A Family Feud Texas Style by Kent Swarts

Author:Kent Swarts
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: private detective mystery, murder mystery, crime thriller, fiction in texas
Publisher: Evolved Publishing LLC
Published: 2020-07-31T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

If one thing was consistent about this case, it was that its people, their land, the oil, and the cattle do not mix. There were people with motives, yet they seem unlikely suspects due to their amassed wealth, professional station, or both. Wendy kept spouting Samuel Gentry as the killer, yet he was in a nursing home. She kept haranguing on the Coopers, but no Cooper had even made it to her list. My list was comprised of Gentrys and Jon Washington. So, where did the Coopers fit into this? They seemed as apparent as the Humvee that forced me off the road yet were also as elusive.

Although I knew about several of the Coopers, I called Charles to get the name of the ones being sued. He told me they were Jack, Edward, Beth, and Abraham Cooper. Jack lived in Dallas, Edward in San Antonio, and Abraham lived on the ranch. Abraham also owned a six-hundred-acre ranch southwest of Waco, near a small town called Clifton.

Beth Waggoner, who until three years ago was a Cooper, had been very active with the ranch until she was married. He said she had wed into the old Texas family far removed from the central family’s power and wealth. Waggoner owned and operated several grain silo operations and a cattle feedlot. They were happily tucked away in the northwestern region of the Texas Panhandle.

The only reason he mentioned her was because she was involved in the last land dispute a little over seven years ago. At that time, she was a junior in college. Beth had prompted the lawsuit against the Axtell family, namely Wendy, after she had researched deeds from the 1940s and early 1950s. He said that was the case where he met Wendy for the first time. She was yet to be a Shearer.

The last thing Charles said was that I needed to research these people on my own. He could supply information but that might taint my thinking. Heaven forbid, I should save time.

Armed with this information, I began researching them, including Beth. I already had an armload of information on Jack, so no need to dig any deeper. I immediately doubted Edward as a suspect, so I called him first. He owned a Kia dealership and a construction company. When I called him, he said he had nothing to do with the ranch. He went on to say that he and Abraham did not get along. He didn’t grow up on the ranch and knew very little about it and its problems. Problems? Edward indicated he was aware of the rift between the two families as he was always listed on the suits. I mentioned to him that his name was listed on this lawsuit.

He laughed and said, “I get that all the time. My name is Cooper, so I’m involved in every suit. Don’t misunderstand me. My name was on the will of my Granddaddy Seth, yet what land he gave me I sold to Abraham within days.

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