by Nan Dale
“The girl is not safe,” John said. “Who else is with her? They are still out there. She failed them and has now become a liability. She could expose them.” John sat up and started to unhook the IV.
“What are you doing?” asked Ruth and the nurse simultaneously.
“I have to protect Vanessa,” John said.
There was a knock on the door. And in came a very sheepish and worried-looking Aaron.
“What the hell are you doing here?” John asked immediately. He had an unfinished beef with Aaron. “Are you here to kill me or to help me to recover?”
“John. I am so sorry,” Aaron said with genuine affection. “All this … was meant to be a prank. The partners and I had never meant for it to go this far.”
“A prank? The partners were in on it too?” asked John. “Really? And Jessica?”
Aaron lowered his head. “Jessica has a daughter—that is all true. I am so sorry about the pain we caused you. It was all meant to come out at the partnership meeting today and then I learned about the train debacle. Larry and Stanley are here as well. They’re in the waiting room.”
John was quiet for a long time. Ever since he’d had dinner with the partners, everything had gone to hell. The partners had used Aaron to get to him, and outstandingly, Aaron had agreed. John thought about it for a minute. He could never trust Aaron again. He turned his face away from Aaron toward the wall and spoke coldly.
“I am feeling tired, Aaron. Please, can you leave? Please, can you tell Larry and Stanley not to wait? I will call them when I have been discharged and ready. And … another thing?”
“Sure, anything … I just feel so sorry for what I have done.”
“Stay out of my life.” John turned his face toward the wall. He heard Aaron slowly saunter toward the door and turn the knob. He could picture him with his head hung low and his shoulders hunched, feeling guilty, rebuked, and hurt.
Chapter 34
Vanessa woke up slowly. She felt disorientated and shaky. “Ruth!” she called out. “Ruth, where are you?” There was nobody there.
“Patrick!” she yelled. She had a lump in her throat. She couldn’t quite recall why Patrick was upset with her, but she knew that something was very wrong.
Suddenly, her door creaked open and a familiar-looking silhouette appeared. The lights were dim, but as the face came closer, she saw that it was Frau Schroeder. She had a crazy look in her eyes. Vanessa thought that she was in a bad dream. As the Frau approached, Vanessa tightened.
“You!” Frau Schroeder screamed. “You screwed it all up! I told Hans that we shouldn’t trust you and now he’s dead because of you. Now … now I have nothing. Nothing to live for. You killed Hans, so now I will kill you. I don’t care what happens to me. After all we did for you … We saved you from a life of prostitution! We took you in. All you had to do was get Patrick and you screwed that up. What a waste.”
Vanessa just stared at Frau Schroeder, shaking. Patrick. Ruth. Somebody! She closed her eyes and prayed that someone, anyone, would come into the room.
Frau Schroeder drew a gun and pointed it at her. “I don’t care what happens to me at this point. I have lost Hans, and you have probably already told Patrick and the Beards all about me, right? Someone was waiting for us at the hotel. I am no longer safe. I know that. But I will not let you walk away and live a happily ever after with your beloved Patrick. It’s over for you.”
Frau Schroeder gently caressed the trigger. Vanessa closed her eyes tightly.
There was a gunshot. Her ears buzzed at the sound. It was numbing. She had expected to be greeted by angels, and to start feeling cold—but instead she heard a scuffle.
Frau Schroeder was struggling with another man that she did not recognize. He had disarmed her. It was John Beard, wearing a gown. The gun lay in front of them. Frau Schroeder dove to the ground to reach it, but there was another gunshot. Someone had shot her in the back. Vanessa looked back at the door and Charles stood there … the gun still in his hand.
“It’s over, Vanessa,” came his reassuring voice from the doors. “We’ve got her.”
The doors swung open and three policemen came bolting in.
Vanessa closed her eyes. She was safe now. She and Patrick were both safe. …
Chapter 35
Over a year later, on the eve of Thanksgiving, John reviewed his holiday email to all the associates one more time:
Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks to our families, our friends, and all of our clients. As we head out to celebrate this special occasion, I would like to thank each and every one of you for all that you do here every day. I am thankful that you continue to make this place a great place to work every day. Please honor this holiday by leaving at 2 p.m. today. Turn on your out-of-office messages and enjoy the next day.
Sincerely,
John Beard
Proudly, he hit send and then walked through the trading floor wishing each of his teammates a happy Thanksgiving. As he waited for the elevator on the thirtieth floor, he looked back at the glass door, which was boldly engraved with the name of his firm: Beard & Beard. Their one-year anniversary was coming up and John was determined to make his investment firm larger than Silicon Alley.
He dialed Ruth’s cell and she quickly picked up. He could hear their ten-month-old daughter, Delilah, screaming in the background. “How’s it going?” John asked.
“One day back home for the holidays, and I am already pulling my hair out. Did you let everyone out early?”
“Yes, I am all done. Heading to the parking garage. Your office was so empty today without you. I felt a bit lost. Is Vanessa off from Rutgers for the holiday week?”
“Yes, she is handing in a midterm paper today and will be home with the rest of us by five today, so I am holding the fort down. Hurry back. Your daughter is like three kids in one!”
“I will.” As John walked to the parking lot, he thought about how his life had changed so dramatically over the last year. He and Ruth had founded their own firm and had little trouble raising capital for it. He had not seen or heard from Aaron since the hospital. He had also not reconnected with Jessica, agreeing that if her daughter was happy not wanting to find out the identity of her father, then that was her daughter’s choice. He had his own family and a new firm to take care of, so if anything, this was a blessing.
Checking his text messages, he saw one from Patrick wishing him and Ruth a happy Thanksgiving and apologizing for not being able to join them for Thanksgiving dinner the next day. Patrick was still pursuing acting with the open support of his parents and would be spending the holiday in New York with his parents, who were now retired and living in Brooklyn a few months of the year.
Vanessa was living with John and Ruth full-time, studying to be a nurse at the university at night and helping with the kids during the day. In the last year, she had gone from a vulnerable and scared young woman to a more confident individual who felt free to share her opinions and who was open about her past. Saving Vanessa from a life of unfulfilled potential and fear had been one of his and Ruth’s proudest achievements. Still, he had often caught Vanessa looking wistfully into the distance, and he wondered whether she was pining after Patrick. They had tried dating, but Patrick was just too jarred and had asked for a break. They shared a deep bond, unparalleled by any of his other friendships, but for now, it would just have to be that, a platonic friendship.
Larry and Stanley sat in the executive boardroom. Stanley was pacing back and forth, and Larry was puffing on a cigar. “We have lost our fourth associate to Beard & Beard,” Stanley said. “Should we feel threatened?”
There was a long pause as Larry inhaled on his cigar.
“Not yet. I have a few things up my sleeve. That firm won’t last another year.”
his book with friends