The Squeeze

by Paul Schueller

  Mostly he talked to locals. Everyone seemed to know Jenny, Pat, or Tommy’s parents. Most of the older ones wanted to know how his mom was doing. Tommy wanted to find out as much as he could about his hometown. He went to bed feeling good about how he had spent his day, but sleep didn’t come easily again as thoughts of George, John, RD and Mark cycled through his head. He eventually drifted off to a restless sleep where he could no longer distinguish a dream from a thought.

  Morning brought a spectacular day which Tommy greeted with a stop at the library and a moped ride to Jenny’s. He parked on her front walk, rang the doorbell and attempted to mat down his windblown hair.

  Jenny opened the door and immediately noticed both the scooter and Tommy’s unkempt hair and laughed. “That thing yours?” she snickered.

  “Yep. Haven’t owned a car in years. Thought maybe I needed to start small and work my way up,” Tommy said.

  “And you expect me to ride on that? We’ll look silly. Plus, it’s only built for one,” Jenny said.

  “Come on. It’ll be fun. The cops in town must have something to do more important than bother us,” Tommy said.

  “Don’t count on it.”

  “Probably true, but let’s try it anyway,” Tommy suggested.

  “Is this just a ploy to get close to me?” Jenny asked sheepishly.

  “No,” Tommy said. “That’s just an added benefit.” They hopped on with Jenny questioning the integrity of the book rack on the back seat since it was holding up half her body weight. They took off with the overworked moped topping out at a whopping twenty miles per hour.

  Jenny didn’t ask where they were headed and wasn’t disappointed with a picnic table on the bluff overlooking the lake, town, and harbor. Tommy didn’t know it, but this was one of her favorite places. He flipped open the seat to put his glasses in the storage compartment when Jenny noticed the book. The Catcher in the Rye, she said. “Why that book?”

  “It’s the only book I remember reading in high school. Thought maybe I should give it another read. Just trying to reconnect, I guess.”

  “Oh, really?” Jenny said.

  “Yeah. I spent yesterday talking to people around town. I’m still trying to better understand this place.”

  “If you have to ask to know, maybe it’s not right for you. Besides, are you seriously considering moving back here?”

  “Why not? I don’t assume you’re leaving.”

  “Are you saying you would move back here for me?” Jenny asked.

  Tommy grabbed both her hands, forced her to look him in the eye and simply said, “Yes.”

  Jenny pulled her hands away and said “You can’t . . . not for me. You need to want to be here. Ahhh! That’s way too much pressure. What if you and I don’t work out?”

  “Then, I’ll move away. It’s your town.”

  Jenny only needed a second to respond, having played out in her mind all of the possible scenarios of what Tommy would do next and her responses ahead of time. “Well, okay, then, I guess.”

  Tommy was caught off guard. “Okay, what?”

  “Okay, you can move back here, and if it doesn’t work out, you have to leave!” she said with a sly smile.

  “That works for me.”

  “Three conditions. You get a job, a normal one, not breaking any laws.”

  “Okay, I need to do that anyway.”

  “Second, we need to stop whatever this relationship is, including sleeping together, for at least a few months,” Jenny said.

  Tommy reacted immediately. “Number two, I don’t like!”

  “You’ll have to deal with it. I need time to figure this out, and you need time to decide what you are doing with yourself. I need to know you are staying because you want to be here,” Jenny reasoned.

  “Appears I have no choice. And what’s number three?” Tommy asked.

  “You can’t just drop by my house. My dad is very sick, as you know, and he still hates you, as you may have guessed.”

  “I knew he didn’t care for me, but didn’t know it was that bad.”

  “Hate might be a bit strong now, but evidently a father doesn’t forget when someone hurts his daughter.”

  “Even after nearly twenty years?”

  “At least for my dad,” Jenny said. “So, can you live with it?” Tommy reluctantly nodded in agreement. Jenny continued. “Let’s go out and celebrate. Pat gets home tonight, and Mary is planning a welcome back party.”

  52

  After spending the afternoon on his moped and walking around town, Tommy dropped Jenny back off at home and headed to the hotel to shower and change for the party. He got ready early and headed over to see if he could help with last-minute preparations. That was his excuse, at least, as he really wanted to talk to Pat before all the drinking, hugs, and back-slapping started.

  Tommy knocked on the back screen door, and Pat saw him from across the room and yelled, “Tommyyy!” in a drawn out, low, frat boy kind of greeting. As soon as Tommy turned after closing the screen door, he was met with a bear hug that lifted him six inches off the floor.

  Tommy squirmed out of his grip, “Okay, okay already!”

  “Come on, what we did is pretty damn big,” Pat said.

  “What you did,” Tommy reminded him.

  “Come on. This wouldn't have happened without you letting go and moving on with your life, otherwise we'd still be battling with Mark. I'll make sure Jenny knows,” Pat said. “And apparently you’re no longer the number one suspect for anything in Chicago, which is great.”

  “So, you heard that from Mark?” Tommy asked.

  “Yep, and Doug. He wanted me to pass along that he’s retiring before they can fire him and try to take his pension. Thought maybe he would head to the suburbs to be closer to his kids and grandchildren. Before he retired, he convinced the CPD and feds to dedicate some resources to a small task force to investigate what happened to George and John. Looks like John’s death was no accident, either, and they are investigating both Mark and RD Partners, but no one is completely convinced that charges will ever stick.”

  Tommy thought to himself that he needed to let Jenny know tonight that John was murdered. As bizarre as it sounded, it might ease her mind.

  “So, did they figure out who RD Partners is?” Tommy asked.

  “Yeah, I guess that Kyle tracked it down, but they sure weren’t telling me. This kid is quite the wiz as it turns out. Got himself a promotion to a cyber security unit and is still going to help with the murder investigation,” Pat said.

  “Then why am I off the hook for both deaths, and why are both of us okay on the market related charges?” Tommy asked.

  “Well, they had already figured that you didn’t kill George, and it turns out that we were both under surveillance twenty-four seven when John died, which is a pretty good alibi,” Pat said.

  “Wow. Good to be watched, I guess, but doesn’t that worry you about the market charges? If Kyle is as good as he seems, don’t you think that he could make some charges stick to us?” Tommy asked.

  “It would worry me except for all of the conversations with Mark and Kyle. I spent a fair amount of quality time with them over the last two days wrapping up all of the market positions the business had and closing things down. Mark said it wasn’t that much different than the last time he had to clean up your mess two or three years ago when they had to sort through all the good and bad credits. This time around, McKinstry must have had at least fifteen people working on this full time for as many of the last forty-eight hours as they could stay awake.

  Wire transfers just kept coming into my accounts, and I just kept signing whatever they put in front of me. It was crazy.”

  “You sure? No chance this blows up? None?” asked Tommy.

  “There were ten CFTC auditors and carbon market oversight people on this the whole time, too. So yes, I’m feeling pretty good. The whole thing was something to watch with Mark and Kyle working together, managing the two staffs. It was pretty
complicated since many of John’s positions were still open when he died, but they made sure the market was buttoned up tight,” Pat said.

  “Good. It makes sense. Look at all the money that was at stake. This market could go on for decades and be worth billions upon billions of dollars. Now that it’s cleaned up, again, and stabilizing, no need for them to drag it through the mud anymore. Just like the first time with John and me, and the next time. Whether it’s this market or a different one or a bank or whatever, greed prevails.”

  “That is pretty cynical, even for a guy like you.” Pat hoped that Tommy wasn’t completely jaded by all of this.

  “Maybe, but it was also predictable. You were on the right side of a big squeeze bet because there were too many people out there who wouldn’t let this market fail. This was a lot more than just Mark and McKinstry. Sometimes things are too big to fail, other times too important, and still others just too damn lucrative,” Tommy said.

  “Guess that’s true. No other way to explain watching Kyle and Mark work together. They were working their asses off to get this cleaned up, and come next week, Kyle is going to be at work helping investigate Mark and others for murder,” Pat said.

  “Let them have at it, since things worked out for us.”

  “There’s only one way left that I see this going to shit and that’s if you can’t keep your nose out of it,” Pat said.

  “No reason for me to go looking to do that,” Tommy rationalized.

  “Really? What if someday you find out who RD is? Do you think you can just let it go? Letting go isn’t your strong suit.”

  “I learned my lesson. Whoever RD is, it’s not someone I want to mess with.”

  “Well, remember this conversation because I have a hundred million dollars, and neither of us is going to prison, and if you don’t let it go you’ll never have a chance with Jenny,” Pat warned.

  “I get it, and I’m so happy for you and your family. Have you stopped to think about what you have? You have everything—a wife and kids you love, a place where you are happy, and all the money generations of your family could ever need,” Tommy said.

  “I know. It’s insane. This is all so surreal. Do you have any advice?” Pat asked.

  “Yeah, don’t fuck it up!” Tommy cracked Pat on the back, and then hugged him. He was genuinely happy for his lifelong friend.

  “Exactly! That’s all I can think about doing. I mean, not doing,” Pat said. “I know that this won’t help, but not fucking up includes avoiding screwing up your kids and their kids, too, for that matter. Lots of responsibility there, man.”

  “Right. And the responsibility to do something decent with this opportunity,” Pat said.

  “Hey, it’s a bitch being rich.”

  “Plus, the guilt too . . .” Pat said.

  “About me? Hell, take that off the list. I got what I deserved. Or is it about John? You didn’t force him to come after you.”

  “But we did bait him into it,” Pat said.

  “That was on me, so let me lose sleep over that. Besides, whatever led to his murder wasn’t our business. You should focus on the fact that all you did was help a friend, and it worked out well. You deserve it. You hung in there.”

  “Well, no one deserves this, but I’ll take it,” Pat said.

  “Trust me, you deserve it if anyone does. Take good care of your family and Jenny.”

  “Aren’t you going to be around to do that for Jenny?” asked Pat.

  “I hope to be. Hell, if I end up being with Jenny out of this mess it will all be worth it.” Tommy said.

  “Will that really be enough for you? Pat asked.

  “More than enough, my friend, way more than enough,” Tommy sighed and glanced beyond Pat. His life was out there, waiting for him. All he had to do was find it, and hope that it accepted him.

  “Maybe you will get even more than you know. You know—me and Mary, the kids, this town, you know,” Pat said.

  “Is that really what you meant by ‘even more?’ I don’t get it.”

  Pat panicked, knowing that Jenny would never forgive him for letting her secret slip. “Oh, that was a bit of an inside joke . . . with myself,” Pat said and stared back at Tommy.

  It wasn’t close to the strangest thing Pat had ever said, so Tommy continued on, “Looks like I’ll be around town for a while to find out.

  Jenny has me on probation, so I’ll be settling down here, looking for a job,” Tommy said.

  “Great. How are you going about that?” Pat asked.

  “I started with one of these software programs that are supposed to help me identify and nurture my strengths, and then find a job that fits.”

  “So, what did you learn?”

  “Unfortunately, that I have no discernable job strengths,” Tommy laughed a little. If he couldn’t make fun of himself a little bit, he was definitely wound up too tight.

  “Ouch, that is unfortunate.”

  “Yeah, evidently maniacal obsessions and a penchant for trying to control and manipulate people and situations aren’t considered job strengths.”

  “How do you feel about being a delivery driver and warehouse manager? My old job is still open,” Pat offered.

  “Thanks, but I’m thinking that I could sell something. Anything.”

  “But you don’t even like people. Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Pat asked.

  “For a while I could do it. We’ll see. I’ve messed up so big and so badly that all I really want is a chance to make things right and to do better. That’s all I need right now,” Tommy said.

  Pat listened and started to think about what the money and his new life meant to him, and how he and Tommy, in a way, had traded places.

  Giving it even more thought would have to wait as guests started to arrive, so they headed back inside.

  As they mingled, the volume rose as one conversation escalated over the other. Pat was at the back of the family room when he saw Jenny enter the front door and survey the situation. When they caught each other’s eye, Pat signaled her to go back outside, and they met up in the backyard.

  “Well,” Jenny said. “Welcome home. That was quite the ride from what Tommy told me. How does it feel to be the richest guy in town?”

  “Not as good as I expected. I get all this money and you and Tommy get nothing,” Pat said.

  “We get each other if he wants.”

  “Yeah, what’s this probation thing about? He’d stay if you just told him that you have a kid together,” Pat stated.

  “Hold on.” Jenny got fairly close to Pat and glared at him. “I have a son who I raised. Tommy doesn’t.”

  “Don’t you think he deserves to know?”

  “Oh, really? Why? Because we had sex one night?” Jenny’s face darkened slightly as she spoke.

  “Well, don’t you think your son deserves to know who his father is?”

  Pat said, knowing that the few times they talked about this over the years he made inroads with this logic.

  “He knows that his father is an old friend from college, and he knows someday, he’ll get to meet him. That’s been enough so far,” Jenny said.

  “Are you really willing to replay this again, just like after college?” Pat asked.

  “Yes. Just like last time, he needs to decide he’s staying for me, not because he thinks he has to stay. If he stays for me, he gets to be with his son now. If he doesn’t, he’ll get to meet him soon enough, when the timing is right,” Jenny said.

  “How long will you wait if Tommy leaves again?” Pat asked.

  “Until my son is ready. Probably not long at all, but that will also be the day that it will finally be too late for me and Tommy,” Jenny said.

  “Too proud to ever give in?!” Pat said.

  “Maybe, or maybe too naïve for wanting this to happen the right way . . . I am begging you, Pat, you can’t tell Tommy.”

  “I haven’t told him yet, although I almost slipped when Tommy and I were talking before the party,�
� Pat said, “I’m not great at secrets or lying.”

  “Thank you. Just see if you can avoid the subject for a month or two, please. I suppose we should head into the party. You are the guest of honor,” Jenny said.

  As far as the crowd inside knew, Pat had made enough money to take a little time off and decide what he wanted to do next, and that he had done it to help an old friend. That’s the way it needed to stay in a small town.

  After about two hours and a few beers each, Jenny and Tommy finally ran into each other, literally, as they simultaneously turned away from separate conversations. “Hey, you want to get some fresh air?” Tommy asked. “This group is going to be going at it for a while yet.”

  “Sure,” Jenny said, and the two walked out and sat at the picnic table where Pat and Jenny had talked earlier in the night.

  Tommy started. “I was thinking about our conversation this afternoon. Why do we have to wait? Why should we waste more time not being together?”

  “Let me ask you a question. Did you get what you wanted out of this whole crazy mess?” Jenny asked.

  “Of course not. I never wanted to see John dead. I have to admit it, those few hours before the crash, when I knew he could lose everything, it didn’t help. I finally realized all this time I was mad at him I should have been mad at me. Regardless of whatever he did, or George, or whoever, I fucked up,” Tommy said.

  “So, am I the consolation prize in all this?” Jenny asked.

  “No, that’s not what I said.”

  “Can you see why this can’t happen now?” Jenny said, her shoulders slumping under the burden of her own words. As she stood up and grabbed Tommy’s hands, pulling him up so they would be face to face.

  She locked her fingers behind his neck and pulled him close, their foreheads touching, and then they kissed. The intensity of the kiss startled both of them. Jenny broke it off and moved her hands down until both palms pressed against his chest. She pushed slightly to create enough separation to regain control of her emotions and looked Tommy in the eye.