The Simpatico Series Box Set (3 books in 1)

by Dermot Davis

  “Yes, he sure does,” Fiona just about agreed.

  “The judge is going to take one look at you and dismiss the case right there and then,” she said excitedly. “You look like you could be the president in that suit, doesn’t he, sweetie?”

  “Yes,” Fiona agreed without smiling. “He does look like he could be president. You know what?” she then said as she stood. “I need to get some new clothes. I’ll see you at the court house?” she said to Andrew as she kissed his cheek.

  “Oh, don’t let me chase you off, sweetie,” Angela said.

  “Oh, no, it was arranged; we were just talking about it before you came. I’ll see you both later, okay?” she said as she quickly left.

  Obsessed and enraged with the harsh reality of Fiona’s confession, for the rest of the day, Andrew could barely think about anything else. Fiona’s father had used his cap, the single possession that he had from his father, in a dark ritual to destroy his life. Although he hadn’t seen firsthand evidence that the order was evil, that act alone, dark spiritual ritual to kill his two best friends in a terrible accident, could only be perceived as wicked.

  Finding himself sitting at a table with some high-priced lawyers that he had never met in a squeaky-clean, half-empty courtroom that weirdly smelled of formaldehyde, Andrew watched the court scene unfold before him as if he had no interest in its outcome.

  Seated, while the primary attorney made his case to the judge, Andrew turned to look at those sitting behind. Seated among a scattering of strangers who, presumably, had an interest in some court cases later scheduled, Fiona sat between his mother and her father. Giving him a timid wave of support, she looked oddly subdued and worried. His mother also looked worried as she sat erect and held her body as if she were actually seated on a bed of nails.

  Simon, on the other hand, looked wildly encouraging and optimistic. Giving him a smile and a thumbs up, he looked and acted like he was Andrew’s father. In fact, to any neutral observer, the only three interested parties to his case looked like they all belonged together, like one small, happy family.

  Reminding himself to be careful and not reveal his hand to Simon too soon, Andrew smiled back at the group as if he too were worried and yet still was hoping for the best. As he turned back around, to hear the judge respond to the arguments presented by opposing counsel, Andrew heard very little.

  Consumed with the desperate urge to plot revenge against Fiona’s father, Andrew barely heard the judge as he addressed him and all of the attorneys present, and the entire courtroom, and uttered words like, “serious implications,” “obstruction of justice,” “insufficient cause,” “contamination of evidence,” “unprepared” and “rush to trial.” Then the judge banged his gavel, signed and closed the folder before him, and stood. It was as if his work was done and he could now join his other judge buddies on the golf course.

  Displaying barely a smile, and as if acting purely from a sense of professional courtesy, both of Andrew’s lawyers took turns shaking his hand while both simply said one word: congratulations. His family acted a little differently, however. Rushing to greet him, they surrounded him with hugs and kisses and back slaps that would make a prize boxer envious.

  “Oh, my god,” his mother gushed. “I thought I was going to die when the judge picked up the hammer! I can’t believe it still, you’re a free man!” she said as her tears flowed freely.

  “Congratulations, son,” Simon said, extending his hand as if he was taking full responsibility and he secretly wanted to be thanked.

  “Thanks for everything, Simon,” Andrew said, taking the man’s hand firmly like he was actually grateful, from the bottom of his heart. “This wouldn’t have happened without you.”

  “Oh, please,” Simon said, displaying a rare blush in his ghostly-white, overfed cheeks. “It’s the lawyers that did all the hard work.”

  “Yes, but it was you that made them work so hard,” Andrew said, checking himself that he might be overdoing the gratitude a little bit.

  “Let’s go celebrate,” Simon then announced. “My treat.”

  Checking in with Fiona, Andrew looked into her eyes to see where she stood with everything. Her watery sad eyes were hard for him to read, however, although her down-turned head suggested that she might still be feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the day’s events. Giving her a sympathetic smile, he pulled her to him and embraced her tightly as they strolled away from the court room.

  “This is for you,” she said as she handed him a small jewelry box.

  “What is it?” he asked as he opened it.

  “Just a little something to mark the occasion,” she said sweetly.

  Andrew’s eyes widened when he saw what looked like a silver bird with outstretched wings. “It’s beautiful,” he said. “What is it?”

  “It’s a hawk,” she said, like he should have known. “It stands for freedom and the ability to see the higher dimensions. You can pin it to something in your house to remind you or I could get you a chain if you wanted to wear it around your neck?”

  “I love it,” Andrew said, pulling her close and kissing her on the forehead. “I’m going to put it right by my bed so it’s the first thing I see every morning,” he said and then paused. “First thing after your beautiful face and eyes, that is,” he added.

  “You got that right, mister,” she said jokingly, although her heart wasn’t really engaged.

  Chapter 15

  Back to work-as-usual, Andrew sat behind his desk and found it hard to concentrate on the list of tasks with which he was now tardy in completing. He allowed himself the luxury of the morning to bask in the elated feeling that he was now a free man and had no further issues with the law. He couldn’t fully consider himself a free man, however, as he was still effectively a prisoner chained to the very desk which he now sat behind.

  Stomped for a decent scheme that could secure his release, from his job and the Order of the Wise Serpents, Andrew became more and more frustrated when he failed to devise a course of action that he could successfully plan out for himself.

  “I have two major announcements to impart,” Simon said as he strolled through the open office door like he was the king of all kings.

  “Yes!” Andrew said with false enthusiasm as he made a show of turning his body from the computer monitor so as to give Simon his full attention. “I’m all ears!”

  “First up,” Simon said while placing a large folder on Andrew’s desk. “Quanta Systems goes public in three days, ta, da!” he said with his subdued version of fanfare.

  “Brilliant,” Andrew said, turning the folder the right way up and wondering if he was expected to examine the contents right there and then.

  “Secondly,” Simon said, like he was now playing a game of which-hand-is-the-quarter-in magic with his four-year-old son. “Guess who has been chosen to be the primary hosts and caretakers of our distinguished UK guest next week?”

  “Who?” Andrew asked with false interest.

  “You and me, is who!” Simon said with a grin that any Cheshire cat would be proud of. “That’s what I’m talking about,” he said like he was down with the cool things that the young people say.

  “Fantastic!” Andrew lied and wondered secretly why that was. Why had he, a novice to the business and order, been paired with Simon for such an important task? He felt dread and uncertainty over this likely unanswerable question.

  “This is your copy of her itinerary, for your eyes only, of course,” he said with a knowing wink-wink. “Post that up on Facebook and I’ll have to kill you,” he said with a hand gesture that suggested Andrew would get a bullet. “Mum’s the word,” he then said, touching his nose with his finger as he made a backwards exit from Andrew’s office.

  “Brilliant!” Andrew called out after him but he did so only to amuse himself. Turning open the new folder on his desk, he casually scanned through its contents. So, this is how they make their money, he thought to himself. Take out the CEO of a private company, b
uy them out and then make a fortune when they have it go public with a brand new board of directors that stand to make millions in the transaction.

  It was no surprise to him to see Simon’s name not just listed on the new board but pretty much on every page of the legal documents. He also knew that even though it couldn’t be proven, some type of crime had been committed. In an ideal world, the very same Simon would be accused of said crime, found guilty and judiciously awarded some serious jail time.

  A crime had been committed and Simon was the guilty party, Andrew repeated to himself, a plan finally forming itself in his mind. Sitting back in his swivel chair, Andrew closed his eyes, eased back his head and smiled when the devious plot took cogent shape in his scheming brain. He had two days to plant some juicy, incriminating evidence on Simon and luckily for him he knew exactly what evidence was required and precisely where to plant it.

  Spending a good deal of his afternoon creating bogus rec sheets that, at the right time, he would send down to the archives, he knew that he would then have to plant incriminating evidence in matching files in the archives itself. He didn’t have keys to the archives and even if he did he could not simply show up there for fear of incriminating himself. Checking his calendar, and casting an eye over the itinerary and the times and dates of his proposed hosting of the visiting dignitary, Andrew made a mental note of the required correct timing if his plan was to succeed.

  In his head he ran through a number of staff that he knew had access to the archives. Although he couldn’t enroll them in his plan, for obvious reasons, he could still possibly fool them into either giving him access afterhours or allowing him borrow their keys. Neither of the possibilities seemed doable so he shifted to Plan B; for the safety of those that he would enlist in his scheming, he would need to employ subterfuge. They should not have any knowledge or clue about his activities nor any role that were to unwittingly play in the illegal operation.

  Knowing that on Friday evening, Lily would most likely be attending her regular order meeting, Andrew showed up with a plan to have her unknowingly part with her keys. He arrived just as the meeting was about to begin and, beating another member to a vacant seat, he sat beside her as if it were the most casual thing in the world. “Well, howdy, stranger!” Lily said, looking very pleased to see him. “What brings a big shot like you to our humble little meeting?”

  “Oh, I missed my regular meeting and I thought I’d catch this one,” Andrew lied. “It’s great to see you.”

  “You too,” she said, wondering to herself about his words and sensing that he actually had an ulterior motive for showing up. As the meeting started, they both turned their attention to the front. Although he hadn’t been thinking much about Lily in quite a while, he noticed that it felt good sitting beside her, almost like he missed seeing her but didn’t realize it until he now saw her again.

  “What you doing after?” he asked when the meeting broke up.

  She looked at him closely, wondering his intent. “Not much, you?” she asked.

  “Not much,” he answered. “Want to hang out for a bit?”

  “Sure,” she answered. “What have you got in mind?”

  “I don’t know,” he said, playing it cool. “Want to grab a coffee or a drink, maybe?”

  “Either works for me,” she said, still acting guardedly. “Can’t have a late night, though,” she said as they left the building. “School night, you know?”

  “Yeah, no, sure, me too,” he said, questioning himself why he was suddenly feeling nervous. Or guilty? “You like rum?” he asked.

  “Rum? I don’t know, I guess. You got some?” she asked with a smirk.

  “Yeah, some guy we do business with brought some back from Brazil,” he said, trying out the story he had previously concocted in his head. “He said it’s premium stuff, world class.”

  “From Brazil?” Lily asked like she didn’t believe it. “Rum doesn’t come from Brazil,” she said mockingly. “Rum is a tropical island drink, like they make it in the Caribbean and Latin America, don’t they?”

  “Yeah, absolutely,” Andrew agreed, kicking himself for not doing his research.

  “I guess the guy’s not wrong. Must be special if it comes from Brazil, right?”

  “That’s exactly what he said,” Andrew agreed. “I mean, whoever heard of anything from Brazil, you know?”

  “Well, lots of things come from Brazil, dingbat,” Lily said, warming up to him like old times. “Coffee, coconuts, bananas, beef, soy beans…”

  “Brazil nuts.”

  “Brazil nuts,” Lily agreed with a smile. “My place or yours?” she then asked casually. “You still living with your mom?” she asked without judgment.

  “Fraid so.”

  “Guess it’s my place, then,” she said as they walked to her car. “You walking or driving?” she asked.

  “I’ve got a rental,” he said, indicating a vehicle parked a few spaces away. “Got my license back,” he said with a smile.

  “Wanna follow me?”

  “I’ll be right behind you,” Andrew agreed with a flourish.

  Lily stopped outside her apartment and, with her hand sticking out the open window, she directed him to park on the street while she drove her own car through the opening gate that led to the underground parking lot for the building. Once parked, Andrew reached into the back seat and lifted up the familiar-looking ice cooler that he had found after his initiation ceremony. Opening it up, he took out one of the full green glass bottles.

  Remembering that Lily had said she had joined the order as a kid he made the assumption that she was never given the Ambrosia to drink and if she was, it was so long ago she would not remember its actual taste. Taking a deep breath and blowing away all thoughts of doubt and guilt from his mind, he wrapped the bottle in more appealing, pink tissue paper.

  “That’s the special brew, huh?” Lily asked when he entered her apartment.

  “Yeah,” Andrew said, not being too solicitous with showing it off. “It’s not in any special bottle or anything, more of a home brew, I think. Where are your glasses?”

  “Glasses are up top,” she said, opening a cabinet. “I’ll go get some ice.”

  Andrew quickly opened the green glass bottle and poured some of the liquid inside into one of the tallest glasses he could find. He hurriedly slipped a bottle of water from his pocket and swiftly filled up the other glass, the one that would be his.

  “So, what’s going on?” she asked as she plonked a bucket of ice on the counter before him. “You still seeing the boss’s girl?” she asked as she kicked her work shoes off with obvious relief.

  “Uh, yeah,” Andrew answered, nervously plopping some ice into each glass.

  “You don’t sound too sure about it,” Lily joked. “You guys on the rocks?”

  “On the rocks,” Andrew repeated as he served her the ice cold drink.

  “So, that’s a yes?” she asked, staying on topic.

  “What?” Andrew asked, seating himself on an armchair opposite.

  “You and your girl,” she said, sounding impatient. “What’s the story?”

  “Oh, yeah, we’re not, you know, seeing eye to eye at the moment.”

  “You’re taking a break?” she asked. “I know all about that, cheers,” she said, lifting her glass and leaning forward to clink his glass.

  “Cheers,” he said, doing likewise.

  “Mm, you were right,” she said, taking a sip of her drink. “This is good!”

  “I know, right?” he asked as he took a sip of his water.

  “We love you, Brazil!” she said as she took a more generous gulp. “So, you’re on a break with your girl and you thought that you’d look up your old workmate, Lily, huh?”

  “Oh, no, it’s not like that,” Andrew fudged. “We’re still together; I’d never cheat, I mean, I wasn’t thinking about you and me, like that.”

  “Oh, relax, tightwad. Don’t be getting your panties in a twist. I’m just razzing
you. I’m glad you looked me up,” she said, lifting her glass in another toast.

  “I didn’t look you up, especially,” Andrew protested. “I needed to go to the meeting.”

  “Oh, cut out the bullshit,” Lily said sharply. “It’s me you’re talking to. I could see right through you from day one. Nobody needs to go to a meeting, least of all you.”

  “I guess,” Andrew admitted, sheepishly.

  “I was there to witness your first meeting,” she said with a broad grin. “Never forget that, hot pants.”

  “That was pretty embarrassing, sure enough,” Andrew said, feigning embarrassment.

  “What is up with you?” she then asked bluntly.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean what the heck is going on here? If you don’t stop acting weird and come clean with me, you’re going to have to leave, okay?” she said seriously. “There’s something on your mind you have to talk about, what?”

  “Well, there is something,” Andrew stalled, fearing that his whole plan was being jeopardized.

  “Spill it,” Lily said impatiently. “Business or personal?”

  “Uh, business,” Andrew said and was upset to see her making a face that suggested that she may have bit into a sour lemon. “And personal.”

  “I knew it,” she said excitedly. “I could see the train wreck from a mile off. Dating the daughter of the boss? Nah,” she made a sound like a buzzer. “Bad idea.”

  Andrew nodded his head in agreement and mentally willed her to drink faster. Finishing off his own drink, he stood up. “Wow, that was good,” he said like he meant it. “I’ve got to have another, how about you?”

  “Nah, I’m good,” Lily said, looking annoyed that he kept stalling.

  “I don’t know that it’s working out,” Andrew then said as he sat back down without making his drink. Encouraged that he had got her attention, he looked down at the carpet as if he was wondering where to begin.

  “Between you and her?” she asked.

  “And the boss,” Andrew said, scrambling in his mind for a story.