Temple: A New Journey Begins
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Vance led Kermit into the house.
"Make yourself comfortable. I'll make some coffee."
Vance went into the kitchen and opened a small window. He then took out the coffee and placed it into the coffee machine. After turning it on and adding the correct amount of water, the coffee quickly brewed. When that happened silence ensued.
A large older man with graying hair and steel gray eyes came into the kitchen through the back door and grabbed himself a mug.
"Where have you been?"
"We have a guest," Vance stated stoically.
"You're avoiding the question. I want to know where you've been."
"You know where I've been."
"With that weirdo who takes in all those other strange folk?"
"Sam is not a weirdo. And the others are monks and priests." Vance defended his friend. "I don't want to argue about this. We have a guest waiting in the living room."
Vance poured two mugs of coffee and placed them on a tray. He then took out some donuts and placed them beside the mugs.
"You entertain 'our guest.' I'd prefer not to meet any of those weirdos," Clarence Cavanaugh stated with sarcasm. "I've got things to do."
"This isn't a social call. He's working with the Sheriff on a case. He wants to talk to you, Dad."
"About what?"
Vance considered lying at that moment, "He wants to know about Kyle Jameson and Jake Carson."
"Have the guy talk to them." Clarence chided back.
Vance found himself grinding his teeth then decided just to spill it. "He wants to talk to you about the mine."
Coffee spewed from Clarence's mouth just as he took a drink. "What?"
"You heard me, Dad. Come on, we can't keep the detective waiting."
Vance led the way to the living room carrying the tray. He set it down on the coffee table.
"I've brought some coffee."
"Thanks."
"What's this all about?" Clarence Cavanaugh did not mince any words.
"My name is Kermit Griffin. I'm investigating a murder . . ."
"My son said you were here about a mine," Clarence interrupted.
Kermit hesitated at first, then recovered his composure. "That is part of my investigation, yes."
"So, what do you want to know?" Clarence asked the detective.
"Have you ever been up to the mine?"
"No, my father told me about it years ago. He said he discovered it and because it was on unclaimed land, he staked a claim to it."
"That's a lie," Vance butted in.
"Vance, stay out of this," Clarence gave his son a warning look. "The detective is asking me the questions."
"Have you ever been involved with the mining process?" Kermit continued his questioning.
"No . . ."
"That's another lie," Vance interrupted once."
"That's enough, Vance. You don't know everything, son."
"All I know is what you told me years ago, Dad."
"I was drunk back then, and it was your grandfather who said it first. I was just repeating what he said. I had no idea what your grandfather was talking about or what I was saying. He never really gave an explanation."
"Go on, Mr. Cavanaugh," Kermit coaxed Clarence into revealing more, playing up to Vance Cavanaugh's good cop-bad cop scenario.
"When my father died, the mining stopped with him. He never allowed me up there, thinking it would be too dangerous."
"Is someone else doing the mining for you?"
"I don't understand."
"If the mine belonged to your father, I am certain he would have wanted you to continue to receive an income from the mine. He would have left the mine to you in his will."
Clarence was silent at first. "What are you implying?"
"Are you aware the land surrounding the mine actually does belong to someone?"
Clarence Cavanaugh's mouth hung open for a moment before the words came. "You can't be serious. My father filed a claim. I saw the papers."
"Filing a claim does not make the land his, unless the land had been abandoned for several years," Kermit continued.
"The land was abandoned. That's what my father said."
"Not according to the dates."
"What dates? I don't understand,' Clarence said, a look of confusion forming on his face.
Kermit reached into the file folder he had placed on the coffee table earlier. It had gone unnoticed until then. Kermit held up two sheets of paper. "This is a copy of your father's claim. This is a copy of the report that had been filed by the police and the fire chief the day the temple burned down. You will notice the dates when each of them were filed."
Clarence took the two sheets from Kermit and examined the dates. "That's impossible. This one shows that my father filed the claim three months before the temple burned down. This can't be right."
"There's more." Kermit pulled out the next sheet of paper and handed it to Clarence Cavanaugh. "I think you better sit down for this one."
Clarence began to read. His face became white as a sheet at what he learned. He sank to the floor and nearly missed the chair behind him. How could he have been so naïve. It would seem he didn't know his father after all.
Continues with Part 50
Alisa Joaquin Copyright@2004.
This story cannot be reprinted or sold in any other form without strict permission from
the author. It is being distributed here solely for your enjoyment.
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