Here is Part 3, folks. Those who care to do so are invited to read the Author's Note at the end of this chapter. Enjoy!
- CM
*****
That evening when Kevin came home, I had dinner ready and waiting. It was just spaghetti with meatballs, but it was one of his favorites. He dug in with gusto!
"This is really good, Gracie!" he said. "Thank you!"
"I'm glad you like it, Kevin," I said, smiling as I watched him enjoy his dinner.
As we ate, we enjoyed each other's company in companionable silence. When we finished, I put away the leftovers while he washed the dishes. Then we settled ourselves on the couch.
"So," I began, almost reluctant to broach the subject. "You said you had an idea about our little underground problem?"
"I did, and I do," he agreed, draping an arm around my shoulders. "First, I'm going to clone the hard drive on that computer. Then, I'm going to make a 'surprise discovery.'"
"Oh?" I asked.
He nodded his head firmly.
"Yes," he said. "My story for the police will go like this: You and I got tired of all that office furniture, and since our Aunt Lily didn't want it either, we decided to get rid of it. When we went to remove the credenza, imagine what we found!"
"Sounds reasonable to me," I said with a shrug. "I assume you're cloning the hard drive for insurance purposes? Like, if there is a crooked cop somewhere in the chain of command?"
"Not entirely, although that thought had obviously occurred to me," he replied. "It's more that I want to find out exactly what our late uncle was really up to. To be honest, I can't believe he kept those video files on his computer. Granted, it was tucked away in a spot that was damn difficult to find. Still, he had to know there was more than enough there to put his ass away for a very long time."
"So why do you think he did keep all those files?" I asked.
"I can see two reasons right off the bat," he said. "You're the psychologist, so you can tell me which one you think is more likely. First, I think he kept some of them for personal enjoyment like a teenager might save his/her favorite porn clips in a secure folder on a computer. Second - and more to the point, really - I think it was an insurance policy of his own. Obviously, I haven't looked at everything there is to see, but I'll bet there are all kinds of records of his business dealings. Not just what he was doing, but who he was doing it with! If anyone tried to turn on Trent, he probably has enough down there to take the whole lot of them down with him!"
"That's certainly consistent with the way he thinks...I mean, the way he thought. But, wouldn't he have been worried about hacking?" I asked. I wasn't nearly as good with computers as Kevin was, but I knew enough to know that computer hard drives aren't the safest of places to store data these days.
"I doubt he was too concerned with hacking," Kevin snorted.
"Why wouldn't he be?"
Kevin shot me an incredulous look.
"Gracie, honey, there's no internet connection down there," he said. "There's no Wi-Fi or ethernet. That computer downstairs is completely isolated. The only way to see what's on the hard drive is to access it through the local interface."
He shrugged.
"The only thing he had to do under those circumstances was to make sure no one had physical access to the computer, other than him. Obviously, he must have been successful as far as that went."
Kevin sighed and pressed a gentle kiss on the top of my head. He squeezed me in a one-armed hug before he continued.
"My idea was to call Detective Lewis," he said, and I nodded.
Detective Andrea Lewis had been the lead detective assigned to investigate the shooting of Trent. She had dealt with the case fairly. She might or might not be assigned to the case I'm sure was about to be launched.
"I agree, she'd be the one to call," I said. Then I sighed.
"What-" Kevin began, then broke off. After a moment, he tried again. "What do we do about Aunt Lily?" His voice was very quiet.
"I'm not sure there is anything we CAN do for Aunt Lily," I replied, sadly. "At least, we can't do it ourselves. She needs the kind of help I can't give her. I won't lie to you, Kevin: it might actually be best to just let her be. She most likely doesn't consciously remember any of what she's been through. She might have nightmares, but that would probably be about it. As it is right now, she seems to be functioning fine; she's even enjoying life! She's engaging with family again, especially her children - even Jack! I see no need to rock the boat right now. If things change, if she starts to have waking flashbacks, or if it starts to impact her life in some other way, we should revisit the issue."
Kevin sat still for a long moment, thinking it through, and then he nodded his head slowly.
"Gracie, I trust your judgment on this a lot more than I'd ever trust my own. I'll go along with your advice."
I smiled and leaned back into him, snuggling close. I've always known that Kevin respected me and my intelligence. Nevertheless, his praise was always welcome! Then I felt his body tense beneath me.
"What's wrong, Kev?" I asked.
"I was just thinking," he said, his voice quiet.
I knew that tone. His brain was chewing on a problem, and I knew from experience that if I wanted an answer, it would be best to wait for him to work it out rather than try to pry it out before he was ready. So I waited patiently for several minutes while my brother tried to solve the problem on his mind.
"I was thinking about Jack," he said, finally.
That caught me a little off guard. As Kevin mentioned earlier in his part of our story, our cousin Jack was Elizabeth's oldest brother, and he'd been incarcerated since Kevin was in high school. Neither of us had ever asked why. The subject always reduced Elizabeth to tears, and Aunt Lily always got a blank, far away look whenever it came up. A blank, far away look? Could Kevin be thinking...
"I wonder if all of this has anything to do with why he's been locked up," Kevin said then, confirming what I'd been expecting. "It's an almost impossible subject to discuss with Aunt Lily - or Liza, for that matter. A couple years ago, I did quietly bring it up with the twins, but they didn't know anything about it that we haven't already heard. Elizabeth was the only one actually living at home at the time it happened, and no one would tell them any more about it than we already know. Even the trial records are sealed by court order."
"Are you thinking that Jack was a part of this, or are you thinking he found out and tried to put a stop to it?"
"It's literally impossible to say at this point, Gracie," he replied. "That's yet another reason I want to take a look at what's on that damn computer. I want to think that Jack tried to stop Trent, but ran into trouble and ended up getting sold up the river. But then, I always want to believe the best of people. It's one of my weaknesses."
"On the contrary!" I said, sharply. "It's a strength! Not to mention the fact that it's one of the many things I love about you!"
He smiled at me, then we shared a deep loving kiss. After a while, we parted and he closed his eyes.
"When are you going to call the detective?" I asked, finally.
"I'll want at least a couple of days before I do that," he said. "I want to do at least a little poking around beforehand. Hopefully, I won't find her name anywhere in there. But like you pointed out, in the end, I'll have to make the call no matter what. We quite simply can't hang on to all of that stuff."
"What if," I began, "We simply pretend that we never discovered it at all?"
"I'd thought about that," he admitted. "In fact, I almost suggested it to you. I guess if I'm going to be totally honest, I'm still thinking about it. It's not our house, and it's not our problem. I guess I just have this stubborn sense of duty that I don't have the common sense to put aside!"
He gave me a self-deprecating smile and shook his head. I took a moment and thought about the situation. Would it really be so bad for us to forget about that room and go on with our lives? To leave the mess for Aunt Lily to clean up? Surely we've fought our way (literally) through enough obstacles to satisfy anyone's sense of fair play! Haven't we earned the right to live our lives and be happy, without having to worry about everyone else's misery?
But even as these thoughts wound their way through my head, I knew what the answer to my internal question was. Kevin would never stand by and do nothing if he found out our cousin had been wrongfully imprisoned. He would never let a member of our family be harmed, either by his actions or by his inaction. It was his nature.
I also knew that I would be there by his side because that's where I belonged. Whatever happened, whatever fires we had to walk through, I would be there with him! His joys and sorrows, his triumphs and his defeats, his pleasures and his agonies, his peace and his battles, were all mine to share. Together we would prosper, or together we would die. Never again would I be parted from him. If that meant we never had a peaceful life with a little house, white picket fence, and 2.5 kids, then so be it!
"No. We can't do that," I said softly. "We can't just pretend we didn't find it."
I tilted my face up to look him in the eyes.
"I know you'll never let it go, love! And the truth is, I don't want you to. I think we have to do this. We have to see this through, no matter how deep the rot turns out to be. We'll face it together, Kevin, just like we will face everything else for the rest of our lives!"
"There's another thing to consider, too, before we make the call," Kevin said. "We need to sit down with Elizabeth and Fleur and tell them everything. They have a right to know."
"Yes, they have a right to know," I agreed. "I just hope that Elizabeth can handle the shock."
