The Forgotten Eden (40 page)

“‘
Finally we had enough, and contacted an attorney recommended by Carl, a Mr. Dwayne Stevenson from Demopolis. We arranged an appointment with him right after Thanksgiving that year. A nice enough fella in his late forties with lots of experience in criminal law; he told us he’d never encountered a case like ours before. After meeting with him for a few hours, he left us with a promise to get this whole thing resolved by Christmas. Calling our situation ‘the gravest miscarriage of justice he’d ever seen’, he intended to contact the judge in Birmingham who’d signed the arrest warrants in the first place on the following day, since they knew each other quite well.

“‘
We said goodbye to Mr. Stevenson and had a good feeling about things for the first time since your folks’ disappearance. That was the last time we ever saw him. We waited and waited, thinking he’d get back to us. When we felt we’d waited long enough, we called and left several messages for him at his office number’s voice mail. Elsie set out to find his home telephone number so she could give him a piece of her mind, she was so steamed about his apparent brush-off. She managed to obtain the number, and when she called it, Mr. Stevenson’s wife answered the phone. Once Elsie told her she was looking for him, Mrs. Stevenson burst into tears.

“‘
Elsie, being so tender hearted, felt bad for the woman—terribly bad, actually, when she found out what was going on. But at first she had no idea what to think of Mrs. Stevenson’s behavior. Once calmed down, she told Elsie that her husband died a few weeks back. He’d been killed when his car ran off the road near a bridge on Highway Forty-three. The accident happened the morning after his visit with us, on his way to see that judge up in Birmingham.

“‘
We felt awful for Mrs. Stevenson’s loss, and sent her a sympathy card and floral arrangement to let her know just how saddened we were for her. Elsie was as determined as ever to get to the bottom of this, since we both agreed it was a horribly strange coincidence that Mr. Stevenson would suffer an accident soon after talking to us.

“‘
We weren’t sure what to do next, but decided we should wait until after the holidays to plan our next move. This happened two days before Christmas. The very next morning, on Christmas Eve, Agent Stu Johnson stopped by to tell us we’d been released from our arrest. That’s all he said. No apology, no sorry about the mistake they’d made, no ‘Merry Christmas’,
no nothin’!!
He just collected the three U.S. Marshals on duty and left.

“‘
I had a good mind to say something to him about the whole goddamned affair, until I thought of Dwayne Stevenson’s fate. Meanwhile, Elsie ran out into the backyard. Sure enough, all the equipment, tents, and scientists had cleared out quietly the night before. But they left the sphere. They took our grandkids and our freedom, but they left us that goddamned cue ball!’

“‘
Getting angry, Grandpa paused to catch his breath and reorganize his thoughts before going on.

“‘
Sorry, boys,’ he told us, wiping at his eyes and nose. ‘I see you’ve both finished your drinks. Just let me get through this. Five more minutes tops, if even that much.’

“
We both nodded for him to continue, completely absorbed by everything he said.

“‘
Well, we were finally free, Elsie and me,’ he said. ‘Despite the tremendous stress from all of this, I assumed things would work out. Later that morning, a representative from the court in Birmingham came to visit us with some papers to fill out. The rep came with the social worker involved in removing you both from our care. We soon learned that even though our arrest was over, and despite the fact any and all charges against us dropped, the state authorities didn’t think we were fit to raise ya’ll.

“‘
The only way for us to regain custody of you boys was to fight the state’s decision through the legal system. Mrs. Joyce Summers, the social worker, advised what I confirmed later that day, the earliest court date available wasn’t until late February. This also meant we had to wait at least until then before we could see you boys again, since we were still restricted from having any contact with ya’ll.

“‘
This was the final straw for Elsie, even though we were on our way out of the hell we’d lived through over the past five months. After our two visitors left us, we spent a very somber Christmas together. I did my best to cheer her up, but she seemed to get more and more despondent by the day. She’d even grimace now and then, so I knew her heart palpitations, which had grown more frequent since September, were getting worse. Without having you boys around, there just wasn’t enough to get her through the grief of our first Christmas without our beloved daughter.

“‘
On the morning of December the twenty-ninth, just two days before our thirty-fifth New Year’s Eve together, I found her lying on the floor upstairs just a few feet away from the top step. I think she woke up sometime during the night, probably to get herself a glass of milk downstairs. Maybe she thought it was indigestion, but I’ve tried to thank God that the heart attack that killed her did so quickly and quietly.

“‘
We buried her in the double plot she and I’d purchased some years back on the other side of town, over in Greenbrier Cemetery, as you both know. Then, in February I managed to get custody of you boys again, and I’ve spent the last dozen years or so trying to raise you two as best as I can. But not a day goes by without me pining some for your mom and grandma—I’d surely be lying if I told you I wasn’t.’

“
Grandpa excused himself from our presence and left the dining room. We watched him go into the kitchen, where he wept. When he reached the kitchen table, he leaned on it and began to cry harder, his shoulders heaving as he could no longer contain the terrible pain within. I immediately went over and hugged him. Jeremy wasn’t able to maintain his facade of coolness, and soon followed. We all cried together, the emotional deluge spreading quickly from one to another.

“
I think this was the onset of true healing for each of us, the seeds of which had been sown two nights before when I’d brought the talisman inside our old farmhouse. As we stood together in the kitchen, the years of silence, pain, and misunderstanding flowed out through our tears.

“
When the tears subsided, Grandpa thanked us both for our support, telling us if it hadn’t been for our presence in his life he would’ve never made it this far. Finished with his story, he suggested we spend a few minutes checking out the mysterious photo album he’d set out on the dining room table. He told us he preferred to wait in the kitchen until we were done looking through it. After Jeremy stepped outside for a quick cigarette, my brother and I returned to the dining room.”

***

“
I guess we could stop here,” said Jack, whose stomach had just growled. He looked over at the door that remained shut. Christ, it’s been at least eight hours since they gave me anything to eat! … Processed peanut butter and cracker bullshit only lasts so long
....

“
But you’re not finished…are you?” Peter’s voice betrayed his disappointment as he followed Jack’s eyes to the door. “Like I said earlier, we can break for dinner and come back to finish this.”

“
What kind of shit do ya’ll serve for dinner around here?” asked Jack, cynically. “Or, does everything originate from a goddamned vending machine?”

He turned his gaze to the agent, his hazel eyes more brown than green now as his blood sugar continued to fall.

“
Well, normally the fare’s not so good for someone in your position,” Peter confessed, his approach concerned. “But you are my VIP, and with that comes certain privileges…. Just about anything you like can be had, as my guest.”

“
Hmmm…. Prime rib or filet mignon, perhaps?” Asked in fun, his hunger kept a full smile at bay.

“
Something similar, if not that,” said Peter, as serious as Jack looked. “I can at least guarantee top sirloin.”

“
USDA Grade A one hundred percent?”

“
Absolutely!”

“
Then I can wait a little longer,” said Jack, leaning forward in his seat. “Let’s get this over with…I’m getting closer to the end of it all.”

“
Okay, whatever you prefer.”

Peter offered another warm smile and motioned for Jack to continue.

“
Jeremy pulled his chair next to mine while I brought the heavy book over to us,” said Jack, resuming his tale. “It smelled musty when I opened it, and I noticed a small rip on the inside of the leather-bound album. The pictures near the front were old and yellowed. I glanced over my shoulder to where Grandpa sat at the kitchen table, listening to the radio on low volume while he smoked his pipe. The cherry almond aroma my favorite, I started to pick up the photo album to take it into the kitchen so Jeremy and I could join him there.

“‘
I’d prefer that you both keep that thing in there, if you don’t mind,’ said Grandpa. ‘It’s important to me that you look through it without my hindrance.’

“
Jeremy looked back at Grandpa quizzically, and almost said something. But after everything that’d taken place that evening, he decided to go along with what Grandpa wanted. He and I turned our attention to the photographs on the first page.

“
I recognized some images, since there were a number of pictures throughout the main floor of Grandpa and my Uncle Monty as youngsters. I was also familiar with the images of my great-grandmother and her mom and dad. As we moved through the pages, carefully turning each one over before going on to the next, the pictures were more recent. I paused to point out a photograph of Dr. Stratton to Jeremy, after I recognized the image was in fact the old man I met in Genovene’s village. Grandpa recognized that’s who we were looking at from my excited comments, and asked us to tell him when we reached the very end of the album.

“
As we neared the end of it, we found lots of photographs of our mom and a few that included Grandma and Grandpa. They looked like a real happy family when Mom was young. I lingered most on an image when she was a senior in high school, since nearly identical to how she looked when I first saw her in the village the day before. When Jeremy saw the picture he whistled and nodded approvingly

“‘
Goddamn
, mom was a real looker back in her day, huh?’ he cooed. ‘Sorry ya’ll, but
man-n-n!
The only pictures I’ve ever seen of Mom were when she was older. You know, the ones on the wall and that smaller photo beneath the coffee table in the living room. Oh, and the one on Jackie’s dresser upstairs.’

“‘
She was definitely something to behold, for sure,’ Grandpa agreed from the kitchen. ‘Just like her momma, though I’d say she got some of her good looks from her old man too.’ He chuckled, but grew sad again. ‘It’s no wonder you kids turned out so handsome with parents like Frank and Julie.... You should be just a few pages away from the end.’

“
He stood and slowly moved back to the dining room, where he leaned against one side of the doorway. He motioned for us to finish, puffing thoughtfully on his pipe.

“
The next page featured pictures from my parents’ wedding. Jeremy again commented on mom’s ‘hot’ look. Our dad wasn’t too shabby either. There was even a picture of him in his Atlanta Falcon uniform diving for a football on the album’s next to last page. Feeling a bit sad going through these pictures, we lingered on them the most. Nothing could’ve prepared us for the photos on the very last page.

“
Four of the five pictures featured our mom and dad and looked as if taken with a disposable camera. The quality wasn’t near as good as the other pictures. All of the shots appeared to have been taken in the backyard near the oak tree.

“‘
That one was taken shortly after ya’ll arrived from Atlanta,’ Grandpa advised, his voice a whisper as he stole a peek at the first photo over Jeremy’s shoulder. ‘Everything started out just fine.’

“
Indeed, my parents looked real happy. Dad held Jeremy against his shoulder and Mom had me in her arms. To be honest, Agent McNamee, to this day I just wish we’d closed the album right then and called it a night. Even though I knew they were now okay, the images of my parents in the ensuing photographs have haunted me since.

“
Several other photos had been removed from this last page at some point. Of the handful that remained, three pictures featured my mother and father, and each revealed the steady regression of their personalities—changes that defined their bizarre behavior during the last week in Carlsdale. Each shot taken in the same general area of the backyard, my brother and I were present in only one photo with them. The last picture. Even though they held us again, they seemed completely distracted. Dad’s attention was drawn to the oak, to his left, Mom’s gaze followed his. Even Jeremy frowned, which made me wonder why in the hell Grandpa kept this picture, or why anyone spent the effort capturing the shot in the first place.

“
Jeremy squinted his eyes as he studied the picture more closely. He gasped slightly, pulling on my arm. When I looked at where he pointed, at first I didn’t recognize the wispy image barely visible next to the south side of the oak tree. Once I brought my face close enough to confirm what was there, my blood immediately turned cold. I saw a face, which hardly stood out at all. Yet, the blue eyes and sardonic grin framed by ghost-like hair were clearly recognizable once I realized what I looked at.

“‘
Well, your reaction confirms what I’ve worried about since the other night when you first brought that talisman in here, Jack,’ said Grandpa, his voice hushed as he moved between us to close the album. He pushed it toward the middle of the table, and I silently prayed it’d be the last time I ever saw Genovene’s face.