Chapter 2

Mariah Cookson strode to the phone and quickly punched in a long distance number.

"Hello, Frank. This is..."

"Hey Marge, how are things going? Got the sucker corralled yet?" "

"Damn it, Frank. Mariah, Mariah, NOT Marge. Why can't you get that into that thick skull of yours. You have to call me Mariah," she hissed.

"Ok, Ok, Ok, Mariah. I'll remember, don't get your tits in an uproar." Frank complained. "Anyway, how's it going out there?"

Mariah calmed down, "Nicely, Frank, and things are moving better than I had anticipated. Guess what? We're flying into Philly. He has some business with his old firm and I'm going with him. I insisted on separate rooms, I don't want to crowd him or get him suspicious. I'll introduce him to you as my business associate and potential investor. We'll discuss it in more detail when I see you, but I think we can put the bite on him for about a quarter of a million at least. "

Frank Kemp laughed into the phone. "Jeez,, you are something. I thought it would take at least another month or two. You must have this guy eating out of your hand. Ok, you're coming in, what do you want me to do?"

Mariah thought for a moment, "Ok, Frank. Let's run it like we did last time. Get hold of a half way decent public relations firm and let's get started slipping items into the local papers. You know, little hints about a really exclusive boutique opening up in center city. Let's get those main line matrons' juices flowing a little. They're always looking for new things."

Frank interrupted, "Hey, I think I've got the firm for us. They're right in town and not far from my office. They're a marketing outfit and they have a fairly decent PR division. I'll call and make an appointment."

"Ok, Frank. You take care of that end. I'm going to have my hands full with Jack. I'll call you when we get into town."

Frank Kemp walked confidently into Carl Rollins office and introduced himself. "Thanks for seeing me on such short notice, Mr. Rollins. You have my card and you can see that I'm a CPA with offices not far from here."

Carl Rollins looked Frank Kemp over. He saw a tall, good looking guy in his 40s he would guess. He noticed a certain coarseness in him, but decided to listen to his spiel.

"Have a seat, Mr. Kemp. Tell me what I can do for you."

"Here's the deal, Carl. It's ok to call you Carl?"

Rollins nodded his head, but cringed a bit inside. "Oh boy, what a schmuck" he thought.

"Ok, Carl. I represent a group of investors who will probably be opening up a really exclusive and expensive woman's boutique here in town. I don't really want to get too much information out there right now, but I do want to tickle the ears of our potential clientele You know what I mean? A few tidbits in a few papers just hinting at something new coming. I know that this is small peanuts now, but it will get much bigger later on. Now, can you take care of my needs?"

Rollins breathed a sigh of relief. This will be easy and he thanked the gods that he wouldn't have to deal with this creep.

"Know just what you're talking about, Frank. We have an excellent PR section and I know just the person who can help you. She is stylish and smart and would be perfect to begin a program such as you've outlined. In fact, you're in luck, Karen just completed a successful campaign for a group of high end shoe stores. She would be perfect for this. Let's see what her schedule is and we can call you and set up a time so that the two of you can meet to discuss your needs."

Jack and Mariah settled themselves in their seats in the first class cabin of the large jet. Mariah insisted upon the aisle seat; it would be easier for her to use the ladies's room. Jack nodded and shrugged. They were taking an early morning flight out of LAX and he hoped that he would be able to get some shut eye during the flight. Plus, he wanted to mull over the information he received from Hank the evening before. His thoughts went back to that telephone conversation.

"Jack, I don't have a lot yet, but what I do have is rather interesting. Ok, just sit back and listen. First of all her name isn't Mariah." Hank chuckled, "How about that, what a moniker. Her real name is Margaret Schuller and she was born in South Philly. She's been married three times, the last to an attorney in Philly by the name of Jerry Cookson. It seems that he was a widower and, I'm guessing, she got him when he was vulnerable,. Anyway, that union lasted only about 2 years before he filed for divorce. She managed to get a chunk of cash from him and it appears that that's what she used to open her shop here on the coast. I'm going to keep digging and when I get more I'll call you in Philly."

The information that Hank Simmons managed to collect in a short time didn't shock Jack. It only reinforced what he suspected all along. Still, it would be interesting to see how she would proceed with her plan.

"Shit," he thought. "I really must be getting bored with my life. I should just tell her to take a flying leap. Why do I continue to play with her? Maybe it's just curiosity, just to see how she plays this out. Well, I can always burn her ass. The further she takes this, the harder her fall will be." Jack shook his head, wondering why people play the games that they do.

Mariah snuggled into his shoulder and bubbled about her plans for the new boutique, not noticing the contempt on Jack's face. She suggested that they have dinner in the hotel's dining room, and, perhaps, they could have a nice bottle of white wine sent to his suite. Her attempt at coyness was not too successful.

Sara Cookson stood before the large wall of plate glass and gazed at the blazing lights of the city beneath her. The apartment that she and Jerry bought still left her breathless with its spacious size and luxurious appointments. In fact, the past year was a breathless one, filled with major events.

She had finally decided to divorce Jim Belsen, the marriage had been faltering for some time, she had realized. Then meeting Jerry as she had and the whirlwind courtship. More than once her cautious nature attempted to reassert itself, but the love and attraction that she felt for this man seemed to overwhelm her senses. Fortunately, Jerry had proved to be a compassionate, kind and thoughtful lover. She knew then, as she knew now, that agreeing to marry him was one of the wisest decisions she had ever made.

"Sara, I'm home," he bellowed boisterously as he closed the door behind him. Taking her in his arms he kissed her tenderly. "It seems that I just can't wait to leave the office to get home now, knowing that you're here waiting for me. Thank you for loving me, Mrs. Cookson."

Sara smiled, looking up at him affectionately. "You're welcome, Mr. Cookson. Let's just thank each other and consider ourselves very lucky."

"I'll drink to that, and speaking of drinking, let's not forget that we have reservations at the Rittenhouse for dinner,. Let me wash up a bit, and then we can leave." he said as he headed for the bedroom.

It wasn't too much later that evening that Sara and Jerry were ensconced in an intimate booth in the lounge of the hotel, mixed drinks in front of them. Jerry was in an expansive mood and was regaling Sara with the latest legal gossip going around town.

In an instant, his demeanor changed. Sara saw him pale and his face tightened and eyes narrowed. Sara become instantly concerned and placed her hand on his.

"Son-of-a-bitch," he muttered. "Godamnit, she's like a nightmare that won't go away." He returned Sara's grip and squeezed gently. "I'm sorry that I startled you, honey. It seems that my ex-wife just walked in the door. She's standing by the entrance to the dining room with some guy."

Sara followed his gaze and gasped. She did not recognize Mariah, but she did recognize Jack Bell. She knew the entire story of Mariah and Jerry's experience with this woman. She recognized her as a predator and immediately worried why Jack Bell would be with this type of woman. Jack was no fool, why would he take up with someone like her?

Sara made up her mind quickly. "Jerry, that's Jack Bell with your ex. You remember him. We're obviously not going to be dining here tonight, but before we leave I have to find out if he's staying here at the hotel. I thought that he had moved out of town. I think that we have to have a conversation with him and soon."

"What do you intend to do," queried Jerry anxiously.

"Just wait for me outside, don't let her see you. I promise that I won't be long," she reassured him.

Not waiting for him to comply, Sara strode across the lobby and into the dining room. She quickly located the couple and approached them.

"Hello Jack, it's been awhile. How have you been?" asked Sara.

Jack looked up, startled, and then smiled broadly. "Sara, it's so nice to see you." Remembering his manners, he turned and introduced her to Mariah. "Sara, this is Mariah Cookson, Mariah, Sara is an old friend that I haven't seen in quite awhile.

Sara looked her over cooly and noticed the woman's eyes narrow. They seemed to understand each other, and they acknowledged the introduction.

Sara then turned to Jack, "Is this just a visit, Jack, or are you thinking of moving back?"

"No, no. Just a brief visit, "Jack said hurriedly. "I have a suite here at the hotel until my business is over, and then I will probably be headed back to the coast."

Sara heard enough. "Well, it was nice seeing you again, Jack. Take care of yourself," and then without glancing at Mariah, she turned and walked out of the room. Moving through the front entrance, she saw Jerry waiting a few steps away. He moved toward her.

"Sara, what the hell..." but was interrupted by Sara's fingers against his lips.

"Shhhh Jerry. I found out that Jack is staying at the hotel. We will call him later and arrange a meeting. He must be told about her. I would feel terrible if she got her claws into him."

Jack leaned against the inside of the door of his suite and breathed a sigh of relief. He had feigned an upset stomach and was able to make it an early evening, telling Mariah he would see her in the morning. She was very anxious for him to meet her "investor."

The phone shrilled and Jack was surprised to hear that it was Sara. "Sara, this is a surprise. I..."

"Jack, Jerry and I really need to come up and speak with you. I know it's late, but I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important. It won't take long, Jack."

Jack hesitated only briefly. "Sure Sara, come on up," and he gave her his suite number.

Five minutes later Sara and Jerry knocked on the door and were admitted. After the usual hellos, etc. they made themselves comfortable and Sara began.

"Jack, I hope that you don't get upset with us, but I think the best way to start this conversation is for Jerry to tell you his story about his ex-wife. "

Jerry cleared his throat and then spent the next 15 minutes giving Jack a fairly descriptive run-down about Mariah, from her blatant adultery to her attempted scam of a couple of his close friends, including her attempt to involve him in the con. He informed Jack that she was lucky that felony charges were not brought against her. He then explained that the reason that this story is being told to him is that the woman he was having dinner with was in fact, his ex-wife.

Sara looked at Jack anxiously, expecting some kind of emotional reaction. She did not expect that he would just nod and smile warmly at her.

"Jerry, Sara," began Jack. "I really do appreciate your concern about my welfare and your warning about the possible danger facing me. I do have to tell you that I'm quite aware of your ex-wife's motives and expect to see to it that she is going to be very sorry that she ever met me. I suspected that she has a scam going which includes conning me out of a significant chunk of cash. She will be shocked to discover that I'm not the patsy she thinks I am."

Sara and Jerry breathed a collective sigh of relief. Jack chucked a bit and then arose and poured them glasses of a good red wine.

"I hope that the two of you don't have to run. It's nice seeing you again and, Sara, I'll tell you again how happy I am how things turned out for you." Jack turned to Jerry, "Jerry, you do realize what an angel you have here."

Jerry smiled proudly and replied, "Jack, that's something of which I am very much aware and I intend to spend the rest of my life making her happy."

Sara blushed and murmured, "Ok, that's enough of that. You're embarrassing me." Turning to Jack, she hesitated and then said, "Jack, are you going to see Karen while you're in town? I don't mean to open old wounds, but I still feel so terrible about what happened."

Jack turned to her stunned. "You feel terrible??? I should imagine that you would understand why I did what I did, Sara. That little "incident" led to your divorce also."

"No, Jack," Sara explained. "That so called incident was just one of many that occurred during my marriage. That was just the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak. There was little love left by that time. Karen's action was foolish, but should not have negated so many years of loyalty and faithfulness. I know that Karen loves you desperately and I suspect that you really still love her. I think that you acted hastily, Jack. Please forgive me for being so blunt, but I think that the action that you took just destroyed your happiness as well as Karen's"

Jack sat there, totally dumbfounded. How dare she presume to criticize him, especially since she did exactly what he had done by divorcing her cheating spouse.

Sara recognized the turmoil that she had created and wondered if she was wise in speaking her mind. She had thought over earlier what she had wanted to say to Jack and, despite Jack's potential anger, decided that Jack needed to hear her opinion, if he had not indeed heard it from someone else.

Not wanting to prolong the tension, she added quickly, "Jack, I'm truly sorry if I have upset you, but at least give some thought, to what I said, and now I think that we had better be on our way. This has been a very trying evening for everyone."

Jack gathered himself together and again thanked them for being concerned for his welfare and saw them out.

"Jesus, Sara," Jack said softly as they waited for the elevator. "You really laid that on him. I'm not too sure he wanted to hear that."

"I know, Jerry. But I really think that he needed to hear it. At least he will be giving what I said to him a lot of thought," Sara said pensively.

At about the same time that Jack was entertaining the Cooksons, Mariah was in her room speaking with Frank Kemp.

Frank was chuckling, "Damn, Marg... uhhh Mariah. I really thought that you would be with Bell, with his head between your thighs by this time tonight."

"The poor sucker had a tummy ache, Frank. I sent him to his room to rest up for our meeting tomorrow. I informed him that he would be meeting my interested co-investor. Now, tell me what you've been up to. We've got to get our shit together."

Frank smiled confidently. "We're moving right along, Mariah. I had a preliminary interview with this broad from the PR place I told you about. Her name is Karen Palmer, and let me tell you, she's looker. Stacked in all the right places," he leered suggestively.

Mariah's eyes narrowed and she almost slapped the smirk off of his face. "You stupid prick," she hissed. "You never learn. Keep your damn cock in your pants and stick to business. Are you forgetting that you almost got busted for rape the last time you lost control over some pussy? It's a good thing we got out of town alive."

Frank waved his hands defensively, "Ok, ok, I'm not going to get in her pants. It's a bonus that I get to work with a MILF. Maybe when this is over, I'll then sample what she's got."

"When this is over," Mariah snapped, "we'll be out of the country. Let them look for us, we'll be long gone. Now get on your back." She then kneeled over his head and slowly lowered her moist pussy onto his mouth.

Jack woke groggily, listening to the incessant ring of the telephone. He had not slept well, his thoughts running rampant over Sara's remarks the evening before. His doubts about his precipitous divorce were becoming more frequent and Sara only voiced what he had been feeling for some time. He looked at the clock as he picked up the phone and saw that it was already 8:00 a.m

"Hello," he muttered hoarsely.

"Jack, wake the fuck up. I've got a ton of crap to lay on you," boomed Hank Simmons.

"Shit," Jack said as he sat up. "It's 5:00 a.m. there. What's so goddamn important to get you up so early."

""Up?" exclaimed Hank. " I haven't even been to bed yet. Now just shut up and listen. Peg and I had a couple of interesting visitors late last night. By interesting, I mean a couple of agents from the Treasury Dept. Now let me fill you in. My inquiries concerning Mariah Cookson provoked some interest by this group. They asked what my interest was and I, of course, explained fully our intent. They then asked if they could enlist our assistance and after listening to them I promised that we will do whatever we could to aid their investigation."

"What the fuck are you talking about, Hank? What investigation, what's going on?," an exasperated Jack asked.

"Just listen, Jack. This won't take long. It seems that the Treasury Department has had it's eye on our friend, Mariah Cookson, for some time. They first of all discovered that she was collecting federal withholding tax from her employees, but somehow was forgetting to forward the money. Seems that she was just pocketing it. Also, she's been bleeding her business dry. Debts not being paid, etc. She's been stashing away every penny she gets her hands on. It looks like she's planning a quick getaway soon. Further investigation into her background brought to light a few other questionable activities, especially a couple in Philly. Look, they told me that a couple of agents would visit you this morning some time and ask for your assistance. I told them that you would be more than anxious to help. I'm right, no?"

Jack sat there with his mouth open. It looked like his concern about how to handle Mariah was just answered. "Absolutely right, Hank. I hope that they get here soon. I can't wait to hear how I can help snare her - jeez, what a bitch."

"Good Jack, I was sure that would be your reaction. By the way, Peggy is just beside herself. She feels terrible that she helped this broad set you up."

Jack chuckled, "Tell your wife that she owes me another juicy one and then I'll forgive her. Seriously, I'll reassure her myself when I get back."

Ending the conversation, Jack took care of his morning routine and waited for a knock on the door, which he was sure would come before too long.

As he had anticipated, it wasn't too long indeed before two agents from the Treasury visited. With them was a plainclothes Lt. from the local bunco squad. After introducing themselves they basically repeated the information that Hank had given him.

"All we need from you, Mr. Bell, is corroborating testimony concerning your conversations with Ms. Cookson and details of her proposal concerning this "business" venture," explained the shorter of the agents.

The other then indicated that Jack would be wearing a wire when he met with Mariah and Frank Kemp, her "investor."