Chapter 12

Bernard Warner J.D. saw to the prenup; well, he was the big man’s lawyer and longtime adviser. Anyone with $11 billion dollars in the bank was not getting married without a prenup, nor did anyone object to it; and the elements of it were actually generous, not just fair. A divorce for any reason would leave Lea Hanson nee Scott with fifty million dollars after taxes.

The ceremony was held June 3rd 1985, at First Evangelical in Scottsdale; it was first water. Jim Hightower gave the bride away.

“I do,” said Carlton Hanson.

“I do,” said Lea Scott.

The new husband and wife team stayed later than usual at the reception. Well, it was a lot of fun. And then it was off to Paris.

It was still spring, early June. In Paris the weather was wonderful.

“My gosh,” exclaimed Lea. This is great.

“It is isn’t it,” said Carlton.

“That’s that famous arch isn’t it,” she said.

“Yes, The Arc de Triomphe,” he said, pronouncing it in French. “Napoleon had it built two hundred years ago.” She smiled, and hugged him

“over the next hours they lunched at a boulangerie just of the Champs-Élysées. The coffee was strong, but it seemed oh so French to the new wife.

Several hours of shopping, and stopping for more coffee twice, they were back at their hotel.

“I never imagined that I would have a honeymoon in Paris,” she said. “This is wonderful.”

“My darling, there will be many wonderful things happening from now on. I absolutely guarantee it,” he said.

She stood out on the balcony in her slip. The sun was setting. He came up behind her and cupped her breasts but not too hard. He pressed himself into her and she moaned pushing back into his hardness.

“Over the next hour the sex was epochal. Her new man was very good at what she needed him to be good at.

“I’m kind of afraid that I might be over using the word wonderful today,” she said, and giggled.

The man laughed. “No, no, feel free,” he said. “I’m just glad I didn’t disappoint you.”

“Disappoint me? Hardly,” she said.

The next thirteen days were, well, wonderful. There were moments, when she thought of her used-to-be man, and it saddened her if but briefly. She promised herself that she would make it up to him—somehow!

“You called,” said James Hightower.

“Yes,” said Carlton Hanson. “I have a very special mission for you. You just became a prison guard, for a week.”

“What?” Huh!” he said. The man behind the smallish desk, smiled.

“Don’t worry, I got my friend in the governor’s office to okay it. You won’t have any official duties really. But you will have a mission as I mentioned. I need you to keep an eye on my wife’s ex-fiancée in Winslow, spy on him. To do that, you will need to tour the block at appropriate times, with a professional guard partner of course, and let me know what you see. What I really would appreciate would be to find out how we might be of help to him. There has to be some way,” said Carlton.

“Okay,” said James, kinda slowly. “I will have a partner then when I’m up there.”

“Yes, you will.

“You will have no problem and the warden is my friend’s brother, so you won’t have any problem with the other guards either. I can assure you of that. Still, if by some odd chance you should, call me immediately. I’ll take care of the matter also immediately.

Operation “check the man out” was on, July of 1986.

“James, right?” said the warden.

“Yes, sir,” said James.

“You can call me Curt,” he said. “I hear you have a specific mission.”

“Yes, I’m to film inmates in the blocks for the governor’s office,” he said.

“Unusual, but not unheard of. We’ve actually had the occasional media organization come through on a mission like that. But yours is a little different. My brother says no restrictions on your touring is what I’m told,” said Curtis Wells.

“Yes, but I will be discrete and adhere to anything, rules, that you deem appropriate,” said James.

“Thank you for that,” he said.

Jim Hightower had been inside county jail a hundred times to investigate matters for numerous clients and purposes over the years, but never at state prison, not inside the blocks for sure. Now he was touring the cages. The steel cages that housed the most desperate of men. It wasn’t so much scary as it was grim.