Oliver Brought His Grandfather’s Old Membership Card to the Country Club — Then Mr. Harrison Saw the Name Printed on It
Chapter 6 — The Document With the Wrong Signature
Richard reluctantly brought Box 14 from a locked cabinet in his private office.
Arthur insisted Elaine document every item before anything was opened.
Inside were original board minutes.
Construction plans.
Membership applications.
And property agreements.
Then Elaine found the document Richard had mentioned.
Dated:
October 17, 1963.
It claimed Samuel Bennett accepted $15,000 in exchange for releasing all restrictions connected to his former land.
At the bottom was Samuel’s signature.
Oliver studied it.
“That’s not Grandpa’s writing.”
Richard laughed.
“You can tell that from looking at it?”
Oliver opened his backpack.
He removed Samuel’s handwritten letter.
Then the old membership card.
Samuel had signed both.
The signatures matched each other.
The one on the release looked completely different.
Arthur leaned closer.
“He’s right.”
Elaine compared them.
Samuel normally made the B in Bennett with a wide lower loop.
The release used a narrow printed B.
The initials were different too.
Richard shook his head.
“People’s signatures change.”
Arthur looked at the date.
Then something occurred to him.
“October 17, 1963.”
He repeated it.
“Where was Samuel living then?”
Oliver knew.
His grandfather had told the story dozens of times.
“Germany.”
Everyone looked at him.
Samuel had been working on a military engineering contract overseas for almost all of 1963.
Richard dismissed it.
“He could have signed before leaving.”
But the document had been notarized in Hawthorne County on October 17.
The notary claimed Samuel personally appeared before him.
If Oliver was right…
Samuel had supposedly signed a document in America while he was thousands of miles away.
