Chapter 151 – Becky and Cody Share About Their Past

Wynn and Dee headed back into the cafe. When they looked at Cody and Becky, they saw that Cody was eating and Elizabeth Rose was sitting with him. Becky had her sketchbook and was working on something, while Jacobs sat there talking to her. Elizabeth Rose looked up when her husband and son walked back over.

"Everything alright?" Elizabeth Rose asked.

"Yes." Wynn said. "McGinty was just updating us on Mountie business."

"Okay." Elizabeth Rose said.

She wasn't sure that she believed him, but was going to let it go for now.

"Anything I need to know?" Jacobs asked.

"Not right now." Wynn said.

"Okay." Jacobs said.

"What are you doing over there?" Wynn asked.

"Becky was telling me more about the orphanage." Jacobs said. "She was also telling me about the house that they lived in at Fort Garry."

"You know that Mountie Jack was at Fort Garry." Wynn said. "That was where he was before he came here."

"I know." Becky said. "He told me. I think I might have seen him before, but I am not sure. We didn't have a lot to do with the Mounties. My mother didn't like us to bother them. She also didn't like them."

"Why?" Dee asked.

"I don't know really." Becky said. "Every time we saw one, she would turn the other way or move away from them. I think that they made her uncomfortable. You would think that it would be my father who the Mounties made uncomfortable since he was American. I don't know much about my mother's family. I remember her saying that she spent more time in the States than Canada until she married my father. Then they were back and forth across the border a lot. I was born in the States and Cody was born in Fort Garry."

"I didn't know that." Wynn said.

Wynn looked at Jacobs and Dee, they both understood that they needed to look into that information since it was not known at the time that Cody and Becky were rescued.

"Well." Elizabeth Rose said. "That means your American as well as Canadian. That is pretty cool. Where were you born? Do you remember living in the States?"

"I was born in Chicago." Becky said. "My dad James was working there at the time. We came to Canada when I was about four. We lived in a couple places before we settled in Fort Garry. Dad rented a house there while he was working. I remember him promising to build Mom a huge house. He was in the process of looking for land and drawing up plans when he was killed by a drunk man."

"When were your parents killed?" Dee asked.

"It will be two years on the twenty-fifth." Becky said.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Jacobs said. "But what happened?"

"It is okay." Becky said. "I don't know the details, but I don't mind talking about it."

"Then how do you know it was a drunk man?" Wynn asked.

Before Becky could answer, Cody tugged on Wynn's sleeve.

"What, Cody?" Wynn asked.

"Can I talk to you and Dee alone?" Cody asked quietly.

Wynn looked around.

"Sure." Wynn said.

Wynn looked at his wife.

"Becky." Elizabeth Rose said. "Let's go see if there was anything that Abigail needed help with, then we should get ready for services. We can talk about this later."

"Okay." Becky said.

Elizabeth Rose and Becky headed to the kitchen. Once the ladies were in the kitchen, Wynn stood up and moved over to where Jacobs and Dee were sitting. Cody came over and stood between Dee and Wynn. He wouldn't look them in the eye, but they all knew that he had something to say. Wynn scooted back a bit and opened his arms. Cody went to him.

"So what was so important that you needed to talk to us?" Wynn asked.

Cody looked at Jacobs and then back at Wynn.

"It is okay." Wynn said. "Sergeant Jacobs is on our side. I trust him."

"Okay." Cody said.

"I know why Mama didn't like the Mounties." Cody said softly. "Dad told me one day when I told him that I wanted to grow up and be a Mountie. One of the children at school was talking about his uncle who had been a Mountie and how brave he was. There also had been a Mountie that came to our school one day. I talked to him for a little bit. I liked him. I don't remember his name, but he was nice to us. Anyway, it was after that that I told Dad I wanted to be a Mountie. It was one of the times that he took me for a ride and we were playing light brigade."

"Okay." Wynn said. "What did your dad say? I promise that nothing you tell us will make us upset with you."

"We just want to help you." Jacobs said. "Maybe something that your dad told us will help us find out more about you and Becky. Like Wynn said, we won't get mad."

"Okay." Cody said. "Mama didn't like the Mounties because Dad said Grandpa caused trouble and the Mounties didn't help until it was too late. He didn't tell me more, but he said that he would explain one day when I was older."

"Okay." Wynn said. "Thank you for telling us. Is there anything else that you want to tell us?"

"Becky doesn't know what happened when … with Dad and Mama." Cody said. "She just knows what she overheard others talking about."

"But you know something don't you?" Dee asked. "That is why you have nightmares sometimes."

Cody nodded his head, he then turned and buried his face in Wynn's chest. Wynn could feel Cody crying. He just held him and let him get whatever it was out. Dee and Jacobs just sat there and watched, neither knew what to say since they didn't know what Cody was upset about. After a few moments, Cody's sobs quieted. Wynn leaned him back and looked down.

"It is okay." Wynn said. "You can tell us. I promise we won't be mad. We just want to help you."

"If you are afraid of someone." Jacobs said. "We will keep you safe."

Cody just looked at him.

"Whose idea was it to run away from the orphanage?" Dee asked.

"I told Becky that they were going to separate us." Cody said. "I knew it would be enough. She didn't like the orphanage and I knew that this would push her to take us away."

"Why did you want to get away?" Dee asked.

Cody turned his face back to Wynn. Before Cody could tell them what was going on, Elizabeth Rose, Abigail, Patty and Becky came out into the dinning room.

"We were going to head to the grove." Patty said.

"We will join you in a little bit." Wynn said.

"Everything okay?" Abigail asked.

"We were just talking to Cody about why he was upset last night and didn't sleep." Dee said. "It is a guy problem."

Dee looked at his mother, he tilted his head and raised his eyebrow.

"Okay." Elizabeth Rose said. "We will save you a couple of spots."

"The Mounties will be in the back, on our horses." Jacobs said. "But save a seat for Cody. I will give him a ride out there."

"Okay." Elizabeth Rose said. "Let me know if there is anything that you need."

Elizabeth Rose, Abigail, Patty and Becky left. The guys waited a moment before turning back to Cody.

"Okay." Dee said. "No one will interrupt us. Can you tell us why you wanted to leave the orphanage? Why did you want for you and Becky to get away?"

Cody looked down and took a couple of deep breaths.

"Becky was right." Cody said. "Mama and Dad will be gone two years later this month, but they didn't die at the same time."

"What do you mean?" Dee asked.

"It goes back to a couple of days before." Cody said. "I was home. I faked being sick because I didn't want to be at school. Some of the older boys were picking on me. I wanted a break. Anyway when I was home, this man knocked on the door. Mama didn't realize that I had snuck out of my room. I saw the man at the door. He was angry with Mama. Mama told him to leave her alone and never contact her again. When Mama tried to shut the door, the man stopped her and told him that he was going to get his money."

Jacobs was furiously scribbling notes. Dee and Wynn saw that, so they would focus on Cody and try to get him to give more detail.

"What happened after that?" Dee asked.

"Mama told the man that she wouldn't give him a penny." Cody said. "She then forced the door shut and locked it. I made like I just came out of my room. When Mama asked why I was up, I told her that I thought I heard her talking to someone. She said that it was nothing, someone had just come to the door, but it was the wrong house. I didn't tell her what I had heard. I could tell that she was upset."

"So you saw this man that was upset at your mother?" Wynn asked.

"Yes." Cody said. "The next day, Mama made me go back to school. At recess that day, I saw the man watching us children. One of the teachers went to talk to him, but he turned and left before she could. The next day, Dad was killed on his way home from work. We were told that he was hit by a horse and wagon. I overheard some of the neighbors talking later that it was a drunk man driving. I am sure that is what Becky heard as well. That night, after Becky and I had gone to bed, I heard Mama again. Once again I snuck out of my room. It was the same man as before. He had pushed his way into the house and was again angry at Mama. He pushed her down and told her that if he didn't get his money that she would be next. When she was on the ground, he kicked her and told again that he wanted his money. As he stood over her, he spit on her and said that she could make it right by giving him the kids. The next morning, Mama didn't wake up. Becky went and got the neighbor. The other neighbor took Becky and I to her place.

Later that day, they told us that Mama had also died. We went back to the house and packed up a few things. We stayed with the neighbor for a few days until the funeral, then a man from the courts took us to the orphanage. He told us that we would just be there until they found some family to take us. I didn't know what he meant, since I didn't think that we had any family. When we were with the neighbors, I heard a couple of them talking late one night about how Dad had been beaten and they were afraid that there was someone after people. One said that they should go to the Mounties and the other said what good would that do, they didn't do anything when James reported things before."

"Did you ever tell anyone what you had seen or heard?" Dee asked.

"No." Cody said. "You are the first. Once we got to the orphanage, they took everything that Becky and I had brought. They only let us have three outfits. They wouldn't let us have any of the personal items or photos that we had brought. They barely let Becky and I spend time together. We were expected to do chores and schoolwork. By the time that those were done, it was time for lights out. Once I got caught sneaking into Becky's room because I had a nightmare. Both Becky and I got in trouble. Becky had to do extra chores. I got hit and told that if I did it again, I would be sent somewhere else. The only time that Becky and I got to spend time together was at school. She told me not to trust people because she wasn't sure that they were good people. We never heard anything about going with any family. We were kept busy all summer and barely got to rest or play."

"I am sorry that you had to go through that." Wynn said.

"Why did you tell Becky that they would separate you?" Jacobs asked. "Why did you want to leave the orphanage, other than what you have said. There must have been something, you had been there awhile. I can't imagine that you hadn't wanted to leave before."

Wynn looked at the clock.

"Cody." Wynn said. "We need to head to services, but I want to talk about this more later."

"Okay." Cody said. "Please don't tell Becky what I said."

"We won't right now." Wynn said. "But we might have to at some point."

"Okay." Cody said softly.