Renee Raven
happyhugo
Copyright (04/07/2016
Romance, Mystery
18,158 words
Readers score 7.41
Amy Clark, fourteen, has to go with her mother when her father and mother split. She leaves behind her childhood sweetheart. The probability is that they never will see each other again. They say that at some point crime will surface, and it takes twenty-six years for all the facts to come to light to reveal the past.
I wouldn’t tell anyone … ever. I cried the night sweet Amy Clark told me her mother was leaving her father and she had to go with her. Her mother and father were separating. Amy and I were fourteen and we had been sidekicks for the last ten years.
I guess you could say we had done it all. Most of the exciting stuff was in the last few months when we discovered what fun it was to explore each others bodies. The ultimate happened just before Amy told me that same night she had to leave. We swore undying love to each other. “Amy, when I get old enough I want to find you and marry.”
“I accept. I want to marry you too.” Deep down we both knew in all probability this would never happen.
That was fourteen years ago. A lot of time had passed and a lot of things had happened to me in the ensuing years. I graduated school, going on to university and coming out an architect and with vision. Along the way I married, which my wife and I soon realized was a mistake, we then proceeded to an amicable divorce. She had since married another and moved to a different town.
Right now, I was back in my home town living in my parent’s former home, they having given it to me when they moved away. My situation let me work the hours I wanted to, and I was pretty satisfied with my life. I suppose not too many architects of my age were as far along in their chosen careers as I was. I caught a break not long after hanging out my shingle, with my first contract to design a church.
It was thought to be a brilliant design and it appeared in a couple national magazines. Actually the only brilliance was to choose a staff that could tune into the visions I had, and implement said visions. I was really having a good and satisfying life, only occasionally thinking of Amy Clark.
Rodger Clark, father of Amy, still lived next door. We spoke seldom, because he wasn’t one to chat, and I had been rebuffed several times when I tried to speak to him. The last time he told me to get to hell out off his property and not come back. I tried several times to find out where Amy lived and where she was. This was before when I was married, and again after I divorced.
Looking through my eyes as an architect, I shuddered as the beautiful, large Victorian that was the Clark home slowly falling into disrepair. A rumor persisted that Clark had plenty of money, but now he didn't seem to care what happened to his home, or to him. I had never seen anything to substantiate that he had any money.
Who knows why a rumor starts, and in truth, the rumor did die out in the last few years. Strange, for when I was younger and had the run of their house, I knew Amy’s father was well educated, and of a friendly sort, before his wife and child left. That was then, but as time went on, he soured to become what he was now by pushing everyone away.
Things do change, and it was a cold early winter evening when I pulled into my drive. I glanced over at the Clark house like I usually did when closing the garage door. No lights tonight. Then a light came on in the upstairs front room, I knew this was a study or library of sorts.The rest of the house was dark.
It was only on for a second and then went off. Again it came on. It seemed as if someone was playing with the light switch. It stayed on a little longer and then there were several rapid on and offs. Was whoever there trying to get my attention? Our houses were close enough so old man Clark, (54?) would have known I had come home as the lights from my car swung by my house and in the front of the garage.
It had been almost a year since Clark and I had exchanged words. Again the lights flickered. Maybe I had better check it out. I grabbed a two-foot hunk of rebar that was outside my garage and headed across the lawn. The lights went through the cycle again. I tried the side entrance, but that door was locked and the same with the front door.
The back door fortunately was unlocked and I let myself in. I cautiously advanced through the darkened house to the stairs. The room where the lights were being manipulated was at the head on the right. I knew I made no sound coming into the house and I didn’t as I slowly ascended the stairs. I eased the door open.
The light came on momentarily and I spotted Clark on the floor trapped under a huge bookcase which was lying across the back of his legs and shoulder. He was face down and his head was jammed against the wall. I saw one hand could reach an electric cord that was plugged into an outlet. I watched for a moment as he went through the cycle with the lights one more time before I spoke.
“Clark, you got yourself in a bit of a bind, haven’t you?”
“Dixon, hurry up and get this damned thing off. It’s killing me.” Usually I was addressed as kid. Having him use my name was a surprise. He still didn’t use my first name of Beau, usually calling me “Kid” even now when I was twenty-eight.
“You got any broken bones?”
“Can’t tell, but most likely. My legs are numb and I think my shoulder is dislocated or worse. Don’t stand there, do something.”
It took some doing. If this had landed on his head, it would have killed him. He took the full brunt of the bookcase that was filled with heavy books. I still had the hunk of rebar in my hand and I used it to pry up one side of the wooden case. He screamed when I started prying up because the bookcase rocked onto his shoulder. Hurriedly, I slid a few spilled books under the edge.
I rushed around to the other side. Fortunately I was able to reach down and find enough books to prop up this side the same as the other. I dragged Clark from under the bookcase and turned him onto his back which brought about several groans of agony. I was surprised he didn’t pass out. It was time to call 911 and rescue.
Sweat was beaded across Clark’s face and I could see how much pain he was in. While waiting for help to arrive, I asked how this had happened. “I was sliding one side of the case forward and then the other to move it. I thought I had it totally upright and stable and I turned to go around it to the other side. I didn’t see it falling until too late.”
“Should have taken the books out of it first.” Still lying on the floor, he stared at me as if I was stupid. He didn’t make a comment. There was nothing else I could see to do but wait on the ambulance.
He was in agony, finally groaning, “Them rescue bastards are taking long enough to get here.” I tried to sit him up, but it hurt him and he screamed again. I left him and went in search of a pillow for his head. When I came back into the room, I looked at the propped up bookcase.
Something struck me as odd. All the books from the lower shelves were out and piled on the back of the bookcase, pressing down on Clark’s body, thereby pinning him to the floor. The thought struck me; Clark wasn’t meant to get out from under the bookcase. If he hadn’t figured how to attract my attention, he might have been trapped there until he died.
Just then we heard the ambulance pull into the drive down below. I threw at him as I left the room, “Clark, you’re full of crap. I’ll let you get better and then you’re going to tell me what really happened. You say you turned your back on the bookcase and it fell over. Bullshit! No way could this have happened the way you described. Not with the books from the bottom shelves piled on the back of the bookcase.”
“You’ll be waiting awhile to hear different and you better keep your mouth shut about this. Something like this could happen to you if you don’t.” Rescue was outside getting their equipment out of the vehicle. I went down the stairs to let them in. The EMTs put temporary splints on both legs and a soft boot to protect the toes on one foot, which they said at the least were dislocated, if not broken. He screamed when they moved his shoulder getting him onto the board ready for transport.
Clark asked me to lock up and finished with more orders. “Go home and I will contact you when I get into a hospital room. Don’t go poking around in here, either.” No thanks for freeing him from what could have been certain death if I hadn’t come along when I did and curious about the lights going on and off.
The young police officer who followed the rescue call looked into the room, but apparently didn’t see the same thing I had. “That was a dumb move, trying to move the bookcase without taking the books off the shelves. That’s what happens when you don’t plan ahead.”
It was 11:30 that evening when Clark called me from the hospital. “Dixon, I’ve just been moved into room 223. Get your butt in here tomorrow early. I’ve got to talk to someone and I guess it might as well be you.”
I wondered about him demanding more of me. My work was important, but I was still curious. Curiosity won and I had to find an answer to what brought on the attack to my neighbor.
“Are you family?” This was what I faced when I announced I was Mr. Dixon to see Clark.
Why I said what I did, I have no idea. “The bastard owes me money.”
“Well, okay. He said you would be in. He’s in a lot of pain and angry.”
“I’ve faced his anger often enough. He hasn’t changed much in the last several years I’ve known him. He’s worse if anything.”
“I can believe it. He’s pretty obnoxious.” We were left alone. The nurse didn’t even come into the room.
“Dixon, you came. I didn’t know if you would. I’ve been laying here all night thinking. I’ve got a couple favors to ask of you. I’ll tell you what and why this happened. I have to open up to someone.”
“Maybe. First I got questions. I need to know about yesterday? Did you know the men who did this to you?”
“Of course I do. I think Mary must have sent them.”
I had momentarily forgotten Amy’s mother’s given name. “Mary. Who is Mary?”
“The woman whom I told everyone was my wife and the mother of Amy. I claimed I was Amy’s dad, but neither is true. Amy isn’t related to either one of us. I don’t know why I’m going to trust you with a secret that can land me in prison and most likely for life. If anything happens to me, you might see if you can find Amy and tell her. She was the only bright spot in my screwed-up life.
“How is she related, then?”
“She is just a girl Mary kidnapped for ransom. The kid was two years old when we nabbed her.”
“Whoa up here, you kidnapped her? Why did you steal her?”
“For the money of course.”
“You never returned the child, is that it?”
“That’s it and we also kept the money. I was after Mary to give Amy back to her parents, but she wouldn’t and it was always a contention between us. That’s why we separated. She took off with the child. You must remember when it happened?”
“I do. Where are they now?”
“I’m not sure, because I never tried to find them. Mary must have spent her share of the ransom money and contacted her brothers to get what remains of my share. They were waiting for me when I came home after dinner yesterday.”
“Did they get the money?”
“Nope, they were coming back later to see if I would change my mind, but you saved me. They didn’t intend to kill me at first, although they probably would have eventually. They wanted to make me hurt so badly that I would talk. You prevented that and I want to thank you. I doubt they will give up so easily. You’re going to have to watch your back.”
“It would be a better plan if you called the police.”
“I may do that, but I want you do something for me first.”
“What?”
“I want you to go down to the bus depot and empty out locker number 45. It probably will be better if you don’t contact me openly for awhile. It may be that I’ll be killed and your trouble will be for nothing.”
“What’s in the locker?”
“There are two suitcases. One is full of money and the other has some more money along with a few old newspapers. The papers are accounts about the kidnapping that was published after it happened. You’ll get the whole story when you read them. The story didn’t last in the paper very long when there was no progress to report about finding the kid.”
“It doesn’t sound too safe for me to be lugging around two suitcases full of money.”
“It isn’t. Use your head man. Rent a different locker and move it. Just be careful that no one is watching when you open the locker and take out the cases. Just be smart about things.”
“I guess I can figure it out. Where’s the key?”
“Here around my neck. Those fuckers had me right in their hands and didn’t know it. I can be stubborn. The damned doctors and nurses tried to remove the key too, but I fought them off. I don’t know how smart these men are, so use your cell to call me, or better yet I’ll call you. If you see me at home, we’ll meet across the hedge after dark back of your garage. Now get out of here!”
The last was said much louder. I thought he was serious until he winked at me. It came to me that he was trying to save my ass if those brothers came looking for that money and tried tracing it to me.
The key was sweaty in my hand and I figured I’d get the chore done as soon as possible. The nurse who had showed me Clark’s room smiled at me. She figured I had been kicked out.
I headed to the bus depot. There was a bank of lockers across one wall. The key I had in my hand had the number 45 stamped on it. There was a chart just inside the door at the end of the lockers and 45 was noted as being rented. Directly above it was locker number 25 and it was empty. Below it was 75 also empty and either would serve my purpose. I looked around and saw that people were milling around waiting on a bus arrival. Now was a good time to at least get this done.
I walked up to the counter. “I want to rent a locker.”
The clerk answered, “You saw the chart, pick one.” He pointed.
“Number 75 will do. How much?”
“$7.50 a month. If you don’t pay or renew, we change the lock. If there is anything left in the locker of value, we donate what’s in it to charity. We don’t allow no drugs or firearms, but then who’s to know. What’s the name?”
“Beaudecker Dixon.” A strange name, but mother liked the name of Beau and her maiden name was Decker. She made one name of it. I didn’t mind and used Beaudecker Dixon, Architect. That was the only time I used my full name. I thought it sounded like class.
I set up automatic renewal of the locker with my business account and was promised that my name would remain anonymous short of a court order. I received the key, but didn’t go near the locker. I’d do that when the afternoon bus arrived. There would be a different ticket agent at the window by then.
I called Clark. Almost his first words were to get him a lawyer. He wanted to make a will. Then, “You got the business done at the bus station?”
“I’m working on it. Listen, you’re giving me one order after another and I’m doing it. What’s in this for me?”
“Maybe nothing, but for years you’ve been asking about Amy. You might want to track her down someday. Mary sent me a picture of her when she was twenty. The girl turned into a beautiful woman. I can give you Mary’s last known address and if you are so inclined you might want to see if you can find her.”
“How long since you knew for sure where she lived?”
“Four years.” Clark’s answer to questions didn’t always jibe. Why didn’t I throw up my hands and leave Clark to his own problems … but then I remembered sweet Amy.
“Amy’s probably married by now if she is as pretty as you say she is.”
“Maybe, but you got married and I haven’t seen a woman living with you recently.”
“I’ll think about it after you get home. I’ll admit I am curious.”
“Forget that for now. Get me the lawyer by this afternoon if you can. I need to make a will.” I called one of the lawyers who did some of my company’s business and he told me to have Clark call him. I called Clark and gave him the name and phone number of the lawyer.
I went up into the attic and found a couple of old suitcases. Being paranoid, I washed them down and made sure they didn’t have any identifying marks or fingerprints on them. I put saran wrap on the handles that I would remove when the time came to leave. I went back to the bus station when I knew it would be the busiest. One of the buses was unloading and I went inside with the crowd. I paid no attention at all to anyone.
I sat the two suitcases I brought with me on the floor and opened my rented locker. I opened number 45 over it with Clark’s key. The cases in it were about the same size as the ones I brought with me. Slipping gloves on, I took them out and shoved them into the locker that was below Clark’s. I stuffed my cases into his locker, making sure I ripped the saran wrap off the handles. If this took three minutes, I would be surprised. I walked out the door with the crowd who were getting onto another bus loading.
My mind went round and round. What in hell was I doing? I was an architect for God’s sake. Clark was treating me like I was his only life raft and he was going to drown if I didn’t help him. Kidnapping, I certainly didn’t want to get involved in anything like that. If I could believe Clark, I was already involved. U-um, I wonder what Amy looked like now? Not much had been said about her, but she was at the center of this little mystery.
I called Clark everyday asking about his progress. His legs weren’t broken. A shelf that crossed the bookcase had come down across his calves when he was face down. The muscles were severely damaged. The main problem was in the damaged left shoulder joint. The bone was chipped and some cartilage was torn. It would most likely bother him the rest of his life. Also one toe was fractured, but that was minor and would heal.
The front of his chest and belly had marks all over it where the two men had punched him. He was asked by the doctor how come the marks and he explained. “I almost was able to hold the bookcase up. I did momentarily and when I couldn’t hold it some books beat me to the floor and I landed on them.” Clark showed me some of his bruises and he definitely had been beat on.
A week later he told me when I called that he would be home on Friday, next, two days from today. He came home, managing with one crutch. I waited until dark and knocked softly on the back door. “Dixon, is that you?”
“Yeah, let me in. We have to talk.” I eased the door open. There was only a nightlight shining from an outlet. Clark stood facing me. He had a pump shotgun in his hand.
I could see his face enough in the dim light to tell how worried he was. “You weren’t kidding about being in real trouble, were you?”
“No.”
“Well, who was it that smashed you up?”
“The woman that you knew as Mary Clark has two brothers. It was them. She must have sent them after me. I shouldn’t have stayed here, but I love this old house.”
“You haven’t taken very good care of it.”
“No, and that makes me sick. I still have every penny I received from kidnapping Amy, but haven’t dared spend it. I get by on my wages, but that’s all and it ain’t enough for upkeep on this place. I’m a pretty worthless person. I wish you’d tell me what to do. Now that I’ve got rid of the money I feel a lot better.”
“What do you mean you’ve got rid of the money?”
“I gave it you, so it isn’t mine any more.”
“I still have the key to locker number 45 and it only takes three minutes to put it back.” There was silence in the room. “You know, Clark, the money isn’t your money. It belongs to Amy’s real parents. Why don’t you send it back to them or hunt up Amy and give it to her. I’d say you need to do some confessing along the way. They tell me it eases the mind if you are troubled. Clark, you can’t say you are really living and I think it is time you made some amends.”
“Guess you are right. I’ll think about it and let you know what I decide. You know, Beau, you’re a real decent sort. Pretty smart too.” Surprise, he did know my name.
“Just being neighborly. Say would you let me know what Amy’s real name is?”
“Sure, it was Renee Raven. Her parent’s names were Eleanor and George Raven of Detroit. It’s all in those newspapers in your locker.”
“I’m not touching that locker.” Clark shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. I turned and went back out the door.
It was after midnight when I came fully awake. Someone was breaking into the Clark house. I heard the back door bang. Then I heard someone kicking on the side door that was closest to my house.
I immediately dialed 911. Just as the operator answered, a shotgun went off inside the other house. I asked for the police. I was so excited I couldn’t remember the number. “We are ringing the police now. What is your address?”
I answered questions as they were put to me. A minute later the police dispatcher came on line and I answered the same questions. I was told there was a patrol car on the way and would arrive in about four minutes. I heard two guns going off and then I recognized the sound of the shotgun again. It was quiet for a minute and then another shot was fired.
I still had the police on the line and I hoped that they would hurry. They possibly could hear the gunshots from next door. I directed dispatch to advise the patrol car to drive into my driveway, because if the shots ceased, the shooters would likely come out on my side of the house. The shotgun went off twice more and the other gun fired a couple of times.
Two police cars pulled in and lighted up the side of the house. The screen door was broken and half off its hinges and then the other gun fired once again from inside. Suddenly a man came running out the door and into the glare of the lights. He could have been blinded by them. The cops were shouting for him to put down his weapon. He brought the gun up and got one round off. That was it for him. Three officers shooting at him ended it all.
One of the officers went up and kicked the gun away from the man on the ground. Then one leaned down and after checking for a pulse said he was dead. Three officers cautiously went into the house, shouting they were police. They turned lights on as they progressed through the house. I heard one say, “We’ve got another man down in here. He’s dead. He looks to be another of the bad guys.”
Curious neighbors were gathering in my front yard. More police came and soon traffic control appeared to take care of the onlookers. One of the officers came up to me after talking on his radio. “You’re the neighbor who called this in, aren’t you?”
“Yes. My name is Beaudecker Dixon.”
“Can you identify the owner next door?”
“Sure, we’ve lived here next to each other for several years. Is he dead?”
“No, but he is wounded. He can hardly talk. For the record would you tell us his name?”
“I know him as Roger Clark. Most everyone just calls him Clark.”
“The place is pretty run down, does he work somewhere?”
“He works in a restaurant across town.”
“Good enough. Follow me if you will. You’ll have to sidestep a body. Do you have any idea what this was all about?”
“I haven’t the slightest. I do know since I was a kid I’ve heard he had a lot of money hidden, but I’ve never seen any indication of it. He certainly doesn’t live like he has.”
When we went by the body inside, we paused and I was asked if I had ever seen the dead man before. “No, never have.” I looked around at the walls. I didn’t know how large the shot was that was in the shells Clark was using, but they sure tore up the walls some.
There was blood every where around the body. It looked like he had been sawn in half. I surmised that Clark and his shotgun had done it when the guy came through the door where he was. I was led into the living room. The couch had been moved which puzzled me for a moment and then I realized Clark had been forted up behind it. He was lying on the floor. The cops had him on the couch cushions to get him comfortable. He had been hit in the same shoulder that was injured three weeks ago.
Rescue came in and stopped a second to look at the dead person. They shook their heads and gathered around Clark. One of them was the same one who was here three weeks ago. “This is getting to be habit. You keep falling down you’re going to hurt yourself.”
Clark growled, “I think I did that already.” The EMT smiled.
Clark looked at me. “Dixon, was it you who called in the cavalry?”
“Yeah, I heard the back door bang and then someone was kicking at the side door. You must have been awake.”
“I was. I couldn’t sleep. I don’t guess I’ll sleep much the rest of the night, either.”
“They’ll give you something.”
“Soon, I hope. Dixon, thanks for watching my back.”
One of the cops spoke up, “Your neighbor called us in and told us just how to place ourselves. Seconds count in situations such as this. He was spot on.”
“Yeah, smart kid.”
The cop looked at me and I mouthed that Clark always called me kid.
I eased out of the way and faced more questions when I got outside. “This man had trouble weeks ago? Was it connected?”
“I wouldn’t think so. There was an officer that came with rescue that time. Ask him if he saw anything unusual. Just a stupid accident that happens when one man tries to do the job that needs two. Really, I haven’t had much to do with Clark for the last few years. I guess I notice things, or better yet hear things like I did tonight.”
“Come down to the station tomorrow and make a statement, if you will.”
“It’ll be in the afternoon. I have a meeting in the morning. I do have a business to operate.”
“What’s the business?”
“I’m Beau of Beaudecker Dixon-Architects. I’m located in that new industrial park west of the city.”
“Come in when you’re free.” With that I went inside my house and went to bed.
I did go into my office in the morning. I had things to do and I was spending too much time on Clark’s problems. Tomorrow I had to meet with a committee that was proposing to build some senior housing in a town several miles away. I wanted to win the bid so I needed to put effort into the project.
I went to the hospital at eleven in the morning. I found Clark in a room already. He was pretty well doped up, but lucid. “Hey, I was hoping you would show. The police were in an hour ago. Next week the surgeon is going to replace the joint in my shoulder. Both the injuries together make it necessary.”
“I guess you’re set for awhile. I have to go in and make a statement to the police this afternoon. Have you said anything about what happened three weeks ago and this being connected?”
“No, and I wish you wouldn’t either. I wasn’t able to get upstairs since I got home. If the police look at the room the way it was when I was dragged out of there, it might raise some questions.”
“No it won’t. I straightened things up before I came in here to see you the next day. The only one who could tell different would be the officer who came with rescue back then. I don’t think it will be a problem.”
Clark was drifting, but he managed, “Thank you.”
Chapter Two
The local newspaper picked up the fact that the police had shot and killed a person and had questioned the home owner who had killed one other of the intruders. It was determined this was a home invasion. A few days later the two men killed were identified as two brothers named, Fellows from out of state and both had long rap sheets.
The two had been identified in one home invasion years ago in another state, but never caught. The story was picked up by the wire services and a headline and short item of the shooting appeared in Yahoo News posted on the internet. Crimes are still of an interest whether local, or country-wide.
For my information only, Clark said they were Mary’s brothers. He had met them only once. They were older than Mary and she had married and divorced when in her teens. The police didn’t make any family connection because of the difference in names.
Summer came and I was really busy. Clark did have his shoulder replaced and went through therapy. Over time and through my questions to Clark, I found how and why the kidnapping occurred and how he was involved. I had the feeling he was basically an honest man, but weak. He vacillated between being tough and determined and or weak and unable to make up his mind which way to proceed.
“I guess I had better begin at the beginning. I don’t know how in hell I could screw up my life like this. I was a school teacher teaching middle school in the poor section of the city. This was in Detroit. I was in my early twenties and I was looking for a woman to make me happy. I used to walk by this orphanage and see this good looking young woman, but she always seemed sad. It began with a ‘Hi’ sometimes and then I often stopped and we would talk for a few minutes.
“I found out she had been married for a short time, but it didn’t work out. We became close, too close thinking back. It wasn’t long before I would do anything she asked of me. A year later she said she had figured out a way to make a lot of money. I was bothered because I thought we were earning enough to be comfortable.
“One day she came to me with plans all put together. The plans were to snatch a child and get away with the money. She said this was a child whose mother wasn’t very nice. She said the little girl’s father and mother were exceedingly rich and didn’t deserve to have either a child or a lot of money. When I asked how we would return the kid, she said that was something I didn’t need to know about, but she promised the child wouldn’t be harmed.”
“Just because of that, there isn’t any reason to think you should steal their child.”
“I know. Listen, I checked and the real mother, Eleanor Raven, was connected, an alcoholic, and slutted around on her husband. George is into union racketeering and most specifically money laundering. What were they going to do, call the police?”
“If the snatch was in the papers they must have got involved?”
“It was way after the fact when the newspapers learned of it.”
“You two had to have guts. Christ, it’s a wonder you are still alive.”
“I know, but as I said Mary’s family had connections. You saw what they were just a few days ago.”
“What about you, you must have connections too?”
“No, I was an ignorant patsy.”
“That’s hard to believe, but go on. How did this happen so you didn’t get caught?”
“I had nothing to do with the arrangements of the snatch. Mary had connections and help with the actual abduction. My chore was to pick up the ransom money. A trash truck was provided. Raven, the father was to put the ransom money in a specially marked trash bag and put it in the pile with the other bags on the sidewalk.
“Remember this was back before the city used dumpsters. Trash would come down from the tenements and the bags thrown in a pile. The trash truck had three men on it. There was the driver and two men, one on a foot-stand on either side at the rear of the truck.”
“Someone must have been watching the bag. How did you get away with it?”
“I was on the sidewalk side as a pickup man. The truck would drive up to the pile of trash and the men on back would drop off and start slinging bags. Anyone watching couldn’t keep track of one bag. Twice during the pickup the compactor had to be triggered. While one man ran that, the other was bringing more bags from the pile to the truck and the process would start all over again.
“I spotted the bag as we drove up. I ignored it until I was moving bags to the truck for the second cycle of the compactor. There was room to hide the bag under a canvas that hung down over a metal brace. The canvas was up and I just slid it in onto it and dropped the canvas. Understand these were regular city workers who now had a couple hundred extra dollars in their pockets. They didn’t ask questions.
“So how did you get away with the money?”
“It was pretty damned neat. This was the last pickup on that particular street. The truck turned into an alley. My car was in about four car lengths headed out. As soon as the trash truck turned in, the regular worker was waiting by my car. I stepped down and ran along beside the truck pulling the bag from the shelf where I had hidden it.
“I was then beside my car and I tossed it through the door and onto the passenger’s side. I slid in, pulled a blanket over the bag and drove out onto the same street the truck had come from. The trash man just stepped up onto his stand and took over his regular job.
“Two cars must have been following the trash truck. When I drove out the alley, the cars had to wait for me to exit. They did and then I drove away.” Clark was grinning and I was shaking my head in disbelief at his luck in pulling this off.
“I picked this area here when looking for a home. I saw a magazine advertisement listing the house. I drove down here and using my own money, I bought it. A month later, Mary and the baby showed up and moved in with me. A new problem surfaced at that time. The plan was that she would return the baby before meeting me. She decided to keep the kid for herself for awhile. She never did give it back, as you well know.”
“Did you divide the money?”
“Yeah, the first night she was with me. She was supposed to wait six months before moving here, but she was anxious about the money because it was all with me. She didn’t have a plan for keeping the two-year-old child and had to land someplace quickly. She had me wrapped around her finger, and was afraid if she didn’t get to me, I would give the whole kidnapping away.”
“Basically she wanted the money and to keep Amy too, is that it?”
“Yeah, and it didn’t take many weeks before I didn’t want to give up the child either. Amy was a sweet kid.”
“So tell me about the breakup between you two?”
“As time went on, Mary became less and less loving and I finally realized none of this was about me. I was just a weak person who had been taken advantage of. I thought Amy loved me and I know I loved her. Mary went by my name although we never married. Somehow Mary had generated a birth certificate for Amy. I guess working in an orphanage she could do that. I was glad of that and I suppose Mary could come back as a common-law spouse we lived together that long. I’m not going to worry about her anymore after what has happened with her sending her brothers after me.”
“Roger, do you want the key to the locker? It’s in my name?”
“No, you hang onto it. If we can find Amy, we can give it to her. The money should go to her. If her true parents died she would be the heir anyway.”
“Are they alive?”
“I have no idea. I do believe Amy has had a good life. I did everything with her when she lived here. I don’t think Amy knew Mary and I weren’t getting along; we were careful to keep it from her. Mary had given me a couple of rough years before she left. She claimed I wasn’t man enough for her. I knew our separating was coming so it was no surprise.
“Mary couldn’t logically go after my half of the money. I gave her a check from my personal account for $10,000 and about a hundred thousand from my share of the kidnap money. She had to be satisfied with that. Think of it, I gave away a hundred thousand dollars and it didn’t bother me a bit. I went to work when I first came here, and Mary was secretary in that nursing home next to the hospital after Amy started school.”
“Clark, I still haven’t got a sense of what kind of person you are.”
“Back to calling me Clark, are you?” Clark grinned, and then went on. “I tell you, I’m a complicated individual. Would you believe I haven’t figured myself out yet, either?”
“Tell me some facts that I can believe … some that I can check on and verify.”
“I can do that. You know some about me if you would stop and think. I’m a good worker, I like things clean. God, what a mess it was to clean up after I used the shotgun on that guy. Thank God there are people who don’t mind jobs like that. I knew he was one of the brothers who trapped me upstairs weeks ago. I can tell you now I was waiting with a gun in my hand for them to come back after me.
“I like to read. Go upstairs and look at the books I read, that’ll tell you more about me. I like to be by myself and you know that too. You’ve been my neighbor and know I’m not too friendly. Yes, and I can rise to the occasion if called to do something and not have to think about it too long.”
“Like what?”
“Like when I was involved in kidnapping Amy. Mary had it all planned and I followed directions just as instructed. I had less than 24 hours from being told what I had to do and when it went down. Recently when I was under attack, I picked up my gun and began shooting. On the flip side, it took me years to get Mary out of my life. That was after I decided it needed doing and we both would be safer. It came to where we weren’t getting along at all and it seemed senseless if we were ever caught for both of us to go to prison. Mary was the one that should move and safely shield Amy on one more level.”
“I guess I know more about you than I thought. I still don’t know where you work or what you do there? I’ve heard it is a diner.”
“I’m the kitchen manager of a good-sized restaurant. It’s just an everyday privately owned one. No big deal, but the food is good. I’ll get you a seat sometime. You let me know when.”
“That wasn’t in the paper when the story came out?”
“Nope. I knew the newspaper owner is family of the restaurant owner and I asked that it be kept out of the paper. The paper obliged.”
“One last question, how much ransom did you ask for?”
“Mary asked for two million thinking she might possibly get one million. They came back immediately with an offer of one and a half million. That’s what was in the trash bag when we opened it a month later on the kitchen table. I suppose you want an accounting of how much I have left?”
I grinned, “You might as well tell me. I have the key to the locker.”
Clark grinned back. “There is exactly one half million in those two suitcases. You may wonder at that. The $1,500,000 was divided evenly to start. Then I had to pay $50,000 to Mary as reimbursement she provided to pay the men who helped her set up the kidnapping. When she left I gave her $100,000 of my share. That leaves me with $600,000. Let us just say I have a few thousand hidden around the house here and I have $60,000 in a bank account I’ve managed to save from my job just by not spending too much. I earned all of that.”
“So the rumors about you have hidden money and are rich is true?”
“You say so, so I guess it’s true.”
“How much did Mary leave here with?”
“Not sure, but most of her $750,000 and what I handed her. You do know it is difficult to spend cash in any great amount. I could have kept the house up, but I would have had to pay in cash. That would have fueled the rumors even more that I have money stashed.”
“So what is in the future for you? You’ve committed a crime that doesn’t have a statue of limitations. You are reasonably wealthy, but can’t spend enough of it to live comfortably and you’re all the time looking over your shoulder. You’re alone. I asked you about your future, but I don’t think you have much of one. Not here anyway. What you need to do is to stop idling and figure out something to make your life better.”
“I’ve told you that is part of my problem. I’ve had twenty-six years to figure it out. You can’t imagine what a rush it was to move into this house and have $700,000 in a locker a few minutes away. Then reality sets in. It’s like you just said, I can’t figure out a future.
“There is one more thing that I could do. I could confess, return what money is left to the Ravens and end up with life in prison. That doesn’t appeal much to me, but I have thought about it. Hey, do you want to make some money? Maybe you should turn me in. There must be some reward.”
“Clark, no thanks. I’m doing well on my own so I guess not. If you get caught, I’m going to deny knowing anything about you or your past.”
“Thanks, Dixon, I appreciate your being such a good friend.”
I had to leave for a few days doing a follow up on a building we had the contract to produce blue prints. It was a small church in a black neighborhood and I was doing it with bare-bones profit. The night I returned home there was a knock on my door. Thinking it was Clark from next door, I opened it with a glad smile.
It was a woman with her back to me looking at the house across from mine. She whirled, “Hi Beau, you look glad to see me so you must remember me.”
“Amy?”
“Yeah, and all grown up too. Beau, the last time we were together, I gave you something a girl doesn’t ever forget.”
“The boy never does either. I’ll admit there have been other women in my past, but that’s where they’ll stay. ”
“I’d be awful surprised if there wasn’t. Fourteen years is a long, long time.”
“Other men, of course, for you, too?”
“Same situation, and all in the past.”
“Well damn, why are we standing in the doorway? Would you like a drink or something?”
“I’m addicted to coffee.”
“Keeps you awake.”
“Yes Beau, but I don’t think we will be sleeping much tonight. I want to catch up on a lot of things.”
“Me too. God, you’re really beautiful.”
“You’re still a charmer Beau. I remember you charmed a pair of my panties right off me.”
“Yeah, but you had most of my clothes off by that time is the way I remember it.”
We sat there grinning at each other, remembering. Amy broke the silence, “How is my father. I understand he has had some trouble. I read it on the Internet and recognized the names of the two men who broke into the house.”
“You saw that on Yahoo.”
“Right on.”
“Your dad is okay now. He had two accidents involving the same shoulder within three weeks of each other. Both were done by the same men. The last injury was from a bullet, but then you know that. How is your mother?”
“Mom died a few months ago. That’s how my so called uncles got onto where Dad was living. It was in her obituary that she had a common-law husband named Clark.”
“Sometime you will have to tell me about your life for the last fourteen years. You knew Clark and your mother weren’t married?”
“Yes, I knew. Over the years she talked about dad some. I kept asking her to call him up and speak. But she said there were reasons why they couldn’t see each other or even talk. It was like there was something preventing their getting together, or if they did, some big disaster would happen. She said it was more imperative that I didn’t either. Do you have any idea’s what it could be?”
“You’ll have to ask him.”
She examined my face. “You know, but it is up to him to tell me, isn’t that it?”
I felt she knew the answer to the question she had asked a moment ago. “Yes, but don’t push him on it. I’ve known your father almost as long as you. He has trouble facing things. When he is in danger though, he can rise to the occasion. For example, the shootout with the two men a couple months ago.”
“I’ll remember that. Should I call him tonight? It is late.”
“Nah, let him get one more night of sleep. Call him at breakfast tomorrow. Or better yet, I’ll invite him over. I’ve done that a lot while he was mending.”
“Perfect. Beau, can I sleep with you tonight. I remember how I cried the day I left. Whenever I am sad, I always think of that night. We promised undying love to each other. I want to put all that sadness behind me. I do need a pair of pajamas though.”
“Really?
“Really, did you think we were going to continue tonight what we were doing the night before I left fourteen years ago?”
“Well, the thought crossed my mind. You’ve just dashed that when you asked for pajamas. You are a big girl now and I am curious if your sexual prowess has advanced with your age. I also remember you were the aggressive one back then.”
“I was, wasn’t I? Beau we may get there, but let’s decide with our minds not with our bodies.”
“Good enough. I was trying to see what the boundaries were. Amy, are you hungry?”
“I am. You wouldn’t have a bagel would you? I remember you loved them when we knew each other while growing up.”
“I still do, and I always have them on hand. I subsisted on them all through college.”
“Me too. That’s one more thing that we have in common.”
“You went to college?”
“Yes, I studied journalism. I’m writing fiction at present. I have a couple of fiction stories in the e-book format that I’ve published. I’m slowly picking up a following.” We made small talk until we showered and got into bed.
“Beau, Mom told me some things about her and Dad before she died. I also have a suitcase out in the car that has a half million and more dollars in it.”
I felt Amy was trying to shock me. “I have a locker with a half million dollars stored at the bus station. That’s what Clark tells me is in the two suitcases anyway. So?”
“You know then that I wasn’t given the name Amy at birth?”
“I do know that. I know Clark and your mother abducted you when you were two, and when a ransom was paid they kept both you and the money. Also they split up to make it more difficult to be found.”
“That’s pretty much what Mom told me. She also told me she and Dad had all the money and didn’t know how to spend that much of it without bringing attention to them selves.”
“That’s what Clark said.”
“Clark, you call him by his last name?”
I smiled, “Yeah, he has always been Clark to me, and never Roger. He calls me Dixon most of the time and kid the rest of time. Some things never change. So tell me about you becoming the educated beauty that you appear to be?”
“I guess I was the typical young girl while becoming a woman. I’ve kept the memory alive by daydreaming about how I would search for you someday. You can’t imagine the sadness I went through when Mother took me away from here. She didn’t give me any explanation until I graduated high school and that was minimal.
She seemed to have some money besides the wages she earned. Every once in awhile she would come up with a hundred dollar bill, especially after I got to college. It was when I reached twenty-one that she told me she wasn’t my mother.
“I married the last year I was in college. Mother told me I was foolish, but I didn’t listen. She was right of course, and he wasn’t what I thought he was when we wed. The marriage lasted only eight months. I was twenty five when she told me who my biological father was and that the name I was given at birth is Renee Raven. She also said that my being married was risky for both her and dad and the reason she couldn’t support my marriage.
“Beau, this may surprise you, but I’ve been up to prison and have met my birth father. I worked for a magazine and they were always looking for human interest stories. I thought that was a good excuse to meet George Raven. I didn’t share that I was his daughter, though. I was afraid to let him know I knew the kidnappers. Actually I waited until he brought up the kidnapping himself. He didn’t say much about it and I didn’t want to harp on it.”
“Wow, you have guts. What did you learn about his life?”
“He was a crook and was sent to prison for money laundering. He was sentenced to fifteen years. He still has two to go.”
“What did you think of him as a person?”
“I kind of like him. He’s alone with no family now. He wants to stay straight when he gets out.”
“How old is he?”
“Sixty-ish.”
“What happened to your birth mother?”
“George said years ago she came out of a bar at 2:30 one afternoon and was hit by a car while running to catch a bus. It was a habit of hers to get home before he did. She needed to sober up enough to get his dinner. I asked him specifically if losing the two-year-old child had anything to do with her drinking. He said no, because she had always drunk heavily. He also said that the baby was always in the care of a nurse or nanny. A lot of his work took place after normal hours, so the baby didn’t receive much love.”
“It’s a wonder he would pay a ransom to get the child back.”
“Maybe not. The money was readily at hand. He was in the union and there was plenty of cash available from the union slush fund. I guess unions had the same problem of how to get rid of so much cash. Cash that was in bills chiseled from the workers. That’s what he said anyway. He also said his and Eleanor’s was a marriage of convenience. I got the impression that he didn’t love his wife that much and had given up on her.
“He said I had probably been killed by the kidnappers, but didn’t appear too sad when he said this. It is difficult to ask questions when you are hiding something yourself. I do know George made arrangements for a candle to be lighted in church once a week and I guess it is still happening as we are talking about this.”
There had to be tears in Amy’s eyes. We had the lights turned off and couldn’t see, but I knew for sure when she took my hand and brushed the tears away. This freaked me out. It had to be weird to be alive and know someone was lighting a candle for you because you were dead. We slept finally, curled up to each other.
The phone woke me up. Amy was lying beside me, but didn’t stir. “Hello.”
“Hey Kid, I see a strange car in your yard. Did someone sleep over?”
“Yeah, she did. Are you making breakfast for us?”
“Nope, but you could make mine. I have to meet the woman who thinks you’re good enough to sleep with.”
“Well, give us three-quarters of an hour. Look nice when you come over.”
I glanced at Amy and could see her eyes were open and looking at me. “Was that my Dad?”
“Yeah, he’ll be along in a little while.”
“Beau, I’m nervous.”
“Don’t be, he is the same as always and he does love you very much.”
“Do you love me very much, too?”
“Don’t know yet. What are you offering?”
“Me, and a half million dollars.”
“I don’t need the money, but I believe I need you.”
“Maybe I can help you make up your mind. Come kiss me.” It was more than a single kiss.
“Beau, stop. My father will be here soon. I can’t meet him like this.” I grinned and left her to get dressed.
Amy had her back to the kitchen table when Clark sat down. She had put on a dress. She was beautiful! He recognized her immediately when she turned just the same as I had. “Amy, you came to see your old man?”
“I did Dad. Dad, Mom died some months ago. I didn’t have much information about where we lived when I was young until I saw on the Internet that my so called uncles gave you a lot of trouble. It was Mom’s fault I guess that they came looking for you.
“I know she talked about you, but I never heard her tell them. Mom was sick for awhile and was apt to ramble on to anyone who would listen. You know when we first moved away, she barely mentioned you. I do think as time went on she missed you. She always told me it was safer for both of you to stay apart and that’s why you split up. It was sad.”
“She was right, but I’m glad to hear what you are saying. Amy, don’t talk about your mother, come give me a hug. My God, you are so beautiful! Your hair has lightened some since I saw you last. You are taller and well put together. More than your mother, anyway.”
“Dad, did you ever meet my birth mother?”
This stopped Clark in his tracks. “Amy, you do have the same coloring as Mary and you are very pretty.” Then he said, “No, I never met Eleanor Raven personally, but I saw her in the news a few times. You’ve found out Mary wasn’t your real mother?
“I did and I know most of why. I even have a trunk-full of cash that can’t be spent. I looked out the window at your house a few minutes ago and I see it needs some work. We will have to figure a way to bring the house up to the beautiful home it once was with some of the money.”
“Hey, you two stop talking. Amy, sit and I will serve you and your father.”
Amy listened to Clark go on and on about the wonderful neighbor I had turned into. I shook my head in denial. I finally said I had to work today and would see them this evening. Amy did up the dishes while Clark and I watched her, being happy she was in our life again. They followed me out to my car as I was leaving and she walked with her father across to his house. I was busy, so didn’t have much chance to think about Amy or Clark in the days following her arrival.
Amy and her father were closer now than when she lived with him before. It had to be because she was an adult and they could now converse on that level. As the days passed by, our discussions were focused on how to get the money into some form where they could use it without drawing attention.
It only took a week before Amy and I became intimate. Clark was aware and had this to say, “Dixon is the best person for you Amy, and I’m hoping someday you will be married.”
We were together a month before Amy suggested we go to Detroit and visit George Raven. “I wrote him I was moving here and since that time I met someone I was falling in love with. He became somewhat protective toward me while I was interviewing him.”
“He still doesn’t know you and he are father and daughter?”
“No, of course not. I don’t want to endanger Dad. Dad could still be charged with kidnapping. I would like it if someday George and I could become close, but I don’t see any possibility where we could.”
“Let me meet him to get an idea of what he is like. He is going to be in prison for another year and more. That gives us some time to work on things.”
“I’ll call and see when we can get in to see him. If I was known as his daughter I could see him most any time, but I can’t declare that I am now.”
“True. Amy, do you feel any resentment toward the Clarks because you were kidnapped by them?”
“I don’t at all. When I found what kind of life the Ravens led, I think the Clark’s saved me from a life of being associated with criminals, even though the Clarks committed one of the worst crimes ever. My birth mother was an alcoholic and my birth father a racketeer. I’m convinced Mom loved me better than Eleanor ever could. I was with them through these many years, I think them normal even after Mom told me what she and Dad did.”
Chapter Three
Amy and I got on a plane a week later and within an hour of landing we walked into the prison where George Raven was incarcerated. I knew immediately this was no place I wanted to be, but it could happen to me just from my association with the Clarks.
We were ushered into a room and we knew we were being observed. Both Amy and I had been patted down. George could sit on one side of a long table and us on the other. There were benches going the length. There was an eighteen inch high plastic barrier between us and we were warned not to reach or pass anything over it to the inmate. Luckily we were the only visitors at this particular time so we could talk privately.
George had short grey hair and he was about 5 foot 11 inches tall. He was trim and neat, weighing I would guess at 160 pounds. He looked very, very happy to see Amy. “Amy, so good of you to visit. I thought when you said in your last letter that you had a boyfriend you would forget about me.”
“George, this is my friend, Beau Dixon and I would never forget you. I consider you my friend.” George acknowledged me with a smile and a wave but his attention was solidly on Amy.
“More questions from me about my life of crime?”
“I might ask a few if I can think of any.” Amy went on to tell what she had been doing since seeing him last. She told him that the personal interest story she had written about him had garnered some interest. “May I ask more, if not so personal?”
“Sure, anything. I’ll do whatever to make you happy.”
“Good, I know you were sent up here for money laundering. How is that accomplished? I mean if a person had a million dollars in cash, how could he spend or convert it into a vehicle that didn’t attract the police or the government’s attention?”
“There are people who do this for a living. There are several possibilities and some of it would depend on how much time you have before you need it. If you were in a hurry, it would cost you sixty percent and you would get forty. If you had plenty of time and could wait awhile, you might reverse that and get the sixty percent. Of course if it was bills in sequence you might only get twenty percent.
“If young people like yourselves didn’t need it for anything immediately you could spend it in small quantities and over a period of twenty years you might realize the full face value. When you bought something, it would have to be below what the bank would report. Anything less than $10,000 would be the figure on that. You could buy a decent used car and could change vehicles often.
“If you wanted a better or later model car, you would have the first car to turn in and a few thousand in cash to purchase the newer car. A used car dealer wouldn’t think twice. You have to be careful about living with a high income lifestyle if your yearly income is way below what your income would support. If you own a business it is easier. No one thinks it odd to pay cash for small tools or a case of supplies. On the other side, if you sold something you would want the money to come back to you as a check that you could deposit.”
“Interesting. So George, what are your plans when you leave here?”
“I’m getting the hell out of Dodge. If I stick around here I’ll be drawn back into the same lifestyle. Can I come and live near you? You ought to have a baby by that time. I missed out on my own child because someone stole her. I hate to think of it being dead, but Eleanor and her family and what they were wasn’t a very good environment in which to raise a child. Maybe it was for the best that it worked out the way it did.”
“It’s a terrible thing to lose your child. It must have been a shock to lose all that money too?”
“Yeah some, but the money didn’t actually come from my pocket. Union slush funds are created to use for emergencies, pay politicians, and influence union elections. I was high enough up in union management so all I had to do was ask. I suppose being tapped to be the one to take a fall and serve time goes back to then, but I haven’t minded that much. I’ve changed my thinking on how the world works since I came in here.”
“So how would you feel if you found out your daughter was alive and the person who stole her raised her as his or her own and she was reasonably happy?”
“I’ve never considered something like that happening. I don’t know how I would feel. I’ll have to give it some thought.”
“Of course there is the money that they took as well.”
“That part I don’t give a damn about. I’ll wager that it has created more problems for the kidnappers than they ever could imagine. That may trip them up yet in trying to convert it. Look at me, I was in the money laundering business and here I am sitting across the table from you.”
“So George, you’re going straight when you get out of here?”
“Yes, and you damned well better believe it.” George paused and then grinned and continued, “But then I do have a little stash that needs converting too, and I still have some contacts. I have to have something to live on. Maybe just enough to live quietly someplace … a place where I have a young couple who are friends of mine and if they’ll have me around.”
“George, we’ll give it a lot of thought. I see the guard is motioning us our time is up. I will be back next month to see you again.”
“Amy, thank you so much for coming to see me. You don’t know how lucky I feel knowing you. I wish I could kiss you. And Beau you’re quiet and I wish I could shake your hand. Take care of this fine young lady.”
“I will. I’ve known her for a long time and there is no one finer.”
We took our leave and headed out for lunch. I asked, “Would you like to stay over tonight and fly home tomorrow?”
“I’d love to. The shuttle plane wasn’t too full so we should be able to get a flight.”
“I’ll call. What else do you want to do?”
“Can we go see the Henry Ford museum? I always wanted to see the old cars they built here.”
“That would be fun so we will find out where it is.” We located it in Dearborn and were able to reach it by bus. We made a day of it, topping it off with dinner and dancing in the hotel we were booked into. Harking back to what George said about spending cash where you could, we pooled what we had and paid that way.
In the morning before our flight, Amy had the address where George and Eleanor lived many years previously. She wanted to drive by their home. The kidnapping had happened when Renee and her nurse got out of a taxi in front of the residence. Mary had confessed much of this to Amy and Amy had read some of this in newspaper archives when doing her story on George.
The man with Mary had overpowered the nurse while Mary snatched up the child. Chloroform for the nurse and masks for the kidnappers had been used and the deed was done. The nurse couldn’t say what the kidnappers or the car looked like. Roger Clark hadn’t been involved in this part of the snatch. His involvement came later in getting away with the ransom money.
The estate where George lived was impressive with a cast iron gate and a bell to call the house. The driveway was long and had shrubs that had now turned into trees were planted the length of it. You could barely see the house. Amy had never asked if George still owned the place. It was doubtful. Amy said, “Just think Beau, I was born and lived in that house twenty-six years ago.”
“Any regrets?”
“No, not really. I have to remember that George was a crook and so were Dad and Mom. I’ve had a lot of sad times. I had to leave you. I was so sad I cried for days. Of course I lost Dad at the same time, which made it a really bad time for me. Then recently Mom got sick and died. I do like all of you and that includes George. I guess I’m as crooked as everyone else by lugging around a trunk full of cash and I still think well of the two people who took me.”
“I’m not much better by condoning and loving this bunch of crooks I’m neighbor to. Also I like George now that I have met him.”
“You’re the best of all of us. You love me and you’ve been very helpful to Dad. I think you’re going to be helpful to George before this is all settled.”
“You can help me if I get caught and put in jail. You can bail me out. Just remember to pay the bail with cash.”
This struck us funny and we laughed and giggled over it until we went to exploring each other’s body and the giggles turned into begging … not to stop, but for more.
Over the next eighteen months Amy and I sometimes went up to visit Raven in Detroit, either together or she alone. Amy and he became real close. We never mentioned money to him again. I liked the man. At home, Amy lived with me, but we were constantly with Clark. He went to work everyday at the restaurant, satisfied to do his work without any complications. Amy had rented a locker and put the money she brought with her in it. I took $50,000 from the locker that had been in Clark’s. I went to the well twice. Yes, we had a program to use the money as safely as we could.
The three of us spent cash, always. We bought money orders from the postal service and purchased travel checks at different banks. We found we could use Travelers checks to buy debit cards and then they were accepted the same way as checks. Surprisingly, we found that some brokers would accept all three and sell us stocks so we began to put together a portfolio.
We were always conservative and had planned how to treat these transactions with the IRS in the back of our mind. After a bit, though, we found that we had run out of options. We had to at least back off until another year rolled around. I had managed to convert $67,000 from cash to securities. We had paid cash from the stash and used up another $28,000 on incidentals. We didn’t try and purchase items that we didn’t need or couldn’t use.
We had a meeting where we laughed at our efforts and about how difficult it was to get rid of the cash. “We need someone to launder the money for us. We are amateurs at this. Let’s back off the program for now. We can still buy coffee though, and no one will suspect us of anything if we upgrade to latté.”
Clark was slowly getting his house renovated and had turned that project over to me. Still we had to appear honest and the house did give us a way to continue our program.
We now turned to what we were going to do about George Raven. He wanted to move here close to us. He informed us he wanted nothing to do with his former associates. Could we keep to our program of converting cash with him around … it doubtful.
Finally Clark said, “Let’s put all the remaining money in one locker and give it back to Raven. You two have become his friends and he won’t turn you in for associating with a known kidnapper. Me, as one of the original kidnappers I’m the only one that should be charged with the crime. I’m sick of looking over my shoulder and outside of you two I don’t have any friends.”
“But Dad, you aren’t my friend, I’m your daughter. No, that didn’t come out right. You know what I mean. I love you as my father and also as my friend. You always have been.” Tears came into Clark’s eyes and tears were running down Amy’s face.
“We’ll think about it.”
We slowed our project down and continued on at a modest pace. Amy worked in my office when needed, but mostly she wrote fiction. She had found her niche in writing about late teen-age and young adult characters. They all had happy endings and she didn’t hold to one genre.
She even did a couple of westerns. Mainly the stories involved mysteries or had romance for plots. She had tried for hard cover books, but that didn’t work too well and she quit sending when her manuscripts kept being rejected. She then stuck to publishing e-books. These were short novels of 60,000 or less words. She figured this was about as long as her public would be entertained before putting the story down and might not get back to the story if they were any longer.
I was called on to submit bids and create plans for several different types of buildings I had a great staff and we were often the quickest to have plans ready before any other firms for approval. Needless to say my plate was full.
Amy went up to visit George a month before he was to be released. “Amy, my dear, would you look around and find a house for me to purchase so I can live near you. It doesn’t have to be next door, but close. As you are aware there is nothing in Detroit left for me.” He smiled. “You know there is a younger more sophisticated crop of crooks out there that have replaced me and I don’t fit in anymore. There are more laws on the books to catch you too.
“Do you have any money and what is the price range I should stay within? How many rooms do you need? You must also realize that property is a lot more expensive now than what it was when you were first incarcerated. My father owns the house I grew up in the first years of my life.
“My Mom moved away when I was fourteen. I came back to be with Dad and found Beau still living next door and we are a couple now. I have a suggestion. Come stay with my father or us and we’ll find your ideal home.”
“I can do that. Amy, are you and Beau planning on being married? He seems perfect for you. I see love for each other coming from both of you.”
“Yes, someday. We have waited because we want you at our wedding.”
“Oh, Amy, that would please me so much.”
“Just come, I want my father to be with us when I tell you why we have waited so long. I’ll be up and at the prison door when you come out next month.”
“I’ll be looking for you.”
I drove to Detroit with Amy to get George. He came out and the first thing he did was to hug Amy and kiss her on her cheek. Then he turned to me and hugged me too. There were tears of happiness in his eyes. My question when we returned to normal, “Do you have things you want to take with you?”
“No, I’ve lightened my burden as far as goods are concerned in the last fifteen years. My lawyer will send me some things. I want to get new clothes soon, but I have some sweats and shoes and a change in my satchel. FedEx comes by your father’s house doesn’t it? I’ve arranged for some assets to come with the courier in a few days. Let’s go home.”
George did have us drive by his old home before we headed south. He was amazed how the city had changed. “My God, look at that. That used to be a nice section of the city. It’s just a slum area now. What happened?”
“The city is bankrupt and things haven’t got done. That’s the easy answer.”
“Bunch of stupid crooks running things, I suspect, and I’ve met a few of them in the last few years on the inside.” That’s the only comment we had from the newly released felon.
It was late at night when we arrived home. We were tired. George had slept some, but all of us were beat. “George, I have a room with a bath upstairs and it’s yours. You stay here until you get settled. This is your home until you decide what to do.”
“You two young ones are the best to take in an old man and him a crook at that.”
Amy lit into him, “George maybe you were, but you have paid your debt to society so you aren’t a crook now. I don’t want you to be referring to yourself that way ever again. What if someone hears you? That will make Beau and me look bad and that’s no way to pay back your friends.”
“You’re right sweetheart … never again. I’ll go up to bed now. God, once again I’m a free man, I can’t believe it. Thank you.” George was getting emotional and turned away. We watched him slowly climb upward. He turned at the top. “The stairs are so soft with the carpet on them. Some different than the welded steel I’m used to. Good night, you two.”
“Beau, are we doing the right thing, by manipulating him like we are?”
“I think so. We are manipulating your dad at the same time. I wish your dad was stronger minded.”
“I know and that is what bothered Mom so much about him. I don’t see him as weak. I see him as a man who loves his daughter. Beau, you know him better than I do, what do you think he will do about the kidnapping and the money? Will he confess to George?’
“I think he will. My question is what will George’s reaction to the confession be? You’ve bonded closely with him these last two years. What do you think?”
“I don’t know.”
Clark came over for breakfast. I could tell how apprehensive he was about meeting the man whose daughter he had kidnapped. George, after a good night’s sleep in a real bed was affable and happy. We could tell he immediately wanted to be friends with Clark, but George was held at arm’s length at first.
Amy showed George around town and brought him into my office where she worked part time. She also took him to the restaurant where Clark worked. This was at the busy lunch time and she and George sat in the corner of the kitchen watching Clark manage the staff sending food out to the dining room. Amy told me she didn’t realize how hectic a time this was. “Dad tells me it is even worse serving dinner in the evenings.”
We became comfortable having George living with us. Amy and I were now talking about getting married. It was a Saturday after dinner and Clark had stopped in for a beer before going across to his house. George spoke, “What is planned for tomorrow?”
None of us had anything special. “That’s good. I want you to sit down here in Amy’s living room and I’ll tell you about my life. Is that agreeable? I’d do it tonight, but it would take too much time. Roger and Beau are tired from working all day, so it would be best to wait until tomorrow.”
I spoke up, “I’m not that tired.”
Clark said he wasn’t working tomorrow and wouldn’t be going to bed early. “I’ll listen if it takes all night long.”
“Okay then, we’ll call this a bed time story. I also don’t want any of you to speak until I finish. I’m positive you will all have something to say at that time.
“First I’ll start out by telling you about my early years. My father owned a pawn shop and had a sideline in laundering money. Most of it was cash that had been stolen by pick pockets and thieves of one sort and another. Basically I learned my future trade from my father. He dealt in cash and he could legitimately bank money that way. If a few extra dollars were included on the deposit slip, who would know? I must add that he never was caught in any underhand dealings.
“I grew up and married a woman who was three years older than me and was connected, if you catch my meaning. My father warned me I was making a mistake, but what young man listens when there is gold to be had and pleasant company to go with it?”
He paused and looked around at us. He wanted us to understand that he was at that time a crook in the making. “I married and was totally immersed in a different culture. My wife was my biggest supporter and urged me to move on up in her family. I have to admit, I embraced this wholeheartedly.
“I did many things that I knew were wrong and there were certainly laws against most of what I did. Some people I knew ended up in prison, but my wife kept telling me with her connections that would never happen to me. To the family it appeared I was a rising star.
“After we were married a few years she became pregnant and bore a girl baby. I thought having a child so wonderful. But I guess I came back down to earth and realized what kind of life I was leading and my baby was being brought up in this criminal culture. I asked myself if my daughter would be leading the same life as her mother when she was older.
“I didn’t want that for her. To top it all off, my wife didn’t care for the baby and felt she was a burden. She turned to booze and found other men other than me for companions while the baby was at home with a nurse. I later found the family had her recruit me by marrying me in the first place. Now, even her father knew that she had become useless … useless in keeping me in line and useless to the family. Her actions were beginning to draw unwanted attention to him. A lot of what’s in that culture is all about saving face.
“I must say I wasn’t the perfect husband either. Occasionally I would find someplace where there where honest people congregated and I would have a mini vacation of sorts. I became acquainted with one young woman and we talked for hours. She felt her life was a dead end and so unexciting. Eventually I told her of what my life was like. We laughed and it became a game on how we could change the situations we were in. Some of them were pretty damned far out.
“Amy, the woman was Mary who became your new mother, and she worked in an orphanage. To keep my daughter hidden from the family she came up with the idea of me stealing my own child and we would go away together and live happily ever after.
“I can honestly say, that I wasn’t attracted to Mary that way and I couldn’t imagine living with her the rest of my life either. Over the next few months a plan evolved where there would be a fake kidnapping and my child would be whisked away to grow up in a better environment. Working where she did, Mary could take care of the paperwork to make it look legal.
“She needed a husband and she knew of Roger who taught school and would be perfect. Mary was attractive and she found Roger interesting. Roger went with Mary’s agenda. He had to be involved to some extent to keep him in line so he was given a role to play in the kidnapping. Roger followed orders to the letter.
“For Mary, she received all the ransom money that she demanded. She was going to keep it all for herself, but she needed a home and you can’t buy a home with cash, so she convinced this man to use his savings to purchase a home for the two of them. When ready, the plan went into operation.
“Now, my daughter’s life was mostly out from under my control. I knew if I meddled in this couple’s lives, they might end up in prison for the kidnapping and Renee would be worse off. I did keep track of her life and Amy, the new name of my child. It did seem that Roger wasn’t as aggressive as I expected him to be. They had the money from the ransom, but never seemed to spend any of it.
“Mary had been given cautions about spending cash of course and how to avoid drawing attention. She shouldn’t spend more cash then she would logically have. That was the warning. This is when I came to the conclusions she was just sitting on the ransom. She did make sure I was informed when she moved and I was informed again when she made the second move. This was all done through an intermediary.
“That was her business and I didn’t interfere. Then when my child was fourteen, Mary suddenly left Roger and moved to a different state and community, leaving Roger behind. I honestly felt that this would change the status quo about the money and I kept waiting for some action on his part. There was none. Roger became a recluse, except for going to his place of work.
“I did keep track of Mary and had an eye kept on her, noting how she was living and I could hear that my daughter was still reasonably comfortable and happy. This was the time I began to have my own troubles. Light was shed on my activities and the government was after the organization I belonged to. I was the one thrown to the wolves, so to speak. Fifteen years and I had to do every day of the sentence.
“The finest day and the happiest was the day when I was approached to do a home interest story about my life. I actually was sitting across the table from my daughter. Can you imagine how I felt? I don’t think you can.”
George looked around to where we were sitting. Amy got up and embraced the man who had just told Amy he knew all along she was his daughter. “I’ll take a couple of questions now and continue shortly.”
“George … Father, did you ever figure out the real reason why Dad and Mom split up when I was fourteen? Dad won’t talk about it. I don’t think he knows himself.”
“Talking to Roger recently, I think he felt at the time he was trapped in a situation that was beyond his control and beyond comprehension of a way to extract him self. I suspect he felt he had committed a crime, received money he couldn’t spend, and no matter how attractive Mary was, it wasn’t enough.”
Roger was nodding his head.
“That’s simple enough when you examine it. He was paranoid about the money. They both were afraid they would get caught and sent to prison, so being separated and being apart would lessen the chances for each of being apprehended. The money turned out to be a burden rather than an asset. Many people find it so. I gave Mary a great amount of money to carry out the parenting of Renee. As long as she took good care of Renee and didn’t get caught, it was her problem. If there is some of it left, I might be able to help launder it. I still have some connections.”
George was grinning now. He looked at Amy. “You don’t seem too surprised that I am your birth father.”
“No, mother told me about most of the kidnapping, but she didn’t tell me about you being involved. I have felt a connection to you, so no, I’m not that surprised. Mom mistakenly told her two loser brothers when she was the sickest, but she never remembered. It took several months for them to find out where Dad’s home here was. When I heard they attacked Dad, I came home to him. I’m glad Dad took care of them and I’m proud he did.”
“I couldn’t have done it without Beau’s help. He saved my butt twice.”
“The plus for me was when I got here, Beau still lived next door. A Beau who was very, very happy to see me.”
Amy was all smiles. “Beau and I promised each we would be together someday. That was sixteen years ago. Beau has asked me to marry him and we waited until you were here to be in it. While on the subject of my wedding, I want both you and Dad in it … one to walk me down the aisle and one to give me away. I consider both of you equally in my heart.”
“Roger and I will work it out.”
“Thanks George.” It looked as if Clark and George were becoming good friends. Clark hadn’t lived up to Mary and George’s expectations for them, but he hadn’t done that much harm, either.
Amy and I went to bed. Neither one of us were sleepy. There were other questions of George we wanted answered, but we could ask them at our leisure. “Beau, I know my father was a crook and for that matter Dad committed a crime too. And Mom, she was just bored and looking for a change, but I don’t think it gave her any real happiness except she had me for her daughter. The money didn’t and this is all so sad.”
I turned the light on and hitched up on one elbow so I could look her in the eye. “Amy, listen to me; George, Clark, and Mary each are, or were important to us. There are two others of importance and one of them proposed to you sixteen years ago. At the time it was accepted. Believe me, that is what is important.”
Amy didn’t say a word she just attacked me with kisses.
Epilogue
We had a small but nice wedding. George and Clark got roaring drunk at the reception and Amy and I helped them into Clark’s living room. This was a busy time for me and it took two weeks to clear my schedule for a honeymoon.
I came home one evening and sat down with a cold drink. Amy said, “Beau, George was over today. I gave him the money I brought home all that was Mom’s. He said it wasn’t doing anyone any good sitting in the bus locker. Later I saw UPS stop at Clark’s and carry out an aluminum case and drive away.”
“Did George say anything? Make any promises that you would get something for it?”
“No, not really. He asked for the money and I’m so relieved to not have the worry of it, I didn’t ask any questions.”
“That’s strange. I still have a rented locker with the money that came from Clark. I’ll bet he will be asking for that money too.”
I was right. Weeks later, Clark came to me and asked for the money that remained. I handed him the key and told him to take it. His only comment was that he was turning it over to George and he was going to forget about it.
Amy and I wondered to each other if we would see some asset in one form or another in the future. Over the weeks that followed we almost forgot about it. It was four months later that Amy received a certified letter. It was from a bank in Detroit. She signed for it and opened it.
It was a standard form that a bank sends out when they are searching for the owner of an inactive account. This was an inquiry. This account had been inactive for several years and had the owner died or forgotten it? The account was in Mary Fellows’ name and the most recent activity was when the name Amy Clark had been added a few years ago. To claim the account Amy needed a death certificate of Mary’s, if deceased, and a birth certificate of one Amy Clark. In the inquiry letter, the amount in the account wasn’t shown.
Amy got out her mother’s death certificate and looked at it closely. It was made out to Mary Fellows, deceased, common-in-law wife of Roger Clark. We flew up to Detroit and presented the certified letter that had been sent to Amy. We sat in an office while the officials looked at everything. Amy was asked for her social security number and why it wasn’t on the account. Amy answered that, “I remember getting my number when I first went to work.” This was sometime after the account was set up so she wasn’t questioned closer.
Amy declared she had no indication that her mother had set up the account, but said her father and mother had separated about that time. Before we left the bank, Amy took over ownership of the account and then had it put in her married name with me as joint owner. Amy knew her mother hadn’t set up this account and wondered how George worked it. We always wondered. Secrets of money laundering we guessed.
When we sat down on the plane to return home, Amy leaned to me, “Beau. That money must have something to do with the money I turned over to George, but it is a lot less. I can’t make any sense of it.”
“I can and I believe you made out very well. That amount is seventy percent of what you handed over. George told us the first time I met him it would likely cost forty percent. So, sweetheart, he did very well for you. Be thankful. With that amount of money it won’t be long before the interest will compound and you will have the total back you originally handed George.”
“Beau, not just me, but you too since we own it together.” George received kisses from Amy when we returned home.
George explained a little about how this was done ... no names though. “That account actually did belong to someone, but it was purchased and the original owner received a fee. The bank accountant received his fee for changing some names and dates, but the bank wasn’t shorted at all so their books always balanced. It is simple in some ways, but all the details have to match and be perfect.”
Clark’s return of the money came back to him in a different form. One day he received a USPS box that he had to sign for. It was from some energy company none of us had ever heard of. Clark brought the box over and said he was going to open it after dinner. He set it on the sideboard where we could all see it. George was smiling.
“Clark, I have no idea what is in that box, but I will guarantee you can use whatever it is without any fear of it being illegal.” The postal box contained a stack of very old Bearer Bonds. Some of them were water stained. Might be they had been through a hurricane or flood. There was a letter included.
“These are Bearer Bonds. Keep in a secure place so they won’t be stolen. Anyone who presents these to the office of Energy Unlimited at their address in New Orleans for redemption will receive the face value. These bonds were originally issued to the company printed on the face of the bonds. The company is out of business, and its assets and debits were bought up at the time of the first merger. The bonds have gone through three different mergers and still may be redeemed at face value.”
George’s only comment on Clark’s bond acquisition was, “Good as gold.”
He continued, “I have done what I set out to do for my daughter and her husband and for my friend, Clark. It is time to invest in something. Would you use some of your assets to invest in a business venture with me? It will be mostly honest and I have to have something to live on. I’ve been looking around town and have decided to buy a drive-through car wash. There is room for that type of business to expand. I do have a little cash of my own, and I need to put it to work.” George tried to look serious, but we could see a twinkle in his eyes.
We did invest and purchased a full service auto and detail wash in a better section of the town. Three years later, several Ultimate Car Wash businesses were owned by us, and were the only places in town where you could get your car washed. Clark and I weren’t involved in the operation at all. Clark bought the restaurant where he worked and enlarged it. For my self, I was busy making a name for my firm, Beaudecker Dixon Architects.
Amy and George ran the car wash businesses. The day’s receipts were collected by George and brought to Amy to be tabulated and deposited. I helped Amy count the cash one evening. “Are there always this many one hundred dollar bills everyday? It seems like a lot of them.”
“It varies. Some days there only a few dozen and other days there might be twenty or more. It fluctuates among the different car washes too. There doesn’t seem to be any pattern. Why are you asking?”
“When George asked us to invest with him to buy the first business, he said it was mostly honest. How big a difference is there between honest and mostly honest?”
“Some I would imagine, but I have never confirmed how much. George did say that he was bowing out and turning the business over to me when he retires in another three years. George also said the receipts would probably drop off at that time unless I ran the business the same way he has. Businesses like this have their ups and downs. Right now it is all on the up.”
Amy paused and then added, “I’ll decide when George retires how to run it.”
There was more to be added, but on a different subject. “I think we will be thankful for all the money coming in. We will have at least three kids to send to college someday.
“Three?”
“Yeah, I’m pregnant again. Jimmy is three and he needs another two siblings to grow up with.”
“Two?”
“Yeah, we’re having twin girls this time. Beau, don’t worry your head about the business, George is teaching me the finer points of how to run a successful business.”
“Okay, I’ll go along with that as long as it is successful and mostly honest. We could sell the business and by the time the kids are ready for college with our assets and my income we won’t need the car wash. I’m making a name for myself as a well-known architect so you won’t need to fudge even a little bit on keeping records.
“I know, but if my name was still Renee Raven instead of Amy Clark, which path would I have taken? Genes have to count for something.”
“Yes they must. Somehow this doesn’t surprise me because I’m aware the apple doesn’t fall from the tree.”
I walked over and kissed Amy. “Twins girls huh? They should make our life more interesting. I wonder if they will receive a marriage proposal when they are fourteen.”
“They might if they meet someone like you.”
“Amy, back to the night when that happened and you told me you had to leave, I cried. I wanted you to know how much I cared for you. It seemed so appropriate to propose and when you accepted, it made it all seem so right. Little did we know it would be so long to finally be possible, but my love, it couldn’t have worked out better?” Amy came into my arms.
The End
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