Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here's chapter eleven of "Ride the Wind II: Justice Unbound." I'm glad it took just six days to get out. Brenda, Lilli, Jane, Izzy, and Dial will be making their first appearances very soon. Stay tuned for chapter twelve.

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Chapter 11: The Revelation

Annie added sugar to four coffee-filled mugs sitting on a tray in the Greenwood residence's kitchen forty minutes later. She stirred the contents in each of them as she looked toward the living room, where the others were. Jesse, Nadine, and Randolph sat on the first couch. Nancy was in Randolph's lap. Elvis, Glen, and Missy were seated on the second couch. Dwight, Andros, Ashley, Zhane, and Karone were in foldable chairs.

Annie took the spoon to the sink and placed it there. She returned to the tray with a sharp exhale. She picked it up. She carried it carefully into the living room. She came to the coffee table and laid it down. Andros, Ashley, Zhane, and Karone grabbed their coffee. They took long sips and nodded in approval. They turned to Annie.

"The coffee tastes great, Annie," Zhane said warmly.

"It sure does," Karone agreed.

"Thanks," Annie replied and went over to the first stool. She pulled it up beside the first couch. She sat down, a light grunt leaving her mouth. "I fixed Dwight some coffee earlier. He liked it too."

"If you had added a little more sugar, Annie, I would've been bouncing off the walls," Dwight joked.

"How about I dump a whole bag of sugar in your mouth, Dwight?" Jesse threatened playfully. "Then you would really bounce off the walls. You just might jump out the window and run around like crazy."

"Only if you dump a whole bag of sugar in your mouth first, Jesse," Dwight replied with mock annoyance.

"Okay, okay," Randolph said, holding up his hand. "It's time for Glen, Annie, Missy, and Dwight to tell us this important thing."

"Yeah. Let's get this over with," Elvis commented and cleared his throat. "It will be dinnertime before we know it."

"I am grilling hamburgers and hotdogs for dinner," Glen responded.

"That sounds good," Andros said warmly.

"Yep," Ashley agreed and shifted her position in her chair.

"Just don't let Nadine eat all the food," Jesse said and snickered.

"Very funny, Jesse," Nadine mumbled annoyingly and slapped him on the shoulder. "Someone should stuff hamburgers and hotdogs into your mouth."

"How about I help with that, Mommy?" Nancy asked, giggling as she kicked her legs about.

"Be my guest," Nadine said, eyeing her.

"You wish," Jesse whispered and made a weird noise.

"All right, guys," Missy muttered and rolled her eyes. "That is enough."

Jesse and Nadine held up their hands in surrender. She laid hers in her lap with a soft sigh. He placed his on top of the couch and spread out his arms. Glen rubbed his hands together.

"You know that none of us have been able to find good-quality pictures of Northwest Adventure Park's newest orca," Glen said seriously.

"Yeah. It is so weird that no good pictures of Lilli exist," Jesse said while shaking his head in disbelief.

Elvis huffed. "It is even weirder that the park doesn't have a Facebook page. You would think Dial would be eager to show off Lilli."

"The Angel Grove Aquarium has a Facebook page. It is very popular," Karone pointed out matter-of-factly.

Nadine smiled. "I've seen that page. It is set up very nicely."

Jesse nodded in agreement. "It sure is."

"Thanks," Ashley replied with a sweet smile.

"Anyway, Glen, Missy, Aiden, Kylie, and I decided to pay a visit to the park back in May. We wanted to see Lilli for ourselves at the aquatic theater. Dwight joined us soon after we got there. We watched Lilli, Jane, and Izzy perform with Brenda. We were amazed at how much Lilli resembled Isabella," Annie explained.

"Annie, what are you saying?" Karone wondered.

"You don't seem to making too much sense," Zhane added, raising his eyebrows.

Annie showed much confidence. "This may sound crazy, but Dwight, Glen, and I believe that Lilli and Isabella are the same orca."

Jesse, Nadine, Nancy, Elvis, Randolph, Andros, Ashley, Zhane, and Karone gasped in shock and disbelief. Jesse looked like he was about to fall off the couch and end up on the floor. Nadine put her hand over her mouth. She squeezed her eyes shut as tears stung them. She opened them, feeling them fall down her cheeks. Nancy felt her mouth hang open. Elvis placed his hands over his eyes. He began to cry.

Andros and Ashley looked at each other. They felt their mouths open and close, but they couldn't get any words to come out. Zhane and Karone trembled a bit, feeling their lower lips quiver. Randolph tried hard to keep tears from forming in his eyes, but it didn't work. Glen, Annie, Missy, and Dwight didn't move one bit. They had a feeling the others would react like this. Annie placed both of her feet on the stool.

"I know you don't want to believe it, but it is possible that Isabella is alive and was illegally caught from the wild," Annie insisted.

"How can that be, Annie?" Nadine asked. "The records show that Dial purchased Lilli from the Brighton Aquarium."

"That is true, but all of us know that many aquariums and marine parks have incomplete records. No one knows where Lilli came from," Glen pointed out.

"Lilli looks a lot like Isabella, except that her dorsal leans to right at a forty-five-degree angle. Her dorsal has knicks in it," Dwight commented truthfully.

"Did you get any pictures?" Andros asked curiously.

"Unfortunately, we didn't," Glen muttered regretfully. "We tried to take pictures with our IPhones, but spectators kept getting in the way."

"Then we have no way of determining if what you and Mom say is true, Dad," Elvis commented in much uncertainty.

"On top of that, I don't think Dial would risk going to jail by having an orca illegally caught from the wild for a second time. Many marine parks would be more than willing to give him orcas," Ashley added.

"I have a theory on how Isabella could've been illegally caught," Randolph said honestly.

Everyone looked at the Indian with very curious eyes. He put his hands in his lap, blinking twice.

"John Wesley disguised his whaling ship as one that fished for salmon. The captain of the whale hunters could've done the same. After they captured Isabella, they could've renamed her Lilli and sent her to the Brighton Aquarium under Dial's orders. They could've paid the owners a bunch of money to keep the illegal capture a secret. Then Dial could've purchased Isabella after she had been there for a few months. The captain who caught Willy likely pulled off a similar move," Randolph explained.

"I think that's a very plausible theory, Randolph," Zhane said.

"Me too," Karone agreed.

Elvis sighed heavily. "There's a problem with your theory, Randolph. Boats have been patrolling the area for signs of whale poachers since the 1997 poaching incident. It is likely they would've caught the hunters in the act of illegally capturing orcas."

"I agree with Elvis. With all the patrolling, it would be rather difficult to pull off an illegal capture," Nadine said.

"So true," Missy agreed. "I've been skeptical of Mom and Dad's belief that Lilli and Isabella are one in the same since the visit to the park."

Jesse swallowed hard. "Well, I believe Isabella is alive and in captivity."

Everyone turned his or her attention toward the young man. He looked up, his eyes full of hope. He pressed his lips together.

"Isabella was completely healthy the last time that Nadine, Nancy, Elvis, and I saw her before she disappeared. She never showed any sign of illness. All of us know that Dial would do anything to make money. What better way for him to do that than send Isabella to that aquarium and purchase her as Lilli?" Jesse asked, biting his lip.

"You are so right about the possibility of Isabella being sent to that aquarium and getting purchased as Lilli by Dial," Zhane commented and took a small sip of his coffee. "Who knows if Dial will try to acquire another illegally-caught wild orca? Any one of her podmates could be next."

"That is very true," Karone agreed. She took a long sip of her coffee. "I am willing to go to the park and see Lilli myself. I would love to know if she could be Isabella."

Zhane became very eager. "Me too."

"I'm willing to go with you two," Jesse said, gazing at the couple. "We will need to take pictures of Lilli and compare to Isabella to see if we can tell if they are one in the same." He exhaled. "It is the only way to be sure."

Randolph crossed his arms. "I am going with you three. If Lilli swims toward us like she recognizes us, it could be a clue she is really Isabella."

"Isabella has always been one for swimming up to people and squeaking in excitement," Karone murmured with a sniffle. "I miss her very much."

"I do too, but I don't know if I could go and see Lilli for myself," Nadine mumbled in uncertainty.

Elvis sighed sadly. "Me neither. I don't want to risk being disappointed."

"I am with Elvis and Nadine," Andros said, emitting a quiet sniffle.

"I am too," Ashley added while shaking her head in disbelief. "There is too much uncertainty."

Jesse frowned. "Randolph, Zhane, Karone, and I understand your feelings, guys, but we know all four of you would love to see Isabella again. If there is this slight chance she could be in that tank, then we've got to take the chance to find out the truth."

"Daddy is right," Nancy whispered with a small smile. "You should go with him, Uncle Zhane, Aunt Karone, and Uncle Randolph. I want to see Isabella again."

Andros, Ashley, Elvis, and Nadine looked at each other. Though they were uncertain about going to Northwest Adventure Park, they knew Jesse was right. They needed to know if Lilli and Isabella were one in the same. They wanted to see Isabella again so much. They turned back to Jesse and nodded at him.

"Okay, Jesse. We will go with you," Andros said.

"Great," Jesse answered, his face beaming with happiness.

"Yay!" Nancy cheered.

"Do you think we could talk to Brenda about this possibility of Lilli being Isabella?" Karone wondered curiously.

"We should do that," Randolph said, sighing heavily. "Unfortunately, I don't expect her to believe what we are telling her."

"None of us would believe it if any of us were Lilli's trainer," Missy admitted.

"You could try to convince Brenda to get a blood sample from Lilli, so we can see if her DNA matches Isabella's," Dwight suggested.

"I did bring a vial of Isabella's blood with me. I brought vials containing the blood of Willy, Nikki, and Max as well. I haven't gotten a sample from Nessa yet," Randolph explained. He formed a frown. "Brenda may not take kindly to such a request."

"You're likely right, Randolph," Glen agreed. "Annie, Missy, Aiden, Kylie, Dwight, and I saw how really close Brenda and Lilli were. Lilli seemed to get along with Izzy and Jane as well."

"Still, it is the best way to find out if Isabella and Lilli are the same orca," Randolph murmured truthfully.

"Who knows? Brenda just might give you a blood sample in hopes of being proven right about Lilli not being Isabella," Annie pointed out.

Randolph shrugged. He wrapped his arms around Nancy and gave her a small hug. He patted her stomach in a gentle manner.

"What if it turns out that Lilli's DNA matches Isabella's?" Missy wondered.

"Then we will have to bust Dial for obtaining an illegally caught wild orca. The only way that would work is for someone to wear a wiretap," Jesse answered in a little uncertainty.

Elvis snorted. "Perhaps Brenda could do that."

"She would be the best chance of us getting our evidence. Then again, she may refuse due to concerns about Dial becoming aware of being recorded," Randolph said in some dejection.

"Once we get our evidence and give it to the police, Dial will be arrested and charged with holding a protected wild orca in captivity illegally. We will need to get in contact with the USDA and see if they can help Isabella get back to the wild," Jesse explained.

Randolph blew softly. "We can't just drop Isabella in the water and leave her to her own devices. She needs to be held in a seapen much like Springer was after she was rescued. She can be fed salmon through a tube. After J-Pod is located, she can be transferred to another seapen. Once the orcas pass by, she can be released."

"That is a good plan," Andros said hopefully. He sipped some of his coffee along with Ashley. "Since Isabella was nine at the time of her disappearance, she would have a good chance of making it in the wild."

Glen rubbed his chin. "Springer was very lucky to be able to catch salmon at just two years old. Most two-year-old resident orcas are still learning that skill."

Annie yawned. "She has been doing very well since her rehabilitation and release. She should be having her first calf in the next year or so."

"Yeah," Glen said and snorted. He stood up with a loud grunt. "Anyway, I am going to start cleaning the grill. I am sure all of you are getting hungry."

The others voiced their agreement. Glen smiled and headed for the back door. He opened it. He stepped outside, closing it behind him. Jesse proceeded to talk about the first time he and Willy played together.