The Money Is Green (36 page)

Jason heaved a big sigh, wiped some of the blood off his face, and then flashed a thumbs up sign. He gave him a weary smile and said, “I’m okay. Can you get us out of here?”

♦

Two hours later, a bandage over his left eye, Jason stepped into room 522 at the Roseville hospital. Crystal’s eyes lit up and she sat up on the bed, holding her arms out. “Daddy!” she squealed in delight. “You finally made it.”

Janine jumped up from her seat by the bed and hugged Jason as he hugged Crystal. “Oh, Jason, we’re so glad you’re here. It’s been a crazy day.” She pushed herself away and looked at the bandage wrapped around his head. “You’ve been injured. Are you okay?”

Squeezing them both tightly again, Jason said, “It’s just a scratch and I’ll be fine. Saying it’s been a crazy day has to be the understatement of the year. I’m so happy you’re both alright. Let’s all go somewhere safe and try to put all this behind us.”

F
IFTY

T
he sun shone brightly through the full-sized window in the living room. Unopened cardboard boxes, each marked with its contents, were stacked in the corner of the room. A large leather couch sat in the middle of the room and a Persian throw rug covered the light-stained wood floor in front of it. A flat-screen TV hung on the wall facing the couch, and the Clemson-Georgia game was just getting under way. Jason leaned back on the couch, a cup of steaming coffee in his right hand and the front page of
The San Francisco Chronicle
in his left. His eyes flitted from the newspaper to the TV, depending on which had more action. His cellphone rang and he leapt up from the couch to retrieve it on the granite breakfast bar. “Hello?”

The familiar voice of Brian answered him. “Hey, bud, welcome back. How was China?”

“Hey, Brian,” he answered, smiling. “It went very well. The new owners of Soltech want me to stay on as president and to continue to make improvements at the Shanghai factory. They’re pleased at the progress we’ve made at Copper Mountain and are looking forward to being a contender for the Antelope Valley job.” He paused and took a sip of his coffee. “How are you feeling? When I saw you three weeks ago you were looking stronger, and you sound much better.”

“I’m getting better by the minute, Jason. I’ve been going to the office for a couple of hours a day for the last week and my strength is slowly building back up. It’s been a long two months.” He paused and then laughed. “In another month I’ll be ready to take you out on the golf course and whip your ass.”

Jason laughed along. “I’ll be happy to concede a whippin’ to you just this once due to your condition. But once you’re one hundred percent, look out. I will show no mercy.”

“Yeah, right, in your dreams. While you were in China, what did you hear about MeiChen? There’s been only a smidgen of information here in the States, and I’m curious to know what will happen to her. She’s been mentioned as a co-conspirator with Congressman Waters in the gun-running scheme, and her name has popped up in the Copper Mountain investigation, but not much information has come out.”

Filling up his coffee cup, Jason moved back to the couch and turned the TV down. Taking a deep breath, he said. “Madam Chen has taken a deep and embarrassing fall from grace. Scotland Yard handled the investigation of the disappearance of David Wilson and, after putting the squeeze on some low-ranking army officers, got them to point out where the body was hidden.” He put his feet up on the coffee table and set his coffee cup next to his feet.

“Where did they find him?” Brian asked.

Jason reached down and took a sip from his coffee. “They found him in the bottom of a well in Quinghai Provence on a farm that Mei Chen owned. They fessed up about the torture and ultimate death of David and how it was all directly tied to Mei Chen and her ambition to take over his hotel chain.” He changed the channel on the TV to Sportscenter and checked out the news at the bottom of the screen. “All the facts in the case were carefully laid out and presented to the Chinese government, and she’s scheduled for trial in about a month. It doesn’t look good for her, as she probably won’t be executed but will be thrown into one of China’s worst prisons for the rest of her life.”

“What about her husband? Did anything happen to him?” Brian asked.

Jason nodded. “Ho committed suicide before he could be arrested. I don’t think he could stand the humiliation.”

Brian whistled softly. “Wow, that punishment was swift. What’s going to happen to her daughter, Chi? I feel so sorry for her.”

“Actually, she’s going to doing better than her parents. She’s such a violin prodigy she was accepted to the Juilliard Music Academy here in the US. She’ll be staying with a Chinese family nearby, so I think she’ll be in good hands.”

“Well, that’s good to hear,” Brian said. “Were they going to do anything about Mei trying to poison me? Nobody in the government has talked to me about it at all.”

“According to my sources, throwing your case into the mix would have been overkill. They had enough on Mei Chen to put her away and they felt they didn’t need to complicate the case. I guess we’ll see after her trial if they’re right. I’m sure they can always come back and try your case if they need to.” Jason stared at the TV and watched a replay of a Clemson touchdown, then asked, “You mentioned the Copper Mountain investigation and Congressman Waters. What’s going on there?”

“Yeah, that’s a bit of a mess,” Brian answered. “I was unaware Mei Chen was working with Congressman Waters to make sure Inter-Power secured the lease with BLM for Copper Mountain.” He paused for a second. “The feds are checking out if there were any illegal dealings with those two and who knew what. I don’t think it will affect Inter-Power since I made sure everything we submitted to BLM was legitimate for the lease, but if Waters and Mei Chen were working the backroom, he’s going to have more problems than he already has with the gun running and racketeering.”

“I thought Congressman Waters was a stand-up guy and a real leader in Congress. What about him?” Jason asked.

Brian almost spit out his words. “What a piece of work the congressman was. Such a hypocrite. It’s truly amazing to me that he would throw his career away being involved in an illegal operation like that.”

“I completely agree,” Jason said. “But he’ll have time to reflect on the irony after he’s shut up in prison for the rest of his life. How long do you think he’ll keep collecting a paycheck from Congress?”

“Probably as long as he can,” Brian answered. “So, how’s Crystal doing? Is she getting along better with Janine? That had to be a pretty traumatic time for her with the accident and the mess at the hospital.”

“Crystal’s doing much better. She started her soccer practice for her high school and looks like she’ll be starting at one of the forward positions. She seems to have recovered well from the concussion and doesn’t show any ill effects. She’s met with a counselor at the school numerous times and seems to be doing just fine.”

He paused since he thought he heard a car pull into the driveway. He looked out the front window but couldn’t see anything. “Janine is great as always, and we’re getting along better than we ever have. Crystal seems to have a completely changed attitude toward her, and they’re getting along well, thank god. Everything is good here.”

“Well, that’s great to hear, Jason. You and Janine are made for each other.”

The doorbell rang and Jason stood up from the couch. “Listen, Brian, someone’s at my door so I’ll let you go. It’s great to hear you’re getting stronger and I’m looking forward to working together to finish Copper Mountain. Let’s go out Monday night and have a beer.”

“That sounds good to me. I’ll catch up with you Monday and confirm. Take care.”

Jason flipped the phone onto the couch and went to the door. He opened it to see Debbie standing on the porch, a suitcase at her side. His breathing quickened and he tried to take a deep breath. “Debbie, what are you doing here?”

Debbie put her suitcase down and folded her arms across her chest. “Aren’t you going to invite me in? What happened to your manners?”

“I’m sorry,” he said defensively as he held the door wider. “Come inside.”

Bending down, she grabbed her suitcase and stepped inside. She stepped into the family room and surveyed the house. “Looks like life has improved for you. This is a very impressive house.” She turned to him. “I see you’re doing well. I got this address from Crystal. I told her I wanted to send her something in the mail. May I sit down or do I have to stand all day?”

“Of course, have a seat. Would you like a cup of coffee? I made it a few minutes ago.”

Sitting down on the couch, she tossed her hair over her shoulders. “No, I’m good.” She folded her hands together on her lap and stared at him.

He looked at her for a second. This is the woman that I’ve carried a torch for so long, but all I see is someone who’s after something. I don’t know why she’s here but I know she has an agenda. Clearing his throat, he asked. “You didn’t answer as to what you are doing here in California. Is this a vacation? Where are you staying? I’m sure Crystal will be ecstatic to see you.”

She took a deep breath without taking her eyes off his. She smiled thinly then said, “David kicked me out of the house last Saturday. He told me he was done with me and it was time to go our separate ways. I had nowhere else to go, so I came back home.” She reached out, grabbed one of Jason’s hands, and gave it a squeeze. “I knew that things were not going well with David and I really longed to be back here with you and Crystal. Do you think we could give it one more try to keep our family together?”

Jason stared at her. I can’t believe what I’m hearing, he thought. After all this time she wants to get back together with me? He pulled his hand back, went to the kitchen, and pulled out a cabinet drawer.
He fumbled around and picked up a business card. Walking toward the front door, he opened it and stood next to it. “I’m sorry, Debbie, but that window of opportunity was closed long ago. It’s time for you to move on with your life and leave me out of it. It’s time for you to leave. Please call Crystal and make an effort to see her. It would mean a lot to her.”

Debbie sat stunned but then slowly rose from the couch. She picked up her suitcase and walked through the door, stopping on the porch. Her face was flushed as she turned and faced Jason. “It’s that bitch girlfriend, isn’t it?” she screamed. “The one that you couldn’t keep your hands of and broke up our marriage!”

Jason handed her the card. “Here, call this guy. Maybe he can help you out.”

Looking down at the card, she read it, a puzzled expression on her face. “Dennis Watson,” she said. “I haven’t heard of him in years. Why should I call him?”

“He’s a psychologist and maybe he can help you out. Both of you could hang out in the SVU.”

Still holding the card she asked, her voice rising, “SVU? What’s an SVU?”

“It’s the Special Victims Unit. You two could commiserate with each other there and compare notes on how the world has done you wrong.”

Jason watched her face grow redder. She balled her fists and waved them in front of his face. “We’re not finished, Jason! I’m not going to roll over and just give in. I’ll drive that bitch out of your life and…”

Before she could finish, Jason slammed the door shut and heard some muffled sounds as she screamed through the door. She continued for several minutes, and finally the screaming stopped. Jason heard a car door slam and then screeching tires as she backed out of the driveway and sped away. He pulled a curtain back from the window to see the back end of her car disappear around the corner. Stepping
back from window, he stared straight ahead until a smile came across his face. “Why did I wait so long to do that?”

F
IFTY
-O
NE

T
he diner was half full since the lunchtime crowd had thinned out. A young server came up to the table and asked, “Is there anything else I can get you?”

Jason shook his head. “No, we’re fine, thank you. If you could leave me the bill, I’ll settle up with you.”

The young man pulled a black folder out of his back pocket and set it on the table. “Here you go, sir. I’ll take this whenever you’re ready.” He turned and headed toward the kitchen.

Janine, sitting to his left, said, “Thank you for lunch, Jason. That was really good.”

Crystal, sitting on his other side, chimed in, “Yeah, thanks, Dad.”

Pulling out his wallet, Jason picked out three twenties and placed them in the folder. “You’re all welcome. So, Crystal, what do you think about Stanford? Coach Walker gave us a pretty thorough tour of the place, don’t you think?”

Crystal beamed. “This place is awesome. I could easily see myself going to school here. I know I’ve been by the campus before, but I never imagined how gorgeous it was on the inside.”

“That coach seemed really interested in you too,” Janine said. “It sounds like, if you play as well this next year as you did last year, they’re going to offer you a scholarship.”

“How cool would that be, Crystal?” Jason asked. “I’m really proud of you. Not only have you got the grades to get into this university, but you’ve got the athleticism to play at a high level. Not many young people can do that.”

Crystal’s face flushed and she smiled shyly. “Thanks, both of you. I appreciate it.”

Jason held up the folder for the server to see, and he nodded. “Just remember what the doctor said and take it easy for a few months. You’ll be ready for the spring and will be as good as new.”

“I’ll be good, I promise.” She took a sip of her iced tea. “Are you going to be traveling back and forth to China as much as before, Dad?”

Jason leaned back in his chair. “Well, now that the new ownership of Soltech has been solidified, they’ve given me a contract to stay on as president and continue to run the business. I’ll still have to go over to check on the Shanghai plant, but I’ve been allowed to hire an operations person to help me so I won’t have to travel as much. It’s been a long and crazy couple of months. Up until two days ago, I wasn’t even sure if they were even going to keep the company going, but apparently they saw the value in the Copper Mountain job.”