Before long all of the Deputies in Joe’s office had arrived, and only two of them were late. Joe made a note of who was late. He then went through a safety meeting and began to run them through the course of fire for qualification. There were 10 Deputies in total, so he would run them in 2 strings of 5. Deputy Ashford was in the second string. Joe was curious if she really was the best shot in the group. Joe watched as the first string ran through the qualifications. Most of them did well, but there was one who didn’t pass the qualification. Joe would run him, and any others through a second qualification during a third string. If they didn’t pass that one, they were out. He couldn’t have deputies that couldn’t shoot a basic course. The second string finished, and Joe noticed that Ashford was correct. She shot the best score of the day. There were 2 others in the second string that didn’t pass. Joe told the Deputies that had passed the course they could leave, if they were off for the day, they could continue with their day off. If not, they were to return to duty. He asked Ashford to stay and help him run the 3 who didn’t pass through the course again. She happily agreed.

  Joe ran the re-qualification string a little slower than he ran the first string, but not much. 2 of the Deputies passed this time, and Joe sent them on their way. He told the other man who failed both strings to go the Sheriff’s Office and wait for him. Deputy Ashford stayed, and helped Joe clean up the range. “I’m going to fire Daniels when I get to the office in a bit. You are now my Chief Deputy, so I want you in my office when I do.” Joe told Ashford. “So, you really meant it, you were making the best shot Chief Deputy.” She said. Joe nodded. They had the range cleaned up, and both headed back to the station to fire Deputy Daniels. Once at the station, Joe went to his office. Ashford followed, bringing Daniels with her. She closed the door to Joe’s office. “Unfortunately, you didn’t pass either qualification today. One of our main jobs is to keep the county safe, and in order to do that you must be able to operate your weapon in a proficient manner. I have no choice but to let you go. I’m sorry.” Joe told the man. “I completely understand your point, Sheriff, but I need this job. I have a wife and a young son to support. There has to be something I can do here at the office.” Daniels pleaded. Joe thought for a moment. “I don’t want to be the reason that a family goes hungry or potentially becomes homeless. You can work in dispatch. You won’t carry a firearm. In 6 months, I will run another qualification. You can try again, and if you pass that one, you can go back on patrol.” Joe said. Daniel stood up, shaking Joe’s hand, and thanking him. Joe told him to report to the dispatch supervisor to get his schedule. Daniels walked out of the office. “Who was his partner?” He asked Ashford. “Simpson.” She replied. “Partner Simpson with Sane. As Chief Deputy, you are my partner now.” Joe said. Ashford nodded and left his office. Joe walked out of his office, and into the main room. Most of the deputies that were on duty were there either doing paperwork or fixing to head back out on patrol. He stepped to the front of the room. “Can I have everyone’s attention please?” He said. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him. “As you all are aware, Deputy Katie Ashford was the best shot today, therefore, I have decided to make her Chief Deputy.” Joe said. There was a round of applause, then everyone went back to their tasks.

  Joe went back to his office after the announcement. He had a few things to go through, and he also wanted to start setting up the office the way he wanted it. He got busy working on re-arranging the office and wasn’t paying attention to the time. His phone rang. He looked at the screen and saw that it was Ashley. He answered the phone, told her he was still at the office, but would be home soon. She said she would start getting dinner ready. He hung up the phone, finished a few tasks, closed and locked his office, and headed outside to his truck. He fired the truck up, pulled out of his parking spot, and headed for home.

  Deputy Clifton James sat at his desk, and he watched as Joe left for the day. He was upset. Joe had made Ashford Chief Deputy, and that should have gone to him. He was next in line for it. It didn’t matter to him about his performance at the qualification. Joe should have made him Chief Deputy. He sat at his desk, stewing. He thought about quitting, but he had worked too hard to become a law enforcement officer, plus this job was close to home. He didn’t want to commute. No, he wouldn’t quit, but he would get back at Joe Ramsey for not choosing him for the promotion. He wasn’t about to let this go. He knew exactly what he would do. Joe had taken the one thing that James had cared about. James would take the one thing Joe loved in this world. He would ruin Joe’s marriage to Ashley. He smiled to himself. He got up from his desk and walked back to the jail. He told the booking Sergeant that he needed to see Ray Childers. The Sergeant sent a jailer to go bring Ray up to the visitation room. James waited inside for Ray to be brought to him. Once he was, he instructed the jailer to wait outside. Ray took a seat opposite James at the table. “Do you still want to ruin Ashley’s marriage?” James asked. “Of course I do, I tried to get my idiot cousin to do it, but he failed.” Ray replied. “I have a copy of that disk, remember. Leave it to me, and she will be divorced before long.” James said. “Now you want to help me all of a sudden, why? I thought the Green Beret was your friend.” Ray said. “I thought he was my friend too, but he isn’t. He overlooked me for a promotion that should have gone to me. I am going to make him regret that.” James said. He motioned for the guard to take Ray back to his cell. He walked out of the building and got in his truck and headed for his apartment.

  Chapter Fourty One

  Agent Shivers had spent the past week combing through financial records trying to find other links to the account that had paid Argyle and Carson. So far, he had come up empty handed. He had returned to Washington to finish his work. His extended stay in Texas couldn’t be extended longer, and there was no need for him to be there. He could do the same research back in Washington. He had a field office of his own to run as well. He was pursuing the investigation into the finances on his own time, as the FBI considered it a closed case since Argyle was the prime suspect, and he had been killed. Shivers knew there was more to uncover though. He couldn’t go to his supervisors unless he had something solid though. He would keep digging. Eventually something would turn up. He just hoped he was able to find it before something happened to Joe Ramsey. There was no doubt in his mind that Ramsey was still a target of whoever was pulling the strings. Shivers didn’t want to see anything else happen to the man. At the moment he was looking into the shell company that the money to Argyle and Carson had come from. He was trying to trace it back to who the real company was that owned it. So far, he had hit a brick wall at every turn. He was persistent, and sooner or later he would find the man running the show.

  Across town, FBI field agent, Donald McKinney, was at home. He was lying in bed next to his beautiful wife. He couldn’t sleep, so he eased out of bed, careful not to wake her, and slipped into the bathroom. He washed his face and brushed his teeth. Walking in the living room, he opened the laptop that had been provided to him by the network. He had a new message. He opened the message and read it. It detailed the work that Agent Shivers was doing to try to find out about some payments that had been paid to Kevin Argyle. The message instructed Donald to stonewall the investigation as much as he could. He quickly replied that he would. He closed the laptop, and eased back into the chair he was sitting in. He was on Shivers’ team. It wouldn’t be that hard to send him on a wild goose chase. The network had reached out to him several years ago, when he was first promoted to his position at the D.C. Field Office. It would be beneficial to them to have an agent on hand there. It had been beneficial for both the network and for Donald. He looked at his watch. He still had several hours before he needed to be at the office. He began planning a way to send Shivers looking in a different direction.

  In the weeks following the death of Kevin Argyle, the media, had all but forgotten. Some of the major networks had run the story sent to them by Congressman Nedders, but they were soon scrutinized once the real facts of the case came out. No major network brought up the lobbyist’s death now. There was no more mention of Joe Ramsey being a cold-blooded killer, as they had first reported. Most of the executives at the networks that ran the false story had gone into defense mode in case Ramsey decided to sue, though they all hoped that he wouldn’t. It seemed at least for now, the world had forgotten about Kevin Argyle and Joe Ramsey.

  ***

  Meanwhile, in New York City, Thomas Montgomery had been busy. He had been planning a way to draw Joe Ramsey away from Texas where he was protected. He needed to get him to New York. In this city he wouldn’t be a high-profile Sheriff, but just another tourist who fell victim to crime in a big city. There would be some that would suspect a conspiracy given recent events, but Montgomery had plans for those people as well. He had already set in motion a plan to discredit the over ambitious SAC of the Washington Field Office. If that didn’t persuade the man, there was always death. All he had left to do now was to set the bait for Joe Ramsey and wait. Time was his friend, he knew he wasn’t playing checkers, he was playing chess. He opened his Network laptop, typed a message, and pressed send. That would set the next chain of events into motion. He closed the laptop, returned it to its drawer in his desk, and locked the drawer. Now all he had to do was wait.

  Chapter Fourty Two

  Joe Ramsey awoke a little after 8am. Ashley was already awake and up. He sat up and threw his feet over the side of the bed. He picked his jeans up off of the floor and slid them on. He walked into the kitchen where Ashley was making breakfast for the two of them. He walked up behind her and kissed the back of her neck. “Good morning.” He said she returned the greeting and went back to cooking. Joe wandered into the bathroom. He looked into the mirror. His beard had grown out, and his hair was getting long. This wouldn’t do. He needed to look professional if he was going to be the new Sheriff. He pulled out his trimmers, and in no time had his beard turned into a neatly trimmed moustache and goatee. He would stop in town on the way into the office and get a haircut. He walked into the bedroom and finished dressing, then joined Ashley for breakfast. The couple ate, Ashley commenting that she liked the goatee, then Joe got up from the table, kissed Ashley, and told her he had to head into work today. She kissed him back and went to the sink to wash the breakfast dishes. Joe grabbed his coat and hat off of the coat rack and walked outside to his Silverado. He put his gear in the truck and headed down his driveway. He was glad to have a job that mattered. He had never thought he would pursue a career in law enforcement, but the elders in the town had placed their trust in him, and he wasn’t about to let them down.

  Deputy Clifton James watched Joe drive past on his way into the office. James had parked his Avalanche in a wooded area off to the side of an oil pad. He had a clear view of Joe’s driveway, and the highway, but anyone passing by on the highway wouldn’t be able to see him. He waited for 20 minutes after Joe had passed by, then turned the key, and started his truck up. He slowly pulled out of the clearing and drove onto the lease road that led to the oil pad. He followed the lease road back down to the highway, stopping to close the gate to the pad site. He pulled onto the highway, then drove the couple of hundred yards and turned left into Joe Ramsey’s driveway. He slowly drove up Joe’s driveway, trying to make as little noise as possible.

  Ashley Ramsey had finished the breakfast dishes and had gone to take a shower. She had the radio going in the bathroom, so she didn’t hear the tale tell creak of the screen door in the kitchen. She finished her shower, got out and dried off. She switched off the radio and walked into the bedroom. She was startled upon entering the bedroom, because there stood Clifton James, one of Joe’s deputies. “Hi Clifton, Joe isn’t here, he left for work already.” She said, making sure the towel was wrapped around her securely. “I know, I’m not here for Joe, I’m here to see you.” He said. “Oh, okay, well step out in the kitchen, and let me get dressed really quick, please.” Ashley replied. “I don’t think so.” James said as he pulled a disk out of his jacket pocket. “Do you know what is on this disk? Your ex-husband and I used to be friends remember. He gave me this disk for safe keeping when he went to prison. I have watched it numerous times, and it is very hot.” James continued. The smile had left Ashley’s face. “What do you want?” She asked. “I want to fuck you Ashley, and I want you to want it as well. If you do this, I will leave this disk with you to do what you like with it. If you don’t, I show it to Joe.” James said. “That’s not going to happen, Clifton. Did Ray put you up to this? Joe trusts you.” Ashley said. “Your husband doesn’t give 2 shits about me, he made that bitch Katie, Chief Deputy. Now you are going to fuck me, and you are going to like it.” James said.

  James lunged at Ashley, grabbing at her. He missed but grabbed her towel. Ashley fell backward into the nightstand. As she tumbled over the nightstand, she fell. Her Glock 43 fell to the floor with her. It had been sitting on the nightstand. James dropped the towel he had pulled from her. He stood over her, unbuckling his belt. “You are going to do me whether you want to or not.” He said, as he fished his member out of his pants. “Not on your life.” Ashley replied, as she brought up the 9mm, aimed and fired. She hit James directly in the head. He fell to the ground dead. She immediately grabbed her phone and called Joe.

  Ashley told Joe what had happened with James, and that she needed him to get home quickly. Joe said he would be there as soon as he could. He told her not to let anyone in the house, and not to talk to anyone. Ashley hung up the phone and went to put some clothes on. She walked over to the dresser, and that is when she noticed the camera. James must have placed it there while she was still in the shower, hoping to record him having sex with her. Ashley left the camera where it was, she would show it to Joe when he arrived. She hoped it had captured what happened, and she hoped it had audio.

  Chapter Fourty Three

  Thomas Montgomery sat in his office. He was going through the most recent information that he had been given on Joe Ramsey, his wife Ashley, and his friends. He sat thinking. He needed to lure Joe Ramsey to New York. He needed to kill this man himself. He went through the information on Ramsey again. He noted that he had a younger sister. Her whereabouts were currently unknown. He made a note to find her. He would either use Joe Ramsey’s sister, or his wife to lure him to New York, he would take the one that would make the easiest target for his contractors to grab. When he had one of the women in his possession, he would notify Ramsey. He knew the former Green Beret turned County Sheriff would come to New York at once to save whichever of the two women he grabbed. Once Ramsey was in the building, the security team he had in place would quickly disarm and capture him, then he could kill both Ramsey and his captive.

  Just then, he received a message on his network laptop. It was from the man he had placed in the FBI. It informed him that the SAIC of the D.C. Field Office was getting close to making the connection between Montgomery and Argyle. The man said that he was doing what he could to throw him off the scent, but it wouldn’t be long before he figured it out. This was disturbing news. If the FBI got wind of him the network would be exposed. It could very well all come crashing down. He sent a message to one of the operators he had used many times detailing what would need to be done. This SAIC needed to be stopped. Montgomery’s man in the FBI had said that Agent Shivers was working the case alone on his own time. If Shivers went away, so did his investigation into Argyle. A few minutes later, he received a message back from the assassin, saying the job would be done. Montgomery closed the laptop, then went to work to find Cassie Ramsey.

  ***

  In D.C., Agent Shivers had put in a late night. He was making headway in the investigation and would soon discover the company that was behind the shell company he had discovered. He locked up his office, then headed toward the elevators that would take him to the parking garage. He clicked the unlock button on his key fob to unlock his government issued SUV. He opened the door, putting his briefcase in the passenger seat. He put the key in the ignition and turned it. He was suddenly hit by a very strong electrical current. He wanted to let go of the key but was unable to. The electricity cooked his body, and within minutes he was dead. The assassin was sitting in a parked vehicle, a few spots away. He closed the remote he had used, put his vehicle in drive, and pulled out of the parking garage. Once he was several miles away, he picked up the cell phone from his center console. He dialed the only number in it. When it was answered, all he said was, “The circus has performed it’s last show.” He tossed the cell phone into the Potomac as he drove away.

  In his New York office, Thomas Montgomery hung up the phone. He opened the back of it and removed the sim card and battery. Then he deposited it in the locked box he kept for burnt phones. Agent Shivers had been dealt with. Now the only one left was Joe Ramsey, and the pleasure of his death belonged to Thomas Montgomery. He shut down his office and took the elevator up to his penthouse suite. He showered quickly, then went to bed. He drifted off to sleep thinking that within a few weeks, Joe Ramsey would be dead, and everything would be right.

  Chapter Fourty Four

  Joe Ramsey sat at his desk. Deputy Clifton James had called in sick today. It was odd since he seemed to have felt fine yesterday. Joe had Katie call in one of the deputies who was off today to cover James’ shift. Then he checked the personnel files to see if this was a habit for James. From what he had heard from others it wasn’t, and they were right. In the last four years, this was only the second shift that James had missed. Joe would give the man the benefit of doubt, maybe he really was sick, but something in the back of his mind bothered him. The day had been routine as far as the workload went, and Deputy Ashford was turning out to be a good Chief Deputy. Just then his phone rang. It was Ashley. Joe answered the phone, gave her quick, immediate instructions, then he hung up the phone. He got up from his desk and walked out of his office. He looked and saw Katie sitting at her desk in her office. She looked up and saw Joe. He motioned for her to come with him. She nodded and stood up.

 

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