Chapter 3 The Devil in the Details
Karen Carson had been a model patient for a number of reasons. She was very smart and knew how to play people. After all, she had persuaded Mrs. Frederic into selecting her to help Helena with her foundation work. She had only met HG that day when she set her sights on making a move to be her new assistant in financial matters. She had been there on official IRS business when she hatched the plan to offer her help and guidance. Mrs. Frederic would reflect back on that decision she made of insisting that Helena work with the woman who presented her credentials. How did Mrs. Frederic decide so quickly in choosing her? She was not one to be easily tricked and yet, the young IRS Agent had pulled the wool over her eyes.
The Sage never suspected her and that is what made the phone call from Myka that day so alarming. The woman had worked her way into their good graces in a very short amount of time. She made a few moves on Helena and all of them were rebuked. So she went for Pete who was more than willing to open his heart and bedroom door to the beautiful blonde. But it was all a ploy to get them on her side. Then when HG wouldn't reciprocate, she told her she had evidence that Myka's parents had been filling out tax forms incorrectly for their business for years. One phone call from her, she threatened would mean a full scale investigation. She reminded Helena that such an ordeal could take a toll on them.
Karen loved that it was so easy to get HG to play into her hands but it also infuriated her. The only reason she was so compliant was because Myka meant the world to HG and she would do anything for her. Karen knew this was the only reason why a seasoned government agent would go to a location without backup and give up her weapon so easily. Those thoughts were stirring in Karen's dysfunctional mind as HG sat there in her apartment that night. She laid it all out. She was blackmailing her, not just for the foundation money but for a relationship as well. But while HG had brought the cash with her that night as instructed, she didn't bring what Karen wanted most; her heart. And the young agent knew it and it made her furious. She attempted to win HG over but when it didn't work, she decided to take what she wanted.
The damn doorbell rang and it was a delivery man with the wrong address. Karen yelled at him that he had the wrong apartment and slammed the door shut but didn't lock it. She was hell bent on having Helena and she stormed over to the couch to continue what she started. If only this damn woman would give her a chance, she would see that she was good for her. She bent down and grabbed Helena by the back of the head to kiss her. It was only from her years of training that she immediately knew that the cold, steel feeling on her temple was the barrel of a gun. That sonuvabitch partner of HG's had gotten into the apartment. Karen was furious at herself, immediately figuring out that the wrong delivery was a ruse and allowed Myka to get into the apartment.
She had taken Myka Bering to be the calm partner to HG's impulsive nature. But that night, the strength alone in Myka's hands as she picked her up and slammed her head into the table after cuffing her was a surprise. She hated the sound of Myka taking care of Helena, the concern in her voice that Karen had done something to her. She was certain that if she had done anything to Helena, Myka would have put a bullet right through her head. She sat in a chair, handcuffed with a bag of ice that Myka eventually gave her, perhaps feeling guilty that she had injured her on purpose after she was subdued. She could hear Helena crying and was torn between feeling glad that she had hurt her and angry that she wasn't the one comforting her.
Karen was admitted to the mental health facility for observation. She was given several psychiatric tests and spent endless hours talking to psychiatrists. They settled on bipolar disorder and recommended medication and 8 weeks of in hospital therapy. Karen hated being in the place but she knew that she had to appear cooperative if she ever wanted to be reinstated. She spent the next weeks learning what the therapists wanted to hear and mixed it up just a little so it didn't look like she was staging the whole thing. She wrote letters to HG daily in the beginning begging for forgiveness and when they finally told her that this proved the therapy was not working, she stopped writing. When she completed the program, there wasn't a therapist who wasn't impressed with her progress. It was a setback when her bosses felt that she was not ready to return to work but it gave her more time to hatch her plan.
She was grateful that she still knew some of the access codes to get into the files in the IRS database. She would need a new identity if she was to have a new life. She took the social security number of a deceased woman and transferred her fingerprints to that file. She knew enough about the IRS computers to be able to reassign the number and some of the details to her newly created identity; Helena Campbell. Karen took the name from a book she read while staying at the mental health facility. She had spent as much time as she could in the library but primarily because it afforded her the privacy to write Helena letters. When she realized that Helena was not getting them or worse yet, getting them and not answering them, she grew angry inside. As an act of defiance, she decided to read Jules Verne's works, as if it were the proverbial slap in the face to the heir of the HG Wells fortune.
"The Green Ray" tells the story of a young woman who is about to be forced to marry someone she does not love. She hears about the mysterious effects the 'green ray' of light in the sky can have on you and sets out with her uncles to find it in the Highlands of Scotland. Helena Campbell believes the witnessing of the light will have an elevating experience on her heart and soul and decides she must see it. Maybe it was the character's determination that impressed Karen because like her, Karen was not giving up on what she wanted most.
She spent hours reading about the HG Wells Foundation and the wonderful works they were doing. Local school programs and college scholarships were written up in the papers. Karen also knew where to look for the foundation's records which would list the staff members. She immediately began a file on Michael Dumont. He would become the link in getting to Helena. She created her resume with more fiction than was in the novels she read. When her identity was set and her resume done, she went to one of the award ceremonies and approached Michael Dumont. How easy it was to impress the impressionable, she thought. She told him she thought she could make a real contribution to the work and that she had the right experience and motivation; she loved helping people. Mike had hired a lot of individuals for the local spots but really needed someone with experience to help him with the more challenging aspects of the foundation. Karen assured him she was the person for the job. He explained that he reported directly to the CEO of the Foundation and would have to get the approval from her first. Helena's approval was exactly what Karen wanted and she smiled to think this was how she would start to get it.
She had only known HG a short time but in that span learned a great deal. Karen had been summoned to the Brit's house because she had not filed the necessary paperwork for the Foundation's charity. HG would confide that she had received the proper forms but didn't have time to deal with them so she 'filed' them away in the hallway closet. Karen was sent to clean things up as a professional courtesy to a fellow agent.
Agent Wells paid attention only to the things that mattered to her, Karen assessed. And so she was almost certain she would leave the interviewing and hiring up to Michael Dumont.
When he showed Helena the resume of the woman he spoke so highly of, the only thing that HG noticed was her name. It sounded familiar but she chalked that up to having the same first name. HG trusted Mike and gave him back the resume without studying the details. It would not have mattered if she did. Karen had been meticulous in her design, creating the appropriate work experience. The only thing that gave Karen pause was that she knew she would have to pass a background check. She had one friend at the IRS office that would help her out and that was only after a few drinks and spending the night with him. All he had to do was to use the cell phones she bought him and take the calls if any came in. Sure enough, the agency that Mike used for background checks called and her friend verified that she had worked at the Red Cross and served on the board. A call to the second number resulted in confirmation that she worked at Wounded Warrior.
After confirming that Helena Campbell was who she said she was Mike Dumont set up an appointment to meet with her. Karen had a talent for making people talk because she was, after all a trained IRS agent. After answering the few questions that Mike presented to her, she turned the table and asked him the questions.
"So you report up to the person who is the heir to this fortune?" she asked as if she had no idea who that was.
"Yes, I report to Helena Wells who wishes to remain anonymous in many of our works. She attends only one function a year and even then, only as a spectator. She's a very private woman," he explained.
"She must be very generous to do all this good work and not want to receive any of the accolades," Karen commented and Mike agreed.
"She's an amazing woman," he said without hesitation.
He had been impressed with Helena from the moment he met her. Well, it was actually the second time he met her. The first time, the Warehouse Agents were confiscating the Burroughs's adding machine that he had come upon and discovered that when he used it, amounts of money showed up. He had used all the money to help the poor families in the city where he lived but the agents were hot on his trail. What the Secret Service wanted with the machine he never did find out. But they hadn't pressed charges and for that he was grateful.
A short time later, one of the agents contacted him about doing some charity work and that was how he came to know and work for Helena Wells. She told him from the start, she had a full time job as an agent and would only deal with the foundation work on the weekends, or if absolutely necessary, during the evenings. She had made this a priority and Mike made sure he obliged his boss' rule. Helena explained that she was the sole heir to the HG Wells fortune and felt it only right that she give back to the communities in a way that fostered reading. Michael could not believe that HG was handing over so much responsibility to him to spearhead these projects but he promised she would never regret it. Michael Dumont was a man of his word which is why when he told HG that he thought Helena Campbell was the perfect candidate for the job, HG believed him.
He told HG that the background check was complete and that he had met her that afternoon. He called that night just to make sure she would give him the green light to proceed with the offer. The lawyers drew up the package and Michael was ready to offer it to the applicant. HG told him if he felt this was the best person for the job, he should make the offer.
By Monday night, Helena Wells was still telling Myka what an exhilarating experience riding in the jet had been. In fact, for a woman who did not care for repetition, Helena retold the story each time as if Myka had not been there. But Myka smiled and listened because she could tell that Helena was still excited about it and that pleased Myka. And she feared that if Helena didn't get it out, she might just explode.
Michael Dumont had emailed the details of the position to Helena Campbell who immediately called him to say she was thrilled to be a part of the foundation's staff.
Then she uploaded the pictures she had taken of Helena onto her computer and went through all 124 of them.
"It won't be long now, Helena," she said out loud, clicking on the images and running her finger down the screen. "We will be together again."