The next folder contained a super-sized mailing envelope filled with hundred-dollar bills. While I continued my search, Owen counted them out.
“There is over seventy thousand dollars in here,” Owen said. Why the hell did Cyndi have so much cash? Did she think she would have to make a quick getaway one day? Owen rubberbanded the cash into ten-thousand-dollar packs and returned them to the envelope.
I opened the bottom drawer of the cabinet. The only thing in the drawer was a locked metal box that took up the full length and width of the drawer. Owen and I pulled the box out. Again, brawn won out, and I was in the box within minutes.
The front part of the box contained neatly packed personal items from Cyndi’s childhood. There was a draw-string flour sack with jewelry, watches, a coin collection, and odd little trinkets she’d collected over the years. There was another stack of papers, and over half the box was taken up by a large velvet drawstring bag that appeared full. Owen pulled the papers out and started sorting through them. I was sitting with my back to the wall, legs splayed wide, totally beat up.
Amongst the stack of papers, we found the titles for the farm, my work truck, the SUV that Cyndi normally drove, and all the titled equipment. I thought it, but Owen said it. Why weren’t those things in the business file cabinet? We also found a manila folder containing the Oak Springs Farms incorporation papers, the annual filing renewals, and the bank account information, which was open with the Oak Springs Federal ID number and my Social Security number as the only authorized user on the account. We found the inventory and appraisal reports we had done six months earlier in a manila folder.
“I don’t think it was for an insurance appraisal,” Owen said. He held up a Life Insurance policy. I reached for it and looked through it.
“It’s for a million dollars, double indemnity for accidental death,” I said in a monotone, detached voice. “It’s on me.”
“You weren’t aware of it?”
“Nope,” I said, shaking my head.
“It’s dated six months ago. Did you take a physical?”
“Yep. She told me it was for our health insurance.”
“Forged signature?”
“Yep.”
He lifted another thick stack of papers, looked at it, and then turned the cover for me. It was a Last Will & Testament with my name emblazed across it. Owen read through it quickly.
“It’s one of those online, downloadable types. It says you leave everything you have and own, including the Oak Springs Farm accounts, to Cyndi Sue Macintyre.” He flipped to the last page and held it up. My signature was forged on the document and notarized by her friend Trina.
In the bottom of the metal box was a sealed manila envelope. I had no problems ripping it open. The document inside the envelope left me completely baffled. It was a Nevada marriage license between Cyndi Sue Macintyre and a man named Terry Moore, dated the summer before she and I married.
“What the fuck?” I asked, too much in shock to say anything more. I handed it to Owen. He looked through the rest of the box for a second document, a Dissolution of Marriage, Divorce Decree, or Annulment, but didn’t find one. Why would she have one and not the other?
Owen shook his head in disbelief. “She was married to someone else when she married you? Do you have a copy of your marriage license?”
“No. I remember signing it. Cyndi said she would file it. It should be in this stuff.”
Never in my wildest dream could I foresee any of this: “Cyndi left for her adventure after graduating high school. I guess Las Vegas was one of her stops.” The sheer magnitude of her duplicity crushed me.
“Oh, babe, you need to hire an attorney ASAP, and these documents need to go to a safety deposit box at your bank.”
I lifted the last item, the velvet bag, and opened it slowly. I was sure there couldn’t be anything more vile than we’d already found, but I was wrong again. In the bag were five spiral-bound diaries and stacks of CDs.
The diaries described in graphic and sometimes even pictorial detail Cyndi’s sexual activities, from the day she lost her virginity up until we applied for the web series. Each CD was labeled with the names of the participants of the encounter, whether it was a man, multiple men, or women included in the mix. There was one special diary dedicated solely to the virgin eighteen-year-olds she inaugurated to sex.
Numbness became my partner.
We packed most of the stuff from Cyndi’s file cabinet, tax returns, contracts, journals, and videos in a box that would go to Great Falls. By three in the morning, Owen and I had finished packing the last of Cyndi’s stuff. I gave her only the things she was entitled to. Everything else was put in another box to go to the bank. I went back and forth on the birth control pills and finally, in one of the most satisfying moments of the night, flushed them down the toilet. We loaded her stuff in the bunkhouse and anything personally belonging to Thomas and Devon. The desk contents were put away and moved to the guest room. The bedroom, once a focal point of our marriage, was barren. The bed frame, mattress, sheets, and comforter were lying in a heap in the back of my truck. It would go to the dump on our way out of town. Cyndi’s dresser was reduced to kindling for the fireplace. Any remembrances of Cyndi and our marriage were either burned or thrown away. The now empty mantle over the fireplace held only the picture of Sid and Hank.
Owen insisted we rest for an hour, but sleep wouldn’t come to me. I was too shell-shocked even to attempt to close my eyes. At five-thirty, we showered, dressed, and headed over to the hydroponics plant.
JJ greeted us with a hearty handshake. I looked like hell, but the next few hours were crucial. I had to buck up and get everything done.
“We are here for the long run. You don’t have to worry about anything. It looks like you have enough on your plate right now. We found the manual for the front door locks and were able to change the code. I’ll text it to you.”
“We did a full search of the building, inside and out. Security is just okay. It would be much better to add video surveillance around the building. We will upgrade it as soon as you give us the go-ahead.”
“The weather is clear, so Cousin Marcus should arrive by noon. We’ve set up a sleeping area in the lobby. We’ll have four men on the property for the rest of this week. Once we are sure that scum-sucking low-life fucker won’t be back, we’ll cut it down to two guys, at least for a month. Joshua doesn’t want you to have to think about this place. You have always gone the extra mile for him without asking anything in return. He’s more than happy to help out.”
“Thank you, JJ, and please thank Joshua for us, also. Owen and I need to head to Great Falls to handle some business. Please let Joshua know I’ll see him tomorrow.”
I hesitated before I leaned into him and whispered in his ear, “For your ears only, if Cyndi shows up, she is not allowed in. If she gives you a difficult time, call Sheriff Pete. I’ll see him on my way out of town and tell him what’s happening.”