Chapter 8

The Proprietor's Cryptic Veil

Armed with the tantalizing possibility that Elias Abernathy is the man known as Bartholomew, Alex’s next logical step is to seek out the antique shop owner he encountered in 1969. The owner, who he recalls only as a nondescript older man, represents the last direct link to the moment of revelation. Alex knows finding him might be difficult; decades have passed, and businesses, like people, change. He begins by inquiring at the current antique shop, hoping the new owners might have information about their predecessor. This leads him on a small trail, a series of referrals and dead ends, until he finally learns the owner’s name: Mr. Abernathy. The irony is not lost on Alex; the name echoes the family he’s been investigating. He discovers that the owner, whose full name is Arthur Abernathy, was Silas Croft’s nephew and had inherited the antique shop, and possibly some of its more peculiar contents, from his uncle. Arthur, Alex learns, had worked with Silas at the funeral home during its final years, giving him a unique perspective and direct knowledge of its operations, including whatever transpired with Elias. Locating Arthur proves challenging. He’s described as a private man, someone who keeps to himself. Alex eventually finds him living in a modest, secluded house on the outskirts of Knoxville. Arthur Abernathy is now an elderly gentleman, his sharp features softened by age, but his eyes still hold that same unsettlingly calm, knowing glint Alex remembers. Alex approaches him cautiously, explaining his long-standing fascination with the mummified man and his research into the building’s history. He mentions the name Elias Abernathy, and Arthur’s demeanor shifts subtly. A flicker of recognition, perhaps a hint of weariness, crosses his face. He invites Alex inside, a testament to his own sense of historical duty or perhaps a desire to finally unburden himself. The interior of Arthur’s home is filled with antiques, meticulously arranged, but without the chaotic clutter of the shop. It feels curated, each object holding a story. Arthur offers Alex a cup of tea, and they begin to talk. Alex lays out his findings, his theory about Elias Abernathy, and his childhood memory of the encounter. Arthur listens patiently, nodding occasionally, his silence punctuated by long pauses. When Alex asks directly about Bartholomew, Arthur sighs. “Bartholomew,” he repeats, the name sounding foreign on his tongue. “That was Silas’s… nickname for him. A morbid joke, I suppose, for the man who became wood.” Arthur confirms that Elias Abernathy was indeed the individual in question. He explains that Silas Croft, his uncle, was a man fascinated by the darker aspects of mortality and preservation, a man who possessed an uncanny understanding of chemistry and natural processes. Elias, Arthur explains, was Silas’s secret project, a willing participant in an experiment that blurred the lines between life and death. Arthur recounts how Elias, ill and facing a slow, painful demise, had approached Silas with a desperate proposition. Elias had a profound fear of oblivion, a desire to leave a tangible, enduring mark on the world. He believed that through a combination of obscure natural compounds, specific environmental conditions, and Silas’s expertise, his body could be preserved in a unique, almost indestructible state – a living monument to his existence. Arthur admits that Silas was initially hesitant, but Elias’s persistence and his substantial family wealth, which Silas stood to benefit from, eventually swayed him. He reveals that Elias spent his final weeks at the funeral home, not as a patient, but as a willing subject. Silas, using his knowledge of embalming fluids, herbal concoctions, and perhaps even more esoteric substances, began the process. Arthur was a young man then, helping his uncle, and he witnessed parts of the process, though Silas kept the most critical details from him, perhaps to protect him or perhaps because he didn’t fully trust Arthur’s discretion. Arthur describes the gradual changes in Elias’s body – the hardening of the skin, the darkening of the flesh, the gradual transformation into a wood-like substance. He speaks of a specific chamber within the funeral home, a temperature-controlled environment where Elias was kept after his death, allowing the natural processes, manipulated by Silas’s interventions, to take their course. Arthur expresses a complex mix of emotions: a lingering unease about the unnaturalness of it all, a grudging respect for Silas’s morbid ingenuity, and a deep sadness for Elias’s desperate desire for immortality. He clarifies that the rocking chair was added later, a prop to make the figure more presentable, more like a piece of morbid art for the antique shop. Arthur’s reluctance to speak stems from Silas’s strict instructions for absolute secrecy, a pact that Arthur has kept for decades, burdened by the knowledge. He reveals that Silas saw Bartholomew as his ultimate achievement, a testament to his unique skills, and he intended to keep him as a private collection, a dark secret. It was only after Silas’s death and the subsequent sale of the funeral home that Arthur, needing to liquidate assets, decided to display Bartholomew in the antique shop, albeit with a carefully constructed narrative of him being a carving. The chapter ends with Arthur’s confession, a comprehensive explanation of Elias Abernathy’s transformation, delivered with a heavy heart. He provides Alex with the final, chilling confirmation of his suspicions, but also introduces new layers of complexity regarding Silas Croft’s role and the ethical implications of such an experiment. The hook is Arthur’s final statement, perhaps a warning or a plea, hinting that the story of Bartholomew is not entirely concluded, or that there are still lingering consequences of Silas’s actions.