The Cornwall Conspiracy

By Bob Gabbert

Tami loves John, and he loves her, but the twists and turns of fate cause their lives to spin off in different directions. John becomes a Navy SEAL and a National hero, while Tami becomes an elementary schoolteacher experimenting sexually with Traci, her college roommate. Tami and John’s lives cross paths from time to time but fate and Traci never let them be on the same page at the same time.
John and Laura fall in love, but they do not marry. Tami marries Jacob Cornwall, but they do not fall in love.
Cornwall is a very successful banker, but he’s totally unsuccessful in love, that is until 20-year-old Lucy comes into his life. He wants to marry Lucy, but he’s already married to Tami.
Lucy urges Cornwall to divorce Tami and marry her, but he knows that without a prenuptial agreement divorce would cost him many millions of dollars. However, he also knows that rich people can hire contractors to take care of problems like Tami. And then, fate steps in once again.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bob Gabbert
• Release date: Nov 28, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370867905

Bob Gabbert

Bob Gabbert has been writing novels about strong women for eleven years. Asked why his protagonist is always a woman, Bob said that generally speaking, women are physically smaller and weaker than men. Consequently, they must use their intelligence to solve important issues, and that's more interesting for a writer. Bob Gabbert is a world traveler who has lived or worked in many of the places he writes about. He graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle where he and his wife, Janet, make their home.

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By Bob Gabbert

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Copyright © 2017 by Bob Gabbert

All rights reserved, except as permitted under the US Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission by the publisher.

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e-Book Edition: November 2017

The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

About the Book

Tami loves John, and he loves her, but the twists and turns of fate cause their lives to spin off in different directions. John becomes a Navy SEAL and a National hero, while Tami becomes an elementary schoolteacher experimenting sexually with Traci, her college roommate. Tami and John’s lives cross paths from time to time but fate and Traci never let them get on the same page at the same time.

John and Laura fall in love, but they do not marry. Tami marries Jacob Cornwall, but they do not fall in love.

Cornwall is a very successful banker, but he’s totally unsuccessful in love, that is until 20-year-old Lucy comes into his life. He wants to marry Lucy, but he’s already married to Tami.

Lucy urges Cornwall to divorce Tami and marry her, but he knows that without a prenuptial agreement divorce would cost him many millions of dollars. However, he also knows that rich people can hire contractors to take care of problems like Tami. And then, fate steps in once again.

Table of Contents

Title Page

About the Book

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

About the Author

Other Novels by Bob Gabbert

Chapter 1

Jacob Cornwall took the phone number of a contract killer out of his wallet and dialed. He didn’t know that the FBI had apprehended the man, and now they were using the number in a sting operation to catch other clients.

Special Agent Laura Grindlesperger answered the phone pretending to be a secretary. This is 415-555-6702. Can I help you? she asked in what she considered to be a dumb blonde accent.

Cornwall hesitated. I thought I was calling a man.

You did, Sweetie, but he don’t answer the phone unless it’s important. Is it... important?

Let me speak to him, he said nervously.

She began jotting down her observations: Nervous—doesn’t know what to say. Noise in the background—people walking by. On her computer, she identified the phone number he was using—619-555-3403 and jotted it down: Calling from San Diego area code.

It’s your dime, Sweetie, but I’ve got other things to do if you ain’t gonna talk.

Cornwall started to put the phone down, but then he said, A friend told me... he said that you could... take care of something.

He sure can, Sweetie. Give me your phone number, and I’ll have him call you back.

Why do you need my phone number?

Well, he ain’t here right now at this very moment, so he’s got to call you back, don’t he?

I thought I could... I thought it would be just this one...

Look! He’s gonna knock me around if I don’t get your phone number and name.

He hits you?

You’re wasting my time, Sweetie. Do you want the job done or not?

Yes, I want it done—soon! When will he call?

Well, he ain’t gonna call if he don’t got your phone number, now can he?

It’s an unlisted number, 206-555-9723, don’t let anyone else have it. Okay? I’m only at that number during the day—how much will this cost?

Laura jotted down: Seattle phone number. Must be on vacation or business in San Diego. Maybe wants to hide his tracks.

She said, How should I know how much it will cost? He don’t tell me nothing like that.

Cornwall hung up; his brow was wet with nervous sweat.

Laura called the San Diego Field Office and had them check out the number he was calling from, and then she called the Seattle office and had them check out the Seattle phone number.

Two hours later, the San Diego agent called back, The number is for the Wind Surf Motel on Mission Bay. There’s a man and a woman staying in the room. They’re signed in as Mr and Mrs J Smith from Las Vegas. Do you want us to investigate further?

Not at this time. I don’t know what kind of case it is yet. Thanks.

An hour later, the Seattle FBI office called. The Seattle number belongs to a Jacob Cornwall. He’s CEO of Cornwall Bank.

Is the bank in trouble?

Doesn’t appear to be. Do you want us to check it out?

Yes. Get the prelims on Cornwall. Find out if he has a family, if there’s any conflict among the senior people at the bank, you know the drill.

Will do.

Tamara Simpson was born on 7 February 1962 to Elizabeth and Harry Simpson. It was the same day that President John F Kennedy imposed a naval blockade on the island of Cuba, setting off what became known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The Simpsons wanted a boy, but after seven years of trying, they were very happy to have a girl. In a way they did get a son, because she was a tomboy from the instant she could walk. She didn’t like to wear dresses or play with dolls, except to take them apart and see how they were made. She preferred throwing rocks or softballs or seeing who could spit the furthest.

She was the unquestioned boss of the children in her neighborhood, and if anyone challenged her, they went home crying from a punch in the face. That is until John Brewster moved into the house next door when Tami was 10.

An economic recession hit everybody hard, but no one was hit harder than small farmers in Iowa City, Iowa, where the Brewster farm was sold at foreclosure. William Brewster got a job with Boeing and moved his wife and 11-year-old son to Edmonds, Washington, just north of Seattle. He went to work in the same aircraft factory where Tami’s father worked.

John’s parents tried to explain to him why they had to leave all of his friends behind, but how can a child understand such things? All he knew was the fact that his world was turned upside down.

John was one year older than Tami, but she was one inch taller, and when her gang challenged her to show the new boy who was boss in the neighborhood, she was more than willing.

The Brewster house was next door, so she led her gang into his back yard. John was playing on his back porch with a toy car. She studied him for a minute and then clinched her fists and held her arms stiff at her sides and shouted, Come out here and fight!

He looked up and saw her with five boys and a girl standing behind her grinning with anticipation. Why do you want to fight? I don’t even know you.

Tami raised her fist and got in a fighting stance. So, I can show you who’s boss around here, she said as menacingly as possible.

I don’t fight girls, he said. He got up and went inside.

I’m not a girl! she shouted. I’m the king! She stood there for a moment with her fists held up high. When he didn’t return, she shrugged and turned to her gang. He won’t fight; he’s a sissy. You’re a sissy! she yelled.

Yeah, he’s a sissy, the others said, as they left.

Later that afternoon, she saw him playing on his back porch again. She went over with her fists clinched. Are you ready to fight now?

Why do you want to fight? I just moved here. What did I ever do to you?

She sat down beside him. Where did you come from?

Iowa. We lived on a farm. We had to move.

Why?

He shrugged. I don’t know. Something about a bank or something.

Why did you come here?

My daddy is going to make airplanes.

Yeah, my daddy does too. Everybody in this town does, she said looking off into space.

Why do you want to fight all the time?

She shrugged. I’m the king. I have to make sure all of my subjects do what I say.

Why

Cause I’m the king!

You’re a girl. Girls can’t be kings.

I’m not a girl!

You are too.

What if I am?

I don’t know. Maybe you could be queen or something.

Thus began the life-long friendship of Tami Simpson and John Brewster. John was admitted into her gang: Because I said so! She continued to be king, but she began to emulate John in the way he acted, the way he walked, and even some of his expressions, like calling a soft drink, a soda pop, or: If I had my druthers...

What’s a druthers? she asked the first time he said it.

I don’t know.

Then why do you say it?

He just shrugged and grinned. It was the first time in her life that something inside of her changed when she looked at him. Thereafter, they were constantly together. They were pals. They were buddies until that fateful time when she was 12 and her breasts began to develop.

During the summer, all of the kids swam in the Puget Sound. No one owned a store-bought swimsuit; they all used cut-off jeans, and so did Tami, but that summer her mother insisted she wear a girl’s swimsuit.

They had a secret spot that was hidden from view and from the very beginning they skinny-dipped. It was not planned; it just seemed natural that when he took off his clothes and jumped in, she did the same. Even now that she had a store-bought girl’s swimsuit, she still took it off when they swam in their special spot.

John had an erection all the time when he was around Tami, and she kept touching it, much to his embarrassment. Now that her breasts were beginning to develop, she had something to touch.

One day, they were lying on the grass after a swim. It was one of those perfect spring days when flowers are blooming everywhere, trees are in bloom, and the sky was crystal clear and azure blue. He was staring at the tiny cones on her chest. She looked down at them. I wish they would go away. Now I can’t play little league.

Why not? Do they hurt when you run?

She slapped his arm. "No, silly, they’ll know I’m a girl, and girls can’t play when their 12."

Why not? You’re the best hitter we have.

She noticed his erection. There it is again. Why does it do that?

I don’t know. It does it all the time now, even when I wake up in the morning.

Does it hurt?

He blushed. Tami may not have liked being a girl, but he was very happy she was. He just didn’t know why. Even when he talked to the guys about her, he felt funny inside.

Can I touch it? she asked.

"No! He rolled over onto his stomach.

Do you want to touch me? she asked pointing to her chest.

He touched one with one finger. They’re soft.

She slapped his shoulder. What did you expect, dummy?

When school started, they were constant companions. She was 12 and he was 13. She rode to school with him on his bicycle, and they went everywhere together. They didn’t kiss. They didn’t even hold hands. When some of the boys teased him about being with her all the time, he said she was his sister. Tami liked being his sister, because that’s how she felt about him. He was her brother—her hero.

By the time Tami was 14, she had a perfect body with long slim legs and high well-formed breasts. Her hair was the color of wheat, and it framed her oval face giving her blue eyes and ready smile an attraction that not many girls were fortunate enough to have. She didn’t wear makeup as other girls did, but she was easily the most beautiful girl in school.

Even though they were both teenagers with raging hormones, Tami and John still went skinny-dipping several times a week during summer. She enjoyed the affect she had on John’s body. Often she would press her body against his just to see it erupt. Much to her delight, he would turn crimson and yell at her. She would play innocent and pretend it was an accident. He would get angry, and she would look up at him and say, I love you, Johnny, and she meant it, in her own way.

He loved her too. Why can’t we do it, Tami? I love you, and you love me.

She didn’t know how to explain to him why she didn’t want to get closer. Perhaps she didn’t understand why. She didn’t mind helping him with her hand or even orally, but for unclear reasons, she couldn’t imagine taking him into her body.

Even at 15 he was still one inch shorter than she was. He wouldn’t reach his full height until he was 20, but his love for Tami was very mature with years of longing.

A year later, he was no longer satisfied with a platonic relationship. One night after a movie, they parked at their favorite spot overlooking Puget Sound. They frequently parked there, and talked about their lives, about school, the future, or anything that was happening in school or at home.

John was no longer satisfied with just talking. He leaned over and tried to kiss her.

No, Johnny, we’re not like that.

Why not?

You’re like my brother, Johnny.

"Tami, you’re killing me. I see your body all the time, and you won’t let me do anything—not even kiss you, and you’re so beautiful."

I’ll help you, Johnny, she said, bending over him.

"No! I don’t want that. I want... I want you to be my girlfriend—not my sister. We’re growing up, Tami. We do it every way but the normal way. Why can’t we do it the normal way?"

There was a pregnant silence. Tami looked out of the window into the dark night. I can’t tell you how I really am. You wouldn’t understand. I’d just die if it made you hate me! She started to cry.

He put his arm around her. Why are you crying? What’s wrong?

Johnny, I’m not like other girls.

"You’re beautiful, Tami. I can’t be around you without wanting to touch you. I love you and it’s definitely not like a sister."

She covered her face with both hands and wept.

What’s wrong? Did someone hurt you?

She leaned against his chest and whispered, If I tell you, do you promise not to hate me?

I could never hate you. Tell me.

Johnny, I’m... I’m like a boy inside.

"What? I’ve seen you naked; you’re no boy!"

I mean inside.

"What do you mean, inside?"

Please don’t hate me. I like girls, Johnny.

So. I like girls too. What’s the big deal?

You’re not listening, Johnny. I like girls like you like girls.

His mouth fell open. Oh. He sat back on the seat, but then he immediately turned back. Are you sure? Who is your girlfriend—have you done it with a girl?

No. She shrugged. I don’t have a—I’ve never done anything with anybody.

Then how do you know you’re queer?

Don’t say that, Johnny.

I look at girls like you do, Johnny. I’ve seen how you look at pretty girls. Well, I look at them too.

Do you look at guys that are, you know, handsome.

Just you.

You think I’m handsome?

I think you’re the most beautiful boy in the world.

"Boys aren’t beautiful!"

You are to me.

But, Tami, what can you do with a girl?

"I don’t really know. Kiss, I guess. Johnny, please don’t tell anyone. Please!"

In 1977, no one admitted they were gay or lesbian for fear of being ostracized or even physically hurt. It was not unheard of in those days for gay males to be killed and lesbians to be raped by homophobic men and boys.

John was not able to accept what Tami told him. He was truly in love with her, and he could not understand why she didn’t feel the same way about him.

At first he tried to date other girls, and they responded to him, because he was not only good looking, but he was also one of the best football players in the school. Another factor that caused girls to respond to him was the fact that he had been with Tami so long, that he was almost like a new student when he decided to start dating other people.

He still hung out with Tami during the day, but at night he found girls who were willing to do the things that Tami never would, and he enjoyed it immensely... for a while.

Chapter 2

Over the next year, John dated several girls in his senior class, and some of them were more than willing to have sex with him. He also dated girls in Tami’s class, and one was her best friend, who didn’t seem to mind the fact that John had been Tami’s. No one knew exactly what their relationship was anymore. However, John knew. He began to feel guilty when he