Penniless Souls

Chapter 3

Chapter 3When the doorbell rang, she ran to peek through the curtains. A cop car stood at the curb. Thankful the lights weren't blinking, she hurried to the door to open it a crack. Penny pulled the lapels of her worn-out pink robe closer to her chest, as shivers ran up and down her spine. John had left early to talk to a construction manager and Lani wasn't home. A policeman asked her name before relating a deeply disturbing story.

“Ants?” Horrified, she brushed her hand through her hair and tried closing her gaping mouth.

“Giant fire ants ma'am.” The officer looked down at his shiny shoes. “After being released from a medium security prison for men, his bones were found in the Mojave Desert.”

The granola she had for breakfast began to churn.

“Okay, well that's sad and everything but I hardly knew the man and I also don't know what this has to do with me.” She wanted to shut the door and take a shower. Twenty years ago, she–almost–and the key word in her mind was almost–had a fling with an airline pilot. Now, she couldn't care about his bones–dead or alive. Her eyes darted to his clipboard holding a manila envelope. “Are you sure it says my name on your papers?”

“Yes ma'am. I plan to leave you some documents. Can I come in?”

Hesitating, she stepped aside for him to enter. When, pointing towards the dining room table, she realized she might have made a mistake. Wearing a dark uniform, black leather boots and a formidable weapon, he towered over Penny, making her nervous. Her mind did a quick inventory of possible weapons: flowerpot, chef's knife, frying pan. “Yeah, come in” she mumbled.

“Seems the victim didn't have a next of kin and his ex-wives didn't, and I should emphasize, they still don't want to have anything to do with him.” As he ambled to the table, Penny could see that he'd be easy to outrun. “Guess both of them filed restraining orders. Now that Mr. Losegg has passed away, that leaves you, because he had a trust fund naming you—-only you–as the beneficiary.”

“Captain.”

“Excuse me?”

“You said, Mr. Losegg, that's all. He was a Captain.” Astounded, while also being grossed out, Penny tried to appear calm in front of the heavy-set officer. He wore a tight shirt pinned with a blinding gold badge. Perspiration dripped along his hairline. Something didn't add up, but she nodded and accepted the letter. “Doesn't the government reclaim funds from criminals?”

“Not sure ma'am. I think we took back the money he owed the government, but these funds are in a private account. The sum of what's left is yours now.”

“Thank you,” she said with a sigh, glad John wasn't home and thanking God Lani was in school. The oddest things happened when she found herself alone. As if any of this mattered. Dan Losegg could leave her the world and she wouldn't want it. That creep had ruined an entire hard-earned vacation. He almost had her killed.

Sweat trickled down his neck, creating spots all over his shirt.

“Can I get you a glass of water?”

“No thank you ma'am. If you could just sign on the dotted line to show receipt,” he said, reaching towards her with his pen.

She signed her name quickly and noticed the officer's vacant, but professional expression. “Just bones?”

He smiled, tipping an imaginary hat. “Yup, be careful out there.” Her eyes continued to assess his bulky frame when he turned to leave. A reassuring calm came from deep within, making her forget her fear. This man, the strangest of messengers, huffed and puffed in the warm morning sun all the way to his patrol car. Only after she saw him drive away, did her attention settle on the envelope in her hand.

Ants? What the heck? She ripped it open and found a handwritten letter and a bank statement with directions to a safe deposit box in Nevada. A small key on top of the statement lounged securely under several pieces of clear tape. Maybe, she ought to find a comfortable place to sit down before going further. She returned to the dining room table and sat, wondering why she could hear her heart beating like a lost drummer boy from a holiday song. Quivering fingers read from pages written on a yellow legal pad.

'Hi Penny', it said on the top of the letter. 'If you're reading this then I'm not around anymore. Who cares, right? Anyway, there's so much I wanted to say to you, but first, let me say, you're one of the classiest dames I've ever met. I never forgot how I hurt you. Leaving you in Hawaii and then almost pinning a drug shipment on you was low class. You are so sweet, and I know you're older and wiser now, but I'm sure you're still the angel I remember. I'm truly sorry. Better late than never, right? I spent more than ten years in prison thinking about all the ways I'd want to apologize, and this is the best I can do.'

'They took back most of my drug money, even though I invested most of it and yeah, some of it might have been laundered. The government found all my hiding places. Trust me–nothing I'm giving you is bad money. (Carson Rheingold is my parole officer and can verify everything.) I've had to prove this money was my money before anything went nuts in Hawaii. The small amount I have hidden in the Mojave is mine, but now that I've croaked, it'll probably be lost forever. Everything in my bank account is yours. Rightfully yours–no strings attached. Most important of all: Please find it in your heart to forgive me.' It was signed, Respectfully, Dan.

The attached statement showed his name and her maiden name, Penny Himmel as account holders. She focused on the bottom of the page, but her hand shook, and she blinked several times as if she had forgotten how to read. She counted the zeros to make sure, before almost falling off the chair. Snatching up the paper with the key, and the letter, she hurried up the stairs to shove the offending envelope into her underwear drawer. When she let go, her fingers felt cooler.

It wasn't true. It couldn't be true. He had always lied to everyone. Penny felt convinced this was another one of his whopping charades. Dead or alive, this guy had been evil to the core. No wonder the ants came to get him. She cringed at the thought of him and immediately turned on the shower. Trembling inside, her entire body shook, thinking Dan had stalked her from beyond his dusty desert grave.

Two million dollars, the bank statement said. Captain Dan Losegg had left her two million dollars. Sure, when chickens have lips, and pigs fly. Accepting any of this as truth, she felt, would guarantee Hell. There had to be a way to forget this morning ever happened. As she lathered up with soap, her tears mingled with the warm water. Maybe if she scrubbed hard enough, the entire fiasco would go away. She had to convince herself the last hour had been one of her outlandish nightmares. And that disgusting cop, she figured, had to be a harbinger from the dark side. No way, she thought. Satan can go right back to his inferno down below.