Beyond the Mirror
Copyright© 2012/2014
Chapter 25
At ten after six the next morning, Tom snapped wide awake, then disturbed Sandy by sitting bolt upright and throwing the blankets aside, saying, “That’s it, that’s exactly what I need to do.”
“Mmm, what’s that?” she mumbled.
“Oops, sorry, dear,” Tom couldn’t help grinning. “I just thought about how I’m going to put an end to all this crap we’ve been going through.”
“Mm, that’s nice, now can I have the blanket back? I’m freezing here!” Sandy complained.
“Oh, I’m sorry for that, love,” he chuckled, pulling the covers back and tucking them around her, then kissing her on the forehead before pulling on his shorts and heading off to the bathroom.
It’s a good thing he’d pulled on his shorts, because the bedroom and bathroom doors were both open to the living room and mini-kitchen of the motel suite. Since Liz was sitting at the tiny kitchen table, he waved to her with a grin as he moved between the two doors, drawing a grin and a wink in return. Because she had seen that he was bright and chipper, Liz put on a fresh pot of coffee, which was ready for him by the time he’d finished his morning ablutions and dressed for the day.
“Morning, Liz. I hope you had a quiet night, and thanks for letting Sandy and me sleep safely,” Tom said as he poured his first cup of coffee, but glanced at hers. “Wanna top up?”
“Naw, I just poured this cup, thanks, and all I was doing was my job, but I got the shortest shift at that. I’ve only been here for a few minutes. Alvin, Arnie, and Russ did the hard shifts. We expected you to sleep at least seven or eight hours.”
“No, I slept in as it is. I usually only sleep about five hours, unless I’m really tired or quite sick,” he said, rolling his right shoulder and nodding. “That feels much better. By the time I went to bed last night, the bruise on my shoulder was hurting a bit.”
“That’s not the wound I’m worried about. Instead, I’m worried about the aftereffects of the concussion. Have you had any headaches or dizziness since you got out of the hospital?”
“Nope, not one, but if last night is any indication, I might get tired a bit sooner than before. Yesterday was a helluva tough day for me, though.”
“Well, I effing guess it was a tough day,” Liz snorted. “You rode an emotional roller coaster all day long. You leased a jet, visited several people, hired a few others, made a few deals, saw your folks fly off home, and you thought your day was done, but you were wrong. Instead, you walked into a restaurant to have a quiet meal and ran into an old girlfriend who broke down in front of you, mostly because she was a single mother working for an asshole. Then your fiancée hired your ex-girlfriend, only to find out that you’re probably the father of your ex-girlfriend’s kid. Then, hours later, you found out that your archenemy was dead, but your whole family might be in danger. Like I said, an emotional roller coaster!”
“You’re absolutely correct,” Tom nodded, “and I intend to do something about it.”
“What do you intend to do?”
“I plan to go after the firm of S-O-Bs who are causing all the problems. I intend to explain to the head office that they had best rein in the crooks on their payroll, or I’ll go public with proof of misdeeds that will cost the company millions of dollars and a lot of goodwill. I intend to explain the true state of affairs, not the blatant fiction the crooks are trying to make others believe. I can prove that their firm is tied to crooked lawyers, hitmen, drug peddlers, and murderous gangs by the unscrupulous individuals who want their hands on my lease. I’m willing to go on television with enough proof to put those bastards behind bars, but if I do that, the company’s stock values will fall through the floor,” Tom grinned, a vicious grin. “Now I might not like my old man’s past actions much, but he is still my father, and I don’t like that fact that he and my family had to hire security last night. Of course, I doubt if he liked the idea that he had to hire guards to ensure his safety either. On top of that, I’m willing to bet that he has the phone number of the top man of the firm on his Rolodex, so I’m going to tell him what I plan to do to that business on Friday. Then I’ll offer to let him contact them to pass on a warning of my intentions. I think he’d love that, especially since the firm I’m talking about tried a hostile takeover of Dad’s company earlier this year.”
“So when are you going to call your dad?” Liz asked with a grin. “I’d like to be here to listen in to your side of the conversation and perhaps overhear your dad holler when he hears your plan, because he’s the sort that would act on that.”
“Actually, I imagine Dad will be calling me soon, since he knows I’m an early riser. I don’t want to call him too early because he might have had a hell of a night, which happened to follow a bloody rough day. If he hasn’t called here before eight, I’ll risk calling him,” but Tom had hardly finished speaking when his cellphone rang.
“Hello? Tom here,” he answered it.
“Tom, are you and your folks alright?”
“Yes, Dad, and I think it’s time to put an end to this bloody nonsense by going after the rats at BP who are behind it all.
“I agree completely, but I want in!” Jack barked. “Like you, I’ve lost my patience, but how do we go after a multi-billion dollar company?”
“We threaten them with publicity, and I offer to arrange to cost them millions if they don’t pull in their horns, Dad. I have enough proof to tie several of their local management people to Lister since Serge was alive, and along with what Frank Jamison and the police have, there’s enough proof to lower the boom on the whole frigging mess,” then Tom went on to explain to his dad exactly what he intended to do.
“I want to call the head man in their Toronto office and tell him what you’re planning, if you don’t mind.” Jack’s voice sounded as if he was grinning widely. “I owe him a good kick in the slats anyway, especially since the bastard tried that hostile takeover of Dunn-Redding in February.”
“Go for it, Dad. Tell them he has until Friday afternoon to have his crooked underlings in police custody, or I go public with proof that their firm is tied to crooked lawyers, hit men, drug peddlers, and gangs. Just tell him that if I turn over copies of everything I have to the TV and newspapers, their stock will drop in value so fast that the company will lose millions over the weekend. If I do it right, we’ll be on the twelve o’clock news in Toronto, and the stock markets in China and Europe will have a whole weekend to chew up their stocks and spit out shreds.”
“I love it! Are you planning to do it here in Calgary on Friday? If you are, I’ll have all the coverage you want waiting for you at the office?”
“Well, you’d better have lots of security there as well then, because the crooks might look at that as an opportunity to catch all of us in one place. It might be better if you let him think I’ll be making the announcement out here, probably in Vancouver, that way the cops may be able to rake in a few more gang members. For gosh’ sake, don’t tell him where I am now.”
“Are you that worried about your safety?”
“No, not really worried, just cautious. After all, it turns out I have a son that I didn’t know about, and I’d like to watch him grow up,” Tom winked at Liz, who had to cover her mouth to stop from laughing aloud.
“WHAT? Did I hear you right? Did you say you have a son you didn’t know about?”
“Yeah, Dad. It turns out that a casual girlfriend from my university days was a Catholic who said sex was safe, when it wasn’t. I trusted Linda and thought she was on the pill, but she was trusting to the rhythm method, so she wasn’t as safe as she thought. Not only that, but Sandy may be pregnant, and she’s hired Linda to help Josie set up a daycare in Bear Creek, so I’ll be involved in raising my son, David. It’s a long story, Dad. Since Sandy thinks she might be pregnant, I’ve made up my mind that she is going to see a doctor today, and we’ll get a marriage license as well. That means we’ll probably get married sometime next week or the week after.”
“Your Mom and I had damn well better be invited to your wedding, and while we’re out there, we’ll want to see our grandson too.”
“Well, Sandy just wants a simple civil ceremony, so our marriage won’t be a big deal.” Tom shrugged. “Anyway, let me know what happens when you call that guy, would you? Meanwhile, I’ll arrange to have copies of all my proofs put in a file, and you can tell that asshole that he can contact Frank Jamison if he wants to see them. I imagine Frank will be quite willing and probably eager to be involved in taking down those crooked pricks. Anyway, nature is calling, so I’ve got to run. I’ll talk to you later.”
As he closed the cellphone, he looked at Liz and grinned, “Finally, I shook up my old man and hung up on him before he had a chance to holler at me, then hung up.”
“What, are you out to one-up him?” Liz grinned.
“Nope, just out to let him know what it feels like. Now I need to make sure the line is busy, that way he can’t call me back right away,” Tom winked at her, then dialled Frank’s home number.
Frank was definitely willing to help out, but he had an alternate idea.
“I don’t know if you are aware of it, but Charles and Laura are extremely busy in their new office and I have a young woman working here as an intern who has offered to move to Bear Creek to help them out. If I were to ask her to handle faxing those documents, but she was to ‘accidentally’ fax copies to a Vancouver TV station, then you wouldn’t have to be involved at all. If anyone bothers to check with me, I could say that it was a simple mistake and that the young woman was let go because of her error, “ Frank suggested.
“Well, you’d be stealing my thunder, but call Dad and see what he thinks of the idea, then let me know what he says before doing anything like that.”
“Okay, I can do that. Will he be at the office this early?”
“Maybe, because he already called me, but come to think of it, he was probably calling from home. Do you have his cellphone number?”
Frank did, so he let Tom go and promised to call back shortly. While he was waiting, Tom chatted with Liz and Sami. Sami had come in while Tom was on the phone to Frank. Tom felt this was a good time to get to know her a little better, but they didn’t have much time right then, because his phone rang after only a few minutes.
“Hello, Tom here.”
“Tom, it’s your dad. I had just gotten off the phone with that asshole in Toronto and got laughed at, so when Frank called I told him to go ahead with his plan. But, I also gave Frank the fax numbers for CBC’s main office in Toronto, BBC’s main office in London, and NBC’s office in New York and told him if he was going to raise shit, to do it thoroughly. Sorry to trample on your toes, but those bastards deserve to have their noses rubbed in the shit they’ve caused. You’ve got enough on your plate and there’s no reason for you to give up your privacy and appear on television if you don’t need to. The stock markets will kick their butts for us and I’m going to see if a few politicians might like to get in on the fun as well, “ Jack said quickly. “Oh yeah, call your mother. She wants to know more about your son. Oops, I’ve got another call, I’ll talk to you later.”
Before Tom could say anything, his dad had hung up, but seconds later Frank called and told Tom the same thing, but he added the fact that he’d called the RCMP to warn them about what was going to happen.
“Oh man, how did that go over?”
“Actually, we got asked to hold off on the faxes until noon today, because the RCMP are planning a raid on the company’s local office about an hour from now. It seems you weren’t the only one to lose patience and decided to take action after that attack at the prison, “ Frank snorted, then sighed. “It looks as if Lister’s murder has caused all sorts of things to happen, so maybe the little twerp was good for something in death even if he was a pain in the butt while he was alive.”
“Well, I’m going to forget you said that, but I do agree with the sentiment and I love the fact that the RCMP are getting involved with this issue.”
“Yes, I’m pleased with that as well; however, I should probably make sure that the files we are faxing out are accurate and don’t include any suppositions that might be proven to be erroneous. I suppose I should call your father about that and make sure he has all the facts straight, just in case he makes any statements to the press today.”
“Good idea about calling Dad, and thanks, Frank. Just bill me for whatever time it takes, okay?”
“You’re welcome, but since we’ve been able to unmask at least two dishonest shylocks and expose the actions of an unethical company, you get a freebie, my friend. It looks like all costs will be paid by the law society. Have a good day and stay safe, “ Then Frank hung up the phone again.
Tom sighed then and set the phone down, which was probably a good thing, because just then Sandy came out of the bedroom and climbed into his lap. As she sat down, she grabbed his coffee cup and took a sip, then made a face.
“Whooeee, that’s strong! How can you drink that without cream and sugar?” she complained.
“That’s ‘reveille’ coffee, made to wake you up in the morning,” Liz laughed softly. “You can blame it on me. I made it for myself, but I could water down a cup for you if you’d like.”
“No, I think I’ll make a pot of civilized coffee instead,” Sandy shook her head as she got up and moved over to the counter where the coffee maker sat. “That brew of yours could kill ya, Liz. Doesn’t it upset your stomach?”
“Nope, and so far, Junior isn’t giving me morning sickness either,” Liz grinned. “By the way, how are you feeling?”
“Other than being sleepy, I’m fine,” Sandy said, then yawned and chuckled. “See what I mean? I need coffee and a shower before I’ll be fully awake.”
“When you’re fully awake, I think you should call Mom,” Tom grinned at her. “I told Dad you were probably pregnant, and I mentioned that you had hired Linda, who happens to be the mother of one of Mom’s grandchildren.”
“Your fiancé has been busy this morning,” Liz grinned as Sandy paused and stared at Tom in surprise.
“We’re all going to be busy today,” Tom broke in. “Sandy, we need to get you to a clinic to find out for sure if you’re pregnant or not, and we have to get a marriage license. You should call Mom, Ann, Rachel, and probably Laura this morning. Meanwhile, I need to call Muriel, JJ, Jim Burke, and Art. Then, I need to arrange for movers for Art and Josie. Besides that, we both need to talk to Linda and her parents and make some arrangements for Linda to move to Bear Creek.”
“Sami, do you have a vehicle? If not, you can fly home with us later in the day, but then you’ll have to make arrangements to ship any possessions you have to Bear Creek. Liz, if you have any more shopping you need to do in Victoria, you’d better do it soon. I’ll let the two of you talk to Alvin and Arnie, but I’d like them to see if Art and Josie need any extra help today,” Tom paused. “Now, does anyone have anything else planned that I haven’t mentioned?”
“When are you planning to leave Victoria?” Sandy asked.
“I’d like to fly out this afternoon, but I don’t have a concrete schedule at the moment. Why do you ask?” Tom frowned slightly.
“Because I’d like to spend some time with Josie and Art to see if we can help them with their move. Then, I think we should spend some time with Linda and her folks, because they need to know a bit about what Linda is facing in Bear Creek, and they are becoming part of your family – in a way. As well as that, it’s Tuesday, and I called Herman’s yesterday to find out if they had a Blues Jam tonight. I thought it would do all of us some good to take another break away from all the fuss by dropping in there tonight. After all, you and the ‘A’ team brought your instruments with you, and it would be a shame not to use them.”
“You know, that might be an idea,” Tom looked extremely thoughtful. “Sami, do you sing or play an instrument?”
“Yeah, I play bass guitar, and I can sing some. Why do you guys have a band of some sort?”
“Not really a band, but we do jam a bit. Liz plays piano or keyboard and sings well. Russ is good on the drums, while Alvin and Arnie play just about anything with strings. I muck around with a guitar a little bit.”
“And what about you, Sandy?” Sami asked.
“I listen to everyone else and clap enthusiastically,” Sandy grinned. “About all I can play is a stereo.”
“Actually, I think she sings quite well, but she’s stage shy,” Tom teased, winking at Sandy. “She certainly sings along with her favourite songs when she hears them around the house, but she doesn’t like me to mention it.”
“Honey, you’ve got a lovely alto voice, and Liz is a natural soprano. Since I sing contralto, the three of us ought to sound dang good together if we sang the right song as a trio,” Sami smiled at Sandy. “Now I ain’t about to force you to sing, but we should try a song or two together sometime, just for the fun of it.”
“I don’t think so,” Sandy laughed and shook her head. “Besides, we’ve got a ton of things to do today. Tom, please use my cellphone to call your mom and tell her about David and Linda, then I’ll talk to her, that’ll leave your phone free to call everyone else you wanted to talk to. When I’m done talking to your mom, I can call Ann, Rachel, and Laura. If we do it that way, we can get our phone calls done before breakfast, and we’ll have the rest of the day to clear up our other errands.”
Tom didn’t bother to argue, so he and Sandy spent the next while on the phone, but by eight in the morning, the whole group was ready to leave the motel for the day. Then, as they ate breakfast in a nearby restaurant, they discussed where they were each going and what they were all doing that day. The problem was that as the day passed, both groups seemed to solve one problem only to add another to their list.
Sandy and Tom went to a medical clinic first, and Sandy was told that she was likely pregnant but was advised to call back later in the day for a definite answer. After that, Tom and Sandy had no problems getting a marriage license, but when they asked for the name of a marriage commissioner in Bear Creek, they were told there wasn’t one. That put a crimp in their plans, but they took down the names of those who lived in neighbouring areas and left it at that for the time being. They split up then, with Russ and Liz heading out to do some shopping while Tom and Sandy drove out to Saanichton to visit the Schultzs.
Tom and Sandy spent the rest of the morning with Linda and her parents. As Tom had suspected, that became a very complicated session because Mr. and Mrs. Schultz were not only Linda’s parents but also friends from his past. As a result, Tom felt he had to explain why he had disappeared from sight for almost two years and in the long run simply gave them a roughly edited history of his life during that time. Then both Tom and Sandy were involved in explaining their need for a daycare and how they planned to establish it. It soon became obvious that while Linda was excited about the opportunity to be involved, Mr. and Mrs. Schultz were less enthused with the idea. However, they made it plain that they approved of Tom being involved in raising his son and appreciated the fact that he was willing to provide child support. In the long run, Linda’s parents decided that they would help her move to Bear Creek early in the following week and insisted that they wanted to help her move. In return, Tom promised that he would arrange to have a place for her to live for the time being and that he would find her a small house or condo as a permanent residence as quickly as possible.
During the discussion with everyone over lunch, Alvin, Arnie, and Sami reported that they had packed most of Sami’s belongings and had them ready to be shipped. Sami was disgusted to find that in the short time she’d lived in Victoria, she’d gathered more clothing and other gear than she could pack in her van, so some items had to be crated and would be shipped as freight. Tom just shrugged that off and suggested that she should talk to Art and Josie about including it in the load they were moving to Bear Creek. He was paying for that anyway, and since Sami’s goods were packed separately, it shouldn’t be a major problem, but they’d need to clear that with Art and Josie as well as the movers.
It turned out to be no problem at all because when they phoned Art, he asked if they could use a moving business that belonged to a friend that he’d made through his former job. Because the business was bonded and insured, Tom was willing to let Art make the choice of using that company if he wanted. That’s when Art dropped the bombshell that they wanted to move out on Thursday morning so they could be moved into the new place and he could start work the next week.
Sandy got involved then, because she thought she’d best call Rachel and find out if the house would be ready for Art and Josie to move in. Luckily, the contractor was just putting the final touches on the house, and the local appliance dealership would have the stove, fridge, and dishwasher, as well as the washer and dryer installed by Thursday. Not only that, but Rachel had gotten tentative approval from the local planning authority to put a daycare in the basement of the house. Then, she asked to talk to Tom. What she wanted from him was a guarantee that he would cover the cost of construction for the daycare. Tom was quite willing to do that and told her he’d be back in town in a day or two so he could sign an agreement of payment then, but as well as that, he’d buy the house if she wanted to sell it. While he was on the phone with her, he asked if she had any other houses for sale. She did; she had two small two-bedroom bungalows as well, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to sell either one of them right then. However, she said if she did sell one, he’d have first chance to buy it. He told her he’d hold her to that, then passed the phone back to Sandy.
When Tom told Art that the house would be ready and that all the appliances were new, Art heaved a big sigh of relief because he wasn’t looking forward to moving their old appliances. Then, Tom got the number of Art’s friend, the mover, and called him to arrange payment for the move and asked about Sami’s boxes. It turned out to be no problem at all; in fact, he offered to pick them up, so Tom passed the phone to Sami to make arrangements to meet him at her apartment the next morning.
Tom barely had the phone back in his hands when it rang. That call was from Mike Skinner, who was letting him know that he’d be driving in convoy with Art and Josie when they drove to Bear Creek on Thursday. He’d already made arrangements at a local motel in Bear Creek and would be staying at least a week to help them get settled in. He also mentioned that while he was in town, he’d be willing to talk to Tom or anyone Tom wanted him to meet about the possibility of a job.
Tom had hardly gotten off the phone to Mike when Frank called and told Tom to turn on the local TV news channel, then hung up. When Tom turned on the TV, the newscast was featuring the RCMP’s raid of two local businesses, showing officers carrying file boxes, computers, and other paraphernalia out of a building in downtown Vancouver. Then they went on to mention an ‘anonymous’ tip they’d received concerning the two companies that were being raided. The commentator very carefully managed to skirt around the names of any of the parties involved. What he did mention was that the tip had covered murder, attempted murder, harassment, drug smuggling, gang ties, and several other possible charges. When he mentioned that there would be further details on the evening news broadcast, Tom sighed heavily.
“Folks, I think we might need to leave town before that evening news broadcast airs,” he announced quietly.
“Do you think your name is going to be mentioned?” Sandy asked instantly.
“Hell yeah!” Tom snorted. “You know what news reporters are like; they’re snoopy as hell and they’ll eventually find that I’m involved. I’m glad I warned Muriel, JJ, and the others this morning because this could get crazy. What you just saw was a tease; now that reporter and his mates are going to be digging for details and verification. I think we need to get back to Bear Creek, then slip out of town and fly to the lease as soon as possible. First, though, we need to finish anything we absolutely have to do before we leave Victoria, so what isn’t done and still on our plates?”
“I need to call that clinic to find out what my test results are,” Sandy said instantly. “You should call Linda, and we need some pictures of David, so we need to drop over to see them again. Besides that, we should really go see Art and Josie before we leave town, shouldn’t we?”
“No problem, after all, it’s only three, so we have at least two or three hours before that newscast. What do you other folks need to do?” he asked his crew.
“Russ and I can be ready to go any time,” Liz shrugged. “Anything we bought is being shipped home to your warehouse, and Lil knows about it.”
“All I bought was a new rifle, and I’d like to take that in the jet with us, since it’s sealed in a case,” Arnie said, then frowned. “The thing is ... we were planning to help Sami pack and load all the extra gear she’s got.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Sami snapped. “It won’t be the first time I’ve had to move out in a hurry, and I doubt if it’ll be the last time either. Most of my stuff is packed up already anyway, so if the mover comes around in the morning, I can leave here well before noon, which easily puts me in Bear Creek tomorrow evening.”
“Alvin, what about you?” Tom said as he looked at the big man.
“I can leave right now if you want, boss,” he grinned. “I think we should introduce Sami to Art and Josie though, and I was going to suggest she should hold off on leaving tomorrow, then they should all travel together on Thursday.”
“Well, I agree with you on that, but it’s up to Sami. I’m not going to dictate how or when she moves,” Tom shrugged. “I think we should call Art and Josie, then all whip over there for a few minutes so we can introduce Sami to them, and if she wants, they can discuss the move. At the same time, I can let Art and Josie know why we’re leaving town. After that, Sandy and I will head off to the clinic, then over to see Linda and her folks. That way, you five will have a couple of hours free to do anything you want, and we can meet back here at the motel about five o’clock or a little later.”
“Boss, why don’t you and Sandy do your thing while I and Alvin introduce Sami to Art and his lady? While we’re there, we can let them know why we’ve gotta get outta town today,” Arnie suggested. “After all, we’re the guys who introduced Art to you. Besides, I think Liz and Russ might like a bit of time to themselves ‘cause they’ve been around one or the other of us constantly for the last few days.”
“I’d rather Liz and I were travelling with you, Tom. With this crap blowing up right now, I want to be sure you’re safe,” Russ frowned.
“Why don’t I just phone the clinic, since that’s the only place we’d be in the public eye? I’ll see if they’ll tell me the results over the phone instead of having to drop by their office,” Sandy snapped as she took out her cellphone. “We’ll be perfectly safe over at the Schultz’s house, and I’d like some time alone with Tom anyway.”
“Yeah, I’d better call Muriel and Ann to warn them that they might get phone calls or even visits by the TV paparazzi,” Tom sighed as he dug out his phone as well. “You guys can all go ahead over to Art and Josie’s, but you might want to phone them first. Otherwise, you can do what you want for the next while, then we’ll meet you back here at five to catch the local news and see if I was outed. Okay?”
Neither Russ nor Liz looked happy, but they followed the other three out of the motel suite, leaving Tom and Sandy talking on their phones. Tom called Muriel first and got a surprise.
“I got a call from Frank Jamison’s law firm about an hour ago, warning me what was going on, “ she chuckled. “Then about ten minutes ago, I got a call from the local TV station, so I told them that I ran an answering service and mail drop for you, but I didn’t have a clue where you were right now. Oh, just so you know, I called Ann and Laura up in Bear Creek and let them in on what was happening as well, but Frank or someone from his firm had already called them.”
“That’s just perfect, Muriel, thanks a lot,” Tom chuckled. “Just so you know, I’m going to be travelling a lot in the next while, so I don’t even know for sure where I’m going to be. I’m letting Dad and Frank grab the reins on this one.”
“Right, well I’ve got two calls coming in, so I’m going to have to let you go, Tom.”
“Okay, we’ll see you, Muriel, and thanks a lot,” Tom said as he hung up and dialled Ann’s phone number.