Chapter 45

Why is the world shaking, and where is that voice coming from? Liv thought as she was abruptly roused from a dreamless sleep.

"She's gone! Wake up, Liv. Marcy's gone!" exclaimed Stephen.

"Who's gone?" Liv replied sleepily. She put her head back down, hoping the man shaking her shoulders would go away and let her sleep.

"Your Grannie! I thought she went to take a nap, but when I went looking for her, I couldn't find her," Steven said frantically. "My Land Rover's gone too! I don't know where she went, but knowing your Grandma, I'm assuming the worst."

Liv sat bolt upright and looked around the room in shock. Panic gripped her throat. She saw Finn groggily lifting his head to get a better look at the commotion. "Oh shit!" Liv tried to stand, but her legs were asleep and wouldn't cooperate. "When did you last see her?" she demanded.

"About seven hours ago, just after you two fell asleep."

Liv rubbed her face vigorously, trying to get her blood pumping and noticed Finn doing the same. She could feel the impression of the couch's stitching pattern pressed into her face.

"I'll go check the weapons." Finn suppressed a yawn as he dashed toward the garage. He ran back, several seconds later, panting and out of breath. "The .410 and one of the revolvers are gone! Nothing else seems to be missing."

"I guess I'm not surprised," Liv said quietly, putting her head in her hands. "She really took losing Dad hard. We both did. And then, to find out his best friend was the one responsible-" she paused momentarily, lost in thought. "Come on." She motioned to Finn. "Let's go see if we can find her. Maybe she got some sense into her head and is eating pie at Mel's. But I seriously doubt it."

Liv turned to Stephen. "If she shows up here, make sure she stays until we get back. Use the hot tub if you have to!"

Stephen nodded, his face distraught. "I wish I could give you a better car to use, but she took my only four wheel drive."

"It's okay, we've managed so far," Liv replied as she and Finn headed for the car. In the garage, they armed themselves from the weapons stockpile. Finn strapped a Sig Saur 226 into its custom fitted shoulder holster. He also grabbed the AR-15 and six extra magazines. Liv picked up an AK-47 and kept the Steyr strapped to her back. The P-22 was placed in an ankle holster. Liv packed extra provisions in her Go Bag. Ammo and magazines were stowed within easy reach. Finn started the convertible and pressed the button that opened the garage door and gate. The snow was driving harder, and a large drift blocked the driveway. After several attempts, Finn plowed through and made it to the road. They found that the snowplows were fighting a losing battle. Even though one had come through recently, Finn struggled to keep the Starfire moving in a straight line. Liv shivered, as she waited for the heater to warm up, and watched the fat flakes pelt the windows.

"Looks like we need gas," Finn commented, as they pulled away from Stephen's estate.

"Yeah, I'm not surprised. This car only loves one thing, and that's premium unleaded!" She laughed.

"I thought a car this old would need leaded gas," Finn said with surprise, as he pulled up to a closed gas station.

"Dad converted it to run on unleaded by doing something weird to the engine heads. I'm not really sure what. But the short answer is that it takes unleaded." An angelic smile crossed her face, and she batted her eyes at him. "Oh, and you're buying. All my cards and money burned when those assholes torched my house."

"Convenient excuse! You probably staged it, just so you wouldn't have to fill this beast up! What does it have, a million gallon tank?" Finn joked as he pulled out his wallet, and inserting a credit card into the pump. As Finn filled the tank, Liv got out and scraped a layer of ice off the windows.

After gassing up, they continued their search for any sign of Stephen's green Land Rover Discovery. "Guess she's not at Mel's," Finn commented, as they drove past the darkened diner. "Looks like everyone in town went home. This storm is pretty bad."

"Yeah, but it's three in the afternoon. That's pretty early to shut down, even for Eagles Landing. It's weird that nobody's out and about-," she paused, as a familiar yellow Hummer passed them, travelling in the other direction. Its MATTRACKS flung snow and ice everywhere. "Well, nobody good, anyways."

"What's he want?" Finn wondered aloud, as the H2 whipped a u-turn on the icy street. If it hadn't been for the MATTRACKS, the large, yellow vehicle would have surely spun out of control. Sirens flashed and the Hummer pulled up behind the Starfire.

"Guess we have to see what Sheriff Jackass has to say." Liv checked the AK's magazine and took a deep breath. Finn pulled over. With his right hand, he firmly grasped the holstered Sig, waiting for the Sheriff's next move.

Liv didn't. The moment the car came to a stop, she flung the passenger door open, jumped out and leveled the AK-47 at the pudgy Sheriff. Liv wanted to shoot him on the spot, and her finger curled around the assault rifle's cold metal trigger, but she knew, no matter how corrupt, killing a cop, especially one who was unarmed, was always a bad idea. There was already enough shit to deal with.

Tom slowly pried himself out of the warm H2. He walked casually towards the Starfire, ignoring the assault rifle that was tracking his every move. "Mitch wanted me to give you a little something." He swaggered over to Finn, who was now standing next to the convertible, Sig in hand. "Somehow, your precious Grandma got it through her head that ol' Mitch was involved with your dad's death. Seems like she decided to take the law into her own hands. Here, see for yourself." He pulled a smartphone from his pocket and tossed it to Liv. She caught it with her left hand, while keeping the AK-47 aimed between the Sheriff's eyes.

What she saw would have made her laugh if the situation weren't dead serious. The first picture was a surveillance photo of her Grannie leading the guard from the front gate into the rehab center's main door. The barrel of the .410 was shoved into the guard's back. The next picture showed Mitch standing in front of Grannie, gesturing. The following image showed a group of guards sneaking up behind her Grannie. In the next, her Grannie was unarmed, hands behind her back, and surrounded by the men. Mitch appeared stunned and was holding his hands over his ears.