Heard It

It had been a long rough week. I was tired and not in a very good mood. Business was great, but my personal life sucked. As I got out of the truck, I was immediately inundated with the sounds and atmosphere of my world. My name is Garrett Turrell. I own and operate the largest gravel pit in this part of the state. I run a tight business and I make a good living. It is noisy, dirty and irritating as hell, but I make good money because I am willing to put up with all the shit that the job requires. I paused briefly, and took a quick survey of my empire before going into the double wide that serves as my office.

"Morning Boss! You look like hell. Did you spent another night with Johnny Walker or one of his brothers?" Nicki Lomax ran the office, and she also keep track of my personal life as best as she could.

"Nope! I just killed a six pack of Black and Tan and watched reruns of Justified. I didn't even go to bed; just passed out on the recliner."

"Well there is a stack of paperwork on your desk and a list of phone calls you need to attend to. When you get caught up, I have some more important stuff to talk about later. By the way, the guy from State Correction Services will be here at nine."

"What the hell does he want? We are submitting all the reports aren't we?"

"Yes Sir! I think he has two new guys that he wants you to consider."

"Damn! Half out workforce is all ready ex cons. How many does he expect us to take on?" Nicki just smiled and shrugged her shoulders. She was one of the first ones that I hired.

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I spent the morning taking care of business. It was just before noon when Nicki brought in the carry-out containers and spread them out on my desk. Lunch came with a diet root beer; Nicki's choice.

"Okay! Now what is so important that you feel that a sit down is necessary?"

"Your wife's cheating."

"Well that is not new news. We've know about that for over a year now."

"I heard from a friend who heard from a friend that things are going to get worse."

"Whoa! That sounds like a line from an old song. What the hell are you talking about?"

"Carla is planning something. The best that I can find out is that it involves Hunter."

Hunter Ellis and I started Empire Enterprises over twenty years ago. Things went well for the first few years and then it all fell apart. I was trying to build the business up with a firm, steady foundation with minimum debt. Hunter felt that we would be better off expanding by using creative financing. The arguing intensified over the years and before long we were no longer communicating in any fashion other than through our lawyers. It became very fierce and was just a step away from getting physical when the lawyers finally ended it. Hunter ended up with Empire Concrete and I ended up with Empire Stone and Gravel. There was no love lost between the two of us.

"Okay, little miss know-it-all. What the hell did your friend who knows a friend have to say?"

"Carla has a standing appointment every week at Lunessa Coiffures with Marcus, her favorite. For some damn reason she likes to talk with Marcus about personal things. Marcus is a real good listener."

"Something sounds fishy."

"You're damn right. I am getting a feeling that she is feeding Marcus."

"You mean like she is expecting him to blab it a round." That got me a nod back.

"So little Miss Nicki, how did you get this dirt?"

"Sabrina, my current flavor of the month and room mate, is one of his shampoo girls. He was trying to impress her."

"What do you think I should do? If it was for real, I would probably kill the sucker. For some damn reason, it doesn't sound right. Hunter was never close to Carla even when we were on good terms. He always thought that I made a big mistake marrying her and he let me know it. Why the hell would he be getting chummy with her now?"

"Garrett! It may be none of my business, but did you get a prenup before you got married?"

Three seconds later Nickie had to duck as my half full can of Dad's root beer hit the wall behind her. "No! Dam it! I didn't need a prenup. I was in love! Dumb! Dumb! Dumb!" Nicki didn't argue with me. She knew I was right.

I didn't finish my lunch. I just grabbed a hard hat and stormed out of the office. I had a lot of stuff to take care of around the yard and in the maintenance sheds. I had to kill some time and try and cool down. I never considered that Hunter would be interested in Carla in a sexual context, but he might stoop low enough to seduce her for business reasons. Was he thinking about getting the gravel business. If I filed for divorce, I could lose half of it to the bitch. Was that his plan? What was in it for her.

Carla and I still cohabited, but that was about it. We shared the house, but not the bed. She had her car and her credit cards. I paid the bills and put up with her. Some nights she never came home. I didn't care.

Two hours later I was back in the office. "You have a meeting with Hunter at the Peanut Bar at four o'clock. He said it was important."

"Nicki, I haven't talked to Hunter in years and now he wants a meeting. I don't like it. How do you feel about going with me?"

"No way, Jose! And when you do go, leave the self carry in the office. We can't have you going off half cocked."

"Who is this 'we' you are taking about?"

"The thirty-eight guys who work here, stupid. What the hell are they going to do if you get yourself arrested? Leave the damn gun in the desk drawer.

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I got there a bit early and ordered a pitcher with two glasses. I assumed that he was coming alone. Hunter was a big sucker. He looked like a biker, but he never owned a motorcycle. He had the beard, pony tail, vest and tattoos, but no bike. He wasn't a wanna be, he was just, Hunter. Conversations in the bar stopped when in walked in, but resumed when he sat down.

"I hope you take care of your business better that you take care of your wife."

"Not my problem anymore. I gave up trying three years ago. Why is that a problem?"

"Garrett. The bitch has been hitting on me for the last month. She has been stopping by the shop regularly and making phone calls to my cell. She knows where I have been hanging out on the weekends and has been showing up. One night, she parked her car on the street in front of my house and left it there over night. She wasn't in the house, but it sure looked like it. Did that get back to you?"

"No! That's the first that I heard of it. You said that she didn't come into the house?"

"No! I never saw her."

"She keeps asking me to go to dinner or dancing with her. Garrett, no offense buddy, but I don't like the woman."

"Me either."

"It gets worse."

"I heard it from a friend, who heard it from a friend, that she had something going on with Vincent Dinino.

What is this, REO speedwagon week? That's the second time I heard that phrase today.

"What are you talking about?"

"Forget it. What did you hear?"

"This is so stupid, you won't believe it. I didn't believe it the first time I heard it. I actually had to get it verified."

"Go on. You got my attention."

"Carla is supposed to have an affair with me. She picked me because you and I are mortal enemies."

"Okay! We hate each other, but mortal enemies is a bit extreme."

"I thought so too. Anyhow, after you find out about it, one of two things will happen. Either you will shoot my ass dead, or if you don't, Vincent will have one of his cronies shoot my ass dead and frame you for it. Either way you will end up in jail."

"So why haven't I found out about this affair?"

"A couple of reasons. First, I have absolutely no interest in having an affair with Carla. Like I said, I can't stand the woman. Second, it appears that she hasn't been able to hint to you that she is having an affair with me, so she can't even get things started up."

"That is funny. I knew about her affair with Dinino for the last six months. I don't give a crap. To be honest, I don't care if you have an affair with her."

"I don't know why they are complicating everything. Why doesn't Vincent just have one of his guys bump you off and get it over with? Why doesn't he frame me for your death? Why does he have to frame anybody? The guy has three car dealerships and two car washes, what else does he want?"

The pitcher was empty. The waitress came over and we both turned our glasses over at the same time. Old habits die hard. As we got up I said, "Same time next week?" He just nodded.

Carla didn't come home that night.

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"How did the meeting go yesterday, boss?"

I flipped her the recorder which she snatched with one hand. "Here. See for yourself."

I sat in my office and started making a list of things that had to be taken care of. The business could run itself, but my personal life was falling apart. None of it made sense. None of it added up. It was totally stupid. The more I worked on it the worse seemed to get. I was getting frustrated.

Nicki knocked and slowly opened the door. She stepped in and threw a travel agency ticket folder on my desk. I looked up at her and shrugged my shoulders.

"The guys decided that you needed a break. They all chipped in. This is for four days and three nights in Montego Bay. The plane leaves at nine tomorrow morning. I will drive you to the airport." I didn't say a thing.

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I had just got my stuff put away when there was a knock on the door. I never saw her before, but she looked awful familiar. She stepped right by me, threw her small travel bag on the bed, and plopped down beside it.

"You're not local, are you?" That got me a big smile.

"I'm Trini, Nicki's sister. I am supposed to keep you out of trouble and sober.

"I thought that you looked familiar." Same eyes, same smile, but her hair was braided a bit tighter than Nicki's. The big question in my mind was her sexual affiliation.

"You're a big guy, Garrett. I am glad Nicki got a room with a king size bed."

My question was answered.

Trini had been here before. She knew where to go and what to do. The four days went fast and we missed all the tourist spots. We did spend too much time in the room the first two days, but made up for it later in the week. We drank in moderation, but over indulged in the food area. Life was great.

Trini flew back with me and Nicki picked us up at the airport. She dropped me off at the house and Trini went home with her.

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The house was empty. What I mean is that Carla was not there and it seemed as if a lot of her stuff was missing. Her phone was on the kitchen table. Her car was gone. I quickly checked the bank and there was no abnormal activity there; just her normal ATM withdrawals. I did however close out all of the credit cards, just in case.

She didn't take any of my stuff and actually left a whole lot of her stuff at the house. I guess the car could only hold so much. I couldn't tell how long she had been gone. There were no notes or messages.

I had been at work about an hour when the suits arrived. It seemed that Vincent Dinino had disappeared and I was a prime suspect because of his relationship with my wife. There was no attempt made on their part to spare my feelings. I had no trouble proving my whereabouts the past four days. They had no idea where my wife was or that she was even missing. They were polite enough to take a missing persons report however. For some reason they did not think that Carla and Vincent were together, but they never explained why.

Nicki and Trini spent the next day moving all of Carla's stuff out of the house. We struggled though without having Nicki in the office. The next day they drove down to Philly and got Trini's belongings. She moved into the house without even asking. The audacity of the woman.

Hunter got the same interrogation that I did from the local police. He didn't have as good an alibi as I did, but he was still covered. Vincent did not have any immediate family, but he did have relatives in the area. Unfortunately none of the wanted anything to do with his car dealerships or the car washes.

Hunter and I spent a whole afternoon going over everything that happened and we still had no idea what they were trying to accomplish. Our relationship was just about back to normal, so it did accomplish something. We started working together again.

Two months later,I got divorce papers through the mail from Reno. I gave them to Nicki and told her to take care of everything. She gave me a big hug, but not as big as the one that I got from Trini when I got home.

"Boss! I heard it from a friend who heard it from a friend that Vincent Dinino's relatives want to make a deal on his old businesses."

"Damn it Nicki! Are you listening to those oldies again. REO speedwagon wasn't even that good."

"Sure they were. You just don't appreciate good stuff when you hear it. Anyway a bunch of the guys want to talk to you about it."

"The cons or the straight guys?"

"Both!"

Sixty days later Empire Enterprises was the proud owner of three car dealerships and two car washes. Oh, did I forget to mention Hunter and I re merged the businesses again.

I always wondered why Nicki sent me on that trip to Jamaica, but I really don't want to know.