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Nathan & Elizabeth: An Epic Love

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Chapter Fifty-two

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Saturday Surprises:

Interrogation of Casimir Shaw

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Part II

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Please state your legal name as it appears on your birth certificate in full:

Really?

Mr. Shaw you can be cooperative or uncooperative, as it's your choice.

However, I do know it will bode much better for you in a court of Law to prove to the presiding Judge, as well as any jury, that you are amenable to assist in this process.

(The #1 most wanted criminal in Canada and the United States sighed heavily, wondering if it even mattered, yet the Chief was pleasantly surprised that his good manners won out, almost as though he had been looking forward to this 'little chat' of theirs.)

I am Casimir Franklin Shaw.

What country were you born in, and where?

The United States. Boston, Massachusetts.

So, you are disclaiming that you were born in Australia?

(Mr. Shaw laughed sardonically.)

I have told that story from time to time, but no, I was not born in Australia, though I lived there for a short while soon after I was born.

Where did you live after Australia?

Europe! Scotland, to be precise, as I suppose it's precision we're going for here! All the way till first grade!

What country or countries are you a citizen of?

The United States of America and Canada.

I have always had dual citizenship from birth, as my father was American and my mother was Canadian.

Thank you for being forthcoming.

Mr. Shaw, for the record, I am required to summarize your arrest record. You are the #1 most wanted criminal in both Canada and the United States for your most heinous and significant far-reaching crimes.

During a dual-government-designated period of prohibition, you have been arrested for Extensive Rum Running (smuggling rum and other alcohol over bodies of water) and Extensive Bootlegging (smuggling rum and other alcohol over vast bodies of land), as well as leading the largest known Opium smuggling ring in the world, whose base operations have expanded through two entire countries that are well defined, and to their very large populations of citizens.

We have additional evidence that, in particular, your opium business is spread around the world and has pretty much been yours for the taking. The number of extrapolated deaths in lethal overdoses you are directly responsible for from that business alone is estimated to be staggering.

You have blackmailed one Canadian Governor, and you have attempted to blackmail a second Canadian Governor by ordering your people to have him shot, not once, but twice.

Additionally, there is a litany of additional blackmail cases involving various weapons, extreme coercion, arson, and even kidnapping.

You have also been arrested for a dozen known murders in Canada alone and at least a dozen more in the US, which have been enumerated individually, all of which were entered with forethought, direct malice, and intent to kill.

Although difficult to ascertain the number of gang deaths you and your people are responsible for, you have been known to be in business with six different gangs throughout both Canada and the US, whom you used to assist you in illegal transport of stolen goods.

You are also responsible for masterminding a massive network of gypsy tribes to do your bidding and running, again across both countries, illegally using underage children for a large portion of that transporting.

We know of multiple instances, which are well documented on your lengthy arrest warrant, where you have falsified government documents and have evaded taxes to the tune of millions and millions of dollars, if not more, again both in Canada and the US.

You and your colleagues have illegally and repeatedly impersonated both Mounties and Police Officers at every level, wreaking havoc throughout both countries while committing countless crimes that our own honorable Mountie and Police Forces have been blamed for.

And last but not least, you most recently attempted to murder a high-ranking Officer of the Mounties in cold blood just this last Saturday night, which makes that less than one week ago. I know because that Mountie Officer was me.

What statement do you wish to make regarding this ominous list of crime after crime after crime? (*123)(*124)

I don't wish to discuss any of these alleged crimes. My attorneys will deal with all that at the appropriate time.

Mr. Shaw, I need to take you back to Boston, where you grew up. Though I know this is going to be extremely painful for you, and for that, I am deeply sorry, but it's most pertinent to our discussion here today.

And for your own advantage, this needs to be added into the record we are now creating.

As you can clearly see, your arrest list is both appalling and seemingly endless, without showing any degree of humanity or remorse, both of which I believe are buried deep within you. If you'll please bear with me.

(Casimir Shaw looked straight ahead, stone-faced.)

How did you receive the scar above your eye?

I don't wish to discuss that.

Do you prefer me to set the record straight?

(Casimir Shaw chuckled darkly, as though the entirety of anything related to his scar was pure evil and would prove more than either man could stomach, though he doubted this young man sitting before him could possibly know any part of the real story whatsoever. So, instead, why not have a little fun with the whole thing?)

Have at it as if you can, Chief Inspector! And though it is quite presumptuous of you to assume anything related to my private life, which will always remain shrouded in the darkest and deepest of mysteries, it should at least be interesting to hear your manufactured version!

But I beg of you, do at least make this entertaining for the both of us.

(It was the Chief's turn to remain stone-faced.)

Your father, who previously worked with Scotland Yard when your family was living in Scotland, was Commissioner Franklin Casimir Shaw of the Boston Police Force until his Honorable Discharge and early Retirement in 1890.

Here, the record should note Commissioner Franklin Shaw never used his middle name on any documentation whatsoever, written or spoken, except for the initial 'C,' just as his parents had done on his own birth certificate.

But let's get back to the man himself.

Commissioner Shaw was a hero's hero, keeping law and order in the Boston Area like no other Commissioner had ever done before him or has ever done since.

And you, as his only son, regaled in story after story of criminals caught and wrongs righted throughout your entire childhood, soaking it all up like a sponge, inordinately proud of your father, whom every single day of his life vanquished the evil around him.

He arrested the bad guys, rehabilitated all those he could, and jailed those he couldn't.

Admirably, he fought for justice in all cases and, from the looks of things, won on all fronts.

That is except for the home front.

Is this absolutely necessary?

I take no delight in this. But yes, these facts are more than necessary. Shall we continue?

(Casimir sighed heavily, now realizing there was only devastation to be had in the depravity and sordid but true tale of what this young Chief Inspector had somehow remarkably uncovered. At least its beginnings.)

(Terrifyingly, the lawman was already uncannily on point. But for the criminal, the mere mention meant reliving the turmoil ominously wrought, only reopening the searing pain that had been inflicted so monstrously within a model, loving, and wealthy society family. For Casimir Shaw, the entire matter was much too difficult to address on any level, as he had buried it all so very deep long ago in order to survive since it was he, the singular son, who had been left to bear the totality of its horrific carnage.)

(Surely, this Inspector could not possibly know the full story! Why, no one did, and that was the way it was going to stay! Or was it?)

(At this point, dread and solemnity filled the room for both men: the Chief Inspector and the prisoner, but particularly the prisoner...)

Your father's Honorable Discharge and early Retirement came with much acclaim and honor, something your father relished in.

However, in reality, he had begun to have trouble with alcohol on the job. But because of his esteemed career, his colleagues hid all that and left it to you and your mother to bear, which was a formidable task for a wife and young son.

In a drunken rage, your father lashed out at your mother, and she ended up at Boston General Hospital battered and broken. Where after two nights of fighting valiantly for her life, she passed on January 12, 1891, and, from intensive care, was taken straight to the morgue. Still, no charges were filed against your father.

And, at the same time, nothing was done to protect you, as you were seventeen at the time, about to turn eighteen, and still, for all practical purposes, at that typical defining age of man vs boy.

But, Mr. Shaw, there was nothing typical about the position you were placed in at such a young age, of having to protect your own now full-out alcoholic father from himself, which, because of your love for him, became your singular focus.

(Without a word, Nathan stopped and got up to retrieve a glass of water for his prisoner, the kindness shocking Casimir.)

On March 8th, 1891, not quite two months after your mother's murder, your father, in yet another drunken rage, attacked you with a knife he had kept as a souvenir from one of his many solved cases.

He had the presence of mind to have the Family Butler drive you to Boston General Hospital's Emergency Room, where they worked around the clock to save your life. When you regained consciousness, your singular concern was focused again, solely on your father: was he alright, you frantically asked time after time?

Sadly, your father was so distraught when he realized what he had done to both your mother and now you, he took a gun and shot through his brain, exploding himself all over the library into millions of pieces.

That same elegant library where the two of you had proudly shared details of criminal cases your brilliant father had solved time and again.

No one, Mr. Shaw, should have to experience that.

Yet you were forced to at the young age of 17 and 18, and you were then left alone in the most horrific of ways, with neither of your parents and no family whatsoever left to protect you or help you heal.

How could you possibly have learned all this?

I told no one.

Absolutely no one.

Not even my wife, and most certainly not my son.

(Casimir was seething, literally broken and devastated all over again, at the resurgence of these horrific memories that had been locked away for so many years but were now flooding back over him, with emotion after emotion he had never allowed himself to feel, while also filled with chagrin and embarrassment to hear the truth of his awful family story aloud.)

Why did you choose your life of crime instead of joining the Mounties in Canada or the Police Force in the US?

Why do you think?

Though it actually chose me.

You have just described the abhorrent conditions of how I lost both my mother and father!

My world turned upside down almost instantly, and you think I could possibly consider repeating a life serving the Law and end up like my father at the age of 18?

Oh, no! No, thank you!

I wanted to be as far away from that life as I could get.

Besides, I was Franklin Casimir Shaw's son, the great hero, or so the world thought, and so I thought as well.

The truth was I couldn't have measured up to him if my very life had depended on it, not in their eyes nor my own.

But my father taught me crime, and I knew it well.

You see, I could make my own mark in the arena of crime because my own father had served and excelled on the opposite side, teaching me literally everything.

You see, in addition to how crime works, my father also taught me how the world of law scopes out and apprehends their criminals.

If you know all that, you've got the total picture, and you know how to go under the legal radar—at least for most of my career.

Until I got weary, or some might say sloppy!

I've wondered from time to time which one my father would say.

(Casimir sighed heavily.)

You have to remember, Chief Inspector, I was a young boy at the time of my crossroads, desperately grieving for and missing the world I had known while knowing there was no return to it and with no one else to offer me help.

But I was left with more than enough money to start my various businesses.

And so, I buried my trauma deep inside and did what I knew best.

I simply created my own world, one of power, one of control, one of unimaginable money.

And, on an emotional level, one might say the intrigue of it all became my solace, as well as my mechanism of survival.

Now, we have established motive not only for your life of crime, but rationale for your vast knowledge as you learned of it from the time you were old enough to understand, from the best of the best crime solvers in existence.

You also learned all the methods used by the police, as your own father taught you all of them.

Mr. Shaw, do you drink alcohol?

Not a drop.

Have never tasted it in my life.

Yet by your own admission, alcohol destroyed your family, how do you justify your rum-running since you personally know better than anyone, alcohol's power?

Rum exists in this world.

All types of alcohol exist in this world.

I can't destroy it all, and I can't control it all.

Whether I run it or not, somebody's going to.

Funny, I never saw anyone getting it out there as a conflict.

I just saw it more as a job to get it to those who wanted it.

Maybe it was a form of rebellion against our governments, who, in my humble opinion, have no business telling us what we can or cannot drink, as that should be a personal choice.

I honestly don't know.

As I said, I don't drink and never have.

You see, I learned my lesson the hard way.

Maybe other people have to do the same.

And I don't mean that in a callous way because I don't want anyone to experience what I've gone through.

The truth is I just never linked the two things.

Can you please tell me, Mr. Shaw, how you used the Rule of Sevens in your approach to your various business activities after your father's death?

I can't believe I'm saying this, but one most certainly has to respect the incredible detective work you've just done that no one else has been able to accomplish or even hint at putting together. I know my father would sure stand in awe of your abilities.

(He cleared his throat, relieved to be moving on from his family's crushing demise.)

The Rule of Sevens is otherwise known as the Common Law of Sevens.

Not many people know this, but my father did, and yes, he taught me very well, indeed.

The Common Law of England was largely created just after the Norman Conquest of 1066. It has traditionally shown that any child under the age of seven has no criminal liability due to their incapacity to understand what it is they are doing.

However, there is a rebuttal presumption that children aged 7-14 are incapacitated to understand as well.

Though it is widely accepted that there is a second rebuttal presumption of capacity for children from 14-21.

I know, though not from your new King Marius, that you are aware of my many connections to our kind Gypsy friends whom I have been in business with for quite some time, always carefully abiding by the Common Law, using children only up to 14, in case, let's say there might be a question regarding their activities, unlike the courtesies I was not given at both 17 and 18. (*125)

And by activities, are you including your Rum Running and Bootlegging?

You know that I am.

And though I don't wish to get into other particulars, you and I both know I am famous for running rum and bootlegging, as well as other alcohol, as are my colleagues, or at least so they say.

So, let's just leave it at that. Yeah, those are the rumors that I admit.

(Yet the Chief knew Casimir had more to say and so remained silent.)

Ironic, isn't it, that as a child, I myself was not protected, yet it meant the world to me to protect these innocent gypsy children, who were, by the way, already living a life of crime but with nothing much to show for it, not even food.

I am by no means a noble person, though I'd like to think of myself as one, at least partially at times.

But with these children, I am adamant and have always been adamant that not only are they protected, but that they receive adequate compensation to feed their families for their work.

Again, I am not in the business of destroying families. Being a part of my own that was destroyed was more than enough devastation to last a lifetime.

And that is all I will say on the subject.

(Here, the Chief made a note to circle back.)

Mr. Shaw, how have you used Mountie Uniforms and Police Uniforms to assist in your criminal activity?

Well, I hate using the term criminal activity, and much prefer using 'my Business activity.'

But without going into too much detail, all my men have their appropriate uniforms as backup when needed, let's say, in a pinch.

And I must say they have come into play many times to help us out of a tight situation or just to allow us to remain incognito.

Apparently, a man in uniform is seen but not seen. Have you experienced that, Chief Inspector?

I often wonder if that was why my father turned to drink – that he was never truly seen by either the good side or the bad side. But instead, just remained somewhere stuck in between the two?

Mr. Shaw, I hate to go back to this, but I must.

The injury above your eye is the only visible one you bear to society. Yet, you and I both know there are many more significantly worse scars spread over your body that are hidden by clothing, and I would like the record to reflect that.

Can you please expound on that?

In my father's defense, he was particularly drunk the night he attacked me.

And I want it noted, had he not been having to deal with his demons, he would never have touched me except in a most loving parental way, nor in fact, my beloved mother, God rest her soul, except in a most loving husbandly way.

Let the record show, we have addressed both the visible scar on Mr. Shaw's face and the many more significant scars Mr. Shaw bears on his body, which are covered by clothing, all of which were inflicted by his usually loving father.

Yet, though we have referred to the facts related to part of the intense emotional pain inflicted due to the horrific loss of both his loving parents, we cannot specifically address each individual, much deeper emotional scar that indeed exists as a result.

Though this has been well documented and verified by our Staff Psychiatrist, Dr. David Morton, who has studied Mr. Shaw's case at length and is willing to testify on his behalf by way of explanation.

Why would you arrange that?

(Casimir Shaw was incredulous. He had almost killed this man, had fully intended to do so, and both men knew it, yet this man was going to the trouble of helping him?)

Because it is a significant part of your story, and it's the right thing to do, Mr. Shaw.

Can you please relate the significance of your visible scar to your life and to your business?

Oddly, it is, I suppose, a badge of honor that I personally see as my father's love, not his weakness nor any anger whatsoever toward me.

For my father, in his right mind, without the influence of the alcohol, would never have harmed me, as he only truly loved my mother and me.

It was the demons he bore from giving his life to public service of fighting the most heinous of crimes that caused this.

But the sad thing was, and is, as you have correctly mentioned: the two people he loved the most horrifically bore the brunt of his demanding life that, in the end, turned out to be too much for even him to take.

There is a lesson to be learned in all this, Chief Inspector, and I truly hope you are learning it well for your own family's sake, that is, if you have one, as I am not in the business of taking families away.

(Here, the Chief made a note to circle back.)

I appreciate that, Mr. Shaw, and your point is well taken.

I only wish someone had been there to help that 18-year-old boy who so desperately needed it.

But back to this symbol of love as you define it. What significance has it played in your current "businesses?"

My workers are my family, and they share this odd manifestation of love with me.

Obviously, not on their face, as is mine.

But, you finish for me, Chief Inspector, please! I defer to you, as I am sure you will not disappoint.

In fact, I respect an admirable opponent.

And I knew from the moment I 'met' you that you would be that for me.

(Here, the Chief made a note to circle back yet again.)

You just stated your workers are your family.

Are any of your workers related to you by blood?

Only my son.

And even there, best to keep family and business separate.

Allow the record to reflect that all of Mr. Shaw's 'colleagues' are branded with the same jagged scar on his forehead that runs through his right eyebrow, though it is found on the inner palm of each of his 'colleagues' right hand.

How does that summarize as both accurate and correct, Mr. Shaw, or how does it not?

Very commendably accurate and correct, Chief Inspector.

Perhaps I am tired and perhaps even weary, and I was setting myself up for discovery all along.

Sadly, even with time to reflect, I'm not entirely sure why I did it, though I do believe it was more for the camaraderie of my team.

How else have you applied the Rule of Sevens to the management of your vast territories, specifically in Canada, as you will be interviewed separately by US Authorities at a later date, who will then address their specific concerns?

Well, my 'businesses' as you say are vast, and in Canada, I don't waste time in the Northern Territories, nor the Yukon.

I concentrate instead on the areas with the heaviest populations, and I have remarkably divided them into sevens.

Of course, you have the main six lower provinces.

Please state those names for the record, Mr. Shaw.

1st is British Columbia, 2nd is Alberta, 3rd is Saskatchewan, 4th is Manitoba, 5th is Ontario, and 6th is Quebec. (*126)

And what does that leave as your 7th Province or 'area of focus?'

Well, the ports on the east side of our country are every bit as busy as on the west side, so I simply combine the remaining port provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island into my 7th Territory. (*127)

How else do you apply your Rules of Sevens?

I prefer to hear what you've figured out first, Chief Inspector. I may or may not be able to confirm or deny.

Very well. You have 7 Colleagues who are your #1 through #7 Admins from the west side to the east side of Canada.

If that is indeed the case! Pretty brilliant, isn't it?

It isn't not brilliant. How do you wish to take credit?

Let's just say half, maybe, or all, maybe.

I believe it's in my best interest to neither confirm nor deny.

Then, let me ask that question in a different way.

Mr. Shaw, knowing that we have your #2 through #6 Admins from the west side of Canada to the east side of Canada in our custody, do you wish to rephrase your answer and still take full credit for your so-called 'brilliant' management of distribution?

So, you work quickly, then?

My colleagues and I work very quickly, but the real question is for you to answer, not me.

How do you answer it, Sir?"

I will just say that my father would be proud, as I believe most intelligent business colleagues would be as well.

Let's just say I have structured my organization to be strong.

How did you select your seven admins?

The same way any good CEO selects his people.

You hear things and get to know what your options are, and then, believe it or not, you interview until you find someone with the same goals but also the same emotional and mental capacities, or even better yet, better than your own.

You always surround yourself with the smartest people out there.

And my biggest advice is to stay away from hotheads, as well as the people who think they know it all.

Oh, and stay away from family members.

As it's been my experience, business and family don't mix well.

Mr. Shaw, you mentioned your wife. Do you need someone to get in touch with her?

My attorneys will take care of that!

She will already know, though, as I haven't been able to see her or even call her since my arrest.

You stated you prefer not to mix business and family.

Does that include your wife?

No comment.

Except for a personal one, I will say she is my biggest blessing, my greatest love.

Let's just keep her out of all this mess.

If I ask you to respect anything, it's that!

Mr. Shaw, what goes through your head as you stand before a person with your gun drawn, preparing to murder them in cold blood?

I'm not saying I've done that.

But you also are not saying you haven't.

Can you elaborate on that conundrum?

You're the Mountie, how did you feel, when you shot me in the shoulder?

The difference between us is you were aiming a kill shot for my heart.

I shot to the shoulder so I could be sure to keep you alive, at great personal risk to myself, just to save your life, Sir!

How would you explain the difference between those two scenarios?

I believe it is in my best interest not to comment on that little matter without my attorneys present.

However, man-to-man, I do wish I had never paid that visit.

I understand, as it set off a chain of events bringing you and your entire empire down.

The question I would really want to be answered is about the type of remorse you have beyond losing your empire.

For example, what kind of regret is there within you that is humanly beyond self-serving?

You have no idea how much regret and how many different kinds can exist in one human being.

This isn't a life you choose, or at least for me, it wasn't.

As I've explained before, dire circumstances chose this life for me, and for that, there is insurmountable regret of every kind that exists.

Regret I can never change nor repay to alter my legacy.

Casimir Shaw, what prompted you to hire women as your admins in both your 1st Territory of British Columbia and your combined 7th Territory of the most Eastern Ports of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island?

Women are more intelligent than most men, and women are, shall we say, more resourceful than most men.

I actually learned all of that from my wife very early on, who's as smart as they come.

It's those two Territories that can make or break a business.

Let's just say if a business leader is smart, he will utilize that knowledge to his advantage.

And that is all I will say.

(At this point, the Chief knew his hunch was a real probability, even a most likely scenario.)

Mr. Shaw, you have mentioned that you are not in the business of destroying families or taking them away.

You have also mentioned that you consider me an admirable opponent.

Yet you came to kill me last Saturday night, one short week ago.

You broke into the first floor of my office building, and you raised your gun to my heart to shoot me dead.

None of that matches with what you have just testified in this interrogation.

Because if I indeed have a family, you would have been taking me away from them as surely as your father's work took him away from you and your mother.

Is that not correct? How do you reconcile those facts with your obvious love and respect for family, even after all the devastation and horror?

May I say that though it was not my finest moment, I'd like to pass on answering that, except to say, if a businessman is intelligent, they will quickly learn their adversaries, particularly their worthy ones?

I knew you were smart, perhaps even brilliant, and I also knew you would never give up till you had all the answers that were needed.

You have just proven me correct in all those assumptions, time and again.

Mr. Shaw, speaking of needs, I need two things from you today.

Will you please give me the names of your two women admins in Territories #1 and #7?

Why would I do that?

(And there, the Chief knew without doubt that both admins were women, as he had suspected.)

Call it honor between a man of business and a man of law.

Call it family.

Give me those two names not only because it's the right thing to do but because you do not want these women who have been loyal to you to be killed or maimed in a shoot-out. Am I not right?

You are correct; I would never want that.

And there is another urgent reason.

Mr. Shaw, give me those two names, and I will personally ensure that you are not sent to Blackstone Prison. As you and I both know, you will not walk out of that particular facility alive.

If I must die, I am prepared to die with dignity.

Yet you and I both know there is no dignity in a death at the hands of Blackstone Inmates. Is that not true?

That is true. I'm just not sure I am worth the bother.

I disagree, Mr. Shaw. You have been a worthy opponent, and I do not wish to see you end your life in that awful way, nor your son's life.

My son? What does he have to do with anything?

(For his beloved son and only his beloved son, Casimir Shaw's face became riddled with dread and fear mixed with intense love, along with a profound sadness.)

Give me the two names to protect the two women from possible death or harm that you yourself thought highly enough of to have hired.

In return, I will ensure that neither you nor your son are taken to Blackstone Prison today upon transfer.

And make no mistake—I have CS Jr., or CS II, as he prefers to be called, here right now, behind bars in this very building.

Both of you will be transferred to a maximum-security prison when we conclude this discussion.

The decision as to where is at least partially yours to determine.

I am giving you that power.

Don't sentence yourself or your son to a despicable senseless death that is beneath the both of you.

Why would you do this for me? For my son? Why would you even care?

As you yourself have said, we have been admirable opponents with each other, and we have maintained as much honor, I believe, as a life of abominable crime possibly can.

Though I wish I could, obviously, I can't wipe away your abhorrent and vast crimes, but I can keep you, your female business partners, and your only beloved son safe.

Given what we have been through together, my near death, and your senseless, tragic foray into a world that stole your father from you, please allow me this gift of humanity, the same gift you seldom offered your victims.

(Casimir chuckled sadly, wryly, before he uttered a single word, suddenly aging years before the Chief's eyes as he resignedly began to speak.)

Miss Marlena Sumpter is my #1 Admin in British Columbia.

Mrs. Samantha Graves is my #7 Admin in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the Prince Edward Islands.

(The Chief nodded but couldn't resist a slight knowing grin toward Casimir, curiosity getting the best of both men.)

Mr. Shaw, I realize I will find out soon enough, but do you mind telling me the businesses these two women own?

Why don't you tell me, Son?

One has to own an art gallery and the other an antiques emporium, but not yet sure which is which, Sir!

You are correct, Son!

But which is which? I'm afraid you are going to have to find out on your own.

I just can't stand the thought of spoiling your fun.

Who knows?

Perhaps they each own both!

But I sure could use a cup of that delicious-smelling coffee before I leave for my new home, wherever it may be.

I think a cup of coffee we can manage, Casimir Franklin Shaw.

At least we now know that the new homes for you and your son are thankfully, not Blackstone Prison, but instead safe places for the both of you.

And at this point, that's really all that matters for now, as we complete our work in this case, and you finish your soul-searching as to how to proceed in court.

I will make myself available if you need to discuss matters that come to mind that you wish to share further.

And Casimir, if I may call you that, what I see for the here and now is this: you are rising to the responsibility of fully parenting your son in a very difficult situation, even though your father wasn't able to do that for you. That is indeed, despite your own abominable crimes, a most honorable thing to be doing, both for your son and for yourself…

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123. "Rum-running," a term more commonly applied to smuggling rum as well as other alcohol over water. Public Domain Information.

124. "Bootlegging," a term more commonly applied to smuggling rum as well as other alcohol over land. Public Domain Information.

125. "The Common Law of Sevens," known as "The Rule of Sevens," of English Common Law, but also accepted by the US Colonies, created after the Norman Conquest of 1066; traditionally states any child under the age of 7 has no criminal liability due to their incapacity to understand what it is they are doing; yet there is rebuttal presumption for children aged 7-14 that they also lack a capacity to understand criminality; however it's widely accepted that there is a rebuttal presumption of capacity in children from 14-21 that they do indeed have the capacity to understand what it is they are doing, even if criminality is involved. Public Domain Information.

126-127. "The Lower Territories of Canada," according to the 1921 Census of Canada; The Northwest Territories and Yukon were included in the census as well, but as Upper Territories. Public Domain Information.