{"id":1993,"date":"2026-09-11T19:41:27","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T19:41:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/?p=1993"},"modified":"2026-09-11T19:41:27","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T19:41:27","slug":"part-13-michael-cranes-abandoned-office-exposed-the-real-mineral-rights-scheme-while-a-hidden-calendar-entry-proved-harold-had-set-a-trap-before-he-died","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/?p=1993","title":{"rendered":"PART 13 \u2013 Michael Crane\u2019s Abandoned Office Exposed the Real Mineral-Rights Scheme, While a Hidden Calendar Entry Proved Harold Had Set a Trap Before He Died"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Michael Crane\u2019s office occupied the second floor of a restored brick building in downtown Salina, above an insurance agency and across from a coffee shop that had already closed for the evening.<\/p>\n<p>By the time Mercer obtained authority to enter, darkness had settled over the street.<\/p>\n<p>June stood on the sidewalk beside Daniel and watched two investigators climb the stairs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t have to be here,\u201d Mercer told her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m aware.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou cannot enter until we clear it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m aware of that too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel leaned toward me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes she always answer authority figures like this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnly when she likes them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June looked over her shoulder.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can hear you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel smiled.<\/p>\n<p>The humor lasted only a moment.<\/p>\n<p>Crane was still missing.<\/p>\n<p>So was the second vehicle registered to his household, the blue sedan Robert had used. Investigators believed Crane had provided the car, but nobody yet knew whether he had done so voluntarily.<\/p>\n<p>Twenty minutes later, Mercer returned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOffice is empty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June headed for the stairs.<\/p>\n<p>He blocked her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI said empty. I did not say you can enter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did you find?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSigns someone left quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cComputer removed. Filing drawers open. Shredder full.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBlood?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStruggle?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing obvious.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why are you looking like that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mercer had learned that hiding reactions from June was difficult.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is a photograph of Harold on Crane\u2019s desk.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGrandpa?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was hoping you could tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Once investigators finished documenting the room, Mercer allowed June inside because several files appeared to involve the trust she now controlled.<\/p>\n<p>Crane\u2019s office was immaculate except for one corner.<\/p>\n<p>A computer docking station sat empty.<\/p>\n<p>A charger remained plugged into the wall.<\/p>\n<p>Three filing cabinets stood open.<\/p>\n<p>The shredder bin overflowed with thin strips.<\/p>\n<p>June walked toward the desk.<\/p>\n<p>The photograph was framed.<\/p>\n<p>Grandpa stood beside Michael Crane outside the Parker farmhouse.<\/p>\n<p>Crane was perhaps fifty, broad-faced and carefully dressed.<\/p>\n<p>Grandpa looked annoyed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat expression means somebody was making him stand in the sun.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel studied the photograph.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen was it taken?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vernon, who had joined us, examined it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe farm closing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fourteen months earlier.<\/p>\n<p>The day Harold sold the property to the conservation entity.<\/p>\n<p>June turned the frame over.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing.<\/p>\n<p>Then she noticed the backing had been taped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMercer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He came over.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t touch it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wasn\u2019t going to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou were absolutely going to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He put on gloves and removed the backing.<\/p>\n<p>A folded sheet of paper was hidden behind the photograph.<\/p>\n<p>June stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGrandpa?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo,\u201d Mercer said.<\/p>\n<p>The handwriting was Crane\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>It contained only numbers.<\/p>\n<p>Parcel identifiers.<\/p>\n<p>Mineral-rights registration references.<\/p>\n<p>And percentages.<\/p>\n<p>Vernon examined them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese correspond to Harold\u2019s western Kansas interests.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlmost all of them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June looked toward the open filing cabinets.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Crane had been tracking Grandpa\u2019s mineral holdings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWould that be normal?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor an attorney working on the farm sale? No.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel pointed to a percentage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does eighty-five mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vernon looked closer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mercer photographed the page.<\/p>\n<p>An investigator called from the adjacent room.<\/p>\n<p>They had found a wall calendar.<\/p>\n<p>Several dates contained ordinary appointments.<\/p>\n<p>Closing.<\/p>\n<p>Deposition.<\/p>\n<p>County filing.<\/p>\n<p>Parker.<\/p>\n<p>One entry, nine days before Grandpa\u2019s death, read:<\/p>\n<p>RP \u2014 H knows.<\/p>\n<p>June stopped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRP.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRobert Parker is an obvious possibility,\u201d Mercer said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd \u2018H knows\u2019 means Grandpa discovered them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another entry appeared Thursday afternoon before Harold died.<\/p>\n<p>MC\/RP \u2014 FINAL CORRECTION.<\/p>\n<p>June read it twice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCorrection to what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nobody knew.<\/p>\n<p>Then Daniel noticed the following Monday.<\/p>\n<p>Three days after Grandpa died.<\/p>\n<p>FILE ORIGINAL \u2014 9:00.<\/p>\n<p>Vernon\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf they intended to record a mineral transfer after Harold\u2019s death, timing matters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExplain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA document allegedly signed before death could still be submitted afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Grandpa could be dead and they could file something carrying his signature.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd make it look like he approved it while alive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas anything filed Monday?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vernon immediately called the county records office.<\/p>\n<p>Mercer contacted another investigator.<\/p>\n<p>The answer came fifteen minutes later.<\/p>\n<p>No mineral-rights transfer had been recorded Monday.<\/p>\n<p>June should have felt relieved.<\/p>\n<p>She did not.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mercer looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRobert was dealing with the will.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. If this was worth fourteen million dollars, they wouldn\u2019t simply forget.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vernon agreed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomething prevented filing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGrandpa?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was already dead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June looked at the calendar again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen something they needed was missing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel pointed toward the notation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOriginal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey needed an original document.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vernon began sorting through the mineral-rights records recovered from Grandpa\u2019s farmhouse.<\/p>\n<p>The structure was complicated.<\/p>\n<p>Decades earlier, Harold and Thomas had held certain rights through an informal partnership. Thomas later relinquished his interest. Harold consolidated ownership.<\/p>\n<p>But one old certificate had never been formally canceled because later instruments superseded it.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas had told them that certificate once existed in the cellar.<\/p>\n<p>It was no longer there.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRobert went to the cellar looking for it,\u201d June said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes,\u201d Vernon replied.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut the black ledger was there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd the certificate wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cApparently.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked at Thomas, who had been brought to the office under supervision to identify older documents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho else knew about it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas rubbed his jaw.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHarold. Me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRobert?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI told him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June\u2019s eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMonths ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo he knew exactly what to find.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCrane?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI assume Robert told him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mercer asked, \u201cCould the old certificate actually transfer ownership?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vernon shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot legitimately. But combined with fabricated assignments, notarizations and carefully selected historical records, it could create a credible dispute.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLong enough to secure financing against the asset?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vernon looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June understood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey weren\u2019t necessarily planning to keep the mineral rights.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey were going to borrow against them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is one possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTake the money and let everyone discover the fraud afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas looked sick.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was always Robert\u2019s pattern.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June turned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe didn\u2019t need to own something forever. He only needed other people to believe he owned it long enough to borrow money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The 2019 loan.<\/p>\n<p>The forged guarantee.<\/p>\n<p>The attempted transfer.<\/p>\n<p>The same method repeated at larger scale.<\/p>\n<p>Mercer\u2019s team recovered Crane\u2019s shredded documents and began reconstructing them.<\/p>\n<p>Several pieces belonged to a draft assignment.<\/p>\n<p>The assignor was Harold Parker.<\/p>\n<p>The recipient was Prairie Heritage Holdings LLC.<\/p>\n<p>Dale\u2019s company.<\/p>\n<p>June stared at his name.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Dale was the bridge.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vernon nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnce Prairie Heritage appeared to hold the rights, another transaction could move them elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo Robert?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProbably not directly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToo obvious.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>An investigator reconstructed another fragment.<\/p>\n<p>Recipient:<\/p>\n<p>Red Mesa Resource Partners.<\/p>\n<p>Mercer searched the company.<\/p>\n<p>Formed in Nevada eleven months earlier.<\/p>\n<p>Manager listed through a corporate service.<\/p>\n<p>No obvious Robert Parker connection.<\/p>\n<p>Then Daniel asked, \u201cWhat about Crane?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A deeper search found Michael Crane had represented Red Mesa in a Kansas lease negotiation.<\/p>\n<p>June looked at Mercer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cConnection, yes. Ownership, not yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vernon continued studying the fragments.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey planned two transfers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGrandpa to Dale\u2019s company.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen Prairie Heritage to Red Mesa.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo when anyone discovered Grandpa\u2019s signature was forged\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRed Mesa could claim it acquired the rights from Prairie Heritage without knowledge of the initial fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA supposedly innocent buyer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Crane represented both sides?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot openly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut he designed it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is increasingly plausible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mercer\u2019s phone rang.<\/p>\n<p>He listened.<\/p>\n<p>Then asked, \u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His expression changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSend it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June waited.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCrane\u2019s credit card was used this afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHays.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s west.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToward the mineral properties.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June reached for her coat.<\/p>\n<p>Mercer sighed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know I\u2019m coming.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe trust owns those rights.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat does not deputize you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGrandpa died protecting them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat does not make you law enforcement either.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel touched her shoulder.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June turned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhose side are you on?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe side where my newly discovered sister doesn\u2019t get shot forty-eight hours after I meet her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That stopped her.<\/p>\n<p>Mercer almost smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will locate Crane.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June folded her arms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd I sit here?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can help identify documents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hate reasonable people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The reconstructed shredder pages eventually revealed something even more important.<\/p>\n<p>A closing checklist.<\/p>\n<p>Most items were marked complete.<\/p>\n<p>Draft assignment.<\/p>\n<p>Notary acknowledgment.<\/p>\n<p>Corporate resolution.<\/p>\n<p>Mineral schedule.<\/p>\n<p>One item remained circled.<\/p>\n<p>ORIGINAL H.P. SIGNATURE SAMPLE \u2014 REQUIRED.<\/p>\n<p>June frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey had Grandpa\u2019s signature everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vernon shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot necessarily the kind they needed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe disputed certificate was signed in 1984. Harold\u2019s signature changed with age.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo a modern forgery could be challenged immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey needed an older sample.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLikely.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas suddenly looked toward them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know where one was.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Everyone turned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe partnership journal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat journal?\u201d June asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHarold and I kept a handwritten account book when we farmed together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLast I knew, Harold had it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas it in the cellar?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFarmhouse?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June thought.<\/p>\n<p>Grandpa had kept old records everywhere.<\/p>\n<p>Then she remembered the box beneath his bed.<\/p>\n<p>Not the obvious lockbox.<\/p>\n<p>A flat wooden case filled with old deeds, birthday cards and photographs.<\/p>\n<p>She had moved it while cleaning six months earlier.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s an old account book under Grandpa\u2019s bed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mercer sent deputies.<\/p>\n<p>Forty minutes later, they called.<\/p>\n<p>The box was there.<\/p>\n<p>The journal was not.<\/p>\n<p>June closed her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But another object had been found in the box.<\/p>\n<p>A note.<\/p>\n<p>This one addressed to Michael.<\/p>\n<p>Mercer had it photographed and transmitted.<\/p>\n<p>June read the image.<\/p>\n<p>Michael,<\/p>\n<p>If you are reading this, Robert has convinced you I am too old to understand what you are doing.<\/p>\n<p>I understand.<\/p>\n<p>You have until Friday noon to withdraw every false instrument and bring me the originals.<\/p>\n<p>After that, Albright receives everything.<\/p>\n<p>H.P.<\/p>\n<p>June stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFriday noon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grandpa had died Friday night or early Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe gave Crane a deadline,\u201d Daniel said.<\/p>\n<p>Mercer nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Crane missed it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vernon looked troubled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot necessarily.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHarold said Albright receives everything after Friday noon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June turned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Albright receive something?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mercer called immediately.<\/p>\n<p>The attorney answered after several rings.<\/p>\n<p>When asked whether Harold had delivered documents Friday, Albright became quiet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat documents?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA sealed package.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn my office safe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you mention it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Harold\u2019s instructions prohibited opening it unless one of two events occurred.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mercer asked, \u201cWhich events?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAn attempt to record a mineral-rights assignment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd the second?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Albright hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMichael Crane\u2019s death.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Everyone stopped.<\/p>\n<p>June looked at Mercer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGrandpa thought Crane might die?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Albright answered through the speaker.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHarold believed Robert would eliminate anyone who could connect him to the scheme once the transfer was complete.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas whispered, \u201cThat sounds like Robert.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mercer\u2019s phone vibrated.<\/p>\n<p>He looked at the message.<\/p>\n<p>Then immediately called the number.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June watched his face.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mercer ended the call.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cState police found Crane\u2019s blue sedan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRest area outside Hays.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCrane?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBlood?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnything?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis wallet. Phone. Laptop bag.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSame as Dad\u2019s abandoned SUV.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomeone wants it to look like Crane disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another message arrived.<\/p>\n<p>This one included a photograph from a rest-area security camera.<\/p>\n<p>Mercer enlarged it.<\/p>\n<p>Crane had left his sedan willingly.<\/p>\n<p>He climbed into a black pickup.<\/p>\n<p>The timestamp was three hours earlier.<\/p>\n<p>June leaned closer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan you see the driver?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mercer enlarged another frame.<\/p>\n<p>The image was blurred.<\/p>\n<p>But the vehicle was recognizable.<\/p>\n<p>Mark\u2019s pickup.<\/p>\n<p>June stopped breathing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mark had driven that same truck into the quarry the night Robert was arrested.<\/p>\n<p>Mercer immediately called him.<\/p>\n<p>No answer.<\/p>\n<p>He called Carol.<\/p>\n<p>Her voice came through frantic.<\/p>\n<p>She had not seen Mark since morning.<\/p>\n<p>June stared at the security image.<\/p>\n<p>Another Parker had been hiding something.<\/p>\n<p>But this time the pattern felt different.<\/p>\n<p>Mark had not been named in the forged transfer.<\/p>\n<p>Grandpa\u2019s recordings had not accused him.<\/p>\n<p>Robert had tried to frighten Carol by claiming Mark\u2019s business could be destroyed.<\/p>\n<p>June looked at the photograph again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe Mark isn\u2019t helping Crane.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mercer studied her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat are you thinking?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe he found him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June looked at the hidden note Grandpa had written to Crane.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Mark heard everything at the bank. The mineral rights. The fraud. Sarah. Grandpa.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou think he went after Crane himself?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June nodded slowly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd if Mark thinks Crane helped kill Grandpa, I don\u2019t know what he intends to do when he catches him.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/?p=1994\">Click here to continue reading: PART 14: Mark Took Michael Crane to the Forgotten Parker Homestead, Where Crane Finally Explained Robert\u2019s Murder Plan and the Mistake That Made Harold His Target<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Michael Crane\u2019s office occupied the second floor of a restored brick building in downtown Salina, above an insurance agency and across from a coffee shop that had already closed for &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1980,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1993","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\/1993","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=1993"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1993\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2013,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1993\/revisions\/2013"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}