by S F Bose
Simon nodded his head. “They certainly would, which is why making a claim would be pointless. It would also be very complicated. As I mentioned when we were discussing the Will, I’d have to explain how we secured new identities for Sharon and the kids. Then we’d have to establish her real identity legally. Meagher had my wife declared dead, which is another complication. The insurance company paid the life insurance on Sharon, so they’d be involved. The press would have a field day. There’s no way I’d put my family through all of that.”
“Those are all good points,” Sam agreed.
“To be honest, at this stage in our lives, I’m not sure my Sylvie would want to go back to legally being Sharon,” Simon said.
Sam, Neville, and I nodded.
“There’s another way, though,” Sam said. “As far as I’m aware, we’re the only people who know about these wallets. Neither the police nor the family know they exist.”
“There could be another set of copies,” Neville warned.
“It’s possible, but we haven’t found them. Steven Meagher’s brother, Paulie, said he didn’t know anything about bitcoin. Larissa was also clueless about bitcoin,” Sam replied. “And for some reason I don’t think Meagher would make a second copy and keep it around his house or cabin.”
“Probably not,” Neville agreed. “But it’s a risk element.”
“I don’t know where you’re going with all of this,” Simon said to Sam.
Sam gave Simon a long look. “You can take possession of these wallets and sell some of the bitcoin to help your family and to fund other projects. They’re like bearer bonds. Whoever has these wallets with the key information controls the bitcoin. Meagher put your wife and the children through hell years ago. I think it would be just for the bitcoin to go to your family.”
Neville and I nodded our heads.
“Justice.” Simon repeated quietly. “Justice is very important to me.”
“Sometimes the law fails us. But maybe we can give your wife some justice after all these years,” Sam replied.
“It would be nice to see some good come out of all of this,” I added.
“I wouldn’t know where to begin,” Simon said looking at the paper wallets.
Neville cleared his throat. “I would strongly suggest securing the bitcoin so that you control it. That would involve moving the bitcoin from each of Meagher’s paper wallets to separate digital wallets that you control. After that, you can sell some, keep some in digital wallets, and move some to your own paper wallets. If you like, I could email you or your children the steps needed to do all of that. I can also send information on how to easily check the balance in each wallet.” Neville glanced at Sam. “I’ll send it through anonymous email from my home computer.”
Sam nodded. “Sounds good.”
“That would be very helpful. Thank you,” Simon replied. “I need to think about this and talk to my wife. I’d figure out a way to pay taxes for anything I sold, of course. But there are ethical issues here I need to consider.”
“That’s understandable,” Sam said. He put the stack of sheets back into the first manila envelope. “No strings attached. I’ll give these envelopes to you and you can decide what you want to do with them. Clearly, your wife would have inherited them from Meagher. Neville, is it safe to say we don’t have another copy of these wallets in our office and we also don’t have any of the wallet data?”
“That’s very true. That’s the only copy. We didn’t find a flash drive with the wallet key data, so I scanned them in when I did my checks,” Neville replied.
“You also have my word that we’ll never talk about this to anyone,” Sam said. Neville and I nodded.
Then Sam looked at Simon. “We also expect that you’ll never mention us in connection with these bitcoin wallets.”
“You have my word… and my gratitude,” Simon replied. Sam and Simon stood and shook hands.
“Do you want the briefcase?” asked Sam.
“No, I’d rather not.”
Sam handed him the envelopes. Simon put the Will into his suit coat pocket. I handed the two photos of Sharon and the children. After a slight hesitation, he took them and thanked me.
Simon looked at Sam. “I’ll send you payment as soon as I receive your bill.”
“We’ll get that to you next week,” Sam replied and smiled. They shook hands again.
“Will Kerry and Mac stay in Mystic Grove?” I asked.
“Yes. Mac will be at the university one more year to finish his degree. But he’s coming home for the summer. And Kerry has decided to become a lawyer. She’ll stay in Mystic Grove and work at the newspaper until she takes the LSAT and gets accepted by a law school,” Simon replied.
“They’re good kids,” I said and he smiled.
“Thank you. They really are,” Simon said. “Mostly because of Sharon’s influence.”
Simon shook Neville’s hand and then mine.
We were walking toward the closed office door when Simon stopped and faced us. “Words are inadequate to tell you how grateful I am for everything. If we do decide to use these bitcoin, it will be to fund good things and to help people.”
Sam smiled. “We can’t ask for more than that.”
Neville opened the door and we walked to the reception area. Sam and I said goodbye to Kerry and Mac. Simon and Neville traded email information. Then with a final wave, Simon Goodman and his children were gone.
Sam went to the windows behind his desk and raised the blinds. Neville and I flanked him. We waited to see Simon, Kerry, and Mac leave the building.
“I’m going to call Sue Barlow. All the time we spoke, she knew Sharon and the kids had survived,” I said.
“She was protecting them,” Sam replied.
“Yeah, but my gut didn’t pick up on any deception,” I said gloomily.
“She had two decades to get the story down pat, Liz,” Neville said.
“Good point,” I agreed. Still, I should have picked up on something.
We waited in silence for a few seconds.
“Do you think Simon will use the bitcoin?” I asked, glancing to my left at Sam.
He shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. He’s hard to read.”
“I hope he does,” Neville said on the other side of Sam.
“Me too,” I agreed.
Then a thought occurred to me. “Sam, did you ever consider keeping the bitcoin?”
He laughed. “I did have some daydreams about buying a huge farm with a big house. I imagined building a double decker dog house for Flip.”
Neville and I laughed.
“But, no, I didn’t seriously consider keeping the bitcoin,” he added. “I like sleeping at night.”
“With that amount of bitcoin, I imagined going to England and writing in a country house there,” Neville admitted.
“That sounds really nice,” I said.
“What about you?” Sam asked me.
“I daydreamed about paying off all the debt at the B&B for my family. Then I’d give them each a million dollars,” I replied and laughed.
We all sighed.
“There they are,” Neville said.
We watched Simon and his kids walk to a red SUV sitting in guest parking. After putting the envelopes in the cargo area, Simon slid into the driver’s seat. Kerry rode shotgun and Mac sat in back. Our eyes tracked the SUV as it slowly pulled out of our small parking lot.
I turned my head to keep the SUV in sight. “We’ll never know the end of their story,” I said sadly.
“I think it will be a happy ending no matter what Simon Goodman decides,” Neville commented. “Either they’ll be the same nice family they are now or they’ll be the same nice family with a lot of money.”
“Win-win,” I agreed.
Neville’s cell phone rang and he retreated to the reception area.
“I hope I made the right decision,” Sam said quietly, staring out the window.
I patted his back. “You did, Sam. It
was a good decision. I think Sharon and her family deserve the bitcoin. I hope they take advantage of the opportunity.”
“Me too,” he replied quietly.
As we looked out the window, our hands bumped. Sam’s right hand grasped my left and squeezed. I squeezed back and our fingers intertwined. My heart beat double time and warmth spread from my head to my toes.
“Liz?”
I turned my head and met his eyes which looked more black than brown. He smiled and whispered “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” I whispered back, getting lost in his eyes.
I’m not sure what would have happened next. However, Neville’s voice got louder and we stepped apart as he came through the door.
“Chloe’s on the warpath again. Anyone want to go get something to eat?” he asked. “I need a drink.”
“Me too,” I agreed and Sam laughed.
Chapter 45
A week later, on a warm Saturday night, we gathered around the dining room table in the coach house for our traditional end of case pizza party. Sam had placed an order at Enzo’s Ristorante for three different kinds of pizza, fried chicken, short ribs, salads, and a variety of side dishes. Our kitchen island and the end of our dining room table looked like the world’s best buffet.
Sam’s dog, Flip, and my two cats, Snap and Sammy, enjoyed double servings of their favorite food in the kitchen. Flip sported his new leather GPS collar, which Sam had demonstrated for us.
Neville waved a chicken leg as he quietly made a point to Chloe. Katie and Olivia ate pizza and discussed herbal remedies. Sam and I ate pizza and talked about our childhoods. I suddenly remembered I hadn’t told him about Sue Barlow.
He leaned in to listen as I quietly related my conversation with Sue earlier in the day. It had taken me a week to work up the energy to call her. She apologized for lying but said her family had devoted itself to protecting Sharon and her children. She could never let her guard down. She said she was relieved that I knew the truth and hoped we could be friends. I told her I hoped we could be friends too.
At the end of our conversation, I reiterated my invitation to come to the B&B for dinner. Sue said she’d be there in two weeks for dinner with her parents, husband, and children.
“So it turned out okay?” Sam asked.
I nodded. “It did. I was upset my BS meter didn’t go off when she told me her story. But Neville was right. She’d been lying for twenty years. I understand protecting her family and I would like to be friends with her.”
Sam’s cell phone rang and he went into the kitchen to take the call. Minutes later he peeked around the corner and said,
“Sorry guys a work thing just came up. Liz, Neville, could I see you for a minute, please?”
I dabbed my mouth with my paper towel napkin and walked into the kitchen. Neville was right behind me. Sam looked even more pale than usual.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“That was Newmont,” Sam replied, standing by the center island.
Neville frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“He found out yesterday that Larissa Meagher, Dom Fontana, and Tommy Vann all have a new lawyer,” Sam said.
“Who?” I asked.
“Martin Penny of Bainbridge.”
Neville looked confused. I repeated the name in my head, reaching back for a memory.
“Oh wow! He’s the lawyer Simon Goodman hired for his son, Mac,” I said. “Simon said he was an old friend.”
“Bingo,” Sam replied.
“Is he a good attorney? Could it be a coincidence?” Neville asked.
Sam took a deep breath. “Martin Penny is one of the best criminal defense lawyers in this area. Newmont has a contact at Bainbridge so he called him. He didn’t hear back until today. The contact said that a lawyer named Goodman hired Martin Penny and his team to represent Larissa, Dom, and Tommy. He’s paying with a combination of cash and bitcoin. The law firm sold the initial bitcoin they received and applied it to his account.”
“Simon Goodman?” Neville asked.
“Does Newmont know Simon is Kerry and Mac’s father?” I asked.
“Yeah, they ran background checks on both Kerry and Mac. Newmont remembered their father’s name was Simon and that he was a lawyer,” Sam replied.
“I don’t understand this at all,” I said. “Why would Simon Goodman hire a criminal defense attorney for three killers?”
“The DA charged them separately, so they’ll be tried separately,” Sam said. “Martin Penny must have a defense strategy in mind or he wouldn’t have taken the cases.”
“What about the audio files and the other evidence?” Neville asked.
“Penny will try to get as much thrown out as he can,” I replied.
We stood in the kitchen silent for a few minute. Then I had a thought.
“Justice,” I said. Sam and Neville looked at me blankly. “Simon Goodman talked about justice a lot. Steven Meagher tried to kill Sharon. The memory of Meagher haunted her throughout her life. He also put Kerry and Mac at risk. Even worse, Meagher got away with everything. There were no legal consequences for him and certainly no justice for his victims. Simon must have loathed him.”
“Understandable,” Neville said.
Sam tilted his head and stared at me. “Keep going.”
“Okay, flash forward twenty years and Meagher solicits Tommy to kill Larissa Meagher. Instead of doing that, Tommy, Dom, and Larissa collaborated against Meagher. Tommy and Dom finally killed the devil and Simon’s wife can now sleep peacefully. Seeing the three of them convicted for murder wouldn’t be justice for Simon. He wants them to walk free.”
“Retribution for Meagher and justice for his killers,” Sam said.
“Exactly,” I agreed.
“That’s twisted. Simon’s a lawyer and they’re killers,” Neville replied.
I shrugged. “They did what he couldn’t. They killed Lucifer. He didn’t want them caught, so they’d be punished. He wanted to know who they were so he could help them.”
Sam nodded. “It makes sense in a weird way. Meagher got away with attempted murder. Larissa, Dom, and Tommy evened the score.”
“Well, at least we know he decided to use the bitcoin,” Neville said and sighed. “Not what I hoped for though.”
“Me either,” I agreed.
We returned to the dining room.
“This is the weekend, guys. Eat, drink, and be merry,” Katie said.
“Amen to that,” I agreed and nibbled at another slice of pizza.
I didn’t notice Olivia leave the table, but suddenly she was placing cups of tea in front of us.
“Chloe and Neville have been taste testing new herbal tea blends for me. This is my latest creation. I hope you like it,” Olivia said. Neville looked at the cup nervously and glanced at Chloe. She stared at the tea with wide eyes. After a minute, Neville sipped the tea and looked surprised.
“Olivia this is the first tea I’ve liked!” he said. Olivia smiled and clapped her hands.
Chloe sipped a little of the tea. “Mmm this is good, Livvie. It’s not like any of the other blends.”
“Olivia, I like it too. I taste orange peel,” I said.
“Rosehips too,” Katie said. “This is tasty.”
Sam took a sip of his tea. “It’s unanimous. I like it too.”
“How does it make you feel?” Olivia asked Chloe and Neville. They both shrugged.
“Normal,” Neville said.
“Warm,” Chloe added.
Olivia nodded. I noticed a look passed between her and Katie.
Sam tapped a glass with a knife and everyone looked at him. He held his teacup in the air.
“I just wanted to toast Neville for his contribution to our last case,” he said. We all raised our cups.
Sam smiled at Neville. “You did a great job. We had our biggest breakthrough thanks to you. To Neville!” he said.
“To Neville!” we all shouted and drained our teacups.
“Thanks v
ery much,” Neville replied, his face red.
Then I noticed Chloe looking at Neville with the saddest look on her face.
“Chloe what’s wrong?” I asked.
Chloe sighed and looked down. “Nothing.”
“What is it, Chloe?” Neville asked.
She looked at him. “It’s just that when you go back to school everything will change, Neville.”
Neville’s eyebrows shot up. “Change? No, it won’t. What do you mean?”
“Yes it will,” Chloe replied. “When you go back to school, you’ll spend all your time with creative types. You’ll be with your tribe. Let’s face it, our little fling will be over. Then after you get your degree, you’ll move to L.A. or New York. You’ll marry some perky, creative woman and have perky creative babies.”
“Tribe?” I asked.
“Perky creative babies?” Katie asked.
“Little fling? Chloe, this isn’t a little fling to me,” Neville objected.
Chloe made a face and blew her nose in a napkin. “It’s okay, Neville. I understand. You have great things ahead of you.”
Neville leaned forward. “Is that why things have been so… strained between us lately? You’ve been worrying about this?”
Chloe ran her finger around her teacup. “Yes. Neville, I think you have to be free to go out and make friends with people who are creative like you are. It just makes me sad to think about things changing and not seeing you anymore.”
Neville sat back and sighed. “Finally! Now I understand. I thought you were interested in some other guy.”
“What? Where did you get a stupid idea like that?” she asked sharply.
Neville shrugged. “You cancelled some of our dates and have been upset. I didn’t know what to think.”
“Neville, you’re the only guy I’m interested in,” Chloe replied quietly.
Neville smiled. “Look, when classes start that doesn’t mean our relationship will change. You and I will still be together. You’re the best thing to ever happen to me. I don’t want that to change. I’m going back to school to learn new things that will help my writing. But once I get my degree and start making steady money again, I was hoping to make a home in Mystic Grove with you.”