Page 16 of Tom's Chance
“First, Peter and Beatrice returned to the United States. They were at the celebration party, but when they were in the hospital they escaped. They left the country again, but returned a week later. As soon as they entered the terminal, the FBI took them into custody. They were rushed before a judge, and because they had stayed away for a long time, then disappeared again, and returned, they were deemed a flight risk and not only did they have to turn in their passports, but they were denied bail.”
“They’re both sitting in jail right now?”
“Yes. This is where it might get complicated.”
“Not for me.”
“True, you’re right, and not for me either, but definitely for the FBI agents that took Griff Franklin down at the celebration reception.”
“How complicated?”
“Let me tell you what’s going on by person first.”
“I’m listening,” Lorissa said as she pushed her empty plate aside and leaned back with her cup of coffee in her hands.
“First, Beatrice. She’s proving to be extremely difficult. Agent Haller’s words, not mine. When I went to give my deposition, I saw it first-hand.”
“What’s she saying or doing that are lies about us?”
“Nothing. She hasn’t said one word to anyone since she was taken into custody at the airport. She doesn’t talk to her own lawyer, any of the agents that try to interview her, nor any cell mates. She is tight lipped about everything.” Laurie looked at her daughter with a grin. “He lips are pinched so tight that her mouth looks like an asshole. Literally.”
“Damn, I never thought that old bat would keep her trap shut. Let alone could. I remember she always had to flap her gums about something or other that she didn’t agree with in your lives.” Lorissa grinned when both Laurie and Lois spat out the sip of coffee they’d just taken at her words. She only shrugged. “Okay, what else?”
“I don’t know exactly what happened, and I had to piece this together on my own. I don’t know if it’s true or not, so I’m speculating here. Peter was beaten up at least three times since going into custody.”
“Why? Sure, he’s probably in for attempted murder when he hit you with that baseball bat, and welding that gun at us at the celebration, but I’m sure there are other criminals in jail with worse charges against them. Why would he be beaten? Oh, wait, did he open his pie hole and spew crap?”
“Not that I’m aware of. Again, this is me piecing things together on my own. The three different men that beat him over the course of a week are men he cuckolded.”
“Huh?”
“They were the husbands of the women he screwed while he was still married to me.”
“Ah, got it. I take it he survived the beating, no internal injuries.?”
“Yes, a couple of black eyes, broken ribs, his lip is split in three different places. All cuts and bruises, nothing that needed surgery. Though I’m sure it’s painful, and looks awful, but as Agent Haller explained it to me, it’s basically surface damage.”
“Got it. What else? Is he talking?”
“Yes, but he’s blaming his affairs on me. He refuses to talk about anything about his attack on me, the divorce, or anything after he found out that I told him I was pregnant with you.”
“Did the beatings scramble his brains?”
“Not that I know of,” Laurie sighed and shook her head as she pushed her own empty plate away, then turned to Duane.
Duane crossed his arms and placed them on the table before his empty plate. “I got a call from Agent Haller after your mother boarded her plane.”
“What happened?”
“Because Beatrice and Peter were gone for weeks without returning, the FBI went to a federal judge and got a warrant to go over the books to Stanton Enterprises.”
“What did they find?”
“Again, Beatrice isn’t talking, but from the paper trail, it seems that after her husband was called out for embezzlement and took his own life, their financial problems weren’t over. The only thing keeping Stanton Enterprises, and Beatrice and Peter personally afloat was the money your mother’s company paid them while she was still married to him.”
“Let me guess, with the divorce final, the money stopped, and they’re floundering.” She looked between her mother and Duane with a grin. “Professionally, as well as personally?”
“Yes, they are still investigating, but it looks like Griff Franklin might have been a mole in Gibson Associates to report back to Stanton Enterprises. Oh, I forgot to mention this, but he hasn’t been able to make bail since he was arrested the night of thecelebration. The only good thing, but it would depend on how you look at it, but the only good thing is that he’s in a different part of the jail from Peter. They’re still looking into whether Griff ordered the hits on Peter or not.
