Читать книгу Legacy of the Grand Master - William Speir - Страница 9

The years seemed to pass too quickly for Tom and Emily as they watched Jamie grow up. Jamie continued trying her hand at new sports, bringing home an impressive collection of trophies, medals, and ribbons. She was an excellent swimmer and diver, a great equestrian, which she did with her Aunt Sophie every week, and an amazing runner. Tom thought several times how glad he was to be retired, since someone had to take Jamie to her seemingly endless lessons, classes, and events. He didn’t mind. It gave him time to be with his daughter, which is one of the reasons he had retired in the first place.

Emily, who worked part time at SignalCorps, overseeing the development and marketing of new surveillance system upgrades, went with Tom to Jamie’s activities as often as she could. She loved being with her family, and it was a joy watching Jamie excel at almost everything she tried.

It wasn’t a conscious choice by Tom or Emily to have only one child. They had tried to have another for several years, but Emily never got pregnant again. Tom and Emily never felt that their family was incomplete, though. More children would have added to their joy, but they were a happy family, and neither Tom nor Emily felt upset that Jamie was an only child. Tom also felt somewhat relieved that he’d never have to endure a parent-child relationship like the one he had with his father when he was younger.

Saturday mornings were when all three of them went to the local martial arts center. While Tom and Emily were upstairs fencing, Jamie was downstairs with her Tae kwon do class. Sometimes, if the class finished early, she’d come upstairs and watch her parents spar with swords and fighting sticks. She was still too young to learn weapons fighting, but she sat and watched, memorizing every move and every “tell” (glance, muscle twitch, stance change, and so on) her parents had that indicated which maneuver they were going to try next. Jamie had an uncanny way of reading people, and she could anticipate their actions easily, which made her such a strong martial arts competitor.

Jamie also spent a lot of time with her friends, either hanging out at the house or going to the local coffee shop. At first, Tom and Emily wondered what kind of influence her friends might have on Jamie, but it quickly became clear that, not only were her friends good people, but Jamie was also the undisputed leader of the group, and she was a positive influence on them. Most of her friends were in at least one of her sports classes, and many were in several classes with her.

Tom’s mother had been gone for almost three years when Tom noticed a change coming over his dad. James Anderson was in his late eighties, and even though his mind had never stopped being as sharp as ever, Tom noticed that his father was slowing down quite a bit and having difficulty moving.

At first, James refused to hear about it, but finally Tom convinced him to see a doctor. The doctor ran a number of tests, but found nothing specific. James was suffering from the effects of old age. Tom kept a close watch on his father, but he knew that James was declining quickly.

Jamie started going over to her grandfather’s house after school several days a week when she didn’t have any other afterschool activities, so she could spend as much time with him as possible. James doted on his granddaughter. Not only was she the only female grandchild in the family, but she was the only grandchild who still lived in town. James saw something very special in Jamie, and her presence brightened his days when she’d spend time with him. Jamie loved her grandfather and looked forward to their time together. Sometimes they’d play cards, sometimes they’d play chess, and sometimes they’d just sit and talk about the past.

Jamie loved hearing the stories about her parents when they were younger. She knew that they still loved each other very much, but evidently, there had been some things that had happened when they first met and when they were newly married that really brought them closer together. When Jamie asked for details, her grandfather would just smile and say: “That’s a story for another time.”

Every now and then, James would have a recurring fever, which kept him in bed for a couple of days. One day, close to Jamie’s fourteenth birthday, her grandfather felt feverish and was tossing and turning in bed. As Jamie sat in the chair next to the bed, she heard him mumbling the same things over and over again. It was hard to understand what he was saying, but she definitely heard something that sounded like “knights,” “Order of the Saltire,” and “interventions.” She filed these in the back of her mind and decided to ask her grandfather about them when he felt better.

Unlike his past fevers, this one took longer to get over, and once it broke, it left James very weak. Jamie started spending even more time with her grandfather at that point, suddenly worried that she might not have much time left with him. Tom and Emily were grateful that Jamie wanted to spend time with Tom’s father, and they never did anything to discourage her.

On one rainy afternoon, Jamie sat in the chair next to her grandfather’s bed when he suddenly woke up. He looked over at his granddaughter and smiled a determined smile. “Jamie, I need to talk to you,” he said with some difficulty.

Jamie looked up from the book she had been reading. “Ok, Granddad. What do you want to talk to me about?” She put down the book and moved her chair closer to the bed so she could hear him better.

“There are things about your family that you don’t know, but which you should know. Your parents were planning to talk to you about this when you were older, and I wanted to be there when you found out. I see now that I’m going to have to tell you myself.”

Jamie was curious at this. She knew that her parents kept secrets, but she always assumed that all parents did. Several times a month, she went over to Aunt Sophie’s house or Granddad’s house while her parents went to some meetings, but no one ever discussed them. She even remembered staying with her grandparents or having her grandmother come over and stay with her for extended periods of time when her parents had to travel. It all seemed normal, so she never really paid much attention to it as she grew up. Now she wondered if her grandfather was going to tell her the reason for those meetings and trips.

“Before I continue, I need you to promise me that you’ll never discuss anything I tell you with anyone until after your parents talk to you about it – even if it means keeping it a secret for several years. Do you understand?”

Jamie nodded. “Yes, Granddad, I promise.” When Jamie made a promise, she always kept it, just like her dad did.

“Good. Well, where to start… Oh yes. Several years ago, long before your dad and Aunt Sophie were born, I, and several of my colleagues, realized that there were people in this world who needed help. They needed someone to turn to who could make things right. Law enforcement was stretched thin and needed help gathering evidence, proving the truth about circumstances, and apprehending and convicting criminals. We, my colleagues and I, started helping people and law enforcement in our spare time. We had no authority to do so; there was no mandate allowing us to do this. In fact, no one ever knew that we existed. We kept our involvement secret, out of respect for the system and out of concern for our safety and the safety of our loved ones. After a while, we allowed others to join us, and we formalized our group into an organization.”

“What organization, Granddad?” Jamie asked.

“We called ourselves the ‘Order of the Saltire.’”

Jamie immediately remembered her grandfather muttering that during his most recent fever.

“We organized ourselves like the old orders of knighthood,” Jamie’s grandfather continued. “The men were called ‘knights,’ and the women were called ‘dames.’ We grew and expanded, and we even opened new chapters in other countries.”

“Why are you telling me this, Granddad?” Jamie asked.

“I’m getting to that,” her grandfather replied. “Anyway, several years ago, when your dad was just out of the military, he was recruited into the Order. Now, at that time, your dad and I weren’t getting along too well. I think you know the stories about what happened between your dad and me when he was still in college?”

Jamie nodded.

“Well, we hadn’t spoken for several years, and I didn’t know that he was joining the Order until his petition crossed my desk. All new memberships came to me at that time. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised that he’d want to join, since he was always concerned about justice. So I approved his membership, but I never told him that I was the head of the Order. It was several years later, when he moved back here, that he found out I was the Order’s Grand Master, or supreme commander. That was the moment when our relationship turned around and started becoming what it is today. Are you following me so far?”

Jamie nodded.

“Good. Anyway, your Godfather Ralph and your dad started working together at work and with the Order. That’s when Ralph introduced your dad to your mom. Your mom was a new member of the Order, and she and your dad hit it off immediately. Tell me something. Do they teach you about the impeachment of President Sanborn in school?”

“Yes, sir. We learned about it this year.”

“Did you know that your mom and dad were involved?”

Jamie’s eyes opened wide as she shook her head.

James told her about how the Order took down President Sanborn and helped free the U.S. citizens imprisoned illegally. He told her about the firefight underneath the Capitol and how her parents had helped capture the last of the Homeland Security Force officers.

Jamie sat in stunned silence as her grandfather told her about how her parents had led the initiatives that brought freedom back to America. She knew that there had been a gunfight underneath the Capital building, but she had no idea that her parents had been involved in it.

“Have you ever heard of ‘Il Nona’ or the Republic of Suriname?” James asked his granddaughter.

“I’ve heard of Suriname, but not ‘Il Nona’,” she replied.

“Well, Il Nona was a group of mercenaries and arms dealers based in Europe who tried to get the Middle Eastern immigrants in Europe and the local Europeans to start fighting each other back when you were just a toddler. Your parents helped stop them. Then Il Nona moved to Central America and tried to overthrow the government of Suriname. Your parents helped put down that revolution and return the elected government to power. Your dad personally saved the President of Suriname’s life.”

Jamie’s mind was reeling at this point. If it were anyone else, she would think that she was just hearing fairy-tales, but her grandfather had never lied to her, and she believed him completely, even though she was having a hard time imagining her parents doing the things he was describing.

“Anyway, when I retired several years ago, your dad took over as the Grand Master of the Order. Your mom, Uncle Liam, and Ralph are all senior members of the Order. Your grandmom, as well as your Aunt Sophie, know about the Order, but aren’t members. Your cousins Ian and Alex don’t know anything about the Order, and I don’t think that they ever will. I’ve spent years recruiting, training, and assessing potential members, and of all the kids in the family, I see in you the potential to be a great addition to the Order someday. You’ll have to be older, of course, and there’s a lot of danger involved, but there’s also a lot of reward because of the people you can help. You’ll never get credit for helping them because they’ll never know that you were involved; but knowing that someone is better off because you acted on their behalf is a feeling like no other.”

“You want me to become a knight?” Jamie asked with a sense of wonder. All her life, her parents had told her stories about the knights of old, but she never realized there were still knights like that in existence. Now she was learning that her parents were knights like that, and her grandfather was suggesting that she could be one, too, some day.

“If it’s something you want, yes,” James replied. “Again, you can’t tell this to anyone – especially not your parents. You have to be approached by an existing member before you can petition for membership.”

“Isn’t that what you’re doing?” Jamie asked.

“Yes, but you’re too young to join now.”

“Why don’t you approach me again when I’m old enough?”

James hesitated before answering that question, but finally decided that there was no need to hold back the rest of the truth. “Because I won’t be here when you’re old enough, Jamie.”

Jamie’s eyes filled with tears as she realized what her grandfather was telling her. She wiped her eyes and asked, “How much longer, Granddad?”

James appreciated his granddaughter’s gentle but straightforward manner. “Not long, Jamie, not long. The doctors aren’t certain, or at least they’re not telling me anything certain, but I know. That’s why I’m telling you these things years before you’re supposed to hear them.”

Jamie reached for his hand and held it tightly, unable to say anything.

After a few minutes, James said, “But I’m still here for now, and there’s one more thing I need to tell you.”

“Yes, Granddad?” Jamie asked, looking up at the old man’s face.

“When I’m gone, there’s something I want you to do for me.”

“Okay.”

“In my study here in the house, there’s a wooden panel between the two wall lamps. Do you know the one I mean?”

Jamie nodded.

“If you push against the panel in the dead center, you’ll hear a click, and the panel will slide open. Inside, there’s a box with a letter attached to it. The letter is addressed to you. Take the letter and the box, but don’t let anyone see you do it, and don’t tell anyone about it. It’ll take you a while to figure out how to open the box, but when you do, it’ll explain everything. Don’t even try to open the letter or the box until after your eighteenth birthday, and whatever you do, don’t break the wax seal on the back of the letter. Do you understand? It’s important that the box stay closed with the seal intact until after you’re eighteen and that it stay hidden until you’ve opened it and done what it tells you to do.”

“What’s in it, Granddad?”

“A choice. It’s my legacy to you. What you do with it is up to you, but I have my hopes that you’ll make the right choice.”

James fell silent after that, and Jamie sat quietly, holding his hand until her dad came to pick her up and take her home.

James was right about the time he had left. He passed away peacefully in his sleep two nights later. Jamie remembered when her grandmother had died and how it affected her dad, but he took losing his father much harder. Jamie didn’t see her dad much for the next several days as he and Aunt Sophie made the funeral arrangements.

The funeral service was the largest funeral Jamie had ever seen. There were hundreds of people who attended to pay their respects to the family. Jamie sat next to her cousins and their families during the service, thinking about her grandfather and remembering the promise that she made to him the last time she saw him.

There were a number of people who got up and spoke about how James had touched their lives. His former business partners spoke at length about how he had helped people through his law practice, and several other colleagues talked about the impact he had on them. At the end of the service, Tom stood up and gave the final eulogy.

“My father was a great man,” he began, hesitating at first to collect his strength and his emotions. “It can well be said of him that he put his family first, but it can also be said that his sense of family was larger than most. He considered his friends, his colleagues, his clients… all part of his family as well. He believed in being inclusive, rather than exclusive, and his capacity for love was legendary among those who knew him. My father taught me many things, but most of all he taught me that our choices have both consequences and obligations. Before we start down a path, we need to weigh those consequences and those obligations, and then choose our path knowing full well that the results of that choice will dominate our experience for the rest of our lives. My father never took the easy path, but he always took the right path and stood by his choices until the end. He acted based on a deep conviction of what was right and honorable, even if it didn’t always seem so to a young boy who never understood his father until much later in life. Those of us who knew him will never forget him. Those of us who have been touched by his presence will never be the same. His legacy lives on in all of us, and it’s for us now to commit to carrying forward his great legacy so that, through us, my father will live forever.”

The next night after the funeral, Aunt Sophie and Uncle Liam, along with their kids, were over at the house to discuss the will and the estate.

“It’s pretty straight forward,” Tom said as he gave Sophie and Liam a copy. “With the exception of a few specific items, everything is split evenly between us. The office building that dad owned where his law office used to be, as well as several other real estate holdings around the country that were part of the ‘other business,’ goes to a trust to be managed by me. There’s also a trust fund set up for each of the grandkids that they can access when they turn twenty-five. Apart from that, you and I get everything in equal share.”

Sophie nodded. She understood why Tom would manage the office building and other real estate holdings, since they had something to do with the Order. She was glad that the grandkids were being taken care of, and she was surprised by the amount in the trust funds they each received. Evidently, James’ investments had done better than anyone knew!

What Sophie didn’t know, but what Tom had learned when he became Grand Master of the Order, is that their dad owned a great many properties in several cities for use exclusively by the Order. Most of the properties were safe houses and other secure locations, but some were specifically for investment purposes. James had a knack for identifying properties that would end up being in prime locations eventually, and as a result of careful planning and market analysis, he had been able to sell some of these properties at a huge profit. The proceeds from these sales not only funded the grandchildren’s trust funds, but also gave the Order access to tremendous funding to help its operations. There were several members of the Order who had been handpicked by James to manage these properties, but Tom would be considered the overall trustee.

“Is there anything in particular you want from the house?” Tom asked.

“There’s a lot of the furniture I’d like to have, either for myself or for the boys,” Sophie replied. “Is there anything special you want?”

“I’d like the furniture in Dad’s study, if you don’t mind. I’ve always admired it and want it to replace my office furniture here in the house.”

Sophie nodded in agreement. “What about Mom’s guns?”

“Do you mind if we split them?” Tom asked. “She has two cases in her trophy room, and I think that it should be easy enough to divide the guns equally.”

“I’m fine with that.”

They talked about some of the other items and agreed to meet at the house on Saturday to pack and move the items they each wanted. Tom agreed to contact the realtor to have the house put up for sale. It would be strange not going to the house anymore for family gatherings. It had been the centerpiece in everyone’s life for more years than they could remember.

After a while, Sophie and her family left, and Jamie went to bed. All of the talk about splitting Granddad’s things was depressing. And besides, Jamie had to figure out how to honor her grandfather’s request with a lot of other people in the house.

As she crawled in bed, she decided that she’d go over to the house the next day after school and retrieve the box and the letter while the house was empty. If her parents asked what she was doing there, she’d simply tell them she was just missing her granddad. It would be the truth, of course; she didn’t like to lie to her parents. However, it wouldn’t be the whole truth.

The next afternoon, she walked up to her grandfather’s house, unlocked the front door, and stepped inside. She paused after she closed and relocked the front door. The house looked the same, but there was definitely something missing. She realized that she had never been alone in the house before. There had always been someone there. She pushed that thought aside and walked down the hall toward her grandfather’s study.

As she entered the study, she felt the tears welling up in her eyes again. She could almost see her grandfather sitting behind the great desk, reading the paper and sipping from the ever-present glass of scotch. She walked in and stepped around the desk to the wall panel between the two wall lamps. Reaching for the center of the panel, she pushed until she heard the click. The panel slid upwards, revealing a niche.

She reached into the niche and pulled out the box with the letter attached to it. The letter had her name written on it, and the back was sealed with a red wax seal that had the design of an “X” with a crown on each of the four tips. She looked at the box, and it had the same design worked into the wood in such a subtle way that it was hard to tell if it were actually there or not.

Jamie slid the panel down, and it clicked back into place. She turned around and froze.

Ralph Gardner was standing there, looking at her and what was in her hands.

“Uncle Ralph, what are you doing here?” she said, surprised by his sudden appearance.

“I’m helping to keep an eye on the place until your parents can go through everything. What are you doing here, and what’s that in your hand?” he asked his goddaughter.

Jamie looked at the box and the letter in her hand. Looking back at her godfather, she said, “I’m doing something Granddad asked me to do just before he died.”

Holding up the letter for Ralph to see what was written on it, she added, “See? It’s addressed to me.”

Ralph looked at the writing on the letter. “What did he want you to do with it?”

Jamie hesitated. Her grandfather had made her promise to keep this a secret, but Ralph had already seen the letter and the box, so there was no way to hide it from him. “I’ll tell you, but you have to swear not to tell anyone else – not even my parents.”

Ralph looked at the sincerity and the sense of purpose on Jamie’s face, and nodded.

“Granddad says it’s his legacy, but I’m not supposed to try to open it until I’m eighteen, and even then I might not be able to get it open.”

“What’s in it?” Ralph asked.

“I have no idea, and I had to promise not to open it early and not to tell anyone about this.”

Ralph nodded. It was just like James to leave behind something of a mystery. His whole life had been about secrets, and he was leaving one behind for his favorite grandchild to solve. “Well, whatever it is, I hope that you’ll let me in on it when the time comes. I’m your godfather, and I’m supposed to look out for you when your parents can’t. Since they don’t know about this, I guess I’ll be the one who has to look after the secret with you.”

“Thanks, Uncle Ralph!” Jamie said, coming forward to give him a hug.

“No problem.” he said, hugging her back. “Come on. I’ll give you a ride home.”

When Jamie got home, she went to her room to find a place to hide the letter and the box. After looking around her room for a while, she couldn’t think of a good hiding place where the letter and the box would be safe from accidental discovery. The box was the same size as a cigar box, which made it too large to hide easily.

When she sat down on her bed to think about a hiding place, she felt something hard underneath her. Getting up again, she saw one of her textbooks lying on the bed where she had left it. She pushed it aside and sat down again. She looked at the book and then at her bookcase. An idea formed in her mind.

She jumped up and went over to her computer. After it turned on, she went into a graphics package and started working. When she got the images just the way she wanted them, she printed them out on heavy card, rather than paper. She grabbed her scissors and trimmed off the excess card stock. She carefully taped the images to the box and the envelope, covering them completely. She turned the now-covered box and envelope over to inspect it from all sides, smiling with satisfaction. She walked over to her bookcase, created an opening between two large books, and slid the covered box and envelope in between. Stepping back, the box and envelope now looked just like a book, titled “Legacy 18.”

Jamie was proud of the way she had disguised the box and envelope so they could be hidden in plain sight. No one would be able to tell that it wasn’t a real book without pulling it out and inspecting it closely. The secret was now safe.

Jamie hummed to herself as she got out her textbooks and started working on her homework assignments.