RECKLESS AUDACITY

CHAPTER 7: The Revision

Presidio Heights, November 2009

Mardy pushed her Lexus LS along Walnut Street and pulled to a stop in the driveway of their spacious single-family home, built in a classic Tudor Revival architectural style. It has a grand entrance, with wide columns, ornate carvings and very large windows which admit plenty of natural light. She adored their new home, and today, with the children at her parent’s, she intended to have a well deserved rest. Edward, as was the practice these days, was away on business. She wondered if anything was going to change - it was all work and travel for him for the past 4 years since landing their first major contract. She had tried to be as supportive as she could - he wanted him to succeed - but definitely not at the expense of his family.

She stood in the large spacious living room, and resisted the temptation of pouring herself a glass of wine. She was going to find some purpose in her life - take on a hobby to fill up her free time. She had cut back on her working hours so she could spend more time with her children, but had kicked against the idea of being a sit-at-home wife. She had rather opted to work twenty hours a week at the local news outlet that published family oriented newsletters and magazines.

She had always wanted to write poetry. It was a natural inclination given that she majored in English at Yale. And so today, she was going to kick start that new chapter in her life. She walked purposefully into Edward’s den and searched for his old laptop. He had only used it for a couple of months and dumped it because someone had gifted him the latest Apple Air. She found it tucked in an old briefcase. She pulled it out, displacing a call card along with it. She picked up the elegantly designed call card:

Alice Walters

Deputy CEO, Sterling Capital

Written in scrawling handwriting was: see you at 10pm at the Mangrove. Rm 27

There was no date. But something was off about the message. Why would a CEO scribble a missive on a call card with a room number on it. She had met Alice Walters, the young wife of Sir George Walters. She tried to picture the two together - an old, almost senile man hanging onto a young pretty woman. The picture wasn’t pretty.

Alice sat in the large swivel chair staring at the blank desktop screen that occupied 90 percent of the large imposing oak table set in the middle of the den. It was not unheard of for wives to engage in extra-marital affairs. This was San Francisco, where there was always a blurred line between morality and sin. And God knows Edward had been naughty in his days, and could be naughty if he wanted to. She turned the card over and over in his hand.

Then, against her better judgment, she called the Mangrove.

“Marjorie, Reception, the Mangrove”

“Hello, Marjorie, I am calling from Sterling Capital, Mrs. Walters’ office. Did she by any chance leave her blue business pad in room 27 when she left?”

“Excuse me, who am I speaking with?”

“My name is Brenda, the personal secretary to Mrs. Alice Walters, of Sterling Capital,” answered Mardy, lying effortlessly.

“One moment please”. There was a clicking sound as keys were being punched. A telephone handset was lifted off its cradle. A muffled enquiry. A click, as the handset was replaced.

“Sorry Brenda, we do not have any items reported as left behind after the Sterling Capital Executive Meeting”

“Oh dear, any idea how many people attended the meeting, so I can begin tracking them down? Maybe it got mixed up with someone’s stuff”

More clicking. “Sorry, no one signed in”

“Okay, one more thing please, when was the meeting, because it was an off-the-cuff arrangement?”

“I have here - September 11.”

“Thank you very much”

11 September. Why does that date sound so familiar? She checked her appointments on her phone. There it was. It had been Iris’ recital at school. They were both supposed to be there. Then Edward had bailed out saying something had come up and he needed to be at a meeting.

She turned the card over and over, flipping it with her thumb and index finger. It wouldn’t have been out of place - except for one thing.

Who the hell holds an executive meeting at 10p.m.?

She took in deep breaths, calming the rage that was boiling up. Calming herself. She recalled her mother’s caution:

“There may be a logical explanation to this, if only you will calm down and find it.”

Well, there better be. Too many meetings and out of station calls. She understood that with expansion comes responsibilities and sacrifices. But when your man is rarely home. Even when he is home, he seems lost and disinterested - something must be the matter. And it doesn't help when the “suspect” is a dazzling, filthy rich woman, who holds the key to your man’s success.

She felt the need to talk to someone. Cardi. She called - but the line was dead. She tried her cell - dead too.

Sollow Apartments, November 2011

Ethan paced the room like a caged rat.

He felt trapped. He wanted his freedom. Freedom from this servitude he had put himself into - where he was a tool in the hands of Alice. His life was cruising nicely as a mid-level accountant until he got addicted to gambling. He ended up borrowing twenty grand from a loan shark, Dagger. An extremely violent character no one cared to cross. But his addiction saw Dagger as a saviour, to set him free. The twenty grand lasted two hours at the crap table.

The only place to get that money was the weekly returns that flowed through Merlin Consumers. Whilst many of the transactions were online and by card, a substantial amount of cash flowed through. Usually collected by the bullion truck that visited all 50 outlets on Friday, and deposited at the underground vault, where they are sorted and counted. And he was in charge of recording what was brought in after the cashiers were done. He had a key. And so he skimmed thirty grand - payable on Monday before the monies were due to be sent to the bank.

He paid off Dagger, twenty-five grand, and had five grand left. He was optimistic he would win big, to refund the thirty grand. He felt lucky the whole week. But that optimism did not materialize, and he was compelled to go back to Dagger, this time for 40 grand. And that is how his “robbing Peter to pay Paul” routine started. Everything was moving along perfectly until his supervisor switched roles - and he lost the key.

He was owing Dagger 100 grand when the rug was pulled under his legs, and his world came crashing down. The only way to stay alive was to avoid Dagger until he had the money to pay him. Three weeks went by and he was still alive. Then he surfaced at a ball game, and came face to face with Dagger. But then there was a divine intervention. Alice was attending the game, and was attracted to the commotion. Saw her junior officer in trouble, and stepped in.

Now, in hindsight, he wished Dagger had just finished him off. Alice had fed his vice. He had a 10 grand credit line at the Boulder Hotel & Casino. He didn't have to worry about not settling his overdrafts.

Then, he had the talk with Alice. There was a knock on his door, and he was surprised to see his boss standing in the doorway. Her story was simple. She was being harassed by the press and other people. She wanted her life back. Can he help him find her a look-alike? He must be discreet. For his troubles, 10 grand in an envelope was placed on his table.

He tipped a tech-wizz friend who had access to facial recognition technology, and after scanning through f*******:, they picked six potential lookalikes. Alice picked Jenny. Using Google maps, they were able to locate the address of Jenny Willow, Woodlawn, Maryland, and baited her with a job offer.

“Legacy Financials were looking for a Customer Relations Officer who would handle the firm's “very important clientele”. Is she interested? Of course, she was. A college dropout serving out at Denys, would jump at any opportunity, especially one that paid five grand a month.

Ethan was transferred to San Francisco. He left by private plane, which took a detour to Baltimore, to pick up Jenny and fly to San Francisco. Jenny was immediately housed at Alpine Cove, Montecito, where she was to remain out of sight until she was needed.

If he was going to get out of this trap, he was going to need the help of Jenny,

Alpine Cove, Montecito, November 2011

Jenny moved from Woodlawn to the extravagant Alpine Cove in Montecito in January, and was subjected to the most rigorous of tests. She had to follow Alice’s rather rigorous training regime, except that she could not do it under the supervision of a trainer - she did everything by watching videos. She visited a specific parlor house for her beautification routine. The sprawling estate had no live-in staff. The gardeners came once a month - and when they did, Jenny would be transported out by Alice herself.

She learned to be Mrs. Alice Walters. She learned fast. She learned to respond to the name Alice Walters, watched hours and hours of videos of her interacting with people. And she passed her tests. She had actually driven to Furton House in Outer Richmond with Alice hidden in the Bentley, and had the staff pontificating before her. She had to memorize faces, link the faces with specific issues. Her job at Denys had groomed her to memorize faces, so that helped a bit.

At first it was boring, but now she was beginning to enjoy the role - and the pecks that came with it - the dresses, shoes, perfume, money in her account she couldn’t spend. What she missed was her mother and younger brother. But the sacrifice would be worth it. She had an 18-month contract, and she would make enough money to turn their lives around. She banished the memory of her boyfriend, Jake, from her mind. He had not been treating her right.

Now, she was Alice Walters!

A car pulled up in the driveway, surprising her. She peered from behind a column. Ethan!. She relaxed. Alice and Ethan were the only people who knew her. When Ethan left, Jenny sat quietly for some time, a tingling thought that had taken seed after listening to Alice and Edward, took root.

“She has gotten us trapped. Me, with gambling debt and the possibility of jail time for stealing. You? Do you really think she will let you go? Everywhere you go, people think you are her. We must get out of this mess.”

“Why would she hurt us?”

“Why?”

“Yeah, we are no threat to her. We have always done her bidding.”

“Jenny, Jenny, Jenny - she is ruthless. When she no longer needs you, do you really think she will let you go out there and brag that you were her double?”

“So what do you plan to do?”

“We, Jenny, we. We go to the police?"

“The police!”

“Yes, the police and tell them everything.”

“And what exactly is everything? That she offered me a job, and that job is to be her double to get away from the press or annoying friends or to cheat. And you? That she saved you from a mobster and is helping you get back on your feet? Are those federal crimes?

There was a long moment of silence.

“I will dig something up. I know she has a very particular interest in Frank of Summit Securities. She is sinking him deeper and deeper into gambling debt. There must be something criminal there. I will find it.”

“You do, and let me know.”

He rose to leave.

“And Ethan, I don’t think it would be a good idea to come here. You know she pops in and out whenever she feels like it”

“So how do I contact you? You have no cell phone, and I can call the landline.”

“What’s your address?”

He scribbled it on a sheet of paper.

Jenny watched him leave. A disgruntled man is a dangerous man. Any mistake and everything will blow out. Ethan had become a liability. Another root shot out of the seed in her mind - one with a sinister intent. She was enjoying this life, and Ethan was not going to take it away from her.