Liberty Betrayed, Page 2

  Chapter 2

  Two Months Earlier

  “Breakfast…” Jen called out as she filled Silas’ coffee cup and set it on the table next to his plate. “What are you doing in there?”

  “I’m coming. I’ll be there in a minute.”

  Silas had gotten out of bed early and was doing some additional research on the company planning to reopen the window factory. It had been a great loss for the town when it went out of business all those years ago, leaving over one hundred of the townsfolk out of work. Then the lumber mill closed seven years later, nearly killing the once thriving town.

  For this reason, with the announcement of the factory reopening under new ownership, the people in town were thrilled with the prospect of the new jobs.

  For years, Sandley had been a bustling town. It was a place where people could raise their families while enjoying the livelihood provided by the two once thriving companies. However, over the last few years, several families had found themselves forced to move away in search of work. Then for those who stayed, they found themselves forced to commute nearly fifty miles to work each day.

  Silas had enjoyed serving the people of Sandley over the years. He had quickly moved up the ranks, so after ten years with the city police department, Silas was elevated to the position of Chief of Police. However, with the drop in tax revenue, the town found itself forced to downsize the police department to only Silas and one other officer.

  It was a sad day when the Mayor called Silas into his office.

  “Silas, I’m sorry, but the city can no longer support a police department the size it is now. We’ve tried every way to balance the city budget, but there just isn’t enough money.”

  Silas had protested, but all his attempts to convince the Mayor were in vain.

  “I’m sorry, Silas, but my hands are tied. We can only justify keeping you and one officer. We both know if something would ever happen where you needed help, we can always call the County Sheriff’s Department.”

  Unfortunately, the Police Department was not the only city service to end up on the chopping block due to the drop in tax revenue. After several meetings and heated discussions of which services to save, the Mayor and City Council had decided to use one of the newly emptied offices in the City Hall building as the police station. Silas hated the idea but was thankful he still had a job.

  The years of struggle appeared to be at an end with the reopening of the window factory under new ownership, and everyone looked forward to a bright future.

  Silas powered down the computer then walked toward the kitchen when he heard a frantic knocking at the front door. “Hold on, I’m coming,” he said as the person continued to knock excitedly.

  “Hold on…” Recognizing the face showing through the oval window in the front door, Silas groaned when he opened the door, knowing what he must do.

  “Silas, you need to come immediately,” the older woman said breathlessly. “He’s doing it again!”

  Silas shook his head in disbelief. “I thought I told you to keep him inside, Maribelle. Where’s he at now?”

  “He has Ron pinned between the azalea’s and the porch. I tried to get him to stop, but he ignored me,” she cried out as she hurried back to the sidewalk.

  “Jen, hold that breakfast for me. Timmy’s at it again.” Silas closed the front door behind him, and then followed Maribelle to her house. This was not the first time he had dealt with Timmy’s foul mood swings, and each time Maribelle had sworn it would be the last. Silas had never understood why Maribelle put up with him for all these years, but she would just say that she loved him in spite of his wicked ways.

  “He’s messing with Ron? Damn it, Maribelle, he shouldn’t be messin’ with the mailman!” Silas quickened his pace, worried about the situation awaiting him.

  “Silas, shoot him!” Ron shouted when he saw the two of them walking toward him. “I can’t do my job if I have to put up with this crap.”

  Silas did his best not to laugh at the site of Ron pressed against the porch railing, holding his mailbag out as a shield against Maribelle’s huge tabby cat, Timmy. The expression on the cat’s face let Ron know that his presence was neither wanted nor appreciated.

  “Please don’t shoot him, Silas,” Maribelle cried out. “He doesn’t mean any harm. He’s just protecting me.”

  “Protecting you? That damn cat is a public nuisance! Shoot the damn thing, Silas!” Ron cried out, as the cat slowly moved closer, as though stalking a helpless mouse.

  At realizing that things were about to elevate to the next level, Silas walked up to the cat, which kept its eyes firmly trained on a terrified Ron.

  “You see, what you don’t understand about Timmy is, he smells fear. If you show him that you aren’t afraid of him, he’ll leave you alone. Come on Timmy; let’s leave the nice mailman alone.”

  Silas reached down and picked up the big cat that immediately began purring loudly in his arms.

  “See, ole Timmy here is nothing but a big baby. He just thinks it’s his job to protect the house from bad people. He must think you’re up to no good, Ron. Come on, boy; let’s get you inside before you cause any more trouble,” Silas playfully said to the cat, while rubbing behind its ears.

  Maribelle glanced over at Ron and frowned as she followed behind Silas toward the front door. “I’m so sorry about this, Ron. He’s a sweet cat most of the time.”

  “Yeah, sure he is. He’s more like a demon cat from the depths of hell,” Ron mumbled under his breath.

  He waited until everyone was inside the house before he stepped out from behind the bushes. “Damn it, I don’t get paid enough to put up with this crap.”

  Feeling quite foolish for allowing a cat to get the best of him, Ron looked around hoping that no one was watching and once assured the coast was clear, he gathered his mailbag and continued with his deliveries.

  “Who was Timmy after this time?” Jen snickered when Silas walked into the kitchen and sat at the table.

  “He had Ron trapped behind her azaleas,” Silas chuckled as he reached for his cup of coffee.

  “Oh Lord, I would love to have seen that. Bless his heart, I bet he was fit to be tied.”

  “He was. The damn fool even wanted me to shoot Timmy.” Silas enjoyed the memory of Ron’s red face from both anger and embarrassment at allowing a house cat to bully him.

  “Oh no, he didn’t. So, what did you do?”

  “I just picked Timmy up and carried him inside. You know that cat doesn’t mess with you unless it senses fear. I did have to warn Maribelle if she didn’t keep him inside; I’d be forced to remove Timmy permanently. I hated to be so firm with her, but someone could get hurt, or will end up killing that cat someday in retaliation. Hell, I wouldn’t put it past Ron to hurt Timmy after what happened today if given half the chance.”

  Silas knew Maribelle loved Timmy, but she needed to understand that she could find herself in a lot of trouble should the cat end up hurting someone.

  “Hey, where’s that breakfast you were talking about earlier? I’m starving.”

  “Here you go, sweetheart. I saved it for you.”

  Jen reached into the oven and pulled out a plate of homemade buttermilk biscuits, smothered in sausage gravy.

  “Oh baby, you do know how to spoil a man.” Silas breathed in the welcoming aroma.

  Jen could not help but smile at the look of contentment on his face. “I do try. You better hurry up and eat. You have that meeting with the Mayor at 10 o’clock, and you know how much he hates it when people are late.”

  “Yeah, but the old coot doesn’t mind letting you sit around and wait for him, does he?” Silas thought back to their last scheduled meeting, and how the Mayor had left him waiting for nearly an hour.

  “Well, the whole town knows how he is, so eat up before your breakfast gets cold.” Jen stood and walked to the dishwasher. After she had put her plate and flatware inside, she grabbed th
e thermos off the counter and filled it with the remaining coffee.

  “I sure hope it’s not as hot today, as it was yesterday. I need to get my beans planted before the rain moves in this weekend. I planted the tomato plants yesterday, so if everything grows; I’ll have a nice garden this season.”

  Silas looked at Jen, seeing the excitement in her eyes. Every year she planted a garden, and every year she complained about all the work involved. He would often ask her why she went to all the aggravation, but she would just roll her eyes and dismiss the question. Silas knew the real reason she did it. It was her way of filling her days during the summer vacation.

  Silas and Jen had never known the blessing of children. They had tried, but after two years, they discovered that Jen would never be able to conceive, let alone carry a child to term. It was devastating news for them, as both had wanted a large family.

  Silas had worried about Jen after she received the news. However, when the position of kindergarten teacher opened up at the local elementary school, Jen had gladly accepted the position.

  “Well, I’m looking forward to a big mess of green beans with bacon and onion.” Silas patted his stomach while licking his lips. “So, be sure to plant plenty of them, okay?”

  “Don’t worry; I will.” Jen laughed at the silly expression on his face. She was also thankful to have a man who was not a finicky eater. It never mattered what she sat in front of him; he would dig in without a single complaint.

  “Well, I guess I should get going. I don’t want to keep the Mayor waiting.”

  Silas walked over to Jen, wrapped his arms around her waist, and playfully nuzzled her neck. “How about I drop by for lunch around noon?”

  “Is there anything special you want today?” Jen teased, recognizing the playful look in his eyes.

  “Why Mrs. Greer, I do believe you know me too well.”

  Jen pressed her body against his. “Are you sure that your meeting with the Mayor will be done by then? You know what a windbag he can be.”

  “True, but I’ll just inform him that I have an important meeting, and I can’t be late.” Silas reached for the tie string on her apron with a playful grin on his face.

  “Okay, you need to get out of here before you start something you don’t have the time to finish,” Jen playfully scolded while pushing his hands away.

  “Fine, I’ll get going, but do you know how sexy you are in that apron?” Silas grabbed his thermos and turned to leave.

  Jen blushed at seeing the passion in his eyes. “Hey, Silas, I’ll see you at noon, okay?”

  “It’s a date.” He blew her a kiss and then walked out the back door.