by ANDREA SMITH
“How the hell did you get over here?”
“I took a freaking cab. Is that all you can say? Notice anything different about me?”
“I was getting to that. Who fucked you up?”
“Who the hell do you think? Slash, you ass!”
“Calm down, Garnet. Sit down so I can clean you up.”
“Fuck that,” she yelled, “My fucking life is in danger now because of you!”
I was in the bathroom, gathering first aid shit to treat her cuts. She had dried blood caked on her face from the lacerations; what the hell? When did this happen?
I returned quickly with cotton balls, hydrogen peroxide the rest of the antibacterial ointment that Sunny had left for me.
Despite her anger and protestations, she finally allowed me to treat her abrasions. Once finished, I sat back on my haunches and looked at her. Damn, she was a mess. Had I caused this? Was I responsible for what Slash had done to her?
“You wanna tell me what happened?”
“Yeah; Slash doesn’t like the fact that I’ve been blowing you. Someone’s been running their mouth about that, amongst other things. Plus, someone ripped off one of those bags of a thousand Percocets from the club house; Slash blamed me for running my mouth. I fucking bet it was Taz.”
“Whoa, wait a minute now, Garnet. Taz wouldn’t say anything about that. He’s like a brother to me; we go way back.”
“Hope you’re sure about that,” she hissed, “Here, this is for you.”
She tossed a patch at me that had been rolled up in her right hand. I could see the threads that had once attached it to a vest, hanging from it making it obvious that it had been ripped off in anger. I recognized it immediately as being one that had been sewn onto the front of Slash’s vest. It read: ‘Snitches Are a Dying Breed.’
I looked over at her.
“Yep, Slash gave it to me after he smacked me around. I figure you deserve that more than me. I won’t be back, Slate; I’m leaving Indy. If you’re smart, you’ll leave and not come back either.”
CHAPTER 31
It had been more than a week since I had sat numbly and listened to what Special Agent Donovan had told me at Brenda’s house. Once again, I had left there reeling from the information he had divulged, though I knew it was probably just the tip of the iceberg. There was an on-going investigation. Apparently, Jack was in the thick of it. I thanked God; and my best friends for putting me in touch with Alan. I was fairly certain that Donovan knew that whatever Jack had done clearly was without my knowledge or participation.
From what Donovan relayed, there appeared to be some money laundering and insurance fraud going on within our personal account. He was not sure to what extent, if any, Banion Pharmaceuticals was involved.
He seemed to think Jack was likely working with people outside of the company, but couldn’t be sure until further undercover investigations took place. I was going to be more than furious if Jack had, in fact, put my father’s company at risk.
Donovan cautioned me to keep everything confidential. He assured me that he would keep me updated as appropriate. He asked that I keep him informed of Jack’s traveling agenda; and anything else I could glean without drawing suspicion. I assured him that I would.
Jack was spending more time in Indianapolis these days. I suspected part of it was because Lindsey was home and working at Banion for the summer. For all of Jack’s nasty traits, I couldn’t deny that he was a good father to Lindsey.
She enjoyed her job in the lab. She was working with a few other interns and seemed particularly fascinated with a student named Eric. He was in his final year of the Masters of Pharmacy program at Purdue. She said he had changed his major a couple of times before deciding on Pharmaceutical Science.
“It’s definitely a growing field that can’t be out-sourced,” Jack commented while we were having breakfast. “What about you, Lindsey? Have you decided to declare a major at Cornell?”
“Yes,” she said, smiling, “I’ve decided to major in Sociology.”
I thought Jack was going to choke on his coffee.
“Really?” I asked, “Why Sociology?”
“Exactly,” Jack commented, wiping his mouth with a napkin.
Lindsey frowned at him before continuing, “Daddy, did you know that most Fortune 500 companies are hiring Sociology majors over Business majors?”
“It’s probably because they can get them cheap,” he said with a laugh. It was my turn to shoot him a dirty look.
“I think it’s wonderful, Lindsey. It sounds as if the degree program will make for a well-rounded individual.”
“Exactly, Mom; I’m glad that you understand my rationale here even if Daddy doesn’t.”
(Chalk one up for Mom. . .)
“Lindsey, as long as you’re happy, we’re happy. You’ll always have a position waiting for you at Banion. It isn’t as if you will ever have to support yourself by stripping or pole-dancing.”
(Damn! That was a zinger and a half. Asshole!)
“Geez, Daddy! Where in the heck did that come from?”
“I’m just reiterating the fact that you have opportunities available to you that most people would love to have.”
“Yes,” I joined in, “You can thank your grandfather for that, too.”
Lindsey looked back and forth between us. “Am I missing something here?”
“No sweetie,” Jack said, giving her a dazzling smile, “Your mother is right; your grandfather has provided you with a wonderful legacy.”
“Well I’m grateful, but I may choose to live somewhere other than Indianapolis, you know?”
“Not a problem,” Jack replied, “Banion has locations all over the U.S. You simply need to pick one.”
“Eric says that people that have their lives planned out for them in advance end up being slaves to someone else’s dreams.”
“I suppose one of Eric’s previous majors was philosophy then?” Jack asked, his tone not hiding his irritation.
Lindsey shrugged, getting up from the table. “I don’t know but it makes sense to me.” She left the kitchen to get dressed for work.
Jack looked over at me with a scowl. “I hope she isn’t starting to go through some rebellious stage; God knows I’m going to be saddled with the spoils of your belated one before too long,” he snapped, looking at my baby bump with disgust.
(Rat bastard jerk!)
I caught Lindsey on her way out of the door.
“Honey,” I said, “I just want you to know that whatever path you choose to take is yours to take; I want you to carve your own career path and identity for yourself, okay?”
“Okay Mom. I love you for that. Eric says that any man that would stifle a woman’s individuality is simply using his control over her to carve an identity for himself. Is that what Daddy did to you, Mom?”
“Oh Lindsey; I guess it’s a little more complicated than that, but I think you get the picture. I don’t think that you have a thing to worry about.”
She leaned in, giving me a kiss on the cheek. “See you this evening, Mom.”
“I’m looking forward to it, Lindsey; perhaps you’ll have to invite this new man in your life over for a cook-out soon.”
She cocked an eyebrow in confusion.
“Eric?”
“Oh Mom, Eric is a little too old and worldly for me; I do like the way he thinks though. Maybe I will.” She flashed me one of her own dazzling smiles and was out the door.
I swung by and picked Brenda up. She was going with me to my monthly appointment with my OB/GYN. I was to have an ultrasound today. I hadn’t decided whether or not I wanted to know the sex of the baby. I was four months pregnant; so far no complaints.
“So how has Jack been treating you since the ‘big talk’?”
“He is still the rat bastard but only with his mouth; hasn’t argued, hasn’t touched me and seems to be comfortable that no one is poking into his life of crime.”
“I suppose that’s the best we can hope
for at the moment.”
I was chewing on my lower lip without thinking about it when Brenda caught it.
“What’s stressing you now? I haven’t seen you chew on your lip for ages.”
“Brenda - how is Lindsey going to take this when whatever happens to Jack happens?”
“First of all, we don’t know the extent of what the charges might be, if any. They might not be interested in prosecuting Jack if he offers them names of the higher ups in all of this.”
“What if Jack is the higher up; maybe even the highest?”
“Then that was his choice, Sam. Lindsey will see her father for what he is. She was bound to eventually when you divorced his ass.”
“Divorce is one thing; going to a federal penitentiary is another.”
“Damn it, Samantha; you did nothing to deserve this; Lindsey did nothing to deserve this so I guess you will have to make her understand that her father is a criminal and will be punished for his crimes. I know that sounds awful, but I am just glad your dad will finally get to see him for the schmuck he is. It has pissed me off all of these years how your father gave him so much power and trust within that company.”
“Don’t you think Daddy did that for me, Brenda?”
“Then why didn’t he give the gilded career to you instead of the rat bastard?”
I giggled; even Brenda was now referring to him as the RB.
“You know my dad; a woman’s place is not in his corporate world.”
“Hmmph,” she snorted; Brenda’s father had not been nearly as old-fashioned as mine; plus she had three sisters so what choice did he have?
Everything went well at Dr. Bailey’s. I decided to have the doctor let Brenda know the sex of the baby; I would decide later whether I wanted to know. She was certainly playing the poker face after getting that little piece of information.
“It’s another girl, isn’t it?” I asked her on the way out to my car.
“I’m not telling you unless you sign a waiver, witnessed by George that you will cause bodily injury to me unless I tell you the sex of your baby. That was our agreement, remember?”
“Whatever,” I said, waving my hand dismissively at her as I got into the car.
Fifteen minutes later Brenda noticed when I didn’t get off at the usual exit of the freeway.
“Where are we going?”
“I just want to make one quick stop in town,” I said.
She looked out the window; it took her about five seconds to figure it out.
“Are you serious, Samantha?”
“Why not?”
“Do you remember how upset you were the last time we stopped by his apartment?”
“Uh huh, but I never got to talk to him, Bren. He needs to know the situation. I mean Jack totally fucked this up. I need to set Slate straight. He’ll understand about what the rat bastard did. I want him to know.”
“I can’t stop you but I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
I pulled up next to the alley that bordered Slate’s apartment. My heart fell when I saw that his pick-up truck was not there. Maybe I could leave him a note with my new phone number on it. I grabbed my purse, locating a pen and a scrap of paper from a receipt. I scribbled a quick note to him.
‘Slate - I stopped by to see you. We need to talk. It was the rat bastard that sent that text to you. It wasn’t me. Please call me! Here is my number: 317-555-0182. -Sunny’
“Be right back,” I said to Brenda, getting out of my Mercedes.
I traipsed up the wooden staircase to his apartment. As soon as I reached the landing outside of his door, I knew that I wouldn’t be leaving the note. The blinds to his kitchen door were raised up. I peered inside and it was obvious the apartment was empty. There was a ‘For Rent’ sign on the inside door with the words, ‘Inquire at Folsom Realty.’
My heart dropped to my knees. Slate was gone. I had no clue as to where he went. I wasn’t going to contact Folsom Realty; knowing Slate, he had left no forwarding address. I hurried back down the staircase and got into my car.
“What?”
“He’s gone,” I said, my voice quivering with disappointment and sadness. “His apartment is empty, Brenda. I’ll never see him again.” The tears started flowing immediately; I felt so alone and empty knowing that I would never see this ‘bad boy’ that I was now convinced I truly loved.
“Honey, it’s just as well -- “
“I love him, Brenda. I fucking love him!”
“Samantha, stop. Honey, you don’t even know him; how could you think you love him? You were just infatuated with him, remember? We talked about your need to go through your ‘bad boy’ stage that you never had the opportunity to do. It’s just hormones, sweetie.”
“It wasn’t! He was mine and now he is gone!”
Brenda forced me to switch places with her so that she could drive. By the time we reached her house, I had stopped the wailing and was now simply expelling involuntary sobs from the hysteria.
“Listen,” she said to me in her concerned, BFF tone, “Come on inside and let me fix you some herbal tea.”
“I don’t want herbal tea; I want Slate,” I wailed again.
“Okay listen, listen to me. He’s gone, Sam. If it is meant to be, then he will find you somehow.”
“You know he can’t,” I snapped, “He doesn’t even know who I am. That’s how fucking duplicitous I was with him. It’s my fault; it is my entire fault. My baby girl will never know her daddy.”
“Honey, it’s not a girl,” she said quickly, forgetting that I wasn’t supposed to know.
“Fuck!” she said, pissed at herself.
“A boy?”
She nodded.
I wailed even louder. “My baby boy will never know his daddy . . .”
CHAPTER 32
For the next day and a half I took to my bed at home. I told Lindsey I wasn’t feeling well and needed to take it easy; Jack didn’t even ask. Lindsey tended to me like the mother hen that I was supposed to be to her. My mother called and Lindsey filled her in the on the ‘good news’.
(Shit! My mother was going to act all hurt that I hadn’t told her about the baby.)
They were coming back from their condo in Maui to be here for my birthday on the 12th; and stay through Lindsey’s birthday on July 30th. They weren’t planning to head out again until mid- August when they left for San Diego where they vacationed until mid-October.
Lindsey had brought the phone to me so that I could speak to my mom; I shook my head lip-syncing to tell her I was napping. Lindsey frowned, but complied with my request. I knew she hated lying to anyone.
“Mom what is it with you? You don’t even want to talk to Grandma?”
“I’m just not up to her million questions as to why I haven’t told her yet.”
“Well Mom, it is a good question. Why haven’t you told her?”
“I don’t know Lindsey; I guess I just don’t want her fussing over me like you are,” I lied.
Lindsey rolled her eyes, fluffing my pillows.
“Can I get you some soup or maybe some tea, Mom?”
“Tea would be great honey, thanks.” She left my room to get the tea.
When she returned, she had made a cup for herself. She sat down on the bed next to me, handing me my cup as I sat up in bed.
“Mom,” she said, tentatively, “Why aren’t you and Daddy sharing a room anymore?”
(There it was. The question that I had been waiting to be asked.)
“Lindsey,” I started, “This pregnancy has been tough on me; I’m restless and to be honest, it was a real surprise for both of us.”
(No lie there!)
“I’m just more comfortable having my own room, sweetie.”
“But Mom, you and Daddy should be closer than ever now. I mean, I know how Daddy can be, but I’m certain he understands that maybe you’re not in the mood for - well, you know --”
(Oh God, she was not going there; really?)
I felt myself blush
and then thankfully her cell phone rang.
“Hi,” she said, smiling from ear to ear. “What’s up?”
She paused, listening to whoever was on the other end talk.
“Well yeah, I think that sounds great. Sure, I would love to go. What time?”
Another pause while the time was set for whatever activity she had agreed to attend.
“Okay, see you then.”
She got off the phone beaming.
“What?”
“That was Eric. We are going to see a movie tomorrow and then have coffee afterwards.”
“That’s nice, honey. I’m glad you’re getting out. You’ve been so busy with work and now trying to mother me, you need to have some fun.”
“Yeah; I’m actually very comfortable with him. I can hardly wait for you to meet him. Do you need anything else, Mom? I’d kind of like to wash my hair and do my nails.”
“You go right ahead, sweetie. I’m going to finish my tea, read and then go to sleep.”
“Okay Mom,” she said, leaning over to give me a kiss on the cheek. “See you at breakfast?”
“Absolutely.”
She left me then; alone in my private refuge where I had been for the past two days wallowing in self-pity. I needed to snap out of this funk. Brenda was right; if it was meant to be then Slate wouldn’t have left. I needed to get on with life and see how things unfolded with all of Jack’s shenanigans. Lindsey would most likely have a lot to face in the near future. Hopefully her budding relationship with Eric would cushion the blows for her. I still worried about what all of this would do to her once it all came to light.
I finished my tea then took a shower and got into a summer nightgown. I opened the window, letting the cool night breeze filter in. I was sleepy now; the tea had done its magic for calming and relaxing me.
I curled up underneath my cool sheets and started to doze off when I felt a flutter in my womb. Our baby was moving; the baby that Slate and I had made. It gave me comfort and sadness at the same time. I placed my hand on my abdomen and fell asleep feeling the very fluttery movement that felt like butterflies spreading their wings.
CHAPTER 33