Done!

By Ed Merwede

Thomas Wallace never thought a chance meeting a party would lead to this. They talked, she laughed, and he fell in love. Marie possessed the classic Mediterranean good looks that have been written about for centuries. Her sensuous brown eyes pierced his soul, and her high cheekbones and silky smooth alabaster skin captured his every thought.

Everything should have been perfect. Thomas should have connected her last name with the notorious crime figure Antonio Scarpetta. Marie was the daughter of a powerful and evil man. Thomas Wallace hoped he would get out of this alive.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 19, 2016
• ISBN: 9781514450949

Ed Merwede

ED MERWEDE, also the author of “DONE!” started his career with Yale University Press. After eleven years as plant superintendent, he went on to manage three other printing companies before starting his own business with his wife, Ellen. That business, PrintAbility, operated for fourteen successful years, before the couple retired to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In the late 1990s, the author was diagnosed with syringomyelia, caused by a very severe crash while serving on a US Naval Air Station. Ed is listed as 100 percent disabled with the Veterans Affairs Office. His wife of thirty-five years, Ellen, died in November of 2014. He is now living in an assisted living facility on Cape Cod.

Book preview

Copyright © 2016 by Ed Merwede.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2016900779

ISBN:      Hardcover      978-1-5144-5096-3

                Softcover       978-1-5144-5095-6

                eBook            978-1-5144-5094-9

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 01/18/2016

Xlibris

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

732450

Contents

The Story of Thomas Wallace Esquire

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Dedicated in loving

memory of my wife

Ellen

My best friend, sweetheart

and wife for

35 years;

and of course

to Mel Glick,

a shared smile.

The Story of Thomas Wallace

Esquire

Chapter 1

Yes, I’m a lawyer. Yes, I should have seen it coming. Yes, I went in with my eyes wide open. And finally, yes, even though my love for Marie was all consuming, I should have walked away.

OK dear reader, you haven’t heard the whole story. I digress here to bring you up to date on what my life became after the marriage. You already know I’m a lawyer, an Assistant District Attorney, and that is mostly why I’m writing this down. In the event this report stops suddenly, you should at least know why. In that event, more than likely, I’m dead.

I met Marie at a party given by one of our mutual friends. We started talking and I realized that we had a lot in common. Before the party was over, I expressed an interest in seeing her again, and asked for her phone number. Her answer was yes, and I left the party a happy man. It’s funny how you meet someone for the first time and have an immediate connection. If I live through this, I have to have my sensors checked.

I waited three days before I called her. The phone was answered by, I guess, a servant. A man. Wow! I asked to speak with Marie and was put on hold. She finally came on the phone, out of breath, and asked who she was speaking to. I said Thomas Wallace, we met a couple of nights ago, and you gave me your phone number; do you remember?

Oh yes she replied, the lawyer with the funny tie. My tie. I said, you remember people by their ties?

Yes, Marie said, and then Well in a way, something catches my eye and I don’t forget.

I heard a very slight giggle and said, Well I’m glad I wore that tie!

Marie continued, Oh forgive me, I just say the things that come to mind. I’m sorry if I offended you.

No no, you didn’t offend me, just my taste in ties. Then I offered, Before we go any further with your taste in apparel, would you like to join me for dinner on Friday night?

I would be delighted, she said.

Wonderful, I’ll pick you up at seven and make reservations at The Petite Chef, if that’s ok.

Marie said that she had never been there, but had heard that the food was wonderful. I’d love to go, and thank you, she said. I told her I’d wear