The Magician's Sons

Chapter 39

The door opened with a careless swing, banging against the wall as Crumley pranced in. Sterling winced at the ruckus, cast an anxious look toward Copper, and gave his manager a shushing gesture, but Crumley went on heedlessly.

"Well, well, well! The unexpected return!" the man laughed without restraint. "And —what— a return, eh? I heard all about the little inconvenient dilemma you faced when you arrived! That's him, is it? The pampered street scamp."

"Mr. Crumley, will you please quiet your voice?" Jasper asked in a sharp whisper. "The child is trying to sleep."

"It looks as if nothing could disturb him!" Crumley chuckled, speaking a little bit quieter, but not softly enough to please his friend. He walked to the bedside and looked down with a sneer of disdain upon the sickly child. Copernicus was so exhausted from the day's events that the voices were only a droning hum in his ears. After a second of studying the boy's bruised face, Crumley shrugged his shoulders and lost all interest in him.

"Well, Sterling," he began cheerfully. "Norman and I got on splendidly while you were gone. I hope you fared as well as we did! Tell me all about it, man! Your sudden whim sparked all kinds of curiosity inside of me!"

"Yes, I suppose it must have," Jasper answered quietly. He hesitated, thinking deeply with a shadow of concern and dread on his brow. "Crumley, I'm afraid it is time for me to be very plain with you," he said at last. "Believe me, this is not a task which I have been looking forward to."

Mr. Crumley's countenance began to sink into a look of suspicious questioning.

"You see," Sterling continued, "on my journey, I passed through our old town, the one where we first became acquainted. I had purposed to stop there to pay my factory a visit and see how things were getting on. Do you know what I found?"

He saw a slight twitch of nervousness and self-defense contort Crumley's features as he began to catch Jasper's meaning. "How could I? I was not there."

"Very true, my friend. But, if you cannot imagine the state which I found my factory in, I'm afraid that suggests negligence. If you can imagine, I'm afraid it suggests deception. I found the building in sad disrepair. The air inside was hardly breathable from the dampness and dust. The overseer there treated me with curtness at first, somehow unaware that he was under my authority. But worst of all, do you know the sort of people whom we employ most?" Crumley cleared his throat tensely. His countenance was darkening like a thunder cloud. "They are poor children no older than this one," Sterling finished. He cast Copernicus a sympathetic glance and then looked at Crumley in earnestness and sorrow. "I'm afraid it is time for you to give account of your stewardship, Mr. Crumley. You have hidden these facts from me over the years and have constantly assured me that my factory was being run by the highest and most ethical standards. But that has only been one side of your deception, hasn't it?" Crumley's face contorted with panic as he guessed what was coming next. "Although I was in ignorance through a foolish amount of trust in you," Jasper went on, "I now know exactly how much money my factory makes in a year, and the figures do not match the sum which reaches my bank account."

Finally, Mr. Crumley couldn't hold his tongue. With a fiery look and a toss of his head, he spat, "Sterling, this is unbearable! What are you accusing me of? What kind of ingratitude is this? I spend decades working faithfully for you and now, after all these years, you take it into your mind that I have been dishonest? That I have somehow deceived and wronged you? Unbelievable!"

"I'm afraid changing the subject to one of wounded feelings is not going to help you, Mr. Crumley. I have every right and every reason to look into the affairs of my business. I have lost a consistent thirty percent of my income for several years now. And I have substantial evidence to prove that the missing money went into your own pocket." He stared seriously into the deceitful man's eyes as he stated, "Given the evidence, your case would not go well for you in court. But I am not going to take you to court. It is not my way. You may keep what you took. At the time, I knew no better and did not feel its loss. But your time in my service and in my house is over. I really am sorry about this."