Acquiring Trouble

Garrard was milking the cows when he smelled the smoke. He and the farmhands were able to get hoses on it pretty quickly to prevent it from spreading further. They were able to slow it down long enough for the Keene ston Fire Department to arrive."
    "Do they know what caused it?" Miles asked as he sat down across from the men.
    "It was arson. They found an empty gas can nearby," Garrard told him as he shook his head.
    "Who would do such a thing? " Miles asked more to himself than to the Likens es .
    "I don't know, but I do know that Morgan Hamilton was the last person we saw before the fire , " Garrard said not too convincingly. It was clear by the way he said her name that he thought she was responsible.
    "And you think Morgan did this?"
    "I know you went on a date with her and all, but what you don't know is that I saw her last night when she came to our farm. She started talking to D ad about selling and M om called me to come over. When I arrived, she and D ad were arguing. I told her under no uncertain terms that we were going to agree to a merger when it was really nothing but a fancy word for a takeover. Dad told her we'd been friends and business partners in one way or another with your family for fifty years. We weren't going to agree period and then he slammed the door in her face."
    "I'm not making any judgments, Garrard. I promise to look into everything and everyone. My top priority isn't my love life —i t's the farms and families of those members in Family Farms. "
    "I know it is, son. We just thought you should know all the facts. We also wanted to make sure everyone was alright . Tell your father and m other we'll see them at the wedding if not sooner."
    "If I know my mother, she'll be over soon with some food."
    "That's the best thing to come out of this. Shoot, it mig ht be worth it to burn the orchard ourselves to get some of her peach cobbler , " Mr. Likens joked as he and his son walked out the front door. "Now take care of you and yours. If you need anything we're just a shout away."
    "Thank you."
    Miles shut the door and leaned against it. Could Morgan really have don e this? She allegedly poisoned all the mums for homecoming junior year. Could that have escalated to arson? The ringing of his p hone stopped his contemplation.
    "Hello, this is Miles."
    "Miles, Jim Brannon down in Somerset."
    "Good morning, Jim. What can I do for you?" Miles and Jim were cut from the same cloth. Jim had served in the Army during Vietnam and had the same warped sense of humor one could only have from seeing the things they had both seen during active duty. They used that humor to deal with those memories . There had been an instant camaraderie wh en they met for the first time.
    "I'm having some trouble out here on the farm I thought I should tell you about." Miles felt his stomach harden —n ot another fire. " Around one o'clock this morni ng someone tried to kill my sheep ."
    "What do you mean, tried?"
    "Molly, m y b order c ollie chased them off. B ut no t before they dropped something, a container of ANTU. I haven't seen that stuff in years."
    " I know the stuff. A man up here in Keeneston had his pigs poisoned with it. Let me ask you a question. Did you have any visitors recently ?"
    "Yes," Jim said knowingly. "It's the reaso n for the call. A lovely lady f r om Top Producers came by the other day . She wasn't taking no for an answer about agreeing to the merger. I had to threaten her with a shotgun to get her off the property. I have her card here —M organ Hamilton."
    "I'll take care of it, Jim. You have my word." Miles was already grabbing his keys. He would put a stop to this right now. Morgan was going t o answer for what she had done.
    "I knew you would. And don't worry about us. There's no way Brannon Farms will be agreeing to any merger —r egardless of their underhanded tactics."
    "Thanks for the support Jim. I'll keep you updated." Miles disconne cted and strode toward his car.
    His anger rose with each step he took. Morgan had played him like a fool. She had distracted him with dates and niceties. She had drawn him in, just like she had that night she kissed him at the graduation party. S he'd done a hell of a job keeping his attention on her. He couldn't decide who he was angrier at —h er for these crimes or himself for developing feelings for her. 
    Miles pressed on the g as and spe d toward Morgan's hotel. He wouldn’t allow her to distract him again. He wanted answers and he was going