Chapter 4: Family revelations

Murdock eagerly followed Ellen up to the attic. She opened up a wooden chest, which was full of different pieces of memorabilia. Murdock sifted carefully amongst the various letters, photographs, official documents and personal souvenirs that AJ had collected throughout his life.

Ellen also curiously glanced through the pile of stuff that Murdock had discarded to one side. Having been 8 years old when her father left, she still had memories of family life with him. She was surprised to find that he had kept birthday cards that she had made for him when she was younger, as well as drawings that she had painted and little Christmas decorations that she had brought home from school. There were also various family photos of AJ with both Samantha and Ellen's mother and separate photos of her and Face at various ages, up until he had left them. She picked up another bundle of photos, that Murdock hadn't looked at yet.

"Hey, look Murdock!" she suddenly exclaimed. "Here's a photo of Templeton in his Special Forces' uniform."

Murdock took the photo from Ellen and looked at it in surprise. Turning it over he saw it just had 1969 written on the back.

"Well wouldn't you know it," he said. "Looks like Daddy Bancroft was keeping an eye on his little boy after all!"

"I wonder why he didn't want to tell Temp that he was also his father?" wondered Ellen.

"Huh!" said Murdock. He had been lost in thought and missed what Ellen had said.

"I said, I wonder why he didn't tell Temp he was his father?" repeated Ellen. "I mean, he could have told us both together at the same time."

"I guess we'll never know that now, muchacha," said Murdock. "He certainly seemed to be a bit of an enigma! Look, this photo of Face looks like it could have been taken at the Orphanage and here's another one of him at Fort Bragg."

"And here's a photo of me on my wedding day and a few of the children when they were babies," gasped Ellen, as she continued looking through the pile of photos. She looked at Murdock rather apprehensively as she added in a worried voice, "how do you suppose he got hold of them?"

Murdock was also a little taken back by their findings. AJ had taken a big chance in keeping hold of this stuff. Although there was nothing in the photos to give away any information as to who they were or where they had been taken, it wouldn't have looked good if they had fallen into the wrong hands. Of course, Murdock already knew that AJ had a photo of both Ellen and Face. He had seen it when they had met through the team's latest assignment. Would it be so hard to presume that he would have kept this stuff for sentimental reasons?

"You've got to remember that he was a very influential person," said Murdock, finally. "He could have got people to find out about the two of you and take these pictures without you even knowing about it. Or maybe he accumulated them in later years, when he thought it would be safe to find out about you both."

"I'm not sure I like the sound of that," said Ellen, her eyes filled with alarm.

"Don't worry," reassured Murdock, kindly. "There's nothing they can do to you now Ellen. AJ is dead and the Mafia know they would be shooting themselves in the foot to go after you again."

"But not Temp?" she said in a low voice.

"I don't know for sure that this has anything to do with the Mafia, Ellen," said Murdock, trying to sound firm and decisive. But the thought did play uneasily on his mind. If Luciano was still after revenge, would he make arrangements for someone to come after Ellen? He was glad he hadn't told her about the mobster's part in all this. He made a mental note to make sure Stockwell was keeping a watchful eye on Ellen and her family until this thing had blown over.

"You said Samantha Bancroft was on the Witness Protection Program," said Ellen. "I wonder why my mother and I weren't offered protection?"

"Could be that nobody was interested in what had happened to AJ by the time he married your mother," suggested Murdock. "Or maybe AJ didn't have to worry about the Luciano family coming after him anymore. He probably had bigger fish to fry by then and had people who could protect him."

"Hmmm!" remarked Ellen, in a disapproving voice. "I wonder if he knew Samantha had died? If he didn't, then officially he was still married to her when he married mum."

Murdock pulled a face in agreement at Ellen's remark. It was obvious that there was a lot more to AJ Bancroft than met the eye!

"Funny how there doesn't seem to be any more photos of Templeton after the Special Forces' photo was taken," observed Ellen. "But he kept photos of me right up until I met him."

"Well a lot happened after Vietnam," deliberated Murdock. "It would have been difficult for even AJ and his associates to keep up with Face after that."

"Although he did manage to find him in the end," reminded Ellen.

Not really knowing how to answer Ellen, Murdock just nodded his head gravely. How AJ knew Stockwell had the A-Team would always remain a mystery. But he had lived in a world that was alien to Murdock. A world that was full of lies, deceit and corruption and where AJ seemed to vanish and re-appear as if by magic. A world where he played by his own rules and yet somewhere deep down inside, he appeared to have a conscience. Maybe Face was more like his father than he realised!

Ellen picked up the photo of her half-brother in his uniform again and looked at it for a few seconds.

"Murdock," she said gently. "If you know something about Templeton's mother, you should tell him. Even if it's not what he wants to hear."

Murdock looked over at Ellen, a pain expression on his face.

"I … I don't want to hurt him," he said simply.

"I know," replied Ellen. "But one of the things Temp said to me when I was angry about AJ, was that even if I didn't like what I found out by talking to him, at least I would know the truth. We got our chance to sort out our differences, but Temp was cheated out of his opportunity to do the same."

"And now the same thing could happen with his mom," frowned Murdock. "If we find out this woman isn't Samantha Bancroft, then he'll never know what happened to her if I don't tell him the truth."

"Exactly," said Ellen.

Murdock gave Ellen an uneasy, but grateful smile, as he continued rummaging through the documents. They sat in silence as they continued their search, until Murdock suddenly caught sight of some personal looking documents.

"This looks like Samantha's Marriage License," he said, scanning the details briefly. "Bride - Samantha Jane Robinson … Groom - Andrew James Bancroft … father of bride – Matthew Robinson …"

His eyes were drawn towards the witnesses' names. "Joanne Marie Robinson," he murmured to himself, just loud enough for Ellen to hear him. "Joanne Robinson …. Joanne …"

Ellen and Murdock both looked at each anxiously as the penny dropped. Murdock continued looking through the personal pile of documents and came across several family photos of Samantha with her mum, dad and what looked like a girl a couple of years younger than herself. Their resemblance to each other was remarkable. The looked almost like twins, except that Samantha was visibly taller than Joanne.

"Samantha had a sister!" deduced Murdock. "And she looks almost identical to Samantha - just a couple of years younger." He stopped abruptly as he picked up another photo. It looked like it could have been taken at Face's Christening. Samantha was in the picture with Joanne, who was holding the then, baby Richard. Samantha was wearing the same floral necklace as in Face's photo given to him by Luciano.

"You think she is the woman in the picture General Stockwell gave Templeton? asked Ellen, realising the implications to what Murdock was saying.

Murdock nodded furiously.

"What are you going to do?" asked Ellen

"I've got to tell Hannibal about this straightaway," said Murdock, grimly. "And then I'm gonna find Face. When it comes to trouble, they sure did hit the jackpot when they picked on him!"