Lilies and Roses

++++++++++++++++++ Chapter 2

Working on Saturday has its' benefits

Going back to the office, he finished up the work he had left the night before. It took him the hour that he had estimated to Megan. He put it all together and took it to his secretary's desk, all nice and neat. Just like always. Only this time it wasn't just like always. Callie was a good secretary. He was thinking about that when he thought he heard someone come into the building. He went to check and the door opened as he arrived. It was Tabitha Clark.

She was casually dressed in a sleeveless white top and loose white shorts with ankle socks and sneakers which set off her nice tan. She hadn't used any make up except for a little pink lip gloss and her blond hair was brushed and held back with one of those scrunchy hair things.

"Hi Ted," she smiled at him. "I was looking for Ron, isn't he in his office this morning? I didn't see his car outside, but he told me that he would be in his office all morning."

"No," replied Ted. "I'm the only one here working and have been all morning. I have never seen Ron here unless it is during the week."

She frowned at that and then asked, "May I come in and talk to you for a few minutes? I have a few questions that, hopefully, you might be able to answer for me."

"Sure, come on in. Would you like some coffee? I made a pot, but I don't think I can drink it all."

She nodded and entered his office while he fetched her a cup. "Black is fine," she offered to his questioning look.

He sat in a chair next to her instead of behind his desk as he handed her the coffee.

"Ok, what can I do for you this morning?"

She handed him an envelope and let him read it before asking, "Why is your name on a credit card company statement with my address printed on it? I was going to give it to Ron, but since you are here I will ask you."

It was a window envelope from the credit card company that Fernando and Freddy had asked him about the night before. He felt that hollow feeling pushing up again and considered the possibilities. Possibilities, hell, they were probabilities now. He realized he hadn't answered when Tabitha cleared her throat. Her face was carefully neutral he noted, but she was obviously very curious.

"First of all, I have no idea why you would be getting my mail at your house," he said. "Especially since I don't have an account with this company." For some reason he couldn't explain, he decided to trust Tabitha. After all, she had brought this information to him.

He then said, "I have recently received various indications that things aren't what they appear to be in my life and now this is another disturbing item. Umm... If I might digress for a moment, were you and Ron home last night?"

"I was, but Ron had a business meeting of some sort. He told me that this one was about some real estate venture. He is usually gone every Friday night to one of these meetings. He told me that because of incompetent employees, he has to redo everyone's work and doesn't have time to take care of his own until later. That's why I came here. I also need to tell you that this isn't the first time a bill of this sort has been delivered to our house. I gave the others to Ron and he said he would talk to you. From your expression, I gather that Ron didn't tell you about this. This is very upsetting to me right now. Do you have any idea what is going on?"

"Ummm, look, I really need someone to talk to about this crazy situation. Unfortunately, I won't have anything solid until Monday. I have been invited to have lunch at the Elite on Monday at 2pm. Could you meet me there? I'm sure we both would like to find out what is going on and this could be a first step in that direction."

Tabitha looked at him for a moment, then made her decision. "As a matter of fact, I don't have anything planned at that time. Yes, I will meet you there, but isn't the Elite closed on Mondays?"

"Yes it is. Just one more piece of a big puzzle. I would appreciate it if you didn't say anything to Ron until after we get some answers. Since he hasn't told me about any other credit card statements, he might get upset with you for bringing this one here and probably very upset if he knows you gave this to me."

"Ok, so I will meet you there at 2pm on Monday. I do have to be home by 4pm because we are going to a school function at 630pm."

"I'm sure that won't be a problem. I will keep this envelope in my desk and bring it with me, if that is all right."

Nodding slowly, Tabitha arose and left the building. Ted sat thinking for a long time about possibilities, probabilities, and sure things. Hmmm.

He stopped at a small diner and ate a BLT and drank a beer. He was putting off going home for a little while longer. Finally he went home. Megan was watching some gardening show on the television and ignored him when he came in the door. 'Fine with me,' he thought. He changed into his trunks and went for a swim. He lay on a chaise lounge the rest of the afternoon. He finally went inside, showered, and changed into a casual shirt and slacks. He walked through the house and Megan was still watching the television, only it was a different gardening show. She didn't look his way. He mentally shrugged his shoulders and decided to go out to eat. Someplace different this time. If he was going to be doing this a lot in the future, he would need to explore his options. He really didn't want to talk to her or be in her company. She made no indication she had even noticed him.

He had a beer with his steak, potato, and some vegetable. Well, what the hell? It wasn't as though he was missing anything at the house. She apparently didn't want or even need his company and she damn sure didn't want to sleep with him. He considered moving into one of the kids' rooms. No, why make it easy on her and it was his damn bed. If she wants to move, more power to her. Finally he went back home and went straight to bed. She never asked where he'd been and apparently hadn't fixed dinner for them. He didn't smell any cooking odors. Maybe she is eating over at Gretel's also. Wouldn't it be easier to move over there? 'Just as well,' he thought. 'This way he wouldn't have to worry about her poisoning him.'

He didn't know when she came to bed. The next morning he didn't get up until almost noon. He went outside and spent the afternoon on yard work and some chores. Megan was by the pool, so he worked around the rest of the house and in the garage. About 6pm or so, he showered and changed into some casual clothes. Megan was sitting at the kitchen table when he came out of the bedroom. She just looked at him when he paused for a moment. She still looked pissed and he didn't feel like fighting. He turned and left for the diner.

He was sitting in a booth with his back to the door when Greg slid into the other side facing him.

"Hey, old buddy. What's going on? My wife got a call from your wife saying you were acting strange. Your upset wife got my wife upset, so I have to drive around and find your car and you and find out what is going on. Why is everyone upset?"

Ted drank some of his beer and just looked at Greg. Jesus, he was a good actor. Was it something they taught in law school? Finally he said, "I'm sorry to hear that my wife is upset. She didn't look upset to me, just pissed off. That could be because I said 'fuck you bitch' yesterday. And, no, I'm not going to apologize to her. She didn't say anything to me about being upset. As a matter of fact, she hasn't said anything at all. And that too is fine with me. Since you and Gretel have been such good friends to us in the past, I'm sorry that Megan got Gretel upset. I'm also sorry that you had to leave your loving home to find me. I personally don't think that anything going on between me and Megan is worth your time and effort, much less your business. Now, you have found me. I'm not upset, you don't look upset, and now you can go home and tell Gretel not to be upset. If Megan is upset, then she can either tell me that she is upset and discuss it or she can stop being upset. Either way, I don't care what she does. I meant what I said and I'm not about to apologize to her or anyone else."

"Oh, come on now Ted," Greg grinned at him. "I know you better than that. I want you to know that whatever problems you think you might have, I am here to help you. That's what friends are for, right?"

Turning in the booth, Greg motioned to the waitress and ordered a beer. He didn't see the look of hate that flashed on Ted's face. "Now, how about we start with the 'Fuck you bitch' you said to Megan," Greg continued. "That doesn't sound like you at all."

'Friends don't stab friends in the back and fuck their friends spouses', Ted thought. 'I wonder what kind of shenanigans you all are trying to pull. I'll bet not very many card games are played, that's for sure. It also puts a new meaning on rubber set.'

The waitress brought the beer and sat it down in front of Greg. "Do you want another beer?" she asked Ted.

"No thanks," Ted replied. "Just bring a check for me, please. My friend will be staying. He'll be needing a shot of courage before going home to his upset wife."

He then looked at Greg and said, "That was nice. We'll have to do it again sometime. Maybe next time I'll make a reservation for us and maybe even show up. Enjoy your beer."

Greg sat there with his mouth hanging open. Ted noted he had never seen Greg so flustered before. He thought that lawyers were trained not to show their feelings like that. Maybe he was just getting too complacent. He paid his check and left Greg sitting in the booth. Let him pay for his own damn beer.

Getting in his car, he slowly drove around town. Saturday night used to be fun. He was thinking about the old days and not really watching where he was going and for some reason he found himself on the south side of town. A new development was coming in and was being hyped on billboards. A combination of residential and commercial buildings on one side of the highway with a new industrial park on the other side. The rumors around town were that it was ready to go, especially since some unknown Dallas area investor had put over 6 million into it. For some reason, however, Ted thought something was wrong. Why would some investor from Texas want to invest in this type of development in Colorado when Texas had just as many good opportunities? Most people that he knew wanted to know where there money was and wanted to be able to keep close watch on it. Ted had a bad feeling about this, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Finally, he decided to wander on home. He went inside expecting Megan to be really pissed, but she wasn't home. 'Fuck it,' he thought and went to bed.

Monday morning he got up early and left for work. Megan was asleep and he didn't disturb her. When Callie, his secretary, came in he told her he would be taking a late lunch and wouldn't be back the rest of the day. She raised an eyebrow at him, but agreed to cover for him. She looked like she wanted to say something else, but he waved her out of his office so he could get his work done. He didn't want to get too far behind.

He left for the Elite restaurant and arrived a few minutes before 2pm, parking around back. He got out of his car just as Tabitha pulled in next to him. She surprised him a bit because she was driving a newer BMW. He had thought she was more like a soccer mom with a mini-van. She was dressed much as she was on Saturday, but she had on tan slacks instead of shorts. 'Damn, she looked good,' he thought, 'but then, she'd look good wearing a potato sack.' He escorted her to the back door and knocked. Fernando opened the door and silently looked at them.

Ted made the introductions. "Fernando, this is Mrs. Ron Clark. Tabitha, this is Fernando. He is the maitre d' here at the Elite and he invited me to lunch today. Fernando, I asked her to meet me here since I think we are in the same boat."

Fernando nodded and let them in. He locked the door behind them and escorted them to his office.

"Thank you both for coming today. What we are going to discuss this afternoon is very private and I don't want any of what we are about to discuss getting out." Addressing Tabitha he stated, "I am glad to meet you, Tabitha. I was wondering how to contact you discreetly, but this time things worked out for the best."

He looked at them and asked, "Are we agreed on confidentiality?" He waited for their assent before he continued. "Yes, I am the maitre d', but I am also a partner in the business. Therefore, what concerns the Elite also concerns me."

Looking at Ted he said, "I called Freddy and he told me about your meeting. Now, may I ask how you were able to bring Tabitha today?"

Ted related the events on Saturday morning with Tabitha, then took the envelope from his coat pocket and handed it to Fernando.

"Why didn't you open it?" Fernando asked.

"I wanted to wait and see what you and Freddy had to show me. I might have to send it back home with Tabitha and I wouldn't want to alert Ron ahead of time."

"Good thinking," mused Fernando. Straightening up and handing the envelope back to Ted he continued, "What it looks like from here is a case of felony fraud and identity theft." He paused at Tabitha's gasp of surprise. Ted had been thinking about this over the weekend, so he wasn't as surprised. He felt stabbed in the back, used, betrayed, made a fool of, and fucked over, but not surprised.

"I'm sorry to give you that bad news, but let me show you what I have put together."

He picked up a computer print out from a stack of papers and handed it to Ted. "This is a list of dates and amounts charged on that credit card and also a list of charges made in your name. As you can see, there are three different account numbers and two different credit card companies. That means 6 different cards are being used. Now, these charges go back approximately 4 months. I will ask you now, Ted, have you made any of these charges?"

That hollow feeling came back again, but this time Ted managed to keep his composure. Ted scanned the list and then again slowly for confirmation. He noted the total was almost $5500. "No, Fernando. I'm sorry, but these are not my charges." He handed the list to Tabitha and asked, "Do you recognize any of these dates?"

She also scanned the list and rather bitterly replied, "No. We've been here twice since we moved here and that was well before any of these charges were made." Looking at Fernando she asked, "Didn't you ask for any identification before you accepted the cards?"

Fernando looked back at her and said, "Yes. We always ask for an ID, whether for checks or credit cards, every time they are used. Our regular customers are used to it and, I think, enjoy that feeling of being protected. I also have copies of the receipts for the last month. We keep them on file in case of credit card statement problems with the companies or with our customers. Now, Ted, would you look at these receipts and check the signature for me?" Then looking a Tabitha again, he asked, "Maybe I should see your identification also. I need to make sure of the players on each side and I think this is going to become rather complicated."

Tabitha cocked her head at him, then with a half smile she gave him her drivers license. Fernando looked at it and her, then nodded as he gave it back. "Thank you for being patient with me," he stated quietly.

He handed Ted the stack of receipts. Glancing through them, he didn't see his signature on any at all. Without being asked, he picked up a piece of paper from the desk and wrote his signature, then handed it to Fernando. He then pulled his license from his wallet and offered it for comparison. "I know I showed you my ID last Friday, but I didn't give you a signature sample at that time. And, no, I'm not offended," he told Fernando.

Fernando checked both and then offered the receipts to Tabitha. She compared the signatures, then looked at them a little closer. Looking at Fernando she said, "This looks like Ron's handwriting. See the loop at the end of Johnson? He puts a similar loop on the end of Clark. OK, so what do we do now?"

Ted looked at Fernando and Tabitha and then said, "Well, let's see now. Ron has been using at least 6 credit cards in my name for several months. Apparently he has also been paying the bills, otherwise he couldn't continue to use them as I would have been notified. This indicates that he doesn't want to ruin my credit or stick me with a bunch of unanswered questions about these bills. Therefore, it could mean that he is trying to establish a pattern of credit card use or abuse of some sort, or he wants to establish himself as me in certain situations or businesses, or maybe even there is something else going on that is bigger than that. I would also point out that my wife and best friends are obviously helping him, since they all call him Ted. I don't remember whether I told you, but the other couple have a legal firm here in town. He is a commercial business lawyer specializing in real estate and she is a paralegal working in his office."

Tabitha had been trying to reconcile her thoughts about Ron's actions while listening to Ted's suppositions when she snapped her head up and asked Ted, "Who is the other couple? What are their names?"

"They are Greg and Gretel Howard. They have the Howard and Howard Legal Offices downtown."

Tabitha chewed on her lower lip and then said, "We have had them to dinner a few times for a social evening and then we played Canasta. They seem to get along quite well with Ron. Apparently they knew each other even before we moved here from Dallas, but I didn't meet them until we were all here. They have been discussing some sort of real estate development project here, but I get the feeling sometimes that they don't want me to know any of the details."

She paused for a moment then asked, "By the way, you mentioned Freddy. Who is he and is he also being defrauded?"

Ted had been following her line of thought. She was logical and had a sharp mind. She was also doing a good job of maintaining her self control. Smart and beautiful could be a dangerous combination. Adding patience and self control to the mix would make her formidable.

He avoided a direct answer, instead replying, "Freddy and I agreed to meet after I was finished here. Would you like to come along? I'm sure it won't take very long."

"Yes I would," she averred. "I've had a bad feeling for quite a while and now I'm just as curious as you are. I'm also wondering how my husband's actions are going to impact me and the girls."

Ted looked back to Fernando and said, "Thank you for your time. I will be looking at some sort of legal action in the very near future. May I count on your support? I would like to make sure that your business doesn't take a hit, but things need to be made right."

Fernando nodded as he smiled and said, "Yes. I will help you in any way possible. I also think you need a more impartial lawyer than your friend and I can help. I know some good people and will have one of them contact you, very discreetly I might add."

Ted replied, "Thank you Fernando. Tabitha, why don't you ride over with me and then I will bring you back? It shouldn't take too long."

"Ok, let's go."

Ted drove to the Marriott and parked near the door. Tabitha's face paled and got a strange look as they arrived, and then she was suddenly very nervous. Ted watched quietly as her mind processed this additional information and knew she was going through the same trauma he had last Friday night. Finally, he got out and opened her car door.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know how to tell you, so I took the cowards way out and just brought you here," Ted said quietly. He helped her out of the car and escorted her inside. He saw Freddy seated in a chair at the side of the lobby and steered Tabitha towards him. Freddy rose and shook hands as Ted made the introductions.