by Peter Parkin
The last paragraph in the card was pretty blatant in Mike's view. It was written to make Mike decide that he shouldn't be telling his Board what he had discovered.
Mike was convinced that both this birthday card and the kidnapping of his girls was the work of Gerry's accomplice. He and Troy knew that Gerry had to have had an accomplice to do what he had done. The guy in the bandages was the accomplice. And this man did not want Mike disclosing the embezzlement to his Board. He was to keep it "close to his vest." And he wanted Mike to think that ignoring this advice would bring harm to his daughters. He shuddered at the thought and stared out intently at the lights of the city through his floor to ceiling windows.
And the whisky glass he was holding shattered in his hand, as Mike Baxter imagined squeezing the last breath of air out of the scum's throat.
Chapter 16
Cindy headed north on Yonge St. She was behind the wheel of her Mini Cooper, a ride that always gave her a rush. It handled like a go-kart with a bit of sports car zoom. She was always amazed at the agility of her little monster, and despite the fact that there were lots of Minis on the road now, it still caused heads to turn. The racing-green color contrasting with a white roof was certainly pleasing on the eyes.
She had hesitated however before choosing the Mini this morning. As she was standing in the garage, she gazed longingly at Mike's Maserati GranTurismo. It just sat there looking impatient, its aggressive stance seemingly just begging for someone to turn on the engine. For a second she almost did it, but stopped herself just in time. She knew if she heard the growl of the powerful V8, there'd be no turning back. Cindy had only driven the car once before, but Mike had been sitting in the passenger seat guiding her through the movements of the slick manual transmission. He had warned her that the acceleration was sixty mph in five seconds, and she hadn't believed it until she put her foot to the floor. The thing was crazy. She'd never before experienced having her head thrust back into the headrest.
So, despite the temptation, Cindy decided to take her Mini and leave the Maserati at rest. She was intimidated by the thought of that huge engine generating over 400 horses. But, she was even more intimidated by the thought that if she caused any damage to Mike's prized toy, she'd never forgive herself and probably neither would Mike. The ride wouldn't be enjoyable with that thought swirling around in her head. At least she felt comfortable and confident in her Mini.
When Mike moved out he had taken the BMW; no slouch of a car in its own right, but less of a target to vandals and car thieves than the Maserati. Mike was afraid that not having his own secure garage to park his car in would be dangerous for the Maz. So, there it remained, lonely and anxious for exercise.
Cindy hoped Mike would come by sometime soon and take it for a spin—not that she cared about the car's feelings, but she wanted to see him. It had been several days now since he'd left, and while they'd talked on the phone every day, it wasn't the same as seeing each other, touching each other. She missed him desperately.
Cindy slipped the Mini into sixth gear and picked up speed as she wheeled the car onto Hwy. 401, heading east towards the north exit to the 404.
She had second-guessed herself countless times since asking Mike to leave. Here he was, going through the most difficult time of his life, and she wasn't there for him. But the last stunt he had pulled—having the girls picked up at school without telling her, sending an email that he didn't remember doing, and having a birthday card delivered to himself—was too much for her. She had every right to be worried for both herself and their girls, she had convinced herself. And she didn't blame Mike—she knew that wasn't him, the real Mike, who had been doing all these strange things. It was the lightning bolt after-effects, and they seemed to be getting progressively stronger. She didn't understand them, and neither did he. She wondered if the side-effects would eventually just peak and disappear completely. Or, would he be this way for the rest of his life? She didn't want to think about that—it was too scary, and too...final.
However, she'd missed him terribly and was now leaning toward inviting him to come back home.
She turned off the 404 onto Aurora Sideroad. Today she was having coffee with Amanda Upton. They had set this up the day of Mike's upended birthday party, and despite what had happened she wanted to keep this visit. It sounded like Amanda needed to talk to her and Cindy wanted to be there for her. She also thought she might unburden some of her own worries today. It would be good to finally share these things with a close friend. She hadn't shared anything yet with anyone, other than Dr. Teskey, and Cindy rationalized that it might be good for her own mental health to finally find the courage to do that.
She pulled into Amanda's driveway, struggled out of the compact Mini with the usual difficulty, and walked up to the front door. She didn't even have to knock. Amanda must have been watching for her because the door opened the instant Cindy had her knuckles poised. The two friends embraced each other as if it had been years instead of just a few days.
"Coffee's on and it's strong, just the way you like it," Amanda said as she took Cindy's coat and hung it in the front closet.
Cindy took a moment to admire the expansiveness of the house—the huge foyer and grand curving oak staircase up to the second floor. It was truly a luscious home, not as large as Cindy's, but much newer and more of an open concept.
"I still get blown away every time I set foot in this house, Amanda," she said as she swung her arms around in recognition of the spaciousness.
"Thanks, Cindy, but somehow it seems kind of empty now without Gerry here. I'm thinking about downsizing—the boys and I perhaps moving back into Toronto again. I'd like to be closer to friends like you. It gets kinda lonely up here. Being a widow is bad enough but worse when your friends are such a long drive away. I like Aurora, but it's not Toronto."
"You know, I think that might be a smart decision. We would love it if you were back closer to us." Cindy then smiled in her customary sly way. "It would also give me an excuse to snoop at houses again. I hope you'll let me go with you when you start exploring. There's no pastime I like better!"
Amanda laughed. "You bet. That's just one of the many things we have in common—looking at houses and drooling!"
The two friends sat down in the large kitchen sunroom, and enjoyed their coffee and pastries. They talked about cooking, shopping, and children. Three hours passed quickly, and they had yet to discuss anything sensitive. Cindy knew they were just dancing around the inevitable, so she decided to finally break the ice. She told Amanda about her asking Mike to leave for a while, told her about the results of the investigation into the kidnapping of the girls where it was discovered that Mike had, apparently unconsciously, ordered the limo to pick up the girls. The email that he didn't remember, the birthday card he had sent to himself.
Amanda had finally seen the media reports about Mike being the famous 'Briefcase Braveheart,' so she just nodded, not seeming too surprised about these new revelations. "What was that subway thing all about, Cindy? It was a brave thing for Mike to do, but I never knew him to be a fighter—not like my Gerry."
"Exactly—totally out of character for Mike. We were all proud of him, but he didn't even remember doing it! Not until he saw a video of the news coverage. So, Mike went through that entire ordeal in the subway on autopilot! And he's had other blackouts too—one time in the office for about seven hours! It's...pretty scary."
Cindy then blurted out the disturbing incident with Mike being in an almost hypnotic state that one night in bed, when he had called her "Mandy," and had admitted that he had actually seen Amanda sitting beside him on the bed instead of his own wife.
At this revelation Amanda put a hand up to her mouth and gasped. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" Cindy asked, alarmed.
"Y...Yes. But I have to tell you something. That's really why I wanted to see you today, aside from just wanting to see you as a friend again. What you just told me ties in a bit to what I want to tell you—have to tell you. Th
at's why I'm kind of shocked."
"Okay, go ahead, Amanda. You have my undivided attention." Cindy got up and poured each of them more coffee.
"After you hear what I have to say, you may want to pour yourself something stronger than coffee," Amanda said wryly.
Cindy braced herself. A slight feeling of nausea came over her along with a sense of dread.
Amanda took a deep breath and began. "I'm just going to spit it out. Mike came to see me a few weeks ago. I was surprised because he hadn't called first—he just showed up. I was glad to see him though. I thought it was nice of him to drop by."
Amanda took a sip of her coffee and another deep breath. "We talked for a while, but then I started to get a bit spooked. He called me 'Mandy,' which was Gerry's name for me. He knew about the gift that Gerry had bought Sam before he died. He knew about our alarm system, and about the security patrol that we've had in place for the last few years."
Amanda folded her arms across her chest and shivered. "Those things alone could not be a huge concern, but when he hugged me from behind and nestled his cheek into my hair like Gerry used to do, I got really spooked. Then it got even more weird—he mentioned something about how he used to calm me down before exams at university. I was speechless—I just wanted him to leave at that point because I was so stunned. Calming me down before exams was what Gerry used to do, not Mike. I was in Law school with Gerry—that's how we met. We were in almost all the same classes. Mike was in Engineering. We never saw Mike on campus until after classes, usually at the pub."
Amanda paused and held Cindy's hand. Cindy was breathing heavily now, and her hands were shaking. "I'm sorry, Cindy. Maybe I shouldn't have told you these things."
"No...No, I'm...glad you did. Believe me. All of this is...relevant, and you're being a good friend by telling me."
"Well then, I have one more thing to tell you—if you're up to it." Amanda said with worry in her eyes.
"I'm up to it. Go ahead—don't hold back."
"Well, when Mike was leaving, he told me I could probably cancel the security patrol now—that I wouldn't need it anymore. I was shocked that he said that. I asked him if we were in danger when Gerry was alive. He didn't answer me. He just said something to the effect that I didn't have to worry anymore—then he drove away. Before he left though, he called me 'Mandy' one more time. I swear, he sounded like Gerry; the same affectionate tone. It was spooky."
Cindy lurched from her chair knocking it over in the process, ran straight to the bathroom and threw up.
Chapter 17
Mike picked up the files from his desk along with the CD burned with his Power Point presentation, and worked his way down the hall toward the boardroom. Stephanie leaned over her desk and handed him some papers as he passed—last minute insertions to the board packages.
Entering the boardroom he noticed that none of the directors had arrived yet— only Troy Askew and Jim Belton, his colleagues and two best buddies. They were standing over at the buffet table chowing down on danishes and fruit. Mike joined them and poured himself a cup of coffee.
Troy grabbed him by the arm and pulled him over to a corner of the room. In a whisper, he asked, "Have you filled Jim in yet on what we discovered?"
"No, not yet. I should have, I know, but for now I think it's best to keep it between the two of us."
"Okay, but we shouldn't wait too long. He's in the inner circle, and he's our friend."
Mike winced. "Yeah, I feel a bit guilty, but you know how frantic Jim can get. Maybe that's typical of most financial folks, but no need to add more stress than he can handle."
Troy nodded. "Are you still going to proceed the way we discussed yesterday? You haven't changed your mind?"
"No. I'm choosing to go with your advice. We'll keep it on the 'down low' for now, and see what else we can dig up."
"Good—I think that's the right move. It'll buy us some time."
They both turned at the same time to the sound of chatter. Several directors had just arrived and Jim was greeting them at the entrance. Mike and Troy sauntered over and expanded the receiving line.
Peter Botswait, the Chairman of the Board, greeted Mike with a hearty handshake, along with his congratulations on another successful month of financial results. Mike put on a good face, but he felt strange knowing that there was deception in the numbers and that the deception would have to continue for a while longer yet.
Guy Wilkins came through the door—Mike liked Guy. He was a director who asked good questions and was never prone to grandstanding. Unlike one of the other directors, Christine Masden, who had jumped all over him at the last board meeting. She was already pouring her coffee so Mike forced himself to go over and say hello. Christine shook his hand coldly, and said, "I hope we get some clarification today on those foreign properties."
"You will, Christine. It's the last item on the agenda."
She glared at him. "It should be the first item."
Mike controlled the urge to slap her across the face. "Nice seeing you again, Christine." He walked away, and took his seat opposite the end of the table where Peter would be sitting. He loaded his CD into the computer and turned on the integrated projector. At this sign, all took their seats. The moment of truth. Would they buy it?
*****
"...so we'll record that motion as carried. Now, this brings us to the last item on the agenda and the one most of us are most anxious to hear an update on. Mike, the floor is yours." Peter crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, readying himself for Mike's presentation.
"Thank you Mr. Chairman. Just to summarize, we own two large tracts of land in Mexico with a book value of twenty-five million dollars. One is in Acapulco, and the other is in the south of Mexico in an area called Huatulco. These properties were purchased over four years ago, and are intended for resort use.
"The other non-North American investment we have is in Brazil, acquired about two years ago. Our book value investment there is forty million dollars, and consists of potential subdivision property just outside of Rio de Janeiro, as well as a resort property in Angra dos Reis.
"As we agreed at the last Board meeting, Baxter Development would commence a new strategic study to either confirm or reject our existing plans for those plots of land. We would basically be second-guessing ourselves, in light of the crippling recession and emerging trends in these hot zones.
"Troy Askew, our Senior Vice President of Construction and Completion, and I, made a recent trip down to both of these areas of the world. We wanted to get this process started by at least seeing the properties ourselves first. Up until now, only Gerry Upton, our now-deceased executive in charge of Development and Legal, had visited these sites.
"Making a long story short, while we still remain somewhat optimistic about the long-term prospects in Mexico and Brazil, we feel less confident now than we did years ago before the economic collapse that is still impacting most parts of the world. In addition, each week the drug wars in Mexico seem to be gaining momentum and will no doubt begin to have an effect on the tourist potential. It may, in fact, result in many existing resort properties and more still under construction, becoming 'white elephants.'
"Surprisingly, Brazil, one of the most promising economies in the world right now, is beginning to have its own set of drug problems. The favelas, or slums surrounding Rio de Janeiro, have begun to burst with violence. Drug lords have always been present in Brazil, but now are becoming more brazen and resistant to law enforcement. Perhaps they are emboldened by seeing what the drug lords are achieving in Mexico. In any event, it's beginning to simmer, and we see a similarity there to the Mexico of ten years ago.
"To conclude, we do not feel we are invested wisely in Mexico or Brazil. The current economic conditions coupled with invasive and expanding organized crime in those regions, make our investments down there extremely risky. It is therefore our recommendation to the Board that we put all four properties up for sale as soon as possible. We believe that local i
nvestors would be the more likely purchasers, consequently our marketing efforts will be concentrated in those countries as opposed to being directed at foreign commercial interests. With the Board's approval, we will proceed to list these properties for sale immediately."
He paused for effect. "I now invite any questions that directors might have pertaining to this item." Mike looked around the table—faces looked surprised, but not angry. That was a good thing.
Christine Masden crossed her legs and made some notes on her pad. Then she spoke. "Michael, I suggested this at the last Board meeting and it was rejected at that time. However, in light of your report and what you are recommending, perhaps this is the time to make a provision against the book value of these properties, as a precaution. The proceeds of sale may not equal or exceed book value, so until we know, I am uncomfortable with having overstated assets on the books."
Guy Wilkins jumped in. "With all due respect, Christine, that may be premature and an overreaction. Mike is recommending we put the properties up for sale—at this point there is no indication that we will realize less than book value. I would suggest that we await activity and offers, to test the water.
Based on that, we can decide at the next Board meeting if provisions to the financials are needed. Let's not jump the gun in a negative fashion here. It will just make investors nervous needlessly."
A few other directors addressed questions, mostly of a minor nature, and finally the Chairman, Peter Botswait, spoke up. " In my opinion, we have witnessed exactly what a Board should expect from their CEO. Mr. Baxter has been honest and above- board in his assessment, and has swallowed some serious crow in admitting to us that the investments in these properties were a mistake. He is now recommending a course of action that is the right one in my judgment, rather than spending more money on development in increasingly unstable areas of the world. I applaud Mr. Baxter for his candor and accountability. I would like a motion from the Board that we proceed along the course that he has recommended. Also, I agree with Guy that it is premature to administer provisions against book values. A motion, please?"