arrived. The air was dead silent, heavy with the anticipation of the storm to come. The deputy stationed at the gate, a young man named Officer Davis, was parked under the oak trees, his headlights off to maintain a stealthy presence.
At midnight, David was awake, drinking black coffee. Frank was asleep on the couch, while Toby and Leo slept in the back bedroom.
Suddenly, a strange, flickering light caught David’s eye through the kitchen window. It wasn't the stars, and it wasn't the moon. It was a dull, orange glow coming from the southern ridge, near the old timber barn where they stored the winter hay.
"Frank! Wake up!" David shouted, kicking the foot of the couch.
Frank bolted upright. "What is it?"
"The hay barn! It’s on fire!"
David ran to the back bedroom, waking his sons. "Toby, Leo, stay in this house. Lock the doors from the inside and do not open them for anyone except me or the Sheriff. Do you understand me?" The boys, wide-eyed with fear, nodded quickly.
David and Frank grabbed fire extinguishers and rushed outside. As they sprinted toward the burning barn, they found Officer Davis slumped over the steering wheel of his cruiser—unconscious, but breathing. He had been struck from behind with a heavy object.
"They're here!" Frank yelled, pointing toward the shadows near the burning structure.
Two figures in dark clothing were running toward a waiting vehicle parked on the dirt road. David, fueled by pure adrenaline and fury, didn't chase the car. Instead, he ran toward the barn. The flames were licking the dry wood, spreading rapidly toward the main pasture where thirty head of cattle were trapped behind a locked gate.
"The cattle, Frank! Open the gate!" David screamed over the roar of the fire.
Working together in the choking smoke, David and Frank smashed the heavy chain lock with a crowbar. The panicked cattle surged forward, escaping into the safety of the open field just as the roof of the hay barn collapsed with a deafening crash, sending a massive cloud of sparks into the night sky.
Through the smoke, David saw a man standing by the tree line, watching the destruction. It was Marcus Vance, the fixer. He wasn't running. He smiled, holding a matches container, satisfied with his work.
But his satisfaction didn't last long. From the main road, three police cruisers tore into the property, sirens wailing, led by Sheriff Tom Miller. They had tracked the fixer’s burner phone location using a warrant Tom had secured earlier that day.
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Vance tried to flee into the woods, but Tom Miller was faster. The Sheriff tackled him into the mud, pinning his arms behind his back and slamming the handcuffs onto his wrists.
"Marcus Vance, you’re under arrest for arson, attempted murder, and assault on a law enforcement officer," Tom growled, dragging him up. "And you’re going to tell us exactly who paid you to do this."
