Let’s step back, take a deep breath, and regroup

Thursday, July 2, 2015
Home Healthcare made its first visit to see Mary Grace in her new residence. Charlie returned to Alabama in time for our first sit-down meeting with Attorney Downs. Here is what we learned:

• Attorney Downs had worked with John Brooks on a will, but he never signed and returned it to him.
• Mary Grace had a will leaving everything to John Brooks and since John Brooks passed first, Mary Grace’s estate would go to the next of kin, which would be her first
cousins.
• Attorney Downs thinks their brokerage accounts had been liquidated in 2008, and it was “rumored” that John Brooks was putting money into gold and nickel.
• Attorney Downs said he would call Tyler and have him return any items he was not entitled to: keys, mail, laptop, cell phone, etc.
• Attorney Downs gave me a phone number for the county dog catcher; we knew the house could not be treated for fleas until all the dogs were gone. I had called a vet in
Centerville and several other places, with no luck.

The only advice Attorney Downs could offer about the trespassing was to secure the property. How do you secure 128 acres of property located off the main road back in the woods? Especially when some of the police officers are not taking you seriously? I had a lady tell me she saw someone on a motorcycle go under the police tape onto the property. She said she called 911 and was told that it was okay since it was Tyler, because he was a friend of John Brooks. REALLY?! Believe me, it gets worse.

Now, I have to say, there could have been others trespassing, especially because of all the rumors of the buried gold, but we only knew about Tyler and of course he confirmed it in the podcast interviews. We did know someone was going onto the property. They started playing games with us: leaving lights on, partaking in vandalism, even leaving a rubber snake coiled up by the front door. One time we got there and unlocked our padlock only to discover that the door would not open. Someone had gotten in the back door and put a padlock on the inside. REALLY? Didn’t I hear someone say, “Mama, we love you. We will take care of you (as long as you play by our rules)”? While all this was going on we also found out that the district attorney was not going to file a warrant on Cami for taking the mail. WOW! AGAIN, REALLY?

The rest of the week and weekend were pretty uneventful. But, beware, Monday was a different story.

Monday, July 6, 2015
We picked up Mary Grace, stopped by the post office, then headed to Attorney Down’s office for an update. Charlie and Mary Grace waited in the car and Attorney Downs called Tyler while I was there to ask about the items he had in his possession. Surprisingly it was just a minute before Tyler walked in. We said our good mornings, then he started complaining that no one cared about him or his feelings. I told him it had been hard on everyone, but my priorities had been to get John Brooks buried and to take care of Mary Grace. I told him I wanted him to get everything that was his, but that would probably be decided by a judge. Attorney Downs asked him what was in the mail that Cami picked up. He said toys for his kids. (I was informed he previously had told someone it was ink for his tattoo business.)

Tyler told us John Brooks did not have a cell phone, so the text he received the night of his death came from John Brooks’ computer. (The one that said he could have everything. The one sent right before John Brooks told Faye that Tyler’s things were on the porch/shop in a bag.) He said John Brooks had a cheap billfold but didn’t carry it very much. (I would take that to mean it was probably in his bedroom—NOT.) Tyler also said John Brooks cashed out all his stocks and he believed money was buried all over the land. Maybe in the maze.
Here are some pictures taken in 2011–this was the first time I saw the maze.


Oh, and did I mention that the church pew we were sitting on was now missing? I know the neighbor that gave it to Mary Grace, I hope he was the one that got it.

Tyler gave us a list of everything he claimed was his and wanted back. (The list far exceeded what John Brooks had told Faye) and personally, I think it was printed off John Brooks’ laptop. According to the podcast, John Brooks kept great records. Come on, if all that Tyler claimed really was his, John Brooks would not have been able to do any work on the property. I wondered how John built a maze with no wheelbarrow, ladders, picks, shovels, gloves, extension cords and toolboxes. Other things included on Tyler’s list were glass jars, a copper teapot. Really? Oh, yes, there was much, much more! By the way, there were some things Tyler had the opportunity to get but didn’t, like his kid’s clothes. I personally packed four large trash bags and left them on the porch. His kids would have looked so cute in them. They had been on the floor of John Brooks’ shop by a dryer.

OK, back to the story. Low and behold, Mary Grace and Charlie walked in to Attorney Down’s office. Knowing Mary Grace, she was probably wondering what was taking me so long or maybe she saw Tyler come in. Tyler said, “Hi, Mama, how are you doing?” She replied, “Fine.” Tyler said, “Mama, I was thinking about you. We made you some banana pudding.” Mary Grace stayed silent. Tyler then mentioned to me that he had some things of John Brooks’ that could help us if we would help him. We asked him what could he possibly have that would help us, then we got up and left. As we were leaving Tyler said, “Mama.” And that is when Mary Grace said, “Don’t call me ‘Mama.’ I ain’t your Mama.”

When we got in the car, Mary Grace asked if she needed to go home and protect her property? I told her we were taking care of it. She said, “Don’t guess he wanted me to have any of the banana pudding. He didn’t bring me any.”

I can’t remember if it was this time or another time we left Attorney Downs office but at one point: Officer Lightsey, Tyler’s friend, stopped us in the parking lot and showed us a bill of sale for John Brooks’ truck that was taken off Mary Grace’s property. It was dated April 17, 2015, for $500, had not been notarized and I believed it was bogus. I asked him why Tyler had not put the vehicle in his name, and he said he tried but that the paperwork was returned to the tag office for corrections. He said the paperwork had been corrected and Tyler should have a title in a few days, which I later proved was a lie.

Other stops that day included Mary Grace’s doctor to drop off paperwork I needed for the guardianship hearing and to the ADA office where I hoped to talk face to face with someone that might could give me some in slight to all this chaos. (both places were closed)

The best part of the week was when my cousin, sorry, double first cousin, and her husband came to our rescue all the way from Texas. I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

OK, let’s keep talking.

Reta