EXCERPT It is often said that when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. I sat
at my nearly empty desk, and considered how to best make some lemonade. I wasn't
having much success. Right at that moment my life just sucked.
I'm Marc Rich, and until a few weeks ago I had a happy life. Okay,
maybe not happy, but it was a comfortable life. I was married, and I was the
director of corporate security for a large chain of department stores. At
thirty-nine I had the world by the tail.
I use the past tense because my wife announced that she didn’t love me
and wanted out of our marriage. If that wasn’t enough my company announced that
it was merging with another, and I discovered that they came with their own
security department. Oh, they indicated that they should be able to find
something for me to do, but I wasn’t buying it. I knew that as soon as they had
picked my brain, I would be gone. All this came within the same two week period
of time. Try to make lemonade out of that.
I started out in the Albright Company right after I got out of the
Navy. After college I went into Uncle Sam’s floating force and begun to do
wondrous and interesting things. I worked in naval intelligence, and yes, I am
aware that is considered an oxymoron.
Actually, there is a lot of intelligence in the military. Most of it is
totally ignored by the brass, but it is there. I spent most of my time working
in the CID. Criminal investigations department was a great training ground.
During my four years doing that, I had been exposed to almost every crime there
is.
After six years, I discovered I didn’t want to make a career of the
Navy. Actually I wouldn’t have lasted very much longer anyway. I had foolishly
believed that the U.S. government had hired me to think, but my superiors seemed
to think otherwise. In fact on several occasions, I had been ordered to stop
thinking. More importantly I discovered that I work best when left alone to do
the job.
With this major difference in opinions, the Navy and I parted ways just
as soon as my obligation was finished. I met Janie, and we got married.
If I had been paying attention I could have foreseen the matrimonial
problems. Janie and I had not gotten along for over a year. Nothing big. I mean
no fighting or anything like that. Not even harsh words. Just the drifting apart
in interests. She had risen from entry level to full senior partner in a very
prestigious law firm. I think on some level we both saw it coming, but neither
knew what to do about it until Janie figured it out.
So there in my office I sat, looking off into space and trying to
formulate some plans. I had made arrangements to cash in my company stock. The
experts advised me to hold on to the stock. They said it would only become more
valuable as time went by. I said “sell the damned stuff. I don’t want stock in a
company that doesn’t want me.” What is it they say about pride going before a
fall?
I had considered cashing in the 401k, but Janie told me that I would
only get a bit more than half after taxes. While I thought Janie was crazy to
cast me off, I still respected her advice. It’s really hard to knock success,
and she had succeeded very well. So anyway, I sat and pondered my future. The
new security folks had all arrived, and I was all but ignored. I was left alone
in my office to do a lot of pondering.
“Knock-knock,” I heard a voice say. I looked up, annoyed that some lout
would interrupt my contemplating. It was James Winslow, the third. “Mind if I
come in?” he said with a huge grin.
“Can you not see that I am extremely busy?” I responded, matching his
grin.
“Oh yeah,” he said reaching out his hand. “I can see that all right.
You, my man, are just covered up.”
Jimmy Winslow, the third, is one of those people you can not forget.
The bastard would show up every few years just to remind you of him. Jimmy and I
served together in the Navy. I had not seen him in several years, but he hadn’t
changed all that much. Like me, a little thicker in some places, but he still
had a head full of red hair. His forehead seemed to be a little longer than I
remembered. I hadn’t actually seen him but twice since Janie and I had gotten
married. We had kept in contact by phone, fax, and e-mail, and I was surprised
at how pleased I was to actually see him.
“Where on earth did you come from?” I asked taking his hand.
“I spring from the center of the universe and from places that mortals
like you can only try to imagine.” he said falling into a chair and putting his
feet on my desk.
“Still full of crap, I see,” I said. “Good that some things don’t ever
change. Get your dammed feet off my desk.”
He smiled at me and ignored my order. “Why do you care? It won’t be
your desk for long. How they hanging, ol’ buddy?”
I leaned back and put my feet on the desk, too. “Hanging low, sport,” I
answered. “Mighty low. How did you know?”
Jimmy didn’t even pretend to not know what I was talking about. “Janie
called me,” he said waving his hand about. “She thought you needed someone of
enormous intellect to discuss the issues with. Of course she though of me.”
“Of course,” I acknowledged. “Presumably never crossed her mind to tend
to her own business.”
“Of course not,” Jimmy replied laughing, “She’s a woman. They never
tend to just their own business. Seriously, Janie is worried. Maybe she doesn’t
love you any more, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t like you. I, on the other
hand, don’t really like you, but I have this bizarre need to love you.
Fraternally that is.”
“That’s a load off my mind. I wouldn’t want to think you had gone queer
on me. When did she call you?”
“Yesterday, well she had left a message a few days ago, but I just got
it yesterday,” he said bouncing to his feet. “Let’s grab a bite of lunch. Can
you get away?”
“I guess I can tear myself away,” I said with a short laugh. “Not as if
I’d be missed. So what took you so long to get here if you got the message a
whole day ago?”
Jimmy took my arm and steered me toward the door. “Had a few loose ends
to tie up first. Drinks or lunch?”
“Drinks first,” I said. “Then if there is time, we’ll consider
food.”
“I see you haven’t misplaced your priorities.” he said. “Lead on, sir.”
At the bar and grill we ordered a round of drinks.
“So, what is happening in your world?” Jimmy asked.
“You know perfectly well what’s going on in my crappie world,” I
responded. “It sucks.”
“Yeah, I guess it does. How long are you going to be working for you
new masters?”
“I don’t know.” I said “Week, two weeks, maybe longer. I guess they’ll
shove me out as soon as they figure they have a good handle on the company’s
security.”
“I have something that might interest you,” he said slyly. “Are you
interested in doing a little private investigation?”
“I doubt it,” I replied. “I been away from the stoop and snoop business
a long time. I don’t have a current PI licenses.”
“Well, the license is no problem and the pay’s mighty good.”
“Tell me about it,” I said. Maybe just hearing about someone else’s
problem would take my mind off my own.
“The wife of Jay W. Grant has disappeared. Grant is a mover and shaker
in the financial world. He is president and CEO of one of the nation’s largest
private banks. Grant is a close personal friend of presidents, past and
present,” he began, taking a notebook from his inside jacket pocket. “Mrs. Grant
is actually the third Mrs. Grant and is considerably younger than the mister.
Lori Anne Grant. You know the type, cheerleader and prom queen. Lori is
twenty-nine and looks eighteen. The Grants just celebrated their second
anniversary of what friends say was wedded bliss. No apparent reason for her to
leave the comforts of their Jackson County, Tennessee home and no contact from
her or anyone else about her disappearance. Hubby came home on Saturday from his
golf game as usual and she was gone which, apparently, was unusual.” He paused
and took a sip of his drink and consulted his notebook again.
“From all reports she had been happy and there had been no discord
within the Grant household. There are no children from this union, but there are
two, a boy and a girl, from the second marriage and one from the first marriage.
Alton Boyce Grant, the son from marriage number one, works with his father in
the banking empire. He holds the title and presumably the pay of a senior vice
president. Some have indicated that Alton Grant and Lori Grant didn’t get along
so well.”
“The offspring from the second attempt, Anthony Grant, is a college
student, he is twenty-two and Marlene, ‘we call her Marty’, is twenty. Marty
doesn’t have employment, but when daddy is a very rich man one shouldn’t have to
work. Rumor is that Alton Grant thinks highly of Anthony and poorly of Marty.”
Jimmy continued, “Alton has gainful employment and resents Marty who lives the
good life and toils not. That’s one theory, but maybe he just simply doesn’t
like the little bitch.”
He paused and looked at me for a moment then continued. “Marty has had
several confrontations with the law, but nothing that her considerable charm, or
daddy’s money couldn’t get her out of. She runs with the young and the rich. Jay
W. Grant would very much like to have his young wife back and he is willing, and
eager to pay handsomely for that service. You interested?”
“How handsomely? And where on earth is Jackson County, Tennessee?”
“Fifty thousand up front plus reasonable expenses and another fifty
grand when you find the wife. Jackson County is a neighboring county to
Knoxville. It’s where some of the better class have their estates. You know,
swimming pools, tennis courts, and horses for all. The only city to speak of is
Grantville. Grantville is named in honor of Jay W.’s Grandfather who brought a
bunch of old English money to the area. Opened the first bank there in nineteen
ought something. Beautiful Hill County, moonshine whiskey, and all the country
music a person could want.”
“A hundred thousand dollars? That’s ridiculous! He could buy a whole
investigative company for that.”
“You are thinking as if they are normal people. That’s chump change to
somebody as rich as Grant. He wants the best his money can buy.”
“Maybe, but I have a couple of questions,” I said giving him a close
look. “What’s in it for you and if this is such a great deal why don’t you do it
yourself? I’d say you’re qualified. What’s the rest of the story?”
He returned my gaze for a moment before he smiled at me. “I see you’re
still a skeptic. First of all, I still work for our beloved Uncle, so I couldn’t
do it, even if I wanted to. My boss asked me to find someone to do this job, and
lucky for you, I got his orders and Janie’s message all within the span of a few
minutes. You just happen to be one lucky son of a bitch.” He laughed. “God’s
truth, buddy. My boss, who shall remain nameless, has some sort of relationship
with Jay W. Grant. Maybe business, maybe personal, I don’t know. You have to
remember that Jay W. Grant is a powerful man. Powerful men have powerful
friends.”
“Who do you work for these days?” I asked, trying to sound casual.
“A little known government agency,” he said grinning at me. “I’m
legitimate, ol’ buddy. I can help you some if you need me. Hells bells, with
your luck you’ll probably find her within an hour or two after you get to
Grantville.”
“You said find the wife. Find and not return? Just locate her,
right?”
“Well...I guess some discretion would be needed here. I...”
“No ifs, ands, or buts,” I said. “If I look for her, and hopefully find
her I’ll have no part in forcing her to return. If she left voluntarily then she
can stay gone for all I care. That’s got to be understood, and agreed on before
I start.”
“I don’t see a problem. Nobody wants her kidnapped. So you’ll take the
job? You got to move quickly.”
I didn’t really need to think about it. I didn’t have a whole lot going
for me right then, so why not? Fifty grand for looking fifty more for finding
some woman sounded real good to me. I had never been in that part of Tennessee
so I was looking forward to doing something new in a new place.
“Sure,” I said, finishing the drink. “Nothing holding me here anymore.”
Things begun to move quickly. Jimmy made a call, and told me I had the
job, and by two o’clock I was fifty thousand dollars richer. The funds had been
wired to my checking account.
I drew out some expense money in cash and travelers checks and made my
travel arrangements. I then went back to my old office. I cleaned out all my
personal effects without encountering any problems. In fact, no one paid any
attention to me.
I finished carrying the things out to my car, and went back to see the
boss man. He seemed relieved when I told him I was going to take some of my
vacation, and get away for a few days. I wondered just how long it would take
them to figure out that I had no intention of returning to work.
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Children`s Fiction
Non-Adult Fiction
