the faux Adam's spirit. Clint's cabin has no lock. After facing the most horrendous day of his life, Clint returned home, built a blaze in the fireplace, and collapsed onto his bed. Mr. Indigence was later awakened by the young man he thought was Adam, standing by his bed, crying, and begging for forgiveness. Later, Clint deeply regretted that he did not have the strength to forgive the young man and felt responsible for his death. Clint believed Adam took the grenade and used it to kill himself. In a very bizarre way, Adam did. Mr. Indigence told me he drifted back to sleep but woke or half woke at random intervals and could hear Adam pacing the living room and talking to himself. Clint described it as 'sometimes calmly, sometimes shrieking.' Brad Barker wasn't talking to himself," Loneshark declared as he shifted his aim back to Adam. "He was taking to you! I found this first contact lens in the kindling box. It is common practice to lean on a mantel when one stares into the fireplace's flames. If Brad was that distraught, he may not have even noticed the contact's loss. Yours was the calm voice Clint heard. As you attempted to soothe your impersonators guilt-ridden shrieks, probably with a supportive hand on his shoulder, you spotted the casket's grenade. Your prints are on that casket, Adam!"
"All right!" Adam cracked.
"Say nothing, Son!"
"Shut up, Daddy! All right!" Adam repeated, turning those odd eyes back toward Loneshark. "I had that professional student impersonate me in Pinewhittle. He consented and was well paid to do nothing but fill my chair in that Colorado branch bank. How easy could a job be? I was not going to let my father take a year of my life. I formed a corporation. I made profits . . . and friends. My arrangements worked as long as Brad Barker remained aloof and discreet, but he began to get involved with those people and their petty problems near the end. I received more and more messages from him that were increasingly full of concern. Barker had been whining about that constipated air tube driving him crazy since the first day he went to the office. When that Cale guy died, Barker was faced with a direct example of cause and effect. When the old man hurled accusations at him, he snapped. Brad told me he couldn't stand the pressure another day. Barker wanted to confess the whole charade to Clint, so he could convince the old man Cale's death wasn't his fault. Brad wanted to prove to Indigence that he had no choice but to deny the loan application. I persuaded him to maintain his position until I could arrive there. When I arrived and, yes, Detective, parked the ambulance in the garage, I could see Barker running up the hill to that cabin. I made it to the cabin as Barker was coming back into the living room. I tried to calm him. I never intended to hurt Brad."
"Yes, you did," Mick stated. "You intended to do away with him from the beginning. Otherwise, the masquerade would have been discovered. You simply changed whatever nefarious plans you had previously made when you spotted the casket."
