I let Peggy go out and greet the driver, waiting for her to bring the package to me. I met her at the door, and Peggy handed me the package with a big smile. I took the package from her, gave her a kiss that promised more for later tonight, and took the package inside. I opened it and found the letter and the job offer that Sandy had promised me. I checked it over, saw the salary offer, and knew Jack would have to be a fool to pass this up.
I called Sandy and told her I had received the package, which had more than satisfied my request. I told her that I’d give it to Jack later today. When I hung up, I got ready to go. I drove down into Melrose and waited outside Jack’s apartment for him to get home. When I saw his beat-up pickup truck coming up the street, I climbed out of my Sting Ray and met him at the apartment entrance. When he saw me, he looked like he wasn’t happy to see me, but I just smiled and said, “Hello, Jack.”
“What do you want, now?”
“I’m about to make you an offer you can’t refuse.”
“Oh? Are you going to threaten me with physical violence again?”
“No, I’m here to offer you a job.”
“What kind of job?”
“It’s the kind of job you can make a career out of if you apply yourself. Let’s go inside and talk. I promise I won’t physically assault you.”
Jack held the door for me, and I followed him up to his apartment, even though I already knew where it was. He let me in and offered me a seat on the couch. When we sat, I handed the package to Jack and said, “Take a look at this.”
Jack took the package, pulled the offer out, and sat there reading it. He looked up at me a couple of times with astonishment before asking, “Is this on the up-and-up?”
“Yes, it is. Sandy was a client of mine, and she owed me a favor.”
Jack read over the offer again, and I could see that he was getting excited about it. Finally, he looked up at me and asked, “Why are you doing this for me?”
“Jack, you seem to be a decent guy, although a little misguided at the moment, and I want you to leave Erin alone.” I smiled and continued, “The best way to resolve a conflict is to make all parties happy about the outcome. If you accept this job offer, you can have a great career and a decent life, albeit without Erin. Erin gets to follow her dream without you chasing after her. In addition, Sandy’s debt to me is paid, and I have the satisfaction of helping Erin and you in the process. Everybody wins.”
I stood up to leave and said, “I want you to think seriously about this offer. It is time-critical, and you need to make a decision quickly. If you don’t take it, I will have to use a different approach to resolve Erin’s problem.” I smiled, making sure I showed my teeth, and said, “You really don’t want to know what I have in store for you if you don’t accept this generous offer.”
I left, satisfied that Jack was genuinely interested in the job offer. I headed back to the guest house as I planned what I’d be doing for the next three days. If Jack was going to accept the job offer, he’d have to leave in the next three days to get to Superior, Wisconsin, in time to start the new position. When I got back to the guest house, I called Matt to update him and Erin on my progress.
***
On the third day after making the proposal to Jack, I swung by his apartment building. Seeing no sign of his truck, I went inside and up to his apartment. When I arrived, I saw the door was open, and the apartment manager was cleaning the apartment. When he saw me at the door, I smiled and asked, “Is this apartment available for rent?”
“It will be as soon as I get it cleaned up,” he said enthusiastically, thinking he would quickly turn it over.
“Well, I’ll stop by later and talk to you about it,” I said before I turned and left. I quickly exited the apartment building, not wanting to be waylaid by the manager. I headed over to the garage where Jack worked and found out he had quit, so he hadn’t just changed residence to avoid me. I was now sure that he had taken the offer I had given him and was on his way back to Wisconsin.
I drove over to Matt’s house to give Erin the good news. When I pulled into the driveway, the door opened, and Matt came out to meet me. “Hello, Ray. I take it the situation has been resolved?”
“Yes, Sir. I came by to take Erin home.”
“I’m retired, Ray. You don’t have to ‘Sir’ me anymore.”
“Yes, Sir.”
We both chuckled and headed inside. Erin was waiting for me with a questioning look on her face. I said, “Jack is on his way back to Wisconsin. You won’t have to worry about him anymore.”
“Thanks, Ray. How did you …?” A worried look flashed over her face, telling me that despite the recent problems with Jack, she still cared about what happened to him.
“I made him an offer he couldn’t refuse,” I said with a smile. “He’s an excellent computer programmer, and I got him a top-tier job with IBM Global Services in Superior, Wisconsin.”
A relieved look flashed over Erin’s face, and she said, “That’s great, Ray. Thanks for doing that. How will I ever repay you?”
“By doing me a favor when I ask for it.”
“Oh, I will, Ray. Thanks so much.”
“Why don’t you get packed, and I’ll take you home.”
Erin went off to pack, and Matt offered me a beer. We entered the kitchen, and I briefed Matt on what I had done to resolve the problem with Jack while enjoying our beer. He nodded when I finished and said, “That’s the best way to resolve a situation like this. Everyone gets what they want, and nobody gets hurt. Good job, Ray.”
Hearing Matt’s praise was all the reward I needed, so I said, “Thank you, Sir. Your training had a lot to do with it.”
Erin walked into the kitchen with her bag, so we all said our goodbyes before Erin and I headed out. Once in my Sting Ray, I drove to Erin’s apartment and dropped her off. I then headed back to the guest house to pack my stuff and head home.
When I got there, I saw Peggy was by the pool. I told her my job was done, and I was leaving once packed up. I could tell she was disappointed, so I pulled her in for a kiss that got so hot it left us both breathless and panting when we broke. Once I could breathe, I said, “I really enjoyed my stay, Peggy. Please make sure Jim knows I really appreciated him letting me use his guest house.” I didn’t have to add, “I really appreciated using his house sitter, too,” because I knew Peggy had enjoyed it as much as I did.
“Okay, Ray. I will. Will you ever be back?”
I shook my head and said, “Probably not.” I turned and headed into the guest house to pack. When I came out, I handed Peggy the garage remote and house key and simply said, “Goodbye, Peggy.”
“Goodbye, Ray.”
Not wanting to drag it out, I turned and exited through the gate, putting the case and Peggy behind me. I put my bag behind the seat and took off, heading back home. Despite the heavy traffic, I made it home in decent time while planning how to wind down from this case.
August 1987
When I finished my toilet, I entered the kitchen to fix breakfast. I turned on the radio and found the big news everywhere up and down the dial was the daring overnight robbery at the Getty Villa Museum. I retrieved the morning paper from the bushes next to my front door. There was one headline about a commercial jet that crashed while departing the Detroit Metropolitan Airport, killing all but one on board. The rest of the headlines were about the local robbery.