“Michael sweetheart, what if we don’t find it? Or it isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Then what? The most important thing for us here is the truth. Setting the history records straight. Okay, but you have to admit regardless of what we find or don’t find, the thrill is in the hunt. Isn’t it? I mean the possibility of finding a treasure of this size with that much history behind it, it gets under your skin and works at you. We could be standing on it as we speak. Think of that,” Katie explained.
“I see what you mean. It does work on you, doesn’t it? Okay, you’ve convinced me. So where do we start?” he asked.
“Katie tells me that your sister wants to be a history teacher,” Grady said.
“Yeah so? Oh, this would blow her mind, wouldn’t it?” Mike proclaimed.
“I’m sure that it would at that. So Katie and I have talked it over and have decided to let your sister in on all of this as well. But the decision to bring her into this is totally up to you,” Grady told him.
“Okay, so my sister wants to be a history teacher. I get that part of it. But I’m curious why would you want both of us in on this,” he asked.
“I’ll answer that for you, Michael. First off, you’re in this because of the way you treat me. I love you, and I know that you love me. So the choice is clear. But as far as Melissa is concerned, she’s only been here a short while, but she has accepted me into her heart and into your family as well. So if we bring her in, what does it do for us? The answer would be nothing except for maybe two more hands. But what it would do for her career? That would have to be seen. Melissa is a good woman with a solid heart. So you decide if she comes in or doesn’t. The choice is all yours to make,” Katie told him.
“And the two of you are okay with Melissa knowing all of this?” he asked.
“Sure . . . I mean if you two tell anyone, we’ll just have to kill the both of you,” Grady told him in a very stern and determined voice.
Mike just sat there with a look of disbelief on his face.
“Relax, son. I’m just kidding. We ain’t going to kill ya,” Grady said as he started laughing.
“Damn, Grady, I thought you were serious,” Mike said with a small grin on his face.
“Got ya, didn’t I? But in regard to your question, yes we’re fine with the two of you knowing all of this,” he told him.
“Well, I think Melissa would love to be included in this. In fact, I think she would be upset if she wasn’t,” he replied.
“Great then! We’ll tell her everything whenever we can get her over here. Okay?” Katie told him.
“How about tomorrow night then? Say right after work, is that okay?” Mike asked.
“That will be fine. I can’t wait to see the look on her face,” Katie said.
“Oh yeah, this is going to be good—no, this is going to be great.”
Melissa Learns Their Secrets
Mike hurried home from work to find his sister waiting for him. He had told her last night that he really wanted her to go with him over to Katie’s tonight right after work. He was glad to see that she was ready to go. So Mike took a real fast shower, dressed, and hurried downstairs.
“You ready ?” he asked.
“Yeah. But why won’t you tell me what this is all about?” she asked again.
“All I can tell you is that it’s big, really big,” he answered.
“So how big is it?” she asked.
“It will change your life, okay? So stop asking questions that I won’t answer, okay?” he told her.
“So you know what it is, don’t ya? Because you didn’t say that you couldn’t answer my questions. You said that you wouldn’t,” she boldly told him.
“Okay, that’s it. Quit it. You’ll just have to trust me. Period. Now, are you ready or what?” he asked her.
“That depends. Are you driving or am I?” she asked him.
“Well, if you promise to be quiet, I’ll let you drive, okay?” he told her.
“Fine. I guess I’m driving then,” she answered with a huge smile on her face.
And at that moment, he knew that his sweet, charming, lovable sister had set him up again. That shit-eating grin on her face confirmed that.
As they pulled up into the circular driveway of Matterson House, she just sat there staring at the huge house.
“What’s wrong?” he asked her.
“Oh, nothing, but I wonder how many people over the years had pulled up to this old house just like we just did. This house being so old and all,” she told him.
“I guess it would be a lot, a thousand or more I guess. But here’s the deal, sis, when you walk out of this old house, you’ll be in a very select group of people that knows what you’re about to learn,” he told her.
“Okay, I’m not driving home. So what is it already?” she demanded.
Mike refused to answer her, but instead, he got out of the door and walked up onto the porch and stood there waiting for her.
Are you coming?” he asked.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming. I just wish that I knew what I was getting into, is all,” she said as she got out of the car and joined him on the porch. Mike rang the bell.
Katie answered the door within seconds.
“What were you doing? Waiting for the bell to ring or something?” he asked her.
“No, silly, I heard the car drive up, is all. Come on in,” she told them.
“Katie my dear, would you please tell me why I’m here? He won’t tell me anything,” Melissa asked as she pointed toward her brother. Katie just threw Mike a questionable look.
“I haven’t told her anything. So she hasn’t a clue,” Mike told Katie.
Katie responded with a huge smile of understanding. “Sorry, Melissa, I don’t know either,” Katie told her as if she didn’t know anything. But Melissa knew better.
Katie lead them into the dining area where Grady had everything all laid out on the table.
“Well, hello there, Ms. Gibbes! How are we doing this evening?” Grady asked as he offered her a chair at the table.
“Please, Grady, just call me Mel,” she asked.
“Well, I reckon that I can call you whatever you wish me to call you,” Grady told her.
“Thank you, sir. Mel would be just fine then,” she answered.
“All right, Mel, what you are about to hear will change everything that you think you know about history. Well, at least about American history during the Civil War period, I reckon,” Grady told her.
“Oh, really now?” she said as she looked at Katie and Mike who had taken seats around the table across from Grady and Melissa.
“Yes, I know that you’re going to college to be a history teacher, but what you’ve learned so far will be nothing compared what you will learn in the next hour or so,” he told her.
“And where did you get your information, may I ask?” she inquired.
“All in due time. Everything that you are about to learn can be backed up with official documents from that period,” Grady told her.
“You have documents from the Civil War?” she asked. They could tell by the tone of her voice that he had her attention.
“You know what? Maybe, just maybe if you would be quiet for a few minutes, then Grady could explain everything to you. I promise you that you’ll be pleasantly surprised, okay?” Mike told her
“It’s okay, son. I want her to ask questions. Questions lead to answers, and we have a lot of answers, I reckon,” he told Michael.
“All right, everyone relax. I’ll get us some tea. Daddy, please start from the beginning,” Katie said as she started toward the kitchen. She stopped and whispered something into Melissa’s ear. Melissa just turned and threw her a big smile. Katie went into the kitchen. Mike followed her to help her with the tea.
He walked up behind her and gave her a hug and a fast kiss on the cheek. “Can I help?” he asked
“Grab four glasses, and thanks,” she told him.
“For what, carrying four glasses?”
he asked.
“No, silly, for the kiss,” she answered.
When they returned, Grady was explaining to Melissa about Sherman’s March. Melissa was glued to each and every word that Grady told her. You couldn’t pry her away if the house was on fire. But when he got to the part about the letters and he handed the first one to her, they could see her eyes light up.
“Just wait until she reads the second one. This is going to be great,” Mike whispered into Katie’s ear. She just smiled.
Grady told her about the second letter. And Grady strung it out as long as he could. Then he handed her the letter and waited for her response.
A few moments passed as she read the letter. They could tell that she had stopped reading and had started reading it over again. Then she stopped and looked at everyone else sat at the table. There was a look of utter disbelief on her face. Then the look on her face changed to one of total excitement.
“It’s here. The treasure is right here? Oh my god!” she proclaimed. In her excitement, she almost slipped off of her chair. The three of them didn’t say a word. They just let her go on. It was very entertaining to say the least.
“This is fantastic. No, this is, well, I don’t know what it is, but oh my God,” Melissa rambled on.
“Melissa, are you okay?” Katie asked her.
“What? Oh, I’m sorry. I’m just—well, I can’t believe this stuff. This is really real right. I mean this isn’t a joke or—?” Grady cut her off.
“Yes, dear, it’s real,” Grady told her. “It’s all documented, and we have the original documents to back it up. But there’s more if you’re ready.”
“More? You’re kidding, right?” she asked.
Grady went on to explain about the lists of bank accounts and everything else. Melissa darn near went into shock to find out that her great-grandfather actually had a lot of money back then. While fifty thousand dollars was still a lot of money in 1955, back in 1865, it was really a great deal of money.
“So my—I mean our great-grandfather was rich?” she asked Grady.
“Well, it would appear that way. I reckon that much money back then would have put them up at the top of the social ladder. Right up there with all of the other rich folks, I reckon,” Grady answered.
Melissa stopped and turned to face her brother. “Don’t you remember Dad telling us that his grandfather committed suicide when he was just a boy? Maybe we just found out why he did it,” Melissa told him.
“Wow, I never put it together before, but I think you’re right. We’ll have to do some more checking,” he answered.
Melissa picked up the list of bank accounts and started looking through the names. There were accounts listed for Lee, Robert E.; Davis, Jefferson; Stephens, Alexander; Toombs, Robert; and the list of names continued on to include several hundred others. Then she just stopped and stared. “Grady, let me see the other list for the other bank, would ya?” she asked.
“Sure. Why? What did you find?” he asked.
“Son of a bitch!” she said as she compared the two lists.
“What, sis? What is it?” Mike asked her.
“I’ll be a son of a bitch!” she proudly proclaimed.
“All right already, would you please tell us what you found?” Katie asked.
“Are you sure these are right? I mean, they’re real, right?” she asked Grady.
“Sure they’re real. I told you that they’ve been locked in a safe for almost ninety years. Why, what is it?” he asked again.
“Okay, are you ready for this? This is so cool. I’m surprised that you guys never saw it before,” she told them.
“Sis, stop it. What in the hell are you talking about?” Mike demanded to know.
Melissa laid both lists out on the table. Both lists were open to expose the first of many pages. “There ya go. See if you guys see what I see,” she told them.
Grady, Katie, and Mike stood over the documents, their eyes searching up and down the list. Katie saw it first.
“Oh my god!” she said out loud.
Melissa signaled for her to be quiet. “Let’s see how long it takes the guys to see it,” she told Katie.
“I can’t believe we missed it before. Come on, guys, it’s right there. Just look,” Katie told them.
“Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle! Hot darn! Damn! Right there and I missed it. I’ve looked at these darn thing over a hundred times, I reckon. Never saw it before. Good eyes there, Mel,” Grady told her.
“All right, guys, this isn’t fair. I don’t see anything,” Mike told them.
Katie leaned over his shoulder. “Read the names out loud to yourself. Start at the top of the Bs and see if you find it then. That’s how I found it,” she said.
They watched in deadly silence as Mike read each and every name on the list. Then they waited. He slowly read each and every name on the list out loud. But his voice got lower and lower.
“We can’t hear you, brother!” yelled his sister.
His voice got louder. “Books, William P., Booth, John W.—” he stopped.
“Booth, John W.? John Wilkes Booth?” he asked.
“Yeah, isn’t that weird? Why in the hell would an out-of-work actor have money in a Confederate bank? And not in just one bank but two separate banks and two separate accounts. And look at the deposit dates—April 14,1865. That’s the day before Lincoln was shot,” Melissa told them. “This truly changes everything that we know, until now that is. I mean it was always rumored that Booth was hired by the South, but this more or less confirms it,” Melissa finished.
“So Booth was hired by the Confederacy after all. Hot damn!” Michael said in a very loud voice.
“Honey, you need to calm down a bit. We’re right here. There ain’t no need for yelling,” Katie told him, a huge grin on her face.
“I know, but this is some exciting stuff, you know,” he answered.
“Yes, Michael, we know. But it does make a person wonder what else we can find in these papers, don’t it?” Grady suggested.
Saturday, Melissa’s Party
All day Friday, Matterson House and its large grassy yard was abuzz with activity. There were countless tables and even more chairs. From the response to the invitations, it appeared that Melissa had far more friends than even she knew. There was expected to be almost sixty-five confirmed guest and at least half that many that was pending. Grady had no idea what he was getting into when he first came up with this brainstorm.
Everyone had agreed to bring some food, so that was being handled. But Grady still wanted to do his famous barbeque chicken with his special sauce. But he had never intended on cooking over four dozen of those feathered egg-producing chickadees. But what the hell, why not?
In the center of the yard, they had erected a stage. Almost every person played some type of musical instrument, so not to crack a pun, the stage was set. If the people over in Charleston listened closely, they might hear the best southern pickings ever.
At seven o’clock Saturday morning, people started to arrive. By nine o’clock, over one hundred cars and trucks of every shape, style, and color filled the pasture north of the house. It was fast turning into one hell of a shindig. A local bluegrass band started off the festivities with some pretty wicked pickings.
Mike and Katie wandered among the storm of people. A quick glance at his watch told Mike that it was almost time. So they started heading to the stage. Melissa was waiting for them at the stage.
“Who the hell are all of these people?” she asked.
“You don’t know? They’re supposed to be your friends,” Katie said half yelling so she would be heard above the crowd of people and the music.
“I don’t have this many friends, or at least I don’t think I do,” Melissa answered.
“Well, I hope you know at least a half of them. Hell, I only know maybe ten people so far, and three of them are standing right here,” Mike said.
“Well, ya both have me beat,” Katie said with a giggle.
/>
About that, time Rick walked up to them. “Hey, am I in the right place?” he asked.
“Hey there, Rick. Yeah you’re in the right place all right. One hell of a turnout, ain’t it?” Mike answered.
“I didn’t know you had this many friends. Hell, this is just a welcome-home-from-college party, but it sure looks like your getting married or something!” he yelled to Melissa.
“Is that a proposal?” she asked.
“Maybe, I guess it depends on your answer now, doesn’t it?” he answered with a smile.
“We’ll talk about it later. It’s too noisy right now!” she yelled back at Rick.
Mike walked up on the stage. While he was pretty certain that he would have to do some serious yelling to get everyone’s attention, that wasn’t the case. In fact, as soon as he stepped up onto the stage, the crowd noise started to dissipate. Then it was quiet.
“First off, I’d like to welcome you all to my sister’s welcome-home party. And while I’m not sure who you all are, if you know and love Melissa as much as we do, then by all means, welcome to the party!” he told the crowd as they erupted into applause.
“We have some great entertainment here today, but if any of you want to come up here and join in on your instruments, then by all means, please do so. But in the meantime, there’s plenty of food, so eat up. And now, my very best friend in the world, you all know her by her given name, but I just call her my sister, Melissa,” he told them as Melissa stood up next to him.
“I’ll like to thank each and every one of you for coming. It really means a lot. I love you all. But we all need to thank one special person who put this all together before he even knew me. This is his house. So let’s say thanks to Grady Windslow!” she yelled to the crowd. The crowd was wild.
Grady just sat there in his chair next to the cooking birds. “It’s not Grady Windslow. It’s just Grady. How many times do I have to tell these people?” he asked himself.
“So let’s get this party going!” she yelled to the crowd. The band started playing again. Several people came up on stage with banjos and fiddles and a little bit of everything else. Sure, they were loud, but they all sounded great. The party was on. Melissa tried to go from table to table, but it wasn’t working. Someone always pulled her away. But still, it was a nice try. Mike and Katie sat next to his parents, just watching everything going on.
Hearts of Grey Page 12
