Chapter 1

The call came to me as I crouched down, working under the cabinet that held computer equipment. I squirmed around and finally reached my cell phone, bumping my head as I did so. Not happy at all, I barked, "Yeah."

"Aaron, I just received a weird call from some woman who said she was your wife's half-sister. She said she wouldn't be able to care for your twins as your wife had just traveled north and it was up to you as the kids' father to provide. I didn't know you were married and I didn't know you had any kids either. Are you holding out on me?"

"Not really, Burt. I did have a wife several years ago, but she chose to play with another man while still married to me. I gave her money for a divorce at the time. That is the last time I have had any connection with her. I assumed she was dead long before this. Her lifestyle pointed that way, anyway. I certainly didn't know I had children and I doubt that I do now. What was the woman's name who called? Did she give it to you?"

"She did, and she named herself as Karen Olson."

"Well I guess that part fits. The address would be someplace in one of the Dakotas, right?"

"Yeah, Fargo, North Dakota."

"Well, break Sam loose and send him over here to finish up for me. I might as well see what this is all about. She said twins you say? Boys or girls?"

"She didn't say."

I continued working on installing the components, but my thoughts were in the past. I was saddened for I had loved Neica Byrd with all of my heart. She had been gone from me now for five years. Stupid bitch! If she had only channeled all of her energy into helping me build the business I was starting at the time, she would have been set. Well maybe not in that business.

She pretty much sunk that one by leaving; taking away the chance of me making a go of something I had looked forward to building since I was a teenager. I was on easy street now that my uncle asked me to join him in his business. I felt my great chance had been taken out of my hands. I liked working for him, but he built this business here and not me.

Sure, I was still working as much now as I did back then, but it wasn't as if I needed to. I could and did hire the best and the brightest and could sit back and let the world go by. My wife at the time, wanted instant gratification. I couldn't give it to her, not if we were to have the comfortable life I had promised her when we married. Her leaving meant I had to rob the equity from my life insurance policy to give her money so she wouldn't come after my fledgling business. I lost it anyway and I guess I still missed her sometimes.

Would I handle the situation differently, now I probably would? At least I would have found out more of what she was doing earlier and for how long. At the time I was a hard-ass and had zero tolerance for a wife found with another man. She begged me to listen to her explanation, but I just wouldn't or couldn't, I was hurt that bad. Still, maybe she was sorry she got found out. Did I make a mistake?

This Karen, her half-sister, I had never met. She wasn't at our wedding because of another commitment. I had been introduced to her mother at the time. She had come in on a train and stayed three days at a motel, so I couldn't say I knew her. Neica had seemed a little ashamed of her mother and seldom mentioned her sister.

When Neica left, I assumed she either went to one of her relatives or had gone with the man in the picture. Hurt, more than could be imagined, I had vowed to move on alone.

Sam came in and I explained how far I had got on installing the new equipment here. He got down under the cabinet I had just come from and said he knew where I was, saying, "I'm on top of this. Take off."

It was only three miles to the office and I didn't have much time to think about the call that had been made. But it didn't keep me from remembering the photographs that had come to me in the mail five years ago. They showed Neica in bed with another man and as explicit as could be. We had only been married eighteen months. I thought we were still in the discovery stage with each other, for we had married soon after meeting.

Neica was a tiger in bed and showed more experience sexually than me. I thought this was all to the good. I was working hard and putting in long hours. She was always waiting for me to come home. Food was always on the table and immediately following the meal, I would shower and it was time to play in the bedroom.

We hadn't got to the point about discussing having children yet. I was thankful for that now. When the pictures arrived showing her with this other man, I confronted her that same evening and this brought forth many tears. When she tried to explain how this happened, I cut her off and left, telling her we were all done.

It took me a week to get money from the insurance company and have the divorce papers produced. I was staying in a motel room and I suspect I shed as many tears as she did. Knowing Neica went out Tuesday mornings to see her friends, I waited until I knew she would be gone, and then I went home and left her a note.

Neica, I'm sorely disappointed we will not have a life together. I know we role-played to some extent, but you did know my certain feelings not to open up our life to include others. This tells me you do not love me as much as I have always loved you. I can never trust you again. I am leaving you some money to pay for a divorce. There should be enough remaining for you to start your life over somewhere else.

There was more I wanted to say, but I decided there was no point. I signed my name, Aaron, and got on with my life. I went back a week later to see if my wife was still in the house. It was empty of all of her belongings. I had no word of her until today when I received the call from my office manager about the woman phoning me.

"Tell me what this Karen Olson said."

"It was pretty garbled. It didn't help that I didn't know you were married, so it took awhile for me to get it through my head. The woman was belligerent, I'll tell you that. I think she said your wife is dead and she needs you to take care of the kids. Anyway she finally left a number for you to call."

"I'll see what is up. I have never met Neica's half-sister and I know nothing about her, except the two had the same mother." I took the number into my office and sat for a minute before dialing.

"Karen Olson, please?"

"Speaking."

"This is Aaron Baker. You called my place of business a short time ago."

"It took you long enough to get back to me. I almost was ready to call Social Services."

"Tell me why you called. I got it that my ex-wife is dead and her claims to have children by me. As far as I know I never had any by her or anyone else."

"Got you going didn't I? She is alive, but injured. Here's the deal. Neica is in Alaska and I'm here with her two kids and broke. I can't get any public assistance because I was busted for prostitution years ago. If I call the authorities they will take the kids because of that old charge. I don't have anyone to leave them with to go out to earn any money. So what it boils down to is if you don't want to lose your kids, send me some money."

"How would I know if the kids were mine? As far as I know, the last time Neica had sex before she left it was with someone different than me."

"That may be, but she claims she was already preggo and didn't know it when that happened. She wanted to be sure whose kids they were so she had their paternity checked. I have the papers here."

I mulled this over in my mind. "What's the matter with Neica?"

"She was in Alaska on a month-long job and her Skidoo crashed while on the job site. She has two broken legs. She was supposed to be home last week, but is going to be up there another five weeks before she can travel. The company she works for won't cover her hospital stay if she leaves before she is discharged.

"Meanwhile I'm down here broke with two four-year-olds and with no money. I'm just about out of food. I imagine though, she will kill me when she finds out I called you."

This seemed like a scam being pulled on me, but I couldn't tell. "What are the kid's names?"

"Billy and Betty Baker. Actually it is William Aaron and Elizabeth Neica Baker. You said ex-wife. Unless you divorced her she's still married to you. She never got any papers from you."

"I never got any from her either, and it was she who was supposed to divorce me. I gave the papers to her when I left money for it. I can't say I ever checked to see if she divorced me."

"Well there you go. You got a wife and you got two kids. It's about time you lived up to your responsibilities. First thing you got to do is send me some money so I can feed the kids. Are you rich enough to send me five hundred? Maybe that would give me enough to squeak by until Neica gets back here. We won't be eating steak, but I'm pretty good at shopping smart."

The amount Karen asked for was so little, this in itself brought doubt to my mind. "I don't see as I can get it to you before tomorrow afternoon. That would be the earliest and I'll need your address."

"That's good. The landlord will spot me a twenty for doing him a little favor. That'll get us by until the money comes. He's a pig, but maybe I won't have to see him again before Neica gets home. FedEx comes by. Put the money in an envelope, send it, and I'll be watching for it."

"Karen, I wish you didn't have to do that. Promise your landlord fifty bucks tomorrow afternoon if he'll give you a twenty now."

"Can't, he'd rather have me than a fifty anyway. I'm pretty good you know. 'Sides, I've been off the street long enough so I'm getting a little antsy myself. Don't worry, I'll wait until your kids are asleep before I go downstairs to see him. They'll be fine."

"I'm going out now to get your money on your way as soon as possible. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

There was a long pause. Then, "You could come up and talk to your wife when she gets here. She made a couple of bad decisions back when you told her to leave. One, she was in trouble and was getting in deeper before talking to you about it. Two, she should have told you about the twins when she found out she was pregnant."

I didn't know what to say to this. "Aaron, she is my sister and we have always watched out for each other. I just thought you might like to know that. Anyway, thank you for what you are doing for me. I am up against it and I didn't know which way to turn. She has never trashed you, you know. I'd like to see how someone as good as Neica says you are, could throw her out. Oh well, send the money. That'll make me feel good. Bye."

I sat there in my office after Karen hung up. Did I believe her enough to send $500? She rang true. I knew I had time to arrange for FedEx to make a pickup. I'd check as they might even make a morning delivery. I glanced at my day planner.

I had nothing too pressing except for the Christmas party that was planned for the staff at the end of next week. It hit me in the stomach, those kids weren't going to have much of a Christmas with their mother not home. Even if those two kids weren't mine, I could afford to do something nice for them. It would be just my mother and me this Christmas. Dad had died last year.

We would be going over to my uncle's house after dinner. If I wasn't here, Mom could go spend the day with him and his family. All of a sudden I started making plans. Those finalized, I found I wanted to do more.

"Karen, it is me again."

She broke in, "Don't tell me you can't get the money? I need it, I really do."

"The money will be on the way shortly. Tell me what hospital Neica is in. Also tell me the name of the company she works for. What kind of company and what does she do for them?"

"It is an energy company. She checks pipelines out in the field for an oil division. Meters and connections and stuff like that. Why?"

"I thought I would send her a card, that's all."

"You can, but I doubt she will thank you for it. Here is all I know about where she is. The company is one out of Texas."

The company was a small specialized outfit that did work for several oil companies. I ended up with the phone number of the company president. Just as I hung up from talking with him, Pete, the pilot of our company airplane, said he was ready to take off as soon as I got to the airport. The flight plan had been filed and it was a go.

My secretary drove me to the airport and I was soon in the air. "Pete, I almost scheduled you in for a flight to Alaska. I have made other arrangements, but I do want you to hang around Fargo until I decide what to do. It may be tomorrow or maybe not until the day after before my final decision. After I'm dropped off at the address I'm headed for, you can find a motel. I'll keep in touch."

"Okay. I want to be back in Moline next week though. I'm taking the week off for vacation."

We made good time and it was just nine o'clock that evening when I was standing in front of a decent looking four-floor apartment house. Being a call girl must pay pretty well to afford an apartment in a building such as this. I entered a hall and there were numbered mailboxes along one wall. I would have to call up to Karen's apartment to gain admittance.