Twisted: The Collected Short Stories of Jeffery Deaver

'What are you talking about,' she whispered.

'Sandy, the whole point of this was to get your company.' He tapped the power of attorney. 'I'll vote myself in as president, pay myself a nice, big salary and bonus, then sell the place. You'll make some money — don't worry. You're still the owner of the stock. Oh, and don't worry about that hidden money. It wasn't hidden at all. Your husband put some company money into overseas investments, like a million other businessmen last year. He got hurt a little when the market dipped. No big deal. It'll come back. You were never even close to bankruptcy.'

'Why…' She gasped. 'You goddamn bastard! This's fraud!' She reached for the power of attorney but he pushed her hand away.

Ralston shook his head sadly then he paused, frowning. He noticed that the rage on Sandra May's face had turned to amusement. Then she started laughing.

'What?' he asked uncertainly.

She stepped toward him. Ralston grabbed the power of attorney and eased back warily.

'Oh, relax, I'm not going to slap you upside the head — even though I ought to.' Sandra May leaned past him and pushed the intercom button.

'Yes?' came the woman's voice.

'Loretta, could you come in here, please?'

'Sure, Mrs. DuMont.'

Loretta appeared in the doorway. Sandra May's eyes were still on Ralston's. She said, 'That power of attorney gives you the right to vote all my shares. Right?'

He glanced at his jacket pocket, where the document now rested. He nodded.

Sandra May continued, speaking to Loretta. 'How many shares in the company do I own?'

'None, Mrs. DuMont.'

'What?' Ralston asked.

Sandra May said, 'We thought you were trying to pull something. So we had to test you. I talked to my lawyer. He said I could transfer my shares to somebody I trusted so that I didn't hold any of them. Then I'd sign the power of attorney, give it to you and see what you did. And I sure learned that fast enough — you planned to rob me blind. It was a test — and you failed, sir.'

'Goddamn it. You transferred the shares?'

She laughed and nodded to Loretta. 'Yep. To somebody I could trust. I don't own a bit. That power of attorney is useless. She owns a hundred percent of DuMont Products Inc.'

But Ralston's shock vanished. He began to smile.

The explanation for his good mood came not from him but from Loretta. She said, 'Now you listen here. You'll never guess. Bill and I own a hundred percent of the company. Sorry, honey.' And she walked forward and put her arm around Ralston. 'I don't think we mentioned it but Bill's my brother.'

* * *

'You were in it together!' Sandra May whispered. 'The two of you.'

'Jim died and didn't leave me a penny!' Loretta snapped. 'You owe me that money.'

'Why would Jim leave you anything?' Sandra May asked uncertainly. 'Why would…' But her voice faded as she looked at the knowing smile on the thin woman's face.

'You and my husband?' Sandra May gasped. 'You were seeing each other?'

'For the last three years, honey. You never noticed that we were out of town at the same time? That we'd both work late the same nights? Jim was putting money away for me!' Loretta spat out. 'He just never had a chance to give it to me before he died.'

Sandra May stumbled backward, collapsed onto the couch. 'The stock… Why, I trusted you,' she muttered. 'The lawyer asked who could I trust and you were the first person I thought of!'

'Just like I trusted Jim,' Loretta snapped back. 'He kept saying he'd give it to me, he'd open an account for me, I could travel, he'd get me a nice house… But then he died and didn't leave me a penny. I waited a few months then called Bill up in New York. I told him all about you and the company. I knew you were going to Pine Creek Club on Sunday. We figured he should come on down and introduce himself to the poor widow.'

'But your last name, it's different,' she said to Ralston, picking up one of his business cards and glancing at Loretta.

'Hey, not that hard to figure out,' he said, lifting his palms. 'It's fake.' He laughed. As if this were too obvious to even mention.

'When we sell the company, honey, you'll get something,' Loretta said. 'Don't you fret 'bout that. In recognition of your last six months as president. Now, why don't you just head on home? Oh, hey, you don't mind if I don't call you Mrs. DuMont anymore, do you, Sandy? I really hated —'

The office door swung open

'Sandra May… you all right?' A large man stood in the doorway. Beau Ogden, the county sheriff. His hand was on his pistol.

'I'm fine,' she told him.

He eyed Ralston and Loretta, who stared at him uneasily. 'These them?'

'That's right.'

'I come as soon as I got your call.'

Ralston was frowning. 'What call?'

Ogden warned, 'Just keep your hands where I can see them.'

'What the hell're you talking about?' Ralston asked.

'I'd ask you to keep a respectful voice, sir. You don't want to go making your problems any worse than they already are.'

'Officer,' Loretta said, sounding completely calm, 'we've been doing some business dealings here and that's all. Everything's on the up-and-up. We got contracts and papers and everything. Mrs. DuMont sold me the company for ten dollars 'cause it's in debt and she thought me and my brother here could turn it around. Me knowing the company as good as I do since I worked for her husband for so many years. Her own lawyer did the deal. We're going to pay her a settlement as a former employee.'

'Yeah, whatever,' Ogden said absently; his attention was on a young, crew-cut deputy entering the office. 'It matches,' he told the sheriff.

Ogden nodded toward Loretta and Ralston. 'Cuff 'em both.'

'You bet, Beau.'

'Cuff us! We haven't done anything!'

Ogden sat on the chair beside Sandra May. He said solemnly, 'We found it. Wasn't in the woods, though. Was under Loretta's back porch.'

Sandra May shook her head sadly. Snagged a Kleenex and wiped her eyes.

'Found what?' Ralston snapped.

'May as well 'fess up, both of you. We know the whole story.'

'What story?' Loretta barked at Sandra May.

She took a deep breath. Finally she struggled to answer, 'I knew something wasn't right. I figured out you two were trying to cheat me —'

'And her a poor widow,' Ogden muttered. 'Shameful.'

'So I called Beau before I got to work this morning. Told him what I suspected.'

'Sheriff,' Loretta continued patiently, 'you're making a big mistake. She voluntarily transferred the stock to me. There was no fraud, there was no —'

The sheriff held up an impatient hand. 'Loretta, you're being arrested for what you did to Jim, not for fraud or some such.'

'Did to Jim?' Ralston looked at his sister, who shook her head and asked, 'What's going on here?'

'You're under arrest for the murder of Jim DuMont.'

'I didn't murder anybody!' Ralston spat out.

'No, but she did.' Ogden nodded at Loretta. 'And that makes you an accomplice and probably guilty of conspiracy too.'

'No!' Loretta screamed. 'I didn't.'