“Miss, like I’ve said–”
I was starting to lose hope, but then the call was cut short abruptly. A male voice said, “Miss Mercer?”
“Yes! Are you Owen’s lawyer? Can you tell me where he is? I need to speak with him. I have to fix things.”
He replied, “Miss Mercer, I’m afraid you won’t be able to reach Owen at this time. Communication is kept to a minimum, until things are sorted out.”
“I see.”
After a short silence, he said, “But I will pass on that you’ve called him. Anything you want to say?”
“Just thank him from me and my brother. Declan is getting better. And tell him that I’m waiting for his return. I’d like to thank him, in person.”
“Very well, Miss Mercer. Now, if you don’t mind, don’t try to find him, okay? He will find you, when the time is right.”
“Thanks,” I said, but there were only short beeps on the
other end.
21
Owen
“Is that all she said?” I asked. I was on the island, taking a walk up in its hills, trying my hardest not to go insane. “Are you certain?”
“Yes, Owen. Sydney thanks you, and she’s waiting for you. Nothing to worry about. Her brother is getting better.”
“Good, good. Thanks for the update. Now, where are we with the case? To be honest, Lucas, I’m losing it down here.”
“Hang in there Owen, because we might be onto something. So far, every case they tried to file has been dismissed. As we predicted, they brought up the fact of the amount of accounts of suspicious business practices, but every case was looked at separately, and you have covered all your bases there.”
“Told you!”
“That’s not all. This week has been the busiest. The IRS wants to look into everything at once, and they want to drag every member of the board into court to ask them about the deals. Thankfully, like you, they have good lawyers.”
I kicked a rock of a cliff and watched it bounced down the slope. “If you’re quite done sucking your own dick, get to the point.”
Baxter snickered. “The point is, they’re looking for you like you’re the fucking Cinderella, Owen, but they have no leverage. There isn’t a judge insane enough send the feds after you. In other news, your people have done a good job clearing most of your charities, or whatever you want to call them. And since it’s all tied in, your shell corporations have been cleared, as well. Basically, the IRS is at square one. You were right, they will have to dive into paperwork like Scrooge McDuck into money, if they hope to ever prove anything.”
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying, Lucas? Am I good to go?” I stopped in the middle of the forest path, ready to turn back given the signal.
“Yes, Owen, you can come home. I will issue an official press-release and notify your office.”
“I owe you a dinner, man.”
“You owe me a lot more than that, Owen. See ya.”
I clicked off and ran back to my mansion, leaping over rocks and tree branches, like some feral beast. When I reached the paved road, I slowed down and called my pilot. I had forty minutes to get ready.
I hadn’t shaved in weeks – because, why would he? – so that was the first order of business. As the hair fell into the sink, I began to recognize the person in the mirror. I smiled, thinking of Sydney, she’d appreciate a good shave on his face. She was waiting for him. Which meant he had a chance.
There were no things to pack, so I grabbed my phone and my wallet and raced to the airfield.
“I trust everything worked out for the best?” the pilot asked me, as I was boarding.
“Not yet. Let’s get the fuck off this island already and fix that.”
Finally, I landed back in Chicago. On my way home, I felt like I had never left: the city was still the same, busy and oblivious to everything out of its immediate reach. As they were moving east on I-90, nobody paid me any attention. It was like I wasn’t even there. It felt good. He hoped it would carry on that way. I didn’t want public attention any more. A month earlier he might have used this scandal to promote himself and the company, but that seemed so insignificant now. There was only one thing he truly wanted.