Author: Charles Wells
Category: Nonfiction
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Chapter 9
Twenty minutes after the fight ended, they all sat in Blake’s mill office. It was similar to Matt’s office only larger. Catfish and Clark sat on a front seat taken from a truck before being scrapped. It substituted well enough for a sofa. Blake sat behind his desk watching a couple of men fixing the damage to one of the trucks. Catfish looked at Clark and said, “You whupped Anderson real good. He never got a lick in on ya, did he?”
Blake interrupted. “Clark? You have to settle down. I know your brother’s death was more than an accident but if you kill that guy then the Sheriff will put you away for good.”
Clark shrugged, “I don’t care what they do. Anderson killed my brother and I know it. I just don’t know why.”
Chuck raised an eyebrow, “Why was your brother working for that guy in the first place?”
Clark looked at Chuck, “He was gonna quit if Mr. Veal didn’t show back up pretty soon.”
“What happened? How did your brother fall in the chipper?”
Clark snapped forward and screamed, “He was pushed. I know my brother, and Mr. Veal knew him too. Keg could walk a two-inch log across a fifty-foot gully. That’s why it was his job to clear the jams near the mouth of the chipper. He was good on his feet.”
“What did the sheriff say when you told him your brother was pushed?”
“What do you think? He said I needed a witness and ain’t none of that bunch gonna speak up because Thompson handpicked ‘em all. Keg was the last man there hired by Mr. Veal.”
“Why do you think he was killed? What did he see or do?”
Clark shook his head slowly. “I don’t know he must have known something or saw something he wasn’t supposed to see. He didn’t say anything to me about it. I figure he found something bad on Thompson. All I do know is they killed Keg and Anderson is the one who did it.”
Catfish spoke up. “Clark? You know Keg wasn’t too careful about the crowds he ran around with. Don’t you remember when he was busted that night for helping unload the truck full of dope?”
Chuck looked over at Blake and raised an eyebrow. “Is that what this is all about? Is Thompson into drug trafficking?”
Blake shrugged. “I don’t think he’d be working for a timber mill if he was into that. There is too much big money in that kind of stuff. That and he’s hardly smart enough to stay alive with the type of people you would have to deal with. You know what I mean?”
“Keg wasn’t a dope runner or nothin’. Fact is he called me the night he got out of jail and told me the only reason he done it was because a man had offered him two hundred dollars for an hour’s work. For that kind of money I might have gone too.”
Chuck asked, “Is there any chance that once he did the job, maybe he said too much to the cops?
“Keg might have tried something stupid like that to save his own hide from jail. Maybe that’s why they got Anderson to push him into the chipper.”
Blake stood up, “Okay, Clark. You and Catfish get out of here. There’s still a lot of day left with more work to do than we got sunlight.”
As the two were about to leave, Blake stopped them, “I want both of you to know that I appreciate what you did. It saved our hides from a beating. Be sure and tell the boys I appreciate it and lunch is on me down at the greasy spoon today. Tell Bubba to put it on my tab.”
Clark smiled, “You would have busted some heads whether we got there in time or not, boss. Besides, I’d like to meet the man who could climb your outhouse. You had ‘em under control real good and the only reason we come on over was to not miss the fun.”
When the two were gone, Chuck sighed, “Blake? What in the world is going on? Clark’s brother died at the mill and, well, I mean, for sure Matt wasn’t into dealing with drug traffickers.”
“You know as well as I do that Matt would never have anything to do with something like that.”
“Then we don’t know if that’s why Clark’s brother was pushed in the chipper. Was it drugs or was it something to do with Matt? I just don’t get it.”
“Well, your guess is just as good as mine. Let’s not forget, we don’t know for sure if Keg was pushed or if he fell.”
“Clark seems convinced and so does Catfish. Who is this guy, Catfish? He looks familiar.”
“His name is Catfish Jacobs. He’s Bill Jacobs’ first cousin.”
Chuck was surprised. Blake nodded. “That’s him and let me tell you. Catfish is a square shooter. He’s young but he’s hard working and I like the kid. He’s one of the best machine operators I’ve ever seen. He’s got the magic touch with anything mechanical. He can drive a skidder, a bulldozer, or anything else that needs operating. He can drive ‘em and he can fix ‘em when they break down.”
Chuck looked at his hands, “What about that truck load of dope? Do you have any idea who, around here, would be behind that?”
“Some folks think the Sheriff runs the operation. I’ve also heard a few other names mentioned, but you know how that kind of stuff goes.”
“Yea, I know, so how big a load was it and who caught them unloading it?”
Blake thought a moment. “F250 Ford with a camper and it was loaded down with about half a million dollars worth of uncut heroin. Somebody tipped off the feds because they were waiting on that truck for a couple of days.”
Chuck whistled softly. “Wow. That kind of money isn’t small time.”
Blake agreed. “I don’t know if that has anything to do with Matt or not. I just can’t see how it could.”
Chuck raised a hand and ticked off a finger for each thing. “So we got the cemetery land dispute; we got the timber property rights dispute; we got one of Matt’s employee’s dead from a fall in the chipper after being arrested during a drug haul. We got Matt missing and nobody knows why or where.”
Blake added, “You also have the family history that Matt was working on too. If that panned out it would shake West Creek County rather hard.”
Chuck stood, “That family stuff is too old to be part of whatever is going on right now. I better get back to the house and see how Gail is doing on that research. Do you figure Thompson called the Sheriff?”
“Yea, he probably did but the Sheriff isn’t going to bother with it.”
“Well, I’m going to go take a nice cold shower and see if Gail wants to rustle up some grub at the diner in town. Care to join us?”
“Is this lady something special, Chuck? You surely do light up at the mention of her name.”
Chuck blushed. “Oh, well. She’s a friend of mine. We work together and that’s all. I asked her to come down with me to help. She has a mind like a bear trap. She’s good, real good.”
“Okay, but I got to pass on the invite. Catfish and I are going to run up to Beaver Creek and appraise the last fifty acres. I’ll catch you later this afternoon when we get back.”