The Beginning (Whispering Pines Book 1)

by Charles Wells

  Chapter 14

  “So where’s Matt? “ Chuck asked everyone seated around the dining table in Matt’s kitchen.

  All faces looked around but no one said a word.

  “Chuck?” Jacobs finally spoke. “Let’s hold off on trying to guess where he’s at and think about some other stuff that might show us a place to look. Such as why Miss Pary had that duck I warned you about earlier this morning.”

  “What did she say?”

  “She called Sheriff Brooks after I left and raised all kinds of hell because I didn’t hang you in a cell for trespassing. Later today, I stopped by Max Pary’s office at the dam. I asked about the water level and stuff. So that might be the reason Brooks seemed so anxious at the creek. He wants to call Max Pary and tell him that the problems are solved about finding the car.”

  Chuck looked uneasily at the wall clock. “We still have to consider the cemetery issue too. I don’t know why but it seems a lot more relevant now in my mind. What’s their real problem with the cemetery, I mean, it can’t be worth much, not compared to the thousands of acres they own. She called the law on me this morning for being there. What is she trying to hide? What doesn’t she want anyone to find? Did she think I was out there to steal her cows or something?”

  “Does it matter what she thinks? She goes ballistic, calls Walt, and Walt goes ballistic. He’s catching pressure from the Pary household at Whispering Pines right now and you and Matt are the direct cause.”

  Gail asked, “Where’s Blake and Catfish? Are they coming over?”

  “They just stopped by the mill to drop the equipment off. They’ll be here before too long.”

  “Well, right now I only know one thing for sure. We are not going to find out what’s happened to Matt by finding his car. The place to start will be to find the person who took his car and put it in the creek.”

  “You don’t know this, Bill, but Blake and I went to the mill this morning. It was just after you and I talked at the cemetery. We put our two cents on record with Thompson plainly. I didn’t want to spill the beans of our intent so early on... but they gave us no choice. There was a nasty fight between Clark and Anderson.”

  “I bet Anderson will be sore for a month then.”

  “Clark beat him down into the dirt and was about to stomp his head with a jack boot. I swear I think Clark would have killed him if Blake hadn’t stepped in.”

  “Just be glad Thompson didn’t call us out there. Brooks would have charged Clark with assault and battery.”

  Gail spoke up. “Well Chuck owns half the business so why can’t he just walk in and fire Thompson?”

  “First he would have to prove it. With the Pary, influence in the local legal community it would be hard to prove anything the Pary family didn’t want proved. Something like that would take a herd of outside lawyers and courts to even get the ball rolling in the right direction and Thompson would bankrupt the place long before you could get your hands back on it.”

  Chuck glanced down into the glass of iced tea before him as he said, “Do you honestly think Matt would hire somebody like Thompson to do anything more than sweep floors if he hired him at all?”

  “No, but you have to prove Matt didn’t hire him.”

  “I’m going to find out what’s happened to Matt. Judging from the way things are starting to look, I’m scared to death of what I’m going to find. Some of the answers, I think, are hidden right there at the timber mill.”

  Gail nodded. “We also better check into this Milan Company that Max Pary owns. We need to know what’s behind this Beaver Dam project.”

  “When I rode out there earlier this morning some secretary told me they hadn’t closed the gates yet other than to draw three feet of water for the construction needs but there’s something not right about that. The water is already a good ten or fifteen foot deep. You could tell up at the creek that it’s been rising. This isn’t the time of year for it. I’m suspicious that the gates are already closed. I’d have to know what I was looking for, but if I could get closer maybe I could prove it, but Max Pary isn’t about to let that happen.”

  “If that’s true and the gates are closed, then Max Pary already knows that Matt isn’t going to be coming around bothering him about violating the court order.”

  “The court order is suspended. I don’t know how or why, only that the green light is back on to start filling the lake and I think they’ve gotten off to an early start.”

  Gail asked, “How did they pull this off so quickly? Was it the supposed faxed letter from Matt?”

  Waving a free hand Chuck said, “That and a few crooked lawyers and a Judge right here in West Creek County. The letter is a fake and we know it. It must have been a good enough fake to close the gates. Another thing too we need to consider. Even if we prove the letter is a forgery and then get, the mill away from Thompson...is any of that going to lead us to Matt? Where would we look for him?”

  “The people behind all this are smart. They are smart, but not perfect. I can see a hundred ways to do it better. If they have done it quick then there has to be a mistake somewhere. We just have to find it.”

  “That’s what I’ve been thinking too. This deal with Thompson taking over the mill is sloppy, not well thought out and neither is the scam against Blake.”

  “I remember a month back when Thompson spread it around that he was Matt’s new foreman. Nobody disputed his word including me.”

  “Bill? You should have seen inside that office. It was like a pigpen. Thompson is either a fool of a business manager or he’s out to bankrupt the place. If that’s true, he’ll run it down until Max Pary can buy it from the court or something. I’m not sure I could get control in time or raise the cash I would need to prevent all that.”

  “The one thing bothering me is why Thompson? He doesn’t have the kind of brains or money needed so what’s in it for him?”

  “Thompson is a snake of some kind. He knows something about Matt. If I can prove it, I’ll have him on the short end of a stick.”

  Thumping his fist on the table, Chuck added, “I could make him squeal all the way to Atlanta about who and why if I could get my hands on him for five minutes.”

  Gail placed a hand over Chuck’s fist, holding it pinned to the tabletop. Chuck placed his other hand on top of hers saying disgustedly, “You know? I can’t believe the people around here. Didn’t they smell a rat when my brother just up and left without saying a word to anybody?”

  Gail whispered softly. “I can’t help it. I can sense Matt all over this house. I almost know him already but I don’t sense he’s dead. He’s alive somewhere and I just know it.”

  They let a few moments of silence pass then Jacobs said, “Most folks around here probably haven’t thought about Matt being gone yet. It’s only been a week or so. You have to remember that West Creek County is a farming community full of some fine, hard working people. They gossip a lot but they mind their own business. If you back one or two of them into a corner you’ll have the whole kit and caboodle standing against you. Matt, and now you, shoved the Pary family. That’s what everybody else is seeing. In their minds you’re the villain here, Chuck.”

  “I know, I know, things are pretty bad right now for those fine farming folks. Some of them are on the verge of disaster with debt and bad crops. The farming economy has gone to pot.”

  “True and let’s not forget the majority are dependent on the Pary’s money in some way or other. They own the bank. They say who gets credit to buy seed from their stores. Come harvest time, guess who owns the cotton gins and peanut silos?”

  “How did Blake’s business stay afloat here in West Creek County? I mean, him being an outsider, a black man in the middle of redneck country, and for whatever reason, he takes sides with Matt.”

  Gail interrupted. “The proper name is African American.”

  “Sorry, ma’am, we are not politically correct.”

  “Matt had a lot to do with it. Squires showed up one-day
fresh out of the Air Force. You already know the mindset for some of the hard-core people in this area. They think blacks are supposed to be dumb farm hands and little else. Blake let them know different. He was a Captain in the Air Force, a fighter pilot in Iraq, I think. He has a college education. When he first showed up in West Creek County, Matt hired him but realized there was more to Blake than met the eye. Next thing you know he bought some of your brother’s older machinery and went into business.”

  “No doubt this timber partnership was the epilog of Matt doing business with Blake to help him get established, right?”

  “You got it. Blake might have made it so but who can say. Matt taking him on as a partner was good insurance for both of them.”

  Something rattled outside in the back yard and everyone at the table jumped. Jacobs stood and unsnapped the safety strap on his 9mm. He and Chuck stepped quietly to the kitchen window and looked outside. Chuck whispered, “It could be a dog in the trash barrel or something.”

  With all eyes peering out the back window, no one noticed the big shadow of a man moving down the hallway toward them. Jacobs started to relax and stepped back from the window. “Yea it was probably just an old dog or coon in the trash can. I wonder what’s taking Blake and Catfish so long.”

  A deep, casual voice spoke behind them and said, “Did somebody mention my name?”

  Jacobs spun quickly on the ball of his right foot while his right hand grabbed for his holstered gun. The motion was clumsy and awkward because the police holster was riding high on his belt.

  Chuck also turned at the sound of the voice and just as Bill’s gun snapped loose and cleared the holster, he cried, “Hold it, Bill.”

  Blake stood in the doorway of the kitchen, leaning against the doorframe. A large, sly grin stretched across his face. He finally said, “I wouldn’t advise pulling that trigger Bill. It could get a man like me all riled up.”

  “Anything that big and quiet would never lie. You better put the gun up before your finger cramps and we end up with a kitchen full of wild bear.”

  “I almost didn’t look before I fired. I guess I’m too tired to be carrying one of these things around.”

  Another voice called from outside the kitchen window, “Is this a private party or can just anybody come crashin’ in?”

  Jacobs and Chuck flinched again. They turned and saw Catfish standing just outside the kitchen window. He was clutching a double-barreled shotgun and holding it level with the window.

  Chuck stammered for words and finally managed, “Looks like Matt’s secret hiding place for the key isn’t a total secret. Blake? Why didn’t you just knock? Are you trying to get us all killed or something?”

  Blake tossed the spare key through the air to Chuck and said, “I saw a strange truck parked just down the road. I wasn’t too sure of what to expect when I got here so I figured it was better to be safe than sorry.”

  Jacobs, moving to unlock the back door for Catfish, said, “What kind of truck was it, Blake? Did you notice the tag?”

  Entering the room Catfish snapped, “Yeah. It was Alabama. White F-150 Ford with a king cab. Got a big V-8 360 with...”

  Blake interrupted, “Okay, Catfish. We just wanted to know what it looked like. Not a mechanical breakdown.”

  The four men moved toward the kitchen table and waited as Gail sat down. Blake looked at Chuck, “I guess I better warn you Clark is down near the pond. I told him to check around to see if he can spot who’s driving that truck. While we wait on him, have ya’ll figured out anything yet about what to do next?”

  “I need a restraining order on the Beaver Run Creek project so I can protect the timber for you and Matt.”

  “That could be a major problem for you, Chuck. Blake? What happened to your copy of the contract?”

  “It was stolen two weeks ago when somebody broke into my office. Matt’s copy should be locked up in his safe at the mill but right now we don’t even know where the safe is.”

  Jacobs had a knee jerk reaction. “What do you mean by that? The safe isn’t at the mill office?”

  “Oh there’s a safe in the office but I promise you it’s not Matt’s. Somebody has switched them.”

  “He’s right about that. It’s not Matt’s safe. I know the combination and I tried it this morning. It didn’t open the safe.”

  Jacobs cast a confused look at Chuck, “Thompson stole the safe to get rid of that contract?”

  Nobody spoke until Catfish asked, “What about that polecat, the Sheriff? I hear a lot of bad things about him and most of it involves drugs and stuff.”

  “I’ve seen some things that I ignored or was told to ignore. I don’t know for sure but I think Walt Brooks is into something big, deep, and wide. Most important of all, it’s way over his head.”

  “Bill? Could he be involved in murder? “

  Catfish shifted uneasily in his chair, “He’s pretty fair with folks who don’t run against the Pary grain but Matt not only ran against it, he attacked it with a chain saw. Nothing about him strikes me right somehow.”

  “Me either, Catfish, but, I’ve seen the Sheriff crack a lot lately. He’s under some kind of heavy pressure. Ya’ll saw how he came apart this afternoon up at the creek. Did you notice how he calmed down when we didn’t find Matt’s body in the car? He didn’t know if it was in there or not, which means, he doesn’t know what’s happened to Matt.”

  “Scratch one possible suspect,” Chuck said.

  The harsh shrill of the telephone exploded in the room. Gail jumped nervously and looked around at the others. “Sorry, guess I’m jumpy too.”

  All eyes turned back to the instrument as it rang a second time. Chuck walked across the kitchen and answered. “Hello?”

  A soft, feminine voice on the other end asked, “Is this Chuck Veal?”

  Chuck glanced back toward the table, fully aware all eyes were on him. “It sure is. Who’s this?”

  The female voice replied, “My name is Edie. Your brother, Matt, was a friend of mine. I need to see you, alone, as soon as possible. I might be able to help you find out what’s happened to Matt.”

  “What makes you think anything has happened to Matt?”

  The tone of voice became impatient. “I’m not playing games with you, Mr. Veal. I can help if you’ll meet me tonight?”

  Chuck looked at the others seated around the table, “Okay. When and where?”

  “Do you know how to find the Old Mill Creek Bridge off Claxton road?”

  A mental picture emerged in Chuck’s mind. The bridge was about two miles east of town on a secluded back road. “Yeah, I know where the place is. What time?”

  “Eleven o’clock, please come alone.”

  “Why is that so important?”

  “I can’t talk any longer,” She said quickly. “Just be there at eleven o’clock.”

  The receiver went dead. Chuck slowly returned it to the wall mount. A deep nagging fear lifted in the back of his mind. Edie Pary, Max Pary’s sister so why did she want to help and above all, what did she know about Matt’s disappearance?

  Blake spoke first. “You look kind of nervous. Did somebody threaten to chop your head off or something?”

  He moved back to his chair, leaned his hands on the backrest, and “Did Matt know a woman named Edie?”

  Catfish gave a short gasp, “Uh oh.”

  Jacobs raised a curious eyebrow. “Yes. I never could figure that out. Edie Pary, that’s Miss Abatha Pary’s niece.”

  Catfish added, “And Max Pary’s sister. I heard around he was fit to be tied when he found out his precious sister was gettin’ sweet on Matt. He made a couple of threats around about it but Matt never bothered the little snake none.”

  Blake wanted to know, “Was that her on the phone just now?”

  “I guess so or at least she said her name was Edie and that she and Matt were friends. She wants to meet with me tonight, said she might be able to help. That means we’re not the only ones who know something is w
rong.”

  Jacobs gave a low groan. “Chuck, right now I just don’t know if I would trust any of the Pary’s. That brother of hers is a terror.”

  Gail asked, “Would Edie and Matt being together have set her brother off enough to hurt Matt?”

  “That’s a thought I hadn’t considered” Jacobs said.

  Catfish chimed in. “I ain’t tryin’ to change the subject here, but I heard one of the boys talking a while back, one that Thompson fired. He said when he got to work one morning some of the heavy equipment wasn’t where they parked it the night before. A front end loader and a fork lift.”

  Blake eyed Catfish. “Go on.”

  “When he mentioned it to Thompson, that pink faced geezer went right through the roof. Here’s the real catcher. That happened just the day before Clark’s brother was pushed in the chipper.”

  Jacobs snapped, “Keg fell in the chipper, Catfish.”

  Catfish shook his head firmly. “Ain’t likely, Bill, that ain’t likely at all! We done told you that a million times.”

  Chuck didn’t want any more confusion to play into the mystery. Impatiently he asked, “So what has that got to do with Matt?”

  Catfish added, “A guy told me his crappy hole was gone.”

  Jacobs snorted, “Catfish? Are you in the same cornfield with us? We’re talking about Matt Veal.”

  Gail asked, “What’s a crappy hole? Is that a fishing place for white perch like Lake Norman in North Carolina?”

  Catfish grimaced. “You ain’t been around a timber mill much, have you, ma’am? A crappy hole is a place dug into a waste chip pile. It’s so the guys can use it like an outhouse. This feller told me that when he got to work, his favorite crappy hole had been covered up. He figures it happened during the night.”

  Suddenly blushing, Catfish apologized, “Sorry, Ma’am. I just couldn’t figure any better way to explain it in front of a lady.”

  Jacobs said, “I don’t get it. What has that got…?”

  Blake broke in, “The fork and pay loader had been moved during the night and a crappy hole in the wood chip pile was covered up?”

  Catfish nodded and Blake turned suddenly to the others, “I think I know where the safe might be. They hid it in the sawdust pile. Thompson must have buried it there rather than risk being seen hauling it away.”

  Jacobs, suddenly grasping the implications, said, “Is that it? But that place has seven or eight huge sawdust piles and most of them are as high as a two-story house. Even if we could get on the yards, we can’t just start digging into every one of them. It would take weeks.”

  Blake thought for a second and turned back to Catfish. “Did he say which pile?”

  Catfish stood. “I can call him and find out. He might be pretty drunk by now, as late as it is and all.”

  Chuck looked at the wall clock, “But it’s only seven o’clock, Catfish.”

  “For a drinking man like him this is real late in the day. The fact is he’ll be passed out cold by 8:30 tonight.”

  “Call him,” Blake pointed to the phone.

  Everyone sat and watched as Catfish called. “Hey Bumpkin are you sober? You are? Man you running late. This is me Catfish. Naw’, I ‘preciate it but I got things to do tonight. Maybe Saturday night we can go shoot a few at the pool hall. Listen, you remember raising sand about your crappy hole gettin’ covered up before Thompson fired you? Well, tell me something. Which chip pile was it? Yea, I think I know where that’s at. Yeah, okay. It’s the one closest to the storage shed. Okay, thanks bubba. I do ‘preciate it; huh? Oh, no reason, I just thought about it and was wonderin.’ I ain’t full of crap either; Okay, catch you later.”

  Catfish hung up the phone, smiled, and returned to the table. He looked at Blake “It’s the one by the old storage shed.”

  Blake’s eyes lit up brightly. “I’ll bet the safe is hidden under or in that pile. It’s got to be.”

  Chuck said, “How do we get it out?”

  “I can hot wire a pay loader. Start that sucker right up in two seconds with or without the key.”

  “Catfish,” Blake said, “The key is probably hanging on the wall in the office and the lock on the office is made of brass. It keeps the honest folks out but nothing more.”

  Jacobs turned a pale white. “Now wait just a minute. That’s illegal. Maybe I can get a warrant and search....”

  The futility of his idea registered in his mind and on his face before he finished the sentence. He bit his lower lip in disgust.

  “Don’t forget Bill, we’ll be digging in a sawdust pile on property that I own. We are not going to be doing anything illegal. Now what time will Thompson lock the place down?”

  Blake answered, “I think Thompson leaves about nine or ten and there are no houses close by. Matt use to have a night watchman but Thompson fired him.”

  “You can’t do this. If you get caught, before Chuck can prove ownership, then Brooks will put yawl in jail.”

  Catfish grinned. “What do you mean by ya’ll, Bill? Ain’t you gonna’ drive us over there? You still got that Police radio in your pickup, so we’d know if they were coming to get us before they got there. Wouldn’t we?”

  Jacobs jerked at the thought. “Me? Who’s going to bail you guys out of jail if I’m caught out there digging through the sawdust pile with you?”

  Blake, a serious expression on his face said, “If any of us get caught out there what makes you think we’d live long enough to reach a jail?”

  “Besides that,” Gail reminded them. “The Sheriff fired Bill this afternoon down at the creek.”

  The room fell silent as each person digested the idea and dangers involved. Chuck broke the silence. “Somebody ordered Thompson to get rid of that safe and the papers in it. Unless he was told specifically how to get rid of it, hiding it in a chip pile sounds just stupid enough for something he would do.”

  “I think you’re right,” Bill said. “If he’s hidden it in the sawdust pile then we’ve got a good starting point to find out what’s happened to Matt and prove Blake’s rights to the timber.”

  “My problem is, I promised to meet Edie at eleven.”

  Blake thought a moment, “Okay, you go meet her and then get back here quick as you can. If we find the safe, I’m going to move it somewhere where you can get into it later. We’ll blast it open if nothing else.”

  Chuck, pointing toward the security touch pad in the living room said, “I know the combination and so do you Blake.”

  “Gotcha, Chuck. I know the combination.”

  “If you find the safe then you open it right there, grab all the papers and then bury it right back where you found it. That will keep them from knowing we have the real paperwork and might give us the upper hand.”

  Jacobs gave a deep sigh of resignation. “I’m caught between a rock and a hard place.”

  “That makes sense. At least they couldn’t claim we stole the darn thing.”

  Catfish said, “It’s about like Blake just told you. They ain’t about to report catching us out there if they do catch us. If’ they get their paws on any of us, we’d never live through the ride to the jailhouse.”

  Chuck stood. “It is a pretty dangerous stunt so I need to be there. Does anybody know how I can get in touch with Edie Pary? I’ll stall her off until tomorrow or something.”

  Blake shook his head. “Nope, you go ahead and see what she can tell you about Matt. Maybe she can help. We’ll go clean out that safe if we’re lucky enough to find it.”

  “Yeah, that would be the best thing, Chuck. You go ahead and I’ll tag along with them just in case they are spotted. If that happens, they’ll call it in on the Sheriff’s radio and I have a scanner in my truck.”

  “Okay. I appreciate what you guys are trying to do. Just get in and out as quick as you can. If you aren’t back by two in the morning I’ll come looking.”

  Catfish whispered, “You be careful yourself, Chuck. I don’t trust none of the Pary’s beyond the hog pen, espec
ially that gal’s brother.”

  Gail looked around and asked, “What about me? Do I go with you or with them?”

  Chuck shook his head. “We need you by the phone.”

  Gail stood up, placed her hands on her shapely hips, “I’m either going with you or with them and that’s final, Chuck Veal. I’m not going to sit around while the man I love is in trouble.”

  She said it. She finally said it; the words echoed through Chuck’s mind at lightning speed. He tried to move his lips but nothing came out. Bill, seeing the shock on Chuck’s face, loudly cleared his throat and stared out the window. Catfish softly whispered, “Golll leeeee. I thought he already knew that.”

  Blake smiled. “The man is always the last one to find out.”

  An owl hooted outside near the rear yard fence. Blake stood up, “That’s Clark. I’ll let him in.”

  A moment later, Clark stood in the kitchen shaking his head. “I couldn’t find anybody around, Blake. I circled back up to the road but just before I got there, the truck started up and drove off real quiet like. I couldn’t see who it was driving because of the trees and bushes but I would swear I saw a Government Tag on that thing. You know, kinda like the one they have on the game warden’s truck.”

  Everyone stood around looking at each other.