Mr. Big

by Colleen Lewis

  Jennifer wasn’t sure what to think of it. It was easy money, that was for sure, but it was unlikely she’d get to see any of it.

  “So, what do you have to do?” she asked.

  “Well, his sister likes to gamble, so he wants me to go around to all the bars in town. He wanted me to go right away, but I told him I had to talk to you first,” said Nelson.

  Jennifer had her doubts, but getting Nelson out of her hair for a few hours would probably speed up her work. At least she didn’t have to worry about him getting contrary with her.

  “Give me a few more minutes and I’ll be out,” Jennifer said.

  Jennifer picked up the rest of her supplies and waited in line for fifteen minutes before she was checked in. By the time she went outside, Nelson’s new French friend was nowhere to be seen.

  Jennifer got in the car.

  “He’s going to meet me up at the apartment,” Nelson said.

  They made the five-minute drive back to the apartment on Brown’s Avenue. The first thing Jennifer noticed was the big black pickup sitting in the driveway. When they pulled into the driveway, a good-looking young man jumped out of the truck. Jennifer wasn’t sure what to think. He was running toward the car before they even had a chance to park.

  He came to Jennifer’s side first and opened the door.

  “You have good husband, you have good man,” he said through a thick French accent. As Jennifer stood up, he hugged her. “I’m so glad your husband is going to help me find my sister.”

  Jennifer thought the man must be a maniac. He was so full of energy and eager to become friends.

  Nelson hopped up into the truck with the French man named Steph. Jennifer watched them drive away, wondering what Nelson was getting himself into.

  She went inside the apartment. There was a lot of work to be done, so she temporarily forgot about Nelson and the strange man.

  It was a productive day. The two of them didn’t get back until close to five o’clock.

  “Hi, Jennifer,” said Steph. He stood at the doorway, and Jennifer wasn’t about to invite him in just yet. “Your husband was a great help today.”

  “Did you have any luck?” Jennifer asked.

  “Not really,” Nelson said. “I think we’re going to be looking in Bishop’s Falls tomorrow.”

  “I will give you a hundred this time,” said Steph.

  He shook Nelson’s hand and told him to be ready for 9:00 a.m. Nelson agreed.

  The next morning, Steph was knocking on the door at nine sharp. To Jennifer’s surprise, Nelson was up, had eaten breakfast, and was eager to get on the move.

  Nelson was out the door.

  Jennifer spent the day putting the finishing touches on the plaster, and by late afternoon she was sizing up her handiwork. Now came the task of choosing her colours for the paint.

  She was sanding down the drywall when the phone rang.

  “How’s the work going?” Nelson said on the other end of the phone. “Listen, there’s no need to worry about supper. Steph says we’re going to pick up something. See you soon.”

  Jennifer was surprised by Nelson’s friendly demeanour. It was a welcome change from what she was used to. But she suddenly realized just how hungry she was. She’d had nothing to eat the entire day. In fact, she couldn’t remember if she’d eaten yesterday, either.

  When Nelson and Steph showed up at the door a little while later, there was no mistaking the smell of the pizzas. Her mouth watered at the smell.

  The kitchen was small, and Steph set the three large pizzas down onto the tiny table. Jennifer and Steph sat while Nelson ate his dinner standing.

  Jennifer had a lot of questions, but at the moment she was more interested in getting some food into her stomach. She put the first piece down in seconds, and then she rested to give her stomach a chance to settle.

  “So there’s no sign of your sister?” Jennifer asked.

  Steph had one slice of pizza on his plate, but he had only taken one small bite. Jennifer realized that he had been watching her eat.

  “No, but I’ll find her,” said Steph. “I’m in the middle of setting up business here. So I will be spending more time on the island.”

  Jennifer was trying to get used to the thick French accent. At the same time she was trying to listen, she couldn’t get enough of the pizza. She couldn’t stop eating even though she had questions.

  “What about the truck your sister was driving?” Jennifer asked. “Didn’t you look for that?”

  “Oh, we found the truck,” said Steph. “It’s back in Montreal. You should work for us, Jennifer. We need a receptionist.”

  “Well, I don’t have no degree in office work,” said Jennifer. “I don’t think I could do it.”

  “We could train you,” he said. “We just need you to be there to open doors for our trucks.”

  “Yeah,” said Nelson. “You’d be good at that, and we don’t have any kids, so, you know, you’d be available all the time.”

  Jennifer started to slow down. Finally, she was starting to feel full. And then there was Steph. She couldn’t understand why he kept staring at her with each mouthful of food she swallowed.

  “Well,” he said, standing up from the table. “This was wonderful. Nelson, you have been such a good help to me. Can I call you from time to time, when I need help?”

  “Sure,” said Nelson.

  “Oh, and here’s a carton of cigarettes,” he said, pulling the box from inside his jacket. “I was meaning to give you these. I don’t smoke, and a friend gave them to me.”

  “I don’t smoke, either,” said Nelson.

  “Well, you can throw them out,” said Steph. “If you don’t want to throw them out, take them down to the bar and sell them.”

  Steph gave Jennifer a hug and was out the door.

  “I’ll be in touch,” he said.

  Later that evening, as Jennifer and Nelson were getting ready for bed, Nelson was pleased with himself. “A hundred and fifty dollars is not bad for a couple days’ work,” he said. But Jennifer wasn’t so sure.

  “I don’t know, Nelson, something just doesn’t feel right.”

  68

  Jennifer’s suspicion didn’t let up. But Nelson had his own plan. Steph had offered Nelson a finder’s fee of $500 if he could find his sister. On February 16, Steph had left Nelson a message saying that he had found the missing sister, and he wanted to meet at the Mount Peyton Hotel the next day.

  But that morning Nelson was acting nervous.

  “Well, I think it’s weird that he wants to meet you up at the hotel,” said Jennifer. “Why don’t we drive around town to see if we can find him?”

  They drove around for a while, then decided to drop by the local police station.

  “That’s the truck,” said Jennifer, pointing to the big black pickup sitting in front of the station. “I know that’s his licence plate.”

  Suddenly Nelson got scared, and he and Jennifer headed straight to Gander to see his mother.

  Jennifer was the first to call the police, and then his mother called.

  “We want to know if this is illegal, or if someone is trying to get Nelson in trouble.”

  The RCMP officer assured them there was nothing illegal about helping someone find his missing sister, and that was the end of the conversation.

  That evening, they headed back to Grand Falls–Windsor. There was a note on the door. It was from Steph, asking them to call.

  “That wasn’t my truck,” Steph reassured them. “You know, Nelson, if you don’t show up for work—that isn’t good for business.”

  Jennifer knew it had in fact been his truck they saw at the police station, but she said nothing.

  “I have a job for you if you’re interested,” said Steph. “I ne
ed someone to drive a truck to Corner Brook for me.”

  Nelson jumped at the chance, agreeing he would be ready the next morning.

  69

  February 17, 2005.

  Nelson and Jennifer were up early to get ready for the trip to Corner Brook. Nelson was eager to make the trip, and he had made it clear he was hoping to get plenty more jobs.

  Since they had been in the apartment for only a couple of days, they still didn’t have the phone hooked up. So far they had relied on their neighbours, who didn’t seem to mind them popping by to make calls.

  On this morning, Jennifer wanted to make sure she arranged to have the phone hooked up before they left for the day.

  She went next door and called the telephone company. Fortunately, it didn’t look like it would take long before they could carry out the installation.

  “Thanks for letting me use your phone,” Jennifer told her neighbours as she headed out the door. “They’ll be here to hook up our phone in the next couple days, so at least we won’t have to be bothering you guys all the time.”

  As Jennifer was leaving her neighbours’ house, she could hear yelling coming from her apartment.

  There was no mistaking the thick French accent of Steph. And she knew he was mad. To be perfectly honest, she wasn’t sure she was willing to deal with an angry Steph. His behaviour had already made her nervous. In fact, there were times she thought he was a complete lunatic with the way he was overly affectionate toward her.

  “I can’t work like this,” yelled Steph. “You can’t go bringing your wife to work!”

  Jennifer watched as Steph jumped in the truck. He grabbed the attention of the neighbourhood when he squealed the tires leaving the driveway.

  “He says you can’t come,” said Nelson.

  Nelson and Jennifer went back into the apartment. She could see Nelson was frustrated. He wanted the job, but he didn’t want to go alone. But after only about thirty minutes, Steph was back.

  “Okay, you can bring your wife,” said Steph. “But you won’t be allowed to do this if you’re going to be working for me all the time.”

  “How much will I get paid?” asked Nelson.

  “You don’t need to ask that kind of stuff,” said Steph.

  Nelson and Steph left in the pickup and, shortly after, Nelson arrived back at the apartment in a large van. All Jennifer could think about as she stepped into the van was what kind of mood Nelson would be in for the next four hours of the trip. She was sure there would be some kind of episode.

  Instead, the ride was mostly uneventful.

  When they arrived in Corner Brook, Steph was there along with another man. Nelson and the two men were looking in the back of the trailer, where Jennifer had learned they were carrying a new snowmobile that was being delivered to Cox’s Cove.

  “You and Nelson will drive back with me,” said Steph after he knocked on Jennifer’s window.

  She and Nelson climbed into the black pickup, and they headed for home.

  Jennifer listened as Nelson told Steph how much he enjoyed driving and how he was willing to do more jobs. During the drive, Steph received a phone call from someone who needed something driven to Nova Scotia.

  As soon as Steph hung up, Nelson offered to make the trip.

  Back in Grand Falls, Jennifer got out of the truck and went inside. Nelson and Steph had a brief conversation in the truck, and Nelson was paid $220.

  70

  February 18, 2005.

  There was a knock at the door. Jennifer looked over at the clock to realize it was nearly nine o’clock. She wondered who it could be, but when she opened the door, she saw Steph.

  “Nelson’s not home,” she said. “He’s gone to pick up something to eat, but Nelson told me that you should wait for him if you were to show up.”

  Steph sat down at the table, and Nelson was there in only five minutes.

  “Hey, Steph,” said Nelson, taking off his shoes. “I was hoping to hear from you. Do you have any work?

  “I do,” said Steph. “Tomorrow there will be a van waiting for you down at the mill around lunchtime. I want you to pick it up and drive into St. John’s. Once you get in there, call me.”

  Steph handed Nelson $100 for gas money and left.

  71

  February 19, 2005.

  Nelson showed up at the apartment to pick up Jennifer in the U-Haul, even though he hadn’t discussed taking her with Steph. Jennifer was worried about what kind of business Steph was into, and Nelson was suspicious as well. So they agreed she would go.

  When she opened the door to the truck, she was far from prepared for the condition of the vehicle. The entire dashboard appeared to be falling out on the floor.

  She closed the door and put on her seat belt, only to discover that the door really hadn’t closed at all.

  Holding the door while Nelson drove, she said, “My God, I can’t drive to St. John’s like this!”

  Jennifer opened the glovebox and found a small piece of rope. It was just enough to tie the door to the bottom of the seat. Although it seemed like it would hold, she knew this would be a long and anxious trip.

  No sooner did she have the door fixed when she looked over to see that there was no rear-view mirror on Nelson’s side of the truck.

  “What kind of vehicle is this supposed to be?” she said.

  Two hours later and the door appeared to be holding up. But suddenly, Nelson began to act strangely.

  “What’s wrong?” she said. But she already knew.

  Nelson had begun patting his stomach. “What, what, what,” he repeated.

  It was a seizure.

  For a moment Jennifer thought they were going to be killed, but she reacted quickly by reaching her leg over and putting it underneath his. She slowly lifted his leg off the gas and applied the brakes, all while steering the truck safely to the shoulder of the highway.

  “What, what,” Nelson continued. Jennifer allowed the seizure to run its course for the next fifteen minutes or so.

  “What happened?” he asked.

  “You had a seizure,” she told him. “Just rest for a few minutes, Nelson. You aren’t driving anywhere in your condition.”

  For the next ten minutes or so, Nelson asked several times where they were, and where they were going. Finally, after sitting on the highway for nearly half an hour, he came to his senses.

  They got back on the highway and continued on to St. John’s. Once there, they booked into their room at the Holiday Inn. Steph was going to be there at 6:30 p.m., and he wasn’t even aware that Jennifer was with Nelson.

  When he knocked on the hotel room door at 6:10, Jennifer went into the washroom. Nelson wanted her to listen to what Steph was saying in order to find out whether what he was doing was illegal. Or if someone was just out get him.

  “We need to meet our client downtown,” said Steph. “Get ready, we’re going to get something to eat.”

  Jennifer listened as Nelson tried to get out of having to go downtown, but she could hear Steph putting the pressure on as well.

  “You are acting weird, Nelson,” she heard Steph say. “I’m starting to wonder if I should keep you on or not.”

  Finally, she heard Nelson confess that Jennifer was also in the room. After a moment, she flushed the toilet and walked out into the room.

  Eventually, Steph convinced Nelson they had to meet with the client if he was to do any more business. Jennifer was left in the room to wait.

  Nelson came back a couple of hours later. Alone.

  “What was so important?” Jennifer asked.

  “I don’t know,” said Nelson. She could see he was scared. Nelson went on to tell her that they were driving so fast he thought they were going to flip over. “I thought they were going to throw me in the harbour,
” he said.

  Jennifer decided not to ask anything more.

  But on the trip back to Grand Falls, Jennifer couldn’t resist.

  “Are you legit or what?” Jennifer asked Steph. “Are you dealing drugs? ’Cause if you are, Nelson’s not having no part of it.”

  “I’m not a pig or anything like that,” said Steph. “When I get used to you, I’ll tell you about my past. I’ve done things in my past, and when I get to know you better, I’ll tell you.”

  Nelson said he was relieved, and the two of them went on to talk about how important it was to be honest, loyal, and truthful in order to have a good working relationship. Steph also told him about another man he did business with, named Pat.

  He hoped Nelson would be able to help Pat out, while Steph returned to the mainland.

  Back in Grand Falls, Nelson was paid $300. Once again, Jennifer didn’t see the transaction.

  72

  February 22, 2005.

  Nelson and Steph flew to Halifax. They rented a vehicle at the airport and, as they drove into town, Steph explained to Nelson that he had done a lot of bad shit in his life. Nelson told him that he had done some bad things, too, and once they got to know each other, he’d tell Steph about it. That night he was introduced to Pat, who Nelson believed was the company’s Maritimes manager. After a few days of driving and delivering what he believed to be airplane parts, Nelson was instructed to deliver freight back onto the island and on to St. John’s. On February 28 in St. John’s, he was paid $1,100 for this work.

  73

  Jennifer wasn’t sure what to think when she met Pat for the first time. Apparently, Nelson hadn’t bothered to tell him that she was making the trip into St. John’s with him, but Pat didn’t seem to be the type to get as upset as Steph.