The group met for a late dinner at their usual table. The thinning crowd at Jake’s allowed them to talk through the latest happenings while enjoying Tuesday’s pork chop special.
After ordering a round of coffee, Stephanie jumped right in. “So, what have we learned here?”
Zeke pulled out his notebook. Up to this point, no one had been privy to its contents. All eyes were on him as he read from one of his many lists. This one was titled: Facts:
Fifty years ago, a grove of trees appeared in a field of crops, people fought about it, and the trees were destroyed.
A tree named Lisa appeared last week at the same farm, and an obscure legal loophole prevented her destruction.
A barn made with the old harvested wood disappeared and then reappeared like new a couple of days later.
Giant boulders have appeared in the park, and they are being used as a playground feature.
Small children can communicate with these anomalies.
Zeke passed over number six, Lucy Greyson is very special, and continued, “For now, I have left out my mysterious library, along with the drought, the lockets, and the two versions of the news articles.”
“Have you heard from your ancient agenda seminary professor, Father Vance?” Lucy asked.
“Hasn’t returned my calls. Father Gregory probably doesn’t remember me; I wasn’t the best student. But let's assume that creation is growing tired of waiting, and this is the epicenter.”
“Right, and how we respond will have ramifications far beyond Edenbury,” Stephanie added. “But how do we determine what creation wants us to do? Rocks in the park. What’s that all about? And who knew Mother Nature had a department store?”
“What about you, Lucy? Where do you stand on all this?” Father Vance asked.
“I think I’ve got it,” Lucy seemed excited to share. “Lisa was a link—a reminder of the past and kicked things off for this generation. I believe the return of the Clemmons’ barn was linked to Father Vance’s message, allowing us to see what’s possible when we’re open to what creation is trying to tell us. And the rocks are the first test. But if the town was split over the destruction of the Warren trees, these rocks have the same potential, or worse.”
“How crafty is that?” Stephanie asked.
“To be fair, creation had a lot of time to come up with this,” Father Vance replied. “That was well said, Lucy. You’re very discerning.”
“Thanks, but I’m wondering what my parents knew about this locket. Perhaps they were special too, and I want to know how and why.”
Zeke flipped a page in his notebook and turned to the Sheriff. “Stephanie, I have an idea for you. Lucy has the name of the guy who started the fire that destroyed the mill where the Warren wood was processed. I wonder if he has a criminal record? Maybe that would tell us what else he tried to destroy. That might be helpful information.”
“That’s brilliant, Zeke,” she replied. “How do you come up with this stuff?”
“Insurance companies can be devious. I guess I’m just a product of that world.”
“How do you think the people at your corporate office knew all this would happen again in Edenbury?” Father Vance asked.
Zeke put away his notebook. “I’ve studied old claims similar to these in other places. It was more than a hobby; Heathrow had me compiling the claims into a database. That database must have told them where it started and, hence, my relocation here. It seems I wanted to get out of the big city so badly that I failed to connect the dots when my relocation request was approved. Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad I came to Edenbury, but Heathrow won’t be by the time this is over.”
“Zeke, you were in the middle of saying something about the newspaper before we were interrupted by the rocks. What was it?” Lucy asked.
“Yes, I’d like to see how they handle an anonymous tip, a little test for the Chronicle,” Zeke replied, lowering his voice. “What if we let them know about the leftover Warren wood at Henry’s and see what happens?”
Stephanie was all in. “Oh, how devious. I love it.”
“You think they’ll steal it?” Father Vance asked.
Lucy jumped into the conversation. “Either it disappears, or Corporate finds out. Or both.”
“We’re going to have to recruit someone for this,” Zeke said as he looked over at the cash register. The others followed his gaze, all smiling mischievously.
“What are you all looking at?” Cheryl asked nervously as she walked toward the table.
“Cheryl, we need your help,” Zeke said.
“I’ve heard that before. She looked at Lucy, then back at Zeke. “Need more advice, Zeke?”
Lucy interceded and lowered her voice. “We need you to plant some information so that someone from the Chronicle will hear.”
“Oh, that’s my specialty; finally, someone appreciates my unique set of skills. What’s the assignment?” Cheryl asked.
“Henry Sheldon has some of the original Warren wood leftover at his store,” Zeke said.
“No kidding, really? That’s some juicy stuff. I can do that, no problem. Andrea and Eric are in here every other day. Andrea’s father, too. I’ll let you know when the mission is complete.” Cheryl topped off the coffees around the table. “By the way, whatever else you Famous Four are cooking up, you better do it quickly because I just heard those guys at table two say the town council is calling a big meeting tomorrow night. People are already talking about removing the rocks.”
“Must be serious to have a meeting without the Mayor,” Stephanie said.
Zeke finished his pork chops. “Yes, and I think we can assume Councilman Thorpe has already filed a claim with the Heathrow Corporate office.”
—
The next morning, Stephanie knocked on the screen door of the Warren farmhouse while her parents admired the rolling hills on the property. Stephanie could sense her father’s relief to be back but wondered how he would handle the reunion. Mrs. Warren appeared at the door and welcomed them, with little Rebecca close behind. “Hello, if it isn’t the entire Wilkes family!”
“Hello, Martha, good to see you,” Mr. Wilkes said.
After a round of hugs, Mrs. Warren made an introduction. “Mr. Wilkes, this is my daughter, Rebecca.”
Mr. Wilkes knelt down to shake her hand. “Hello, Rebecca. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”
Rebecca held out her hand. “Tree tours are a dollar, sir.”
Mrs. Warren interceded. “Mr. Wilkes used to be our Sheriff, Rebecca. I think we can let them pass.”
Rebecca took his hand and led them into the house. “Okay, Mr. Sheriff Wilkes, come right this way.”
They all followed her into the mudroom, which now included the newly constructed enclosure around the tree.
“I’d like you to meet Lisa.” Rebecca pushed open one of the windows as far as she could.
Mr. Wilkes lifted it further and stuck his head out. “Hello, Lisa.”
He reached out and felt the bark as Stephanie and her mother looked through the window on the opposite side.
“Why don’t you take them outside, dear,” Mrs. Warren said to Rebecca.
Stephanie stayed behind while the others left the room. “This is only part of why we came today, Mrs. Warren.” She presented her with the newspaper article. “Have you ever seen this?”
Mrs. Warren read the caption under the picture. “No, is this your father?”
They both sat down, and Stephanie watched her response as she read.
“How is it I’ve never heard any of this? A whole grove of trees like Lisa? Why would they keep this from me?” Mrs. Warren asked.
“It seems that generation wanted to put it behind them,” Stephanie replied. “Yesterday was the first time my father had talked about it after all these years.”
“How sad.” Mrs. Warren was deep in thought. “Does this have anything to do with the Clemmons’ barn and the rocks in the park?”
“Yes, we believe so,” replied Stephanie. “And I’m sorry about that article in the paper on Sunday.”
“Oh, I knew that headline was ridiculous. I’m glad Arthur got his barn back. That was strange, but who am I to judge?”
They both looked at the tree enclosed in the middle of the room and laughed.
“Back to the trees,” Stephanie continued. “Mrs. Warren, I thought it would be helpful for my father to ride out to the place where the original trees were back then.”
“Of course, yes. Freddy is out in the barn right now. I’ll have him get some horses ready.”
Outside, Rebecca had extended the tour into the barn as the others joined them. “This is my horse, Horace.”
“Your horse’s name is Horace?” Mr. Wilkes asked.
“Yup. He’s very gentle and listens well.”
Mrs. Warren was glad to have people out riding. While the lessons had become a good source of income for the farm, they also kept the family connected with the community.
“Freddy, can you saddle up a couple of horses for Stephanie and Mr. Wilkes? They need to take a short ride.”
“Momma, can I ride Horace with Mr. Wilkes?” Rebecca asked.
“If it’s alright with him.”
“That would be very helpful, Rebecca,” Mr. Wilkes responded.
They rode the two horses toward the area where the grove once stood.
“Rebecca, when I was around your age, a whole bunch of trees like Lisa grew up around here,” Mr. Wilkes said. He dismounted and assisted Rebecca to the ground.
The two of them roamed around the area in silence, kicking at rocks and debris from the latest harvest.
“If there were a bunch of trees here, how did they harvest the crops?” Rebecca asked.
“That was the problem,” Mr. Wilkes replied. “They cut them all down, and even the stumps were removed.”
Rebecca thought for a moment. “Didn’t they know they were special trees?”
Still on her horse, Stephanie could tell her father was trying to hold back the tears.
“He tried to tell them, honey,” replied Mr. Wilkes. “It was hard because they wouldn’t listen.”
“I know you’re sad, Mr. Wilkes, but I need to tell you something.” Rebecca motioned for him to kneel down. She leaned in and whispered in his ear. When she was done, he smiled and put his hand on her head.
“Thank you. I think you’re right, Rebecca,” he said.
Just then, the two horses grew restless as a cloud of dust rose on the horizon. From a distance, Stephanie could see that a pair of vans loaded with equipment were heading toward the house. Mr. Wilkes steadied Horace, and he and Rebecca climbed back in the saddle.
“Who are those people?” Rebecca asked.
Stephanie looked at her father, who she could tell also recognized the vehicles. “It’s the national news.”
“What do they want?” Rebecca asked.
“They want to talk about Lisa.” He replied.
“Well, they’re going to have to pay. Giddyap!” Rebecca squeezed the horse’s sides with her feet, and Horace quickly took off in the direction of the house. “Yeehaw, we’re gonna wrangle us some national news guys!”
Stephanie caught a glimpse of her father as they galloped across the field. She didn’t know what was going to happen next, but there was one thing she was sure of—she had never seen her father so happy and full of life.
Read Chapter 12 - Free the Rocks
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