There were a thousand things swirling in my mind as Tammy and I stepped off the porch. Who killed Harvey....who was Vera's accomplice.....how did they know about the hair in the jar and the letter? Harvey Kremble must have told his brother Harlan. I would guess that Thankful told Harvey something about it.
We had the tape but what good would it do? The town would be relieved that the killer was caught, even though he wasn't. I made a promise to Thankful...I had to keep it. Tammy and I made plans to go to the FBI office the next day.
When I dropped her off, she seemed a little distant....it worried me but I knew we were both so tired. I had to explain most of everything to mom and dad but I didn't tell them about the tape. Tammy agreed with me, not to tell anyone.
It was Monday morning and I didn't even wake up until 9:00. I picked up Tammy at 9:45 and we were off to Indianapolis to the FBI office. We got there and had to wait for about an hour. Agent Mandy Englend invited us in to her office. She was a very pretty woman. She was very interested because Harvey Kremble had called her....he wanted to clear his father's name. She told him to get the evidence.
We told her that Harvey was dead and then played Thankful's tape. It was hard on both of us to hear Thankful's voice again. Agent Englend asked us to leave the tape with her. She told us that since Harvey had called her....the FBI would investigate. Before we walked out of her office, I turned and told her about smelling burnt wrought iron in Thankful's house.
Tammy and I headed back to Sunrise. We were pretty quiet....I put in a tape of Creedence Clearwater Revival....the song, "Have You Ever Seen The Rain" came on. We began to sing along with it and Tammy laid her head on my shoulder. I don't know why but the song made us feel a little better.
I drove to Miller park and we just walked around the park. We stopped and sat at the creek side...I took off my class ring and asked Tammy to be my girlfriend....she accepted with a long kiss. We had only known each other for days and it seemed like years. We sat and held each other as the rippling water ran over our feet.
Wednesday rolled around quickly and it was time for Thankful's funeral. Tammy and her parents along with me and my parents were the only people attending. The casket was closed and a picture of Thankful was on top. As we stood by her casket...Tammy took Thankful's Green Bay Packer's cap from atop the casket and put it on. I smiled and gave her a kiss.
At the grave site...I said a few words. Thankful didn't want a preacher anywhere near her funeral. Her grave was in between Freddy and Mathew....her two favorite husbands. I said,"Thankful...you touched our lives with your stories...only God could make such a strange and wonderful being...look out heaven....Thankful is back in town!"
Tammy and I smiled and walked away.
