Dad did not move for several seconds after the sheriff finished speaking.<\/p>\n
Daniel had been shot.<\/p>\n
Three words rearranged everything we had learned.<\/p>\n
The fall into the trench might have been an accident. Refusing to call for help could have been panic, cowardice, or an attempt to conceal the illegal dumping. But a bullet did not happen because somebody lost his footing in the dark.<\/p>\n
Someone had made another choice.<\/p>\n
Dad turned toward Richard.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind of gun did your father carry?\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard's face tightened. \u201cWhy are you asking me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he lied about Daniel's death.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn't mean he shot him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't say it did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard studied Dad for a moment before answering.<\/p>\n
\u201cA revolver.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat caliber?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad looked at the sheriff.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan they tell from the fragments?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot yet with certainty. They'll recover what they can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad rubbed both hands over his face. The afternoon light had begun fading from the windows, leaving the rooms gray around us.<\/p>\n
Then Harold spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cEdward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father had a gun too.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
Dad's expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA .38.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sheriff's attention sharpened. \u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad stared toward the hallway.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou inherited his belongings?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas the gun among them?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad shook his head slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven't thought about that revolver in thirty years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold removed his glasses.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad nodded. \u201cWood grip. Short barrel. Dad kept it in the glove compartment of his work truck.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard leaned forward. \u201cThe hauling truck?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The connection settled heavily over the room.<\/p>\n
Granddad had been at the trench.<\/p>\n
Granddad owned a gun.<\/p>\n
Granddad had lied about Daniel leaving town.<\/p>\n
And Daniel had been shot.<\/p>\n
Dad seemed to understand exactly where everyone's thoughts were going.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father could have done terrible things,\u201d he said. \u201cApparently he did. But we're not deciding he murdered Daniel because he owned a revolver.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sheriff nodded. \u201cNobody is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard looked unconvinced.<\/p>\n
Dad saw it.<\/p>\n
\u201cSay it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father said your father became violent that night.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad stepped closer. \u201cYour father also said Daniel died from falling.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo his version is already false.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cParts of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the important parts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard looked away.<\/p>\n
Vanessa had remained near the dining room doorway, silent since hearing about the gunshot. Now she spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about Mom's letter?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said Grandpa tried to help Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd she was there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard answered before Dad could.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe also hid the truth for thirty-one years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa flinched.<\/p>\n
Dad's voice hardened. \u201cDon't use my wife's guilt to make your father's story more credible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard held up his hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am trying to understand this too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad gave him a long look.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat would be easier to believe if you hadn't stolen Daniel's cassette.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard's jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
The sheriff intervened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need that tape.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt my office.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad laughed bitterly. \u201cFinally.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard shook his head. \u201cNot here. My office in the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAddress?\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard provided it.<\/p>\n
The sheriff wrote it down.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone else have access?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy assistant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cName?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire Jensen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes she know about the tape?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad said, \u201cYou hope.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard ignored him.<\/p>\n
The sheriff arranged for officers to secure the office and retrieve the cassette through proper legal process.<\/p>\n
Dad paced.<\/p>\n
I could see how badly he wanted to drive there himself.<\/p>\n
Instead, he stopped beside the old family photographs lining the wall.<\/p>\n
Granddad appeared in several.<\/p>\n
A hard-faced man with enormous hands and a habit of standing slightly apart from everyone else.<\/p>\n
I had known him only as a child.<\/p>\n
He smelled of tobacco and machine oil.<\/p>\n
He gave us quarters for candy.<\/p>\n
He carved wooden animals badly and insisted they were horses even when they looked like dogs.<\/p>\n
Now I tried to place a gun in those hands.<\/p>\n
Dad caught me staring.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou remember him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA little.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wasn't easy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLike Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad almost smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel was difficult loudly. Dad was difficult quietly.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at the photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat made him harder.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sheriff received another call from the excavation team.<\/p>\n
This time, he stepped outside to answer.<\/p>\n
When he returned, his expression had changed again.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey recovered a second metal object near Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad braced himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cA cartridge casing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard frowned. \u201cFrom a revolver?\u201d<\/p>\n
The sheriff looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
That mattered immediately.<\/p>\n
Revolvers generally retained their spent casings.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind?\u201d Harold asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cPreliminary assessment suggests a semiautomatic pistol.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad's eyes widened.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father's gun was a revolver.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sheriff nodded.<\/p>\n
Richard sat back.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo was my father's.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone looked at him.<\/p>\n
Dad's voice dropped. \u201cYou said he carried a revolver.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cSmith & Wesson, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen neither known gun explains the casing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot necessarily,\u201d the sheriff cautioned. \u201cPeople own more than one weapon. We also don't yet know whether that casing fired the bullet recovered from Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the discovery opened the room again.<\/p>\n
A third gun.<\/p>\n
Possibly a third shooter.<\/p>\n
Possibly another person at the trench.<\/p>\n
Dad returned to Mom's letter.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wrote Robert, my father, Daniel, and herself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe may not have seen everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard looked toward the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father said three people were there when Daniel fell, then Margaret arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father lied.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard no longer resisted that fact.<\/p>\n
The sheriff asked him, \u201cDid Thomas Vale own a handgun?\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard went still.<\/p>\n
Dad noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard looked toward the sheriff.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course. He was my father's business partner.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow well?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was around constantly when I was young.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he carried a semiautomatic?\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember a pistol.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sheriff asked, \u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a shoulder holster.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat caliber?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was a child.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMake?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad's face hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas was at the property.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't remember that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn't remember being here either.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn't make every missing memory evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad stopped.<\/p>\n
Richard was right.<\/p>\n
Dad disliked it, but he knew it.<\/p>\n
Harold changed direction.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to Thomas after Robert Bell left the state?\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard answered slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe ran parts of the business.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBell Industrial Transport?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor how long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeveral years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt dissolved.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father said environmental liabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad laughed without humor.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat phrase has covered a lot of sins today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas later started consulting under another name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVale Environmental.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the same man connected to the original hauling operation eventually ran an environmental consulting company.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's not as strange as it sounds. He knew the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew where the bodies were buried.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody responded.<\/p>\n
Dad regretted the words immediately.<\/p>\n
He looked toward the back field.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne body, anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sheriff's phone rang again.<\/p>\n
He answered, listened, then walked toward the kitchen counter where his notes were spread.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found something on Thomas Vale.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDeath certificate exists.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad's expression fell.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he's dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sheriff turned the screen toward them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas Vale supposedly died in Nevada twenty years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard nodded. \u201cThat's what I was told.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCause of death: automobile accident.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBody?\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI assumed there was one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a cremation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad gave a quiet, bitter laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sheriff continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe identification appears to have been based partly on documents found in the vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard's face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cMeaning?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMeaning we're checking further.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad looked toward Grant.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou met someone fourteen months ago who looked like Thomas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grant nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cOlder.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould you identify him again?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think so.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sheriff arranged to obtain historical photographs.<\/p>\n
While we waited, darkness settled outside.<\/p>\n
Portable work lights illuminated the excavation.<\/p>\n
The north fence glowed against the field like a stage no one wanted to approach.<\/p>\n
Vanessa quietly made coffee.<\/p>\n
Dad watched her.<\/p>\n
She noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember how.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
She poured him a cup.<\/p>\n
This time he accepted it directly from her.<\/p>\n
Nothing was repaired.<\/p>\n
But something small had changed.<\/p>\n
Grant watched them from across the room.<\/p>\n
Vanessa did not offer him coffee.<\/p>\n
About twenty minutes later, the sheriff received several photographs electronically.<\/p>\n
He placed a tablet on the table.<\/p>\n
Older business photographs.<\/p>\n
Licensing records.<\/p>\n
A newspaper clipping.<\/p>\n
Thomas Vale appeared at different ages.<\/p>\n
Grant leaned over them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat one.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pointed to a photograph taken twenty-three years earlier.<\/p>\n
The man had a narrow face, deep-set eyes, and a scar beside his chin.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're sure?\u201d the sheriff asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard looked ill.<\/p>\n
Dad studied the photograph.<\/p>\n
Then frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad enlarged it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI've seen him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot thirty years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRecently?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad searched his memory.<\/p>\n
Then his eyes widened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe diner.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat diner?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMarcy's. About a year ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold frowned. \u201cYou talked to him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. He was sitting behind me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoing what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad's face hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cListening.\u201d<\/p>\n
A memory was returning.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was having breakfast with Grant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grant stared.<\/p>\n
Dad turned toward him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grant shook his head too quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe morning we talked about selling the back acreage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa whispered, \u201cYou told Dad you were just asking whether he'd ever considered it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grant looked trapped.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad pointed at Thomas's photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis man sat in the booth behind us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grant said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had already met him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grant's face changed.<\/p>\n
Dad stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou brought me there so he could hear what I said.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grant finally snapped.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted to know whether you'd sell!\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa stared.<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
Another layer.<\/p>\n
Grant closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't know who he really was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad stepped toward him.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you knew he wanted my land.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much did he offer you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Grant looked away.<\/p>\n
Vanessa whispered, \u201cOffer?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad did not blink.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople don't spend fourteen months manipulating a family through a real estate agent without offering him something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grant's shoulders dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo percent.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe eventual development sale.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
Grant did not answer.<\/p>\n
Vanessa stepped forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout nine million.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face went white.<\/p>\n
Dad calculated silently.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were going to make one hundred eighty thousand dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grant said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor selling land you didn't own.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought you'd agree eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. You thought I'd die eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grant's head snapped up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never wanted you dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe not.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad's voice became quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut my death solved every problem in your deal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grant could not answer.<\/p>\n
The sheriff's phone rang again.<\/p>\n
This time the call lasted longer.<\/p>\n
He asked several questions.<\/p>\n
Then he looked at Richard.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found something else about Thomas Vale's death.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe vehicle identification number on the burned car belonged to a fleet vehicle registered to Bell Industrial Transport.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat company had been dissolved.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the body?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDental identification was never completed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who signed off?\u201d<\/p>\n
The sheriff checked.<\/p>\n
\u201cA private investigator working for the family supplied supporting identification.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard's face emptied.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat investigator?\u201d<\/p>\n
The sheriff read the name.<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert Bell.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard stopped breathing.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard sank into the chair.<\/p>\n
Dad stared at him.<\/p>\n
Robert Bell had certified the death of his former business partner.<\/p>\n
A man who, according to Grant, was alive decades later.<\/p>\n
Dad whispered, \u201cYour father helped Thomas disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard shook his head slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad believed him.<\/p>\n
I could tell.<\/p>\n
For the first time all day, Richard's shock looked too deep to perform.<\/p>\n
Then a deputy entered from outside carrying a sealed evidence bag.<\/p>\n
The sheriff turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRecovered near the fence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Inside was a badly corroded metal object.<\/p>\n
A pistol magazine.<\/p>\n
The sheriff looked at it.<\/p>\n
Richard stood.<\/p>\n
Dad moved closer.<\/p>\n
On the base plate, beneath rust and dirt, someone had scratched two letters.<\/p>\n
T.V.<\/p>\n
Thomas Vale.<\/p>\n
Dad did not move for several seconds after the sheriff finished speaking. Daniel had been shot. Three words rearranged everything we had learned. The fall into the trench might have … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13493,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feel-one-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13532"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13532\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13578,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13532\/revisions\/13578"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}