The Little Black Book

She never even knew. Suspected, especially when a group of well-dressed professionals would show up at the places where she had worked and saw them conversing with the manager. Their private meetings she found suspicious. But, much like the gnawing feeling that something just wasn’t right would pulse throughout her body, at times everywhere she went, she would just brush it off. She would tell herself to stop worrying, that she was just on edge, paranoid. If she only knew, maybe her life would’ve been much different. She never knew though, how could she? Her gut knew, it was screaming at her all along. But she tried to quiet it. She didn’t know how to listen.

It all started about fifteen years ago. Mary was a quiet girl, a loner. Diagnosed with High-Functioning Autism as a young child. She later developed depression as a teenager. Forever feeling like an outsider and aside from her mother who passed away shortly before she turned eighteen, she was always alone. After her mother passed away she was completely alone. Receiving disability payments, she picked up a job at a local supermarket as a cashier. Still longing for social connection, she used the money she made to buy a dog.

Levi, her only companion. A husky with eyes as blue as the sky. She loved taking him for long walks through the woods. They would travel to national and state parks to see various waterfalls. Loving how the water would make her feel so peaceful and at ease. Her favorite one that they have gone to so far was Virginia Falls, in Glacier National Park, Montana. They hiked for two days through the trails. Spending the night in a lodge, soaking in the view of the turquoise waters and magnificent falls, and soaking themselves as well as they took quick dips into some of the waters as well.

About five years ago Mary started working at a local non-profit theatre. She enjoyed setting up the stage and helping out back stage during the shows. From setting up and changing out props, to assisting with quick changes she was able to glimpse parts of the shows while listening the whole time. Before starting there, she had no idea how much was involved with setting up shows. Hours and hours spent hanging curtains; unpacking trucks; setting up the stage; assembling stage pieces; placing props; hanging and focusing lights; setting up the audio and video; washing, drying, separating, steaming, and organizing the wardrobe.

At first, she felt safe there and after a while it began to feel a little like home. It was fun. She never spotted those fancy business people who seemed to suspiciously show up at the other places she had worked. Nor did she get the feeling that something else was going on, or just wasn’t right. Until she did.

Last year while she was sitting stage right, the oddest thing happened. She was sitting on standby, available if needed, and placed in a spot where she could watch the whole show. Only needed for a few zippers and Velcro during quick changes, she didn’t miss anything. The oddest thing was when the tour manager came over to her at the end of the show and shook her hand, thanking her. She found it suspicious knowing that she wasn’t in a position considered to be that important. It had never happened before.

Then at a dance recital the same thing happened. The owner of the dance studio who was performing came over and sincerely thanked her, shaking her hand at the end of the show. Again, she found it suspicious, but brushed it off. Telling herself that it had to be nothing, to stop worrying. The feeling that something just wasn’t right wouldn’t go away. And the place where she was finally feeling at ease, the place that was feeling a bit like home, began to make her feel on edge every time that she went there.

The once nice co-workers and managers seemed to start treating her differently. She would over hear little bits and pieces of them talking about her. Constantly she would wonder what was going on and how they knew some of what they knew. Maybe they just picked up on the autism and depression, but she didn’t like the way that it made her feel. She felt scared and just wanted to run away, to scream. But she kept going and with each show she just kept feeling worse.

About two months ago she arrived at work pretty early. Being the only one in the break room, she felt at ease. What a relief to be able to breathe again and not feel crowded within her own skin. To saver a bit of peace in the place that she had come to love.

Stuffed in the corner of the bench that she was sitting on, she spotted a little black notebook. She picked it up, curious, wondering if she might find any clues inside about what had been going on around her. On the first page, as she opened it up, she saw only her name, Mary Elizabeth Vence. She turned the page and saw written documentations of donations made to the theatre and to shows that had performed there. Pages and pages, she flipped through spanning over the past five years that she had worked there of donations made. Starting out small and sporadic to large sums at almost every show.

She wondered how it could be. Not once in her life did she have much of anything. Barley getting by on disability and using the money that she made at the theatre to travel to the waterfalls to go hiking with Levi. But somehow millions had been spent, donated, from what?

In the back of the little black book she found a document stuffed. As she unfolded it she saw that it was a legal document naming Mid-State Mental Health Inc. and a case worker named Daisy Ann Merk as her power of attorney. Not once had she ever met these people. Not once had she ever been to this company. How could this be?

Astounded, she shoved the book into her bag and got up and walked out of the building. Scared, wondering if these were the people that kept mysteriously showing up at the places that she would work at, she went straight to the police. How long has this been going on and how?

Showing them the little black book, she explained how she didn’t know the company and had never worked with the case manager. She explained how she took care of herself and her dog. She paid all of her own bills. Bought and prepared all of her own meals. She explained how she didn’t know that she had any money that could be donated, nor did she know where it came from.

Officer Browdly reassured her that she would be ok. Telling her that they would investigate and get to the bottom of the situation. He told her that for now, he was going to have officers sit outside of her home and follow her everywhere she goes just in case these people became dangerous.

He and another officer drove her home. She went inside and held onto Levi, petting and telling him that she was so thankful that he was there. She was scared and needed him to feel safe.

It only took the officers a week of investigating the company to find out that Mary had been left an inheritance from distant relatives overseas. An inheritance that she was to receive when she had turned eighteen. A company named Vental, which had patented magnets used in anti-lock braking systems. Sales had been down due to the recent recession and all that was left at the moment was $20,000.

It turns out that the lawyer who was hired to handle transferring the estate over to Mary when she turned eighteen ended up scheming the money. He sought out the mental health company, along with Daisy to help him do it. They were pocketing some for themselves, living luxuriously. And setting up secret donations through the places that she had worked over the years. Giving to the community, to businesses, and now to the theatre and shows that would come through.

She never even knew it, how could she? All around her it was done right under her nose. In her gut, she felt it. She sensed that something wasn’t right, that something was going on. But she never knew, how could she? She just brushed it off.