Chapter 2

Bill got home slightly before his wife that afternoon, and the first thing he did was to put the matches back in the bathroom on the shelf where they had been. Until he thought more about this he didn't want Linda to realize that he was interested in her paper matches.

That evening they went out for supper at the Alibi Club, and had a good time together. Linda was even interested in having a drink in the attached lounge after their meal, and they spent an hour and a half there, getting up and dancing several times while they nursed a drink each.

When they got home she once again tried to show him how practice makes perfect when it comes to blow jobs. Once again he got to taste a trace of himself when his wife tried to swallow his tongue just as she had swallowed his cock and his semen a few minutes earlier. She managed to take his mind completely off the matches and the bar they came from.

Bill might not have constantly wondered about the significance of the matches, especially when his wife managed to take his mind off them, but thoughts of cougars, and young men, and matches were never too far from his conscious mind for the rest of the first two weeks that he was home.

He realized as time passed that he thought about the situation more and more often, but he was unable to accept the idea or the conclusion that Linda had been to 'The Puma's Den' herself. It was also hard for him to imagine how else she had managed to acquire them.

Eventually Bill had come back to the tentative conclusion that Denise must have been responsible for getting the matches, and then had either forgotten them at his house when she visited his wife, or perhaps had even offered them to Linda to use with her candles.

He could also imagine Linda asking Denise for the matches to stick on that shelf in the bathroom, so that she would be sure to have a supply of matches when she needed them; at least that is what he tried to convince himself of. He was only marginally successful, though, and his confidence level varied to the extremes.

It was Monday morning, 10 days before he was to make his next trip to Colorado Springs. Bill had just spent most of the weekend busy in his backyard while Linda did some major housecleaning, but he was also trying to settle in his mind once and for all the question of whether he had any reason to doubt his wife's fidelity.

In fact, his concerns had kept him awake for hours during most of the last couple of nights until finally, at 2 a.m. on Monday morning, he had made the conscious decision to try to prove to himself that he had nothing to worry about. With the decision made, he had finally been able to get some much needed sleep.

At just after 10:30 in the morning he went down to the Technical Services Department to consult with Jason Shields, the senior man in that department. He knew that Jason had expertise with surveillance equipment in the past. It was equipment that their company had installed to monitor the parking lots, building entrances and strategic locations inside their offices and manufacturing facilities.

Jason was alone in the office when he arrived, but still Bill requested that Jason join him in one of the conference rooms for a private discussion. That wasn't a completely unexpected situation in a department that handled things like security surveillance and also computer security for a company involved in military contracts.

Jason was a tall man, almost 6 foot 2, with dark hair that was graying at the temples. He had craggy features and a rough voice, and a first impression could be that he was intimidating, but Bill knew that this projection of toughness disguised a friendly and very knowledgeable man.

He quickly got to the point. "What's this about, Bill? Do we have some security concerns somewhere?"

Bill didn't quite know how to broach the subject, but he finally said, "I have a situation that's more delicate than most. It's a personal request, not for something here at Abstract Devices. I'm hoping you can give me some advice, strictly off the record."

Jason didn't hesitate to answer, "I don't have any problem with that at all. You've been more than fair with me over the years, and I'd be very happy to help you with anything, if I can." He stood there expectantly, waiting to hear what Bill had on his mind.

Now that the moment had arrived where he would have to put his fears and suspicions into words, and actually share them with someone else, Bill was suddenly unsure if he should take that step. He realized he was almost afraid that by speaking those words he could somehow make them come true.

"Well ... I'm not really sure what I want; I guess I'm hoping you can suggest something to me. I'm wondering ... I'd like to know ... if there's an easy way for me to bug my own home." He became even more nervous and hesitant before continuing, "I need to know whether anything ... suspicious ... is happening around my home when I'm out of town."

Jason caught on quickly and immediately replied, "I think I know what you're getting at, Bill. I'm not sure if you know this, but I got divorced about 18 months ago. It was surveillance equipment that I installed that gave me what I needed in order to prove my wife was having an affair with our next-door neighbor, a man that I had considered a good friend."

Bill quickly nodded his head and said, "That's what I need. I don't think there's anything going on, but I have to know whether my suspicions have any foundation in fact. I'm afraid I'll drive myself crazy with the uncertainty, even though my reasons for being suspicious seem to me to be pretty slim."

The older man nodded at two of the chairs and said, "Why don't we sit down here, and you can tell me what's got you feeling this way. I went through this with my wife, so I guess it could perhaps give me some small measure of expertise on the subject, although I know that everyone's circumstances are different."

The suggestion seemed logical to Bill, and he quickly spilled out his concerns. "I don't really have anything concrete. It all started when I found a package of matches in my bathroom that advertised a place I didn't recognize. It's a bar called 'The Puma's Den'. I finally found out what it was all about from Jim, the new man in your department."

"Long story short, it's a bar catering to ... middle-aged women who want to hook up with young guys. I can't imagine Linda, that's my wife, going to a place like that, but that's what I have to find out. She also has a divorced friend who potentially could be a really bad influence."

"Last week I was doing some research on the Internet, searching for ideas on what to look for in the way of suspicious things a cheating spouse might do or say. Only a couple of them struck home. The big one is that lately my wife has been much more aggressive sexually. According to what I read, that might mean she's trying to avoid suspicion, or maybe she's trying to make up for something she's already done."

Bill hesitated, but he finally continued, "Another thing I read was that a change in sexual practices might be a sign of infidelity. Lately she's apparently overcome a long-time aversion to oral sex ... and to ... swallowing my semen." He laughed nervously and added, "I know, you're going to think I'm crazy to be complaining about that."

The younger man quickly returned to his sober state and said, "There was also the night I phoned home while I was out of town and she wasn't there to answer my call. She gave me what seemed to be a plausible reason for that, but I have no idea if she was telling me the truth. Last but not least, I'm pretty sure she lied to me when I asked her about the matches from 'The Puma's Den'."

He squirmed uncomfortably in his chair before saying, "I know it isn't much, and I've probably got everything all wrong, but this is eating at me now. I really need to find a way to prove to myself that I'm wrong about all of this."

Now that he'd made his explanation, Bill leaned back in his chair and relaxed, having just realized that he was hunched forward awkwardly and was completely tensed up.

Jason didn't say anything at first, but finally he began, "I don't think you have as much to go on as I did, but I don't mean to say that you're wrong to be concerned. I also looked into what the clues for infidelity might be, and in my case the big one was that my wife started working more hours, 'overtime', but I could see her checks weren't any larger when they were deposited in the bank."

"I installed some little surveillance cameras, one in the living room and one in the bedroom, along with a digital recorder on the telephone line. I was finally able to tape her phone conversation with the next-door neighbor, making plans to meet him at the Red Roof Inn over by I75. I think it's over in your direction, isn't it?"

Bill nodded his head and said, "I know the place. I see their sign every time I drive to work, or when I go back home."

Jason continued, "I never did get anything from the cameras, but I was able to use the information on the audio recording so that I could be waiting there to get film of the two of them going into and coming out of the room one evening. It was enough, especially when it showed them kissing and feeling each other up in the parking lot."

He shook his head and looked sad as he said, "22 years, down the drain just like that. At least the kids took my side, and have basically disowned her. They're both in University, and these were supposed to be the start of the ... our ... golden years, I guess. I don't know where she moved to, somewhere near Detroit I think. She has a sister there."

"The neighbor got divorced too, but he had no interest in a long-term relationship with my ex. His wife took him to the cleaners, because they had a prenup that she was able to use against him; something about an adulterer hardly getting any of the family assets."

He seemed to realize that he was getting away from what they had been discussing and quickly laughed before continuing, "That's enough about what my problem was like. You're here for my help with your own situation, not the other way around."

Jason thought for a couple of moments before he said, "I think I know exactly what you need. There's some new equipment that just came out, and I just read about it the other day. High definition, audio and video capable, and connects to a computer using WiFi. They're small, and they give a very high quality output."

He quickly got up and said, "Let me go get one of the trade publications that's on my desk. I'll show you what I mean."

Before he left the room Jason stopped and added, "You know, I'd loan you the two cameras I used, but I gave them to a friend. I do have the telephone recorder, though, and I'll bring it to work with me tomorrow. It works well, and you can just give it back to me when you're finished with it."

It took Jason a little longer than planned to find the publication he was thinking of, and Bill used the time to once again think about where he would be able to place surveillance devices. He thought he had that all figured out, but everything changed when Jason returned.

Jason seemed excited when he reentered the conference room. He was waving the trade publication as he came in and sat down across from Bill. He opened it up to one of the pages and turned it so that Bill could see the information.

"This little baby is quite the camera. It uses WiFi to send audio and video to a PC or network server, and it accepts programming from the PC. It can be run by battery or an AC adapter. There are also versions that come built into things like a working clock radio, plug-in air freshener or Carbon Monoxide detector."

The two men looked over the information provided in the advertisement and then Jason left to grab his laptop so that they could visit the corporate website of the manufacturer. They found even more information on options and features on their website.

Bill had a small smile and was nodding his head as he said, "This equipment looks ideal for me. Do you have any idea how long it would take to get it? I'd like to have it up and running before my next trip in 10 days."

Jason did another quick check of the website and found that there was a distributor in Cincinnati. "I deal with this supplier from time to time. I would think we could get them to ship whatever you want overnight. Delivery won't be a problem."

"In fact, I should have a good working relationship with their sales manager. Her name is Heidi Westerback, and I knew her years ago when we were teenagers and both of us lived in Xenia."

Jason paused, and it was obvious that he was doing some thinking as his gaze was fixed on the end wall of the room. Bill was just about to say something when Jason continued, "I think I heard she had been widowed a while back. Maybe I can use your order as an excuse to get to know her again, not as customer and client, but as man and woman. You know, we actually dated years ago."

Quickly returning to the present from his trip down memory lane he said, "Let's figure out what you need and we can order it by the end of the day, and hopefully you'll have it here in the morning."

The two men discussed the possibilities that Bill had settled on, and ended up ordering four of the high-end devices. Bill was back in his office before noon, with the order having been placed and charged to his credit card. When he left Jason he was at his desk, engaged in a pleasant personal conversation with his old friend Heidi.

Bill's order of surveillance equipment arrived the next day, and he spent his free time inspecting it and reading the enclosed literature. If it hadn't been prevented by their company's security rules, the ones he had written himself, he would have installed the software and practiced with the equipment right then and there.

Jason had brought in the telephone recorder as promised, along with the instruction booklet for it. It was a simple device that was installed in the telephone line by plugging it into a wall jack, and then plugging a telephone into the recorder. A quick look at the specifications showed that the replaceable batteries would record hours of conversation to a standard plug-in memory card.

He was very impressed with the apparent quality and sophisticated features of all of the industrial grade equipment. Before the end of the day he had booked the next day off, time he intended to use for installation and testing of the cameras.

That was how he found himself in a nearby IHOP restaurant the next morning, having a light breakfast while he waited a sufficient length of time to allow his wife to leave their house for her job. He hadn't told her about his day off for obvious reasons, and he hoped to use the time to install and fine-tune the surveillance system.

By 9:15 he was back in his house, his car safely hidden away in the garage. It didn't take him long to get started with the installation. The first device was a simple freestanding camera housed in a black metal box approximately 1 inch by 2" by 4" deep. A short WiFi antenna extended from the back of it, and a small power adapter plugged into a jack in the back as well.

This camera was soon attached with double-sided tape to the side of a piece of their stereo equipment in the living room, its power source plugged into the power bar that the rest of their home entertainment system used. Bill felt that it would provide a pretty good view of the entire living room, the entrance way, and part of the kitchen.