“Mary Ann, I said I met Toby. I didn’t say I brought him home.”
Mary Ann still looked around the condo anyhow. After she seemed convinced that Toby was not hiding anywhere, she asked Tim what he was drinking. Tim offered to make her a vodka tonic, but Mary Ann made one herself.
She seemed to relax somewhat and turned to look at Tim. “Does this mean that we’re breaking up?”
Mary Ann appeared to be truly concerned that this was Tim’s intention. “Why, because you have an ex-boyfriend?” he wondered. “Well, you may want to break up with me when I tell you that my wife is still alive.”
“Yeah, I knew that,” Mary Ann agreed casually.
“You knew that may wife Pam was still alive and did not bother to mention that to me?” Tim demanded, floored. “How long did you know?”
“I knew she was alive when we went on our first date.”
Tim felt like he was having an “I Love Lucy” moment, and he was Ricky Ricardo. Meanwhile, Mary Ann continued to sip her vodka tonic, appearing to be totally oblivious to his shock and anger.
Tim collected himself. He realized that he would get nowhere yelling at Mary Ann, so he decided to be nice.
“So, Mary Ann, when I was baring my soul to you about my wife, me not being sure that I loved her and all, you knew that she was alive?”
Mary Ann nodded.
“So, can you tell me why you did not mention that Pam was alive?”
“Because Sebastian told me not to tell you.”
At this point, Mary Ann started to cry. Tim was beginning to think that Mary Ann had to be the best actress of all time. He knew that she was lying to him now and had been lying to him during their entire relationship, yet she was managing to break his heart.
Tim sat down next to Mary Ann and placed his arm around her, kissing her on the cheek. “Why don’t you start at the beginning?” he suggested.
The beginning was this: Toby Wheeler and Mary Ann Layback were both licensed private detectives in the state of Nevada, primarily working in Las Vegas. Their bread and butter was chasing down bail jumpers, and apparently, they were very good at it. They also did background checking, which included something called “honey trapping.” Honey trapping was a method that determined the fidelity of prospective husbands. Essentially, this involved Mary Ann attempting to pick up the men while they were sitting at a bar while Toby would record the entire event on his iPhone. Often, they were hired to do this by a relative of the bride-to-be, and Mary Ann would always want to know how much they wanted the guy “caught,” since she was convinced, she could pick up any guy, be he young or old.
These kinds of jobs should have provided Toby and Mary Ann with a very good living, except for Toby’s gambling problem. Toby was convinced that there was not a game or table in Vegas that he could not beat. Toby thought he was a major player, whereas most dealers considered him a major sucker. Of course, no one except Mary Ann ever told Toby this.
Since Toby was always in debt to several bookies at a time, both Mary Ann and Toby supplemented their income in other ways. Mary Ann would bartend, and Toby would work security. Life just went on from one day to another for the two of them until the day Toby got a call from Big Doug Smith, Bail Bondsman.
Big Doug Smith was one of the bigger bail bond outfits in Las Vegas. Big Doug himself was no longer around, having died of a sudden coronary some years back, but his picture was the first thing you saw as you walked into the company’s office. Many said that Doug had a striking resemblance to Satan, or at least what they imagined Satan to look like. He’d sported a goatee that was pointed at the bottom plus both of his eyebrows were pointed—but it was Doug’s wide smile that completed the look of the Fallen Angel himself. Under Big Doug Smith’s picture was a gold-plated placard with the words “You Can Trust Big Doug” on it.
Big Doug Smith Bail Bondsman was now run by Doug’s daughter, Grace Smith. A small, attractive woman who was nothing whatsoever like her father, Grace was married to an accountant who worked at one of the casinos. She had two children, a boy and a girl. Grace was president of the women’s group at the First Methodist Church and otherwise lived a quiet life. However, she ran her late father’s business with an iron fist. She’d kept the Smith name for business purposes, and her husband also went by the name Smith, so no one knew what his real name was.
Grace stayed in an office behind the large plexiglass enclosure and rarely made an appearance out front. Three large men with shaved heads manned each of the three windows where the business of bailing men and women out of jail took place.
Grace used Toby and Mary Ann because Grace loved Mary Ann and wished that she could be more like her instead of the suburban mom she had become. Ironically and unbeknownst to Grace, Mary Ann wished she had Grace’s life.
Grace dialed Toby and Mary Ann’s number, hoping to get Mary Ann. She got Toby instead. “Hello, Toby,” she murmured, “Grace Smith here. Is Mary Ann around?”
“She’s bartending,” Toby answered. He was a man of very few words.
“Oh dear,” Grace said. “When will she be back?”
“Late, I guess.” Most business owners would know if they were speaking with one of their top customers, but Toby was one of a kind.
“Oh dear,” Grace said once again.
At this point, Grace knew that she had no choice but to summon Toby for a routine but important errand, but she decided to call Mary Ann just to be sure that she was aware that she was sending Toby out on a job.
“Toby,” Grace began, “I need you to come over to the store. I need you to run out to Barstow and bring back a client who decided to leave town without letting us know.”
“Got it, Mrs. S. Is there anything else?”
“Yes Toby. You will need to take fifty thousand dollars with you. That money goes to the Barstow Sheriff’s Office to cover the client’s bail for whatever crime he committed up there.”
It was important to Grace to get the bail jumper back to Las Vegas, even if it meant she would be shelling out fifty thousand dollars. She would be out one hundred thousand if he failed to return from California. The money would all even out in the end.
With Toby now on his way, Grace dialed the number to Mary Ann’s cell phone. It was important that Mary Ann be made aware of what was going on. Toby was good at one thing: being a tough guy. He’d never lost a bail jumper, and very few ever jumped bail again once they spent an afternoon with Toby—but in other matters, Toby was as dumb as a bag of rocks.
Mary Ann’s phone went to voicemail. Grace began to speak. “Hello, Mary Ann? Grace Smith here. I just wanted to let you know that I’ve hired you and Toby to bring back a client from Barstow, and I’ve given Toby fifty thousand dollars so the client can be released into his custody. I hope everything is good with you and do hope to see you soon. Bye-bye.”
“Oh dear,” Grace Smith said as she hung up the phone.
Mary Ann would have received Grace’s phone call if she had been allowed to use her cell phone behind the bar, but that was against casino rules. Personal cell phones could only be used during designated breaks. The casino wanted you to be attending to the customers, not speaking with your boyfriend. Boyfriends, Mary Ann thought to herself. Probably time for a new one. Because of Toby’s gambling losses, both Mary Ann and Toby were maxed out on their credit cards. They’d gotten cash advances to keep Toby’s bookies at bay. If not for the fifty thousand in credit card debt, Mary Ann would be, well, anywhere but the evening shift at casino bar #2, also known as the Cowboy Bar because of the Western motif. This included Mary Ann’s cowgirl uniform, which she was required to wear at all times while on the job. Well, at least she was behind the bar and not on the floor pushing drinks to drunk gamblers. Those girls had to wear short pants with their cowboy shirts and hats. Although the tips were better working on the floor, Mary Ann liked it fine where she was, plus there were men who she could flirt with at the bar. Out on the floor, you were not supposed to distract the customers from gambl
ing—at least not too much. Just smile and laugh at their dumb jokes, then move on to the next one.
Mary Ann was making a sweep from one end of the bar to the other to check if anyone needed a refill when she saw the well-dressed man with the light brown skin. He had been in the night before, and Mary Ann had had a very pleasant conversation with him then. He had a slight English accent that certainly made him sound sophisticated. He also paid his check using an Amex Black Card, which meant he was rich. Mary Ann also thought that the man had a very cool name: Sebastian Oak. Mary Ann had never met someone with a name like that.
As Mary Ann approached Sebastian, he gave her what she thought was a perfect smile and spoke before she could. “Well, good evening, Mary Ann. It’s so nice to see you once again.”
“Wow,” Mary Ann thought to herself. “What a gentleman.”
“Tonight, I think I will start with a Dewar on the rocks.”
“Now, Mr. Oak, I’m supposed to greet you first,” Mary Ann playfully said as she slid a beverage napkin in front of Sebastian. Whipping around, she grabbed the call brand scotch and gave Sebastian an extra half pour of liquor. She quickly garnished the drink and had it in front of him within 45 seconds.
Sebastian took a sip and said, “Yes, that’s exactly what I needed.”
“Have a hard day, Mr. Oak?” Mary Ann asked as she pretended to clean something below the bar top.
“Oh, just the usual stuff,” he replied. “I’m just waiting to see if someone accepts a deal, and then I can head back east.”
“Where are you from, Mr. Oak?” Mary Ann figured that she might as well start digging for information on Sebastian, since you never knew what you might learn.
“Originally, I am from London, but right now I live outside of Washington, D.C.”
London and Washington, D.C. sounded positively exotic to Mary Ann compared to Las Vegas. Mary Ann never could understand the attraction of this fucking town. To her, Las Vegas seemed to be nothing but drunks, drunks losing money, and loveless sex. Sure, there were people who lived here and liked living here, but she never thought the town was sophisticated like New York or D.C. As a matter of fact, she thought Vegas was pretty much a redneck town, and she wanted out of it. The maxed-out credit cards were all in Toby's name, and there was nothing holding her here. All Mary Ann needed was an offer to leave. She looked back at Sebastian and thought to herself that a girl could dream.
On any other night, Toby Wheeler would have taken the fifty thousand dollars from Big Doug Smith, driven up to Barstow, and picked up the bail jumper for return to the Clark County Detention Center. However, earlier that day, Toby had caught wind of a poker game. There were some would-be high rollers in town looking for a local game. One high roller had lost his shirt the night before and was looking to win his money back before he headed back east. This was the kind of game that Toby always missed out on, mostly because players needed to bring twenty-five grand to get in, and Toby couldn’t remember the last time he’d anything close to that kind of cash. Toby knew it was wrong and knew that Mary Ann would not approve even if he did win, but why the fuck did she even have to know? He could get in the game, double his money, get up to Barstow, and be back before anyone knew anything.
It was 10 p.m. before Mary Ann could take her first break of the night. She was a firm believer in the “no news is good news” view when it came to her boyfriend Toby, so her heart skipped two beats when she saw two messages from Grace Smith and one from Toby. Mary Ann listened to the first message from Grace, then the second.
“Mary Ann? Grace Smith here. Earlier today, I gave Toby a job which entailed driving to Barstow to take custody of the bail jumper we have up there? Well, I’ve talked to the sheriff, and he has not seen Toby as of yet or my fifty thousand dollars, so I’ve sent Larry and Barry out to look for him. Hope to see you soon. Bye-bye.”
Mary Ann could almost hear Grace say “Oh dear” at the other end of the phone call. The third message was from Toby.
“Babe, I’m out back.”
That was code that meant Toby was at their special meeting place, the place where they’d agreed to meet when it was time to skip town.
Mary Ann walked directly out of work and got in her car. There was no point in asking to leave early. She was able to grab her cash tips, at least. She drove fast and reached the rest area on Interstate 15. Toby’s red pickup was there with Toby in the front seat. Mary Ann jumped in.
“Toby, you asshole, what the fuck have you done now?”
“Shhhh,” came a sound from the rear. Mary Ann turned around to see Larry of the Larry and Barry twins holding a 9mm pistol to the back of Toby’s head. She then saw that Toby’s hands were cuffed to the steering wheel and a piece of duct tape covered his mouth. Sitting next to Larry was Grace Smith.
“Well, hello, Mary Ann. I was hoping that you would make it out here.” Grace seemed truly glad to see Mary Ann despite the circumstances.
“You know, there was a little voice inside of me that said, now, Grace, it’s not wise to let Toby have this kind of money without Mary Ann. And as usual, that little voice was right.”
“Look, Grace, we can work something out here, can’t we?”
“Oh dear,” Grace said. “I’m afraid things have already been worked out.” She sounded truly sorry.
Another car pulled into the rest area and parked next to Toby’s truck. Two men got out. Mary Ann could see that one of them was the other twin, Barry, but she didn’t recognize the second man.
Grace and Larry both got out of the truck and spoke with the mystery man. The man gave Grace a briefcase, which Grace opened. She then closed the case and walked back to the truck.
Grace opened the passenger side door. “Mary Ann? I am sure going to miss you, and I hope one day you’ll come back for a visit...but if you do, leave Toby at home.”
Grace smiled and walked back to her car. Larry opened the door for Grace, and she gave Mary Ann a little wave. Larry, Barry, and Grace then drove away.
The door of the truck opened once again. Mary Ann was truly surprised to see Sebastian Oak standing there. “Mr. Oak?” was all she could say.
“You may call me Sebastian. Mary Ann, you and your boyfriend will be working for me now, at least until you pay me back the one hundred thousand dollars you owe.”
Toby, who still had the tape across his mouth, seemed to disagree with the deal, judging from the sounds he was making—at least until Sebastian offered to bring back Larry and Barry.
For her part, Mary Ann had been more than happy to begin working for Sebastian Oak. “And that’s how we ended up here in Baltimore,” she finished. She was smiling now, having told Tim the whole story.
Tim had only bought about half of Mary Ann’s tale, but he totally believed that Sebastian had played both Toby and Mary Ann much more than they would ever comprehend.
He was tired, so he decided to get up and head to the bedroom.
Mary Ann was still seated in the big chair. “Are you coming?” he asked, turning back.
“I thought you would never ask,” Mary Ann replied as she followed Tim to the bedroom.
Chapter 13
Tim was dreaming that someone was working on the street in front of his house. Bang, bang, bang was the noise. Why could they not stop the banging?
As Tim opened his eyes, though, he realized that the noise he was hearing was not roadwork, but someone pounding on his front door.
Tim pulled himself out of bed and started towards the door. He glanced at Mary Ann, who was sleeping in the opposite direction with her head at the foot of the bed. How the hell did she get in that position? Tim wondered to himself.
When Tim was five feet from the door, he yelled, “Okay, okay, okay!” His head was pounding along with the pounding on the door.
Tim opened the door to see Sebastian and Toby. Not unexpected, but not welcome, either. Tim turned without a word and headed to the kitchen.
Sebastian followed Tim, and Toby followed Sebastian. Tim st
arted to make coffee. “Good morning, Tim,” Sebastian said.
“What can I do for you, Sebastian?” Tim asked without bothering to turn around.
“It’s actually what I believe that I can do for you, Tim,” the other man replied smoothly. “What would you say if I told you that I could help you get your memories back?”
“At this point, I’m not sure if I want them back,” Tim muttered in response.
“You were always the joker, sir,” Sebastian laughed.
Tim poured cups of coffee for himself and Mary Ann and headed back to the bedroom. Sebastian yelled after him, “Tim, get dressed! We need to take a ride. Your wife Pam is expecting us by 1 p.m.”
The mention of Pam and the prospect of actually seeing her created a strong feeling of anxiety in Tim’s stomach. God, did he want to see her again after all of these years?
Tim entered his bedroom to see that Mary Ann was already awake and dressed. He handed her a cup of coffee and kissed her good morning.
“Sebastian and your boyfriend are here, and they want to take me on a ride to see my wife.”
“Yes, I heard that,” Mary Ann replied. “I think you should go.”
Tim was a little surprised that his girlfriend thought that he should get reacquainted with his wife...but Mary Ann was not the usual girlfriend.
“Well, unless they just intend to kill me,” Tim deadpanned.
Mary Ann snorted. “Why do you think they would do something like that?” she asked as she began to brush her hair. Tim noticed for the first time that Mary Ann had bought a hairbrush to his condo along with other little personal items. Women had a tendency to start moving in after you sleep with them a few times, Tim thought to himself.
“Besides,” Mary Ann continued, “if they had intended to kill you, they would have done it yesterday.”
Tim figured that Mary Ann was right and started to think about what he should wear to the reunion. He settled on a pair of khakis, a white shirt, and a blue sports jacket. He next jumped into the shower and considered whether to shave or not. He decided not to, since he’d shaved the day before.
The Adults in the Room Page 7