The Mystery of Chad Harris: Fate Delivers Us, Chapter Nineteen
 
 

Jack, Chad and George come to Sal’s house. A short but wiry man opens the door.

" Hey Jack. Come on in."

They all go into the living room.

" Sal, this is an old friend of mine, George Alexopoulous, and this is Chad Harris, the young man he’s helping."

" You a cop?", he says to George.

" Bureau. Twenty years."

Sal nods. " You’ve got that Law Enforcement smell. "  He turns to Chad. " What’s your story?"

" Abandoned at birth. Trying to find my parents."

Sal nods. " You think one of them was in the music business?"

" My mother. A singer."

" Damn. You looking for a needle, aren’t you?"

" Yes, Sir."

He turns to George. " What do you have?"

" We believe that she was here, in Boston, around 25 years ago. She sang Jazz and The Blues."

" Certain about that?"

" Well, we have a bootleg of her voice."

" May I listen to it?"

Jack nods, and goes over to the CD system. Soon, the dark and smoky voice fills the room. The CD plays until the end.

" Damn good voice. She had talent. Real talent.", Sal says. " What else do you know about her?"

" That she probably lived with a White roommate."

" In Boston? Twenty-five years ago? Well, that narrows down the choices a lot. There were only a few places, even those that rented to the arts types, that would have had ‘ mixed’ living. " He picks up a piece of paper and writes some names. " This is all I can think of back then."  George takes the paper.

" We were thinking about clubs, Sal."

" Yeah, I was trying to recall them in my mind. You know, only a couple still exist, and even back then, it was under ten the places she could be singing that kind of material."

Sal wrote down the list.

" The first three are still in existence. The other three? Out of business,but that’s who ran them."

" Thanks Sal, for all your help.", Jack says, and they shake hands and leave.

Once outside, Jack turns to George. " What are you going to do?"

" I think we’re going to do try and find the living arrangements first. "

" Why? "

" It’s been my observation over the years that a nosy neighbor or landlord can be a treasure trove of information."

" Ok, George. I’ll see you guys around 8:30? Hotel restaurant?"

" Sure." George and Jack shake hands. Once Jack is gone, George turns to Chad. " I’m going to get some shut eye."

" Me too. Thanks a lot, Mr. A."

" No problem, Chad."

They each go into their rooms.

George gets a beer out of the mini-bar, and calls his wife.

" Hey Gorgeous."

" Well, Handsome. How’s it going?"

" Got some addresses. Tell me again why I’m in a hotel room hundreds of miles away from my beautiful wife?"

" Because, there’s a good young man, who only wants to know the basics of his life. And, you’re helping him. Without you, where would he be, George. You and I have roots. We’ve provided them for our children. He has NONE of that. Everyone should. Plus, you’re one of the good guys."

" Real genuine hero?"

" Absolutely. "

" God, I miss you."

" I know. But, we always have fantastic reunions, don’t we?"

George laughs at that statement, remembering how ‘well’ they make up, and listens, with joy, his wife telling him the antics of their children.
 
 

While George was talking to his wife, Chad couldn’t sleep, and was watching the TV. He wound up watching a rerun of Montel.

The topic was ‘Reunions Went Bad ‘.

He didn’t know what to think as he was watching these people tell Montel that the fairytale reunions that they thought would happen after they found their long-lost relatives, didn’t pan out.

She watched, with more interest, this young Black woman break down in tears, describing how she had finally found her White birth mother, only to be rebuffed. The girl found out that she had been the product of a rape, and her birth mother had nothing but awful things to say about her. She didn’t see her child, she only saw the young woman’s blackness, and had a few choice words to say about it. Seeing the young woman talk about her mother’s racial epithets towards her, brought tears to Chad’s eyes.  He had to click off the TV.

His entire life, since he found out he was adopted, he has wanted to find his parents. He has wanted a place to belong. But, a sudden wave of fear overcomes him. What happens if finding his parents turns out hurting his present life? For the first time, he feels like he has a place where he fits. He’s found friends in Harmony. It was unlikely, but, he has found a place where he could call home for awhile. He has real friends, in Ethan, Theresa, the Bennetts, Lopez-Fitzgeralds, and the Russells. Because of them, his dream might be coming true. But, what if something messed it up?

And, then, there’s the other part of him, who doesn’t think he can go forward if he doesn’t get some closure on this. He has to try, even if he fails. How can he plan a future, if he doesn’t know his past?

Chad gets into bed and falls asleep.
 
 

The next morning, the three men meet for breakfast.

" So, George, where do you want to start?", Jack asks.

" I think with the Chinatown addresses. They would have REALLY stood out back then. After that, we’ll take them one by one. "

They eat breakfast and then go to a Chinese market. A young man comes out.

" May I help you?"

" I’m looking for Mrs. Ming Chow.", George says.

" That’s my grandmother."

" I just want to ask her some questions. Nothing serious. I’m trying to help a friend find someone that she might have known."

The young man goes back into the store, and a few minutes later, an elegant Chinese woman comes out.

" May I help you?"

George says to her. " Would it be more comfortable for you if we spoke in Mandarin?", in flawless Mandarin.

" No need. My parents immigrated when I was five. I’ll understand you."

" Thank you, M’am. My name is George Alexopoulos. I’m in private investigation. I’m trying to help this young man find his parents. We believe that it’s possible you knew one of them. You used to rent to artists?"

" Years ago. I use those buildings now for new immigrants."

" Well, the women we’re looking for would have been a pair of singers: one Black, one White. Here’s a picture of one." He shows her a couple of pictures of Crystal. A current one, and once from a mugshot of Crystal years ago in Boston. Her eyes light up.

" Yes…I remember her. Her friend was Black. Curly hair. Pregnant."

George nods. " Yes."

" The White one had to go out and get ice cream all the time for her."

" Do you remember their names?", George asks.

" I’m sorry. American names I’m no good with. Or remembering faces until I see a picture. The only thing I remember is the curly hair. Not her face. But, she was pregnant. And liked lots of ice cream."

" You wouldn’t have records…", George stopped himself, when he looked at Mrs. Chow’s face. " Sorry. I understand."

" Thank you. I’m sorry I couldn’t help more."

" No, you did. Thank you, Mrs. Chow.", Chad says, as he shakes her hand and they walk out of the market.

" What now, Mr. A?", Chad asks.

" Well, since we found the place where she lived. We now need to find where she worked. We’ll go club by club. Jack, thanks so much, but, I think Chad and I can handle this. "

" No problem, George. You need anything, you have my number.  Chad, nice meeting you."

" Same."

" Bye, Jack." They watched Jack leave, and then looked at the first address of the clubs.