A Game of Greed and Deception: A Mystery Drama (3 page)

Just
a month after meeting, and following a week-long visit at Stephen’s spectacular
villa in
Brentwood
Park
,
Los
Angeles
, the two were engaged to be married. Stephen’s
colleagues were floored by this decision and told him again and again that he
barely knew this girl. His long-time friends had mixed reactions, some
harboring a bit of jealousy, and others downright sure that she must have some
other less than heartfelt intentions.

The
time he had spent with Tammy was so passionate and easily the best sex that he
had ever experienced. Tammy’s family seemed happy and even eager for her to
start a new life with someone successful and accepted the engagement with open
arms. And Maria loved talking with her about fashion, beauty, the glamour life,
and how to be a classy lady. They had already formed a bond.

After
the wedding, the couple lived together in Stephen’s marvelous villa, and Tammy
took time off from a standard job to help Stephen keep his professional life
organized and take care of Maria. Although a housekeeper and gardener routinely
kept the villa clean and the grounds orderly, Stephen’s personal office space
was a disaster. He traveled too often for work which kept him from taking the
proper time to get things in order, and being home to spend more time with his
daughter. Tammy went through all of Stephen’s personal papers while he was away
and created her own filing system for his files. She was patient and
calculated, and also helped him to relax more and not get as anxious about day
to day things.

Her
relationship with Maria blossomed quickly from the start, but had its
limitations. She always asked her stepdaughter about school friends and activities,
but never spent time with her doing anything outside of the villa. When Maria
tried to engage Tammy in doing more with her, Tammy always had an excuse as a
result of her responsibilities to Stephen. But she made grandiose promises to
Maria of the amazing future adventures they would go on and splendid things
they would see together. Maria had high hopes and expectations about sharing
her life more with Tammy and her father together.

Tammy
loved being spoiled and Stephen had gotten her the most exquisite wedding ring
made of white diamond and blue sapphire. The thing that Stephen worried about
the most was the fact that Tammy had not yet shown an interest in furthering
her education. Because of her strong Southern slang he didn’t really want her to
socialize with conservative executives. He felt that since she did not need to
contribute financially to the family Tammy could attend a local University and
study something to improve her level of culture or even business finance so
that she could eventually help him with his work. But Tammy said that the
challenges and excitement of living in the big city and being with Stephen and
Maria were enough for now. He accepted this explanation but held the belief
that she would change her mind somewhere in the future.

After
a year together and doing pretty well, it was Tammy’s idea that the family go
celebrate together in style. At her request Stephen had booked the private
cabin in the snowy
Colorado
mountain tops. Maria was bursting with excitement at the chance to get to play
in the snow for the first time. The views from the mountain top in mid-January
were supposed to be breathtaking.

***

Tammy inched closer to
Stephen and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “So darling…did you get things all
set up with the attorney before we left? Just the way that we’ve been talking
about?”

Stephen
smiled and held Tammy’s hand. “Yes, of course, everything is all set, and you
are the sole inheritor in my will with a trust fund set up for Maria. But
neither of us will have anything to worry about for such a long time, honey.
I’m here to provide for you and Maria in every way that I possibly can. I’m
only forty-six and hitting the new prime of my life!” He knew that Tammy was
very insistent on family financial security and well-being. She had been
discussing the completion of the new will with him for months.

She
rubbed his hand gently. “Well, you just need to be prepared for anything. You
really trust Mr. Murphy and know that he is an outstanding probate lawyer with
a proven track record. There are terrible accidents that happen all the time
baby – I just want what’s fair for the both of us and to make sure that Maria
will also be taken care of.”

She
sipped the wine slowly while maintaining that deep gaze into Stephen’s eyes
that had pulled him in from the very beginning. Her thick black eyelashes were
complimented with charcoal eye liner, coral eye shadow, and creamy peach lipstick.
He really thought that at this moment he might be sitting across from the most
beautiful woman in the world. And she deserved security in her life as she had
been a devoted and loving partner and mother. Maria seemed to adore Tammy and
having a young, ambitious female role model in his daughter’s life was exactly
what Stephen wanted. “Yes, of course darling, I want you to feel safe and
secure. I agree with your idea to have the new will set up now. Honestly, I’m
glad that it’s all taken care of.”

“Perfect.
And Mr. Murphy is also your close friend, right? You told me that he’s someone
that gets things done professionally just the way that you would do them
yourself.”

“I’ve
known Tom for many years. In fact, he’s been handling my parents’ estate since
their passing. I trust him as much as any of my closest colleagues, if not
more. I told you that most of my other friends have disappeared since my
marriage to you. They seemed to prefer me living the life of a wealthy
bachelor. I made a standard will with Tom named as the executor. He is best fit
to handle all of the asset distribution since…”

“Great!
I don’t need all the gritty details, baby. I know that he will do an excellent
job.”

Stephen
squeezed Tammy’s hand, giving her a look of reassurance. “Tom will take care of
everything. He will handle all of the asset distributions. You and Maria are
totally set. But there is no need to even worry. I mean it’s not like we are
going to need to….”

“I
know, baby, you’re right! I just wanted to understand it all. We’ll never have
to worry about anything or even bring up the subject again for a very long
time. Thank you for taking care of this.”

Stephen
smiled. He remembered the story that Tammy told him about the government
seizing her grandparents’ property right after their death, with very little
compensation. Tammy had started asking about his company stock holdings and
business investments soon after their marriage. He was deeply in love and
firmly believed that she was just starting to take more of an interest in
business and finance which was exactly what he wanted. He had total trust in
her and gave her access to his personal files both online and on paper since
she managed his office space from home.

***

They left the restaurant
around 10 pm and took the long walk back up to the cabin. Snow was coming down
heavily as big fluffy flakes parted the black nighttime sky. It had gotten
really frigid outside and some icy patches made the small roadway feel slippery.
Stephen walked briskly to keep warm, breathing rapidly through his nose out
into the dark night. This was the most physical exertion he had done in a long
time. Tammy and Maria seemed to have no trouble keeping up with him.

They
approached the cabin from the small, winding road, and the three of them
hurriedly went inside to warm up. Rubbing his hands together, Stephen turned on
an overhead light just inside the living room. He couldn’t wait to put his
daughter to bed and unwind in a hot, relaxing bubble bath with his beautiful
wife. He started to take off some layers of clothing.

Tammy
put her hand on his shoulder, with a pleading look in her eye. “Oh honey, shit
– I just remembered. I need some more
Capri
cigarettes as I’ve finished my last pack. Can you run back to the restaurant
down the road and get me some? I’m sorry for being such a bother.”

Stephen
knew that after a few glasses of wine, a fine meal, and before getting in the
mood for love and romance, Tammy needed to have a good smoke. “You want me to
go back out into the cold? Why didn’t you remember to get some when we were
down there? The roads are terrible tonight with the snow falling and that
restaurant is two miles back down the mountain! The road is really steep in
that direction if I remember correctly and I’m not about to walk all that way
again. Can’t it wait until morning?”

“Who
said anything about walking. Just take the car and drive slowly – it’s really
not that far. Please, sweetie, you know I wouldn’t ask you if it wasn’t
important. You will be there and back before you know it. I’ll get our bags
unpacked and turn on the Jacuzzi in twenty minutes.” Tammy had that look that
he knew all too well. He did not need to respond to this statement and put his
coat back on.

“You
are incorrigible – go start the bath water. And please make sure that Maria
gets her things unpacked and ready for bed. I should be back within half an
hour.” He kissed his wife and daughter goodbye and headed out the front door.

THREE

As soon as Stephen had left,
Tammy helped Maria unpack her things and get ready for bed in the smaller of
the two bedrooms. “Now you should be all set in here, especially with that big,
warm bed all to yourself. Don’t forget to brush your teeth before going to
sleep. I’m gonna go put some of your father’s clothes away and undress.”

Maria
nodded sleepily.

Tammy
went into the master bedroom and closed the door. She opened her luggage and
changed into her long sleeved nightgown. She decided not to unpack any of
Stephen’s things and left his suitcase on the floor. Then she set her cell
phone down on a small wooden end table. Sitting on the king-sized bed, she took
a
Capri
cigarette out of her purse and lit it.
After a deep inhale, she let out a big puff of smoke as she looked out the
window, gazing at the dark trees against the whiteness of the snow. She was
swinging her legs over the side of the bed and bursting from the inside with
excitement.

***

Stephen was driving in first
gear, with his foot kept close to the brake pedal, down the winding mountain
road. The wind had picked up even more and the trees were swaying as gusts of
snow kept coming down. He had the windshield wipers on high and the defroster
blasting hot air to keep a circular spot on the glass clear.
I’ve had such little practice driving in
treacherous conditions like this – I can’t believe that she forgot her damn
cigarettes.
Heck,
I can barely see more than a couple of feet
past the front headlights.
Stephen slowed down even more while keeping his
face pressed up against the windshield to see the road better. Mesmerized
gazing into the blinding sheet of white in front of him, the constant squeaking
of the wipers seemed inaudible.
At least
I remembered to put new snow tires on this thing. As long as I’m patient there
shouldn’t be a problem.
Sweat was dripping off his brow.

As
the road wound down the mountain, a dangerous hair-pin turn was approaching.
Stephen only saw the turn a few seconds before the car reached it. He turned
the wheel suddenly and tried to slow down even more, but the brake suddenly
gave out, and the pedal fell flat to the floor of the car without any
resistance. Stephen’s heart leapt into this throat as he tried to straighten
out the wheel. The car sped up and skidded down the incline. He yanked on the
emergency break but the car gained more speed on a huge patch of ice just
before the razor-sharp turn in the road. Stephen threw his hand up against the
windshield. Sliding out of control, the car started spinning in 360 degree
turns, and then crashed into the guard rail. A portion of the rail gave way and
the car flew right through it, tumbling down the mountainside. Falling more
than 300 feet, it finally crashed against the snow-covered rocky ground,
rooftop first, and immediately burst into flames.

***

Tammy went into the master
bathroom, adjacent to the bedroom, and flipped the light switch. She admired
the white and gold cabinets with a black and white marble vanity top. Two
elegant mirrors with antique frames hung on the wall, surrounded by sconces
with beige linen shades. A brass chandelier hung from the ceiling, and the
Jacuzzi tub with polished nickel fixtures looked like it could comfortably fit
two people inside. The wallpaper was a creamy salmon color, and in front of the
Jacuzzi was a charcoal-colored floor rug. Tammy turned on the water, adjusted
the temperature settings, and added some Patchouli bath oil. A few minutes
later she undressed, slipped into the silky bathwater, and turned on the
whirlpool jets.

She
lit a candle and enjoyed another cigarette while soaking in the tub. The small
flame reflected gracefully off the mosaic marble floor tiles. She admired her
exquisite sapphire and diamond ring for a moment and then closed her eyes.

After
nodding off for a bit, Tammy sat up against the back of the tub. She was
sweating a little and the mirrors were fogged up with steam. Feeling too hot,
she slowly got out of the tub and dried herself off with a thick, fluffy pink
towel. Then she applied some deep moisturizing body lotion and slipped back
into her nightgown.

She
turned off the Jacuzzi jets but left the bathtub full. Then she went into the
bedroom and checked her cell phone. It was just after midnight and Stephen
hadn’t returned. There were no missed calls or messages on her phone. She
dialed Stephen’s number and it went straight to voice mail. Tammy looked
outside through the living room window and saw no sign of their car or her
husband. Looking very concerned, she dialed the local police department.

“Hello,
this is Tammy Worthington. I’m on vacation here in Fraser with my husband and
stepdaughter, staying at the Dilinger resort cabin up in the mountains. My
husband went out to run a quick errand more than two hours ago and has not
returned. I don’t know where he is and I’m just worried sick that something
dreadful might have happened to him!” Tammy was speaking quickly and almost
shouting into the phone. “Can you understand me? He only went to get me some
cigarettes and should have been out and back in less than 30 minutes. I’ve
called his cell phone several times with no response.”

“I
understand, ma’am. Just calm down for a moment. What’s your husband’s name? Are
you just renting the cabin for the weekend?”

“Yes,
I’m on my one year anniversary celebration. This was supposed to be the best
weekend of my life! We rented this cabin that is up in the woods near the top
of the cliff, away from the town. His name is Stephen Worthington.”

“Well
I’m sure there is no reason at all to panic. He might have gotten his car stuck
in the snow somewhere and doesn’t have any cell phone service. The snow is
really deep and cars get trapped in it up here rather frequently. We don’t
normally file a missing persons report until at least 24 hours after...”

“But
what I am telling you is that my husband would never just leave and disappear
like that on our anniversary! If there wasn’t anything wrong I’m sure that I
would’ve done already heard from him by now, don’t you think? He could’ve just
gone to the hotel a couple miles down the road and called me from there.”

“I
understand. We can send out an officer to have a look around the area as soon
as the roads have been cleared off some. If you don’t hear from your husband by
morning, we can have someone meet with you so that we can get a better
description of the vehicle he was driving and have you fill out a missing
persons report.”

“I
have to sit here and wait all dang night to know if he is ok? My husband is a
very important man and there will be many people wanting to know if anything
has happened to him. And it’s not like you have any better things to do up here
in the mountains anyways. I’m alone here with my stepdaughter and we are both
extremely concerned.”

“Mrs.
Worthington, I’m police officer Gerald Benson. Can you give me a physical
description of your husband?

“He
is in his mid-forties, about five feet nine inches tall, average build, maybe
one hundred and seventy-five pounds. Kind of a wide face with a receding chin,
brown eyes and graying brown hair combed over to the side. He was dressed in a
blue designer suit and tie.”

“Thank
you ma’am, I’ve written down that information. Here is my personal cell phone
number. Just give me a call in the morning if your husband still hasn’t been in
contact with you. I’m sure you will hear from him sometime soon.”

Tammy
wrote down the phone number on a notepad and thanked the man. She peeked into
the other bedroom to check on Maria and saw that she was already asleep. She
drained the water from the tub and hung up her towel. Then she lay down on the
king-sized bed in the master bedroom, slipped under the down comforter, and
closed her eyes. Within minutes she was sound asleep.

***

Tammy
woke up rather suddenly and tried to swallow but her throat was sore and dry.
As she inhaled, ice cold air made her lungs contract, and she let out some
violent coughs. The room was freezing cold and she could see her breath with
each exhale.
What the fuck is going on?
The cabin was warm and toasty when I got into bed.
She glanced at her cell
phone to take a look at the time: 6:00 am. It was still dark outside and her
bedroom was nearly pitch black, so she reached over and turned on the overhead
light. The window in her bedroom was wide open and cold mountain air was blowing
into the room.
How in the hell….the
windows were all locked shut when I went to bed.

She
got out of bed shuddering, and put on her slippers and robe. Then she went over
and leaned on the window sill, and looked outside.
Good God, it’s a winter wonderland.
There must have been 2 feet of
snow piled up on the ground, the trees were completely covered, and large
icicles more than a foot long hung down from the roof. She closed the window
right away, turning the lock so there was no way it could open again.

Tammy
went into the living room area expecting to warm up. But it was just as cold as
the bedroom, and she could still see her breath. She ran around frantically
checking all of the other windows in the cabin and saw that they were in fact
all closed. She opened the door to Maria’s room and found her stepdaughter
wrapped in blankets and still sound asleep. She left the door open and went
back into the living room, rubbing her shoulders with her hands.
Is the heat out in the whole dang cabin?
We’re gonna be freezing inside here if I don’t do something.
The living
room had a large fireplace with a mesh screen in front, an iron poker, a small
pile of three logs, a box of long matches, and some kindling to the side. Tammy
looked somewhat annoyed.
Only three damn
little logs? That won’t heat much for very long. This looks more like it’s for
display than for anyone to actually use.

She
reached inside the fireplace, pushing her hand up, and felt a small metal loop.
She took the poker, and using the metal loop, made sure to push open the
damper. Then she put some kindling on the metal grate and lit it with a long
match. Next she set two of the small logs on top of the kindling. In a few
minutes the fire had started to burn brightly and was sending a bit of warmth
into the cabin.

Then
Tammy suddenly remembered that she had seen a larger pile of logs when they
first arrived at the cabin. She put her coat on and went out the front door
onto the porch. To the left was a stack of at least twenty logs. The wind had
blown some snow onto the porch and covered the top layer of logs. Tammy pulled
the end of her robe over her hands and started brushing the snow off the wood.
As she did so, something strange on the ground outside the porch caught her
eye. There were indentations in the snow, alternating from side to side like
footprints, and heading away from the cabin.

Tammy
leaned over the porch railing to have a better look. The marks were rather
large and spaced several feet apart. They did not have a distinguishable shape
to them since snow had been falling all night.
These can’t be footprints, they’re too big. And who the hell would be
walking around up here in this blizzard anyways?

Tammy
carried several logs back into the cabin and added them to the fire. Soon the
flames shot up and wood crackled as the roaring fire let out more heat into the
room. She picked up her cell phone and dialed the police officer in hope that
he would wake up and answer her call.

A
quiet, fuzzy voice answered the phone. “Hellllo?”

“This
is Tammy Worthington. I called last night to report my husband missing.”

The
officer cleared his throat before responding. “Mmm….ok….I remember. Yes, Mrs.
Worthington, have you heard anything from your husband?”

“No
sir I have not, and in fact the heat is out in my cabin while the snow is
piling up higher and higher. The whole place is freezing cold inside! I’m here
alone with my young stepdaughter and need a police officer to come out right
away.”

“Let
me ask you something, Mrs. Worthington. Did you and your husband have an
argument or fight last night?”

Tammy
hesitated for a moment. “What are you getting at? We didn’t even have the
slightest bit of a tiff. My husband and I are extremely close and he would
never just leave me like this without saying something.”

“I
asked that because more often than not if a loved one disappears suddenly it is
because of some domestic trouble at home.”

“We
don’t have any problems like that. Stephen is missing and something needs to be
done immediately to find him!”

“Ok,
please hang tight, ma’am. Let me get out of bed, call my deputy, and get back
with you within the hour.”

She
hung up the call, frustrated and feeling antsy waiting for the police to search
for her husband. She went into the kitchen, put on a pot of water, and set
aside a mug with a Rooibos tea bag inside.
I
gotta keep warm, the last thing I need to do is catch cold. The storm must have
knocked out the heating and that’s not going to change anytime soon.
Tea in
hand, she headed back into the living room, wrapped herself in the down
comforter, and sat near the fireplace.

Twenty
minutes later Tammy’s cell phone rang. “Mrs. Worthington, this is officer
Benson. Are you and your stepdaughter warm enough and safe where you are now?”