The Love Of Money - Episode 276
22-08-25 (10:48)
The backs of my eyes started to sting, and I looked
away, blinking rapidly and trying to pull myself
together. I didn't want to break down in front of the
guy whose husband died, but goddamn if Dan’s words
tried their best to pull tears out of me. I caught Erin
watching me with the sweetest smile on her face, and
I returned it with a weak one of my own.
Once my feelings were back under control, I looked
back at Dan. “I’m glad I could do that for him, then,” I
said. "I still mean it. Dan, if you still want to follow
through with it, just let me know. I’ll do everything in
my power to help you out. You don’t have to worry
about the money. It’ll be paid for.”
Dan’s face screwed up, and fresh tears started to brim
at the corners of his eyes.
“I’m also happy to help out however else. Childcare…
medical… education. I wish Ray could have been here
with you, but I’d like to do everything in my power to
make you and your family’s lives as easy as possible.
He seemed like a good man, and I want to honor his
sacrifice.”
“Thank you,” Ray’s husband mouthed, unable to voice
the words. He pulled me in for another hug and started
to openly weep. I placed a tentative hand on his back
and rubbed it as I looked around at the people, most of
them watching. I really didn’t want an audience for this.
After a few moments, Dan let me go, gave me another
tearful thanks, and retreated to be with his family.
“That was a good thing you did,” Chloe said, and I
looked behind me to see my bodyguard watching me.
Her brown eyes were much brighter than usual, and I
could have sworn I saw her bottom lip tremble slightly
before she sucked it between her teeth until it
disappeared… likely to prevent me from seeing past a
tough exterior worn so thin that it was barely more
than a thin film.
“It wasn’t that great,” I said, looking back at Dan with
his family. “I just wish I could give him his husband
back. It's like... no matter what I do, it's just not
enough. I guess some things just can’t be bought.”
Chloe and I stood in silence, watching Ray’s family and
friends commiserate quietly with each other for several
moments. Then, out of the blue, Chloe said, “About the
other day…”
I started to look back at her, but my eyes caught the
sight of Natashya and Emily approaching. Chloe
immediately dropped whatever she was about to say
and backed off, giving me some space. Natashya hung
back as Emily closed the distance between us, speaking
quietly with Erin and giving the siblings a few moments
alone.
“Hey,” I said, not quite sure what to say after the way
we ended things. “Thanks for coming.”
“Of course,” Emily said, giving me a small smile of
sympathy. “I wanted to. He was protecting all three of
us. I didn’t know him well…”
She seemed to be searching for words that she couldn’t
quite find.
“None of us did,” I offered. “I didn’t know anything
about him till that afternoon before he died.”
I looked down at the casket, regretting even more that
I hadn’t known more about Ray before he died. He’d
been a whole person with hopes, dreams, aspirations…
and I felt like I’d barely scratched the surface of what
he was.
My gaze lifted, and I saw a figure standing near a tree
halfway across the cemetery. Something about how he
stood and the brimmed hat resting on his head made
me certain Henry Psalter- was standing there, waiting to
talk to me. Chloe had said it wasn’t good news, and
somehow, even standing what felt like half a football
field away, the old spook’s demeanor gave me the
impression that she was right. I needed to talk to him…
but I couldn’t leave things like they were with Emily.
“I don’t want to walk away from this conversation
without things being okay, Em. What’s it gonna take?”
“I don’t know,” Emily said. “I’m having a hard time
understanding how you can justify Bobbi after what
happened to Natashya.”
“It’s not the same thing,” I said. A few days ago, I
might have been saying that to convince myself as
much as her, but I genuinely believed it now. I only
hoped I could persuade her as easily as I'd convinced
myself.
“Why?” Emily asked. Her voice was quietly insistent.
“If Natashya’s captors had opened the door and told her
to leave, she would have been gone before they could
change their mind. I basically did that with Bobbi, and it
just pissed her off.”
Emily stared at me for a long moment. “I want to meet
her,” she finally said.
I shrugged and said, “Sure. Come on—”
“Just me and her,” Emily said, cutting me off.
“Okay. When? Tomorrow?”
“Not tomorrow,” Emily said. “I have a rehearsal.”
“For what?”
“The part I had before we left for Vegas,” she said. “The
other girl dropped out.” Emily looked at me carefully
and said, “There was some kind of disagreement
between her and the director after the theater got a
new benefactor.” She stared at me expectantly for a
beat, and when I didn’t immediately respond, she said,
“Please tell me that wasn’t you trying to buy your way
back into my good graces.”
“Would that have worked?” I asked. “Because if so, I
would’ve done that.”
“You didn’t?”
“No,” I said, bewildered. “I mean, I’m probably the
benefactor. I donated a lot of money to the theater—”
Emily looked confused. “Wait…”
“But that was before the party this weekend.
Remember me telling the rest of the family how I
wanted to help them? I didn’t get around to telling you
what I wanted to do for you. That was part of it.”
“So it was you!”
“No! I didn’t talk to the director or producer or
anything… not about your part! I was thinking about
greasing the wheels a little for future roles, but I
wouldn’t strong-arm them like that. I mean, unless you
really wanted me to, maybe.”
“Okay,” Emily said carefully. “I’ll talk to the producer
and see if I can get a name.”
I nodded, looking back in Psalter-’s direction. He was still
there, standing exactly as I’d last seen him, looking
more like a monument to a long-dead denizen of the
cemetery than a man. “There’s someone I need to talk
to, Em. Just tell me what I need to do.”
“She has a phone, right?”
“Bobbi? I gave her one,” I said.
“Good. Give me her number. I’ll meet her for coffee or
something.”
“No drinks,” I said. “Coffee or food only. She’s had a
drug problem. The last thing she needs—”
“I know,” Emily said. She’d suffered a drug problem that
probably rivaled anything Bobbi had experienced, so
when she said she knew…
“Okay. I’ll text it to you.”
Emily gave me a small smile. “Good. I hope you’re
right.” She hugged herself and looked back at Natashya,
who was still talking to Erin as they watched us.
“Goodbye, Marcus. I’ll talk to you soon.”
I watched as Erin and Natashya exchanged hugs and
kisses before the dancer and my sister departed,
walking across the cemetery toward where'ver they
were parked. Erin stepped beside me, and we watched
as the two ladies left. About a hundred feet away, a
lone figure appeared from behind a large stone statue
of a young woman and followed the pair. Alarm bells
started going off in my head.
“He’s one of ours,” Chloe said, stepping beside me.
“Oh good,” I said, relieved. “I don’t think I’ve seen him
before.”
“He’s new,” she said.
“What’s his name?”
“Jonathan.”
After giving a few rounds of hugs and handshakes to
funeral attendees—including a long hug from Shea—I
crossed the cemetery toward the lone figure still
standing under the tree. Chloe silently trailed behind me
while Erin stayed with the funeral party to handle any
loose ends.
“Mr. Upton,” Henry Psalter- said as I crossed under the
shade of the tree he stood under.
“Mr. Psalter-,” I said back.
“How was the funeral?” he asked.
“It was sad. One of the saddest I’ve been to.”
“That’s because you bear some measure of the
responsibility for this one,” he said.
It was true, but it stung, and the words made me stop
mid-stride as they hit me between the eyes. It was the
first time someone else said out loud what I’d been
thinking.
“I know,” I replied, annoyed.
“Make no mistake,” he said, pulling one hand out of his
pocket and raising it in a placating gesture. “I’m not
suggesting you're to blame. I'm simply pointing out that
our actions have consequences, and powerful men’s
actions have powerful consequences.”
“Is this why you're here?” I asked. “To find some
unique way of telling me that with great power comes
great responsibility?”
“Not at all,” Henry said. “I’m no Ben Parker.”
“Then can we get to the point? I’m not in the mood.”
“Amber Bell was most definitely in Alexandria, Virginia,”
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