Mary Grace out of the hospital. Check.

John Brooks buried. Check.

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Now it was time to concentrate on the property. At the time, we were not sure what all was in the house. We just knew someone was still coming on the property to look, take, and vandalize. A total of 10 dogs had been picked up at a cost of $60, so now we could start trying to control the fleas.

To refresh your memory, the grass was high; the yard and house were inundated with fleas; pots on the stove still had food in them from the night John Brooks died; there were rats in the basement; clothes in the washer were standing in water and the house was hot, disgustingly dirty, and reeked. You know it is bad when you would rather use the outside bathroom than the inside bathroom. Our team consisted of Charlie and me, my cousin from Texas and her husband, and Mary Grace’s first cousin and her husband.

Our focus at the time was to move items from the property into storage. The men started in John Brooks’ shop. I knew his toolboxes and tools were probably the most valuable and most likely to be stolen next. I knew who John had purchased the items from, and I later had him come to storage to give an appraisal. They also had to remove the carpet from the two bedrooms because of fleas. The ladies met Mary Grace at her doctor’s office for her appointment and to Attorney Down’s law office to settle her guardianship. (Since I was only Mary Grace’s 2nd cousin her first cousins had to sign over permanent guardianship.)

We retuned Mary Grace to her caregiver and then joined the men at the house to start packing. My cousin and I worked in the kitchen for hours cleaning up and cleaning out (mostly cleaning out). When we pulled the microwave out from the wall, a handful of 3×5 sheets of paper fell to the counter. Written on them were things like: “Turn the lights off,” “Water the plants,” “Feed the dogs.” One said, “Mail the taxes to with an address. Good thing I decided to save that one because it became very helpful in putting the puzzle together.

This turned out to be one of my better days because we were invited to a dear friend’s house for a home-cooked meal. The meal was so good that my cousin and I took Mary Grace back the next day for leftovers. It was here I learned about a lady who was a caregiver and took patients into her home.

I talked with the caregiver the very next day, and she told me she had decided to retire and had no one living with her at the time. I begged her to please consider taking Mary Grace on a two-week trial so I could continue handling matters that needed to be dealt with. She agreed and came to meet Mary Grace the next day. I cannot express what a blessing this was and still is. They immediately formed a bond and as a matter of fact, Mary Grace wanted to go home with her that day. She also had lost a son to suicide, so they had that in common.

In the meantime, a lady from Mary Grace’s church got in touch with me. She said she needed to talk to me about something she had that belonged to Mary Grace. My cousin and I went to her home that afternoon. Now, remember, we are in a very small town with friendly and caring people (for the most part), so when you went to someone’s home, you were invited in for a glass of “sweet tea” and long conversation. We got loads of information from her, her husband, and a friend of John Brooks.

First, she had a diamond ring that Mary Grace had given her years ago. She said Mary Grace asked her to hold on to it because John Brooks would sell it if he found it. Here is what else we learned:

• John Brooks purchased the trailer in 1999

• He purchased the yellow bus from a neighbor we ended up talking to

• He purchased the blue bus from someone in South Alabama

• The French clock everyone thought was so valuable was purchased from a salvage place for less than $100 (if my memory serves correctly) The clock had never been repaired.

• He purchased his F350 truck originally from Tyler

By the way, the ring was not real. I guess John Brooks had already found it. I took it to a jeweler who told me someone had messed with the prongs suggesting the real diamond had been exchanged for a fake one. I want to say how much I appreciate the lady telling me about the ring. I realize she did not have to.

Faye called to tell me she had been contacted by two guys who told her John Brooks’ had guns located in his computer stand and the gold was in the house. Right. Just like the diamond ring was real. Needless to say, no guns or gold were found. It seems that someone had already taken them. The gold was never a big concern for me, because at this point, I did not believe there was any gold.

OK. Let’s keep talking.

Reta