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“I hear ya,” Remy said. “I’ll work on the surveillance cameras and get the guys out there to work on cleanup and harvesting the rest of the melons. I’ll be out there as soon as I can to help.”
“Thanks.” Gerard ended the call and returned to the diner as Mimi laid two full plates on the table.
“Perfect timing,” she said with a smile.
The sheriff and Deputy Taylor stood.
“We’ll leave you two to your breakfast,” the sheriff said.
“I’d like to be there when you come out to see the damage,” Bernie said.
“I have a few things I want to check on at the office, and then we’ll head out there. That should give you time to finish your meal.”
“Thank you,” Bernie said. “I hate to be a bother.”
“You’re not the bother,” Deputy Taylor said. “You aren’t the one causing problems.”
“Yeah, but if I’d just agreed to sell the place, none of this would be happening.” Bernie gave a weak smile. “They wouldn’t have felt the need to kill Gertrude and poison Howey.”
“You can’t blame yourself for the actions of others,” the sheriff said. “We’ll get to the bottom of this and bring the criminals to justice.”
On that note, the sheriff and deputy left the diner.
Bernie’s gaze followed them. “I hope they’re right.”
“One way or another, we will resolve this issue,” he promised.
“Please, make it sooner than later,” she said. “I’m beginning to think I need to move my animals to a safer location until then.”
Gerard couldn’t argue with her suggestion. Until they got a handle on who was doing the damage, they couldn’t stop it from happening. They needed that surveillance equipment ASAP. Either that, or he’d go on stakeout all night long to nab the bastard—if he showed up. Based on the pig releases, they knew he’d been there two nights in a row. He could show up again.
Gerard cleaned his plate of the delicious breakfast Mimi had provided, the best omelet he’d eaten his entire life.
Bernie, on the other hand, picked at the food on her plate. She nibbled a few bites and drank her entire cup of coffee.
Gerard worried the stress was getting to her. The attack on Howey had gutted her. With the loss of a significant portion of her crop, she now had to worry about how she’d pay her taxes and purchase food for her animals.
He had some money in his savings. Not much since he’d used a big portion of it to pay off his mother’s house in Mississippi. She’d gone to college after her divorce was final, earning her counseling degree.
Without worrying about a mortgage, she could pay her own bills and save for her retirement. She’d joined the singles group at her local church and had made several friends. She seemed happy for the first time in her life, which made Gerard happy for her.
Whatever money he had in his savings, he could give to Bernie to help her make ends meet until she could recoup her losses.
But when would that be? A year from now?
Being a farmer was hard enough without someone destroying her crop.
Gerard insisted on driving the old truck back to the farm with a quick stop at the boarding house so that he could grab more clothes, his night vision goggles and more ammunition for his pistol.
He was surprised Bernie didn’t put up a fight about him driving. She sat quietly in the passenger seat, a permanent crease across her forehead.
He wanted to tell her everything would be all right, but he couldn’t tell her when that might be. The frustration of being unable to put a name to the threats she’d gotten was getting to him.
At the boarding house, he parked close to the door. As old as the truck was, it didn’t have air conditioning. The day was warming quickly, making the interior hot and humid.
“Do you want to come up and wait in my room while I grab my stuff?” he asked. “It’ll be a lot cooler than sitting out here.”
She shook her head, rolling the window all the way down. “I’ll be okay.”
