by J. L. Drake
“Yeah, they were.” I nodded to let him know I was following.
“When he heard what was going on, he wanted to help. He had mentioned that Myles and Chester often argued over Myles’s lack of any kind of morals when doing company business. The last fight that happened got pretty loud, and more than one employee heard them going at it. And it was the very night before Chester visited Arizona in the market.” He pointed to the date on a security picture from Young, Incorporated and at another on a photo taken from the security footage at the market.
“So, he did go there to speak to her. I knew it wasn’t a random meetup.”
“No,” he chuckled darkly, “on the contrary. Chester had been following her since the day after the fire at that nightclub.” He pointed to the first photo of the heating unit.
“Why since then?”
“Because that heating unit was purchased from and installed by Young, Inc., and though it was installed properly, it was a faulty unit.”
I leaned forward, becoming more and more interested as he went on.
“So, now we come to the why and who.” Ivan flipped a page over to show me a statement.
“Your storytelling is stellar.” I smirked, happy to know he had the climax sitting in front of him. Finally, answers were coming to light.
“Here’s how everything went down. Myles is above Chester in rank in the company, not to mention he is the son of the owner, but I digress. Chester is the buyer for Young, Inc., and Ken has been breathing down his son’s neck, trying to get him to stop spending money. Myles, in the first three months of the year, blew through almost his entire yearly budget.” He stopped and held my gaze. “And not on projects, but in bars and nightclubs. Seems Myles has a spending problem.”
“I’ve heard that before.”
“So, he needs to keep his father off his back, and he tells Chester to cut corners. Chester comes back with a few ideas, but Myles had some of his own, and according to one of the interns, who later got fired, Chester fought Myles on using them. Myles had found a shady company, one that had a reputation for selling parts cheap. Chester told Myles that it was dangerous to use cheap parts, and that the company in question had a rep for selling faulty parts. He especially was concerned that they were in a heating unit. Myles doesn’t care and works a deal, and now he’s sitting on sixteen new heating units with possibly faulty parts. According to the company, Lowe and Jones Heating Company, even they expressed their concern for how problematic the operating system was. Myles pushed them to sign off the night before the fire broke out, killing two waitresses and almost killing one little boy.”
“Jesus.”
“Yeah.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Now, move forward to the night where Arizona goes to the club with her staff and friends for their Christmas party. That fire was,” he slid over a photo, again of the heating unit that started the fire in the coat room, “another Young, Inc. install.”
“Shit.” I covered my mouth, remembering how that whole shit show went down. “Christ, Myles was even there that night.”
“Ironic, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So, that’s two for two. Now Chester tries to tell Arizona but can’t get his words out because he’s carrying the guilt of the first two fires on his shoulders. He’s trying to warn her but is terrified of the repercussions. Myles has figured out that Chester is crumbling, and after a court order, we found sixteen voice messages from Myles threating him to keep his mouth shut. The next day, Chester walks into a Young, Inc. installation of another of the heating units at, you guessed it, The Final Four Restaurant, and does the one thing he thinks is right. He sets a fire where their heating unit is located, tucks the one shred of evidence that could lead us to Myles Young in his pocket, and takes his own life. Unable to carry the guilt anymore.”
“Holy…” I tried to process it all.
“Myles would have gotten away with it, too, if his ex-wife wasn’t as ballsey as she is.”
“Damn.” As crazy as the story was, I couldn’t help but beam at how proud I was of Arizona. Not only did she leave an abusive marriage, she stood up and fought for answers even if it was dangerous.
“Once Ken Young got wind that we were poking around, a lot of his son’s documents were shredded. Lucky for us, we had those photos.”
“Okay, wow.” I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. “So, now what?”
“Now we wait for the judge to go over all of this and add in his attempted murder charge and see what happens.”
“Will Ken go down for any of this?”
He slowly gathered the evidence and closed the file. “No, I don’t think so. Nothing leads to the father knowing what was going on. Many witnesses have come forward to share that he and his son barely got along. Truth be told, I think Ken Young is untouchable.”
“At this point, I don’t care. I just want this to be over for Arizona.”
“And we just want justice for the victims, Arizona included.”
“Of course. How has Shelly’s husband been holding up?”
Ivan leaned back and let out a long breath. “He’s a good guy, and he’s searching for answers, too. She had been working at the nightclub for only a few months to help make ends meet. I just hope…” He shrugged, not finishing his sentence. We both knew that getting the answers helped, but it only covered the wound with a thin layer of scar tissue. Then a second wave of pain and loss would creep in and tear it off just when you hoped you could move on. Hopefully, he would be able to pick up the broken pieces of his life and start living again one day.
We both sat, taking a moment to mourn for both women. Life was cruel and unforgiving at times.
“Well,” I cleared my throat, “I knew you guys would find a way to figure it out. Now it’s time for someone higher up to decide what’s next.” I stood and shook my friend’s hand.
“Carter,” he stopped me before I closed the door, “either way, Myles will be getting some kind of punishment.”
“I hope so.”
Once outside the station, I felt like I could breathe for the first time since the club fire. Justice needed to be served, and it couldn’t happen fast enough. My phone rang, and I saw it was a text from Arizona.
Arizona: Hey, don’t forget to grab your dry cleaning!
Carter: Right! Swinging by now.
I hung a quick left and held the door for a lady coming out. I dug out the ticket stub from when I dropped my things off last Friday, and Mr. Clay prattled away about how slow business was due to the weather as he searched for my stuff. I tuned in to the TV above him.
“Clay, would you mind?” He nodded as I held up the remote from the counter and turned up the volume to listen to the reporter.
“Young, Incorporated are in the spotlight once again, now with rumors circulating about Myles Young, CEO and owner Ken Young’s son, who might be responsible for three fires that have happened over the last month. Two waitresses were killed in the fire a nightclub fire, and there now may be a connection to the death of Myles Young’s assistant and co-worker, Chester Jones, who allegedly committed suicide. Mr. Young is set to be in court on January twenty-third to face attempted murder charges for the attack against his ex-wife, Arizona Young. Keep watching ABC News for more on this breaking story.”
“Damn, that was fast.” It never ceased to amaze me how quickly news traveled.
“Money.” Mr. Clay snickered as he tossed his toothpick and replaced it with another. “Always the root of all evil.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Arizona
“Could you please make three copies of this, Janet?” I handed my new assistant the McClinton file that I had been working on for nearly two years. It was finally drawing to a close.
“Of course.” She smiled warmly at me but didn’t leave as she normally would.
“Wha
t?”
“There’s, um, someone here to see you.”
I slowly pushed myself to my feet, feeling uneasy. I had kept my head down and tossed myself into work just to get through the past few weeks. If it was Ken begging me to reconsider the charges at the final hour, I might actually be joining Myles in prison. Testifying was the hardest thing I’d ever done. Having to sit fifteen feet away from a man who robbed so much of my life, staring me dead in the eye while I relived our nightmare of a marriage, took its toll. But I did it, and that in itself was justice.
As I turned the corner, I couldn’t help but do a double take at my best friend standing there in full smile holding a basket.
“We have a date.”
“Um, we do?” I tried to remember last night’s phone call where we shared pizza and beer, watching TV in our separate living rooms.
“Well, I made the date. You just didn’t know about it.”
“Oh, I see.” I grabbed my jacket from the coat rack behind the front desk and followed Jessi outside. I wasn’t paying attention to the direction she was leading me because we started to chat about the rec center and how now that the holidays were over money would be tight again. We tried to reserve as much as we could from the large influx over the holidays, but it would be lucky to hold us over until roughly April.
“Maybe we could hit up the local news stations? Cook mentioned he was friends with a Channel Seven news reporter.”
“Cook, huh?” I eyed her and watched her try to hide her blush by letting her hair fall between us.
“Well, he seems really nice.”
“He is.” I didn’t miss a beat.
“So, if Carter thinks he’s great, and you think he’s great, maybe he’s great.”
“Only one way to find out.” I smiled over at her, happy to see her interested in someone who would be worthy of her affection.
“Mmm.” She ran her finger along the handle of the basket as she thought.
“What?” I just needed her to say it.
“How are you dealing with the whole Myles being responsible for Walker’s mother’s death?”
I took a moment to find the right words. It was odd to think that my ex-husband was directly responsible for Walker’s world flipping upside down. “I think I feel a little guilty.” I held my hands up to stop her rant. “I know, it wasn’t my fault or really anything to do with me directly, but it’s weird to think we were all connected without knowing it. His poor mother didn’t deserve to go out like that.”
“No, she didn’t, but Ari, she was a druggie. We’ve known Walker for how long? That poor baby was dropped off on our doorstep and then put into awful situations how many times? By how many new men? Maybe it was a small blessing in disguise.”
“How do you figure? His mother was killed, his grandmother passed away, his grandfather has maybe a year, and then what? He falls back into the system and chucked around like a yo-yo.”
“I know,” she gave me a side hug, “but maybe that’s better than the life he was dealt in the beginning.”
“Maybe…” It took too much to think about that subject, so I let it go and pushed my emotions back.
“Okay, enough about that. We are here to celebrate.” She put her arms up, and for the first time during the walk, I took in my surroundings, and my stomach dropped.
“Jessi…” I felt my body seize up.
“Hear me out.” She pulled me by the arm over to a bench where she set our lunch between us. “I know this seems strange, but,” she pointed to the massive steps that led up to the courthouse, the very same courthouse stairs Myles would be walking up to meet his fate, “this is closure, my friend. You have given your testimony on the multiple counts of abuse you suffered. Your therapist has given her knowledge of your encounters, and now it’s time for the court to do what’s right. Like Ivan said, after what you shared, it should be smooth sailing to put him behind bars. I know you don’t want to be inside to hear the verdict, so we will sit here and watch from afar.” She handed me her famous apple-chicken salad in a Tupperware container, knowing I couldn’t resist, and placed a water bottle next to my leg. “So, sit back and enjoy the show.”
“This is weird,” I muttered, opening the top and admiring the yummy lunch.
“Weird is underrated.”
“True.” I devoured the first bite and loved the multiple flavors that swarmed my taste buds.
We watched as the press hovered around the bottom of the steps, each fighting to get the perfect spot.
“Sad, isn’t it?” I finally said after a little bit. “That they are waiting in excitement to record what happens to a person whose life who is about to be decided by a man behind a wooden desk with a tiny hammer.”
“Justice.” Jessi shrugged. “We’re born with a clean slate. It’s up to you to do decide what you do with it.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“That right there, Ari, is why I love you like a sister.”
“What do you mean?” I popped an M&M in my mouth.
“Myles took so much from you, hurt you, tried to destroy any shred of happiness you might have had, and you still sit here and feel sorry for the fact that his fate will be recorded for the world to see.” She smiled at me while she twisted the cap back on her water bottle. “Not many people look at things the way you do.”
“Or maybe I’m just annoyingly weak.”
“Nope, you’re incredibly strong.”
“Thanks.” I leaned over for a hug, and when I pulled away, we both watched the scene unfold at the bottom of the courthouse steps.
Three black town cars rolled up, and the front passenger door of the middle car opened, and a man got out and stood and buttoned his jacket before he opened the back door. I drew in a sharp breath as Myles got out, looking sharp in his three-piece suit. We were far enough away that we wouldn’t be spotted easily but close enough we could see the action as he approached the stairs. The sound of camera shutters filled the air as he confidently waded through the reporters.
“Well, they sure aren’t playing the poor, beaten man card, are they?” Jessi muttered as she quickly packed up our lunch containers.
“No.” I sipped my water, needing help with my dry mouth. “He would never have been able to pull that one off, anyway.” I couldn’t take my eyes off Myles. He simply exuded confidence.
“I’m really sorry about your friend Chester,” Jessi whispered as she struggled with the basket.
“Me t—”
Bang! Bang!
Two shots rang out and stunned us both into silence. I dropped the M&M package I was holding, and the tiny, brightly-colored candies bounced around the concrete. Everyone around us ducked and began to run, mouths open in silent screams, Jessi and I both dropped in slow motion to the concrete pad behind the bench. What felt like minutes was probably only seconds of utter cold fear and disbelief.
One moment Myles was taking the steps two at a time, and the next he had two bullet holes in his chest and was bleeding out on the concrete.
Jessi had a death grip on my arm while I frantically tried to get my mind to catch up. Where had the shots come from? Then I saw him standing there, the gun still in his outstretched hand. It took me a half a second to place who he was before he was tackled to the ground by a few police officers.
“A life for a life,” he yelled as they pulled him to his feet. We both watched as Shelly’s husband was cuffed and nearly lifted right off his feet as he was led to a police car. The press exploded like scavengers, trying to get statements the moment they knew the coast was clear.
“What the hell was that?” Jessi’s voice shook. She was still hunched over, nervous there would be more shooting. “Who was shot?”
“Myles,” I whispered, watching the man I’d spent nearly a decade with drain of life. A dark pool ran from his lifeless form down the stairs as EMTs who
had appeared out of nowhere tried to create some kind of barrier between them and the press.
“What? Holy shit! Who shot Myles?” Jessi pulled me back from my time warp.
“Shelly’s husband, the waitress who was killed in the fire with Walker’s mom.”
“What?” She tried to process what I was saying as sirens came from all directions.
“He’s dead.” I was in a state of shock but couldn’t drag my eyes from the scene.
“We need to get out of here!” She jumped to her feet as I started to walk toward the chaos.
“Ari, come back!” she called after me, but I only stopped when Ivan appeared in front of me, looking deeply concerned.
“What are you doing here? Are you okay? You shouldn’t see this.”
“I saw everything.” I blinked heavily like I was stuck in some kind of nightmare. “He’s really dead?”
Ivan looked over my shoulder and then over to the situation unfolding.
“Yeah, he’s dead.”
“Okay.” I nodded, feeling numb. “Good.”
“You need to get out of here, Arizona.” Ivan pulled me out of the way of the EMT.
“All right, I’ll go.” I turned to find Jessi standing behind me, looking pale and concerned. “He’s dead.” I walked past her, grabbed my purse, and for the first time in years felt truly free.
Eight days came and went as evidence piled up against the man who killed Myles. I kept busy, worked a lot of overtime, but I did take the time to process what happened when my mind slipped there. My therapist worked hard with me, and I owed it to myself to listen. So, when I got wind of the funeral, I found myself pulling a black dress from my closet and removing my pearls from their case. Closure was important for me to move on. The Uber beeped its horn twice, letting me know it had arrived.