Manny’s Mission (Broken Wheel Ranch #7)

Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

“What the hell?” Benson Alcott practically screamed at the driver of the vehicle he was in when he looked out the windshield and saw five pick-up trucks parked in the circular drive of his home. He looked over at the other passenger in the back seat with him with wide eyes. “I told those fuckers to take time off until we returned. They were not to come back until they heard from me.” He sat back in a huff thinking that nothing was going to fuck up his plans. Everything was finally coming together, and during the next two months, if nothing went wrong, then he would have the insurance money to collect on his daughter’s death, then the ranch could be sold, and he would be that much richer. If there was only one thing that he hoped the person beside him never learned, was that Benson had absolutely no stake in The Double A Ranch. His father had left everything to Naomi when he’d died years ago. God was the only one that knew what she had planned for it, and if she had a will. He would sort that all out after he received the insurance money from her death.

“When can we move in here?” Wyonna, Percy Biggins’ fiancée asked as she leaned forward and looked out the front windshield. “I like the fountain in the courtyard.” She leaned forward some more and Benson had to wipe a hand over his face to keep the scowl at bay. He didn’t want this woman anywhere near his house, but if he was to get out from under his debt to Biggins, he would have to play nice for a few more weeks.

“Not until I get the insurance money from Naomi’s death,” Benson said, shocked by the sour taste in his mouth all of a sudden. He shook his head to try and dispel it, but the closer they drove to the main house, the more bitter the taste became. He subtly reached into his lightweight suit jacket and withdrew a handkerchief. For the life of him, he couldn’t understand why he was suddenly sweating. He also had a knot in the pit of his stomach. If he didn’t know better, he would swear that something bad was about to happen.

The car stopped before the bottom of the steps leading up to the front door, and instead of waiting for the driver to open his door, he did it himself and quickly exited. He stood there and stared up at the entrance and looked over at Percy and Wyonna as they joined him.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” he murmured, and without waiting for a response, something he never did in Biggins’s presence, he started up the steps. As soon as he opened the unlocked door, he stepped into the foyer and paused when he didn’t see or hear anyone. He called out when the other two people joined him.

“Hello! Anyone here?” With no answer, he called out again. “I saw your fucking trucks outside, I told you to take time off until I contacted you! Get your fucking asses out here.” He ended up screaming by the end of his tirade. His gut was screaming that his life was about to change in a drastic way. He heard a sound and rushed forward.

“What the fuck are YOU doing here?” Benson asked in shock as he saw his daughter walk down the stairs. When he realized she was walking, he wiped the instant pool of sweat from his forehead. Before Naomi responded, he heard a commotion from behind him, he turned in time to see ten gigantic, burly, pissed-off-looking men surround his guests.

“Get away from them!” Benson screamed, and kept moving his head, as if in a tennis match, between his friends and daughter.

When Naomi finally reached the bottom of the stairs, she looked down her nose at him, and only said one word so coldly, that he shivered, despite sweating so much. “Benson.” Naomi nodded to him.

“What are you doing here?” Benson started to puff up, however the man that stepped up to his daughter’s side looked too menacing for there to be any heat behind his threat.

“Since this is MY home, I thought I’d take one last look around to get any personal items I left behind before I put it on the market.”

“You can’t do that!” Percy Biggins screamed. “This place belongs to Benson! I saw the paperwork!”

Naomi turned to stare at the man who had yelled at her and started toward him. She stopped roughly three feet from him, and nodded to the man who stood the closest to him.

“Who the hell are you?”

“Percy Biggins.”

“Well, Mr. Biggins, I don’t know what Benson told you, or what false paperwork he showed you, but it’s all lies. I have the original documents that had been left with my lawyer after my grandfather passed away. They clearly state that I am the owner of everything. Benson only gets a small monthly allowance.”

“Which is shit to live on!” Benson stated from his position beside the others as he was encouraged toward the other two.

“Really, you can’t live on five grand a month?” Naomi asked snidely. “Tell me, Benson, what did you do with the insurance money from the false paperwork you produced after you had Princess killed?”

“I shared it with Biggins here. It kept me out of debt.”

“Is that the horse you had me stab in Las Vegas?” Wyonna looked between Benson and Percy as she asked.

“That’s all I need,” Duane Manchester said from his position standing behind Benson. He tilted his head back, and yelled, “Move in!” The next three minutes was bedlam as Duane tried to get cuffs on Benson, and the other FBI agents tried to do the same with Percy and Wyonna. As one, Benson and Wyonna rushed Naomi and Clark, but Clark hit Benson in the face, dropping him like a ton of bricks, and because she’d never been physically violent with anyone in her life before, Naomi didn’t know what to do, so she only lifted one hand, formed into a fist, and held it out in front of her.

She stared in shock as Wyonna ran into her fist and dropped to the ground, screaming, and grabbing her face.

Naomi looked at Clark in shock. “What happened? She just ran into my fist, I never swung.”

“I know,” Clark chuckled, and went over and hugged her, making sure to kiss the side of her head. “I’m proud of you.” They looked up as a female FBI agent walked up to Wyonna and slapped a set of handcuffs on her. After she rose to her feet, Naomi, while still in Clark’s arms looked at the three people in custody.

The first person she walked up to was Percy Biggins. “I know all about you, Biggins. I know how you convinced my cowardly and spineless sperm donor to go after my horse. I have not only video proof, but also documented proof that the insurance papers were falsified to make the coward the owner of my horse.” She stood there and glared at him. When he didn’t say anything she shook her head sadly, then smirked at him. “Oh, and if you think you’re going to get your ‘brother’ Rudolph Royal to come bail you out, think again.” Her smirk morphed into a grin when she saw the shock on his face. “Why, you ask? Because he’s sitting in his own jail cell awaiting trial for attempted murder, cattle rustling, criminal trespassing, and a whole grocery list of other offenses. All felonies. By the time the court system is done with him, he could very well be your other brother, Paul Miller’s cell mate. You’re going down, Biggins.”

Naomi dismissed him with a wave of her hand and walked over to Wyonna. She nodded to the female FBI agent and after the charges of her arrest were clearly stated, Naomi turned a cold eye onto the other woman.

“Hear that? You’re going down for not only killing my horse, but also for spending money from the insurance pay-out—money you weren’t entitled to, money that you scammed out of the insurance company. I hope you like the color green, because that’s the only color you’ll be wearing for at least the next ten to fifteen years.”

“I want my lawyer.”

“Good, smart move.” Naomi leaned back, nodded her head, and crossed her arms beneath her breasts. “I hope he’s good, because mine has all the evidence against you. From my understanding, you already had several warrants out for your arrest for petty larceny, and other small crimes. Just remember, they all add up in the end. For what you did to Princess, you’re looking at a felony, and if I’m not mistaken, your actions carry a hefty jail time, as well as a fine. Don’t be surprised if you’re going to have to pay back all that money you obtained illegally.”

“I didn’t do it! Percy gave it to me as a gift!”

“Which wasn’t his to give to begin with,” Naomi stated matter-of-factly, then gave a dismissive wave and she was taken away. Naomi next turned to her father.

“You disgust me,” she said, so coldly that everyone left in the room shivered. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and looked over at Clark. “I’m good, I’ve got this. This conversation has been a long time coming. After today, the only time I will look at this scum is when he is being tried in a court of law.” She received a nod from Clark and turned back to her father.

“Yes, you disgust me. You were never a father to me. Grandpa and Grandma raised me. You thought because Grandpa made The Double A successful, you could reap the rewards without doing any of the work. That’s not how the world works, Dad .” Her tone of voice was so sarcastic and condescending, everyone jerked. “This is what’s going to happen. When I’m done talking with you, you will be taken to the local jail. I don’t know if you heard Agent Manchester when he told you the charges against you, but he is with the FBI. You fucked with the wrong person when you had Princess killed right out from under me. You better have a good lawyer, oh, and by the way, the firm Grandpa used while he was still alive, and the one Cole’s been using, won’t be representing you.”

“You can’t do this to me, I’m your father!”

“No, you were my sperm donor, that was it. Grandpa was the one acted like a father. Your accounts have been frozen, because of what you did with Princess with the false papers and claiming her death benefits, you’re looking at felony charges. I can’t tell you what they all involve, because I don’t know. I do know that you’re fucked.”

“What about the horses? I can sell them to get money for my legal fees.”

“You mean my horses that I have the original paperwork for. The ones that I had removed from this ranch three weeks ago in order to keep them safe? Those horses? You have no claim on them. The only thing on this ranch are your clothes. When I have an accountant go over the books for the house, if I find you bought anything for yourself out of the house accounts, it will be taken away from you.”

“What about the house?”

“In case you failed to listen, yet again, it’s mine . Has been since the day Grandpa’s will was read. See, your own father thought you were worthless and didn’t leave you anything. As much as I want to slap a for sale sign out at the road, I’m smart enough to know that The Double A ranch is under investigation. Surely, it isn’t a surprise that it started months ago when I learned you took out an insurance policy for ten million dollars to have me killed.” Naomi nodded in satisfaction when her father’s knees buckled and he turned pale.

“Yes, I know almost everything. The next time I see you it will be in a court of law.” She nodded and Duane started to take him away, then she called them to stop. “Oh, and, Benson, I also know about the doctor you paid in Las Vegas to not only refuse to operate on me, but who you also told to lie to me about being paralyzed. You can be sure that he will be there to testify against you in a court of law. If he hasn’t already, he might lose his license because of you.” She turned her back on the defeated man before her and didn’t turn back around until Clark came up and wrapped his arms around her, bringing her head to his chest.

“I’m proud of you,” he whispered into her hair, and continued to hold her until she was ready to step away.

Naomi did and looked at him sadly. “We probably should walk the house to see what we can find.”

They looked up at the commotion at the door, and Naomi frowned at the person standing there.

“May I help you?”

“Naomi Alcott?”

“Yes, who are you?” Naomi reached out and put her hand on Clark’s chest when he tried to step forward. “I got this,” she said in an aside to him, then turned back to the newcomer.

“Hi, Cole Mercury contacted me this morning. I was in court earlier, or I would have been here.”

“Okay, but who are you?”

“Oh, sorry,” he said with a chuckle, and stepped forward with his hand outstretched. “I’m Darin Long. My grandfather was your grandfather’s lawyer. I have all the pertinent paperwork you’re going to need for this case. I saw Mr. Big, his side piece, and your father being put into the back of vehicles while being cuffed. I’m here to tell you that I will represent you and The Double A.” When Naomi didn’t respond immediately, he grinned as he held up his hand. “Pro bono.”

“Why?” everyone around him asked, and that was when he noticed all the men standing around and the guns they carried on their hips.

Darin swallowed hard and shook his head. “Years ago, our grandfathers set it up that if something like this happened, then our firm would represent you. I don’t know right off the top of my head how much money your grandpa paid as a retainer, but the very first page in The Double A file is that if this ever goes to trial, then the retainer and billing fee has already been paid in full.”

“Get out!” Naomi said with a small smile, and looked at Clark. “Grandpa always looked out for me.” She turned back to the lawyer. “What do you need from me?”

“First, how many horses are here?”

“None,” Naomi said with a grin. “Because I knew I owned them, I had help in removing them from here three weeks ago. All the horses, their tack, and the farm equipment are at a safe place where I currently live. I know I probably can’t sell the ranch until everything against Benson goes to trial.”

“Correct,” he answered, then scowled at Clark when he stepped up and put his arm around Naomi. “May I help you, Sir?”

“No,” Clark said with a shrug. “I’m listening to what you have to say.”

“And you are?”

“Clark Riceman, Naomi’s boyfriend.”

Darin didn’t miss a beat, he withdrew a pad of paper from his inside pocket, clicked a pen and looked directly at Clark. “Do you mind giving me your information so I can have the investigator from my office to run a background check on you?”

“Not at all.” Clark turned and smirked at Naomi when she sputtered a laugh. He turned back to Darin. “It’s Lieutenant Clark Riceman, retired, US Navy, SEALs.” He didn’t show any reaction when Darin dropped his pen and stared at Clark with wide eyes. He looked around wildly, then back at Clark. Clark only shrugged. “Yeah, if they aren’t FBI agents, they’re former SEALs. We don’t let anyone mess with our people.”

“Okay,” Darin said as he swallowed hard and put the paper away. “I’ll take your word for it.”

“You shouldn’t,” Clark said. “Yes, I am a former Navy SEAL, but you should do your due diligence and run a background check on me. It proves to me that you take your job very seriously and are looking out for Naomi’s interests. Personally, neither one of us know you from a hole in the wall, and we have to take you at face value until we can run our own background check on you. What’s to say that the Big Pig didn’t hire you to pose as a lawyer, and try to get The Double A Ranch taken away from Naomi, and no justice will be served to Benson and the others for what they did to Princess.”

Darin looked around wildly and turned back to Clark. “I am who I say I am, but I can understand why you would want to run a check on me. However, who in the world would I tell my information to?”

“That would be me,” Carter Manning said as he stepped up to them. He held out his hand to shake, then Duane Manchester was right there.

“And you are?”

“Special Agent Duane Manchester, FBI. I don’t know if you know this, but Biggins is on the FBI’s watch list. I am unable to tell you the nature of why he’s on the watch list, however, I can tell you that my office will also be running a background check on you. If we find anything hinky, we will be on you like white on rice.”

“Understood.” Darin swallowed hard and gave them his personal information.