The 15th Star (A Lisa Grace History - Mystery)

by Lisa Grace

  When it was thick enough, Grace took the mortar and put some down on the stone, smeared it thick on the two sides and on the top. Grace then slid the stone in place. She took a rag out of her pocket and patted some extra mortar in around the stone. She noticed the mortar around her stone was lighter in color, so she took the rag and spread some more over the stones surrounding hers so it looked like a whole section had been done, not just hers. Satisfied, she put everything back in the basket, shook out her dress from sitting with all the dirt, picked up her basket and left Claggett’s without even bothering to say goodbye to the man. He was so busy moving his bags into the storage room he didn’t even notice.

  All the way home she looked all around her careful to stay with the crowds. She was afraid of Major Rivers and felt she had taken a big risk leaving the house. On the other hand, Grace knew he was a busy man and would not spend time that might attract unwanted attention to him. Grace knew she must stay with others and not get caught alone. Not until the letter she was mailing to him today reached him. Then she would be safe. As soon as Grace got home, she went up to her room and sat at her little writing desk.

  Grace penned her letter to Louisa.

  June 13th, 1819

  Dearest Louisa,

  I so scared, I do not no who to tell. If I die soon, I was kilt. He afraid I tell. I hid a letter an the star to proof I tells the truth. He kilt someone today. I saw him come out a her house, and she found dead. Why now? Why after all this years? I no not why. Mrs. Louisa I hide the letter an the star. So I did, but if I don tell someone where’s it hid, My safety die wid me. I sen him letter to tell him its hid an people no the truth. To ples lev me alone. Pray to God to keep me safe.

  Miss Grace

  Then Grace took out a second piece of stationary and wrote her clue. Mrs. Louisa would know exactly where she was talking about, because they had discussed it that day at the fort. After the flag had flown and she had seen how big it was, Louisa had wanted to know every detail of the making of the flag.

  Member’s where I sayd we sat an talk an sew the flag?

  Where the flag resting place

  How many states by provens

  Point from the star to a star

  When Grace was finished, she took the two letters and put them in an envelope. She sealed it and addressed it. She set it aside and then worked on the letter that would save her life.

  Major Stanton Rivers,

  I pray you and your family are well. I pray for your son a long an happy life. I to want to live my life in peace. I never bother you, never will. I has my own life now. So’s I have a letter hidden with proof of who I am. If I dies, people who know bout my proof, will submit the letter to powers, an the truth will be out. I never want to rite this letter but I saw what happen to Mrs. Tommie Lynn. That’s in the letter too. Please leave me alone an no one know but you, me, and God.

  Grace thought about signing her name, but if he did not know who she was, then she was safe. She left it unsigned. She knew as soon as he read the letter, he would burn it anyway.

  After she addressed the letter, Grace went down to the kitchen to find Mrs. Bethany.

  “Would you come with me to post some letters? I’ll wait till you are free.”

  Grace sat down and took out the color flag she’d been given to work on and started sewing while waiting on Bethany.

  “Sure Grace, right after I serve supper, we will head out together. Still afraid to go out on your own?”

  “Yes’m. I’ll feel better I’m sure in a few days or so.”

  “I’m sure you will, girl,” Bethany said as she finished getting the noon day meal together for the family and themselves.

  Grace clutched her letters, she wore her black dress with a bonnet and kept the veil down. She hadn’t worn it since coming out of mourning for her pretend little girl. She also wore white crocheted gloves. Every bit of her blackness covered in case Major Rivers was out and about. He would not be looking for a woman in mourning. There were still several women mourning the loss of their men or boys in the war, some years past now, but quite a few vowed they would mourn for the rest of their lives. So she was not out of place to be dressed in this way. Mrs. Bethany could see she was not in the mood to talk. She quietly walked along with Grace enjoying the weather of the day. When Grace got to the post she handed the letters to the boy behind the counter and instantly felt a sense of relief. She kept her head straight on the walk home, but kept a look out for the Major the whole time. She was not safe yet. Just almost safe.

  Midmorning the next day, when he went to his desk, Major Rivers saw the letter on nice stationary but inexpert writing. He quickly sliced it open and began to read.

  When he was done reading, Major Rivers checked the envelope. The letter was unsigned and so was the envelope. He sat back to think. He picked up his quill to make a list on the back of the letter who it could possibly be. He wrote the name Grace. He went back in his memory for other possible prospects but his gut feeling was that Tommie Lynn had been too naïve to lie. Obviously Grace had written the letter. She had observed him leaving Tommie Lynn's or guessed. Somebody else knew his son was not entirely…white. If he killed Grace and she was bluffing no harm would be done. But if she was telling the truth, if she had proof of where his son came from and her say so of the murder, it might cause social ruin. Fodder for the gossips. He’d fought hard for his country and his honor. He’d more than doubled his father’s wealth, but it took more than wealth to get where he was going. It took respect. There could not be a hint of a scandal. A written letter accusing his son of being part black and him being involved in a murder to cover it up, even with no proof, the scandal would keep him from his rightful place in history. To be a president of the United States he needed every social advantage. If he let Grace live, would she keep the secret? Surely she knew it was better for his son to be raised white. Would she want to ruin her son? Major Rivers read the letter again. His gut feeling told him she was too ignorant to play games. Grace was telling the truth. She knew his son was better off with him and his heritage. No, she would not do anything to harm his son. His gut told him she wrote this letter out of fear for her life. All she wanted was to live. Grace was smart enough to read him right.

  But Grace was wrong about one thing, his pride. Major Rivers kept the letter as a reminder that Grace was afraid of him. It gave him tremendous pleasure. With the war over, he didn’t get the opportunities to elicit the fear that kept him confident in his power.

  He stuck it right in the family Bible that was never opened except to record births, christenings, and deaths.

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  Chapter 11 - Julian, Ray and Keiko Present Time

  Julian turned the car onto one of the last streets on the left and pulled into an empty garage. As he got out he lowered the automatic door by pressing a button on the wall. He walked over to Keiko’s door and as she climbed out she instinctively went into his arms for hug.

  “It’s going to be okay,” Julian said into her hair, they stood that way for a minute until the door into the house opened.

  “Come on in. You can’t stay out there all day.” Standing in the doorway was a gentleman who appeared to be older but still handsome and virile.

  “Okay, so what’s going on Julian? You can’t keep me in suspense all day. It’s been awhile since I’ve been of some use. And who’s this pretty lady you are protecting? A matter of life and death you said. Your words not mine, and I‘ve never known you to exaggerate.”

  “Keiko Zorben, this is Raymond Macintyre, former intelligence agent extraordinaire and one of the smartest men I’ve ever met in my life. He’s a former code breaker and I think he can help us with the skills he has. And most importantly, I trust him with my life and yours.”

  Keiko smiled at Raymond and held out her hand, “Thank you for helping us.”

  “The pleasure’s all mine. Come in, come in,” Raymond led them down a hallway to an interior room.
I just ordered Chinese for all of us. Ho Wong’s makes the best. It should be here soon but come into the command center, sit down, and let’s see if we can make sense of what is going on.”

  When Keiko sat down, she looked around the room not quite believing her eyes. One whole wall was security camera screens not only of the outside his townhome, but around the development and some aimed in such a way they scanned the license plates of the cars coming into all three major gates into the neighborhood off the main roads. Raymond also had television screens running along the top of the wall, and a satellite view of the block also.

  On another wall he had a counter running the length with Police, Coast Guard, and Sheriff scanners. The only reason she knew is because they were marked. On a back wall were a variety of weapons.

  “Yes, this is command central, a little hobby of mine. It’s also a safe room. Of course, the whole townhome has bulletproof glass, or I couldn’t stand in front of a window. Knowing what I know, and having survived as long as I have, I think having a level of paranoia is smart. And at my age no one’s going to convince me to change.”

  “Son, what’s got you on the run?”

  “Keiko, do you mind showing Raymond the letters?”

  “Of course not,” Keiko pulled the letters out of the portfolio she was carrying them in and handed Raymond a pair of gloves. He put them on and looked at the letters one by one without saying a word.

  After he read the last letter, he looked up at the monitors, “We’ll discuss these after we eat. Stay here, food’s driving in right now. I’ll be right back.” Keiko and Julian were able to watch as the driver drove all the way to the point where Raymond paid him. Raymond reset the alarm and came back in carrying the food on a tray with three Cokes and three bottles of water.

  “Let’s pray first, shall we?” Keiko was mildly surprised in a pleasant way as she herself was a believer. She was relieved when Julian bowed his head and led them in prayer. “Dear heavenly Father, bless this food to nourish our bodies and send your angels to guard us in this time of trouble. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

  They dug into the food and Keiko felt herself relaxing. She felt safe. Even if she wasn’t in control of the situation, she knew she couldn’t be in any better company.

  “So how do you two know each other?” Keiko asked as she dug into her food.

  Raymond looked at Julian, raised his eyebrows, and laughed a little.

  Julian said, “I’m sorry Keiko, I should have told you earlier. In my defense, I was a little distracted by the danger we were in. Remember those missionaries I told you about on the reservation? Well, Ray taught there after he put his first twenty years in with the government. He adopted my older brother and me. Ray is my father.”

  “You know how unbelievable all this is,” Keiko said.

  “God works in mysterious ways,” Raymond joked.

  “So how long have you two known each other?” Ray said looking back and forth between Keiko and Julian.

  “Three and a half weeks, Dad. Keiko is the new intern I told you about. The one I’ve had my eye on. She discovered the letters and asked me to help find the star.”

  “So she’s been the one keeping you awake nights? The lovely intern,” Ray nodded approvingly.

  Keiko blushed, not sure how to answer. “I’m in the master’s program at Georgetown, but I would like to stay on at the Smithsonian, after my internship is up,” Keiko answered.

  “Ambitious too,” Ray said, between bites.

  Ray asked a couple of questions regarding Julian’s Cherokee project and then gave him a brief update on his brother, Jesse.

  After they ate, Julian cleared the table and then they sat down to business.

  “So son, what is this all about?” Ray asked.

  “We went to the Flag House this morning, found out the docent had been killed last night. Someone tried to run us over. I removed a bug off my car, but I’m not sure it was the only one.”

  Ray nodded, “Keiko, what do you the think the letters mean?”

  “Well I think it’s fairly obvious that Grace Wisher was attacked and raped the day she went to deliver the flag. The letter from Louisa backs that up. It also lends credence as to why Louisa would give Grace the missing fifteenth star. She was known to give away bits of the flag to those she thought of as heroes. I think from the clues in the letter that Grace hid the star along with a letter incriminating the person who was guilty of raping her. I also think according to what Grace records in her second letter, that the baby looked white, which is why she couldn’t keep him. I believe whoever raised the baby raised him as full white so he would have an heir. The letter dated June 13th, 1819 indicates that Grace sent basically a black mail letter to the father of her baby in an effort to keep him from murdering her. I think the father must have kept the letter and passed it down through the generations in the hopes of keeping the secret safe or possibly have an heir hunt the star and incriminating letter down. Also, it could be the reason why he killed the other lady, too. She may have been the only direct link to Grace.”

  Ray nodded in agreement, “If this is true, and one of his heirs is part of America’s political structure today, whoever he is, could feel this scandal, even though it is historical, could prevent him from reaching his political goals. And if Julian is correct, he’s already murdered the docent from the Flag House. His next goal has to be obtaining any letters we have and destroying them. Once Grace had hidden the star with the letter, she was safe. He was too afraid to kill her. Or maybe in some weird way, he felt he would be held in judgment if he killed the mother of his child.”

  Ray continued, “But now that the letter could be exposed with the star, our mystery person is threatened.”

  “Makes sense,” Julian said.

  Now let’s look at the letter with the clue,” Ray said.

  Member’s where I sayd we sat an talk an sew the flag?

  Where the flag resting place

  How many states by provens

  Point from the star to a star

  “Well that’s easy,” said Ray, “they made it at the Flag House right?”

  “No, not exactly,” Keiko said, “They might have done some piece work there, but this flag was huge. It was thirty feet tall and forty two feet long. They actually assembled it in the basement of Claggett’s Brewery.

  “I think Claggett’s is still around today. Do you have a computer? We can look up directions.”

  “No.” Julian and Ray said at the same time.

  Julian explained, “These people will have spyware hooked up to any sites looking for the same information you’re looking for at this time. We can’t risk it.”

  “They would be able to trace us here, through the IP address.”

  “Then how do we get the information we need?” Keiko asked.

  Ray took off his reading glasses, looked at Keiko and smiled, “Why, the old-fashioned way. We walk up to people and ask.”

  “Now before we leave let’s assume it’s Claggett’s Brewery or a long shot, the Flag House.”

  “How many states by provens? How would you interpret that, Keiko?”

  “We have to remember, Grace was functionally illiterate, so when she writes, she writes phonetically as to how she and others would have spoken circa 1812.

  ‘Provens’ would be a Province.”

  “Well there were fifteen stars on the flag,” Julian said, “So that means fifteen states, so how do we figure what provens means?” Julian asked.

  “The first clue is the first sentence. Where they talked about the flag. It has a double meaning. I believe Mrs. Pickersgill told Grace and the cousins a bit of trivia about flags while they were sewing. When the very first fifteen star flag was ordered there were actually only thirteen states at the time.”

  Keiko looked at them and smiled, “Vermont and Kentucky were only Providences that were applying for statehood. Congress hadn’t admitted them yet, though of course, it was a given they would. But in the earl
y 1790’s, fifteen stars and stripes were ordered to be put on the flags, to save from having to order new ones as those states were added.”

  “Tricky,” Julian smiled.

  “So chances are even if they have the clue, they’re probably looking in the wrong place.”

  Keiko grew pale and both Ray and Julian noticed.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I’ve been so careful, I stored copies on the main computer and on our third party site. I scanned in copies of the letters. Do you think they already have copies?”

  “Well they only found out who you were, when? Yesterday? Think. Did you leave a name?” Keiko thought.

  “I think I did, I told her I was with the Smithsonian and I’d be in at ten this morning. I do believe I gave her my name.”

  “Well they can’t be sure who you told. It’s a safe bet, they only found out this morning, when you showed up. Now they know where to look in the Smithsonian records, under your name.”

  “We need to find a hacker who can get us in from a remote site, buy a laptop just for that purpose, then ditch it, to find out if they have the letter too. If they do, it’ll only be a matter of time for them to find the star isn’t in the Flag House. Then they’ll examine the historical record. If they show up before us or at the same time at the brewery, we could be in trouble. Do either of you know of anybody who could do that? Who can hack and make sure the records haven’t been erased?”