The Master Plan (2009) (13 page)

Nina had divorced Casey's father shortly after the birth of
her daughter and he had promptly disappeared. It had been
hard to raise a child on her own, but she had done her best
and Casey's natural wit and intelligence had done the rest.

After dinner, Tony and Casey stopped by Casey's apartment so she could pack some clothes to bring to Tony's place.
Her lease on the apartment was up the end of March and
she would give her landlord a thirty-day notice that she was
not renewing it. Tony's apartment was larger and had recently been renovated, so that's where they would live for
the time being.

Tony kept talking about her quitting her job at The Globe
and staying home to have babies. Of course Tony was still
under the impression that the inheritance that enabled Casey
to join Crescent Hills Country Club was large enough that
she didn't need to work.

The three Cs had thought ahead to the end of the master
plan and come up with a story that Casey could use to explain the evaporation of her wealth once Prince Charming
had fallen in love with her.

Casey was supposed to say, "The bulk of my uncle's estate was invested in a pyramid scheme that has now collapsed. I'm broke again"

If Tony started asking questions about the pyramid
scheme, Casey was supposed to start crying and say that she didn't have any details. All she knew for sure was that
the money had suddenly vanished.

Although Casey had imagined the scenario dozens of
times, she never actually had the courage to broach the subject with Tony. It was just another lie to add to the larger deception that had allowed her to attract Tony in the first place.

Casey found a can of coffee in one of the cabinets and
soon had a pot of coffee brewing. However, the refrigerator
was barren and so was the pantry and every other place Casey
looked for food.

Taking up a place at the window that looked out over a
walled courtyard, Casey hugged herself. Marriage should
be based on mutual trust and honesty and she would find
the right time to tell Tony the truth about herself and her financial assets. If he truly loved her, and she believed that
he did, it wouldn't matter how they had come to know each
other and fallen in love.

"Hey, the coffee smells wonderful," Tony said as he appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. Casey spun around,
startled out of the thoughts and doubts that haunted her.

"Good morning," she said, crossing the room to walk
into his arms.

"Good morning. What are we going to do with this fine
day?"

"Well, first of all, I think we need to go grocery shopping. Your cupboards are bare"

Tony laughed. "That's why I married you. I can't cook
and don't know the first thing about grocery shopping."

"I'll teach you everything I know," she promised.

A few hours later, they had breakfast in the deli section of Sunflower Market. Ham-and-cheese quiche with sliced
fruit was served on plastic plates.

George came out of the storeroom pushing a hand truck
loaded with produce cartons. "Hi, George," Casey called out.
Like Dana, Casey shopped at the Sunflower on a regular basis and was acquainted with George.

George stopped and waved at Casey. Then, he noticed
Tony sitting across from her and walked over with a curious expression on his weathered face. "Who's this guy?"
George asked. "I thought you were my girl?"

Casey laughed. "This is my brand-new husband, Tony
Hunter. Tony, meet my friend George. Gee, George, I'm
sorry I don't know your last name."

"Last names are not important here," George said, reaching across the table to shake hands with Tony. "You're a
lucky man, Tony Hunter. Casey is a beautiful person."

"I know it," Tony said. "It's nice to meet you"

"So, are you kids going to be living in the neighborhood?"

"For a while," Casey answered. "Tony has an apartment
in the Rialto building on Sixteenth Street"

"Don't know the place," George admitted. "Well, I'd better get this lettuce put up before the big rush starts. My
good wishes to you both"

George hurried off to the produce department guiding the
handcart expertly through the aisles that were already beginning to fill up with Saturday-morning shoppers.

By the time Tony and Casey finished their breakfast and
got to the produce department George had finished filling
the lettuce bins. They heard his name announced over the store's intercom system. George was needed at checkout
stand number three.

"Bagging groceries is George's favorite job. He always
insists on helping the ladies to their cars with their groceries," Casey said.

Tony was studying a bag of corn chips and not really listening to Casey. "What about these?" he said, turning to
Casey. "It says they're low in fat and salt."

"And taste," Casey told him. "Get the brand-name on the
top shelf."

Finally, their cart was loaded with groceries and Tony
pushed it to the checkout lanes. As he was unloading their
purchases to be checked out, Casey saw Carmen enter the
store and called out to her.

Carmen came rushing over. "Where have you been?"
she asked breathlessly. "I've been calling you for days at
home and on your cell. You didn't answer either."

"I know. I haven't had a chance to return my calls yet.
I've been in Las Vegas with Tony." Casey paused dramatically. "We got married."

Carmen let out a big squeal and hugged Casey. Tony
turned around to see what was going on. "Oh, hi, Carmen.
How are you?"

"I'm great and I'm so happy for you two. I can't believe
you did it. How exciting is that?"

Tony smiled and nodded at her patiently, and then turned
back to the cashier, who was still ringing up all the groceries they had purchased.

Carmen and Casey chatted for another few minutes and
then Carmen said she had to work this morning and just
stopped by to pick up doughnuts for the office staff.

"It's Saturday," Casey said.

"I know but the bigwigs are coming here from Chicago on
Monday and the boss wants the office in primo condition.
Call me later," Carmen said giving Casey another quick hug.

"That will be $210.53," the checkout lady said to Tony
as Casey turned back to see the groceries had all been
bagged and stacked back into the cart.

Tony looked at his wife. "Honey, I forgot my wallet.
You'll have to pay the bill."

Casey tried not to show her alarm, she had no cash and
her checking account had less than $50 in it. She knew that
Tony didn't use credit cards and the one she had in her
purse was close to being maxed out. She had used it in Las
Vegas to buy the dress she had been married in.

"I'll have to write a check," Casey finally said. The bank
would be closed today and Casey would have to go there
first thing Monday morning to cover it. She took out her
checkbook and started writing the check, hoping that Sunflower Market didn't have one of those electronic terminals
that accessed the bank account to make sure there were sufficient funds to cover customers' personal checks.

Casey held her breath as the cashier processed the check
and let it out when the woman smiled and handed her the
receipt and wished them a good day.

Casey relaxed some as she and Tony unloaded the groceries into the back of his Cadillac Escalade. Tony's vehicle was top of the line with all the bells and whistles. She
didn't have to worry about money any longer; she had married a wealthy man. Under false pretenses, her conscience
chided.

Casey was silent on the short drive back to the apartment, worrying about the conversation she needed to have with
her new husband.

"What's wrong, Casey?" Tony finally asked when they
were back in his kitchen putting the groceries away. "You've
been awfully quiet since we left the store"

"Nothing," Casey replied. "I'm just stunned that we spent
so much at the store, and we still have empty shelves in your
pantry."

"Since when do you have to worry about things like that?"
he asked.

"I haven't always had money," Casey said. "I inherited
what I have and." She stopped. "Oh, never mind. I don't
want to talk about it now."

Tony looked at her with a frown. "Are you mad because
I forgot my wallet and you had to pay for the groceries?" he
asked sharply.

"No, of course not," she said quickly.

"Good, because a lot of my funds are tied up right now
and you may have to pay some of the bills until the market
adjusts itself."

Casey stopped with her hand on the freezer handle and a
bag of frozen corn in midair. Tony was using the line she
was supposed to use on him. She quickly opened the freezer
and was grateful for the cold air that hit her burning cheeks
as she placed the frozen corn inside.

When she finally closed the freezer door and turned
around to face Tony, he was staring at her. His frown had
turned to suspicion as he waited for her to comment on his
last statement.

"Tony, darling," Casey said softly. "Maybe we'd better
sit down and talk about our finances."

"Why? Is paying a few bills going to be a problem for
you?"

Casey didn't answer. She walked swiftly out of the kitchen
into the living room and sat down on the leather sofa that occupied one whole wall.

Tony's apartment was filled with expensive furniture, but
the walls and mahogany tables were empty. No artwork, no
family photos, and no travel mementos to make the rooms
comfortable and homey.

In the middle of the living room floor, Tony had set up an
electronic golf contraption so he could practice his putting
while he waited for the frozen greens at the country club to
thaw.

Tony came into the room and pulled a putter out of the
golf bag that stood next to his practice equipment. He deftly
stroked a golf ball setting at the end of the artificial strip of
green and watched the ball sink into the plastic cup at the
other end.

"Tony, please sit down here. I want to talk to you."

Tony sighed and leaned the putter against his golf bag. He
walked over and sat down on the sofa next to Casey.

"Okay, darling. What do you want to tell me?"

"Something I should have told you long ago. I haven't
been completely honest with you. I love you, Tony, and I hope
you'll listen with your heart and see how sorry I am that I
didn't tell you before now."

Tony smiled at her and took her hand. "Come on, Casey. I
love you too. You're my wife now. There's nothing you can
say that will make me think badly of you"

inspired by the thought of Judy Porter's art show that evening, Dana got up early and painted. If Judy Porter could
finish seven or eight paintings in twenty-four hours, Dana
told herself that she could surely finish the one piece she'd
been laboring over for months.

The painting was a scene that was very dear to Dana's
heart, and perhaps that's why she was having so much trouble finishing it. She wanted to get it perfect.

The farm where Dana had grown up had changed a lot
over the years as it became more modern and mechanized.
That was fine and good for her family, who still lived there,
worked the land, and tended the animals, but Dana wanted to
capture the images she had from her childhood on the canvas.

At one time in her life, Dana had been sure she would
become a professional artist. She had always loved to draw
and paint and everyone said she was very talented. It was while she was pursuing an art degree in college that Dana
suddenly altered her career path.

When Dana was in her second year at the University of
Illinois, she began dating the editor of the college paper.
Craig talked her into helping out at the paper so they could
spend more time together. Dana liked the newspaper office
and the creative aspects of putting the paper together.

Soon she was helping Craig chase down stories and write
copy. The next semester, Dana changed her major to journalism and had been working in the field ever since, letting her
art become a part-time hobby.

The doorbell rang and Dana put down her brush and went
to answer it. Bruno had called earlier and said he would be
working all day and half the night, so she knew it wasn't him.

Dana opened the door and found Casey standing there
wearing a pair of dark glasses. "Hi, Dana. I'm sorry to show
up unannounced, but I need to talk to you"

Dana pulled her inside and hugged her. "I'm really glad
to see you. I wasn't sure what time you were getting back."

Casey was trembling and Dana knew immediately that
something was wrong. She pushed the door closed and led
Casey to the sofa and sat her down.

Casey shrugged out of the coat she was wearing and took
off her dark glasses. Her eyes were red and puffy and when
she read the look of concern on Dana's face, she began to cry
again.

A few days ago, Casey seemed to be the happiest girl on
earth and now she was a wreck. Given the information Bruno
had given her about Tony Hunter, Dana's concern for her
friend was escalating into cold hard fear.