Page 14 of The Inquirer

I laughed with her, and the sound eased the tension a little more. “No, I didn’t think you were. I won’t bore you with all the family tree details, but what it boils down to is,” I focused my attention on Brew, “in 1791, your ancestor, Solomon Huxley, married a woman named Deborah Adams.”

He let out a low whistle. “You got that far back, did you? Isaac’s been tryin’ to research both our families for a while now. Am I able to tell him about this?”

“Actually, he sort of knows.” I pressed my damp palms on my thighs. “The genealogy site he uses is the same one that Kathie and Carmine used. Isaac reached out to them when he saw a connection to Kathie Mae. The short version is that Kathie’s ancestor, Deborah Adams, had a child in 1789, prior to her marriage to Solomon Huxley. That daughter’s name was Rachel, and she ended up taking Solomon’s last name. So, even though she and your ancestor, Alexander, both shared the same last name, they were only half-siblings.”

“Not being married don’t mean Solomon wasn’t Rachel’s daddy,” Brew pointed out. “‘Specially back then.”

I nodded. “That’s one of the reasons I had to come down here, to do some digging in things I couldn’t find online.”

“That’s why you were goin’ down to the historical district, checkin’ out churches and the like,” Shadae said.

“It is.” Now that my initial nervousness had faded, I was starting to get that excitement that only came with figuring out a puzzle. “If you want the details, I can give them, but the main point is that the rumor back then was that Rachel’s father was the oldest son of the family who owned the Adams family.”

There was anger on both Brew’s and Shadae’s faces, but no surprise.

“Kathie’s family is descended from Deborah’s daughter, Rachel,” I continued. “I wasn’t hired to prove that Rachel’s father had been a white slave owner. That discovery just…well, it supported the claim I had been hired to research. The claim was that Zachariah and Ester Adams – Deborah’s parents – had both been free when they married in 1771. Free, and they owned a fairly large farm. At the end of or shortly after the Revolutionary War, a white family stole everything from the Adams family, including their freedom, forcing them into slavery until after the Civil War freed them all.”

“Damn.” Brew breathed the word.

The fact that Shadae didn’t scold him for cursing was proof of how shocked they were.

“I don’t see what good knowing that’s gonna do,” Shadae said finally. “Not like we can hold people accountable now for something their ancestors did. If we could, most of the whole country would be sent ‘back where they came from.’”

“You’re right,” I said. “And I’m not a lawyer, so I don’t know all the legal terms and stuff, but I wasn’t just sent here to confirm the theft. I was sent to find out which family did it, and if that family continues to have knowledge of what happened. If they are aware of what their ancestors did and have actively covered it up, it makes it an ongoing crime.”

“And you found it?” Brew asked. “Shadae and I both agreed we hadn’t wanted to go digging.” He scratched at his chin. “I guess we didn’t want to find out if people we know had owned our families.”

My expression must’ve given me away because Shadae spoke before I could make the words form in my mouth.

“You did.” The very tips of her fingers covered her parted lips. “You figured it out, and it’s someone we know.”

I nodded. “I’m sorry, but yes. Now, I don’t have to tell you, but it’s going to come out anyway. My advice would be to hear it from me now so you’re not surprised by it in the future.”

“All right.” Brew pulled Shadae even tighter to his side. “I’d rather hear it from you.”

“Their name was Calvert.” I paused, seeing something flicker in Shadae’s eyes. She knew, but I said it anyway. “In 1898, the last Calvert from this specific line, Martha, married a man named Jeremiah Traylor.”

Silence.

They simply stared at me. It was almost like they expected me to suddenly start laughing and say it was all a joke Bradyn and I had set up. I didn’t know what to do, though. I couldn’t tell them what the Traylors knew or didn’t know. I couldn’t tell them that there would be legal justice for what had been taken.

And I couldn’t tell them that this was a joke.

There was, however, one thing I could tell them for certain.

“I have no idea how things came together to put me here.” My heart started pounding harder again. “I didn’t know Kathie had relatives in this area or that they would be a part of this case. I didn’t know who you were. I swear.”

“We believe you, sugar.” Shadae smiled at me. It didn’t quite reach her eyes, but I didn’t blame her.

It had been a shock for me to find out about Bradyn’s family. I couldn’t even imagine what it felt like for them. I didn’t know when they’d first met him, but I had no doubt they knew who Clancy was…and probably knew Clancy’s ‘family story.’

“Does Bradyn know?” Brew asked. “All of it? Some? Any?”

“I’m not sure,” I said honestly. “Whatever he does know didn’t come from me, though. I haven’t talked to him about my case.”

Shadae and Brew exchanged one of those glances that some couples used to have a whole conversation without saying a single word.

“Are we allowed to talk to anyone about this?” she asked.

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