Old McSimon Had A Farm

 

By: Kenda

                                         

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

 

     A.J. Simon was seated at the computer terminal in the Simon and Simon office on this morning in late March.  The blond man was concentrating on creating a crisp, coherent report regarding a case he and his brother had just completed.  This task was not as simple as it should have been, since A.J. had to piece together his work based on the multitude of notes surrounding him, some of which were written on the back of gum wrappers and old credit card receipts.

 

     "Thanks a lot, Rick," A.J. muttered, squinting at a coffee stained napkin that contained a scrawled conversation between Rick and an important informant.

 

     A.J. was holding the napkin up to the ceiling light, trying to make out as many of the words as he could, when the office door opened.

 

     "It's about time you showed up," the squinting man growled.  "I need your help here."

 

     "I thought you quit trying to find secret messages hidden in jars of Ovaltine when you were ten."

 

     A.J. dropped his arms.  "Very funny.  This happens to be one of the notes you gave me regarding the Mulden case.  We've got to give this report to the attorney this afternoon."  A.J. handed his brother the napkin.  "Now what's this say?"

 

     Rick read the creased, stained napkin without any problems.  "It says Karen.  672-8663.  694-5571."

 

     A.J.'s fingers were posed over the computer's keyboard.  "What's that mean?  Who's Karen?"

 

     "Karen's a waitress down at the Koffee Kup.  This is her work number, and her home number.  I'm glad you found this.  I've been wonderin' what I did with it."

 

     A.J. turned in his chair, scowling up at his brother.  "Do you mean to tell me I've just spent the past fifteen minutes trying to decipher your juvenile attempts at getting a date?"

 

     "Well...uh...yeah, I guess that pretty well sizes it up."

 

     "Rick!  I can't--"

 

     "Now, A.J., don't go gettin' your shorts in a bundle over it.  It's not that big of a deal," Rick dismissed, walking away from the computer work center his brother was seated at.

 

     "Not that big of a deal! Rick, I just told you this report has to be to the attorney's office this afternoon.  It's already eleven o'clock.  You told me yesterday we'd both work on it today and have it, I quote, 'Done in no time.'"

 

     "We will, we will," Rick pacified.  "I'm here now, aren't I?  We've got plenty of time yet before that attorney's office closes at five."

 

     A.J. shook his head and sighed.  After fourteen years in business with his brother, he knew it would be fruitless to lecture Rick once again on the value of completing a report with time to spare.

 

     Rick must have been reading his brother's mind.  "Look, I know you hate workin' this way, and I'm sorry.  I really am.  I had planned to be on time this morning, but I got tied up with a long distance phone call."

 

     Before A.J. could ask any questions, Rick walked over and gave his brother a clap on the back.  "How does a little vacation in the country sound to you right about now?"

 

     "It sounds like something we don't have time for," was all A.J. would say regarding the matter.  "Besides, our vacation time for this year has already been plotted.  I just took a week in February to go skiing with Dianna, you and Carlos are going on your annual fishing trip in June, we're both going camping for a week with Town and Jerry in August, I picked another week in October to get some things done around the house, and you picked a week in December to do the same at your boat.  There's no vacation time left."

 

     Rick rolled his eyes.  "A.J., what good does it do us to own our own business if we can't take some time off when we want to?"

 

     From where he sat facing the computer terminal, A.J. shot back, "If we took time off every time you wanted to, we wouldn't have a business to own."

 

     "What if I told you this was going to be a working vacation?" 

 

     A.J. turned in his seat, looking up at his brother.  "What exactly does that mean?"

 

     Rick perched his lanky frame on a corner of the oak computer workstation that was located along the wall where the couch used to be.  In place of the sofa, the brothers now had a round oak coffee table in the center of the room, with a grouping of three overstuffed blue upholstered chairs surrounding it.

 

     "Do you remember me mentioning a guy I served in Nam with named Keith Russo?" 

 

     "Didn't he and his wife stop to visit you a few years ago when they were on their way to Hawaii?"

 

     "Yeah, that's the guy.  Him and Sue, his wife, were on their second honeymoon then, celebrating their twentieth wedding anniversary."

 

     "So what does that have to do with us taking a working vacation?"

 

     "Well, you might remember me tellin' you at one time or another that Keith has a farm in Minnesota.  Several farms actually.  He inherited the farm he grew up on from his parents, and has bought several other farms close by.  He runs a large crop operation, over two thousand acres, as well as raises hogs."

 

     Upon hearing this explanation, and also recalling Rick's words from earlier of a ‘working vacation’ caused warning bells to blare in A.J.'s head.

 

     "I don't care what the problem is, Rick, I'm not going.”

 

     "What do you mean you're not going?  I haven't even told you where we're going yet!  Or what the case involves."

 

     "I don't care what it involves, I'm not going."

 

     Rick changed tactics.  "I never thought I'd live to see the day when my brother, A.J. Simon, refused to help someone in need.  Refused to help someone who specifically sought out his agency.  And, to top it off, someone who is a friend of his older brother.  A friend from Vietnam.  A friend from a war where a loyal buddy was hard to come by.  A--"

 

     A.J. held up his hand.  "Okay, okay, spare me the pity party.  I'll listen to what you have to say, but I'm not making any promises at this point."

 

     "Fair enough," Rick agreed.  "As I was sayin,' Keith owns four other farms besides the farm he and his family live on.  He has hogs on all the farms, and farms the acreage on each one as well.  Where the problem comes in, is that four of those five farms he owns don't have houses on them anymore.  The houses had been torn down on some long before he ever bought the remaining buildings and land, while on two others he had to have the houses torn down because of their age, therefore no one lives on four of the farms.  Because of that fact, he's had trailer loads of hogs disappear from the barns on these vacant farms."

 

     "How long has this been going on?"

 

     "For over a year now on and off.  The local cops have had no luck in catching anyone at it.  Keith's staked the farms out himself, but hasn't had any luck either.  He's positive of one thing though."

 

     "What's that?"

 

     "That whoever's doing it knows how to handle hogs and follows the hog market.  He's been able to stumble upon a pattern that suggests the thieves watch the market.  They know when hog prices are high, and that's when they strike."

 

     "Thieves?"

 

     Rick nodded.  "Keith assures me that there has to be more than one man behind this.  It would be too difficult for a guy by himself to load a hundred hogs on a trailer."

 

     "I guess I'll take his word for it on that fact," A.J. said.  "As much as I hate to ask this next question, why did Keith call you?"

 

     "He wants to hire us."

 

     "I was afraid you were going to say that," A.J. mumbled before pointing out, "Rick, Minnesota's a long distance from California.  There's no way this guy can afford us.  He'll have to pay our plane fare, our motel bill, our fee--"

 

     "He'll pay our plane fare," Rick assured.  "And about our fee, I told him we'd charge him three hundred dollars a day."

 

     Although Simon and Simon was now getting five hundred dollars a day plus expenses, A.J. didn't argue this with Rick.  The brothers often took the liberty of giving certain clients, for various reasons, a break when it came to their fee. 

 

     "Okay fine, he's paying our plane fare and three hundred dollars a day, but that still leaves the motel and meals--"

 

     "We won't have to worry about a motel.  There's two houses on the home farm.  One house is occupied by Keith and his family, the other one is used for hired men.  We'll stay in that one.  As far as meals go, we can either eat with Keith's family, or cook our own in the house we'll be staying at."

 

     "Still, it seems like a lot of money for one Mid-western farmer to spend--"

 

     "Don't worry about it.  He's got the money.  Keith's folks made some pretty good money off the farm back when farmers could make money.  Keith's a shrewd businessman, and has managed pretty well for himself too."

 

     "I'm not worried that he won't pay us.  I just think it sounds like a lot of hassles to go through simply to have us solve a case any qualified P.I. can solve.  We could probably ask around - get him the names of some good P.I.'s in Minnesota.  Did you tell him that?"

 

     "Yeah, I did.  But he's not interested.  He wants to hire us."

 

     A.J. wrinkled his noise in distaste.  "Rick...we've solved a lot of cases over the years, and in solving some of them the circumstances we've found ourselves in haven't always been pleasant...but a pig farm?" 

 

     Rick laughed at the distress on his brother's face.  "Just think of it like I told you before - a working vacation."

 

     "Exactly what type of work are we talking about here?" 

 

     "Gettin' to know the other guys who work for Keith, ask some questions around town...plowing, planting, feeding hogs--"

 

     "Plowing?  Planting?  Feeding hogs?  Rick!"

 

     "Well a'course, A.J.  What'd you expect?  We're takin' a job on a farm.  How else would a guy go undercover on a farm except by doin' those kinds of jobs?"

 

     "Rick, we don't know anything about farming."

 

     "Sure we do."

 

     A.J.'s eyebrows rose.  "We do?"

 

"Sure, we do.  We were chaperons for those 4-H kids last year, weren't we?"

 

     "Rick, that's wasn't anything like being employees of a working farm."

     Rick ignored his brother.  "And when we were kids we visited Great Grandma Simon's farm every summer."

 

     "Yeah, and collected a few eggs, got chased by the old rooster, and played with the kittens. Those things don't exactly require a lot of knowledge or skill.  Aside from the fact that Great Grandma Simon died in 1955, and neither one of us has been on a farm since."

 

     "You know, A.J., you spend too much of your time worryin' about life's little problems.  We can do this job for Keith. I know we can."

 

     A.J. thought a moment then asked, "Rick, why is this job so important to you?" 

 

     "I already told you why."

 

     "No, you told me Keith's an old friend from Nam, and that he wants to hire us.  We've both turned down old friends before.  Why do you want to travel two thousand miles to do a job you know as well as I do that we're not qualified for?"

 

     "He's not just a friend.  He's a friend from Nam," was Rick's only explanation.

 

     That one sentence made A.J. see he didn't have a chance at changing his brother's mind regarding this case. The blond man sighed in resignation.  "Okay, okay, call Keith.  Tell him he's just found himself two new hired hands."

 

     "Great!  When can we start?" 

 

     A.J. turned back to the computer screen, instructing, "Take a look at my calendar.  We're booked solid for next week, and probably for several weeks after that as well.  See what the first week in May looks like.

 

     The first week in May was free, so while A.J. returned his attention to the report he was typing into the computer, Rick placed a call to Minnesota.

 

     A.J. rolled his eyes and said a little prayer as he listened to his brother's side of the conversation. 

 

     "Sure we know how to operate a tractor, Keith. Can't be much different than ridin' a lawn mower.

 

“And a plow?  Well no, I don't think either one of us has ever pulled a plow behind a tractor, but we can learn...can't we?

 

“Good.

 

“Hogs? No, we don't know too much about hogs, but we do know a lot about sheep.  They're not too different, are they?

 

“Oh, they are?  Well, don't worry about it, Keith, we'll learn.  We used to spend the summers on our great grandmother's farm.

 

“Yeah, we worked there some.  And A.J., well he just loves animals.

 

“Sure he does.

 

“You didn't think, based on what I've told you about him, that he's a country boy?  Well, he is.  He can't wait to get to that farm of yours, can ya' A.J.?"

 

     A.J. gave his brother a wilting look.  "I'm delirious with joy."

 

     Rick ignored that comment, continuing to converse with his friend to finalize the arrangements for the Simons' arrival.

 

     Lord, give me the strength to get through another one of my brother's harebrained ideas, A.J. prayed as he hit the print button and waited for his document to appear.

 

 

____________________

 

 

     Four weeks later, on the evening before they were to depart for Minnesota, the Simon brothers had dinner at their mother's home.            

 

    As the trio ate dessert in the dining room, Rick said, "I don't know for sure how long we'll be gone, Mom. It could be a couple of weeks."

 

     A.J. glanced up from his pie.  "It won't be any longer than two weeks. At least not for me."

 

     "What do you mean by that?"  Cecilia asked her youngest.

 

     "Awe, A.J.'s just bein' an old poop, Mom," Rick complained.  "He's got somethin' against country living."

 

     "I don't have anything against country living," A.J. negated, "as long as it's others who are living there, and not me."

 

     Rick looked at his mother.  "Because of that, A.J.'s only givin' me two weeks to solve this case.  If it takes any longer he's gonna fly back here, and I'm gonna stay in Minnesota for as long as Keith is willing to pay us."

 

     "That sounds like a fair arrangement to me," Cecilia agreed, trying to defuse the argument that was on the horizon between her children. "I'm sure both of you can't afford to be away from the office for more than two weeks anyway, can you?"

 

     "No, we can't," A.J. confirmed. 

 

     Rick smirked in Cecilia's direction.  "You always take his side."

 

     Cecilia smiled at Rick's teasing.  "I'm not taking anyone's side. I'm just saying this sounds like a good arrangement.  You know, Rick, even back when you boys were small, A.J. wasn't particularly crazy about farm life.  Do you remember how that old rooster of Great Grandma Simon’s used to chase him?  He’s run from it screaming and come hide behind my skirt."

 

     Rick laughed.  "Yeah.  And I remember one time he was running through the cow pasture and slipped on some shi...manure.  Boy, was he a mess!"

 

     "He sure was.  And did he smell!  Your father and I stripped him and hosed him down outside. The entire time A.J. was crying and carrying on, while yelling, 'I stink!  I stink!'"

 

     A red faced A.J. put a halt to the reminiscing.  "Okay, okay, you two, that's enough.  I've never proclaimed to be a country boy."

 

     Rick reached over, giving his brother an encouraging clap on the back.  "Yeah, but once this vacation is over, little brother, I have a feelin' you'll have a change of heart.  You know what they say, you can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy."

 

     "Well, they won't be saying that about me," A.J. replied as he stood to help his mother gather up the dirty dishes. 

 

     Cecilia eyed her blond son.  He was dressed this evening as he had been earlier in the day at the office in a black and white tweed sport coat, black pleated dress slacks, white shirt, and black, white, and gray silk tie.  She stage whispered to her oldest, "I doubt if they'll be saying that about your brother either, Rick."

 

     Rick wasn't about to give in.  "Aw, he's gonna love it, Mom.  A couple of days in the country, and A.J.'ll be a new man."

 

     "I don't want to be a new man!" was yelled from the kitchen, causing Rick and Cecilia burst into laughter.

 

     Rick's dog Rex was left with Cecilia that night, as was the phone number of the Russo home in Minnesota in case the woman needed to get a hold of her sons for any reason.  Cecilia also promised to act as a secretary for the Simon and Simon detective agency for the next two weeks. She assured A.J. she'd pick up the mail daily, and take down any messages that were left on the office answering machine.  She was also left in charge of collecting the mail that arrived at each son's home in their absence, and in charge of watering A.J.'s plants.

 

     The brothers left their mother's home early that evening because their flight was to depart at eight the next morning.  Cecilia wanted to get to bed early, too, since she was providing her sons with a ride to the airport.  Rick and A.J. were still debating the merits of farm life, versus the comforts of suburban living, as they walked to their vehicles. 

 

Cecilia smiled and shook her head as she shut the door on her bickering offspring.

 

I have a feeling the boys will have some interesting stories to tell by the time this case is over with.

 

As she climbed the stairs for bed with Rex at her heels, Cecilia’s final thoughts were, Very interesting stories.         

 

 

____________________

        

 

     The Simons' flight arrived at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport at two o'clock central time the next afternoon.  By the time they were in a rental car and headed for Keith's farm, which was ninety miles south, it was three o’clock.  In consideration of the two hour time difference, and the hours spent traveling, Rick and A.J. agreed that the day seemed to be almost over before it had even begun.

 

     A.J. drove down state highway 52 while Rick navigated from the passenger seat based on a map and written directions Keith had sent. 

 

     Once they were south of Rochester, the last major city on their route, things got a little tricky as the brothers had to navigate their way through fifteen miles of small towns and open country land, turning this way and that as Keith's directions dictated. Even the reluctant farmer, A.J., couldn't help but admire the lush green beauty of southeastern Minnesota.  The landscape was quite different from what the California private investigators were used to.

 

     A.J. drove through the small town of Grand Prairie. Once the town was behind the brothers, A.J. paid attention to the odometer until it registered they had traveled four miles beyond Grand Prairie.  Just as Keith had said, there was a gravel road on the right.  A.J. turned, and once again watched the odometer until they’d traveled three miles.  They arrived at a long gravel driveway just as Keith had said they would.  Sitting back a half of a mile off the road was a large white farmhouse with a wrap around front porch.  To the side and behind it, were four bright red barns of various sizes, as well as two large metal buildings used for machinery storage.  If the brothers had any doubts as to whether or not they were at the right place, a large red and white sign at the end of the driveway took care of that.  The sign was dominated by a painting of a hog.  Underneath that was painted, RUSSO FAMILY FARM - PUREBRED HAMPSHIRE HOGS.

 

     "This must be the place," Rick observed.

 

     "No kidding," A.J. rolled his eyes at the obvious as he turned in the driveway.  

 

     A.J. parked the Jeep Cherokee rental car next to the house.  The brothers got out and were greeted by a barking German shepherd.  Rick, who had no fear of dogs, even big ones who were showing their teeth, approached the beautiful animal.

 

"Hi, fella.  How are you?"

 

     The dog's demeanor quickly changed.  He wagged his tail, happy to be receiving attention from this lanky stranger.

 

     A man's head peered out from the door of a barn. 

 

     Rick called to the familiar figure,  "Hey, you'd better get yourself a new watch dog!  This one's about as fierce as a kitten!" 

 

     Keith, who was thin and lanky like Rick though several inches shorter, walked across the farmyard toward the Simons. 

 

"Leave it to you to figure that out in two seconds flat, Simon!" 

 

     The two old Marine buddies met each other half way, exchanging bear hugs and slaps on the back. 

 

     A.J. approached, but allowed his brother and Keith all the time they needed to say hello. 

 

     When the two men broke apart, Rick introduced, "Keith, this is my kid brother, A.J.  A.J., this is Keith."

 

     The forty-four year old A.J. inwardly grimaced at being referred to as Rick's ‘kid brother,’ but he let it pass.  For whatever reason, whenever Rick introduced him to an old buddy from Nam he was always, "My kid brother."

 

     A.J.'s hand was grasped and shaken. He could feel thick layers of calluses that were an indication of Keith’s years of physical labor on the farm. 

 

"It's nice to finally meet you, A.J.  I've heard a lot about you over the years."

 

     A.J. gave a teasing smile.  "All good I'm sure."

 

     Keith's eyes twinkled.  "Well...most of it good.  Your big brother was prone to brag on you a bit back in our days in Nam, but on the other hand, he could tell quite a bawdy tale when he had mind to."

 

     "Of that I have no doubt," A.J. wholeheartedly agreed.

 

     Keith beat at the feed dust on his jacket and blue jeans.  "You fellas want a cup of coffee before we take the grand tour? Maybe a piece of cake, too?  Sue was just taking one out of the oven when I was in for lunch."

 

     Not having had anything to eat since the less than desirable meal served by flight attendants at noon, the Simons agreed to the offered snack.

 

     The three men entered the Russo home through an outside door that led down a flight of stairs into the basement laundry room.  Keith took a moment to remove his work boots and dusty jacket, then cleaned up at the sink that sat by the washer.

 

     "Sorry to bring you in this way, but Sue gets pretty ticked off if the kids or I walk in the house in our dirty farm clothes."

 

     "Don't worry about it," Rick assured.

 

     The men made their way through the concrete block basement, Rick and A.J. following Keith up another flight of wooden stairs that led into the large kitchen. 

 

     Keith closed the basement door behind them, calling, "Sue!  Hey, Susie!  Rick's here!"

 

     The Simons could hear footsteps from somewhere up above them, and then someone descending a stairway in another part of the house. 

 

     A heavyset blond woman appeared from around the corner, greeting Rick with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. 

 

     "Rick, it's so good to see you again.  We really appreciate you coming all this way."

 

     Rick wrapped his arms around the ample sized woman in return.  "It's good to see you too, darlin.’  You're still too damn sexy for the old lug you married."

 

     The two broke their embrace and Sue laughed.  "I don't know how sexy I am anymore, Rick Simon.  The closer I get to fifty, the more pounds I put on."

 

     Rick put an arm around his old friend's wife.  "That just means there's more of you to love."

 

     Sue laughed at Rick's flattery.  "I think you should visit more often.  You definitely know how to make a woman feel better about herself."

 

     Sue glanced at A.J., which prompted Rick to introduce, "Sue, this is my brother, A.J."

 

     Sue smiled warmly at the younger Simon and shook his hand.  "It's nice to meet you, A.J.  Keith and I appreciate you and Rick coming all this way to help us."

 

     "That's not a problem. We’re happy to do it." 

 

     Sue urged the men to take a seat at the antique kitchen table.  Soon large slices of chocolate cake and warm cups of coffee were put down on the blue cloth place mats.  A.J. observed the comfortable country furnishings, taking in all the personal touches like the pig cookie jar on the counter top, the wallpaper with chickens, ducks, and geese on it, as well as other antiques placed around the room.  An olden wooden butter churn stood in one corner, and in another corner was a wooden bin labeled, POTATOES AND ONIONS.

 

     "You have a nice home," A.J. complimented the couple.

 

     "Thank you.  We've done a lot of work to it over the years," Sue replied.  "Keith's father died thirteen years ago.  His mother bought a small house in town then and we moved in here.  It needed quite a bit of updating, so over the years we've done a room at a time.  We just built on the family room, and a master bed and bath for ourselves, last summer."

 

     Sue pointed toward a large family room beyond the kitchen.  A.J. could just barely see from where he sat the master bedroom at the end of the family room.

 

     "That's a nice big room," Rick commented of the addition, taking note of the massive stone fireplace that dominated one wall.

 

     "We sure enjoy it," Keith related.  "It's also nice not being upstairs with the kids.  After all these years we're enjoying our privacy."

 

     Rick's eyebrows waggled at the couple.  "I just bet you are."

 

     The couple laughed, then Keith remarked, "You've still only got one thing on your mind, Sergeant Simon,"

 

     Rick's eyes sparkled.  "I sure do."

 

     As the foursome sat together making small talk and enjoying their snack, A.J. asked, "Speaking of kids, how many do you have?  I don't think Rick's ever told me about your family."

 

     "Four,” Sue answered. “Our oldest, Adam, graduated from college last June with a degree in animal science.  He was married in August.  He and his wife live in Iowa.  He's working for the State Department of Agriculture there."

 

     "Sounds like a good job," Rick stated.

 

     "It is," Keith replied.  "Someday he plans to come back here and help me run the farm, but he needs to get his feet wet out in the big wide world first."

 

     "Then there's Sarah,” Sue said.  She's a senior at the University of Minnesota.  She plans on being a veterinarian."

 

     "That's quite a goal," A.J. said with admiration.

 

     "Quite a goal, and quite a lot of money," Keith quipped.  "She's got four years of veterinary school ahead of her yet.  I'm going to have to sell a lot of hogs over the next few years to pay for my little girl's dream."

 

     Rick smiled.  "The joys of parenthood."

 

     "That's for sure," Sue agreed.  "Then we've got our ‘tag along babies,’ as Keith and I refer to them.  The two children the stork delivered without any planning on our part, Matthew and Seth.  Matt's seventeen.  He's a junior in high school.  Seth's twelve.  He's in seventh grade.  You'll meet them later this afternoon.  Seth's got baseball practice after school today so he'll be home around six."  Sue glanced up at the kitchen clock to see it was ten minutes past five.  "Matt should have been home an hour ago or better.  Who knows where he is?" she finished with an angry shrug.

 

     Keith attempted to cover his wife's anger.  "You know how seventeen-year-old boys are.  They think they're adults until they need clean laundry, a hot meal, or a few bucks, then they show up at home real fast."

 

     Rick and A.J. chuckled, nodding their agreement.

 

     "Do the boys know who we are?"  A.J. asked.

 

     Keith shook his head as Sue went around the table refilling coffee cups.  "No, we decided it was best just to tell them the same thing we're telling everyone else, that the two of you are my cousins from California, here on a working vacation.  I hire a lot of extra help in the spring and the fall because of planting and harvest, so no one will question it.  I come from a large family - my father had ten brothers and sisters, my mother eight, so I've got cousins spread all across the United States I haven't seen in years. Matt and Seth won't think anything of the fact that I've never mentioned either one of you."

 

     "We just don't want one of the kids to accidentally slip up and mention the reason you're really here to someone," Sue explained.

 

     "That's fine," A.J. agreed.  "It sounds like a good plan."

 

     Sue reseated herself at the table with the men.  She smiled fondly while informing the Simons, "I must warn you, though, that our Seth is naturally curious and as friendly as a puppy.  He'll latch on to one, or both of you, and follow you everywhere with ten thousand questions regarding how you're related to us, why you're here, what you do for a living, things like that."

 

     "That's good to know," Rick said.  "A.J. and I have a story worked out for people, but we can fine tune it for Seth's sake."

 

     "What about Matt?"  A.J. asked.

 

     "About Matt?"  Sue questioned.

 

     "He's seventeen.  He might not be quite so easily fooled as Seth.  Won't he be curious regarding Rick and I suddenly showing up here?  I just want to be prepared in case he starts asking questions too."

 

     "You don't need to worry about Matt," Sue said softly.  "He hardly even notices his own family these days, he's not going to care about two men who--"

 

     "Sue," Keith said in a tone that clearly held some type of warning that neither Rick or A.J. could decipher.

 

     Sue heeded to her husband's tone of voice, though not without a dark look thrown in his direction.  The Simon brothers exchanged glances as the woman stood and began collecting the empty plates and cups.  "I'd better get these few things washed up, and then get supper started.  Keith, why don't you take Rick and A.J. outside and show them around, where they're going to be staying, things like that. Supper will be ready at seven."

 

     "That sounds like a good idea," Keith agreed. The sudden tension between Keith and his wife was obvious to the two detectives.

 

     The men rose from the table as one and headed for the basement stairs, the Simons thanking their hostess for the cake and coffee.

 

     Keith put his boots and jacket back on, then led the brothers outside.  All he said in regards to what had just occurred in the kitchen was, "Sue and I have our disagreements over Matt."

 

     Figuring the whole situation was none of their business, the brothers didn't do anymore than nod their heads in acknowledgment.

 

"Teenagers can present their challenges,” Rick said. “I know I gave my mom a few on occasion."

 

     "On occasion?"  A.J. laughed.  "Now that's the understatement of the year.  He presented our mother with challenges on a daily basis, Keith."

 

     "Ah, your memory's not what it used to be, A.J."  Rick turned to his old war buddy.  "He has a tendency to exaggerate."

 

     These words prompted a verbal battle between the Simons that left Keith laughing.  The tension from earlier was soon forgotten as the men made their way around the farmyard.

 

     An hour later Rick and A.J. had been in the two large machine sheds and had observed an array of machinery that was, for the most part, foreign to them.  A.J. tried his best to remember everything Keith pointed out to them; tractors, plows, a combine, four gravity boxes, a planter, a disc, a cultamulcher, a hay bind, and a chopper, just to name a few things the blond man knew nothing about, not to mention an assortment of wagons used for hauling a multitude of things from the fields.

 

     The Simons next had a tour of the hog facilities, prompting A.J. to ask Keith,  "How many pigs do you have?"

 

     "Here?  Just on this farm?  Or all together?"      

 

     "Both I guess.  On this farm, as well as all together."

 

Looking out over a fenced-in pasture where seventy sows were housed, Keith replied, "Here, about six hundred.  All together, probably about twelve or thirteen hundred.  It's hard to keep an accurate count as there's several new litters born each week."

 

     "How many piglets in a litter?"  Rick asked.

 

     "On an average, ten."

 

Rick gave a low whistle. "That's a lot of pigs."

 

     "How does all this work?"  A.J. asked the farmer.  "I mean, we've seen pigs of every size and shape, some in buildings, some outside on the pasture.  How do you decide who goes where?"

 

     Keith leaned up against a fence post. "The big hogs out here, the sows, don't need much in the way of shelter, especially this time of year.  In the winter, they'll be moved to a lot where they can get in and out of a building, otherwise, from April until November they're pastured outside.  See the aluminum roofs I have around the pasture?"

 

     The Simons observed several large pieces of aluminum mounted on top of fence posts throughout the pasture.

 

     "Those are sunshades.  When it gets really hot, or if it rains, the sows will go underneath those to seek protection. That's really about all they need until the weather turns bitterly cold.

 

     "In the old diary barn, or farrowing barn, as we call it--"

 

     "Farrowing?"  Rick asked for a definition.

 

     "Strictly a term used with hogs, Rick.  It means giving birth.  In the farrowing barn we have our sows who have just given birth and their piglets, as well as nursery decks for weaned piglets."

 

     "How old are they when they're weaned?"  A.J. asked, trying to learn as much as possible in as short a time as possible.

 

     "Four to six weeks.  That's also the only barn we have that's heated."

 

     Keith started walking, Rick and A.J. following him to other buildings and pastures.  Outside a small red barn the farmer stopped.  Pigs were eating out of the feeders, the metal lids banging shut as the pigs snouts let them close. 

 

     "These are all gilts on this lot."

 

     "Gilts?"  Rick asked.

 

     "Female pigs that haven't had a litter yet.  Once they've had a litter they're sows."

 

     "Oh, so these are virgins," Rick said, proud of himself for having figured that out.

 

     Keith laughed.  "Well, some of them might