“So what do you want to do?” he asked anyway. Deek waited but Renee didn’t answer right away.
“I’ve been having this same dream lately,” she said in a subdued voice, “where I see the fuzzy outline of a baby suspended in the clouds with its umbilical cord still attached and dangling. I feel a desperate need to hold the baby in my arms. So I reach out to grasp it but just as I touch its fingertips, it suddenly vanishes. The hurt is so real I can actually feel the pain in my body when I wake up.”
Deek glanced down at her with sincere, dark eyes. He smiled and grabbed her hand. Without uttering another word, they walked hand-in-hand to the elevator and got on. He pressed the button for the third floor.
Chapter 34
At the GW hospital lobby, Deek offered to take Renee home but she could clearly see he was too exhausted to drive all the way across town. She called her driver, but Remy wasn’t available, so she ended up calling a cab instead. By seven PM that evening, daylight had turned to dusk when the taxi dropped Renee off in front of her door. She walked passed the For Sale sign that her realtor had placed on the front lawn. Thanks to the recovering D. C. housing market, her house had only been listed three days but already attracted several interested buyers.
Renee unlocked her front door and lumbered up the long staircase. She still wanted to call Brenda and ask her secretary to explain that damaging story in this morning’s paper. She knew Bradford and Deek would follow-up as part of the investigation, but she needed to hear it from Brenda herself. For right now though, she only wanted to go straight to her haven—the bathroom with its large, step-down tub bordered with scented candles and colorful soaps along its ledge. After quickly undressing and leaving her clothes in a heap on the bedroom floor, she soaked in a tub of foamy suds until she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. When the telephone rang, Renee’s eyes sprung open and it took a moment to recognize her familiar surroundings. She’d been swept away in a fantasy dream about her and Deek making love.
“Now who is this?” she said out loud and reached for her cell phone on the bathtub ledge and answered it.
It was one of her colleagues, Dr. Hershel Goldbaum. After a brief perfunctory greeting, she found out Dr. Goldbaum was calling about a former patient that she had transferred to him three months ago. The last thing she wanted to do was discuss this former patient that she had only talked to once at an initial screening session. Renee promised her friend Hershel she would FAX him the information he needed about his patient as soon as possible. She hung up the phone and climbed out the tub, cursing Hershel and the patient under her breath. After patting herself dry she slipped on a black silk robe hanging from the door hook and went downstairs to her office.
Dr. Hershel Goldbaum was a clinical psychologist like herself who in addition to family and relationship counseling also specialized in chemical dependency, personality disorders, depression and attempted suicides, compulsive-obsessive behaviors, identity confusions, and bereavement counseling. Hershel said he needed her notes from the patient’s initial session so he could conduct an evaluation to submit to the courts in the morning. Renee always screened new patients and tended not to get involved with people who were referred by the courts if she could help it. Not only was this patient a court referral, he had been convicted of pedophilia. Renee refused to accept any patient who abused or harmed children. This time she’d delete the patient’s records so she would not have to recall his session again.
Renee turned on the computer in the outside reception area where Brenda worked. Since hiring Brenda she had little need to use the PC because her secretary maintained patient records electronically and retrieved whatever she needed in a flash. Brenda had once instructed her on what to do to locate a patient record but that was months ago. Renee fumbled through the document storage application that Brenda had installed, but the program was not intuitive for an average, non-technical user like herself. Since she had a working knowledge of Windows Explorer, as a last resort, she opened Explorer to try searching for the patient’s file. All she found was a list of meaningless filenames sorted by ‘date modified’ and that didn’t tell her anything. The first file that appeared at the top of the list had a filename of TSS1001.xls. Since it still wasn’t sufficient to identify its contents, Renee opened the document and noticed Microsoft Excel displayed on the screen. Upon glancing at the file, she realized it was some type of company budget spreadsheet from the President and CEO of Techands Inc, Clifton Corbin Shaw.
Renee wondered how this file showed up on her computer. Of course, Deek could explain it but she didn’t want to disturb him. He was either home resting or back at the police station. Then she remembered that Brenda had set up a network linking her PC to Bill’s as a practice exercise for her computer class. With the recent trauma in Brenda’s life, it was no wonder she forgot to disconnect the link.
At first Renee dragged the mouse up to the ‘x’ to close the file but her curiosity got the better of her and she slowly read the file contents. Renee did not trust Shaw and wished her husband had listened to her numerous warnings about him. If there was something important that affected Bill’s future, she wanted to know about it. Just because they were separated and getting a divorce didn’t stop her from caring about him. In the biblical sense, they were unevenly yoked as husband and wife but hopefully they could still be friends. She used this reasoning to justify her snooping as she read the company’s budget sheet and private memo to executives that she was also able to retrieve from her PC’s hard drive.
The report showed that a benefactor named James Ian Mathias funneled large sums of cash to Techands Inc through company president, Clifton C. Shaw. Earlier that day Renee had learned from Deek and FBI Agent Santos that Mathias was the alleged drug kingpin and leader of the Jett Set Crew. Upon studying the spreadsheet, Renee saw where thousands of dollars were being laundered through Shaw’s corporate account on a weekly basis. If Mathias was really a drug lord then Techands Inc. appeared to be a front to receive his illegal earnings. That was the only way she could explain the regular influx of cash from Mr. Mathias. Mathias was named as investor and William Hayes, her husband, was listed as a general partner. Techands Inc’s legitimate business of providing software support was purely coincidental. The company’s main mission seemed to be a laundering service for drug money. She refused to believe that Bill had knowingly gotten involved in a money laundering scheme. She felt certain that Mathias and Shaw were using him without his knowledge. She had to warn him.
Renee immediately dialed Bill. As usual, the line was busy on his cell phone and his voicemail came on. She left him an urgent message to come to the house as soon as possible so they could talk. She printed out the Techands company documents and turned off the computer. She didn’t have time to spend all evening searching for those damn patient records for Hershel. Hershel would have to wait. She hurriedly called him back and said she couldn’t locate the patient’s file on her computer and her secretary was not available. Once her secretary came back to work in a few days, she would have the notes sent. Renee hung up the telephone and returned upstairs to her bedroom to wait for Bill to arrive. Moving day into her new place would be next Saturday so in the meantime she could start packing.
Less than an hour later, Bill walked into her bedroom. Renee had not heard him pull up outside or enter the front door. As she closed her suitcase, she glanced at him briefly with an expressionless face then went to her closet to retrieve another empty suitcase. She didn’t trust herself to speak at that moment. Either he was a crook or he was naive. For his sake she hoped it was the latter. Renee threw the suitcase on top the bed and returned to the closet to pull down an armful of garments.
Bill approached her with both arms outstretched. “I knew you’d come to your senses My Love,” he said with a sardonic grin and distinct smell of alcohol on his breath, “I got your message that you’re ready to talk now so I rushed right over.”
Re
nee continued to busy herself packing while trying to remain calm.
“What’s all this packing about?” he said, pointing to the suitcase. “I also noticed that ‘For Sale’ sign outside. Should I assume you’re moving in with me tonight, Sweetness?”
She didn’t answer him so he kept talking.
“That’s fine Babe but I could’ve used a little more notice,” Bill said with a cocky grin,” If you don’t mind waiting until tomorrow, I’ll get my housekeeper to come by in the morning to straighten things up a bit. I guess you heard about my new two-bedroom apartment uptown at Park Connecticut. The rent is over three grand but I can easily afford it now. The business is going great.”
Renee couldn’t restrain herself any longer. “That’s what I called you about,” she said, “The Business.”
“You don’t wanna discuss us getting back together?” he asked with a confused look.
“No, I didn’t call to get back together. Anyway, you appear to be doing just fine,” she said. “Last week I saw you at McCormick and Schmick’s sitting with a bunch of pasty-faced suits and a twenty-something blond hanging on your arm.”
“Oh, that was nobody. She’s just an associate of Shaw’s. You should’ve stopped over to the table to say hello.”
“Whatever. Your private life is your own business now,” said Renee, “My attorney filed the legal separation agreement you gave me.” Renee saw his eyes flinch but she continued. “I fished the papers out of the kitchen trash bin later that afternoon when I went downstairs to make a cup of tea. My attorney says after a year, the court will grant us a no-fault divorce. But I’m sure your attorney already told you that by now. I intend to file after the waiting period if you don’t.”
“Is that why you put the ‘For Sale’ sign on our front lawn?”
“Yes. I hired a real estate agent a few days ago and put the house on the market. We already have several qualified buyers so we can just split the proceeds on the sale.”
“I haven’t agreed to any of this, Renee,” he said, standing rigidly in the middle of the floor. “You’re moving too damn fast.” Then, he stuffed both hands in his pockets. With drooped shoulders, a crestfallen look spread across his face. “I guess there’s someone else in the picture. That explains the rush.”
“No, Bill. This is about me.” She stopped packing and turned to face him. “I need to bring meaning to my life. I’m the only one who can rescue me. And in case you’ve forgotten, we used my Aunt Clara’s money as the down payment on this house. I didn’t need your approval to list it since only my name appears on the title. Although, I did try to contact you many times over the past several days but you never bothered to return my calls.”
“I’m sorry Renee. I’ve been a little distracted lately. Do you mind letting me in on your plans now? After 14 years of marriage is that too much to ask? Where are you moving?” He advanced towards her and sat down on the bed.
Renee resumed packing as she spoke. “I found a three-story, brick Victorian rowhouse near 24th and I Street in NW. Plus, it’s fully decorated because the owners had to leave the country. It’s near George Washington University and Metro-accessible. I’ll be able to lease office space in a secure building nearby when I’m ready to go back to seeing clients full-time.”
“Renee, please don’t do this, Babe. Give me another chance. Just because someone doesn’t love you the way you want them to doesn’t mean they don’t love you with all they have to give. I’m not the type to be overly expressive with my feelings,” he said with a wounded look in his eyes. “You’ve known me long enough to understand that.”
“I know that Bill, and I don’t blame you. But it’s taken me a long time to gain the courage to start becoming the person I want to be. I’m sorry but I can’t go back to the way it was.”
Bill’s facial muscles tensed as he waved his arm about, gesturing at their possessions. “What are you gonna do with all this stuff throughout the entire house?”
“Estate sale. If there’s anything you want, take it. There’s no need for us to argue about material things. The auction’s not scheduled to take place for another two weeks,” said Renee, with decisiveness. “You’ll get half the proceeds from the estate sale as well. I plan to donate the bulk of my half to charity, especially to those groups helping the homeless.”
As if Bill finally realized it was hopeless to argue, his demeanor turned bitter. He got up from the bed. “Since when did you turn into Mother Theresa? Guess I missed your coronation to sainthood. But then you always did think you were better than everybody else,” he sniffed.
“I’m not in the mood for your sarcasm today. You couldn’t begin to understand what I’ve been through these past few days.” Renee inched closer to him, not afraid. “We have other serious issues to discuss and that’s why I called you. I actually want to help you Bill, because I truly don’t believe you have a clue about what you’ve gotten yourself into with Shaw.”
“Again, you seem to enjoy insulting me. So, what the hell is all this about Renee? I had to drop everything to rush over here.”
Renee explained to Bill how she knew that his business partner, Clifton Corbin Shaw, was connected with a known drug lord named Ian Mathias, who the FBI had been investigating for six months. She said that the company Shaw started with seed money is really a front for money laundering. To prove it Renee retrieved the documents she had printed off her computer and handed them to Bill. As he read the company documents, the color drained from his face. “I can’t believe it!” Bill shook his head and clenched the sheath of papers in his fist. “There must be some explanation.” He looked up at Renee. “Huh … How did you get this?”
“Before you left for India you gave my secretary permission to practice setting up a network by connecting both our computers. Do you remember?” When Bill nodded ‘yes’, Renee continued. “My secretary, Brenda has been going through a rough time in her life this past week and in her distraction she forgot to remove the connection or simply didn’t have time.”
“When I had to search through my patient data, I stumbled upon these Techands company documents, which as you can see clearly show that Ian Mathias is the only investor and major stockholder,” said Renee, “and this man is under suspicion by the FBI.”
Bill sat back down on the bed slowly, looking lost and stricken. A film of perspiration settled on top of his mustache. He crushed the papers into a tight mass and hurled it at the wall. He buried his face in his hands and curled himself into a ball. If this was a ploy to get her to feel sorry for him, it was working. She could tell by his reaction that he had no idea what his business partner was involved in. Renee felt relieved that her instincts about her husband had been right. She sat down next to him on the bed and touched his shoulder. She sensed his body tense up under her touch. He straightened his posture to regain control. Renee waited for him to speak.
Bill closed his eyes and spoke just above a whisper. “I’ll write my letter of resignation today. I’ve been so busy training the guys I didn’t pay attention to where the investments were coming from. Once I trained Mahesh to maintain our corporate server, I didn’t bother to go through the records that Shaw stored on the server,” said Bill, thoughtfully. “I’ll think of some excuse without tipping Shaw off that I know he’s just been using me.” Bill’s voice cracked. “He’s been giving off the appearance of running a legitimate company. But really if what you say about our investor is true and I have no reason to believe you’re lying to me, Shaw’s just been stockpiling illegal drug money. No doubt using this money to fund his future political aspirations. Seems you were right about him all along.”
Renee squeezed his hand. With eyes still closed, Bill couldn’t see her nodding in agreement. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open and he grabbed her arm. “Listen to me, Renee. Don’t tell anybody that you know about this connection to illegal activities at Techands. Let the cops or
the FBI or the IRS do their jobs and figure it out for themselves. I don’t want you to get dragged into this mess. It might be dangerous if Shaw and this guy Mathias suspect you know what they’re up to. Do you promise me you’ll stay out of it?” Bill looked at her with a wild-eyed expression.
Renee saw the desperation and fear in his face. He wouldn’t let go of her arm until she agreed not to get involved. “Yes Bill, but even if I don’t go to the authorities, the FBI are close to building their case against Ian Mathias. It won’t take them long to find out about all of Mathias’s associations, including Shaw, you, and Techands. Just quitting Techands won’t be enough,” said Renee, “You have to turn in state’s evidence to show that you weren’t involved and you have to do it without tipping Shaw off. If you suddenly resign, he’ll know something is not right and he’ll get suspicious. What are you going to say to him?” she asked.
Bill stood up and clasped his hands together under his chin. He looked past her in deep reflection for several moments. Then, he spoke. “I don’t want you to worry about that. I’ll say I have to resign for medical reasons. I’m going back to my office in Virginia now to see if I can gather more evidence to turn into the authorities. I think you’re right,” he nodded, “I can’t just sit back and let them figure it out because they will figure it out. And my name will still be associated with Shaw on all the company documents. I need to make sure my recruits aren’t implicated in all this. Maybe I can work out a deal so they can return home to India. Just let me take care of it, Renee. I’m not going to come around here any more because if something goes wrong … well, it’s just better that you stay completely out of it. You know how to get in touch with me if you need me.”
Renee watched as Bill walked out the bedroom and slowly closed the door behind him.
Chapter 35
The tension boiled inside her from the strain she’d been under. Days of unreleased stress had mounted up, beginning with trying to stay strong for Brenda to delivering Billi’s baby into an uncertain, motherless world. On top of those things, losing the homeless woman to childbirth complications. Had Billi not been homeless and afraid to seek prenatal care throughout her pregnancy perhaps she would have survived. Renee thought about the infant she delivered yesterday afternoon and wondered if it would be fair to try to adopt the baby now when her life was so unstable and uncertain.
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