Season followed season and one by one the boys drifted away from the farm. Beau had been the first to leave. He stole away one night shortly after the murder, wanting to put as much distance between him and the crime as he could. Sandy left the following year and eventually Thomas came of age and packed his bags too. Not one of them ever entertained the thought of remaining to help their aging father and the property eventually fell into disrepair.
Several years later each of the brothers learned of their father’s death and each of them promised to attend the funeral, mainly for their mother’s sake.
On the day before the funeral the first rays of the morning sun kissed the tranquil surface of the old waterhole. While most of the muddy bank was covered with reeds, a large area by the mead
