The Outsider

by K'Anne Meinel

  Knowing it would be several days before she heard back from the accountants on the audit, she informed the hotel she would be staying longer. She also checked out other sights to visit.

  “Would you like to see the Alamo?” she was asked.

  Wrinkling her nose and shaking her head, they tried again. She was not interested in the site where so many men were slaughtered, even if it was a historical site. She had seen many such historical sites in Europe, and while she knew her history and knew the Alamo was important, it just did not appeal.

  “You should do the loop tour one day,” the concierge recommended.

  “What’s the loop tour?” she asked, intrigued.

  “Well, it’s not actually a circle,” he confessed with a laugh as he outlined a four-hour tour, which could take longer if she wanted.

  First, she was to go to Jacob’s well. He showed her a brochure which explained that it was a spring in Hays County, an hour or so southwest of Austin. “If you go near the towns of Wimberly and Dripping Springs, it’s not hard to find,” he explained as he pointed it out on the map. He went on to explain that the well was fed by the Trinity Aquifer before it spilt into Cypress Creek. “Now, I wouldn’t swim in it this close to spring, it’ll be colder than a…” he looked up, saw the lady he was addressing, and swallowed the rest of the expression. “It’ll just be cold,” he finished lamely. He then explained that some more adventurous souls had leapt from a nearby outcropping. “It is supposed to go more than one hundred feet deep.” He showed pictures of people in scuba gear diving in the beautiful pool. “It is forbidden by the Hays County Park Department, so I wouldn’t advise it. The current is strong and about 8-9 people have lost their lives,” he warned. “Still, it’s a beautiful part of the loop and if the weather gets hot, which it does around here—to well over one hundred degrees—it’s a beautiful and cool place to stop.

  “Next we have Hamilton Pool Natural Reserve,” he went on, showing her another brochure. His enthusiasm was infectious and Joy was really enjoying herself.

  Apparently, it was a nature preserve in Travis County. It was located three-quarters of a mile upstream from the Pedernales River. Hamilton Creek spilled out over limestone outcroppings that created a fifty-foot waterfall. “That canyon takes some getting into,” he looked down at the relatively short, but spikey heels Joy was wearing. “Do you have hiking boots?”

  Joy laughed as she shook her head, but she could get some.

  “Sometimes the waterfall is a mere trickle, but with it being spring you should have a fairly good show,” he continued. “You have to get there early as they only allow a set number of visitors and then they close it down. It’s probably too cold to swim there, but by the end of summer it’s a popular attraction if you can get in.” He showed pictures of the collapsed grotto that was the natural pool and that alone was beautiful enough for any adventure seeker. “If you are lucky, you can get a guided tour with the preserve staff,” he informed her in a conspiratorial manner as he got into telling her about the loop tour he hoped she would take. By her enthusiasm, he was certain she would do it. He showed her a picture of the pool. It was jade green and the waterfall flowing into it was just lovely. The large slabs of limestone surrounding the pool looked inviting for the visitors to sit on and he showed her internet pictures of people doing just that. There were other pictures of large stalactites growing from the ceiling, moss covering the ceiling along with ferns and plenty of cliff swallows. “Have to watch out for those swallow’s droppings. They’ve closed the pool a few times because of the bacteria.” They both wrinkled their noses at the thought.

  “And I can do both these places in one day?” she asked in wonder, intrigued by both the places he had told her about.

  “You can do all these places in about four hours, longer if you take your time,” he repeated his earlier statement, “but all of them in one day for certain,” he assured her.

  “Now, for Enchanted Rock, which is in Fredericksburg,” he told her enthusiastically, warming to his subject.

  Joy was thrilled with the ideas and later went out to buy some hiking boots and appropriate clothing. The REI store had everything she needed and she enjoyed spending the money. After seeing what both Jacob’s Well and Hamilton Pool had to show her, she went on to Enchanted Rock. It was this enormous granite batholith. It reminded her a little of Ayer’s Rock in Australia, which she had not seen personally, just in pictures. The same dome-like rock formation. She found it fascinating that the native legends had named it “Spirit Song Rock.” According to the legends, it was a holy portal to other worlds. She did not know if reading about that put the thought in her mind, but she definitely felt a chill going up her spine as she explored and hiked around the rock. There just seemed to be a presence there. Not being a spiritual person, Joy had not attended church regularly since she was a child with her parents. She had attended a few times with her friends over the years for weddings, funerals and such, but nothing that would define her as a church-going person. So these feelings, and something else she couldn’t define, unnerved her.

  She was careful to climb the rock with good intentions because one of the legends clearly stated that bad fortune and death would befall anyone who climbed the rock with bad intentions. It couldn’t hurt to be prepared. Besides, she was having such a good time and in such a great mood, that her worries were long past.

  Her next stop on the loop tour, where she was enjoying her day out enormously, was the Natural Bridge Caverns. Apparently, they were the largest known commercial caverns in Texas. Again, limestone appeared to make these scenic wonders. A sixty-foot slab bridge, which spanned a natural amphitheater was what gave the cavern its name. A sinkhole collapsed below it. Not knowing what a speleothem was, she had to read up on it when she came across the word. It meant a secondary deposit of the minerals that formed the beautiful cavern. She felt they could have used an easier name for it. The rainwater that helped create the caverns made for a dank excursion, but she did not feel it was too cool after her previous hikes. She found out the caverns she could see were not even the full cavern since more was still being explored and found. She found that intriguing, but she needed to continue with her hikes and exploration of the ‘loop’ she was performing that day.

  Overall, she felt the hikes were worthwhile and she had worked herself up to such a good sweat that visiting the next spot, Cormal River, was fantastic. Some enterprising person rented out tubes so you could float down the river and enjoy yourself. She found herself sun worshipping as she cooled off in the river. The flumes, and by contrast the lazy river aspect of it, meant she was not going to make her loop in the four-hour time frame she had been told to expect. She nearly fell asleep in the hot Texas sun, a mistake that her slightly red skin later let her know about.

  Finally, she went to The Gristmill in Gruene. It was the last destination that had been recommended on her loop. Situated on a bluff, the authentic cotton gin was now a famous historical restaurant. The view of the Guadalupe River was fantastic. Many famous faces had appeared there over the years, or so the website told her. Joy saw no one famous, but she loved the atmosphere and the friendly Texans as well as the good, wholesome food. It was truly a pleasurable end to a fantastic day. She considered repeating it in the time she was there awaiting the results of the audits.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  It had taken a while and finally the accountants were ready with the audits they had for Joy. She sat down with them, not allowing her lawyer or her investment broker in on the meeting. As a result, they did not get the information first hand. When Joy requested that both firms fire specific individuals and was first refused at Annette’s firm, she immediately withdrew her funds, much to the dismay of the long-time broker. The millions had been a cornerstone of her investments for her clients and had given her a freedom to make a lot of money for herself as well as her clients, including Joy. Joy next asked Lenora if she would fire the clerk that had leaked her will as well as worke
d with the man in Annette’s firm to divert the funds earmarked for the charities in Milwaukee and elsewhere. In her meeting with Lenora she asked point blank what she was going to do, at Lenora’s momentary hesitation, her gut instincts kicked in and she fired the attorney on the spot.

  The next day, a firm out of Dallas that Joy had hired on retainer ‘just in case’ filed federal papers on the investment firm as well as the law firm. The papers had been drawn up long before and only needed the audit to confirm suspicions. A multi-million dollar lawsuit was in order.

  Lenora Abner was aghast. Not only that someone in her firm had given out a copy of their most valuable client’s preliminary will, but they had actively diverted funds in collusion with someone at her ex-girlfriend, Annette Whitley’s firm. Reaching Annette on the phone, the two old lovers discussed what they had learned.

  “I had no idea,” Annette protested. She had audited her own firm’s books long ago, but the clerk had covered her tracks well as she did a kind of pyramid scheme to hide her illegal activities. What really worried Annette was if or rather when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would get involved. She had no doubt that Joy Parker and her firm in Dallas would destroy her.

  “We are going to be crucified on this,” Lenora told her. Already, Duncan was livid, along with the other partners. When word of this got out, and it would, their firm would lose all its clients. They were ruined.

  Annette asked out of curiosity and desperation, “Know someone good who can defend me?”

  Lenora laughed at the incongruity of the question, but she did recommend someone for her ex. Their firm also had to hire outside defense lawyers. Joy Parker was not messing around and as it was now filed in Federal Court, it was going to be a helluva big deal. She was not just suing the individual firms, but each of the partners involved. In this case Lenora herself as well as Annette. It would be in the papers tomorrow.

  “No chance of settling this?” Annette hoped desperately.

  “No, the little kid grew up and she isn’t playing around. I knew when she kept insisting on certain details in the will and the trusts, that kid was sharp. Now, she’s a force to be reckoned with. And that firm in Dallas are hell on wheels. We will be lucky to get out with our skin intact.”

  Joy’s new representation, a team of lawyers who were anxious for the millionairess’ business, also had applied to freeze all the assets of the partners and the clerks involved. The court, realizing what was involved and seeing the initial evidence against all the parties, granted the request temporarily.

  Joy checked out of the hotel knowing that the lawyers in Dallas would keep her informed; they were most anxious to keep her happy. She did not mind that, and they had her cell phone number if they needed to call. She wanted to see the actual results of what her funds should have done back in Milwaukee once again. The private investigator the firm had hired already had pictures, but not from the inside as none of the shelters would let him in to photograph the people Joy had intended to help. For some reason, Joy felt compelled to go and take pictures herself. Going back to Milwaukee did not thrill her, she would rather go back to her apartment in Paris and forget about this distasteful episode. She really did not need the money that had been misdirected, but it was the principle of the matter that pissed her off. She did not want either Lenora or Annette to go to prison for what people inside their respective firms had done; however, the firm in Dallas had convinced her to go after everyone in order to recover her monies and to send a message to anyone else that may have thought to rip her off.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  This time, in Milwaukee Joy did not rent an expensive Mercedes. In fact, she did not stay at the Pfister. She instead found a long-term hotel to stay in and bought a used car from a lot. It barely ran, which she found frustrating and its rust was what held it together, but it suited her purposes to stay lowkey. Paying cash for both the car and the hotel aroused no suspicions. The hotel did not have daily maid service and that matched her purposes too as she hid her expensive luggage and clothing in the room. It had a kitchenette if she wanted to fix her own meals. In fact, many people lived there indefinitely. After a trip to a couple of Salvation Army stores, Joy took the clothing she had purchased to a laundromat and started wearing it. It was vastly different from the fine names she had been wearing and it chafed her skin. It had been years since she had worn clothes such as these. In fact, these were better than some of the things she wore when she lived on the streets. It did, however allow her to remain unnoticed where she was going.

  She stopped washing her nice hair and after a couple of days it felt a little greasy, but that suited her needs.

  Something that took a couple days and really began to disgust her was stopping the use of antiperspirant. She exacerbated the ‘problem’ by taking long walks during the day to kill time, be seen, and work up a sweat in her clothing. It took no time at all to begin smelling sweaty.

  It had been many days by the time Joy felt ‘ready’ to infiltrate the shelters and use the button camera she had purchased at a ‘spy store.’ This find delighted her as she learned to use it. She left her computer hidden between the mattress and box spring of her bed along with her identification. She still had her old driver’s license, which she resembled more each day. She had arranged a new passport to be sent in care of her new bank office, but she wouldn’t need that for a while.

  Joy felt some trepidation as she approached the first of the three shelters she intended to infiltrate. She suddenly realized this could actually be dangerous. It was not as if she couldn’t have had the private investigator she hired do what she was about to do, but for some reason, she wanted to do it herself; something was compelling her to do it. It was as though no one else could do the job for her and she must see it for herself. After all, who knew it better than she did?

  As she stood in line in the hopes of getting a bed that night, she felt guilty that she might be taking it from someone who really needed it. All she could to justify it was to hope the new firm, who was already working out the trust fund so it would do what she wanted in the first place, would soon get the funds to these shelters and start on the two new ones. She owned the land. That had not been fraudulently taken from her. She paid the taxes on it, but no buildings had ever been built. She had altered the trust on those particular sites to include a community center. She would be giving back to the very communities she was building a shelter for. The kids could still play basketball on the one. She had even directed them to put in gardens and teach children how to grow their own vegetables. She had also stated she wanted state of the art solar panels and even wind power if they could get the city to sign off on the plan. They’d offer scholarships and work with the local schools in their communities if this worked out the way she had planned.

  When they asked her name, she gave it as Joy, but wouldn’t give a last name. She had been startled into telling the truth. She had not thought far enough ahead to lie about her name. She hoped that wouldn’t bite her in the butt.

  “Have you been here before, Joy?” the woman asked gently, seeing her agitation and misunderstanding it.

  “Yes, but not in a long time,” she answered, almost in a whisper. That too was honest. Driving by in a Mercedes was not the same as coming here, eating here, or sleeping here. Seeing how many street people had mental disorders, how many women were trying to raise their kids with very little hope, or even watching the men with their young children, was heartbreaking. It was why Joy wanted to give back to this community. This had been her life for so long. For many, it was their only life.

  The woman looked at Joy. Her face was clean, more so than most who came here. Even her clothes, while old and mismatched, looked clean. Then, she looked at the woman’s hands. The manicure was very out of place. Still, they did not turn anyone away unless they got violent or were a problem. Fortunately, those were few and far between. She wondered if the woman had just come down on her luck or what her story was. She looked very
unsure of herself. Still, she let her come into the shelter. A short time later they had to stop letting people in as they were full for the night. Some who had realized they had come too late had already drifted away. Others hurried to try and get into another shelter for the night, and still others resigned themselves to sleep on the streets for another night…subject to cops or thieves who might take it upon themselves to hurt them, or worse.

  Joy walked inside what was essentially a large auditorium. At one time, she thought it must have been a type of school with walls taken down in some parts, but this large area, that might have been a gymnasium. The soup she held out her bowl for was weak and distasteful; she barely ate it and ended up pushing it across the table to another woman she chose who had a child with her. The woman was thankful for the extra bowl that night.

  Some shelters were run by churches and Joy had been careful to avoid those even when she was using shelters regularly. She did not need to be preached to as though the sins of the world were on her poor soul. She also did not want to be saved. She believed in God and she believed in a higher being, but she did not believe in structured religion…not anymore…not after what life had hurled at her. As she altered her stride, concentrating on a more shuffling gate rather than her long-legged one, she glanced around and saw the woman with the clipboard who had let her in at the door looking at her inquiringly.

  Robyn Riley volunteered at the shelter three times a week. She was also paid by the state to give free counseling at state-funded centers within the city. That was her day job. Helping at the shelter made her feel good about the job she had landed after college. Her original goal had been to be a psychologist, but when she did some ‘on the job’ training in college for her degree she had fallen in love with the concept of helping those less fortunate. She never had a moment’s hesitation about lending a hand. With her degree, she was able to get a good job, but this, this was where she really used it.