The
men head to the bank in the morning, to check out Big Earl's safe
deposit box.
"Just
let me know when you've finished. I'll put the box right back."
"Thanks,
Mr. Kelly," Will said.
He
waited for the door to click shut before opening the box. He lifted
the lid and put his hand inside. He brought out a stack of papers
tied with another piece of the same red ribbon as was on the key. He
untied them, handing half to Luke. There were chairs in the room, so
they sat down and looked through the stacks.
Most
of the items were nothing special. There were a few receipts for
things like the plow he'd bought five years ago. He had various
livestock papers were there. An official looking envelope caught
Luke's eye as he shuffled through his stack. Taking it out, he sent
the other items down and removed the paper from its envelope. The
address was typed and the return address was printed on the left hand
corner. Inside, the official state seal graced the letterhead.
Thinking it looked important, Luke unfolded the paper.
"Dear
Mr. Henry," Luke read quietly. "Enclosed you will find a
full report from our independent firm. You were right in thinking
there were resources under your feet, Mr. Henry. Please see the
report to verify our findings. Sincerely Layton Haws, Geology Society
of Kentucky."
The
accompanying sheet was full of words and numbers he couldn't
interpret. Then one word hopped off the page at him—coal.
Tugging Will's sleeve, he showed it to his brother.
"What
the hell? Luke, look at the date on this. He got it the day before he
died."
"No
wonder he was so antsy. This is what he meant when he talked so crazy
at the party. He meant this—this is his payout."
"You
suppose he was gonna sell to a coal mine?"
"I
dunno, Will. There ain't any love lost between him and Mr. Bertram.
Them two hate each other. But I can't see him tearing up the family
land. That's been in his family since time began."
"He'd
do it if he thought it would make things right for Mama. He's always
been sorry he couldn't provide better for the family. Reckon he
thought he'd found a way."
"This
is what got him kilt," Luke whispered. "This right here is
the reason our daddy's dead."
Will
paled. "Now you're talkin' crazy, Luke. No body killed him. He
got drunk and fell in the creek."
"If
that's so, why did someone try to break into the girls' dorm?"
"You
don't suppose they think the girls know something?"
"Nope,
but wouldn't they make damn fine leverage if they wanted us to give
them this information?"
"Jesus,
Luke!" Will smacked his forehead. "Kidnapping? Of our
womenfolk?"
Luke
lowered his voice to a whisper. "And I reckon our sheriff is in
on it. All those questions he's been asking, staying late at the
office and scared as hell that we called instead of someone else."
Will
ran his hands through his hair. "You ain't kiddin'. You really
believe that."
"I
do. Makes a body wonder who else knows and is after wantin' this
information."
"We
got to call that fella in the letter," Will replied. "And
we need to figure out a way to protect our family. What if next time,
the fellas bring guns instead of a baseball bat? We ain't even safe
here. Folks saw us in town. They're gonna talk."
"And
the girls went back to school." It was Luke's turn to go pale.
"They
can't grab 'em in broad daylight."
"They
can if it's Mr. Bertram and his buddies."
"I
can't imagine Bert kidnappin' anyone," Will tried to sound
confident. "Aw, hell, Luke. I can imagine it."
"Safest
place for this is right here," Luke said. "Lemme get that
number." He scribbled a phone number on a scrap of paper in his
pocket. He added the address. "Or, maybe we need to drive up and
see him."
"That's
all the way to Lexington," Will protested. "That's a half
day's drive at least. Even if we started now, we'd not be back until
after dark. The girls won't be safe."
"Then
we take them with us. Drive up this afternoon, spend the night and
see that Mr. Haws in the morning."
"I
got a better idea. We drive up to Cumberland or some such, find us a
pay phone and make that call," Will said.
"Why
go all that way?"
"You
want the whole town to know our business? Old Louisa Michelson is
such a gossip, the whole county would know. Hell, they'd know as far
south as Knoxville."
Will
laughed at his brother, though he saw the wisdom of it. "Okay.
Then let's do that. And if we have to, we'll plan a trip tomorrow up
to Lexington, and take the girls with us."
That
matter agreed on, they put everything back in the box and asked Mr.
Kelly put it away.
"You
find all you needed?"
Will
had kept out a few papers on a cow that had died of milk fever. "Sure
nuf, Mr. Kelly. Got all we need right here." He waved the pages
nearly under the man's nose.
©
2019 Dellani Oakes
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