Chapter 6
Howard's secretary came into the office, "Mr. Detroit, the police are here about Mr. Smith."
A French detective pushed by her and introduced himself. Carl spoke fluent French so there was no problem with communication. The detective asked if the company had rented a car recently. Carl nodded his head. He knew that Howard had asked for permission to rent a car while he was on assignment in Paris.
"Mr. Detroit, I regret to inform you that Mr. Howard Smith was killed this morning in a traffic accident. We would appreciate it if you could give us the name and phone number of his next of kin so that we may notify them."
Carl sat down, "If you don't mind detective; Mr. and Mrs. Smith are, rather were, close personal friends of mine. I would like to tell Mrs. Smith about this tragedy myself."
The detective agreed and Carl asked him to give the secretary the address where Mrs. Smith could claim the body of her husband. The detective asked if someone from the office could make a positive identification of the body and Carl told him that he would do so. After a few more questions, the detective left.
He sat by himself for a long time after the detective left. This had put a crimp in his plans. While Howard Smith was never the choice to run the division here in France on a permanent basis, Carl needed him to fill in until a qualified manager was found. He picked up the phone and called the headhunter in New York that he used, and asked him to help find a replacement. He spent the rest of the afternoon going over the books for the division and found, that even with all of Smith's failings, the division was in good shape. The middle level managers were managing the company well and it was making money again. Howard probably was not in the office enough to do it any harm.
Carl left the office at 3 o'clock and drove to the hospital where Howard's body was and identified the body. He asked the hospital to recommend a funeral director and left instructions to just hold the body until he could contact the wife. He stayed until the body was removed to the funeral home and then left for the hotel. He wondered how Becca would react to the death of her husband.
Carl studied some files that he had picked up at the office and tried to decide how the death of Smith would impact his company. He never had much faith in Smith in recent years. He had been an excellent manager when he started with the company, but lately his gambling became the main focus of his attention. If he wasn't trying to scrap together a stake for that next big bet, he was trying to avoid the bookies and card sharks that he owed money to. Cark knew that Becca was better off to be rid of him.
He entered the hotel and went immediately to his suite. Marie was watching television and Becca was in the shower. Marie looked at him and knew that something was wrong. She raised her eyebrows in a question and he waved her off. Marie got up and went to her room. Becca came into the living room dressed in a terry bathrobe that was provided by the hotel. She looked at him and knew instinctively that something was wrong. The first thought that came to her was that he had fired Howard and had him put in jail for stealing company money.
Carl went over to her and took her hand and led her to the couch. He paused trying to figure how to best break the news.
"Becca, I have some terrible news. Howard was killed this morning in an automobile accident on the road to Monaco.
As soon as he told her where the accident happened, he regretted it. He had hoped to spare her as much pain as possible. Becca looked at him for a minute as if she didn't believe him and she searched his face for the beginnings of a smile that would let her know that this was just one of Carl's cruelties. When she assured herself that what he had told her was the truth, she got off the couch and walked out on the balcony of the suite and stared out at the City of Lights. Carl watched her but made no attempt to talk to her or go to her.
Becca stood on the porch for several hours with her thoughts. Although Howard had killed all of the love that she had for him, she could not dismiss the years that they had together. The times were not all bad. She remembered the grandiose plans that they had when they first got married. Howard was going to be a captain of industry and would take Becca around the world. They would have homes in Switzerland, Fiji, and Aspen. Becca would be the support for him. She would plan his parties, entertain his clients and have his children. Things changed after she found out that she could not have children. She was sure that Howard started gambling because she was barren. That was the reason that she could never bring herself to leave him.
She gripped the railing of the balcony and her thoughts started in another direction. What was she going to do now? She had never worked and it would be hard getting a job for the first time at the age of thirty-six. They had nothing in the bank; in fact she hoped that Howard had not bounced a few checks while he was here in France. The house was going to be auctioned off within 60 days and the equity that they had built up was almost nothing. Her parents were dead and an aunt who had died several months ago had raised Howard. The aunt hated Becca because she blamed her for driving Howard to gambling. Becca wondered if there was enough in the bank to take care of the funeral arraignments. Howard had always told her that he wanted to be cremated. She wondered if they allowed cremations in France.
Becca drove all thoughts out of her head and watched the lights of Paris come on as it started to get dark. As a new light came on she would wonder if the people who used that light had a happy life. She stared at the neon lights of the businesses and wondered if they had employees like Howard. She was amazed that there were so many people still walking on the streets below her. She liked what little she had seen of Paris. Somehow, being in Paris shielded her from all of the problems that had been dumped on her today.
She turned and went back into the suite. Carl was sitting on the couch. He was still watching her, afraid that she might attempt to jump off of the balcony. He searched her face for any sign that she was not handling this, as she should.
"Carl, I have to go and make some sort of arraignments for Howard. Do you know where they have taken him? I would like to see his body for one last time. I might have to borrow some money from you to have Howard cremated if they allow that in France."
Carl stood up and put his arm around her, "Don't worry about the arraignments, I'll pay any costs. And they do allow cremation in France. As for seeing Howard's body..." he paused for several seconds, "Becca, he was in a terrible accident. You don't want to see him. Just remember him as you last saw him. Try to remember to good times and only think about the qualities that you fell in love with. I can take care of the arrangements and bring his ashes to you. If you like we could scatter his ashes in the Mediterranean.
Becca nodded her head. She suddenly felt very tired and weak. As her legs started to give way, Carl put his arms around her and guided her to the bedroom. She got into bed and he covered her and left, pulling the door closed. He did not latch the door, as he wanted to check on her during the night.
He went into Marie's room and told her what had happened. She wanted to go to Becca, but Carl told her that it would be best if she were left alone tonight.
He went back into the living room and called the funeral director and made the arrangements to have Howard's body cremated. He asked them to hold the ashes for a few days until Becca felt up to deciding what to do with them.
He flopped down on the couch exhausted. The day had definitely not gone as he had planned. He had to push the headhunter to find that replacement for Smith. He knew that they would have to stay in Paris for a while to break in the new manager. This was no problem as he could access any files that he wanted. All of his companies were linked by computer and he could run the companies from anywhere in the world. His eyes felt like they had sand in them. He closed his eyes and rubbed them.
He was awakened by someone shaking him. He opened his eyes and saw that it was morning. Marie was standing over him with a cup of coffee in her hand. She had already taken a shower and she stood before him naked except for a garter belt, stockings and high heels. He smiled when he saw her. He got up, stretched and took the coffee from her. He patted her on her ass as he headed to the shower.
"Later, Honey," I've got a full day ahead of me,"
Marie watched him as he went into the bathroom with the coffee.
"What the hell is wrong with him?" she said, half to herself.
Carl took a long shower and tried to decide what to do about Smith's replacement and his wife. Smith's death had changed everything now and he didn't know if it would have the same kick as if Smith was still alive. He knew that there was no chance of getting his money back and he really didn't care that much about the money. Money was to have fun with. He wasn't happy about having to stay in Paris for the next several months. He liked Paris, but he felt more comfortable in New York.
The chauffeur was waiting when he stepped out into the rain. The ride to his office took twice as long as normal because of the rain-slowed traffic. He took the extra time to think. Becca wasn't that bad to have around. She wasn't flighty or a gold-digger like Marie. She was very pretty and built like a twenty year old. She was also a classy woman to have on your arm when you needed to attend a business function. He was sure that she would be a sex demon when she learned to feel comfortable with herself and Carl.
Carl arraigned for Smith's cremation and told the funeral director that they would pick up the ashes the next day. He charted a helicopter to take him and Becca to Monaco. In Monaco they would charter a boat and scatter the ashes in the Mediterranean.
The time past swiftly and Carl dived into the work that Howard had neglected for too long. With just a little luck and a lot of hard work he could turn the division around and he could go back to New York. The staff wasn't happy that he was going to be in the office every day, but they kept away from him and did what they were hired to do. It was starting to get dark when he decided to go back to the hotel.
When he walked in, Marie was watching television and Becca was lying on the bed in her room. He asked the women they would like to have dinner sent to the suite and Marie nodded. Becca hadn't eaten anything all day, but she wasn't hungry. Carl insisted that she eat and when the dinner was delivered they ate in silence. Becca just picked at her dinner, finally pushed it away and went back into the bedroom. He slept with Marie that night and she got angry with him when he resisted her attempts to have him fuck her.
In the morning the three of them picked up Howard's ashes and the
drove to the airport and boarded the helicopter he had chartered. They
were quiet on the flight to Monaco and as they rode to the docks. The
yacht that he had chartered took them out quite a ways from shore and
then the captain cut the engines. Carl took her arm and guided her to
the back of the yacht. She had held the brass urn in front of her since
they had retrieved the ashes from the funeral home in Paris. Becca
stood for several minutes with her thoughts and Carl and Marie stood
behind her. She walked toward the stern and loosened the cover on the
urn. After hesitation for a minute she poured the ashes into the sea.
As the ashes started to drift away on the top of the water, she threw
the urn in the water. The urn sunk beneath the waves and she thought to
herself that it was sad that a human could be reduced to just a couple
of handfuls of ashes. Carl went to her and hugged her and then guided
her into the cabin and to a chair. The captain started the engines and
headed back to shore.