by M Murphy
I needed a nap and planned on energizing my batteries.
Unfortunately, my place was not as empty as I had hoped. Waiting for me was Colin sitting on my porch in shorts and a Cleveland Indians t-shirt. Chief Wahoo was grinning at me as I watched Colin wash down a bite of hotdog with his beer.
“I can see you’ve gone off duty.” I said, joining him.
“What can I say, my work was done. I might as well get a little vacation out of this trip. We should rent a charter boat and go fishing.”
“Wish I could. Life would be a lot easier. I thought you were getting a hotel room.”
“I said I might get one. Your place is in a good spot though and I don’t mind the couch.”
I knew Colin wasn’t getting a room and honestly I never expected him too, but I liked to push the issue.
“How’s Hannah doing?” He asked.
“Awake and as feisty as ever. I left hoping she would get some rest, but I doubt it.”
“What are your plans? I mean is this whole mess over now for you two?”
“Nope, she wants to finish what we started and I’m kind of for it. I’m not sure why, but there is an urge to understand what all of this was for…the murders, the threats, and even Tidwell’s craziness.”
“I am officially on vacation now, but if you need any help just ask.”
“It would help pay for your room and board.” I said.
“Hey, I bought this hotdog from a street vendor and the beer from the package store with my own money.”
“You’re still using my couch.” I said, taking one of his beers from a small cooler he had by his chair.
“Fine, what are you thinking?”
“Find out anything you can about the KGC. I’m sure there’s got to be some FBI files or maybe even something at the Southern Poverty Law Center that could help us to get a better understanding of who we’re dealing with.”
“Are you positive that’s who you’re up against?”
“No, I’m not positive, but everything has pointed in that direction since Hannah showed me the letter from Trenholm’s study.
Chapter 73
“Going back to my cross theory,” Hannah said, “the one marking the sites on the map and laying the shape of a cross over it.”
“I haven’t forgotten. You’ve got 1 Broad Street at the top of the cross and Magnolia Cemetery at the bottom. The school and the wharf makeup the other points. So what’s your point?”
“My point is, I’m struggling to read the clues on the urn but we have to assume that the next location is the middle of the cross.” She circled a small area on the map she had brought up on her tablet. “I could GPS the exact center of the cross, but I doubt what we are looking for is in the exact center.”
“What do you mean?”
“The whole series of clues and the final point were all laid out before GPS first of all, but more importantly each site has held some importance to whoever originally put this all together. They all have some connection to the Trenholms or the South before the war. I believe that there is a combination of symbol and meaning going on with these clues. The cross is a symbol and the locations have meaning. We are going to be looking for a location near the center of the cross that also holds some significance.”
“Seems to make sense, but how do we move forward then?” I watched as Hannah zoomed in on the area of the map using satellite images. “Is it going to be that easy?”
“No, I was just hopeful. Why don’t you go for a walk?”
“Excuse me?”
“A walk. Go check out these blocks.” Hannah once again pointed to her map. “East Bay north to Mary west to Meeting south to Calhoun, and then finally back over to East Bay. Don’t just walk on these streets, but get into the neighborhood and really look. Make sure you have your phone and research the area while you’re there.”
“Haven’t you already done that?”
“No, I’ve been busy working on the urn, and this idea just came to me out of frustration. Give me your phone for a second.”
I handed Hannah my phone and she played with for a moment.
“Here,” she pointed at the screen, “I downloaded a tourist app for you. You program in the neighborhood you’re in and it gives you a walking tour. The audio tours are done by local tour guides, but there are also little tidbits written in by the apps users.”
“Why do I have to walk around looking like a tourist with my head in my phone?” I definitely was whining a little.
“Because, tour guides make money by stretching the truth and adding a lot of myth or local lore to their tours. It’s a good way to stumble upon something that won’t be in a library or research database. A lot of it is complete bullshit, but every once in a while there is some truth behind these stories.”
“Basically, you’re sending me out to spend my day walking around town, like a tourist, and with my head attached to my phone like an idiot.”
“Good, you’ve got it.” Hannah said with a smile. “I’ll keep working here and call you if I come up with anything…I know you’ll have your phone close.”
“Very amusing. I’ll be going before you add any more fun to my day.”
“Alright, stay in touch. And Jack, we’ve been really lucky so far but I’ve got a feeling this won’t be so easy.”
I walked to the door and began program my new phone app. “She thinks this has been easy.” I said under my breath.
“What’s that?” Hannah asked.
“I’ll be in touch.” I said, leaving for my guided tour of Charleston.
Chapter 74
Walking around the beautiful city for two hours, listening to polluted facts from a tour guide, and getting a little sun in the process would define a vacation for some people, but for me it was a pain in the ass. I was able to learn a vast amount of worthless information that would never earn me a dime, but found nothing that led me to believe I was close to finding a KGC cache. With sore feet and a burnt forehead, I was about ready to give up.
“I’m striking out here.” I said into my cell phone. “Have you made any progress?”
“I’m working on a couple things, but nothing substantial yet.” Hannah was obviously hitting some brick walls too. “Where are you right now?”
“Walking in front of the library on Calhoun Street. I’ve got one last block to go over before I give up and find a cold beer.”
“What block is that?”
“I don’t know. Whatever is between here and East Bay?”
“What’s your tour say about that area?” Hannah asked.
“Nothing.”
“Are you sure?”
“No. I turned it off. It was pointless and had more information about whores and ghost stories than real information.”
“How long ago did you stop listening?”
“Jesus…what’s with all the questions?”
“Jack.” Hannah said in a firm voice. “When did you turn it off?”
“Just now, before I called you.”
Hannah was silent for a moment. “Okay, turn it back on and finish up your little tour. Call me back when you’re done.”
“Why?”
“Because, I think I’m on to something but I don’t want to tell you what it is.”
“Why not?” I was a little annoyed.
“Just call me back when you finish.” Hannah hung up not giving me a chance to argue further.
I turned my guided tour back on and marched towards the Cooper River. The voice coming from my phone guided me down Alexander Street, a small side street filled with half commercial and half residential houses. Most were asking for some TLC and compared to the rest of the city Alexander Street lacked charm and beauty. The tour guided me to my right where a dilapidated Charleston single house stood. It was fenced in from the neighbors and the street with a black iron fence. There was no yard that I could see looking between two iron bars, instead
a black top parking lot with a large tree in the center. According
to the tour, the tree was Charleston’s Liberty Tree, or a replacement for the original that once stood there. Apparently, the tree was the spot where Christopher Gadsden and his Liberty Boys would gather to advocate the colony’s independence, and where the Declaration of Independence was first read.
While I listened to the information flowing from my phone I began to wonder why such a historic site was fenced off from the public, surrounded by blacktop, and attached to a run-down old house. In a city where objects of the slightest historical significance were hoisted on a pedestal and applauded, why was this site off the radar and off limits? My first gut instinct was that the tour guides did not have any historical proof that this was the actual Liberty Tree location, but as I walked the edge of the fence, I came across a plaque from the Sons of the American Revolution marking the spot. The plaque was small, weathered, and turning green in parts but I could make out the information I needed to confirm what my audio tour had said.
I continued to walk the fence line surrounding the property and snapped some photos like Hannah would have. Nothing I came across told me that this was the KGC spot I had been searching for, but my gut told me that there was something not right going on here.
“Hannah,” I said into my phone, “what do you know about Charleston’s Liberty Tree?”
“I was hoping it would intrigue you.” She said. “I didn’t want to mention it because I was afraid my opinion would influence you. What made you stop there?”
“My tour, but it’s odd.”
“Why? What’s odd about it?”
“It seems like a really historically significant spot, but no one knows it’s here and it’s not kept up at all. Most historical locations in this town are monitored, manicured, and mapped for every tourist to see.”
“Any KGC markings?” Hannah asked.
“Not that I’ve seen, but this is the only lead I’ve seen in the neighborhood and my gut is telling me there’s something here.”
“What about the tree?”
“What about it?”
“Are there any markings on or around the tree? Remember the tree in St. Phillip’s cemetery, and the KGC is known for using trees called Wisdom Trees to hide clues.”
“The whole property is fenced in and the tree is standing right in the middle surrounded by an old black top parking lot. I can’t see anything from where I’m standing.”
“Can’t you jump the fence?”
“Jump no, but climbing it is a possibility.” I looked around the fence line and out to the street. No one was around, but inside the fence I would have no way to hide. “Maybe I should come back tonight.”
“Just go now and make it quick.” Hannah said. “If you see anything, snap some pictures and get out fast.”
“I’m pretty visible here. Someone could see me, and I would be trespassing on private property.”
“If you get caught pretend you’re a dumb tourist who
doesn’t know any better.”
“All right, but be ready to bail me out.”
I glanced around once more and saw no one, so over the fence I began to go.
Chapter 75
“What do you think you’re doing?” A voice resounded behind me.
I looked behind me and down towards the ground. One of my legs was already over the top of the fence, and at the sound of the voice I had frozen in a peculiar position. Below I could see a blonde woman, dressed in the blues of the Charleston Police Department, and wearing a bike helmet with one strap dangling off to the side. Out on the sidewalk leaning against a light post I could see her police bike.
“I was just trying to get a picture of the Liberty Tree.” I said with my best smile.
“You know that’s private property, so I suggest you get down before I decide to write a citation.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry.” I began to climb down off of the fence. When I got my feet back on the ground, the officer stood with her arms crossed. “I am truly sorry. I simply wanted a closer shot and the property looked abandoned.”
I wasn’t sure if she believed me as she stood in silence for a moment before finally speaking. “Tourists.” She said shaking her head. “Now get out of here, and stay off of other peoples’
property.”
“Yes ma’am.” I said again. “And thank you.”
Walking off down the sidewalk back towards Calhoun I could feel her eyes staring a hole through my back.
I made my way down Calhoun and wandered through Marion Square while I talked to Hannah on the phone. It worried me that she hadn’t deciphered the urn yet because the other clues had come to her so easily. On the other hand, she did have information on the Liberty Tree that was intriguing. Apparently, the original tree had been cut down and the stump burned when the British occupied Charleston during the Revolution. After the war, the Sons of Liberty dug up the root structure and used the wood to make a cane that was sent to Thomas Jefferson. Another tree was then planted to replace the one destroyed by the British.
Hannah had also dug up land records for the Alexander Street property that housed the tree. There was no information about it being sold or possession changing hands, but the tax information identified a group called The Charleston Club as the party responsible for the property. Having looked further into The Charleston Club, Hannah found very little except for a few more properties in the city listed through tax records. There was one at 53 East Bay Street that she found particularly interesting. First, was its location was extremely close to where Jason Trenholm had been killed. The second reason was because a photo of the property Hannah had found online. It was taken of the front of the house and slightly off to the left of the structure was a gate with a small sign that read The Charleston Club A.D. 1852. For both Hannah and me, the founding of the club about the same time as the KGC appeared on the scene was no coincidence.
We both knew that I had to get a closer look at that Liberty Tree, but I wasn’t sure how. Even if I went over the fence at night someone could easily see me because of the openness of
the parking lot around the tree and the light coming from the street lights. I also needed to get in touch with Colin and see if he had come up with any further information that may come in useful. Colin might still be in law enforcement, but I also had a hunch he might know of a way to get a little closer to that tree.
After hanging up with Hannah, I called Colin and made plans to meet him for a drink and a bite to eat. Finally getting off of the phone, I realized that Marion Square was filled with beautiful college girls sunning themselves while the men tossed Frisbees and kicked soccer balls around a towering monument to John C. Calhoun. What a life. Had I gone to college here I would have never left. Heading towards King Street I finally made it across the square straining my neck only slightly from staring at all the bikini clad coeds. At the corner of King and Calhoun a black SUV pulled up in front of me and the window rolled down revealing two men wearing suits and sunglasses. My first thought was that they were Feds, but the suits were too tailored.
“Get in.” The one in the passenger seat said as he used his thumb to point towards the back.
“I’d rather not.”
The man in the passenger seat lifted his jacket flap slightly to reveal a Glock in its holster. “Get in.” He said again.
“Sorry, I’m going to have to pass.”
The two men looked at each other as the car behind them honked its horn. I could see that they were both making moves to get out of the car, and I was seriously considering running.
“Is there a problem here gentlemen?” A voice like an angel came from behind me.
“No problem officer.” The man in the passenger seat said.
“Great, then get moving you’re blocking traffic.”
Without another word the SUV drove off and I turned to see a blonde policewoman on her bike. It was the same one that had just chased me off of the Liberty Tree property.
“I don’t know what your deal is,” she said, “but I d
on’t want to have to run into you again today.”
“No ma’am.” I said, as she pedaled off down King Street.
I wasn’t sure what she had just saved me from, but I knew that I should probably be thankful.
Chapter 76
“Who do you think they were?” Colin asked me.
“Not sure, but I believe some kind of private security.”
We were sitting at the bar at CO stuffing our faces with curried noodles and kimchi beef dumplings. There were only two other people at the other end of the bar, so we had some freedom to talk.