JACKS PLACE Chapter 3
by
DG HEAR
This the final chapter of 'Jacks Place'.
Rita said that Joe her ex-husband found her. He and another man pushed their way in and asked Jill what she did with the money she stole from the till. When she told him she didn't take any money he started slapping her leaving her face badly bruised. The other man roughly held her back so she couldn't help Jill. Thank God the kids were out with their friends.
Jill spoke, "Jack, I never took any money. I just signed the papers he asked me to sign, then I left. The man with Joe was a bookie, his name was Harley something. I remember seeing him at the bar. Joe gambled all the time. I believe he owed this man a lot of money and told him that I took it. I swear Jack, I never took any money."
"I believe you. Where are they now and what did they say they were going to do?"
"They said they would be back tonight to collect the money or pimp out me and Rita. We don't know what to do Jack. We don't have any money and we're worried about the kids."
"Trust me Jill, I'll take care of it. I want you and Rita to take my car and go to my home and take the kids with you. Stay there and don't let anyone in. I'll contact you later tonight."
"Jack, Joe said that we were still married, that he never turned in our divorce papers. He did say that he did register the ownership of the bar papers, that he is the sole owner."
"Do you have the name and number of the lawyer he used. I'm going to have my lawyer call him and find out how much truth there is in what he told you."
She gave me the lawyers name and number and I called my lawyer Sally Hawk. She's the best damn lawyer in the state and is very well known. I called Sally and explained the situation. She said she would call this Stan Eberwine and find out what's going on. I then called Will and told him to call Harry and tell him to run the bar the rest of the day.
I had damn good employees that I truly trusted. I told Will to get his ass over to Rita's house as soon as he could. I'd explain everything when he got here. I made one more call to a couple of my best friends that were in the service with me. They got in trouble a couple of times and I bailed them out of jail. I hired them as bouncers for the bar when we threw large parties. They looked like football linemen and just as tough.
Will showed up and ran over to Rita, who had been crying and asked her if she was alright. She said one of the men roughed her up a little but she was okay. I told him all the things Jill had told me and I was waiting to get a call back from Sally Hawk. He was busy hugging Rita and I told him there was time for that later. He said he was really pissed that some asshole manhandled his woman. It made Rita smile. Will wasn't usually that outspoken and had only gone out with Rita the one time.
The phone rang and it was Sally. She told me that this Stan Eberwine tried to tell her he wouldn't give out the information she wanted. She told him who she was and would be all over him like a cat on a rat if he didn't start talking. She told him she was representing Jill Bishop and she wanted her information now. He recognized her name and told her everything she wanted to know.
He explained that Jill Bishop's divorce went through over a month ago. He didn't have an address for her so he sent it to her ex-husband and he said he would see she received a copy. Sally asked him about the bar and he said Jill signed it over to Joe six months ago. He was the sole owner. Sally had him fax over all the papers related to the divorce and had copies for us at her office. I thank Sally for the fast efficient service that she always gave.
Things were moving so fast. There was a knock on the door and Jill got worried. I opened it and it was Oscar and Bud, my two friends. I invited them in and introduced them to Jill and Rita. I then told the girls to go pick-up the kids who were at their friend's house and take them to my home. I gave her forty dollars and told her to buy them a pizza and let them rent a movie. We would see them later.
They wanted to know why they were taking my car. I told them that when Joe and his buddy came back, they would see the girl's cars. They asked what we were going to do and I told her we were going to talk to them and hope they had the common sense to listen. I kissed Jill and told her to keep an ice pack on her cheek. Will gave Rita a kiss which surprised me a little.
I explained everything to Oscar and Bud. They were really pissed that these two guys had pushed our women around. I told them that I was going to talk to them first and if they didn't listen, they were to take them back to Kentucky and I never wanted to see or hear from those two assholes again.
Towards evening the doorbell rang, I answered it and this guy asked who I was and where was Jill. I told him to step in. He did and his friend followed him in. His friend had a gun in his belt but didn't pull it out yet.
"Where the hell is Jill? She is still my wife you know. She took off with my money and I want it back. Who the hell are you anyway. Tell Jill to get her ass out here or we're going to have a problem." About that time Will came in the room. The Harley guy pulled out his gun but didn't aim it at anyone. "Who the hell are you," asked Joe.
"Joe, just so you know I'm Jack and this is my brother Will. We are good friends of Jill and Rita. I suggest your friend put his gun away before we make him eat it." Both Joe and his friend laughed.
"What the fuck are you going to do? You don't even have a weapon," he laughed.
About that time both Oscar and Bud stepped into the room with their guns aimed at both men. Harley set his gun on the end table. "All we want is my money," replied Harley.
"Harley, Jill doesn't have your money. Your buddy Joe lied to you. Jill signed over the bar and all its contents to Joe. I had my lawyer, Sally Hawk, call Joe's lawyer, a Stan Eberwine, and he told us that the bar was under water when Jill transferred it over to Joe. He also informed us that their divorce went through over a month ago."
Joe started yelling, "You're lying! Harley they are lying to you. Jill and I are still married and she took all our money".
I walked up to Joe and slapped him as hard as a man can slap another. He staggered back and almost fell down. Oscar kept his gun on them as Bud put them both in handcuffs with their hands behind their back.
"What are you going to do with us?" asked Harley.
"I tried to talk some sense into both of you. My friends are going to drive you back to Kentucky. I told them I never wanted to hear or see either of you again. If I see you again, I will kill you and I don't make idle threats."
Will walked up to Harley and punched him in the face. "That's for messing with my girl," he said. Oscar put gags over their mouths and took them out to his van. They had flown to Ohio and rented a car. Bud dropped it off at the dealership and joined Oscar in the van. Last we heard they were headed for Kentucky.
We called the girls and told them all was well and that they wouldn't be bothered by Joe or his friend again. I drove Jill's car to my house so she could take Rita and the kids home. Will stopped by my house to make sure Rita was okay. He talked to her for a few minutes, gave her a tender kiss then went over to close up the bar.
I told Jill she didn't have to come in tomorrow if she didn't want to. She could take another day to rest and recuperate.
I got to the bar at nine the next morning and Jill was right behind me. She had powder on her bruised cheek but it covered it up quite well. If anyone asked, she told them she walked into a door in the dark during the middle of the night. When we entered the bar, she gave me one very long kiss and went back to the office to catch up on her bookkeeping.
We didn't hear anything from anyone. I stopped by Sally's office and she gave me the divorce papers and the bar transfer papers. I gave the papers to Jill to file away. Business went on as usual. I saw Oscar and Bud and everyone knew better than to talk about that night. I gave them each an envelope with two thousand dollars for taking care of business.
A couple of weeks went by and my daughter Kim came in. She came over and kissed me on the cheek and asked if we could talk about the wedding reception. I told her of course we could, so I called Mary, our cook and Jill in to our meeting. I told Kim that Jill was our bookkeeper as well as my girlfriend. Jill didn't really have to be there but I wanted to introduce her to Kim.
Kim and Mary talked over the different meal plans. They decided on three different meats and quite a few side dishes plus desserts. We were going to buy the four-tier cake from the bakery down the street. Jill and I sat to the side and discussed prices. I told her it was for Kim so prices didn't matter. Mary was cooking the food and knew I would pay her well. The waitresses would all be getting paid as well as the bartenders.
