Weaving the Strands

by Barbara Hinske

  “You don’t think it’s too soon?”

  “I don’t. Not at your ages. You should be able to know quickly. When it takes a long time, you’re trying to talk yourself into something. The fact that he’s setting up his practice to accommodate you tells me that he’s thinking of you first. That’s a good thing.”

  “Thanks, Mom. This has felt right since the moment I met him. I know that sounds cheesy, but I knew he was the one.” Maggie drew her daughter close, and they hugged each other hard. “Now let’s go to bed and enjoy happy dreams,” Maggie murmured. “The girls will have us up before you know it.”

  ***

  Christmas Day and the rest of the week flew by in a flurry of activity. Mike and the girls made a towering snowman in the front yard, Eve was taken for more walks than she knew what to do with, and the kitchen at Rosemont was always in service. By their scheduled departure on the thirtieth, Maggie was exhausted and ready to have Rosemont to herself again. With the baggage loaded in the cars and the twins saying a long goodbye to Eve, Maggie took Amy’s arm and summoned John and her kids.

  “Quickly,” she said. “I have an important announcement to make before we head out.”

  All eyes turned to her. “I’ve been offered a very lucrative expert witness engagement, and I’ve decided to accept it.” She noted the smile that spread across John’s face and the puzzled expressions of the others. “That means that I’ll be resigning my position as mayor.”

  “Oh, Mom,” Susan began, but Maggie held up a hand to silence her.

  “I’ve talked this over with John and thought this through carefully. It’s the right decision. And I’ll be traveling to California regularly, so I’ll be able to keep my promise to come see you.”

  “That’ll be lovely, especially now,” Amy replied. She glanced at Mike.

  “We were going to wait,” he said. “But since we’re making family announcements, Amy and I are expecting.”

  Maggie swept them both into a hug. “Congratulations! I had my suspicions,” she said, smiling. “This trip has been full of wonderful news,” she said, her eyes cutting to Susan.

  “When will you make your news official?” Mike asked.

  “I plan to turn in my resignation to the town clerk tomorrow, effective January thirty-first. I’ll start my new engagement mid-February.” Maggie turned to John. “If the good doctor here can spare the time, I’d like us to take a vacation during the first week of February; maybe go somewhere warm?”

  John’s smile stretched so wide his cheeks hurt. “You can count on it. Now, these folks have a plane to catch. Let’s get going.”

  Chapter 50

  Loretta stared out the window of Haynes Enterprises at the swirling snow. By midafternoon, it was coming down hard. The office was quiet; the phone hadn’t rung for hours. She didn’t have any plans for the evening, other than staying home with her kids. Eyeing the accumulation in the parking lot, she was anxious to get out of the office and off the roads before the weather got worse.

  She sighed and glanced at her boss’s office. He worked behind closed doors now more than ever. Summoning her courage, she knocked softly on his door. At the gruff “come in,” she opened it a crack and stood in the doorway, one hand remaining on the knob. He didn’t bother to look up.

  “In light of the snow, I was wondering if I could go to the bank early and then head home.”

  He paused and his gaze narrowed. “Got big plans tonight, have you?”

  “No,” she answered defensively.

  What business was it of his if she had, anyway?

  “I’m not going anywhere. Just staying home with my kids. These roads are going to be bad, and I’m still not used to driving in snow. I just want to get them home safely.”

  Haynes sighed. “Okay, sure. You can go.”

  He was turning back to his computer when he swung around quickly. “Loretta, since you’re driving right by on the way to the bank, would you drop something off at Chuck Delgado’s for me?”

  He sensed her unmistakable trepidation. “It’ll be fine. He probably won’t even be there. You can leave it with the clerk in the liquor store downstairs; his office is upstairs.”

  “I’m really not comfortable with this. Can’t we mail it?”

  “I’d like him to have it today.”

  “What about a messenger service?” she suggested.

  “You’re going right by. I don’t see the point in wasting money on a messenger.” He was getting annoyed. “You’re the one who asked to leave early. If you want to go to the bank now, you need to drop this off.”

  Loretta nodded slowly.

  Haynes grabbed a stack of papers from his desk and sealed them in a large envelope. He held it out to her and said, “If you run into him, don’t come on to him. I’d think a pretty girl like you would know how to handle men by now.”

  His patronizing remark stung her, but she dared not reply. She snatched the envelope from his hand and turned on her heel.

  ***

  As she had expected, Loretta found the roads treacherous; she was thoroughly unnerved by the time she pulled into the tiny parking lot of Delgado’s liquor store. The next day was New Year’s Eve and the store was busy. She was waiting in line to hand her package to the clerk when a familiar voice made her prickle with fear.

  “Hello, little lady. Look who’s here in my humble establishment. I knew you couldn’t stay away,” Delgado said with a smirk.

  “I’m just here to deliver this to you from Mr. Haynes,” she said, thrusting the package into his outstretched arms. She turned to leave.

  “Hold on a minute,” he stated, grabbing her arm. “We’ve got some unfinished business from the other day.”

  “I don’t think so,” she said, trying to extricate herself. Other patrons were beginning to stare.

  Delgado loosed his grip and leaned in. “I think something funny’s been going on at Haynes Enterprises,” he whispered.

  His breath was stale with alcohol and whatever greasy sandwich he had eaten for lunch. She took a step back. Whatever did he mean? Had he learned about the evidence of fraud and embezzlement she had uncovered? Was he part of it? Or did he know that she had copies of the documents? Loretta hesitated. She had to know what he was referring to.

  Delgado realized he had her. He stepped back and released her arm. “Let’s go upstairs to my office; we can talk privately there,” he stated softly.

  Loretta nodded and followed him out the rear door and up the stairs.

  When they reached his office, Delgado pulled out his desk drawer and removed a half-empty bottle of Jameson and two Styrofoam cups. He poured a generous portion in each and handed one to Loretta. When she shook her head, he pressed it on her.

  “It’s almost New Year’s Eve. Lighten up.” He raised his cup to her. “Cheers,” he said, and drained it in one gulp.

  He grabbed the bottle and steered her to the decrepit sofa, motioning her to sit. She obliged.

  “So. What did you want to tell me about Haynes Enterprises?” she asked.

  “All business, aren’t you?” He poured himself another generous portion of whiskey and sat down, close to her. She pressed herself into the arm at the end of the sofa.

  “I like to get to know people before I talk business, don’t you?” he said, running a finger up her neck, tracing her jaw line.

  “I didn’t come here for this,” she said angrily as she heaved herself out of the sofa.

  Delgado downed his drink and tossed the cup to the floor. With surprising agility, he leapt up and caught her hair in his fist, yanking her around to face him. “Limiting yourself to Frankie, are you?”

  He saw the surprise in her eyes. “We all know what’s going on. He don’t need no financial analyst or whatever trumped up title he gave you. Everyone knows you’re just his whore. Frankie and me, we’s partners; he won’t mind sharing. And you might find that you need what I got for you,” he added with a leer, pressing his body against hers.

  L
oretta wedged her right hand against his chest while she tugged with her left to release his hold on her hair. Delgado shoved her against the wall, trapping her there. He let go of her hair and clamped his hand over her mouth as she screamed and squirmed wildly. His free hand reached under her skirt and ripped her underwear down her legs. She felt the bile rise in her throat and knew she would be violently sick.

  Delgado was fumbling with his zipper when Frank Haynes flung the office door open. Delgado staggered backward, stumbling over the edge of the sofa. Loretta bent over and wretched violently on the carpet. Sobbing, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and reached for the underwear in tatters at her ankles.

  “Well, what have we got here?” he asked sarcastically. “Sorry to interrupt.”

  Loretta stared at Haynes. What did he think was going on?

  “What the hell you doin’ here, Frankie?” Delgado asked shakily. “Don’t you know to knock?”

  “I left something out of your package,” Haynes said, waving a stack of papers in his hand. He tossed them on the desk. “The guy at the register said that you’d come up here. So I thought I’d join you.”

  Delgado quickly tried to regain his composure. “Wanna drink? Toast the new year with me and Loretta?”

  “No. It’s a bit early for me, Charles. And Loretta can’t stay; she’s got to make the bank deposit. We need to be going.”

  Ignoring her discomfiture, Haynes steered Loretta to the top of the stairs. She pulled her coat around her shoulders and tried to smooth her skirt. He followed her down the stairs and to her car in the parking lot.

  She fumbled for her key and unlocked her car. She turned to Haynes. “He was going to rape me. You stopped him. If you hadn’t come in, he’d have succeeded. You know that, don’t you?”

  “I know nothing of the kind,” he stated matter-of-factly, avoiding her gaze. “I saw two adults getting friendly. Too friendly. I don’t want you to get involved with him.”

  Loretta’s gaze hardened. “I’ve never wanted to get involved with that creep! How can you say that? That was assault. I should call the police right now.”

  Haynes trained his piercing gaze on her. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. I’ll be a witness, and the only thing I’ll be able to say is that it looked consensual to me.”

  Loretta shot him a look of pure hatred.

  “Quit coming on to him and you won’t have any problems. You should have known better than to go up to his office with him. This was your own fault.”

  With those words, Frank Haynes sealed his fate.

  ***

  Loretta clamped down on her raging emotions as she drove to the bank and made the final deposit of the year for Haynes Enterprises. By the time she picked up her children from the sitter and pulled into the parking lot of her apartment complex, her head was pounding. This move to Westbury was supposed to be a fresh start for her, not a further descent into hell.

  “Mommy, are you okay?” Marissa asked.

  “I’m not feeling well, honey.”

  “When’s dinner? I’m starved,” Sean asked from the backseat.

  Loretta opened her mouth to deliver a short retort and stopped herself. She looked in the rearview mirror at her children. She loved these little guys, and she had made her mind up that things were going to be different for them here. She was in possession of the means to make that happen. Delgado and Haynes weren’t going to get away with abusing her and turning a blind eye or, worse, making Delgado’s attempted rape her fault. She’d show them.

  “Let’s order pizza,” she replied. “It’s almost a new year. We need to celebrate.”

  “Really?” the older two chimed in unison. They hadn’t had any pizza other than Loretta’s homemade version with sauce from a jar and crust from a can since they had moved to Westbury.

  “I know just the place,” Loretta said. “And we can play board games and you can stay up an hour past your bedtime.” She was suddenly feeling much better.

  In the wee hours, long after the kids had gone to bed, Loretta settled on her plan. She would put the evidence in the hands of someone she could trust. She was new to Westbury and didn’t know many people. She’d seen enough from Haynes’ secret spreadsheets to know that the former mayor had been involved in fraud and embezzlement. Delgado and another person named Isaac probably were too. It was impossible to know how widespread the corruption was. If she put the evidence into the wrong hands, she was finished. She shivered involuntarily.

  The one person who couldn’t have been involved was Mayor Maggie Martin. She hadn’t been in Westbury long enough. Paul had said many derogatory things about his wife—she wondered now how true they had been—but he always spoke of her scrupulous honesty and integrity. He even mocked her sense of fairness and justice. What was it he called her? A goody two shoes? When she put this evidence in the hands of the authorities, she would be putting her safety and that of her children in their hands as well. If she were going to trust anyone, it was going to be Maggie Martin.

  Chapter 51

  Maggie paced in front of the library fireplace, clutching the sheet of paper and re-reading her resignation letter for the hundredth time. She’d spent the best part of two hours drafting it. In the end, she’d decided that the less said, the better. Maggie returned to her laptop, pressed print, and sealed the letter in an envelope addressed to the town clerk. She sent an email to Don Upton accepting the expert witness assignment and logged off her computer.

  She checked the time; it was almost noon. John was picking her up at three for a movie and an early New Year’s Eve dinner. Their plan was to be home by eight, in bed by nine, and asleep by ten. Maggie wanted to get this letter out of her hands. Then she could relax. Besides, the early-morning snow had continued unabated and the roads were getting worse all the time. She’d nip down to Town Hall, give the letter to the town clerk, and come home to get ready for her date.

  ***

  Between the slippery roads and endlessly second-guessing herself, Maggie was in a state of jittery exhaustion by the time she reached Town Hall. Her stomach churned as she pulled into her assigned parking spot with the placard “Reserved for the Hon. Margaret Martin.” She sighed and heaved herself out of her car.

  The sidewalk was getting icy; she proceeded gingerly up the steps and into the lobby, which was deserted on this final day of the year. She was greeted unenthusiastically by the receptionist, an elderly woman with a head cold. “I’m the only one here today,” she answered when Maggie asked for the town clerk. “We’ve all been sick. You don’t want to get near any of us.”

  “I’ll just leave this on her desk then.”

  “I can take it back for you,” replied the woman.

  “No. You stay put. I don’t mind,” Maggie said as she made her way to the town clerk’s office. She hesitated, then quickly propped the envelope against the phone, pivoted, and walked resolutely toward the lobby.

  “I hope you feel better,” she said over her shoulder to the receptionist on her way out. Feeling slightly shaky now that she’d actually delivered the letter, Maggie pushed against the heavy door to the building. The wind was against her so she had to throw all of her weight against it. The door finally opened and Maggie burst through, slipping on the ice over the threshold, sending her purse and its contents scattering. Frank Haynes, ascending the top step, dodged the contents and grabbed Maggie’s elbow, preventing her from sprawling on the concrete.

  “Thank you, Frank,” Maggie said shakily. “You do have the habit of rescuing me, don’t you?”

  Haynes eyed her warily. “Are you all right? You don’t look so good.”

  “I’m fine. Good, actually. I was just here delivering something to the clerk.”

  Haynes looked at her quizzically. “Anything I should know about?”

  “Not now. You will.” Maggie got down on one knee and began to retrieve the contents of her purse.

  “Let me help you with this,” he said, setting his phone down while he col
lected her wallet and keys from the bottom step. Neither of them noticed when she scooped up his phone, and placed it in her purse.

  “Let me help you to your car,” Haynes insisted. “It’s getting treacherous out here. The roads are bad; drive carefully getting home.”

  “Thank you, Frank. I will. And Happy New Year.”

  Haynes smiled warmly, in spite of the inclement weather, as he watched her car pull away. He’d have to let Upton know that their plan had been successful. If she hadn’t turned in her resignation, he’d eat his hat.

  ***

  John picked Maggie up shortly before three. She pasted a bright smile on her lips as she showed him a copy of her resignation letter and told him that she’d delivered it to the town clerk.

  “You’re sure about this?” he asked, trying to sound neutral.

  “Absolutely,” she assured him. “And I’ve printed off a stack of stuff from the Internet for us to plow through together about cruises and luxury vacation spots. By this time tomorrow, we’ll have reservations for the most romantic trip anyone’s ever taken.”

  John swept her into his arms and held her tight. “I can’t believe I almost let you go,” he whispered into her hair. “I can hardly wait to get you away from here and have you all to myself.”

  Maggie leaned back. “We don’t have to go out, you know.”

  “Renege on a promise to my girl?” he scoffed. “On New Year’s Eve, of all nights? No way. When was the last time you relaxed and watched a movie? Let’s get going.”

  ***

  They settled into the movie—a predictable but pleasant romantic comedy that he knew she wanted to see—with their oversized movie theater sodas and big buckets of popcorn. New Year’s Eve was no time to count calories.

  The movie was well underway when a phone cheeped noisily. Maggie started digging frantically in her purse. John turned to her and whispered, “I saw you put your phone on silent.”

  “I did,” she replied, “but it definitely came from here.” She pulled out Frank’s phone and looked at the text message as she flipped the switch to vibrate mode. She shielded the screen with her hand and read the message, then read it again: