NINE
The next day Cole was busy arranging the files he needed to incriminate the senior partners of the law firm. He had selected several key files that he would leave in his office to be found. Along with his letter of resignation saying that he couldn't work at the firm any longer. He had discovered some very serious irregularities in some cases. He could not, in good faith, continue to work for a firm that appeared to flagrantly flaunt the law in this way.
Most of the work had all ready been done. In truth what he was doing today was just icing on the cake. There was all ready enough evidence buried in the firms' files to bury the senior partners forever. And the money he had been able to skim from the firm was just an added bonus.
Of course most of that money would go to Angela. To compensate her for all the pain she would go through in the next few weeks. He wondered when he began to worry about a human. This was a first for him. They were just tools he used to accomplish his goals. He had never been concerned with one of them getting hurt before.
That was a further indication it was time to move on. He had spent a great deal of time and effort submerging his human half. He was a demon. Humans were beneath him. To be worried about one was not in keeping with his personae as a ruthless mercenary.
He brushed the thoughts aside. There was still work to be done. He had the files on his desk. His letter of resignation sat next to the stack of files. That letter would throw suspicion off of him. When the investigators found it they would make the logical assumption that he had planned to blow the whistle on the firm and they had just beaten him to it.
There was one last bit of "evidence" he wanted to plant. Something that was guaranteed to put the senior partners in prison for a very long time. It had been only recently that he had hit on the idea. A news report about a hit and run he had seen on the television had given him the idea.
The letters he was going to plant would intimate that the hit and run had not been an accident. That it had been a resolution to a little problem for one of the firms' clients. The entire "case" was fabricated, of course. And the innocent client would have to explain a lot of things they had no idea about. But that was just the cost of a mission for the underworld. Just collateral damage.
"Mr. Turner, your wife is on line one."
"Thanks, Eileen." Cole picked up the phone and pressed the button for line one. "Well, I was just thinking about you."
"Flatterer," said his wife on the other end. "Listen, I know this is kind of short notice but I need you not to work late tonight."
"Oh? What do you have in mind?"
"We need to talk. It's important. I just need you to come home as soon as you're finished for the day."
"Okay," said Cole, a bit confused. "What's this about?"
"I'd rather you wait until you got home tonight. It concerns what we were discussing last night."
"Okay, I'll come straight home. In fact I was planning to knock off a little early today."
"Great. I'll fix a special dinner. I'll see you when you get home. I love you, Cole."
"I love you, too, sweetheart."
Cole thought about the phone call. What they had been discussing last night? They had talked about what kind of house they would look for. She had said they should get one with five bedrooms. After all, both boys and girls deserved to have their own rooms.
Cole knew what this talk was about. She had been hinting about getting a house of their own for weeks. She had probably been looking for one while he was at work. And she had obviously found the one she wanted. That would explain why she wouldn't talk about it over the phone. She wanted to have his undivided attention when she tried to persuade him she had found the perfect home for them.
Cole picked up the papers he needed to plant and was about to head for the files room when he heard some kind of commotion in the outer office. He couldn't tell what the commotion was. He walked over and cracked the door to his office.
In the outer office he saw Larry Howe, the only senior partner in the office at the moment, talking to another man. Howe was looking over some papers. Cole recognized the other man. His name was Payne Brown. He was an Assistant District Attorney and the firm dealt with him practically on a daily basis.
"As you can see, Larry, the warrant is perfectly in order," Brown was saying. "The State Police are here to take custody of all your files. Everyone is to stop whatever they're working on immediately."
As Cole watched he saw several uniformed officers from the New York State Police enter and begin to collect files from the various desks. He called Eileen into his office.
"What's going on?" He asked her.
"I'm not sure. Mr. Brown just showed up without warning. He's got a warrant to confiscate all the files in the office."
"Do you have any idea what this is all about?"
"I think it has something to do with the upcoming audit. Apparently in the pre-audit the accountants found some very serious discrepancies. Mr. Brown said something about nearly two million dollars missing that couldn't be accounted for. He said they're going to go over all the books and the files until they find out what's going on."
"Thanks," said Cole ushering her out of the office and closing the door behind her.
Damn. He hadn't counted on that. The audit itself wasn't for another two months. By that time he had planned to be long gone. Now the ADA had shown up early. He couldn't afford to be caught here. There would months of investigations and questions. And he would be under scrutiny the entire time.
His options were limited. If he stayed he would be wrapped up for who knows how long. He wouldn't be able to just slip away. And the letter of resignation would look suspicious with him around.
On the other hand if he couldn't be found it would save him some trouble. The investigators wouldn't be able to question him. And since there was nothing to link him directly to the missing money or the other discrepancies they wouldn't be able to charge him with anything. His best bet would be to disappear now before anyone was the wiser.
Picking up the bankbook to his and Angela's joint account, Cole quietly shimmered out of the office for the last time.
Cole looked around the apartment one last time. It was the longest he had ever lived on the mortal plane in one place. He found it comfortable. Apparently Angela was out at the moment. Cole slipped the bankbook back into its normal spot. Angela rarely looked at it. Like most women she relied on her husband to handle the financial matters for the family.
Cole toyed with the idea of leaving her a note. Trying to explain why he had to leave. But he couldn't think of anything that sounded convincing. Angela was under the impression that he cared about her a great deal. That was true to a degree. But she had no indication there was anything seriously wrong with the marriage.
No, the best course of action was just to disappear. She would eventually find the bankbook and know he had taken care of her. She would never know why he had left. But that was okay. She would hurt for a while. That was to be expected. But she would get over that soon enough. And another man would come along one day. Someone fully human that she could make a life with.
Suddenly Cole heard the front door to the apartment open. He heard Angela enter the apartment. She was singing her favorite song.
"Chances are 'cause I wear a silly grin
The moment you come into view
Chances are you think that I'm in love with you "
That meant she was in high spirits. She only sang when she felt on top of the world.
Good. At least she'd be happy for a while. Before she discovered that he had disappeared without a trace. With the money he had left her she might even buy the house she was going to tell him about that night.
"Good-bye," he whispered quietly to the empty room. Then, feeling a twinge of guilt that he found difficult to suppress, Cole shimmered out of the apartment and Angela's life forever. He never saw the doctors' slip she carefully laid on the dining room table.