Volatility Cycles
by Morris J. Marshall
Chapter 19: Epilogue
conclusion
“Lass?”
Krista opened her eyes slowly and blinked several times, trying to clear the blurriness. Her vision gradually began to focus. She was in a room with walls painted beige. The light blue window curtains were slightly parted, and a ray of sunlight brightened the blue linoleum floor. “Bill?”
“Aye, it’s me. How are you feeling?”
“My shoulder is killing—”
“Just stay still. You’ve had a tough few days.”
“Where am I?” Krista asked. Her wrists were tied with bands to the railings on the two opposing sides of her bed. “The last thing I remember is the police taking Carla away and waiting for the paramedics.”
“Nothing else?” Bill asked.
Krista shook her head. Her throat was sore and her head was pounding.
“Oh, lass, I’m so sorry.”
“Where am I, Bill?”
“While we were waiting for the paramedics, you jumped up and ran back to the roof, calling out Tran’s name. You went up to the edge and were looking down. I caught you just in time. The police brought you here to the Psychiatric Wing of the Toronto General Hospital two nights ago.”
A nurse poked her head into the hospital room and smiled at Bill and Krista. “Visiting hours are over in ten minutes,” she said.
Bill grabbed his briefcase, opened it and produced a copy of a newspaper. “I’ve got some good news,” he said. “It appears you’re a celebrity.”
Krista glanced at the headline on the front page: Local College Professor Helps Bust Massive Financial Crime Ring. There was a picture underneath depicting three people in handcuffs. Krista recognized them as Reems, Carla Travini and Earl Gavner. To the right of that photo was one of Edward Gerry, Bank of Canada Governor, being taken away in handcuffs by two officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Krista tried to sit up. “I don’t understand.”
Bill gently eased her back down. “Visiting hours may not end so soon, lass. There’s a ton of reporters outside. It appears that Gavner and Gerry orchestrated the whole thing. The bank governor was making millions from investments that bet against the housing market. DBC Financial was a front for the scheme.”
“No wonder Gerry was raising interest rates so quickly,” Krista said. “He was trying to destroy the housing market for his own benefit. Carla was only doing the grunt work.”
“You should write a novel about this, lass. With your skills, you could make a fortune. I bet it would even make a good movie.”
Krista sighed. “I guess I’ll have lots of time. Once they find out I’ve been in this hospital, I won’t have a teaching job anymore. Oh, no! I forgot about Simon! He hasn’t been fed in three days.”
“Relax, lass. The police got him out of your apartment. He’s staying with me. I also talked to Starks. I reminded him how good a teacher you were to my son. He assured me that once you felt better, you’d be welcomed back to Apex College with a full-time job. Now just get some sleep.”
Krista shut her eyes. She, Bill and Haiyuan had stopped the financial scam, but the housing market was still overheated. Speculators were holding onto their homes for profit. Average people couldn’t afford to rent, let alone buy. How much longer could this insanity continue?
Krista wasn’t sure, but she looked forward to spending time with Bill and Dara during the summer and returning to teaching in the fall. She’d also need another apartment when she got out of hospital. But all of that could wait. Right now she was looking forward to some rest.
Copyright © 2017 by Morris J. Marshall
