Chapter Ten

The wind was blowing something fierce as Dustin, Jarrod and Heath-who had told his father and their visitor everything that Kyle Palmer had said, made their way to the home of Dr. Harris Michael. With Harris telling Jarrod about the argument he'd overheard as a child, after what Tyler had told Heath…all three men knew they had to get Adam Michael to open up and talk.

When Jarrod knocked on the Michael's door, Harris-who was the closet, quickly answered it. He was shocked to see who his visitors were. "What are you trying to do, catch pneumonia and die?" He asked in a voice mixed with seriousness and joking, as he stepped aside and let his visitors into his home.

Dustin and Heath, who had been in the Michael home on numerous occasions headed straight for the couch that sat next to the east wall. The piece of furniture stuck out like a sore thumb…as the rest of the rest of the furniture (a coffee table, two chairs and a round table with a vase and flowers) were all a simple brown. On the other hand, the pattern on the couch was bright and the design full of flowers.

Seeing Jarrod looking at the couch and the other furniture, had the good doctor chuckling. "It belonged to my aunt back east. When she passed away, my rather eccentric uncle insisted shipping it out here by train." Dr. Harris gestured to the chair on the left side of the table while he sat in the chair that set next to the window which was on the west side of the room. "Now, just what warrants bringing you out with a storm brewing?"

"We had hoped to talk to your father." Dustin looking towards the door in the northwest corner of the room, as he knew it led to the rest of the house.

"What for?" Dr. Michael's eyes, full of confusion, added the statement 'I'm not getting him until you answer that question'.

"I… we want to talk to him about the day the mine caved in." Jarrod, who saw no reason to skirt the issue, answered bluntly.

Dr. Michael looked at Dustin and Heath. He had known them a long time. The fact that there was a dead serious look on their faces as well made him stand up and leave the room. In a matter of his minutes, Harris Michael was back with his father. The older gentleman did not look very happy. He sat down where his son had been sitting while Harris stood next to the window.

"What is this all about Dusty?" Adam looked at the only man he was going to talk to about 'that' day…if he talked at all.

Dustin asked how much he already knew about Jarrod's visit-as he asked the question his eyes strayed to Harris and back to Adam. That told Jarrod that Dustin was wondering just how much of what Harris knew had been relayed to the doctor's father. "I don't care to repeat what you already know." Dustin explained after asking the question.

"Everything he knows," Adam Michael leaned back and again asked what Dustin and the others wanted.

Dustin took a deep breath and told his friend what the law suspected. He went on to repeat what little he remembered about 'that day, and then everything Kyle had said. "Adam, if you know anything at all, speak up. Please. The men who met their death there need some justice if their deaths could have been prevented. For that matter, I'd like to know if this," he tapped his legs, "could have been avoided. Though," he turned his head slightly and smiled at Heath, "I can't say I don't appreciate the good that came afterwards." That comment made Heath's crooked smile appear.

On the other hand, Jarrod-while grateful his father had not been alone all these years, didn't want to listen to any reminiscing at the moment. "Please, Mr. Michael," Jarrod spoke up, "what do you know about that day…or what do you suspect?"

Adam growled and then let out a frustrated sigh. He told the three visitors that a few days before the mine collapsed he'd been working in the loft of Strawberry's livery stable. "That Phelps fellow and Mrs. Simmons came in. They didn't know I was there and; no, I obviously kept quiet." He then shocked Dustin, Heath and Jarrod by admitting he'd heard Mr. Phelps tell Martha that he had cornered Tom Barkley twice about buying the mine. "He was furious and making threats, but Martha told him to quiet down, said she had a plan that she would explain to him later." He stood up and walked to the fireplace in the northeast corner, and then turned to face their company. "The next day I had some business at the mining office. I was in the back room when Martha came in and started talking to the boss. Rather than make my presence known to her, I again listened. I know…not polite. Anyway, I overheard her talking to the mining boss. She asked the same questions a dozen times, if not more. No, she didn't use the same words, but it didn't matter. They were questions that all had the same answers."

"What were the questions?" Dustin, Heath and Jarrod asked at the same time-without even trying.

"Who was going to be in the mine at the time of the inspection? Were any of the miners, beside the ones assigned to go in with the boss and Tom Barkley, going to be there? Where were they starting the inspection?" Adam let out another frustrated growl as he looked at Harris and apologized. "I wasn't aware you heard any of the argument between your mother and I." He turned his attention back to his friends and Jarrod. "I thought, and I still think, that the mine collapsing mere days after I heard those conversations is more than coincidence. However, I had no solid evidence. What was I supposed to tell the law? As it was, tensions were high simply because the workers that were there had never got the message they had the day off. Accusations with no proof would only have made things worse." He went on to say he had hoped to talk to Mr. Barkley before the gentleman inspected the mine, but he was pulled away on an emergency before the gentleman arrived. "I pulled back into town a mere hour after the mine collapsed."

"The only ones who were supposed to be in the mine were a few workers, Mr. Barkley and the boss?" Dusty leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees. Repeating what he little remembered, he pressed Adam some more. "With what I remember, my gut now says I was supposed to be there. That being the case, I would think the records would list the names of the men who were supposed to be there."

"Don't you remember, when you woke up, Leah and I told you the office had had a small fire and the majority of the records had been destroyed." Adam walked back over to the empty chair and sat down. "Don't think that was an accident either…saw Martha around the building shortly before the fire broke out only, once again, all I had was speculation."

Again silence fell into the room, the significance of Adam's words sinking in. After a solid two minutes, Jarrod turned to Dustin. "We need to talk to Matt Simmons. If the mine collapsing was no accident, then murder and attempted murder need to be added to the charges against Martha Simmons. However before we do that, I…." Jarrod rubbed the temples of his forehead. "I put my original business on the back burner due to this matter, due to the fact that I'm sworn to uphold the law…and the law needed my help. Only, with everything Kyle and Adam have said, I have changed my mind." He sat up straight and looked his father and Heath in the eyes. "I came to Strawberry to meet you and Heath." He wasn't surprised when stunned looks appeared on his Father's and Heath's faces, nor did he stop talking. "I now think it's imperative that you know why. After all, if Adam and Kyle are right, I don't wish for Matt Simmons to be the one to tell you what I already know."

Heath stiffened while Dustin, who remembered the funny feeling he'd gotten when he'd seen Fred Madden, braced himself. "And just what do you know?"