CHAPTER 15 - MONEY AND FRIENDSHIPS...HERE YESTERDAY GONE TODAY

TED

I decided to walk because that way I could try and convince myself that I will be calm and rational by the time I get there. I can hear my phone ringing, but I ignore it. The words wish she didn’t survive are still pounding in my head. It is bad enough to think it, but to actually say it and twice is...I stop and throw up the coffee I had drunk before I left. The tears blur my vision and sting they are so hot with fury and pain, pain for my darling goddaughter. As I sink to the ground, it takes me a few minutes to realise that the noise is coming from me and I try to calm myself down.

“Teddy! Oh my sweet dear, Teddy! Come on, get up. Come, get in the car.”

“No. I have to speak to him!” I mumble, squeezing my eyes shut in a hope of exorcising the image I have in my mind of Michael, saying those words with that slimy and snarky expression he has...and then saying just kidding.

“Teddy, please get in the car. I’ve called Blake and he’s going to come and take you home from Debs’, not Michael’s apartment, not Woody’s and definitely not from jail!”

Sighing in defeat, I head to the car and am surprised to see Brian sitting there too. “I’m the enforcer.” He raises an eyebrow.

“How can you be so calm?” I demand, resting my head against the front seat as Ems made me sit in the back.

“Who says I’m calm? I’m doing my fucking best not to shove Emmy out of the car and drive around until I find the cunt!”

“Hey!” Ems protests. “I am wearing my most fabulous tangerine. There will be no shoving while I am wearing tangerine!”

It doesn’t take long to get back to Debs and she immediately hugs me and wipes my eyes.

“So what are we going to do?” I ask. “We can’t pretend we don’t know.”

“Why not? He’s been pretending he never said anything for the last few years.” Ems sighs.

“Do you know why he said it though?” Justin is curled round Brian.

“Um yes.” Ems is hesitant.

“Spill it.” Brian orders. “This day can’t get any worse!”

“H-He wanted to be with you.” He stutters.

“I know that! The whole Avenue knows that!” Debs scoffs.

“No, with you, as in also being a parent.” Ems squirms in his seat.

“To Kemi? The kid he wished dead?!” I snap and wrench the door open when the doorbell rings and it’s Blake. All my anger dissipates and I start to cry again.

“Oh my darling, Teddy Bear!” Blake wraps his arms around me as tightly as he can. “Ems just told me to get here, but not why?”

“Michael wished that Kemi had died.” I mumble into his neck and immediately find myself on the floor as he let go of me so fast, turned about face and stormed back outside. “Blake!” I call out from my undignified position on the floor.

“He’s in Woody’s and he is going to die!” Blake shouts over his shoulder. To say that Blake adores Kemi is an understatement!

“Wyzecki, get back in here!!” Brian bellows and helps me up at the same time.

“How can you…” Blake demands.

“If one more person asks me how I can be so fucking calm, I will break their fucking neck!” He shouts as he slams the door behind Blake’s re-entry. “Now everyone, just listen! Ted, you need to speak to Mel and find out where the fuck Lindsay got $14 grand! And leave everything else alone!”

“Fourteen fucking grand?!” I gasp, my accountant brain suddenly kicking into gear.

“There’s my CFO.” Brian smiles at me. “Chances are that…”

“Let Nya do it.” Justin pipes up. “She’s a qualified forensic accountant. We call her the Ferret.”

“She’s a what?” I gasp.

“A forensic accountant. Which means she…”

“I know! It’s just so hard to believe and yet, not.” I respond, shaking my head.

“Why not?” Justin is ready to defend.

I smile for the first time since hearing that weasel’s comment about Kemi. “Because she’s quite possibly the most inquisitive person I have ever met. Not only that but I think you’re right about her looking into Lindsay.”

“Why is that?”

“A forensic accountant with an axe to grind is a very dangerous person. But more important is that Lindsay would never see her coming. Now that’s justice!”

We all digest what we have decided is the wisest course of action for now when my phone rings. I put it on speaker. “Hi Nya…”

“Tobias is just pulling up outside Debs’s house, so open the fucking door. I have beer and news.”

NYA

As I boot up my laptop, I catch the smirk on Justin’s face.

“Seriously, what the hell just happened?” Debs demands.

“GPS and wire tap on each other’s phones.” I explain.

“Okay and…” Brian prompts.

“Been listening for the last few hours…”

“Figured that!” Brian growls.

“All six foot two and an inch of you in a two by four square foot box. Just mush no bones.”

“Okay you two, stop dick swinging and tell us what is going on!” Justin laughs. “By the way Nya, his is bigger.”

“Gonna leave that comment alone. Anyway, Lindsay has about six bank accounts with $16K in total, all listed as a combination of the children’s names but mostly in Jenny’s.”

“Can you power surge it and shut them down?” Ted asks me while I look at everyone.

“What does that mean exactly?” Blake asks.

“Okay, Brian your private Swiss account is in Geneva and the number is 23408753, correct?”

It takes a few minutes to check but he nods.

“It had $47mil in there...now it is empty.” I smile.

Brian just gapes at the screen. “What the fuck did you do?!”

“Ghosted the account.” I laugh. “It’s there, but you can’t see it and you won’t see it until I let you. That’s what you were just asking about, wasn’t it, Ted?” He nods. “A power surge to empty the account won’t cut it because the banks insure all currency. But this way, she’ll be left scrambling and trying to figure out where all that lovely money she’s been squirreling away went. Lindsay will have no choice but to come clean as to what she has been doing all this time.”

There is a few minutes of silence before Nya starts to chuckle. “So how about…” Her fingers hover above some keys. “I bankrupt the other little fucker of the demonic triad? I can’t deal directly with the mama and baby demon just yet, but...”

“No!” Debs yells, silencing the room. She stands up and makes her way to the laptop. “I want to do it.”

“No wait….” Blake yells, making a few of us jump.  

“Why are we waiting? Don't tell me you've suddenly got a soft spot for the slimy snake!” Ted exclaims.

“Hell no! But before we do it, why not get a little curious ourselves? He isn't the smartest guy, so maybe we can use something we learn from his account against him. That is if he has anything for us to learn.” Blake explains. “It might just be your basic account, but what could it hurt to look?”

“That's not a bad idea and should be pretty quick to do. Right, I can only find two accounts in his name.” I state as I type at the same time. I follow the trail to another account, but it isn't in the name of Michael Novotny. “That fucker thinks he's smart, but he’s just not smart enough!”

“Care to share with the rest of the class?” Brian smirks, earning him an elbow and a giggle from Justin.

I stop and look at all their faces which are a mix of anger, sadness and just plain disgust. “Well, his accounts don't seem to be anything out of the ordinary. But I did find a rather sizable transfer from another account…. an account in the name of Michael Grassi. This account has very specific and regular activity. He seems to deposit the same amount each week and once a month, he sends out a payment to the same person, a Hudson Reed.”

“Did you say Hudson Reed?” Blake questions as he visibly pales.

“Yes, I did. Do you know him?” I ask.

“As a matter of fact, I know him quite well. You’ve met him too, Teddy. He's the outpatient that I met during my days in rehab just before I became a counsellor. He goes by Reed, we've stayed close and are almost like co-sponsors for each other.”

“So how do he and weasel ass connect?”

“Not sure, but there is another thing you should know. He has a brother, a twin brother, like the Double Ks, they are identical but that’s where the similarities stop. Whereas Reed has smartened up his act and been clean like me for years, his brother has not. He has lapses and Hudson tries to help him out. His credit is awful that Hudson opened a bank account for him so…”

The room goes quiet as we absorb this new information. “So now what?” Tobias asks.

“Well first, we cause panic in the Peterson camp and then we deal with this Reed fellah.” I hit the button hard imaging it’s her face on every account. “Now then, where are the groupies Emmy?”

Everyone looks surprised by the change in conversation. “With the kids at Britin, why?”

“They told you what Jenny said to Kemi. So the question is how did Jenny hear it? This is not something that he would say to a kid outright, right? Especially not that kid!”

“Let me call Kemi and get her to ask.” Brian declares and two minutes later, he hangs up. “She’s going to get Gretchen to ask her and call us back.” He twirls his phone before turning to Debs. “So in the meantime, you still want to set off a shit bomb in his pants?”

“Absolutely yes! But let’s leave him just enough money for rent and food. He will have to use his other resources to support himself...his oh so fucking important collectibles! I absolutely refuse to feed and house the moron, even if he does carry a strand of my DNA. Now if only that could be as easily fixed too... Which button do I press?”

“That one.” I point to it and with a savage jab from her long red fingernail, the deed is done!

The ringing of Brian’s phone makes us jump and he almost drops it. “Hey Kemi, what did she say? Oh alright got it, no problem. No you can’t stay up an extra half an hour, not even for that. Bed on time, you twerps! Nya is on her way...goodnight!”

Justin giggles. “Works every time.”

“But one day it might not. Using Nya as a threat could backfire.” Blake advises sagely.

“No, it won’t. Trust me. If there is one thing that Nya does it’s…”

“Follow through.” Brian chuckles. “But back to the matter of Jenny... It seems she overheard Michael on the phone at the BBQ. She told her soon to be ex-friends and they said to her that she shouldn’t say anything to anyone. Well, we know how that went!”

“As a matter of interest, why did they want to stay up another half an hour?” Debs frowns.

“They’d just discovered the hotness that is Keanu Reeves in his youth before we left…” Tobias laughs.

“Oh yeah!” Brian goes dreamy eyed much to everyone’s amazement. “What? He was hot in his youth, but he’s hotter now...way hotter!”

“Can you imagine that beard against your thighs?” Emmy sighs.

“Beard would not be against my thighs...” Brian leers before turning to Justin. “Speaking of beards, we should really get back to…”

“Fuck?” Debs supplies helpfully.

“But of course! We have 15 years to make up for!” Justin chuckles and drags him out.

MEL AND LINDSAY’S HOUSE - MONDAY MID-MORNING

JENNY’S BEDROOM

JENNY

I still can’t believe what happened over the weekend. Mom is not talking to me properly and my so-called-friends stayed at Britin last night! Gus didn’t come home last night either. My hands are chafed from where I scrubbed them, getting the smell of the sick off of them. Uncle Brian didn’t need to do that to me! But, at least I am still going to the cotillion at the end of the month.

“Jenny! Come down!” Mom calls up and I can hear the voices of my friends. I quickly stomp downstairs, ready for an explanation from them. “Have you girls eaten?” She asks them before I can say anything and they nod.

“Yes we had fruit and waffles, which Aunt Nya cooked with Uncle Tobias.” Gretchen answers. “May we go and pack now please?”

“Pack? Why are you packing now? Your flight isn’t until this evening.” I demand.

“Aunt Mel, may we pack now? We’ve been invited back to Auntie Emmy’s for the rest of the day and then we will go to the airport from there.”

“Gretchen, I asked you a question!” I reprimand, tapping on her arm for emphasis.

“I am aware of what you are doing. Shame you aren’t aware that I am trying to ignore you.”

“Okay, what’s going on here?” Mom looks at all of us.

“I don’t know since I was here all day. They were off gallivanting at Britin and only spoke to me on…” It’s then I remember the conversation I had with them and my eyes widen in horror. “I need to speak to you three alone. It’s important!”

“You can speak to them right here or I speak to them! Clearly you’ve done something else, again, to upset someone!” Mom orders. “Well, what is it?”

“You’re going to get hung for a sheep as well as a lamb.” Wendy sneers at me.

“Wends, what does that even…” I begin.

“Wends, is it? Before you left for the good ole USA, it was my dear BUB…”

“And you still are, you all are!” I cry. “But I just need…”

“What does BUB mean?” Mom turns to Wendy.

“Just a sweet name that she called me before she left…”

“Oh that’s nice…”

“She also called Kemi that at the BBQ...and we know just how much she likes Kemi!”

“Oh no. What does it mean?” Mom sighs, glaring at me. “Jenny, what does it mean?!”

“Butt ugly bitch.” I reply quietly, looking at the floor.

“You are 12! And have half my genetic make-up! Where the hell have you gotten this personality from?!” She yells at me. “I can’t...sorry girls, please go and pack. Who is waiting outside for you?”

“Uncle Blake.” Gretchen replies.

“I’m really…” I begin.

“Don’t! Don’t say another word!” Sophia snaps. “You are always sorry, or kidding, or something or other. Well guess what you also are?”

“I don’t know.”

“One friend down!” She retorts and pushes past me.

“Make that two!” Wendy sneers and follows Sophia.

“What on earth is all the shouting about?” Mommy comes out of the office.

“Your mini-me has struck again.” Mom tells her before turning back to Gretchen. “Honey, aren’t you going to pack?”

“In a minute. I just wanted to say something to Jenny. You bitch and moan about how much everyone but you has. You are so focused on the physical and monetary things, you don’t see what you really have...or had. Friends, family, people who cherish and care for you. You could’ve had a sister, but you’ve screwed that up big time. When I first met you, I thought you were such a confident person. But it’s not confidence; it’s spite, jealousy and nobody likes someone like that...nobody!” I feel my lip start to wobble. “And I don’t believe those tears...not anymore.”

“Well said, Gretchen. Well said.” Mom tells her. “Now go and pack so you can enjoy the rest of your day. Jenny, go and sit in the lounge.”

“Don’t I even get to say goodbye?” I call up to her.

“We just did.” Gretchen calls back.

Twenty minutes later, they are gone and again the room is quiet. “Can someone tell me what has happened?” Mommy asks, looking at the two of us. “I have a rather pressing matter to get back to and…”

“She learned from you. This passive aggressive attitude, it’s all you.” Mom sighs. “Now I want you two to listen really well. I can’t take anymore of this fucking crap from you two. It stops. It all stops today. We start afresh and try to make amends to those you’ve hurt.”

“We’ve hurt? What about you? You’re not blameless, Mel!”

“I never said that I was. But I try to fix them. You two light a fire and let it burn.” She sighs. “I have spoken to Gus and he’s so furious that he wants to go live with Brian.”

“What did you say to that?”

“I said to take the week to think about it carefully and then...”

“Mel, he’s 14 and we are the parents!” Mommy snaps.

“But only one of us is acting like it!” Mom replies calmly. “He’s hurting, Lindz. He doesn’t feel supported by you where Jenny is concerned. You always defend her actions; always put her first; you don’t treat them the same.”

“But she’s my daughter…”

“And he’s your son! Your firstborn! You fought tooth and nail to get him! Why have you stopped fighting now?!”

“I haven’t, but Gus has his father. He doesn’t need me as much as Jenny does.”

“What does Jenny need you for that Gus doesn’t?” Mom waits, but Mommy doesn’t say anything.

“I’m a girl. I need to be supported differently. I don’t have a father and…” I start but am interrupted from my litany of reasons why Gus is wrong...again.

“Jenny, you have two supportive parents. Regardless of the sex of them.” She sighs. “As I said, we need to build a lot of bridges here. Start afresh and honestly. From now on, nothing hidden...okay?” Mommy starts to cry. “What is it?”

“Afresh and honestly?” She sniffs and Mom nods. “Then follow me. Jenny, go to your room and stay there until I tell...we tell you to come down.”

“But Mommy…”

“Now, Jenny!” She orders and I quickly get up. The last time she spoke to me like that she took my lipstick away.

OFFICE

MEL

I look at the screen and then back at Lindsay. “So where is the money now?”

“I don’t know. It’s just gone.” She sobs. “I’m sorry, Mel! I just…”

“Sorry for what? That it’s gone? No, if you were truly sorry about what you’ve done, you would’ve given it back to Brian yesterday!” I take a deep breath. “How much was it?”

“About $16,000, but that’s…”

“Don’t say all! Fucking $30,000 in total deserves much more than a mere ‘all’ attached to it!” I snap.

“What do you want me to do?” She asks quietly.

“You need to tell Brian and today! As in now!” She just nods and dials his number. I reach over and put it on speaker. She glares, but says nothing. Trust and her is not synonymous within my brain right now. And wonder of all wonders, the tear well has finally run dry!

“What now?!” He snaps.

“Peter…” She begins.

“Don’t you fucking dare!” I snarl at her. “His name is Brian! Now get on with it, Wendy!”

“Brian, I...I had been keeping more of the support money behind your back and I was going…”

“DO NOT FUCKING LIE AT THIS FUCKING POINT OR WE ARE FUCKING DONE!” I bellow.

“Alright! Alright! I kept some money back for myself and now it’s gone!”

“Gone? What do you mean gone?”

“The bank accounts the money was spread between are empty. Well apart from a total of 30 cents between all of them…”

“I thought that was appropriate...you know, the 30 pieces of silver that Judas got for betraying Jesus?”

We both look at each other in surprise. “Nya?” I ask carefully. “What are you doing on this call?”

“The money is not gone, Lindsay. It’s still there; just hidden behind a secure wall. And now that you’ve confessed your sins, you can give it back can’t you?”

“How the hell do you know about it?” Lindsay snaps.

“I hid it. Now transfer the money back immediately.”

“You can’t do that!”

“Way to see the bigger picture, Lindsay!” Brian snaps and I can’t help it... I start to smile.

“What is so amusing to you, Mel? I feel like my trust has been violated!”

“How is that different for you than it is for Brian?” I chuckle. “Move the money back to him Lindsay and let’s draw a line under this.”

“The money is still not there!” She cries.

“You don’t need to see it. You just need to close the accounts. Consider this an out of sight, out of mind experience. Now, the account number ending 3465 has $600 in it. Let’s start there, you will transfer it to Mel’s account and then Mel can send it to Brian. Can’t you and won’t you?” Nya’s voice drips venom.

“She’s nodding her acquiescence! And it’s a fuck yeah from me!” I chuckle and for the next hour, I watch Lindsay miserably close each one and I confirm the receipt of the money into my own account.

“Okay, that’s it. It’s all done. Now Mel can you do the needful?” Nya asks.

“Excuse me, Lindsay. I need the screen please. And when I say excuse me I mean leave the room.”

“But Mel…”

“Please leave! I don’t trust you right now.” She huffs crossly and slams out. “Wait a second guys let me just check that she’s actually gone.” I open the door and she’s not lurking and then I hear her voice. She’s with Jenny. I sit back down. “Okay, Brian I am transferring it now.”

“Okay fine.” He replies tiredly.

“As a matter of interest, how did you know about this lot?”

“The bank called.” Nya laughs. “Good morning, this is Adrian Perkiss from Bank of Canada, this is a message for Ms Marcus or Ms Peterson regarding the…”

“YOU?!” Brian and I exclaim.

“Yeah me. I got bored so went hunting and found the proverbial snake in the Kinney garden.” She cackles.

“Tell me something... Does Jennifer know who Lindsay is?”

“Of course, she does.” Nya snickers. “She’s having fun, so who am I to judge.”

“Oh dear God, the cotillion is going to be hell for them, isn’t it?”

“Hell yeah!” She laughs and cuts the call.