by Doug Houser
“We’ve got our boys sitting here eagerly waiting to hear how Keisha’s appointment went with her doctor.”
“It was absolutely totally fantastic! She’s going to fully recover!”
“Oh, no. Popper will go berserk.”
At this point, Jamison pissed himself, again.
Billy continued, “You mean there’s no hope at all?”
“Oh, I get it. They’re sitting RIGHT there. Ok, when you guys are done with them, hurry back here so we can all celebrate. After what Marcus and Jasmine have told her, Keisha’s dying to meet you two. She still can’t believe that a group of total strangers would come down here to help her. She’s heard about Brit and you guys, but I don’t think she totally believes it yet. And you guys are going to just love her. She is really a special young lady. Hurry back, ok?”
“Wow, I’m really sorry to hear that.”
Jamison’s head slowly flopped to one side. It was apparent that he had fainted.
Hopkins and Davis left Jamison and Dwyer outside and went into the cabin. Hopkins said, “Let me have Dwyer’s cell phone, Jerome.”
Hopkins looked up Dwyer’s home number and dialed it. A woman answered. “Ms. Dwyer, please.”
“This is Mrs. Dwyer.”
“Ma’am, I work for a private detective agency. We were hired by a couple that fears that their son might be involved with illicit drugs. They asked us to follow him and see what he was up to. We tailed him to a rest stop out on the interstate. He proceeded into the men’s room. We waited a couple of minutes before going in. Ma’am, I don’t know exactly how to put this but when we entered, we found your husband with the boy we were following. Please don’t worry, ma’am, they weren’t involved in a drug deal. But ma’am, what we saw was rather disconcerting. Ma’am, your husband was giving the boy a blowjob. It turns out that the boy is eighteen, so I guess no crime was committed but we were wondering if your husband had ever been involved with younger boys.”
There was silence on the phone line. “Ma’am?”
“Yes, I’m here. I think there must be some mistake.”
“Well, ma’am, is your husband Odell Dwyer who lives on College Hill Road?”
“Yes, that’s him.”
“Well, ma’am, that’s the man we saw at the rest stop. Ma’am, if your husband has been involved with younger boys, we have a legal obligation to report it to the police. Do you know of any such activity?”
“No, I don’t”.
“Yes, ma’am, but you didn’t know about this incident either.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Well, I think you should have a talk with your husband. He most likely needs some form of treatment before this type of activity comes to the attention of the authorities. Goodbye, ma’am.”
Two days later, KC was in his office reviewing a client contract when Nellie knocked on the door.
“Nellie, come on in. Sit down. What’s up?”
“I’ve got a couple of issues I need to discuss with you.”
“Fire away.”
“The computer that you got for me to record performances is fantastic. But with the training schedule as it is I’m spending so much time recording that I don’t have the time I need for training. However, I didn’t bring you a problem without a suggested solution. The solution is easy. I need someone to do the recording so I can pay proper attention to the training.”
“Do you have anyone in mind?”
“No.”
“A partial solution then.”
“I suppose. But the problem is real and the way things are, you’re not getting the best use of my abilities.”
“Ok, point taken. I’ll speak with Top and Peeps to see what we can come up with. Next?”
“We only have one locker/shower room. I’m training more girls all the time. They are understandably reluctant to change and shower here. It makes sense that they don’t feel comfortable doing so.”
“Interestingly, earlier, I was wondering about that very same thing. I spoke with our architect and he’s going to come up with a revised layout so that we can have separate facilities. In the meantime, I have a suggestion. Come with me and I’ll show you what I have in mind.”
KC and Nellie walked up the stairway outside KC’s office. At the top was a door that opened into the end of a short hallway. KC pointed down the hallway and said, “That doorway and the one across from it lead to two spare master suites. Until the work on the new locker room and showers is completed, the girls can have the use of those two rooms. But that’s it. The rest of this place is my private space. They come up the stairs, change and shower and then leave. No one goes anywhere else. Ok?”
“Absolutely. This is fantastic. Thank you.”
Nellie got a dreamy look in her eyes and said, “How about me? May I see the rest of it? Your space?”
Before he had a chance to respond, KC’s cell phone rang. “KC here.”
“KC, it’s Cheryl. The guys are all done and we’re ready to leave but we’ve got a problem.”
“Oh, what is it?”
“Jasmine is scared to death that after we leave, Jamison will do something to the kids. KC, I can’t blame her for feeling that way. There’s really no way they can truly be protected once we’re gone. We know he’s scared shitless to do anything, but they don’t know that and still are worried.”
“Cheryl, Nellie is here with me and she just brought a problem to my attention. It has given me an idea. Ask Jasmine if she would be willing to move with Keisha and Marcus and relocate the family here. We’ll provide them jobs, schooling, and a place to live.”
“Ok, wow. I’ll ring you back in five after I talk with Jasmine.”
KC said to Nellie, “Could you train someone who’s totally new to the situation downstairs in how to monitor the weightlifting, running, etc. and record it for you?”
“Sure. The person would have to be diligent in watching for form cheaters, knowing what to look for. But anyone could learn that with a little instruction.”
“Maybe we can solve your problem. We’ll probably know in a few minutes if my idea will work.”
Cheryl called back just then and said, “Jasmine absolutely wants to move the kids away from here.”
“When can she leave?”
“I’ll check.” After a brief pause, Cheryl came back on the line and laughed, “Jasmine is ready to leave right now.”
“Excellent,” KC replied. “That was easier than I thought. Have Billy and Jerome rent two big SUVs and all six of you head back here.”
“Got it. Thanks a lot, KC. We’ll see you soon.”
KC turned to Nellie and said, “Well, we solved the problem down South and you’ve got a new helper on the way.” He paused and held Nellie’s gaze just a little too long. KC cleared his throat and said, “We’d better get back downstairs. There’s a lot of work to do.”
Chapter 32
KC lifted the phone and called Peeps. “Peeps, would you and Top come into my office, please?”
“Right now?”
“As soon as the two of you are free. So, yes, right now or as soon as you’re free.”
Five minutes later Peeps and Top were seated in front of KC’s desk. KC began, “Guys, I have a confession to make. I hope that what I did doesn’t disturb you too much. So, here goes. Nellie came to see me about an issue she was having with recording the staff’s performance and maintaining the training schedule she’s been given. After she explained the problem, I agreed that it was, indeed, a problem and told her that I would speak with you guys about possible solutions. Before I had a chance to do that, another problem arose. Cheryl called, telling me that the team was ready to head home but that Jasmine Williams was scared to death that without our protection, Jamison would do something bad to the kids. Again, I agreed that there was, indeed, a problem and thought of a sol
ution. That’s when I should have talked to you guys, but I didn’t. Right then, on the phone, I offered to bring the Williams family here and give Jasmine the job of assisting Nellie.”
Top said, “So, what’s the problem?”
Peeps said, “Yeah, that’s a great solution. What did you do wrong?”
“I didn’t talk with you guys about it first. I just did it on impulse.”
Peeps said, “Chief, your impulse was right. You don’t need us to tell you what the right thing to do is.”
Top said, “Peeps is right. Given the situation, we’d all three have had the same impulse.”
KC replied, “Even so, we don’t operate around here on the impulse of individuals. We’re a team and we make important decisions together. I feel that in doing this on my own, I violated that team commitment.”
Top responded, “KC, if you’re looking for someone to chew your ass out over this, it’s not going to be me. More importantly, though, did you speak with Nellie about this?”
“She was standing right there, telling me about her problem when Cheryl called. I asked her if my solution to the William’s problem would work for her and she said yes. Maybe she figured it was her best chance at finding a resolution and she took it. I don’t know.”
“Good. As far as I’m concerned, this issue is closed.”
“Same for me.”
“Not so fast, guys. I appreciate your understanding and support but this issue goes an awful lot deeper. As you know by now, I’m always thinking.”
“Oh, no.”
“Not again.”
“Remember when this started, we committed to prioritizing spending of any proceeds we might glean?”
Peeps said, “Sure, I remember that.”
“Well, maybe this is a good time to revisit that subject.”
“Ok, as I recall, you said, and everyone present agreed, first priority was Keisha’s and Marcus’ education, then take care of Jasmine. Then sock away funds for future operations and finally, if there was anything left, issue bonuses. Right?”
“Yep, that was it. Now, hiring Jasmine kind of took things out of sequence. But I don’t think that will be an issue given the kind donation that Lucas Jamison made to our cause. To bring you guys up to date on that, we punished Jamison to the tune of just over $4.6 million.”
Peeps and Top grinned and high-fived each other.
“Damn straight that’s a nice donation!” Top said.
“Billy located a little over $9 million in marketable assets so I don’t think the punishment was out of line, given the crime.” KC stated. “His driver, a guy named Dwyer, didn’t have any worthwhile assets so Jamison “volunteered” to pay his punishment, which Billy assessed at five hundred thousand. Billy informed Jamison that Dwyer owed him 500K, by the way. That should contribute to a lasting, deep friendship, I should think. So, our war chest now has assets of $5.1 million. I don’t imagine we’ll be this fortunate again, any time soon but that doesn’t mean, at least to me, that we should simply try to hoard these funds.”
Top said, “Knowing you, I’ll bet there are plenty of ideas for us to discuss.”
“More than even you might imagine. First, regarding Keisha’s education. Guys, I’ve been reading up on the local public school district. In a nutshell, the district here is not that strong. The thought that Maggie is depending on this district for her high school education drives me nuts. And then the thought of bringing Keisha into this seems, to me, absolutely intolerable.”
Peeps interjected, “What do you suggest we do, send them to private school?”
“No, I was thinking that we might explore investing in some real estate.”
“What does real estate investing have to do with the local high schools?”
“I was thinking of us buying a couple of houses just over the state line.”
“You were right, this is even more than I imagined, even coming from you. What the hell are we going to do with houses? Do you want to buy a hotel too? A railroad? Are you playing Monopoly?””
“Let me try to explain what I have in mind in a little more detail.” Top and Peeps both nodded their agreement for KC to continue. “Jasmine and her kids don’t know anyone who lives here or anything else about this area. Their only reason for moving here and their main concern, is getting away from Jamison and the racial prejudice down there. So any arrangements we make for them should not be a problem. They are simply grateful for any house and schooling that’s away from there. Maggie’s family is another issue. Maggie has almost completed her freshman year in high school and I imagine that she has friends at school and around her neighborhood. I don’t even know where her mother works. But my idea is to find two houses close together in Johnson County, buy them and rent one to the Williams family and one to the Warner family. My only concern is convincing the Warner family to move. They have been in their house a while no doubt and their fears are now in the past.”
“Yeah,” Top said. “I follow you. Keep talking.”
KC continued. “You are probably wondering why I want the two families living close to each other. Here’s my thinking on that. It seems to me that Keisha and Maggie would be really good for each other. Keisha is going to be going into a totally new situation. It would be really advantageous for her to have a friend going with her. If Maggie’s family would agree to move, the same would be true for her. Those two girls have a lot in common. They’ve both had rough times, both are excellent students and both of them are outstanding athletes. Plus, they’re the same age and in the same year in school.”
“Wow, you’ve just made a whole bunch of assumptions and, in my opinion, put the cart way out ahead of the horse,” Top stated.
Peeps added, “Top is right. The only thing we know for sure in this whole deal is that we have the money to buy two houses.”
“How do we know these two girls will even like each other, let alone want to be friends?” Top asked.
“We don’t know, but remember that I said these girls are both outstanding athletes? Who better then, to introduce them to each other than a superior female athlete?”
“Sarge?” Peeps replied.
“Yep. Maggie is already fired up about attending the ladies martial arts course this summer. And according to Cheryl, Keisha was totally into the brief introductory session that she gave to Keisha and Marcus. What better way could there be than to have Nellie get them together?”
“What about Maggie’s mom?”
“I had James Kirkland check and he found that Mrs. Warner rents the house they now live in. It’s not much of a house and the neighborhood isn’t that great. I’m sure she knows that the schools here aren’t as good as they should be. My thinking was that if we offered her a nice house in Johnson County, in a good school district, at the same rent she’s now paying, how could she turn it down?”
“What’s her current rent?”
“I’ll find out, but I was thinking of one more incentive for her. Well, actually for both ladies. What if we gave them lease/purchase deals where all of their monthly rent payments would be credited toward a down payment? The way I do the math, depending on the purchase price we have to pay, they would have a twenty percent down payment accumulated in five to seven years. Then we could give them a thirty-year loan on the eighty percent balance and they would become homeowners.”
“Well, that’s a great deal for them but what about us? Wouldn’t we be giving away several years’ worth of rent?”
“We wouldn’t be. Jamison would be, if you get my drift. Look, I know this is a sweet deal for those families. But what’s wrong with that? Don’t forget the sweet deal that originally put us in business here. All we would be doing is putting up the front money. We’d get it all back via rent payments and then mortgage payments when they purchase the houses. James’s property management company would handle all the details for us, fr
ee of charge. I sort of coerced that out of him, presupposing that you guys and Mrs. Warner would approve. Here’s another thing in our favor. Don’t you think these girls have a better chance of getting good college scholarships if they go to a good high school? That could save us money in a few years.”
“But we only committed to fund Keisha’s education.”
“Don’t you think we should make that same commitment for Maggie? I’ve been thinking a lot about that.”
Peeps said, “I hadn’t thought about that, but I agree. And if we’re going to be financially responsible for her education, then it behooves us to make sure she has the best opportunity to receive a good scholarship. Ok, you’ve sold me. Top?”
“I just had a vision of those two girls marching across the stage in caps and gowns, already admitted to colleges of their choice. I’ve just got to say yes.”
KC smiled. “Great. So we are all in agreement?”
Peeps and Top nodded in unison. “Yes, sir.”
“Very good. That’s settled. Now there’s just one more thing I think we should do.”
Chapter 33
Peeps said, “KC, it just never ends with you. What now?”
Laughing, KC responded, “I know, I just can’t seem to help it. Once I start something in my mind, it takes on a life of its own and somehow expands. But I swear, guys, this is the last part of what I’ve been thinking about on this subject. If we, and Nellie, can pull this off, these folks are going to be living somewhere down in Johnson County, with Jasmine working up here and at least Maggie doing an internship here and maybe both girls taking Nellie’s ladies only class. Like it or not, there is no public transportation that can get them back and forth. My suggestion is that we buy Jasmine a car and get another one for the girls to share. Maggie’s mom already has a vehicle.”
Top let out a low whistle. “You really do think of everything, don’t you?”
“You thinking new cars?” Peeps asked.
“Sure, why not? They don’t have to be fancy or flashy, just stable and dependable. New car, new home, new starts on life.”