Border Secured (A Scenario) Section 5 - Part 2

I looked at Reverend Julian, I had a sneaky feeling that I would not like what he was about to say to me. He cleared his throat and said that the names of Cassie’s harassers were not the only information that the Police had found in Cassie’s phone. In going through her text messages, they found evidence that the father of Cassie’s children was also a member of the TreTre Gang. “What!” exclaimed Maud. I was taken aback. Reverend Julian said the reason the children’s father was killed was because he did not turn over the money that he was sent to collect from a Businessman that the TreTre Gang had been extorting for years. They thought that he had given the money to Cassie, which was why they were harassing her.  It was never ever about any insurance money. I could not believe what I was hearing! I looked at Maud, she was so angry! “Cassie was

lying to me all this time! Imagine, after all that I was doing for her and the children!” she exclaimed. Conroy started to cry.  Reverend Julian, clearing his throat once again, said that when Cassie threatened to drown the children before he never once believe that she would actually carry out her threat. He felt so guilty when he heard what she did and blamed himself for missing the telltale signs of someone with depression. "You are not the only one who missed the signs." I said. “Anyway,”  he continued, “I not only went by where the gang members hung out, I also went by Cassie’s relatives to see if I could learn something more about her.” Reverend Julian said he was introduced to Cassie’s maternal Grandmother. In speaking with her he learned that Cassie’s mother had died when Cassie was six month's old and she did not know who Cassie's father was. The Grandmother said that when Cassie was born she tried to find out who the father was but Cassie’s mother refused to talk about him. However, before Cassie’s mother died, she gave her mother a sealed envelope and told her she was to give it to Cassie on her twenty-fifth birthday. Cassie would have celebrated this milestone in June of this year. The Grandmother said that just before Christmas she noticed that the envelope was missing from it’s usual place but because it was Christmas and she was so busy with her selling at the market she forgot all about it. She remembered it when Cassie left the house, after the children’s father was killed, and as much as she searched the entire house she could not find the envelope. I rolled my eyes. I looked at Reverend Julian and wondered why was he telling me about Cassie’s Grandmother and what did her selling at the market have to do with anything? He sighed at my expression.
The Grandmother also told him that Cassie was very rebellious and would not listen to her. She was so sorry about what had happened to the children. He said that while he was talking to her the Police stopped by the house. They had Cassie’s handbag, which someone had found near to the pier, and gave it to her Grandmother. After the Police left, the Grandmother looked inside the bag and exclaimed, “Here’s the envelope that I’ve been looking for! How did it reach in her bag?” The Grandmother pulled an envelope out of the bag. It was crushed and had obviously being opened and resealed. She opened the envelope, peered inside and then gave it to Reverend Julian and asked him if he would be so kind and read the letter that was inside it to her. Reverend Julian said that he hesitated to take the letter, saying that whatever was written there was private. The Grandmother then confided in him that she was illiterate and would be unable to read the contents of the letter and she would rather he, being a Priest, read it than someone else who was going to gossip about what they read. Reverend Julian said that when he scanned the contents of the letter he thought he was going to have a heart attack! He said he quickly told the Grandmother that he had forgotten his proper reading glasses at the church so he’ll have to go and get them. She told him to take the letter with him and tell her what was written in it when he returned. Reverend Julian cleared his throat again and looked me squarely in the eyes. I handed Conroy to Maud and asked the Reverend to come to the point and stop the theatrics. He handed me an envelope, saying that it was the envelope that was found in Cassie’s handbag. As I took the envelope from him a strange feeling came over me. I opened the envelope and took from it two folded sheets of paper. One was obviously a letter and the other seemed to be a legal document. Looking closely at it I realized that it was a birth certificate.

The name on the birth certificate read, CASSANDRA CHARMAINE, female child of Esmeralda Maragh, name and surname of father, Stanley Wellington. I gasped, and then laughingly said, “My father and Cassie’s father have the same name, what a coincidence!” “Read the letter Miss Cecilia.” said Reverend Julian. As if on cue with the Reverend’s words, there was a bolt of lightening and a loud sound of thunder that made us all jump. Conroy started to cry and Maud tried her best to comfort him. With trembling fingers I unfolded the letter. I recognized the handwriting in the letter and once again I fainted!