The spring supplied water to several neighboring farms during dry seasons.
Selling the rights could eventually restrict access.
Frank Dillard knew about the offer.
And he knew the property might be worth far more than Rebecca realized.
Now his obsession with buying the house made sense.
But something else bothered Luke.
“How did Frank know Margaret had the deed today?”
Rebecca's expression changed.
Someone must have told him.
Someone who knew Margaret had left the assisted living facility.
Someone inside.
Police investigated Frank Dillard over the following week.
What they discovered was worse than Rebecca expected.
Frank hadn't merely stolen small amounts of money.
He had spent nearly two years manipulating Margaret.
Whenever Rebecca wasn't present, Frank convinced Margaret to sign checks.
Sometimes he told her they were for repairs.
Sometimes taxes.
Sometimes bills.
Investigators estimated he had taken more than forty thousand dollars.
But money wasn't his real objective.
The property was.
Frank had discovered Thomas's negotiations with the bottling company years earlier.
He believed the underground spring made the land worth millions.
After Thomas died and Margaret's memory declined, Frank saw an opportunity.
He tried convincing Margaret to sign over part of the property.
Thomas, however, had anticipated that possibility.
Before his death, he placed the land in a family trust.
Margaret couldn't sell it without Rebecca's authorization.
The original documents hidden in Margaret's handbag proved it.
Frank needed them destroyed or altered.
But there remained one mystery.
Why had Margaret suddenly taken the documents and driven toward Fairview?
The answer came from the assisted living facility's security footage.
At 6:12 that morning, Frank entered through a side door.
A staff member named Elaine Porter let him inside.
Elaine had been accepting payments from Frank for months.
He visited Margaret privately.
The cameras showed him leaving her room twenty minutes later.
Then Margaret appeared.
She carried her handbag and car keys.
Frank had apparently attempted to convince her to retrieve the trust documents from Fairview.
But Margaret became confused.
Instead of following his instructions, she took the documents already stored in her room and tried driving to the house herself.
Frank realized what had happened and followed her.
Fortunately, Margaret's car broke down beside Parker's Garage before he found her.
Police arrested Elaine.
Frank remained missing.
Luke thought that would be the end of his involvement.
He was wrong.
Three nights later, Luke stayed late at the garage.
It was nearly eleven.
Everyone else had gone home.
He was closing the main door when headlights appeared.
A black pickup stopped outside.
Luke froze.
Frank climbed out.
“You should've minded your own business.”
Luke said nothing.
Frank walked closer.
“You cost me everything.”
“You did that yourself.”
Frank laughed bitterly.
“You think you're some hero?”
“No.”
“You're a grease monkey who got lucky.”
Luke stepped backward toward the garage.
Frank followed.
“What do you want?”
“The documents.”
“They're with the police.”
“Copies.”
“Same place.”
Frank's jaw tightened.
“Where's the old woman?”
Luke stared at him.
“You came here looking for Margaret?”
“I asked a question.”
“And I'm not answering.”
Frank reached into his jacket.
Luke saw the handgun.
Everything changed.
He slowly raised his hands.
“Okay.”
Frank pointed the weapon.
“Where is she?”
“I don't know.”
“Wrong answer.”
“I genuinely don't know.”
Frank moved closer.
“You called the daughter.”
“Yes.”
“You know where they went.”
“They went home.”
“Which home?”
Luke said nothing.
Frank pressed the weapon against his chest.
“Tell me.”
A motorcycle engine roared outside.
Frank turned.
Bear entered the parking lot.
Then another motorcycle.
Then another.
Five headlights illuminated the garage.
Frank swore.
Bear climbed off his motorcycle.
“Evening.”
Frank aimed the weapon toward him.
“Stay back!”
Bear stopped.
Luke watched Frank's hand.
It was shaking.
That was more frightening than if it had been steady.
Bear raised his hands.
“Easy.”
“Get out!”
“Sure.”
Bear remained exactly where he was.
“We can all leave.”
Frank shouted.
“I SAID GET OUT!”
Luke moved.
He grabbed Frank's wrist.
The gun fired.
The explosion inside the metal garage was deafening.
The bullet struck the ceiling.
Bear charged.
Frank hit Luke in the face.
Luke fell.
Bear slammed into Frank.
Both men crashed against a tool cabinet.
The gun skidded across the floor.
One of the Iron Wolves kicked it away.
Frank fought desperately.
But against Bear and three other men, he had no chance.
Within seconds, he was on the ground.
Bear pinned him.
“You know,” Bear said, breathing heavily, “I was actually coming here because Parker forgot to tighten a bolt.”
Luke sat up.
“I did not.”
Bear looked at him.
“Not the point.”
Sirens approached.
Luke touched his bleeding lip.
“Who called them?”
Bear smiled.
“I learn.”
Frank was arrested.
This time, he wouldn't disappear.
The charges against him expanded rapidly.
Fraud.
Theft.
Exploitation of a vulnerable adult.
Weapons offenses.
Assault.
Investigators also discovered falsified contracts and forged signatures.
His plan had been larger and more deliberate than anyone initially imagined.
But for Luke, the legal details mattered less than one simple fact.
Margaret was safe.
And when Rebecca called the following morning, she said something Luke never expected.
“Mom wants to see you.”
“Why?”
“She says she owes you money.”
Luke laughed.
“For what?”
“She says you never finished fixing her car.”
Two weeks later, Margaret returned to Parker's Garage.
Rebecca drove.
Luke had repaired Margaret's sedan even though everyone agreed she would never drive it again.
The radiator hose was replaced.
The tire was new.
He changed the oil, repaired a broken taillight, replaced worn belts, and cleaned the interior.
When Rebecca asked for the bill, Luke handed her an invoice.
TOTAL: $0.00
Rebecca frowned.
“Luke.”
“What?”
“You spent money on parts.”
“Had extras.”
“You bought the tire.”
“Promotional tire.”
“There is no such thing as a promotional tire.”
Luke shrugged.
“New program.”
Rebecca stared at him.
“You're terrible at lying.”
“So I've been told.”
Margaret walked around the car.
“You fixed her.”
“Yes, ma'am.”
She touched the hood.
“Tom would've liked you.”
Luke smiled.
“I would've liked him.”
Margaret looked toward Bear.
“And you're still frightening.”
Bear nodded.
“Thank you.”
“I didn't mean it as a compliment.”
“I took it as one.”
Margaret laughed.
Her good days were becoming less predictable.
Sometimes she remembered everything.
Sometimes almost nothing.
But Rebecca had learned to stop measuring every day by what her mother forgot.
Instead, she focused on what remained.
Margaret remembered music.
She remembered flowers.
She remembered how to make terrible jokes.
And she remembered Thomas.
Not always as someone who had died.