Secrets of Apple Grove Ch. 02

The chronological order of my stories is as follows:

Todd & Melina series, Interludes 1-5, Sperm Wars series, Russian Roulette series, Case of the Murdered Lovers series, Case of the Murdered Chessplayer series, The Swap series, Interludes 6-10, The Murdered Football Player Series, Case of the Black Widow series, Teresa's Christmas Story, The Case of the Black Badge series, A Case of Revenge series, Teresa's Summer Race, The Trilogy series, Dark Side Of The Force series, Caught In The Act series, The Phyllis Files 1-2, Case of the Murdered Bride series, The Credit Card Caper series, The Phyllis Files 3, The Hot Wives Investment Club series, Seriously Inconvenienced series, Case of the Paper Trail series, Christmas Mystery Theater, The Porno Set Mystery series, The Medical Murder Mystery series, The Eightfold Fence series, The Phyllis Files 4, Pale Morning Light series, Silverfish series, Cold As Ice series.

Secrets of Apple Grove, Ch. 01-02

Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.

This story contains graphic scenes, language and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racial language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above.

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Part 7 - Mom, Apple Pie, and Crime

Saturday morning, April 11th. I drove into the small town where I grew up. The streets didn't seem to be as wide, the playgrounds were smaller, the town itself seeming to have shrunk in size from what I remembered.

But most of all was what was in the air, the feeling... as a child, there were carefree days and limitless possibilities, even in a small town like this. But now, there was a sense of tension, of suppression... and the distinct air that this town was slowly dying.

Apple Grove had been a railroad junction as well as the center of the County, so it had become the County Seat. Back in the days of the late 19th Century that Laura Ingalls Wilder had written about, Apple Grove was a place where farmers brought their goods to be transported by rail to the State and the Nation. Now, BigAgraFoods, which was headquartered in my current Town, ran most of the farms using machinery instead of people. There were few jobs, almost no industry, and the young people did as I had done: they left for other places.

"Let's go have breakfast at the diner." Phyllis said. "Sheriff Greenwood is meeting us there." Indeed, when we parked and went inside, the former sheriff already had the back table commandeered for us. But it took a while getting there.

I was wearing my police uniform of light blue short-sleeve shirt, dark blue pants with black piping down the side, dark blue soft shoulderboards with my rank. But I was recognized as a prodigal son.

"Donny? Is that you?" a redheaded man gasped as he stood up. His name was Marty Robbins, and he was wearing a local EMT uniform like the two other men at his table. His hair was darker red than mine, more like orange. He had been in my high school class. When he was in the 5th grade, he had said he was going to become a paramedic... and he had.

"Hi Marty." I said, shaking his hand. "It's been a long, long time... Paramedic." Marty got it, that I had remembered his childhood prediction. He introduced me to his fellow EMTs, one of whom I recognized as having worked with the Town & County EMS before.

"Charlie Strauss!" I said. "You're up here now?"

"Yes sir, Commander." said Strauss. "I was able to find this job. Had to get out of there with all that going on with your Fire Department."

"I hear ya." I said. "We need to talk about that before I leave."

"So, Donny, you did become a cop." Marty said. "We'd heard you'd gone into the military."

"I did, in the Reserve." I said. "Did some private business, then this job came up, and it's worked out great."

By then, several other people had come around, some who I remembered, some who had known my parents when I was pretty young. I endured a lot of introductions, then made my way to the back table to join my mother and Sheriff Greenwood.

"Good to see you, Donny." said Greenwood. He was getting some weight on, and looked like the quintessential small town Sheriff. He reminded me a little bit of that Sheriff in Coltrane County that had been murdered (Author's note: see The Case of the Murdered Football Player), but was a damn sight more honest and trustworthy.

"I'm glad your mom was able to get you up here." said Greenwood. "We've heard of some of the things you've accomplished in that University town down there, and I know from your mom that you like interesting, even strange cases. We might have something for you."

"Oh, what's that?" I asked.

"The first thing is about your father's legal papers." said Greenwood. "I still have some friends in the Courthouse, and they were the first to alert me to the situation. I contacted your father's old law firm, and they said they were looking into a data breach as well. I suggested they call the Apple Grove Police about it, and they did. At that point, Sheriff Spaulding gave me a call and made a point to tell me to mind my own business, that I was not Sheriff anymore and that he was, and he'd handle things his way and in his own good time."

"I take it you and Spaulding don't get along." I said.

"He ran against me for Sheriff two years ago, and he won." said Greenwood. "You know that Court case in your State about that guy who lost a rigged race?"

"John Cummings?" I said. "Right in my own County. His own Party threw him to the dogs."

"My case was something like that." said Greenwood. "Voting looked irregular. I asked the State to come in to do a recount, but Spaulding went to court and the judge blocked it. Judge's name is Guilford, and he's backed by several wealthy people in the county, including the Jacksons."

"Doug and Roberta Jackson?" I asked.

"They're the ones." said Greenwood. "Do you know them?"

"I've met them." I said. "Their son was murdered in my County."

"Oh, that's right." said Greenwood, and I glanced at my mom. I could tell Greenwood knew more than he was letting on, and indeed was playing a bit dumb. My mom's eyes were twinkling as she looked back at me. Greenwood said: "Well, the Republican Party sat by with their thumb up their ass while Spaulding's people were actively subverting us. They totally shut it down, wouldn't do a recount. Some citizens started up a recall effort, seeing what was going on, but that was squelched too... and in some cases by intimidation with threats of physical violence."

"Good grief." I said. "Not the town I grew up in, for sure."

"Absolutely. So yes," continued Greenwood, "there's bad blood between me and Spaulding. But until this thing happened about your father's law firm files, there hadn't been any real issues crop up between us. The town is not his jurisdiction, either, so I don't know why he called me except for pure intimidation."

"Okay, then." I said. "So I need to talk to the law firm guy or guys. Mom, what are you going to do today?"

"Why, I'm going to check up on some old friends." said Phyllis. "Just old ladies gossiping, nothing you'd be interested in, I'm sure." I just looked at Sheriff Greenwood, who looked back at me, and we both started chuckling.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Hi, Donald." said the youngish lawyer, who was about my age, as he let me into the otherwise locked doors of Grove & Partners law firm. They had bought out Troy & Partners, my dad's firm, some years before. "Thank you for coming. I understand you have some experience in cyber-security."

"Yes, Mike, I do." I said. Mike G. Todd was the junior partner of the firm, and as such was the most tech-savvy.

"Here, let me show you what happened." He brought up some information from the firm's servers. "This breach here. You can see that this access looks like it's internal, but it's none of our guys."

"How did you find this?" I asked as I began connecting my laptop to the law firm's computer and running diagnostic tests.

"I was asked to look for it, by Sheriff... er, former Sheriff Greenwood." said Mike. "The files affected all had to do with your father's work with a charity, Victory Christian Ministries."

"Hmm, never heard of 'em." I said. "Were the files corrupted?"

"Yes, they were." Mike said. "And before you ask, the backups were destroyed, as well."

"So no way to get to whatever is on them." I said. "Unless there's another backup somewhere."

"That's correct." said Mike. "I tried to see if your father had left any paper files, which we have in secure storage at the Courthouse. And when I went to see, that's when it started coming out that they'd been hacked too, but couldn't find any real damage or losses. And the night after I went over there, someone tried to break into the storage areas. Police evidence is secured there, so the perp didn't succeed."

My diagnostic was finished. What the lawyer didn't know is that the program also copied all the information I could get from the law firm's computers. Certainly not all of their files, but the corrupted ones as well as some others. I also left a couple of backdoor access places, disguised as anti-virus software that really would stop the perps from accessing the computers again.

"Okay," I said, "it looks like some standard but very sophisticated data-mining viruses were introduced into your computer. I'm placing some anti-virus protocols on your servers, and you'll be alerted if these bad boys try to access your stuff again."

"What the hell is going on?"

The voice was that of an older man, dressed in an expensive suit. He was tall, lean, with a full head of now-gray hair. I recognized him as Hamilton Phillips, whose law firm had bought out my father's. Phillips was the Senior Partner of Grove & Partners, P.C.

"Mr. Phillips!" said the younger lawyer, fear creeping into his voice. "I was just asking Don Troy to look into our computer breach. He's a specialist in that area."

"Oh really?" snarled Phillips as he observed me in my police uniform. "He looks like a cop to me. Do you have a warrant to be accessing our computers, Mr. Troy?"

"No, and I don't need one." I said as I put my laptop away in its bag. "I'm Douglass Troy's son, by the way."

"I know who you are, boy." said Phillips. "And I don't care. You're not welcome here, ever. Mr. Todd, we will speak of this later, but for now, get that man out of here. Immediately."

"Yes sir--" Mike started, but I interrupted as I stood up.

"Mr. Phillips," I said, my voice commanding but with attempts to keep it gentle, "why don't you tell me what you're afraid of, and maybe I can help you. Not only with this security breach, but with whoever is obviously pressuring you."

I had already seen the fear in Phillips' eyes, and now I could clearly see it as his agitated features contorted into a mask of fear and hideous hatred.

"Get out!" he gasped. "Get the fuck out, you son of a bitch!"

"Don't talk about my mother like that," I said, "or whoever's threatening you won't be the only one whipping your ass. Now I'm offering to help you, Mr. Phillips. I think you know who and what I am, and you were a friend of my father's. But once I leave, you're on your own."

Phillips seemed to consider the words, but for only a moment. "Why are you still here? Get out. Get out of this county. Don't come back. And leave that laptop here."

I put the laptop bag's strap over my left shoulder, giving me easy access to my gun. I began walking out when Phillips stood in front of me.

"I said leave the laptop." he said menacingly. "You're not leaving without it."

I put my hand on my gun, having flicked open the strap holding it in place. "Try and stop me." I said quietly, my eyes boring into his. His eyes saw that I wasn't bluffing. He relented, his face red with anger. I quickly walked out of there.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Phyllis sat on the porch in one of the rocking chairs as the other woman talked. She was Old Mrs. Starnes, and she had lived in this house since the day she was born. It was a two-story house with tall ceilings and a big porch, built in the late 1800s when the town was first started. Mrs. Starnes was the grandmother of Kip Starnes, whose name had come up in the Murdered Football Player case.

"Yes, Phyllis, this town is dying." Mrs. Starnes said. "And you're right that something else is going on around here. There is a sense of depression here, and that's because of the oppression that is happening."

"Aftermath of the Sheriff election?" Phyllis asked.

"Oh, no, that was actually only a small part of it." said Mrs. Starnes. "After your husband Douglass died and Phillips took over the firm, subtle changes started happening. The bank hired a new president, an outside guy from North Carolina. He and Phillips are friends. I heard rumors that the Blacks in Providence Springs can't get loans from this bank anymore."

Providence Springs was a farm town west of Apple Grove, about halfway to the western county line, and it was where nearly all of the Blacks in the county lived until Rome got the highway and grew enough to provide jobs.

"Oh my." said Phyllis. "And the rest of the county? Rome?"

"Rome has all the processing plants now, the ones that in the time we were children were here in Apple Grove. They have access to transportation and shipping there." said Mrs. Starnes. "A lot of illegal immigrants there, working the packing plants and the hotels as janitors and the like. Almost no one ever comes over from Rome to Apple Grove; if they do, the Sheriff's deputies stop them for any sort of reason. I'm shocked you and your son weren't pulled over when you came in."

"What does the Police Chief have to say about all of this?" Phyllis asked. "What was his name again?..."

"Sims. Larry Sims." said Mrs. Starnes. "He's a year away from his pension. Several of us believe that he was quietly told that if he knew where his bread was buttered, he'd keep his mouth shut and he'd be allowed to retire with his pension. If he makes waves, he'll be out on the street with nothing."

Mrs. Starnes continued: "As an example: Sims and Greenwood were very good friends, not to mention colleagues that cooperated very well. When that Sheriff election was contested, Chief Sims stood by and did nothing. Greenwood begged Sims to help, but Sims just wouldn't take a public stand. They're no longer friends, and I hear that Sims just stays in his office and goes through the motions. He started drinking, too, but not all that heavily. Not enough to hamper doing his job, but enough for some people to notice."

"Oh my." Phyllis said again. "Any idea what... or who... is behind it all?"

"No, not at all." said Mrs. Starnes. "Oh my, look at that." She was pointing to the Sheriff Department car that was coming down the street. The deputy slowed as he passed the house, peering hard at the two women. Phyllis felt the tension, both in the deputy and in Mrs. Starnes.

"Phyllis, it's been nice seeing you again." said Mrs. Starnes, concluding their chat. "But I think you probably should go find your son now. And may I suggest you have him or someone you trust with you at all times."

Meanwhile, former Sheriff Greenwood was sitting in his personal vehicle, waiting for Phyllis to end her chat with Mrs. Starnes. He was parked off the road, hidden by some bushes, and he'd seen the Sheriff car driving down the street and knew what it meant. He was about to exit the car and go to Phyllis when someone walked up to his car.

"Hello, Sheriff." said the someone.

"Well, my goodness, it's you." said Greenwood. "What in the world brings you here?"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I entered the Apple Grove Police Department building, which was next to the Fire Department and its two engines, on the west side of Courthouse Square. The offices were small and old, and the entire Apple Grove P.D.'s compliment of twelve officers barely matched the number of Detectives in my two divisions.

One reason for that was the way this State allowed counties to compose themselves, which was different than my current State's structure. In my State, there were town police and county police and/or Sheriff Departments, and of course my own County was merged with my Town into one unified force. In Apple Grove's county, the town had police jurisdiction in a radius of several miles outside the town limits, and outside of that was the Sheriff Department's responsibility. The Rome Police Force had a significant radius while Apple Grove, Providence Springs to the west, and the town of Springer to the northwest had smaller radii.

"Is Lieutenant Wisocky here?" I asked the receptionist/clerk at the front desk. She buzzed the office of the Media Relations Officer, not knowing that Media Relations was not the reason I'd asked for Lieutenant Wisocky.

"Donny? Donny Troy?" exclaimed the dark haired woman that appeared in the hallway. "I can't believe it!" She came up and gave me a warm hug, which I returned as warmly as I could. Leanne Wisocky's hair was cut just above her shoulders and was straight with no styling. She was wearing her uniform of a royal blue shirt and navy blue pants, with an "A.G.P.D." insignia on the left collar and a silver Lieutenant bar on the right collar.

Her large breasts strained against the fabric of the shirt, which caused a first stirring of my loins. She had put on weight in the years since I'd seen her. In her youth she'd been a real tomboy, and her body was shapely and very hot, especially her legs. But one could tell even then that she was somewhat 'big boned' and would one day be a 'big girl'. She wasn't fat, but beginning to put on weight here and there, and she no longer had that hourglass shape of her youth... an hourglass shape that Teresa Croyle now had that made her look so hot.

But there was another reason the sight of Leanne was stirring my loins. She was the woman that had taken my virginity.

She was a little bit older than me, and she'd graduated high school and gone to a small college. She had always wanted to be a policewoman, and her schooling was towards that end. She came home one summer, and she and I began hanging out a good bit. On one hot summer afternoon we were alone at her house... and good things started happening.

I wasn't a jock in my youth, though I was on the football team because every boy in the school was on the team, though I rarely played. I also was on the Golf team, making the sixth and final varsity position my Senior year and lettering in that sport. I was always curious of the world around me, going off to explore creeks and trying to catch snakes, and Leanne did those explorations with me and other boys when we were younger.

She had been sexually active for a while, and on that hot summer day I went for it. I was fairly bold even then, and when her bikini top had a malfunction, a nip-slip, before I realized it I was leaning over and kissing her teat! That led to me kissing her mouth and things going from there. I got my first blowjob that day, followed by my first intercourse in the missionary position, totally bareback sex. Leanne was on the pill, which was fortunate because I shot what felt like a huge load into her.

My father never knew, but I think my mother observed and deduced it that very night. A few days later I heard her saying something about me having a swagger that I hadn't had before. And she tried to dissuade me from seeing Leanne, but it would've been easier to stop sap from running in the trees than it would be for me to give up that summer of hot sex with a hot girl.