Echoes of Danger

Dana sat listening, surprise and disbelief growing with each word. Now she let out a shocked breath. “I knew she was powerful, but I had no idea. You’re telling me I’m in a lot of trouble, right?”

Tony bobbed his head. “Yes, I guess that’s what I’m telling you, doll face. Should have kept better tabs on your neighbor, I reckon. And probably shouldn’t have picked a fight with her over a dead bull.”

Dana dropped her head into her hands. “They moved into the Selzer place a few years back, not long after my parents were killed. They didn’t bother me and I tried to stay clear of them, until she tried to buy my land. Ever since I turned her down, she’s been rather cool toward me, but no one from over there has ever harassed me before.”

“But they may have shot your bull?”

“Yes,” Dana said, groaning. “I told you, I went there the other day, after Otto was shot. I told her I thought someone from her complex had done it.”

“And you threatened her.”

Dana thought back over the conversation. “Yes, I guess I did get a tad mad. But she was so smug, so high and mighty! Okay, I did suggest it might be someone from her group. She didn’t take too kindly to that, either.”

Tony gave her a worried look. “Dana, this doesn’t sound too pretty. No wonder Sheriff Radford didn’t get all bothered about the looting and fire.”

“No, because she’s probably paying for his extra little luxuries,” Dana said on a hiss. “He kept trying to protect her, assured me she’d have nothing to do with something like this. I can’t believe this. Why would she get so angry just because I suggested this might be someone from her complex? And why do they think I’m hiding something they need?”

Tony’s white teeth played across his bottom lip. “Maybe because she knew you were correct in that suggestion, and it made her look bad? Maybe because she was afraid you had figured some things out? Maybe they’re saying they know you have proof and they want that proof?”

“What things, what proof?” Dana shouted, getting up to pace around the room. “I was trying to mind my own business. I never once messed with those people until they messed with me.”

“Maybe this Roark woman has something to hide, besides murdering animals and setting fires, and she thinks you know more than you really do.”

Dana’s head shot up. “That has to be it. Here I was thinking it’s just about the land, but they came in and tore up my house, so they were obviously looking for something.”

“What could you possibly have that they’d want, though?” Tony wondered. “If this woman is as powerful as this report claims, then she doesn’t need anything else.”

Dana shook out her wavy mane. “Technology and active-wear? Pretty strange for someone who forces her followers to live in virtual poverty.”

“Or virtual reality,” Tony added. “If she’s into technology, there’s no telling what she’s got going on. She might be conning them with this spirituality gig. I’ll bet she uses technology to conjure up all sorts of dire things.”

Dana shivered. “You mean she uses scare tactics?”

He nodded. “Yes, mind control, hypnosis, brainwashing. Dana, you’ve got yourself into some pretty heavy stuff here.”

Dana shot him a wry look. “I went to see her because I was concerned. I must have opened up a whole new can of worms by threatening her, but I never meant for it to go this far.”

“Smart move. Are you sure someone from this church could have had Otto done in?”

She shook her head. “No, I’m not completely sure, but that was the only explanation. I’m sitting right in the middle of their complex, so they’d have to cross my land to get back and forth on the property. I just figured one of her wards decided to have target practice on old Otto. We both know there’s nothing for miles and miles around. It can get pretty boring out there, especially for those kids from the big city.”

Tony squinted at her. “You said your property is surrounded by church property?”

“Yes,” Dana replied, nodding. “Everybody else either lost out or had to sell out. The church has bought up just about every bit of land there is to have out there.”

Tony leaned back in his swivel chair. “And she’s offered to buy your place?”

“She’s hinted at it very strongly, but I never offered to sell.”

“You thought about it, though. Maybe now would be a good time to do just that. Maybe that’s all she’s after.”

“I am the only holdout,” Dana said. “And she does seem to want all the land around there. But I don’t want to lose it, not even now. And I certainly don’t intend to be bullied out of my daddy’s land.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “You don’t have many choices left, sugar. Time was, you would have gladly sold that land to anyone with a good offer—let alone someone trying to kill you.”

“That was before,” she said, looking over to where Stevie sat playing a maze-type video game with Tony’s state-of-theart gadgets. “When Mom and Dad died, Stevie didn’t take it so well, remember. I couldn’t uproot him so soon after all that. He loves the farm, so I stayed. And I’ll keep on staying until he’s better able to handle a move.”

“I’ve heard this tale before,” Tony reminded her. “That’s all very noble, but it also means you don’t have a life. And we both know that’s why you and I aren’t together today.”

She made a hushing sound. “I don’t want to get into that, Tony. Stevie and I are a package deal, take it or leave it. You chose to leave it.”

He twisted his lips tightly together and shrugged. “But hey, you’re here now, both of you.”

“Not for long,” she reassured him. “I’ve been thinking about my options. I can’t get the sheriff to help me. I don’t have much money. The creditors and the bank are probably closing in right now. If this Roark woman bides her time, she’ll have my land anyway.”

“So—” Tony raised both hands and let them drop on the worn chair arms “—exactly what are your options?”

She gave him a direct look. “What’d you find out about my friend Bren?”

Tony sat up straight, then eyed her curiously. “Oh, that one. Well, as I said, when you play, you run with the big dogs.” He shifted through his download to find what he was looking for. “Bren, from Wichita—if I have the right Bren from Wichita based on the phone number and full name of Brendan Donovan on that card—is one powerful dude, too. And he seems to be the same Brendan Donovan I’ve heard so much about over the years. I read all about him in my techno magazines. That is what they can find on him. The man is very reclusive and secretive, and very powerful in the technology world.”

That caught Dana’s attention. She had mixed feelings about the stranger, and she had to know more before she followed through on her plan. “Tell me.”

“Wichita Industries is a catch-all name for various businesses and holdings owned by Brendan Donovan. He has so many holdings and companies, it’s hard to say what all he does own. In Wichita, he for sure owns a private airplane factory, which he bought out when it was going under a few years back. Donovan Aer—spelled A-E-R—builds private airplanes for people who have lots of money to spend, but there is a small chain of computers and software equipment under that name, too. So that’s probably why your friend Bren was headed to Wichita. Checking on business, I guess.”

Dana took a sip of Coke, the syrupy sweetness hitting her churning stomach at the same time her doubts hit home. “Okay, but what was he doing on a county road in the middle of Kansas?”

Tony grinned. “I’m getting there, sweetheart. It seems Brendan Donovan is the heir to a vast fortune, which he’s doubled over the years. The man’s into everything, technology—there’s that word again—manufacturing, airplanes, land…Oh, and this is a really good one—shoes.”

Dana scrunched her brow. “Shoes?”

“Yep.” Tony playfully kicked one of her feet with his own bare toes. “He owns Ruby Athletics, doll face. He owns the very shoes your brother is wearing, the hottest active shoes on the market right now, the Ruby Runners.”

Dana looked down at her brother’s feet, not believing what Tony had just told her. “You’re kidding, right?”

“I don’t kid when I’m reading a printout,” Tony informed her. “And as to why he was on that road the other day, I think I can help you there, too. Did he happen to express any interest in your friend Caryn’s church?”

“Not really. He said he didn’t have a church home.” But she remembered how he’d stared across the prairie at the church. Dana sat up, waiting for Tony to spill the rest of his findings. “What about it?”

Tony’s smile was pure enticement. “Just as I suspected when you mentioned his name, and now that I know we’re talking about the same Brendan here, our friend Bren hails from the same hallowed ground as your enemy Caryn. In fact, if my research is correct, why, they’re practically neighbors; they both own estates in County Cork.”

“Ireland?” Dana asked in a whisper.

“Ireland,” Tony repeated dramatically. “Now, how’s that for coincidence?”

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