A Long Road to Redemption

Chapter 39

Leonard Pierson was in the middle of a business call when Jonathan entered his office. Jonathan spent the last few days in Chicago on business, trying to negotiate the last details of a contract with a new client. Leonard motioned to his son to sit while he finished the call. He was glad to see him because he had a lot of things he needed to discuss with him about the family business. There were some things that Jonathan probably did not want to hear, but it was far too late for his reluctance.

He finally finished the call and hung up the phone. "I swear that man would go on about anything just to hear himself talk," Leonard said, turning his attention to his son. "How was your flight back?" he asked. "Did you get everything done in Chicago?"

Jonathan relaxed his shoulders and allowed some of the stress he had felt over the last several days to disappear. "Yes, everything went as expected. The contracts are signed, and we can start our deliveries early next month. The flight back was uneventful, thankfully." He gazed at his father with mistrustful eyes. "I guess you heard that Jim Cooper is dead."

"Yes, I heard that. He was murdered in his home. His wife, too. Terrible," Leonard said, trying to sound sympathetic.

"Yeah, a real tragedy. You have anything to do with that?" he asked point blankly.

"Just what are you accusing me of, son? You think I had anything to do with this?"

"I think you know what I'm asking, so let's stop playing games. Did you or did you not have him killed?" Jonathan asked, barely able to keep his voice down.

"You know I've built a business that ships cargo worldwide. I have made more money than several states. It also gave you and your brother a more than good life and provided you with a job that will one day see you run this company. So how about a little less questioning and more gratitude." Leonard calmed himself and managed to keep his temper down. One of the few good things he could always say about Lawson was that he never questioned where his good fortune came from. Jonathan was completely different.

"That's not an answer, Father. Are you responsible for Cooper's death?" Jonathan asked again, not willing to let it drop.

"No. I am not. Are you satisfied now?" Pierson again felt anger rising in him. "Why is it so hard for you to accept that we have a business to run and have no time for such distractions?"

"Because of all the other things this business is doing. My god, Father, where does it all end?"

Pierson had all he could take. They had this conversation before, and it always ended the same way. "Son, you are all I have now. Your brother is gone. If this business is to survive, I need you to learn all you can and try to understand our operations." This was an exercise in frustration for him. Jonathan's moral compass was admirable, but Pierson knew business did not succeed on morals but on sound decision-making. While Jonathan may disagree with the decisions he made, his son needed to understand what they all stood to lose if the business went bad. "You also need to understand that there are people we move things for that do not deal well with change."

"Father, you know that I want nothing to do with that. You promised to end your association with the cartels years ago." Jonathan doubted his father would ever end the relationship with the drug cartels. He also knew the cartels often moved people using his father's company. The whole thing made him sick when he thought about what his family had done. "I'm not Lawson, Father. I can't lead a criminal organization. I have a wife and child on the way to think about."

"No, you are not Lawson. You are a much better businessman than Lawson would ever be, but he did have one advantage over you. He would do anything to succeed and had no problem with doing what had to be done, no matter what it was. You could have done well together, but that can't happen now, thanks to that Lewis girl."

"It's not right what you've done to her either," Jonathan said. "You could have just left well enough alone. It would have all blown over within a few weeks."

"Oh, just stop it. I've heard so much about Sidney Lewis these last few days that I'm ready to kill her to stop thinking about her. Who would have thought a poor girl from a nowhere town would cause me so much trouble? Now, I've got at least two investigations in her name and on her behalf. I should have killed her, but I can always fix that."

"No, Father, enough is enough. Just let it go. Let all of this go. It will cost us a lot of our profits, but we have more money than we need. Just let it all go. Why not use your influence to let the girl go, too? You could do that easily with all of your contacts. That would end all of this. Then we could all move on and be done with this for good."

"You can't be serious? She killed your brother. No matter what he did to her, she killed him, which must be answered. She has to pay a price. If not, we look weak, which can be dangerous and fatal. No, she will rot where she is if I don't take care of her first, flash drive or no flash drive. I would think you would understand that since he was your brother."

"I loved my brother but knew what and who he was. I know how he treated her. Don't get me wrong, Father, she deserved to be punished, but planting and suppressing evidence and using the DA's office to get what you wanted. It's just wrong. Why not just let justice play out?"

"Because he was my son," Pierson erupted at last, "my flesh and blood. He was supposed to continue my legacy, and you were to make sure he didn't screw it up after I'm gone. You were supposed to be a team. Now it's just you, and you want to back out of everything I have built."

"I'm not a criminal, Father. I never wanted to be in charge of a criminal empire. I will run this business but not break the law."

"Fine, son. Fine. If that is what you want, then so be it. Now, if you will excuse me, I have work to do. Go home and rest up. I will see you tomorrow."

"Father."

"Tomorrow, son. I have business to attend to."

Jonathan left his father's office. Leonard seethed over the exchange again as he had the time before. It wasn't anger that took hold of him, but disappointment. Neither of his sons had lived up to his legacy. He had high hopes for Jonathan, but his son wouldn't give up on this Boy Scout routine.

Leonard considered his options and eventually came to a decision. It was time to sell the company and retire. Jonathan could easily find another line of work, and the business becomes someone else's problem. There was just the problem of loose ends that needed to be taken care of sooner than later. The first of which needed attention was the reporter.