With that, Wyatt told the detective what he knew about Anna, and the detective shared his information about the murder investigation. By the end of the call, Wyatt found out that there was evidence left behind at the crime scene that identified two known felons working in an organized crime syndicate.
* * * *
“Hey, Ben, we got ourselves a situation,” Wyatt stated as he called his brother on the cell phone. Since getting the call from the city, he’d sat in his patrol car a block away from the diner watching every patron that entered and exited. He had the detective from the city fax over pictures of the two thugs believed to have assaulted and killed Anna’s father. The detective needed Anna to identify the two men as the ones who attacked her in order for her to press charges and testify to them hustling her father for a debt he owed. The detective also informed him about how ruthless and dangerous these two men were.
“What situation is that?” Ben asked.
He explained about the phone call.
“Son of a bitch! Did you check on her? Is she still there?”
“Yes, I’m sitting outside of the drug store. I’ve got the fliers with the assholes’ pictures on it. Sally’s making copies and distributing them around the department. I don’t even want to think about how Anna is going to react to the news. It’s way worse than I thought.”
“How so, Wyatt? You better damn well tell me everything.”
“Calm down, Ben. I won’t withhold information from you or Charlie. I also think we need to make Max, Eric, and the workers on the ranch know what’s happening. I’ll bring home papers with these thugs’ photos on them to distribute to the workers.”
“So, tell me about these two assholes. Charlie is right here, so I’m going to put you on speaker.”
“They’re both felons, long criminal records and organized crime.”
“Organized crime? You mean like Al Capone organized crime?” Charlie asked.
“More like John Gotti. Yes. They’re connected to the Burgolino family, which, from the detective’s perspective, is pretty well organized. They’re on the FBI watchlist and are involved in everything from drug dealing, bribes, weapons, prostitution, and…and illegal sex slave business.”
“Fuck!” Ben yelled.
“I know. I don’t even want to think about what could have happened to Anna. Thank God she’s as tough as she is.”
“I want her here now. Go fucking grab her out of that restaurant and bring her here, Wyatt, or Charlie and I will do it ourselves.”
“Calm down, Ben. How is that supposed to make Anna feel? I don’t even know how she’ll react to the news about her father’s murder. Don’t you think that’s going to be enough for her to deal with? If I, or you, go into the restaurant making demands and forcing her to leave, she could panic and run clear out of town the first chance she gets.”
“She wouldn’t do that. You don’t think she would do that, do you?” Charlie asked.
They were all silent.
Wyatt finally spoke. “Anna should be finished by three this afternoon or so. Let’s just plan on making everyone aware of the situation, break the news about her dad to Anna, then find out more about what happened in New York. Initially, the detective thought she was involved with the murder.”
“What?” both Charlie and Ben asked in unison.
“I explained her side as we know it, and he wants her to confirm the story and identify the suspects as the ones that threatened her and tried to abduct her.”
“Her nightmares are going to get worse,” Charlie whispered.
“We’ll make her take the meds, and we’ll help her get through how they make her feel. We’ll talk more later tonight once Anna settles down for the night.”
“I can’t believe this is happening. I want her in my arms, with us, right now,” Ben stated.
“Me, too.”
“I wish I could get her out of there, but it will make matters worse. Let’s just spread the word. It’s a small town, and the people of Pearl are family. They’ll pull together. They already like Anna a lot. You should see how crowded the restaurant is. I’ll touch base later.”
Wyatt leaned back and watched the restaurant from afar. Everything the detective told Wyatt played out in his head. He didn’t want his Anna to suffer any more. He wanted her future to be with them, married, raising a family and expanding the ranch and the Cantrell name. No fucking mobsters from New York were going to take those dreams away from them.
* * * *
While Anna finished cleaning up the kitchen and preparing for the following day, Wyatt explained things to Jack.