In a calm voice, Carl asked Marcus. “Who else has access to your uncle’s mine?”
“His best friend George Rhodes, but I don’t think he’s been to the mine in years. He’s living in an assisted living facility with a new hip and uses a walker to get around. We visited him on that first trip to our uncle’s house. He’s a nice guy, and our uncle’s best friend from high school. Why would he do such a thing? What would he hope to gain?”
The next morning Eric reconsidered his “suicide/accidental” plan. Then he thought about Betsy. Those gangsters whom they owed money to were ruthless. Would they go after Betsy for the remainder of his debt? Would they harm her?
Betsy, his lovely wife, Eric remembered the day he first saw her. It was his first week of college, and he was still finding his way around campus, when he walked into Memorial Union for a bite to eat. There he saw a beautiful young blond girl sitting with the current winning quarterback of the Sun Devil’s football team. He had heard they were dating exclusively. The next day, he saw Betsy again leaving his English Composition class. How could he have not noticed she was in his class? Never missing an opportunity, he “accidentally” bumped into her.
“So sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going. I’m still overwhelmed at how many compositions our professor is requiring this term.”
Betsy looked at him with her piercing blue eyes, “Yes, I heard Professor Stephens was demanding, but he is the best on campus.” She held out her hand and announced, “By the way, my name is Betsy Weaver.”
Eric shook her hand, “My name is Eric Caldwell, and you are the most beautiful person I have met today.”
Betsy laughed her musical laugh. Two months later Eric and Betsy became inseparable as a couple.
CHAPTER FORTY
More Delays
The following week brought an unexpected rainstorm to Missouri, and it lasted for days. Again, small aircrafts were grounded, and the geological study was again delayed. Marcus drove Eric back to the sinister house in a ghetto of Phoenix on March 15, to make their monthly payment.
The hoodlum who took their envelope, counted the cash, and announced, “Next month, you boys get a break. April 15, falls on Holy Saturday, so you don’t need to bring your payment here until April 17, the Monday after Easter.”
“You guys celebrate Easter?” Marcus asked in amazement.
“Yeah, I take my mom to church during that week. I was raised Catholic, and my mom is very devout. Do you have a problem with that?”
“Not at all, men should be good to their mothers. You aren’t going to charge us extra interest for missing the 15th deadline?” asked Eric.
“Nay, it’s a freebie in the spirit of the season. See you next month on the 17th.”
Marcus stopped in front of Eric’s house, and they both just sat in the car staring ahead.
“Eric, I’m not kidding,” stated Marcus. “I don’t have anyway to come up with the money for April. I’m really tapped out. Alexis and I aren’t getting any money back from our taxes we had to pay this year. I’ve missed my student loan payments twice and have received threatening letters, I have nothing left to sell.” Then he glanced at the lawn in front of Eric’s house.
“Hey, Bro, your lawn looks terrible. I’m so used to seeing it neat and manicured. What happened?”
“I had to sell my Toro lawn mower, the one with a Briggs & Stratton 4-Cycle Engine, to pay off these thugs.” Eric yelled at his brother. “I found a used old manual lawn mower for $10 at a garage sale, but it’s tough to mow this lawn and I’m so depressed, I don’t have the energy.”
Eric sighed and then asked, “Do you have any idea how much selling our sperm or blood would pay? Do you know who we can contact?”
Marcus laughed, “You’ve got to be kidding? And to answer your questions, no, and no.” then he softened and looked his brother in the eye.
“Eric, do you really think these ruffians would hurt us if we don’t pay on time or are a little short?”
“God, I don’t know what they are capable of doing. We need to think of a creative way to get the money for the April payment. Look at the bright side, we have two extra days.”
Not wanting to go into his house, Eric asked, “Do you think it was possible that Uncle Fred or even George planted the palladium in the mine?”
Marcus frowned, “Well George said he had seen a palladium rock in Fred’s house, but I don’t think it was George. Why would he? And I don’t think he would have been physically able to do it.”
“What about George’s son?”
Marcus laughed, “You think George’s son planted palladium? Why?”
Eric sat in Marcus’s car looking so dejected, almost like he didn’t have the energy to open the car door and walk into his house. Marcus looked at his brother and saddened by his appearance. He was thinner, the circles under his eyes were darker, and it looked like a black cloud of despair was hanging over his head. He patted his brother on the arm and said,
“Eric, we have to believe we will get through this mess. I really wish we hadn’t gone into business with these investor-hustlers. They blame us for all that has gone wrong with the mine, the bad weather, the delays, and not finding the palladium. Heck, they’re the ones who found those stones on their own in the first place, we never mentioned the few we found during our first visit.”
Eric smiled. “I’m so sorry I talked you into this mess. Sometimes I’m too good of a salesman for my own good.”
Eric opened the car door and walked across his untidy, disheveled, and brown lawn. Marcus thought Eric had aged ten years since the Fourth of July. As Eric walked into his house Marcus smiled and shrugged, Eric reminds me of how Napoleon must have looked after his defeat at Waterloo.
After Marcus dropped off Eric, he sat in his Jeep and called George. George didn’t answer, so he left a message. The following day, George called him back. After explaining what was going on with Uncle Fred’s mine, he asked George about the palladium.
George thought carefully before answering, “Well you know, I never asked Fred where he got the pretty stones he had in his house, but you can order anything over the Internet.” Then he paused and continued slowly. “You know I think my kids always expected Fred to leave the mine to me when he died. They didn’t know about you and your brother. Now that I think about it, they were pretty upset when I told them Fred left the mine to two nephews, he rarely saw. The kids had been pretty excited when all the news about the Pea Ridge Mine broke and the talk about all the jobs it would create. We all thought it was going help the economy of St. Louis. That’s when Fred’s attorney, Patrick Bond, connected him with the geologist, Gary Freeman, because they both had high hopes Fred’s mine might somehow contain some of the minerals as Peas Ridge. I think even Fred thought there might be a vein connecting the two mines. Marcus, let me make a couple of calls, and I’ll call you back tomorrow night. Is this a good number to reach you?”
“Yes, George. Thanks.”
George called Marcus back after talking to his son, Jerry, who was an auto mechanic. George explained, “I was always worried about my son who wasn’t a very good student. But Jerry found his niche and success in fixing cars. He has a knack to find and fix problems other mechanics declare unfixable, but I know he wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between a valuable stone and beach sand. No, Jerry said he didn’t even go into the mine after he found Fred.”
Marcus called Sam Murdock after he first talked to Eric. Sam hesitated while listening to his explanation that he couldn’t find anyone who would have planted the palladium and, of course, no one could ask Uncle Fred.
“Marcus, I’m not sure I believe you. I need to talk to the other investors and we may have to amend our agreement with you two boys.”
“Sam, what are you suggesting?” Marcus asked with panic in his voice. “We never even suggested palladium was in our Uncle’s mine. We’ve done everything you have asked and now Eric and I are both deep in debt. You can’t go back on your
word. We have a written agreement.”
“Hmm,” responded Sam. “Too bad you boys didn’t carefully read the agreement before you signed it. It clearly states that the investors, as a group, can decide to terminate the agreement if they think it is a losing project.”
Sam then informed Marcus another storm had moved into the area, and the airborne gravity system study would be delayed for at least another week.
Marcus closed his eyes and wondered where in the world would he find the money to make his April payment to Anthony. Even if the weather cleared and the gravity study could be completed and verified there was a trove of barite, now Marcus wasn’t sure that Sam and his buddies would give them back their investment.
Marcus sat down at the computer and Googled sperm banks. He discovered the donations could earn $1,000 a month, but the process to qualify to be an acceptable donator could take up to six months. Googling blood banks seemed more promising. A healthy person could earn $120 a week donating blood three times a week, $150 a week for plasma donations.
Marcus walked into the room they used as an office and sat on a chair watching his wife finish the last of the revisions on her novel.
“How’s it going?” he asked.
She looked around and saw him and smiled, “Really good. I’m almost ready to get it copied, read it one more time, and, hopefully, mail it my agent. I really wish Michael would accept electronic copies. This is 2017!”
“Alexis, I’m so sorry about all this mess with Uncle Fred’s mine. If I can get us out of this mess, I promise I’ll make it up to you. I will try to be the husband who deserves a wonderful wife like you.”
Alexis came over and put her arms around her husband and gave him a deep, passionate kiss that she knew would lead to activities that would delay her working on her novel.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
The Decision
Marcus and Alexis woke up in each other’s arms. Alexis said a quick prayer that things really would get back to normal, that Marcus could find a way to relax, the investors would come through with their promise, and Marcus and Eric could pay off their mother’s loan. What a mess he and his brother had gotten them into.
Snuggling in her husband’s arms, Alexis decided to ask some questions she had been afraid to ask. “Marcus, I don’t understand why this mine thing has you so upset. Your mother’s monthly loan payment is only around $300 each; and you said the $20,000 from Walter is interest-free. Is Walter pressing you to pay back his money?”
Marcus almost confessed to his wife the horrible truth, but he didn’t want to worry her. “No, Walter’s fine. It’s Sam Murdock and his investors that make me crazy. We keep thinking they are going to pay us back the money we gave them in good faith. But every week there is an excuse why there is a delay and why they can’t pay us.” Marcus laughed, “Those guys are so good with their stories, in your brain you know you shouldn’t trust them or count on getting a check, but they pull you in and you trust them for another week or another month. We now have so much invested we can’t walk away and they know it.” Then Marcus added, “You probably won’t believe this based on my past history, but I hate owing anyone money, especially borrowing on Mom’s house. When this is all over, you are going to be amazed at the new improved Marcus.”
Alexis smiled and kissed her husband and crawled out of bed before he could grab her again.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you that Christopher called me on Tuesday,” said Alexis as she put her robe on and searched for her slippers. “It looks like Charlotte has legally signed the papers giving him primary custody of Ashley. She asked for visiting privileges and Christopher insisted that until Ashley is twelve years old, Charlotte must visit her in Phoenix.”
“I didn’t think she would do it,” Marcus said as he walked into the bathroom. He turned and looked at Alexis. “You know we never visited the subject of children since the Polar Express trip. I still don’t want children, but I’m open to discussing the subject.”
Surprised, Alexis smiled. “Mr. Caldwell, you are full of surprises this morning. Yes, perhaps we should do that soon. But first give me a chance to review my textbook on how to win discussions with persuasive arguments.”
Three weeks later, Alexis couldn’t get to sleep—again. The last several nights she had been getting only a couple of hours of deep sleep. Her nights were restless; she was unable to sleep through the night. This couldn’t continue; her students’ term papers were due on Friday. They counted for 35% of the final grade. She needed to be alert; there would be a lot of reading, correcting, and grading to do. Walking into the kitchen, she decided warm milk might help her sleep. As she took a cup out of the cabinet, she spotted the unopened bottles of pills. They were the herbal pills that Betsy had given her. She took a pill from the bottle that promised blissful sleep and went back to bed. It worked. She slept the rest of the night without waking. Hopefully, she had found a safe remedy to get her back on track for sleeping throughout the night.
A few miles away, Eric couldn’t sleep either. He was worried about getting the money for the April payments. The brothers were late one month with the payment for their mother’s loan and she received a threatening letter from the bank. That couldn’t happen again, she had panicked and called Eric for an explanation. He blamed it on slow mail service and promised his mother he would hand deliver the house payment to the bank each month. It was paying back Anthony’s loan that gave him nightmares. Those guys wouldn’t send a warning letter if the brothers were late.
Eric quietly climbed out of bed, careful not to disturb Betsy. Looking at her, he was in awe of her beauty. She still had that fresh, schoolgirl charm he fell in love with so many years ago. He realized how much he loved her and couldn’t allow anyone to harm her. Walking into his home office, he turned on the computer. Once again, he pulled up a website on suicide. He took notes on a couple of ways he thought he could kill himself without raising suspicion. Then he remembered Robert Anderson, an actuary who worked for his insurance company. Robert was working in the claims and investigation department when Eric first hired on with the company. Robert was their top investigator and ended up saving the firm hundreds of thousands of dollars uncovering fraudulent claims. He went back to the university and took classes in economics, corporate finance, and applied statistics. He passed the rigorous actuary exams with flying colors and became a member of The American Academy of Actuaries. Robert Anderson knew more about fraud and cheating than anyone in the business.
The next morning, Eric stopped at the corporate offices to see Robert.
“Eric, what a great surprise,” Robert said as he was bringing a cup of coffee into his office. “What’s going on?”
“Hi Robert,” Eric smiled his best salesman smile. “Do you have a minute? I need to pick your brain.”
“Sure, sit down. Can I get you some coffee?”
“No thanks,” Eric then delved into his fraudulent story. “Robert, I have a client I sold a million dollar life insurance policy to several years ago. A good guy, trustworthy, and hardworking; he made his payments on time—a good client. Well, this guy has fallen on hard times, his business is collapsing, and he has two kids in college. He’s been depressed and overwhelmed. He came into my office to go over his policies to try and lower some of his expenses. He never brought up the term life insurance policy, and I had a gut feeling that he might be considering a plan to commit suicide and make it look like an accident. How good are the statistics and investigations on this kind of thing?”
Robert looked at Eric and sipped his coffee, “Eric, you would be surprised how many people actually attempt this kind of fraud. They go on websites that promise foolproof methods to commit suicide that the insurance companies will certify as accidental. Unfortunately, the policyholder is dead when their grieving family discovers the insurance policy is void and worthless. Insurance companies have become very sophisticated in detecting these methods of trickery. Our investigators go through the policyholder’s life with a
fine toothcomb, they check for any unpaid bills, gambling debts, or overdrawn bank accounts. Then they go through the policy holder’s computer to see if they had visited any of these so called foolproof sites.”
Eric interrupted, “What if the person erased all the history after their searches?”
Robert laughed, “Eric, people just think their history has been erased when they hit the delete button. We have computer geeks that can find any search you have ever made on your computer. Car accidents, hiking accidents, accidental overdoses are investigated thoroughly. Unless you die from a proven illness or a natural catastrophe, the policy will not be paid if there is a suspicious element. Does this answer your question?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
“Eric, is everything okay? You seem a little down you’re not showing your usual million-dollar charming personality. Is Betsy okay?”
“Yeah,” Eric smiled. “She’s great. I just didn’t sleep well last night. Thanks for your advice, I guess I don’t have to worry about my client getting away with cheating our company.”
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Headquarters’ Concerns
April 3, 2017
Connie Trimble, Eric’s highest performing sales person, unlocked the door to the insurance offices and turned on the lights. Katie, the receptionist, was late again; it was becoming apparent that stopping at Starbuck’s for her morning Latte Macchiato was more important than being on time for work. Connie was glad she came in early; it was nice being here before anyone else. Until a few months ago, this was the best job she had ever held. Eric was a crackerjack salesman and the head office had always been so pleased with their record sales and their outstanding reputation for customer service. Eric was always winning awards and honors for being one of the company’s top-performing salesman, having signed the most new clients each year and writing more new policies than of the other local offices. Connie was always receiving bonuses and raises.
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