“Mona! He wasn’t worth the effort or the risk. Besides, it wasn’t personal just business.”
“Bullshit. It was very personal for you, but you’re better off without him. You need someone in your life that will cherish you.”
“Besides you?” Wendy asks with a smile.
“Well if I had a penis, you would be in trouble and loving it. But since I don’t, yes, someone besides me!”
“I’m coming to the conclusion I’m better off alone. There are less hassles and concerns that way.”
“True, but there also isn’t any romance, passion, or great sex, and we both know how good great sex is. You wouldn’t want to miss that forever.”
“Perhaps you need to follow your own advice.”
“Oh, I intend to. I’m going back to college and it’s a target rich environment so I’m going to find someone to have great sex with even if I have to become Mrs. Robinson to do it.”
Wendy laughs. “Now that’s a disturbing image for me to have in my mind about you. You always seem so prudish and practical.”
“From my perspective, I’m being both. There are plenty of young, firm studs wanting to sow their wild oats with a slightly older and more experienced woman. I get to enjoy their energy and enthusiasm and they get the benefit of my worldly experience. It’s a win-win proposition.”
“I see you’ve put a lot of thought into this. Now I feel like I need a shower.”
Mona laughs. “Good night. I’m glad you’re handling all this so well, but lay off the alcohol for the rest of the night and try to get some sleep, okay? I imagine the press will be calling to speak with you very soon. Especially Lindsay Parker. What do you want to do with her when she asks for another interview with you?”
“Just tell her we have covered it all, and I’m not going to grant another interview with her even if she pays for my time.”
“Consider it done, and I’ll see you in the office by nine. Don’t forget your meeting with Connie Jackson.”
“Thanks for reminding me. I had completely forgotten about her appointment. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
CHAPTER 21
no place to hide
Wendy arrives about fifteen minutes early for her nine o’clock with Connie Jackson. She finds Mona has been busy communicating with SERF employees about the scheduled press conference in Sean’s office on Wednesday, the structure of which depends on official autopsy results being released today. The script for the press release clearly identifies Jim Bush was having dinner with a SERF board member when he experienced an allergic reaction to peanut oil, and subsequently died from anaphylactic shock.
Mona quickly briefs Wendy about the tentative schedule of events surrounding the official cause of death being released and tomorrow’s scheduled press conference. Just then, Connie Jackson walks into the office, and Wendy tells Mona she will follow-up with her on this matter after she finishes with Connie. The two head into Wendy’s office and close the door.
Wendy begins their conversation with the same information she has been giving her other clients. “Because of this, I’ve selected a counselor that I know and trust to take on my clients. It would be beneficial if you would be interested in meeting with her before I actually close—”
Connie interrupts, “I don’t have time to bring another counselor up to date right now. I need you to keep me at least until you actually close your doors. Things are beginning to spiral out of control with Al. He has threatened to kill me if I see a counselor again, and I need your help, not someone I don’t know or trust.”
“Okay. I’ll stick with you through this crisis, but then you’ll need to follow-up with Pegge.”
“Thank you, I will. What do I do now, though?”
The two of them discuss options and a safety plan for Connie with very specific instructions on how to alert the office after hours if she needs help.
After taking her through the process Wendy says, “Of course you can call anytime during office hours and someone will get back to you.”
Connie nods. “I have other options, too. My neighbor across the street is in Europe for the next three months on business, and she told me if I ever need to get away from Al I can stay at her house.”
“That’s good. I’m glad you have other places to go as well,” Wendy says. They finish their discussion and as Connie is leaving the office Wendy reminds her, “Don’t forget about your neighbor’s house. Don’t tell Al that she’s gone, because that can always serve as a safe house until the police arrive.”
Wendy walks Connie out of her office, and Mona begins to brief Wendy as soon as Connie is gone.
“The hospital called,” Mona says, “and the autopsy results confirmed the cause of death was acute anaphylactic shock. The funeral home has already been notified and should be picking up Jim’s body for cremation this afternoon. The funeral home has been instructed to notify us when the cremation is completed, so you can notify Jim’s parents when his remains have been shipped and when they can expect him to arrive home.”
“And you’ve informed Sean’s office about the official cause of death?” Wendy verifies.
“Yes, it’s all taken care of and the funeral home anticipated shipping Jim’s remains to his parents later today, and certainly no later than first thing tomorrow morning.”
“You are so awesome. I’m going to miss having you as the office manager when we reopen our new office after you graduate from school.”
“We’ll just have to train someone new because we both know we’re not going to find someone as awesome as I am at running this office.”
“Probably not as humble either,” Wendy retorts with a smile.
“Right?” Mona says, grinning back at her.
Wendy heads back into her office, and after several hours Mona walks in and tells her the funeral home just called, and Jim’s remains have been shipped to Jim’s parents in Illinois. Wendy thanks her for the update then calls Jim’s parents to tell them they should be receiving Jim’s ashes by Thursday.
Jim’s mother fights back her tears. “Thank you so much for doing this for our son, Wendy. We’re planning a small family memorial service in two weeks and would love it if you could attend.”
Wendy hesitates at first but when his parents insist, she relents. “Okay, I will be there. Thank you for inviting me.”
Jim’s mother sniffs. “Good. We have a small pond nearby that Jim liked to swim and fish in as a child, and he told us when he went off to college that if he ever died before us he wanted his ashes spread in the pond, so that’s where we’re going to spread his ashes after the service.”
“That’s beautiful. Thank you again for including me in this precious moment. Your son was a good man, and you should be proud of everything he accomplished.”
They thank her again. “We’ll be pleased to finally meet you in a couple of weeks.”
After they hang up, Wendy puts her face in her hands and desperately hopes that these two wonderful and loving parents never find out what a douche bag their only child had become.
***
At eleven o’clock Wednesday morning, Sean enters the largest conference room at his office accompanied by Bonnie and sees it filled with the local press and television reporters.
He sighs. “Alright, listen up. I have a very brief statement to make, and then Mrs. Stevens and I will be available for a short question and answer period. All of the employees at Stevens Environmental Restoration Fund are deeply saddened by the sudden and tragic loss of our Vice President of Business Development, Mr. James Bush, who died Monday evening of anaphylactic shock as a result of a severe food allergy while at a business dinner with a SERF board member in San Diego. On behalf of the Board of Directors, administration, and employees of Stevens Environmental Restoration Fund, we would like to express our condolences to Jim’s family and friends. He was a great asset to the SERF organization and had made a tremendous impact on the organization in his short time with us. The loss of his experti
se and presence will be felt deeply for many years to come. The CEO of SERF and I are now open to any questions you may have.”
The first question comes from Lindsay Parker. “First of all, I would like to express my condolences to Mr. Bush’s family and everyone at SERF. Can you please tell us who the board member was Jim was having dinner with in San Diego, and why?”
Bonnie takes the question. “Yes. It was Wendy Stevens, and they were having dinner at my request to discuss several issues that came up during the last board meeting regarding Jim’s fund raising in San Diego on behalf of SERF.”
Lindsay follows up. “Can you please elaborate on the specific issues they were discussing?”
Bonnie smirks. “I can, Ms. Parker, but I won’t due to the confidential nature of our fundraising. I will say it was in regard to specific strategies being employed successfully and their limitations or expansion possibilities.”
“One more question, then I’ll yield to the others here. Was this a normal business meeting or were other factors involved?”
“I’m not sure what you’re asking. Can you please clarify?”
“I’m sorry, that was a poorly worded question and I’ll withdraw it. That’s all, actually. Thank you, Mrs. Stevens.”
Sean and Bonnie handle several questions regarding Jim’s position at SERF and whether or not they intend to replace him, and then conclude the press conference.
As they recap in Sean’s office, Bonnie asks, “What did you think about Lindsay Parker’s question?”
“Well, isn’t she the investigative reporter who did the critical special of the press because of the way they handled that restaurant owner who committed suicide? Maybe she wants to look closer at Jim’s death and try to come up with some type of story about poor practices of restaurant management that results in a death of one of their customers. I wouldn’t give it too much concern.”
Bonnie shakes her head. “But there was something about her questioning that bothered me, and let’s not forget that Wendy also had dinner with Ricardo just before he died.”
Sean raises his eyebrows. “Do you think she is trying to tie Wendy in with their deaths? That’s crazy. Each case has been looked at by the proper authorities and ruled to be nothing but a terrible accident.”
“Just trust me on this one. Call it a woman’s intuition if nothing else, but that girl was fishing for something. I don’t know what, but she is up to something.”
“If you’re that concerned, let’s just get Wendy on the line and talk to her about this situation and see if she has any insight. The inner workings of the human brain are her realm of expertise not yours or mine.”
Bonnie nods and Sean calls Wendy’s office. When Mona answers he identifies himself, then says, “Bonnie is with me and we really need to speak with Wendy.”
“Absolutely, just a minute,” Mona says and puts him right through to Wendy.
“Sean, Bonnie, what a surprise. How did the press conference go today?”
“It went well, but Bonnie is concerned by a reporter named Lindsay Parker. What do you know about her, if anything?”
“I know she is a good reporter and a pain in my ass. Why?”
“What do you mean?” Sean asks.
“Well, a couple of months ago she called my office and wanted to interview me about a couple of my clients’ spouses who have died recently. I refused the interview, and then she booked an hour long appointment with me and paid for the time out of her own pocket. She was specifically asking about statistical suicide rates of offenders. There haven’t been any valid studies in that area, so I couldn’t help her very much, so I just handled her questions and sent her on her way.”
Bonnie groans. “You should have told me about that before the press conference. I probably piqued her investigative curiosity because we told the press Jim was having dinner with a board member and she immediately asked which board member and we said it was you.”
“Well, so what? What is your concern?”
Sean sighs. “Well Bonnie thinks she is going to try and tie you to both Ricardo’s and Jim’s deaths, but now it appears she’s looking at more deaths than just those.”
“Okay, both of you are sounding ridiculous and are worrying about nothing. Each death remotely associated with my counseling practice has been thoroughly investigated by multiple different law enforcement departments and all have been ruled either an accident or suicide. Can you honestly tell me that if I were somehow responsible for multiple deaths one of those agencies wouldn’t have come up with some type of proof or suspicion? Hell, even the FBI questioned me after Ricardo’s death and found nothing.”
“Well, I have to concede to your point on that one.”
“I just think you should be aware of her doing some type of investigative reporting on you,” Bonnie says, still worried.
“Let her have her fun. She’s wasting her time, and I’ll be travelling soon so she’ll lose interest after she keeps coming up empty handed. I’ve dealt with her type a lot during my counseling career. If she creates too much press around me, I’ll simply resign from the SERF board and that way it won’t reflect badly on SERF.”
“We aren’t suggesting anything like that, we just wanted to give you a heads up, that’s all.”
“I know, Bonnie. All I’m saying is, let me handle Ms. Parker and stop fretting, both of you. Now if that’s all, I have work to do. I love you both and I’ll call you if Ms. Parker attempts to contact me again.”
Wendy hangs up and pages Mona. “Can you come in here please?”
“What is it?” Mona asks as she steps into the office.
Wendy rolls her eyes. “Lindsay is fishing for more information on me and if she calls the office again go ahead and schedule an appointment with her free of charge.”
Mona makes a sound of disgust. “Now what is she looking for?”
“I don’t really know, but since I was the person having dinner with Jim when he died and the last have to have dinner with Ricardo before he died, I suspect she is working on some type of conspiracy theory like she had with the Davis, Gould, and Baxter suicides.”
“Oh, for the love of God,” Mona says, rolling her eyes.
“I know, it’s ridiculous, but I think perhaps I should humor her for an interview so that she sees I have nothing to hide,” Wendy says. “It’ll be fine.”
CHAPTER 22
follow-up
As soon as Lindsay returns to her office she immediately calls her boyfriend, Steve Davis, at the San Francisco FBI offices.
Steve answers his desk phone. “Lindsay, hi,” he says, pleased to hear from her.
“Oh my God, Steve, I just attended a press conference at Sean Green Marketing on behalf of the Stevens Environmental Restoration Fund.”
“Okay, how is that in the least bit exciting? There has got to be more from the exuberance I hear in your voice.”
“Just wait and hear me out. SERF’s Vice President of Business Development died in San Diego on Monday while having dinner with Wendy Stevens! He had a food allergy and died of anaphylactic shock and, and—”
“Okay, slow down. I think I know where you’re heading but why would Wendy Stevens be having dinner with him?”
“She’s on the board of SERF and they were supposedly discussing business strategies.”
“Well, that sounds reasonable and normal,” Steve says carefully.
“But how many people have you dealt with in the last year that died suddenly of strange circumstances or committed suicide?”
“Well, none, but I don’t deal with as many mentally ill people as she does and the botulism has been thoroughly investigated by SFPD, you, and the FBI. Two of the three have come to the exact same conclusion, so why are you still pushing this?”
“Just do me a favor and look into her again. And please come by my place tonight, I have some documents I want you to see before you blow me off as some wacko conspiracy theorist television reporter.”
“But you are a consp
iracy theorist television reporter.”
She smiles and shakes her head at the jab. “Just come by my place at six and I’ll make you dinner. Please.”
Steve represses a sigh. “Okay, I’ll be there. What’s for dinner?”
“I don’t know. I’ll figure it out when I get home or we’ll order out.”
“Sounds good. I’ll see you then.”
They hang up, and Lindsay continues with her research and comes across an article in the Auburn Sentinel and Placer Herald about Tyler Crookshank, who jumped off the Auburn Bridge in front two Placer County Sheriff Deputies and one witness. Puzzled, Lindsay reads more about him and finds that the witness is Wendy Stevens.
“What the hell…” she mutters under her breath, and then quickly dials the Placer County Sheriff’s Office records department.
“Hi, my name is Lindsay Parker. I’m an investigative journalist, and I was just hoping you could tell me whether or not the Tyler Crookshank death investigation is closed?” When she is told it is, in fact, a closed investigation she gives her specific identification and tells the clerk she is faxing a FOIA request and would appreciate it being expedited. Lindsay is told they will follow proper protocol and she should receive the report within two weeks. She copies the newspaper articles, then begins to calculate how many of these suicides or accidental deaths were somehow connected with Wendy Stevens. All told, she counts ten: Mark Stevens, Ricardo Montes, Jack Taylor, Arnold Davis, Gayle Baxter, Harder Gould, Zach Rawlins, Kenneth Quan, Tyler Crookshank, and Jim Bush to discuss with Steve over dinner. She grabs the police reports she has already received and copies of her FOIA requests which haven’t been completed and rushes home.
Back at her place, she realizes she really doesn’t have everything she needs to fix dinner for Steve so she just orders Chinese to be delivered and anticipates Steve and dinner will arrive about the same time. She double checks the frig and sees there is plenty of beer, so she opens one and tries to relax, waiting for Steve to arrive so she can reveal her findings to him.
Unrestrained Behavior: The Pleasure and Risk of Choice (The 'Un'missable Series Book 3) Page 21