Chapter 8 - Wade Had His Own Signature to Explain
Wade was not clean either.
One 2014 document carried his signature.
Property Access and Stabilization Authorization.
He had allowed Alder Environmental to excavate, seal the structure, and alter drainage.
“You signed this.”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t ask what they found?”
“I asked Eli.”
“And?”
“He said old communications equipment and contaminated standing water.”
“That was enough?”
Wade stared at me.
“In 2014 I was running a club with eleven thousand dollars in the bank, a roof leaking in three places, and a property insurer threatening cancellation.”
He tapped the paper.
“Alder offered to stabilize the wall for free.”
“Free is rarely free.”
“I know that now.”
He sounded angry.
Mostly at himself.
Then:
“Your dad said the bunker was dangerous.”
“He was being paid.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“You still signed.”
“Yes.”
No excuse.
That was the first time I respected Wade more after learning something bad about him.
He did not hide behind ignorance.
He owned the part that belonged to him.
The club did not react as well.
Older members wanted everything handled quietly.
One man said:
“Eli’s dead. Why drag his name through this?”
Another:
“Because people live downhill from us.”
Another:
“You don’t know anybody got hurt.”
Correct.
Then someone else shouted:
“That’s not the point.”
The memorial brotherhood fractured along a familiar line.
Protect the dead.
Protect the living.
Protect the club.
Tell the truth.
Every option sounded noble when phrased correctly.
The state installed proper monitoring wells around the property.
Northstar suspended acquisition discussions publicly, calling it routine due diligence.
Privately, their attorney sent the club a letter warning against releasing confidential commercial information.
Wade laughed when he read it.
“Now they’re nervous.”
I wasn’t so sure.
Large companies send letters because lawyers send letters.
Fear is not proof.
Then Dad’s computer produced another file.
A scanned letter he had never mailed.
Addressed to me.
There is one thing I did in 2014 that you may not forgive.
Below it:
I told myself I was protecting you. That was true. It was also cowardice.
The rest of the page was missing from the scan.
May you like
For the first time, I realized the mystery underneath the clubhouse might not end with Northstar.
It might end with a decision my father made about me.
Related Stories
