26-04-2019, 01:51 PM
THE CONSPIRACY
LAST PART
I left work shortly thereafter and went home. The house was empty. We had a small room that was used as an office of sorts. It had our home computer, a desk, and a small filing cabinet. I sat at the desk for several minutes with a cold Fosters, trying to figure out what to do. It is disturbing to say the least, to know that someone wants you dead. I am a good guy. I never screwed over anyone. Why would anyone wish for my demise? I thought my marriage was good. Darcy never really complained about anything. I gave her a nice house, a good car, a batch of credit cards, and two beautiful children. What else could she want?
Darcy took care of all the household bills. She took care of the checkbook. She paid the utilities, car payments, mortgages, credit cards, and insurance policies. Insurance? Insurance? Just on a whim I pulled the insurance folder.
Like most young couples, we were terribly under insured. When you are young, you don't think about the possibility of death. I had a small insurance policy, thorugh work, for $50,000. Other than that, the only coverage I had was the home mortgage insurance that Darcy insisted on. If I died, the house would be hers, free and clear. It was cheap, because I was still young, so I had it added to the mortgage payment.
I never went into the file cabinet or the checkbook. Darcy knew that, and it turned out to be her mistake. She was meticulous. Her bank account always was right, to the penny. She always knew where every file and receipt was.
The mortgage payment included the cost for the homeowners insurance, so there was never a receipt for that. My insurance from work was a payroll deduction. Why were there two receipts for $150 each, in the same month, made out to Republic National Insurance?
I never dealt with that company, and I had no knowledge of any insurance policies with them. I put the receipts in my pocket and kept looking. Nothing else unusual came up.
Darcy kept papers on everything. It was a compulsive thing with her. I felt that this was something, that I was not supposed to know about, but she was not able to help herself. She had to keep the proof of the payment, to satisfy her compulsion.
I called the Mercer house. Emily had the kids and said Darcy was shopping. She was friendly but evasive. I called Darcy's cell phone but it was turned off. Interesting. I decided to go for lunch and then do some investigating.
"Robert Evans, fancy seeing you here. What can I do for you?"
The lady behind the customer service desk at Republican National Insurance was Debbie Martin, or at least that was her name when we went to high college together. She had her own private office, and the desk nameplate said D. Reynolds. I remembered her because she was the only girl who ever asked me out. Although everyone knew that Darcy and I were a couple, she asked anyway, just in case. Of course I turned her down. Her hair was cropped very close with an auburn tint. She had a good tan and her make-up was perfect.
"Well how are you Debbie? Haven't seen you since high college, and we live in the same town."
"Well and kicking. It's good to see you again. Sorry to hear about your marriage."
Now she really got my attention. What was she sorry to hear about? I had a strong feeling that something was going on, and this random comment by a woman I had not seen in several years just intensified it. I could not, and did not reply to what Debbie had just said. She picked up on this immediately.
"Oh shit. I'm sorry as hell. Forget I said anything Bob. I was way out of line. Sometimes my mouth gets away from me." Debbie was tripping all over herself trying to undo what could not be undone. She said it and I remembered it.
I finally broke the awkward point by asking the question I came to find the answer for. "Can you tell me what these receipts are for?"
She took them from my hand and seemed relieved that I had chosen not to pursue the previous discussion. After a few clicks on the keyboard she sighed, and gave me a pathetic look.
"Bob, I hate to say this, but it seems as if this reunion is going downhill at a rapid rate." I didn't reply. She clicked a few more keys and then leaned back in her chair.
"Do you know a man named Phillip Chase?"
"No, can't say that I do. Is there some reason I should know him?"
Debbie reached around and rummaged though some magazines on the credenza on the side of her desk. She made her selection and opened it. "That's Phillip Chase. Have you ever seen him before?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact I have. He was at a Bar-B-Q that my neighbors gave about six months ago. I remember him quite well, because I felt he was paying too much attention to my wife. I even remember commenting about it to Darcy, at the time. What does he have to do with this?"
Debbie got up and closed her office door. After returning to her desk, she leaned forward and looked straight into my eyes. Her friendly demeanor had turned serious. It was obvious that she didn't want to say what had to be said.
"Darcy has been having lunch with Phillip Chase a couple times a week for the last three months. Sometimes they are long lunches. Phillip has dropped a few remarks to his co-workers, that they are planning to be married in the near future. Nobody else in the company knows Darcy, except me. I knew she was married, and I knew it was to you. That's why I mis-spoke when I first saw you. I assumed that this was something you knew about, and that you were here to settle some insurance questions related to a pending divorce. I apologize for being insensitive."
"Do you know this guy?"
"We work in the same building and for the same company. I always thought he was an asshole, and never understood what Darcy saw in him, especially since she had you."
I found the last part of that comment to be interesting.
"What were the receipts for?"
"Technically, you should know. About a month ago you took out two quarter million dollar, term, life insurance policies. This was the initial payment on those policies. That is the maximum amount you could get on those policies, without a physical. Both policies are double indemnity in case of accidental death. That's a cool million dollars. From the look on your face I am guessing you knew nothing about this."
"Just curious. Who was the agent that wrote these policies for me?"
Debbie glanced at the screen quickly. "Surprise, surprise. It was your favorite insurance man, Phillip Chase."
"I assume, I had to sign something at sometime?"
Debbie turned the screen so that we could both see it, and then paged to both documents. The signature looked like mine and amazingly enough, in both places were exactly the same, as if it were a copy or some type of facsimile.
We both sat and looked at each other. She was waiting for me to say something and I didn't know what to say. Finally, I reached into my coat pocket and slid Daniel Greene's card across to her.
"Can you call this guy and explain to him what is going on? I am afraid if I do it, some of the credibility will be lost."
Debbie looked at the card and back at me." Something else is going on here, isn't it Bob?"
"Yeah, I am afraid so." As I got up to leave, she asked one last question. "Am I going to see you again?"
I thought about the question a long time. I guess it was only a fraction of a second in real time, but it went deeper in my mind.
"Professionally or socially?"
"Either."
I gestured to the nameplate on her desk. "What about Mister Reynolds?"
"He is long gone."
We were both smiling as I walked out the door.
It was still early in the afternoon when I arrived at the empty house. I plopped myself down in my comfy chair, with a longneck, and thought about the situation, and the afternoon. It became clear that Darcy met Phillip at the party the Mercers gave. Where did they know Phillip from, and why did they invite him? How come I never saw him at any functions or parties after that? How did Darcy and Phillip become so close in such a short time? How close were they? It seemed like there were more questions than answers at this point. I decided to switch to coffee, when the doorbell rang. Things would get a little clearer now.
It was a messenger envelope, addressed to Darcy and marked "personal." After a bit of squabbling, the delivery guy let me sign for it.
It was one of those envelopes that could not be opened without totally destroying it. I sat at the kitchen table with the envelope and a new cup of coffee.
A razor blade and a bottle of rubber cement was all I need to solve the envelope problem. The contents of the envelope are what really bothered me. After a quick glance, at the legal-sized document, I went into the den and fired up the computer and the scanner. Five minutes later, Detective Greene had a copy of the document on his e-mail. I am sure that information obtained this way, does not conform to all the complex legal requirements nowadays, but I just waited him to have the information.
The document was full of complicated legal terms, and came from a law firm, about fifty miles from home. It was a legal agreement for William and Emily Mercer to adopt the twins. Darcy relinquished all parental rights to the girls, and gave them to the Mercers, lock, stock, and barrel. Nowhere in the document was my name or any reference to me at all. It was as if I didn't exist. A lot of things became clearer now. I was now sure that I had to be a little more careful about having accidents.
I left Darcy a note saying that I had to go out of town for a few days, on business. I was sure she would see it, because it was on top of her specially delivered envelope. I checked one last time to be certain that there was no indication it had been opened. I was looking forward to a few nights in a motel.
Daniel Greene was waiting for me when I arrived at work the next day. He was all smiles.
"I like it when things come together."
"I hope I was at least a little helpful."
"It really helped when we were able to put a name to the finger prints we found, on your car fender. I just wanted to let you know that we are planning on bringing in all four people for questioning this morning. We don't think Bill Mercer is involved, but have to question him, to make sure. You might want to arrange to have someone to sit with your daughters, if it becomes necessary. My officers hate to baby sit."
"I wasn't actually hurt. What can you charge them with?"
"Your wife and Mister Chase will be charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Emily Mercer will probably be charged as an accessory to the same charge. They won't do a lot of time, but it might have saved your life. That is important to me, and worth the effort."
"Can your people bring my daughters here to the office?"
"I don't see that to be a problem."
About thirty minutes after detective Greene left, Debbie Reynolds showed up at my office.
"Hi Bob. I hope you don't mind an unannounced visit. Your security officer lieutenant suggested that you might need a sitter for your girls. I took the rest of the day off, just in case. I also wanted to let you know, that you are now officially under-insured. I voided out your two double indemnity policies. You really should consider getting more life insurance."
I was glad to see Debbie and welcomed the frivolity she brought with her.
"I'm glad you came. The girls probably won't be here for a while, so you can tell me all about the mysterious Mister Reynolds."
The twins didn't show up for another hour. Debbie had plenty of time to tell me about her disastrous marriage. She also told me about several attempts she made to split up Darcy and me, while we were still in high college. Of course I was oblivious to it all, but apparently Darcy was aware of her attempts.
Debbie got along with the girls even better than Emily did. In a matter of minutes, I was totally out of the picture. They were a handful at their age, so I was relieved to have the help. Two hours later I got a call from Darcy.
"Robert. I am in trouble. There has been a big mistake, and I need you to come down to the security officer station and post my bail."
"Post bail? Post bail for what? What were you arrested for?"
"It's complicated, Bob. I'll explain it when you get here. Can you get here soon?"
"Gee Darcy. I am sort of stuck here at the office. I'll call your parents. I am sure they will be able to help you out."
"No Bob. Don't call my parents. They won't understand. You have to come down here. Please hurry." I didn't respond. "Bob? Are you there, Bob? What is wrong? Are you coming down?"
"No Darcy, I am not coming down. I'll call your parents for you. Good bye." She was still pleading, as I hung up the phone.
Darcy's parents insisted on knowing what she was in jail for, and I repeatedly refused to answer them. Reluctantly, they finally agreed to go get her. I told them to take her to their house, and I would have her things sent over as soon as possible. I got the feeling they understood that it was a domestic problem.
Debbie volunteered to take the girls to Chucky Cheese, while I went home to pack up Darcy's things. I packed fast and put the bags and boxes on the front porch, as they were filled. Just as I was finishing up, Darcy and her parents arrived. Darcy was crying and stayed in the car with her mother, as her father and I loaded her things in the trunk. It only took a few minutes. Darcy's father shook my hand and said he and his wife were sorry for the trouble Darcy had caused. It was short, but sincere. I appreciated it.
Phillip Chase skipped bail, but wasn't gone too long. Darcy was more than willing to exchange knowledge of his where-abouts for a reduced sentence. Bill Mercer had no idea what Emily and Darcy were up to. He never knew that Emily had fixed Darcy up with Chase. Bill was not charged with anything. Emily got a two-year sentence, and will probably be out in one. Bill filed for divorce.
Darcy got three to five years for conspiracy to commit murder. She will probably be out in two. Apparently, Phillip and Darcy were going to go to Europe with the money from the insurance and sale of the house. Phillip ended up with five to eight years. My divorce will be final in two more months.
The twins will be starting college this year, and I will have to hire a full time nanny. My relationship with Debbie is slowly getting stronger. She has mentioned that she is willing to quit work and become a full time mom and wife, if I am willing. I guess I should have gone to the prom with her at college.
(THE END)
LAST PART
I left work shortly thereafter and went home. The house was empty. We had a small room that was used as an office of sorts. It had our home computer, a desk, and a small filing cabinet. I sat at the desk for several minutes with a cold Fosters, trying to figure out what to do. It is disturbing to say the least, to know that someone wants you dead. I am a good guy. I never screwed over anyone. Why would anyone wish for my demise? I thought my marriage was good. Darcy never really complained about anything. I gave her a nice house, a good car, a batch of credit cards, and two beautiful children. What else could she want?
Darcy took care of all the household bills. She took care of the checkbook. She paid the utilities, car payments, mortgages, credit cards, and insurance policies. Insurance? Insurance? Just on a whim I pulled the insurance folder.
Like most young couples, we were terribly under insured. When you are young, you don't think about the possibility of death. I had a small insurance policy, thorugh work, for $50,000. Other than that, the only coverage I had was the home mortgage insurance that Darcy insisted on. If I died, the house would be hers, free and clear. It was cheap, because I was still young, so I had it added to the mortgage payment.
I never went into the file cabinet or the checkbook. Darcy knew that, and it turned out to be her mistake. She was meticulous. Her bank account always was right, to the penny. She always knew where every file and receipt was.
The mortgage payment included the cost for the homeowners insurance, so there was never a receipt for that. My insurance from work was a payroll deduction. Why were there two receipts for $150 each, in the same month, made out to Republic National Insurance?
I never dealt with that company, and I had no knowledge of any insurance policies with them. I put the receipts in my pocket and kept looking. Nothing else unusual came up.
Darcy kept papers on everything. It was a compulsive thing with her. I felt that this was something, that I was not supposed to know about, but she was not able to help herself. She had to keep the proof of the payment, to satisfy her compulsion.
I called the Mercer house. Emily had the kids and said Darcy was shopping. She was friendly but evasive. I called Darcy's cell phone but it was turned off. Interesting. I decided to go for lunch and then do some investigating.
"Robert Evans, fancy seeing you here. What can I do for you?"
The lady behind the customer service desk at Republican National Insurance was Debbie Martin, or at least that was her name when we went to high college together. She had her own private office, and the desk nameplate said D. Reynolds. I remembered her because she was the only girl who ever asked me out. Although everyone knew that Darcy and I were a couple, she asked anyway, just in case. Of course I turned her down. Her hair was cropped very close with an auburn tint. She had a good tan and her make-up was perfect.
"Well how are you Debbie? Haven't seen you since high college, and we live in the same town."
"Well and kicking. It's good to see you again. Sorry to hear about your marriage."
Now she really got my attention. What was she sorry to hear about? I had a strong feeling that something was going on, and this random comment by a woman I had not seen in several years just intensified it. I could not, and did not reply to what Debbie had just said. She picked up on this immediately.
"Oh shit. I'm sorry as hell. Forget I said anything Bob. I was way out of line. Sometimes my mouth gets away from me." Debbie was tripping all over herself trying to undo what could not be undone. She said it and I remembered it.
I finally broke the awkward point by asking the question I came to find the answer for. "Can you tell me what these receipts are for?"
She took them from my hand and seemed relieved that I had chosen not to pursue the previous discussion. After a few clicks on the keyboard she sighed, and gave me a pathetic look.
"Bob, I hate to say this, but it seems as if this reunion is going downhill at a rapid rate." I didn't reply. She clicked a few more keys and then leaned back in her chair.
"Do you know a man named Phillip Chase?"
"No, can't say that I do. Is there some reason I should know him?"
Debbie reached around and rummaged though some magazines on the credenza on the side of her desk. She made her selection and opened it. "That's Phillip Chase. Have you ever seen him before?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact I have. He was at a Bar-B-Q that my neighbors gave about six months ago. I remember him quite well, because I felt he was paying too much attention to my wife. I even remember commenting about it to Darcy, at the time. What does he have to do with this?"
Debbie got up and closed her office door. After returning to her desk, she leaned forward and looked straight into my eyes. Her friendly demeanor had turned serious. It was obvious that she didn't want to say what had to be said.
"Darcy has been having lunch with Phillip Chase a couple times a week for the last three months. Sometimes they are long lunches. Phillip has dropped a few remarks to his co-workers, that they are planning to be married in the near future. Nobody else in the company knows Darcy, except me. I knew she was married, and I knew it was to you. That's why I mis-spoke when I first saw you. I assumed that this was something you knew about, and that you were here to settle some insurance questions related to a pending divorce. I apologize for being insensitive."
"Do you know this guy?"
"We work in the same building and for the same company. I always thought he was an asshole, and never understood what Darcy saw in him, especially since she had you."
I found the last part of that comment to be interesting.
"What were the receipts for?"
"Technically, you should know. About a month ago you took out two quarter million dollar, term, life insurance policies. This was the initial payment on those policies. That is the maximum amount you could get on those policies, without a physical. Both policies are double indemnity in case of accidental death. That's a cool million dollars. From the look on your face I am guessing you knew nothing about this."
"Just curious. Who was the agent that wrote these policies for me?"
Debbie glanced at the screen quickly. "Surprise, surprise. It was your favorite insurance man, Phillip Chase."
"I assume, I had to sign something at sometime?"
Debbie turned the screen so that we could both see it, and then paged to both documents. The signature looked like mine and amazingly enough, in both places were exactly the same, as if it were a copy or some type of facsimile.
We both sat and looked at each other. She was waiting for me to say something and I didn't know what to say. Finally, I reached into my coat pocket and slid Daniel Greene's card across to her.
"Can you call this guy and explain to him what is going on? I am afraid if I do it, some of the credibility will be lost."
Debbie looked at the card and back at me." Something else is going on here, isn't it Bob?"
"Yeah, I am afraid so." As I got up to leave, she asked one last question. "Am I going to see you again?"
I thought about the question a long time. I guess it was only a fraction of a second in real time, but it went deeper in my mind.
"Professionally or socially?"
"Either."
I gestured to the nameplate on her desk. "What about Mister Reynolds?"
"He is long gone."
We were both smiling as I walked out the door.
It was still early in the afternoon when I arrived at the empty house. I plopped myself down in my comfy chair, with a longneck, and thought about the situation, and the afternoon. It became clear that Darcy met Phillip at the party the Mercers gave. Where did they know Phillip from, and why did they invite him? How come I never saw him at any functions or parties after that? How did Darcy and Phillip become so close in such a short time? How close were they? It seemed like there were more questions than answers at this point. I decided to switch to coffee, when the doorbell rang. Things would get a little clearer now.
It was a messenger envelope, addressed to Darcy and marked "personal." After a bit of squabbling, the delivery guy let me sign for it.
It was one of those envelopes that could not be opened without totally destroying it. I sat at the kitchen table with the envelope and a new cup of coffee.
A razor blade and a bottle of rubber cement was all I need to solve the envelope problem. The contents of the envelope are what really bothered me. After a quick glance, at the legal-sized document, I went into the den and fired up the computer and the scanner. Five minutes later, Detective Greene had a copy of the document on his e-mail. I am sure that information obtained this way, does not conform to all the complex legal requirements nowadays, but I just waited him to have the information.
The document was full of complicated legal terms, and came from a law firm, about fifty miles from home. It was a legal agreement for William and Emily Mercer to adopt the twins. Darcy relinquished all parental rights to the girls, and gave them to the Mercers, lock, stock, and barrel. Nowhere in the document was my name or any reference to me at all. It was as if I didn't exist. A lot of things became clearer now. I was now sure that I had to be a little more careful about having accidents.
I left Darcy a note saying that I had to go out of town for a few days, on business. I was sure she would see it, because it was on top of her specially delivered envelope. I checked one last time to be certain that there was no indication it had been opened. I was looking forward to a few nights in a motel.
Daniel Greene was waiting for me when I arrived at work the next day. He was all smiles.
"I like it when things come together."
"I hope I was at least a little helpful."
"It really helped when we were able to put a name to the finger prints we found, on your car fender. I just wanted to let you know that we are planning on bringing in all four people for questioning this morning. We don't think Bill Mercer is involved, but have to question him, to make sure. You might want to arrange to have someone to sit with your daughters, if it becomes necessary. My officers hate to baby sit."
"I wasn't actually hurt. What can you charge them with?"
"Your wife and Mister Chase will be charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Emily Mercer will probably be charged as an accessory to the same charge. They won't do a lot of time, but it might have saved your life. That is important to me, and worth the effort."
"Can your people bring my daughters here to the office?"
"I don't see that to be a problem."
About thirty minutes after detective Greene left, Debbie Reynolds showed up at my office.
"Hi Bob. I hope you don't mind an unannounced visit. Your security officer lieutenant suggested that you might need a sitter for your girls. I took the rest of the day off, just in case. I also wanted to let you know, that you are now officially under-insured. I voided out your two double indemnity policies. You really should consider getting more life insurance."
I was glad to see Debbie and welcomed the frivolity she brought with her.
"I'm glad you came. The girls probably won't be here for a while, so you can tell me all about the mysterious Mister Reynolds."
The twins didn't show up for another hour. Debbie had plenty of time to tell me about her disastrous marriage. She also told me about several attempts she made to split up Darcy and me, while we were still in high college. Of course I was oblivious to it all, but apparently Darcy was aware of her attempts.
Debbie got along with the girls even better than Emily did. In a matter of minutes, I was totally out of the picture. They were a handful at their age, so I was relieved to have the help. Two hours later I got a call from Darcy.
"Robert. I am in trouble. There has been a big mistake, and I need you to come down to the security officer station and post my bail."
"Post bail? Post bail for what? What were you arrested for?"
"It's complicated, Bob. I'll explain it when you get here. Can you get here soon?"
"Gee Darcy. I am sort of stuck here at the office. I'll call your parents. I am sure they will be able to help you out."
"No Bob. Don't call my parents. They won't understand. You have to come down here. Please hurry." I didn't respond. "Bob? Are you there, Bob? What is wrong? Are you coming down?"
"No Darcy, I am not coming down. I'll call your parents for you. Good bye." She was still pleading, as I hung up the phone.
Darcy's parents insisted on knowing what she was in jail for, and I repeatedly refused to answer them. Reluctantly, they finally agreed to go get her. I told them to take her to their house, and I would have her things sent over as soon as possible. I got the feeling they understood that it was a domestic problem.
Debbie volunteered to take the girls to Chucky Cheese, while I went home to pack up Darcy's things. I packed fast and put the bags and boxes on the front porch, as they were filled. Just as I was finishing up, Darcy and her parents arrived. Darcy was crying and stayed in the car with her mother, as her father and I loaded her things in the trunk. It only took a few minutes. Darcy's father shook my hand and said he and his wife were sorry for the trouble Darcy had caused. It was short, but sincere. I appreciated it.
Phillip Chase skipped bail, but wasn't gone too long. Darcy was more than willing to exchange knowledge of his where-abouts for a reduced sentence. Bill Mercer had no idea what Emily and Darcy were up to. He never knew that Emily had fixed Darcy up with Chase. Bill was not charged with anything. Emily got a two-year sentence, and will probably be out in one. Bill filed for divorce.
Darcy got three to five years for conspiracy to commit murder. She will probably be out in two. Apparently, Phillip and Darcy were going to go to Europe with the money from the insurance and sale of the house. Phillip ended up with five to eight years. My divorce will be final in two more months.
The twins will be starting college this year, and I will have to hire a full time nanny. My relationship with Debbie is slowly getting stronger. She has mentioned that she is willing to quit work and become a full time mom and wife, if I am willing. I guess I should have gone to the prom with her at college.
(THE END)
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