L&L Chapter Thirty Four
Author's Note: Thank you so very much for my friend Kathy (kittie8571) who is the Beta of this story!
Chapter Thirty Four: 693 - a number and a key
Ennis had feared Jack's reaction. He knew how much Jack liked Hanna and how he secretly wished for her to be his half sister. The story he had heard when Jack returned from lunch with Hanna had been unexpected. Enrique Twist was once again surprising him from the grave.
At least Jack didn't seem to be as devastated as Ennis had expected. He was a bit down, but the fact that Hanna had promised to keep contact with him seemed to have softened the sad reality. Jack didn't have a sister, but he had dozens of friends who loved him. And, of course, there was always Ennis.
Ennis smiled at that thought, petting Neve on the belly. The white cat had been sadly neglected by his owners, with Ennis's birthday and then the trip to Sweden. Neve had been spending most of his time at the Twist mansion or at Veronica's place. He was clearly happy to be home.
"Dan just called." Jack announced as he entered the living room, stopping Ennis's thoughts.
"How are they?" Ennis asked curious.
"They're excited about Christmas because they're going to spend it with Nicholas's family." Jack sat next to him. "Actually, they're leaving in a couple of days, so they asked if we want to catch up tonight."
"What's the plan?" Ennis asked, curious.
"Just a few drinks after dinner at their place." Jack focused his attention on Neve and the cat quickly moved to his lap. "Is it alright? I told them I needed to check with you. I know you have closing arguments in two days."
"The case is coming along." Ennis relaxed further into the cushions. "We should go and wish them a safe trip and a good Christmas."
"I'll text Dan, then." Jack moved to lay on the couch with his legs on Ennis's lap.
"Any news from Matilda?" Ennis asked while searching for the remote.
"Nothing new. She's recovering fine. The doctors say she'll be able to return in time for Christmas."Jack smiled. "It was great for her."
"She hesitated until the end, but she did great."
"She must have known that the trip and the conversations with Veronica weren't mere coincidences. She wanted to do it, at least on some subconscious level. I think."
"That was why I was worried. If she truly couldn't suppress the fear, then our whole plan would be for nothing."
"Thankfully it all went for the better." Jack scratched the cat happily. "We'll be having Christmas together at the Twist mansion and she'll be fully recovered."
"Are you going to tell me what you want for Christmas?" Ennis added some friction to Jack's leg with his question.
"Peace and calm." Jack answered with a kiss on Ennis's lips.
"I should have added that you could only ask for material things."
"Then I have no idea." Jack leaned against Ennis.
"You've been a great help, Mr. Twist."
"You should be like me. I bought your present days ago." Jack said smugly, moving to stand up.
Neve ran away in the direction of the kitchen.
"Really? You always hesitate about what to give. How'd you pull that off?"
"I'm just going to say that I've had my most brilliant idea." Jack opened his laptop and placed it on top of the coffee table.
Ennis didn't comment. He was desperate to have any idea for Jack's present. After Jack's birthday extravaganza, he was out of ideas. He had talked with Elizabeth and even with Matilda on the phone, but neither of them had been any help. Jack literally had everything that money could buy. He needed to come up with something original.
"Do you have time to help me with something tomorrow afternoon?" Jack asked, his gaze focused on the laptop's screen.
"Sure, a couple of hours away from work wouldn't hurt." As if on cue, Ennis's phone chirped. He'd received a text message.
"I've just received this." Jack turned the laptop in Ennis's direction so that he could read the open e-mail on the screen.
Mr. Twist,
We received your e-mail with interest and surprise. As a descendant of two of our previous students, you're free to visit us at any time. The Twist family has been a generous contributor to our school and although we still regret that you haven't experienced the benefits of our school program, we hope to change that with future generations.
A guiding tour can be schedule any day of the week from 1pm to 6pm …
Ennis didn't need to read more, he understood what the e-mail was about.
"You're going to see your parents' school?" Ennis asked amused.
"Correction - I'm going to visit my parents' high school." Jack was now typing a reply to the high school principal.
"Why high school?" Ennis felt he was missing something.
"Because the last entry in my mum's diary is about this place, and it's the only clue that I have about what may come next."
"That's a bit vague, don't you think?"
"It's odd. The last entry ends abruptly, as if she decided never to write again in the middle of writing about her day." Jack frowned. "Also she keeps talking about the place where she would meet my father. It's always the same place and it's always extremely well described. And it was mentioned in her last entry!"
"Where is this place?"
"Some kind of old fountain, with wisteria growing around…" Jack waved his hand around. "It's all here." His hand rested on his mother's diary.
"I guess it's as good a clue as any."
"And so far, my instincts haven't been wrong." Jack reminded him.
"Let's go check out this high school then." Ennis shrugged. "Returning to high school…."
Jack and Ennis were inside of the firm's elevator, talking about their newest cases. They were going together to the high school in search for answers for the next part of the riddle. The plan was to keep their eyes open and ask as many questions as possible. Jack was hopeful that today they were going to reach some kind of conclusion.
"So, what about suspects?" Jack leaned against the opposite side of the elevator, completely focused on Ennis's explanations.
Their conversation was currently focused on Ennis's latest murder case. It involved two of the biggest teenage celebrities.
"She's got a lot of pretty boys… she called friends." Ennis smirked.
"I'm not sure if the jury is going to recognize your musical reference." Jack chuckled.
"Come on! Hotel California?"
Jack knew that Ennis was trying to raise his spirits. He had been trying to ever since they had returned, and most of the time he had succeeded. Jack knew that he had only been hurt by his own expectations. He had been so focused on his heart's wishes that he had forgotten about the main issue. Hanna Olson had proven to him that life had a funny way of keeping you focused on what really mattered. He had been so certain about her being his sister that he had been too blind to see the truth, too blind to seek other explanations. And that had been a mistake, especially for an attorney like himself.
"Maybe it will sound cool. I'll give you that." Jack walked through the elevator's doors.
"Maybe? Half of the jury members are over 40! Even the judge is going to smirk." Ennis stated confidently.
"That's your strategy for tomorrow? Jokes? I pay you for more than that." Jack stepped out of the elevator and they both walked in the direction of Jack's car.
"Actually, the jokes are free, but I may change my mind and start charging you."
"They're not really that good." Jack commented before entering the car.
"I'm hurt." Ennis stated as soon as he buckled his seat belt.
"You just need to work on your material." Jack started the engine loudly and soon they were out of the underground parking garage of the firm.
"You think so? Just yesterday my jokes and my lousy material were able to assure my client an amazing deal. That was worth... how much?" Ennis paused as if waiting for Jack to give him an answer. "1 million dollars?"
"You're close. It was actually 2 million, since she had previously agreed on the 20 percent clause in case you managed the final 15 million." Jack said smugly.
"All those hours in law school and what we really needed were financial lessons."
"But you're right. Some of the board members, and I'm not going to mention names, were very pleased with your results last month and with this case…" Jack looked at Ennis for a brief moment, before returning his eyes to the road. "Some of them are worried about the possibility of other firms starting to offer you better contracts."
"So far it hasn't happen."
"Yes, but I want you to know that in case it happens I want you to discuss it with me." Jack's tone was serious. "Not as your boyfriend, but as your boss. You're important to the firm, I'm sure we can cover whatever they offer you. The board wants you to be as happy as possible while working for us."
"I'll keep that in mind, Mr. Twist." Ennis tried to hide his smile.
"Make sure that you do. Other members of the firm have found their salaries increased this way. We like to make sure that we don't lose the good ones to other firms."
"That didn't happen with Helen." Ennis forced Jack to remember.
"She didn't want to stay and I was glad to see her gone." Jack paused. "Perhaps it was a mistake, but I doubt that anything that I could have done would have changed her mind back then."
"She was determined to leave." Ennis agreed.
"You're right and there is nothing else to debate on that matter." Jack ended their conversation as they reached the school park. "What's in the past stays in the past."
"Not really." Ennis murmured looking at the prominent school building in front of him.
After half an hour of walking around the grounds of the school, Jack was beginning to get annoyed. Mrs. Ferdinand, the groundskeeper, was a woman in love with her job, so much so that she was unable to understand that other people may have different opinions about the contents of her job. Ennis was still asking polite questions and nodding at every nonsensical remark that came out of Mrs. Ferdinand's lips, but Jack was getting more and more impatient. There was only so much that one could hear about plants, trees and grass. Apparently half an hour was Jack's limit.
Finally Jack got the courage to interrupt her.
"Mrs. Ferdinand, did you know that my parents went to this school?" The older woman shook her head. "Actually they met here. In a very special place… they used to talk about it all the time. It was some kind of fountain surrounded with wisteria."
"That fountain was indeed a very special place. It was explained to me that the stones came from Italy as a request…" Jack quickly interrupted her.
"Was?" Mrs. Ferdinand opened her mouth in surprised but then proceeded.
"Yes, it was destroyed five years ago when the school expanded the baseball fields." She paused observing Jack's reaction. "Well I see that you're disappointed. You're not the only one. A few months ago a lovely gentleman was disappointed too. He wanted…"
"Did he have black haired and blue eyes?" Jack interrupted her again and this time she looked affronted.
"You must forgive him, Mrs. Ferdinand." Ennis intervened smiling. "It's possible that this gentleman that you mentioned was Jack's late father. He died not long ago."
"I understand." She smiled with sympathy. "It is possible that it was him, but I'm not sure. The gentleman matched your characteristics but he didn't give me any name. He was very quiet the whole time."
"Where did you take him?" Jack asked curious.
"He asked about the fountain and then I explained to him that it is now placed at the school museum. I took him there and he spent there more than an hour. He left shortly after that without mentioning a word." She smiled. "Except for polite goodbyes, of course."
"Can you take us there?" Ennis asked when he noticed that Jack was speechless. "I'm sure Jack would love to see it. Wouldn't you?"
"Yes. Yes, I would love to see it." Jack added quickly.
"Please follow me."
They walked in silence. Jack was too nervous about what they may find and Ennis was too excited to keep up with appearances. Either way, Mrs. Ferdinand seemed to be now eager to be rid of them, or at least to have some time on her own, because she was walking quickly without commenting about the school history or current ranking for the first time that afternoon.
"Here we are." She opened a door and stepped aside. "I'll leave you both to do some exploring. There're some perfumed roses that need my attention on the other side of the garden."
Without another word, she was gone.
"I think we scared her away." Jack commented, smirking.
"You scared her away." Ennis frowned. "You and all your questions! She was beginning to fear for her personal safety."
"Nonsense. I'll send them a generous gift and they'll forgive me." Ennis rolled his eyes. "Now let's focus on the important matters. Where is the damn fountain?"
"It must be that big marble thing on the back of the room." Ennis pointed it out.
"Let's get closer." Jack observed the marble fountain and the glass structure that surrounded it. "I'm not seeing how my father could have placed anything inside."
"Perhaps he didn't." Ennis looked at the wood stripes connecting the glass panels. The wood had a complicated drawing sculpted at the sides. "This looks tricky."
Jack looked closer. The design was complex and showed a series of connected circles. It looked like thousands of wedding bands and it matched the drawing sculpted in the marble stone of the fountain. Every circle touched the next one in the pattern. It was impossible to tell when one ended and another begun.
"Where something ends, another begin…" Jack quoted from his father last letter. "Maybe it's here somewhere in the protective structure.
"You may be right." Ennis murmured, touching the wooden circles.
Jack eyes scanned the circles in search of something out of place. When his hands touched one of the circles close to the floor, he found a small hole. There was an empty ring in that place and inside a piece of paper.
"Oh my god." Jack looked back at Ennis.
The piece of paper had something written in it, but it was also protecting a small metal object. A small silver key, Jack observed. He moved it up against the light and the numbers 693 shone in front of his eyes.
"What the hell?" He heard Ennis murmured not far away.
"Now this… is a surprise" Uncle Daniel commented, examining the key closely.
They were all having lunch at Uncle Daniel's club. Ennis and Jack had spent the previous night trying to use the key in every single lock at the Twist mansion and so far, they were having no luck. They called Matilda and Edward, but they had never seen a key with the number 693 on it. They searched everywhere they could remember but found no answers.
"Do you know what it is?" Jack asked eager to know more.
"No, I've never seen it before." Uncle Daniel stated calmly. "I was just surprised to see that this time there was no letter attached. Are you sure the piece of paper surrounding it meant nothing?"
"We're not completely sure. It's a piece of an old newspaper. All we could read were publicity advertising and the date on the right corner, but we asked Mary to find us a copy of the entire newspaper." Ennis explained to Uncle Daniel, while Jack retrieved the key.
"So far this is a dead end." Jack grabbed the key and sighed loudly.
"But the same thing happened to every other clue." Uncle Daniel reminded them.
"Yes, it's no different from every other time." Ennis agreed.
"I was just hoping that this time we would get a letter before we got another object." Jack frowned. "The silent riddles are no better than the written ones."
"I'm sorry for not being of greater help, but unfortunately, I have no idea where that key came from." Uncle Daniel stated honestly.
"What about the numbers do they remember you of anything?" Jack asked hopefully.
"I'm not sure. Maybe…" Uncle Daniel paused. "My memory is not what it used to be."
"Maybe a bank account or a safety deposit box?" Ennis offered.
"I can't help you, I'm sorry." Uncle Daniel lamented.
"I guess we'll have to wait and see," Jack conceded.
"I'll try to see if the number comes up in anything that I have back home. Papers and old records." Uncle Daniel said with a sad smile.
"Thanks, Uncle Daniel," Jack stood up and Ennis followed him.
"Leaving already?" Uncle Daniel asked.
"I need to drop Ennis off at court before getting to the firm. It's closing arguments for him this afternoon. But the food was great, as always. We should do this next week."
"Yes, the club fields look lovely covered in snow. " Ennis said looking through the glass window of the club's restaurant.
"Then you should call me. I have some business work to do on Wednesday and a hot date on Saturday…"
"Hot date?" Jack interrupted curious.
"Yes, Mrs. Campbell finally agreed to have lunch with me. Not dinner, but lunch, never the less."
"Mrs. Campbell?" Jack's eyebrows stood up.
"I think its great news Daniel." Ennis quickly stated.
"I think so too." Uncle Daniel affirmed with a small smile.
Jack was trying hard not to voice his opinion. He wasn't sure about the outcome of Uncle Daniel's new romance. Mrs. Campbell wasn't a saint, but she wasn't pretending to be one. At least her intentions couldn't be questioned, since Uncle Daniel was doing all the seduction in this love affair.
"Be careful." Jack murmured to Uncle Daniel when they hugged goodbye.
"You too." Uncle Daniel hugged Ennis next. "Take care of each other."
"We will." Ennis reassured him.
"I'll call you if something comes up." Uncle Daniel said lastly.
Not two minutes after they'd left the restaurant, Jack voiced his concerns.
"I'm not sure about this little romantic development."
"I'm not surprised. But you know my opinion." Ennis commented drily.
"It's not because she doesn't have money." Jack stated firmly, while waiting for the valet to bring his car.
"Then there's nothing to be worried about." Ennis's tone of voice left no room for argument.
"Just this once I'll trust you on this." Jack started the engine and they drove off at full speed.
"You don't have to trust me or Mrs. Campbell in this matter. You have to trust your uncle to make the right decisions. Because he's a responsible adult."
"Ok, ok. I got it." Jack murmured in defeat.
When they reached the courthouse, Jack parked the car and stepped out, surprising Ennis.
"You're coming too?" Ennis asked while retrieving his briefcase from the back seat of the car.
"Yup. I want to talk with Judge Bruce. He's an old friend of my father and I like to keep some contacts alive. I'm going to ask him to dinner sometime after Christmas. He's an old school kind of guy; personal invite may be a good idea." Jack explained.
"You're such a clever devil." Ennis smiled and kissed him lightly. "Wish me luck."
"You don't need it." Jack watched Ennis climb up the multiple stone steps to the entrance of the court building.
Jack took a moment to observe the statue of Lady Justice. It was one of the most beautiful features of the building and one that Jack remembered ever since he was a child. Lady Justice depicts justice as a goddess, equipped with three symbols of the rule of law. A sword symbolizing the court's coercive power, scales representing the weighing of competing claims and a blindfold indicating impartiality. Jack had seen many statues representing that same goddess, but none was as beautiful nor so detailed as this one.
Finally Jack entered the building, waving discreetly at a few familiar faces.
"Finally we meet." A strange voice called Jack's attention.
It was Collin Valvardsy. Jack recognized him and tried to hide his surprise. He had never met the man in person and wasn't expecting to find him here. Collin had been an amazing attorney at the end of the 80's but now he was almost sixty years old and had diminished his actions to management and promotion of his firm. Of course the Magnet firm was still his biggest competition in the market.
"What an unexpected meeting." Jack stated calmly.
"Yes. To meet at such place." He smiled. "It must be a sign."
"Do you think so? Perhaps it's the sign that someone is getting a little desperate." Jack wasn't in the mood for false sympathy. "Did you receive this month's results already?"
"Oh, I see. Straight to business. No polite talk."
"What else could we possibly discuss? Perhaps the fact that one of your attorneys managed to send my boyfriend to jail in the middle of my birthday party. That was a great moment for the Valvardsy firm!" Jack sneered ironically.
"I have no idea what you could possibly be talking about."
"Of course not. My mistake, Mr. Valvardsy." Jack apologized with irony.
"But now that you mention Mr. Del Mar, I must admit that I would be delighted to have him on my team." He looked directly at Jack's crotch. "But I'm afraid that you have something that I cannot offer him."
"You would be happy to know that our personal relationship iscompletely independent from our professional one. But even so, I doubt that he would even consider an offer coming from you or your firm." Jack felt his blood boil under his skin.
"I would be surprised if he would." Mr. Valvardsy smiled again. "Perhaps when the Magnet firm declares bankruptcy he'll consider my offer more carefully."
"Who am I to deny an old man of his dreams?" Jack spit out.
"This verbal sparring has been most refreshing but at my age we can't possibly waste time with pointless discussions."
"Too old to play with the big sharks?"
"Your inexperience will cost you more than you're willing to pay, Mr. Twist." The older man stated, disappearing at the end of the large corridor.
Jack let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
Ennis and Jack were resting inside of the big bathtub at the end of the day. Conversation was, as usual, diverging to work from family. Ennis was washing Jack's hair while listening to the details of his surprise meeting with the owner of the Valvardsy firm.
"So you met Collin out of nowhere?" Ennis asked intrigued.
"When it comes to Mr. Valvardsy, coincidence is only a matter of proper planning."
"I think he just felt the need to provoke you. Perhaps you're right and he's getting a bit desperate." Ennis stopped to think for a second. "It's true that we've never had so much work at the firm before."
"He's planning something, I'm sure of it."
"I would be both surprised and disappointed if he weren't." Ennis moved lower and washed Jack's back.
"Let's stop talking about work, we're officially on Christmas vacation."
"You're using the term "vacation" extremely loosely. I'm buried in paper work that I'll have to deal with at the home office and the phone will probably never stop ringing with more and more work from clients. I won't have a minute to rest." Ennis complained.
"Poor baby." Jack pouted, teasing.
"I don't feel the Christmas spirit at all." Ennis murmured while washing Jack's chest.
"I can help you with that." Jack's head turned for another kiss.
Ennis chuckled without breaking contact and his hand moved lower, teasing Jack. Jack deepened the kiss in response and they both laugh at each other's reactions.
"How did I get so lucky?" Ennis asked, while hugging Jack closer.
"What do you mean?" Jack asked confused.
"How did I manage to find the absolute right person for me? How did I manage to get you?"
"Do you really mean it?" Jack asked, surprised by Ennis's words.
"Would I have said it, if I didn't mean it?" Their eyes met under the strong light of the bathroom.
"Then we're both very lucky." Jack murmured before kissing Ennis again.
Author: I'm sorry but real life has been taking all my time. I'm still writing and will finish this as promised but it takes time that I don't have, so it will take a while. I would also like to send love and happiness to everybody who still reads this. Thank you.
On the next chapter: Ennis and Jack drive their respective best friends crazy trying to find a Christmas present for each other. In the meanwhile a surprising new couple is formed and wedding bells may be ringing during Christmas time after all.