O'Connell Bridge - Pt. 12

“Well, Betty Jo said she’s getting a one bedroom in Leland in the fall, and like I don’t have a roommate yet; but she’s going to sublet my room here to her cousin this summer. I said that was okay even though it’s my name on the lease. it’s not really a sublet, her cousin is just visiting and paying her a share of the rent to stay. I told her I was going to Boston anyway, and wouldn’t be back till late August.” Caitlin complained to LC while he was going up the stairs. “If my aunt finds out I only have terminal papers for classes in the fall and don’t really have to be here, I might not be living in the apartment at all, just stuck in Boston doing her bidding.”

LC stopped and put a finger in the corner of his mouth. “You know. I think Big Mac may be moving out too. He mentioned that he and Aideen were considering a one-bedroom apartment on Carolina Beach. You could actually rent Betty Jo’s room to Arthur. He rarely comes out of his space or makes any noise. Actually, he’s the perfect roommate; you’ll probably only see him twice a semester.”

Caitlin put a hand on her hip. “How about you.”

LC grinned. “Well, I would love to room with you, and would in a flash, but I’m supposed to be in med school somewhere not in Wilmington, and I don’t have a job.” He started back up the stairs.

She followed part way. “I should be so lucky, I could set up a living advance; if you cleaned the bathroom.”

“Another student loan. I can’t afford what I have now.”

“No loan involved.”

LC ignored her and trotted on up the stairs. His phone buzzed before he opened the door. “Mr. Brennan. You need to come in for your fitting.”

“Who’s calling?”

The caller said, “The tux shop, you or your secretary just called us and set up an appointment for today. And we have the tux style specified in stock. But, we are closing early. Any chance you can come down now?”

LC shook his head. “Sure, why not. Right down on third. Right?”

“Right.”

“And, let me guess. Your orders are to ship it. And everything is paid.”

“That’s right, sir. All paid via credit card.”

“Cool.” LC quickly got in his truck and rushed to the Tux shop. A short, thin man immediately greeted LC when he entered. The first thing LC noticed was the penciled mustache making the man look like a 1930s film star.

He had almost a sneer when he spoke. “Mr. Brennan, I presume.”

“I am. Can I ask a favor, I need to see the credit card receipt, just for a minute.”

“Certainly. It’s right here. Since the purchase was by phone, it was coded through the clearing house. But as you can see it is billed to O’Neil Milling. I assumed it was a secretary or someone to scheduled the fitting. She called only a few minutes before I called you.”

“Thank you. This answers a ton of questions. Let’s get the fitting thing over with.”

Two hours later, LC walked out of the tux shop with papers concerning his new Armani Tux, two shirts, shoes, cuff links, and two ties. He even had 30 minutes of instruction on tying the new bow tie. He rushed home and turned on his laptop. “O’Neil Milling. Gotcha.” He thumbed through a list of O’Neil listing and finally found a reference to O’Neil Farms incorporated, and O’Neil Milling Corporation. “A former grain wholesale company and properties, all sold to General Farms of America in 1991. At the time, a record cash and stock sale of a privately held Company.” He stared at the screen, “Wow.” He read. “It went for one hundred million cash, and five hundred million in stock and options, all going to one person—Eleanor D. O’Neil. Look at all those addresses. Offices all over the world and it would appear she lives in London and New York, and maybe a couple of other places.” He stared at the screen, “And, she’s the one sending me all these messages, buying all this stuff?”

He wanted to show the listing to someone, but none of the guys were home. He ran down the stairs and neither Caitlin nor Betty Jo were in. He even checked Murphy’s apartment. LC realized that apparently, he was totally alone in the building. “Maybe I should call Mike. No, he’d start yelling at me again.”

He flopped on his bed, minutes later he was sound asleep. Sometime during the night, he woke slightly and he sensed someone in his room. A hand touched his waist and the top button of his jeans were unsnapped. He could only smile and curl up on his bed.

He got up at midnight headed for the bathroom. As he walked out to the living room, he saw the usual game controllers strung to the couch but both Mac’s and Arthur’s doors were closed. After his restroom trip, he put his laptop on the bar and began researching O’Neil Milling, Eleanor D. O’Neil, and even the Farming Corporation. “This is all about a conglomerate of corporate farms and milling operations. I’m not sure Eleanor D. O’Neil is even a real person. Sheesh. The name may be yet another company.”

He played on the computer until 4 AM, took a shower, changed clothes, and headed for Waffle House. Suzi as usual greeted him when he came in. “Hey Liam, how are you today.”

“Much better. Today I want smothered, covered, chopped, and oh, well, everything, and make it a double order. I didn’t have dinner last night.”

“You got it, honey.” She slid a cup of coffee onto the table. “What’s got you so excited this morning? Any more secret lover messages?”

“I think I solved the mystery. For some reason, I am being recruited by a conglomerate, for whatever purpose I can’t imagine, and this strange method is beyond me.”

“That’s really cool.” She glided away with the coffee pot.

A couple of minutes later, she returned with his order. “Breakfast. Put your phone down and eat. I wish I could say that to more of my customers.”

He held up his cell phone. “I even found the name of the company, their history, and virtually everything there is to know about them.”

“So, you don’t know what you’re being recruited for?”

LC laughed. “I haven’t the slightest idea.”

To be continued...