Dirty Assets

by Rumer Raines

  “It’s okay Teddy. She is just a friend,” I tell him as I hold Adele’s note tight in my hand

  Adele

  “Did you need me to drive?” I ask Garth as he tailgates the car in front of us. Garth had several beers tonight and I would feel safer if he allowed me to drive.

  “NO!” he yells and I jump as he slams on the break to avoid hitting the blue car in front of us.

  “Garth, watch out!” I yell as another car cuts him off and he barely avoids hitting it.

  “Will you shut the hell up, Adele? How do you expect me to focus on the road if you're yelling and using that annoying ass voice of yours?” Garth says as he turns to look at me. I look away to focus back on the road and I can feel his eyes still on me, which means they aren’t on the road. I jump in my seat as the traffic stops and Garth hasn’t noticed since he is still looking at me.

  “Garth!” I yell and he turns and slams on the brakes. He comes within inches of the hitting the car and pulls out of traffic and into a nearby alley. Garth gets out of the car slamming his fist on the hood of the car as he prowls around to the passenger side swearing at me. He is slurring so the only words I manage to completely understand are the “useless” and “bitch”. I close my eyes waiting for him to pull me out of the car and punish me for helping us avoid an accident. I notice it’s taking him longer than necessary to get to the passenger side so I turn around and see he is still at the back of the car. He is leaning over and one of his hands is massaging himself. I close my eyes and turn back around hoping that he didn’t see me looking. I also pray that will be enough for him. Just as I open my eyes my door is yanked open and Garth grabs me by the arm forcing me out of the car. I let out a small scream as I notice a rat running past him and he slaps me across the face.

  “Don’t yell again, you little bitch. I will break your jaw the next time, and then what good would this mouth be to me?” He says as he squeezes my cheeks. I try to hold in the tears that are threating to surface and Garth tilts his head watching me as if he is daring me to cry.

  “Lift your dress and lean over the car, Adele.” He says in a tone that is deadly serious.

  “I don’t think we should. Not here, Garth.” I tell him and he punches me in the stomach and I kneel over trying to catch my breath

  “Did I fucking ask you for your opinion? Lift the damn dress and bend the fuck over!” He shouts at me as he takes me by the arm and forces me around. Garth sticks his hands under my dress and rips my panties off. A few seconds later, I hear his belt buckle and I feel him near my entrance. He rams himself inside of me and I feel the familiar pain that I am starting to become desensitized to. Sex with Garth feels long and never ending, but it’s worse when he has been drinking. I attempt to stand still while he grunts and pushes himself inside of me while calling me names and telling me how worthless I am. I try as hard as I can to hold the tears, but I can no longer hold them in.

  When Garth is finally finished using me, my tears have dried and I lower my dress and climb back into the car. He pulls out of the alley and once again he continues to look at me. I don’t even make eye contact with him because if he even suspects I have been crying it will be ten times worse when we get home.

  “Do you know what I have done to make sure you have a nice home to live in, Adele? Or how much time and money I had to spend to find you? Yet you are such an ungrateful bitch,” he growls at me and I stay silent.

  “How do you think Maryann would feel if she knew that you treat me like crap?” he asks and I look at him when he brings up Maryann. She was my best friend and I have such guilt over her death. He knows how guilty I feel over her death and he would use it against me?

  “Don’t talk about her. EVER!” I tell him and practically yell the ‘ever’ part.

  “Why not? Your best friend and my wife is dead because you got her drunk and she fell off a damn boat and you don’t want to talk about it? I am what I am because of you!” Garth tells me and I shake my head watching the traffic drive by.

  “Now while my wife is dead, I have to force what I want from you… her second-rate replacement.” He shakes his head and looks at me with disgust and I close my eyes and lay my head against the rest thinking of Maryann. She was so happy with Garth and for some reason, I get this monster? I wonder if she would be surprised that he acts this way with me? I never had any interest in Garth when Maryann was alive. The three of us would go to dinner and I would even spend the weekend with them. Coming to Indiana from Illinois was like a little getaway for me. When Maryann died, we leaned on each other for support. We started to depend on each other and soon Garth started to charm me. I started going on the weekends to check in on him and soon enough one thing led to another. The minute we got married, he turned into a different person and it was someone I didn’t like. I stayed with him because I made a promise to Maryann, but once he killed our baby I had to run.

  Garth grabs my hand and places it on his crotch as he looks at me.

  “Do you feel that, Adele? That is what happens when I think about Maryann. Now you’ll have to take care of it when we get home,” he tells me as I cringe and look back out the window.

  Unfortunately, Garth acts on this promise once we are home. I close my eyes as he is lying on top of me moaning and he has my head turned away from him. His hand is holding down my face so I won’t look at him. My dress is hiked up around my waist. Garth only pushed down his pants so he can push himself inside of me. I can barely breathe as he has all his weight on me and calls out Maryann’s name as he finally comes.

  Alex

  I practically fall onto the couch looking at the note that Adele sent me. Evansville, Indiana, and come get her. I close my eyes holding the note up to my head plotting on ways to get to her. Maryann sits next to me and puts her hand on my arm.

  “We’ll find her.” She comforts me and I glance at her.

  “Is Maryann your real name?” I ask her and she nods.

  “It is, why are you asking?”

  “You faked your death. It would make sense that you would change your name.” I tell her and she smiles.

  “I was reborn as Marie Bell.” She tells me and I chuckle.

  “How about your family? Do they know you're alive?” I ask her and her eyes start to look sad.

  “My parents know I am alive, but they know they can’t contact me or even see me. Sometimes I’ll call them and don’t say anything and they know it’s me checking in.” I feel sad hearing her say this because my family means everything to me. We still do Sunday dinners with Ma. We may fight and argue during most of it, but it’s what our family does.

  “You’ll see them soon,” I promise her and she looks up at me and I put my hands over hers and she nods. I stand from the couch and head to my cell phone to make three calls. I call Oliver, Thomas, and Frank and tell them to be at my house by eight tomorrow morning. No one questions me since they know if I am asking for a meeting that early in the morning, it’s some serious shit. I head to my bedroom and strip off my clothes and jump into the shower. As the water pours over me all I can think about is Adele.

  Thomas, Frank, and Oliver all show up on time and I tell them about Teddy seeing Adele. I also show them the note advising what town she’s in. When Frank mentions that he will do a search on Garth to see if anything pulls up, I tell him to check under Garrett and under Maryann’s name. He lifts his eyes looking at me and I explain everything to him. A few seconds later, Maryann comes walking out of the bedroom in a t-shirt and shorts and both Oliver and Frank glare at me with suspicion. I introduce them to Maryann and we explain everything including how I had Thomas following her and had no other option but bring her home with me. This apparently sits well with Frank and Oliver because they stop questioning me and looking at Maryann with suspicion.

  Frank and Oliver starts making calls to all their connections to find Garth and Adele. Oliver starts with all his underground contacts and Frank checks in with some of his old police buddies for information. If t
hey can’t help, he will call some of the cops that are on our payroll. I don’t know why Frank always must try the law-abiding cops first, but whatever floats his boat, I guess. At this point, I just want Adele. It doesn’t matter if I must make a deal with the pope for her. While conversations are happening all over the place, Maryann and I are sitting and watching everyone work. Maryann gasps and jumps out of her chair as we all stare at her.

  “I know where they are!” she practically yells and I move closer to her and I hear Thomas, Frank, and Oliver trying to end their conversations and stalk toward us.

  “Garth has a brother in the military. He has been stationed in London for years, but he has a house in Evansville. Garth would go check on it because it was empty,” Maryann tells us and I close my eyes and release the breath I didn’t know I was holding. I look at Frank and he nods his head and smiles.

  “Do you have the address?” I ask her and she tilts her head and stops smiling.

  “I don’t have it. I can do better, I can take you there,” she smiles and we all nod and I lock up as we all head out.

  Maryann, Frank, and I are in Frank’s truck and Thomas and Oliver follow us as we head to Evansville. Since Maryann is giving the directions, I sit in the back and I close my eyes thinking about how close I am to getting Adele back. I don’t know what I’ll do when we get to this house, but I won’t leave without seeing her. I hope Frank knows this in advance and doesn’t try this level-headed shit with me. It has been months since I have seen her and I won’t let one more day go by without seeing her. As if Frank has read my mind, he starts to make plans on what will happen when we get to this house.

  “IF we find the house, Alex, we need to be smart. We can’t just knock the door in and go inside,” Frank says as Maryann and I stare at him.

  “What exactly do you suggest? I am not leaving without her Frank!?” I practically yell at him and he stares at me in the rear-view mirror.

  “Alex… we can’t mess this up!” Frank yells back and I see Maryann stiffen, so I try to calm myself the fuck down.

  “What exactly do you suggest we do then?” I ask him and he rubs his hand through his hair.

  “IF we find the house, I’ll think of something and I’ll knock on the fucking door. He hasn’t seen me so I am the only one that can get away with it,” Frank tells us and close my eyes and lean my head against the headrest.

  “What exactly will you say to him, Frank? He won’t let you in the house to see Adele,” I tell him and I hear Frank sigh as Maryann turns to look at us.

  “You can tell him that you think his dead wife Maryann is alive. He’ll let you in and you can make sure Adele is ok,” Maryann says and Frank and I both look at her.

  “Maryann--,” Frank starts to say but she cuts him off.

  “You have to do it. You aren’t telling him where he can find me and I am assuming that since you're Mafia you’re going to kill him anyways right? I’ll be safe,” she says and Frank turns back to look at me squinting his eyes.

  “Why do you think were Mafia, Maryann?” he asks her as he glares at me and I can tell he is pissed off.

  “Alex told me,” Maryann practically whispers and I can feel the speed accelerate.

  “Fuck, Alex! Why do you insist on putting all our asses on the line? Why don’t you just put a fucking ad in the newspaper saying ‘Mob’ and listing everyone’s name, phone number, and address?” Frank yells as Maryann turns her focus to the passenger side window.

  “I had to tell her Frank. She was scared and didn’t want to help.” I let Frank know as I glance at Maryann wondering what I can say while she is listening.

  “You didn’t have to say shit, Alex. Now if anything goes wrong, she’s a witness and she knows too much,” Frank says and I hear Maryann gasp as she turns back to look at Frank.

  “I won’t say anything! You won’t have to kill me.” Maryann quickly adds as Frank rolls his eyes and I glance between the two of them.

  “What do you want, Maryann?” Frank asks and Maryann sits back, stunned.

  “I want freedom. I want to be able to see my family. I don’t want to be afraid that Garth is going to find me and hurt me,” Maryann says as Frank continues to glance between her and the road.

  “That all sounds good, Maryann. How will any of that happen?” Frank asks while glancing back at me with very angry eyes.

  “It will happen if you kill Garth.” She states off-handedly and now I know what must happen. It had to happen, anyway. There is no way he is going to let Adele walk out of that house with me and live happily ever after. I can’t give him Maryann for Adele because he would only hurt her. Maryann has helped us get this far, so I should make sure she’s okay too. I should make sure she is protected against Garth as well as Adele. It wouldn’t feel right to get Adele out of this mess to place Maryann in danger again. I can’t let it happen, I won’t let it happen.

  Adele

  Garth and I manage to somehow get home safely. The ride wasn’t pleasant as he continued to spew his hateful tirade towards me. I don’t understand why he wants me here with him if he hates me so much. If I look back at all the time we have been together, I never felt loved by him. I felt more loved in the short time I was with Alex than the years I spent with Garth. I will never understand what Maryann saw in him. Maybe her death triggered some hidden demon in Garth that she was lucky enough to never meet. I hear something fall in the bedroom and I close my eyes wondering if I should go check on him. I almost wonder if I should just hope that he killed himself somehow. I shake my head as I scold myself for having such awful thoughts. However, in the end, I know that will be the only way I will ever escape him. I peek inside the bedroom and see that Garth is sprawled out across the bed. He almost looks dead with his arms and legs spread out like an eagle while lying on his back. I stare at his shoes wondering if I should take them off. I decide to leave them on because the last thing I want to do is wake him up. Once again, I start to think about killing him as I glance at the pillow that is now on the floor. Would I be able to hold him down or would he just knock me off and be even angrier than he was before? I take a step towards the pillow and there is a knock at the door which startles me. I jump and look toward Garth praying that he doesn’t wake up. When there is another knock and he doesn’t move, I walk out of the room and close the door. When the person knocks a third time and harder I practically run towards the door. I pull the door open and I stand within touching distance of Frank Deluca.

  I jump into Frank’s arms and quickly jump back out of them as I look towards the bedroom door. What if Garth had seen me do that? He’s already hurt so many people I care about and I won’t let him add Frank’s name to the list. Frank looks at me as I look towards the bedroom door and he walks into the house and softly closes the door.

  “Is he in there, Adele?” Frank quietly asks me and I nod my head as I feel the fear about to overtake me. I am trembling and Frank notices as he puts his hand on my arm. I snatch it away from him and I can see him starting to grind his teeth.

  “Yes. You need to go before he finds you here.” I tell him still waiting for Garth to appear suddenly at my side and Frank glances towards the doorway and back to me.

  “Are you okay, Adele?” he asks me and I feel a tear fall down my face. I give him a small nod and he shakes his head as if he knows that I am lying to him. He is right to suspect it is a lie because it totally is.

  “Where is Alex?” I look at Frank wiping the tear and feeling that Alex must be nearby. I sent the note to him and now Frank is standing in this torture house of mine.

  “He’s close, Adele. We’re going to get you out of here. Do you think…,” Frank starts to say and I hear footsteps behind me.

  “Who the hell are you?” I close my eyes as Garth comes into the room and he pulls me behind him and away from Frank as I hear Frank’s teeth snap together. Garth looks Frank over and he looks back at me.

  “Do I know you? You look familiar?” Garth asks Frank and I close my eyes
praying that he doesn’t make the connection. Frank does look like Alex and Garth has seen me with Alex. If he realizes the connection, he’ll either kill Frank or he’ll move us the minute Frank walks out the door. I only hope that Frank uses what he learned as a cop to know this.

  “Maybe. I grew up in Michigan. Have you ever been there?” Frank asks and I notice Garth stiffen.

  “I haven’t been. Can we help you with something?” Garth again asks Frank and I can hear the annoyance in his voice. I think Frank notices it too because he gives a small smile and glances back toward me.

  “I’m a private detective that has been hired by Maryann Day’s family. They believe she may be alive and I thought I would ask you a few questions,” Frank tells Garth and I gasp at hearing Maryann’s name. How in the hell does Frank know about Maryann? Why would he bring her up? Garth is unusually quiet, so the same questions should be racing through his mind as well. Garth nods towards the couch for Frank to sit down and looks over at me telling me to go get the two of them a drink. I rush to the kitchen and bring back two bottles of water. I hand them each one and Garth looks at me and tells me that I can go to the bedroom and wait for him.

  “I may have questions for Adele too,” Frank says looking between me and Garth and I notice Garth staring at me with narrowed eyes.

  “How do you know her name?” Garth questions Frank.

  “Like I said I am a PI. Is there any reason Maryann would have faked her own death? Were you two getting along or were there marital problems? Frank asks Garth and I narrow my eyes wondering what the hell Frank is trying to do? Maryann was crazy about Garth. They were the perfect couple, which makes me sick to think that this is the Garth I have.

  “We were perfect together,” Garth says as he puts his hand on my knee and squeezes it. I look up and see Frank watching him and notice he is gritting his teeth again.