Moorpark Palms - 24. Chapter 24

As it happened, something even bigger saved The Hardy Boys. Not that they needed excuses, but it seemed Pete and Denny had been balancing even trickier stuff at work.
“You hear what happened?” Lindsay asked that Sunday at the pool. She and Birgit were tending their tans. Birgit, I must add, was mind-meldingly beautiful when dressed. In a bikini, she could stop wars. Vic was close to heaven.
“What now?” I asked Lindsay, never knowing what adventures lurked in our immobile home.
“One of the building owners is having an affair with their office manager!” she said.
I laughed, betting on the Golf Pro and his Izod good looks.
“Denny’s been covering for months. Now the woman’s husband knows. Plus the owner’s wife!”
“Sounds messy.”
“No kidding. Everyone’s getting divorced. Everyone’s got lawyers. And the partnership’s wrecked.”
“Why?”
“Bankrupt,” she replied.
“Why?”
“Too much damage in the earthquake. And canceled insurance. And some kind of shady bookkeeping. One partner didn’t tell the other ‘cause he was too busy screwing around.”
Without meaning to, I laughed. “What are Pete and Denny gonna do?”
“They’re not talking to each other.”
“Why?” It seemed the only word I knew.
“Pete’s on one side. Denny’s on the other.”
“What happens to the building?”
“First guy got that – the one having the affair. Other guy got the place next door.”
I’d forgotten the partners owned both buildings. It seemed odd that nearby strangers were having the same dumb problems we were.
“It gets worse,” Lindsay went on. “Our guy’s gonna bail.”
“On what?”
“The building. The mortgage. Anything you can Chapter 11 on. We’re going into receivership.”
“Which means?”
She giggled. “I dunno.”
“Can’t we go with the other guy?”
“He doesn’t want us. The place next door’s bigger.”
“We’re orphans,” Birgit put in, laughing. “I just hope they don’t raise the rent.”
“Can they?” Lindsay wondered.
“They haven’t since I moved in,” I told them.
“We’d move out,” Birgit replied. “Cheap rent’s the reason we chose the place.”
I could easily afford a raise, so I wasn’t worried. “Let me ask Pete.” I said.
“Better do it fast,” Lindsay warned. “He’s packing.”
Pete wasn’t packing so much as throwing things around. Some landed in boxes. Others near an overflowing suitcase. Mostly, he seemed trying to implode.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Fuck Off!”
“Pete...”
“Fuck! Off! Now!”
“Come on. We’re friends...”
“Yeah? Well, my best friend just fucked me. Hard. And I barely know you!”
“What happened?
I don’t know why I asked. I thought it might make him feel better. He just glared. “Okay. I’m going. I hope you’re all right.”
He said nothing, so I left. But I soon doubled back and dropped off a bottle of Scotch, which I knew he liked. Then I went down to the pool.
“What did he say?” Lindsay wanted to know.
I told her what had happened.
“I didn’t know he was like that,” Birgit admitted.
“Either did I. He’s not the type who yells.”
“You’re wrong,” Lindsay insisted. “I’ve seen him take Denny’s head off. Pete stays cool for a very long time. But when he blows, everything goes.”
“That’s where he is now.”
Birgit seemed surprised, and I started to leave. Then I asked, “How’s the pool?”
Lindsay shrugged. “Cold.”
“You’ve been in?” I asked. “It’s been sunny for weeks.”
I dipped my hand in the water. It didn’t feel too bad. I pulled off my shoes and shirt.
“You’re damaged,” Lindsay warned.
I dove. Then leaped out like a dolphin.
“Cold!” I hollered.
Lindsay and Birgit laughed. Then I dove again.
“Just kidding,” I called. “It feels great.”
Lindsay wouldn’t believe me. Birgit, from the land of summer snow, was bolder. We were nastily splashing Lindsay, who was still in her chair, when Pete arrived.
“Hey, man,” he told me. Sorry about before. I can’t be like that.”
He held the Scotch and two glasses. Seeing the girls, he apologized, “I would’ve brought more, if I’d known.”
“Scotch is too strong for me,” Lindsay claimed.
“And it’s not my drink,” followed Birgit.
“I have some wine,” I offered.
They decided it was too early.
“Feeling any better?” I asked Pete.
He dodged than and ask if the pool was really warm.
“Try it,” I said.
He stripped to his shorts.
“This is more like it,” he agreed, after he dove. “First time I’ve been in.”
“Ever?” Birgit asked.
Pete nodded. “This would’ve been our first summer.”
“It should be heated,” Lindsay offered. “Or we need a hot tub.”
The three of us splashed her.
“Come in,” Birgit urged.
“It’s fine,” Pete said. “Really.”
Lindsay slowly waded near the steps. But she wouldn’t come in. Pete had cooled down enough to tell us calmly what had happened.
It seems that Matthew, the preppy owner, had been sneaking off with Sandra, the business manager. This had been going on for more than a year.
“They’d say they were going to check some new property,” Pete explained. “Then they’d slip into some unrented building and have sex. When Matthew’s wife called, wondering why he didn’t answer his mobile phone – he has one of those – Denny would lie. Then Sandy’s husband would call, and Denny would lie again. But you know Den. He can barely keeps the days of the week straight. So he was always making things up. I’m amazed anyone believed him for as long as they did. Then he lied to Tony.”
“Who’s Tony?” Birgit asked.
“The other owner – the dumber one. As long as he gets in nine holes a day, and we’re still making money, he doesn’t care what happens. He’d call in, wondering where Matthew was, and Denny would lie. Denny tried to get me to as well, but I’d always pass. I hate that kind of stuff. And when it came to fixing books...”
“Denny did that?”
“He tried. In the best intentions to keep us solvent when no one else cared. I could’ve done it better. I’m way stronger at Math, and Denny kept pressuring me to help. But I’m not going to jail for those losers.”
“Jail?” Lindsay asked. “Will Denny get arrested?”
“Maybe. Maybe I will, too. I did some stuff I probably shouldn’t have.” He laughed. “My girlfriend’s father already thinks I’m an idiot. Now he’ll have proof.”
“What about your bosses? Will they get arrested?”
Pete poured some more Scotch. “They’ll probably be fine. They’re lucky like that. They’ll blow off this building and maybe dump a few others to pick up some cash. They’re so pissed at each other right now, they’ll probably quit working together. But just for a while. They’ve known each other since pre-school. They were frat brothers. They’re godfathers to each other’s kids. As long as they’re not screwing each other’s wives, they’ll always be friends.”
“Maybe even then,” Lindsay laughed.
“Naw, Matthew’s too conservative. Even with Sandra, he was always super-careful – always sending Denny out for new rubbers.”
“Talk about sleeze.”
“You can’t be pond scum and PTA president at the same time.”
“Is he really?”
“Yeah. He keeps everything in little compartments. That’s why he thought he could get away with this. And even Tony, the dumber one – the golfer – sits on several boards. It all stinks. I work like hell. I practically kill myself – literally, I nearly wrecked my car one night, driving too tired. I dumped two years of my life into that place, and it’s all bullshit.”
“There’s nothing you can save?” I asked.
“Nothing. I’m crawling home. Begging my folks to let me live with them. At 26.”
“At least your girlfriend’s nearby,” Lindsay comforted him.
“That’s a great swap! My whole career for sex.”
“You’ve got your degree,” I reminded him. “Engineering’s not the worst...”
“I’ll be drafting sewer pipes till I’m seventy! I can’t do that.”
“Well, think of it this way – Denny didn’t even finish college. You’re way ahead.”
“But I wanted to be rich. I wanted it for my girl. Wanted to marry her and do everything right. The house. The kids. I wasn’t even trying to show up her dad.”
“You can still do all that,” Birgit counseled. “If she loves you...”
“It’ll just take longer,” Lindsay assured him.
There was nothing more anyone could say.
Pete packed off that evening. We all helped load his tiny car. Denny never came home, probably afraid to face Pete. The last thing Pete did was give Lindsay a cigar box full of keys.
“Hide them. Don’t let Denny know they’re still here. Let him think I went off with them.”
“What are they?” she asked.
“The keys to everything. They’ll let you in anywhere.”
“How long should I keep them?”
“Until the bank reps show up. Give them to them.”
“Is this legal?” Lindsay asked.
Pete laughed. “Nothing’s legal anymore. The only thing more fucked than business is the church.”
He left. Sober enough to drive, if defeated.
“Will he be okay?” Bobby asked. He and Rob had joined our send-off.
“Let’s hope so,” I said. “He’s a nice-enough guy.”
“As opposed to what we’re stuck with.”
“Keys!” Lindsay giggled. “And Denny!”
“Maybe the bank will do better.”
“They better not raise our rents,” Rob warned.
“I already said that,” Birgit told him.
“We’ll have to see.”
“Yeah,” Lindsay agreed. “But who likes to wait?”