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“Facial recognition didn’t give us anything of value,” Coy said to the others as they sat around the breakfast table. “All we can confirm is they were in the area the day Devyn was hit based on all of the intel collected from the immediate area.”

“Those are the guys who shot at us?” Devyn asked, taking a closer look at the images. “Who are they, and how did you get all these pictures?”

“We have no idea who they are, unfortunately. They don’t come up in any of the databases, and we are linked to all that exist. The initial images were taken the other day while Kenzie and I were in town, then the rest were extracted from the few cameras we were able to access in the area.” Rip said. “Our colleague infiltrated the cameras and took feeds as far back as available to extract the images.”

“There are so many felonies in that confession. I don’t know if I want to know more,” Devyn said under her breath, sighing. I know you guys are allowed certain courtesies the rest of us law-abiding citizens aren’t, but…”

“The road to justice can’t always be by the book, princess,” Rip said. “Sometimes, you have to take the information any way you can get it, darlin’.”

“I guess…” she said under her breath between sips of coffee.

“Nash, are any of them familiar to you?” Coy asked.

Nash studied the images and shook his head, “I can’t say they are. Should they be?”

“I was hoping they were your… business partners .” Coy teased.

Nash tossed the images on the table, “Very funny. No. Those aren’t the guys who leased the land from me. In fact, not that I’ve been in town much since the funeral a few weeks back, but I haven’t seen them at all.”

“Is that pretty unusual?” Rip asked.

“Considering I saw them pretty regularly before, I’d say yes.” Nash shrugged, then piled his plate with food. “I suppose they could just be laying low, waiting for the right time.”

“They knew enough about you to know you had the property to spare for their crop. That means they know the ranch. You don’t suppose they found out the crop was a bust and no longer exists, do you?” Rip asked. “Maybe they split?”

“I don’t know about that. Would they really just up and leave without a word or some kind of reimbursement for their investment?” Nash asked, then turned his attention and accusing tone toward Coy. “Seems to me, in that business, people don’t take too kindly to people getting in the way of their crops. That’s money out of their pocket either way –– for the plants and what they could produce.”

“Which is why I thought for sure they would be among those images and possibly behind what’s been going down around here,” Coy confirmed. “I’m starting to believe the two have nothing to do with one another.”

“I have to agree,” Kenzie said. “The men in those pictures have been around here for some time, and if they aren’t Nash’s friends…”

“Hey, those guys weren’t my friends.” He corrected.

“Right. I guess we really are calling them your business partners.” She rolled her eyes. “If the men in the images and Nash’s business partners aren’t the same, then I’d say we have two entirely different issues, and they may not be connected at all.”

Nash let out a deep sigh as if he’d been holding his breath for weeks, “Somehow, I find a little relief in that. The idea that my bad decision brought this on was weighing heavy on me.”

“Don’t get too excited, we haven’t confirmed that, just a theory,” Coy warned.

“But it’s looking that way, and that’s enough for me.”

“Fair enough.” Coy nodded.

“So, how do we move forward?” Kenzie asked. “The attack at the station, the intruder at Charlotte’s family ranch… this is very targeted, and it extends beyond your immediate family now.”

“I still don’t know that the man at my father’s ranch was there for me. Instead of looking around for me or lying in wait, he went to my dad’s den and tossed the place.” Charlotte shared. “Now, I’m no expert; this is obviously more your arena to operate in, but that feels more about my father than me.”

“You could be right, or when he didn’t find you, he was sending a message,” Coy said. “We have no real way of knowing. We also have to consider that your father has enemies, too.”

“Could whatever has your family in the crosshairs overlap with what my father would be targeted for –– if it is him they were after?” Charlotte asked.

“Good question. You sure you’re just a nurse?” Dillon chuckled.

“Happily, just a nurse. Growing up around this stuff, however, made me a bit of a thrill seeker. I also like true crime. I guess my hobby is just rearing its ugly little head.”

“It’s a refreshing perspective. Don’t stop.” Dillon said. “And though I don’t see how your father and whatever the hell is going on here are related, we really can’t rule it out.”

“Then that begs the question…” Kenzie went on. “Why me? Why the station? Was that an intended hit on Coy, and I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, or is there something I need to worry about?”

“Another very good question.” Coy sat back in his chair, ran his hands through his hair in frustration, and gritted his teeth. “It seems every little bit of information that comes in, the further we get from answers and the bigger the pile of questions grows. Who the hell are these guys? We just need something. Anything.”

“Does anyone else find it odd that the people Nash was dealing with haven’t been seen?” Charlotte asked. “I don’t know why, but that’s sticking out to me. It seems that if they had business in the area, they wouldn’t be too far at any given time. If they are leasing land from Nash, you also have to assume that they are leasing land from others, too.”

“She has a good point,” Rip said. “Who sets up an operation like that and just disappears? That suggests two possible theories… One, they were pushed out or left willingly when they noticed shit going down around here. Or, two, they were never legit to begin with and part of a set-up.”

“Something more sinister,” Coy added. “What would that be setting any of us up for?”

“If I’m being honest, as sheriff, a few pot plants wouldn’t be something I spent a lot of resources on. I would confiscate them, have them destroyed, and slap you with a fine at best. We’d be more interested in who was behind the land lease and where else they’re possibly growing more than anything else. Try to prevent a ring from establishing if there is one.” Kenzie said.

“So, a distraction,” Devyn said.

Kenzie gave her a bewildered look, “Excuse me?”

“It’s a given that marijuana isn’t going to draw major consequences… not this day and age. So, like you said, your investigation, if any, would be a bigger-picture investigation. You’d spend resources searching for additional land leases around the surrounding area… likely collaborating with surrounding counties…”

“We would all be distracted by the investigation.” Kenzie agreed. “So, what is it they, whoever they are, want to distract us from?”

“That’s the million-dollar question, sheriff, and in this case, multi-million,” Devyn added.

“I think you’re right, Dev.” Coy pinched the bridge of his nose. “And maybe it’s to distract us. Suddenly, I’m wondering if Mama’s bank loan, the shell corps she has assets buried under, and the mysterious property we supposedly own somewhere has anything to do with that multi-million-dollar question.”

“My point exactly.” Devyn shrugged. “I think we are at the point of this investigation, mystery, whatever you want to call it, where we have to assume every detail and every question pending is related. Mama dies, and suddenly, the world around us blows up? We know Mama had secrets, but somehow, they’re all connected. You won’t convince me otherwise.”

“Given the circumstances and events that have transpired since her passing, I’d say she was knee-deep in whatever this is,” Dillon said.

“That means she was involved in something sinister. Our sweet, kind, gentle mother. How the hell did we miss this?” Coy asked.

“Do you really want me to answer that?” Nash asked sarcastically.

Guilt filled Coy’s words, “No. I don’t.”

“Then are we to assume all hell broke loose due to her passing?” Rip asked. “If that’s the case, your mother was a ringleader, and this is a battle for her throne.”

“Jesus. What the hell was she up to? Delilah Stone, mastermind? I just can’t wrap my mind around that.” Coy shared.

“It’s just a theory at this point, Coy,” Kenzie assured. “We still don’t know enough about any of this to confirm one way or the other.”

“That’s all we have. Theories.” Coy stood and paced the room. “Whatever this is, it’s organized, sophisticated, and well-trained, backed by a criminal mind.”

Rip leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers behind his head, “You just described organized crime… Mafia? Cartel? Some home-grown hillbilly backwoods militia?”

“All of the above and none of which translates to Delilah Stone,” Coy said. “Not the Delilah we all knew, anyway.”

“People change.” Rip shrugged. “If things were getting as bad as they appear to have been financially, who knows what she would have been capable of. I want to be wrong, believe me, but it wouldn’t be the first time we saw something like this happen to good people.”

“I know. You’re right. That’s what bothers me.” Coy admitted. “What bothers me more is that this wouldn’t have been all of a sudden. She was in those pictures on Ellis Steele’s wall along with every other influential person from here and the next five counties.”

“Including my father,” Charlotte said.

“You think he knows more than he’s letting on?” Coy asked.

Charlotte shrugged, “I’ve never known the man to lie, but he didn’t have a lot to say about the intruder at his house. That whole experience seemed… odd.”

“And didn’t you say he’s on the wall of shame at the lawyer’s office?” Nash asked.

“To be fair,” Coy began, “There’s a lot of respectable people pictured with that guy in his office. We don’t know where the shame lies and where it’s just a matter of coincidence.”

“Awfully convenient, though.”

“You’re just mad because he threatened to shoot you.” Kenzie snorted.

“Didn’t I tell y’all he looked like he wanted to kill me all the time?”

“Wait, you think Daddy wants to hurt you? Why? He loves you.” Charlotte confessed.

“Based on what? The fact that he reminds me he has guns or the fact that he told me, to my face the other night, that he’d been waiting for the chance to shoot me?” Nash said.

“I believe his words were, looking for a reason to shoot you , not that he was actually going to shoot you.” Kenzie laughed.

“Same thing.”

“Oh, honey. Daddy’s just messing around. He’d never really shoot you.”

Nash snorted, “Maybe not in front of you.”

Kenzie stood and began clearing plates, “I think we’re talking in circles at this point. Facial rec was a bust. The guys we saw are definitely up to no good, but we don’t know why. We still don’t know who Nash’s business partners are…”

“They aren’t my partners, okay? They’re… associates that I deeply regret being associated with.”

“Fair enough.” Kenzie winked, “Where does that leave us? Nash’s associates are missing, and we still don’t know why Delilah did all the things she did in her final days. Why is this all targeted at your family now? Let’s not forget the dead body that started this all. Am I missing anything?”

“Where Ellis Steele fits into all of this because he’s definitely dirty, and I’m just going to add Owen Bridges to the list. If Charlotte thinks his behavior was a bit off, then he’s on the list until cleared.” Devyn said.

“What do we do next, boss?” Rip asked of Coy.

“The only thing we can do right now… figure out who the hell our mother really was.”

It’s all come to a head in Episode 2: Justice, Vengeance, and the Pursuit of Truth!