by Alan L. Moss
“Okay Michael, just do what you have to do.”
CHAPTER 49
HOMECOMING
June16, 2001
Ellicott City, Maryland
The next week provided time for Michael and Karen to get reacquainted. On Saturday, they slept in, made love, ate breakfast at the Wayside Inn, and spent the day strolling around Ellicott City’s downtown, getting ice cream cones and seeing what was new in the shops. They ate dinner on the front porch and listened to an outdoor concert at the coffee house across the lane. Cinnamon tried to be at Michael’s side every minute of the day and night.
Although Michael thought of Stephanie, more than ever he knew he belonged with Karen. Maybe some of the passion had faded but the rich memories they shared and what they both wanted for the kids and for themselves bound them together.
Of course he felt guilty, but Samoa was another place and another time. It would not happen again.
***
As Michael boarded his flight for Tucson, he couldn’t believe he was leaving Karen again. It was the last thing he wanted. They seemed closer than ever.
He wished he could stay and continue supporting her in planning Lisa’s wedding. However, he made a commit-ment to attend the annual meeting of labor economists being conducted by the American Economic Association at the Pimas Catalina Resort, June twenty-three to twenty-five.
A book proposal Michael developed brought enthu-siastic reactions from three publishers who would be represented at the meeting. Each suggested Michael attend to discuss his ideas in more detail and draft input for a contract to be executed after his retirement.
It was close to ten in the morning when Michael arrived in Tucson. He retrieved his luggage and found the shuttle for Pimas Catalina. Although the driver described the beautiful features of the local desert, Michael never appreciated such arid environments, especially after spending two weeks in the lush charm of the South Pacific. Knowing Paul McCartney had a ranch nearby did nothing for him.
As the shuttle pulled up to the resort Michael saw the low-slung design and stone facade of the hotel and a few holes of a well-manicured golf course. Once he felt the one-hundred and twelve degree heat, he knew golf would not be in the cards for him. Even though he preferred the heat, the desert sun in June exceeded his endurance.
When Michael went to check in, he learned his room wasn’t ready but that the hotel would store his luggage. He tipped a porter to take his bags and explored the hotel until he found the conference site.
The conference looked to be in full swing with numerous exhibits and presentations planned by inde-pendent panels, government agencies, and private con-tractors. Michael located the booth for the publisher that provided the most positive reaction to his proposal. He greeted the acquisition editor and her assistant. They encouraged him to participate in conference activities and invited Michael to have dinner with them at seven o’clock that evening.
By five o’clock most of the sessions were over and Michael made his way to the front desk. He checked in, retrieved his luggage, and headed to his third-floor room. The room had a patio looking out on Catalina Mountain and the Ventana Trail. After washing up and unpacking, he flipped on the television and lay down on the bed to catch the news. Tired and with time to spare, he nodded off.
***
Michael heard a gentle knock at the door, opened his eyes and glanced at his watch. It was five minutes after six and he wondered if the editor made a change in their dinner plans and stopped by to let him know.
He got up and opened the door.
“Hey, sailor, can I offer you a drink?” Stephanie asked.
She walked into the room with a bottle of chilled champagne and two glasses. Still half-asleep, Michael stared at his unexpected visitor, stunned.
“What are you doing here?”
She closed the door behind her.
“Is that how you greet the woman you loved in Samoa?”
She placed the champagne and glasses on his dresser.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I hoped you’d be at the lodge the evening I had to leave and when you weren’t there, I thought I’d never see you again.”
Stephanie turned to face him, standing very close.
“Well, as the days went by, I just couldn’t close the hole in my heart.”
Now flustered, she forced herself to speak as tears ran down her cheeks.
“I had to see you again.”
She reached down her blouse and pulled out the gold pendant he gave to her.
“You see, I’m still hooked,” she whispered through her tears.
“I couldn’t be without you. I called your office and they said you would be here for a few days. Then, I called the hotel and they said you had a reservation for one, so, I took the next flight out.”
Examining her face, Michael noticed lines that betrayed her years. Stephanie appeared tired and worn; she was in crisis.
She looked into Michael’s eyes.
“You can’t leave me. I can’t take it. How strong do you think I am? I lost a son. My marriage is a wreck. Now you expect me to give up the man who made me feel whole again?”
He put his arms around her. She kissed him softly on the mouth. He tasted her tears and felt the outline of her breasts.
With the old feelings re-emerging, Michael pulled Stephanie to him and he was back at Sophia’s, with the excitement and passion of those days when they were together.
Stephanie went limp; then, she broke Michael’s hold. She picked up the bottle of champagne and glasses.
“Before we do what I know we’re going to do, let’s sit out on your patio and drink a toast to us.”
Relieved their physical contact had been broken, Michael needed time to think.
“Sure. Then, I need to make a call and rearrange my schedule.”
They walked out to the patio and sat at a small glass top table looking at the sun setting behind the Ventana Trail. Michael popped the cork and poured a glass for each of them.
He would spend the evening with Stephanie and try to get her to focus on a more promising life, but he would do all he could to make sure their affair did not continue. He had to make her know it was over.
“To a better tomorrow,” he toasted.
Stephanie’s eyes took on a distant glaze as she considered his words. Then, she repeated his toast.
“To a better tomorrow.”
They clinked their glasses together and he downed all of his champagne.
He saw Stephanie hadn’t touched her drink and asked what was wrong.
“I just want to look into your blue eyes one last time,” she said.
Within seconds Michael saw the room spinning and he fell unconscious, his head hitting the table and his arms hanging toward the floor.
***
She did what she had to do and now she had no choice but to follow through with the rest of it. She loved this man, the one who completed her life, but knew she could never tear him away from Karen. Given the situation, she had made the right choice, the only choice for her and the kids.
Heart pounding, Stephanie pulled his body back, folded his arms on the table and rested his head on top of them. She dumped the contents of her glass of champagne over the patio, collected Michael’s glass and the bottle, left the hotel, and walked quickly to her rental car.
Just a few miles down the road Stephanie spotted the gas station she located on the way to the hotel. It had a pay phone in the parking lot and a trash bin behind. She pulled in, got out, and dialed nine-one-one.
“Tucson Emergency,” the voice said.
Shaking, Stephanie went ahead with the unscheduled call. Although the money had been wired into her account as Matautu promised, she knew he could not be trusted.
“There’s a man in Room three-zero-three at the Pimas Catalina Resort. I think he’s had a stroke or heart attack. Please send an ambulance right away,” she blurted out before quickly hanging up.
Within seconds, Stephanie poure
d the remaining champagne out onto the ground and threw the empty bottle and glasses into the trash. She got back in the car and raced to the airport.
Once airborne, she ordered a double-vodka and drank with abandon. Slowly calming down, she recalled the decisions that were transforming her life.
***
A few days after she picked up Michael at the airport, she and George Partain met for coffee at the Prince Diner. In a quiet booth, he proposed a way for her to leave Samoa and live well on the Mainland with her children. He would advance her three-hundred thousand dollars of a total payment of seven-hundred and fifty-thousand. All she had to do was romance and distract the Mainland economist who would be administering the minimum wage hearings.
At first, Stephanie said no, but the more she thought about it, the more she was inclined to change her mind. If she could find a job in the states, with that kind of money in the bank she could raise her children in the safety and affluence of the Mainland. When she wanted to see her relatives, she could afford to send them a plane ticket or fly to the Territory herself. She would miss her mother, who would never leave the Island, but she was convinced her mother would be happy for her daughter and grandchildren.
She couldn’t ignore the plain truth that she was attracted to Michael. In all likelihood, she would have cultivated a relationship on her own. What was the harm of being compensated?
While she was paid to divert his attention from work, she was convinced that her love actually renewed his confidence and spirit, allowing him to fight harder for Samoa’s workers. As their affair intensified, Stephanie admitted to herself that she had fallen deeply in love with this Jewish economist from Maryland, but he wasn’t willing to take the tough steps required to care for her and her children. If he truly loved her as he claimed, he would not have left her to face the future alone.
Stephanie’s agreement with Partain called for him to pay her the four-hundred and fifty thousand dollar balance on June the eleventh, the Monday after the hearings ended. She hadn’t heard from the detective and had started to think she would see no more of the money. When Stephanie asked Genevieve Trudeaux if George was still at the Agelu Lodge, she learned he had gone missing and hadn’t settled his bill.
Genevieve called the police to investigate. They found George’s clothes in his room and his rental car at the airport. Although no official report was filed, a detective told Genevieve George lost heavily at poker and probably left in a hurry or might have met foul play at the hands of Korean thugs.
***
It had been a week since Michael left the Territory. Stephanie gave up hope of getting the rest of her money from George Partain who was still among the missing.
Out of the blue, she received a call from Galeai Matautu. She and Gale were acquainted from the days when she worked for the Governor. Gale suggested they meet at the water’s edge near the Flower Pot Rocks.
Looking at the peaceful water, Gale told her he understood from Sophia that Stephanie spent a lot of time with Michael Bloom. If that was true, he said he had a strange question to ask. When she admitted to seeing Bloom, he asked if George Partain owed her a large sum of money.
Stephanie stared into Gale’s black eyes, not trusting this man she knew too well. Figuring she had nothing to lose, she admitted that yes, he owed her a very large sum.
“Well,” Gale responded, “I may be able to cover George’s commitment.”
“Who do I have to kill?” Stephanie joked. “Anyway, I can’t believe the tuna cannery would pay such sums to influence wages. For that kind of money, they could give every worker a huge raise, and aren’t the hearings over and the new rates set?”
Gale rolled up his sleeves and looked at Stephanie with a new intensity.
“Look, Stephanie, this has little to do with tuna. If you can complete one more task for us and remain silent, you’ll never have to worry about money again.”
“Who do I have to romance this time?” Stephanie asked, blushing and beginning to feel like a mercenary.
“I’m afraid we’re still interested in your Dr. Bloom.”
Her heart sank.
“Apparently, he’s standing in the way of getting the new minimum wage rates published in the Federal Register and we simply can’t afford the delay. I’ve been told he’ll be attending a conference in Tucson, Arizona and I need you to slow him down.”
Stephanie looked out to sea, wondering what she was about to do for money.
“Exactly what does that mean?” she asked.
“I’ll arrange plane tickets for you and the kids from Pago Pago to Portland, Oregon. You’ll leave on Monday morning, stop over one night in Honolulu, and arrive in Portland on Tuesday. Paul Pecura, Chairman of last week’s Special Industry Committee will pick you up at the airport and take you to his house, where you can stay. He hired a nanny to watch your kids.
“On Thursday morning, you’ll take an early flight to Tucson. At some point you’ll go to Dr. Bloom’s hotel room. You’ll make a toast with champagne from a bottle I’ll give you. It contains a liquid a little stronger than the one you gave him at that phony Ava ceremony I heard about. Once Bloom passes out, you’ll take and dispose of the bottle and glasses elsewhere and return to the Tucson airport for a flight back to Portland.
“You can stay in Portland for as long as you want. Pecura is a nice fellow and he has been taken with you.”
“What about the money?” Stephanie asked.
“We’ll open a bank account for you in Portland and wire the money there before you leave on Monday morning.”
Stephanie looked at her hands. They were shaking as she tried to absorb the wild turn her life was about to take.
“I don’t want to know what any of this is about, but you must tell me one thing. Will anyone be hurt by what I’m doing?”
Gale provided her with a half-truth.
“I swear to you it’s just the opposite. Although a few of us, including you, will become wealthy from this project, the bigger effect will actually improve the lives of many, and Bloom should be back to normal in a few weeks.”
Stephanie told Gale she would need time to consider his proposal. She drove to Sophia’s and walked along the shore, thinking of Michael, trying to weigh all the variables objectively.
In the end, she based her decision on three indisputable facts. First, if she remained on the Island without Michael, her life would be captive to a depression that would consume her. Second, if she accepted the deal, Michael would lose his precious minimum wage increase but survive. He and Karen could still retire and have a good life together. Third, acceptance would mean a life of safety and affluence for her and the children.
***
At two-twenty in the morning, Stephanie’s America West flight from Tucson landed in Portland. Paul Pecura was waiting for her at the gate. As she approached, he opened his arms and she fell into them.
“It’s all over,” he whispered. “Now, I will take care of you.”
CONVERGENCE
July 20, 2004 – July 23, 2004
CHAPTER 50
DARK CLOUDS
July 20, 2004
Faga’itua Village, American Samoa
Galeai Matautu sat on a lounge chair beside the pool. He looked out over his cove and into the light blue South Pacific. He needed a bright sunny day. His grand scheme, successful at first, was unraveling.
Sure, he had a Swiss bank account with close to thirty million dollars, a beautiful home, and an eighty-five thousand dollar sports car. What’s more, he was the second most powerful man in American Samoa. If November’s election went his way, he would be the most powerful man in the Territory.
Somehow, in spite of his genius and his meticulous planning, things were falling apart. He lit the last cigar in a box of Cubans acquired from a Canadian source and thought about his predicament.
His primary worry continued to be Michael Bloom. That son-of-a-bitch refused to die. Matautu paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for Stephanie to
deliver a drug that would do him in. She delivered, but, incredibly, an ambulance arrived and the bureaucrat survived.
Then, after years on the back burner, in bad health, Bloom recovered enough to have the I.G. launch an investigation into the hearings. To put him away once and for all, Matautu had his assassins travel to New Jersey and tamper with Bloom’s car. So what happens? Bloom decides to stay home, his wife is killed, and he survives without a scratch.
But that wasn’t all.
When Matautu instructed a crony to tip off Bloom about his pending arrest, Michael took off as hoped and became a fugitive. Instead of dropping out of sight and letting go of the conspiracy, he flew to New Zealand to confront Health-Cell personnel. When another of Matautu’s assassins went after him, the hired killer ended up in jail, charged with auto theft and narcotics possession. Given his addiction, the man might cut a deal implicating Matautu at any time.
Now, there were suspicions in Washington that Bloom’s misfortunes might be linked to Stephanie and the 2001 hearings.
Health-Cell security informed Matautu that they successfully nabbed Bloom’s accomplice off the TranzAlpine Railroad and were keeping her at an undisclosed location; but they lost track of Bloom when a GPS device hidden in his travel case ended up in the car of tourists heading to Christchurch.
Up until a couple of weeks ago, Matautu pulled the strings behind the scenes. He was in control, steering events to his advantage. Now, Bloom had the upper hand and Matautu feared what might come next.
Bloom wasn’t his only problem. Just that morning, he heard the FBI was sniffing around his financial dealings, trying to trace the movement of the sixty million in early tax payments made by the cannery in 2001. Not twenty minutes after that call, another ally told him that Stephanie Pecura had booked a flight back to American Samoa. She and her husband were under investigation and she was coming apart. There was no telling what she might say or do.