For Better or Worse

by Al Lamanda

  I turned around and drove home to the beach, made some coffee and a bonfire, and sat and did some thinking.

  With an IQ north of one seventy, Reed was more than just a computer genius.

  He was forbidden by law to own a computer as part of his sentencing.

  That didn’t mean he couldn’t have a girlfriend who owned one.

  What’s that old saying, it takes one to know one?

  In this case, to catch a genius, I needed a genius.

  One just as crazy as Reed.

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Shortly after sunrise, I was working on the heavy bag. I gave it about thirty minutes before switching over to the speed bag for another thirty, then did ten sets on the elevated push-up stand, and ended with a dozen sets of stomach crunches.

  Workouts were my think tank. Thoughts flowed and ideas took shape while my body sweated and muscles burned.

  After a shower, I put on a lightweight tan suit and drove my car to the Crist mansion.

  “Bekker, that car of yours is an embarrassment,” Campbell said when she opened the door to me.

  “Nice to see you, too, Campbell,” I said.

  “If you’re looking for Carly, she left for Kagan’s office about twenty minutes ago,” Campbell said.

  “I’m actually here to see you,” I said.

  “Well, come into the kitchen then,” Campbell said.

  I followed her to the kitchen, a room about the size of my entire house.

  “Sit,” Campbell ordered.

  I took a chair at the butcher block table for twelve. Campbell brought over two mugs of coffee from the espresso machine on her marble counter.

  She sat next to me, lit a cigarette and said, “You need something. What do you need?”

  “Can I use your jet one more time and can you not tell Carly about it?” I said.

  “I don’t keep secrets from her, Bekker,” Campbell said. “It’s not healthy in a relationship to keep secrets.”

  “It’s not a secret if I tell her,” I said.

  “Where and when?”

  “White Plains, New York, tomorrow morning,” I said.

  “What’s in White Plains?” Campbell said.

  “A genius,” I said.

  “Who can help Carly with the trial?”

  “Yes.”

  She passed me the cigarette and I took a hit and passed it back.

  “Do you know how much it costs to run that plane, even for a short flight?”

  “I do,” I said.

  “And you can’t just fly commercial because…?”

  “Regan is still very uncomfortable on regular flights, and I need her to go with me,” I said.

  Campbell sighed softly. “Well, I haven’t been shopping in Manhattan in a while,” she said.

  “Thank you,” I said. “And I owe you one.”

  “Seems like more than one,” Campbell said. “But who’s keeping track?”

  * * *

  “Again with this rich doll and her private jet,” Jane said when I told her I was going to White Plains.

  “I need Regan to go with me, and she’s still too anxious for regular flights,” I said. “On a crowded plane, her anxiety acts up and I need her to be calm.”

  “So you turn to that pale drink of water and her jet?” Jane said.

  “She’s the only one I know who has one,” I said.

  Jane sat on the old lawn chair in front of the trailer and lit a cigarette. “How come you don’t know any ugly rich women?” she said.

  “Just lucky, I guess,” I said.

  “You are definitely asking for a black eye,” Jane said.

  “It’s only one day,” I said.

  “Well, what’s in White Plains?” Jane said.

  “Help,” I said. “Much needed help.”

  “For Walt?”

  I nodded.

  “So, why is the daughter of a dead mob boss so fond of Walt?” Jane said.

  “She’s not,” I said. “But she is fond of Carly, and Carly wants to win, if only to get revenge against Napier. Either way, it helps Walt.”

  “And you’ll repay this act of kindness how?” Jane said.

  “Paint her house,” I said.

  Jane’s eyes turned dark for a few seconds and I thought a black eye was forthcoming. Then her face softened and she flicked away the cigarette and stood up. “Come on,” she said and took my hand. “The least you can do is paint my house.”

  * * *

  I picked up Regan at eight o’clock the next morning. She tossed her overnight bag into the trunk of my car and then got into the passenger seat.

  “Where are we going that’s such a secret?” Regan said.

  “It’s not a secret,” I said. “I just haven’t told you yet.”

  “And?”

  “White Plains,” I said.

  Regan looked at me. “Dad?”

  “I know, but I really need your help with this,” I said.

  “You owe me one, Dad,” Regan said. “A big one.”

  “Our house doesn’t need painting,” I said.

  “What?”

  * * *

  Regan held Settina on her lap while Campbell and I ate egg sandwiches with coffee.

  “An Uber cab will pick us up at the private airport in White Plains,” I told Regan. “We shouldn’t be more than a few hours.”

  “I don’t want to sit in traffic, so meet me at the hotel in Manhattan,” Campbell said.

  Regan placed Settina over her right shoulder, and the baby closed her eyes.

  A little while later we landed in White Plains, New York. The private airport was for corporate travelers that visited the half dozen major companies headquartered there.

  Included in that group were ITT, Dannon, Krasdale Foods, Heineken, Nine West, and Sample Ice Tea.

  Our destination was Sample Ice Tea.

  A little more than a year ago, I was asked to baby-sit the sixth child of the founder of the Sample Ice Tea Company.

  Wally Sample was the forty-year-old black sheep of the family, a degenerate gambler who owed money to all of Vegas, Atlantic City, and to a few loan sharks. Wally’s father left a clause in his will that Wally could not become a partner in the company unless he could prove he could go thirty days without gambling in any form.

  I was hired to make sure that Wally didn’t gamble for those thirty days leading up to his birthday.

  As it turned out, Wally wasn’t gambling for the sake of gambling, but was a mathematical genius using gambling to formulate theories of mathematical probabilities. After a few twists and turns that involved company in-fighting, a murder attempt, a kidnapping, and an exploding house, Wally took his seat at the Sample table as a partner.

  Shaped like a pear, barely five-foot-six inches tall, Wally wore glasses and dressed like a slob, but hidden in that unkempt head of his was an Einstein-sized brain.

  After the cab dropped us off at the Sample Ice Tea building, Regan said, “We’re going to see Wally, aren’t we?”

  “Yes,” I said.

  “That’s why you wanted me along, to keep him calm?”

  “Also yes.”

  “So you won’t get upset when I ask for a favor?”

  “I’ll do my best,” I said. “What’s the favor?”

  “I’ll tell you later,” Regan said.

  We checked in at the security desk. After a phone call, a guard issued us visitors’ passes, and we took the private elevator to the floor reserved for the Sample family.

  We were greeted at the elevator by Robert Jr., the senior member of the Sample family and company president.

  “Mr. Bekker, nice to see you again,” he said as we shook hands.

  “This is my daughter Regan,” I said.

&nbs
p; “Hello, Regan,” Robert said.

  “Hello, sir,” Regan said.

  “I need a favor,” I said. “From Wally.”

  “I figured,” Robert said. “I’ll take you to Wally’s office.”

  We followed Robert along the hallway to an office door made of glass with gold lettering etched into it.

  Wally Sample, Vice President the etching read.

  Robert knocked and opened the door.

  “Wally, you have visitors,” Robert said.

  Regan and I stepped into the office. It was a large room filled with clutter. A desk beside a window was covered with stacks and stacks of papers. Two file cabinets were so stuffed the doors wouldn’t close. A massive blackboard took up an entire wall. It was covered with mathematical equations.

  Wally, in all his disheveled genius, was at the blackboard with a piece of chalk in his right hand.

  “Wally, you have guests,” Robert said.

  Wally turned and looked at us. His entire round face seemed to burst into a wide smile.

  “Mister Bekker, Regan, what are you doing here?” Wally said. “Am I in trouble again? Robert, why didn’t you tell me Mr. Bekker was here? Mr. Bekker, let me show you what I’m working on. See, the probability of accidents on the road that slows delivery can be lessened if… would you care for some tea or coffee? I can send down for… wait, is it lunch time? Robert, is it time for lunch? I really need a watch. Robert, why don’t I have a watch?”

  Regan rolled her eyes. “Oh boy,” she said.

  “Wally, we need to talk,” I said.

  “It’s lunch time, isn’t it?” Wally said.

  * * *

  The Sample family had a private dining room with a chef on duty for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, need be.

  We ordered BLTs with fries. The BLT was served with one-inch thick slices of whole wheat bread, slightly toasted. The tomato slices were fresh and crisp, as was the lettuce, and the bacon was maple flavored, thick cut. The fries were the thickest cut and crispiest I’ve ever tasted.

  “This is the best sandwich I’ve ever had,” Regan said.

  “I’m a big fan of lettuce,” Wally said. “Especially when it’s nice and crisp with just the right amount of pepper and salt.”

  “Wally, I need your help,” I said.

  “I have trouble sometimes, too. Cut it in half and it’s easier to bite,” Wally said.

  “Oh boy,” Regan said.

  “I’m not talking about the sandwich,” I said.

  “No?” Wally said.

  “Do you remember Captain Grimes?” I said.

  * * *

  As we walked along the hallway, Wally said, “I need to check with Robert.”

  “Sure,” I said.

  We reached Robert’s office and Wally tapped on the glass door, and when it opened, we stepped in.

  “Robert, I need to go with Mr. Bekker for a few days,” Wally said. “He needs my help.”

  Robert sprang up from behind his desk and rushed over to us.

  “By all means, Wally, please, go help your friends,” Robert said.

  “I hate to leave you shorthanded,” Wally said.

  “Think nothing of it, Wally,” Robert said. “Your friends need your help. You can’t exactly let them down now, can you?”

  Wally looked at me. “I can go, Mr. Bekker,” he said.

  “We’ll leave at ten o’clock from the White Plains airport,” I said.

  “I didn’t know White Plains had an airport,” Wally said. “Are you sure? Where is it located? Robert, did you know this?”

  “I’ll have a driver pick you up,” Robert said. He shook my hand. “And thank you, Mr. Bekker,” he said. “Thank you so very much.”

  “Oh boy,” Regan said.

  Chapter Thirty-three

  We took an Uber cab from White Plains to the Roosevelt Hotel on East 45th Street in Manhattan.

  Campbell had reserved a suite for her and Regan, while I got a room down the hall.

  After I dumped my bag on the bed, I walked down the hall and knocked on Campbell’s door and Regan answered it.

  “Dad, Campbell and I were just talking about you,” she said.

  “Oh?” I said.

  “I’d like to take Regan shopping for a bit, and then I thought we’d take in a play,” Campbell said.

  “Oh?” I said and eyed Settina, who was asleep in her carrier beside the sofa.

  “We’ll be back around five to change,” Campbell said. “Bottles are in the fridge with the schedule. Diapers are in the bag with the wipes. You have changed diapers before, haven’t you?”

  I looked at Campbell. “Favors owed have to be repaid,” she said.

  “Have a good time,” I said.

  The next four hours passed as slowly as if I had spent the entire time on a Stairmaster. Settina woke up twice in the first two hours, once for a bottle and again for a diaper change.

  I watched a movie on television for the next two hours, and she woke up just once for a bottle and a changing.

  Gratefully, Campbell and Regan returned on time at five o’clock.

  Each had half a dozen shopping bags. I didn’t ask what they bought.

  “Bekker, we don’t have to leave until seven-fifteen,” Campbell said. “So if you want to use the hotel gym or whatever, go ahead. Just be back in time, we don’t want to miss the opening curtain.”

  I went to my room and changed, then took the elevator to the third floor where the gym was located. As hotel gyms go, this one was decent, and I was able to get in a good hour before heading back to my room to shower.

  I was back in Campbell’s suite at seven.

  Regan and Campbell wore new outfits that were comprised of black pants, white blouses and black jackets. Each wore matching, three-inch heels that elevated Regan to about five-foot-five inches tall.

  “We’ll be back at eleven,” Campbell said. “You know the drill.”

  I watched another movie, fed and changed Settina twice, ordered a burger with fries and a pot of coffee from room service, and in between, I called Oz to check on Walt.

  Elizabeth answered the phone.

  “They’re playing a video game,” she said. “It involves a lot of car chases and things blowing up.”

  “But how does he seem?” I said.

  “Surprisingly calm,” Elizabeth said.

  “Okay, I’ll be home tomorrow,” I said.

  I surmised that “surprisingly calm” translated to Walt had accepted his fate and resigned himself to prison time.

  I was surfing the cable channels on the television when Campbell and Regan arrived at eleven-fifteen.

  The first thing they did was kick off their shoes. It was always amazing to me the pain women will endure to make their legs look better.

  “Clive Owen was amazing,” Regan said. “I didn’t understand all of it, but he is so amazing. And gorgeous.”

  “I’ll leave you to Clive and the dirty diapers,” I said. “And see you for an early breakfast.”

  I had a difficult time falling asleep. “Surprisingly calm” kept creeping into my thoughts. I’ve known Walt since we went through the police academy together. I could use a lot of words to describe him, and the words surprisingly calm would never come to mind.

  As a patrolman, Walt never made an easy arrest. As a detective, he was a bulldog and would never give up on a case. As lieutenant of detectives, he was a fair and honest boss who never asked his men to do anything he wouldn’t.

  Making captain of a precinct speaks for itself.

  Fair, tough, thorough, intelligent, honest were words that came to mind concerning Walt.

  Calm?

  Never.

  What was it they said when giving the weather and describing a pending storm? The calm before the storm.


  The silence before the explosion.

  I’d have to keep a close eye on him when we got home.

  * * *

  We reached the private airport by nine-thirty. While Carly and Regan boarded and settled in with Settina, I waited on the tarmac for Wally to arrive.

  The Sample limo arrived fifteen minutes later, and a very disheveled looking Wally got out and looked at the waiting jetliner.

  “We have a plane just like this one, but Robert doesn’t let me ride on it,” Wally said.

  “Where’s your luggage?” I said.

  The driver opened the trunk and brought out a large suitcase.

  “I don’t like flying,” Wally said.

  I took the suitcase. “I know. You’ll be fine,” I said. “Let’s go in and get you settled.”

  We boarded, and at the door, Wally said, “Not a lot of room in here.”

  “It seats twelve,” I said. “A lot more room than on a…”

  “Is that a baby Regan is holding?” Wally said.

  “Hi, Wally. This is Settina.” Regan said.

  “When did you have a baby?” Wally said.

  “Oh, no, see this is…” Regan said.

  Campbell came out from the galley and looked at Wally.

  “Oh boy.” Wally said. “You’re that pretty woman that’s friends with that pretty lawyer-lady.”

  “Bekker, sit Wonder Boy down,” Carly said. “We take off in five minutes.”

  “Come sit with me,” Regan said.

  Wally sat next to Regan.

  “I don’t like flying,” Wally said.

  “I know. Try to relax. It’s a really smooth plane,” Regan said.

  Campbell took Settina and strapped her into the safety carrier, and then sat next to me and buckled up.

  The plane started to roll forward.

  “Here we go, here we go,” Wally said. “We’re going!”

  Campbell glared at me.

  The plane turned onto the runway.

  Regan took Wally’s hand.

  “Oh boy, oh boy,” Wally said. “We’re really going.”

  Campbell turned and looked at Wally. “Yes, we really are going,” she snapped.

  The plane sped up, and with a massive thrust, we lifted off.

  “Here we go, here we go,” Wally said with eyes closed tight.