CHAPTER FIVE
By early afternoon, Melora was waiting at Redemption House. She was in the nursery with Peaches when Cassie and her kids arrived.
“Well, how did it go this morning?” Peaches asked her friend.
Cassie smiled. “It went well.” She sat down at the table with them while her kids were busy with the other kids there. “We finally got to meet Quinn and she’s a good woman.”
“Was she mad about Deke finding out who she was?” Melora asked.
Cassie shrugged. “I don’t think so, well not mad exactly. She was surprised to find him sitting there when she opened her eyes. I think she thought he’d be like Sam and not want anything to do with her. Once they got past that she was pretty good about the whole thing.”
“I think Sam has more explaining to do.” Melora nodded.
“Such as?” Cassie frowned.
“Such as another daughter he hasn’t even seen. She’s fourteen.”
“Oh lordy.” Cassie groaned as she hung her head in her hands. “Karma is gonna be a bitch to this man, for sure. Doesn’t the man know what condoms are for?”
Peaches snickered from beside her.
Melora shrugged. “He told me he doesn’t like to use them.”
“He might not have to worry about that anymore when Deke finds out.” Cassie rolled her eyes.
“He’ll have to stand in line.” Peaches smirked. “I hear Mountain isn’t too happy with him at the moment.” She looked over at Cassie. “What’s going to happen now?”
“As soon as she’s released, she’ll be coming out to the compound to recover. She and Charlie will have one of the cabins if they don’t want to stay with us.” She paused then announced, “Oh and Sam showed up at the hospital just as I was leaving.”
Peaches shook her head. “Well, that should have been an interesting conversation.”
Cassie nodded. “I’m not sure who was more surprised, Deke, Quinn or Sam.”
“Speaking of family reunions,” Peaches whispered as she turned to face the door Leon and Calderone just came through.
As soon as little Sam saw Leon, he clapped and got to his feet. On shaky legs, he toddled over to the older man.
Leon’s smile grew as he watched the boy come to him. Picking the toddler up, he gave him a hug. Calderone picked up the baby girl crawling to him and together, they brought the kids over to their mother. Peaches had her own child in her arms as she waited for her father and grandfather.
Leon passed Sam to Cassie and took his great grandson in his arms. “I can’t wait for this one to walk toward me,” he told Peaches.
She smiled and watched the interaction between the two men who meant the world to her. “It shouldn’t be too much longer. He does love you guys.”
“So what brings you all the way here?” Cassie asked the two men.
“We missed the babies,” Calderone replied as he exchanged babies with his father. Holding his grandson in his arms, he looked like he couldn’t believe how quickly he was growing.
“Our lives have certainly changed since we got you back,” Leon commented as he grinned at Peaches. “Our family is growing.”
“Even more than you know,” Cassie said as she rubbed her belly.
Leon raised his brows. “Are you trying to tell us something?”
“Yes, I am. We’re expecting another baby. Not only me but Melora as well.”
Ahh…” Leon turned to Melora. “Congratulations are definitely in order then.” Turning to Peaches he told her, “You’ll have to hurry and catch up my dear.”
“Yeah, well maybe I’m not so far behind,” Peaches announced.
Cassie turned to her friend with a wide smile on her face. “Really?” she whispered.
Peaches nodded. “Yeah, I know it’s too soon but Jesse is going to be a big brother in about eight months.”
Cassie jumped up and hugged her friend. “That’s wonderful! The clubhouse is going to be full of babies!”
Leon and Calderone hugged her as well. “Well, this is good news!” Leon exclaimed. “I am gonna be a great grandpa again.” There were tears in his eyes. “To think we thought we lost you and now look at what we gained.”
Calderone bounced his grandson in his arms. “Did you hear that little one? You’re going to be a big brother.” When the baby gurgled back, he laughed out loud.
The door opened again.
Deke, Iceman, Sam, Raine and Sabbath came in. Iceman wrapped his arm around Peaches and looked at the two other men. At the sight of their grins, he knew Peaches had shared their news.
Leon held out his hand “Congratulations on the new baby.”
“Another one?” Raine asked.
“The next generation of Sin’s Bastards is well on its way,” Cassie assured them. Looking at Deke she asked, “How did it go this morning?”
“We’ll talk later.” He grinned. “But I think it went well.” Nodding toward Leon and Calderone he asked, “What brings them here?”
“I’m not sure,” Cassie replied. “They said they missed the babies but I have a feeling it’s more than that.”
“Yeah, me too.” Deke nodded. “I just hope they didn’t bring trouble with them.”
Cassie shuddered as she felt a chill. “I don’t think there could be anymore trouble do you? Janelle’s mess should be over.”
“Trouble like that is never really over,” Deke reminded her. “God only knows how deep her kind of trouble goes.”
“But it’s been over a year.”
Deke sat down and turned to Leon.
The older man had been watching him and he knew it was time to explain what brought them to Troy. Leon sat down and the others settled down.
When he brought the small book out of his pocket, Cassie gasped and paled.
Deke and the others turned to watch her for a moment.
“Where did you find that?” Cassie whispered as she stared at the book.
“It was amongst the things we recovered from Janelle’s house before it burned. Do you know what this book is?”
Cassie closed her eyes and nodded. “She bought it at an estate sale…” She paused. “I had hoped that book would have burned in the fire.”
“For what purpose?” Calderone asked.
Cassie shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I don’t think she did either.”
“I remember that book,” Peaches spoke up. “I think we were nine when she got it. She came home all excited one day. Lord, I haven’t thought about that for years. She was almost a different person that day. She was almost human or as close as she could get.”
“Yeah, I remember. It was a good day,” Cassie agreed.
“What happened then?” Leon asked.
Cassie shuddered again. “Are you sure you want to know?”
“Maybe not.” Leon stared at her. “What excited her about this book I wonder?”
“I don’t think it was the book itself but rather what she found in the book,” Cassie explained as she reached out for the book and when Leon gave it to her she quickly thumbed through it until she found what she was looking for. Leaving the book open, she pushed it back toward Leon.
The page she had opened the book to was the page that held the symbol he’d found earlier. “But what does this symbol mean? What was she so excited about?”
Everyone studied the symbol on the page.
Melora paled when she saw it but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she sat down hard on a chair.
“I’m not sure but this symbol drove her crazy. She couldn’t find it in any of the history books she looked at.” Cassie shook her head. “She couldn’t find it anywhere online either. All she could find were the rumors about this symbol.”
“And what were the rumors?” Deke asked.
“This symbol told smugglers where a treasure was hidden.”
“A hidden treasure?” Calderone scoffed. “Did anyone really believe that?”
Cassie nodded. “This symbol goes back all the way to before the Civil War. Back when Boston was a major port of call. There are caverns and tunnels under the city that no one has ever found. These tunnels and caverns held the goods smuggled in from Europe and South America. Smugglers used these caverns and tunnels to avoid paying the taxes King George demanded.”
“How did you find all this out?” Leon asked.
“She was talking about it to someone. I used to listen in on her conversations. She never realized anyone was listening but I did it all the time. Someone had to keep track of what was going on in that house.” Cassie shrugged. “That day was major enough to let us know something had happened. We didn’t know what it was but I had to find out. It was only later on after we’d left that I found out about the symbol. Peaches and I were in the library studying for our GED’s when I saw the symbol again, and then I remembered where I’d seen it before.”
“Do you know who she was talking to that day?” Deke asked.
“No.” Cassie shook her head. “But she did tell him she would cut him in on whatever they were able to find. If they found anything at all.”
“So there could be someone else involved? Like a silent partner,” Leon stated.
“And that someone may still be out there,” Sam added.
Melora groaned as her belly rolled.
Everyone turned to her.
“Are you okay?” Cassie asked.
Melora shook her head. She motioned toward the book. “Did anyone ever find the symbol?”
“Not that I know of,” Cassie replied. “The research I did in the library suggested the symbol was hidden deep within the city but no one has ever found it. Why?”
Melora paled even more and everyone grew concerned.
Finally, Cassie whispered, “You know where this symbol is don’t you? You’ve seen it.”
Melora nodded. “When I was in Boston hiding from Whiskey, I was using the old tunnel system. I found that symbol.”
“Do you remember where you saw it?” Leon asked.
Melora shook her head. “Not really. I was way underground at the time. It was carved into a doorframe. I didn’t really pay attention to it…” She paused then added, “I was looking for a safe place to hide. I was out by the water.”
“There’s a lot of water around Boston,” Calderone noted.
“I know but I had more to worry about than where I was,” Melora explained.
“Is this going to become a problem?” Deke wanted to know. “I don’t want my wife in any danger.”
“Or Melora,” Sam added.
“I hope not, but Janelle’s partner is still out there and we don’t know who he is or if still he’s waiting to find it,” Leon suggested.
“He’s been waiting a long time,” Peaches pointed out. “We were nine years old when she got that book.”
“True, but if he’s been researching this whole time, maybe he’s closer than we realize,” Leon pointed out.
“But would Janelle have shared the secret of the symbol with him or anyone?” Cassie wondered out loud. “She might not have shared this at all. She did tell him if she found anything she would share her find with him.”
“Anything is possible but with Janelle, its best not to assume anything.” Leon said. Turning to Cassie he asked, “Can you remember anything else from the phone conversation? A name perhaps?”
Cassie started to shake her head then remembered something. “I think she called him Mike or Michael but I didn’t hear a last name and I’m not really sure about the first name. It was so long ago and I was just a kid.”
“You might have been just a child but you paid attention to more than most children would,” Calderone said.
“My life usually depended on it.” Cassie assured him. “My life or someone else’s life. I had to pay attention.”
“No child should ever have to do what you did,” Leon stated quietly.
Deke got to his feet. Extending his hand to Leon and Calderone he asked, “Would you like to join us for supper tonight? We’re celebrating several new additions to our family at the clubhouse. Three new babies and I found a new sister and her brother.”
Leon and Calderone stood and agreed to be there. “Of course we will.”
“Good, Charlie has agreed to come too,” Deke stated. “Quinn is still in the hospital but she’ll be joining our group soon enough.”
“It sounds like your family is expanding as well.” Calderone smiled.
“Yes, it is.” Deke agreed. “I have a feeling it will again when Melora’s father comes back here to help with the baby.”
Melora chuckled. “That might be a day or two away.”
“Don’t you bet on that,” Sam grumbled. “He’ll be here soon enough, too soon to suit me.”
“That’s your own fault Bones.” Raine chuckled.
Sam’s fist shot out and slugged Raine’s shoulder.
Raine stumbled away and glared at the other man but didn’t say anything.
“Not here…not now,” Deke warned. “There are kids here that don’t need to see this shit.” Picking up his son he motioned for the others, “Come on, let’s celebrate new beginnings.”
~* * * *~
An hour later, a well-dressed young man entered the Redemption House common area. Amos and Frankie were standing in the lobby and Amos asked, “Can I help you?”
The young man smiled and held out a card. “My name is Eli Duggen. I work with the FBI out of Boston and I’m looking for Cassie Ryan. Would she be around? I understand she owns this place.”
Amos frowned as he watched the other man. He seemed legit but there was something about him Amos didn’t care for. “Cassie Tory operates this House and she isn’t here at the moment. Can I take a message?”
“Maybe you could tell me where I can find her?” Eli asked as he passed Amos a business card.
Amos glanced at the card but didn’t say anything. Even Frankie was quiet. “I can let her know you stopped by but she’ll have to call you back when she’s free.”
“That’s fine,” Eli replied. “This is just a follow up on the baby ring case we broke last year. We just want to tie everything up once and for all. We just need to know we got everyone involved.” He motioned toward the card in Amos’s hand. “Please have her give me a call.”
“Yeah, I’ll do that.” Amos nodded. Both men watched as Eli turned and walked out of the building.
Frankie was quiet for a moment then asked, “What do you suppose that was all about?”
“I don’t know.” Amos rubbed his jaw. “But I don’t think I like it.”
“I know what you mean,” Frankie replied. “He gave me the willies.”
“Yeah, he did me too.”