Misguided Trust

by Jamie Ott

  “So it’s true, isn’t it?” Maddie asked as they left the bank.

  “Not now, Maddie!”

  Outside, the limo was still parked and waiting. “Aren’t you leaving, now?” asked Maddie.

  Michael gave the driver a wad of cash, and then he walked off, down the street.

  “Where’s he going?”

  “He’s a friend of mine. Get in,” Michael said and held the door open.

  “Why? You got your money!” said Earl.

  “The day is not done. We’re gonna go talk, first. Get in or I’ll shoot you.” He pulled the gun from his pants. “I’ll do it, too; right here. I don’t care. My life is over anyway, thanks to you.”

  They climbed in the back; then Michael got into the driver’s seat.

  When he started the car, they both tried to jump out.

  “Sorry, but I’ve the locked the doors. You, two, aren’t very bright.”

  On the freeway, they screamed and banged on the windows, but people neither heard nor saw them through the dark windows. And though they placed calls to 9-1-1 on their cell phones, they didn’t know where they were going or the name of the limo company.

  Michael drove them into a grassy area, and up over a small incline. Maddie gripped Earl Baldric tightly by the hand.

  He parked the car and got out; opened the door with the gun pointed at them and said, “Get out of the car.”

  “What do you plan to do?” asked Maddie, who was bright red in the face.

  “Kill you, of course. Now that I’ve got my money, what do I need you for? All I need is to ensure that no one will tell.”

  Maddie immediately broke down in tears and pleading. The earl’s eyes bugged out and glassed over.

  “Get out, now!”

  Slowly, they exited the car.

  “Michael, please…” Maddie cried.

  “Shut up!”

  He guided them over to a spot behind a thickset of trees.

  “You’ll never get away with this. People will know it’s you that killed us,” said Earl.

  “All I need is a little time to get away, that’s all. Once you’re dead and buried, perfect. I just have one question before I kill you: What’s the reason for the feud between you and Joe? I want the truth, or I’ll shoot every single one of your toes off, and I’ll make sure you’re awake the whole time.”

  “I didn’t do anything! Joe acted of his own accord!” Baldric yelled.

  “Dad, what are you talking about?” Maddie cried.

  Earl Baldric sighed and said, “I know that it must have been terrible for you, but it’s true, I hired men to kidnap you. I never set out to hurt you, though. If only you hadn’t put up such a fight!”

  “What was I supposed to do? I was scared! Of course, I’d fight for my life!”

  “I tried to make sure you were treated right!”

  “Enough!” shouted Michael. “Earl, on with your explanation.”

  Earl Baldric just stood there a moment.

  Michael aimed the gun to the left of his leg and shot. Earl jumped and yelped.

  “I’m a very good shot, as you can see. Now, talk!”

  “Let me start off by saying that I love you, Maddie. I would never want to hurt you. The things I did, it was because I had no choice.”

  “But I still don’t understand why,” she cried.

  “Almost ten years ago, right around the time you and Joe met, I began an ongoing affair with a woman. I met her at the hotel lounge where I used to go for business meetings. She was a beautiful and sweet woman. For the first time in years, I was in love. But she was married, and though she cared for me, she wouldn’t leave her husband. Anna’s only reason for being with me was because her husband was physically incapable of fulfilling her needs. We would meet once or twice a week, and then Anna would be off and I wouldn’t hear from her again for a few weeks. When I tried to see more of her, she warned me not to get attached because she would never get a divorce. At first, I was alright with the conditions, but like a fool, I tried to change her mind. Looking back, it’s not that I had to have her so much as it was that I hated being told that I couldn’t have something. She was a challenge, so I pursued her to the best of my ability.

  Anna was married to a famous investor who at one time owned many properties all over Los Angeles. Now she never told me why her husband was incapable of fulfilling her needs. I just assumed she was bored with him; after all, he was old enough to be her father. I didn’t mean to cause anyone hurt or pain, but I thought I was in love.

  Our affair carried on for nearly a decade. Eventually, Anna admitted to loving me for much of our time together. I tried to persuade her, even more aggressively, to be with me but she wouldn’t. One day I showed up at her house, ready to confront her and her husband. Anna tried to send me away but I wouldn’t listen. Her husband came to the door to see what was going on. I barely said two words, but it was enough because the man figured out what was going on, immediately.

  How was I to know he had a condition? He got really angry and threatened to kill me. He took two steps toward me and, instead, had a heart attack. She was so angry with me. I didn’t hear from her for weeks.

  Since I couldn’t get her to respond to my phone calls, I started dropping by the house, hoping to catch her. One day, it worked: I caught her as she was being dropped off by a limo. She was alone and had been crying. I realized she’d just gotten back from a funeral. Out of respect for her family, I decided to stay away for a while longer. When I did hear from her, it was to tell me that her husband died that night in the hospital, and that she was four months pregnant. It was a horrible conversation to have but on another level, I was excited too. I always wanted a son, and the doctors had confirmed it was a boy.”

  “Dad, you’re awful! You should be ashamed of yourself!”

  “Why? Anna’s husband was no saint, not even close. In his younger years, if he wasn’t running around with another woman, he was off drinking and vacationing with buddies. He traveled the world and left to her all the responsibilities of domestication and raising their kids. Anna was bored, tired, and she felt cheated that her life was to be sacrificed while he lived the good life. She was no more than a rabbit in a cage, I tell you.

  “What happened to the baby?”

  “He was born last year, and he’s beautiful. She named him Jesse.”

  “How could you keep this from me?”

  “I wanted to tell you, but Anna wanted to keep it secret until the terms of her late husbands will had been carried out. Anna stood to inherit a healthy sum of money. If it was found out that she’d had an affair and a love child, she’d have gotten a yearly remuneration, and the rest would have gone to her husband’s sister. If we kept our mouths shut, she would have inherited half of his estate.”

  “Why do you say ‘she would have’? Has something happened to her?” asked Michael.

  “I stayed away as she wished, until a year ago. She called and said she wanted to talk. I went to her new home and I found her dead on the floor. There was blood everywhere; she’d been beaten to death. I was so stunned that I didn’t notice he was there: the son from her husband’s first marriage. He pointed a gun at me with his right hand, and in his left, he held Jesse. He cried and was covered in blood; mucus bubbled out of his mouth and nose. ‘What did you do to Jesse?’ I asked. ‘He’s just a baby.’ But the man swore it was Anna’s blood. Then he told me the baby was really his, and that he was leaving with him. He told me not to follow him or talk to the police, or he’d shoot Jesse. I asked that we handle things legally, with DNA, but he said the test had already been done.” Baldric sighed and wiped his moist cheeks.

  “I didn’t believe he was the father of the baby, so I called him over and over, but he ignored my calls. I wanted to call the police, but I didn’t know if I should because I didn’t want to hurt you, Maddie, with all of this.”

  “Why would you hurt me? If you’d called me, I’d have helped you.”

  “I don’t kn
ow that you would have. The man that killed Anna, who claimed Jesse as his, was your very own, Joe.”

  Maddie said nothing. Her face and body got extremely hot. Pressure felt like it was building up behind her ears and eyes. Her brain raced to make connections between Joe, Anna and her late husband – Joe’s father.

  “Joe lost it. He said I had to choose between you and the baby; that since I’d cost him the woman he loved, he was gonna take something that I love. Even though he killed her, he blamed me as if I made him do it. I didn’t know what to think, or what he meant by this. If I chose you, he’d kill you; if I chose Jesse, he’d kill the baby.

  Still, I don’t have any DNA evidence that Jesse isn’t my son, and even if he’s not, is it right to let Joe have him? As crazy as he’s gone? That’s why I arranged for you to be taken, but you were supposed to go to a safe house I’d purchased for you under another name. I was gonna come to you and explain all of this, but Joe was ahead of me. He had those men take you to Michael’s instead. I didn’t know that he’d one upped me until I tried to contact my man. He said he went to your home to get you, but you weren’t there. Since then, I’ve been trying to find you and Joe, but you both went missing. I still have no idea where Jesse is.”

  They stood in silence a while. Maddie sobbed.

  “So let me get this straight,” said Michael. “Joe had an affair with Anna, his step mother, and then beat he to death. And the reason Joe Sr. died was because you showed up at his house?”

  “I’m not proud of it, but yes, that’s the situation.”

  “And you let me go on, not knowing that Joe was cheating on me?”

  “I didn’t know the entire time that you were married. I only found out that Joe had been with Anna just last year, after Sr. died. And I didn’t realize Anna was Joe’s mother until the rehearsal dinner, the week before your wedding.”

  “Alright, that’s enough, let’s go,” said Michael.

  “Go where?” asked Earl.

  “I think I know where to find Joe. I want to hear his side of the story”

  “You’re not going to kill us?” asked Maddie.

  “I’m as much in the dark about all this as you are. As I’ve said, you and Joe were supposed to come to my home as guests. You were supposed to hide out because Joe said he was in some kind of trouble. He was going to explain it all to me when he arrived, and pay me for my time since I’m desperate for money. But he never showed up. Instead, I got you and some gangsters threatening to kill me if I didn’t cooperate. That’s why I kept you, not because I wanted to. I had no choice.”

  Maddie cried all the way back to the city.

  Michael pulled up to the Earl Baldric’s gated house.

  “Get out,” he said, “both of you.”

  “I’m not going anywhere. If you know where Joe is, I’m coming with you.”

  “I have to return this car. Now get out or I’ll shoot you.”

  “Sorry, but that’s not going to work anymore.”

  Michael got out of the car and walked to the back of the limo, opened the door and pulled Earl Baldric out by the back of his neck. He threw him to the ground; then turned to Maddie and said, “Don’t make me do this. I don’t want to put my hands on you.”

  “I’m not going anywhere. If my husband has really done all these things, I have a right to confront him.”

  “Fiiiine!” he shouted. “But give me any trouble, and I’ll kick you to the curb!”

  “Dad, we need a car that is less conspicuous,” she shouted at him from her seat.

  “You can take one of mine,” he said as he brushed himself off.

  Fifteen minute later, a friend of Michael’s came and picked up the limo. Maddie hugged her father. “It’s okay, Dad, I don’t hate you. I understand why you’ve done these things, and we’ll work it out, I promise.”

  “Be careful; love you.”

  Then they took off down the freeway.

  “So, where are we going?”

  “Back to your house for the time being. When I said I was going to find Joe, I meant that I was going to follow you and wait for him to make contact.”

  “I don’t understand why you’re bothering with this, still. We, obviously, aren’t going to turn you in. You’ve got money. Why not go back to your mansion?”

  “Because what if those guys come back and try to kill me again? Besides, I’m not so sure everything your father said is true. I know Joe, and I know the sound of his voice when he’s in trouble. Your father makes it sound like Joe’s been chasing him, but I’m telling you that Joe is the one being chased here.”

  “So now you’re saying my father’s a liar?”

  “You got it.”

  “You’re despicable, Michael. After we’re done, I don’t want to see you anymore.”

  “Oh and you think you bring joy to my life? Gladly, I’ll be done with you, Maddie.”

  This time, when Maddie went inside her house, she noticed things she didn’t before – maybe because she was so stoked to be home. Now, however, the place felt as if no one had been there in quite a while.

  “Yuck,” said Michael. “This place is dusty.”

  Michael was right. Living down the street from the beach, they had to clean traveling dirt and grit from surfaces, counters, tables and the floors, frequently. Yet the house looked as if it were drowning in sand. Then there was Maddie’s favorite plant, a peace lily, which was dried like a crisp.

  “If Joe had been here, this place would have been spotless.”

  Maddie turned and said, “Wow, I guess you do know my husband.”

  “Quite well.”

  Michael followed her into the kitchen.

  Maddie opened the refrigerator. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Michael hasn’t been here since we left for the desert.” She pulled out a packet of green steaks to show him. “I bought these steaks months ago.”

  “Your place is creeping me out,” he said and ran his hand, agitatedly, through his hair.

  “Want a drink?”

  “Yes, please.”

  Maddie poured two glasses of scotch on the rocks.

  In the living room, they sipped silently and watched the wall. Then Maddie asked, “Do you think it’s safe for us to stay here? Maybe we should get a room somewhere else?”

  “No, we gotta wait. Joe and I have fallen out of touch over the years. He doesn’t know of any other way to get into touch with me. If he discovers that I’ve been chased out of my house, then he’ll know I’m with you, or close to his home and looking for him. He’ll try to make contact with either of us, when he realizes we’re no longer at the manor.”

  “You seem so confident. How do you know these things?”

  “I don’t, really. I just know that Joe is in trouble, and we need to find him. We need to stay in places that he might re visit; it’s our best shot.”

  “But what if he doesn’t show?”

  “I don’t know, Maddie, but this is all I can think of, right now.”

  “You still haven’t told me how it is that you know my husband.”

  “Well, it was a long time ago, so I don’t blame you for not remembering. Joe and I go way back. We were roommates at the California Youth Academy, and then again at Cal-State.”

  “Did you come to our wedding?”

  “Yes, but by then, we’d started to go our separate ways. It was nothing personal; just our lives were changing and leading us in different directions. I was at the manor more and more, and he was here all the time.”

  But Maddie didn’t think that was it; there was something else that was familiar about him.

  Suddenly, there was a thump on the roof.

  Maddie spilled a good deal of her drink on the carpet.

  “I’m gonna check it out,” said Michael. “Don’t move.”

  He went through the sliding glass door, into the back yard and disappeared around the side of the house. Then he came back a moment later and said, “I didn’t see anyone.”

  “Okay, we
ll, I’m gonna take a shower and change. I don’t know about you, but I could use a good rest. There’s a guest bedroom upstairs and clothes in the Master for you to change into, if you’d like.”

  “Not just yet,” he walked over to the cordless phone, took it off the handle and pointed it in her direction. “Give it another try.”

  “Do you really think he’d be silly enough to keep his cell phone?”

  “No, but he’d find a way to re route the calls in a secure way. I’m almost certain.”

  She called Joe’s cell three times but not once did he pick up. Then she went upstairs while Michael stalked in the kitchen, looking for a bite to eat before going up to shower, too. After, he took a comforter, a sheet, a pillow, and went to lie on the couch.

  Maddie came down to get water.

  “Why don’t you sleep upstairs, in a bed?”

  “I tend to sleep heavy, so if anyone should come, I won’t be able to hear if I’m upstairs.”

  After she left, Michael managed to fall asleep, briefly, until Maddie shook him awake some time later.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I think someone’s in the house!” she whispered.

  Michael got off of the couch and went upstairs. A moment later, he came back down. “I think you need to relax. This whole situation has got you on edge.”

  He put his hand around her waist and turned her around toward the stairs. “Go, I’ve got everything under control down here.”

  Michael tried to push Maddie in the direction of the stairs, but she turned around and put her arms around his waist. He didn’t move for a moment, and then he pulled her in tight.

  “We shouldn’t be doing this,” he said.

  “It’s just that you’re so familiar to me, but I can’t figure out why. I know you said you were at the wedding, but that’s not it.”

  He laughed lightly.

  “Why do you laugh?”

  “You really don’t remember. I admit, I’ve purposely held back because I wanted to see if you’d recall on your own.”

  “Recall what?”

  She pulled back and looked at him.