War on the Home Front

David, Jr. then asked, "So, what do we do about Richard. He's going to be a problem. Regardless of how he felt about the bitch, he did want the kids back. He won't be happy they didn't survive."

His father then replied, "Well, as your grandfather used to say, 'You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs. He'll have to get over it."

"You know he's a weak link, dad. We're going to have to deal with him eventually, too. He's got a drinking and drug problem and he's into his bookie for well over $100K. Eventually, he's going to create more problems. Maybe the time has come for him to join his wife and children."

"Are you suggesting we have him killed? He's your brother, for Christ's sake."

"Well, to put it bluntly, yes. He brought the problem into our lives here and almost destroyed three generations of work taking control of this county. He put our operations, all our livelihoods and even our freedom at risk. If we don't deal with him, he's fully capable of repeating his stupidity. He's too much of a loose cannon to be part of the family anymore."

"Let me think about it for a bit. I see what you're saying, but he is my son and your brother. Maybe we can find a better alternative. But if not, you could be right. If that's the case, we'll deal with him."

With that, David proposed a toast to their continued success and each of the three hoisted a glass of scotch, then headed to their respective homes.

CHAPTER SEVEN

The second attack on the farm had the effect of greatly accelerating the investigation into the Johnsons' criminal operations. When Bobby Lee's team turned over the recordings to the Commonwealth attorney's office, it became clear that the continuing risk to Sarah, the children, and her estranged husband required immediate action if further attacks were to be prevented. Three days after the attack, the Commonwealth attorney requested arrest warrants for all three Johnsons, as well as numerous other persons listed in the ledger, and search warrants for all the suspects' homes, offices, and vehicles. After a lengthy planning session that ran far into the night, a caravan of Kentucky state police officers, deputy Commonwealth attorneys, judges to hold bond hearings, and KBI agents was dispatched. They gathered at an out of the way state park, holding until the early morning hours of the following day, then descended on the suspects in a wave. Aside from the Johnsons, those arrested included numerous sheriff's deputies, several deputy county attorneys, two other judges, a number of administrative support staffers from all three offices, a horde of local businessmen, the madam operating the brothel and her staff, and the operators of four meth labs. The meth labs were secured until hazmat teams could be dispatched to clean them up without further polluting the sites on which they operated. Along with the arrest warrants, each of the suspects was served with an order freezing their assets until a hearing could be conducted. The Johnsons were denied bail. Most of the rest of those arrested were granted bail but required to wear ankle monitors and limited in their travels.

The arrest of the Johnsons triggered several changes for Matt and Sarah. With the threat removed, Sarah and the children were now free to leave the farm and explore the town. Matt and she took the children to Sally's house, the local playgrounds, fast food restaurants, church, and enrolled Faith in kindergarten for the upcoming year. Sarah applied to the school district for a teaching job. She was hired, subject to bringing her certification current, which she quickly did with Sally's assistance.

A month after the arrests, Sarah was granted another form of freedom. Richard's gambling debts had continued to grow and his drinking and drug use spiraled out of control. His bookie, recognizing that with the arrests of Richard's father, uncle and brother, payment would never be forthcoming. He decided that Richard could serve as an example to others who failed to make timely payments. Richard was found behind one of the few bars in the county that had not been seized during the wave of arrests and indictments. His blood alcohol content was 0.21% and he had a needle sticking out of his arm. Investigators found a handful of betting slips stuffed in his mouth. The perpetrators were never identified.

Sarah was saddened, but not surprised, at Richard's death. Despite all of his flaws, she had once loved him, and he was the father of her children. She had intended to have Matt's attorney prepare a petition for divorce once she began teaching. That would now not be necessary. The children would never know their father in any meaningful way, but that was a result of Richard's flaws. She could do nothing about it now.

Two weeks after Richard's death, while Matt was out running errands, Sarah called Sally and asked her to keep the children overnight. Sally, who now considered herself their grandmother, was delighted to agree. When Sarah dropped the children off, Sally looked at her quizzically. Sarah said only, "I need to talk with Matt. I don't want us interrupted."

Sally's only response was, "I hope you get the answer you're hoping for. He can be clueless and he's not good at expressing his emotions."

When Matt arrived home, Sarah was waiting for him in the kitchen. "Where are the kids?" Matt asked.

"Sally's keeping them tonight."

"Why?"

"Matt, we have to talk."

Matt's heart sank. In his experience, nothing good ever came from a conversation that began with those words.

"Matt, I can't go on living like this."

"What do you mean? Are you planning on moving out? What about the kids?"

"Well, that depends. What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to stay."

"Why?"

"Why would you consider leaving?"

"Dammit Matt! Your mother is right. You are clueless. I've been living here for over a year. You've never once made even the slightest of passes at me. I'm in love with you. I have been for months. When you touch me, even if it's just to brush by me in the kitchen or the hallway, I get so wet I need to change my panties. I can't stand staying here any longer if you don't feel the same way about me. I told you once that I'd never sleep with anyone who didn't love and respect me. My husband is dead, so I'm not bound to him anymore. I've thought from all you've done for me that you felt the same way about me that I feel about you, but you haven't once showed it. Do you? Or do I need to find another place to live?"

Matt stood there, silent for a moment. Then, instead of speaking, he reached out, pulled Sarah to him, and kissed her forcefully. When she responded, he opened his lips and the two began dueling with their tongues. Then, still silent, Matt picked her up and carried her up the stairs to his bedroom, placing her gently on the bed. He slid her t-shirt over her head, then unfastened and unzipped her jeans, sliding them off her. Without pausing, he unhooked and removed her bra and panties, noting that the panties were soaked. Sarah grabbed his shirt and simply tore it open, buttons scattering, then unfastened his jeans as well, pulling them and his boxers down. In moments, both were naked.

Before proceeding further, he looked at her and said, "Are you sure? Because I'm in love with you as well. If we do this, there's no going back. I'm going to want the whole thing - marriage, adopting the children, maybe more kids if you want them, growing old together. Don't do this if you aren't fully on board."

Sarah's response was to open her legs and grab his penis, which she directed to her vaginal opening. "Make love to me now. I need you inside me. Just do it." And with that, she lifted her hips until Matt's length was fully buried in her. The two coupled frantically, with Sarah experiencing repeated orgasms as Matt slid in and out of her. Finally, he pushed into her one last time and she felt him spill his seed into her womb.

They spent the rest of the day and most of the night making love repeatedly. Finally, in the wee hours of the morning, Sarah said, "Enough for tonight, I'm going to have trouble walking tomorrow" and the two fell asleep in each other's arms. When Sally brought the children back early the next afternoon, she found them still in bed, exhausted after another bout of lovemaking.

Matt and Sarah took quick, separate showers then came down the stairs to greet Sally and the children. "Well?", Sally asked.

Matt and Sarah stood there, arms around each other's waist, and laughed at her question. "Well mom," said Matt, "I think we need to plan a wedding." Sally whooped with approval, then hugged them both.

They were married two months later in a small, intimate ceremony. Sally was Sarah's matron of honor. Bobby Lee was Matt's best man. Guests included Bobby Lee's family, including his children, and, as Matt had promised, Monique and her now fiancé. Sally kept the children for a week while Matt and Sarah flew to Bermuda for their honeymoon.

Matt and Sarah settled into married life. Matt had Robert prepare and file a petition to adopt Faith, Hope and Josiah. With their father dead and the rest of their family pending criminal trials, the petition flew through the family court system. Sarah began teaching with the new school year, taking Faith to kindergarten each day. Matt designed and began construction on an addition to the farmhouse. With three children and only three bedrooms, he and Sarah both agreed that they might need more space for guests, even if they didn't add to the family.

It took nearly a year and a half for the Johnsons to go to trial. The trials were delayed by a near infinite number of motions by their lawyers, all of which were unsuccessful. During this period, virtually all the other individuals accused of crimes relating to the Johnson's stranglehold on Crockett County agreed to plead guilty and testify against the Johnsons. The trial lasted almost three weeks. Matt and Sarah were precluded from attending the court sessions because they were witnesses, but they followed the reporting on the trial with considerable interest. Somewhat surprisingly, given the number and complexity of the charges, the jury deliberated less than a day before finding the Johnsons guilty of all charges.

Six weeks after their convictions, the Johnsons returned to the courtroom for sentencing. Instead of designer suits, they wore orange jumpsuits. Matt and Sarah were present to observe the sentencing. The judge listened to arguments from both the prosecution and defense before announcing the sentences. The maximum sentences for their convictions on multiple counts of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, bribery, racketeering, money laundering, tax evasion and abuse of public office potentially totaled more than two hundred years imprisonment. Specifically noting the Johnson family's long and rich history of criminal conduct, the judge sentenced each Johnson to terms of one hundred years. Even with time off for good behavior, neither the David nor George would ever breathe free air again. David, Jr. would have to live to ninety-seven before being eligible for parole. Matt and Sarah exchanged looks of quiet satisfaction as they heard the judge guarantee that the Johnson family's long criminal reign was permanently over, and their family was finally safe.

The Johnson's racketeering conviction brought an unexpected benefit. Under Kentucky's version of the RICO statute, whistleblowers were entitled to twenty percent of the value of any property seized because of the racketeering conviction. The multigenerational Johnson criminal enterprise had accumulated tens of millions of dollars, including extensive real estate holdings scattered around the state; safe deposit boxes crammed with cash, gold bars, diamonds, and high-grade bonds; and numbered bank accounts in both Switzerland and the Cayman Islands. Sarah's share approached eight million dollars after taxes. Matt wanted Sarah to make the decision as to how to deal with the windfall, but she insisted that the two of them decide together. They finally agreed to put a large amount into a trust for their children, ensuring that the children would be secure even if something happened to them and put another substantial amount into opening a shelter for battered women. The property which they acquired for the shelter was completely renovated and Sally became the first executive director. To the chagrin of all three of them, the demand quickly outstripped the availability of shelter beds, leading Sarah and Matt to acquire two adjacent properties, which they consolidated with the original property, creating a single integrated facility. Even with the additional space, the shelter staff occasionally was forced to allow women and their children to sleep on the floor of the common areas.

One evening, some months after the Johnsons' sentencing, Sarah turned to Matt and asked, "Would you like to have a baby?"

"I'd be ecstatic to have a child with you. Do you really want to go through another pregnancy? Is this something you really want, or just something you think I want?"

Sarah laughed. "Do you really think I'd ask if I weren't serious? I've wanted your child since before we were married. Let's do it before we get too old to enjoy him or her."

With that, Matt picked her up and carried her up to the bedroom. "Let's practice until we get it right," he said. And they did.

It took three months of enthusiastic sex, but one morning, after missing her monthly period, Sarah took a home pregnancy test and the little plus sign appeared. She wrapped the positive test in a small box, tied a bow on it and placed it at Matt's place at the dinner table. When he came in for dinner, he saw the present sitting on his plate. "What's this for?"

"Open it and see for yourself."

Matt untied the bow, unwrapped the box and opened it. He looked at the indicator, then at Sarah, then again at the indicator. "Does this mean what I think it means?"

"It does indeed. We're going to have a baby."

As it turned out, they had twins, a boy and a girl. The boy they named Michael Thomas, after Sarah's and Matt's fathers. The girl they named Sally Ann after Matt's and Sarah's mothers. Faith, Hope and Josiah welcomed the new additions to the family and Sally was over the moon at having two more grandchildren.

Sarah took off from teaching again until the twins reached kindergarten. At that time, Sally decided to retire as executive director of the shelter and Sarah took over for her. In addition to her administrative duties, Sarah conducted classes for the children housed at the shelter. When she realized that many of the battered women had very little education, she added adult education classes for them as well.

Matt finally accepted the position he'd been offered at the local clinic, combining his role as physician's assistant with that of the clinic administrator. The combination of treating patients and running the operation was a perfect second career and he thrived, despite the workload.

And about that broken down truck. Matt secretly restored it to pristine original condition, a task that took several years. He gave it to Sarah as a fifth anniversary present, in addition to some lovely jewelry. It now occupies pride of place in its own garage on the farm. And Sarah, Matt and the children occasionally take it out for spin, just for the pleasure of using the vehicle that made them a family.