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Forty five minutes later, they were still waiting for Mrs. Bradley to show up. Yuri had ordered coffee and a light breakfast to be sent up and the remains of the food was being cleared away by staff from the kitchen when there was a timid knock on the door.
Jaden looked at the door with butterflies in her belly. She glanced over at Iosif then to Yuri and Nikoli. At Nikoli’s nod she got to her feet and walked over to the door.
When she opened it, an older woman stood there.
Jaden didn’t have to search her memory to place a name with the face in front of her. She smiled and held out her hands, “Mrs. Bradley, you came.”
“Of course, I did child!” Mary Bradley exclaimed. “I’ve missed you.” They briefly hugged then Jaden moved back and allowed Mrs. Bradley into the room.
When she saw the lineup of men standing beyond the door she hesitated and looked back at Jaden. “What is going on here?’
“That is what we’re going to find out,” Nikoli assured her.
Jaden motioned for her to go in and then she closed the door. Leading the way over to the sofa, she motioned for the other woman to sit down. Sitting beside, her Jaden asked, “You gave me my mother’s necklace when I was thirteen. How did you get it?”
Mrs. Bradley watched as the men sat down to listen to her story. When she saw one of them sit down next to Jaden, she took a deep breath and then spoke, “Well, child when the police couldn’t find your mother’s killer, they stamped the case as a cold case. That allowed all the evidence to be released to the next of kin. As you were just a child they brought it to me. I held it for you. I didn’t know what else to do with it. You seemed so unhappy I thought having a little piece of your mother might make a difference.”
“Was there anything else?” Nikoli asked impatiently.
“Excuse me but who are you to ask that of me?” Mrs. Bradley inquired.
Nikoli narrowed his eyes and glared at the older woman. “I am Nikoli Silvanic and this matter is important not only to Jaden but to us as well. Just answer my question.”
“Please, Mrs. Bradley?” Jaden begged.
Mary Bradley turned to face Jaden and ignoring the other men in the room, she nodded. “Yes, there is more. I’ve been holding it for you. I meant to give it you when you aged out of the system but you were gone by then and I had no way of finding you.” She reached into her purse and brought out a large manila envelope. Handing the envelope to Jaden she sat back and watched as Jaden stared at the envelope for a long moment.
Jaden’s hands shook as she held what little remained of her mother’s entire life. She looked over at Mrs. Bradley and saw the other woman smile.
“It’s all there child. Everything the police took from the apartment your mother was murdered in.”
“Open it,” Nikoli ordered.
Jaden’s fingers wouldn’t open the envelope at fist. Then she took a deep breath and calmed down enough to tear the envelope open. Items spilled out onto her lap and she quickly gathered everything in her hands.
Then she placed the items on the coffee table and sat back to stare at them. There were five small items on the table in front of her. One of the items was an old brass key. It had a bank’s address stamped into it and the number of a safety deposit box on it.
The next item was a small photograph. A picture of a baby. Picking it up by the very edge of the photo, Jaden stared at it for a long moment. Then she realized the baby was her.
She placed the photo back on the table and picked up the next item. It was a cheap tie tac that didn’t mean anything to Jaden. The fourth item was a watch that stopped on the date August 2, eighteen years in the past. The crystal was cracked and blood stained. Jaden felt a single tear run down her cheek at the sight of it. The last item in the small pile was a handkerchief. It was yellowed with age and as she shook it out she could see a letter embroidered in one corner of the cloth. It was a capital A.
“Well, it isn’t much for a lifetime is it?” she commented.
Nikoli reached out and grabbed the small brass key. He noted the address of the bank and found it to be one here in New Orleans. He glanced over at Yuri and Roman. “Maybe there is more in the bank vault.” He commented.
“I contacted the bank and told them of your mother’s death and they assured me she made provisions for the event of her death before you reached your majority,” Mrs. Bradley informed them.
“What do you mean?” Jaden asked.
“The bank informed me that in case your mother passed before you reached age eighteen that they had your hand print on file and they could allow you to come in and get what they have been holding for you all these years. All you need to do is press your palm on a scanner. If it matches the one they have on file they will allow you to retrieve what she left you.”
“Do you know what she left for me?” Jaden asked the older woman.
“No child, I don’t.” Mrs. Bradley shook her head slowly.
Yuri picked up the watch and noted the date. “What does this date mean to you?”
Jaden shook her head. “I’m not sure.”
Mrs. Bradley cleared her throat before she commented, “That was the day your mother was killed.
Jaden felt her heart breaking. She never knew exactly when her mother died only that she was murdered. Tears rolled down her cheeks freely. Iosif wrapped his arms around her shoulders and drew her close. She turned her face and wept openly.
Mrs. Bradley reached out and took her hand and Jaden closed her fingers around the older woman’s fingers. She held on tightly. Then she pushed away from Iosif and released Mrs. Bradley’s hands.
Wiping her tears away she looked over at Nikoli and Yuri. “I guess we should go and collect whatever is in the bank.” She paused then added, “Hopefully we won’t run into Billy Jo.”
“We’ll have security with us,” Yuri assured her. “He won’t get close to you.”
Jaden nodded. “Just let me clean up a bit then and we can go.” She walked out of the living room and down the hall to the bathroom to wash her tears away. When she returned Mrs. Bradley was on her feet.
There were also several more men in the apartment including Kosta and Barshan.
Mrs. Bradley came over to her and said, “When this is all over and the dust is settled, please call me again and we can get together. I’d like to know you again.”
Jaden nodded as she took the older woman’s hands into hers. “You were always so kind to me. The only one that ever was kind and caring to me. I never thanked you for that.”
“No, sweet child. No thanks are needed, as I never did enough. You always deserved better. I always wished I could have done more. Please contact me again, okay?”
Nodding, she watched as the older woman turned and left.
Iosif joined her talking one hand in his. “Are you ready?” he asked quietly.
Jaden exhaled loudly. “I don’t know but let’s get this done. I have to know what my mother left for me.”
Twenty minutes later, they pulled up in front of the bank in question. En mass. It looked like a small army had arrived downtown.