Chapter 17 - Shadows in the Distance
As the celebration wound down and the guests slowly drifted away toward the parking area, sharing laughter and carrying boxes of fresh valley apples, I walked slowly back toward the porch of the main farmhouse.
Captain Thomas Vance was leaning against the porch railing, smoking a quiet pipe, watching the distant treeline along the ridge.
“Good turnout today, Eleanor,” Thomas said, exhaling a thin cloud of blue smoke into the afternoon air. “Even the governor sent a personal commendation.”
“The governor has good taste in agriculture, Thomas,” I smiled, lowering myself carefully into my rocking chair and resting my cane against the armrest.
Thomas didn't smile back immediately. His expression turned thoughtful, his eyes narrowing as he looked toward the northern service road.
“What is it, Thomas?” I asked, noticing the shift in his demeanor.
“Just tying up loose ends,” Thomas murmured, pulling a small, encrypted report from his pocket. “Federal intelligence intercepted a coded digital burst from a high-security prison relay in Nevada yesterday afternoon.”
My rocking chair slowed to a stop. “Marcus?”
“Marcus,” Thomas confirmed, nodding slowly. “He’s been trying to barter old offshore crypto wallet passwords with federal prosecutors in exchange for a sentence reduction. Apparently, he thinks he has one last hidden stash buried somewhere in the Cayman Islands that Viktor Petrov didn't manage to liquidate.”
“Does he?”
“Not a chance,” Thomas laughed softly. “Petrov stripped him down to his underwear before he skipped the country. Marcus is just bargaining with smoke and mirrors.”
I looked out across the valley, watching a hawk circle lazily over the river bend. “He never learned, did he? Even in a federal penitentiary, he’s still trying to gamble with other people’s lives.”
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“Some people spend their whole lives looking for shortcuts, Eleanor,” Thomas said, pocketing the report. “And they spend the rest of their lives wondering why the road ran out.”
“Let him look,” I whispered, closing my eyes and feeling the warm afternoon sun on my face. “The farm is safe. The trust is sealed. And I’m finally home.”
