The Body in the Barrel by JD Yeiser – Epilogue
EPILOG
For the record, the turducken was delicious, and the consensus at the table was that being shot at increases the appetite.
Congressman William Graves or, more correctly, former Congressman Graves entered a plea of guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to serve his time at the medium security facility in LaGrange, Kentucky. Todd Grayson, in response to the media’s hyped outrage at the plea, made a statement that Harlan has framed now and hanging on a wall in the kitchen.
“My sworn duty is to take the criminal off the streets. We have done that in the case of William Graves. He has been isolated from the possibility of committing further crimes. To those of you who proclaim that he should be made to pay for his crime, I say this: The very idea that anything could be considered sufficient or even partial payment for what he did is obscene.”
Bobbie’s story won a Pulitzer Prize. When it was submitted, it included a part four, the part about the sniper incident. She is still conferring with Harlan and Gloria about the book and movie rights. The offers are significant.
Doctor Donna Brodigan did not get a ride in the sidecar.
Harlan did not get a ride in the Nash Metropolitan…at least, he has not yet.
After the plea was entered for Graves, the State released the whisky barrel, the one from Cooper’s cellar, to the distillery. They, in turn, provided it to the bidder. The eleventh barrel was destroyed, to Deanna’s dismay.
The Trappist Monks continue to offer hospitality to Cooper. The charges against him were not prosecuted.
The Aldergast Distillery and Restaurant are prospering. They now sell a line of pork products—ham, bacon, and lard.
Harlan Stone is in the final stages of planning his first truly illegal undertaking. He has decided that the mineshaft provides a perfect setting for distilling his own moonshine.
Major sections of Kentucky, well south and west of the center of the state, are wilderness. The two lakes, Kentucky and Barclay, which were created by the TVA, are a major recreational area and attract a flood of visitors through the spring, summer and fall. In winter, the area is isolated and desolate. It is miles to any significant population centers. There is some bottom-land farming. There is still some coal being mined. There are miles and miles of countryside empty of people and nearly empty of the signs of people.
During spring break, a young couple from SIU in Carbondale, Illinois, sneaked away for three days of togetherness at one of the few year-round motels in the Land Between The Lakes area, at less than half the seasonal rate. During one of their breaks from the otherwise non-stop togetherness, they drove, then walked out in the woods. In a small clearing, far removed from the main road, they came across the partially burned remains of an old hunting cabin. There was a pickup truck parked next to it. They looked through the window opening on the front of the cabin and saw enough to think there was a dead person inside. They left the woods quickly, drove back to the motel, and phoned the State Police. After making their statements and being assured there would be no need for follow-up, they left the area. Both were supposed to be somewhere other than together in a motel during spring break.
The State Police processed the license on the pickup truck, finding it listed as the vehicle of someone with an outstanding warrant, in Kentucky.
Phone calls came in to Harlan and Gloria from three different people, almost simultaneously. Shelby Logan called first. Bobbie called within an hour of the first phone call. Jack Lutz called later that same day, and all three carried the same news.
Calvin Fuller had been found.
