Uh-Oh

BANG BANG BANG

“I’m coming, I’m coming. Hold your horses!” Harvey bellowed, turning the corner into the foyer. With the ice melted, he could make out a person in a familiar uniform standing in front of the door’s side window.

Although a park ranger had been at the top of Harvey’s guesses, he didn't expect Kyle Netland. High-strung and a stickler for following the rules, the black-haired young man managed to make quite the impression on Harvey. It wasn't the best of impressions, as Kyle seemed to think the worst of the well-known cabin owner. If anything, Ranger Netland appeared to mistake Hannibal Diamond’s personality and motives with his son's. Still, Harvey figured Netland would come around eventually. He had excellent relationships with Ranger Roger, Tori, Nelly, and Chief Colburn.

It only hit Harvey as he reached to open the door: someone other than Kyle must have been pounding on it.

Besides Ranger Netland, two men stood on the cabin’s front porch. Another stood far down the driveway while standing next to his car. Upon spotting Harvey in the doorway, two final men started up the cabin stairs. All five wore the dark green uniforms of the Frog County Sheriff’s Department.

Confusion turned to concern as Harvey’s mind flipped through the possible options for their presence. Did something happen nearby? Is everyone alright? Is this about the suspicious men and footprints? Is Ranger Roger okay?

Harvey’s confusion returned as Sheriff Ragnor Borstad finished climbing the stairs while holding folded papers. His two deputies parted for their boss while Ranger Netland watched with a smirk. Recognition came to Harvey as he realized the other man with Borstad was Captain Ernst, his right-hand man.

“We have a warrant to search this property, Mr. Diamond,” Sheriff Borstad announced, handing the warrant to the cabin owner.

A semi-frequent presence at Wirchie’s diner during tourist season, the sheriff’s use of Harvey’s surname surprised him. Although he wasn’t a supporter of the elected official, Harvey maintained a polite relationship with him. Even more surprising was the need to search his cabin. Looking down at the document, Harvey quickly scanned the reasoning while the first deputies on the porch entered the cabin. Several startling accusations jumped off the page. Simultaneously, the sheriff captain walked behind Harvey.

“Your overconfidence made you sloppy, Diamond,” Ranger Netland gloated, snapping Harvey out of his daze at what he read. “We found the documents you left behind in the old shack.”

“What?” Harvey asked. Somewhere in his mind, he heard the raised voices coming from inside the cabin. However, his attention zeroed in on the pair of handcuffs in Captain Ernst’s hand. “Why do–”

“Harvey Diamond, you’re under arrest for aggravated **** with a deadly weapon,” Sheriff Borstad announced.

Reality slipped away from Harvey as he felt light-headed while the law enforcement official read off several additional, lesser charges along with his rights. The papers slipped out of his hand, landing on the porch. Not even Captain Ernst snapping the handcuffs on his hands from behind could break the fog. Only Ranger Netland’s remark brought Harvey back to the present.

“Don’t be surprised if they upgrade the charges to attempted ****, Diamond. The material about your land scheme for the park shows your motive. We can easily assume that Roger caught on, and you wanted to silence–”

“Ranger Roger?” Harvey repeated in disbelief.

Whitney’s scream, not Harvey’s question, cut off the park ranger. She’d gone to find her father to complain about the deputies searching the cabin. Instead, the queen bee saw the unimaginable: her father in handcuffs.

Turning, Harvey saw his daughter racing down the foyer toward him. While Captain Ernest yanked Harvey down the porch stairs by his arm, Sheriff Borstad placed himself in front of the rushing teen after picking the papers up. Holding up a hand to halt the blonde, Borstad didn’t expect the cheerleader captain to swat it away while sliding around him.

“Dad!”

“Whit!” Lacey shrieked while her mother, Bridget, and Ramsey all yelled her full name. They hurried toward the porch.

Inside the cabin, Gabby and Jeff could be heard arguing with the two deputies while Peyton attempted to de-escalate the situation. Finn helped momentarily before ordering JoJo and Skye to keep an eye on the deputies.

“Don’t let them plant anything!” Finn ordered before hurrying toward the foyer. As the surrogate son of a district attorney, he knew the tricks a small sheriff’s department might play on a suspect. He also had a healthy distrust of some police officers thanks to his father and Seamus Fallon’s experiences.

Skye nodded while JoJo threw her hands up in wonderment as to how she was supposed to do that.

“Don’t worry, Diamond. Illegal logging and park vandalism will be the least of your problems, but we’ll make sure they get tacked on,” Ranger Netland declared smugly.

“What is the meaning of this, Sheriff Borstad?” Rachel challenged.

Lana didn't even wait for an answer before snatching the search warrant out of the sheriff’s hand. Having grown up in a family of lawyers, the buxom redhead knew enough to scan the legalese quickly and competently.

“Nice try, but giving Roger’s whistle to Young last night didn’t throw us off your tracks. It only strengthened the other evidence we found implicating you,” Kyle continued to gloat.

Well, he did until Lacey turned on a dime and snapped, “Shut up!”

The fury in such a cute bundle momentarily threw off the ranger.

With the Stratton women dealing with the charges and law enforcement, Bridget raced down the stairs to keep Whitney from ending up in jail with her father. Ramsey considered helping but thought better of it. Pulling out her notebook, she also turned on the reporter mode in her brain. Just as swiftly, the strawberry blonde shoved her notebook back into her pocket before replacing it with her phone. Immediately, she started recording the event.

“Fucking bullshit!” Whitney screamed, attempting to interfere with her father’s arrest. “You leave him alone!”

“Pumpkin!” Harvey exclaimed. “That’s enough.”

“Stop that,” Bridget ordered, yanking the younger blonde away from the deputy. She basically tossed the girl behind her before taking up her position. “This is ridiculous. Harvey did not attack Ranger Roger.”

“Dad would never hurt him. Ranger Roger is our friend!” Whitney scoffed.

With Peyton appearing to be in control of the situation inside the cabin, Sean limped down the foyer. Spotting his nemesis from the hot springs, the teen wondered where Ranger Young was at. Maybe she’s too close to Whitney and Harvey and couldn’t come. While that thought crossed his mind, he scanned the scene.

The Frog County Sheriff’s Department had three squad cars and an SUV parked along the large driveway. One squad car was slanted to partially block the entrance from the road. Sean also noticed a ranger SUV parked alongside the road. Although not an expert, it felt like a large presence for such a small matter. What do they expect to find hidden inside the cabin? Bodies? A meth lab? A sex dungeon?

The thought of crazy sex and wild women shifted Sean’s attention over to his first crush. He watched as Lana handed the search warrant over to her mom.

“That’s your justification? Talk about flimsy,” the eldest Stratton daughter commented toward the top official. “Hey, Lace, when did we get transported to Mayberry, as it seems like Barney Fife got promoted to sheriff?”

Biting his tongue, Sheriff Borstad descended the porch stairs. With his foot stepping on the driveway, he spotted a new development, which caused his body to sag slightly. A park ranger SUV ignored a sheriff deputy’s order to stop, driving around him and his squad car. Parking in front of the garage, Chief Zebulon Colburn hopped out.

“Chief!” Whitney squealed, rushing over to meet him halfway.

“Let me handle this,” Colburn told the teenager while marching straight toward the sheriff. “You can't be serious, Ragnor.”

“Now, stay out of this Zeb. You don’t have jurisdiction. The attack occurred on private property, not parkland,” Sheriff Borstad pointed out.

“Yet, I find one of my rangers here with you,” Chief Colburn responded, snapping his fingers at Kyle before ordering him with his hand to get over here. “And what do you think you’re doing? Those documents were just found yesterday.”

“They served to confirm Ranger Kaswakoski’s identification of his attacker,” the sheriff stated.

“What?! Ranger Roger would never–” Whitney protested.

“And he didn’t,” Chief Colburn interrupted. “You know Roger didn’t identify Harvey specifically,”

“He said enough for the district attorney,” Sheriff Borstad replied, passing off the responsibility for the warrants.

“And what’s this crap about Roger supposedly cracking a conspiracy led by Diamond?” Colburn challenged in a mocking tone. “You damn well know that couldn’t have happened. Roger was checking on cabins for wind damage when he was attacked.”

“You heard what Roger said about his attacker. Maybe he knew your views about Diamond and kept his investigation to himself,” Sheriff Borstad speculated.

Standing on the porch, Sean watched everything play out. Rachel attempted to order Lacey, Lana, and Ramsey to get back inside or at least put on some shoes. As expected, the trio ignored her request, so Finn went to grab their shoes for them. Sean expected coats to be brought up next.

Strangely, Sean noticed that Harvey didn’t argue or challenge the accusations. Instead, he appeared calm and silent. Although he initially seemed bewildered, Harvey’s face began showing signs of a man in deep thought. Several times, Sean caught Harvey’s lips moving and a head nod.

During his examination of Harvey, the hair on the back of Sean's neck twitched. Looking toward his right side, Sean saw Finn briefly glance over at him. The college guy appeared unsure about what to do next. However, the feeling didn’t go away when Finn turned back to watch the chief and sheriff’s conversation.

Checking to his left, Sean did a doubletake.

Nestled in the trees that separated the Diamond and Jinkerson properties, Sean spotted a person. Only it wasn't a nosy neighbor, as most cabin owners, especially the Jinkersons, weren't at the lake for the winter holidays. Instead, Sean's brain struggled to catch up with his eyes.

“Hey!” Sean shouted, finally realizing the person’s odd face wasn’t a face but the long lens of a camera.

The shout startled nearly everyone. Sean’s intention to run toward the photographer ended before it began due to his walking boot. However, Finn understood the situation faster than anyone else. Following Sean’s finger, Finn didn’t hesitate. One of the few people from inside the cabin wearing shoes because of his trip to the boathouse, Finn took off.

Running at his target, Finn heard Lana’s yell to get him. However, he also heard Rachel ordering him to stop. Seeing the photographer turn and vanish, Finn didn’t call off his pursuit. While he knew Rachel’s shout was correct–there wasn’t anything against the law with taking pictures of the arrest–Finn didn’t care. Although he’d never been explicitly told about the man in the blue and green plaid shirt, Finn had overheard enough here and there to know something foul was going on. This might be his chance to grab the first piece of information about The Stinging Truth.

Finn leaped into the grove of trees that separated the two properties, never breaking his stride. Finn’s mind automatically recalled the lay of the land from his younger days at the previous cabin. Dodging this tree, that bush, and the tree root hidden by a layer of snow, Finn burst into the clearing. With barely a glance at the neighboring cabin, he focused on the person ahead of him, racing across the Jinkersons’ land.

Bit by bit, Finn gained ground on the fleeing photographer by the time they vanished again into the trees. Despite not knowing this section of woods as well, Finn didn’t slow down. His movements became somewhat herky-jerky as he dodged trees and branches before spinning around to avoid a thick bush. Using his arms to swat away branches, Finn saw the Gilroys' driveway and small lawn appear. Unfortunately, he didn’t see the tree root jutting out of the ground.

Finn slammed face-first onto the frozen ground with his foot catching onto the above-ground root. Pain spread out across his body from the hard fall. Yet, still concentrating on his prey, Finn watched the photographer dash over to a parked vehicle about halfway down the Gilroys’ curving driveway. Part of his brain recognized it was enough to be mostly obscured from the road.

“Fuck!” Finn swore, shifting into a crouch as the dark green car started up.

Launching himself back onto his feet, the former newspaper editor had one track of thought in mind before the vehicle drove off. He partially accomplished his goal while running down the driveway after the car.

“JT4X. JT4X,” Finn repeated aloud, seeking to remember the first part of the license plate. ”JT4X.”

With slightly slumping shoulders, Finn waited until the car disappeared down the road. Although he failed to catch the photographer, Finn had two other pieces of potentially significant information besides the partial plate number. First, the fleeing photographer got into the passenger seat of the car. So it wasn’t a lone wolf. Second, the shutterbug’s coat hood had slipped down after the second trip through the trees. It wasn’t that man from before. It was a woman. A youngish brunette, I’d say. Was the driver the guy that Bridget and Harvey saw?

The sound of an approaching vehicle caused Finn to whip around in concern. However, his worry dissipated when he saw the Wasp Park ranger SUV.

“Get in, Singer!”

With his head rolling back at the sound of the familiar voice, Finn resigned himself to getting teased by the driver. Still, catching a quick ride back to the cabin was better than walking without a jacket.

“Hey, Nelly,” the young man greeted once he sat and closed the door. “Did the radio die?”

“Haha. Hilarious,” Nelly Egger responded with a sarcastic laugh.

Only two years older than Finn, the perky, chatty, and athletic blonde had long been a fixture around Wasp Lake because her grandfather had been the previous chief ranger. Finn couldn’t say precisely how long he’d known the flirty, boy-crazy girl, but it had definitely been in grade school. And despite knowing the park better than most people, Nelly found herself stuck as the radio operator/office manager because of Chief Colburn’s overprotective attitude toward her.

“It worked a couple of minutes ago when the chief announced that you’d gone chasing after somebody with a camera. Back to being the it boy of that Nosy Nectar?” Nelly questioned as they passed the Jinkerson cabin. “Ah, the life of a celebrity and his paparazzi.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Huh? You sure? I hear your redhead fetish is still going strong,” Nelly remarked, causing her passenger to glare at her. “Oh, I heard all about Finley Singer. Somebody made an impression on Apple.”

“Not you, too,” Finn groaned as the SUV slowed at the entrance to the Diamonds.

He watched as the sheriff deputy monitoring the entrance waved off Nelly. Finn could swear he felt Nelly’s eye roll. Rather than follow the direction, the blonde ranger copied her boss’s earlier move and drove around the sheriff's vehicle. Only Finn was pretty certain that Chief Colburn didn’t flip off the deputy as Ranger Egger did.

“So, did the chief start trouble with Borstad?” Nelly inquired, pulling the SUV next to the garage on the opposite side of the cabin. “He’s pissed about the arrest and Kyle’s unofficial appearance. Everyone else is out clearing the roads, so I figured I’d better hurry over here. Zeb and Borstad don’t always get along.”

“Harvey didn’t attack Ranger Roger, and he’d never mess with the park,” Finn insisted, opening the door.

“No shit. Borstad kept us away from Roger, but the chief said somebody has a bug up their butt to move this fast with an arrest,” Nelly relayed, hopping out of the vehicle.

The pair split off as Nelly walked over to where Chief Colburn admonished Kyle for his behavior. Finn caught him ordering the ranger to go join the others working to clear more roads. Approaching the main group, Finn overheard Rachel reassuring Harvey. Catching Lana's questioning expression, Finn threw up his hands and shook his head, indicating he'd failed to catch the photographer. Sean nodded his thanks for the effort.

“Don’t worry. I’ll call Clive right away. He’ll ensure Emma assigns the best people at the law firm to your case,” Rachel stated. She already hoped that Emma Mulberry would personally take the case. But if the highly respected partner didn’t, Rachel had the highest confidence in Walter March and Hayden Peel.

“No!” Harvey exclaimed, causing Captain Ernst to warn him to behave. “I don’t want Clive or Mulberry, March & Stratton anywhere near this.”

“But Harv!” Rachel protested. “You need the best.”

“Listen to her,” Bridget agreed.

“No. Clive doesn’t need to be connected to me or this case. Even if it's just through his brothers' law firm. That might be what somebody wants,” Harvey added before pre-emptively blocking Rachel’s expected argument. “I know Clive won’t care, but I do.”

"Can't Clive at least suggest an attorney?" Gabby asked. She'd come outside to check on everything while Finn had been gone. Lana, Lacey, and Whitney all chimed in with agreement.

“No. It's for the best,” Harvey insisted before turning to face Bridget. He didn’t know how much more time he’d have until Borstad and Colburn stopped bickering. “Bridget, I need you to call your father. He can reach Cosmo Spiro quicker than anyone else.”

“Harvey, no!” Rachel shrieked. “Not Spiro!”

“Cosmo is who I need,” Harvey responded, leading to questions from the others about the man’s identity.

“He’s an ambulance chaser down in Blackbridge,” Rachel revealed. “A very sketchy one at that.”

“Cosmo does have a colorful reputation,” Bridget admitted.

“But your dad trusts him, and I need a tough lawyer,” Harvey said, leaving out that he might also need a dirty lawyer if his concerns and suspicions were correct. Left unsaid was that Harvey and Dalton had hired Cosmo in the past to deal with one of Graham's gold-digging girlfriends quietly. An issue they'd never told his younger brother.

“Harv, there are plenty of outstanding criminal lawyers in Blackbridge besides Spiro. We can ask Shelly for recommendations if you don’t want Emma and Walt involved,” Rachel suggested, glancing over at Gabby.

“It’s my ass on the line. I know who I want,” Harvey proclaimed, turning to check Bridget’s reaction.

“I know you don’t like it, Rach, but Cosmo can be trusted. Not only did my dad work on cases for him, but he also hired him several times when he got into a jam. I’ll call my dad,” Bridget said the last part to Harvey.

Sitting on the porch, Sean listened from afar with fascinated interest. Despite his grandma forbidding him from hearing about most of his grandpa’s cases, Sean knew Cosmo Spiro’s name. If Harvey thinks he needs him, then this shit is going to get real. Dammit, I want to help! Sean cursed, looking down at his traitorous foot.

“Alright, enough chatting. This is an arrest, not a hootenanny,” Sheriff Borstad declared, finally ending his discussion with Chief Colburn. “Let’s go.”

“Please. Can I have a moment with my daughter, Sheriff?” Harvey asked, motioning to Whitney with his head. “Just a minute or two of privacy.”

“You already had more than enough time,” Captain Ernst scoffed while his superior appeared uncertain.

“Jesus, Ragnor, give the man a second with his kid,” Chief Colburn pressed. “You know what happened to her the other day.”

“Fine!” Sheriff Borstad grumbled. “One minute!”

Captain Ernst reluctantly backed away while still keeping his eye on his prisoner. Harvey’s friends appeared confused when he motioned to them to back away as well, but they complied with his wishes.

“Dad!” Whitney whined, **** to help free him.

“Listen, I need you to get it together, pumpkin. I probably won’t get bail until tomorrow. Maybe the day after, if they slow-play this as I suspect they might. So, I need you to do a few things for me. Okay?”

“Okay,” Whitney sobbed, shocked that her father would need to spend the night in jail.

“Keep an eye on the deputies searching the cabin. When they’re done, lock it up tightly. Don’t forget to turn on the alarm. I don’t want anyone else snooping around,” Harvey emphasized. “Listen to Rachel. She understands this world better than you. The same goes for Bridget, who I know picked up a few things from her father. Got that?”

Despite tears streaming down her face, Whitney nodded forcefully.

“Finally, I need you to pass a message to Graham. Do this in person, not on the phone. Don’t trust any phones from now on. Understood? Good,” Harvey added, leaning forward to whisper. “Tell Graham to activate Operation Downpour.”

“What? What the hell is that?”

“Your uncle will understand. That’s all you need to know. Tell no one else except Graham and Dalton. I’ll explain after I’m–”

“Alright. That’s been long enough,” Sheriff Borstad declared, causing his right-hand man to swoop in. Within seconds, Harvey found himself in the backseat of the SUV. Immediately, the sheriff drove off, leaving Captain Ernst responsible for the search.

After watching her father get taken away, Whitney turned to bury her body in Rachel’s open arms. Bridget joined, running a comforting hand across the teen’s back. Standing nearby, Lacey caught her mother’s look, hurrying her over to soothe her best friend. Still recording everything, Ramsey moved next to her two BFFs.

“I better go call my dad,” Bridget noted.

Wiping tears, Whitney nodded her thanks before wrapping her arms around the doctor. Still put out about Harvey’s demands, Rachel mentioned making a few phone calls after Bridget finished.

"Clive needs to hear about this, but I'll call Reilly too. He can let us know more about the Frog County's district attorney's office," Rachel stated, referring to her cousin who worked as an assistant DA in neighboring Rattle Ridge. She also felt confident that Emma Mulberry and Blair Trimble, Clive's older sister, would also have dirt on what to expect.

Both women looked to Finn to keep an eye on the younger kids before they re-entered the cabin. An unspoken conversation between him and Lana led them to gather the teens on the porch, where Sean sat on the stairs. Lacey directed Whitney to sit beside him before she joined them. They watched as Ramsey continued to record the comings and goings.

“It’s going to be okay, Whit. Your dad didn’t do anything wrong,” Lacey reassured.

“Of course, he didn’t! Stupid, incompetent sheriffs! We’re so going to sue them over this bullshit,” Whitney vowed. “They got some fucking nerve to arrest Dad. What gives them the right to arrest an innocent man? That's what I want to know!”

“Uh, I think the bigger question is about who framed your dad,” Sean pointed out.

“What?!”

“Framed?!”

Sean hadn't realized that his comment would cause such a shocked and outraged reaction. However, he also recognized that most of them weren't privy to all the suspicious events and behavior. And he knew better to blurt out any secrets now. There were too many strangers around.

“What do you mean?” Lacey questioned Sean before glancing over at Ramsey for help.

“Sorry. I thought it was obvious that Mr. Diamond had been framed,” Sean muttered.

“It was,” Finn backed him up. “Uncle Harv’s arrest is part of something much bigger.”

"And what is that?" Whitney challenged.

“That’s what we need to figure out,” Finn admitted, sounding disappointed he couldn’t help with more. He'd already been mulling over what to do with the partial license plate number. Should he ask the rangers for help? Or should he hold off until he could speak to Peyton's grandfather? Finn only knew he wasn't willing to share the information with the sheriff's department. They might bury the tip.

“My grandpa will figure it out,” Sean declared confidently.

“Until then, let’s get out of the cold, okay?” Peyton suggested, surprising those who hadn’t seen her slip outside a minute ago. “Doctor’s orders, Whitney.”

“Hey, we’d better keep an eye on those cops. There are a lot of underwear drawers for those perverts to go through!” Lana fake exclaimed.

Peyton smiled warmly at her BFF as the remark worked as intended, causing laughter and levity. Whitney only followed the others inside after a warm, sympathetic nod from Chief Colburn. She didn’t catch his whisper to Nelly about keeping an eye on the poor girl.