Hortons Bend

and said, “Just drive somewhere for fifteen minutes or so and then come right back here.” Jeanie nodded and her truck drove out of sight leaving Brody with fading red tail lights to remind him he was on his own.
    Chapter 16
    Barbara Peabody didn’t know why she had even driven out here. She had never ventured into this part of the county and was almost lost but had managed to find a place to turn around. This was not her milieu and she knew it. She had been so furious last night after the Bloodworth function and had despite her headache she had several stiff drinks once she got home. She had them alone. No one knew her secret but they would find out soon enough. Her husband of sixteen years had left her. William Peabody had finally had enough and left her without saying goodbye. They had bickered quite a bit in the past year about her lack of attention to him. Barbara had long lost any affection for the man and found her social agenda to be much more stimulating than the arms of her husband. She really had regarded him as a convenient background conversation piece. It had been more than a year since anyone had even asked about him anyways. Saturday morning brought no relief to their impending severance. An invitation for an upcoming ball would leave her in a predicament and she hadn’t thought out any excuses for their falling out just yet. His absence would be noticed this time. Barbara had become quite anxious when she began to think of how her life seemed to be falling apart. This very evening she had had a couple of glasses of wine and decided, for some inexplicable reason, to drive out to this bucolic little shithole. The wine wasn’t the problem; the vicodin was. It was an old prescription for an old back injury and it was making Barbara Peabody do strange things tonight.
    Driving back towards the main road, she saw a man in the field walking towards where she believed the river was lo cated. It was difficult to see but it looked like Paul Brody. Brody! What was he doing here? She had specifically told him to avoid this farm or there would be consequences. Was he just a complete idiot? And what the hell was he doing out here after dark? This was it as far as she was concerned. Monday would be moving day for Mr. Paul Brody. The museum board would approve his termination and that would be that. As she drove past his faint image, she looked up in her rear view mirror to see some men step out of the woods onto the road. Mrs. Peabody hit her brakes in a panic but immediately lift her foot and kept driving. A short distance away, where she was sure no one could see her, she turned around and parked her car. She was going to have to investigate this further.
    Price hesitated for a brief second before realizing that the Peabody woman was immaterial. He had to think quick ly. “What was Brody doing here?” he thought. Sure the man was on his radar but what were the odds that he would show up? What was he going to accomplish? Price thought for sure that it would be some family members coming home and bringing a gaggle of media hounds to stir up trouble. He couldn’t very well physically attack the man and he sure as hell didn’t want to call the police. A 911 call could be traced by the media so that was no good. He could call directly and report suspicious activity. Possibly reporting an apparent trespasser? Before he got his phone out he motioned for Ragland to come over. “Look. I need you to stay in the car and keep your eyes open for me. Curtis and I will be out in the field watching this guy. If you see anybody else stop here then haul ass and come tell me ok?” Ragland nodded and was glad that he wasn’t chosen to go traipsing around in the dark. Roger Curtis, on the other hand, was not glad. He had stupidly worn some wingtips and they were not the right shoes to be wearing in damp slippery dirt. Price distanced himself briefly and brought out his phone. He seemed to struggle with it momentarily as though he could not get a signal but then began speaking in a hurried whisper. As soon as he finished his call he quickly began walking in the direction of whoever the hell was out in the field. Curtis struggled to keep up with Price who had worn some slip on Gortex boots. The attorney also had a flashlight with him. The guy was dick but he was prepared. Just as Curtis caught up with him, Price slipped through a barbwire fence line but never looked back. No offer to shine a light or hold up a barbed strand