Monday, December 23, 2019

Episode 39 - Setting Up

“I think we’re going to have to do something about Maura,” Judith said to Vince as they were setting up for the art show after school.

"Yeah," Vince agreed with a smirk.

“I’m serious. She’s out of control.”

“What do you want to do? Stage an intervention?”

“Maybe,” Judith said. It was a tempting idea, but the last thing she wanted to do was publicly embarrass her friend. “No. I don’t know. She just needs to back off on all of the relationship stuff. It was bad enough when it was just her own potential relationships, but now she’s trying to drag everyone else into it too.”

“You all just have to stand up to her and not let her run your lives. It shouldn’t be that hard.”

“Yeah, if you don’t mind hurting her feelings,” Judith mumbled to herself.

Before Vince could answer, he was interrupted by his phone chirping. He read the text message on the screen and frowned at it, before putting his phone away.

“Hey, I’m sorry, but I’ve got to run. You can manage the rest of this, right?”

“I guess so,” Judith said with a shrug. “Aren’t you staying for the show?”

“Yeah. I’ll be back for it,” he said as he started toward the door. “This shouldn’t take long.” At least, he hoped it wouldn’t.

* * * * *

“Cassie, are you sure you’re alright?” Chloe asked for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

Cassie looked up from the project she’d barely been able to concentrate on all afternoon. “Yes, I’m alright. No, I don’t want to go home early,” she answered before Chloe could ask again. “I’d really rather try to keep busy.” She knew if she went home she would just pace around the house, trying to distract herself from the sickly feeling that was taking her over. She knew she wouldn’t be able to relax. Her anxiety was high and she knew that something wrong, but without knowing what exactly was wrong, there was nothing to do about it.

“Blaine will come around,” Chloe said. She was trying to be reassuring, but it wasn’t working. “Do you want to take a break? Get out of here and get some coffee or just some fresh air?”

“No,” Cassie snapped, her tone coming across more harshly than she had meant it. She appreciated what Chloe was trying to do. “Why don’t you tell me about the trip you and James are planning again? You’re leaving tonight?”

“Straight after work,” Chloe answered before she started going over their plans for the week.

Cassie struggled to pay attention, but her friend’s words were drowned out by the voice in the back of her head that kept screaming at her, “Something’s wrong.”

* * * * *

Blaine had spent most of the day catching up on sleep while everyone was out of the house. Then he picked up the kids after school and spent a few hours with them before work. They had, understandably, a lot of questions about what was going on that were difficult to answer. He did his best to respond as sensitively as he could without going into too much detail and tried to divert the topic of conversation to something else as soon as he could. He just wanted to enjoy their time together and try to forget about his troubles for a little while.

He arrived at Reese’s office as the last of the law firm’s employees were leaving for the day and settled into his workspace to pour over information. He was so close now. He was sure to have this project wrapped up any time. He just needed the right lead. That realization was motivating, but at the same time he wasn’t as eager to finish as he thought he should be. Once this project was over, he wouldn’t be coming into the law office anymore. He was going to miss running into Reese during the workday.

As he logged into the computer and started to spread his paper documents across the desk, he was interrupted by a light knock at the door. Thinking everyone was on their way home for the night, he hadn’t bothered to close it. He gathered up his papers and looked up at the doorway. He was surprised to see Natalie there. He stood to greet her.

“What are you doing here? Are you here with your mom?”

“No,” Natalie replied. “I stopped by to say hi to you.” She felt kind of awkward dropping in on him at work like this, but it seemed preferable to stopping by his house where he wasn’t likely to be anyway. “If you’re busy I can go.”

“No, no, come in,” he said, eagerly ushering her inside and closing the door. “I will always have time for you. I hope you know that.”

Natalie nodded politely. She was sure he was sincere, but she hadn’t known him long enough to know that for herself.

When his cell phone rang, he grumbled and looked at the screen. It was Cassie again. She'd been calling and texting him repeatedly since he'd left the house, asking him to stay home tonight. Fed up, he turned off the phone and put it away before turning his attention back to Natalie.

“So, what’s up?” he asked. “Everything going okay?”

“Yeah,” she answered quietly. “I just wanted to see if you were doing okay.”

“Oh,” Blaine said, taken aback. “So, you’ve heard about what’s been going on?”

“A little,” she admitted.

“You don’t have to worry. I’m okay. Things will work out,” he said, hoping to reassure her.

“Okay,” she simply said. She wanted to ask if she had anything to do with his problems at home, but she was afraid to ask. She was sure he would assure her that she had nothing to do with it, whether she really did or not. She changed the subject. “What are you working on? Is it anything you can tell me about?”

“Yeah,” he said, eager for the change in topic. “Right now, I’m comparing Mr. Lind’s home security records and the employees’ office schedules to the dates that Mr. Lind’s home computer and office computer were accessed for suspicious transactions. The only person that would have visited his home frequently would have been his nephew, who is also a lawyer at the firm, but nothing is matching up. So, I have to find a different approach.” He started sorting through his papers and took out a stack of employee photographs and employment information. “I’m about to see if I can find a bulletin board to tack up pictures of all the suspects like they do in the movies,” he said with a laugh.

“Maybe I can help you organize them,” Natalie offered. He handed her the stack and she began spreading the pictures out across the desk. One of the photographs caught her attention and she pulled it out from the rest. “I’ve seen him before.”

“Like here around the office while visiting your mom?”

“No, around the school. I think Vince Sexton knows him.”

Blaine took the photograph from her to read over his information. “That’s Scot Lind, Mr. Lind’s son. He does odd jobs around the office. His son . . ." Blaine repeated as an epiphany struck him. “Mr. Lind’s security records wouldn’t have taken record of the comings and goings of his own family.” He turned to his computer and began typing frantically. “Let’s see if his work schedule matches up.”

* * * * *

Vince stood on the corner where he had been asked to meet. He paced and shifted his weight as he waited. He checked his phone for the time and to see if there were any follow up texts. There were not and the people he was waiting for were late. He was anxious to get back to school for the art show and wondered how long he should wait.

He was considering sending a text and going back to the school when he heard his former friends call out to him.

He reached into his jacket and pulled out the envelope Scot had handed to him on the way to the Halloween party. Without ceremony or formalities, he held it out to him. “Here, it’s done.”

Scot took the envelope, unfolded the paper inside and checked the signature at the bottom. “Perfect, as always,” he remarked as he folded the paper and returned it to the envelope. He patted Vince on the shoulder. “Even my father would think this was his own signature. You do good work.”

Vince drew back. “I did. I’m done now, remember?”

“Yes, because so am I. I’ve got what I need. Tonight, we’re wrapping it all up.”

“Good luck with that,” Vince said as he started to walk away.

“Hold up. You don’t want to miss what’s next. You’re in this with us. See it through to the end.”

“I have somewhere I gotta be,” Vince insisted. It was the truth. He really needed to get back to the art show before he was missed and people started to ask questions, but he could tell by Scot’s tone that he wouldn’t care about that. He wasn’t going to give him an option.

“Come on,” Scot said with a nod of his head as he led the group toward the alley across the street. "There's no backing out."

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