Chapter 12
The closet was now practically empty. Everything that Valerie owned was thrown across the bed, or over the back of the chair, or had been flung onto the floor of her bedroom. Angie and M.A. were gleefully playing dress up with her discarded garments, as their mother tried to find something to wear. They were laughing and giggling as they wobbled around in Valerie's high heels. And they were entertaining little Lisa with their exaggerated motions and crazy facial expressions.
"Albert! " Valerie exclaimed with more than a hint of frustration in her voice as he walked into the disaster that used to be the master bedroom. "I don't have anything to wear," she looked up at him from where she had slumped down on the bench at the foot of the bed. Albert couldn't miss the slight whine that had crept into her voice. She was taking this way too seriously. "What does one wear to something like this?" she asked him for the hundredth time. Sometimes he just did not understand women, but he was smart enough to know not to antagonize Valerie in her present state of mind. So he carefully made his way to her side. He sat down and put an arm around her shoulder.
"Val, I told you, it won't matter too much, everyone just wants to meet us, it's not a formal occasion or anything," Albert tried to explain it to her again, he just didn't know why she was making this such a big deal, to the point that she seemed incapable of just choosing something and getting dressed already. He was at a loss, and he didn't know what else to say, so he wisely kept quiet until she finally broke the silence between them.
"That is easy for you to say, Mister, you have a brand new suit that makes you look good and is appropriate for everything," she was wagging her head from side to side, "And it also helps that you're in shape and looking great." Valerie did not direct her comments directly at Albert but was muttering under her breath now, not a good sign that she was any closer to making a decision on what to wear. But Albert caught some of those words she had said and they surprised him. He had never been one to fish for compliments, but he really did want to hear her say the words again.
"What was that Valerie?" he asked. "I didn't hear what you said." He stood up and looked at her for a few moments and then he turned to face the full length mirror on the closet door, and carefully looked at his reflection. Valerie caught the looks, and a smile hovered on her lips. He had just noticed that the workouts were paying off in more ways than one. Forgetting her wardrobe challenges for a minute, she got up and stood behind him, snaking her arms around his waist. She snuggled her chin into his neck, and smiled at him in the mirror.
"Yes," she whispered into his ear. "You look good, real good." As he watched, she unbuttoned his suit coat and pulled it open. She grabbed his shirt and pulled it tight against his abdomen, revealing his new slimmer silhouette. He leaned his head to one side as if getting a better look at what she was showing him. And then he sucked in a sharp breath as she splayed her hand over his tight stomach. The reaction was exactly what Valerie was hoping for. It sent shivers through his body, and she felt the tremors. Without a word, he turned and kissed her. Then he picked up the first dress that he saw draped over the chair and handed it to her. She nodded and shooed everyone out of the room while she finished getting dressed. Albert couldn't hide his smile as he closed the door behind him.
They walked out of their front door just as the limousine pulled up. Albert was dumbfounded, it had been confirmed to him the night before that there would be a company car dispatched to pick him and his family up this morning, but no one prepared him for a limousine to arrive at his front door. The driver stepped out of the limo and nodded at them. He was traditionally dressed in a black suit, complete with black leather driving gloves and chauffer's hat.
With the proper decorum, he opened the back door for them, and stood to the side waiting to assist them. Both Albert and Valerie turned and motioned to the girls to come and jump in, they were going to drop them off at the school on their way. With the girls settled into their seats, Valerie turned, to wave goodbye to Lisa and her mother, when she saw Helen walking toward her with a huge grin on her face. Albert was so grateful that Valerie's mom was always willing to help out whenever they needed her at a moment's notice.
"I just had to say," Helen explained. "I am so delighted for you and Albert!" She leaned in conspiratorially, and whispered, "Who would have thought, when you were all living in our house with us, that this is how things could turn out." Then she straightened up and winked at her daughter. "No one deserves some 'happy' more than you and Albert; you and your great little family!"
Valerie could only smile, there were no words to express just how shocked she still felt about it all. She gave her mom a hug and kissed Lisa on the cheek. "Thanks, mom," she said. Albert took her hand and helped her into the limo. They pulled away from the curb with Helen and Lisa waving goodbye until they could no longer see the sleek limo as it moved smoothly down the street and made a turn at the corner.
It only took a few seconds before the black privacy window; that separated the driver from the passenger compartment, silently slid open and the driver began to speak.
"Mr. Kloughn," the driver made eye contact with Albert in the rearview mirror.
"Yes Sir,"
"After we drop off your children at their school, we should arrive at the Corporate Offices of Fantastic Families, Inc. in about 35 minutes." He waited to see Albert nod in response, then he continued, "Please feel free to enjoy the fully stocked bar and refrigerator." His voice was crisp and professional as if he had spoken these words many times before. "And if there is anything else you might need, do not hesitate to pick up the phone and let me know." He paused for just a fraction of a second before adding "It is my pleasure to assist you today." His voice had changed slightly, it had an emotional edge to it and he sounded sincere when he said this.
"Thank you." Albert had barely finished saying the word when the black window closed and remained closed for the duration of the trip.
Albert looked at Valerie. Valerie looked at Albert. Then they both looked at the girls as they were having a field day exploring the contents of the refrigerator. It was at this precise moment that Albert and Valerie smiled at each other, their love radiated between them.
Then it happened.
Albert and Valerie broke into uncontrollable laughter as they realized this wasn't a dream, but instead the beginning of their brand new life together. At first Angie and M.A. stared at their parents, and then they started laughing with them. Their smiles were genuine, even if they didn't know what everyone was laughing about.
OoOoO
Joe Morelli grinned as he carefully reviewed his final plans on how he was going to orchestrate the gang's activities later this evening. Morelli knew from his years of experience in working undercover that nothing could be left to chance, everything had to happen exactly as it had been designed, in advance. Any small error in judgment on his part, could not only blow his cover, but also place him and others working him in eminent danger. So every detail had been carefully planned. Joe smiled. This is what he did, and he was good at it.
Hector had been in contact with Morelli again. He reported everything that Albert had learned from his interview with Tony. Since he had been working with Tony throughout this whole assignment, not much of it was new to Joe. But he did get some insights into the other kids in the gang. And he was sure that it would prove to be useful later on.
Joe knew that Tony had been itching to get out of Juvie. It was a hell of a place to have to hang out, so he was glad that it had been arranged for him to leave. But, he had to admit that his release did complicate things. He had to count on him to still stay out of sight for at least a few days more. And it forced him to use Tony, or at least the situation, to his best advantage. And that could only put Tony at more risk if things did not go according to his plan.
Tony was glad that he was no longer hidden away in Juvenile detention. He had hated that place, it was depressing. While he had not spoken with any of the other kids there, he had seen and heard enough to know that they were each going through situations that had caused some deep hurt. And he could see that the one thing they all had in common was the belief that things would get worse not better. What a tragic way to see life. Tony realized that the same part of him, that had wanted so badly to help his cousin, now ached to try to take away some of the pain that he saw in these kids. He just didn't know how he could help. But he did know that when this was all over, he wanted to find a way to give these kids some hope.
Of course Nicki was constantly on hand to help ease the loneliness that he had suffered for months now. Nothing made him happier than being able to spend time with her. Tony took nothing for granted, he knew how lucky he was now, to be able to reach out and hold her hand, touch her face, and wrap her in his arms. They had not really been able to explore their feelings for each other before. They had kind of danced around the whole thing, throwing out all kinds of excuses. She was his best friend's sister. That was one of his first excuses. It had seemed reason enough to try to stay away from her, not that that had proven easy to do.
Then there was the fact that they were so young. But now that they had both been through some experiences that made them grow up so fast, this reason didn't carry much weight. The list did go on and on. But none of that mattered anymore. They both knew how fleeting time together could be. How dangerous the world they lived in could be. And they both knew that wasting even one more minute on excuses would be unacceptable. Hiding away, as long as they could spend time together, was the perfect thing for them both.
Knowing his sister well enough to see that she was happy with and very protective of Tony, Jake was glad to see them together, taking care of each other. Okay, so it was strange to see his best friend and his sister together, but even he had to admit that they were good for each other. And while Nicki chose to spend most of her time with Tony, Jake was happy to come hang out with them for a while each day, before taking off and getting back to planning his future. He would be glad to have this whole gang thing behind them.
Plans were coming together and detective Morelli knew that he had to make each element of the master plan seem authentic. To use the intel from Tony, or even the information that he himself had learned, and to simply move forward immediately against the gang would make it all too obvious that someone had betrayed them. It didn't take a fortune-teller to surmise that the individual that had been caught at the scene of the crime, then held in custody for weeks, and is now miraculously a free man with all charges dropped against him looked like a set up. This was way too convenient for anyone not to believe it was anything else but a betrayal.
No one had to tell Morelli that none of this would fly with those who were really pulling the strings. It would also not bring the results that he needed. He didn't need to raid the kids that were effectively pawns in the game here. It was the ones calling the shots that he was after. His plan was to draw them out and to place them at the scene of the crime this time. He'd had to work extra hard to convince them that there was no better window of opportunity than now to start the manufacturing phase of the counterfeit software.
Morelli had done his homework, and had been working behind the scene to arrange every detail. First he talked Jared Martin, owner if MindTech Inc, into taking the dream honeymoon that he and his wife never got when they were first married. Then he let it be known to these gang leaders that he had discovered that the owner of the company had recently left on a two week honeymoon to renew his marriage vows. It was a big affair that included both his family and his friends, including his two partners. Next Joe found the perfect place to send the guy who was responsible for writing the software codes. He was now on a week-long seminar where he would be introduced to new and improved ways to safeguard the code protocol and the computer systems that processed the programs. And Joe let it be known that only someone with access to insider information would know that two of the plant supervisors had called in sick for the remainder of the week due to food poisoning. Ironically, he told them, these guys had food poisoning at the same exact time because they had been celebrating one of their birthdays together, at a restaurant. What a happy coincidence that it was that they chose to go to Shorty's. It didn't take much for Joe to have something added to their meals. These poor guys were not in on the plan. They were just unfortunate enough to have provided Joe the opportunity to use them to his advantage. Morelli loved what he did for a living!
He knew that if he chose to do so, he could have easily orchestrated additional "coincidences", but he felt his actions to this point were enough to turn things to his favor in regards to the timing of moving forward. Plus he had one more argument that was more convincing than anything else. The chatter on the streets was at an all-time high. Moving forward now would give them a huge advantage in the black market. This advantage could lead to millions of dollars in additional revenues, none of it traceable once the software had left the premises. Joe had everyone where he wanted them. And tonight he would act more surprised than anyone that he, himself, had been betrayed. And he would be taking a trip to a holding cell along with the rest to make the show complete.
OoOoO
Taking a deep breath, Laverne tried to focus her thoughts. Her anger had welled up inside and was threatening to explode. Pacing the living room was only making her more and more agitated. Her mind was spinning. From the day Derrick had walked out, she had allowed the hurt she felt turn into a hatred that ruled her life. She had been more than content to think of him living his life alone as the loser she always told him that he was.
The phone rang, pulling her out of her thoughts. One of the ladies from her bible group had called to provide a shoulder to cry on. "Gosh Laverne, it must have been awful to find out about Derrick," she said. And before Laverne could say anything, her friend continued. "I can't believe you didn't tell us about his huge company. How much do you suppose he was worth when he died?" Now Laverne was speechless. She couldn't have said anything if she had tried. She ended the call as quickly as she could. A quick search on her computer brought up not only the obituary, but also the article from the business section. Finally it dawned on her that Derrick had become a wealthy man.
To discover that he had gone and made something of himself not only seemed impossible, it irked her. It was the final insult. How dare he go out and become successful after leaving her behind. The more she thought about it, the more she convinced herself that she deserved so much more out of life. She deserved to benefit from the 'estate' that Derrick had created. After all, she had been married to him for 13 years. She had 'supported' him as he built the foundation for his success. Surely there was something that she could do to get her hands on the money in Derrick's estate. She figured that if he had enough to throw out over twelve thousand dollars for her funeral, he had a lot more where that came from.
Immediately her game plan changed. Instead of a conversation with Albert, Laverne set out to have a conversation of her own with an attorney. Grabbing the yellow pages, she ran to her car and peeled out of the driveway. She was now a woman on a mission and she would get her answers. Unfortunately, the answers were not what she was looking for. Over and over again, she was told that she had no claim to her ex-husbands money. In fact, he had been sending both child support and alimony to her, up until the day that her son had moved out of her house. And as far as the attorneys were concerned, she had already received more than she had been entitled to.
Only one lawyer was willing to look at her case, and he appeared to be drunk. It must have been one hell of a party the night before, Laverne surmised based on his condition. But Laverne was so desperate that she actually considered hiring him anyway. That was until he barfed all over her shoes. That sent her straight home, to clean up and to regroup. After throwing her shoes in the trash, Laverne sat on the bottom step of her front porch. This had to be one of the worst days of her life. It was dark before she finally got up and went inside.
But bright and early the next morning, her thoughts seemed to be clear, and her mind focused. Instead of going after Derrick's estate, she would go to the person she figured was now in charge of all the money, the only person left in Derrick's life. She got ready to go and visit with Albert. So convinced of her powers over him, Laverne was sure that she would be returning home a very wealthy woman. All she had to do was convince her son that he wanted to continue to take care of her the same way that his father always had, by giving her everything that he had. It seemed very straight forward and acceptable to her and she set out with every reason to believe that she would be successful in her quest.
Driving down Albert's street, Laverne watched a long, black limousine drive past her. Thinking only that is was strange to see a limo in this part of town, she didn't give it any more thought as she pulled up into the driveway. She may have been too focused on her goal, and she missed some very important details as she walked up to the house. She didn't seem to notice the big Buick parked in front of her car in the driveway. Or the fact that Helen Plum was standing in the door way watching her.
Laverne squared her shoulders and strode up the walkway with purpose. Stopping just short of the porch, she finally noticed that Helen was standing there. "I've come to see Albert," she said curtly to her. There was no love lost between these women. Laverne was still upset that her son married Valerie. And that he did it without her being there. The fact that the ceremony had taken place in Helen's home did nothing to endear this woman to her.
"You can just turn yourself around and go back to where you came from," Helen told her. "Albert and Valerie are not here," she said, obviously pleased that she could give Laverne information that would make her unhappy.
But Laverne, undeterred, tried to push her way past Helen. "I will just wait here for them then," she said. And she moved toward the door. "I have something important to discuss with Albert."
Helen would have none of her attitude and grabbed her arm. Not only stopping her in her tracks, but actually knocking her off balance. Laverne grabbed hold of Helen's arm to steady herself. Suddenly she pulled up all of the anger she had been feeling lately and glared at Helen and pushed her hard into the brick wall behind her. Helen pulled away from the wall, her breath had been knocked right out of her lungs by that move and it pissed her off. She sprang at Laverne with every intention of hitting her as hard as she could, but Laverne jumped back at the last second.
"Go home Laverne," Helen spat the words at her. She was in no mood to put up with the antics of this woman.
"I will speak with my son," Laverne yelled back. She had come here with a mission. And she would not be turned away. "Albert needs to make things right," she mumbled.
Helen instantly understood what this was all about. Laverne had found out about the inheritance, and she wanted to bully Albert into giving it to her. This woman had no shame. And Helen would be damned before she would let her anywhere near Valerie's family. She would give her one more chance to leave. After that she could not be held responsible for what would happen.
"It's in your best interest to leave, right now," Helen told her. She stood with her hands firmly planted on her hips; chest pushed forward, elbows out, in a pretty good imitation of wonder woman. But Laverne did not heed her warning look, and she attempted again to pass her to go into the house. That was it! Helen grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her away from the house. Dragging her to her car, she opened the door and practically stuffed her into the driver's seat.
Laverne was fuming. The audacity of this woman to try to stop her! Helen had really made her angry and she attempted to step out of the car to lash out at her. But Helen was ready and she grabbed both of her hands. Without a word, she forced Laverne further into her car until she could slam the door shut. Then she stood and glared at her until the car started and Laverne backed down the driveway and drove off.
Helen watched her go. "I never could stand that woman," she said to herself. Then she turned and walked back to the house.
OoOoO
As they left Trenton, Albert felt a twinge of regret that he had not opted to have the girls miss a day of school in order to have them come along with them to visit the offices this morning. He made a comment about it and Valerie looked at him for a long moment. She did not want him to be feeling sad about anything today. Yes, it could have been nice to have the whole family together as they were introduced to the business that would come to mean so much to them. But the girls could just as easily have become a distraction and that would not have been helpful. So she smiled at him and she shared a story with him.
"Albert, do you remember the first time you met Angie and M.A.?" He smiled and nodded. M. A. had asked him if he knew how to gallop. And Angie had regarded him closely, holding back her opinion of him until she had had a chance to know a little bit about him. He remembered that there had been a discussion about his favorite books and if he did well in math when he was in 5th grade.
Valerie let him think about it for a minute and then she said. "You told the girls that you loved school, and that you never missed a day." Albert nodded again slowly. Yeah, he did remember saying that. It had been the truth. He would have rather been at school than at home any day of the week. He just didn't share that part of his story.
"Well," Valerie continued. "Angie was impressed. She said that she could do that too, and she made it her goal to be just like you. She hasn't missed a single day of school since." Albert looked surprised. "It's a competition thing with Angie, so she probably hasn't ever mentioned it to you."
Albert hadn't even considered that. He pulled Valerie into a hug. This is why he loved her so much. She always knew the right things to say to make him feel better.
Albert felt like he was the luckiest man in the world to have Valerie at his side. And he could never imagine life without her.
The drive from Trenton to Princeton wasn't very long but it seemed even shorter than usual when someone else did the driving. Before they knew it, the limousine came to a stop in front of a nice, red brick office building that was noteworthy for what it was not. It was not dull and non-descript like so many of the older office buildings in the nearby business district. Instead, it was simple but appeared warm and inviting. The building had tremendous curb appeal; it was attractive and meticulously cared for, as evidenced by the beautiful landscaping all around the building. If a building could actually instill an aura of peace and tranquility, this one would convey that all were welcome here. As soon as the limo pulled up along the curb, Albert and Valerie noticed there were five individuals waiting at the entrance of the building for their arrival. Upon exiting the limousine, the group immediately came to greet them and introduced themselves as part of his father's mastermind team. They each had been instrumental in helping his father realize the dream of launching his new business. As they introduced themselves, Albert and Valerie were impressed by the words of sincere love and appreciation towards them. It was as if it was understood that because they were a part of their leader's family, they were immediately a part of their family too.
It was obvious to Albert that each of these individuals filled a key role in his father's business. The love and affection that they still had for his father made Albert feel extremely proud of what his father had accomplished here. And what stood out above everything else was the loyalty they all shared towards his father's vision of the future of the company. Albert knew he would enjoy getting to know every one of them both collectively, as members of his father's mastermind team, and as individuals. And everything that he learned from them fueled his curiosity more than ever. Thoughts were racing through his mind as he pondered the most important part of his visit today. More than anything else, Albert was looking for answers. What was Fantastic Families. Inc. all about, and what was his father like? Who was Derrick Kloughn?