Shell Game

by Bill Flaherty

  “It’s time to settle this, once and for all. Is Sandy here?” Nora pushed past Harry and walked into the foyer.

  Harry grabbed at her arm but Nora slinked away and ran into the kitchen. “Sandy? Where are you?”

  “Harry, who is it?”

  Nora turned toward the family room and Sandy’s voice.

  “Come on Harry, let’s talk to Sandy.”

  Harry seemed rooted to the floor. He couldn’t move a muscle, not an inch.

  “Who are you?” Harry heard Sandy say from the other room.

  “Hi Sandy. I’m Nora. Harry’s lover. We need to talk about Jeremy.”

  “Harry!” Sandy screamed.

  Harry took a deep breath and walked into the family room.

  “Who is this woman? What is she saying? Do you know her? What is she saying, Harry?”

  “Yes, Harry, explain to Sandy who I am. I’d like to hear how you describe me.” Nora sat down in the wingback chair opposite Sandy.

  “Sandy, let me explain. Nora is a co-worker. She has clearly had too much to drink. I think I should get her home.”

  “Nice try, Harry. It’s time that Sandy heard the truth.”

  “Nora, stop. This is unnecessary.”

  “Oh, but it is, Harry. Relationships can’t thrive in an atmosphere of distrust and denial. And that is the state of your marriage.”

  “What the fuck is this woman saying, Harry? Is it true? Did you have an affair with her?” Sandy stood up. She was trembling.

  Harry knew the lies couldn’t continue. “No Sandy. I never slept with her.” Harry took a deep breath. “But I did kiss her. I did get close to her.” Harry was talking faster now. He wanted to get this out. “I’m very sorry. But once I learned about Jeremy’s illness, I ended it. My family means too much to me.”

  Nora stood as well. “You see, Sandy, Harry doesn’t love you. He loves me. And we want you to leave. Harry and I can take care of Jeremy.”

  With surprising quickness, Sandy took one step and slapped Nora in the face. The sound reverberated across the room like a shotgun at dawn, crisp and clear and shocking. Nora staggered back, and raised her hand to her cheek.

  “You fucking bitch!” she screamed and launched herself at Sandy, pushing her backwards over the chair behind her. They fell to the floor, Nora on top.

  Harry stepped forward and tried to grab Nora’s arms. He pulled hard, but she had a stranglehold on Sandy’s neck.

  “Nora, let go!” Harry grabbed the back of Nora’s blouse and tried to stand her up. Instead, the blouse tore in his hand, exposing her left shoulder. Harry caught a glimpse of something, but Nora’s hair covered it. Harry tried to focus on what he had seen.

  Wait a minute, he thought. That looked like….

  Harry grabbed a handful of hair and yanked Nora backwards. She cried out and tried to claw at Harry’s face. He slammed her down face first onto the couch and put his knee in the middle of her back. Harry pushed away Nora’s hair to expose her shoulder again. There it was. A small birthmark. In the shape of a perfect little butterfly.

  “Oh my god!” Harry staggered backwards. He stepped over to Sandy and helped her to her feet. She was still sobbing.

  Harry pointed at Nora, who was still face down on the couch. “She’s Elizabeth Caldwell! She’s Jeremy’s mother!”

  Sandy looked at Nora, then back at Harry. “What are you saying? This woman is Jeremy’s birth mother? She’s Elizabeth? How can that be?”

  “I don’t know, I don’t know.” Harry ran his fingers through his hair. “But the birthmark on her shoulder. It’s a butterfly, just like Sister Catherine told me.”

  Nora finally looked up from the couch. She sat up slowly, and pushed her hair from her face. She smiled wryly. “Now you know my secret, Harry.”

  “Why, Nora? You knew we were looking for you. Why didn’t you tell me when I told you that Jeremy was sick?”

  Nora’s eyes gleamed brightly, like an internal flame lit them from behind. She shook her head. “I’ve had a plan for a long time. It just took me a while to make it work. I’ve been patient. I knew where Jeremy lived. I’ve watched you, Harry. I finally got a job at Jordano so I could meet you. You’ve been a good father to my son. I realized it would be best for Jeremy if you stay in his life. That’s why only Sandy has to go.”

  “You’re crazy, Nora. Bonkers. Loony. Nuts.”

  “I’m not, Harry. I’ve planned this out so well. First, the adoption agency. Their security was really poor. It was easy to get at the records to find out who had adopted Jeremy. Then all I had to do was set the fire to hide which records I was really after.”

  “You set the fire?”

  Nora smirked. “I had to. I couldn’t let the agency identify which adoption records were stolen. They would have contacted you. That would have defeated my purpose.”

  “And what was that?” Harry helped Sandy to sit in the same chair she had been in before. She angrily pulled her arm away from him.

  “To find Jeremy, of course. And the family that had him.”

  “And once you found Jeremy, what then?”

  “I was still working that part out. I got a job at Jordano so I could meet you. Once I saw the kind of person you are, and the good father you’ve been to my son, I knew what had to be done. I believe in fate, Harry. We are meant to be together. I know it.”

  Harry shook his head. “What about Jeremy’s illness? The leukemia?”

  “At first, I was worried about that. But now I realize that’s part of the bigger plan. See, you need me too, Harry. You and Jeremy. I know I’ll be a match and Jeremy will get better. You wait and see.”

  “Nora…I mean Elizabeth…I mean Nora…what the hell am I supposed to call you?”

  “Don’t be angry, Harry. Call me either. Nora is my middle name. Use whichever one you prefer.”

  Sandy had recovered her senses. “Harry, get this fucking woman out of my house. Right now!”

  “Let’s go, Nora. You have to leave.”

  She glared at Harry as the reality of the situation dawned on her. “You’ll regret this, Harry. Jeremy will regret this. You’ll see.” She looked scornfully at Sandy. “You thought your precious life was safe from pain and misfortune, didn’t you? You believed you were blessed. No harm would ever come to you, right?”

  Sandy remained silent, refusing to respond to the taunt.

  Nora glared at both of them before rising from the couch. “You’re going to be sorry, Harry. Trust me.” She picked up her coat, strode through the kitchen and out the front door, slamming it behind her.

  Harry didn’t know what to say. He was in shock of the events that had just occurred. He was afraid to look at Sandy.

  “How could you, Harry? What were you thinking?”

  Harry looked down at his hands.

  “Look at the problems you’ve brought to our home. It may cost our son his life. Was it worth it, Harry?”

  Harry knew better than to respond. Sandy was right.

  Chapter 51

  Monday, November 17

  Nick caught up with Pete Mitchell at the end of the day. “How did the rest of the deposition go?”

  “Good.” Pete shrugged off his coat and threw it over the back of his chair. “Walsh is a gold mine. He laid the blame for the Sierra Health fraud at the feet of Kaspar Jordano and Harry Wainright. He said Jordano pulls all the strings and sets the company culture. Wainright is his right hand guy, making sure that all policies and procedures are applied to a T. They make quite a team, according to Walsh.”

  “I still don’t like it. Walsh gets to walk away free and clear. He’s the manager of the fund they used to defraud the shareholders. He clearly knew what was going on.”

  “No doubt. But without his testimony, we might not have learned about this crime at all. It sucks. But if we can stop it this time, maybe other companies will be more reluctant to try something like this in the future.”

  Nick remained unconvinced. “I’m not sure about that, Pete.
Greed is a powerful motivator. Mix that with the opportunity to do wrong and the belief that you can get away with it, and you have a powerful drug that many people find hard to resist. These assholes believed they were above the law. For those of us trying to prevent shit like this, it’s like swimming against the tide.”

  “You sound frustrated and tired, Nick. Go home and get some rest. It’ll do you good.”

  Nick nodded and started to rise from his chair when his cell phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket.

  “Hello?”

  “Nick. It’s Detective Scanlon. I have an update for you on Jerry Haskins. You know, the discussion we had this morning?”

  Nick looked across the room at Pete Mitchell, his eyebrows raised. “Yes, detective?”

  “My analysts were able to blow up the picture of the license plate of the car that was seen on the garage roof when Haskins got tossed over the wall. They could identify the last three letters on the plate, VJE. We searched DMV records for that combination and found eight cars registered with plates that ended in those letters. There was one interesting name that popped up on the list. Want to know who?”

  “Of course.”

  “Jack Walsh.”

  Nick fell back into the chair. “Oh shit.”

  “I know,” replied the detective. “It’s fucking unbelievable, isn’t it?”

  “What is it, Nick?” Pete wanted to know.

  Nick covered the phone with his hand. “The police think that it was Jack Walsh’s car on the garage roof when Jerry Haskins fell. They have a partial license plate and matched it to a car that belongs to Walsh.”

  “Shit.” Now it was Pete’s turn to be shocked. “But Walsh was given blanket immunity. Will that agreement cover all acts, including murder?”

  Nick was troubled. “I’m afraid it may, Pete. No one connected the murder of Julie Monroe with the fraud at Jordano. And until now, everyone thought Haskins death was a suicide. No wonder Walsh has been so cavalier about everything. He knew that he could get away with it.” He returned to the phone. “Detective, I told the prosecutor about our call. She’ll be following up with you.”

  “Good. I’ll fill her in.” Scanlon paused. “It looks like our investigations were more connected than we thought.”

  “Definitely. I just hope we haven’t let the bad guy get away. Stay in touch.” Nick hung up and shook his head.

  “I think we’ve been played, Pete.” Nick thought for a moment. “Jack Walsh may be the person behind everything. The murders of Julie Monroe and Jerry Haskins and the Sierra Health fraud. If Walsh set this whole thing up, this plot was much more complex than any of us thought.”

  Pete nodded. “I need a drink.” He pulled a small flask and two plastic cups from his bottom drawer. “Care to join me?”

  “Absolutely. But that small bottle may not be enough for both of us.”

  Chapter 52

  Tuesday, November 18

  Harry didn’t sleep at all. He had stayed on the couch, knowing that Sandy wouldn’t let him sleep in their bed after she learned about his relationship with Nora. He tossed and turned, unable to relax.

  He couldn’t believe Nora was Elizabeth Caldwell. All the searching he had done for Jeremy’s birth mother, and it turns out that she was right under his nose. Harry tried to think of clues that he missed. He thought of the time he had spent with Nora. She seemed to know things about him or Jeremy that Harry didn’t remember telling her. But he had shrugged those concerns away. Those conversations hadn’t set off any real alarms.

  Harry looked at the clock: 5am. He got up and went into the kitchen to make some coffee. He’d have to call the doctor today to tell him they couldn’t get a bone marrow match from Jeremy’s mother. Harry poured the coffee into a mug, added cream and sugar, and took it into the family room.

  What a fucking mess, he thought. And it’s my fault.

  He took a sip of his coffee, but it was still too hot.

  How can I convince Nora to change her mind?

  Harry started to think of all kinds of crazy possibilities. He could pretend to accept Nora’s proposal to leave Sandy. That might be enough to convince her to help Jeremy. But Harry didn’t want to take that step. He knew that Jeremy wouldn’t understand why he was leaving, and he wasn’t willing to cause his son such pain.

  I could try to force Nora somehow, Harry thought. He wondered about that possibility. What does it take to extract bone marrow? How complicated a process was it? This is crazy, I’m not a thug.

  Maybe he could pay Nora to provide the bone marrow? He quickly added up his bank account balances in his head. He could probably come up with close to a million without too much difficulty. If Nora could be enticed by an easier lifestyle, Harry would be happy to part with the money. It meant saving Jeremy’s life.

  He heard Sandy coming down the stairs.

  “Good morning, Sandy.”

  She passed by him without comment, stood at the sink and looked out the window. Snow wasn’t in the forecast, yet flurries were floating through the air, coating the patio with a patina of white lace.

  Harry didn’t know where to begin. “I’m so sorry, Sandy. I have no excuses for my behavior. Our relationship hasn’t been good for a long time, and I didn’t know what to do about it.”

  Sandy turned around. “I know that, Harry. I haven’t been happy for a long time either. I should have talked to you about it. But we always seemed to be in our own little worlds, and it was easier to just leave it alone.”

  Harry looked down at his hands. “Silence is never the solution, Sandy. You can’t resolve issues that way.”

  Sandy looked at him with sad eyes. “I have a hard time expressing myself. Sometimes you make it more difficult. You have strong opinions, and I feel that my ideas aren’t appreciated. So I tend to keep quiet. I’ve withheld affection. I’ve missed feeling close to you.”

  “I’ve missed that too. What can we do about it?”

  “I’m not sure. Counseling didn’t help. Maybe we’ve just grown into different people than the ones who got married fifteen years ago. It’s a tough thing to accept, but it may be the most honest one.”

  “What are you suggesting?”

  Sandy took a deep breath. “After Jeremy gets better, I think we should separate for a while. Maybe our relationship will benefit from some time apart. Or maybe we’ll realize that we should stay apart. I don’t know, Harry. I don’t have any answers, just a lot of questions.”

  Harry looked at her. He realized this was the most honest conversation they had engaged in during the past five years. He knew it was as tough for Sandy to say those words as it was for him to hear them.

  “I don’t know what to say, except to tell you that I love you. And Jeremy. I want to do what’s best for all of us.”

  Sandy held up her hand. “Please don’t say anything else. I can’t discuss this any further.” She pushed her hair back from her face and wiped her hands on her robe. “When we get Jeremy stabilized, I’ll move to my mother’s for a while. I think that’ll be for the best.”

  Harry just nodded. He couldn’t expect anything more. “What will we tell Jeremy?”

  “I’m not sure. Let’s get him better first. What are we going to do about your…friend? How do we convince her to help?”

  Harry rubbed the stubble on his chin. “I was just thinking about our options. Maybe she would take money? We could certainly make her financially comfortable.”

  “I’d be surprised if she would consider that. She seemed pretty enamored with you. I don’t think she’ll give up so easily on her dream of a ready-made family.”

  “She can’t have me or Jeremy. We need to find another solution. Is there any way to force her? Legally, I mean. Could we sue her to provide the bone marrow?”

  Sandy thought about that for a moment. “I don’t know. We could check with our lawyer. But even if we could win in court, I doubt we‘d succeed in time to help Jeremy. He needs help now, Harry.” Her voice caught, and she turn
ed back to the window.

  Harry moved across the kitchen and hugged Sandy from behind. “We will get through this.”

  She moved out of his embrace. “Don’t touch me, Harry. I’m not ready for you to comfort me. Not after what I learned last night.”

  “I’m sorry, Sandy. For everything.”

  Sandy’s face was a mixture of sadness and anger. “I’m going back to bed. I have another headache.”

  “Try to get some sleep. I’m going to stay here, maybe watch the news.”

  Harry turned on the television. The weather forecaster was just wrapping up his segment. Flurries today and tomorrow. The anchor came back on and announced, “We will be right back with our lead story: indictments are expected today for senior management at Jordano Funds. More details after the break.”

  Christ, Harry thought morosely. That was fast. Can this be happening? His thoughts turned to Jack Walsh. That prick. He must have been really convincing during his deposition. I bet he downplayed his own role in the fraud. He probably came across like a martyr. He’ll be the hero while the rest of us are vilified. Harry shook his head. So much for friendship.

  He decided to stay home from work.

  Fuck Kaspar. Fuck the firm. It was time to focus on his family.

  He had to convince Nora to agree to the bone marrow transplant. He needed to be at home with Sandy. The damage to his marriage may be irreparable. He didn’t want her to move out, but he was powerless to stop it. He flopped down on the couch, feeling exhausted.

  I’m not going anywhere today.

  Chapter 53

  Tuesday, November 18

  Nick woke with a splitting headache. After he and Pete finished the whiskey in Pete’s flask, they headed down to The Littlest Bar on Washington Street. The place wasn’t crowded on a Monday night.

  At the bar they talked mostly about the investigation. Pete said the twists and turns that the case had taken were like nothing he’d seen during his long career. After several more shots of Jameson and a couple of Black and Tans, Nick said good night. He made it home safely by driving very slowly. At least that’s how he remembered it.