A Father's Justice Pt. 04

"Without Lisa and Sarah, none of that meant anything anymore," he said.

"So what did you do?" she asked.

"Cried in my beer. Even thought about killing myself a time or two," he said. "I even put a gun in my mouth once. I couldn't pull the trigger, though."

"Oh my God," she said.

"Ran into an old friend of mine at a bar one night after the divorce went through," Ryan said. "He offered me a job and I took it. Traveled a lot outside the country for the next nine years."

"What were you doing?" she asked. "Where did you go?"

"I was what you might call a private security consultant," he said. "Wherever there were bad guys with attitude screwing with good guys just trying to make an honest living, that's where I went. Africa, South and Central America, Middle East. You name it."

"So, you were kinda like an equalizer," she said.

"I never thought of it that way," he said. "But, yeah, I guess you could say that's what I did."

"And I take it you got paid good money to do this," she said.

"I did," he said. "A whole lot more than I ever made as a mechanic. And I had a friend who helped me make even more money off the money I earned."

"Is that how this happened?" she asked, indicating the eye patch and the scar on Ryan's face. He nodded his head.

"Yeah," he said. "It was my last job. The sheikh I worked for made it possible for me to retire from the business."

"That's the wise old man you talked about earlier?" she asked.

"It was," Ryan said. "He suggested I go someplace quiet and find peace."

"So you came here," she said. Ryan nodded his head.

"Yep," he said. "And it's been home to me ever since."

"I always wondered why someone would buy that old run-down house," she said. "I remember playing with the kids who used to live there a long time ago. The place was pretty run down even then. So what are you doing now?"

"Right now, I'm just dealing with family issues," he said.

"I thought you said your family was dead to you," she said.

"They were," Ryan said. "Turns out my daughter married some analyst who somehow managed to track me down. She had a rare blood disease and needed a bone marrow transplant. So I helped her out. And of course, I ran into her mother."

"Let me guess," Beverly said. "They want you and your ex-wife to be friends or something, right?" Ryan chuckled.

"Something like that," he said.

"Are you?" she asked.

"What, reconcile with her?" he asked. He shook his head. "No," he finally said. "It's a bit complicated."

"No it's not, Ryan," she said. "She ripped your heart out with her betrayal. I can understand you'd want to help your daughter. She's your flesh and blood. But I could never imagine being friends with the person who destroyed you like that."

"You're very wise, Beverly Simons," he said. "Besides, I've just learned a few things about my ex."

"Oh?" she asked.

"I just got back from seeing the family," he said. "She was shot in the head."

"I'm sorry to hear that," she said. "DO they know who did it?"

"We know," he said. "We also have an idea about why."

"Wait a minute," she said. "I saw something on the news about a female oil company CEO who was gunned down. Was that her?"

"Yeah it was," he said.

"Wow," she said. "So what happens now?"

"I don't know," he said.

"If there's anything I can do, please let me know," she said. He smiled.

"I don't know what you can do, but thanks anyway," he said. They finished their meal and headed out.

"I hate to impose after everything you've already done," she said. "But would you mind if we stop at the Piggly Wiggly? I have to pick up a few things."

"Not at all," he said. "I need to grab a few things myself." They stopped at the store and he walked with her, pushing the cart as she filled it up with groceries. Her eyes popped out when she saw him grab a packet of hot dogs and some TV dinners.

"You eat those things?" she asked.

"Yeah, why?" he asked.

"You'd be better off eating the cardboard that crap comes in," she said.

"So I've heard," he said. They paid for their food and Ryan loaded it in the truck. They got back in and headed out. By the time they got to her place, the gate was unlocked and open. He pulled in the driveway and parked in front of her two-story ranch house, then helped her carry everything inside.

"Well, I'd better get on home," he said. She stopped him at the door and wrapped her arms around him before giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you for everything," she said. "I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't picked me up." He smiled as he looked into her pretty face.

"It was my pleasure," he said. "If there's anything else you need, please let me know."

"I will, thanks," she said. "Would it be alright if I come by every so often?"

"Any time," he said. "Let me give you my number." He wrote his cell number on a slip of paper she gave him and handed it back to her. "It's been a long time since I've taken a woman out, but maybe we can go catch a movie or something if that's all right with you."

"It would be more than alright with me," she said with a smile. He left her house feeling like a teenager who had just arranged his first date. When he got home, he put the few groceries he had away and took his duffel bag upstairs. His phone began buzzing, so he took it out of his pocket, and noticed it was Sarah. That's when he realized he forgot to call when his plane landed. He answered the phone.

"Hello," he said.

"Thank God you're alright," Sarah said. "I've been worried sick. What happened?"

"Oh, I ran into a widow on my way home and helped her for a bit," he said. "I'm sorry I didn't call, I just got home. Any news?"

"No, not really," she said. "We were just worried that something happened to you."

"I just had lunch with an attractive widow, then took her to the store," Ryan said.

"You mean, you actually took a woman out to lunch?" she asked. "What about all this stuff about no more relationships and living like a miserable hermit for the rest of your life?"

"Well, maybe I spoke too soon about that," he said.

"Someday, you're going to have to tell me about this attractive widow," she said.

"I just might do that," he said. "The FBI guys still there with you?"

"Yeah," she said. "Gillespie is playing cops and robbers with little Ryan if you can believe that."

"Now that's something I'd like to see," Ryan said. "Listen, you guys be very careful, you hear me?"

"We will, Dad," she said. "Anyway, I have to go make dinner now. I'll call if I hear anything."

"Do that," Ryan said. The call ended, Ryan went downstairs and made a fresh pitcher of sweet tea, then went on the front porch. He sat down in his rocking chair, lit a cigarette and pulled out Lisa's phone.

The first thing he did was check to see if there was tracking software on it, the way Greg showed him earlier. He didn't see anything, but turned off the GPS anyway just in case. He didn't think anyone would be monitoring it in any case, since she was in a coma, but he thought he'd rather be safe than sorry.

He spent the next couple hours going through her emails and texts trying to find something that would give him a clue about what was going on. Most of it was dry, business-oriented stuff that didn't mean a lot to him. There were emails about things like audits and profit-and-loss sheets, and a few emails about minimizing the damage from Jake's pending trials, but not much of anything that helped him out in any real meaningful way.

Then he came across an email that mentioned a retreat.

"I bet you can't wait for this year's retreat," Elmer had written. He looked through the thread, and read her reply.

"It'll be the first retreat I've been on without Jake," she said. "I can't wait to get out of town for a bit to recharge."

Ryan thought about that exchange and remembered Elmer mentioning a retreat to him. What was it he had said? He thought hard and remembered Elmer telling him how Lisa had gone wild at their annual summer retreats. He figured out how to do a search on her email and started one using the word, "retreat." He watched as the app searched on his keyword, the arrow continually spinning. He set the phone down and pulled his out, dialing Jorge's number.

"Hey, Ryan," Jorge said when he answered. "You made it home, I see."

"Yes, I did," Ryan said. "Look, I need you to see if you can find something for me."

"What's that?" Jorge asked.

"It seems the executives of Knight hold an annual retreat somewhere out of town," Ryan said. "Can you do some digging and see if you can find out where that might be? I'm thinking they own some property somewhere rural where they can go without being spied on by nosy neighbors."

"I'll do some searches and see what I can come up with," he said. "It'll take me some time."

"No problem," Ryan said. "Let me know as soon as you find something." They ended the call and Ryan had another idea. He called Bob's cell phone. His son-in-law answered on the first ring.

"What's up, Ryan?" he asked.

"Tell me something, Bob," Ryan said. "I'm curious to know how you found me out here."

"Well, it took some work," Bob said. He went on to talk about county records and macros and downloading spreadsheets, causing Ryan's eyes to glaze over.

"Bottom line, you found me by digging through county tax and property records, right?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, you could say that," Bob said. "Why?"

"You think you could do the same thing, only this time search for property owned by Jacob Knight or Knight Petroleum?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, I don't see why not," Bob said. "I already have the macros programmed, I'd just have to change the search parameters."

"How long do you think that could take?" Ryan asked.

"I don't know," Bob said. "A couple days, maybe a bit more. I've already done the really hard work looking for you."

"Do it," Ryan said. "Coordinate with Jorge Trujillo if you would, please."

"Yeah, sure," Bob said. "When do you need this?"

"Immediately, if not sooner," Ryan said.

"Alright, I'll get right on it," Bob said. Ryan gave him Jorge's number, then ended the call. He looked at Lisa's phone and saw the search had finally completed, and had displayed all emails mentioning the word, "retreat." He began to read through them and realized the retreats were nothing more than three or four-day long parties filled with alcohol, illicit sex and drugs. A plan began to form in his mind as he read the emails.

After reading the emails, he turned her phone off and yanked the battery. After smoking one last cigarette, he went inside, consumed a microwaved TV dinner, then went to bed.

He was out back at his homemade pistol range the next afternoon, shooting targets with his .45 caliber pistol when he heard someone call from behind him. He cleared his pistol and turned to see Beverly in a t-shirt and a pair of short shorts, holding a basket.

"Well, hello, neighbor," he said, taking in the lovely sight before him. Beverly looked at least ten years younger in those shorts, which exposed a lot of well-toned leg.

"Hello yourself," she said. "Target practicing, I see."

"Yeah, I like to keep in practice," he said.

"You seem to do quite well, given you only have one good eye," she said. "Mind if I try?"

"Not at all," he said, handing her his ear protection. She put it on, then loaded a magazine and slid it into the handle. He was impressed that she knew how to handle the pistol. She took her stance and holding the pistol with both hands, fired nine rounds into the paper target he had placed up. She cleared the pistol and they looked at the target. One round went high and to the right, but the rest formed an impressive group in the middle of the target.

"Nice shooting," he said. "Where'd you learn to do that?"

"Wallace taught me to shoot when I was old enough to hold a gun," she said.

"He kept guns in the house?" Ryan asked.

"Of course," she said. "We had to sell them though. All except for my old .410 shotgun. I use that to keep the coyotes away from the chickens."

"I'm impressed," he said.

"I take it you have a few guns as well," she said.

"Yeah, one or two," he said. "What's in the basket, if you don't mind my asking."

"Not at all," she said. "I made up some lasagna and thought maybe we could have dinner tonight. Unless you have something else planned."

"I could go for some lasagna," he said. "C'mon up to the house, it's about supper time anyway." He grabbed the basket and they walked to the house.

"I really like what you've done to the place," she said. "It doesn't look quite as sad as it used to."

"Thanks. It's been good to me, so I figured I'd fix it up a bit," he said. He opened the back door and motioned for her to enter, checking out her legs as she went ahead of him. He noticed there was maybe a quarter inch of denim between her legs as she climbed the stairs into the house. Wallace was a lucky man to have this, he thought to himself.

"I see you remodeled the inside as well," she said. "Very nice, but it seems a bit... spartan," she added, taking in the bare walls.

"Well, I didn't see any need to clutter the walls," he said.

"Maybe you need to make some new memories in here," she said. "Some happy memories."

"Maybe," he said wistfully. He put the basket on the kitchen counter and she began emptying it, placing the dish of lasagna on a potholder he had next to the microwave. He pulled out a couple plates and some silverware, placing them on the table. Then he grabbed a couple glasses.

"I hope you don't mind sweet tea," he said. "It's either that or Coke."

"Sweet tea is perfect," she said. He put ice in the glasses from the refrigerator door and poured them each a glass of tea. He grabbed a couple potholders from a drawer and carried the lasagna to the table. Beverly took the potholder it sat on and placed it on the table for him. He grabbed a spatula and dished them out a helping of lasagna.

"I hope you like it," she said. "It's been a while since I cooked anything like this. I like to use a lot of mushrooms and cheese."

"I love lasagna," he said. "Especially when it's full of mushrooms and dripping with cheese." He took a bite and savored the flavor. "My God, Beverly, this is the absolute best lasagna I've ever had." She smiled as her face turned red from embarrassment.

"Thank you, you're too kind," she said.

"Not at all," he said. "I could eat like this every day. You cook like this for Wallace?"

"Yes," she said. "I loved cooking for him. I also enjoyed making this for you." He looked at her and took in her features, her soft eyes, her dimples, her blonde hair arranged in a ponytail.

"Thank you very much," he said. "This sure beats the hell outta TV dinners, let me tell you." She chuckled.

"I'm glad you like it," she said.

"So, how was your day?" he asked.

"Well, I went into town and got some feed for the chickens," she said. "The good stuff this time. It sure felt good. I felt, I don't know, alive, for the first time in a very long time. I can't tell you how long it's been since I felt this good."

"You shoulda called, I would've helped you," Ryan said. "Those bags of feed had to have been heavy."

"Nonsense," she said. "I'm a farm girl. I've been slinging bags of feed since I was little girl."

"I can believe that," he said. They ate their meals and engaged in small talk. Ryan found himself getting more comfortable with this woman, and he felt really good for the first time in ages. After they ate, he cleared the dishes, rinsing them off in the sink and placing them in the dishwasher. Beverly covered the lasagna and placed it on the stove as it was still too warm to put in the refrigerator. He refreshed their glasses with tea and began heading for the front porch.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Old habit. I generally like to enjoy a smoke on the porch after I eat."

"Wallace and I did that too," she said. "Would you mind if I joined you?"

"Not at all," he said. They went on the porch and Ryan handed her a cigarette, holding the lighter for her. He pulled out another and lit up, taking his usual seat. She sat down with him.

"I really enjoy this time of the day," he said. "Not too hot, not too cold."

"Me too," she said. "It's been a long time since I've been able to just relax and take it all in."

"I understand that," he said. "So tell me, how long were you married?"

"I guess about 23 years," she said. "I was 19 and he was 44. We were so in love."

"You said you two had a son," Ryan said. "Where is he now?"

"He's in the Naval Academy at Annapolis," she said. "Got a congressional appointment. He's in his second year. Wants to be a Marine pilot."

"I'll bet you're proud of him," Ryan said.

"I am," she said. "Very proud. He's the first one in our family to ever make it to college, let alone the Naval Academy."

"I've seen those Marine pilots in action before," Ryan said. "They know their stuff."

"Were you ever in the service?" she asked.

"Army," he said. "Infantry. Served in Iraq and Afghanistan."

"Wow," she said. "That's impressive." He shrugged his shoulders. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Please," he said.

"Are you in a relationship now? Is there someone special in your life? I mean, besides your daughter and grandson," she said. He shook his head.

"No," he said. "I swore off relationships after Lisa and Sarah dumped me."

"That was over ten years ago," she said, shocked.

"Well, I haven't exactly been an angel," he said. "I've been with a few women, but not for more than a couple hours at most."

"I see," she said.

"What about you?" he asked.

"No, there hasn't been anyone in my life either," she said. "To everyone here, I'm Wallace Simons' widow. The egg lady."

"I'm surprised," he said.

"Why do you say that?" she asked.

"Well, you're beautiful, still relatively young, and you sure can rock a pair of shorts, if you don't mind me saying so," he said. She smiled.

"You think so?" she said. "Wallace loved it when I wore these. Said it reminded him of those girls in the Lil Abner cartoons."

"I can understand that," he said.

"Truth is, I haven't been able to relax or think of anything besides bills for the last few years," she said. She got out of her chair and stood before him. "You know, it's been nearly six years since I've been with a man. And I've only been with one other man my whole life." She unbuttoned her cutoffs. "I know we just met, but I feel a connection to you. I hope you don't think I'm being too forward, but I need you inside me. Please."

As he watched, she lifted her t-shirt over her head and tossed it on her chair, revealing a perky set of breasts. She unzipped her shorts and let them fall to her feet. She stepped out of them and placed them on the chair with her t-shirt. She stood before him, naked except for a pair of tennis shoes. He felt his manhood come alive as he took in her smooth body and shaved pussy.

"Make love to me, Ryan Caldwell," she said. "Please. I need you so bad." He stood up, picked her up in his arms and carried her inside. He was surprised as how little she weighed. He carried her upstairs, her arms around his neck, and gently placed her on his king-sized bed. She smiled and got on her knees in front of him and helped him disrobe.

Once he was naked, she took his hard cock in her hands and enveloped him in her mouth, causing him to gasp. As he watched, she sucked his entire penis in her mouth, moaning as she did so. Before long, he exploded in her mouth. She swallowed everything he had to offer, then laid back on the bed with a smile.

One good turn deserves another, he thought, so he went down on her smooth, sweet pussy, kissing and licking her creamy center. Soon, she wrapped her legs around him and coated his face with her juice.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I should've warned you. Sometimes I get a little juicy when I climax." He smiled and kissed his way up her lithe body.