Bluegrass Symphony - 13. Old Sins

Early the following morning, Kyle Hambrick slowly straightened from his work in the nearest field to the road. He watched Sheriff Keen's patrol car heading up the holler. He worked his big jaw and frowned. The sheriff had been around more lately, and in Kyle's eyes, he was not a welcome sight.

Kyle found his phone and made a call. "Hey." He kept his gaze on the police car until it disappeared around a bend in the road. "Sheriff is nosin' around. Not sure what's goin' on, but I wanted to let ya know."

"You did good, Kyle," Jason said over the connection. "Remember what he did. If he stops an' gets to askin' questions, you know better than ta trust 'im."

Kyle grimaced. "I ain't stupid. I know better."

"Good." Jason seemed satisfied. "I'll let Wade know he's about. See you later at the feed store."

"Yup." Kyle hung up and put the phone away. He carefully looked around, but to be sure he wouldn't be seen, he stepped behind a small shed that bordered his field. Kyle took out his wallet. Tucked away inside that he removed a tiny paper sleeve. He sighed heavily, turned it up, and a glittering ring landed in his hand.

Kyle stared down at the white gold band. It was a simple thing, uncomplicated - just like Adam had been. He swallowed the lump in his throat and ran his fingertips over it. He closed the jewelry tight in his fist, remembering. Kyle then put the item back into the paper sleeve and again tucked it away in his wallet.

It was the last thing left of their little brother, and he would keep it with him - always.

⤱

Sheriff Keen parked his cruiser beside Wren and Caleb's tent. It was a sunny morning, and the chill left over from the night was in the process of disappearing thanks to the sunshine. He got out and made his way over to the old house seat.

Wren and Caleb stood near the remnants of the foundation, each with a steaming mug of coffee in hand. They had been looking at the area, but now turned their attention to Casey.

"Howdy, guys." Casey smiled and nodded at the pair.

"Howdy, sheriff." Caleb took a sip of his coffee and motioned at Casey with the mug. "You need coffee? We can heat some water for ya."

Casey waved a hand. "Naw. Thank you anyhow, but I've had my dose." He looked casually over the empty house seat. "Y'all are gearin' up to get goin' on your new place, Wren?"

The sheriff had news to deliver, but this was how things worked in the hills of Kentucky. A man slowed down, spent time, and got to know how folks were doing before getting to business. Caleb and Wren both instinctively understood that. It was expected and welcome.

Wren nodded. "Yeah." He pointed with his free hand while the other held his coffee. "It'll mostly follow the perimeter of papaw's place. We'll hire Matt to dig up the spots between the sunken concrete piers, do our foundation between the concrete, and build on top of all of it." He smiled slightly as he ran his gaze over the area. "I'm looking forward to it."

Casey smiled. "Good. It's exciting, fer sure." The sheriff scratched an itch under his hat and finally got to his news. "Well, I came by to let ya know that I've requested your daddy's case be reopened with the feds. The only reason I'm tellin' ya is because there might be folks contactin' both you an' yer mom, Wren. I didn't want it to be a surprise." He made a face. "I'll do the same with yer uncles too. If there's some reason fer any of 'em to feel guilty, well, that should do it."

"Does that mean you heard from the EPA?" The green in Wren's eyes was unusually intense as he stared at Casey.

Sheriff Keen sighed. "Yeah. The feller I talked to is retired now, but he was the man assigned to investigate yer uncles." Casey locked eyes with Wren, his expression serious. "It was Adam. He's the one who went to the EPA an' got the case started against 'em."

Caleb exhaled. "Beecher was right." He rubbed his mouth. "Do you think they did it?"

Casey was quick to shake his head. "Boys, we don't know if they even found out about Adam's involvement. The feds were all pretty tight-lipped; I only found out thanks to my bein' the sheriff." He smiled grimly. "But, it's cause enough to take another look at things."

Sheriff Keen spent a few more minutes with the two young men. Soon, he was back in his patrol car. He pointed the vehicle toward Rachel's house and headed there to deliver the news.

For better or worse, the case of Adam's disappearance was reopened.

⤱

Wren appeared calm and thoughtful as he continued to drink his coffee. The sheriff had gone, and Caleb stood close to his lover.

Caleb felt awkward. He was unsure exactly what was expected of him in the situation. "You, uh, you doin' all right?"

Wren took another sip then nodded. "It's out of my hands now." He looked at Caleb and smiled a little. "I think we did the right thing. Now it's in Sheriff Keen's court." He sighed heavily and leaned into Caleb. "God, I hope the uncles weren't involved." His entire face now showed pain and sadness. "I don't know what I want to hear, but I don't want to think that my own uncles…" Wren let the rest of his statement trail off.

Caleb realized what Wren needed at that moment. He squeezed him in reassurance as Wren struggled. "Yeah. I know. They're rotten, but I hope they're not that bad." They remained that way for a time, Wren leaning on him and Caleb holding on.

The day had brightened into a beautiful morning, and the two men spent a bit of time together. They looked over the fields as they steamed in the sun, and despite the heaviness of the news, Caleb smiled. "We'll soon have crops to harvest, Wren." Caleb nodded as he thought. "Crops that the county hasn't seen before - or at least, hasn't seen in a long time."

"That's true." Wren straightened, and Caleb kept his arm around the smaller guy's shoulders. "We should talk to Ragan." Wren looked at Caleb. "He still runs the produce stand in town, right?"

Caleb nodded. "Yep. Pretty good model if you ask me. He sells his own stuff, and takes a flat fee from anybody else who wants to sell through his stand."

"Good." Wren appeared thoughtful. "Think that'd be the way to get our products out there. We can sell direct too, to the markets. But I'd like to build up a bit of name recognition for Hambrick that isn't all tobacc…" Wren cut off then jerked and glanced at Caleb.

"What?" Caleb looked at Wren in bafflement.

"Huh." Wren turned back to the field. "You know, maybe it's time to step away from 'Hambrick Farms' and do things under a new name."

"Yeah? Well, what were you thinking?" Caleb asked.

Wren smiled a little. His eyes swept over the garden with its brand new starts poking through the earth, then back to Caleb. "How about 'CW Farms'?"

Caleb frowned, then the light quickly dawned. "Re… really? Our first initials?"

"Why not? Gives us a fresh start, right?" Wren turned and put his arms around Caleb's waist. His gaze locked onto Caleb. "I wouldn't be able to do this without you. Seems only right."

Caleb mulled it over. "Well, if it's what you want."

"It is." Wren stretched, and they gently kissed.

Caleb was thankful for the cameras. They'd know if anybody headed their way, and so he felt a little more confident with Wren out in the relative open. Someone very motivated could still spy them from atop the nearby ridge, but they'd have to know precisely when and where to look.

Then Caleb had a funny thought, and he snickered while their lips were together.

Wren pulled back with a suspicious frown. "What?"

"Oh," Caleb smirked, "I'm glad you put the letters in the right order, with mine first." He grinned devilishly. "Exactly how it ought to be."

Wren guffawed. "You bastard!" A playful push resulted in spilled coffee, which was a sin in both of their books. They called a truce until they finished their beverages.

Done with their caffeine, Wren waggled a finger at Caleb as the big man frowned at a coffee stain on his new denim workshirt. "You deserve that."

Caleb narrowed his eyes dangerously. Then his face split into an affable grin. "Yeah. Probably." He slapped a companionable hand on Wren's back. "Come on. Let's get to figuring out how much of Matt's time we'll need for the foundation. Then we'll need to go to town for building supplies."

Wren walked around the house seat and plugged dimensions into the calculator in his phone.

While Wren did his figuring, Caleb called Matt. The man was happy to come back and do more work for the pair. Matt scheduled time for the following day and Caleb hung up, satisfied that task was done.

After some math that Caleb barely followed, Wren had the number of cubic yards of concrete they needed for the foundation. "All right." Wren slipped the phone into his pocket and nodded. "Let's get to town." He grinned at Caleb. "We've got concrete to buy!"

⤱

It was now mid-afternoon. Kyle looked carefully at the forest floor and the path before him. He had evaded the cameras on Rachel and Adam's land by walking across the ridge. He was strong and healthy, and it was an easy trip for the big man to make. The journey was still a risk, but after the strange, muffled phone call he'd received just an hour ago, he had to come and check. He had to be sure.

The man on the phone claimed he knew what had happened to Adam. He claimed Adam was in the way of Sheriff Keen's advances toward Rachel, and that the Sheriff had killed him. That Kyle's baby brother lay in a hasty grave, all because of the jealousy of the lawman.

Kyle didn't know what to believe, but he knew he had to check. He hadn't trusted the sheriff ever since Adam had vanished. His brothers encouraged Kyle to keep his cards close as it concerned Sheriff Keen. But what cemented his distrust of the man was the day a few months after Adam went missing, when Jason gave him Adam's ring.

"I was at Keen's place, talking to him about maybe buying his property. Well, I caught sight of this on his mantle, plain as can be. I managed to snag it when he wasn't lookin'." Jason had leaned in as Kyle held the white gold band in his fingers. "That look familiar to ya?"

Of course it had looked familiar. Kyle recognized Adam's ring instantly. Jason swore him to secrecy, fearing what the sheriff would do should he find out. Kyle was good with secrets. He hadn't told a soul, not even their brother, Wade.

That day changed everything for Kyle. At a minimum, Sheriff Keen had found the ring out while searching for Adam and pocketed it, or he had been involved with his disappearance and took the ring out of greed. Kyle felt powerless to do anything about it. Wade and Jason were the thinkers. With Jason afraid to take any action, and Wade in the dark, Kyle didn't see a way to get justice for Adam.

He had toyed with taking matters into his own hands. Kyle wasn't above using violence to solve problems, but he'd never killed anyone. He knew that was what it'd take to fix the issue with the sheriff. He also didn't know if his brother was dead. Killing a man was a huge price to pay, and Kyle wouldn't do such a thing if the sheriff hadn't done the same to Adam.

Kyle slid down a clay embankment to cross the shallow creek under the branches of overhanging maples. He walked the far bank, eyes ahead; his jaw set grimly.

"There." A sharp bend in the meandering of the creek was ahead, and a vast, lone walnut tree towered and shaded the whole area below it. The nearby giant tree grew a curtain of roots that dangled, draped over the creek bank. As Kyle approached, he saw that the roots were studded with clods of dirt and clay, very effectively creating a shaded, protected place under the great tree. That's where the unknown caller claimed he'd find Adam's body. Whoever had called him, they knew the land. Kyle thought perhaps it was one of the local deputies who had searched with the sheriff for Adam. It had to be someone involved with the search to have such an intimate knowledge of the property.

Kyle stood before the obscuring roots and took a steadying breath. With one hand, he pushed the obstacle aside, to reveal a small, hidden hollow - along with its contents.

⤱

"Caleb." The tone of Wren's voice pulled Caleb's head around. They stood beside the dry bags of concrete they had tarped to protect from the weather, and Wren stared down at his phone. Caleb saw the blurred image of a white Dodge truck on the device. Wren looked up at him. "One of the uncles just drove onto mom's road."

Both men were in the truck in seconds, and soon they hauled fast down the gravel road. While Caleb drove, Wren dialed his mother.

"Mom. You're about to have company - one of the uncles." Caleb glanced at Wren as he talked. Wren grimaced. "He's there already. Jason," he said to Caleb. Wren frowned. "What? Where's he going? Running up the creek?"

Caleb turned down Rachel's drive and skidded a little on the gravel as he took the turn a little too fast. There were no complaints from Wren about the driving. He clung grimly to the handle above the door. "We'll be there soon."

Wren hung up. Two minutes later, Caleb pulled up right behind the big Dodge. It wasn't going anywhere until Caleb wanted it to. Rachel was on the porch. "Boys!” She waved at them. “He ran up the creek. I hollered at 'im, but he didn't even look at me!"

"We'll find out what he's doing here, Mom. Stay there!" Wren and Caleb pelted up the creek, past the barn.

They ran alongside the creek up on the bank, under the shade of maples, oaks, and an occasionally walnut tree. A worn, hard-packed trail made it easy going, and soon Caleb caught sight of a pair of men ahead.

'Jason and… Kyle?' Both Wren and Caleb slowed as they neared. Jason stood over Kyle, who sat on the ground. The big Hambrick had his head down, and Jason had a hand on his back.

"We don't know fer sure," Jason said. Then his eyes came up and landed on Caleb and Wren as they stopped a few paces away.

"What… what are you both doing here?" Wren challenged the men. Though, Kyle's despondent manner threw him. When Kyle looked up, and they saw his face was streaked with tears, it was even stranger. "What?" Wren swallowed. "What is it?"

Kyle shook his head and put his face in his hands.

Jason cleared his throat. "Well… Kyle found somethin'."

"It's him." Kyle's voice was deep, gravelly, and emotional. He looked up at Wren. "Thanks to the phone call. I found 'im. I found your daddy."

Wren went rigid. "Wh... " he gulped. "What?"

Kyle motioned with his head at the covered entrance beneath the tree. The smell of walnut was in the air, and there were some broken roots - probably from Kyle's investigation.

Wren was quiet, processing for a beat. Then his hands flexed. "What kind of shit is this, Kyle? Is this some kind of game?" His voice trembled in anger. "What? My dad, who has been missing a decade, has been in this hole?" As he said the words, Wren stepped forward and shoved the roots aside. Caleb couldn't quite see around him. Wren glared at Kyle. "I don't know what you're trying to…" Wren seemed to catch sight of something. He jerked, and stopped talking, staring into the space under the tree.

Caleb saw Wren's knees buckle. Barely in time, he got his arms under Wren before he hit the ground.

⤱

Sheriff Keen got home after a long day of work. He had spent time out at both Rachel and Wren Hambrick's to communicate the basics behind the case reopened on Adam's disappearance. He didn't have to, but Casey wanted the news to come from him face-to-face and not over the phone.

His little place used to be a refuge. It was situated on twelve acres of land a few miles outside of Grayson, where his office was. He lived in what most would consider a cottage. It was where he had cared for his ailing mother during her last years. When she passed a couple of years back, he downsized and moved into the small home. "The Big House," as he referred to the other house on the property, he rented out to a young family. It was a good arrangement, and it benefited them all.

Casey got out of his patrol car. He looked at the Big House but didn't see anyone about or any faces in the windows. He took a moment, standing in the space of the open door of the car. Casey ran his eyes over the landscape. The green of gently rolling hills greeted him. His property was a tiny sea of semi-wild land in a rapidly changing world.

There were many interested in his land. In the span of a few years, it had gone from isolated to a desirable location. Casey thought about the way things used to be, how he had once been able to look and not see a building apart from his own house a decade ago. Now there were gas stations, a new highway that bordered his place, and chain restaurants with more on the way.

A truck rumbled past on the highway, and he watched it go with resignation. "Progress marches on," he grumbled, then shook his head with a sigh. He shut the door to the cruiser, then walked along the short path set with flat stones used as pavers to his porch.

Casey entered the cozy little dwelling and dropped his keys into the bowl on the stand beside the door. It was cool and dim inside with the curtains together, which blocked most of the light from the weak, late afternoon sun trying to filter through the clouds.

He took off his coat and was just about to hang it up when his phone buzzed. Sheriff Keen looked at the device, and his brows knitted into a frown. 'Caleb? I just saw you fellas today.' He cleared his throat and answered. "Sheriff Keen here."

Casey listened for a moment, his face shifting to an incredulous expression. "I… I'll be right there. Don't touch anything! I'll be right there." Casey shoved his coat back on. In a flash he was out the door, and again in his patrol car.

⤱

Wren was in shock. He wasn't sure, but he may have even gone unconscious at some point. He had pulled aside the roots, and there, hidden away for a decade he saw a human skeleton. It was clothed in the tattered remains of a green checked flannel shirt, jeans, and his dad's favorite steel-toed boots.

Piled around the bones were the remnants of black walnut hulls. The strong, acrid smell of the walnuts would have masked the odor of decay effectively and made it nearly impossible to find the body with dogs.

It was true. Adam Hambrick was dead, and at long last, they had found him.

Caleb and Rachel were down on the damp earth with him, and each had an arm around his shoulders. Wade, Jason, and Kyle were all gathered beside the huge walnut tree. Wren didn't remember Wade or his mother getting there, or sitting himself on the ground.

"Who? Who called you, Kyle?" Rachel asked, her tone both emotional and sharp. She wiped her face. "Tell me!"

Kyle shook his head. "I don't know." He shrugged, pure sorrow and grief in the set of his shoulders. "It was muffled, an' from some number I don't recognize. But, he told me where ta find 'im." He narrowed his eyes at Caleb. "And that we shouldn't have called the Sheriff. Can't trust 'im."

Rachel stared at Kyle. "WHAT?" She blinked, freeing tears to roll down her face? "Can't trust him?!"

Kyle stood, then they saw a figure hurrying up the creek path toward them. Kyle snorted. "Ah, an' here's the man 'imself." His tone dripped scorn and pain as the newcomer approached.

Sheriff Keen panted a little. He had obviously sprinted from the house to their location beside the walnut tree. "Wha… where is it?"

Caleb got to his feet and began to address the lawman, but Kyle beat him to it. "Oh, like you don't know!" Kyle's voice filled out as he faced off in front of Sheriff Keen.

Wade's expression was one of concern and bemusement. He put a hand on Kyle's shoulder. "Bub, just calm -"

"No!" Kyle shrugged Wade away and pointed a finger at Casey. "No, it's time people know, an' I ain't afraid of you."

Wren watched the confusion on the sheriff's features. Casey shook his head. "Kyle, got no idea what you're…"

"Look!" Kyle pulled out his wallet. Then he removed a thick, white gold ring from a little paper sleeve. Kyle held it out in front of him on his palm, his face a riot of barely controlled rage. "Jason found this on your mantle! Only a few months after Adam disappeared. How do you explain that, huh?"

Wade's jaw dropped open, and then he looked at Jason. Wren could nearly hear the gears turning in his eldest uncle's mind.

Casey looked at the ring. Then he turned to Rachel. "Is that Adam's?"

Rachel had a hand over her mouth, and she nodded, her eyes wide. Her grip on Wren's shoulder tightened until it hurt.

Sheriff Keen turned back to Kyle, his face deadly serious. "That ring has never been in my house, Kyle."

"Sheriff," Jason spoke up. Wren noticed him take a step away from Kyle, the little twigs beside the path snapping under his boots as he did. "I'm not sure what my brother is talkin' about." He scratched his head and chuckled uncomfortably. "I ain't seen that ring since Adam went missin'."

Kyle jerked around and stared at Jason. "What?"

"You two. Everybody. Hold up, don't move. I need to have a look." The sheriff moved past them and squatted in front of the hole under the tree. He pushed the roots, took a long look, then sighed. He stood and stepped close to Kyle.

"Kyle," Keen's voice now had a hard, serious tone, "where'd you get Adam's ring? You take it from the body?"

"No." Kyle's voice had gone soft. It had a confused, wavering sound. "I… Jason gave it to me." He looked at his brother with uncomprehending eyes. "He… he took it from… your…" Kyle stopped speaking, and Wren saw as some terrible realization came to his uncle. Kyle shook his head, his eyes wide as he looked at Jason. "Why?" He continued to move his head, back and forth slowly. "I… I don't -" Kyle gripped his skull as if it might blast apart. "Oh, god." He exhaled and nodded to himself. When he looked up again, his eyes held nothing but an apocalyptic rage.

Jason took another step back. "Now, Kyle…"

Wren never knew someone Kyle's size could move so fast.

⤱

Things began to happen very quickly. Sheriff Keen watched Caleb manage to get a hand on Kyle's shoulder as he bulled past, but even that only slowed the enraged man a bit. Caleb was jerked off his feet by the momentum, and he tumbled in the dirt and twigs. Kyle recovered, and his feet kept pounding as he chased Jason.

"Help! HELP!" Jason ran up the hill, scrambling to escape Kyle.

"Why'd you do it?!" Kyle roared and flung peat, rocks, and moss away as he climbed up behind Jason. "He was our brother! Our baby brother!"

It began to click into place for Keen. He pulled his firearm. "Boys..."

Jason looked wildly at Keen from his elevated position. He doubled back just as Kyle got to the top of the small hill. Jason ran down and circled to hide behind the Sheriff, though Casey kept his eye on Jason. "He's the one with Adam's ring, Sheriff." Jason jerked his chin at the now slowly approaching Kyle. "Maybe he was feelin' guilty, an' that's why he led us to the body."

Keen stepped back so he could keep both men in sight. Jason glanced down at the firearm in the sheriff's hand. "Come on, Casey." The thin, oily man wet his lips. "Everythin' points at Kyle."

By now, all of those gathered stared at Jason. Wren slowly stood up and helped his mother stand as well. His eyes were bright, and they locked onto Jason without wavering. "We all know, uncle Kyle could never plan such a thing." Tears rolled down Wren's face, though his expression never changed from intense focus. "Why? Why'd you do it?"

Jason laughed uncomfortably. Kyle had stopped. Those gathered spread slightly, and now trapped Jason in the middle of a circle, there beside the walnut tree that hid the body of Adam Hambrick. "Me?" He shook his head. "No. No." He breathed rapidly. "I… I bet you'll find the gun that killed Adam in Kyle's house!" He nodded with fear and desperation in his eyes. "Yeah. I bet it's there." He jerked a head at Kyle. "An' he said a phone call led him here?" He waved a hand toward his brother. "Take a look, sheriff! I bet there ain't a call on that phone of his!"

Kyle shook his head. "You… is that why you wanted to see my phone?" He flexed his hands and at least two knuckles popped. "You deleted the call?"

"Don't worry about that, Kyle." Casey smiled grimly. "Yer phone company will still have a record." He watched as Jason quailed a bit. Sheriff Keen cocked his head. "But, I have another question - how do you know Adam was shot, Jason?"

Jason's eyes widened as he realized his latest mistake. "I… I saw… uh…"

"You didn't look at 'im." Kyle flexed his hands. "You didn't see the body. I did, an I ain't got any idea how Adam died." Kyle lowered his head and glowered at Jason. "But yer awful sure of how it happened."

Jason was nearly hyperventilating. "I…" He gulped, the sound carrying over the trickling of the creek nearby. "I just assumed."

Wade had been very quiet, but the cold monotone in his words made everyone turn to look at him. "Cut the shit, Jason." Wade spat, the brown saliva stained with tobacco missing Jason's boot by a fraction of an inch. "If ye don't spill what ya know, right now, I'll make sure we have another chat later - you an' me."

Jason shook his head. "It… it ain't fair." He continued to move his head side to side. Tears began to fall from his nose. "I was tryin' to save everythin'. I tried ta save it all." He raised his face, pleading and miserable as he looked at Wade. "I never meant fer it ta happen."

Wren was utterly silent, but Keen saw the glint in his eyes and the way his body tensed. As Wren leapt toward his murderous uncle, the sheriff had no doubt; if he wasn't stopped, Wren would make Jason pay for his deed with his life.