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

There was a silence between the two woman that was only broken when the phone rang. The woman picked it up.

" Hello?"

" Mama?"

" Theodore? Is that you?"

" Yes, Mama, it’s me."

" What are you doing calling me?"

" Mama, I didn’t think that I needed a reason to call. Is everything alright, Mama?"

" Yes…yes…it’s just…you are a creature of habit, and you call every other day. You called yesterday, so, I just wasn’t expecting your call today."

" I know, Mama. But, things have happened here."

" Things? What is it? Something wrong with Whitney? Simone? Eve?"

" No, Mama. They’re all fine. I don’t know why it’s bothering me. A woman was murdered last night."

The tea cup, which had been in her hand, slipped to the floor, shattering.

" Mama? Mama?"

" I’m sorry, Theodore. A cup just slipped."

" Oh. Funny, I don’t ever remember you ever dropping anything."

" Enough about the cup. Who was the woman?"

" Her name was Crystal Harris."

" I see. Did you know her well?"

" That’s the problem. I just met her last night."

" If that’s true, then why has it upset you so?"

" She is…..was a singer. I wanted to cheer Eve up, so we went out to this club. She was visiting it. I happened to have run into her, and she said the weirdest thing to me."

" What was it?"

" She said that she had wanted to meet me, and that she had something to tell me. And, that the truth, ‘would set us all free’."

" All who?"

" I don’t know. I wasn’t the only one that she talked to last night. There’s a young man, I think I told you about him some time ago. He came to town to find his family, but, had no luck. Crystal had told him that she knew who his family was."

" Well, this woman seemed to be a treasure trove of information, Theodore."

" Mama…that’s not like you to be so sarcastic."

" I’m sorry, son. It’s just that you seemed awfully wrapped up in something that doesn’t concern you. What could this woman possibly have known to tell you? Did you know her before?"

" No. I told you, I had never seen her before."

" There, you prove my point. There is nothing of substance that she could have told you. If you didn’t know her, then what could she have been offering if not a con job?"

" I don’t know, Mama. She seemed so sincere."

" Most con artists are, my son. That’s why they’re able to pick their ‘marks’. "

" I didn’t know you had such little faith in my ability to judge character, Mama.", TC muttered.

" I have enormous faith in you. I just don’t want to see you get upset about something you can’t change. She’s gone, now. She can’t answer your question, and she can’t tell you anything. "

" I know…I know.  I think I wouldn’t be feeling as bad, if I hadn’t of run into Chad today."

" Who?"

" Chad Harris, the young man that this singer said she had information about his parents. "

" They had the same last name. Were they related?"

" I don’t think so. Chad’s Black…or, maybe bi-racial. I dunno."

" You’ve grown fond of this young man. I can hear it in your voice, Theodore."

" I suppose I have, Mama. I like him. I really do. And, ever since I’ve met him, I realize how much I enjoy having him in my company. He works for me at the school, and he helps me around the house and our buildings. "

" You have a kinship."

" Yes. And, between you and me, I believe that he’s falling for Whitney, and she, him.  "

" And, how does EVE feel about her daughter falling for a man with no family and roots?"

" She’s as upset about it, as you seem to be, Mama. But, Chad’s a good kid. Kind. Smart. Decent. So, he’s poor. I thought I was supposed to measure a man, not by his words, but, by his deeds. That’s what you and Dad always used to say."

" Don’t sass me, Theodore Claiborne Russell. You know that I only have the welfare of my granddaughter at stake. "

" I know, Mama. But, I feel that SOMEONE has to cut this kid a break. He hasn’t had one since the day he was born. I’m a teacher, Mama. You know that I went into teaching to help kids. Here’s one that could have turned out SO differently, but, he’s been choosing the right path. I think I owe it to him to help him."

" Why you?"

" Why NOT me? I was blessed. The older I become, I know just how blessed I was to have you and Dad as parents. What I had was special. This kid didn’t have just ‘not special’. He had NO-THING, Mama. How long can he keep on choosing the path of right, if no one is going to help him?"

TC waited for an answer, and heard a deep sigh. " You’re right, Theodore. Your father and I took you to church, and tried to rear you in the beliefs of the ‘Good Book.’ Helping those in most need is a basic tenant of Christianity. I…I just want you to be careful."

TC laughs. " Mama, this young man is harmless. I can’t see how helping him could hurt me in any way. I only have good intentions."

‘ The road to hell is paved with them’, she thought in her mind. Hoping to change the subject," So, when am I going to get a visit from my favorite son?"

" Mama, I’m your only son. And, though it was pushed back by Eve’s medical duties, we should be there within the next couple of weeks. The girls are looking forward to it."

" As am I. I don’t see you often enough."

" And, whose fault is that? You could visit Harmony every once in awhile. No one would ever believe that I HAD a mother, if they didn’t already know that I was raised in Harmony."

" Well, once I escaped those cold winters, I just had no interest in coming back.", lying and telling the truth in the same sentence.

" Thank you, Mama."

" For what, darling?"

" For always helping me, even when I don’t know what I want to do."

" And, you do now?"

" Yes. I think I know where to start."

" Well, be careful.."

" I will. Bye, Mama."

" Bye, Theodore. I love you."

" I know. Me too."

TC hangs up, and she puts down the phone. She gets up out of her chair, and goes to the glass wall, exposing her beloved garden. She is silent for a few moments, before she begins to speak.

" That was Theodore."

" So, I gathered."

" You were right. There was a death."

" Who?"

" Crystal."
 
" Oh my."

" Exactly."