Trent
Sitting at my desk in my office, I sit silently soaking in the relief washing over me. Kelly’s plan got Elizabeth in action on camera and that alone is enough to charge her with one count of theft. But there have been several thefts.
I take a sip of the rye whisky from my glass, enjoying the flavor as it glides down my throat, leaving a fiery trail behind. I haven’t had the time to have any of this stuff over the last four or five months. It’s damned good stuff. Envy of the Angel’s, you bet!
Yesterday, a couple of the officers from the night that Elizabeth had herself the last of her freedom, came over to shed more light on the investigation and what they’ve been able to collect as evidence.
Aside from the ranch hands testimonies regarding their tingling and blemishes, their doctor’s lab tests confirm the toxins from agent orange build-up being present in their systems. The officers tell me and Owen that agent orange and canisters to apply the herbicide are all over McNally’s garage along with some items that prove she set the fire in our barn.
Using the samples and results from Kelly’s lab tests, I found out that after six months, the soil can be planted as long as we add in fresh soil to help mix the toxins out. Next spring we’ll be able to do that and because we have to build a new barn, we will have plenty of enriched dirt.
All will be used against her as evidence to substantiate her many crimes. Right now, Elizabeth McNally is the justice system’s newest convict. It’s a slam dunk case.
Open and shut. Leaning back in my chair as I take another sip, I’m still in a state of shock that it’s actually solved. Finally!
Owen comes in with another chair from somewhere in the homestead, setting it down next to the other across from me. He takes a seat and Kelly walks in with all of the evidence that she collected and sets in on my desk.
I sit up and move some papers on top, then place them back down. “What’s all this?”
“Proof,” she says with a smile. “You hired me to find a perp and a perp I did find.”
Owen laughs and says, “Thanks, Kelly,” he looks at me with a knowing eye. “And again, I’m sorry about the other night.”
“It’s all good,” she shakes her head and raises her hands, slapping them down on her knees. “I guess this closes my investigation. I’ll be heading back tomorrow.” A slight tear forms in her eye and she quickly brushes it away.
“Yeah, about that,” I say as I get up to take two more glasses from the liquor cabinet and pouring some rye into each one. I hand Owen and Kelly a glass and hold mine up to them. “Just because the case is closed, doesn’t necessarily mean we’re over.”
Kelly takes a sip and winces at what I know is the burn of the rye. “What exactly does that mean?”
Owen turns to face her holding his glass in his hands as his elbows lay across his knees. “What he means, Kelly, is that he’s offering, we’re both offering,” he looks at me and then back to her, “for you to stay here with us instead of going back to an empty place. Since the roof is gone from my place, I’ll be moving in here as well.”
She looks back and forth between the two of us with a questioning, yet surprising look on her face. “Really?”
Owen nods his head and tells her, “Absolutely. Haven’t been this sure about anything in a long time.”
I raise my glass and toast, “To a new beginning, with us at the heart of it all.”
The toast ends and I ask Kelly, “So? You gonna stay or you gonna break our hearts?”
She bites her lower lip and then takes another sip of rye. “Yes! Yes, I’ll stay,” she exclaims while bobbing her head up and down, bouncing her blonde hair along with it. “I’ve been thinking about switching gears lately anyway.”
“How so?” I ask.
“Ranch security,” she says. “With everything that Elizabeth got away with for a while, it seems like more cases like this will pop up.”
Owen sits back and places a knee over the other, sipping from his glass. “Rightly so. You definitely solved this one.”
“Well, I did have some help from the department and I think I’ll still be able to use them for such instances.”
“I’m so amazed at how easy the ranch is to run even with the men out in the field still slightly suffering from being poisoned.,” I tell the two of them, sitting across from me. The two most important people in the world. And I want them as close to me as possible.
“And if it’s not being sabotaged constantly,” Owen adds, finishing the remainder of his drink.
Kelly sets her glass down with a little of the rye still in it. “You best drink that down, with everything we’re going to have to have done, things like this will be a luxury,” I tell her, finishing mine off as she picks it back up, downing the rest of her rye.
“Wow! That has a hard kick!” she says as she gets up. “I’m going to make some arrangements to have my stuff packed and delivered. Anywhere in particular I should have it placed?”
“In the sitting room, until we figure it all out,” I wink at her as she leaves our presence. I lean closer to Owen and say a little quieter. “I want to know your thoughts on what I’m about to say.”
“Okay,” he says, leaning closer across the desk.
I lower my head and think sincerely for a moment, contemplating whether or not to say it. I’ve already got him on the hook, so I might as well go for it. “Since we asked her to move in with us, would there be any issues, say if we were to ask her to marry us?”
Caught off guard by my question, Owen quickly regains his composure and smiles brightly. “I don’t see one issue at all. I think we should ask.”
We high five each other and begin talking about the how, when and where this proposal will take place. With any luck, she’ll accept and we’ll all be hitched by October.
Woohee! That there’s a need for a hoedown.