18

 

 

Her stomach was in knots as they walked down the corridor of the nursing home. She concentrated on her breathing as she glanced at the others. Charlie was there next to her, dressed in the charcoal gray suit they had bought yesterday. She had to admit he looked handsome, even with his somber mood. Ahead of them walked Laura and Sam Knueson, the real estate attorney. A court stenographer and Alina Mallon from the district attorney’s office were behind them. Everyone was dressed in dark colors, as though for a funeral, and Suzanne again felt the muscles in her belly twist with apprehension. If they could just pull this off and get out of here… for Alina Mallon only clerked for the assistant district attorney. She wasn’t exactly representing that office.

Suzanne had been to Evergreen Nursing Home three times before, each time with Kevin for an obligatory holiday visit. It was a nice place, but depressing just the same. This time her visit was different. This time they very well might destroy a man, and possibly his grandson. A small part of her felt almost sorry for Mitch and Kevin, and yet a stronger part of her felt justified. This was about justice, about balancing the scales without resorting to violence. It had to work. For Charlie. For Grace. And maybe even for herself.

They stopped outside Mitch’s room. Laura turned to her and Charlie.

“Are you ready?” she asked.

Charlie simply nodded, and Suzanne took a deep breath and murmured yes.

“Then let’s do it,” Laura pronounced, placing her hand on the door and pushing it open.

Suzanne said a silent prayer, yet she wasn’t really sure who she was praying for… maybe just that the truth would finally be revealed and Charlie might find his peace.

Charlie felt his heart beating in his chest, resonating in his ears, pulsing at his fingertips as the door to Mitch’s room was opened. He had waited for this moment and now he wasn’t sure how he would react. He first saw Kevin and a smaller man, standing at the bedside of an old, shriveled man, whose face resembled a cracked walnut.

Mitch?

Suddenly, all the hatred he had harbored for the man seemed to seep out of his body as he stared at the shrunken and skeletal frame that had once housed his best friend. His hair was nearly gone; his skin dotted with dark spots. Tubes were attached to him and he seemed to be surrounded by machinery.

“What is this about?” Kevin demanded, interrupting all his thoughts.

Laura came forward and said, “Please be patient. Everything will be explained shortly. First, I’d like to introduce Samuel Knueson, a real estate attorney, and Alina Mallon from the district attorney’s office, along with a court-appointed stenographer who will be taking a deposition—”

“I wasn’t informed of any deposition,” Kevin’s attorney stated. “Why have we been called here?”

“And what’s he doing here?” Kevin asked, nodding his head toward Charlie.

Laura motioned to the stenographer to set up her equipment and then looked at Kevin’s lawyer. “We’re here to gain testimony that will confirm your client sold land four years ago that wasn’t his to sell.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Kevin demanded, staring first at Laura, then glaring at Suzanne and finally at Charlie. “And who the hell are you?”

He stepped forward, facing Kevin. “My name is Charles Garrity. And you illegally sold my land.”

“This is bullshit,” Kevin stated to his lawyer. “She put him up to this. She thinks that she can get back at me and—”

“Charlie!”

They all turned toward the bed and the surprisingly distinct voice. It was raspy, yet loud enough for all of them to hear.

Charlie turned and stared at the man lying helplessly, just waiting to die. “Mitch.” He walked past the group of people and stood at the side of the bed, seeing the ravages of time wreaking its revenge. “It’s time to tell the truth, Mitch.”

“What is he talking about?” Kevin demanded, coming to stand on the other side of the bed. “That’s not even my grandfather’s name.” Pointing at Suzanne, he added, “She’s putting all of you up to this to get back at me!”

“Kevin,” Suzanne called out in a weary voice, “for once in your life, just shut up and listen.”

“These are not random allegations,” Laura stated, as she placed her briefcase on a side table and opened it. “We have proof. I suggest you and your lawyer examine these deeds. Mr. Knueson will explain the radical discrepancies.”

Charlie watched as Kevin walked over to the table. Shifting his attention back to Mitch, he looked down and repeated, “It’s time for the truth.”

The old man stared back at him and the only thing Charlie could recognize was his watery eyes. He would never forget those eyes…

“I’m dyin’, Charlie,” the man rasped out.

“I know,” he answered, trying to keep all emotion out of his voice. “I want the truth, Mitch. Now is the time to tell it.” From the corner of his eye, he noticed that Laura and the stenographer were now closer to the bed.

“This is my judgment day? I don’t care anymore,” he muttered, staring up at Charlie with a look of wonder. He raised a thin shaking hand and pointed. “You’re so young… all those years ago… maybe it’s time I cleared my soul, huh? Are you a ghost, Charlie? Is that why you’ve come? To take me?” His hand fell to his chest. “God, I’m sick of livin’… this ain’t no life, not like this.”

“Just tell the truth now, Mitch. That’s all any of us wants.”

“But I killed you. I saw you fall. You have to be a ghost.”

“Shut up, old man!” Kevin shouted from across the room. “He’s senile. He doesn’t know what he’s saying.”

“Tell your client to be quiet, or I’ll have him removed from this room,” Alina stated, as she walked closer to the bed. She looked at Charlie and nodded. “Please continue.”

Mitch almost laughed and then coughed. “Messed up really big, Charlie, huh? But I had it all you know, everything… the land, Grace… I was a respected man in my time.”

“How did you get it, Mitch?” Charlie asked, trying to keep his temper under control.

“Money,” Mitch answered, closing his eyes as though remembering. “It’s always about money. It can buy you anything, even a doctored deed. Wasn’t hard buying a county clerk.” He coughed again and when he had his breath under control, he added, “The hard part was convincing Grace to marry me. She always loved you. Couldn’t get her to love me like that. She knew, I think, about me getting rid of you. But I did it, Charlie, I lived your dream. I had to get rid of you, don’t you see? It was my chance and I took it. And it worked. I was the most successful fruit grower in the county. I had respect and—”

“Shut up, you old fool!”

“That’s it,” Alina announced. “Get your client out of here.”

Mitch watched as Kevin’s lawyer led him out of the room. “I’m glad I said it. Got it off my conscience finally.” He looked up to Charlie and spoke hesitantly, as though almost afraid of him. “You remember us in the war? How I got gut shot and you saved my life? I’ve had lots of time… lying here in bed… waitin’ to die, thinkin’ about old times. And I come to feel real bad about what I done to you. You gotta believe me. I’m sorry, Charlie… for everything. Maybe them preachers are right. I don’t want to die with this on my soul. Tell me you forgive me.”

He couldn’t say anything. He could barely breathe, listening to Mitch, watching the sorrow come into those old eyes. He still wanted to strangle him, yet a part of him felt sorry for how he had ended up, with no one around him who cared whether he lived or died. Maybe that was the justice in it all.

“You gonna take me now, Charlie? I’m tired of this livin’. It ain’t worth it no more. I want to rest.”

He swallowed hard and whispered, “I’m not a ghost. I’m not the Angel of Death. I can’t save your soul, Mitch. I just wanted the truth to come out.”

“I told you the truth. Now you gotta end this! You don’t know what I go through. Every day, wakin’ up, bein’ put through torture just to live another day. I want it over. I killed you. Now you take me, and we’ll be even.”

Charlie looked up to Laura. “Did you get everything you needed?”

She looked at the stenographer and then back up to him. Nodding, she said, “I can take it from here.”

Charlie turned away while hearing Laura speak.

“Now, for the record, your real name is Mitch Davies, is that correct?”

“Yes, Mitch Davies. Charlie, where are you going? Take me with you! Don’t leave me in hell!”

He looked at Suzanne, who was standing by the door. “Let’s get out of here.”

She simply nodded and followed him from the room as they heard Laura asking if he remembered the name of the court clerk he had bribed.

Kevin and his lawyer were standing in the hallway and Charlie took a deep breath, realizing it wasn’t over yet.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Kevin demanded. “How can you be Charles Garrity? This is impossible!”

“I am who I say I am. And you sold my property without my permission.”

“The DNA proves it, Kevin,” Suzanne said in a strong voice. “You either go into court and have all this become public record… Mitch’s testimony, Grace’s letter, the fake deed, and then you have to make restitution not only to the developers but to all those people who built houses on land that was never yours to sell.” She took a deep breath, “Or you make restitution to the proven rightful owner and all this legal mess disappears.”

Kevin looked like he might just explode. Turning to his lawyer, he muttered, “This can’t be happening.”

The smaller man sighed deeply. “Well, something is happening, Kevin. We’ll need time to go over everything and come to a conclusion.”

“We aren’t about to take years to unravel this, Kevin,” Suzanne said. “Mr. Garrity deserves to be paid for his land. Even your lawyer will agree to that, after hearing your grandfather’s testimony. We could always hurry things up by going to the newspapers. It is quite a story about greed and lies, and you know how they’d love to investigate land fraud.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“Not at all. I’m just telling you that it would be in your best interest to settle this matter as quickly and as quietly as possible.”

Kevin looked at Suzanne with near hatred and then turned his attention to Charlie. “What do you want?”

“I want to be paid for my land,” he answered, while admiring the way Suzanne was handling her ex-husband. “I’m sure we can come up with a compromise. I won’t demand the entire thirty-three million.”

Kevin’s mouth dropped.

“Of course, Mr. Garrity, we’ll be in touch with your lawyers,” Kevin’s lawyer piped up.

“You can’t be serious?” Kevin demanded, not just of his lawyer but also of Charlie and Suzanne.

“The district attorney’s office is involved, Kevin,” his lawyer answered. “This is now public record. How public you want to make it is up to you.”

“I’ll expect to hear from you within the week,” Charlie said and then held out his arm to Suzanne. “Shall we go?”

Nodding, Suzanne threaded her hand over his arm and took a deep breath. “Yes. I believe we’re finished here.”

They had walked no more than five feet away when Kevin called out, “You hate me this much?”

Suzanne stopped and Charlie watched as she turned around.

“I don’t hate you, Kevin. Actually, I feel sorry for you, because this time you’ll have to take responsibility and grow up. You really don’t have any other choice. No one can bail you out of this one. In a weird, strange way, I’m grateful to you for the divorce because now I’m truly free to live my life with integrity.” She turned back and took Charlie’s arm.

As they walked down the hallway, Charlie wanted to take her into his arms and kiss her soundly. What a woman! She had been right about seeking justice, for as soon as he’d seen Mitch he’d known that what the man was suffering was far worse than anything he could physically do to him. She’d known that and had protected him from his male instinct to destroy. Instead, she’d used her mind… and he knew in that moment that he loved her more than he’d ever thought himself capable of loving. She was beautiful, tender, intelligent… graceful yet humorous, resilient, yet vulnerable and she made his body throb with desire. Plus she had more decency and goodness in her than anyone else he had ever met. How he wanted to sweep her into his arms and take her away from all this ugliness, but he knew he couldn’t act on his fantasy. It wouldn’t be fair to either of them, and nothing would be good or last between them until he got rid of this cold, hard stone in his heart. Although his body yearned to melt with hers again, he knew he had to distance himself from anything or anyone connected to Mitch Davies.

And, even though it ripped apart his soul, that included her son.

It was better to leave as he had planned. She would never forgive him if she knew…

“We did it, Charlie,” she whispered, as he opened the front door for her. “We won.”

He smiled sadly. “It appears we did.”

“You’re not happy,” she said, standing in the sunlight and pulling back on his arm.

He looked down at her and squeezed her hand on his arm. “I am happy that it’s over, Suzanne, and I’m grateful to you for your brilliant mind and for keeping me from following my first instincts. Once more, you have saved the day… and me.”

“But I can hear a ‘but’ coming,” she said with a smile.

How he wanted to take her in his arms, yet he knew it would only be selfish. “But I still must leave this place.”

“I’ll go with you,” she said impulsively. “We could make a new beginning somewhere else.”

His heart felt like it was breaking apart and he slowly shook his head. “I have to do this alone.”

She stared into his eyes and he could tell she wanted to say more. Instead, she nodded and murmured, “We should get back to the house. This is the first time I’ve left Matty with a baby-sitter.”

He started to put his arm around her and she pulled away. He was startled for just a moment and then he recognized her hurt expression. How could he tell her the truth?

In the car on the way back to her house, Charlie tried several times to speak with her, but she only muttered one-word answers and he was grateful when they pulled into the driveway. She immediately opened the door and he watched as she walked onto the porch and entered the house. He turned off the ignition and stared at the small place Suzanne now called home. What had he really won today? An admittance of betrayal? Why didn’t it feel better? He would be a wealthy man, able to do whatever he wanted. But what he wanted was Suzanne, and he couldn’t have Suzanne without Matty.

He ran his fingers over his face as he accepted his shame. He loved the lad, yet he couldn’t stop thinking of him as being a part of Mitch Davies. Everything Suzanne had told him, everything he had read about chromosomes and DNA proved that Matty was related to Mitch. How could he hope to raise the child and not resent him? Matty didn’t deserve that. He was the innocent in all this, yet the shame of what he was feeling washed over him. He didn’t trust himself to be a good father to the child. What if as Matty grew and, like all children, misbehaved? In his heart, would he see Mitch or Kevin?

He knew it was unfair, even shameful, yet he couldn’t deny the fear inside of him every time he thought about a future with Suzanne and Matty. He had to leave, to sort this out away from them.

Turning the key in the ignition, he shifted the car into reverse and backed out of the driveway. Maybe there was a way.