As I was in the habit of doing lately, I opted for the diner. Why would I change my strategy now? It was becoming my command center of operations. True to his nature, he arrived right on time. “Hi Jack.” Two steaming mugs sat before me. “I’ve already ordered coffee for us.”
He grabbed cream for his coffee. “Great! How is everything going? Life treating you okay?”
“Yes and no,” I said, as I reached for some sugar.
He quickly looked up at me. “What do you mean? Nothing serious, I hope.”
“I’m confused and concerned over those three notes Ben received.”
He didn’t even bat an eyelash, as he looked down and stirred his coffee. It was obvious he already knew about them. I guess deep down I was hoping he hadn’t.
Jack shook his head. “I understand he’s pretty upset.”
“How did you know? Who told you?”
“Who else? Ben, of course! He came running over the minute you left, complaining someone was after him. Thank goodness he’s no relation of mine.”
I choked back a laugh. “Are you absolutely sure about that? I wouldn’t speak too quickly. You never know.”
He shuddered. “Samantha, that’s not even remotely funny. Don’t even go there. I’m sick at the mere suggestion of it.”
“You have to admit, that might just be a possibility.”
“Absolutely not! No way! I’d kill him first before word even got out.”
“You wouldn’t have to. One look at your face would send him running for the hills.”
“I sure hope so.”
“Seriously, though, Jack, getting back to those notes. What did you think about the warning to Ben? Deliberately mentioning Stephen’s accident was enough to send anyone over the edge, don’t you think?”
“I have to admit, it would unnerve me,” he said. “My biggest fear is that they even brought that scenario up. If their purpose was to intimidate, they pretty much achieved it.”
“Do you think it suggests Stephen’s crash was no accident at all?”
“I’m not so sure. Could be. Let’s hope that is not the case. The whole thing is certainly unsettling, if you ask me.”
I shifted uncomfortably. “There’s something more I should to tell you,” I said, wondering what kind of reaction he’d respond with.
He looked at me intently. “What’s that?”
“I’ve received three notes myself.”
As I expected, he became upset. “That’s not exactly what I needed to hear right now.”
“They came over a three week period, just a few months ago.”
“Why didn’t you say anything to me, to anyone? Why did you keep it such a secret?”
“In this town, it’s hard to know who is smooth-talking who. Anyone could have sent it.”
“That’s true. We do have our little conspiracies, don’t we?”
“I’m beginning to agree with that theory. Every time I think I’m making headway, someone comes along and changes my direction and I’m off and running again. I’m on overload and don’t seem to be getting anywhere.”
Jack then turned serious. “Have you been writing all this down, to keep track of all the facts you found out and any connections you might have made in the process?”
I paused, not sure how to answer that question. I hedged my bets. “Just some scattered notes here and there, nothing specifically written or typed.” I tapped my head. “It’s all in there.”
He laughed once more. “Good! I wouldn’t want someone coming along and stealing your laptop. I’m anxious enough about your safety. Please don’t add more to my list of worries.”
“You don’t have to be concerned so much about me. I’m just nosing around for more information on Stephen’s background,” I said, then casually sipped more coffee.
He looked at me, smirking. “Samantha, you are not fooling anyone with that ruse. The grapevine in this gossip ridden town is alive and well, operating twenty-four seven, I might add.”
“Not convincing enough, huh?” I asked, as I set my mug down in front of me.
“No, not at all.”
So maybe my laptop was safe from prying eyes, but Stephen’s laptop was still out there.
Who had it?
“Jack, did you know Stephen’s laptop was missing?”
He eyed me squarely. “To be honest? Yes. Apparently, we’re all searching for that pot of gold. I understand no one has latched their hands on to it long enough to operate it.”
You know, at this point, I wasn’t one bit surprised by his answer.
I smiled. “No, I agree. Unfortunately, they haven’t.”
He shook his head in disbelief. “I am surprised the trail on this thing has reached a dead-end. Could it possibly be that our infamous grapevine just flat lined on that one?”
“Not likely, but let me ask one more question before you leave.”
“Sure. What do you want to know?”
“If no one knows where that laptop is, where do I go from here? I need your help, Jack. You must have some idea who I should speak to.”
I could see Jack was visibly torn on how to respond. His loyalties, I was positive, resided in one camp: his. I was an entirely different matter and something else for him to think about, no blood relation and no big commitment. I was of speculative interest to him in attaining his own goal: to find his son’s identity. Other than that, I was merely a secondary consideration.
It was a shame. He would have made a great father. He had all the correct instincts and a fierce protective manner toward those close to him. Too bad Stephen never realized what he had right in front of him. He was so obsessed with the true identity of his father he didn’t realize he had a stand-in right smack in front of him, willing and able.
I guess sometimes, when you are too close to something, you don’t see its true worth. Here Stephen was so desperate for a father who loved him and Jack was searching for a son to love. Never once did it dawn on them to speak to each other about their feelings on the subject.
How can people be so limited in their own vision of what a real family ought to be like? What a pointless waste of energy. Both of them had exhausted so much time and money in their own single-minded pursuits. They only had to look in their own backyard to find what they were really looking for: someone who needed and loved them.
Jack smiled. “Why don’t you see whose been walking a fine line with their computer hacking skills? Personally speaking? I doubt Stephen acted alone. Why don’t you ask his partner-in-crime?”
Chapter 61
Hacking Away At The Truth
Writing works of fiction can be challenging enough, but this odd epic was proving to be the best mental exercise I’d had in ages. This odyssey had evolved into an odd marathon of complex and shifting viewpoints. It hadn’t allowed me time to consider my former mental lapses, blues, grief or any past regrets. Truth be told, I didn’t miss any of them. They had become these dead weights I had hauled around long enough.
Barely able to pause to type notes on my laptop late into the night, I found everyone’s outrageous statements and accusations that were tossed back and forth intriguing. Originally, it was my final commitment to Stephen that started me on this journey, but somewhere along the way, I became fascinated by this unconventional cast of characters, some of whom I had grown attached to over the last several months. One in particular, I needed to address, pronto.
Reluctantly, I entered my shop with the single-minded purpose of revealing the identity of a seventy-year-old hacker. Hey, if she googled, why not hack too? Obviously, she was multi-talented. Who taught her? If it wasn’t so serious, I might have found it humorous. Hacking, without a doubt, had no age limits. Now if she could hack into and improve the numbers on my book sales, I was going to give that woman a raise.
“Hi, Sam,” she greeted when I entered.
“Have a seat, Martha. We need to talk about your access qualifications.”
“My what?” she asked mystified, giv
ing me a strange look.
“To be perfectly blunt, I’m talking about your hacking expertise. Jack said your reputation is quite extensive.”
“Jack? I figured, he knew what I was up to. That man has eyes everywhere in this town,” she said, dropping into a chair.
“Martha, how could you put yourself in such a dangerous situation? Didn’t you realize the consequences of your illegal actions? Weren’t you afraid, that if caught, you might go to jail?”
“Sure,” she admitted. “But, here I was, seventy years old, and Stephen was in his late thirties. Who had more to lose? If they caught me, I could maybe plead ignorance, insanity, old age, or anything and then throw myself on the mercy of the court. Stephen? He wouldn’t have a chance. Believe me, I gave all the consequences serious consideration.”
I stared at this crazy woman, who probably loved Stephen very much to take such an incredible risk. How could I not love her for her unselfish behavior? “What were you thinking?” You know that was a very foolish thing you did, don’t you?”
“Don’t you think I didn’t know that? But it was my choice.”
“Why did you take that risk? There’s something I’m missing here. I just don’t get it.”
She sighed. “I did it because I so desperately wanted Stephen to be my son and was willing to personally risk everything to find out on a slim chance that maybe he was.”
“How could you possibly prove you were Stephen’s mother?” I asked, totally perplexed.
“Because, I pinned a small ribbon and a medal to the note. I was hoping the orphanage might have kept them with his records. It was a small gesture on my part that was different from Anna’s, but later on, it might link me more than Anna to Stephen in the future.”
I was speechless. I never realized what a difficult decision it must have been to give up a part of herself, walk away, and live the rest of her life never knowing. If she was this emotional now, how was she back then? “It must have been very heart-wrenching.”
“It was a decision I made that later on couldn’t be reversed. I realized it would always haunt me unless I took action to help Stephen. In comparison, what was hacking going to cost me?”
I didn’t have a good enough answer for her. What could I say? She sounded about as desperate as Jack was. Both of them were so caught up in their own obsessions. Was I any different? I didn’t think so. We all wished we could magically turn back the clock, making different decisions than the ones we chose. Whatever she had to tell me, I was more than anxious to hear it, good or bad. “Can I ask you what he found out?”
“He must have broken an access code to gain entry to specific files when I wasn’t around.”
“When and how did you find out about this?”
“Out of the blue, he arrived at my door, drunk and laughing, explaining he couldn’t believe the end result, waving some papers in the air, ‘his proof,’ he said. Then he stormed out. Next thing I heard he was found dead and his laptop had vanished. It was dreadful. I was heartbroken, and had no one to confide in.”
I sat there listening, but was still confused. “Why work for me when I was always running around and inquiring about Stephen? That must have been very difficult for you to stomach. Why would you subject yourself to that constant reminder of him?”
“If I stayed close to you and the course you were following, then I, too, might possibly find out who Stephen’s real mother was. No one would have suspected you. I, on the other hand, would have been too obvious. The gossips would have had a field day with that one. Every detail you uncovered got us both closer to the truth.”
I sat there realizing that by taking on this task way beyond what I would have thought possible, I was not in this for myself any longer, but for a lot of other people too. Would they ultimately be disappointed in me?
“Do you trust me enough to keep on working on this to see where it takes me, good or bad?” You might not like the results when its all over.”
She smiled, nodding. “Of course I trust you! Why, you’ll cut a path to the truth in no time.”
Chapter 62
If The Shoe Fits
I was dreaming of those shoes in that store window for three weeks and finally gave in to the urge to splurge. After working hard and slaving away at detecting and interviews, I figured I deserved a treat. I was goal-oriented. It was what kept me going; like the gold at the end of a rainbow, only this gold was going on my feet.
It didn’t matter that I only went out to dinner occasionally. A girl had to treat herself now and then to make it all worth it. It was pure indulgence as I tried on the barely-there heels and practically whimpered with guilt-ridden pleasure. Stephen would have considered them a worthless extravagance. I sighed as I turned around slowly.
The shoes fit me perfectly and were totally useless as a functional part of my everyday wardrobe in Highlands. In other words, they were just what the doctor ordered. I spun again in front of the mirror. Stephen would have complained how flashy they looked. I put one foot forward, posing like a model. Where was my resistance? My cast iron will?
“And I thought I was the only indulgent one in this town,” Barbara said, suddenly appearing beside me, laughing. “Go ahead, buy them. They look great on you.”
I glanced up, startled from my reverie of fantasy. “Oh! Hi. They are a little too excessive for here, don’t you think?”
“Of course they are,” she replied, smiling. “But that’s the very reason to get them. If you wear them only once, that experience alone will be worth it.”
I had to laugh at the ridiculous thoughts running through my head. I had tossed out every objection my rational mind had come up with. “I really shouldn’t…”
“Like a lot of things we shouldn’t do,” she countered, “we somehow do them anyway.”
“You know, you’re right on that one,” I agreed, realizing how true that was.
Barbara sat down opposite me. “After a while, you’ll regret why you waited so long to reward yourself a little happiness.”
As I sat, I looked down at the shoes. “You’re probably right. It’s not a practical thing to do, but I adore them.” At that point, I was pretty sure where our conversation was going.
“If you change your mind and come back, they might be gone and you’ll only have the memory of walking in them that one time,” she said softly.
I nodded, knowing we weren’t talking about the shoes any longer. “It must have been very painful to leave Jack. Why were you forced to walk away from something that seemed so right? I know the age difference was an issue and you were underage.”
“It was leave or he went to jail. I certainly didn’t want that to happen because I was pregnant with his child,” she whispered.
“Did I just hear what I thought I heard?” I asked, dumbfounded.
“You did,” she replied, her voice low.
“Barbara, you need to check what people are nipping in this town,” I gently chided.
She laughed, leaning in closer. “Personally speaking, Samantha, I think it’s the water.”
“Did your parents suspect anything about your condition back then?”
“No. Nor did Jack or he would have gone to jail for sure. I agreed to leave and was sent off to a private girl’s school. Sorry to say, I miscarried after three months. And because of internal complications from that incident, I found out later in life, I was never able to have another.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, did you ever tell Jack about it?”
“What was the purpose? He’s gone through enough over the years. Why burden him with more heartache? That’s why I’m so supportive of you and what you’re doing.”
I frowned. “It’s tougher than I thought it would be. No one is very cooperative and they are tight-lipped. I have to pry every little detail from them, one at a time. It’s so frustrating.”
“I know. We’ve been like this for years. It’s hard for some of these people to accept change. They’ve been harboring their lit
tle secrets for ages, while nursing their own emotional injuries. I figured it might take an outsider tied to us all to try and figure it out. Stephen’s death not only involved you, Sam, it affected all of us.”
“I can see that now. I just don’t know if there is much more to find out though. I’ve run high and dry. How could someone, who had everything to live for just go and give it all up? There were plenty of other people around him that loved him for who he was, but he only focused on what he couldn’t have. Nothing else seemed to matter. No one needs to have biological parents to make up a family. I didn’t and I did just fine.”
Barbara did a double take. “…What did you just say? …You were adopted?”
“Of course,” I responded. “That’s why Stephen and I bonded so well from the very beginning when we first met. It was an on-the-spot connection. I thought you knew.”
“No. I didn’t. Well, that accounts for why Stephen never spoke much about your background. Are your adoptive parents by any chance still alive?” she asked.
“No. They passed a while ago. Bad heart and cancer.”
“Did you ever try to pursue your biological parents like Stephen did?”
“No. I had absolutely no interest at all. They were the only parents I needed, and that alone was enough for me. I was happy to leave it at that. Stephen couldn’t.”
“I see. So, you found his obsession a little strange?”
“In the beginning, I did, but not now. Before long, I found myself caught up in Stephen’s obsession, but for a completely different reason.”
“And what reason was that?” she prompted.
“His death appeared so senseless and unnecessary. I thought that by coming here, I could understand why he died the way he did and make some sense of his final months. It was something I wanted for him, before I moved on with my own life.”
“That’s all well and noble, but what about now, Sam? What do you want out of life? Surely, there must be something out there for you?” She was pushing me to face some hard truths about my future plans.
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