The Puzzle (9 page)

Chapter 16

Where Do I Go From Here?

Before long, I was forced to acknowledge the fact that everyone who associated with Stephen and me was mainly there for Stephen’s sake. That fact offended my feeling of self-worth. Without it, what was I? It was a rude awakening to finally recognize I had lived in his shadow, with no real friends other than his. He must have manipulated my life from the very beginning and, caught up in a haze of passion, I had done nothing to prevent it. I was too busy hiding among the pages of my books. But maybe I could finally change all that.

Now I could see through clearer eyes, and not through the smokescreen of his lies, deceptions, and excuses. Looking back, I had to ask myself, was I really happy living my life through him? Why did I ignore my unhappiness, my misgivings? Why didn’t I question his secretive nature? Was I postponing the inevitable, conveniently taking the coward’s way out, knowing someday I would be forced to face the unavoidable alternative? Did I live a false life with him because I was afraid of living a genuine one without him?

Didn’t he see what was happening to him, to us? Why did I ignore the truth? Did I look the other way just to avoid more arguments? Years went by and he became more stressed and short-tempered, but I figured it went with his job. Maybe, I was wrong and needed to take a closer look at the time leading up to his death. Maybe I was missing a different perspective.
His.

The reason for his death was the question, along with my future because it now involved me. There had to be some connection I was missing. Why did I come back here, thinking I could find answers in this small town, the town where his family came every year while he was growing up? Why did he choose to build a house here for the two of us and want to maintain a link here? Was he still involved with someone and for what purpose? Legal? Illegal? I had to find out more information about his past, but quickly realized it was probably hopeless. He had been orphaned at an early age and grew up with foster parents, who were now dead. When Stephen first died, I’d tried to find out more, but couldn’t. The social system–privacy issues–whenever I got close to something, I’d arrive at a dead end.

Stephen had told me he had no siblings and no other family, period. I did an online search for relatives and came up empty-handed. I made phone calls and got nowhere. I even looked up variations of his last name, thinking he might have changed it, but I came up empty.

There were no photo albums from his past, not even mementos. He said that an apartment fire had occurred and he lost everything. He never wanted to talk about his past, saying it was too painful for him. What was a loving wife to do? I dropped it.

According to my anonymous notes, whatever had been going on was connected to numbers. What kind? Some way, somehow, it all came back to a key. What key? I was making myself crazy with these questions swirling through me day and night, but they needed to be asked.

I was feeling my way, uncertain, unsafe–making my own mistakes. I was learning how to go about getting what I wanted for a change.

Yes, I still felt vulnerable, but I was gradually changing, adapting, and growing stronger.

I decided to trust Jack to tell me some things. He had known Stephen practically all his life.

There was nothing suspicious in me asking him about my husband, was there?

Chapter 17

Just The Facts Please

Coffee at the diner was an ideal location to meet with Jack. I glanced around at the people in the various booths while I waited for him. I recognized a few of the other customers, but they were mere acquaintances. Even after living there for several months, I was still considered an outsider.

I hoped our meeting wouldn’t engender too much gossip. There was plenty of speculation going on about me as it was and I wanted to remain as inconspicuous as possible.

Still, everyone knew Jack had built our house for us and although Mike might have been the foreman, Jack was the boss. Jack not only sold us the property, but also owned the construction company. So one more meeting over coffee was not out of the ordinary. There were always kinks to work out in a new house anyway, and besides, everyone knew Jack watched over me protectively. Almost everyone else kept
their
distance.
Why
, I wondered? Was it respect or fear? That was anybody’s guess. In any case, I was still questioning the motives of everyone I knew, including Jack’s, but tried to seem busy and reserved.

My eyes zeroed in on him as soon as he entered. What did I really know about this man, other than some kind of relationship with Stephen in the past? They had known each other from way before I ever came along. I took a lot for granted on my husband’s word alone, never questioning anything. Why would I? I believed Stephen implicitly. Now, here I was, finally asking those questions I should have asked so long ago.

Stephen had claimed Jack was like a father figure to him, convincingly, too, I might add. Considering the circumstances I was currently involved in, maybe both of us had an agenda. During those months of transition, I had absolutely no one else to turn to. Could it possibly be I was too blinded by emotion and perceived Jack’s motives as nothing more than compassion for a young grieving widow?

He came over and sat down. “Hi, Samantha. Your call, inviting me for a cup of coffee sure was a welcome break from my busy schedule.”

“Hi, Jack, glad you could make it. How is Barbara doing?”

“Just fine. I think she was secretly delighted to get rid of me for the morning though. That’s what’s so hard about working out of my house. We sometimes get sick of seeing each other.”

I knew the two of them lived together and he was exaggerating. They both wanted companionship and living separately made no sense because their spouses were both deceased. With his office located there, she pretty much saw him all the time.

We laughed, knowing how famous he was for his temper, and that probably was the real reason she was glad he was gone for a while. Though I had never been witness to it, I heard all the rumors about his notorious temper from Martha. Plus, Mike had informed me on a number of occasions that after a while people learned to back off when Jack got angry and let him cool down on his own.

After we settled in with our coffee, I casually asked, “I was wondering if you could tell me a little background about Stephen, you know, those years before I met him.”

His eyes immediately fixed on mine. “What exactly did you want to know?”

I took a breath and jumped right in. “I always felt some confusion about his past that never made sense to me,” I began, slowly. “I don’t know much about his background. He was always so vague and aloof whenever I tried to pursue the subject. Maybe you could tell me when and how you first met Stephen.”

I wasn’t positive, but thought I noticed a shift in his usually easy-going expression.

“Well,” Jack began, “I met Stephen and his foster parents one summer, my goodness, quite a few years ago.”

Surprised to hear their relationship went back that far, I remarked, “I knew very little about his foster parents. Stephen always tried to avoid the subject and I’ve always wondered why.”

Jack smiled. “He did have his boundaries, didn’t he? Let’s see, they used to stay in one of the summer cottages I owned and rented on Mirror Lake. They were nice enough people, but didn’t know the first thing about keeping a restless boy from getting bored in the summer. I can tell you, I took a liking to Stephen right away. He was quiet, smart and eager to learn.”

“Learn what?” I asked, curiously.

“Oh, every time he saw me, he kept expressing interest in the building business and with his foster parent’s permission, I eventually let him help out on the site, you know, doing odd jobs. To tell you the truth, I think they were relieved to get rid of him for a few hours each day. They didn’t know what to do with the kid. It was sad. Pretty soon, he stayed longer and longer until finally, I started to drive him back at the end of each day, instead of them picking him up. They were happy with the arrangement and knew from the locals I could be trusted. He seemed a lonely kid who just needed some guidance.”

“How old was he when you first met him?” I asked.

“Oh, I guess he was in his late teens. But what amazed me was what a whiz he was with figures. He had a photographic memory, could add columns of numbers in seconds, and a high IQ. I was sure of it. The Blackburns had no clue. Then, at the end of one summer, there was a tragic accident. They were killed on the road at night driving up the mountain when they were coming back to town. Rumor had it from an eyewitness; a large truck was on the way down and passed around that hairpin bend in the road. You know that dangerous one. It was foggy and they must have mistakenly overcompensated in the fog and ended up in the gorge, down maybe a thousand feet below, crashing among the water and boulders. They never had a chance.”

Why didn’t Stephen ever tell me any of this?

“It must have been horrible.”

“It was. Stephan was left homeless in an instant. He was so upset he tried to runaway. I grabbed a hold of him and tried to talk some sense into him. He asked if I would hire him in my construction company. I can tell you that would have been a waste, knowing that boy’s smarts, but I hated to see him leave. I thought about it and made him an offer. I didn’t have any children of my own and Stephen was like the son I always wanted, but never had. I told him I would pay for his college if he went into accounting. He had a gift with numbers and I wanted to help him out. I felt sorry for him. He had no one and I knew I could well afford it. Besides, I had a catch. If he accepted, then after graduation, he would come and work for me for five years to pay me back. No strings attached after that and eventually, he finally accepted.”

“Did he stay the five years?” I asked.

“No. He stayed seven, and then left for the city for a more social life. I really couldn’t blame him. I was sorry to see him go though, as I valued those years we spent together a lot.”

“Jack, this is so surprising, this personal relationship you had with Stephen.”

“I don’t see why he didn’t tell you. He was a great guy–you were one lucky woman. You know, he could talk anyone into anything.”

That fact I was well aware of.

“What happened after that?”

“He assured me he would still work on the books electronically long distance.”

“Is that how you two stayed in touch?”

“Yes.” With a pained expression, Jack looked away.

“Where did he go from here?” I asked, hopeful for something more.

“Where he was when you met him, at his so-called prestigious accounting firm. You knew him from then on.”

“How long did he continue to do your paperwork?”

“He quit several months ago. I was surprised, I admit. It hurt, especially considering our history together. I took it pretty hard. He was just like family to me.”

“Did you ask him why?”

“He flat out told me to get someone else, and refused to give any other explanation. What could I say?”

I nodded, but I was puzzled. Jack gave up without a fight? How strange. Didn’t add up, but then what did add up when it concerned this other side to the Stephen I never knew? I could see Jack was just as crushed as I was about Stephen’s death. He sure looked it, as he suddenly became misty-eyed.

I placed my hand on his. “I’m so sorry Jack. I thought I was the only one hurting so much. Please, forgive me asking about all this. I really didn’t know how involved your connection to Stephen was.”

I sat in the booth, long after Jack left. I couldn’t believe what I had heard. This turn of events left me with a lot to think about. Some of what happened in Stephen’s past finally made sense to me, but why did this new information disturb me and leave me with more questions? Some of those gaps were slowly filling in, but more opened up. How complicated was their relationship? Why didn’t Stephen explain to Jack why he would no longer work for him? Why was he so evasive and secretive? What was he hiding? Did his secretiveness have anything to do with his death? I knew one thing for certain.

My laptop would definitely be working overtime.

Chapter 18

So, I Was Wrong About A Lot Of Things

I know, I know, I was wrong about Jack. Well, who could blame me? Here I was trying to figure out who killed Stephen and why, and becoming more suspicious each day of everything and everyone around me, and everything I found out was a surprise. What surprised me the most was how little I knew Stephen. Here was someone I was supposedly living the rest of my life with and I didn’t have any idea what was going on right in front of me.