Cobb Mt Mystery: Konocti Caves Part 12

CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

Loose Ends Hours earlier Jack had picked Ron up on Soda Bay Road shortly after he emerged from the Black Forest then dropping him off at his home in the Rivieras he took off for Kelseyville to see if he could spot the 'rent a goons' as he called Melbourne's hired security guards.

Ron looked at his watch and knew he had better shower and get into uniform and hit the pavement in his cruiser which thankfully was parked in his driveway. He was glad he wouldn't have to head back to the station to pick it up for his evening shift. Kat was still at work and he hoped to catch her before she left and meet up with her for dinner. Although it wouldn't be a happy meal since the only news he had for her was a near miss.

The two met at Zino's, their favorite restaurant, even though the beloved Zino would no longer barge out of the kitchen with, "Mama Mia! Mange, Mange!" due to a tragic hit and run accident.

Jan, Zino's widow, and her grand-daughter were keeping Zino's dream alive, with the much appreciated support of the community, who of course reaped the benefit of enjoying all of Zino's recipes, even though he was no longer the chef.

Ron avoided Kat's sad eyes as they gazed out over the lake, knowing they were just steps away from where Jimmy led his foster brothers across the road only hours before. The knowledge was bitter sweet. On one hand, Ron had narrowly missed finding Jimmy and rescuing him permanently from the grasps of Melbourne's hired goons. On the other hand, there was no doubt about Jimmy being alive. Although the meal was eaten in silence, Ron and Kat felt comforted in the latter.

The young married couple parted in the parking lot, Kat going home to a dark house; and Ron heading out on patrol.

The next day pa.s.sed slowly. No leads to follow, although Ron spent the day searching for some; while Jack followed up on some clues of his own on Walker Ridge.

That afternoon, as Ron sat in his squad car getting ready to call Kat before heading out on patrol, his cell phone beeped indicating a voicemail had come in. "Must have been when I was in the shower," he thought as he dialed in his pa.s.sword. As he listened to the message from Mrs. Capra he yelled, "No! Don't go! Jimmy! No!" He took off up the driveway and with his hands free he called Kat on her direct line at work and told her to rush to Mrs. Capra's house and stop her from going to the Farmer's Market.

Without asking questions, Kat said "I'm only seven minutes away!"

Ron then called Jack and told him to call Lenny and that Little Jimmy would likely be at the Farmers Market in just a few minutes and "If you hurry you can probably beat the 'Goon Squad' there!"

Ron had put his siren on and speeding to Clearlake, he arrived on the scene just in time to witness Kat, Mrs. Capra and the group of lost boys trying to rescue Little Jimmy from the grips of Melbourne's hired goons.

As he was rushing to the docks he saw the black suburban with Melbourne and his chauffeur waiting with the back doors open. He was thankful to see Jack pulling in followed by Lenny, leaving him free to continue to the docks to help rescue Jimmy and arrest the two goons.

The next morning, while Ron, Kat Lenny and Mrs. Capra gathered around her dining table trying to listen as Jack went over the Melbourne report that finally came in, over the noise of the barking dog, laughter, and six pairs of feet hitting the floor above their heads.

"His name is actually William Jones- the former owner of a now defunct manufacturing business in Oregon. Just before the company went bankrupt he stole the retirement fund and disappeared. Turns out the fingerprints and photo that was attached to his foster license, which we already know were not his, belonged to his chauffeur whose name is William Melbourne. He is married to Jones's sister- Wendy Jones." This bit of news caused Kat to gasp!

"I never trusted her!" she exclaimed.

"William Jones took the money and purchased some property on Walker Ridge from a local mining corporation." Jack continued, "He knew about the goldmine up there and that the mining operation had been shut down due to ecology. So he purchased another lot of land in Siskiyou County and filed a gold mine claim there. However there was no gold and no mine. As gold was pulled out of the Walker Ridge mine, he claimed that the deposits were from the Siskiyou County mine.

"But there was an obstacle to getting the gold. The Walker Ridge mine had cata-combs that were too small for grown men to access." Jack explained, "Jones could always find unscrupulous men willing to mine illegally for a wage- ecology or no ecology. But there was still the problem of not being able to excavate the mine without drawing attention in order for it to be accessed by grown men. In the early twentieth century boys were used- which would be illegal by today's standards.

"That's where Wendy Jones comes in. She had been a secretary in an independent foster parent agency. When she came across Jimmy's letters she hatched this scheme to start a foster home and fill it with orphans so that eventually there would be boys kept in trailers onsite as new boys were filtered through the foster department.

"Wait! So it had nothing to do with Jimmy's notebook?" Kat interrupted, "He is going to be so relieved. He had been carrying a lot of guilt thinking he was to blame. But Melbourne got the boy's names from the letters he wrote..." and then Kat was cut off by Jack.

"Yeah- letters that had never gotten mailed to the boys." He put a couple stacks of letters tied with twine on the table. "They were just stuck in a dead file in that foster parent agency," he growled before continuing, "When Jimmy disappeared Melbourne... err I mean Jones, staged that rouse about the boys falling into the Konocti Caves. He knew any search of the mountain would come up empty. He planned to keep using it as other boys disappeared. They would save money by not having to excavate; and get free disposable labor too..." he stopped and looked away before adding, "But really the boys were being held captive in a trailer on Walker Ridge; and used as slave labor in the gold mine."

Jack's face was beet red with anger as he related the last part of the report. And Ron had a difficult time holding back his anger, as well. He looked over at his wife and saw tears streaming down her face and was sorry she had to hear this.

Mrs. Capra's knuckles were white as she clenched a dish cloth, "Why, I'd like ten minutes with those good for nothing...," one look at her face and there was little doubt what she wanted to call them Lenny was unusually quiet. Ron was thinking that he was ashamed of the county for being blinded by that man's money. He agreed but kept silent.

The silence was soon broken by a loud thud followed by laughter and heavy running footsteps from upstairs, and a barking dog.

Mrs. Capra tried to get to her feet. But eased back down into her chair and put her face in her hands. "Ooooh boy!" she exclaimed. "What am I going to do with all these hoodlums?" she moaned.

Kat looked at the frazzled Mrs. Capra and felt sorry for her. She knew how desperately Mrs. Capra wanted to keep the boys. But it was apparent that just having all six boys here overnight was too much for her. Her health just couldn't take it. And although the county had allowed the boys to spend last night here after their ordeal, since Mrs. Capra besides still having her license intact, was also still on the list as an emergency home for in transit children; they all knew it was only temporary. They would be sending someone to pick up the children soon unless something happened quickly to prevent it. And Kat had some news that she hoped would be met with enthusiasm.

Epilog.

Home Is Where The Heart Is.

"What to do with so many children? What to do? I can't stand the thought of them going back into the system. After all they've gone through it just wouldn't be fair. And to be separated? No! It just can't happen!" Mrs. Capra moaned again.

Kat reached over and patted her hand. "Mrs. Capra, there's something I want to tell you. I hope this will ease your mind."

Mrs. Capra looked at the young woman quizzically. "What? What is it?"

"Well, I know you haven't met this couple, but the rest of us have and we know them to be very loving and trustworthy... And have the boys' best interest at heart."

This time Mrs. Capra was able to reach her feet. "Now, you just wait just a moment! If you think I'm gunna allow my boys to go off with people I don't even know..."

"No. No, of course not." Kat said nervously. "I'd never dream of doing that." As if they had a choice in the matter. If the boys were not placed right away in an approved home, they would be separated and shipped off in every direction.

"Mrs. Capra, we want to take you and the boys to meet this couple today. No pressure. Just to meet them. The boys will only think it's an outing. What do you say?"

An hour later just after the boys had showered and were dressed and fed, a nine pa.s.senger van pulled up in front of Mrs. Capra's home with Jack behind the wheel.

The gleeful boys bounded down the driveway and climbed into the van ready for an adventure. Hero was right behind them. "Come on Hero, hop in!" they all yelled.

Ron helped Mrs. Capra to his SUV, "I thought this might be easier for you to get into he said and saw the look of relief on Mrs. Capra's face. The ride in the vanload of boys and a dog would have shattered what was left of her nerves.

Ron, Kat and Mrs. Capra followed the van as it wound its way out of Clearlake to Lower Lake and then up the Glasgow Grade; as they headed up onto Cobb Mountain to the Lombardi's compound. The electric gate opened as the van approached and the caravan drove through and climbed the steep driveway to the mountain top mansion.

As they turned the bend and the compound came into view the boys were awestruck.

"Whoa!" they said in unison.

"This is way cool!" Timmy said while Jimmy whistled under his breath.

"Mama Mia!," said Joey, who seemed to have discovered his Italianess while under Mama Capra's roof.

Ron noticed that the renovation that had been in process at their last meeting was complete. The individual cabins that had once circled the main house had been moved and were now connected to each other and a part of the main house. A play ground that any park would envy had been built and a swimming pool with a rock waterfall and grotto had been installed. A barn had been built along with a corral which held several saddled horses. Inside the corral holding the reins of one of the horses was Kat's younger sister Angel.

The boys literally leaped out of the van and ran towards the horses. A man leaning on the corral rail next to an attractive younger woman held up a hand motioning the boys to slow down. Laughing he said, "Whoa there guys! Ya don't want to start a stampede do ya?" then he said, "Hi, I'm Guido, and this is my wife Francesca. Welcome to our ranch," and he reached out and shook hands with each of the boys asking their names. Then motioning to Angel, he said, "And this young lady is going to give anyone who wants them, riding lessons."

All of the boys eagerly accepted and began choosing a horse, keeping their enthusiasm and voices down. Even Hero was silent.

Mrs. Capra was still in the SUV but using the controls on his door panel, Ron had rolled down the windows so she could hear what was transpired. Not only had the man gotten instant control and respect from the kids, he also extended the respect right back. The anxiety left the old woman's face and was replaced by a wide grin.

"How?" was all she could say for a moment. After gathering her composure, she asked, "How can this miracle be real?"

Not only was it apparent that the Lombaris were willing and able to take on the six boys, but they were well prepared to do so immediately.

"But what about the foster license..."

"They have already been approved. Melbourne is not the only one who can move bureaucracies it seems." Kat laughed.

"But why would these people want to do this... want to take in these boys without ever seeing them?" Mrs. Capra questioned.

"Guido Lombardi has empathy because he was orphaned at a young age and was taken in and benefited from a 'foster' type situation when first his parents and then his guardian died. He wants to pay it forward. And he wants all the boys to remain together." Kat's voice cracked as she said the last part. Mrs. Capra gave her a knowing look. "We haven't changed our minds about wanting Jimmy in our lives." Kat continued when she was able. "But we feel it would be cruel to separate him from his brothers. They have gone through so much together. They've bonded and we would never want to break that bond. So we will be happy to be auntie and uncle," Kat paused looking over at Ron, who was watching Jimmy, before continuing, "Jimmy will have such opportunity with the Lombardi's... oppor- tunity that we would not ever want to deprive him of. He will be able to travel to all those exotic places that he studies on maps and geological books. He will be able to go to the finest colleges and well ... his future will be secure and stable. And that's what we always wanted for him."

Ron looked at Kat, and marveled at her composure. Although he knew she was right, and they were in agreement about this, he felt like he was falling apart inside.

Smiling at him, she patted his hand, thankful for the months she had spent going to her group at the Crossroads Inn Time B&B and Spa. She thought to her self, "Without those groups I would never have been able to put Jimmy first. I would not have realized that Ron and I need some growing up ourselves, before we take on the responsibility of parenthood." Then she repeated out loud, "We are happy to be the boys' auntie and uncle."

"I guess it's time for me to retire to 'Grandma Capra'" Mrs. Capra laughed, "And you know what they say the best thing about being a grandparent is... 'You can spoil them and then send them home!'" she laughed again, as her eyes met Little Jimmy's from across the corral. His eyes were happy. No sign of the fear, terror or stress from just the day earlier. Just full of joy and yes- trust as Angel helped him on his horse.

Ron noticed for the first time someone else standing off to the side. It was John Buchanan.

"I wonder what John's doing here." Ron said, and Kat gave him a wink.

"Who is John?" Jane Capra wanted to know, sitting up and leaning out the window to get a better look.

"John Buchanan. The High Sheriff's son. He's one of the first people I met after moving to this area. He's a fine young man," Ron added seeing the concern on Mrs. Capra's face. "Once a mama bear- always a mama bear," he chuckled to himself.

"Angel met him at the retreat up here on Cobb Mountain a few years back, and they both volunteer there from time to time."

"Nice to see him again," Ron said a little confused.

"Well, I think by the way he's looking at Angel, we'll be seeing more of him." Kat smiled knowingly.

"Ahhh amore'," Jane Capra smiled as she leaned back on her seat as if leaning back into another time, "In Lake County it blooms not just in the spring," she murmured softly fondling her locket.

.............................the end.

end.