Chapter 2

High Noon in Locust Grove

A security detail, of more than eighteen people, was hired and trained. They were mixed gender and they were all ex-military.

Three of them were young enough to still be able to blend into a college setting; and they would accompany Cassie when she started attending college. They would sign up to audit the courses she would take.

A detail of six moved into the gatehouse and set a schedule to handle the front gate and patrol the front perimeter. Every two weeks they would rotate back to the main security residence. That way all security personal would learn the full scope of protecting the estate.

The main house security room would be manned 24/7. It monitored the main security room in the Security Residence. Cassie smiled when she thought of it. Who will watch the watchers?

The house domestics were a housekeeper, a cook, one upstairs maid and two downstairs maids. Outside were a master landscaper and two mechanics. Cassie had to purchase three more Tahoes customized for security work. She purchased one large Ford Expedition for use by the staff for buying supplies for the house.

The Security and household staff living quarters basically surrounded the back of the house parking area. Behind the garage was a super gym/dojo with living quarters above it which Cassie had offered to Sensei Inoue Shina. These quarters were the size and function of a middle size house. Attached to the dojo was an indoor pool. Further from the living area was a new stable where she thought she would house some horses later.

Cassie had phoned Sensei Inoue but had been unable to talk to him as he was off the ranch every time she had called. Finally, she had written and had the letter specially delivered to him. Part of her plan was in limbo until she heard from him.

In the meantime, she spent a lot of time visiting with the County Police Department. Cassie had thought it over for a while. Her home to be was in the middle of the County Police Jurisdiction and responsibility. She did not want to use Federal authority on every trespasser, poacher and other misdemeanor offender that stumbled onto her property. She did need quick response from the Police Department.

The first couple of times she had dropped by, Police Chief Buckner was not in. Cassie knew better; he was hiding away in his office. The third time, she laughed and told his secretary that she knew exactly where he was. Since he would not talk to her she guessed she would visit the County Commissioners instead. Before she made it out of the building, the Secretary caught up with her and explained that the Chief had walked back in after she had left and would see her now.

"Oh, I cannot believe you can tell that lie with such a straight face. Okay, let's get back to his office before he disappears again."

Cassie turned and followed the Secretary back to the Chief's office. Walking into the office, Cassie found what had to be the second most comfortable chair in it and sat down. The Chief stared at her. She waited. Cassie wanted Chief Buckner to initiate their conversation.

"What the hell do you want Deputy?"

"I want to get acquainted Chief. I want you to get to know me. Not my family reputation. Either family! In fact, it may be you who could acquaint me of some of my families' reputations. My mother knew very little of her family, the Howlys. My father has always been closed mouth about his; in fact he has lost most of his family history. So I am thinking you might know more of my families then I do."

"The hell I will!"

"Why not? I mean it cannot be good to have two sets of law enforcement at each other throats. And that's what will happen. Your officers will start imitating you and become at cross purpose with any USMS personal that they come in contact with. That in turn will lead the USMS personal to quit cooperating with your department so let's cut it out NOW!"

"How about we start with lunch? You choose! I am not familiar enough with Roanoke to pick a good eating place."

Cassie sat there waiting for his answer. She could almost see the wheels turning in his head. Finally he arrived at an answer but she could see he was not pleased with the answer he got.

He stood up and reached for his hat. "Let's go." She followed him out of his office. "Ms. Wilcox, I'm going to lunch at Russo's. Hold everything but an emergency."

Cassie followed Chief Buckner out of his department and into a parking area next to the building. She waved at her vehicle parked across the street in a loading zone.

Chief Buckner went straight to his Escalade and motioned her to the passenger side. His vehicle was almost as big as her Tahoe but was much more luxurious inside. Cassie scanned and noted that her Tahoe was right behind them as the Chief drove a couple of blocks and into a parking area next to a restaurant with no visible signs. Her scan of the place showed that it must be an Italian place just from the food ingredients in the kitchen.

As Cassie was escorted to the front door she watched as the man on the inside jumped to his feet and hurriedly opened the door wide for them. A Maitre'd was standing at the roped off entrance to the dining area and snapped his fingers. The rope disappeared, almost like magic, in front of them. The Chief stopped there.

"Pietro, I want you to meet Special Deputy United States Marshal Cassandra Howly Howard. Ms. Howard this is Pietro Russo; he and his family own this place. Do not get on her bad side Pietro. If she does not kill you and your whole family then she could buy this town and level it."

"Chief you remembered."

"I looked you up and then checked with some people I know. Your wealth is increasing at a rate faster than a million a day."

"Signorina Howard, Signore Chief please follow me."

Pietro led them to a table on a slightly elevated podium and bowed them to their seats. Looking at the Chief he asked, "Vino?"

Looking at Cassie the chief asked her, "You don't drive do you?"

"No, I feel my time is too valuable to waste driving. I get a professional to do it for me."

"While working a case I do the same." Facing Pietro once more.

"Your recommendation Pietro."

"Pasta, veal, or seafood?"

"I will be taking your veal."

Cassie thought a minute then smiled, "Seafood, shrimp scampi."

He turned and walked away. "Why the introduction Chief?"

"Thought it unusual did you?"

"Yes, I don't think you introduce your guests, even to an owner of the establishment, very often."

"Two reasons: first I like Pietro, even though he is the head of the local mafia. Not the redneck mafia, but the real thing. I did not want him to get himself crosswise of you. Secondly, you needed to know about him. He is the main reason there is so little violence in the area. He does not like it. His family lives here. I can guarantee that there are no drugs within blocks of the schools his children and his nephews and nieces go to."

"He knows that if I catch any of his people committing a crime they are busted. He knows that if he catches any of my people walking the dark side, one call to me and I will fix it. That includes any and all county departments; it's kind of a détente of mutual respect."

"If any kids come up missing, one call to him and every punk in the county is looking for that kid and god help any pedophile they catch."

"Now, why are you wearing that badge? You got some undying desire to be a heroine?"

"Nope, just don't want to die. I've got enemies, probably from some of that family's history that you know. It is just a hell of lot safer to have a gun handy when ambushes can happen at any moment.I have been traveling a lot and at my age, it was just easier to get a Special Deputy US Marshal badge to cover it all."

"Age?"

"Egh, how old am I Chief?"

"My report says you are eighteen. Oh, you are not old enough to get a conceal gun carry permit. But I thought you had to be twenty one to be a Deputy US Marshal?"

"Sure, but remember what the Chief Supervisory Marshal said. I am a Special Deputy US Marshal. That means we do not have to meet the official requirement for Deputies. We do not work for the USMS."

"It's just a legal fiction to give me a gun permit with federal authority that crosses all jurisdictions in the United States of America."

Their wine had been delivered to their table. The Chief had a hardy rose and Cassie a light white. She sipped it carefully while eating her soup. Then her shrimp was delivered, on a large bed of steaming angel hair pasta with the aroma of butter and garlic rising from the shrimp. The food almost melted on her tongue. It was one of the best meals she had ever eaten. By the time she could not take another bite, she had finished only a quarter of the bottle of Riesling.

She noted that neither she nor the Chief had been able to finish their food. There had been just too much of it. Without asking, the waiter brought a cart with cups and a strange looking coffee pot. The aroma of the coffee was amazing as the waiter poured it into their cups. Her eyes popped fully open and her nose twitched. Cassie picked up her cup and sipped. It was hot! It was full body with hardly any caffeine tang to its taste.

She saw the grin that the Chief quickly hid. "What kind of coffee is this?"

The waiter stepped up next to her and bent over. "Lavazza made in a Moko pot."

"Well it is the best coffee I have ever tasted."

The Police Chief spoke; "Your Howly family was found all through the eastern seaboard, from Maine to South Carolina. They were basically one large extended family. That was up until about a hundred years ago. At that time I guess they just got too big. A dispute occurred over something unknown outside the family happened and it was like a civil war broke out. There were fights and law suits all over the place and if you invited one person from one side then none from the other side would come to the event.

"Pretty soon it just became easier to not invite any of them. The family went from being the top of society to being ostracized by everybody else. Now it did not seem to stop them from amassing fortunes; but it was always the female members that the money seemed to go to. Male Howlys just seem to be the hangers on. They were always taken care of, but that was what it was 'taken care of'."

"The old lady that owned your property was a loner. Nobody from either side of the family was ever seen to visit her when she was in the area. In fact hardly any of the family came to this area in the last few decades."

"The women in the family were all really strange, touched is what the country people call them. They could look at you sometime and say things like 'don't worry; you will not live to see your farm foreclosed on'. Then that person would die and the next year his farm would be foreclosed. Well the problem is that people begin to think they cursed them when it might have just been a prophecy."

"Nobody was successful at attacking one of them. I remember my uncle talking once; he said a group of drunks got riled up and went out to one of those old women's place and were going 'burn that old witch out'. When they got there, they were met by about ten men, all armed with shotguns, who read from the good book to them. My uncle said they buried seven of those drunks that week. Nothing mysterious about their death; they were shot full of holes."

"Now the Howards I met and heard of did not seem to know of each other, but always those words echo in my mind. 'I gave fair warning' but if you raised your hand to one you were looking to get a stump back. And they never, in most cases, did anything themselves. Over in Georgia a Sheriff arrested one after his brother wrecked his car and killed himself.

The problem was his brother did not own a car and never drove. Knowing he'd had words with this Howard, he just jumped to this conclusion. Well that night the Sheriff's house burned to the ground with him and his whole family inside. The fire fighters later found five bodies up against the front door like they were trying to break it down."

"An examination of the door showed it was not locked and that a child should have been able to open it. But there were five big men dead in front of it like they could not get through."

"The District Attorney ordered the chief deputy to release that Howard and return all his goods to him."

"Everything I have found out points to the fact that where a Howard is concerned do not get in their way."

"Okay, thanks. My mother is descended from the Howly family. Since we knew next to nothing about her family I could not tell you which branch we belong to. We do know that Cassandra Howly Alanson was her Great Aunt and she left everything she owned to me about thirteen years ago. The strange thing was that she mailed a letter to my mother telling her two days before I was born. My mother had not decided what to name me until the day after I was born.

When she came home from the hospital there was the letter waiting, addressed to me. My mother had not seen or communicated with her since my mother was a child."

"Wait! You said thirteen years ago? But you are eighteen now."

"Well, no I am legally, but not really. I was born about thirteen years ago. When everything in my life really started getting screwed up my Dad pulled in a few favors and a federal judge issued the order to the local US Marshal to deputize me. He did so. Then when I got back to Texas he issued an emancipation order making me as near an adult as he could and then he ordered me into Witsec where the Marshals issued me new identification that made me eighteen. It's legal! They re-issued me my birth certificate with a new date of birth five years sooner then I was actually born."

"Thirteen? I can't believe it! Does Chief Deputy Holt know?"

"That asshole? No, he has no need to know and if he found out it would just be another nail in his coffin."

At that Chief Buckner turned slightly pale; though Cassie did not notice.

"Chief there is more."

"More, egh more? What?" his voice squeaked on that last.

"Well you see I am as blind as a bat. I have been so since I was ten. I cannot see one bit of light, not even dark or light."

He sat there staring at Cassie. "Blind, no that's impossible I read the report from Idaho; Holt sent it to me. Forensics identified the guns you used and found eight men that you shot with those guns. Then I saw the scene out at your place. You were the only person there that fired a gun. I could actually see the GSR on your hands and sleeve. It was great shooting and great presence of mind to do what you did; blind no way!"

"Yes I am! You've got a key chain flash light; shine it in my eyes and watch, you will see no reflex. My pupils will not respond."

"I think it is part of my Howly gene structure. Though blind, I can see or sense everything within a 360 degree sphere centered on me.

I can see through walls, rock, metals and trees; everything is transparent to me as glass is to you. Except I cannot see or sense light; a mirror is blank to me, a TV is blank, I cannot see the color of light, red or green or taillights on cars or flashing lights on emergency vehicles. That's one reason I cannot drive."

"I sense the density of matter, so I sense the difference between materials. I can sense out to over 350 yards now and if I narrow that focus down to only about 10 degrees. I can reach out over three miles. That has increased about fifty percent in the last year. I can scan with that narrow focus so that momentarily I can see all around me up to three miles. But if I hold it too long then I lose range and sensitivity for a couple of hours."

"Sensitivity?"

"Oh yeah, let say you had a chalk board and some chalk. You use the chalk to write on the chalkboard. There is a lot of density difference between the chalk and the chalkboard so I can read it. But not between a page and the ink printed, not unless a heavy metal ink is used."

"When you came out to my house I thought you were the Sheriff at first, being from Texas. Then I scanned your badge. Sorry I've never heard of any Sheriff that uses a shield instead of a star. So that was my clue you were police; I could not tell what your signage on your car read because there was not enough density difference."

"Still the shooting, how?"

"I never miss, and I do not have to use the sights as they are for light. I know where the target is and I know where the gun barrel is. I align the two and fire. As long as there is nothing between the two I never miss."

"Hum, we have shooting tournaments around the area. Lots of federal agents live in Virginia, and lots of retired military. In the first couple of tournaments we could make a piece of change."

"Chief! That's almost cheating!"

He grinned at her. "If you are not cheating you are not trying hard enough."

His cell phone rang. He looked startled, then pulled it out of his pocket and checked it. "It's Dispatch."

"Chief Buckner."

Cassie reached out to her vehicle and noted that both Betty and June were leaning toward the radio scanners in the Tahoe. They looked at each other and then Betty pulled her cell phone out.

Cassie pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket and stood by waiting. When it rang she flipped it open, "Cassie here Betty."

She watched the Chief as he talked on his phone. "Cassie there is a robbery at a bank in Locust Grove and there are hostages. The locals are asking for county help. His office has been contacted to find the chief."

"Betty, head that way. Put my signs up, but don't enter the crime scene area until I arrive. You are to get there so I have my equipment. Get it ready, full metal jacket. I need to be heavy on site."

"Roger that! Full heavy ordinance will be ready on your arrival."

She hung up and watched as Betty gunned out of the parking lot. The lights went to flashing and signs were placed in both side windows identifying the vehicle as hers.

The chief hung up his phone and waved for Pietro while he stood up. Turning to Cassie, he saw her putting away her phone and checking her gun on her hip.

"Durn, I almost forgot that you carry a badge also."

"Locust Grove?" She asked.

"Durn again, you are really good girl. Yeah I've got to get there. I don't let my men go into a shooting situation without me nearby."

"My vehicle will meet us there." Cassie stated.

"Pietro, can I catch this later?"

"Sure Chief, I understand. Business always comes first."

"Pietro I asked the chief out to lunch, add 30% to the bill and fax it to the Blackthorns Estate on State Hwy 311. Here's my card with the FAX number. I will return."

With that she turned and rushed after the Chief. Cassie caught up with him just as he started to enter his vehicle. She grabbed the passenger's door and jumped in. He was out of the parking lot before she was fully buckled in.

Cassie pulled her phone out of her pocket and flipped it open and hit the speed dial for her security room at home.

"Blackthorn security, Sgt. Tony speaking."

"Deputy Cassie here! Tony go to medium alert. I need information on the robbery in progress in Locust Grove. Give me everything. I am leaving Roanoke in the Chief of Police's vehicle. Mine should already be headed to the site.

"Roger Boss! We got it coming in now and we are scanning all police frequencies in the area. We have four suspects in the building and potentially 12 hostages. Two of those are children, one about ten and the other three years old. There are four men and six women. Two local cars are out front with three officers; that's the total daytime force for the town. Oh, the bank is FDIC that makes it federal if you need that."

"Thanks! That helps if needed. I need the layout of the bank and streets as soon as possible."

The chief looked over at her as she closed up her phone.

"Damn!"

"What?"

"Two of the hostages are young kids, three and ten; they are small enough to be carried if they think of it."

"Double Damn! My people did not mention that!"

"Not their fault! My people are scanning all the police frequencies. The locals know but they must not have reported to your peoples yet."

He pulled out an ear plug set and hooked himself up. From her waist pouch she pulled out a similar looking set and did the same. Hers had a throat mike while his had a boom. With a click she switched her set on. "Deputy Cassandra online, anything new?"

"Okay, upload maps and schematics to my vehicle security center. Oh? Hold one. Chief my people have spotted a van on a side street with a running motor and another man behind the wheel. Could be the getaway car; nothing else on the streets match a possibility."

"Damn, make, model, license anything you can give me to identify it to my men? I can move two of my incoming cars into position on it.

"It on Creek street three blocks from the bank, a light grey van. My people have it under surveillance. If it moves they will stay with it."

"Surveillance?"

"Remote drone overhead."