Page 20 of Smuggler’s Cove (Twin Lights #1)

“I’ll call him now.” Lincoln pulled out his cell phone and dialed his friend’s number. “Ty. LincLinc. You serious about a roommate?” Lincoln listened and nodded. “Long story. I will catch you up tomorrow.” Another pause. “Sounds good. Thanks, man.” The air in the room lifted.

Lincoln turned to his sister and the speakerphone. “We’re good. I have to pay for the utilities. His folks are paying for the loft. It’s in Tribeca. Just south of Canal, close to Chinatown, so there will be plenty of places for us to eat!”

The idea of food made Madison’s stomach turn again.

Sidney gave a slight chuckle and continued. “Two security guards will meet you in the lobby tomorrow morning. They will escort you to school.”

“That’s going to look kind of goofy, no?” Madison asked.

“These guys are paid to shadow you. Their job is to have their eyes and ears peeled. You can just pretend they’re not there,” Sidney reassured them.

“Madison, you should plan on RISD. With your credits and GPA, you should have no trouble transferring. Fortunately, you are only three weeks into the semester, and I know you are a quick study.”

Madison thought she might hurl again but was able to keep whatever was left in her stomach inside her stomach.

“I know this is hard. But I have known the two of you since you were little kids. You are going to be okay. It is another one of life’s adjustments.

I will call you tomorrow afternoon to see how things are moving along.

In the meantime, if you need anything from me, just call. Cynthia will find me.”

“Thanks, Sidney,” Madison replied. Lincoln followed.

“And Mom? Can you tell us where she is?”

“The less you know, the better. She is okay. She will be in touch later this evening. Now, get something to eat, and try to get a good night’s sleep. You have a lot of work ahead of you.”

“Goodnight, Sidney,” Madison spoke into the phone.

The two sat in silence for a few moments. Lincoln put his arm around his sister. “Well, kiddo, it’s not like this is the first time we’ve been exiled from our domicile.”

“True, but at least we had one on the weekends.” Madison sniffed, but she was not going to cry. No. She had to save her strength for the days, weeks, and months ahead.

Lincoln opened the leather-bound directory and flipped to the Room Service page. “Now that you emptied your stomach of that street dog, how is your appetite?”

“How did you know I ate a hot dog?” Madison furrowed her brow.

“Evidence: trash can. Your breath.” Lincoln elbowed her.

“Maybe soup and a club sandwich.”

“You bet. Who is paying for this?” He was half joking.

“I guess Mom.” She shrugged. She pulled the portfolio from her brother’s grip. “I wonder how their burgers are.” Madison’s appetite rebounded. “I think this calls for extra crispy fries.”

“Talk about a one-eighty!” Lincoln gasped.

“What can I say? I am hungry now that my stomach is empty. But just to be on the safe side, I will order a ginger ale.”

She placed their order and flopped on the bed. She steeled herself as she clicked the TV remote. “Fasten your seat belt.”

The announcer came on:

“We have breaking news. Two of Wall Street’s most influential financiers were arrested today and charged with fraud.

Jackson Taylor and Raymond Gershon, of Taylor-Gershon, have been charged with twelve felony counts, including wire fraud, money laundering, securities fraud, and false filings with the SEC.

Both men are being held without bail. More on this story after these messages. ”

Lincoln and Madison watched their handcuffed father as he was escorted into the criminal court, his Gianni Versace suit jacket pulled over his head, hiding his face. Gershon was similarly attired.

“This is surreal,” Lincoln commented. “But this is probably the most I’ve seen of him lately,” he said, and snickered.

Madison threw a pillow at him and laughed. “This is what it must be like in the Twilight Zone .”

“You know something, Maddie? We were living in the Twilight Zone . Now, we have been thrust into reality.”

“Quite a trajectory, I’d say.” Madison got up and pulled Mr. Jinx from her bag. Lincoln grinned.

“Interesting.”

“What?” Madison sat down on the bed.

“Stuff that is important to us. Of all the things you could have taken from the house, you picked Mr. Jinx.”

She pulled out the collage and unrolled it. “And this. My first piece of art.” She climbed back onto the bed. “What did you grab?”

Lincoln handed her a small box. Inside was a golf tee.

“What’s this?”

“A golf tee. Surely, you have seen them before,” he joked.

“No. Never. Duh. But why this one in particular?”

“It is the one I used when I finally broke one hundred. I always carried it for good luck.”

“Obviously, you were not carrying it today.”

“But I am now.”

Their conversation got interrupted by a knock on the door. A muffled voice called, “Room service.”

Lincoln checked through the pinhole. He opened the door and let the waiter roll the cart into the room. As he was setting up the table, the news returned with “more on the story.”

“Can you believe those two?” the waiter commented.

“Stealing money from old ladies. Families. Retirement accounts? Shameful.” He tsk ed.

“They should throw them in the slammer for a very long time.” Lincoln maintained a straight face, added a tip, and signed the check.

The waiter thanked them and left the room.

“Throw them in the slammer!” Lincoln parroted, and they both burst out laughing. Not that any of it was funny.

Later that evening, Gwen made a quick call to Madison. She told Madison that she had opened a savings account many years ago in both her and Lincoln’s names when she set up the trusts for college.

Madison furrowed her brow. “I wonder why Sidney didn’t mention that to us.”

“Because he does not know about it. No one does except your grandmother. There should be around twenty thousand dollars in there to split between the two of you.” Gwen paused.

“After the Ivan Boesky thing, with your father’s growing paranoia, I was getting a little nervous about your father’s business dealings, so I started to stash a little money away whenever I could. ”

“What about you?” Madison asked. “Do you have any money?”

“I have enough to get by for now.”

“How long is for now ?” She could hear noise in the background.

“Sweetheart, I do not want you to worry about me. You and your brother do what you need to do. Nana said you can stay with her until you can decide where you want to live.”

“I suppose transferring to RISD is a foregone conclusion?” Madison sighed.

“It is for the best. I know you will shine there.”

“I guess you spoke to Sidney.”

“Yes, and he said he discussed all of this with you and Lincoln. I am so sorry the two of you are going through this.”

“It’s not your fault,” Madison said wearily.

“In some ways, it is. I should have gotten out a long time ago.”

“Mom? Can I ask you something?” Madison queried.

“Of course. What is it?”

“What did you see in Dad? Why did you marry him? Were you in love?”

Gwen went silent for a moment. She had not been expecting that sort of question.

“When I met him, he was an up-and-coming financial maverick. Most men his age were still in some kind of hippie phase. Long hair. Smoking lots of marijuana and doing other kinds of drugs. Your father was clean-cut. Wore nice suits. Charming. And good-looking.” She thought for a moment.

“There was a time I wanted a career, but your father dictated our lifestyle. And quite frankly, it was a lifestyle that was easy to get used to. Honestly, my biggest disappointment is with myself. I should have walked out years ago.”

Madison stared blankly at the phone. “I don’t think I realized how unhappy you were.”

“But you and your brother made me incredibly happy. And proud. That is something your father cannot take away from me.”

“Where are you going to go?” Madison asked softly.

“Out of the country for a bit. It is going to depend on how soon they will want a deposition from me.”

“Did you know he was doing this?” Madison asked.

“Not the particulars, but I had my suspicions. Many. It was hard to keep track of his indiscretions, so I made like an ostrich and buried my head in the sand.”

Madison’s eyes teared. “Mom, I am so sorry.”

“Sweetheart, do not apologize to me. I am the one who is sorry for all of this. Just keep your head high.”

“According to Sidney, I need to keep my head down.” Madison eked out a chuckle.

Gwen snickered, as well. “Yes. Be careful. Sidney told me he was hiring private security.”

“Can you—we—afford it?”

“We will manage. But first, you and your brother need to get settled. Sidney told me Lincoln was going to move in with Tyler, finish out his year at Pace, and then transfer to Baruch.”

“Yes. We have a plan.” Madison was doodling on the pad again.

“Okay, honey. I must get going. They are boarding my flight now.”

Madison thought her mother was at an airport, and now she confirmed it.

Madison made out the announcement. Morocco?

Interesting choice. Then she remembered that Morocco did not have an extradition treaty with the U.S.

She knew this tidbit from the news she watched earlier.

They explained the reason her father was remanded as a flight risk, and they named a few of the countries that would not extradite him to the U.S.

The plot was as thick as any episode of Law her mother going on the lam; Madison and her brother finding new housing.

And she had to transfer. If it had not been so utterly overwhelming, she could cry.

But there wasn’t anything left. She grabbed Mr. Jinx and gave him a huge hug.