The Edenbury Chronicles - Vol 2 - Chapter 20

Monday morning, Lucy and Olivia sat eating breakfast in the kitchen. 

“How am I going to get the elk to show up today at Mr. Clemmons’ house?” asked Olivia.

Lucy set down her fork. “You said they like eating his flowers and vegetables, right?”

“They sure do,” Olivia replied. “But I doubt there’s anything left of them.”

“I have an idea. It will require the use of the car after breakfast.”

Zeke came down from the library with an empty coffee cup. Lucy watched him put it in the dishwasher.

“Honey, have you gotten over how we missed the clues given to us by the vines in the graveyard?” she asked.

“Yes, but what else have we missed?” asked Zeke. “June fifth is less than two weeks away, and we don’t have the evidence we need to expose the Winholder Group.”

As they finished eating, a pile of envelopes dropped through the mail slot at the front door. Zeke retrieved them and set all but one down on the kitchen counter. 

“Looks like another note from our mole in Ames Hill,” he announced. “I wonder how Mr. Barney is doing.”

Lucy rose to read along with Zeke. After a few moments of silence, Olivia joined them.

“What is it?” she asked.

“The Winholder Group plans to close the paper mill once the mansion and the hill are destroyed,” Zeke replied. 

Olivia sat back down at the table. “Well, I guess that answers our question about who owns the mill,” she said.

Zeke turned the note over. “Mr. Barney says he overheard some travelers at the motel talking about the Winholder Group pulling out of town altogether. This confirms my theory on what they were using to threaten the people of Ames Hill.”

“I don’t understand,” claimed Olivia.

Lucy took the letter from her husband. “Make that two of us.”

“Follow my logic here,” Zeke said, pulling a notepad from his pocket. “Everything was running smoothly in Ames Hill for the Winholder Group until they closed the nursing home several years ago.” 

“Because miraculous things were happening on the hill,” said Lucy.

“Right,” continued Zeke. “Since then, they have been trying to cover up what they did and silencing anyone who opposed them.”

“By killing the reporter and threatening my father,” added Olivia. “And doing who knows what else.”

Zeke turned a page in his notes. “Right. But the Winholder Group has been using some kind of leverage on the rest of the town to intimidate them and keep them in line.”

“Like the Mayor, the police, Pastor Greg, and the real estate agent,” said Lucy.

“I believe the Winholder Group was threatening to close the mill.” Zeke proposed. “It’s the biggest employer in the area. They are going to cut their losses and leave town before they are exposed like Heathrow.”

“That will devastate the whole town,” said Lucy. “They will be left with nothing.” 

Olivia turned to Zeke. “Can I ask how you come up with these theories?”

“I worked in mergers and acquisitions at Heathrow for a little while,” Zeke replied. “It happens all the time.”

Lucy sat back down at the table. “Is there anywhere at Heathrow you did not work?”

Olivia didn’t wait for Zeke to answer. “In other related news, I’m afraid our construction worker actor has pulled out of the play.”

“Let me guess,” said Zeke, “he has to work on June fifth.”

Olivia nodded as she ate.

“How do you think the girls would feel if the play was moved back a week?” asked Lucy.

Olivia finished eating. “All I can do is ask,” she replied.

“Then that’s your next assignment,” he said, turning another page in his notes. “Now, are you ready to hear about the plan for this afternoon?”

For the next few minutes, Zeke laid out the details for meeting the men at the home of Mr. Clemmons.

—

It was almost twenty-four hours since Olivia had uploaded the old Chronicle article about the barn. She stood at the end of Mr. Clemmons’ driveway with a large bag. Looking down at the spot where she originally met the largest elk, Olivia wondered if Zeke’s plan for today would be a success.

She climbed the stairs to the front porch and knocked on the door, and it soon opened.

“Hello, again, Mr. Clemmons,” she said. “Remember me? I’m Olivia.” 

“Yes, you’re the crazy girl who likes to play with those elk staying in my backwoods,” he replied.

“I’m relieved to hear you say they’re still around.”

“Well, they haven’t wiped me out completely yet,” he replied. “It could be worse, I suppose. What can I do for you?” 

“Mr. Clemmons, two men in a dark sedan and black suits are going to come asking about your barn this afternoon,” Olivia explained. “And we, I mean me and the Famous Four, need your help.”

“My barn? That was six months ago, dear,” he replied. ”That’s old news.”

“These men are going to claim to be reporters.”

“Not very good ones,” replied Mr. Clemmons. “But what can I do to help?”

“Right. What we need you to do is bring the men around to your backyard as you did for Eric and me the other day. Point them to the barn, then wait on the porch.”

“Whatever you say, dear. Any friend of the Famous Four is a friend of mine. I got my barn back good as new. Did you hear about that?”

Olivia smiled. “I just read about it,” she replied. “If it’s okay with you, I’ll be out in the woods.” 

 Olivia walked off the porch and disappeared around the corner. 

About fifteen minutes later, the black sedan stopped in front of the house. Watering flowers at the mailbox, Mr. Clemmons pretended to be surprised to see them as they exited the car.

One of the men was tall and younger-looking, and the other was shorter and older. Their tired suits had as much mileage on them as the worn-out four-door sedan that was leaking oil on the street. The older man approached Mr. Clemmons.

“Sir, we understand something happened to your barn,” he claimed. “We’re reporters and were wondering if you’d mind if we took a look at it.”

As directed, Mr. Clemmons took them around to the back of the house. 

“Help yourself,” he said. “It’s right back there in the corner.”

The two men began the trek across the large tree-lined lot. Behind the barn, a stream ran through the property. The huffing and puffing of the older man stood out from the pleasant sounds of the stream, the breeze in the trees, and the occasional bird. 

Mr. Clemmons made himself comfortable on the porch but studied the scene carefully.

The men were almost to the barn when Olivia silently rolled several heads of lettuce out from the trees on the side of the yard. 

On cue, the entire herd of elk emerged from the trees and began filling the yard. In the air, carrots flew above the heads of the animals, accelerating their pace.

From the porch, Mr. Clemmons watched in astonishment as other types of produce rolled across his grass or flew out of the woods.

 When the two men finally heard the commotion behind them, they looked around and found themselves trapped between the elk and the barn. The men stood frozen but turned when they heard the sound of the barn doors opening.

Zeke, Lucy, Father Vance, and Sheriff Stephanie walked out of the small barn together to face the men.

“Hello, gentlemen,” said Zeke.

The taller of the two men raised his eyebrows and waited for the shorter, older man to make the first move. The older man adjusted his tie and straightened his jacket but said nothing. 

Sheriff Stephanie came forward. “What brings you out here today, Gentlemen?” she asked.

“Ma’am,” the older man said while turning around to check on the elk, “we’re investigating reports of this barn disappearing. But it seems there’s more to see here.”

“I guess that depends on your vision,” replied Father Vance. “Are you looking for someone else or for yourself?”

“Let’s not play games here. We know all about the Famous Four,” replied the man as he watched Olivia emerge from among the elk and join the group. “Except for you. We don’t know who you are.”

“I should look familiar because I look like my dad,” Olivia replied. “His name was Father Gregory.”

The tall man looked at the ground and nervously scratched his head. Just then, a nearby elk approached him from behind and nudged his arm. The man jumped.

“What does he want?” he asked.

“I think he likes you,” said Olivia as she reached into her bag and retrieved a large carrot. She gave it to the taller man, who fed it to the elk. The man smiled until he saw that other elk were heading his way.

The short man rolled his eyes and pulled at his collar while beads of sweat began to roll off his bald head. 

Still on the porch, Mr. Clemmons stood on his tiptoes, trying to see what was happening in his yard.

Stephanie crossed her arms. “We know you have been assigned to Edenbury, and we know who you work for, but do you?”

“How about you just tell us why you brought us here today?” asked the older-looking man.

“You came here to investigate a barn,” said Father Vance. “But we wanted you to see what you are a part of. Or should I say, what you are missing.”

“We’ve heard some of your sermons, Father Vance. We don’t need another.”

“I’m going to have to take credit for you going to church,” said Zeke. “I left you the church bulletin at the Ames Hill Motel.”

The taller man gave another unsettled look to the shorter man.

Zeke continued. “And we didn’t bring you here today to intimidate or frighten you. We brought you here to inspire you.”

At that point, the older man showed his anger. “This is a great circus trick, which is where I think you people belong, but you have no idea who you are dealing with. So I’d suggest you call off your pets, and we’ll be on our way.”

“If you’ve heard my sermons, you know there is a new kingdom coming,” Father Vance said patiently. “The people you work for are trying to stop it. And as my friend here said, we thought you would want to know the part you are playing in that.”

The taller man finally had something to say. “We’re just trying to do our jobs.”

“I think we’re done here,” said the older man.

Olivia and the others watched the men carefully navigate past the elk and make their way to the front of the house.

“Olivia, that was amazing work with the heads of lettuce,” said Lucy.

Olivia flexed her arm. “Thanks. I was on the bowling team,” she replied. “Your idea to visit the produce aisle at the grocery store was brilliant.”

Zeke bent over, picked up a stray carrot, and fed it to a nearby elk.

“Like you said yesterday, Padre, we’re going to need some of that wisdom from heaven,” he said. “After this, the Winholder Group will know we’ve been uploading old articles. I hope our appeal to these men was not a waste of time. Otherwise, we may have lost our advantage.” 

“I get the idea those two men don’t know about the plans to destroy the mansion and the hill,” Sheriff Stephanie offered. “If the Winholder Group pulls out of Ames Hill, the men will just get reassigned somewhere else.”

As the elk disappeared back into the cool of the woods, Mr. Clemmons could be seen making his way toward the group with something in his hand.

“Mr. Hughes, I saw those men back to their car, and when they drove off, this was left on the street,” he said. “It must have fallen out of their car.”

“Thank you, Mr. Clemmons, for your help today,” Sheriff Stephanie said. “We’ll make sure it gets back to them.”

When Mr. Clemmons left to inspect his vegetable garden, the group looked at Zeke. 

“It’s a list of addresses,” he reported, handing the paper to Sheriff Stephanie. “A few I recognize. The last address in the list goes to this house.”

Stephanie reviewed the list. “Let’s see. There’s also Mrs. French’s pub, the Gregory residence, Imago Dei Seminary, and Zeke and Lucy’s house. There are several others at the top of the list I don’t recognize.

Olivia leaned over to see the list. “If one of them is the house of the dead reporter, do we have our smoking gun?”

“Not hardly,” replied Stephanie. “But I’ll take this back to the station and see what I can find on these other addresses.”

The group left after saying thank you and goodbye to Mr. Clemmons.

—

Eric Finch was enjoying a glass of iced tea next to Rascal Rock. His afternoon break was extended indefinitely when a delivery driver arrived with yet another addition to his yard display. After about an hour of assembly, two fake palm trees now stood on either side of the boulder.

Olivia appeared from around the corner of the Chronicle building.

“Busy day?” she asked.

“Productive, I’d say,” he replied, admiring his new trees.

Olivia stopped and felt the leaves of one of the palm trees. “Has anyone asked if you are having a yard sale?”

“Not yet. Most people just come and enjoy the atmosphere I have created here. By the way, you got a fax from your real estate friend,” reported Eric. 

Olivia went inside and returned a few minutes later.

“Shall I continue uploading the old articles?” she asked. “The next one is about the rocks appearing in the park.” 

Eric looked over at Rascal Rock. “What do you think?” he asked.

Olivia waited for a response.

“He’s very smart, you know,” Eric said, turning back to Olivia. “Rascal Rock likes the idea. Please continue uploading the old articles. By the way, you missed some entertainment earlier.”

“Do tell,” Olivia replied.

Eric pointed toward the park. “These two strange men in a black sedan parked across the street. They both jumped out of the car, fussing with each other while searching for something. After taking off their jackets and checking all their pockets, they jumped back in the car and took off.”

“Interesting,” said Olivia as she headed back into the office. “I hope they find what they’re looking for.”

—

Read on. Here’s Chapter 21!