Mayfield Enterprises Pt. 02

Deadwood, South Dakota

Chapter 13

Thursday, December 19, 2013

I had finished my final walkthrough with my contractor an hour earlier and decided to have a drink before heading home. I spent the hour nursing a double bourbon while mentally reviewing the past year.

It's been ten months since my life was turned upside down back in February when I found out that Micki was not only cheating on me but also planning with her lover to kill me. The confrontation with Micki and Dave Nesbit resulted in Nesbit's death. Now, ten months later, instead of being a project manager for SASC, I am President and CEO of Mayfield Enterprises, and Micki is the CFO.

In May, Micki and I went up to Deadwood, South Dakota to do the final inspection of the Deadwood Saloon Hotel and Casino to see if we could find some way to void the purchase contract and get our $150K due diligence refunded. It turned out that the property was exactly as described in the sale offer, so there was no way out of the purchase contract. We made a down payment of $500K and got a business loan for the rest of the purchase price and Mayfield Enterprises LLC became the owner of the Deadwood Saloon Hotel and Casino. The property needed renovation, so I moved to Deadwood to manage the project while Micki stayed in North Carolina and continued to work at the brokerage while also managing the financial affairs of Mayfield Enterprises.

Over the last several months, the Deadwood Hotel and Casino, as Micki and I renamed it, was a hive of activity as we completely renovated the building in preparation for the grand reopening on Saturday, December 21^st.

I finished my drink and took another look around at the saloon, which we named "Mayfield's 1870 Saloon." I was proud of the look I had created. Walking through the doors into the saloon is like stepping back in time to the 1870s.

I was still feeling good about the renovation as I walked out to my truck. I still have the Vette, but you don't drive a Corvette around Deadwood in the winter. As I was reaching to open the truck door, I heard a voice behind me, asking if I was Tom Mayfield. I answered yes while turning to see who was addressing me, but before I could react, three men assaulted me. Two of them pulled my arms behind my back and zip-tied my wrists together while the third man pulled a bag over my head. I tried to wrestle free, but my attackers pushed me face-first up against the wall of the building and held me there. I started to say something, but one of the men punched me in the kidney and told me to shut up. We stayed like that for a couple of minutes until I heard a car approach. As soon as the car stopped, I was pushed into the backseat and then I was forced down to the floor. I had no idea what these men wanted from me and that scared the hell out of me. All kinds of ideas began spinning around in my head. Was this about the Deadwood? Had Micki decided to betray me again and have me killed so she could take complete control of Mayfield Enterprises?

I don't know how long we were in the car, I guessed maybe a half hour, before we stopped and I heard a garage door opening, then then the car moved inside. When the garage door closed, I was pulled out of the car and forced to walk between two of the men. They half dragged me up a few steps and into a house. We walked down a hallway and entered a room, where I was pushed down into a chair and told to keep my mouth shut. With the bag over my head the only thing I could see was a portion of the hardwood floor under my feet.

"We got him," one of my abductors said.

"He give you any trouble?" This was spoken by someone with a deep gravelly voice.

Then there was laughter. "No trouble."

"Go get CJ." The gravelly voice said.

Chapter 14

Who the hell was CJ? I didn't know anyone called CJ, and I couldn't make sense of what was happening. A couple of minutes passed before I heard someone enter the room.

I knew immediately that it was a woman because I could hear the clacking of her heels on the hardwood floor as she approached me. When she got close, I could smell her perfume. Her scent was intoxicating. Looking down I could see her shoes and her ankles. The shoes were stylish and her ankles delicate. I don't know why those thoughts occurred to me considering the position I was in. Then without warning something hit me hard on the left side of my jaw. The impact snapped my head to the side and left me momentarily dazed. I braced myself expecting to get hit again, but instead of another punch, the bag was pulled off my head.

It took me a few seconds to focus on the vision in front of my face. Big dark brown eyes, a pretty face, and long dark almost black hair. We stared at each other for a moment. That's when I noticed the scars, one on her forehead and another on her chin. The scars were faint and didn't detract from the beauty of the woman. After staring at me for several seconds, the woman, CJ, I presumed, turned and yelled, "That's not him, you brought me the wrong man."

I didn't know if that was good or bad news for me.

"That's Tom Mayfield, the guy you sent us to grab," one of my abductors said.

God damn it, Jimmy, I gave you a picture of Howard, I don't know who the fuck this guy is."

Then she turned on me again. "Who the fuck are you?"

"I'm Tom Mayfield."

"This can't be happening," she said. "Do you know Howard Mason?"

"No, never heard of him," I said.

She looked at me again and then turned to a middle-aged man sitting behind a desk and said, "Why can't these idiots do anything right? They should have looked at him to see if he looked like the man in the picture, I gave them. If Howard was in Deadwood, he is probably gone now."

"CJ, calm down." The man behind the desk had the gravelly voice I heard earlier.

"You said that the Corvette dealer said his name was Tom Mayfield," Jimmy said and then pointed at me. "And he said he was Tom Mayfield."

I started feeling sick. "Can I see the picture you're talking about?"

The five people in the room looked over at me.

"Jimmy, give me that picture," CJ said.

CJ took the picture from Jimmy and held it in front of me. Inside my head, I was screaming 'Oh Shit!"

"Do you know this guy," CJ said as she pointed at David Nesbit. It was a picture of Nesbit standing next to the cobalt blue 2013 Corvette, the same one that is sitting in my garage.

I could not think of any lie that would get me out of the shit storm I was in, so I told the truth, at least some of it.

"I knew him as David Nesbit," I said. "He is a scam artist that tried to rip me off and steal my identity."

"Where is he?"

"These zip-ties are cutting into my wrists, if you cut them off, I'll tell you," I said while fearing that they might decide to beat the information out of me anyway, but I had to chance it before losing all feeling in my hands.

"Jimmy. Cut him loose," CJ said.

Once my hands were free, I answered her question., "Last time I saw him, he was in North Carolina, and he had just purchased the car in the picture." Judging from CJ's anger I guessed that she had also been a victim of his, so I asked? "How much did he take from you?"

CJ pull a chair up in front of me and sat down. "What makes you think he took anything from me?"

"He is a conman, that is what he does. He obviously changed his name after he left you so you would not be able to find him, and that right cross you hit me with tells me you are very angry with him."

"Howard took a little over a half-million dollars from me. It was an inheritance from my grandfather, and I want it back."

"For the last two and a half years I have known that asshole as David Nesbit. When did this happen to you?"

"I met him five years ago. He was supposed to be using my money to buy land in North Carolina. He told me that later we could sell the land to developers for a big profit. I was supposed to join him in Raleigh a few days after he left, but I had a bad car accident the next day and was in the hospital for several days afterward. When I was finally able to leave the hospital, I couldn't find him. I've been looking ever since."

Shit. I already knew CJ's story. Nesbit or Mason or whoever the fuck he was outlined what happened to CJ in the blue notebook. "By any chance does the C in CJ stand for Clare?"

"How do you know that?"

"I have information that you need to see, but it is back at my house in Deadwood. If you come back there with me, I will show you what I have. I think it will fill in the blanks for you," I said.

"Why would I trust you?"

"What have you got to lose? You can bring Jimmy and his friends with us."

"You better not be bullshittin me."

Jimmy was ready to zip-tie my hands again, but when CJ saw the damage already done to my wrists, she stopped him.

Chapter 15

On the drive back to Deadwood, I rode in the back seat between Jimmy and a guy named Dan, while CJ drove.

When we got to the house, I told Jimmy that I had to get something from my safe, and I wanted him to know that I had a gun in the safe. "I don't want any accidents, so I'll open the safe and you can remove the gun," I said.

I could tell that Jimmy wasn't sure about me, but he followed me into my office and watched as I dialed in the combination and swung the door open and let Jimmy reach in and take the gun. Then I retrieved the two notebooks and took them into the living room where CJ was waiting.

"I prefer to keep this between the two of us as much as possible, so I am going to ask Jimmy and Dan to wait in the kitchen."

Jimmy looked at CJ and she nodded her agreement.

"There is beer in the fridge and liqueur on the counter," I said. Then to CJ, I said, "I am going to fix myself a bourbon would you like something before we start?"

"This isn't a date, and we are not going to have sex afterward," CJ said with a bit of a smile. It was nice to see that she had a sense of humor.

"It would be fun," I said, "But I think you may need a drink when you see everything, I have to show you. Besides, I don't date girls that need chaperones."

That got a small chuckle out of CJ.

"Okay, I guess I'll have a little bourbon on the rocks."

Jimmy and Dan sat in the kitchen, each with one of my beers, and kept an eye on me while I sat in the living room with CJ.

"How did you find that picture you showed me?" I asked.

"Howard had a Corvette when I met him, and he told me that he leased a new Corvette every three years.

I gave that information and a picture of Howard Mason to my PI, and somehow, he found the Corvette dealer in Ashville, North Carolina that leased the car to him. The dealer said the guy in the picture was the one who leased the car, and the dealer said his name was Tom Mayfield. The picture was taken when Howard picked the car up."

"I'm impressed. Your PI managed to find the needle in the haystack. But how did you end up coming to Deadwood?"

"Google search. Your name came up in connection with the hotel. I called the number associated with the hotel and ask the girl that answered the phone if you were Tom Mayfield from North Carolina. She confirmed that you were."

I told CJ the story of how Micki and I ended up living in the Ashville area. Then I told her about how I discovered that Micki was having an affair with Nesbit. "What I discovered was that Micki was not only fucking the asshole behind my back, but they were also planning to kill me. After that, I was determined to find out everything the two of them were up to. I paid a visit to Nesbit's house while the asshole was at my house with Micki. That is where I found the notebooks. I handed the green notebook to CJ and walked her through Nesbit's plan and how he plotted to kill me, steal my identity and then later kill Micki."

"You're still here so what happened with your wife and Howard, or Nesbit?

"I just call him the asshole to prevent confusion," I said.

How did you stop them and where are they now?"

"I'll get to that part later," I said and set the blue notebook in front of CJ. "I am going to go into the kitchen and freshen our drinks. I think you are going to want to be alone when you read the contents of this notebook."

I got up and took our glasses to the kitchen and put more ice and bourbon into them. I took CJ's glass back into the room and set it beside her and watched as she read the first couple of pages of the notebook, then I went back into the kitchen.

It took CJ twenty minutes to finish reading the notebook. When she was done, she put her head in her hands and began to cry. When I walked into the room, CJ looked at me and cried, "He tried to kill me. It was not an accident. He forced me off the road and over the cliff and left me there to die. I trusted that bastard and he tried to kill me. Now every time I look at these ugly scars, I'll be reminded of, Howa... that asshole."

CJ stood up and went to the kitchen. She handed the car keys to Jimmy and said, "You two go back to the house, Tom and I have some things to talk about."

"Are you sure?" Jimmy said.

"It seems that Tom and I belong to an exclusive club that neither of us ever wanted to join and we," CJ said as she looked over at me, "don't want to talk about this in front of an audience."

On their way out, Jimmy handed my gun to CJ. "Just in case," he said.

When they were gone, CJ handed me the gun. "You are no threat to me, are you?"

"No. No, I'm not."

CJ went back to the kitchen and poured herself some more bourbon. When she came back, I asked her about the scars. Were they a result of your accident? When was that?"

"I think you know it was no accident. It happened in April of 2010."

"What did you think happened?"

"I went off the road and over a cliff and dropped 100 feet and landed front end first on the rocks on the shore of Lake Erie. That's all I know about what happened. I wasn't conscious when they pulled me from the car, and I didn't wake up for two full days. I have no memory of what happened, and the police could not find anyone who had witnessed the accident. The scars are from the airbag hitting me in the face. It's bad enough that I'll have these ugly scars the rest of my life, but now they will be a constant reminder of what a big fool I was to allow that man into my life."

"Those scars don't detract from your beautiful face. I think they add a sense of mystery to you. I could sit here and look at you all night and never be distracted by them."

CJ's face flushed a little and she laughed. "You are still trying to get me into your bed, aren't you?"

"Is it working?"

"No. Okay, now tell me the rest of the story."

I told CJ about the night of the confrontation and how when the asshole sent Micki to make coffee, she read the notebook and discovered that Nesbit was playing her and that he planned to kill her also. "Micki put the cyanide in the asshole's coffee, and he was dead within minutes," I said.

"What did the police do?" CJ said.

"Nothing. We never called the police." I flipped open the green notebook and pointed to the part about the grave the asshole dug for me with the GPS coordinates for its location. "Nesbit now lies in that grave of his own making."

"Why didn't you call the police?"

"I was going to, but I realized that if I called the police, it could create financial problems for me. Nesbit and Micki had all our money tied up in Mayfield Enterprises. I worried that the police investigation would require that the assets of Mayfield Enterprises would be frozen, and it could take years to get my money back. It could cost me a fortune in legal fees trying to fight to get the money released."

"What happened to your wife? Micki?"

"We're divorced. This may sound strange under the circumstances, but she's my business partner now. I don't know much about financial or business matters, that's Micki's world. Micki handles the financial end of our business and I handle the physical management."

We sat quietly for a few minutes and then CJ lower her head and started to cry again. I didn't know what to do. Trying to hug her might not be welcome, so I remained silent. CJ looked up at me, wiping the tears from her eyes, and said, "I hoped that I would find Howard here in Deadwood and force him to return my money. Now that he is dead, I'll never recover it."

I had to think about that for a while. We talked for a couple of hours more. I found out the CJ's name was Clare Johnson. She was CPA and taught accounting at a community college in Erie and worked part-time for an accounting company during tax season. Jimmy and Dan and my third abductor worked for CJ's father. Mr. Johnson was the man with the gravelly voice. He runs a trucking company in Erie Pennsylvania. Mr. Johnson rented the house they took me to, so they would have a place close to Deadwood while they waited for an opportunity to grab me.

"If I was Howard Mason, would your father have had me killed?"

CJ smiled at me and said, "I don't know, maybe."

"That's not funny," I said.

"If you had seen the look on your face, you would be laughing too.

I was starting to like CJ, but I was still leery of completely trusting her. "Do you want me to drive you back to the house?"

"I've had more bourbon than I am used to, and I'm tired and getting sleepy and besides, I would like to spend a night away from my father and his three stooges. The four of them sit around that house drinking beer, burping, and farting. Not a pleasant environment for an impressionable young girl like me," CJ said then laughed. Do you have a guest bedroom?"

"Yes."

"Would it be possible for me to say here tonight, and can you loan me a tee shirt to sleep in?"

Chapter 16

In the morning I was up early, and CJ was still sleeping in the guest room. I made coffee and then called Micki and told her what happen last night. I told her Who, CJ was and that she was the victim described in the blue notebook.

"How sure are you?' Micki said.

"Before I went to bed last night, I went to the website for WICU TV in Eire, PA. I was able to search their news files from 2010 and found the video related to CJ's accident. It was all there."

"So, what do you want to do?" Micki said.

"The right thing."

"I'm with you. Do what you gotta do."

Shortly after my call with Micki, CJ came out of the guestroom wearing my tee shirt and panties. "I need coffee," she said.

CJ sat at the table and drank two cups of coffee without saying anything. I was surprised that she seemed comfortable being with me while dressed as she was.

"That's a good look for you," I said to end the silence.

"Don't get any ideas. Right now, coffee is more important to me than modesty."

"So, what now?"

"I guess I go back to the house to pack and head back to Erie tomorrow."

"When you are ready, I'll take you back to the house."

I checked the weather and looked outside to see if the roads were dry while CJ was getting dressed. If the weather was bad or if there was snow on the roads, I would have to call a taxi to take us to the Deadwood to pick up my truck otherwise we could take the Corvette. I don't drive the Vette unless the roads are dry and there is no precipitation in the forecast. The weather was clear, and the roads were dry.

When CJ came back, I told her we would take my car and she followed me out to the garage. When she saw the Corvette, CJ froze. "What are you doing with that car? That's the car that was in the picture with Howard, why do you have it now?"

"Are you forgetting that the asshole told the car dealer that his name was Tom Mayfield? The car is registered in my name, so I decided to keep it."

It took a minute for that thought to settle in, then CJ said, "That makes sense now."

As I backed the Corvette out of the garage, I asked CJ where the house was.

"You were there, and you don't know where it is?"