Chapter Thirteen
“I wonder how true these plans are,” Dino wondered aloud.
“What difference would that make?” Matthew asked.
“What if George is trying to hide something?” Dino asked.
“Like what?” Matthew stared at his grandson.
Jillian thought for a moment then said, “If George was living here when Matthew came, he would have witnessed the whole affair between Tilly and Matthew. Along with Claire’s interference. Right?”
Mathhew nodded. “I always thought he liked Claire, but she had no time for him. At least, she pretended she didn’t.
Now that I think about it I remember seeing them together at the oddest times.
The girls let him stay here and he worked around the house.
They needed a maintenance guy so they both said.
The arrangement suited them all, but I think he scared them to some extent.
I know Tilly wasn’t comfortable around him. ”
“When was the last time you saw him?” Jillian asked.
Matthew shrugged. “The last thing I remember from that day was when George set my luggage out on the front porch. I thought I heard someone come up behind me and the next thing I knew I was waking up on the side of the road. I don’t know for sure but when I woke up I had a heck of a headache and a bump on the back of my head.
I found out I was about a mile away. I knew I had to come back.
I hadn’t been able to say goodbye to Tilly and I didn’t want to leave things like that.
With her believing I had cheated on her.
By the time I got back here the Inn was already burning and I couldn’t get near the building. ”
Jillian nodded. “George never got out before the fire started. Claire told me that. He died that night along with her.” She picked up the blueprints and looked them over. “But if he died in the fire, how could he have drawn these plans?’
“Maybe he knows where Tilly is and he doesn’t want anyone to find her,” Matthew suggested.
“Is there another set of blueprints anywhere?” Dino asked. “What about a blueprint of the original plantation?”
Jillian shrugged. “I don’t know of another set.
In fact, I’m surprised there was a plantation here at one point.
We’re pretty far north to have a plantation here.
But there was some mention of it being on the escape route for slaves.
The plantation would ship wheat to the north.
I’d forgotten about that with all that’s happened.
I guess I got caught up in the girls and Matthew’s story.
” She reached for the file she’d gotten earlier and opened it.
She found what she was looking for and handed it over to Dino. “Here’s what the realtor gave me.”
Dino looked the papers over for a few minutes then disappeared into his room.
When he came back he had a laptop with him.
“I only hope I can link onto a tower so I can get onto the net.” He took out his cell phone, tapped the screen and looked.
“Yes! I can get it on. I can hotspot it and check this out.”
Matthew looked hopeful. “Maybe we will find an answer sooner than we thought. We only have three days till this place goes up in smoke.”
After researching a little of the history of Branden, Dino looked up at them.
“The history of the plantation is pretty cool. Like you mentioned, I found a reference to the slave route and the transportation route. Branden was an important link to the northern states. So there is an original drawing of the plantation. Is there a county building in town?”
Jillian nodded. “I think so? My realtor got the recent plans from there. It’s right on Main Street just past the Post Office.”
Dino nodded. Reaching into his pocket he brought out a flash drive and downloaded the information he wanted. He looked at Jillian and his grandpa. “I’m going to make a trip into town and see what else I can find. I should be back in an hour or so.”
Poppy barked and interrupted them.
Jillian looked down at her.
Poppy whined and went over to the kitchen door.
“Maybe she just needs to go,” Dino suggested.
Jillian shrugged. “No, that’s not her bark for that. She acts like this when there are people around that she doesn’t know.” She let her dog out. Then she turned and told Dino, “I should go into town too. I need some more groceries and stuff. I wasn’t exactly expecting company.”
“Ok, we’ll all make the trip together. It’ll be safer too. This place is too...” Dino shook his head.
“...Haunted?” Jillan supplied the answer as she grinned at him.
Dino rolled his eyes. “I just don’t think it’s safe. Like this might need someone who...” His cell phone buzzed. He paused and looked at it, then he scoffed in disgust, “Man... no way.” He headed out the door.
Jillian stared at the door then at Matthew.
He shook his head. “Dino can be impatient. He told me once that he gets that from his dad.”
“He said he didn’t know his real dad,” Jillian replied as she escorted him through the door.
“He knows. He just won’t talk about him much.”
Jillian was really curious about this and Dino’s life but she kept all her questions to herself.
A couple of minutes later, they were all out front.
Poppy was barking loudly now.
Jillian looked up and saw why her dog was so agitated. She stared at two SUVs that were coming up the road toward the Inn.
Looking over at Dino, she saw that he looked angry. “Do you know who this is?”
Nodding, he sighed. “It's... my family.”
“Your family?” she asked. “But I thought you said...” She turned her head to see the SUVs had parked and the doors on both vehicles opened up almost all at once. “...you said that you didn’t have much family.”
Dino nodded. “That I wanted to claim. I have one but I have avoided them for a couple of years now.”
“You need to give him a chance, Dino,” Matthew suggested.
“Gramps, you just do not understand.” Dino clenched his fists at his sides.
Matthew didn’t reply as he did the same thing as Jillian...Turned to stare at the new arrivals.
A tall man stepped out of the driver’s side of one of the SUVs. He stalked over and stood in front of Dino.
Jillian gasped as she stared at this man. His eyes were the exact same hazel color with gold flecks. He had different colored hair but he looked like an older version of Dino.
The man simply stood there and stared at Dino.
“Why are you here?” Dino asked him in a low voice.
“You disappeared,” the man replied. “Honi said you were with Rosanna’s father? But then no one could find you or him.”
Dino shook his head. “If I had wanted you to be involved, I would have called you.”
“Son, you haven’t spoken a word to me for almost two years,” the man said.
“I told you I needed time.” Dino glared at him.
“And two years is long enough, Theo,” the man growled.
“That is not my name!” Dino retorted as he kept glaring at him.
Matthew used his cane and stepped over to where they stood.
Jillian helped him along.
Matthew seemed to want to bring the heated exchange down to a cooler temp as he asked, “Dino, are you going to introduce us?”
Dino still looked angry.
The man stared at him then at Jillian. Stepping forward, he said, “I’m his father. My name is Bane Jessin.”