I kept the buildings intact, using them for my business address. I had it wired for security, something I was glad I hadn't done before. They dropped the investigation 6 months after the incident, writing it off as a criminal enterprise gone wrong. They had no evidence I was there, and I had a solid alibi between the motel management, the farmer, and the waitress at the diner. So, I was off their list.
So, then, I got away with murder. Well, not quite murder, except for the. The security guards could be put down to self-defense, but incinerating Brad Burns' junk would have gotten me a prison sentence. As for Angie, I felt bad she had been killed. I'll always wonder what made her decide she had a better offer.
I had a feeling from what I learned about the family, it would have ended badly. The senator finally got caught with his finger in the cookie jar. He resigned, leaving his party to scramble to find a replacement 4 months before the election. His party lost the seat by a big margin. Hal came by one day to tell me a bunch of teens in the area were creating mischief, telling me to keep an eye out and keep the cameras on since I was gone a lot.
He caught me on weed patrol. I had managed to beat the kudzu back to my property line, and I checked it every 2 weeks. My dad used to say, "Rust never sleeps. Kudzu always creeps." He admired the blaster. I'd made a few improvements, the biggest being a spare trigger in front.
If you pulled it, the gas came on instantly without having to turn a valve. I'd also refined the nozzle until it could reduce to a 3/4 in beam. It would go through a piece of 1/4 in metal if it were close enough in about 30 seconds. If it was steel, it took longer. Of course, Dale had to use it, grinning as the flames leaped out.
"Man, you could sure fire." He stopped, stared at me, and grinned before he handed it back to me. "You ought to get that patented. You could make a lick. Remember to keep those cameras on." I did, and he caught the kids vandalizing my tool shed. I thought about what he said a lot over the next few days.
Then I redesigned the blaster, strengthening it so it resembled a flamethrower more than a weed burner, and then applied through the lawyer I'd hired. After 6 months, I was notified it was pending, meaning I could manufacture them, so I produced 100 and tested the market. They sold so well that it was time to open a factory, so I rented an industrial building, hired 12 people for the line, and two office staff, and we were off to the races. We were assembling roughly 35 a day and had an 8-month long backlog. I was exhausted and went into the office complaining.