“I’m so sorry,” Alana said placing a pretty coffee set on the table and beginning to pour. “I know you were prepared, but it is so sad. All these years, people thought the worst of him, and it turns out that Harcourt Watkins was working for the law.”
David nodded, there was no arguing the fact that the news was sad, though vindicating.
“Start from the beginning,” Alana’s eyes never left David’s face as she handed off cups of piping coffee.
David sipped his coffee looking over at Susan who smiled encouragingly up at him. “Yes, everything.”
The tale was a twisted path of discovery from what David and Coatins had put together from glimpses of the journal. His grandfather had moved into the mountains trying to determine who had been behind much of the graft of the time. Harcourt had set up a false still only to be arrested by Coatins and released later by the sheriff.
“I always wondered about that,” the old detective said. “He didn’t even spend a night in jail, and I caught him red handed. Of course it seems now that he wasn’t actually brewing, just setting up to try to catch Clark.”
“So your grandmother was right,” Alana said. “She knew her husband better than anyone. What sweet devotion over all those years.”
David cut his eyes toward Susan, wondering if they could build a love like his grandparents had.
“Why didn’t he ever tell her though?” Susan asked. “They were obviously very close.”
“I think I can answer that,” Coatins lifted a finger. “If it were me, I would have been quiet to protect those I loved. If Clark was willing to kill your grandfather, he wouldn’t have hesitated to hurt someone else in the family.”
“How horrid,” Alana gasped. “But what happened?”
David shrugged. “We don’t have all the pieces yet, but it looks like Grandpa found out who Clark was and what he was doing. He came to the old still or maybe the cabin and killed Harcourt there. Clark may have been trying to shake down grandpa for money, or maybe he had figured out that Pap-pap was working for the sheriff.”
“I’m sure we’ll find out for sure in time, son.” Mr. Coatins turned sad eyes on the young man. “I’m just glad you didn’t join him.”
It took a good five minutes to calm Susan’s grandmother once it came out that Clark had pulled a gun on the two amateur sleuths, assuring her that everyone was fine and that Susan had suffered no more than a bump to the head.
“But what about the horses?” Susan finally asked, trying to distract her grandmother “Where did they come from?”
“One of the entries in the journal stated that Pap-pap had seen the paint in the woods a few times. If I understood it right, he started to suspect that the paint was used to pack kegs from the hills or collect money. You all know how rough those trails could be. The problem was Clark didn’t know if Harcourt had told anyone about the horses so he turned the animal or animals loose thinking it would die up there. He couldn’t take the risk of the horse being traced back to him.”
“So he couldn’t claim the horses in case someone put the pieces together and connected the horses to him and then to your grandfather’s disappearance?”
“Yes, I still don’t know where the colt came from. Maybe there was a mare in the mix and she died leaving the colt with the horse you named Israel.”
“When we started connecting the dots, that’s what panicked Clark.” Susan turned, looking at the others. “David and I putting our heads together scared him so badly he rammed David’s truck to get his hands on the journal. Only it wasn’t the journal we found in the cabin.”
“When I met you two young people at the Alexander I started to worry about you. When I saw the state of your apartment, it really put my hackles up. Young folks like you seem to charge right into things without thinking about the consequences. You’re lucky I came along when I did.” Coatins’ grin was kind, but his eyes held a serious glint.
“We are so thankful you did.” Susan looked back at David. He had risked his life attacking Mr. Clark. He could have been shot. “I’m just thankful that no one was seriously hurt.
“I wasn’t thinking at the time I jumped the old man,” David blushed. “All I knew was that he had a gun on you and I couldn’t let anything happen to you.”
Susan felt her face heat and her heart melt. “Do you think he would have shot us?” She dragged her eyes from David turning to speak to the retired police officer. “After all I had given him the journal.”
“I don’t think he wanted to,” Coatins smiled. “More than anything, he was too old to hide the bodies.”
Alana gasped, clutching her string of bright pearls. “Surely not!”
The old man shrugged. “It doesn’t matter now. The man’s in jail and we’ll soon know the outcome. You two will be called as witnesses of course, and in time, you’ll get your grandfather’s journal back.” He smiled at David. “In the mean time, why don’t you make sure this young lady stays out of trouble. You might be amateurs, but you both have a tenacity that a good detective needs.” Standing Coatins slipped his long rain coat from Susan’s shoulders and nodded heading for the door. “I’ll see you at the hearing.”
“I’ll see you out,” Gram added, jumping to her feet quicker than a woman her age had a right to do as she scurried from the room leaving
