"Maybe," Shylah semi-agreed. "We'll talk about it, but for now, let's go get me my magazines. I know the grocery store has 'em. I'm gonna buy every single one they got!"
"Well, ok, Beautiful. You just do that! Let's go then."
"Only if I get a kiss first. Kiss me." Shylah stood in wait, her lips pursed and ready. Mark gave them a quick peck and started to walk to the truck. "That's all I get," Shylah screamed after him. "You gotta do better'n that! Get back here, and kiss me like you really mean it!"
Mark rushed to Shylah and leaned her back across his left arm and planted a kiss so powerful that it made Shylah feel too weak to recover or pull herself to her feet. "How was that," Mark asked, smiling.
"B... Better. Definitely better."
As soon as Shylah could walk again, the couple proceeded to the truck and headed into town. In not time, by visiting various places not only in their town but in another town nearby, they had purchased more than a half of a dozen magazines that dealt with weddings or some kind of crafting that seemed that it might give ideas for centerpieces and decorations.
Little did Mark or Shylah know, but while they were busy buying magazines, Riley Raymond Colfax was busy tailing Sara. This, of course, was exactly what Mark had paid Colfax to do, but Colfax had quickly found out Sara's dirty secrets and was planning to confront her. He figured that with the hefty amount of money Sara had already gotten and with so much more to come, she might be willing to buy further secrecy and keep Colfax from informing Mark of anything. Colfax, however, planned that he would still tell Mark what he had learned, even if Sara paid him. The large payment from his suspect would only be an added bonus to his normal wages.
Sara agreed that she did not need Mark to find out anything bad about her and reluctantly went to the bank and made a one hundred thousand dollar cash withdrawal to pay Colfax. Colfax happily handed over everything that he had on Sara, i.e. her college transcript, arrest records, newspaper articles about her, medical records, the works. Much of the stuff was illegal for Colfax to have or to even try to obtain, but he knew that Sara would have no proof of his having them. There was nothing that she could do to Colfax, and she knew it well.
Colfax still had copies of everything. He made duplicates of every little minute note, down to the vaguest or the minutest of detail. He had every intention of showing and giving copies of everything to Mark when the time came. Sara would have no knowledge of what had been done until Mark tried to use the information against her. By then, Colfax would be back in Waycross. Colfax saw Sara as just a stupid, somewhat naive, con artist, nothing more, nothing less. She was inexperienced at pulling off cons worth more than a few thousand dollars and would believe anything that she thought might help her to win her battle with Mark. Colfax even managed to convince Sara to sleep with him in order for him to make no mention of anything that he had found. Sara knew that even verbal knowledge of anything could set Mark off on a quest to find the same things that Colfax had found.
Sara had already spoken to an attorney from Atlanta and had a meeting scheduled with her for Thursday morning. Sara thought that a female attorney would be more sympathetic and fight all the harder for the case. If they could get the case heard somewhere that would allow a jury, and they could get females on the jury, they would have a fair chance of winning. Sara performed her due diligence and spent hours online researching probate laws and procedures and knew exactly the same things that Stan Walker told Mark. Now, it was a waiting game. If Sara could get through until Thursday and get the lawsuit started, she would be golden.
That evening, as Mark and Shylah were enjoying a quiet, private dinner, Mark received a call from Colfax, asking him to meet him at "that old dilapidated white barn on East Fairmont Road." Colfax had worked through the night and all of the day and was ready to hand off all of his materials to Mark and be on his way home. "Bring me another thousand dollar, Man," Colfax informed Mark before hanging up. "There's incidentals involved."
"Incidentals? I already paid you three thousand dollars. Are you done? And why do you need more? Doesn't the three thousand cover it all?"
"Nope. The three thousand was my retainer. I am done, but I'm keeping what's left of that money. There are secondary expenditures involved, non-inclusive of retainers. I thought I made that clear to you yesterday."
"No. You didn't. Alright, whatever. If you got somethin' good, I'll give you your money. I gotta run into town and get money from the ATM cuz I don't have it all on me or here at the house. Unless... you don't mind another check." Mark hoped that Colfax would agree. He could easily jaunt from his house to the meeting location in minutes, if he didn't have to go into town.
"I prefer cash. I let you write me a check yesterday for the retainer, but you know, I haven't cashed that yet. I got gas to buy, food, wear and tear on my vehicle, and I had to go buy a new camera."
"A new camera? I'm payin' for you to get a new camera? You're a P.I. You don't have good cameras?! Whatever. I'll be there soon. Let's just get this over with."
"Just me and you, nobody else. Leave your woman at home. This is business, and we don't need anybody else involved. You bring me the cash, and I hand you all the stuff I got on this person you had me tail. Deal?"
"Yeah. Deal. I'll be there in probably about twenty to thirty minutes."
Mark hung up, angered at Colfax, almost wanting to punch him in the face. "I have to go, Baby. That Colfax guy got me what I wanted, apparently. I have to go meet him out on Fairmont Road."
"Want me to go with you?"
"No. You stay here, Babe. He said come alone. I just wanna get this done."
"Mark," Shylah wearily replied, "I got a bad feelin' about this. Just be careful."
"I will, Baby. I got my trusty knife here plus a Bowie in the truck and my forty-five under the seat. I'll be fine."
"Ok. Give me a kiss. I'll be here when you get back, and maybe we can pick up where we left off."
Mark quickly put his arms around Shylah and obliged her request, kissing her swiftly and intensely, throwing her backward as he did, dipping her so low that she had difficulty holding herself up.
"Bye, Baby," Mark said as he started to leave the room.
"Bye. See you soon, Hon. Be careful, though, and keep your phone on you, just in case!"
"Ok. I doubt I'll be gone much more'n an hour."
Mark showed up at the meeting place but saw no other vehicle and no one. He parked his truck well onto the property, almost past the barn, and waited. As soon as he shut off the engine, he saw a figure emerge from inside the nearly fallen structure.
"Hello there, Mark. Step out of the truck, please," Colfax's voice sounded sternly.
Mark hurriedly stuffed his phone into his pocket and grabbed his gun from under the seat, checking the safety and stuffing it into the front of his pants, concealed well by his shirt.
"What do you got for me," Mark asked as he stepped toward Colfax.
"I think you're gonna love this, but first, you got the money?"
"Yep. Here it is," Mark answered tossing an envelope to Colfax. "You wanna count it?"
"Naw. Don't need to. I trust you. So here's the deal. I got all kinds of stuff for you. I got records, newspaper articles, you name it. I won't bother you about all the guys I saw comin' and goin' from her motel room. I'm sure you don't care. There isn't a whole lot of stuff on her as far as some of that goes, but I did find out that she got kicked out of college for theft and some kind of prank she pulled. I know that's not much, but it gets better. She's been in and out of jail most of her teen years, and she's been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, manic depression, extreme rage, and one doctor even diagnosed that she might be schizophrenic, possibly even sociopathic."
"That's all," Mark asked. "That's not enough to get her to back off. She probably won't even care if I let that stuff out."
"No. No. No. I'd still be on the job if that was all. Here's the big kicker. You ready?"
"Ain't that why I'm here?!"
; "Ok. She has a warrant out for her arrest in Macon for two counts of robbery and two counts of grand larceny. How is that for good intel?"
"Damn. That is pretty damn good."
"Yep. You alert the authorities where she is, and boom! You got her where you want her! But guess what. There's more!"
"How could there possibly be more," Mark wondered.
"I took these photos from her motel room. Here you go. Check those out!" Colfax handed Mark a stack of pictures, none of which Mark noticed anything odd about at first.
"What am I lookin' at here," Mark asked, puzzled.
"Just look at each one closely. The first few are photos of your house and your business. Now, why would she take those? They're at night. There's no need for her to do that. And look at the timestamps. They were taken before you met her! What's even funnier is that I found out about your assault and got suspicious. I asked around about what happened and found the newspaper piece on it. Then, I talked to the motel clerk and found out that Sara's been stayin' there a lot longer than you thought. She's been there for weeks. She's been livin' there! She was casing you before she ever showed up in your life! Now, look at the last picture in the stack."
"That's me and Shylah. It's dated weeks ago. What the hell?!"
"Yep. She was watchin' your every move. I'd say she's been plannin' on tryin' to get money out of you for a while now. That, or she just wanted revenge on your family. Either way... and here is the big, big news, the pièce de résistance. You know the guy that assaulted you at the bar. You think that was just a random occurrence? No! It turns out that this Tim Redenour and your little Sara go way back. They went to the same prep school. The motel clerk told me that he saw some young, well-built guy goin' to Sara's room numerous times, startin' right after she got there. You'd be surprised how much you can find out in twenty-four hours if you ask the right people the right questions and do enough careful research online. There you go. There's what I got for you, and here is all the proof you need, here in this folder. There's copies of everything in there, every record or article I could find. Some of it's illegal for you to have, so don't get caught with it. If there's anything else you need me to do, you know where to find me. Just use this stuff to your best advantage and nail the little bitch to the wall. May I suggest you set her up at a time and location of your choosing to discuss the issues between you two and make sure that some of your town's finest just happen to be sittin' nearby? That's what I'd do anyway. Do what you want. I'm out of here. I haven't had a wink of sleep since you hired me, but that's the kind of professional I am. I don't rest til the job's done. Bye, Mark Crady." With that said, Colfax trudged off through the brush toward the road, soon, so distant from Mark that he could not be seen at all. It was if he were a ghost.
Mark thought it all to be too perfect. Even though nothing would ever happen to Tim Redenour, Mark would ensure that Sara got caught for what she had done and could not cause harm to anyone else. Mark felt that Sara needed serious psychiatric aid and would never receive any of it living as she did. She would have to be locked up to receive it.
Mark promptly called Dan Brady and informed him of everything. Dan said nothing about Mark having illegal documents and information. All that mattered was that Mark had information on the whereabouts of a wanted criminal and that catching said criminal would free Mark of nearly all of his troubles. Dan told Mark to set up a meeting with Sara, that it didn't matter where or when, but to just set it up. Dan would make sure that as long as he was made known of the time and locale of the meet, he or some other officers would be waiting near enough to quickly overtake and arrest Sara.
Mark quickly called Sara to discuss the estate, telling her that he might be willing, once the estate cleared probate, to pay half of the value of the estate to her, over time, with the profits of the steel plant, if she would agree to keep it all out of court. Sara knew that there was a chance that Mark had spoken to Colfax and that he knew her dark secrets and even that she was wanted by the police. She felt apprehensive about the whole thing and informed Mark that if he made mention of anything bad about her and that if he didn't call Colfax to end everything with him that she would continue with the lawsuit and make sure that Mark was dragged through the legal system until he either had to give up more than half of the estate or had become too broke to afford more than to live in a trailer park. Sara was truly naive about many things and hoped that Mark meant everything he said, that he would give up half of the estate willingly. She thought that her threats might be enough to keep things civil, adding to them that she would make sure to ruin every other part of Mark's life if he did not comply, including causing harm to Shylah. Sara also assumed, from her encounters and experiences with Mark, that he was far too nice of a guy and too dedicated to family to ever use the information about his sister against her.
Mark wished that he had recorded the phone conversation, but he thought that getting Sara arrested would be enough. He let Dan Brady know, right away, of the meeting that would take place at eight-thirty at the Pine Tree Lodge. Dan agreed that he would inform his department of the meet and guarantee that he, though not yet on duty, and another officer were there to catch Sara. Mark made sure to let Shylah know of everything that had happened and would happen, but it worried Shylah ever so. She worried that Sara might try to do something to Mark and begged him to be as careful and astute as possible.
Mark waited for Dan and the other officer to meet him a block away from the police station and quickly led them to the motel. The officers were to wait a block away from the motel, in an unmarked car, and await Mark's signal before coming to arrest Sara. They hoped that their street clothes would not give them away as they approached. Dan and his partner were, after parking, to separate and walk in opposite directions to points within view of the motel parking lot. One officer would come from the north and another from the southeast, both appearing to be walking down the street.
"Remember, guys," Mark reminded Dan and the other officer, "Wait til you see me light my cigarette. I'll give you a few minutes before I do."
"Good," Dan remarked. "Sounds good. We'll conceal our weapons, but if you see her try to run before we get there, we're countin' on you to help out. Be ready to chase her down if you have to."
"Will do, Dan. Now, we gotta get goin'. Don't wanna be late."
Mark pulled up in the Pine Tree Lodge parking lot at eight-twenty-eight, with a nervousness in his stomach that was enough to make him vomit. He dreaded what he was going to have to do and hated it that he had already had to lie and would have to tell more lies, even if they were to Sara, a woman that had so betrayed his trust and insulted him at every turn.
Mark stepped from his truck, anxious to get things finished and get Sara out of his life. He thought that maybe, one day, he would see if Sara had been prosecuted and convicted, and if so, he might even go to visit her in prison or a state hospital, whichever she got sent to, but for some time, he would try to forget that she even existed once the ordeal was ended. "Hey, Sara," Mark snappily greeted the woman. He wanted to make everything seem believable and assumed that Sara would expect him to be a bit snippy. He didn't have to act at all. Part of him wanted to knock Sara to the ground.
"Hi, Mark. So, are you really gonna give me half the estate?"
"Maybe. It is a lot of money. I thought maybe we could talk some figures," Mark replied, cringing at the sight of his so-called sister.
"You said half," Sara screamed.
"I said maybe half, maybe as much as half. If I do give you half, it's gonna take a long time to get you the money. I can't sell the plant. I mean, I literally cannot sell it. The company charter won't allow me to sell. I could maybe pay you so much a year or a month until I've paid you half of what the estate is currently worth. It might take til the day I die, but you'd be completely set for life! This is the only way I could even try to do this. But I need you to agree that you are never gonna sue me for any reason."
"So what... I'd get like a big
check every month from you until I die? We're talkin' about millions and millions of dollars?"
"Yeah. I figure maybe two million dollars a year for life, which means you'd actually get more than half of what the estate is currently worth. You'd get two million, every year, or broken down monthly, forever." Mark, of course, meant none of it. Hopefully, he thought, Sara would find her way to prison or a hospital very soon, but if not, Mark would spend every penny he had or ever would have to fight her. She would get nothing, if he could help it, daughter of Thomas Crady or not.
"Ok. We could do that, but I want it in writing, from your lawyer! I want it soon! Go tomorrow, and have him write all this up. I'll sign whatever, and we can go from there. Make sure that I get something very soon. I just lost a lot of my money on somethin'. What I have now isn't gonna last."
"Yeah. Absolutely. I'll go first thing in the morning. I really didn't want anything to have to come to all this. We could've worked somethin' out together sooner and didn't have to let things get so bad, ya know. We could've made sure that we could be a family and not fight and stuff. " Mark took a long, awkward pause before continuing, to buy time. "I wish things had been different, Sara. I really do."
"Yeah, well, whatever. But you know, you didn't have to hire a private investigator to follow me around. That was wrong of you! I do not appreciate that! Why'd you do that anyway?" Sara looked almost hurt, but Mark wondered if she were capable of feeling anything at all or of displaying it if she did.
"Sorry about that. I needed to see what you were up to and see if I could find something to get you to agree to back off and not sue me. I wanted to try to work somethin' out and give you your fair share. The way it happened was just too much. That was all it was. I wanted to convince you to do this, what we're doin' right now, talkin' things out. Anyway, it's all said and done now." Mark happily pulled a cigarette out of his pack and put it to his lips. As he lit it, he saw Brady and the other officer slowly moving from the shadows and converging on the place.
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