by R E Swirsky
Chapter 11
Friday, September 30th 11:15 am
The weather returned to typical seasonal temperatures, quickly erasing all traces of Tuesday's snowstorm, and Jack was slowly starting to get back into some kind of routine.
Jack's parents had already booked a flight home to Victoria, leaving first thing Saturday morning. Jack decided he should get a start on sending out all the notices and documents regarding Donna's death and his mother offered to help. He had never done anything like this before, and there were many documents that needed to be processed. There were subscriptions, credit cards, reward cards, and memberships at clubs and websites to be cancelled. There were automatic debits that needed to be stopped. Tax forms needed to be completed and processed, and death certificates needed to be sent to numerous places.
He started at the bank where he presented the death certificate to the bank manager. All of their accounts were joint, so it was a simple process to put Jack as the sole account holder on all of the accounts. Anything that was not joint, such as her vehicle and company RRSP's, Jack directed to Brad's office.
The mortgage required a copy of the death certificate from the coroner, as the mortgage insurance would pay off the balance they still owed on it. The home was worth $900,000. Jack and Donna put down just shy of $300,000 and financed the rest. Jack would soon have the home with a clear title.
Jack filed the appropriate papers for his and Donna’s employer benefits. The university was to pay double Donna's salary in the event of her death. That was nearly $170,000. Jack's company paid one-half of his salary in the death of a spouse. That meant another $50,000. Jack was becoming a very rich man indeed. Jack was told to expect payment from both companies within the next sixty days.
Jack spoke to the life insurance broker about the three and a half million-dollar Term Insurance Policy. The broker quickly explained that because this was a murder, and the investigation was ongoing, the insurance company would not pay out this policy right away. The insurance company would begin to conduct their own investigation on a policy claim of this nature and size once the police completed their investigation. The insurance company's investigation was independent and not always in agreement with police findings. Jack was told it would take many months before a decision on any payout was made. Jack expected that would be the case.
The murder was no longer the top story on the news, and Jack hoped he might finally be able to move on. He spent the rest of the day with his mom and dad. The three of them went out to dinner with Donna's parents.
Donna's presence at the meal was missed by everyone, but no one spoke of it. Brenda tried to apologize for Donna's behavior if it was true about her and Josh, but neither Jack nor Jack's parents would let her. Donna was a good person, and they all still believed that.
“I know how much Donna loved you, Jack. With her gone you are the only positive part of Donna’s life that remains for me,” Brenda said. “…the piece of Donna's life that always seemed most right.”
After dinner and a few more drinks, Jack found himself alone in the washroom at one of the urinals. He looked down at the bottom of the urinal next to him. A single black, curly hair sat alone against the white polished surface. An urge suddenly rose within him to grab the hair. He slipped one hand into his pocket and felt for something that was usually there when an urge like this surfaced in the past, but his pocket was empty. He finished urinating and still stared at the lone pubic hair. It was only one hair. Forget about it, Jack, he thought to himself.
He washed his hands, splashed some water on his face, and stared at the man in the mirror. Who was the man who stared back at him in that reflection?
The Hollicks went home and left Jack alone with his parents.