AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Don’t put a lot on my plate, boys. We need to leave soon.”
“We know, Mom,” they said, and kept working.
Dani couldn’t help but stare at the four men in the room. It was blatantly obvious they were brothers. Some taller than others, but all taller than six feet. All with varying shapes of the same faces, and all with different styles of the same straight black hair.
“Shirley, you sure made four beautiful sons,” she whispered.
Shirley beamed. “Why, thank you, honey. I’m proud of them all.”
“As you should be,” Dani said.
Aaron turned around to take his mother’s food back to the table and saw them with their heads together, chattering away, and smiled. Dani fit him like a glove, and she was fitting into the family like the last piece of a puzzle.
“Eat up, Mom. We’ll clean the kitchen and put away the leftovers,” he said.
“Thank you, son,” Shirley said, and picked up her fork.
By the time Shirley had finished eating, they had everything put away and the countertops gleaming. They put her fork into the dishwasher, then started it as Wiley carried out the garbage.
A short while later, they loaded up into two cars and headed up the mountain to the meeting.
Cameron and Rusty came early because he’d called the meeting and because it was protocol to be sure to be on hand to welcome guests.
Back when they’d first discovered the journal’s existence and gotten permission to read it, Cameron had recorded the journal as it was read aloud at thepolice station. But since then, he’d had the entire journal scanned and was having bound copies made for the families.
He knew the existing Pope, Glass, and Cauley families would be shocked, and he felt certain there would be enough of them willing to help in the search. He also knew it would be a daunting task. Maybe an impossible task after all these years, but he also knew if they didn’t solve this mystery of the missing gold, they would spend the rest of their lives dealing with treasure hunters, wanting what Nyles Fairchild wanted. Willing to trespass—to steal something that didn’t belong to them. And hurt others in the process, just as Charlie had been hurt.
Brother Farley was in the church office going through notes for his next Sunday sermon and awaiting Cameron’s request to join them. He didn’t know what was going on, but he’d soon find out. And if it affected his entire congregation, he needed to know what they were facing.
John and Annie Cauley were the first to arrive at the meeting because they lived the closest to the church, and they brought Aunt Ella with them. Cameron’s sister Rachel, her husband Louis, and their daughter, Lili, arrived next, with Louis’s father, Marcus Glass.
Annie’s daughters and grandchildren arrived, and went to work with their assignment manning the church nursery to babysit the little ones during the meeting, with snacks already laid out to help pass the time.
After that, one family after another began arriving, including Ray and Betty Raines with Charlie. Each of them greeted the others and settled into little groups to visit until the meeting began.
And then Shirley and her sons arrived, but with a stranger, and the room went silent. She was a woman few of them knew or recognized, and they all looked at Cameron first to see his reaction.
He walked up the aisle to meet them, then gave the woman a quick hug.
“Dani, I’m so glad you could join us. Aaron, thank you for bringing her.”
“My pleasure,” Aaron said, and slipped his arm around Dani’s waist for moral support.
“Thank you for the invitation,” Dani said.
After listening to that interchange, the rest of the family relaxed. Whoever she was, she’d been invited. That was enough for them. Then, as the last stragglers arrived, Cameron stepped up to the pulpit.
Aaron felt Dani tense beside him and reached for her hand.
She glanced at him, taking comfort in his presence, and made herself relax. This wasn’t an inquisition. Just a revelation of facts, part of which included her.
Cameron adjusted the sound system, makingsure those sitting in the back could clearly hear him, then he began.
“First thing, I want to thank everyone for coming. I’m sure you’re all wondering what this is about. Basically, this mystery began when Charlie Raines was shot. We didn’t know why it happened, and took it as the miracle it was that he survived. Now, we all know who the man was and where he was from, and we know that because there was a witness.”
A resounding gasp rolled across the room, followed by a buzz of whispers. Then Cameron gave Aaron a nod.
“I’m going to ask Aaron to come up and explain the legal ramifications because he’s not just a Pope but is also the officer in the Jubilee Police Department who began part of the investigation, and the first person to interact with the witness.”
