Twisting Tales and Truth

By Edward J Boudreau Jr

Fiction that mimics reality. A series of short stories of mysteries that often leave you guessing. Reality-inspired mysteries, each with a surprising twist, keeping you guessing until the end.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Native Publisher
• Release date: Oct 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9798868942365

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Twisting Tales and Truth

BY

EDWARD J. BOUDREAU JR

Copyright © 2023 by Edward J. Boudreau Jr

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

Disclaimer

This is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents in this book are either the product of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Author’s Biography

E.J. Boudreau  Jr.- a retired Financial Services Executive is thought of by friends and acquaintances as an inquisitive mind with a thirst for new and exciting things to do or explore. In his lifetime he has become proficient in competitive shooting, hunting, golf, photography, and as a private pilot. A lifelong resident of Massachusetts. The business provided travel opportunities to five continents during his years in the financial services and investment industries.

His early years found him earning college tuition and expenses working as a caddy and at the local Hearst newspaper. Those and the collection of life experiences, combined with a creative mind provide the basis of his writings. 

Dedication

I dedicate this book to my three grandsons, Tanner, Aaron and Cameron. They are a God given blessing to me and have brought me much joy. May they be guided by God's Word and achieve much to make this world a better place.

Acknowledgments and Thanks

There were many friends and relatives who encouraged putting my pen to paper and to use my creative juices to bring an entertaining product to readers. Especially thanks to my daughter Nancy, son Mark, my dearest Ann, longtime friend Marilyn, brother Paul, sister-in-law Joan, and classmate Cecilia. Their encouragement and countless reviews of the many drafts were appreciated beyond measure. Editorial help from Olivia Kierce, the daughter of a friend and an English major at Stonehill College, brought me to a conclusion that I hope you will find worthy in your reading library.

My thanks also to the folks at Amazon Publishing who made my first publishing effort a relatively painless experience.   

Table of Contents

Pickles Can Kill You             1

Don’t Eat The Shrimp             27

Messenger from God             44

Do you really need that Life Insurance Policy?             53

The Candidate             64

The key may be a Promise             80

The Case of the missing arm             94

Hunting for Clues             111

Lobbyist can be a dangerous profession             133

Protesting is not always the answer             149

Coming of Age             160

The case of the missing painting             169

The case of the missing key             187

Pickles Can Kill You -

One

Danny was sitting at the tiki bar at the Royal Grand Hotel in St. Thomas contemplating his dwindling bank account. It’s been a while since his last score, investors were becoming scarce and he hasn’t had much in the way of companionship either. Danny was a buff 6 ft 4 and perpetually tanned with an Ivy League glow. He was quick to smile but also quick to anger, although he had worked hard to control that anger.

As a juvenile, he almost killed his best friend over a trivial matter in 7th grade. Since that time and with the court's counselor’s help and calming techniques he has been in control of this sinister side. His parents thought a change in schools might be good for Danny. He was smart and quick-witted and could thrive in the right environment.

His parents had friends at Belmont Hill, a prestigious prep school nearby. With their influence, they transferred him to finish out his last four years. It would assure him a spot at an Ivy League School as well. He did well at the new school and the sessions with the court counselor paid dividends. 

As he was sipping his Rum and tonic he spied an attractive late 40s sandy-haired blonde, about 5 ft 5 and she was a natural beauty. She just oozes that old wealth look too, Danny thought. He mused that she was either from the Philadelphia Main Line or Greenwich Connecticut. 

He started thinking about how he might approach her when she walked straight over and sat down next to him at the bar. 

He turned to her and said, I hope you don’t mind my telling you but you make that outfit look striking. My name is Danny Cameron.

She looked at him and smiled.

My name is Penelope Smith, but my friends call me Penny. It’s nice to meet you.

​Danny asked her how long she had been here on the island, and she replied, Only a week and I have to go back home to Greenbay, Connecticut tomorrow.

Danny smiled and said, Well maybe I can help make your final night here enjoyable and I can then see you off to Connecticut tomorrow.

She smiled at him and said, Now that’s a pleasant thought.

Danny asked, Are you up for dinner after we have our drinks?

She said, That would be great. I’m looking forward to dessert.

Penny asked Danny how long he had been there. 

He replied, Just about the same time you have been. I'm surprised we haven’t met up until now. 

Where are you from, Danny? 

I have an apartment in SoHo and an office at my plant outside Stamford but I grew up in Cambridge near Harvard.

Did you go to Harvard? 

No, I went to Yale. Class of ‘85. 

Over small talk, Danny learned that Penny lost her parents in a car accident, and as a result, she has been working in the family business: The Smith Pickle Company. She said she had worked there through high school and college. She said it was only natural to work there after her MBA. 

Danny thought, Oh what a score she could be. I need to look into this business and her role later.

Penny told Danny she had gone to Wharton class of ‘67 and then The Harvard Business School a couple of years later. She learned a lot about Cambridge from her time at Harvard Business School and they talked a lot about what they liked about the city and area. They both loved the S&S Deli in Inman Square with their over-the-top Reuben sandwiches.

Danny learned a little more about Greenbay, a town he only drove through at Yale. It was initially part of Greenwich but broke away around 1890. It was about a third the size of Greenwich but with many of the same diverse characteristics. It was a town rather than a city with a manager and select board. The income level is higher than in Greenwich with a lot of old-money families. It had many large estates. Penny lived in one of them. 

Dinner also was more foreplay with Penny, she seemed to find him just as interesting as he found her. She told Danny that he felt different than her recent past physical relationships.

The evening progressed better than Danny expected and they moved after dinner to her suite of rooms. Danny and Penny sat on the balcony for a bit sipping some Kailua on the rock, watching the moon rise. Penny was getting more and more in need of something beyond cuddling. Something heated, and quite unexpected to Danny, marathon sex was her goal? Their lovemaking took them into the early hours. Danny thought she was pretty good for a woman her age, he being only 32 and she was closer to 50. He was having trouble keeping up. She was expecting everything he could give her. Danny thought they invented some new positions through it all too.

The next morning, which came early, they enjoyed breakfast in bed and dessert was another marathon of sex. Not quite as long as the night before, more like a half marathon. They showered together and got ready to go to the airport. Unfortunately, they were on separate flight plans, the commercial and the Gulfstream, but they promised to keep in touch.

Two

Three weeks after they got back his April bank account statement balance was dwindling fast and he hadn’t been able to find an investor. Danny had two small businesses being cultivated; the more promising of them was an exercise machine company but that was capital-intensive. It was May 15th and he had an interest payment due on June 15th. He did some research on Penny and found that she was not only the CEO but also the controlling owner of The Smith Pickle Company, a NY Exchange-listed company. When her father and mother died a few years back in a car accident she got all their stock in the company. They controlled 70% of the stock when they died. She never married because she was deeply into the business along with her father. She was worth around $5 billion. Danny had a big smile. 

Danny decided to call Penny, she was too old school to call him first and hoped it led to something much more financially stabilizing. He was surprised at how warm the response was and she was quick to invite him to come up to her house and spend the weekend. 

We will go sailing and have a grand time, she said. 

He couldn’t wait until Friday. He had done some sailing with the Yale racing club during his senior year but decided to do some boning up on sailing so it wouldn’t look like he was an amateur. 

Thursday came and he got into his BMW convertible and towed up to Connecticut to Stamford next to Greenbay. His plant was a few miles away and he could have stayed there but instead, he found a little motel and got settled in to wait for his date with Penny. When he got bored, he drove around trying to be inconspicuous and scope out Penny's home address. He couldn’t see her property because the driveway had to be at least a mile long.

He drove back to his motel, got a quick bite to eat then went to the gym and worked out on the treadmill and on the weight machines. He was comparing all of them to his universal exercise machine. He knew his machine was better but he was having trouble breaking into the market. There were just not enough advertising dollars available.

The next morning, he had a light breakfast, went to the gym again, and worked out on the weight machines. Since college, he probably only missed a handful of days with a workout. He was determined to stay in good shape. He wanted to be as buff as possible when he saw Penny this afternoon so he worked an extra set of reps on the chest extender.

At 4 o’clock he drove to Penny's estate. He was buzzed in quickly at the gate, and as he drove up the drive he just could not imagine the wealth that was represented in just this one real estate location. When he got to the door Penny had a quite revealing blouse and short shorts that accentuated her toned legs. She greeted him with a heavy, wet kiss, which Danny was not expecting.

She pulled them into the hallway and she continued a tight embrace and smothering kisses. They hadn’t even had a small talk before she had him up in the bedroom and undressed. It seemed like seconds rather than minutes. There was no slow easy get-to-know-you, Penny was hungry and Danny was happy to comply.

Penny's appetite that afternoon was insatiable, he regretted having gone to the gym that morning because he was getting tired. They finally ended their marathon and she said that dinner would be served in the main dining room but if he wanted to have a quick shower she was game. 

After the shower, they both went down to the dining room and the meal rivaled one at the Four Seasons. The maid, Angela, cleared the dishes and they continued over coffee with small talk. Penny wanted to learn a lot more about Danny. Danny described his latest business venture, a universal workout machine. He said it was the one business that he was focused on because he thought it had legs. He had been working on it since college and he knew it could be a category killer. He just needed more exposure.

The time came for them to adjourn to the bedroom. Danny wasn’t sure if he was up to it but with her coaxing he was right there like James Bond. Penny finally cried uncle and they collapsed into each other’s arms and slept.

The next morning after a quick breakfast they went down to the yacht club to use Penny’s Yacht. He was thinking it might be a 24ft or 25 ft sloop but it was 42 ft. Hinckley. Penny was quite the expert and soon they were on their way. She directed him to do some of the things necessary to raise the sails and to get back into cruise position although it was quite evident, she could do it all alone! 

They spent an enjoyable morning cruising Long Island Sound and finally anchored offshore near The Shinnecock Golf Club and had a picnic lunch. Danny casually broached the subject of his business again and said he would get one of his machines up to her if she was interested. 

The weather was on the verge of changing, and Penny suggested they sail back. She invited him to have dinner at her home again. Danny knew what she was hinting at. Danny thought Can I keep up with this woman? Penny needed to stop in at the Club’s office to see the manager, Bridget Whetstone. It seemed some work that was to be done on her Yacht, Calm Seas, was charged to her but the work never did get done. Penny if anything was meticulous when it came to financial dealings. 

Three

Over the next six months, Danny spent every weekend with Penny and after five months of that, she suggested he move in. Penny became an investor in his business too. Eight months to the day of meeting Penny, Danny proposed and Penny accepted. Penny’s chief legal advisor, Tom Andrews, got wind of the rapidly more serious relationship that was building and started to get concerned that Penny may be going into something too quickly. 

Tom did an extensive background check. There was no police record since Danny’s Juvenile records were sealed. Danny attended all the right schools and he was an Ivy leaguer. His parents were teachers and although of a modest background, he attended Belmont Hill School and Yale. Something did not feel right but Tom could not pin it down Danny had two failed business ventures that were more market related than his failings. A recession and a change in consumer appetite for exercise equipment that he designed caused the need to liquidate one and incubate the other.

Danny expected an elaborate prenuptial agreement but it was very simple: he was to get a third of her wealth, excluding the value of her Pickle Company Stock which was still a sizable $1 billion upon her death if she predeceased him. He was to have no control over or involvement in the pickle company. 

He, on the other hand, left half of whatever he had to Penny and the rest to his younger brother, Garry, who still lived in Cambridge. As of that date, it was mostly debt, not assets to his estate.

He told her it didn’t matter about the company or any of the prenups, he was in love with her and wanted to have them have