“Is Sean Sanders your husband or ex-husband?”
“He’s technically my husband. We’ve been separated for over a year and are in the process of getting divorced.”
He nodded as he scribbled notes on a small notepad. “Well, I guess that was the only question I had for you. Officially, I can’t release any information about the investigation yet, but unofficially, I’m going to tell you that we’ve already discovered enough evidence to link Tori Bell to every report you’ve filed over the last few months.”
“Even the mushrooms?” I asked.
“The mushrooms, the fire, the attack in Cedar Valley, the hit-and-run accident that injured two of the Blackwings, which isn’t connected to you on paper, but I have a feeling it is connected to you in other ways that I’m not going to pursue. Tori Bell is responsible for all of it.”
“It must have been a lot of money for her to go to so much trouble to get rid of me.”
Chuck flipped a few pages in his notepad. “According to Sean, it was ten million dollars.”
“Ten million dollars,” I repeated, unsure of how I felt about that number. It was nothing to sneeze at, but a part of me felt like it should have been larger.
“I didn’t say this to Sean because it wasn’t my place to, but I’m going to tell you since you’re a part of Phoenix’s family. You should talk to a lawyer and consider suing her estate for any damages you incurred, including mental and emotional duress. There’s plenty of evidence to support your claims.”
“Thank you. I’ll give it some thought.”
“Please do. You deserve to get something out of this mess,” he said kindly and tapped his pen on his notepad. “I think that takes care of everything for now. You’re free to go.”
“What about Flint?” Phoenix asked.
“Yeah, he’s good to go, too. We’ll get his weapon back to him as soon as we can. Y’all try to stay out of trouble.”
“Thanks, Chuck,” Phoenix said and shook his hand.
Dice picked up my purse and wrapped his other arm around my shoulders. “Let’s go home.”
“Yes, please.”
We left the house through the back door and walked around to the front of the house as a group. When my eyes landed on Dice’s truck, I stopped short and gaped at the sight of the mangled bumper and smashed front end. “What happened to your truck?”
“He used it to open the gate,” Ink said.
“You did what?”
Dice shrugged. “We didn’t have time to fuck around. It was the fastest and easiest way to get to you. It looks worse than it is.”
“If I do sue her estate, and I think I will, we’ll be sure to include the damages to your truck,” I said.
“It’s not a big deal. Insurance will cover most of it.”
“I want to get in on this lawsuit. He didn’t tell me he was going to ram the gate, and I almost had a heart attack when he plowed through the gate,” Ink said.
“You screamed like a bitch,” Dice said.
“That was a battle cry. Once I realized what you were doing, I was in it to win it.”
“Can I catch a ride with you to my truck?” Flint asked.
“You’re the fucking hero, man. You can have whatever you want,” Ink said and clapped Flint on the shoulder.
“Go ahead and ride back with them,” Phoenix said. “I’ll have someone drive your truck home.”
“I’m fine, Dad,” Flint said.
“You might be, but I’m not. For fuck’s sake, son. I’m proud as hell, but you scared the shit out of me. The whole way here, I knew you weren’t going to wait for us.”