Hex After Forty: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel: Singing Falls Witches: Book One

by M. J. Caan

  “Just that he took everything. Over the past two weeks he has been moving around money, cashing out accounts.”

  “Wait, how was he doing all of this without your knowledge? Aren’t you his lawyer?”

  Lawrence blushed and broke eye contact briefly. “I am his personal lawyer, yes. But his business dealings were handled completely differently.”

  Something about the way he said that caught Torie’s attention. “Lawrence, did you know that he was seeing Wednesday?”

  Lawrence took a deep breath, and Torie knew the answer.

  “Yes. But he told me he was working things out with you and that it was nothing serious with her. He had her name put on some of the accounts that he moved money into. It wasn’t my place to question that. I just made sure that everything was handled appropriately.”

  “Well, obviously you failed at that.” She regretted saying it as soon as the words were out of her mouth. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair. But…what did you mean by a Ponzi scheme?”

  “He would use cooked books to show high return numbers to companies that were thinking about signing on with his company. Then he would take the money they would invest and show it to another company as profits he was making; thus, enticing them to buy in as well. All the while he was using all the money for his own private gains, while not investing any, or very little, into the companies he was swindling. The FBI have been watching him for a while.”

  “When you say he was using it for private gains…like what?”

  “Well, the apartment for one. His cars, the house…all of it.”

  “Jesus. How long was this going on?”

  “According to the FBI, his business was legit originally. This all started when Wednesday came into the picture.”

  Of course it did. Torie shook her head. One more reason to hate that woman.

  “Okay, so what do we do?” she asked.

  Lawrence looked at her, an eyebrow arched. “Well, unless you can pay back everything he took from the companies, plus the interest he owes…” He shrugged.

  “No, don’t shrug at me. I hate the way men do that. Tell me what you mean.”

  “The FBI will issue a freeze on all assets until this can be settled. And they are putting out an arrest warrant for him. They’ll be taking you in for questioning as well. Though it looks like the one thing Ward was careful to do was not implicate you in any of this. The trail he left only points to him.”

  “So if they freeze everything,” she swallowed hard, “how bad is it? Oh God. Shawn’s trust.”

  “Trusts are very difficult to break. They may freeze it, but I don’t know if they can take that. But everything else will be fair game.”

  She nodded, her face going pale. “Everything we…I have?”

  “Yes. They will take everything. If you have access to cash, you’ll need it. Your credit and equity lines will be frozen immediately.”

  “How much? How much do we owe?”

  He shook his head. “I honestly don’t know. It would just be a guess.”

  “And…”

  She nearly fainted at the nine-figure amount he guesstimated.

  She returned home, calling her best friend on the way. All she had to do was tell Freya that she needed her. The tone in her voice conveyed the urgency, and by the time she pulled up to the twelve thousand square foot house, her friend was at the door.

  She wasn’t the only one that had beat Torie there. She was greeted by the sight of many men and women dressed in black pants and blue jackets that read FBI in yellow block letters across the back. They were filing in and out of her house, carting out boxes and computers, loading them into black vans that lined her driveway.

  As she walked up to the door, before she could even greet Freya, an agent that she recognized from Lawrence’s office approached her with a folded piece of paper.

  “Ms. Spitz, my name is Jasper Kyle and I have a warrant here to confiscate any and all items in this house that may be considered part of an investigation being run in conjunction with the Treasury Department relating to the business dealings of your husband. Do you know the whereabouts of your husband, ma’am?”

  “No. I don’t.” It was all she could muster as she watched her possessions being manhandled and hauled out of the house.

  “Have you had any recent communication with him?” Agent Kyle continued.

  She shook her head. “Wait, that’s my painting,” she pointed to a large canvas work of art that had sat above the mantel in the main living area of the house. “Why are you taking that?”

  “We have orders to take any and everything that could have been purchased by illegal means, ma’am.”

  She was shocked and not sure what to say. “When do I get it back?”

  The agent looked at her, his brow furrowed. “That would be up to the courts I’m afraid. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

  He walked away into the house, giving instructions to the minions that were roaming around there.

  Slowly, almost drunkenly, Torie made her way inside accompanied by her best friend.

  “My God,” said Freya. “Torie, what is going on?”

  They would have sat down in the expansive great room, but there was nothing to sit on. The furniture had already been wrapped in plastic and tagged for removal. Instead, they made their way out to the back patio that overlooked the large, immaculately manicured back yard and pool, and sat on the furniture that had not yet been seized. There, Torie told her friend everything she knew.

  Freya reached out and took her hand in hers, clasping it tightly. “I am so sorry. I cannot even imagine what you must be feeling right now.” She shook her head, her eyes welling up. “That bastard. How could he do this to you and Shawn?”

  Freya was a pediatrician and had been Shawn’s doctor since childhood. She was one of the few physicians in the wealthy suburb who still made house calls. That was how she and Torie had met all those years ago.

  “How are you holding up?” she asked.

  “I’m still kind of numb,” said Torie. “Last night I thought I was getting a divorce. Today, I find out I’ve probably lost everything, and my husband is on the run from the FBI.”

  “Well, don’t worry about a place to stay; I’ve got plenty of room and you don’t need to worry about anything right now.”

  She smiled, thanking her friend for her generosity. The truth was, while she probably shouldn’t be alone right now, it was what she was craving.

  “And not for nothing, but you know I never fully trusted Ward,” Freya said.

  “I know,” said Torie. Freya had never come right out and bad-mouthed him, but she also had never been a fan either. “The way he kept you locked away here, like you were too precious to do anything other than be his wife and Shawn’s mother. One day, Torie, you’re going to realize that you can live for yourself, make your own way in this life. And you’re going to find someone that appreciates that. You’re too good to be someone’s prop.” Her tone softened and she smiled again. “How’s your pain been through all of this?”

  Torie sighed. For the past few weeks, she had been suffering considerable cramps, alternating with hot flashes and capped off with bouts of dizziness. When she first told Freya what was happening to her, she was told it was probably perimenopause. Of course, she refused to believe that. She was only forty-five. Didn’t the change happen later in life? She had prided herself on eating right, working out constantly in her free time, and being careful not to overdo caffeine and alcohol. Admittedly she could do better on the alcohol front, but come on…she was a middle-aged housewife in suburbia. Drinking was practically a sport.

  Had all that sacrifice been for nothing? Here she was, ready for her second act—her son had finally left the nest, her husband had, she thought, a successful business that he would be able to step away from so they could spend more time together; traveling and focusing on themselves, but the universe had other plans for her it seemed. Namely, menopause and destitution.

  S
he turned to her friend and forced a smile. “It’s been okay. I think the shock of all this has overwhelmed the hot flashes, and the migraine that I feel coming on is beating off the dizziness. So I think I’ll be good.” She paused, looking off into the distance. This, her backyard oasis, used to be her fortress of solitude. The quiet calmed her, restored her. Now that was shattered by the intrusive sound of male voices barking orders, and her belongings being dragged out of her home.

  She turned to Freya. “Thank you for the offer, but I think I need to stay here. I have to meet with Lawrence later; he’s meeting me somewhere in the city so I can give a statement to the FBI and await…whatever they do to women in my position.”

  Freya offered her own weak smile, then rummaged around in her purse before pulling out a small white pill bottle. She glanced around, then slipped it into Torie’s hand. “For later. Just in case you need a little something to help you sleep.”

  She stood up, still holding her friend’s hand. “You call me. Even if you don’t want anything, call me to let me know how you’re doing. I have a couple of kids to drop in on, but I’ll be done in about three hours and will be available anytime thereafter.”

  Torie stood and hugged her, momentarily afraid to let her go. They parted and Torie sat back on the teak, cushioned chair. With a deep breath, she took out her phone and made the call she had been dreading since Lawrence had told her she would be locked out of her home by the end of the day.

  She listened as the other end rang before the line was picked up.

  “Hello,” she said. “Mom…can we talk?”

  3

  By the end of the day, Torie was exhausted on a level she had never known before. Every inch of her body ached, and her mind was in a fog.

  The meetings with the government agencies had been hours of questions; the same ones being asked in different ways, all in an attempt to get her to trip up and spill knowledge she didn’t have. Then, after her grand inquisition, came the hard part. She sat through a reading of all the items that had been confiscated by the government.

  It would have been quicker to list off what they had let her keep. Lawrence had been right; the house, apartment, artwork, jewelry…all of it was gone. What little money was left in their accounts, the little bit Ward had not taken, was frozen as well. They had taken the cars, leaving her with an older model Infinite sedan that for some reason had been in her name alone. Everything else, however, anything that had both of their names attached, now belonged to the government.

  When she had asked Lawrence what would be done with it, he had informed her that more likely than not it would be auctioned off to help pay off Ward’s debts. She had managed to get to one of the safes in the New York apartment before the FBI and rescued a couple of thousand dollars in cash, which she stuffed into her purse before the agents entered that part of the house.

  Surprisingly, they did not check her person and told her that she could take one bag of clothing with her before they locked up the apartment. She had packed hastily, taking only clothing that were comfortable and would hold up on a long drive.

  Then, exhaustion setting in, she had checked herself into a hotel, and promptly fallen asleep on a bed that was nowhere near as comfortable as what she was used to. It didn’t matter. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

  The next morning, she woke up to a headache and a stiffness in her back that caused her to groan with the effort of swinging her legs out of bed. She sat like that, on the edge of the bed, letting her blood pressure settle and the light-headed feeling that had lately taken her over if she got up too fast, to go away. When had all of this happened to her? This old age thing wasn’t supposed to hit for another couple of decades she kept telling herself.

  She showered and dressed in a pair of jeans and a comfortable sweater that she had grabbed from her old bedroom-sized walk-in closet. Then she headed downstairs to the hotel’s dining room for much-needed coffee and some whole wheat toast before heading out to the garage where her car was parked.

  Her mind was numb as she eased out into traffic and headed out of the city, merging onto the parkway that would eventually take her to I95 South. She had told Lawrence that she would be heading to her mother’s house to stay with her for a while, and after checking with the FBI, he told her that would be fine. They believed she had nothing to do with any of this and were also convinced she truly did not know where Ward was.

  She had far bigger worries than Ward. She had called Shawn from Lawrence’s office only to be greeted by his cell phone message letting all callers know that he would be pulling an all-nighter in preparation for a major exam. She left him a message telling him to call her right away, that it was important. She wanted him to hear what was going on from her, not read about it online somewhere.

  The phone rang just as she was accelerating onto the George Washington Bridge, and she hastily answered it hands free.

  “Hello? Shawn?” she said.

  “No, babe, it’s Freya. I’m just calling to check in on you and let you know that…well, it’s out.”

  Torie swallowed hard. She didn’t need to ask what she meant.

  “What stations?”

  “All of them. Plus, there are news crews swarming your house, waiting like vultures to pick at a carcass.”

  She felt a pounding in her temples as equal parts embarrassment and anger began to flood her.

  “And…well, some of your neighbors are giving…interviews.”

  Now she was pissed. While she had never been one to welcome her neighbors with open arms, she was never hostile to them either. She donated to their causes, brought generous amounts of cookies and popcorn to support the Scouts, and always threw one massive party every fall to welcome the changing of the seasons. No expenses were spared, and she never complained when the neighbors would eat and drink well into the wee hours of the night.

  “Who?” she asked.

  “Celinda Jaye, for one.”

  Of course. That one was always in a non-existent competition with Torie, trying to one up her at every turn. Torie could only imagine how she must be gloating now.

  “I’m just telling you because I don’t want you turning on the TV and seeing it.”

  “No worries there. I’m headed out of the city. I’m going down to North Carolina to stay with my mother for a bit until I can figure out what to do.”

  Her best friend was silent on the other line, and when she finally spoke up, her voice cracked. “Torie, I don’t know what to say. I am so sorry this is happening to you. You are one of the strongest, most giving people I have ever known. To see this happen…”

  Torie felt her tears begin to flow again. This time, it was her voice that cracked. “Well, it’s not like we’re never going to see each other again. I just need some time away from this circus. Look, I gotta go; you know I get confused driving on these crazy expressways. I’ll call you when I get there.”

  She hung up and then asked her phone’s voice assistant to call Shawn. Again, it went straight to voicemail. She had no idea what class he was studying for or what time his exam was. She left another message and hoped that he would get it prior to receiving a call from any of his old friends that may still live in Westchester. She did a quick calculation of the time difference between New York and Austin and realized that he might not even be in class yet.

  She wondered briefly if Ward would try to call him. They were always very close and, while she was surprised that he had walked out on her, it was almost unimaginable that he would leave Shawn without saying goodbye. Thinking about Shawn and how she would explain all of this to him made Torie’s blood boil. How could Ward do this to them? What kind of man was he that he thought this was okay?

  What kind of woman was she that she had married a man like this? That was a slippery slope to start down. It made her wonder what else he had been hiding from her and for how long. Was their whole relationship a lie? Or was this the fault of his business partner who had sunk her claws into him
and filled him with corruption?

  No. She may hate Wednesday for her part in this, but Ward was a grown man. He was the married one. At some point he had the chance to say no to her; and he had let it pass.

  She made the drive, only stopping for gas when needed and the occasional bathroom break. Once she was in Virginia, she started to realize that within a few hours she would be face to face with her mother. She had promised to tell her everything in person rather than when she spoke with her on the phone. That thought was nearly enough to give her another panic attack.

  The last time Torie had seen her mother was at Shawn’s fifth birthday party. Her mother had been arguing with Ward about something and it had escalated to shouting and name calling. Her mother had told her that Ward was not who he pretended to be and was no good for her. Torie had scoffed at the notion and had taken her husband’s side in the fight. Now, looking back, she wondered what had set them off. Ward had said she had started the fight by criticizing him and stating he was not good enough for her daughter.

  While that had seemed like something her mother would say, she never got the chance to ask her side of the encounter. The next day, her mother had left before Torie was up. No note was left, no calls returned, and Ward stated that was for the best. The one time they had spoken after that, her mother had asked her if she had left him yet. Torie said she had no intention of leaving him and that she wanted them both in her life, but if it came to a choice, she chose her current family.

  Gradually, communication between Torie and her mother grew less and less. Eventually, holiday calls and even birthdays were missed. It had probably been five or six years since they had last spoken. Torie felt her face flush at the thought of that. Her mother was headstrong and direct that was certain; but she was still her mother. Torie wondered how she would feel if she and Shawn didn’t speak, and the thought brought pangs to her heart.

  Now here she was, forty-five years old and running home to Mama. The thought was almost enough to make her turn around and drive back to New York. She knew she could stay with Freya, but that would mean confronting everyone who knew them in New York and dealing with the media, which she certainly did not want to do.