Chapter 39: Nobody Can Know

April 1, 2002, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Jesse

“Inez called me last night and is still over the moon about Friday,” Angelina said when we met to walk home after school on Monday.

“Happy to be of service,” I chuckled.

“I know at least one other girl who would be interested in your services, but I didn’t say anything to her because you said not to.”

“Just out of curiosity...” I chuckled.

“Another Mexican girl, but a friend, not a cousin. She goes to Maria, the all-girls school, so she can’t meet boys, and her dad is VERY strict, worse than mine!”

“How did the subject come up?”

“She was talking about how frustrated she is by not being able to date, even though she’s sixteen. We were talking about dating and she asked how far I’d gone. We’re close enough that I told her, though I didn’t give her any details about you, other than how great it was. She said she thinks about it all the time, and really wants to do it. I think part of that is because her parents won’t even let her go out with boys in a group.”

“With just anyone?”

“No. She wants a nice guy who’ll make it awesome, but she has to meet him and like him. She asked if I knew anyone, and I said I wasn’t sure. I didn’t want ANY pressure. Not to mention figuring out how she could get out of the house wouldn’t be easy.”

“Her parents are that strict?”

“«Loco» compared to my parents and Inez’s parents. Maybe like your friend Francesca’s mom.”

“Ugh. That is the LAST thing I need. I try to avoid getting on the train to crazy town, high speed or low speed!”

“She’d never tell, obviously. It would be her big secret, the same as with Inez. Are you thinking about it?”

I laughed, “I always consider requests!”

“What if I could arrange for you to meet her?”

“How would you do that?” I asked as we turned up the driveway at the Compound.

“I could probably invite you both to dinner.”

“You’re OK with me meeting your dad?”

Angelina nodded, “It would allow you to ask me out sometime during the Summer, if you wanted. Once I had my «quince» in February, Dad said I could bring someone to meet him.”

“Let me think about it,” I said.

We went into the house, went up to my room, and quickly got into bed.

🎤 Steve

“They took both computers,” Barbara reported. “They also took papers and a pair of notebooks from Clay’s cubicle.”

“What did they ask you?” Liz inquired.

“What you would expect. I didn’t have any more information for them than what I told Stephanie when I first called. They’re obviously going to speak to Kelly. What do we do about her?”

“I think we have to keep her away from the office,” Bob said. “At least until Sam reports back to us. Elyse, I’d recommend paid administrative leave, not charged against her time bank.”

“Do that, Barbara,” Elyse said. “Bob, Liz, can we ask her directly what happened?”

“Risky,” Bob said. “You could ask her as part of our internal investigation, but you would have to be very careful. The question is, what do we do with her answers?”

“I think our hands are tied right now,” Liz said. “She’s not hurt financially or losing benefits by being on paid administrative leave, so we’re not open to any legitimate legal action. That doesn’t mean she couldn’t try, but no court is going to order us to put her back to work in a situation like this.”

“What are the possibilities here?” Julia asked. “She did it, she didn’t do it, or she did it under duress?”

“Basically,” Liz replied. “And our real problem comes if she claims it was under duress and that Clay threatened her. We have no way of ever proving or disproving that, which is going to create a headache for Bob.”

“I think,” Bob said, “that from an HR perspective, a claim like that has to be accepted at face value, especially given the warrant out for Clay’s arrest. I know PR is Cindi’s bailiwick, but the optics of dismissing a woman who claimed to be threatened by a known batterer are not going to be good, and she might successfully press a claim for wrongful termination. Remember, the truth won’t matter in the face of her claim, unless we have some kind of proof she’s not being honest with us.”

“That’s how I’d play it, if I were her,” Cindi said. “It saves her butt if we have no proof.”

“Did Sam get any results?” Bob asked.

“I suggested she complete her analysis first,” I said. “That way, we don’t jump to any conclusions. As I said earlier, if we find it, no mercy. If we don’t, I defer to legal and HR on what to do, but the final call has to be Barbara’s or Stephanie’s.”

“What does your gut tell you?” Stephanie asked.

“Not to answer that question in front of three lawyers and HR!” I declared, causing everyone to laugh, including all three lawyers and Bob.

“I take it that was some kind of inside joke?” Mr. Schaefer asked.

“Steve’s ‘gut’ is famous for usually being right,” Barbara said. “But he also understands the ramifications if he makes a ‘gut’ call in a situation like this.”

“Colorado employment law is fairly clear,” Mr. Schaefer said. “And ‘your gut’ will not pass muster.”

“That’s true here, too,” I chuckled. “And why I asked Sam and Brenda to do a full forensic examination before we do anything beyond what we’ve done. Do the cops have Clay in custody?”

“Not according to the Post,” Barbara said. “They found his car at Denver International around noon. They’re checking all outbound flights now, and they’re going to check security camera footage. I’m betting he dumped the car there.”

“If they’re smart, they’ll check rental cars because if he got there before the warrant was issued, that would be a way to evade the cops for long enough to drive somewhere, dump the car, and get on a train or bus where he didn’t need ID.”

“I swear, Big Brother, you are a sneaky, underhanded son of a bitch!”

“You’re brother and sister?” Mr. Schaefer asked.

“Yes,” I replied. “Not husband and wife! My wife is a trauma surgeon!”

What I didn’t say was that the second one was a chemistry professor and that the third one was pre-law.

“I don’t think there’s anything more we can do until Sam and Brenda complete their work,” Stephanie said. “Let’s call it a day on this topic, and once we have the results of the audit, we’ll reconvene. I think both Mr. Crane and Mr. Schaefer can join by phone from their respective offices.”

Everyone was in agreement, so Kimmy disconnected the call. We all dispersed, but instead of going to my office, I went to the office Sam and Brenda shared.

“Anything?” I asked. “I don’t need details, I just want to know if you’ve found anything?”

“We have,” Sam said. “It doesn’t look good for Clay; the jury is still out on Kelly because we can’t match entry/exit logs with computer access logs.”

“That actually fits one possible theory. When do you expect to have full results?”

“By morning. The slowest part of this is the email archive search. Given the broad parameters and the timeframe you requested, it’s going to be some time before it finishes.”

“OK. I’ll get out of your hair!”

I left and went to Liz’s office to let her know what Sam had said.

“I think we’ll have to figure out a way to ask her. Let me speak with Mr. Schaefer and Barbara, and decide what questions we can reasonably ask once she’s done speaking to law enforcement. Well, assuming they don’t think she’s an accomplice and arrest her.”

“I hadn’t considered that,” I said. “I would have thought she’d have run with Clay in that circumstance.”

“Why not come to work as if nothing happened? Unless Diane saw Kelly with Clay at the time of the assault, Kelly is better off pretending she’s innocent.”

“You’re thinking like me now!” I chuckled. “But if she’s involved in corporate espionage, she has to know we’ll find out. And once the Sheriff’s deputies speak with her, she’ll know we know. If she’s going to bolt, that’ll be when she meets up with Clay somewhere; well, assuming he’s a complete idiot because she’ll lead the LEOs right to him.”

“What do you say? You’re in a maze of twisty little passages...”

“Or, ‘so I clearly cannot drink the wine in front of you!’”

“Let’s see what the morning brings,” Liz said.

“That is all we can do,” I agreed. “Both Kelly’s and Clay’s accounts were deactivated by Sam as soon as she began the analysis, and she’ll only turn them back on with my sister’s approval. Now, I’m going to see if I can do some actual work with the hour or so left of the workday.”

“I meant to ask, what do you think about the Queen Mother?”

“I think living to 101 is a pretty extraordinary feat! And to die peacefully in your sleep is about the best you can hope for at that age. I suspect her daughter is going to live even longer, because there is no way she’s turning over the throne to her moron son!”

Liz laughed, “You never did like Prince Charles.”

“He’s like the anti-George VI and anti-Elizabeth II. Drop him in a well and let William become King.”

“He’s twenty, so he could reign for eighty years if he has his grandmother’s and great-grandmother’s genes!”

“Well, it’s not up to us!”

“True. Now I need to go do some work!”

🎤 Jesse

“What happens next Fall?” Angelina said, snuggling close after our second round.

“What do you mean?”

“I meant about us getting together once a week.”

“I haven’t thought that far ahead!” I replied. “I have hockey camp in June and my trip to Sweden and Russia in July. That means I won’t be available very much. Then, of course, hockey starts again, so I have to work around practice. I think I’ll come to dinner at your house, if you want, so that we can go out during the Summer, but I can’t promise when or how often yet.”

“Great! Should I invite Xaviera?”

I chuckled, “Why not?”

We lay together for another ten minutes, then showered. After our showers, we dressed, and I walked Angelina to the corner near her house, and then turned back home. I arrived just as Mom One parked her car. I waited for her and we walked into the house together.

“How was your day?” Mom Two asked.

“A typical Monday,” I replied. “You?”

“Nothing exciting, and that’s good! I like it when there are no problems!”

“I don’t think I could stare at plans and permits and environmental studies all day without going bonkers!”

“Going?” Mom Two teased.

“Being crazy is a major plus for goalies!”

“Then you’re in great shape!”

“Thanks!” I replied smugly.

“I could use some help with dinner. We’re having spaghetti and meatballs. Mom One made the meatballs before she left for work, so we just need to cook them, make the sauce, and boil the pasta. There’s store-bought garlic bread which needs to be heated.”

“Sure, I’ll help,” I replied.

We worked together to make dinner, and thirty minutes later, we sat down at the table with Mom One and started eating. We’d just finished when there was a knock at the back door. I went to answer it and found Jazlyn standing on the back porch.

“Do you have a minute to talk?” she asked.

“Sure. Want to come in? Or want to sit on the bench by the main house?”

“How about the bench?”

I let my moms know I had a visitor and then went across the yard to a bench in front of Aunt Kara’s flowerbed.

“What’s up?” I asked.

She leaned close and whispered, “Could we use the sauna? Just you and me?”

“We could,” I said. “But I’m not sure if anyone else is using it right now.”

“Could you check? My parents are out until 10:00pm tonight.”

“Just so you know, everyone is home, so they’ll know we’re in the sauna and they’ll assume.”

“But nobody would say anything, right?”

“Not even to me.”

“And you won’t tell anyone?”

“The only reason you know about CeCe and me is because she told you. If she hadn’t, nobody on the team would have known. Should I still check?”

“Yes.”

“Wait here, OK?”

She nodded, so I went into the house where I saw Birgit and Ashley, but didn’t see Dad or his wives.

“Where’s Dad?” I asked.

“He and his wives are in the ‘Indian’ room. Why?”

“Is anyone using the sauna or planning to?”

“No clue. Well, nobody is using it now, and we aren’t planning to. Tabitha is in her room, and Estrella is out with Natalie.”

“OK. A friend and I are going to use the sauna,” I said.

Birgit smirked, “Have fun!”

I chuckled, “Always!”

🎤 Steve

“So,” Suzanne smirked, “‘young, sexy college pussy’?”

Kara and Jessica both laughed.

“I knew he would tell you,” Jessica declared mirthfully.

“And I knew you wouldn’t deny saying it!” Suzanne replied.

“I think we’ve been on this trajectory since we first met you,” Kara said.

“And now it’s time to consummate the marriage?” Suzanne asked. “The symbolic act reflecting the true nature of the relationship?”

“It really is the next logical step,” Kara said. “But one that can’t be taken lightly.”

“May I make an observation?” Suzanne asked.

“If not now, when?” I replied.

Suzanne smiled, “Since I’ve started sleeping with you three about half the time, the character of the sex has changed. Except on special occasions, it’s mostly gentle and loving. Not always, but mostly.”

“That’s my fault,” Jessica quickly interjected.

“That’s not what she’s getting at,” I countered. “Because it’s not just you and me, or you and Kara, but me and Kara. And also me and Suzanne, whether we’re with you or not.”

“You’re reverting to your preferences,” Suzanne continued. “Natalie noticed, too. Of course, for her, it was always that way, but even she detected a difference. A difference she likes, mind you.”

I nodded slowly, “I believe that’s true.”

“And it was why you turned down my offer of having my friends join us about a month ago,” Suzanne said. “It goes back to your change in January. Yes, you had Tabitha, but that was a special case of sticking it to her preacher by sticking it to her!”

I chuckled, “There might be something to that statement.”

“I think Suzanne is on to something,” Kara said. “Because I’ve noticed it as well. The frequency of crazy, over-the-top sex has diminished because it’s not what we need most of the time. And I see that look, Snuggle Bear! I am NOT feeling neglected; in fact, that’s the strange part for me — that as much as I enjoy it, I don’t need it the way I did even a few years ago.”

“I think your pet name for Steve, which you just used, tells the real story, Kara,” Suzanne observed. “And I think Birgit inherited that same gene. The two of you are energized emotionally, mentally, and spiritually by cuddling Steve. I feel it, and so does Natalie, but not in quite the same way. Tabitha mentioned how much she missed sleeping with Steve, and she meant the part after, not the euphemism. Well, I’m sure she misses the sex, but as gorgeous as she is, she’ll be able to get as much of that as she wants when she’s ready.

“I also get the drift that except for Kristin Jaeger and the girl Katt thinks wants Steve, and eventually Avanti, there won’t be another deflowering for quite some time, and very likely few, or even no, dalliances. Things with Natalie and Yuriko will continue as they are, until those girls leave, and I think that will be the end of any long-term relationships besides the two marriages, or one, if that’s where this leads. Yes, some of the cousins will approach Steve for their ‘expert deflowering’, but not as many as you might have thought.”

“It sounds as if you have inside information,” Jessica said.

“Some,” Suzanne said, “but mostly it’s because I’ve heard more of the girls comment about the age difference. And ‘older’ guy to them is in his twenties, not his early forties. That won’t deter all of them, but it will deter many of them. Of course, given the kids are becoming teenagers, the overall amount of sex at the Compound is going to go UP, not down!”

Kara, Jessica, and I all laughed.

“One caveat to what you said, Suzanne,” I replied, “or maybe an addition is better. Luisa is working her way towards asking me to take her to bed. She may never get there, but if she does, there’s a good chance I’ll honor that request.”

“In that sense, she’s not a ‘new’ girl,” Suzanne countered. “It’s been building for two years, and the destination was clear. It’s just a question of whether or not she takes the train to the final station, or decides to end her journey early. My money is on the former, but you never know.”

“I think I understand your request better now,” I said with a smile.

“Request?” Kara asked.

Suzanne smirked, “I told Steve that before any new vows were made, if that was the decision we four came to, that I wanted him to fulfill my fantasy of a no-holds-barred night of sex with Tessa, Nickie, Kim, Elsa, and me!”

Kara and Jessica laughed.

“Videotape or it didn’t happen!” Kara demanded, her voice expressing intense desire.

“That might be a bit too wild, even for them!” Suzanne replied, her eyes twinkling. “But I can ask.”

“Don’t tease!” Kara growled.

“You mean like Jessica teasing about ‘young, sexy college pussy’?” Suzanne asked with a smirk.

“Perhaps,” Jessica replied primly, in the same way Kara often did. “The bottom line, really, is we want you to move into the master bedroom either way. You’re as much Steve’s wife as we are. We’ve invited you to make this a true quartet, but we know that might be more than you want or can embrace.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Kara giggled. “She did say she had a fantasy about having sex with Steve and four other girls!”