Lucky to be loving you
Chapter 14
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Nathan sat on the bed right next to Dee. Holding their newborn daughter, Nathan couldn't stop gazing at her. Gently picking up her little hand he said, "Dee, look how tiny her fingers are! Christopher's were never this small."
"Sure they were, you just don't remember," Dee grinned.
"But, she's so delicate, I feel like I'll break her."
Violet laughed seeing her little hand in Nathan's big hand yet reassured Nathan, "She weighed in at seven pounds, three ounces, so she's on the smaller side, but she won't break."
Their daughter was getting fussy and pulled her hand away to begin chomping on her little fists. Nathan reluctantly handed her over to Dee, "Guess she worked up an appetite coming out to join us."
As Dee nursed her, Violet left to tell Emily the news. "I'm going to go home now. Everything went great. Now, you all need to do is get some rest. I'll be back tomorrow morning."
"Thank you so much Violet!" Dee smiled. "I'll try my best to get some rest."
Nathan asked Dee, "We have to name her, sweetheart. Any thoughts?"
Dee looked up to match Nathan's eyes, "I was thinking, if you wouldn't mind, that we should name her Colleen."
A huge grin came over Nathan's face, "After my sister, what a wonderful idea! I love that."
Nathan looked at his daughter, "Lucky you, you're going to be named Colleen, little one, after your Aunt, but you need a middle name now."
Dee was wincing a bit as Colleen was very anxious to nurse, but there wasn't much there. "Well, I wanted to suggest my mother's name, but Bertie is a nickname for Bertha and neither one appeals to me, to be honest. Please don't say anything to my mom. I don't want to hurt her feelings."
Nathan chuckled, "Thank goodness, I agree."
"However, my mother's middle name is Marie. So, how about Colleen Marie?" Dee suggested.
"Perfect!" Looking at their daughter, they both said, "Welcome to the world Colleen Marie Grant!" sealing it with kisses.
Emily was knocking on the bedroom door, "May I come in?" she asked quietly.
"Yes, Ma, your granddaughter is waiting to meet you."
When Emily laid eyes on her, she put her hand right on her heart, "My goodness, she is beautiful!"
"Would you like to hold Colleen?" Nathan asked watching his mother very carefully.
Emily stopped moving, "Colleen?"
"Yes, Ma, this is Colleen Marie," Nathan smiled warmly as he gently placed his daughter in his mother's arms.
Emily walked around the bedroom softly singing, Schlaf, Kindlein, Schlaf (sleep, baby, sleep) while Dee and Nathan snuggled. The lullaby was not only soothing for Colleen, but it worked it's magic on both of her parents too. Emily noticed and placed Colleen quietly in her little bassinet, covered her up and shut the door behind her as she left.
The next morning Bill was on his way to Edmonton first thing. The drive seemed long as he was anxious to get there to get the search warrant for the Sinclair household. As he drove he knew his cousin, Peter was in the Correctional Center and he thought he really should stop by and catch him up with the case.
When he arrived at the Center, he told himself he would make it quick.
"Good morning, Peter," Bill said when his cousin appeared.
"I didn't know you were coming," Peter said surprised.
"Yeah well, I didn't know either, but I figured, while I was in town, I better stop and fill you in on what's happening with your case."
"What's that?"
Bill explained why he was in town. "We're hoping to find Melanie. We don't know who's down in the basement, but we highly suspect whoever is, is in trouble."
"Who are these people?" Peter asked.
"We're not sure, the names they gave us haven't been found in the records of most of the provinces. I'm sure they're not who they say they are. Anyways, I'm headed over to Headquarters to pick up the search warrant I had to beg for," Bill answered.
"I sure hope you find Melanie, Bill. She is an innocent woman. I always hoped I could be more than friends with her, but she's too good for me," Peter said as he hung his head down.
Bill rolled his eyes, "If you're looking for a "chin-up" from me, don't. I'm not one that goes for that stuff, but Peter don't sell yourself short!"
Bill left for Headquarters and was relieved to find the warrant ready to pick up. He couldn't get to Buxton soon enough.
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Allie woke up and stretched. Before going downstairs, she checked on her little brother and noticed he was beginning to stir. Not wanting to wake him up, she quietly shut the door. As she did, she noticed her parent's door was also shut. That didn't seem right. Her dad would normally be downstairs, getting the fire going, and having a cup of coffee. She looked down the stairs but didn't see any fire in the fireplace or a light on in the kitchen. Now, she was worried.
She knocked softly on her parent's door and saw them in bed. Oh no, she thought, her dad was late for work. She rushed over to the bed and shook her dad's shoulder calling, "Dad! You overslept, get up!"
Nathan groggily looked up at his daughter and quickly held up his finger over his lips indicating for her to be quiet. When he slowly stood up she noticed he had his clothes on. With a questioning look on her face, she mouthed, "Why are you dressed?"
He stood up, grabbed her hand, and motioned for her to follow him. Allie was completely dumbfounded, until he brought her over to the side of the bassinet. Allie peeked inside and saw the baby. Trying hard not to scream with joy, she covered her mouth and hugged her dad.
Nathan flashed her a huge smile and hugged her. Whispering, he told her, "You have a little sister, Allie!"
"Oh my, she is so tiny, dad! I can't wait to hold her." Allie was about to cry she was so excited.
Nathan held Allie in his arms while they both watched the newest member of the family sleeping in her bassinet with her little bottom up in the air.
"Your mom didn't realize at first that she was in labor, but Violet came and told us that she was indeed ready to have our baby. Surprisingly, mom had slept through the first stage of labor so it didn't take long and Colleen made her grand entrance," Nathan whispered.
"How did I miss all that? I wanted to see the birth!"
"Allie-girl, Colleen came fast!"
"Colleen? You named her after my mother?!" Allie stood there with her mouth open. She burst into tears, "Oh, dad!"
Dee heard Allie crying and woke up. "Allie, is that you, honey?"
"Oh no, I woke you up. I'm sorry!" Allie apologized as she ran over to Dee.
Giving Allie a big hug, Dee wiped the tears from Allie's cheeks, "I love you Allie, you have nothing to be sorry for. You are going to be the best big sister a little girl could ever ask for."
Allie whispered, "I hope so! What is Colleen's middle name?"
"Colleen Marie, after my mother's middle name. Do you like it?" Dee asked.
"Like it? I love it!" Allie tried not to say it too loud. "I can't wait to hold her!"
There was a little noise coming from the nursery where Christopher was waking up. "Uh-oh, the little man is awake now, I'll go get him." Allie skipped out to take care of her little brother.
Nathan turned to Dee smiling. "Well, Mrs. Grant how are you feeling?"
"Could I have a glass of water, please?" Dee asked as she tried to get comfortable.
"Just water?" Nathan asked.
"No coffee for me now. Seems like I haven't slept a wink," Dee said and with that she gave up and slid back under the covers.
Nathan stopped to peek into Christopher's room where Allie was getting him cleaned up and dressed. As he watched her, he couldn't help but smile knowing how she loved her brother and would soon have a little sister following her around. Their little family was sure growing!
When Bill arrived in Buxton, he met Christopher at the RCMP. He was ready to go. Both of the men wanted to help whoever was in the basement. They hoped it was Melanie. She was who they had worked so hard to find, but they also knew not to get their hopes up too much.
As they were driving there, Bill told Christopher about stopping to see Peter. "You know I wasn't going to stop to see him because I wanted to get going, but I knew he deserved to know what was happening with his case."
"Yes, he does. He is your cousin, Bill, so of course you should see him," Christopher nodded.
"He is very worried about Melanie. He actually admitted he wanted to be more than just friends, so he is anxious for us to find her," Bill shared.
As they turned the corner unto the street they slowed down. They didn't want any noise of the tires on the gravel road to alarm them before they got there. As they approached, they saw that the vehicle that passed them by the day before was parked in the driveway. Christopher decided to park down the street so they wouldn't be obvious. As they reached the house, they heard some commotion inside the house which alerted them to the probability that they were spotted.
Knocking on the door, Bill waited on the porch as Christopher walked around to the side of the house. No one answered the door, so Bill knocked again and announced their presence. Just as the men suspected, the elderly couple was trying to sneak out the back door, but Christopher caught them and they froze when he told to stop.
"We don't want any trouble," Ed said as he saw the gun Christopher was holding.
"Ed made me stay here. I'm so glad you found us," Agnes tried to say innocently.
Ed gave her an angry look, but before he knew it, Bill came around and joined Christopher.
"What was that you were saying, Agnes?" Bill asked.
Agnes swallowed hard and looked at Ed, "He made me stay with him. I didn't want anything to do with it."
Christopher looked at Bill, then back at Agnes, "With what?"
Ed yelled, "Shut up, woman. You're blabbing your fool head off."
Bill showed both of them the search warrant, "Now, you want to start talking?"
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Bill stood there holding the search warrant and watching Agnes and Ed sigh heavily as put their heads down. Running away at their age was out of the question. They had no recourse but to give in. Christopher put them in handcuffs and walked them back into the house.
"I need you to sit on the sofa," Christopher directed, "Now, we know you are not Agnes and Ed Sinclair as there isn't any record in all of Canada with those names. You need to begin first by telling me your real names."
"My name is Agnes," the woman eagerly volunteered, "but I'm not a Sinclair, I'm Franco. Agnes Franco. Unfortunately, Ed here is my husband, and this is all his idea."
If looks could kill, Ed gave his wife one of those looks, but Agnes looked away.
"Ed," Christopher asked sternly, "what is this idea that Agnes is talking about?"
Ed grumbled and shook his head, "Nothing. Nothing at all. She's just saying stuff because she's mad at me."
Bill meanwhile was walking around checking the house out. He finally found what he was looking for. A door that was slightly ajar just enough to see that there were stairs going down to the basement. As Bill walked closer he saw a faint light from down there just as he saw when they walked past the basement window outside.
Christopher was busy questioning the Francos, "You need to start explaining what is with your name change."
Agnes answered quickly, "We didn't want anyone to know who we were. We had a job to do and when it was over, we would go back to our normal lives."
Ed growled, "Agnes, you are saying too much as usual."
"Ed, Lord knows you won't tell them anything, especially the truth," she shot back. "I never wanted to be involved in this and I'm relieved to come clean."
"Stop it!" Christopher commanded. "I don't want to listen to you too banter back and forth. I can make it tougher for you if you don't cut to the chase and give me straight answers."
Bill caught Christopher's eye and motioned that he was going downstairs. Bill nodded.
Then turning his attention to Ed he continued his interrogation, "I need you to explain to me why you and your wife didn't want anyone to know who you were."
Agnes was ready to start talking again when Christopher told her, "Agnes, I want to hear it from Ed. Now, Ed tell me why are you living here in this barren house?"
Ed mumbled that he owed some money to a group of mobsters that he lost in gambling. "They knew I couldn't pay them because I was broke. So they assigned me a job. I just had to keep care of a woman for awhile. Then we moved in here, but most of the time she was co-operative, and it was easy." Ed shrugged.
Agnes spoke, "Yea, well I felt sorry for her. She cried a lot. I just wanted to go back home."
"And where's that?" Christopher asked.
"Brookfield. We are retired farmers, but Ed here liked to go to the saloon where he played cards for money that he didn't have I might add. It caught up with him though, so here we are." Agnes complained.
"Who is this woman and where is she?" Christopher demanded.
Just then Bill walked into the room with Melanie. She had bruises around her mouth and across her cheeks where she was gagged. She looked like she hadn't bathed in weeks. Her hair was stringy and dirty and her clothes needed changing The bright sunlight caught her off guard causing her to squint as she walked into the room. Her face was sunken from dehydration and quite thin.
Bill helped Melanie walk since she was so weak. Finding a chair, he helped her sit down.
"This is Melanie Forester," Bill announced, "We need to get her help right away."
Christopher looked over at Melanie and agreed, "She needs medical attention." He was upset.
Looking at the couple he had been questioning, he shook his head and confronted them both, "This woman is abused and weak. You call this taken care of? I will see to it that you both will be proscuted for abuse and neglect among your other crimes!"
"Can I get you a glass of water, Melanie?" Bill asked.
Bill could barely hear her as she whispered, "Yes."
"I'm going to get my automobile and drive it over here now. I'll be right back." Christopher directed.
When they got everyone in the automobile, they drove to the RCMP office. Christopher put the Francos in the jail cell, then he called the Buxton doctor. Dr. Tomlin was in so Bill drove Melanie over to Buxon infirmary.
Christopher booked the Francos and consulted with Headquarters. They would be transferred tomorrow to Edmonton to await further charges.
The Salerno brothers were in prison since they were sentenced earlier. Unfortunately, they still had outside contacts doing their dirty work for them, which included the Francos to keep an eye on Melanie since she was the only employee who knew about the bootlegging but wasn't working the night of the raid.
When Bill returned to the RCMP office, he informed Christopher that was transporting Melanie to the Clearwater Hospital. She would be kept there at least overnight for observation with tests done the next day.
"That's good to know. I hope she will get her strength back soon enough to go home. I'm sure she'll need some counseling for her ordeal too."
"When she sees Sugar, that will make her feel better!" Bill added.
"Yes, for sure. I'll also look for someone to clean up her house," Christopher said as he wrote down some notes.
"I'm going to head back home now," Bill told Christopher, "I am relieved we finally have her safe. Peter will be too."
"It was great working with you, Bill." The two men shook hands.
"Same here Christopher. They bring you out of retirement, and I'm right there with you, yet who solves the case?" Bill laughed.