The Summer of Me: A Novel

by Angela Benson

  “I met her at a New Year’s Eve party given by one of my frat brothers. I thought I was lucky. Turns out she’d targeted me.”

  “It figures,” Daniel said. A temporary services agency like Phil’s HR Solutions was a prime conduit for money laundering.

  “Well, we started seeing each other and, as you can imagine, she had very expensive tastes. More expensive than I was able to provide on my salary, which was hefty, but not hefty enough. She was a good sport about it though, which drew me to her even more. She wined and dined me, man! Do you know how it feels to have a beautiful woman pursue you? Most women like her would walk away from a brother with light pockets, but not Margo. She had me, man. I was thinking she could be the one.”

  “In a way she was.”

  Phil grunted and then folded his arms across his chest. “In the worst way. To make a long story short, she told me how she made her money and suggested I could get in on it. All I had to do was accept some wire transfers, take my cut, and transfer the rest to another account. It was easy.”

  Daniel clapped his hands together. “And just like that, you went for it? You put your job at risk. Heck, you put your freedom at risk.”

  Phil shrugged. “I was a fool for love.”

  Daniel thought Phil had been a fool all right but he wasn’t sure what role love played in it. More like greed. Phil had a history of taking shortcuts, a history that had almost landed him in jail the last time their paths crossed. The man enjoyed playing with fire. “Do you still see this Margo?”

  Phil shook his head. “We were strong while I was being integrated into the program, as she called it. She guided me every step of the way. The last step was expanding the network and bringing in others to do what I was doing. That’s when we started funneling the money through HR Solutions. After I got the hang of it, she moved on to her next target.”

  “So you never see her?”

  “I don’t see anybody. All transactions are wire transactions. I get a new burner cell every month and every month I get an update phone call that sounds like an automated message.”

  “When did the threats start?”

  Phil sighed. “After I figured out Margo had been using me, I decided to get out. Turns out it wasn’t that simple. They threatened to report me to the police if I didn’t keep up my end of the program. I don’t have an electronic trail of crime on them but they have evidence of multiple counts of fraud on me. And these are federal crimes with mandatory sentences. They had me.”

  “So why did you make contact with GDW Investigations?”

  Phil laughed. “Another woman. Can you believe it?”

  “I believe it, all right.”

  “Bertice is different, special. She’s not high maintenance like Margo. She’s a hardworking sister trying to make the most of the cards she’s been dealt. I’ve gotten her caught up in all this and I need to get her out.”

  “Does she know you’re working to get out?”

  Phil shook his head. “She’s totally in the dark. She has no idea she’s involved in fraud and George and William both think it best we keep it that way. She’s a good woman, Daniel. She just made a bad choice.”

  “Because she trusted you?”

  Phil nodded. “She needed some extra money and I hooked her up. I was still with Margo at the time, but I’ve gotten to know her since that ended. I don’t want to see her hurt.”

  “She’s going to be hurt, Phil, you need to resign yourself to that truth.”

  Phil met his eyes. “She could really be the one.”

  Daniel didn’t know what to say. He could tell Phil had genuine feelings for this Bertice but he didn’t see how there was any chance for them. When the woman found out the depth of Phil’s deception, she was not going to be happy. “Who knows what can happen,” Daniel said, seeking to give the man the hope he so desperately wanted. “Maybe you two can pick up the pieces and put all this behind you.”

  “I don’t like lying to her,” Phil said. “She’s involving herself more and more each day. She’s brought a couple of people to me, friends she wanted to help. She’s bringing another one tomorrow. She’s getting in deeper without knowing it and she’s doing the same to her friends. I want to turn her friends down but that would be a case of me doing something differently.”

  Daniel nodded. “You hold some responsibility, Phil, but this Bertice had to know what she was doing was illegal and so did her friends. If they didn’t, they were willfully ignorant. You may have dangled the carrot but they willingly reached for it.”

  “I know,” Phil said, “but that doesn’t make it any easier. I want to tell her the truth.”

  “George and William are right. You can’t. Not now. It’s too dangerous. After we gather all the evidence, we need to make some key high-level arrests, and then you can sit her down and tell her everything.”

  “It’ll be too late.”

  Daniel thought he was probably right, but he didn’t rub it in. “There’s always hope. This will surely test your relationship, but it could survive.”

  “That’s the thing,” Phil said. “We don’t really have a romantic relationship. Not yet. I haven’t gotten up the nerve to tell her how I feel. She sees me only as a helpful buddy. When she finds out the truth, even that will be gone.”

  Daniel had no response for the man. Phil was looking at multiple federal fraud counts and all he could think about was a woman he hadn’t even taken on one date.

  “Like I said, she’s bringing another friend by tomorrow,” Phil continued. “So we’ll bring another person into this deceit.”

  “It’ll all be over soon,” Daniel said. “We’ll do everything we can to make sure the net catches the big fish while keeping damage to the little fish to a minimum.”

  “I’m counting on it,” Phil said.

  Chapter 8

  DESTINY TRIED TO FOCUS ON WHAT HER SON WAS TELLING her, but her mind was on Kenneth. He had never been late with his child-support payments until this month. She hoped it was an oversight on his part because he’d been distracted with planning the California trip. They didn’t have a child-support order from the courts, only an informal agreement between the two of them that she found more than generous. In fact, she thought Kenneth’s contribution was more than what the court would have ruled. After he’d married Mary Margaret, to her amazement, he’d increased what he sent to her. Though she could definitely use more, she didn’t have any problem with the amount he gave.

  “Good night, sweetie,” she said when KJ finally wound down from telling her about his day. Any other night she would have kept him on the phone just to hear his voice, but tonight she needed to talk to Kenneth. “Put your sister on the phone so I can tell her good night.”

  “Okay,” he said.

  “I love you, KJ,” she added.

  “Love you, too, Mom,” he said before she heard him yelling for his sister.

  “Mom,” Kenae began as soon as she came on the line. “Me and Miranda are watching a movie.”

  “I’m not going to keep you,” she said. “I just wanted to say good night and tell you that I love you.”

  Destiny knew by her daughter’s deep sigh that she’d rolled her eyes. “You already told me,” Kenae said.

  “Well, I wanted to tell you again. Sue me.”

  Kenae laughed. “Okay, Mom.”

  “Now put your dad on the phone. I need to talk to him for a minute. And tell your cousin Miranda that I said hello.”

  “Okay,” she said. Then she yelled for her dad.

  Destiny would have to talk to her kids about using their indoor voices more often. All that yelling was too much.

  “Hey, Destiny,” Kenneth said when he came on the phone. “What can I do for you?”

  Destiny cleared her throat. She hated to talk to Kenneth about money and she was glad she rarely had to do it. “It’s about the child support. It hasn’t arrived.”

  The ensuing silence was not a good sign.

  “Kenneth,” she said,
“did you hear me?”

  “I heard you.”

  “And?”

  “Well, since the kids are with me for the summer, I didn’t think I needed to pay child support.”

  “You didn’t think—” Destiny began. She stopped so she could calm down. “And why would you think that?” she asked after she gathered herself. “Neither the rent nor utilities stopped because you decided to take the kids for the summer. What makes you think the child support should stop?”

  “I’m taking care of the kids’ day-to-day needs this summer so I figured I’d use the child-support money for their care.”

  “And you didn’t think you needed to discuss this with me?” Destiny could feel herself getting angry. “You just made this decision all on your own.”

  “Mary Margaret and I thought—”

  “I don’t care what Mary Margaret thought. I’m asking you, not her. You can’t just stop paying without discussing it with me, Kenneth. That’s not fair to me or the kids.”

  Kenneth sighed. “Well, I’m discussing it with you now. I don’t think I should pay child support this summer since the kids are with me full-time.”

  “Well, I think you should. It’s not like you have extra expenses. I know Mary Margaret’s job is paying for everything.”

  “I thought we were leaving Mary Margaret out of this.”

  Destiny took a deep breath. Losing her temper would not get her what she wanted. “You can’t do this, Kenneth. I depend on that money each month to keep a roof over your kids’ heads. It’s not like I’m using it on extras for myself. You don’t see me in designer anything. Do you expect me to move into a cheaper place for the summer? Come on.”

  Kenneth sighed. “So what do you want, Destiny? I don’t think it’s fair for me to pay the full amount since the kids are with us and we’re paying for everything. I won’t put Mary Margaret in the position of having to take care of all their expenses. It’s already coming out of her pocket for the excursions we’re planning to take. I have to contribute something.”

  “That’s between you and Mary Margaret. All I want is what’s coming to me.”

  Kenneth sighed again. “How much do you want, Destiny?”

  “I want what you usually send.”

  “That’s not going to happen.”

  “I knew I should have taken you to court,” she mumbled. “Then you wouldn’t try to pull some stunt like this.”

  “It’s not a stunt, Destiny.”

  “Why didn’t you discuss it with me earlier then? Why didn’t you tell me you planned to stop the child support while the children were with you for the summer? You intentionally misled me. You and Mary Margaret both.”

  “We did no such thing.”

  “Well, it certainly seems that way to me. Why didn’t either of you tell me then? Why did I have to find out this way?”

  Silence was his answer to that question.

  “Did you think I wouldn’t let them go with you if you told me? Did you think I’d hold my kids hostage over some child support? Is that what you thought?”

  Again, silence.

  “Speak up, Kenneth. Now’s your time to talk.”

  “Hold on a minute,” he said. “I don’t want the kids to hear this.”

  Destiny drilled her fingers on the counter while she waited for Kenneth to get back on the line. She couldn’t believe he had done this to her. She was a reasonable woman. If he had told her his plans for child support, they could have worked something out in advance. It wasn’t fair of him to blindside her the way he had.

  “Okay,” he said, “I’m back.”

  Destiny thought the phone sounded different. “Do you have me on speakerphone?”

  He cleared his throat. “Yes,” he said. “Mary Margaret is with me. Do you mind?”

  “It’s a fine time to ask me,” she said. Of course she minded, but she’d never let them know. “I don’t care if Mary Margaret listens. Maybe she can explain why you two never thought to tell me you wouldn’t be paying child support this summer. Can you tell me why, Mary Margaret?”

  Destiny heard some mumbled words back and forth between Kenneth and Mary Margaret. Then she heard him take Mary Margaret off speaker.

  “What?” she asked. “All of a sudden Mary Margaret doesn’t want to listen?”

  “This doesn’t concern Mary Margaret.”

  “I agree,” Destiny said, “but you put her on the phone, not me.”

  “Well, I shouldn’t have. You and I will work this out. We always have, haven’t we?”

  Destiny had to agree. “Yes. That’s why this thing surprised me. It’s not like you, so I can’t help but feel there was some manipulation involved.”

  Kenneth sighed again. “Look, Destiny, maybe I did worry that you wouldn’t let the kids come with me if you knew I was planning to stop the child-support payments.”

  Destiny sank back in her chair. “When did you start thinking so little of me, Kenneth? You, of all people, should know that I put the kids first.”

  “If that’s the case, why are you arguing with me about the money?”

  “Because you know as well as I do that I budget with that money in mind. If you were going to stop the payments, you should have discussed it with me so I could make the necessary adjustments.”

  “You’re right,” he finally said. “I should have discussed it with you. It was unfair of me to drop it on you this way. I apologize.”

  Destiny wasn’t going to fall into that trap. “Does that mean you’re sending the money?”

  He sighed. “No, it means I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier that I wasn’t going to send it.”

  “That’s not fair, Kenneth. What am I supposed to do? I was counting on that money.”

  “You can’t tell me that your expenses aren’t less now than they would be if the kids were with you.”

  “Yes, but not by that much. A major part of that support money goes for fixed expenses.”

  “So what do we do? Do you want me to cut the trip short and bring the kids back home?”

  It was Destiny’s turn to sigh. Of course that wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted her kids to have the experience, but she also wanted the child-support money. She was beginning to realize she couldn’t have both. “Is it what you want? Do you want to cut the trip short?” she asked. She could bluff as well as he could.

  “You know it’s not what I want but you have to be reasonable. You have to contribute something. Mary Margaret—”

  “I thought we were leaving Mary Margaret out of this.”

  “These are our kids, Destiny, not hers. She’s trying to be a good stepparent, but she can’t be fully responsible for them. I won’t do that to her.”

  Destiny sighed, knowing she had lost this round. Unfortunately for her, everything Kenneth said made sense. She hated when facts got in the way of a good argument. “Okay, okay,” she said. “What if you keep half and send me half? Will that work?”

  “That’ll work,” he said, much too quickly. She wondered if she’d given in too easily. “I’ll have the money transferred into your account tomorrow.”

  “Thank you,” she said.

  “I’m not a bad guy, Destiny. I want to do right by you and the kids.”

  “I know you do, Kenneth. Just don’t do anything like this again. You have to talk to me.”

  “I know,” he said. “But you can be unpredictable. There was a time when you really would have held the kids hostage to get what you wanted.”

  “That was a long time ago. It’s not fair of you to hold the things I did back then against me. I’ve been nothing but reasonable with you and Mary Margaret. I want only what’s best for the kids.”

  “So do I,” he said. “Are we clear on everything now?”

  “Yes,” she said. “Give Mary Margaret my regards.”

  “Right,” he said, the word dripping with sarcasm.

  She chuckled. “Good night, Kenneth.”

  When she hung up the phone, Destiny knew
she had made the right decision to relent about the money. She also knew that, as a result, her plans to get the house in Gwinnett were even more in jeopardy. Not only did she need extra money to move, she also needed more money to maintain her current household. Her situation was growing dire.

  Chapter 9

  DANIEL SMILED AT THE WOMAN, UNABLE TO RECALL her name. He only knew she was a member of the matrons group at Faith Community. According to Gavin, the women brought him lunch on special occasions, but they had brought lunch every day since Daniel’s arrival, with a different woman delivering the meal each day. “Thank you so much,” he said. “But you-all really don’t have to feed me every day.”

  “We don’t mind, Brother Daniel,” the woman said. “It’s part of our ministry.”

  A knock on the open door interrupted their conversation. “Something smells good in here,” Natalie said, walking fully into the office next to Gavin’s where Daniel had been installed. “What do you have here, Eve?” she asked. “I hope there’s enough for me.”

  Eve smiled, but Daniel noticed the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Of course, Sister Weston. We brought enough for you and the pastor. We’d never leave you out.”

  Natalie leaned over and brushed a kiss against the woman’s cheek. “I knew you wouldn’t,” she said. “I was just teasing.” Natalie rubbed her stomach. “Gavin loves your cooking, so you know he dived in as soon as you brought it to him. I stopped by his office before coming here to meet with Daniel so I dived in with him. You are the best cook I know. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about catering the upcoming regional pastors’ wives luncheon. Not a big group, about forty women. Do you think you’d be interested? You’d make some great contacts.”

  Daniel watched as Eve’s eyes brightened.

  “I’m more than interested,” she said. “Thank you so much for thinking of me. I really want to get my catering business off the ground. Every event helps me to do that.”

  “We have to help each other,” Natalie said. “It’s all part of belonging to the family of God.”

  “I’m glad to be a part of a church that lives those words rather than just saying them,” Eve said to Natalie. Then she turned to Daniel. “Enjoy your lunch. I’m going to run along. I don’t want to keep you two from your meeting.”