Tom Wallace - Gnosis

“What was your relationship with Colt Rogers?” Dantzler asked.

“Relationship? I had no relationship with the man. None.”

“He was your attorney, wasn’t he?”

“Are you insane, Detective Dantzler? I would never have a man like Colt Rogers as my attorney.”

“That may come as a shock to Isaac and Rachel. They are both under the impression that he’s your attorney. According to them, Rogers has handled your affairs since Abe Basham died. Are they wrong?”

“Not wrong, just not aware of facts as they are. Let me assure you of one thing, Detective. Colt Rogers was a two-bit hustler, a con man, and in all probability an outright thief. Why would I dare have someone like that as my attorney?”

“You’re telling me he didn’t represent you after Abe died?”

“That’s precisely what I’m telling you.” Eli stroked his white beard while taking several deep breaths. “Colt knew from having talked with Abe that I have property and holdings worth a lot of money, somewhere in the neighborhood of seven million dollars, in fact. A neighborhood like that tends to attract a lot of flies. Well, when Abe died, Colt was on me quicker than a vulture swooping down to a rotting carcass. Came to me with all these grand ideas, elaborate plans to parlay the money- my money -into an even greater fortune. And, of course, he volunteered to be my partner, the guy on the outside making all the deals. He always brought a stack of papers for me to sign, including one granting him power of attorney, thus making him executor of my estate. ‘Please sign here, Eli,’ he said. ‘This deal will be worth millions.’ Now I have never claimed to be the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, but I’m not dumb enough to ever sign anything that man stuck in front of me.”

“Okay, so who does handle your financial affairs?” Dantzler asked.

“My son-in-law.”

“Kirk Foster?”

“Your mouth to God’s ears, Detective. That is not public knowledge.”

“Given the fact that neither Rachel nor Isaac know, it’s not even private knowledge. Why the secrecy?”

“They will find out in due time.”

“Why Kirk?”

“Because I trust him. And because I know he will do the right thing when I’m gone. He loves Rachel very much, he’s friendly with Isaac, and he has been exceptionally kind to Thomas. He was the perfect choice and the logical choice.”

“Was Colt aware of this?”

“Don’t be absurd. If my own children don’t know, do you really think I would tell him?”

“Warden Curtis said Rogers visited on a regular basis. How often did he see you?”

“Oh, maybe once a month back in the early days. But as my health began to deteriorate, he came more frequently. He became more desperate for me to sign those papers he brought with him. He was very persistent. Criminals usually are.”

“Warden Curtis said Johnny Richards often accompanied Rogers when he came to see you. What’s his deal?”

“He’s an associate of Colt’s. I really don’t know him at all.”

“Define associate.”

“That would be a question for him. I can’t answer it for you.” Eli turned his attention to Charlie. “Ask your question, Detective Bolton. The one that has been gnawing at you for twenty-nine years.”

“Why did you lie about the gun being in your safe?” Charlie said without hesitation.

“I didn’t.”

“Yes, you did. You knew whoever took the gun killed those two kids. You knew the identity of that person, and you lied to protect him.”

“Detective Bolton, you couldn’t be more wrong.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Cling to your belief, then, if you must. Just know that your belief, like that of the apostate, is far from God’s truth.”

Dantzler moved closer to the chair and looked down at the withered, dying old man. “Who murdered those two boys, Reverend? If you do know, tell me.”

Eli shrugged.

Dantzler knelt in front of Eli until they were at eye level. “Whose obituary am I looking for? Give me that name, at least.”

“We’ve danced this dance before, Detective. Nothing has changed. You’ll have to find it without my help.”

Dantzler stood. “If you are serious about having your name cleared, you might want to re-think your stance on this matter.”

“You have all you need. It’s right in front of you.”

“What I need is something concrete, not hints.”

“The light of truth always prevails, Detective Dantzler. You’ll uncover it. Maybe not while I’m still around, but you’ll eventually find the answers.” Eli closed his eyes and sighed heavily. “Gentlemen, I think it best we end this conversation. I’ve suddenly grown very tired and feel the need to get some rest. I apologize, and I ask that you not judge me to be discourteous.”

Dantzler turned off the tape recorder, went to the door, and opened it. After waiting until Charlie was out of the room, Dantzler turned back toward Eli, who now appeared to be smaller and older than he did only moments earlier. He started to tell the old man goodbye, but didn’t. Instead, he just looked at Eli for several silent seconds.

Dantzler turned to leave, and was almost out the door when he heard Eli’s frail voice.

“Think of Jesus’s empty tomb.”

Dantzler wasn’t sure who Eli was speaking to.

For the first hour on the ride back to Lexington, neither Dantzler nor Charlie spoke. Both men stared straight forward, lost in thought, reflecting on what the Reverend had told them and what he hadn’t told them. Each man also wondered what the other was thinking.

After a while Charlie closed his eyes and pretended to be sleeping. Dantzler wasn’t fooled; he was familiar with this ruse. Charlie was using sleep as a pretense, a reason for not engaging in conversation. He simply did not want to talk.

But it was Charlie who, a few minutes later, opened his eyes and broke the silence.

“I’m telling you, Jack, the man is a seer,” Charlie said. “He has special powers, exactly like those ancient prophets. Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel-he sees just like they did. How did he know the gun and safe question was the one that has been troubling me all these years? How could he have possibly known that?”

“It’s what he knows that he’s not telling that troubles me.”

“I knew back in ’eighty-two that he wasn’t being truthful about the gun being in the safe,” Charlie continued, now awake and fully alert. “But I never once challenged him on it, never brought it up. He knew before he opened the safe that the gun wasn’t in there. I should have pressed him harder, but I didn’t. That will always haunt me. It was not good detective work.”

“Don’t beat yourself up on that issue, Charlie. Questioning him about the gun wouldn’t have changed the outcome. Like you said, his fingerprints on the gun were powerfully persuasive evidence. Given those circumstances, I might not have asked the question, either.”

“Then you wouldn’t have been doing good detective work. I was suspicious, I should have asked. Simple as that.”

“You have to drop it, Charlie. What’s done is done. You can’t change the past.”

“Oh, really? Seems to me that’s precisely what you’re trying to do.”

Dantzler was happy to see the lights of Lexington on the horizon. Although he loved Charlie like a father, he was growing weary of hearing him whine about what he should or should not have done. It wasn’t constructive or enlightening. Whining didn’t help move an investigation forward.

It would be much different if Dan Matthews was in the car. Dantzler smiled at the thought. If Dan was sitting beside him, they wouldn’t dwell on past mistakes. There would certainly be no whining; Dan would slap a whiner. Instead, they would be tossing ideas and scenarios and possibilities back and forth like a tennis ball. They would challenge each other to come up with better ideas. They would be digging and digging until they reached the bottom of the case, where the answers are found.