An Inconvenient Marriage

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  “You’re going to leave me here all by myself?” He frowned. He looked sad by the prospect.

  “It will only be until Friday. I know we had planned to go out there this weekend but we’ll have to go out there another time. I want to be there for moral support, especially after the stillbirth of her last baby.”

  “I understand. I’ll miss you while you’re gone. I would go with you if I didn’t have to take care of some business. I have a meeting with Mr. Brothers tomorrow. Then Daniel Riley is due to stop by the house tomorrow and I want to find out what he’s up to. Also, I have to sort through that envelope from Mr. Barnett.”

  “It’s alright, Jake. I don’t expect you to drop everything to spend all your time with me. You have your own life.”

  He shrugged.

  “So I’ll be back Friday afternoon. And don’t worry. I’ll take the back way out of the house so no one will see me wearing pants.” She kissed him before she left. She tried not to let his disappointment affect her but she was glad he would miss her for she would miss him.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Jake went home and noticed how empty the place felt with Sue gone. Though Ralph and Lydia greeted him, it wasn’t the same. Sue definitely had a place in his life that no one else could penetrate. He knew he had a long night looming ahead of him, so he decided he would tackle Mr. Barnett’s envelope. Since Sue was gone, he wouldn’t have to face her while he was upset. Anything associated with his father upset him. He didn’t wish for her to see him like that. After he ate dinner, at a table that seemed unusually long and in a room that was unbearably quiet, he went to his den and shut the door. He glanced at the chair by the fireplace where Sue liked to sit. Everything seemed empty without her. How could one woman change his entire life in one month?

  He went to the painting that hid his safe and took it off the wall. He opened the safe. He removed two boat tickets from his breast pocket. He bought the tickets that day for the trip he planned to take Sue on. He smiled as he put it in the Greece brochure she had collected years ago. He wished to surprise her with it that night but decided it would have to wait. He added his updated will to the pile of papers before turning his attention to the large envelope. He pulled it out and dropped it on his desk. He sat down and dumped its contents out. If we’re going to do it, let’s get it over with.

  He set aside the picture of him and his mother, the picture of him and his father, and the letter he wrote his father so he wouldn’t have to look at those again. He picked up another letter. It was a letter his father had written to his mother two years after he left them. Apparently, his mother had returned it to the post office without opening it. He couldn’t blame her. He reluctantly opened it.

  Dear Rachel and Jake,

  I think of you often, though you will likely not believe me. Every night I go to bed, regretting the pain I caused you, and though I wish I could undo the damage I’ve done, it is too late to turn back. I have set my course with a group of ungodly people who engage in illegal activities. I will not reveal my sins, for in so doing, I might endanger you. These people have killed before and can easily kill again. They are above the law. I wish I could return and try to make things right but I can’t escape from this group. They watch everything I do and control my actions. I will have to make do with the memories I hold dear to my heart. Jake, whatever you do, don’t walk with the ungodly man. His ways seem sweet in the beginning, but the end is death. It’s only a matter of time before I face the consequences of my decision. Please forgive me. I will not be able to write again.

  My love will continue for you both,

  Peter Mitchell

  Jake put the letter aside and took out a newspaper article. It was just like Trevor said. If he went through the bad stuff fast enough, it wouldn’t be as painful. The article described a band of robberies taking place across Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Illinois where jewelry store owners were waking up to find their inventory gone. That was obviously my father’s crime. He recalled his father’s confession in the letter Mr. Barnett gave him at the reading of the will. His father had mentioned confessing his crime to the police. The loot was hidden in the basement of the cabin he used to take Jake and his mother to before he walked out on them.

  Jake unfolded a Wanted poster of two men. It was posted ten years ago. The man in one picture was very young. He couldn’t have been more than thirty. He had blond hair and a thick beard. Jake stared at him for a long moment. The man’s name was Brian Silverman. He looked familiar to Jake, but Jake had no idea where he might have seen him before. The second man in the poster, Leonard Silverman, was probably sixty. Obviously, Leonard and Brian were father and son. What a lovely family reunion it must be with these two men in the family. Setting the poster down, he picked up another letter written to his father the year before and unfolded it.

  Peter,

  It’s not right to rob your friends of their rightful due. I have been a patient man but my patience is wearing out. My father was stupid when he agreed to let you hide the jewels without telling me its location. Where are they, Peter? You have made an honest living with your clothing factories and breeding horses, but I can easily expose your past. You don’t want your son to find out what kind of man you really are, do you?

  Brian

  So that’s where I fit into all of this, Jake thought. Well, his father’s secret was out in the open now.

  Finally, Jake came upon a sealed letter that his father had instructed Mr. Barnett to give Jake after his death. Attached to the small envelope was a brief note from the lawyer, “I’m sorry I didn’t get this to you sooner, Jake. I just got through getting rid of all your father’s belongings and saw these items that might be of interest to you. Your father had a lot of enemies, and the one searching for the stolen jewels has a criminal history of killing people who get in his way. I suspect he was responsible for suffocating your father in the hospital.”

  Jake opened the envelope, relieved this was the last piece of information in the large envelope.

  Dear Jake,

  I heard you are doing well in Virginia. You managed to honorably climb your way to the top of the social ladder in your society. Unfortunately, this makes you an easy target. A man cannot live his life in sin and not expect the consequences to catch up with him. In this case, those consequences may pass onto you. I was a greedy man in my younger days. I thought money would make me happy. When I was married to your mother, we lost everything we owned due to a poor financial decision I made with Leonard Silverman. It was a get rich quick scheme that didn’t work. You had just turned ten when I discovered my error. I didn’t tell your mother I lost everything. Instead, I agreed to join Leonard on his train robberies in exchange for some money for you and your mother.

  I sold my soul, though at the time it seemed like I had no other option. I should have told your mother. She would have been upset but we would have worked through it. But I took the easy way out. I became Leonard’s slave. He, Brian and I made a lot more than half a million dollars in jewelry robberies. The half a million dollars was only what I hid from them. They also had other dealings on the side. Apparently, they blew their amounts and went broke. Brian was a latecomer to our team, but he’s nastier than his father. I have no doubt he’ll be coming for me once he learns of my heart attack. I am now confined to a hospital bed and he will come asking about the jewelry that belongs to me, his father and him. I already turned the information over to the police and they have uncovered it. I wrote you before about hiding the jewels in the cabin we used to go to in Michigan before your mother took you to Virginia to be with her parents after I left you two.

  Her parents died shortly after your arrival and she raised you by herself. I kept an eye on you both as you grew up. I loved you both but couldn’t risk going back. Leonard and Brian would’ve used you as leverage to gain information about the secret hiding place of the jewels and I was too greedy to hand the jewels to them. There is no honor among thieves. I fear that once I d
ie, Brian will come looking for you. In this envelope I have included Brian’s letter in which he confessed to his crimes. He gives a list of names of the people he has killed and the places he robbed. He even signed it. It was his way to threaten me but I kept it in case I could track him down and turn him over to the police. I have already confessed to them but what can they do to a man on his death bed? God has already sentenced me. Anyway, Brian’s picture is in the Wanted poster and you have his written confession attached to this letter. Take both to the police if he finds you.

  I have instructed Mr. Barnett to go through my belongings upon my death and send you everything marked with a circle in the top right corner. He is to make sure the package you receive has an urgent message on it so you will take it seriously. I wanted to warn you before Brian returns. He promised to come back later this week, and when I tell him about my confession to the police, he won’t believe me. Then he will probably look for you. Be on the lookout for Brian and notify the police once he finds you. He’s not one to be messed with. I’m sorry to have given you this legacy.

  Sincerely,

  Your father Peter Mitchell

  Jake sighed with relief. He stared at Brian’s picture to memorize his face before he put everything back into the envelope and put it all back into the safe. He put the painting back up and went back to his desk. He didn’t wish to dwell on the contents of what he just read, so he took out some paperwork and tried to finish it up before his meeting with Mr. Brothers who was due to come in the next afternoon. He read through the same sentence a couple of times when he realized what was wrong. He kept looking at the chair by the fire and expecting to see Sue reading. She would glance up at him once in awhile and smile at him. He felt special when she smiled at him. He couldn’t wait for Friday. Maybe I’ll skip the dance again. It would be more fun to enjoy her on that bearskin rug than to go to the dance to do business, even if I would spend most of the night dancing with her. He realized he wouldn’t get any work done that night, so he put the paperwork back in the drawer and went to bed. He could finish it the next morning.

  ***

  The next morning passed by swiftly as he finished getting ready for Mr. Brothers’ arrival. He went to lunch by himself but hardly tasted his food. He returned to work and saw Justin with his wife and kids. Once again, the kids were hanging all over him. This time, Jake smiled and walked into his office. When Mr. Brothers arrived, he gave him the tour of his bank and discussed business. They shook hands and Mr. Brothers left.

  Justin came by his office. “How did it go?”

  “Very well,” Jake replied. “Everything is set. We have officially become a major competitor to George Leroy’s bank.”

  “Speaking of him...” Justin closed the office door and sat down. “No one has seen him since last Friday.”

  “Who’s in charge of the bank while he’s gone?”

  “Mr. Edwards but he has no idea where George is. George didn’t even tell him he was going to be gone.”

  “Does George’s wife know where he is?”

  “No. She went to the police, but they think he’s off with his mistress on a vacation.”

  “He’s always announced such plans in the past. It’s not like hid his affairs.” Jake couldn’t stand the man, and that was one of the top reasons. Why does his wife put up with it? I couldn’t imagine doing that to Sue.

  “The mistress that we do know about doesn’t know where he is either.”

  “Maybe we scared him out of town,” Jake joked. “Anyway, he’s a grown man. I’m sure he can take care of himself.”

  Justin shrugged. “I suppose he’ll show up soon and act like nothing happened. Alright. I better go home. I’m having a dinner party tonight. Care to come?”

  Jake cringed. “You know I hate those things.”

  “True. But you used to hate a lot of things before Sue came along.”

  “Dinner parties are something we both don’t like.”

  “You two were made for each other.”

  “Even if I did want to go, I have to see Daniel Riley at six. He’s coming over to discuss terms on courting Sue after our annulment.”

  “Are you still going through with an annulment?”

  Jake shrugged. He didn’t wish to answer that question until he verified that Sue wanted to stay in the marriage.

  “You are a hard man to get through to. I’ll have to do something about that.”

  Jake chuckled as Justin left and finished the final paperwork for the day. It was only Wednesday. Sue will be back in two days. If I could wait for thirty-five years for her, I can wait two days.

  Once he closed up the bank and went home, he got ready for Daniel Riley’s visit. He wasn’t looking forward to it. He ate dinner before the man arrived. He didn’t want Daniel Riley to stay any longer than necessary. When six o’clock came, Daniel arrived and Ralph brought him into the parlor. Jake rarely used the parlor but hoped the formal atmosphere it provided would lead to a short visit.

  He sat across from him in a chair and looked at him. “What would you like to discuss, Mr. Riley?”

  Daniel grinned as he sat in the other chair. “I notice Sue isn’t here. Wouldn’t she be interested in this conversation?”

  Jake didn’t like the way the man snickered when he said Sue’s name. Henry had told him what happened between her and Daniel in the library and it disgusted him. “As her husband, I think it’s my right to talk to you alone first.”

  “Is she out of town? That’s why she isn’t here, isn’t it? Otherwise, I’d be getting one of her special homemade dinners.”

  Jake hid his aggravation. Instead, he calmly said, “Is that why you came here? To discuss her whereabouts?”

  He waved his hand. “No. I don’t care where she’s at. I want to know where she got the money.”

  “Where do you think she got it from?”

  He snapped his fingers at him. “You’re a clever man, Mr. Mitchell. You answered my question with another question. That’s a good tactic but it won’t throw me off the track.”

  Something about the man bothered Jake, though he couldn’t put his finger on it. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I simply wish to find out what you’re doing here.”

  “I can see why you have a reputation for being such a good businessman. Tell me, is Sue as pretty with her clothes off as she is with them on?”

  “What?” The question infuriated him.

  “I got a good look at her while she was putting a book away on the top shelf. I tell you, I wouldn’t mind having my way with her.”

  “Get to the point of your visit.” Jake grabbed the handle of the chair so he wouldn’t punch the man.

  “That sure got you riled up. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you love her. And love is a powerful bargaining chip.”

  He just threatened Sue. Jake forced himself to stay still.

  Daniel laughed. “I bet it didn’t take much to concoct your scheme to get your father’s inheritance by marrying her. Now, how did you two manage to collect all that money?”

  Calm down. Keep a cool head. That’s the first rule of business. He took a deep breath and relaxed. “Mr. Riley, I grow tired of these games. It’s not Sue you’re after and we both know it. So get to the point already or Ralph will throw you out.”

  “I want to know where your father got his money from.”

  Jake hid his surprise. He’s not Daniel Riley. He’s Brian Silverman. He shrugged. “How should I know? He abandoned me and my mother when I was ten. I haven’t heard from him since.”

  “So how did you find out about your inheritance?”

  “How do you think I found out about it?”

  “You’re doing it again. But it won’t work. How did you find out about your inheritance?”

  “I’m not saying. Is there anything else you wish to ask?”

  “We’ve been dancing around this topic long enough, don’t you think?”

  “I don’t know what topic you are referring to. I
thought you were here to talk about Sue.”

  Jake didn’t like the way the man sneered at the mention of her name. He decided on a different tactic since Brian had figured out that Sue meant something to him.

  “You know what. You’re right,” Jake said as if nothing bothered him. “She’s alright to look at but she’s a cold fish. You can have her. All I care about is collecting the rest of my inheritance in May. Just tell me your address and I’ll send her to you on May 21. After all, she’s used goods now anyway.” He hated saying those words but he hoped it would throw Brian off balance. And he was right.

  “That money belongs to me! I helped your father steal those jewels.” As soon as he spoke, he realized his mistake.

  “Ralph!” Jake called out.

  “This isn’t the end of it, Mr. Mitchell. I will come back for what’s mine,” Brian hissed before he quickly headed out of the house.

  Jake jumped up and ran after him. He knocked him to the floor in front of the door and punched him in the jaw. That’s for Sue, you pervert! “Ralph!” he yelled.

  Brian struggled to get away from him. “You can’t hold me here.”

  Jake grabbed him by his shirt collar. “I got your confession and I have no problem turning you in, Brian Silverman.”

  Someone hit Jake on the back of the head and he collapsed on the floor into unconsciousness. By the time he woke up, the police were talking to Ralph and Lydia. Jake groaned and sat up on the couch in the parlor.