“Then why don't you buy it yourself?”
“Conflict of interest. I'm running the sale.”
Earl considered the offer.
The auctioneer continued.
“Buy it cheaply. I'll take it off your hands afterward. We'll both make a little money.”
Earl agreed.
At the time, he had no reason to suspect the tractor might be historically important.
He believed the auctioneer simply wanted an inexpensive machine for a private buyer.
The arrangement was questionable because the auctioneer was not disclosing his personal financial interest to the estate.
But Earl did not examine that issue closely.
He only knew he might make a small profit without doing much work.
Then May's father called about the identification plate.
The auctioneer became alarmed.
Someone else had noticed.
Worse, that person had old drawings and a serial number.
He wondered how much the family knew.
He remembered hearing about May's grandfather, a respected mechanic who had spent decades repairing tractors in the county.
The old man had once been connected with experimental field equipment.
The auctioneer suddenly worried that the notebook might contain proof of the tractor's identity.
He called Earl.
“There's a problem.”
“What kind?”
“A mechanic's kid has been asking questions about Lot 47.”
Earl laughed.
“A kid?”
“Don't underestimate her.”
“What's she going to do? Buy it with lunch money?”
The auctioneer did not laugh.
“Just make sure you get that tractor.”
Earl shrugged.
“All right.”
The auctioneer ended the call.
Then he went to the equipment yard and examined the tractor again.
He wiped grease from the metal plate.
The characters became visible.
XH-47-01.
He photographed them.
Then he covered the plate with a strip of masking tape before taking the catalog photographs.
He told himself that the tape would keep curious buyers from asking difficult questions.
But the decision would later become one of the most damaging pieces of evidence against him.
The morning of the auction arrived clear and cool.
Sunlight poured through gaps in the wooden barn walls, illuminating drifting dust and rows of equipment.
Farmers arrived in pickup trucks.
Children followed their parents between machines.
Coffee was sold near the entrance.
The auctioneer's assistants arranged paperwork, checked bidder registrations, and prepared the microphone.