CASCADE - Chapter 39
REFLECTION AND JUSTICE
March 23, 2023
REFLECTION AND JUSTICE
While driving to Naoma, Liam looked out his windshield at the beauty of the valleys, hills, and mountains of West Virginia. The grandeur of the landscape moved his soul. More than ever, at this moment, he understood the local expression of pride, “West by God Virginia,” for only God could have created all of this. More than anywhere else he lived, this place now felt like home. His thoughts turned to the past few weeks. All he had seen, learned, and experienced caused him to grow in ways he had not imagined.
He drove into Naoma, past Rebecca’s house, Superior Auto Service, and the Starlite Bar and Grill. He turned off Coal River Road at Tranquill Court. Petry Cemetery was five hundred yards ahead. There were five cars on the side of a dirt road. Twenty-five yards up a small hill was a mound of dirt. He had been here earlier in the week when he had followed Colvin to Asher’s grave site. Rebecca was sitting on a folded chair. She was dressed in black and faced the preacher. Colvin parked his car a few car lengths behind the last car.
When the service ended, mourners filed past Rebecca, offering condolences with hugs or handshakes. The preacher assisted Rebecca to her feet, and she saw Liam standing by his vehicle. After the preacher said his parting words, she walked toward Liam and stopped in front of him.
Liam contritely said, “I’m sorry for your loss, Mrs. Miller.”
Rebecca pressed her lips together and nodded with a big sigh.
“I know I am the last person you want to see, but even after all this, I empathize with Colvin. He served our country during our longest war. Our country asked him to do things that affected him deeply. He bore the scar of that war. He loved you and Asher. Most of all, he loved West Virginia.” Liam struggled with the words and continued, “Colvin knew that the ongoing safety violations, removing mountaintops, polluting streams and rivers, and poisoning the air were crimes. He attempted to solve these crimes incorrectly because he saw no other way. I want you to know before it happens that Wingate will be charged with state and federal crimes for knowingly violating laws to the detriment of the health and safety of miners and the environment.”
Rebecca lamented, “It will not bring my boys back, Mr. Doyle.”
“I understand and am sorry, Mrs. Miller.”
Rebecca turned, walked to her vehicle, and drove away. Liam, now alone, walked up the hill to the grave. Next to Asher’s headstone was a freshly dug grave. Liam thought that someday, when a stranger looked at the two headstones, they would sorrowfully shake their heads when they saw the death dates. Looking at both graves, Liam said, “There will be justice. Rest in Peace.”
***
Robert Wingate arrived at his mansion in South Charleston, shaken. William Davis, the CFO of Necro Metallum Corporation, was now at St. Francis Hospital, recovering from a gunshot wound to his shoulder. The attempt on his life brought the country’s attention to the NMC. For a private man, the attention was intrusive. The requests for interviews had been non-stop since early this morning. Since last night, he had been on conference calls with board members, majority shareholders, and NMC Public Relations. The focus on NMC could prove disastrous. He knew that under the polished façade, the facts of the company’s nefarious business practices would become public.
Morning shows uncovered how NMC acquired Beta Corporation, which used asset transfers to discharge its obligations. Beta Corporation claimed bankruptcy, shedding $2.2 billion in pension obligations and $449 million in black lung benefits. The unpaid pensions and black lung benefits were now the responsibility of the U.S. Government. The American public was on the hook, and taxes would be needed to cover the obligations.
Robert was worried. The NMC Hydroelectric dam had failed. They were operating without a federally mandated spillway. That was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, and Robert knew it. NMC stock dropped 14% within the last 24 hours. He stared at the porcelain teacup on his mahogany desk. Walking to the window, he saw one black vehicle lead three police cruisers into the circular drive of his palatial mansion. Wingate descended the marble staircase and opened the front door. An Asian man in a stylish, tailored dark blue pinstripe suit, powdered blue shirt, gold cufflinks, and a light purple and blue checked silk tie stood before him.
“Special Agent Liam Doyle, are you Robert Wingate?”
“Yes. What can I do for you, Agent Doyle?”
“Mr. Wingate, you are under arrest for the criminal violation of the National Dam Safety Act.” Liam placed handcuffs on Mr. Wingate’s wrists while he recited Miranda Rights.
As Wingate was placed in the back of a police cruiser, a man appearing to be a secretary approached the vehicle. Robert shouted, “Glen, call my lawyer.”