“Is it with the police? Why aren’t they here? Why aren’t they telling us what we should do? Why is he helping you?”
I expected all these questions, and I tried to come up with answers to them in the moments after I discovered the box and knew I needed to call Jorge. Any wisp of an idea has flown off into outer space. Once again, it’s Jorge who comes to my rescue.
“Mrs. Schlossberg, I don’t know how much of your brother-in-law’s business you know. But he has made friends and enemies with men and women who want nothing to do with the police. Men and women who punish people for involving the police.”
“What the hell is he talking about? What does this have to do withOnkelClyde?”
Heidi’s more demanding thanMutti. I watch our mom, and I know she understands what Jorge means. When I shift my focus to my sister, I know she doesn’t.
“What kind of people do you think my father and uncle associate with? What kind of low-life criminals do you think they do business with? You don’t even know them.”
Jorge is patient and understanding as he keeps his voice soft when he speaks to my sister.
“I know a great deal about your uncle. I haven’t done business with him, but I know many who have. He has anunyielding and unforgiving reputation, which has made him incredibly wealthy and successful. However, it’s also burned almost every bridge he’s walked across. Your father is a tamer version of your uncle, but he has also angered his fair share of people over the years. Several of the clients Schlossberg & Sons have had are ones they certainly never kept official records on. They are ones they certainly don’t want anyone to know or ask about. It seems someone your father did business with is angry and wishes to make a point.”
My mom’s temper is about to explode. “Are you accusing my husband of illegal business practices?”
“Mrs. Schlossberg, I’m not accusing anyone. I’ve been in investment banking since before I finished high school. I’m a licensed Certified Public Accountant with a Certified in Financial Forensics designation. I became Diaz Holdings’ official accountant when I finished grad school. I know what I’ve seen, and I know what my business rivals engaged in with Clyde. Your husband and brother-in-law have clients with no tolerance.”
“No tolerance for what?”
“No tolerance for anything, Mrs. Schlossberg.”
It’s clear Jorge won’t offer more specifics than that. It leaves my mom, sister, and me speechless. As though saved by the bell, we hear his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulls it out far enough to peek at the screen.
“I need to take this. Excuse me.”
He doesn’t wait for any of us to respond, instead heading to the bedroom he went into earlier. I’m ready for the onslaught. My mom glowers at me.
“If this happened after lunch?—”
She bursts into sobs. Her initial anger and shock give way. Heidi and I both cry along with her. I’d done my best to remain stoic after feeling so numb. Jorge’s punishment distracted me,and I know that’s part of why he did it. He understood what I needed. Now my mom, sister, and I are adrift and terrified. I need him more than ever as the weight of their fear piles upon my own, crushing me with it.
“Why, Anne? What could Papa have done?”
“I don’t know, Heidi. Jorge is right that we have clients with dubious connections. But Papa handles those.”
I force myself not to flinch at that lie. It’s a half-truth. He oversees most of those. I need to make my own calls that I wasn’t clear headed enough to make earlier. But I can’t walk away from my family.
Our mom opens her arms to Heidi and me, and we fall into her embrace. Jorge’s already consoled me, so I feel like I should be the one doing the consoling. That I should be a shoulderMuttican lean against. She deserves support too rather than having to be the adult in the room while contending with her own fears. But I can’t. I simply can’t get my shit together enough now that the dam’s burst. It was leaking before. Now it’s disintegrated.
“Mutti,what are we going to do? We don’t know that man.” Heidi nudges her chin toward the bedroom. “How can we trust him? I don’t believe him about the police. Maybe he did this.”
I pull away and shake my head. “Jorge is the only person we can trust. If Papa’s still alive, and we involve the police, they’ll arrest him. He downplayed Papa andOnkelClyde’s business arrangements.”
“If that were the case—which I don’t believe at all—why would a stranger know what’s best for us?”
Heidi’s livid. The more afraid she is, the more her fear presents as anger. She’s been that way since we were kids. She doesn’t enjoy feeling emotionally out of control, so anger at herself gets shared with those around her. Fortunately, she’s usually fearless. I’d say it’s understandable today.
“The Diaz family is among the richest in the world. They have influence in international business across most continents. He and his family have connections all over the place. He can keep this private and can work faster than the police.”
“Why is he helping you, Anneliese? Why didn’t you call Bastian? You gave us false pretenses to be here.” My mom isn’t sobbing anymore, but the tears stream down her face.
“Bastian has to work. His patients need him more than what he can do here. I wish I had his shoulder to cry on, but he’d hate Jorge being able to do more than he can. He’ll insist we call the police, and I am absolutely certain that is the last thing we should do.” I keep swiping at my own tears.
“Why did you lie to get us here?”
“Mutti, was this something you wanted to hear over the phone?”
