“Aaron, stop,” Charlotte commanded. “Don’t take one step closer to me or I will scream. I can’t live like this. I love you Aaron, but every time I do something that doesn’t please you, I’m terrified you are going to beat me.”
Aaron stopped and looked at Charlotte as if he just woke up from a dream.
“Charley,” Aaron looked at her with sadness. “I don’t think I can live without you. You bring me such happiness and joy. I love sharing everything I have with you. Please don’t leave me. I promise I’ll go back to therapy, I thought I was cured, but maybe not.”
“I can’t make any promises, but I’ll think about it. Now how about I make us some dinner?”
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
The Resolutions
April 22, 2017
On Saturday, Carlos picked up Marcus at 10:30 in the morning and drove to another dilapidated house in a different uninhabited neighborhood. This time it was Anthony and two of his men who greeted them. Anthony was curious about the “gift exclusion” checks. Carlos explained that anybody could give any person they choose $14,000 a year as a gift. The banks don’t notify the IRS when gift checks are cashed. Two different employees who worked for Judith signed the checks, but Carlos didn’t mention that fact. Judith didn’t want her name on either check.
Anthony smiled, “Really? In my business I deal only in cash, so I have a problem hiding cash from thieves and I can’t deposit large amounts of cash in banks without drawing attention and having them contacting the authorities. So many people in my business have a problem getting cash ‘clean.’ Thanks for the information.”
The transaction went smoothly and on the way home, Marcus thanked Carlos for all his help with this sordid matter.
“Carlos, have you thought about going to law school and becoming an attorney? You are some negotiator. I’m afraid if the brokering of this loan deal had been left to me and my brother, we would both be dead.”
Carlos smiled and looked over at Marcus, “Actually, I do have a law degree and I’m taking the Arizona Bar later next month. Now the only person I offer my services as a protector and negotiator is to Judith. I owe her more than you can imagine. Acting as her bodyguard left me debt-free from college loans. I will be at her beck and call forever.”
“Well then, I hope we meet again under more pleasant circumstances,” Marcus said as Carlos pulled into the Caldwell’s driveway. Marcus shook his new friend’s hand before he opened the car door. Marcus watched the car back out of the driveway and waved one more time before going into his garage to back out the Jeep to go visit his brother. Eric came home from the hospital yesterday.
Betsy opened the front door when she saw her brother-in-law approaching their foyer, “Is it over?”
Marcus hugged her as he walked through the door, “Yes, it’s over.”
Eric was lying on the couch and looked better than when Marcus had visited him a couple of nights ago at the hospital. Eric would be using crutches for at least six weeks, but he was planning to go back to work on Tuesday after he cleared it with his doctor on Monday afternoon. Marcus pulled a chair over and accepted a glass of tea from Betsy.
Eric frowned as he accepted his glass of tea, “Are you sure I can’t have a beer?”
Betsy gave him a dirty look.
“Eric, do you remember when Dad was transferred to Boise when we were kids?”
“Oh yeah,” Eric smiled. “I was so upset, I didn’t want to leave my school, our neighborhood, or my friends. I made our parents’ lives miserable. But after we settled into the house they bought, we all loved living there. That was such a neat neighborhood with so many kids our age.”
“Yes,” said Marcus. “Even back then, you would lead and I would always follow. Remember when you and your friends thought it would be a good idea to ride our bikes to the North End after midnight? Your plan was to TP your former girlfriend’s house. You thought she would be impressed, forgive you, and agree to be your girlfriend again.”
Eric laughed, “I forgot about that night. The police picked us up for breaking curfew. A police car took us home and another police car followed with our bikes. Mom and Dad were so mad. Mike and Phil’s parents blamed me for getting their kids in trouble with the police. It wasn’t like we were arrested or received a criminal record. We just got a warning about observing curfews and a fun ride in the back of a police car.”
“Right,” Marcus stood up. “Do you also remember when you thought it would be a good idea for us to go to Las Vegas to win a lot of money? You said you had a sure-fire scheme to win at Poker. Stupid me, I took the money set aside for my car payment to gamble. I came home empty-handed and had to borrow car payment money from Dad.”
Eric smiled, “Yes, but don’t forget, I took $1,500 and came home with $3,500. That was a great trip. Sorry, I forgot you lost everything that weekend.”
Marcus continued, “Then there was the time that you decided we should go into business together selling those household cleaning products. We each invested $2,500 to buy the products because you thought starting a little side business would be a gold mine. Then we had to pressure our friends to host parties in their homes and invite their friends to listen to our spiel why they needed to buy our products. That was a total bust and it turned out to be nothing but a pyramid scheme. We sold very few products, didn’t convince anyone to go into the business, and I ended up with a garage full of cleaning products.”
“Actually,” smiled Eric. “That deal worked out for me too. I took a huge loss on my income taxes that year. It was the year I started my insurance business and the expenses I incurred with that and the loss on the cleaning products resulted in a nice refund check.”
Marcus glared at Eric, “Well, to repeat my original statement, I will never listen to you again. This mine deal will be the last venture we do together.” Marcus got up and walked to the door, but turned around to say, “Eric, you are a great salesman, you should stick to selling insurance. But I know the next time someone comes up with a ‘get-rich quick’ scheme, you will jump at the chance.”
He walked out the front door and drove home to Alexis.
Charlotte didn’t think about it. She made plans. First she called Hannah to see if the offer of staying in her apartment was still an option. Next she had to decide if she wanted to try and live in New York on a limited budget and keep the job she loved or move back to Phoenix to be close to her estranged daughter and family. Now she needed to think about moving her things out of Aaron’s apartment while he was gone. That would take some organization.
Hannah was surprised, but happy when Charlotte called. She had been worried about her especially when she cleaned Aaron’s apartment and didn’t see her. She extended the invitation to Charlotte to move in with her and her dad. An empty bedroom just became available, Hannah’s brother had moved to Los Angeles the month before.
April 24, 2017
On Monday morning, Sam Murdock called Eric with promising news about the survey. It was cloudy but dry in St. Louis and the equipment for the core study was in place at Fred’s mine. They were hoping to start excavating in the morning. For the first time in many weeks, Eric had hope. Maybe tomorrow would be a good day, he was going to try and go in to the office tomorrow. He was maneuvering better with his crutches and his face looked almost normal. He started feeling better when Marcus came over to tell him, they would never have to deal with Anthony again. Thanks to Judith, the debt was provided gratis. Now all Eric had to worry about was repaying his mother’s loan and talking to Mr. Zeigler regarding the “irregularities” the auditors discovered in their examination of his books. Mr. Zeigler would be in Eric’s office on Friday morning for a meeting.
On Tuesday, Marcus received a call from Sam asking for a meeting with him and Eric. They arranged to meet in Sam’s office on Saturday afternoon. The evening news stated it started raining in Missouri, actually it was pouring.
On Wednesday, it continued to rain near St. Louis. Interstate 44, the road to t
he mine was closed. Cars were floating and roads looked like rivers.
Eric called Marcus in a panic, “Do you know if they were able to complete the Core Study at the mine?”
“I’m sure we will hear all about it on Saturday. I’m just hoping they discovered enough valuable minerals to begin excavating and want to continue the project. I know you’re not religious, but say a little prayer.”
“Marcus, the other day when you walked out my door and said you didn’t want anything to do with me again, did you mean it? We’re brothers and friends, I can’t lose you.”
“Eric, I will always be your brother and your friend, but I never want to go into a project or partnership with you again. I’m done with your get-rich quick schemes. I’m going to concentrate on working hard at my job and saving my money like a normal person. We will see other socially, but I never want to hear about another crazy plan to get rich.”
“Yeah Marcus, that’s real brave of you. You also have Alexis’s father and stepmother up your sleeve. Someday, if you play your cards right, you and Alexis could inherit a ton of money and become wealthy without any risk.”
Marcus smiled, “Actually, I don’t think Arthur or his daughters will receive anything from Judith’s huge estate. I’m almost positive, she is planning on leaving it to charities.”
Thursday the rains continued with a vengeance. Television videos of St. Louis looked like all the streets had turned into rivers. Eric became more nervous as he watched the evening news.
After work on Thursday, Charlotte stopped by Hannah’s apartment in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. The neighborhood was funky, but interesting with its masonry row houses. Neither the neighborhood nor the house was anything like Aaron’s, but Charlotte knew she would be safe here. Hannah’s father, Gus, was a kind man who had worked hard all his life to provide for his family. After the turmoil of race riots, destruction, and looting of the Bed-Stuy neighborhood in the late 1960s, the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation was established, it was a vision of New York’s Senator Robert Kennedy, and the neighborhood began to change. Being a lucky man, Gus found a remodeled three-bedroom apartment that had just become available. It was part of the rent-controlled project and he snapped up the clean, safe, affordable home for his family. Now the area was called “up and coming” and homes were selling and renting for unbelievable prices. Gus was happy to welcome his daughter’s friend, Charlotte, into their home.
Aaron was going to Hollywood on Saturday to do an exposé for Newsweek. He’d be gone for at least a week, maybe longer. Hannah decided that would be the time to move Charlotte’s things to Brooklyn.
The next night Aaron was at the office working late and Charlotte started packing her things in boxes. She hid the boxes in the guest room closet. Walking back into the master bedroom, she stopped to take a long look at this gorgeous apartment she had called home. Then she took a few minutes to sit on the elegant, super expensive couch looking out at her beloved patio. She knew she would probably never live such a marvelous, extravagant life that she now shared with Aaron.
On Friday, Mr. Zeigler came into Eric’s office to discuss the results of the audit. He wasn’t happy.
“Eric, I don’t understand. You have always been my top salesman but the last several months, your sales have been among the worst of all our independent offices. What’s going on?”
“Sorry, Mr. Zeigler, I’ve had some family issues, but they are getting resolved. I promise next month, I’ll be back on top. Since Monday, I’ve lined up fifteen prospective new clients with firm meetings next week.”
Mr. Zeigler looked at Eric with disapproval, “Then there is the issue of the irregularities discovered in your audit. If I didn’t know you better, I would think you were cooking the books.”
“Mr. Zeigler, you know me and, of course, I would never do such a thing. I have a theory about what happened and who did it, but I’m still investigating. I don’t want to accuse one of my staff members of illegal behavior unless I am positive. I should wrap up my investigation by the end of the month.”
“Eric, you think one of your staff has been stealing from you?”
When Mr. Zeigler left his office, Eric felt he had managed to steer Zeigler’s distrust away from him and gain some sympathy. Now Eric needed to concoct a believable story of what happened to the mismanaged money without incriminating any of his employees. That was going to take one elaborate plan.
On the night before Aaron left for California, he told Charlotte, “When I get back, we are going to Tiffany’s and you are going to pick out one spectacular engagement ring.”
“Aaron,” Charlotte rebutted. “We still have some things to work out before we become engaged.”
That flash of anger lit up his face. He took a deep breath and smiled.
“Okay, we can wait if that makes you more comfortable.”
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
A New Agreement
April 29, 2017
On Saturday morning, Marcus picked up Eric at his house. Marcus was pleased to notice that Eric and Betsy’s lawn had been mowed and hedged, bushes had been trimmed, and the home, once again regained its charming curb appeal.
Eric was smiling as he stumbled into the Jeep. “I can’t wait until I can throw these crutches in the trash,” he said as he threw them into the small backseat, clumsily climbing into the front and buckling his seat belt.
“Your lawn looks good,” Marcus said as he nodded toward the green tidy lawn. “Did you mow it using your crutches?”
Eric laughed, “No, Betsy’s brother came over and told me he would take care of our lawn until I was able to take over. On second thought, maybe I’ll keep the crutches a little longer.”
Walking into Sam Murdock’s office, the brothers found all the investors, minus Carl Rodgers, sitting around the large conference table. “Oh no,” Eric whispered to Marcus as they found their seats.
After refusing refreshments, Sam stood up, “Okay, we all know what’s been going on at our mine near St. Louis. Watching the news coverage, I keep expecting to see Noah and his ark floating down the highway. Anyway the equipment we moved to the mining site is stuck in mud—unbelievable amounts of mud—and will not be operational for weeks, possibly months. Matt, did you want to take it from here?”
Sam unbuttoned his suit jacket and sat down exposing his Patriot shoulder holster containing a Glock 17. Eric and Marcus looked at each other and wondered silently if Sam was just getting comfortable or the move was to intimidate the brothers.
Matt, the CPA investor stood up, “Eric, Marcus, we had a discussion before you joined us. I’m afraid it’s going to be a long time before your little mine makes us any real money. Yes, the profit potential is there and barite is a valuable asset in our high-tech world. But the main reason we were interested in this particular project was that this kind of mining has a negative impact on the environment thus less governmental restrictions on our backs. We’ve always been oilmen, but with all the rules and regulations enforced by the last administration and with oil prices plummeting and the reduction of production, we had to look at other means to make a profit. That’s why we were thrilled when your uncle’s mine looked like the answer.”
Matt took a drink of water, looked very uncomfortable with what he was about to say, but continued. “However, as you know the new administration in the White House has dismissed concerns of global warming. The new president isn’t as interested in profit-killing regulations, but rather in creating more jobs. After the new head of the EPA was appointed, we noticed a series of victories for the energy industry which will reshape environmental policy on a large scale and weaken the previous administration’s campaign to combat the unproven climate change theory known as global warming.”
“You see boys,” Sam picked up the conversation still seated. “Previously, we made so much money in the oil and gas industry and that’s where we are going to concentrate our investments. Our former business partners have been begging
us to become involved. They were so thrilled to learn that by eliminating a lot of the regulations involving retrofitting drilling equipment and requirements to collect data on how much gas is expelling into the air, drilling for oil will once again be financially rewarding.”
“Plus,” added Matt, “the price of shale oil has soared and US crude oil is producing around five million more barrels every day. Plus, we don’t have to do anything but invest our money. No worries about drilling, employing workers, or any of that stuff. The oil companies worry about that part of the deal; we supply the cash.”
Eric and Marcus were stunned. “What about all the money you … we have invested in the mine?” asked Eric.
“Our mine—that we signed ownership over to you?” chimed in Marcus.
Sam smiled, “We are going to make a lot of money off ‘our’ mine, and you are going to benefit as well, just not now. We are going to postpone that venture in favor of a sure thing. I’m sure it won’t be too long before a bunch of tree-huggers come back into office and start enforcing all those stupid rules and regulations again. That’s when we will turn back to mining.”
“Plus,” added the CPA. “The delays and money we invested in the mine will benefit all of us at tax time. We can file this adventure as a loss. You boys can use it on your taxes too. I can get you the necessary forms to fill out, if you like.”
After several more investors stood up to celebrate the new money making decision, Eric and Marcus stood up to leave. Before walking out the door, Marcus turned to the group and asked, “How will we know when you have made the decision to start up the mine again?”
Sam answered, “Oh, we’ll be in touch. Don’t worry about that.”
Matt also spoke up, “I will send you the tax forms to fill out for your losses too.”
Defeated Eric and Marcus looked at each other. “Of course, you will keep in touch. I’m sure a bunch of honest investors like yourselves wouldn’t defraud a fellow investor.” Eric said to the group before walking out the door.
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