by Anna Burke
“Sure, and I know it’s not good circumstances that brought you back here to the desert. I can’t even imagine what I’d be doing if you weren’t here. So, thank you.” Laura drained the glass of orange juice and set the empty glass on the side table next to her.
Jessica figured that was about as close to a silver lining as she was going to find amid the storm clouds hovering over her own life and roiling through Laura’s. That was something. Bernadette would consider it providential. One of those God-works-in-mysterious-ways things. Jessica wasn’t ready to go that far. The fury she felt for herself, and for Laura, was way too intense not to begrudge any so-called omnipotent being who allowed such senseless suffering to be visited upon them. Jessica finished her own glass of juice allowing the nourishment, and Laura’s gratitude, to assuage her anger.
“Okay Laura what do you want first the good news or the bad news?” Jessica asked, perhaps a little too abruptly.
“How bad is the bad news?”
“I’m not completely sure yet but Roger’s business was in trouble. I know you suspected that. He didn’t exactly have things under control when it came to your personal finances either. I haven’t had time to reconcile all of the material in the file folders with the information downloaded from his bank accounts, but there’s no doubt his business is in the red. Maybe there are some outstanding accounts that you could collect on. That’s what I don’t know yet, or what there is to liquidate that could raise some cash.”
“How much in the red? I mean, how worried should I be?”
“It’s hard to tell but he’s been running the business on fumes for months. There are a lot of demands for payment that are several months old. Maybe he had contacted folks and arranged for more time to pay up. There are some items with postmarks as far back as April that haven’t even been opened yet. The last deposit was made to his business account about three weeks ago. That was a cash deposit of several thousand dollars. It wasn’t the only one. There were several cash deposits, in similar amounts, posted to his business account before that. Is that typical for clients to pay him in cash?”
“I don’t know, Jessica. He grumbled now and then about having to wring money out of clients. Usually that happened when a job was done or nearly done. He hated nagging and when he got the money he sometimes said he hoped this check or that check didn’t bounce. So, I know he got paid by check at times. Roger had such a good reputation. He was good at what he did. Even when business was hot he got things done on time and on budget, so he didn’t have many unsatisfied customers back then.” Laura paused, perhaps, remembering better times.
“Like I told you, these days he mostly took on odd jobs from realtors or for banks. You know, repairing the damage done by homeowners being put out of their homes? Some had let things go because they were on their last legs financially. Others trashed the place before they left. The kitchens had been stripped, carpets ruined, or worse. Once someone poured cement into the toilets. I suppose he could have been paid in cash for those jobs. I never really thought about it.” Laura paused again and took a deep breath.
“Okay so Roger’s business is in a hole and some of the money he made came in the form of cash. Great, what’s the good news?” Laura asked.
“Well, there’s a little more on the bad news front,” Jessica said in a quiet, steady voice.
Laura cocked her head in that quizzical puppy dog way, refocusing her attention on Jessica. She removed her sunglasses and placed them on top of her head. She took both hands and rubbed them over her face a couple times like she was trying to clear away something.
“Okay, I guess I’m ready. What’s the rest of the bad news,” she said refolding her hands in her lap.
“Well this won’t come as a complete surprise since I sort of talked about this earlier. Your personal finances are in pretty bad shape too. Some things that were being paid regularly earlier in the year seem not to have been paid for the past couple months.”
Laura’s eyes grew wide and wary. “What sort of things?” she asked.
“Roger was juggling, paying one car payment one month then the other the next. He was doing that with utility bills and credit cards, too. The mortgage is behind by two months.”
Laura’s swept her hand over her face again. She looked even more drawn and bewildered when her hands moved back to her lap once again.
“That’s not possible, Jessica. We had all of the basic month-to-month bills set up so they’d get paid automatically. It was a running joke between us that my checks came in one day and were gone the next, but I make decent money as a nurse. When Roger’s business slowed down, I picked up extra shifts. We were fighting so much anyway, it was a relief. I took every one I could get. I backed off talking to Roger about money the way we used to do. It never occurred to me he’d let us get into this much trouble without saying something. Are you sure, Jessica?”
“Well, pretty sure, but you need to have a look for yourself. We can go through everything again so we can reconcile both the business and personal accounts. If we work together you can clear things up, and it’ll go a lot faster.”
“I feel like the circuits in my brain have shorts in them. I’m afraid, on my own, I’d miss something. From what you’re saying I’ve been missing a lot already. So, yes, please, let’s go through everything together.” Jessica reached over and poured herself another glass of juice, holding the pitcher out to Laura.
“You want more?” Laura nodded and held out her glass for Jessica to fill it. Laura muttered her thanks. As she put the pitcher down Jessica inquired, “was the business in your name too or just Roger’s?”
“He set the business up as an LLC, as a partnership arrangement of some kind. I didn’t understand why since he didn’t have any partners. Not even me.”
“Well, a single-member LLC is fine. I’m sure there’s a document somewhere that lays all that out. I’ll take a closer look when I get back this afternoon. That’s actually good news, by the way. With the kind of work he did there was always the possibility that something could go wrong on a job or after the fact. A limited liability corporation does just what the title implies. It limits his, and your, personal liability for problems related to his business. I’m sure he was bonded and licensed in California and the LLC gave him an extra layer of protection. The limits on liability include any debts his business has accumulated too. You’re off the hook. Does he have tools and supplies stashed somewhere?”
“He used to have a shop. It had a showroom, with storage indoors and out, but he gave all that up a couple years ago. He was so proud of that place. When things started to go south he sold off a lot of equipment and supplies to cover the costs of closing up his shop and paying off suppliers. I have no idea what’s left, but he does have a storage place he uses for his business out on Varner Road, near Thousand Palms.”
“Okay, Laura. We’ll have to go take a look later this week. I presume there’s a key somewhere.”
“As far as I know he kept it with his other keys. I don’t know if those are at the house or with him.” Laura stopped speaking, choking on the last couple words.
“Don’t worry about it, Laura. I can find out. We need to know when they’ll release the, um—Roger to us. I’ll make sure they turn over any personal effects, too. Detective Hernandez may include a preliminary report from the coroner’s office, but I want you to sign a request for a copy of the complete autopsy report. I know it’s horrible to have to do that but it’s important to learn all we can about how and when he died.”
“I understand. I’ll sign whatever you need me to sign. I want to know and I don’t want to know what happened, is that strange?”
“Not strange at all. I feel the same way and I wasn’t his wife. When I get the report I’ll read through it. You can tell me what sort of details you want me to pass along to you, and whether you want to read it or not. Okay?”
“Okay,” Laura nodded solemnly. “So what’s the good news you were talking about? Did you find out
something that means I’m not going to get raked over the coals by the police for murdering my husband, on top of all the other disasters unfolding in my life?”
“Laura I’m pretty sure the police are checking out a lot of other possibilities given that we found that goon going through your things. I’ll call Jerry and see if he’s tracked down Eric. He can clear up any lingering questions the police might have about where you were Friday night and Saturday morning.”
“Yeah, except for questions about what kind of creep I am for sneaking around with some other guy when my husband is murdered.” Tears were sliding down her face. Jessica took both of Laura’s hands into her own.
“I am so sorry this awful thing has happened to you Laura. I wish I could do something to make it all go away, but I can’t. What I can do is help you take care of yourself and handle the immediate problems. That way we keep options open until you’re ready and able to think about a future for yourself.” Jessica realized, as she spoke, that she was talking to herself too. What had she done with the divorce papers? She vaguely recalled shuffling through them somewhere in her room, having fought off the urge to rip them to shreds.
Laura nodded meekly, and tried to muster a smile. “I hear what you’re saying, Jessica. I’m sure you’re right. It’s just all too, too much.”
“You can say that again. Look, the good news I wanted to give you is not in any way enough to compensate for the grief you’re feeling. It can help address some of the personal financial issues you’re facing. Roger’s life insurance was up-to-date. That means you’ll have financial resources to help get through this. Once you go over the accounts with me I’ll make a list of everyone that’s owed money and we will contact them. We can make arrangements to take care of the debts one way or another.”
“Okay, that’s a relief, I guess.” Laura pulled a tissue from the pocket of her cover up and dabbed at her eyes and nose.
“Well there’s another thing. Did you know that Roger had added a rider to his life insurance?” Jessica asked.
“A rider, what kind of rider?” That puzzled and bewildered look returned to her face as she braced herself for yet another revelation about her dead husband.
“Apparently Roger added an accidental death & dismemberment rider over a year ago. They’re sometimes also referred to as a double indemnity policy. What it means is that the insurance company pays out double the insured amount for an accidental death. That means $500,000 rather than the $250,000 in coverage he originally took out.”
Laura’s mouth fell open. It was a long moment before she spoke. “I had no idea. He didn’t talk to me about it and I don’t know why he would do such a thing when business was so slow. Accidents did happen on the job. But nothing very serious that I can recall. He was a general contractor so he had a major role in planning and organizing projects for a client. It was his job to hire a team to implement the plan and do the heavy lifting, so to speak.” Laura paused for a moment, taking another swipe at her nose before going on. There was a softer tone in her voice as she spoke again.
“Roger used to get a kick out of pitching in on demolition work. He liked to knock walls down. He laughed about how much stress he could unload smashing things. Several years ago he pulled his back out helping hang cupboards or something like that. He was laid up for a couple weeks If anything, that made him more cautious, not less. He’s always carried liability coverage for his business in case there was an accident on the job involving one of his guys, or a client. He never said anything about the kind of coverage you’re talking about, Jessica.”
She looked at Jessica as fear and bewilderment crept over her again. “One more thing he kept to himself as our relationship took a turn for the worse in the past year or so. It was just so hard to talk to him, Jessica, and especially about money. He was either quiet and sullen or edgy and short-tempered. I got tired of trying to drag information out of him. When I did draw him out he’d often chew me out about something I’d bought and we’d end up screaming at each other.” The tears started to fall again.
“Finally, I just backed off. I quit trying to keep tabs on where the money was going, or where he was going apparently. Maybe if I’d kept after him he would have told me why he thought he needed more insurance in case of an accident.”
“It’s not your fault your husband was keeping secrets. Who knows what we’ll find out? The insurance company is going to do their own investigation and they’ll drag their feet on paying any death benefit until the investigation by the police is further along. I will hound them on your behalf when the time comes. That’s one thing I’m good at, Laura, getting folks to honor legal agreements. We need to go ahead and file a claim with the insurance company as soon as we can get a copy of the death certificate. I’ll go online today and get the process started, or the funeral home can do that for you if you know who you want to handle things.” Jessica paused, waiting for a response from Laura.
“I called Father Martin from St. Theresa’s this morning already. He’s coming over this afternoon to meet with me and Bernadette to plan for Roger’s burial. I think he has a suggestion about who to handle the funeral. I’ll ask them about the death certificate. I presumed I had room on an equity line to keep my head above water and to pay for the funeral expenses. Who knows at this point? I’ll check with the bank before Father Martin gets here. If there’s no money I can call my parents and see if they can loan me some. How long will the insurance company take to pay out on his life insurance?” she asked, looking forlorn.
“Well under normal circumstances a company will send you a check anywhere from a week to a month following receipt of the claim and a death certificate. That’s why we should file a claim as soon as we can. These aren’t ordinary circumstances. On a double indemnity claim like this you probably won’t see a check until they’re convinced that you, as beneficiary, aren’t implicated in any way in Roger’s murder. It could be months, Laura.” Jessica’s throat felt dry and she took another swig of juice to wash away the raspy sound that had entered her voice.
“Oh my God, Jessica, even the good news sucks, doesn’t it? I’m going to be investigated and will have to wait for the police and whoever else is involved to decide whether or not I’m implicated in my husband’s murder. I guess I deserve this for being oblivious as a wife to how desperate Roger was as we were sinking deeper and deeper into a hole. I can’t blame God for hating me. Let’s not forget that I was committing adultery at the moment Roger was being murdered. How can you stand me Jessica? I’m an awful person! I was as rotten to Roger as Jim was to you!” Jessica put her glass down and reached out to put a hand on Laura’s shoulder.
“Laura that’s just not true. You’ve been under an incredible strain for months and months now. Your marriage was in trouble. It’s not surprising that you found it hard to come to grips with that, or that you took up with Eric in a moment of weakness. I’m not sure why bad things happen. I don’t think it has anything to do with God, if there is one, since I’m not too sure about that right now. We’re all just a bunch of imperfect people doing imperfect things. All we can do right now is pick ourselves up and trudge on. Maybe someday things will make more sense than they do right now.”
Some of what she said was cathartic, but Jessica sounded more emphatic than she felt about any of this ever making any sense. The cathartic part stemmed from how easy it was to understand and forgive her friend for betraying Roger. She conceived of a time when she might stop seething about Jim’s infidelity. Not yet, though. That state of grace lasted only a moment before she felt the heat rising in her cheeks again thinking about walking in on Jim and the blonde. At least Laura had the decency not to bring her boy toy home! She was trying to figure out what to say next when the sliders to the kitchen open.
“Come and get it, you two, ready or not, breakfast is served!” Her words were carried aloft on a wave of cool air from inside the house. It bore the sweet scent of French toast, a bouquet of vanilla and spices and maple. Truly the w
oman was a saint or an angel of some kind.
“Look Laura, we’ve done enough for now. I’m going to leave Roger’s laptop and files on the desk in my room. If you feel like taking a look while I’m gone, fine. Otherwise, the plan is that we’ll go through everything together this evening after dinner, or if you’re too exhausted, first thing tomorrow morning.”
“I’ll give it a try, Jessica. After breakfast I’m going to shower and dress. I’ll have a look then if I can resist the urge to crawl back into bed and sleep. The past couple days that’s all I’ve wanted to do is hide under the covers and pretend none of this has happened. Until this morning when my eyes popped open at the crack of dawn. Those first few minutes in the morning are the worst. I know I’ve said this already, but I’ll never be able to repay you for all you’re doing for me.”
“Laura there are compensations in this for me that I can’t easily share with you because of the state my own life is in. Please don’t worry about that for now. We’re paying it forward. Who knows who will need us when a load of crap gets dumped in their laps?”
“Come on, you two, that’s enough talk. It’s time to eat before the French toast gets cold. Or before Brien eats it. He’s already at the table. That boy is an eatin’ machine.” Jessica wondered how that had happened, but did not stop to ask.
Laura’s mood perked up considerably while they were eating. She even laughed a couple times at Bernadette’s efforts to engage in surfer speak with Brien. Brien was pleased to find himself the object of such good humor as he stuffed his face with more French toast than Jessica had ever seen one person eat.
“Gotta keep up my strength so I can fight off any evil dudes that come near this place,” he said. Jessica and Laura watched in awe as he reached for yet another piece of French toast. Not that Jessica could blame him. The French toast was ambrosial, as always.
The sugar buzz gave her a surge of energy to get back to work as she excused herself and left the table. Returning to her room, Jessica quickly made her bed, taking a moment to relish the beauty of the soft sheets and sumptuous bedding at her fingertips. She marveled at the good things her wealth brought, more aware than ever how pathetically feeble money was as a shield against sorrow and misfortune.