P. J. Grondin - A Lifetime of Vengeance

P.J. Grondin

A Lifetime of Vengeance

Copyright 2006 by P. J. Grondin

Second Edition

The characters and events in this book arefictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead iscoincidental and not intended by the author.

Published by

P. J. Grondin

4704 Venice Road, Suite 201

Sandusky, Ohio 44870

Smashwords Edition

Library of Congress Control Number:2010901629

www.pjgrondin.com

pjgron@pjgrondin.com

Dedication

This work is dedicated to my parents,Nicholas and Patricia Grondin, and my wifes parents, Alan and MaryFleming. They taught us what we needed to know and how to figureout the rest.

Acknowledgements

To my dear wife, Debbie, for encouraging meto finish when I could have given up. To my children for putting upwith my stressful moments. To my sister, Cathy, for her technicalproofing and practical suggestions for making the story flowbetter. To Randy Rossomme for his final copy edit. To my friendswho read excerpts of the manuscript and told me, Hey, this isnttoo bad. You all gave me the incentive to keep going. Thankyou.

The second edition is the result of manyhours of reviewing and revising the text to make the story flowbetter. This edition is more enjoyable to read. The story remainsunchanged.

Other McKinney Brothers Murder Mystery Novelsavailable at Smashwords

A Lifetime of Deception

A Lifetime of Exposure

www.pjgrondin.com

Reviews

A Lifetime ofVengeance was a thriller that kept mewanting more. Grondin's ability to paint vivid images of thecharacters made me feel as though I was part of the story ratherthan a reader. Many times, A Lifetime of Vengeance made me think,"What would I do?" This is a story that you won't want toend!

• Kathy Nesser, Marblehead, Ohio

The story held my attention from the time Ipicked it up, until the jet touched down! Looking forward tothe next offering from the imagination of !

• Rory Shaffer. NewtownSquare, Pennsylvania

A Lifetime ofVengeance is a story that you won't (orcan't) put down. For me to read a novel from beginning to end,especially in one sitting, says something about the quality andcaptivation of the plot. Spellbinding from beginning to end. Can'twait to see it on the BIG SCREEN!

• Ron Dielman, Perrysburg, Ohio

This ebook is licensed for your personalenjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away toother people. If you would like to share this book with anotherperson, please purchase an additional copy for each person youshare it with. If youre reading this book and did not purchase it,or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should returnto Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you forrespecting the hard work of this author.

The vault had been built in the early partof 1961 at the height of tensions between the United States and theSoviet Union. The Cubans were establishing closer political ties tothe Communists in Moscow and fear of nuclear attack permeated theatmosphere of casual conversations all across America. "Duck andcover" was being taught as a defense against the horrors ofexposure to radioactivity should a nuclear attack actually occur.The silly sounding public service commercials were played on allthree networks. "Duck... and cover..."

William Hammerick, third generation orangegrower from rural Apopka, Florida didn't buy that "duck and cover"junk. That's why he took matters into his own hands.

It had been nearly sixteenyears since the United States dropped "the bomb" on two Japanesecities and the horrifying pictures of the disfigured bodies and theliving dead, the results of those attacks, still invaded his mind.He remembered the news accounts which said many people werevaporized along with everything around them. They could have ducked and covered all they wanted to andthey still would've been turned into little more than radioactivedust . The scenes were still fresh in hismind. Those were small bombs back then.Now they're big... megatons! They can destroy whole cities. Andthe radioactive dust will even reach out into the country. If theybomb the defense plant in Orlando, we'd still get thefallout. He was determined to protect hiswife and himself from that fate. That's why William Hammerick hadto do something drastic.

In the middle of his orange grove off ofKelley Park Drive, he constructed a twelve foot by twelve footvault. The vault was buried. Only about a foot of the vault wasabove ground. It had a six-and-a-half foot high ceiling and wasconstructed of two inch galvanized steel, welded at the seams. Ithad a massive door with a padlock and rubber seals to prevent airfrom getting into the vault. Ventilation ducts ran out of the vaultin four directions. Each duct had dampers for securing the airinlets. There was also a pressurized air supply which would bleedair into the vault for about ninety-six hours. He thought that, inthe event of radioactive fallout, that would be adequate time forthe decay of the radioactive dust... at least enough to allowopening of the vents to breathe outside air. He'd read some booksabout the effects of the bomb and the resulting radioactive cloud.He figured that with natural air movement and the settling out ofradioactive particles, the normal air would be fit to breathe intwo days and that would give him a two day cushion of compressedair. In addition to all the mechanics of the design, Mr. Hammerickstocked the vault with enough canned food, dry goods, and water forup to two months. Also included in the plan were two relativelycomfortable cots, blankets, pillows, and sheets. A portable toilet,other toiletries, extra clothes, and a first aid kit. The vault wassome 700 yards off of the main road and only 300 yards from theirhouse which was located in front of the grove. Several huge camphortrees with long flowing Spanish moss stood in front of the house,partially hiding it from the sparse traffic on Kelley ParkDrive.

Only a handful of their closest friends knewanything about the vault. The few who did know thought old WilliamHammerick had lost his mind. "The government would never allow anuclear war to get started after what we know about the power ofthese bombs. They'd lose all that power and money. Their lavishlives would be destroyed," they'd said.

But William Hammerick didn't take anychances or spare any expense. He built the vault and felt secureknowing that it was there if he and his wife needed it.

When they first looked into buying thegrove, they'd noticed the overgrown trail that led to the center ofthe grove. When the oldest brother asked where the trail led, thereal estate agent, Jimmy Pitman, said that it led to an old storagebin that wasn't used anymore. That got his curiosity up and hewanted to know more about it. Jimmy Pitman shrugged his shouldersand gave a head motion to follow him. The four made their way downthe trail, deep into the grove, pushing through brush, spider webs,and dead bushes. Finally, they came upon an inclined path that wentdown at about a 30 degree angle to the steel, padlocked door of thevault. Part of the sandy wall alongside the inclined path hadcollapsed, but they could still access the door with littleeffort.

The real estate agent turned to thebrothers, "There it is. As you can see, it isn't much to look at.The steel is deteriorated pretty badly. No one's been in there inyears."

The padlock on the vaults door was coatedwith rust and was caked with dirt and old spider webs. A thick coatof rust also covered the visible parts of the heavy door. Indeed,no entry had been made to the vault in many years.