Southern Bound - A Paranormal-Mystery (Max Porter Mysteries Book 1) by Stuart Jaffe Page A
Authors: Stuart Jaffe
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caused her to look that way. If this was "truth time," then he had to start with himself. "Okay," he said. "Michigan was my fault, and I think all of this is my fault, too."
Sandra drank her beer as she settled into her chair. Then, with a tired yet still boiling tone, she said, "They accused you of sleeping with a student, and I believe whole-heartedly you didn't do it. So, let's start with that. I want to know why you let them fire you. And don't tell me how you hated your boss and the legal costs were too high and all those other excuses you've used before. I want to know the truth. Why didn't you fight for that job?"
Max closed his eyes and nodded. "It's funny, I always tell myself it happened because of the boss thing or that my ideas were stolen or a number of other excuses. Truth is, though, I deserved to be fired. That's why I didn't fight. I knew if we fought back, they'd look into my work, my files, everything. They'd poke into everything, and eventually they'd learn that I had done something wrong. Not what they accused me of, I never slept with a student, but something that could've landed me in jail."
"What did you do?" Sandra asked, her voice quiet and frightened like a girl being told her mommy was being arrested.
Max swallowed hard. "I found a loophole in their computer accounting system. I was talking with the principal one day and it was just there on her desk and she was nowhere and I don't know what I was thinking, but I just reached over and made a few checks for CASH."
"You embezzled from a school?"
"We were freezing to death, for crying out loud. I'm sorry I'm not the great provider, but I had to do something. And really, isn't that why we're here? We hated how hard our lives were back there. We hated it. All the time, we complained and griped and it was ripping us to pieces. We barely talked about anything else. Then, this job landed in my lap and we saw the dollar signs and that was it, no questions."
"It wasn't like that."
"No, no. This is truth time. We both accepted that there was something odd about this job. We both knew it was not on the up-and-up."
Indignation flashed in Sandra's eyes, only to be replaced by calm acceptance. A single tear escaped her tight control, and with a trembling voice, she asked, "How bad is it this time? Are you going to go to jail?"
"What? No. I've done nothing wrong. I'm just researching old history looking for buildings. That's it. But obviously, there's more to all this than real estate deals."
"Obviously."
Max shifted in his chair and fire swelled from his bruises and seared up his side. "It's all crazy. I've actually been thinking how nice Michigan was."
"Michigan was a crappy mess."
"My point exactly." Max dropped his hands to his lap. "I've just got to get through the job. Just do the research, get my check, and then I'll quit. I'll walk away."
"Honey, you're not thinking. When does somebody ever get to walk away from people like this?"
"But I don't know anything."
"Does that really matter? What you need to do is quit all this Drummond business, do your job, and keep your mouth shut and your ears open. We need to find some way to get out, something to hold over their heads."
"Are you crazy? These people sent two men to beat me up. They had a gun to your head."
"I haven't forgotten," Sandra said, her anger erupting as tears streamed out unchecked. "But we can't just sit back and wait for you to piss them off enough to kill us. You need to do something. You don't like my idea, fine. You tell me, then. What can we do?"
Max sagged in his chair. He knew all along this question was coming, and he knew the answer. "You won't like it," he said and finished his drink, the clinking ice cubes underscoring his soft words.
"I don't like any of this."
"I'm going to help Drummond. I know that seems nuts to you, but there's more to it than you know, and if I can find out what happened to ... what happened, then maybe I'll have that missing something you
Sandra drank her beer as she settled into her chair. Then, with a tired yet still boiling tone, she said, "They accused you of sleeping with a student, and I believe whole-heartedly you didn't do it. So, let's start with that. I want to know why you let them fire you. And don't tell me how you hated your boss and the legal costs were too high and all those other excuses you've used before. I want to know the truth. Why didn't you fight for that job?"
Max closed his eyes and nodded. "It's funny, I always tell myself it happened because of the boss thing or that my ideas were stolen or a number of other excuses. Truth is, though, I deserved to be fired. That's why I didn't fight. I knew if we fought back, they'd look into my work, my files, everything. They'd poke into everything, and eventually they'd learn that I had done something wrong. Not what they accused me of, I never slept with a student, but something that could've landed me in jail."
"What did you do?" Sandra asked, her voice quiet and frightened like a girl being told her mommy was being arrested.
Max swallowed hard. "I found a loophole in their computer accounting system. I was talking with the principal one day and it was just there on her desk and she was nowhere and I don't know what I was thinking, but I just reached over and made a few checks for CASH."
"You embezzled from a school?"
"We were freezing to death, for crying out loud. I'm sorry I'm not the great provider, but I had to do something. And really, isn't that why we're here? We hated how hard our lives were back there. We hated it. All the time, we complained and griped and it was ripping us to pieces. We barely talked about anything else. Then, this job landed in my lap and we saw the dollar signs and that was it, no questions."
"It wasn't like that."
"No, no. This is truth time. We both accepted that there was something odd about this job. We both knew it was not on the up-and-up."
Indignation flashed in Sandra's eyes, only to be replaced by calm acceptance. A single tear escaped her tight control, and with a trembling voice, she asked, "How bad is it this time? Are you going to go to jail?"
"What? No. I've done nothing wrong. I'm just researching old history looking for buildings. That's it. But obviously, there's more to all this than real estate deals."
"Obviously."
Max shifted in his chair and fire swelled from his bruises and seared up his side. "It's all crazy. I've actually been thinking how nice Michigan was."
"Michigan was a crappy mess."
"My point exactly." Max dropped his hands to his lap. "I've just got to get through the job. Just do the research, get my check, and then I'll quit. I'll walk away."
"Honey, you're not thinking. When does somebody ever get to walk away from people like this?"
"But I don't know anything."
"Does that really matter? What you need to do is quit all this Drummond business, do your job, and keep your mouth shut and your ears open. We need to find some way to get out, something to hold over their heads."
"Are you crazy? These people sent two men to beat me up. They had a gun to your head."
"I haven't forgotten," Sandra said, her anger erupting as tears streamed out unchecked. "But we can't just sit back and wait for you to piss them off enough to kill us. You need to do something. You don't like my idea, fine. You tell me, then. What can we do?"
Max sagged in his chair. He knew all along this question was coming, and he knew the answer. "You won't like it," he said and finished his drink, the clinking ice cubes underscoring his soft words.
"I don't like any of this."
"I'm going to help Drummond. I know that seems nuts to you, but there's more to it than you know, and if I can find out what happened to ... what happened, then maybe I'll have that missing something you
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