Termination Man

by Edward Trimnell

  I glanced at the clock in my hotel room. It was already past 8:45. There was no practical way that I could act on this new information. Not tonight, at least.

  Finally, I noticed a few emails between Shawn and Claire’s private email account. They were deliberately low-key and ambiguous—a discretion that I was sure Claire had insisted on—but they confirmed another one of my suspicions: Claire was still sleeping with Shawn Myers. Or she was at least still on friendly terms with him.

  Now I faced another choice: I had not told Claire about the spying operation that I was carrying out against Shawn Myers. There was no way I could—not with the two of them sharing a bed on a regular basis. But I wondered: Did I have a moral obligation to tell Claire what Shawn Myers really was? That night in Claire’s hotel room, full of rage at discovering Shawn and Claire together, I had voiced my suspicions. Now, with Tina Shields dead, I had a collection of evidence that could very nearly be called proof.

  Of course I had such an obligation: But that would expose Donna and Alyssa to further risk. As headstrong and cagey as Claire was, she would continue to assume that I had fabricated all of the evidence against Shawn. She might very well tell him everything, which would drive Shawn to rage, and violence against Donna and Alyssa.

  I decided that for the time being I would have to let Claire take care of herself.

  Chapter 74

  We met at noon at her little house in New Hastings—during my UP&S lunch hour, and between her two daytime cleaning shifts.

  As I lay in the bed with her, our bodies pleasantly warm and moist with perspiration, it occurred to me that I could have made an entirely different set of choices regarding the direction of my life.

  There had been nothing preordained about my present identity as the Termination Man—the business consultant who existed in the shadowy realm between the ethical standards that corporate leaders publicly talked about, and the secrets that they shared when they were huddled unseen in their boardrooms.

  I could have had a wife like Donna—a daughter like Alyssa.

  What had held me back from that sort of a life—and driven me into the one I had chosen?

  First of all, there was the working-class kid’s desire to make good, to avoid the hardships and privations that my father had suffered. My father was in his late sixties now and old beyond his years; and he had been thoroughly broken even before that—from the routine of standing over clattering, smoking machines everyday, from the opportunistic union bosses and the corporate managers who viewed men like my father as disposal tools.

  But I had compensated too much in the opposite direction. Fearing my father’s destiny, I had fled from everything that had the semblance of the mundane and the ordinary, from the simple pleasures of a woman like Donna, of a warm home where a family awaited me.

  Was it too late, I wondered. Could I undo what I had done to myself? And what about the things I had done to others?

  “Donna” I said. “We need to talk.”

  She nuzzled against my bare chest and sighed. “Uh-oh,” she said with mock seriousness. “This isn’t the part where you’re going to tell me that you’re leaving me for your secretary, I hope.”

  “No,” I said. “Something far worse, I’m afraid. It’s about Kurt and Shawn. I’ve realized that up until now, I’d been writing both of them off as blowhards. Men who might put up a show of intimidation—but men who would never step over the line into real violence, because they ultimately had too much to lose.”

  “And now?”

  “Now I don’t know. I’m in unknown territory here. I don’t know what these men are capable of anymore.”

  She turned her face up toward mine.

  “So what are you saying, Craig?”

  “I’m saying that you need to be more careful now, until I can find a way to neutralize Shawn and his father. They are going to be even more unpredictable now, with that organization, Citizens for Corporate Truth, pressuring them on local TV.”

  “You’re right,” Donna said. “I saw that report on Channel 11. I’m sure Shawn Myers is sweating bullets right now. And his father, too.”

  “Don’t do anything to provoke them if you can avoid it.”

  “It’s never been my intention to provoke them,” she said, a bit defensively. “All I’m trying to do here is earn a living and protect my daughter.”

  “I know. I know. But if Shawn is the man that Tina Shields said he is, then you—we—need to be extra careful. If any of them contacts you, I want you to call me immediately.”

  “Okay. I’ve got you. But how long will this go on, do you think? Alyssa and I are already looking over our shoulders at every turn.”

  “Just until—until I can figure this out and maybe—” I hesitated. “Until I can get the two of you out of here.”

  Donna laughed and ran a hand across my cheek. “Craig: What are you saying? Is this some sort of knight in shining armor routine? I mean—don’t get me wrong: I appreciate it, and all. And to tell you the truth, I’m halfway to falling in love with you.”

  “I know,” I said. And I did know. “Same here.” I felt that I should say more to her admission, but it seemed beyond me. Emotional proclamations of affection had never been my strong suit.

  “That’s good,” she said. “Very good. But that doesn’t mean that the two of us can simply run off together, like two star-crossed teenagers in a movie. I’ve got a cleaning company to run. Alyssa’s got school. And I assume that your life isn’t completely without responsibilities.”

  I thought about my parents in Dayton, and my sister Laurie.

  “No,” I said. “It isn’t.”

  “Then we need to take this slowly,” she said. “For your sake and mine. And Alyssa’s. I don’t want to get hurt. I don’t Alyssa to get hurt. Her father hurt us both very badly, you know.”

  “I won’t hurt you,” I said. “And I won’t let anyone else hurt you—either of you.”

  It was a promise that I hoped I would be able to keep.

  Chapter 75

  Donna was preparing to leave for her afternoon cleaning job when her cell phone rang. The incoming call was from a number that she didn't recognize.

  “Hello? Is this Ms. Donna Chalmers?”

  Donna felt relief at hearing the female voice. She had feared that it might be a call from Shawn—or even the elder Myers.

  “This is she. And who is this, please?”

  “My name is Janet Porter. I work with the organization Citizens for Corporate Truth. You may be aware of our work.”

  “I know your group,” Donna said. “I saw the Channel 11 report.”

  “Excellent!” Janet Porter chimed. “I need to ask for a few minutes of your time. We need to talk.”

  What followed was a brief explanation of the strategy that the Citizens for Corporate Truth were executing against Shawn Myers and his protectors at TP Automotive. Much of this Donna had already surmised or gathered from her earlier discussion with Craig. She knew that Janet Porter could not have called her simply to give a status report. This woman wanted something; and she was not long in telling Donna what it was.

  “We’ve got a problem, Ms. Chalmers. As you know, Tina Shields is dead. And I strongly suspect that Shawn Myers had something to do with her death, if not directly, then indirectly. But I can’t prove it. Here’s where I need your help, though: Tina Shields told me all about what Shawn Myers did at Ohio State all those years ago, when he was a student—about how he raped her, and how he probably killed those two young women in their apartment. As you know, Ms. Chalmers, that was all a long time ago, more than fifteen years, in fact; and with Tina Shields dead, our link to Shawn Myers’s past crimes is very tenuous.”

  “Okay,” said Donna. “What does this have to do with me?”

  “An excellent question. I can hold a press conference and tell the media everything that Tina Shields told me. But without her alive, it will be easy for TP Automotive to dismiss my claims as mere hearsay. We at Citizens for
Corporate Truth might even have a lawsuit on our hands.”

  “I’m sorry, but—”

  “This is where you come in, Ms. Chalmers. You and your daughter. Alyssa—isn’t that her name? I know that Tina told you everything she told me, more or less. I want you and Alyssa to hold a joint press conference with me. We’ll tell everyone in the Channel 11 viewing area—everyone in the world, really—the truth about Shawn Myers, and the cover-up that has been orchestrated on Shawn’s behalf.”

  Of course, Donna thought. This woman wanted her and Alyssa to go public, to join Citizens for Corporate Truth in the exhibitionism of public protest. She knew that Janet Porter had an agenda: Her organization had made a name for itself as the self-appointed conscience of American business. Janet Porter lived for a “cause.”

  Donna, meanwhile, as a mother, lived for her daughter. This woman obviously had no qualms about subjecting Alyssa to certain embarrassment and probable danger. She remembered what Craig had told her—that Kurt and Shawn Myers might be more than privileged bullies. They might be capable of serious violence. She thought about Tina Shields, strangled and discarded on the banks of the Olentangy River.

  “I’ll have to give it some thought,” Donna told her. “I need some time to sort this out.”

  “Ms. Chalmers,” Janet said in a placating but mildly exasperated tone. “Timing is crucial in a matter like this. Right now we have the momentum of public opinion on our side. And Citizens for Corporate Truth has developed a relationship with Bob Sanders of Channel 11 news. You know him—the one who is well known for exposing fraud and various other corporate shenanigans. He’s a valuable asset to have on our side.”

  “Yes, but I have my daughter to think about as well,” Donna said. “She’s only fifteen. She’s been pretty shaken up by all of this.”

  Janet Porter seemed not have heard her. “Don’t forget, Ms. Chalmers, that we live in an era of short attention spans and twenty-four hour news cycles. If we delay, then there is always a chance that some other issue—some other cause—will emerge to take away the attention that we have so painstakingly garnered. I need your full cooperation at this juncture. Don’t worry—Citizens for Corporate Truth employs several media consultants who can coach you and your daughter in advance of the press conference. But we need to strike while the iron is hot.”

  Donna paused a moment before answering. She thought angrily: When did Alyssa and I join “we”—“we” including Citizens for Corporate Truth?

  Donna spoke firmly this time, determined not to allow the other woman to out-talk her. “Ms. Porter, I’m afraid that I need to think about what is best for my daughter in this situation. I don’t think that it would be good for Alyssa to take part in a public news conference like you’re suggesting. This has been a very traumatic, very humiliating experience for her. And Alyssa is very shy and withdrawn among her peer group. If she were to make a televised statement, then everyone would know about her ordeal.”

  “But that’s precisely what we need, Ms. Chalmers! We need to air the dirty laundry of TP Automotive in the light of day. That’s what we at Citizens for Corporate Truth do best as activists.”

  “And what I do best—or try to do best—as a mother….a single mother, I’ll remind you…is to look out for the interests of my daughter.”

  “Right now you can best look after your daughter’s interests by helping us bring down the arrogant leadership of TP Automotive!”

  It was as if she and Janet Porter were speaking different languages. Janet Porter’s aim was the public humiliation of a large corporation; and if a single mother and her daughter were collateral casualties in that fight—so be it.

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Porter. I’m already late for my next cleaning job. Good day, now.”

  Donna pushed her cell phone’s call terminate button.

  Janet Porter stared at the screen of her cell phone. Donna Chalmers had terminated their call. The nerve of her.

  Some people didn’t understand. They wanted to reap the benefits of social change, but they weren’t prepared to put themselves and their loved ones on the line. They valued their warm, secure homes, their safety, their petty bourgeois comforts.

  Well, she thought, if Donna Chalmers won’t cooperate, then we’ll find another way to smoke the leadership of TP Automotive out into the open.

  The private investigators employed by Citizens for Corporate Truth had obtained the cell phone numbers of most of the TP Automotive management team. The ones that could not be discovered through electronic means were leaked by subordinates among the company’s headquarters staff. Even the most loyal administrative assistant will consider handing over a list of phone numbers when offered several thousand dollars in cash, no questions asked.

  This meant that Janet could call any of the TP Automotive managers assigned to UP&S. But she would have to focus on their weakest link. Kurt Myers, the senior man posted to New Hastings, had the bearing and self-control of an elder statesman. He was wily and skilled in the art of public relations warfare. It would be difficult for her to goad him into making a mistake.

  The lawyer, Bernard Chapman, was similarly unflappable. Janet surmised that he was in constant communication with an outside counsel—probably a law firm based in Chicago or Detroit. He was not the ideal target.

  The ideal target was, of course, the man who had committed all the crimes in the first place: Shawn Myers. Janet had done her research on Shawn Myers. If he was the man she believed him to be, then it would be easy to provoke him. And once provoked, he would say or do something stupid. Something that would expose him as the criminal he was.

  Perhaps she didn’t need the help of Tina Shields or Donna Chalmers after all.

  Chapter 76

  Janet Porter waited until Friday to spring her trap.

  Throughout the workweek, she knew, a man like Shawn Myers would be restrained by his environment. The buttoned-down meetings held in plush boardrooms, the summation of complex problems in the sterile language of corporatese—all of these factors tended to blunt both rage and desire. Surrounded by more stable men like his father—and more rational men like the lawyer Bernie Chapman—Shawn Myers would hold back.

  Janet knew that most crimes of passion occur on the weekend. During the long, solitary hours between Friday night and Monday morning, men are forced to be alone with their inner demons. This is the time when their baser passions can easily push them over the edge.

  She called Shawn on Friday afternoon, shortly after the end of the lunch hour, when he would already be transitioning from the corporate Shawn Myers to the private Shawn Myers.

  Shawn was surprised to hear her voice on the other end of the telephone line. That was good; her very presence on the phone seemed to disorient him—just as she had planned. After a brief preliminary statement, to which the stunned and tongue-tied Shawn Myers made little in the way of a response, Janet closed in for the kill.

  “You can be sure, Mr. Myers, that Citizens for Corporate Truth is aware of all your crimes. All of them. I don’t have the evidence to prove it yet; but I know that you killed Tina Shields. And before you killed her—or had her killed—Tina Shields told me all about your extracurricular activities during your college days.”

  Then finally Shawn spoke: “Talk is cheap. Jolly good luck proving any of that. No one is going to believe you.”

  “Maybe,” Janet countered. “Maybe no one will take the word of a dead woman who had a substance abuse problem. A woman whose life you destroyed in more ways than one, Mr. Myers. But you’ve been a bad boy, haven’t you, Shawn? You never discarded your old habits. There is another woman who is very much alive, one who can give testimony regarding your more recent crimes. A woman who can tell the world exactly what you are. When we combine her testimony with the information from Tina Shields, it will all paint a very incriminating picture of you, don’t you think?”

  Janet then terminated the call, before Shawn Myers had any chance to reply.

  She looked down at
the now silent phone in her hand, contemplating the implications and ramifications of what had just taken place:

  Shawn Myers would now know that Citizens for Corporate Truth was specifically targeting him. And the man would already know that he was guilty. These realizations would bring his sense of desperation to the breaking point.

  And when Shawn finally broke, Citizens for Corporate Truth would be there in the aftermath. Janet would not tell the world that she had told it so. She would not be so transparent. She would, however, lay out the evidence that Citizens for Corporate Truth had amply documented. The same evidence that she had alluded to during her interview on Channel 11.

  It would all come true. And then no one would ever question the judgment of the organization again. No one would doubt the word of Janet Porter when she told the world that a rogue corporation had to be stopped.

  She would appear on national television, and state that she had warned the world—she had warned Shawn’s final victim, in fact. She had exposed the atmosphere of corruption that was rampant at TP Automotive. But no one had taken her or her group seriously enough.

  If only everyone had listened, she would say.

  Chapter 77

  Shawn felt his head grow light, with a combination of fear, confusion, and implacable rage. The Porter woman had terminated the phone call. Shawn checked his cell phone’s call log and saw—no surprise—that Janet Porter had blocked her cell phone number. He couldn't call the woman back.

  Nor could he track her down in any reasonable amount of time—not that it mattered, anyway. What could he say to say to her? She had obviously called simply to rattle him. This was another way in which Citizens for Corporate Truth had chosen to engage in psychological warfare, he figured.