Justice For Lindsey-Chapter 2

2

                    Carron’s store, The Silver Turtle, was located in a former three-story brick department store along the Magnificent Mile of Chicago.  Carron estimated the store had been built sometime in the late nineteen forties or early nineteen fifties.  Somehow, through the years, it had been able to avoid the wrecking ball.  When she had purchased it five years ago, she had spent a considerable amount of money having it inspected and all the wiring brought up to code.  She had also had all the floors reinforced and a new elevator put in.  It didn’t have the glitz or shine of many of the more modern buildings on the outside, but once a customer walked through the double glass front doors, that all changed.  They were transported into an oasis of sound, color and nature.

          The Silver Turtle catered to an affluent customer base and carried high end items to furnish porches, decks, patios and gardens.  Last season, because of customer requests, she had also added a section for cottage accessories.  Many of the items were one of a kind that were either made by Carron herself or crafted by the very talented group of artisans she had put together. 

           Carron relied a lot on her store manager, Michelle Carpenter. She had worked for Carron from the beginning.  When Carron opened her first store, Michelle was a student majoring in interior design.  She worked part time as a sales clerk and was very good at what she did.  By the time Carron moved to the current location, Michelle had graduated but was unable to find a job in Chicago.  As beautiful and talented as Michelle was, it had been hard for a young African-American woman to break into the local design business.  Carron hired her to design the vignettes located on all three floors as well as the four large display windows in the front of the store.  The first year Michelle was Carron’s assistant, but by the time the second year on the Magnificent Mile had rolled around, it was obvious Michelle had caught the same enthusiasm for the store as Carron.  She was promoted to store manager and Carron paid her accordingly.  She helped Carron manage fifty plus employees that worked for The Silver Turtle.

                    Five o’clock finally came and she gave Michelle the nod to hang the Closed sign on the front door and they went  up to Carron‘s office.  Together, they counted the money in the cash registers and placed the money in the usual deposit bag.  They would go together to the night deposit and then go their separate ways.  As the perpetrator had found out last night, Carron did not leave any money in the store, not even overnight.  She had an arrangement with the bank to have needed funds delivered at the opening of the store every morning.

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          It was again close to seven when Carron got home.  She had stopped to purchase some baked goods on the way home.  Tonight’s fare was going to be a frozen dinner she popped into the microwave, along with some of the fresh bread she had just gotten.  She checked her voice mail and texts and went through her mail while waiting for the meal to cook.  Only two messages today and the mail was all junk so went directly to the shredder. 

          With the familiar ding of the microwave, Carron took her dinner out to the balcony off the living room so she could enjoy the spectacular view from her fifteenth-floor abode.  Some nights, she would stand on that balcony in awe of the expansive Chicago skyline.  The hundreds of twinkling lights and bright ribbons of traffic painted a spectacular picture.  She found it not only mesmerizing but relaxing as well.  Carron finished eating and took her empty plate and silver back inside to the kitchen.  She placed them in the dishwasher and hit the wash button.

          After she ate, Carron went into her home office to work on some possible designs for the garden angel she was going to make for Sarah’s parents.  As she started to work on the design, her thoughts returned to her college years and the first time she and Sarah had met.

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          Carron Maitland grew up among the very wealthy.  The daughter of Laura and Michael Maitland III had spent her formative years living in England with her parents.  They returned home to Chicago in the summer so Carron could spend time with her grandparents.  However, each fall they returned to London for her to attend school.  Michael ran the London office of Maitland Industries for his father, Michael II.  It had been started by Michael Robert Maitland I, a Scottish industrialist from Edinburgh who had immigrated to the United States in 1924.  After the Depression, he had started a small business in Chicago which was quite profitable. Great-Grandpa Maitland had worked harder than any of his employees to make Maitland Industries world renowned; however, he never lived to see what his son and grandson were able to do with hard work and ingenuity.  

          It was during one of their summer visits, when Carron was ten, that her Grandpa Maitland had a massive heart attack and died.  They did not return to England that fall.  Being the oldest, it was now her father’s responsibility to run the business.  As such, he also became the major stockholder, owning sixty percent of the stock.

          The three Maitlands took up residence in Chicago in the Maitland Mansion, better known as Berwick, with Grandmother Maitland and Michael’s younger brother Mark and his wife, Bethany.  Mark was twenty-five and had been busy learning the business from his father.  Now, the two Maitland brothers made Maitland Industries even more powerful than before.  There was talk of sending Carron back to England to live with her uncle, Elliot Parkhurst, so she could continue to attend school there.  In the end, it was decided she would remain in Chicago and attend a private Catholic school instead. Life was good and she didn’t have a care in the world.

          Life was good until the day before Carron’s seventeenth birthday.  Laura and Michael had flown to Boston in the company’s private plane for a two day get-away.  On their return trip, something went wrong and the plane crashed over Lake Michigan.  There had been no survivors.  As Michael’s sole heir, Carron now became the major owner of Maitland Industries.  Everything was put into trust for her until she turned twenty-one.  Her Uncle Mark was responsible for running the company until that time.

          Carron graduated from high school with honors and could have gone to any prestigious private college in the United States or Europe.  That was her grandmother’s plan and she had been very adamant on the subject.  However, Carron had other plans. With much begging and cajoling, she finally talked Grandma Paulette into letting her attend a university in the Midwest.  Carron settled on a mid-major university in Michigan.  It was not that far away from home which made her grandmother happy, although still a bit nervous. 

          Carron was excited when she met her one and only roommate, Sarah Jamison.  Sarah was the only daughter of a couple from South Bend, Indiana.  Her father was an accountant and her mother a school teacher.  The two girls hit it off right away and had been friends ever since. 

          College life was an awakening for Carron.  She had spent her entire life with servants and did not know how to make her bed or do her laundry.  This soon became apparent to Sarah, and Carron was forced to confide in her new best friend why.  However, Carron was a quick learner, and within a few weeks of tutoring from Sarah, she had the two mastered.

          Their junior year Carron and Sarah decided to move into an apartment.   Grandma Paulette had not been happy about this either, but as before, Carron was able to convince her grandmother she would be just fine.  Determined to pay the rent on her own, Carron took a part time job at a local woman’s dress shop.  If there was one thing she did know, it was fashion.  Grandmother Paulette had instilled in her at a young age that she had a social obligation to always look her best.  Her supervisor agreed and said she was a natural salesperson.

          However, art was her true love.  Having spent so much of her formative years traveling throughout Europe, Carron had frequented many of the famous art museums in the world.  When she was a teenager, Carron and Grandma Paulette had spent almost every Saturday in the Chicago Institute of Art.  While Sarah majored in education, Carron took every art and design class she could.  Her favorite was sculpture, especially metal works.  She won every award the university gave out, and one of her sculptures was the highlight of a certain courtyard on campus. 

          Sarah used to tell her, “You are the only person I know that sees beauty out of junk.”   Carron would always remind her it wasn’t junk but salvaged materials.

          Both Sarah and Carron had dated quite a bit in college but neither seemed to be able to find Mr. Right. “All the good ones seem to be taken, Sarah.  I guess we will just have to be patient,” was Carron’s answer to their lack of success in this area.

          One thing Carron was able to do was learn to cook.  Sarah was an excellent cook.  Living together in the apartment they could no longer rely on dorm food.  Carron, with encouragement from Sarah, soon learned the basics and how to follow a recipe.  She was soon turning out all types of gourmet meals.

          Carron was so proud of herself on graduation day.  She had made it.  Grandma Paulette, Uncle Mark, and Aunt Bethany were in the audience as she walked across the stage and accepted her degree in Art and Design.  She had even minored in business so she would have a better understanding of how Maitland Industries was run.  She just wished her parents had been alive to see her on such an important day.  She was also disappointed that her Uncle Elliot had not made the trip from London to see her graduate. For some reason, he seldom came back to the States. When he did, he flew via the company jet. The chauffer would then pick him up at the airport. Once he arrived at Berwick, he never left the house until it was time to fly home.

          Sadly, Carron and Sarah went their separate ways.  Sarah returned to South Bend and obtained a teaching position in the same school where her mother taught.  Carron returned to the Maitland Mansion in Chicago.  Now that she had experienced independence, she knew she couldn’t remain there long.  After being home for only three months, she decided she needed to sit down with Grandma Paulette and Uncle Mark and let her feelings be known. 

          One evening, she called her grandmother and uncle into the study.  She waited until they were settled with coffee and drinks before she began. “Grandmother, I’ve given it a lot of thought the last four years and have come to the conclusion I don’t want to run Maitland Industries.  I have no interest in the business.  These last three months of being there every day, with Uncle Mark, has shown me this is not something I want to do for the rest of my life.”

          The shocked look on her grandmother’s face sent a shiver of guilt through Carron.

           “But dear,” her grandmother said, “you told me you minored in business so you would have a better idea of how the company is run.  If not Maitland Industries, then what will you do?”

          Carron threw caution to the wind and jumped right in.  “I want to open a store of my own.  Something small to start with and then see what happens.”

          Her grandmother‘s tone let Carron know she was very doubtful about this decision. “What kind of store dear?  Are you thinking of a dress shop like the one you worked in during college?  There seem to be so many of those that I’m not sure it would be successful. Just think of how long it would take for you to build up a clientele.”

          Carron could see she had her work cut out for her. So, not being one to beat around the bush, she waded into deeper waters.  “I am not thinking of opening up a dress shop.  I was thinking more along the lines of a store that supplies unique furnishings for a person’s porch, deck, patio or yard and garden.”

          Again, she could see the disbelieving looks on their faces so quickly continued on.  “Now, before you shoot this idea down completely, please listen to me.  I have been doing some research on the subject. Do you realize that in all of Chicago there is nothing like it?  Oh sure, there are garden stores; however, there isn’t one that would offer the types of items I would offer.  Most of them are just big box stores or only sell plants, tools, planters and such.”

          By now Carron had gotten up from where she was sitting and started moving about the room as she talked.  “My items would be hand made in the United States. I would offer metal sculptures for the garden as well as benches and tables that are made out of salvaged items.  I would find people to make one-of-a-kind fountains and birdhouses. The outdoor furnishings offered would be as elegant as the ones my customers have inside their homes.  The list can go on and on.  The only limit is one’s imagination.  I can see it now.  Of course, I would start out small with just a simple store but in my mind, I can see it expanding into something that would be known all through the Chicago area.  I even have a name for it, The Silver Turtle.”  As she said this, she fingered the silver pendant in the shape of a turtle.  It had been the last gift from her mother and she wore it almost every day.

• 

• 

          When she stopped to look at their faces, she could still see their skepticism. The two of them did not share her youthful enthusiasm.

          “I see you have given this a lot of thought,” her grandmother calmly said. “But Carron,” she added, “what about Maitland Industries?  You are the major stockholder of the company.  What is to become of it?”

          “That is why I asked Uncle Mark to meet with us as well,” Carron said, as she returned to the chair she had been occupying before. “Right now, he runs the company and has been doing a wonderful job doing so.  It‘s in his blood.  It really belongs to him, not me, and someday Mark Jr.  I asked him to join us to see if he would be interested in buying me out.”

          Carron had been observing her uncle.  He just sat there looking at her.  He took a long sip from the drink he was holding before he said anything. 

          “Let me get this straight, Carron.  You are willing to give up your shares of a billion-dollar world-wide company so you can open a store?  Are you really sure that is what you want to do?  Maitland Industries is worth billions.  It could take some time before your store shows any kind of profit.”

          “Yes, Uncle Mark,  that is what I want to do.   Father always told me that one should do in life the things that make you happy and that you enjoy,” Carron answered. “I love you and Grandma dearly but I don’t have any feelings for the company. I am sure it took my grandfather well before his time and probably would have done the same to my father, had he lived.  I have discovered I have this creative ability within me and I want to share it with others.”

          She could see the disappointment in their faces and there was no more discussion on the subject that evening, at least not in Carron‘s presence.  As she retired to her room a short time later ,she was sure Grandmother and Uncle Mark would have plenty to say in her absence.

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          A few days later Carron again met with Uncle Mark. He had a company attorney with him. Carron hoped he had taken her offer seriously and was pleased to see he had. The attorney had drawn up the proper papers.  With the stroke of her signature, she turned all of Maitland Industries over to Uncle Mark and pocketed millions into her personnel account.  She now had the capital she needed to start her own business. 

          Of course, she had started out small with just the main floor of an old store on Chicago Avenue.  Within a couple of years, business was so brisk she had moved to the Magnificent Mile and the three-floor abandoned department store that now housed The Silver Turtle.  And as they say, the rest is history. 

                    Once she started making a profit, Carron had wanted to move into a place of her own.  She even approached her grandmother about this.  She had not anticipated her grandmother’s response.

          “I really do not think it is a good idea for you to leave the safety of Berwick,” her grandmother had said.  “There is too much that can happen to you if you live away from here.”

          Grandma Paulette had seemed so very disturbed by the idea that Carron had given up on it.  She just wished Grandma had lived to see how successful she had become.  Grandma died just two years after Uncle Mark bought the business from Carron.

After Paulette’s death, Carron had moved out of Berwick and into her current condo.  She just couldn’t continue to live at Berwick with all of its memories. 

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          Carron returned from her reverie to the present.   Thinking about how she began her business always brought with it such memories.  She also remembered when she had started her first website to advertise the store and its products.  One night when she was updating some information on the site, her grandmother had come into the room to see what she was doing.

“I’m updating some contact information on The Silver Turtle website,” Carron told her.

“Website? You have a website for the store?  Why do you need that?” Grandma had asked.

“A website helps me bring in more customers and makes it easier for people to find the store,” said Carron.

“Just what kind of information is there?”

“It includes the name of the store, location, my name, contact phone number and what we offer,” Carron said.

“Your name is there and how to reach you?  That doesn’t sound safe at all,”  Grandma had said.

As Carron thought back to that conversation, it was as if her grandmother was almost in a panic knowing how easily information about Carron could be found.  She had always discounted it as her grandmother not understanding the modern business world.

She finished the rough design of the garden angel and then decided to turn in early.  Tomorrow was Friday and business would be brisk.  If she was going to take Saturday to go to flea markets, she had to get some things in order.  She was excited to see her best friend.  She realized she had very few close friends.  For some reason, when she was a teenager her parents, and then her grandmother, never allowed her to accept invitations to parties or sleep-overs.  After a while, the invitations simply stopped coming.  Now, as an adult, she declined the majority of social invitations she received as she just didn’t seem to fit in with the society crowd.