is guilty of crimes against the black race! Crimes that you are in the process of being punished for!”
The captives glanced at each other, panicked. The sound of Holmes’s voice told them that he truly believed what he said. Holmes actually believed that they were guilty of something terrible.
“Group One,” Holmes shouted as he pointed toward them, “step forward!” Members of the Metz and Ross families glanced at each other, then reluctantly inched ahead. “Jake Ross, age seventy-one, make yourself known.”
The old man emerged from the center of the pack.
“You are the father of Alicia and Jimmy Ross, are you not?”
Jake Ross nodded his balding head. “Yes, Master Holmes, I am.”
“After marrying Paul Metz, Alicia gave birth to Kelly and Donny Metz. Is that correct?”
“Yes, sir,” Jake agreed. “They’re my grandkids.”
“And your son, Jimmy? He married Mary DaMico, and she eventually gave life to Susan, Tommy, and Scooter. Right?”
Jake was mystified by the line of questioning, but he still answered. “Yes, sir.”
“Now tell me, what was your grandfather’s last name on your father’s side?”
“It was Ross, same as mine. The Ross name has lasted for several generations now.”
Holmes winced when he heard the pride in Jake’s voice. The tone actually made him want to vomit. “According to our research, the Ross family first surfaced in America shortly before the 1800s. They settled in Massachusetts, but slowly migrated south as this country expanded in that direction. Eventually, your great-great- grandfather purchased a large chunk of land in Georgia, where he grew peanuts to the ripe age of eighty-one.”
Jake wasn’t sure what Holmes was getting at, but he could tell that it was something big. “Yes, sir. That sounds about right.”
Holmes nodded contentedly. The Plantation had located the right family.
“Group Two,” Harris Jackson shouted, “step forward!” The Potter family took an immediate stride toward Jackson. “Richard Potter, as the oldest member of your family, I would like to speak to you!”
Richard groaned softly, then stepped ahead. “That’s me, sir.”
“If I am correct, you are fifty-eight and have three kids, Andy, Darcy, and Jennifer. Andy married Sarah Goldberg, and they have a three-year-old daughter named Courtney.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Your one daughter married Mike Cussler, and your other daughter, Jennifer, is single.”
“Yes, sir. That’s correct.”
“Do either of your daughters have kids?”
“No, sir. Not yet.”
Jackson was fairly certain that they were childless, but if they’d had any kids out of wedlock, he wanted to know about them, too. “Where did your maternal grandparents come from?”
“Mississippi, sir. I lived there myself until my parents died.”
“Yes, I know.” Jackson moved closer to the man, hoping to scare him with his proximity. “What did they do for a living?”
“They were farming people, sir. Cotton, mostly.”
“And what was the name of their farm? Do you recall?”
“Yes, sir. I was forced to sell it after my folks died. It was called Tanneyhill Acres. Named after my mother’s side of the family.”
Jackson glanced at Holmes and nodded. Both of them were pleased with what they had learned. So far, Webster had made no mistakes in his research.
“I guess that leaves me,” Webster muttered. “Group Three, step ahead and join the others.”
Ariane Walker moved forward and was quickly followed by her sister, Tonya, and her injured brother-in-law, Robert Edwards.
“Since each of you is fairly young, you might not be able to help me with the questions that I would like answered. Therefore, I will give you a brief rundown on your family’s history. If you disagree with anything I say, please let me know.”
The three nodded, not knowing whose family he was referring to.
“Ariane, you’re the closest, so you will be the spokesperson. Two years ago your sister married Robert Edwards from Richmond, Virginia, and she is currently carrying their first child. Your parents, each of them an only child, died in a car crash. Each of your grandparents died at an early age, before you were even born. You have no cousins, aunts, or uncles. It’s just the three of you and the fetus on the way. Is that correct?”
Ariane agreed with everything. “Yes, sir.”
“Excellent,” he mumbled. “Your father’s parents were raised in a coastal town in North Carolina, but your father’s grandparents had roots that extended much deeper south. In fact, they stretched all the way to Louisiana.”
Ariane shrugged. “If you say so. I’ve never had the chance to research my family. As you’ve pointed out, most of my family is already dead.”
Webster smiled. “And they’re lucky they are. Because if they weren’t, they’d be standing here right next to you!”
The statement made Ariane wince. She knew her presence had something to do with her family’s background, but what? Her parents were both law-abiding citizens. Her sister was never in trouble, so it couldn’t have anything to do with her. And as far as she could tell, her brother-in-law was one of the sweetest guys in the world. So what the hell could it be?
“I can tell by your face, Ariane, that you are deeply confused. Your face is flushed. Your eyes are darting. Anger is boiling inside.”
In a moment of reckless courage, Ariane decided to voice her feelings. “Yes, sir, I’m angry. As far as I can tell, my family’s done nothing wrong, yet we’re here, suffering in this field for no apparent reason. So, if you would be so kind, I was wondering if you could tell me why! Why are we here? What possible explanation could you give me that would explain why we’re here?”
Ariane could tell from Webster’s eyes that she had spoken too harshly. In order to soften the request, she continued.
“That is, if you’d like to tell me, Master Webster, sir.”
Webster glared at the girl for a tense moment, then eventually grinned. “As fate would have it, we were just getting ready to tell the entire group that very thing. And for that, you are quite lucky. Otherwise, I would’ve been forced to punish you severely.”
Ariane nodded, relieved.
“Master Holmes?” Webster continued. “Would you care to tell old man Ross and the rest of his family why they are here?”
For a brief moment, Holmes thought back to his own childhood, one that was filled with racial threats against his family. This was finally his chance to pay the white man back for crimes against his ancestors, to get even for generations of pain and abuse. “With pleasure.”
Holmes turned toward the seventy-one-year-old slave and grinned. “During our research, we stumbled across a fact that I found quite interesting. We located the name of the man who was responsible for much of the pain in my family’s history. My ancestors, after they were forced to come to America in the belly of a wooden ship, were sold to a peanut farmer in rural Georgia. There, they worked, day after day, under some of the most horrible conditions imaginable. And what does any of that have to do with you? Their owner’s name was Daniel Ross, and he was your great-great-grandfather!”
Jake’s head spun as he took in the news. Even though he knew his family had a farm in the South, the thought that they had once owned slaves never crossed his mind. It should’ve, since it was a typical practice of the time, but it never did.
“And Group Two!” Jackson growled. “We’ve already discussed your heritage, but I left something out. Before your family owned and operated a warm and cuddly farm, they ran one of the strictest cotton plantations in the entire South. The Tanneyhill Plantation was known for its harsh guards and inhumane treatment of slaves. In fact, some modern-day black historians refer to it as the Auschwitz of Mississippi.”
Richard Potter took a deep gulp as he waited for Jackson to finish.
