Chapter Three

Ms. Daisy returned home. She could not wait until Sunday to see Eddie and tell him his mother and Carol were doing fine. Ms. Daisy knew she had to help Eddie get out of prison and return to Carol. Ms. Daisy did not tell Eddie about Carol wanting her to return the doll and bring Eddie home. She knew it would hurt Eddie to know that Carol was crying for him. She told Eddie that his mother loved the rose, and Carol loved the doll. Daisy had begun to feel for Eddie like a son. He had been wrongly convicted of a crime he could not have committed. Ms. Daisy hired a private investigator Mr. Holmes. She was determined to help Eddie prove his innocence.

Mr. Holmes made a special visit to the prison to see Eddie. Special visits are usually when an inmate’s visitor has been denied on the visiting application. It is a visit that must be approved by the warden upon receiving a written request that may allow him to consider overturning the initial reason for denial and allow you a special visit. Mr. Holmes requested to visit Eddie as legal counsel. Mr. Holmes was not a lawyer therefore his request was denied. Ms. Daisy talked to Eddie about Mr. Holmes. Eddie requested a special visit with Mr. Holmes, and it was approved.

Eddie was happy to find someone to help him prove he did not kill Farmer Jim. Eddie had used his riffle the day before the incident to kill a deer for the family. Eddie only had his BB Gun that night in the field when Mr. Jim was killed. When the police found his riffle, they only asked if it was his. Eddie told them the riffle was his. He only used it to kill wild pigs, deer, and other animals to feed his family. Mr. Holmes believed Eddie and agreed to help him find a way to clear his name and be released from prison.

Mr. Holmes applied for a job with the Decatur Sheriff’s Office. Mr. Holmes was given a job. This would allow Mr. Holmes access to the records for that night. Mr. Holmes started his investigation by attending the community church. There was only one church in the town. Everyone that Mr. Holmes needed to become friends with attended the church. He was new in town and accepted with open arms in the church. Mr. Holmes became friends with the Minister. This would give him a reputation of a trustworthy man also with his job as a Deputy.

Mr. Holmes reviewed the case file and saw where Eddie was in the field that night. The gun that the farmer was killed with is a riffle. Mr. Homes had to find out if anyone in the community wanted Mr. Jim dead. He had to be cleaver to find out the answer. He could not just come straight out and ask everyone in the community. Mr. Holmes started by attending all the church functions.

Anna and Jim were childhood sweethearts. Jim was two years older than Anna. They were married at the church with all their families attending. Anna was a stay-at-home parent. Jim had always provided for them. Jim grows corn every year and other crops. He always made his farm money off the corn. Corn was used to make moonshine.

During the investigation it was discovered that farmer Jim was selling the corn to the moonshiners. The moonshiners were willing to pay excessive money for the corn. It was also discovered that after Eddie had been sent to prison another farmer Sam was killed with a rifle. Mr. Holmes reviewed the cases for the year that Eddie was arrested, five people was discovered dead in Decatur County. Sam the farmer, Tony the banker, Jack a moonshiner, Carl the bootlegger, and Mr. Jim. This was information that was only know by the Sheriff’s department. Eddie was only accused of the murder of Jim. Eddie had confessed to shooting toward the farmer’s house. But it was with a BB Gun and not a rifle.

Mr. Holmes continued researching to determine what had happened to the other five people that were found dead in Decatur County. Moonshine distilling was done at night. Eddie was in the farmers’ fields at night stealing food for his family. There had to be a connection and reason Eddie was accused of a murder he did not commit. Did Eddie know more than he was telling? Was he eliminated by being sent to prison for murder? What really happened the night the farmer Jim was killed? Was Eddie in the wrong place at the wrong time? All of these were questions running through Mr. Holmes mind. They were questions that needed answers. He needed the answers soon to prove Eddie was innocent. Eddie needed to be released back to his family.

Farmer Jim was the only farmer in the county producing corn. Farmer Sam was also killed with a rifle. Farmer Sam started planting corn after Farmer Jim was killed. Farmer Jim was dead and now someone needed to plant corn to supply the moonshiners. At the beginning of the harvest, Farmer Sam was discovered shoot and killed in the middle of his field. His wife Julie was worried when he did not come home for supper. Julie looked for him in the barn and he was not there. Finally, she walked into the field and found him dead. The Sheriff investigated and determined that Sam was shot with a rifle.

Tony the banker was found dead in his barn. It was a stormy night, the wind was blowing hard, the thunder, and lighting was everywhere. Tony went into the barn to secure the animals. The thunder and lightning scared the animals. Tony was afraid they would escape from the barn and run into the woods. The barn was struck by a large bolt of lightning. The barn was consumed with fire and Tony was burned in the barn. The death of Tony devastated the community. It one of the worst nights the community had ever experienced. The neighbors ran to the barn and tried to put out the fire. It was too late. Tony was the first person to the burned to death in a barn. The farmers in the community now will not leave their homes in a thunderstorm.

Jack the moonshiner was killed in a still explosion. Methanol, or methyl alcohol, is a byproduct of the distilling process. Both are highly flammable with the potential to explode during the distillation if they are not properly sealed and vented. If there is a leak releasing ethanol gas in the still, the equipment used to process moonshine, a single spark could cause an explosion. The still exploded and killed Jack. He was discovered at the still by his moonshine partner.

Carl the bootlegger was killed by drinking whiskey. While delivering a load of moonshine to the club, Carl started drinking. The moonshine made in hidden stills often became tainted with metal and other impurities. Alcoholism rates soared in the 1920’s. In the larger city’s street gangs grew into bootlegging empires built on smuggling, stealing, and manufacturing illegal alcohol. Carl was in the woods gathering more moonshine to deliver. While driving down the road he became sick. He pulled over on side of the dirt road and started hallucinating. He suddenly died. The moonshine was tainted and killed him. Carl was found in his car on the side of the road dead. Deputy Holmes was determined to find a connection between all the deaths in the county. Five deaths in a brief period were suspicious. Within a six-month period four other deaths occurred.