The Mystery of Chad Harris, Chapter 60
“ I don’t believe you. There is NO WAY that Grace is Chad’s mother.”
“ Why would I lie to you?”
” Oh, I don’t know. You’ve been lying for 50 years. “
“ You wanted the truth. I told you it wouldn’t be easy.”
“ Don’t you think I’d remember being with Grace Bennett? She’s such a stiff
pill. It’s not like she’s my ‘type’. “
“ You think she was always like that? Like many others, there was a time
when she was ‘experimenting’ with her life. She had many questions about
herself, and that’s what drew her to New Orleans.”
“ Explain.”
” You know about the Standish ‘gift’?”
“ You mean how she and her niece Charity have ‘visions?”
” You say it like a skeptic. Well, the Standish gifts are very real. Every
woman in that family has a gift. Some stronger than others. The girl Charity’s
is the strongest of them all. Grace had a sister, a twin – Faith. Their powers
were equal. When they were together, it was haunting. But, while Grace accepted
her powers as a gift, Faith was afraid of them. That was the legacy of their
mother. Mercy understood the powers, but didn’t want them. Though she
married one man, Grace and Faith’s father was someone else. “
” Who?”
“ His name was Jacques Dubon. He immigrated to New Orleans from Haiti. He
was a very evil man, and a High Priest in the dark arts.”
” Like in witches and warlocks?”
” Like in voodoo. When he met Mercy, he could feel the strength of the Standish
powers, and he wanted to reproduce with her in order to harness his children’s
powers for evil. Though Mercy fell under his spell, her powers eventually
came out to protect her, and she vanished one day from New Orleans. She escaped
to New England, where she raised her daughters. Since they came out looking
White, nobody questioned their heritage. Grace was always the adventurous
one. Faith was scared of evil; she thought it lurked around every corner.
Grace wanted to live life. Especially after growing up in a repressed house
with Mercy and Faith. And, somehow, Grace found herself in New Orleans. I
just happened to be visiting, and I knew her. I knew she was Mercy’s child.
She was so curious about everything.”
“ And me?”
“ You two came together during Mardi Gras. I have friends in New Orleans.
A network of people invisible to the eyes of most. But, they kept an eye
on you. Grace got involved in a group of voodoo worshipers. From what I found
out later, Grace met you, and seduced you with the help of certain potions.
You woke up, in a house on the outskirts of New Orleans, without a memory
of what happened.”
“ I…I remember that. One of the few times in my life where an entire block
of days was not in my memory. I partied hard over the years, but never
drew a complete blank about a period of time. So, that’s what happened.”
” Yes. Grace, like her mother, though initially seduced by the darkness,
ultimately decided against it, and left town. I found her again months later,
in a small town in Vermont, on an antiquing trip. She was obviously pregnant.
Didn’t take much deduction to figure out who the father was.”
” Did she know me? Know my name? How to contact me?”
” No. She had no idea of who you were. But, Alistair knew.”
” How can you be sure?”
” She was very lonely back then, so it didn’t take much time for her to open
up to me, and she admitted that she got the feeling that she was constantly
being watched. I pretended that I left her, but watched her. And, sure enough,
there was someone following her. Only one person could possibly know about
Grace and you, and that’s Alistair. I made sure that Grace had my number,
and I suggested to her that she move to Boston.”
” Because you knew about Eve? How?”
“ I knew the band leader at the Blue Note – Orville, from Alistair and that
fiasco. He called me, and told me that you were involved with a young woman,
and had gotten her pregnant. And, that she was Black. I knew nothing good
could come of it. I knew if I knew, Alistair did also, and he’d NEVER allow
a visibly Black Crane to defile his precious family. I told Grace to call
me when she went into labor. That I would come and be with her. She was so
appreciative to have someone who cared, she didn’t ask why. The calls came
within 15 minutes of one another. Grace’s and Orville’s. I took a flight
to Boston, and made it to the hospital for Grace. Within two hours, she had
given birth. I could sense the evil around the hospital. Death was a cloud.
I knew I had to take the baby in order to make sure that it stayed alive.
I had arranged, through friends of mine, for the baby to be ‘abandoned’ in
another part of town. When I got back to the hospital, Grace was gone. She
left me a note, saying that she sensed evil at the hospital, and was going
home where she felt safe. She knew that her baby was protected in the hospital,
but feared for herself. I then went to the hospital where Eve was. But, I
was too late. When I got to the nursery, I saw the nurses huddled over a
child, trying to revive it. And, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Orville.
I knew he had done his ‘job’ and Eve’s child was dead. I can still remember
the screams from the room when they told Eve. It broke my heart. I was very
familiar with those screams.”
Madelaine stopped, and went to the fireplace. Julian could see the tears
running down her cheeks. She sighed deeply and continued.
“ My plan had been for Grace to ‘adopt’ her own baby. But, I realized that
Alistair would kill him, just as he had done Eve’s. So, it was best this
way. When I went the next evening to see Grace, her house was up in flames.
She was in a coma as a result. When she woke up, she had no idea of her past.
I took it to be providence. “
“ How….How did you know that Chad was our son? Because he doesn’t..”
” Look white? You had a shot that your Black recessive genes, and Grace’s
would mix, resulting in a Black looking child. And, it did. He had the medallion
necklace I gave him as a baby. Plus, he had your eyes. He has Alistair’s
eyes, and I would NEVER forget them as long as I live.”
“ And you never told anyone?”
” Why would I tell, Julian? Grace has never remembered her past. She can’t
miss a child she doesn’t know about. Eve, on the other hand, has mourned
her child EVERY DAY since it died. It was for the best.”
” YOU HAD NO RIGHT TO PLAY GOD!”
“ I had every right. Because I had FIFTY YEARS to think about the right solution.
I did what was best, Julian. Eve got her son back. You got a wonderful son
in Chad. My granddaughters got a brother. It was for the best. It was an
explanation that everyone could live with.”
” Maybe I can’t. Maybe I want to tell the truth.”
” What good would it do? You ready to call up Al Sharpton and have lunch
at Sylvia’s in Harlem? Ready to hang out with Master P and Russell Simmons?
Have your buddies at every WASP club up and down the East Coast realize that
they integrated their clubs years ago? I think not, Julian. You having a
Black son is one thing. You BEING Black is something different altogether.
And, if it was revealed that Grace was Chad’s mother, then the questions
would have to begin. WHO exactly had the recessive genes? And, that would
have wound up on my doorstep. I will NOT hurt Theodore that way. I won’t.
I will not allow Alistair to destroy my relationship with my son. Never.
So, you’re going to keep your mouth shut. It’s not the first lie you’ve told.
Won’t be the last. Chad has his mother. Eve has her son. Grace will be the
adoring and trusting Godmother. Theodore has his family. And, you have yours.
I will not be robbed of one more mutherfucking thing by Alistair Crane. Do
you understand?”
The complete ice in her voice sent a chill down Julian’s spine. He couldn’t
believe the information that had been revealed. There was nothing but silence
between them, and then Julian stood.
“ I have to go talk to a technician about some tests. Thank you for your
time, Mrs. Russell.”
Julian left the Russell house, and Madelaine broke down in tears.