The Quiet Man

Regaining Trust.

First there was just darkness, then there was pain, darkness and pain.

"He's awake!" An unfamiliar voice was talking.

"I think he's hurting. Let me turn up the IV."

Then there was only darkness. I heard people coming and going, talking, talking about me, but I did not listen or care. Then I fell asleep.

When I awoke again the darkness was gone. I was in a hospital bed. Jen was sleeping in a chair by the window. Next to her, reading, was her mother, my ex-wife.

She looked up and saw me looking at her. She came over to the bed and I tried to speak, but I couldn't. There was something stuck in my throat.

"Wait! You have a tube down your throat. Don't try to speak. I'll call somebody.

She pressed a button. While we waited for the nurse she said.

"You gave us quite a scare."

The nurse came in and removed the tube. It was awful. It felt like I was going to throw up, instead I went into a coughing fit. A stabbing pain shot through my back. I finally got some water down and stopped coughing, but I had woken Jen up.

"Dad! Dad! You're awake! I was so afraid."

She threw her arms around my neck and another pain shot through my back.

"Careful, Jen, Your dad is still not well."

"Dad, you were shot in the back. You've been sleeping for days!"

Well, that answered a lot of my questions, but not all. I got the rest from Mark and a detective that came to see me the next day.

Seems I got shot in the back. I knew that. But the thugs did not finish the job in the parking lot, or perhaps they thought they had. Nobody saw them, but a lot of people called 911, and a few tried to help me. An ambulance got me to the hospital, but they had trouble identifying me, finding only my phone and my keys on the body, me that is. Using the phone they found my ex-wife and got my address and place of work from her. At my house they found my folder, neatly labeled "Money Laundry?" and then stormed into the office. They questioned everyone there and brought Amanda and Sarah to the station for further questioning. They were not arrested, but close to it. When Sarah found out that I had been shot she stopped trying to do damage control for the company and talked. The police went after the accounting firm and the two other companies involved, but had not yet learned who was behind them.

That's what I knew when the policeman stationed outside my door stuck his head in and asked me if I would see a Ms. Langdon. I was surprised to say the least. I asked the police to stay in the room as Sarah came in

"It seems I am forever apologizing to you!"

"Why? What did you do now? Have me shot?"

"No! Yes, it was my fault. But I never thought he was involved."

"Who?"

"Frank. My husband. I talked to him that night, asking for his advice. He was so smooth. Told me to hold off until he had made some inquires. I never suspected a thing. Not until you were shot and he disappeared."

"So it wasn't you?"

"No, please don't believe that. But I think the police still suspect me, that's why they let me see you, to see if I would reveal anything. Please say that you believe me, Jack."

"I want to, Sarah, I really want to, but I'm not sure."

Sarah started crying, and sat down. I didn't feel to cheerful myself.

"I guess I can see why you talked to Frank. He is your husband and you shouldn't have any secrets from each other."

"But I should have guessed. I know some of his business crosses the line. But I ignored it. And he was the one that recommended me to use that accounting firm, asked me really."

"That would also explain why he was so upset when you let the firm go and hired me."

"Yes... You know I'm going to divorce Frank? The paperwork is already filed. Our marriage was more or less over anyways. It was built on convenience from the start. Frank wanted a trophy wife to show off. I wanted a husband from outside the movie and modeling, a 'normal' guy. Boy, did I ever blow that!"

We sat in silence, both thinking our own thoughts. She absentmindedly ran her fingers over the back of my hand. That took my mind off my troubles, and I closed my eyes, leaning back on my pillows. After a while I fell asleep.

When I woke up again I was alone. I thought about what I knew, what I had heard and what I believed. Sarah seemed honest. But she was an actress, could she have tricked me? On the other she was my friend before all this happened. She couldn't have known that I would expose the fraud. Yet, she treated me as a friend. No, I would trust my original judgment and believe her.