Summary

Shining on Unseen Beneath the Pines (352-354) — Edmunds recalled when Watson returned to Colombia County after a long time away, sliding into town in the night and building a small shack on his “Collins tract” (352). Watson had a good relationship with the Collins’s at the time, and many of them lived and worked with him after he married Kate. The Collins family was living with Watson when Sam Tolen was murdered. When Watson was accused of committing said murder, the Collins family did not want to testify against their generous and loving uncle who housed them and gave them work. Calvin Banks, however, did testify against Watson. Supposedly, Calvin knew about a stash of hidden gold. Rumor had it that Watson instructed Leslie Cox to kill Calvin and take the gold. When Lucius questioned the validity of these rumors, Edmunds retorted...