“Pax?”
“You okay? Where are you?” asked Pax.
“I’m just driving home from the police station. How did you know?” Keece could tell by the concern in his voice and his questions that he knew what had happened.
“It’s all over the news Keece.” He paused while she gasped in horror.
“What are they saying?” she asked.
“Well-known Orthopedic surgeon embezzled funds to run away with his mistress. Do you know this woman, Jancy Taylor?”
Keece, paused, gasping for breath. She felt like someone had punched her in the gut. Mistress? The thought of Pele with another woman made her physically ill. Her head was spinning. She tried not to succumb to the nausea overwhelming her senses.
“Keece? Keece, are you okay?” Pax was really concerned now.
“I’m here. Sorry. Pax I’m just so stunned. I’ve never heard of Jancy Taylor, nor can I even fathom that Pele has been having an affair. I know he works late all the time, but I’ve never seen any other signs. Could it be true? Could I really be that oblivious?” She was sobbing now. “Oh Pax, I feel like my whole world has been turned upside down!” she wailed.
Pax trying to soothe her replied, “I’ll be on a plane tonight or first thing tomorrow. Maddy can handle our kids for a few days. Go home. Try not to answer your phone. Take care of your kids. I’ll get there as fast as I can,” he said authoritatively. He had always been the responsible older brother.
She did as he said. The children had heard the news and had so many questions, the same questions she had. She assured them there must be a mistake, then took all their electronic devices away and did her best to distract them with a movie.
While the children were occupied, Pax called again, this time from the airport.
“I’ll be there by eleven tonight. Did you see any of the news? Do you know this woman?” he asked.
Keece could tell Pax was angry to think Pele had done this to her.
“Pax, she doesn't look familiar at all. In fact, that photo looks like it was taken at a charity event that I attended with Pele. I remember because I recognize the shirt he wore. I had given it to him for his birthday. I was teasing him about it because he never wears it. His excuse was that he doesn’t like to wear it because it’s his favorite and he saves it for special occasions. It’s all so strange. I just don’t understand how this could be true!” she exclaimed.
Then, on a more somber note, she continued, “I started to go through all our credit card records, bank statements, phone records…I haven’t found any signs of an affair or unusual activity.”
“Keep looking,” Pax said emphatically. “I’ll be there soon. If this is all a mistake and he is innocent, someone is definitely going to have to answer for it.”
Keece sent the children to bed and then continued her search. As she pulled up the statements for their investment accounts her face went ashen. In their largest account a large transfer had been made the day before. The account had been zeroed out, over $10M transferred to another account. Her heart sank. She immediately fired off an email to their account advisor to find out what had happened, but she was truly scared now. Could this all really be true? How could she ignore the fact that he had obviously tried to run off with all their money? No one could have made that transfer except one of them, or someone with Pele’s consent. And could she get it back? What if it was gone? Or in the hands of this Jancy Taylor?
Chapter 6
The next few weeks were a whirlwind. The evidence kept mounting against Pele. Pele continued to deny all the charges.
“Keece, I swear to you, you are the only woman I could ever love. I have no idea who this Jancy Taylor is. You know you were with me the night that picture was taken.”
“But Pele, what about our money?” She had brought in the email back from their investment counselor, confirming he had sent him instructions to transfer out the funds. When the advisor checked, the funds had all gone to an account in St Martin, a joint account for Jancy Taylor and Pele Rosen. The advisor could not access the account.
“Keece, I don’t know. I wish I did. I can only tell you that I never sent instructions to transfer that money. I swear to you I’ve been set up. I don’t know who did this, but I promise you I have not been unfaithful, and I did not steal our money.”
The reality was that Pele was starting to suspect he knew who had done this to him. He flashed back to that night Radi had been over and on his computer. But how could he tell Keece? It would only give her a reason to believe he had not married for love. He hoped and prayed his “friend” would soon feel the hardship was enough and stop this madness.
Keece left the jail she had visited almost daily over the last few weeks. She sat for a moment in the dark parking lot, overwhelmed with emotion. Fear, pain, doubt. Could this all really be true? Was Pele one of those sociopaths who believed their own lies, so you could not read when they were not telling the truth? How could this have happened? How could there be so much evidence against him? He didn’t have any enemies that she knew of who could possibly have set him up. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed. She cried so hard it was difficult to breathe, but it did not make her feel any better. Part of the pain was watching her children go through this, the confusion, questioning, tears and now teasing from the other kids. The twins were young enough. They would get through it, but Rane was another story. She worshipped her father. It would be difficult for any of them to trust again, but Rane, and Keece herself would carry the deepest scars.
As soon as he saw the news, Cole was beside himself. He knew exactly what had happened. He called Radi.
“Rad! Dude! I can’t believe you pulled the trigger on this hairbrained scheme!” he exclaimed, clearly angry.
Radi responded calmly, “Cole, you know how important this is for the experiment. And don’t worry. We’ll unwind the whole thing as soon as the hardship feels real.”
“What?! You don’t think this is real enough already!” Cole screamed. “It’s everywhere! Everyone is talking about it. How is Pele ever going to bounce back from this debacle to his reputation? And, poor Keece! How’s she ever gonna trust him again!” Cole was furious Radi had gone ahead without his consent. And that he was seemingly so unconcerned about the damage being done to Pele and his family.
Radi, essentially ignoring Cole’s emotional response, as was typical when he was focused on his research, answered, “Relax, it will all work out fine for them.”
Cole fuming now, tried to stay calm enough to find out what Radi had planned next. “And how do you propose to get them out of this mess?”
Radi replied almost enthusiastically, clearly proud of his scheme, “In a few weeks, before Pele can be officially charged, I’ll transfer the funds back to the hospital so they will have to drop charges. Then I’ll stop intercepting and sending false reports to Keece, Pele, and their investment company. The company will think it was some kind of prank. They’ll investigate, but no money will be lost, so they probably won’t look too hard. Then all will be right”
Cole, still furious with Radi for the stunt, replied, “Damn, this had better work. And why wait? Haven’t you wrecked their lives enough? Reverse it now!”
Radi, sounding exasperated, “Cole, it’s been less than twenty-four hours! That’s hardly a hardship!”
“Radi, if you value our friendship, I strongly suggest you start reversing this mess NOW!” Cole hung up in anger.
The next morning Cole called Keece to try to comfort her. “Keece, I am so very sorry about this. I cannot believe It’s true. This is not the Pele we know and love. By-the-way, Ava said she’d represent him if you’d like her help. And we both know, if there is any possible way, Ava will get him off. She’s a bulldog. I’d never want to be on the other side of her in a case!”
Ava, Cole’s recently estranged wife, was one of the best litigators in the state. She’d moved to Virginia several years ago but was still licensed in California. She was also a close fr
iend to both Keece and Pele.
“Cole, that is very generous, but I might not be able to pay her. With all our savings gone, I’m worried about having enough money to pay my basic bills.”
“Don’t you worry about that Keece, we’ll take care of it.”
Keece was puzzled by this. She knew Cole and Ava were already on difficult terms, and because Cole had scaled back his work to raise their kids, Keece did not think they had a lot of reserves. But she was desperate, so simply thanked him. She knew she would somehow make it up to him.
Pax had returned to his family in the Bay area but still spoke with Keece every day.
“Pax, I don’t know what I’m going to do about money. I’m going to run through what we have in our other accounts in a couple of months if I don’t dramatically reduce our spending.”
Pax tried to sound reassuring. “Don’t worry Keece, I can loan you some.”
“Thanks, but I can’t keep borrowing, and I don't think you understand the magnitude of the problem. We have been living very comfortably, so our expenses are pretty high; two mortgages, several horses, expensive schools…the list goes on. It’s already been two weeks, and I don’t see this case getting resolved anytime soon.”
Pax not only knew she was right but was concerned that, with all the evidence stacking up against Pele, he might get sentenced and the money never returned.
“I want to tell you not to worry, but I am concerned,” he finally conceded.
“It’s okay, your acknowledging it, only helps,” Keece replied. “I can’t keep my head buried in the sand in hopeful denial. I have to plan for the worst and hope for the best. I’ll give it a week, and then, start selling stuff, finding a job, whatever it takes.”
Pax admired his sister’s strong will. She could always, even in these most dire circumstances, keep a level head and jump into action when needed.
To keep from dwelling on it, Pax changed the subject, “How are the kids?”
Keece sighed heavily. “As good as can be expected, I guess. The twins seem to be doing pretty well. It’s Rane I’m worried about the most. She doted on her father, and to have him fall off the pedestal has been quite a blow for her. She still doesn’t talk much about it, but she seems angry. Can’t say I really blame her. I have similar emotions.”
“I can’t say I blame either of you. It’s natural to be angry. Especially if any of it’s true. Or even if it’s not, who caused this? But I have such a hard time believing it is true. I’m with you in that I didn’t suspect anything.” Pax paused, then continued, “If there is anything more I can do, let me know.”
“Thanks Pax. Devan, Radi’s son has been over quite a bit to spend time with Rane. He’s been a good friend to her. It’s almost summer, and our dear friend Luca has volunteered to have the twins come down to his farm in Argentina for the summer. Between the dairy farm and polo, they should be well occupied. It’s so helpful for Pace to be in an outdoor setting like that, interacting with all the animals. I’m so appreciative that Luca and his family are willing to take them and have been so welcoming. Hopefully the twins will be good guests.”
Pax reassured her, “I’m sure they will. They love visiting down there.”
Keece and her family usually went to Argentina every November. They spent Thanksgiving with Luca’s young family on the farm, and then went to Buenos Aires for the Argentine Polo Open. It was a tradition they all loved. Luca had two young children with his lovely wife. He, Keece, and Pele had all stayed good friends.
“And Rane?” asked Pax. “I imagine she’s completely booked up with every possible soccer camp.”
Keece couldn’t help but giggle. “You got that right!”
Her daughter’s passion for soccer was insatiable.
The one thing Keece did not bring up with Pax was that she had found a hidden file on Pele’s computer. Actually, she would have never found it herself, but she had caught Devan and Rane going through Pele’s computer. They had found a hidden file right as she interrupted them. She scolded them hard about privacy and sent them out to find other forms of entertainment, but she also sent the file to herself to review later. Maybe it was nothing.
The file was titled CodeY.
Chapter 7
Keece checked in frequently with Ava on Pele’s case, hoping for any evidence or better news. “There are definitely some odd things about this case, Keece,” explained Ava. “First of all, there is absolutely no sign of this Jancy Taylor. There was a teacher with that name in Santee, but records indicate she died a couple of years ago. Nobody was ever found, so it’s conceivable she’s still alive, but she would be 70, so it’s more likely someone stole her identity. Although we can’t find any evidence of that either, except someone purchased a ticket to St Martin in her name right before Pele was arrested. The airline’s records indicate she never got on the plane. It’s all very strange.”
“Did Pele have a reservation on the same flight?” asked Keece, almost afraid to hear the answer.
“He did, but obviously he wasn’t on the flight.”
“I don't know Ava. There still seems to be plenty of evidence against him.”
Ava continued, “Well, there is one thing that’s even stranger. The hospital is now saying the money he embezzled has been returned.”
“What?!” exclaimed Keece. “Does that mean there is no case against him?”
“That’s what I asked,” said Ava. “The hospital’s legal representative didn’t know what to tell me. He said they still had evidence that the money had been embezzled by Pele, so they will likely still press charges, but the sentence would most likely be reduced. They’re trying to trace who made the deposit because obviously it wasn’t Pele, and that might give us some clues.”
Before Keece could jump in, Ava went on, “Keece, I’ve never heard of such a thing. It makes it more plausible that he really was set up, or he at least is trying to reduce his sentence.”
Keece, sounding confused, “But what about our money? Where is that? That definitely hasn’t shown up back in my account.”
Ava, tried to ask the next question as gently as possible, “Would you want to press charges against him?”
Keece answered without hesitation, “No, absolutely not. I just want to find out what really happened, but I could never press charges against him.”
Ava sounded relieved, “Okay, that will make it easier to get them to lessen or drop the charges. Let me get back to you.”
Chapter 8
Pele’s trial was scheduled to happen in four weeks. While waiting for trial, he was sent to combat training at Camp Mabry in Texas. This was now a common practice. Offenders were usually put into military service once convicted. So, often while waiting for trial, they were put through training, especially if it seemed like they were likely to lose their case.
Pele arrived in Camp Mabry at the height of summer. He was miserable, desperately missing his family. On top of that, it was sweltering hot and dismal, and their commanding officer, Captain Jaber was merciless. Pele had always kept himself in good shape, but the training seemed designed to push even the strongest to their limits. He sympathized with those who were not as physically fit. Most were in for white-collar crimes similar to his; embezzlement, corruption, illegal gambling, so they were far from hardened criminals.
Jaber seemed to take a special interest in Pele, almost as if testing his abilities in every possible way, both physical and mental. The worst was when he sent them all out for survival training. All the others were allowed to go in pairs and had some small amount of food and water. Pele, on the other hand, was forced to go alone and given nothing. He could not think of what he had done to deserve this harsher treatment. Even his comrades tried to voice their concerns but were quickly silenced when Jaber threatened to take away their meager rations.
Pele did remember walking up and surprising Jaber one time when he seemed to be having a private conversation. Pele had heard Jaber mention his number and something about their futur
e assignment. Anyone in the military these days was referred to only by their number, their identities were kept secret for their protection from enemy forces or anti-military political advocates. Pele did not hear anymore, but Jaber was clearly uncomfortable when he realized Pele had been listening. Maybe Jaber thought he had heard something private and was trying to punish him for that? Pele could not make sense of it.
The training was in a rocky sparse region with low mountains that undulated like dry, aged leather. There were minimal signs of life; a few shrubs clung tentatively to survival on sparse patches of ground, while others gave up the fight and tumbled away, slaves to the mercy of the parched winds. The nights were a stunning display of sparkling stars like diamonds against the inky velvet sky, a much darker backdrop without the competing lights of the city. The ground, mercilessly hard and unforgiving, was a difficult adjustment for anyone more accustomed to the basic comforts of home. The sun, a warm gentle awakening in the early mornings, became Pele’s nemesis by mid-day, heightening the effects of his increasing dehydration.
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