Cassidy leans back in her office chair and looks at all the money she made during the week. She had done well, since reopening the antique store. She only had a few more items that she marked down to sell fast left in the store. She kept most of the people she worked with on as employees and enough money to cover payroll. She reduced her pay back down to something she could live on but didn’t hurt the store.

She managed to make over a hundred gallons of her specialty moonshine and sold at least half of it to her normal customers. That included the deal she had made with the bank manager. Arthur warned her that several agents from ATF were snooping around the town and to be careful.

Cassidy hears the front door buzzer being rung. She puts the money into the safe and locks it. She heads up to the front door to see who it might be. When she moves the curtain aside to see who it was, she notices two men casually dress on the other side of the door.

“We’re close. I’ll open at 9:00 am tomorrow.”

“We don’t want to buy anything, Ms. Hickey. We would like to talk to you, please?”

“What do you want to talk about, sir?”

“Mrs. Hickey, we’re ATF agents and would like to talk to you about some rumors we heard. Could we please come inside?”

“Can you show me your badges, gentlemen?” Cassidy wasn’t going to let them in her store.

Both men pull their badges and Id’s out. They held them so Cassidy could see them clearly.

“Alright.” She unlocks the door and opens it.

Agent Ferris walks in first, followed by agent Boris. They look towards Cassidy as she shuts the front door.

“So, what brings the ATF to my doorstep?” Cassidy turns around to look at the men.

“To be honest with you, Ms. Hickey. We need information and we know your family has lived in this town for a long time. We also know your uncles were moonshiners and I’m hoping that you can help us find the person selling tainted moonshine.”

“Tainted moonshine? I haven’t heard anything about anyone getting sick from drinking moonshine around here.” Cassidy knew most of shiners in town and around her county.

“It’s happening several counties over and the maker of moonshiner was traced to living here.” Agent Ferris knew Cassidy’s family has ties with most of the moonshiners in the area.

Cassidy looks at Agent Ferris and his partner. She knew he wasn’t the one that busted her uncle for running and making moonshine.

“I’ll see what I can do for you, agent Ferris. Is there a number I can reach you at?”

“Yes, here is my business card and my partners as well. Gives us a call if you find out something.” Ferris hands two business cards to Cassidy.

“Thanks, I will.” Cassidy unlocks the door and lets the two agents leave.

Once they were gone, she relocks the door and sits down to fill out the deposit slip. She was going to have to talk with some of the old-timers and see if they knew who the guilty person was. Because if they were selling tainted moonshine to people, that would cause people not to trust them. She double checks the deposits and tucks it into her purse.

Cassidy sets the alarm and heads towards the bank. She drops the deposit she had into the overnight deposit drop box. Afterward, instead of heading home, she heads towards Papa Joe’s home. He was one of the old-timers who she trusted the most and loved like a grandfather.

It’s taken her half-n-hour to get to his place. It was so far back into the woods, that he didn’t even have city power. She pulls up to an old log cabin home and spotted Papa Joe sitting on the porch in his favorite rocking chair, smoking his corncob pipe and watching the fireflies.

She parks next to his old 1950’s green pick-up truck. She remembered the first time she saw that truck. He had come to her uncle’s place to help him with his still.

“Hey, Papa Joe.” Cassidy walks up to him and gives him a hug.

Papa Joe watched as a car pulled up to his house. He didn’t recognize it. He watched as the driver gets out and start walking towards him. At
first, he didn’t know who they were until he heard the voice.

“Cassie, what brings you to my home at this hour?”

“Bad news Papa Joe. There seems to be a bad shiner in our mist, selling tainted shine two counties over.”

“How do you know this, Cassie?” Papa Joe looks at his friends, niece.

“I had two ATF agents stop by my store asking me about it. They know my family has been living here, since the civil war.” Cassidy had two
great uncles and a cousin that fought for the confederate during the war.

“You and several families have, including mine. However, that’s not important. Did they say how many were getting sick and in the hospital?” Papa Joe knew how government agents like to play games.

“No sir, they didn’t. All they did know was the person selling and making the shine lived here in our county and was selling two counties over. I
hate to think someone we know has anything to do with this. It would hurt our business.”

“That it would. I’ll call the other elders and have a sit down with them. Now, why don’t we talk about you and this shop you have now.?”

“You don’t miss much, do you, Papa Joe?” Cassidy walks over and sits down on an old tree stump that had been made into a chair.

“No. So, what type of store do you own?” Papa Joe takes a drag on his pipe.

“I took the antique store over. My former boss is in big trouble for having dealings with a loan shark. He was transporting and laundering
money for him.”

“I was always suspicious of your boss. He always seemed too secretive about his business.” Papa Joe remembered meeting him once.

Something about Wes just didn’t feel right to him. Papa Joe has always relied on his instincts throughout his life.

“Well, I hope you do well with the business, Cassie. You’re a smart cookie.”

“Thanks, Papa Joe.”

“You’re welcome. Why don’t you pour us a jar of moonshine, a piece?”

“Okay.” Cassidy gets up and head into Papa Joe’s place and pour two small mason jar’s up for her and him.

She comes back outside and hands his jar to him “there you go Papa.”

Papa Joe takes it and drinks some. He watches as Cassidy sits down and drinks some of hers as well.

Cassidy spends a few hours with Papa Joe. By the time she leaves his place, she has a buzz going on. She takes it easy going home. The last thing she needed was to be pulled over for being drunk.

When she gets home and walk from the garage to the house, she was stumbling. The moonshine had affected her more then she thought. She uses the wall for support as she looks towards Danny and Larry “can one of you help me to my bedroom please?”

A smirk appears on Danny’s face “drunk too much?”

“Something like that. I went to Papa Joe’s house to ask him something.” Cassidy was just tipsy when she left, but now she was fully drunk.

“That explains everything. Papa Joe’s stuff sneaks up on you.” Danny helps Cassidy to her bedroom.

He helps her undress and put her nightshirt on, before lowering her to her mattress and tucking her in.

“Sweet dreams, Cassie.” As he leaves her bedroom.