Chapter 3

The Hamburger Man.

I found out about the Hamburger Man from the Hamburger Man himself.

I came home from work one night and found a note on the kitchen table. It told me that Helen had set the clock for nine in the morning and asked me to make sure that she got up. I was curious because she normally got up at seven to go to work. The clock went off at nine and Helen rolled over to snuggle up next to me and I pushed her away.

"Not today honey, you told me to make sure that you got up."

She crawled out of bed and headed for the bathroom and I got up and made the coffee. I heard the shower and ten minutes later Helen came into the kitchen.

"A little late for work aren't you?"

"No, not today or any other day for that matter."

"What does that mean?"

"I got laid off yesterday. I need to get out and start job hunting today."

I found out later that she hadn't been laid off, she had been fired because two of her boyfriends kept coming into the restaurant and causing trouble. She was warned twice to keep them away from the restaurant and when she didn't they let her go.

She went out job hunting and two days later she told me she had found a waitress job at a restaurant that specialized in charbroiled hamburgers and steaks. It was day shift until she learned her way around and then she would be moved to swing shift and she would be working weekends with Tuesday and Wednesday for days off. I wasn't happy about her hours, but we were still trying to save for a house so I had to accept it.

The first month or so that she worked there I would stop in for coffee or maybe a late lunch on my way to work, but every time I went in there Denny was there. Denny was the owner and the cook. Did you ever meet someone and know right away you didn't like them? Just took one look at them and knew? The first time I walked into the restaurant Helen introduced us and as I reached for his hand to shake it I knew I wasn't going to like him. He hadn't yet opened his mouth to say hello and I knew. That feeling never went away so after a bit I stopped going into the restaurant.

A year and a half went by, we managed to save up enough for a down payment on a house and Helen became pregnant with Mary. She worked right up till her eighth month and Denny told her she could come back whenever she wanted to. She had Mary, went back to work and left again to have Nancy; went back again and then left again when she had Marlene. Why she didn't go back to Denny's after having Marlene I didn't know, at least not until after our divorce.

One day, about a year after the divorce I was driving by the place and I decided to stop for lunch. I don't know why I stopped, I didn't know anyone there well enough to say hi to except Denny and I didn't care for him. They did have good charbroiled steaks though and I guess I must have been in the mood for one. I ordered the luncheon rib eye special and I was sitting there leafing through that days Detroit Times when Denny slid onto the seat across from me.

"Been a while" he said and I nodded a yes. "Heard that Helen finally dumped you."

Not true; I had thrown her ass out, but I just nodded a yes.

"I could never understand why she stayed with you, but I guess it takes all kinds to make the world go around. I guess she probably stayed with you so she could feel good about sticking it to you."

I was about to stand up and grab him by the throat and stomp the shit out of him, but something in the back of my brain was telling me to cool it and maybe find out some things. God knows he seemed to want to talk. I just sat there and stared at him as he went on.

"I think she probably got a good kick out of going home to you after being fucked senseless by me and my friends."

I raised an eyebrow over that and he laughed. "You never knew that did you? No, I guess you didn't, but it's true. In your house, on your bed, on the couch in my office or a motel room, it didn't matter to her as long as she was getting some dick. What was it, five years? No, more like five and a half and you were getting my leavings from the second week she started working here. Mine and those of a half dozen of my friends."

I just sat there and stared at him. And he sneered at me. "Not much of a man are you? You just sit there while I tell you that I fucked your wife for over five years. A real man would get a little pissed, but you aren't a real man. A real man wouldn't beat on his wife so much that she cheats on him to get back at him."

"The only reason I'm sitting here is that I don't believe a fucking word of it."

"Oh no?" he said as he got up. "Don't go away, I'll be right back."

He was back in three minutes and he slid videotape across the table to me. "Watch that and then call me a liar.

I looked at the tape for several seconds and then I put it in my briefcase. I leaned across the table and got right in his face. "In the first case sperm breath, Helen didn't dump me. I caught her fucking my cousin and I threw her ass out onto the street. Think about this asswipe; if you spent as much time naked with Helen as you say you did you must have seen all the marks and bruises that my so-called beatings left on her body. You did see them, right?"

I saw a look come over his face that I didn't recognize, but if I had to guess I would say that it was a "Oops, I just fucked up" look. "Know this hamburger man, I didn't know about you when I came in here, but I know about you now and for you that is not a good thing. My hands are not around your throat right now because it is daylight and there are too many witnesses. I've been to jail once because of the bitch and I have no intention of going again. But hear this asshole. I will catch you some night when you are alone and there are no witnesses around and we will just see how much of a man I am."

I stood up and said, "You can have the steak I ordered; I don't trust you not to have spit on it. I'll see you around and you can bank on it."

I'm not stupid and I knew that Denny would do something that would make sure everyone knew that if he showed up badly beaten and with broken bones that it would have been me. I had no intention of going after him; it was enough for me that on dark nights he would always be looking over his shoulder.