Hard Hat Man by Edna Curry

‘wrangler,’ and part of a red blouse with heart shaped buttons. A hank of brown hair . A pair of leather loafers with pennies in the front slot , t he soles separating and rotting . B ut enough was left of the clothes for Jan to know. Nancy had loved that blouse with the pretty buttons. And she’d never gone anywhere without her retro 50s style penny loafers.
    Her dream had been right. She gasped and said it aloud. “ Oh, my God. It’s Nancy. She didn’t run away. She’s dead.”
    Jan turned away and took a few steps into the grass beside the graveled road , then vomited over and over.
    Kyle came up behind her and held her shoulders , then handed her a clean handkerchief . “I’m sorry. I was afraid that’s what you would say.” He cast a disgusted look at the sheriff. “You got enough for now?”
    “Yeah,” the sheriff said. “But I’ll need to ask more questions, later.”
    “We’ll be at the house,” Kyle said. He looked at one of his men. “We’ll work at the other end of the property for now, until the sheriff and his crew are done here. ”
    “Sure, boss.” The man got into the nearest truck and drove away. Another climbed onto the tractor and followed him.
    Kyle led Jan back to the house and fixed some tea. They sat at the table drinking it.
    A few minutes later, Sheriff Casey joined them and Kyl e poured him some tea as well.
    Jan stared into her cup. “All these years, we’ve been blaming Nancy for not contacting her family. We thought she was being selfish and thinking only of her own happiness. And all the time, she was dead. She didn’t even get a proper burial.”
    “You can remedy that now,” Kyle assured her. “After the sheriff releases her remains, you can give her a proper funeral.”
    Jan glanced at the sheriff for confirmation.
    “Yes, when the coroner gets done, I’ll release the body to the family.”
    Jan nodded. “I must let Mom know. But not right now, it’s the middle of the night in England. Oh, God, I wonder if that’s the reason so many people were against your project.”
    “Hm. You think this might be what they had to hide? I always thought that watershed excuse was pretty thin,” Sheriff Casey said.
    “Maybe when you find out who did all the dirty tricks to stop my project, you’ll know who hid her body there,” Kyle said.
    “And who did her in,” Sheriff Casey said , running his long fingers through his sparse hair . “ I think some people know a lot more about this than they’re telling.”
    “She was murdered?” Jan gasped.
    “Sorry, didn’t I say that? We’ll need the coroner’s report, but after all these years, he doesn’t have much to go on. But her skull was crushed at the back, so it’s safe to say someone killed her. And the fact that she was buried beneath the silo foundation, of course. ”
    Jan’s stomach churned, again threatening to empty its contents, though she doubted any were left in it. “Just like my dream,” she muttered.
    “What?” the sheriff asked.
    “Nothing,” Jan replied. She couldn’t tell him about her dreams and about seeing the ghost of Aunt Esther crying. Or the family Bible that moved from place to place and opened itself to the page with her death recorded. He’d think she was crazy. Best to not mention those things.
    Casey asked, “Do you have any idea when that silo was built? Or who built it?”
    Abruptly, Jan rose and went to the living room, returning with the family Bible . She opened it to the center page and turned it to show the sheriff. “Here’s the exact date of Nancy’s death,” she said. “Aunt Esther recorded it. That’s her handwriting. How did she know?”
    The sheriff stared at it and wrote the date in his notebook. “Maybe she knew Nancy was murdered , but was afraid to report it,” he said grimly. “That would mean someone intimidated her to keep her quiet . Wasn’t Nancy supposed to have eloped with someone? I wasn’t here back then, of course, but someone mentioned