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Before I knew it, he made calls, and everything was being taken care of. I was grateful for his help. I didn’t know anything about a full military burial or how to even go about making the arrangements. Hiller told me he would take care of it and stupidly, I let him.
The funeral was something out of a movie. Though Hiller told me that the Marine Corps could bury Dad at Arlington Cemetery, I wanted my parents buried together.
They would have wanted that.
After the funeral, Hiller was with me when two Marine Corps officers arrived at the house with paperwork. I didn’t know what they were talking about and when I went to ask, Hiller once again told me he would handle it.
I should have known something was wrong then, but I was more concerned with Cameron who, at the time, had taken to sleeping out in the forest. My brother took our parents’ death hard at first, refusing to speak to anyone and preferring to sleep out under the stars. As the weeks passed, Cameron eventually returned to his old self. Now, when he had moments of sadness, he would say what he needed, then moved on. The kid was resilient that way.
Too bad I didn’t have that superpower.
It wasn’t until after Hiller left, I received another letter from the Marine Corps and realized that something was very wrong. I didn’t know my dad had a life insurance policy, or my mom, for that matter.
Apparently, dad had a sizeable policy with the Marine Corps. And when he and Mom died, Cameron and I became the beneficiaries. When I called the number on the letter, I was told that they had dispersed the policy to Gunnery Sergeant Hiller as I requested.
Only I requested nothing.
I didn’t even know Daddy had a life insurance policy.
When I asked about the amount, their response astonished me.
One million dollars.
Gone.
Stolen by my dad’s friend.
I tried calling everyone I could think of to stop Hiller from taking what my dad left us, but so far no one could help me because apparently, I signed some piece of paper giving Hiller access to the money.
Only I didn’t remember signing shit!
When I tried contacting Hiller again, the number he gave me was out of service. I tried calling the military again, only to learn that the Marine Corps dishonorably discharged Gunnery Sgt. Hiller many years ago after the Marine Corps found him guilty and incarcerated him for theft of military property.
When that reality sank in, I knew that bastard was living comfortably on the money that was meant for me and my brother.
That’s when I tried contacting my dad’s other friends. His military friends. Only I hadn’t heard from them yet. My dad only kept in contact with a few good men, but since we didn’t live near a base, it was hard for them to take leave and visit. In all honesty, out of the men I contacted, I only remembered two of them, because they were my godfathers. But they had long since left the military, and I didn’t know how to locate them now.
It didn’t matter, anyway. Hiller was my problem, and I would get back what he stole. I didn’t know why that son of a bitch was back in Juniper Hollow, but if he showed his thieving ass around my home, I was going to kill him where he stood.
No one stole from a Hobbs and lived.
Not on my watch.
“Cameron, go into Momma and Daddy’s room and get me Dad’s gun and a box of ammo.”
“Why?”
“Because I said so. Now go,” I grimaced, getting to my feet. I wasn’t taking any chances where that thief was concerned. He may have taken Daddy’s money, but it would be over my dead body before I allowed him to take anything else.
Chapter Four
Pyro
Making my way through the small town, I groaned.
Of all the places in the world, this hillbilly town was the last place I ever wanted to see again. Not that anything was wrong with the town or the people. It was that I had better things to do than check-up on an errant child who refused to take a damn bath.
I admitted I was a tad concerned about Skylar.
