Henry

by Cilika Kunovic

  Barb and Sam checked in on him that night, while Dominic and Nicole were visiting. Henry’s housekeeper, Mavis, was a lovely, middle-aged lady, friendly, obliging, and efficient. She knew when to offer her help and also when not to interfere. She’d had plenty of experience in dealing with situations such as this one.

  Sam was by now completely back to normal and happy to be back in full swing. Even taking longer trips didn’t bother him as long as he was free to do so. Were it not for Olivia, the Prestons could say they had a perfect family life.

  Speaking of Olivia, Mark had been hinting that maybe it wasn’t such a good idea for them to rush into marriage. “We are very young and there is no rush in getting married just now. I am thinking of taking a few extra courses. It never hurts to know more.”

  At which, Olivia freaked out.“Why don’t you admit that you hate me as well as everybody else? What have those Lamberts done for you? Furthermore, he deserves what he is getting, and there is no reason why I should be the one to suffer instead of him.”

  “WHAT? Olivia, what are you talking about?” Now Olivia became really scared. “Whom are you talking about? Who deserves WHAT?”

  “Mark, please! You don’t understand and you never will. I am no longer that same fat little girl and I deserve happiness as much as anybody else. I am trying to put my past behind me, and you should be helping me get there if you love me —”

  But before she could continue, Mark stopped her. “Olivia, if I were ever to marry you, it would have to be without secrets on your part. I will not marry your secret past. Everything and anything has to be up front between us. You would be wise to have a heart-to-heart talk with your parents, about all that is haunting you and keeping you from living a normal life. You owe it to yourself.”

  Olivia was hysterical, and Mark left shortly after. He was more disturbed than he let on.

  Barb picked up on some bad vibes that were making her daughter very miserable. “What is it, Livy?” she asked her calmly. “What is disturbing you this time?”

  “I am not disturbed — and even if I were, there is nothing to talk about,” Olivia snapped, knowing well that it was the wrong thing to say. She was determined not to discuss anything with anybody.

  Sam was watching the news when he saw that there was a sudden shuffle regarding the news. The girl who was a regular reporter at that particular time of day was suddenly replaced with another, unknown, reporter, regarding the update on a fugitive who had been apprehended. Nicole, who was there as well, called her mother to come and watch the news.

  “What is so important?” Barb shouted from the kitchen. In the meantime, the reporter said that further details would have to be withheld for the time being. The police would be following up on it.

  Just as this finished, Inspector Cooper was on the line to Henry.

  “Mr. Dobbs, this is Inspector Cooper. How are you doing these days?” He was trying to sound casual, but he was aware how badly Henry had been hurt. Needless to say, Henry was an instant mess. He was shaking all over but trying not to let the inspector know it.

  “Have you got any news for me, Inspector Cooper?” He could barely bring himself to say it.

  “I am not sure. Do you think you could come here to my office tomorrow morning? I would like to go over some photos with you. Are you driving these days?”

  “I haven’t been driving so far, but I know that I can make it there, with assistance. What time do you want me there?”

  “Ten o’clock would be fine — if you can make it.”

  “Yes, I shall see you then.” Henry could hardly breathe, much less dial the phone in order to call Sam. He was lucky to have Mavis, who saw him struggling in his favourite chair. She knew what would sooth his anxiety and bring him back to a normal state. She also brought him his phone whenever she heard it ring.

  Sam wanted to know how Henry was doing but didn’t dare ask.

  Henry tried to sound casual. “I just received a call from Inspector Cooper. He wants me to come down to the station in the morning, and I was wondering if you could give me a lift?” He barely finished those words.

  “Sure, Henry, no problem. What time do you have to be there?” Sounding calm, Sam went along with whatever Henry said so as not to alarm him. “Are you up for it?” he hesitated to ask.

  “I will be in the morning. Did anybody call you?”

  “No Henry, nobody called here. I will see you in the morning.” He was desperate to ask questions but decided against it for Henry’s sake. Everybody was trying to spare him lately. Sam tried to hear more on TV that night but there was nothing.

  The next morning, when Sam showed up at Henry’s place, he was sure that there was something positive going on regarding Henry’s situation. Did it include him or not, was another question he wished to ask. The two of them exchanged glances but neither of them said much. Sam dropped Henry off at the station. “Give me a call when you finish with the inspector. Okay?”

  “I’ll call as soon as I finish here. I hope they have something solid to discuss with me. I think I would feel better and heal faster if this mystery would just unfold in one way or another.”

  “I believe you,” Sam was quick to say. “Just don’t let them upset you for nothing. You made it this far — let’s keep it that way.” With that, he drove off and went to work. He couldn’t wait to tell the others about it. They were all hoping for some results that could get the case moving forward.

  Henry looked at a lot of pictures but was unable to identify anybody as his assailant. Then the inspector pointed to one in particular, but again, Henry was unable to recognize the person. After all, Henry had never seen his assailant face-to-face; he’d had only a side-glance at the person who was yelling some choice words just seconds before he was hit by the car. He always felt he would sooner identify the voice of the person yelling at him. Inspector Cooper was being evasive about what they were trying to find out by showing him the photos. Henry could sense that the person in question was not in custody for the first time.

  “Inspector Cooper, do you happen to have this particular person in custody?” He indicated the one that the inspector was pointing to. “If so, would it be possible for me to hear this person’s voice?”

  “I will discuss the case with my colleagues and let you know what we decide.”

  “Very well, then. Are we done?” Henry was shaking and was afraid to show too much stress in front of Inspector Cooper. He wanted to avoid being told he wasn’t ready to deal with the courts. “I shall await your call, then.” Let’s hope it comes soon. Time was passing him by; it was now or never. He could feel that there was progress in the case but what was it?

  He stopped at the front desk and called Sam to come pick him up, as agreed.

  “How are you doing, Henry?” Sam could see that he looked drained. “Where are we heading to? Do you want to go home, or to work? You haven’t been there, yet.” Sam teased him, knowing well how exhausted his buddy was. “Why don’t I drop you off at home, and tonight we will come to see you, if you don’t mind?”

  That evening was one of the harder ones for Henry. He was trying to explain how he felt “I am constantly hitting my head against a wall. I was asked to look at a bunch of photos in order to try and identify my assailant — but how can I? I never quite saw him. I do, however, remember a voice — that I shall never forget.”

  Sam asked, gently, “Did you tell them how you feel?”

  “Yes, I did. They tell me they will consider it.” He felt tired and only wanted to get a good night’s sleep.

  The next morning, Sam took him to the office for a little while. The partners were having regular meetings, and this was one of them. The rest felt that Henry should be present, after such a long break. After the meeting, Bill offered to give Henry a ride home, since it was on his way home.

  In the meantime, Dominic waited for Henry to return home. He was wondering where Henry had ventured to. “Hi, Henry — I was afraid that you took a chance and drove
on your own. I am glad to see you in good hands. Hello, Mr. Randall.”

  “Hi, Dominic, it is good to see you. I hear you are on your last leg toward your career. I am sure that it hasn’t been easy. Congratulations.” Bill shook the young man’s hand sincerely.

  “Thank you, Mr. Randall.” For the first time, Dominic felt humbled about his achievements and happy that a man like Bill cared to congratulate him. “I hope I won’t let everybody down.”

  “So, young man, what brings you here today?” Henry asked.

  “Oh, I just wanted to know how your day went. Nicole told me you had to go to the station this morning. I hope they didn’t upset you too much?” He meant it. “You are progressing well — let’s not spoil that.” Nicole had heard her parents discuss the call from Inspector Cooper.

  “I have to admit I am frustrated about not being able to recognize my assailant — or assailants.”

  He told Dominic all about his day’s events. “They have somebody in custody but I didn’t recognize him.”

  “What did he look like?” But Henry wasn’t interested in appearances. He wanted to hear his voice. And after telling him that they might let him listen to this person, Dominic asked whether he would be allowed to go with him down to the station. “Maybe you could listen and I could watch?”

  Unfortunately, their request was denied.

  Timing was really bad, as the end of the school year was approaching. This was Dominic’s and Nicole’s last year. They had to be on top of their studies, or else . . . The good thing was Henry’s reasonably speedy recovery. He was determined to be well by the time of their graduations.

  “Dominic, I want you to concentrate on your studies. I promise you I will be all right as long as you make it. You owe it to Sasha as well as to yourself to pull through.”

  “Don’t you worry about me — I told you I won’t let you down.”

  It had been a while since Henry had his will updated. He made sure those two young people would be well rewarded for their suffering caused by others. There was plenty of wealth to go around, and he felt comfortable with his decision.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Olivia had been unable to concentrate at work or refrain from having a cry here and there. Barb was getting very concerned about her daughter and didn’t know how to approach the situation after that outburst from Olivia the other day.

  “How does one deal with a daughter who is selfish, unreasonable, stubborn, and just plain weird?”

  “What did you say, Mom?”

  “Oh, forgive me — I was not aware that I was thinking out loud. Did you happen to hear what I just said?” Barb was half happy, half worried that Olivia might have heard what she had just said.

  “No, I am afraid not. Was it important?”

  “Yes! As a matter of fact, it was. I would like to have a chat with you in the other office right now.”

  Now it was Olivia’s turn to be concerned. “What is it, Mom? Have I done something wrong? I know I am a bit distracted these days but I am careful about my work. What did I do wrong?”

  “Well, for starters, you can’t work efficiently while you are so badly distracted that you need to worry about the accuracy of your work. Secondly, your temper is getting the best of you lately. You have been rude to all of us on one or more occasions, and it is time to come out with what is bothering you — or who is bothering you. Olivia, I am giving you this chance to redeem yourself once and for all, or your father and I will have to take a different approach.” And before her daughter could answer, Barb decided to go all the way. “You have until tonight, after supper; you can either have a talk with all of us, or only your father and me. You may leave right now and prepare yourself for it. Tonight I want to hear you have a good cry, apologize to all of us, including Mark, and let us know what is bothering you once and for all, or we will have you evaluated by a psychiatrist. This nonsense of yours must stop immediately.”

  “Mom, I don’t have to leave now. I can handle my work.” She was in tears by now.

  The evening came and it was way after supper when Olivia came home with Mark in tow. She had left work at the usual time and gone to see Mark about her mother’s ultimatum. She also promised to tell the truth about everything that had been weighing on her for the longest time. Mark agreed to come with her. There was only one problem: Dominic was there as well, visiting Nicole. But Olivia thought that her parents had invited him to join in on the discussion.

  “Why is Dominic here tonight?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Am I interrupting something? I was just leaving.” At that point, Nicole had not been informed of the evening’s events. So it was awkward, to say the least. She told Dominic not to take anything personally. After all, Olivia never warned anyone when she was going to be rude. He kissed Nicole and immediately left.

  Once they were all together and suppertime was over, Sam carefully approached his daughter to do her best to explain her behaviour over the past half of her life . . .

  Trevor, who never liked confrontations, excused himself and asked if he could leave. He was not interested in what his weird sister had to say.

  “Trevor, you will have to face things head on in your life many times, so you might as well start right now. Whatever it is, we, as a family, shall overcome it. Olivia, you may proceed.”

  To begin with, she told them, it was Dominic’s father who had threatened her about staying away from his son; how he deserved better. Everyone knew that she had nothing to do with Dominic. She mentioned how she remembered him promising to get his revenge.

  “What kind of revenge are you talking about?” Sam asked.

  “Well . . . you know he doesn’t like Henry.”

  Mark made a sudden move of irritation. “Olivia, what about you saying that you disliked Henry and how he deserved it? What was it that he deserved? You promised to get it all out, so get on with it.”

  Barb was ready to scream. She was right whenever she compared her daughter to Susanne; both of them were weird and both disliked Henry. There must be something wrong, here, somewhere. Three people so closely connected to them disliked Henry, while the rest of them adored him — not to mention a whole lot of other people in the area, who had always been so supportive of Henry. What was the mystery? What connected the three of them?

  “Olivia! Either you tell us the truth like it is, or we will bring Susanne over to help you. There is something, some connection, here, between you, Susanne, and Larry Lambert. We know that all three of you are weird, but just how did you fall under Larry’s spell? Has he threatened you in any other way concerning Henry, or hurt you?” Barb could feel the perspiration running down her forehead.

  “It was him!” Olivia suddenly snapped.

  “What was him? Olivia! Get it out, will you? Once and for all, tell us what is going on, here!” Mark had had enough and was ready to punch the wall.

  “It was Larry in the bushes up at the cottage.”

  “Why on earth would you withhold such important information for so long?” Sam said slowly, afraid of hurting his own daughter if he lost control.

  Everybody was looking at one another in complete disbelief. Yet, Olivia seemed to be relieved of a burden. She definitely knew more but was afraid to disclose it. At least she had told them that much.

  Sam decided to get some answers. He did some research with Bill’s help on Henry’s past history and found out some things he never knew before. For instance, he simply never thought about who owned H.D. Holding Company — of course! Henry Dobbs Holding Company. It was run by people who were employed by the company, with a general manager in charge.

  Henry was not one to brag about his fortune and preferred to lie low. It was his nature. After his father, as well as his brother, passed on, he registered the new name.

  However, Sam’s discovery of this brought some questions to mind: How come the Lamberts still paid a low rent, after all those years? Why was the lot Sam and John used to rent for parking their trucks not too expensiv
e? And why was Barb’s office renovated, as well as redecorated so nicely, without the rent’s going up?

  Bill Randall knew some things about the Dobbs family because he was married to one of Henry’s cousins. He liked Henry.

  Henry had given them all a break because he could afford it.

  Henry was sitting on his front porch when Barb, Sam, Olivia, Dominic, Nicole, and Sasha approached him.

  Sam was the first to greet him with a reassuring joke. “It’s just like you to sit back and relax while the whole world has to work for a living.”

  “It won’t help you to be envious of me. I have earned the right to relax. After all; I am officially retired, and you are too young yet to claim that same privilege. So soak up your envy and tell me what brings you all here. Am I in some kind of trouble?” But Henry could see trouble in Dominic’s eyes. He knew the boy too well not to recognize sadness in his eyes.

  “How are you doing these days, Henry?” Barb was trying to put him at ease by being as casual as possible. “We have decided to pay you a visit tonight in order to make sure you are not trying to fool us when you tell us that you are fine.”

  After a while, Dominic told him why they were there. He informed Henry about the new developments and suspicions regarding his father. He felt ill and was shaking with apprehension. He feared what Henry might feel or say. Now that everything pointed to Larry, and knowing what he was capable of, the boy could hardly bring himself to speak. The disappointment in Sasha’s eyes was also overwhelming.

  One other question remained unanswered: How much did Susanne know about this? How much had she withheld or denied, even to herself? Why did she hold such a dislike toward Henry? After all, it was neither Edward nor Henry who had bought those properties during the Depression years. Was she trying to protect herself by not disclosing the information? Or was she truly unsure of what she had heard many years ago and didn’t want to relive her past? Anything was possible when it came to this woman.