Ghost Witness

By Walter Philbrick

Ghost Witness is an action-packed murder mystery. Police Chief Wayne Gunner retires from a large police department and takes the job of police chief in a small town in Maine. He is looking forward to a retirement job where he has time to fish, hunt, and camp. Soon after taking the position, there is a murder in the woods. Investigation reveals a dirty cop, drugs, money, cocaine dropped from airplanes, police chases, and more. As Chief Gunner battles corruption within his department, he learns of the murder of a little girl in the house that he rents. Her ghost wakes him up and says, “You have to find out the truth.” Gunner opens an investigation into her death. At the end of the book, the reader will have joined Chief Gunner on a remarkable action-packed police story with a touch of the supernatural.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: May 30, 2019
• ISBN: 9781728313535

Walter Philbrick

The author, Walter Philbrick, spent 30 years as a law enforcement officer. During his career he was a Sergeant in the Homicide Division, a SWAT Team Leader, Vice and Narcotics Supervisor and has written several books touching on his career. Lt. Philbrick is still a reserve Police Officer with his department.

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© 2019 Walter F. Philbrick. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse  05/24/2019

ISBN: 978-1-7283-1350-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-1353-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019942699

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Acknowledgments

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Nineteen

Twenty

Twenty-One

Twenty-Two

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A lthough I may write the novels, it takes a team collaborating together to complete them. My team consists of close associates, family and friends, who read the book and make suggestions before the final product is reviewed by my editor and then sent to print.

I take pride in all my work and want to thank everyone on my team for their assistance and contribution. With their expertise and knowledge, hopefully I can provide the reader a thrilling and visual experience as they read the novel.

I want to thank my editor, Trish Bender, for taking the time from her busy schedule to read each chapter, help with the story line and correct my grammatical errors.

Special thanks to my friends, Paul Stephenson and Shawnee Fross. Over the course of two years they have helped me complete this book.

Thank you to Mynde Manfredi, for your assistance with formatting the book and its content.

I want to also thank my cousins in Maine, Cindy and Paul Philbrick. Paul and Cindy lived in Fort Fairfield, Maine. They walked me through the beauty of the Maine woods and the town of Fort Fairfield, Maine where I was born.

I dedicate this book to my father, Henry J. Philbrick, who grew up Fort Fairfield, Maine where this novel takes place.

And, finally, I want to thank my friends at the police department who have allowed me to use their names as characters in this novel.

I hope you enjoy the book.

Walter Philbrick

GHOST

WITNESS

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ONE

T he city of Harrisburg is located in the County of Dauphin, Pennsylvania. German immigrants crossed the Atlantic and settled here in the early 1500’s. Many of the buildings and structures throughout this historic city resemble their European Germanic culture and influence.

You can also find Civil War battlefields scattered throughout the city. In the center of Harrisburg is the National Civil War Museum. According to Forbes Magazine, Harrisburg is the second best place to live in the United States. The 48,000 residents of Harrisburg love the cities four seasons and winter is only a few months away. Harrisburg is a safe city to live in due to the hard work of the city’s police department and Police Chief.

The Chief of the Harrisburg Bureau of Police is Wayne Gunner. For the past twenty-three years he has worked his way up through the ranks to become the Chief of Police. Chief Gunner is retiring from the police department in two weeks but not today.

Chief Gunner leaves the police department’s parking lot and turns left from Walnut Street. It’s late in the day and he is on his way home when the police dispatch radio emergency alert tone sounds. All units stand by. Dispatch is about to give a call for a crime in progress or there is some other life threatening emergency situation. The female dispatcher comes back on the air, Attention units 2214, 2218 and 2220, shots fired, officer down at 1240 South Becks Road. The 2200 unit designation is for the afternoon shift.

Dispatch will always repeat the call two times for any serious emergency. The Chief gets out a pen to write down the address. Dispatch comes back on the air, Units 2214, 2218 and 2220, shots fired, officer down at 1240 South Becks Road. Subject is still shooting at the officer. Fire rescue is en-route.

As he accelerates his police vehicle Gunner picks up the radio micro phone and asks, Is there a reference on the shooting?

Dispatch answers, The occupants of the vehicle just robbed the First National Bank at Baker and 7th street.

Gunner acknowledges, Roger that.

Chief Gunner is not more than five blocks from the dispatched location of the police shooting. He drops his pen and hits his siren and the unmarked vehicle’s interior emergency blue lights. He turns left on South Becks Road, accelerates again and can now see the officer taking cover behind his patrol car. Gunner screeches to a stop just behind the injured officer’s patrol car. He is the first back up officer to arrive on the scene.

The bleeding officer is kneeling down behind his patrol car with his back against the bumper. Chief Gunner can see a blood smear on the rear of the cruiser’s trunk as he slid down to his kneeling position. There is also blood next to the marked unit’s vehicle identification number #328. Both the windshield and the rear window of the police cruiser have been shot out. The officer is holding his gun in his right hand. A stream of blood is visible running down his left arm pooling on the concrete.

Just minutes before, the Harrisburg patrol Officer attempted a traffic stop on the green Cadillac Escalade. The vehicle ran a red light. As he approached the driver’s door, out of nowhere, a gang member suddenly appeared from the back seat. He was holding a sawed off shotgun in his right hand. The officer sees the shotgun and hits the ground. After going down he rolls to the right and tries to get his gun out. The gang member fires the shotgun. The shotgun pellets hit the ground but ricochet off the concrete hitting the officer left arm and shoulder. At the same time the passenger shoots at the officer as he is crawling back to his car.

The injured officer manages to get two shots off as he crawled back behind his marked unit. Unknown to the officer is that one of his two shots hit the driver in the back of the head killing him.

The injured officer sees Chief Gunner arriving and signals him to stay back as he points to the green Cadillac Escalade in front of his marked unit. He puts two fingers up letting the Chief know that there are at least two passengers in the car besides the driver who is dead. Both men are armed and shot at the officer.

They are both lying down in the seat. The front passenger quickly peaks over the seat to see where the police officer is and fires one shot at Gunner.

Chief Gunner gets on the air, 500 Arrival at 1240 South Becks, Shots fired. He quickly exits out of his unmarked Crown Vic and the gunman fires in the front seat fires at him again through the broken rear window. Gunner hears the rounds penetrating the side of his police vehicle. He gets two rounds off as he joins the officer behind his cruiser. Both look at each other. They are both sweating bullets on this crisp cool September afternoon.

Gunner asks the officer, You okay?

I’m okay Chief but I can’t raise my left arm. I think I’ve been hit twice, not sure.

Can you shoot, if you have to?

Yes sir. I think so.

Both men can hear the back-up police officers and their sirens coming but they are still blocks away from where Gunner and the injured officer are.

Gunner asks the patrol officer, Son, what’s your name?

Chief it’s Ed, Ed Beyer.

OK, Ed, we can’t stay here. I think I saw a passenger in the right front seat and in the back seat is that right?

Chief, I think so but I’m not sure.

Gunner’s years in the military taught him one thing about battle tactics. When your unit is pinned down, the only option is to attack. He quickly makes a plan. Listen Beyer, we can’t stay here. If they decide to charge us we are both sitting ducks. Also, I don’t want anybody else to get shot.

What’s the plan Chief?

"We don’t have much time. On my command do your best and start pumping rounds into the back and front seat of the Cadillac. Hopefully they will both keep their heads down. While you’re doing that, I will work my way alongside your car and take out the subject in the front passenger seat. I need you to take out the rear passenger. Can you do that?

I’ll do my best sir.

Gunner turns and faces the injured officer and says, Officer Beyer, I need you to cover me. Can you do that?

Yes sir. I can.

OK, that’s the answer I was looking for.

Gunner for a short moment is in disbelief. He is retiring in two weeks and leaving for Maine next Tuesday for a job interview. Now, here he is about to get into another shootout with two armed subjects who have already shot one police officer. This will be his third shooting in his police career. He quickly snaps back to reality and prepares himself for battle.

Chief Gunner looks at Officer Beyer and hopes he can provide some cover as he makes his move. He asks him, Beyer, are you ready?

That’s when the officer says, Yes sir, I’m ready Chief.

Gunner responds back, OK, we go on three, Beyer nods that he understands.

The Chief slowly counts, One, two, three, let’s go. Gunner moves out from behind the rear of the cruiser trying to stay as low as he can. As he gets closer to the Cadillac he can hear Officer Beyer firing at the Cadillac. Gunner pops up and fires three quick shots as he tactically moves along the side of the marked police unit toward the Cadillac. The front seat passenger of the Cadillac is now leaning out of the driver’s window shooting back towards Officer Beyer. Gunner quickly fires three rounds at the passenger who is shooting at Beyer over the body of the deceased driver. The subject ducks down for cover. Gunner is counting his rounds. That’s five so far.

Gunner see’s movement in the back seat and fires two more quick rounds. He misses both times. Now the rear passenger is shooting out of the bullet riddled rear window at Gunner and Beyer. Gunner quickly gets behind the Cadillac bumper for cover. He hears a bullet wiz by his head.

Gunner see’s all this in slow motion. The glass particles are clearly visible as the bullets exit out of the rear window. When he fires he can see his 9mm spent brass casings in the air before they hit the ground. The mulatto male in the back seat dives to the floor for cover.

What seemed like minutes took only tenths of a second for Gunner to get to the side of the Cadillac. He looks through the broken back window and barks out the command, Don’t move to the mulatto male on the floor. The subject gets up off the floor and turns toward Gunner. He is holding a large black semi-auto pistol and is slowly moving it in Gunner’s direction. Gunner instinctively pulls the trigger twice hitting the gang member in the chest and head. The gunman falls backwards and pulls the trigger twice putting two bullet holes in the headliner and roof of the car.

At that exact same time, Officer Beyer, a former Marine, is tactically assaulting the Hispanic male shooting out of the driver’s window. Heroically he moves to within ten feet of the subject, who now sees Beyer and turns toward him and gets off one round. The bullet whizzes past Beyer’s head as he drops to one knee and fires three times at the subject. Two of the three bullets hit home killing the shooter.

Beyer, crouching over and as low to the ground as possible, assaults the vehicle. He does a quick peek through the broken windows and shoots three rounds, one into each of the gang members. All three are dead. At the same time Gunner looks into the rear seat. His subject is dead also. He yells to Beyer, Clear.

Officer Beyer instinctively responds back, Clear.

It’s over.

Three gang members are dead, an officer is wounded and Chief Gunner appears to be un-injured. It’s a miracle anyone survived this shootout. They can hear the audible police sirens and fire rescue trucks as they begin to arrive on the scene. Officer Beyer is still holding his pistol as he slides down the trunk of the bullet ridden Cadillac, leaving a blood trail on the car. He is losing a lot of blood.

Chief Gunner walks over to where Beyer is sitting. He takes Beyer’s Glock out of his hand and puts it in the officer’s holster and says, Nice job son. Are you alright?

Beyer looks at him and whispers, Semper Fi.

Gunner smiles and asks him again, Are you OK? as he puts his own gun in the holster. He then reaches over and puts direct pressure on Beyer’s artery just above his gunshot wound to his arm.

Sir, I’m as good as I can be under the circumstances.

Fire Rescue is arriving. Gunner takes several deep breaths trying to lower his own heart rate. His heart is pumping fast and adrenaline is still racing through his body. He asks Ed Beyer, Is this your first shooting?

Officer Beyer close to going unconscious slowly answers, Yes, sir, first one sir.

At that moment Gunner feels something warm running down his leg. He has been shot but doesn’t realize it. He looks down at his right thigh and notices his police pants have a hole in them. Blood is running down the inside of his pant leg onto his high gloss black police shoes. There is a puddle of blood on the pavement next to his shoes.

Beyer looks at the Chief and says, Chief, are you okay, I think you took one also.

Gunner replies, It looks that way as he slowly sinks down on the concrete pavement next to Beyer.

Fire rescue arrives and immediately grabs the Police Chief and lays him down on his back. That’s when Gunner barks out the command, No, take care of Beyer first. I can wait. With that he pushes the paramedic toward Officer Beyer. The paramedic looks confused but obeys the direct order from the Police Chief.

The paramedic quickly puts Officer Beyer in a supine positon and immediately cuts away his uniform shirt. One of the fire fighters comes up and puts direct pressure with his right hand on one of Beyer’s wounds. He has been shot in the left shoulder and also the left arm just below his bicep. Another fire fighter calls out, Get a tourniquet on that arm.

Chief Gunner watches for a few seconds at how efficient the fire fighters are as they work on the injured officer. Two more fire rescue teams arrive on the scene and immediately start to work on Gunner.

One of the paramedics comes up to Gunner and asks, Sir, have you been hit?

Gunner tries to stand up but can’t. He asks the paramedic, Help me over to my car. The paramedic helps Gunner to stand and assists him as they walk together to Gunner’s vehicle. Gunner sits down in the driver’s seat and puts both legs out of the vehicle. The paramedic cuts Gunner’s right pant leg with a pair of scissors. He has been shot in his right leg upper calf and has a second wound just above his knee. That one is just a bullet graze.

Gunner sits in his vehicle as he watches the paramedic skillfully work on his bloody right leg.

One of the paramedics asks, Chief, can you elevate your leg just a bit. It will slow down the bleeding.

Gunner puts his leg on the door’s arm rest as they begin to wrap his leg with white gauze. He looks at his leg and can see that the bullet went through his calf muscle. Gunner winces in pain as he thinks to himself, I’m too old to be in another shooting. Maine is looking better every day.

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TWO

T he winters in Fort Fairfield, Maine are brutal. This northern part of the state gets snow from November through March with March being the peak month for snow fall. Sometimes the snow drifts pile up over ten feet high on both sides of the roads. This small rural town of 6,000 residents is close to the Canadian border. Fort Fairfield is mostly made up of small agricultural farms. Many of the larger potato farms back up to the Canadian border. The farmers grow potatoes, string beans and other vegetables.

The local economy has not recovered since the Air Force pulled out of the town of Limestone several years ago. Limestone is only about ten minutes from Fort Fairfield. The Air Force base, when it was operational, helps keep the local economy strong. When the US Government pulled out the loss of revenue directly affected Limestone and the Fort’s economy.

This is Wayne Gunner’s second visit to Maine. He recently retired from the police Chief’s position in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Fort Fairfield’s police Chief, William Conroy was scheduled to retire next month and the town council is looking for a new and progressive police Chief. Wayne Gunner has applied for the position.

Prior to retiring the Harrisburg Mayor gave Gunner and Officer Beyer an award for their heroic behavior in the shootout with the three gang members. Later they found out that the three subjects had robbed a Quick Mart at gun point and had shot one of the cashiers who refused to give them the money from the register.

Gunner’s bullet wound still needs cleaning daily but he was lucky the bullet didn’t hit his femur bone in his leg. That would have been a critical gunshot wound. Officer Beyer is recovering from his wounds and Gunner walks with a noticeable limp. The physical therapist tells him in six to eight weeks he will be back to normal.

Gunner knows he needs a break, physically, mentally and financially. His wife of twenty-two years divorced him last year taking half of everything he owned. Hell, she even got half of his pension. It’s almost like starting over again at the age of 54 years old. He needs a change and Fort Fairfield looks like a nice small town, with not a whole lot of crime. Northern Maine is just about as far north as you can go from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and still be in the United States.

Chief Gunner drove up to Fort Fairfield six weeks ago for his initial interview. The Mayor and city council liked him and has invited him back for a second and final interview before they make their decision. The former Police Chief Conroy quit last week after he got into a heated argument with the mayor. He was scheduled to stay until the interim Chief was hired, but that didn’t happen. Unknown to Wayne Gunner, he is the only applicant the town council invited back. He just has to pass the second interview and the job is his.

Wayne Gunner arrives in Fort Fairfield and drives past the police department. He takes note of the poor condition of the patrol cars and thinks the police department could use a new building. Those are just a few things he would like to change if and when he is hired.

He checks in at the Fairfield Inn, showers, changes clothes and goes out for dinner. Wayne searches for a restaurant and finally locates a diner called Boondocks. He parks in front of the restaurant and goes inside to have dinner. Boondocks is nothing like the restaurants in Pennsylvania. There are only two restaurants in Fort Fairfield and this one appears to be the better of the two.

He enters the diner and looks around. Gunner actually likes small restaurants that specialize in home cooking. Being a police officer for so many years he didn’t eat a whole lot of meals at home. Inside the restaurant he knows he is in Maine. There are moose and deer heads hanging on the walls. It looks more like a hunting lodge than a restaurant. Fort Fairfield is a small town and proud of their sports teams. There is a picture of the high school Tigers basketball team when they won the state championship in 1956. Gunner likes this place. It has a real comfortable feeling.

He sits down at a table in the back of the restaurant. The waitress comes out from behind the counter. Wayne is stunned by her beauty. Her eyes are jade green and her long blonde hair touching her shoulders would make Marilyn Monroe jealous. As she walks toward Gunner’s table he guesses her age to be early 40’s and she is no more than 5 feet in height.

She hands him a menu and asks, Good evening. Are you new in town?

Wayne glances at her name tag and replies, Yes Trish, I just got in today from Pennsylvania. I drove up from Harrisburg. It’s just the right amount of distance where you can make the drive in one full day.

You’re right sir. We get some tourists here from Boston and New York City during the summer months. Like you said, You can make it in one day. What can I get for you mister….?"

He looks up from the menu and says, Name’s Wayne, Wayne Gunner.

OK, Wayne, do you see anything on the menu you like?

Wayne takes a second before he answers, Are you on the menu?

Trish blushes and says, No I’m not, but that is the nicest thing anyone has said to me in weeks. Thank you very much. Now can I get you something from the menu? Trish starts laughing when she finishes the sentence.

Gunner laughing also says, OK, I guess I will have to settle for a steak, potatoes and a salad.

How do you want the steak and what kind of dressing would you like with the salad?

Medium and make it ranch dressing please. Thanks Trish.

Trish turns and walks back to the kitchen. Wayne Gunner cannot take his eyes off her until she disappears into the back of the restaurant.

Gunner finishes his meal and heads back to the hotel. He is a little tired from the drive and goes to bed early. Gunner’s first day in Fort Fairfield was uneventful except for meeting the waitress at the diner.

The next morning Gunner arrives fifteen minutes early for his nine o’clock interview at City Hall. He is dressed in a dark blue Armani suit, white shirt, and a red and white power tie, he bought just for the interview. He is asked to wait in the lobby of the city chamber’s office. Promptly at nine he is escorted into the city council chambers. The interview panel is made up of three men. The Mayor, the fire chief and a Fort Fairfield police captain. The interview was going well except for the police captain who asked several questions that were not related to the police Chief’s position.

Captain Blankenship sitting on the interview panel looks at Wayne Gunner and asks him, Mr. Gunner, why would a seasoned police officer like yourself and a former police Chief from a fairly large police department with over 300 sworn officers want to work in a small town like Fort Fairfield? In fact, you have no idea what this city is all about or its history, do you?

Chief Gunner looks at the captain and says, I supervised a police department of more than one hundred and thirty officers in Harrisburg. I’m very confident that I can manage and administratively supervise the Fort Fairfield Police Department and do good job. Now as far as this town, from what I know, Fort Fairfield was a Union stronghold during the Civil War. The fort is one of three locations where the Union had equipment and training divisions stationed here during the war. General Grant, knowing how far north the Fort was moved equipment and soldiers here for training, safety and storage. The confederates never got this far north but the town has an historic role in the Civil War.

Captain Blankenship begins to speak, That’s all well and good… He is cut off by Wayne Gunner.

Gunner is not swayed by the police captain trying to assert himself and continues, "Sir, excuse me. Let me finish, and as far as the Fort, the population here is just over 6,000 residents. Your tax base is low but the town is financially sound even though you lost the Air Force money three years ago. Your department of eighteen sworn officers handled 12,430 calls last year and your last homicide was in 2014 when the Johnson kid killed his best friend when they argued over his girlfriend.

The Mayor interjects, Well, it seems you have done your homework Mr. Gunner.

Gunner then states, Mayor Henderson, I have been a police officer for a long time. I try to be prepared in all circumstances whether it is tactical or administrative.

Mayor Henderson says, Thank you. Please continue Mr. Gunner.

Mr. Mayor, the reason I chose Fort Fairfield as my next and final police job was primarily because I love the woods and hunting. Northern Maine is the best place in America for hunting deer and other wild game. So, I do have some personal reasons for applying for the position of Chief of police here at the Fort.

Fort Fairfield Police Captain Blankenship quickly asks Wayne Gunner, Do you think it is appropriate for the police department to hire from the outside rather than from the existing rank and file?

Wayne Gunner thinks for a moment before answering the question. He knows this is a loaded question and he is being set up by the captain. As a former police Chief he has had experience with high ranking officers who were skipped or jumped over and not promoted. Obviously Blankenship wanted the position of Police Chief but was not given it. Gunner knows he has to answer this question very carefully.

Gunner pauses and says, Captain that is a very good question. I would say it all depends on the qualifications of the applicant. I believe the department should hire the best candidate, whether it is from within the existing rank and file or hiring from outside the department. The disgruntled Captain didn’t say anything.

The mayor then looks to his right and then to his left and asks, Does anyone on the panel have any more questions for Chief Gunner. No one says anything.

Mayor Henderson then says, This concludes our interview of Wayne Gunner. Thank you for coming Chief Gunner.

Gunner was asked to wait outside in the lobby of City Hall after his interview. Minutes later the Mayor comes out and tells him he has the job.

Mayor Henderson walks out and puts his right hand out to shake hands as he says, Chief Gunner, welcome to Fort Fairfield, Maine.

Thank you Mayor.

When can you start?

Gunner thinks for a minute and says, How about the first of next month? Today’s the 14th so that will give me two weeks. I have to go back home, pack up my belongings and find a place to live and move what little furniture I have up here.

Mayor Henderson extends his hand again. As they shake hands the Mayor says, We will see you the first of next month. I will let Human Resources know your start date. When you get a chance, go upstairs to the second floor and start your paperwork.

I will do it now while I’m here. How does that sound?

Fine, let me walk you upstairs so you can meet Hellen. She’s our HR person. She takes care of all the city’s payroll, insurance and stuff like that. You know Chief; we are just a small town tucked away in the woods in northern Maine. There is not a whole lot of crime up here and by the way, I apologize for Captain Blankenship’s behavior during the interview. He was out of line. He believes he should have been promoted to the Police Chief’s position. But, between you and me, he lacks the organizational skills.

Gunner doesn’t want to respond to the Mayor’s last comment. Instead he asks, Mayor Henderson, where did you say Hellen was?

Oh sorry, follow me. The new Police Chief and the Mayor walk up the hundred year old wooden stairs to the second floor. Gunner spends over two hours doing administrative paperwork. This is his first indoctrination to small town efficiency or lack of.

After meeting with Hellen, Chief Gunner leaves City Hall and goes to the local realtor. Inside he meets Judy Whitelock. She is a middle aged woman that looks like Sarah Palin. In fact, she looks more like Sarah Palin than Sarah Palin.

Judy Whitelock gets up from her desk, extends her hand and says, Good morning, how can I help you?

Good morning, I’m new in town and I’m looking for a place to rent.

"You must be the new police Chief. Is that Gunther or Gunner?

‘It’s Wayne, Wayne Gunner. Boy news sure travels fast in a small town."

Laughing, Judy says to the Gunner, Chief, I knew you were hired before you did; only kidding.

I guess in small towns, news travels fast, answers Gunner.

It sure does Chief. I hope you are better than our last Chief. He couldn’t investigate a robbery if he was the victim, really incompetent. I shouldn’t say that, I apologize.

That’s OK. I didn’t know him. I would hope that I can do a better job than your previous Chief.

"Well good luck Chief. Now, what kind of house are you looking for? I don’t remember now, are you buying or renting?

Judy, I’d like to rent first and then after a year most likely buy.

"OK, that’s fine. What is your budget and is there anything you particularly need in the rental?

I’d like to keep it under $1500 a month and as far as the house, I would like at least two bedrooms, a two car garage, fireplace and a good size yard. I may want to plant some potatoes, vegetables and maybe raise a few animals.

Chief, here at the fort for that much money, you could rent a mansion. Remember, where we are at. Northern Maine housing is nothing like Harrisburg where you came from. I’ve have three nice houses I can show you. When would you like to see them?

Judy, if you have time, how about now?

Judy looks at her daily planner before she answers, "Great, I’m not that busy