Johnny winked at Chrissy and she was thrilled with his Irish
brogue.
“If you have the time, we would appreciate a guide.
We’re trying to see if we can find a sign of where Uncle Cliff
might be. Sheriff Lampton has made inquiries in town as to his
possible whereabouts and no one seems to know."
“When did you last see him, Johnny?"
“It was the middle of June, Sheriff. I didn’t think
he looked well; but he assured me he was fine."
“Uncle Cliff’s journal mentioned Johnny’s visit. It
said he wasn’t feeling well but he tried not to worry Johnny about
it.”
“Well, let’s go see what we can find, people. We men
will go look and the rest of you should wait here if you don’t
mind." Johnny had already taken off in the direction he figured Mr.
Coy would have taken to go to the cemetery.
In less than an hour, they were all back. Ed looked
at Penny. “We found him, Honey, and as we feared, he’s gone. Since
he died alone, there will have to be an investigation by the
coroner and a coroner’s inquest, I suppose. But it seems pretty cut
and dried. He was at the gravesite, lightning hit the old oak tree,
and it toppled over on top of him. Until the tree is removed, there
won’t be any way to tell if he died before the tree fell or because
of the falling tree. But, at any rate, he’s out of his misery and
we can be glad of that even though we’re sorry to have lost both of
them.”
“I’m sorry Mrs. Wroe; but it does look as if he died
instantly either of a heart attack or when the tree fell, so I
don’t think he suffered. We’ll go on back to town, get the coroner,
and bring him back out here. We’ll get this finished up as soon as
possible. My condolences, Mrs. Wroe.”
“Thank you, Sheriff; all of you, thanks." Penny
didn’t have to pretend to be upset. With the reading of his
journal, they had all come to think of him as one of their own even
before they knew he actually was. Therefore, the tears were genuine
and the sorrow a true emotion.
Later that afternoon, the coroner confirmed the
cause of death as a heart attack. Tests showed that he had been
dead, possibly for several hours, before the tree struck him as it
fell. It did pin the body down and prevent predators from attacking
the body. Insects alone had had access and, therefore, the
deterioration of the flesh had been slower and undisturbed by wild
birds and animals. Even after almost a month, the remains could
still substantiate that the cause of death was a heart attack. It
was determined no inquest would be necessary and the body could be
released for burial immediately.
“I know Uncle Cliff would certainly want to be
buried next to Aunt Lorraine." Penny was as sure of this as she
would have been if she had heard him say it. “I’m afraid we know
almost nothing about his friends and acquaintances here. Are there
other people whom we should notify of the burial? I don’t think we
need a formal funeral unless he had more friends than we’re
thinking he probably did. The body, of course, would not be
viewable so if no one objects, I think we’ll have only a graveside
service.”
“I’m in agreement. I would suggest you talk to Bro.
Mosser at the Baptist Church about the service. I believe that’s
where they went to church when they were able to go. I’d be glad to
suggest he come see you if you’d like me to.”
“Thank you Sheriff. That would be much appreciated.
I guess we’ll need to talk to the undertaker, too, and arrange for
a coffin with all the accessories, flowers, and everything. He’ll
also need a good monument. The makeshift one that was there was
broken to bits by the falling tree, they said. It will need to be a
triple headstone—one for Aunt Lorraine, for Uncle Cliff and for
Baby Cliffie, or actually one headstone with all three names. I’ll
have to do some research somewhere to get exact dates of births and
deaths. I have a general idea but nothing definite.”
“I’m sure you would be able to get
brogue.
“If you have the time, we would appreciate a guide.
We’re trying to see if we can find a sign of where Uncle Cliff
might be. Sheriff Lampton has made inquiries in town as to his
possible whereabouts and no one seems to know."
“When did you last see him, Johnny?"
“It was the middle of June, Sheriff. I didn’t think
he looked well; but he assured me he was fine."
“Uncle Cliff’s journal mentioned Johnny’s visit. It
said he wasn’t feeling well but he tried not to worry Johnny about
it.”
“Well, let’s go see what we can find, people. We men
will go look and the rest of you should wait here if you don’t
mind." Johnny had already taken off in the direction he figured Mr.
Coy would have taken to go to the cemetery.
In less than an hour, they were all back. Ed looked
at Penny. “We found him, Honey, and as we feared, he’s gone. Since
he died alone, there will have to be an investigation by the
coroner and a coroner’s inquest, I suppose. But it seems pretty cut
and dried. He was at the gravesite, lightning hit the old oak tree,
and it toppled over on top of him. Until the tree is removed, there
won’t be any way to tell if he died before the tree fell or because
of the falling tree. But, at any rate, he’s out of his misery and
we can be glad of that even though we’re sorry to have lost both of
them.”
“I’m sorry Mrs. Wroe; but it does look as if he died
instantly either of a heart attack or when the tree fell, so I
don’t think he suffered. We’ll go on back to town, get the coroner,
and bring him back out here. We’ll get this finished up as soon as
possible. My condolences, Mrs. Wroe.”
“Thank you, Sheriff; all of you, thanks." Penny
didn’t have to pretend to be upset. With the reading of his
journal, they had all come to think of him as one of their own even
before they knew he actually was. Therefore, the tears were genuine
and the sorrow a true emotion.
Later that afternoon, the coroner confirmed the
cause of death as a heart attack. Tests showed that he had been
dead, possibly for several hours, before the tree struck him as it
fell. It did pin the body down and prevent predators from attacking
the body. Insects alone had had access and, therefore, the
deterioration of the flesh had been slower and undisturbed by wild
birds and animals. Even after almost a month, the remains could
still substantiate that the cause of death was a heart attack. It
was determined no inquest would be necessary and the body could be
released for burial immediately.
“I know Uncle Cliff would certainly want to be
buried next to Aunt Lorraine." Penny was as sure of this as she
would have been if she had heard him say it. “I’m afraid we know
almost nothing about his friends and acquaintances here. Are there
other people whom we should notify of the burial? I don’t think we
need a formal funeral unless he had more friends than we’re
thinking he probably did. The body, of course, would not be
viewable so if no one objects, I think we’ll have only a graveside
service.”
“I’m in agreement. I would suggest you talk to Bro.
Mosser at the Baptist Church about the service. I believe that’s
where they went to church when they were able to go. I’d be glad to
suggest he come see you if you’d like me to.”
“Thank you Sheriff. That would be much appreciated.
I guess we’ll need to talk to the undertaker, too, and arrange for
a coffin with all the accessories, flowers, and everything. He’ll
also need a good monument. The makeshift one that was there was
broken to bits by the falling tree, they said. It will need to be a
triple headstone—one for Aunt Lorraine, for Uncle Cliff and for
Baby Cliffie, or actually one headstone with all three names. I’ll
have to do some research somewhere to get exact dates of births and
deaths. I have a general idea but nothing definite.”
“I’m sure you would be able to get
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