Chapter 2

I got to Trev's car and leaned my hands against it with my head down, trying to keep my body from shaking. I wanted to scream. I wanted to smash something. I wanted to be anywhere but here. Trev and Tony walked up beside me. Trev said, "You going to be okay Ken?"

I turned around and stared at the two of them, "All my hopes, all my dreams, not to mention the only woman I ever loved, is in the backseat of that car getting fucked! What do you think?" I said bitterly.

Tony cleared his throat, hesitated a moment then said, "Ah, Ken, I'm really sorry about this. If there is anything else I can do..."

I looked at him and took a deep breath. "Thanks Tony. I appreciate that and maybe there is. Donna will have to leave within the next hour to make sure she beats me home and has time to get cleaned up. Do you think those two guys will hang around the bar for awhile after they leave?"

Tony said, "I wouldn't doubt it. They usually do after the action is over. They like to brag it up to the guys who didn't score."

"If it wouldn't go against any loyalties you might have, do you think you could hang with them and find out what plans they might have for my bitch wife and her slutty friend?"

Tony looked at me curiously and said, "Sure, Ken. James has been on my shit list since he beat on my sister and Curtis is a bigger thug than he is. I don't owe them a thing. I'll call Trev tomorrow and let him know if I find out anything."

"Thanks Tony, that means a lot to me."

We all shook hands and Trev and I got in the car and left. We didn't say much on the way back to Gino's. As we pulled in he said, "You want to go in for a drink?"

I shook my head no, "I am going to head home and stake out the house and see how soon they get back."

"Are you going to get into it with her tonight?" Trev asked.

I shook my head no, "As much as I would like to just beat the shit out of her and throw her out, it isn't that easy. I've got Samantha to think about. Somehow I've got to her out of my life without losing Sam. It would kill me to lose her."

"Okay, don't forget we are scheduled for six hours of overtime tomorrow night."

"Yeah, I know. I'll be there. I couldn't stand to stay home with my wife anyway. If you don't have a date can we get together here at Gino's after work? By that time maybe I will have thought of something."

Trev nodded, "Okay, maybe Tony will have something for me by then too."

"Thanks Trev. It means a lot to me to have someone to talk to who has been through this shit before."

I got in my car and drove home. It was nearly one AM when I parked on a cul-de-sac street a few doors down from our house. Donna and Connie would be coming from the other way when they came home. Usually if the assembly line worked a straight eight hours and I came directly home from work I would get in around two. Donna's car was still in the driveway as I expected. I already knew Connie was in the driver's seat in more ways than one in the car wreck that my life was becoming.

About fifteen minutes after I got there I saw a car come down the street and pull into our driveway. I could see Connie and Donna get out and walk up the steps. I was too far away to see how well they were navigating but they got to the door and went right in. After about ten minutes I saw Kristy, a high school sophomore who lived down the street come out and head down to her house. I could see Donna and Connie standing and talking on the front porch watching to see she made it okay. After a few minutes Donna and Connie hugged and Donna went into the house. Connie got into her car and drove away.

I had some time to kill until I was due to be home so I decided to follow her to see where she was living now. Surprisingly Connie still lived in the same complex where we had been neighbors. I watched her park and go into her townhouse. I drove through the parking lot and checked out her car. I wrote down the make, model and license number and drove back home.

It was now after two so I pulled in and went into the house like any other night. The kitchen nightlight was the only one on as usual and all was quiet. I turned on the television and watched some old movie for a few minutes. Finally I walked down the dark hallway and listened at the bedroom door. I could hear Donna breathing heavily like she did when she was asleep. I went into our master bathroom, closed the door and turned on the light. There was the faint smell of deodorizer in the air. The shower stall was wet and there was a damp towel hanging from the curtain rod. Donna's hair dryer was on the counter and it was still warm. I glanced down at the wastebasket beside the toilet. There was an empty Massengill disposable douche box in it. I shuddered as the implications of that sunk in.

I went back into the hallway and thought for a moment. I turned and went down the basement to the clothes hamper that sat under the laundry chute. I rooted around in the dirty clothes but didn't find anything she had been wearing. I looked around the basement and noticed the washing machine with the lid down. I opened it up and there soaking in cold water were the clothes she had been wearing earlier. At least her skirt and blouse were there, but no panties or bra. I closed the lid and went back upstairs. After looking in on Sam I got a pillow and blanket and went to the couch.

I laid there staring into the darkness thinking. All routine for her. Go out and party, get fucked up and get fucked. Get home before your husband gets home from work. Put your clothes into the washing machine to soak to get rid of that nasty smell of cigarettes, stale booze, marijuana and sex. Take a shower, wash your hair and even dry it. And don't forget to douche to get rid of the last possible bit of evidence and leave yourself all fresh for the next day. Then get to sleep before he comes to bed to avoid any conversation about what you did that evening. Easy enough to do when you have had several glasses of wine, smoked a few joints and got bounced around the backseat of a Lincoln Town Car a couple of times by a 6'4", 230 pound black dude.

I vowed I wasn't going to cry over her or our marriage again. She killed it, callously, repeatedly and with premeditation. My future no longer included her. I was angry, pissed and just one small step from a killing rage. I knew I couldn't go there. I had to be calm and controlled to get through this. I had to think about Samantha. I knew Donna could not be allowed to have an influence on her. That was my last thought before I fell asleep.

I woke up about eight with Sam pulling on my face. "Daddy, daddy your face is all scratchy. Why are you sleeping out here?"

I smiled sleepily at her, "Good morning, Samantha. Are you ready for some breakfast?"

She looked at me hugging her stuffed puppy and nodded, "Will you eat with me?"

"Sure will sweetheart."

I got up and Sam had I had breakfast and I turned on some cartoons for her. I went back to the bedroom to use our bath. Donna was sound asleep and I didn't expect her to be up or around until at least eleven. Now I knew why she was so out of it the last four or five weekends. I showered, shaved and got dressed. I got Sam dressed and I decided to take her over to see my parents.

Mom and Dad were retired and spent the winter down in Florida in a trailer park. They had just returned to Michigan the month before. They had an apartment here in town and a house on a small lake in Northern Michigan. They loved to spend time with their grandkids. Every fall they agonized over leaving home and the kids but they just couldn't tolerate the cold and snow anymore. We visited for a few hours and had lunch with them. Mom wanted to know were Donna was and I told she was still sleeping when we left. Mom looked at me questioningly and I just shrugged. Mom, Dad and Sam had a great time while I mostly sat and stared at the baseball game on the tube. Mom kidded me about my lack of attention then started in about when she was going to get another grandchild. My older brother had two kids now and I was getting behind in the count. It was a conversation we had been having on a regular basis for a couple of years. I tried to smile and told her she would be the first to know. I got depressed thinking that it wasn't likely to happen.

It was getting close to my time to leave for work so Sam and I kissed them both goodbye and left for home. Donna was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee reading the paper when we walked in. Sam ran over and gave her a hug and said, "Mommy we went and saw Gran'pa and Gran'ma and had lunch with them and everything!"

'And everything' was Sam's favorite way of ending a sentence.

Donna didn't smile she just said, "That's nice, Samantha." And she looked at me sternly, "You could have told me or left a note."

I just said, "I could have but I didn't." And walked down to the bedroom to change for work.

She followed me down the hallway and said belligerently, "What in the hell does that mean?"

"It means it wouldn't of mattered to you if I did. You wouldn't have wanted to go and we would have gone anyway." I said calmly, "By the way did you remember I was scheduled to work tonight?" As I pulled on my work jeans.

"Huh, what?" Donna seemed confused by the change in subject.

"I am working tonight, remember?" As I walked by her and started yelling for Sam.

She came running and I gave her a big kiss and hug. "Good night Samantha, be good for your mommy, okay." Sam nodded and smiled and I pointedly ignored Donna.

I turned and walked to the door and looked back at both of them, "See you both in the morning." And closed the door. The expression on Donna's face was a mixture of anger, exasperation and maybe a little concern. Whenever I left for work I always made a point of kissing her goodbye. Well that was a thing of the past now.

As I was preparing for the shift, Trev walked by and said, "How did it go last night?"

I just shrugged and said, "About what I expected. I'll tell you about it at lunch."

"Okay, I've got some news from Tony too."

Later as we sat at the table eating, I told him about the evening and what I had found out about how she worked her cover up. I also related to him the behavior changes that had been going on with Donna over the last couple of months which I could never explain before. Just talking about it got me angry again.

Trev looked at me in sympathy, "When this shit happens, you can never believe the person you thought you loved most in the world could do the things they did to you."

He shrugged. "Tony called this afternoon. He hung with the guys at the bar until closing. Like he said it was pretty much a bragging session about banging these two hot white chicks who couldn't get enough black cock. One of whom is married. Curtis was even waving around a pair of panties he said belonged to Donna. Tony said the talk went downhill from there."

"Anyway before they left I guess James made a date with Connie for next Friday. Apparently that's the way it has been working. James makes a date with Connie. Connie talks Donna into going along. Donna hooks up with Curtis. They both get laid and maybe Donna doesn't feel as guilty about it because she didn't instigate it." He shrugged, "Who knows?"

"But they are taking it one step further this time. James told Connie they're going to get a room at the Red Roof Inn off of the Forest Road exit on US-127. Wanted to know if Donna would go along. I guess Connie just laughed and said no problem. So their plan is to meet at the Black & Tan at the usual time. Then when things get hot move the party to the hotel."

"It doesn't matter to me how they work it, Donna is guilty as hell! Our marriage is over and she killed it. She will pay for this!" I said vehemently.

Trev thought for a minute, "Let me give you a word of advice, Ken. Take it from someone who's been where you are now. Don't let the hate and anger consume you like I let it consume me. I wasted a couple of years being angry and pissed. Because of it, I have never been able to sustain any kind of committed relationship with a woman. But I'm starting to be hopeful again. My life didn't end and good things are starting to happen to me."

"I'm not saying you don't deserve justice. But do what you have to do for your daughter, for your own peace of mind and to live a healthy life. And not just for revenge." Then he grinned, "But if it results in a little payback, then that's justice!"

I thought about what he had said as we finished the rest of the shift. I knew Trevor was right and someday I probably would get past the anger, the humiliation and the rage. But right now it was impossible to put it out of my mind. Those responsible were going to pay for ruining my life. There had to be consequences for their actions.

As I thought about everything I knew about the situation I had a glimmer of an idea. If I could pull it off then I would have justice and Donna would be gone at least long enough to put some distance between her and Sam and I.

Later as we sat over a beer at Gino's. I started to run it down for Trev. "My problem is how to get Donna out of my life and not lose Samantha. If I divorce her she will get primary custody and her influence could ruin Sam. I can't have that. The only thing I can think of short of murder is to get her put in jail or in so much legal trouble that no judge will ever allow her custody."

"Makes sense, but how do you do that?"

"I think the drug connection is the key. And we know where all four of them will be next Friday night. Curtis already has a record so a drug bust would be believable.

If I can figure out a way for Donna and friends to get busted in such a way as to draw maximum attention then Donna would not have a chance in hell to gain custody when I file for divorce."

I started sketching a plan out, asking Trev to help me fill in the blanks and look for holes or inconsistencies. The best plan I could think of was to set up a bust for Friday night while they were all at the Red Roof Inn. The Tri-County Task Force on Drug Enforcement operated an informant tip hotline. I could use that to get the authorities involved.

To ensure the bust would generate felony charges I would need to plant drugs in enough quantity so that it was obvious they were not just for personal use. I would have to plant them in whosever vehicle was at the hotel. If Donna and Connie followed past practice it would be Connie's car. If neither woman drove it would have to be Curtis's car. Then I would phone the hotline and initiate the bust. The biggest risk to me was not to get caught planting the drugs and somehow not be tainted by any ensuing investigation. And timing would be a critical.

"So what do you think Trev?"

"That's pretty ambitious, Ken." He said slowly. "Do you really want to take it that far?"

"I don't think there is any other way. And I want them to burn, Trev." I said adamantly.

"Okay, I will play along. First of all, getting the drugs. We both know half a dozen connections who work in the plant. But getting the quantities you need is going to cost."

I nodded. "I got that covered. Ever since Donna went to work two years ago, I started putting all my overtime pay in a separate account in another bank. I had planned to use it for a down payment on a house or a couple of acres in the country. I was going to surprise Donna with it. It doesn't look like I'm going need it now. There is over eight thousand dollars in it."

He nodded, "Okay, then money is not an issue."

"But I do need some help getting the drugs. If my wife is involved in a drug bust and someone finds out I've been buying recently, it will certainly throw up a red flag. I know it's asking a lot but can you help me with that?"

"Yeah, I know four or five people I can trust to keep their mouths shut. I will need to spread the purchases around to keep the quantities reasonable. How much do you think you need?"

"How about five or six dime bags of marijuana? And maybe a quantity of coke or methamphetamines? That should be enough for conspiracy to deliver."

"That should run only two or three thousand."

"And one other thing. I think I would like some Percocet or methadone or any other prescription painkiller still in the pharmaceutical company bottles. I want to put the idea in someone's head that maybe Donna has been stealing drugs from the hospital."

"That is devious! You might want to include some syringes, cigarette papers maybe a roach clip in that stuff too." Trev added.

I nodded, "I think everything else is just details except for one thing. I am going to need an alibi for Friday night, or at least part of Friday night so I can plant the drugs and call in the police. It would be prefect if I could be working on the line. But if I take leave that blows my alibi. I know people have snuck out from time to time but it's hard to hide my absence from the section and I know the foreman would certainly notice."

Trev was silent for a few minutes and then laughed. "I've got it! I will talk to the union steward about scheduling a Friday night union meeting to discuss work rule changes for the upcoming contract negotiations. The union reps always invite a couple of the rank and file to participate. I will ask the foreman to let you be one of the rank and file members. He won't be able to say no. He will just have to borrow another relief man from one of the other sections. The meeting will start right after the lunch hour. You can go out the gate like you are going on a pizza run and not come back. The meetings usually don't end until the shift is over. And I'm sure I can punch out your timecard without anyone noticing."

"Thanks Trev. That sounds like it could work. I will bring the cash into work on Monday. Will that give you enough time to get what I need?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Oh, and could you make sure Tony is cool with any shit dropping on James and Curtis without letting on what we have in mind? I don't want him to get jammed up over it."

Trev laughed, "I don't think he sees that as a problem. But I will have a few words with him. I would also like to see what else he can find out about their Friday night plans."

By this time it was almost one in the morning so we finished our beers and left the bar.

As I drove home I wondered how I could manage to keep my cool for another week. Knowing how Donna was treating me and also Samantha was eating me up. How could you disrespect someone so blatantly you profess to love? Did she think she was impervious? That somehow it wouldn't come out? It was going to take a monumental effort on my part not to let on that I knew she was screwing both of us over.

I was surprised when I got home that there were still lights in the house. I found Donna asleep on the couch with the television still on and a couple of scented candles burning next to an empty wine glass on the coffee table. I picked up her glass, turned off the TV, blew out the candles and went into the kitchen. On the counter I found a nearly empty wine bottle. I poured it out into the sink and went to throw it in the wastebasket. When I did I found another empty bottle already there.

Now I had to stop and think about that. I had never known Donna to drink alone and most certainly not in any quantity. When I went to put her wine glass in the dishwasher, I found another dirty wine glass. I pulled it out and looked at it closely. I could distinctly see the smear of lipstick on the rim. I went back to the wastebasket and pulled out the other empty bottle and looked at it. There appeared to be cigarette butts inside. I shook the butts out of the bottle onto the counter and got the distinct odor of marijuana. That explained what the candles were for and now I was pretty sure Connie had been here. That thought really pissed me off even more. I would bet anything that Connie was here to make sure Donna was on board for their date next Friday.

I cleaned up the evidence and went to bed. As I lay there the thought occurred to me that not only does Donna have a problem with fidelity but it appears she might have a drug problem too. Sometime in the night I woke up enough to feel Donna get into bed. I turned my back to her and went right back to sleep without another thought.

I woke up in the morning before nine. I got up and around and checked on Sam. She was lying in bed talking to her stuffed animals and playing some kind of game with them. I left her alone and got into the shower. After cleaning up I shook Donna a couple of times, "Huh, what, what is it?" She said groggily.

"Its 9:30. We still have time to get ready for church."

"What! Leave me alone and let me sleep." And she pulled a pillow over her head.

"Donna, did you have company here last night?" I asked.

She didn't say anything.

"Donna, answer me. Who was here last night?"

"No one, Ken! Now go away leave me alone!"

"Bullshit, why are you lying to me?"

Donna sat up in bed and screamed at me, "Damn you! Leave me alone!" And she threw herself under the covers and covered her face."

I walked out of the room and went into Sam's bedroom. "Hi daddy, can we have breakfast now?" She said.

"Sure can, how would you like to go to Sunday school today?"

"Is today Sunday, daddy?"

"Yep, so let's get some breakfast then we will get dressed and go to church, okay?"

Sam nodded enthusiastically, "Okay! Is mommy going too?"

I tried to smile at Sam, "Mommy's tired, Sam. She wants to sleep in."

Sam thought about that for minute, "Mommy doesn't go anywhere with us anymore daddy. How come?"

Sadly I looked at her and said, "I don't know why, Sam, you can ask her when we get home, alright?"

Sam nodded and ran to get her favorite cereal.

The three of us had started attending church a couple times a month after Sam's 2^nd birthday. While neither of us was very religious we recognized the benefits of having Sam brought up in a church environment. We had found a Methodist church nearby that we liked and so it became our church even though we couldn't seem to get around to going any more than we did. And with me working nights it minimized our attendance at any other social activities and Donna didn't seem to want to participate without me. But Sam really enjoyed Sunday school, the Bible lessons and playing with new friends.

Most times the services were informative and many times just comforting. Today's services seemed to fill the need I had to be comforted. I knew what I was planning to do to those who wronged me wasn't the Christian thing to do. But somehow I felt that I would be forgiven in time. At the very least the service calmed me and seemed to give me the strength to get through the days ahead.

The house was quiet when we returned. I peeked into our bedroom but the bed was empty and I could hear the shower in our bathroom running.

Sam and I were sitting in the living room, Sam was watching TV and I was reading the newspaper, when Donna came in. I watched her out of the corner of my eye as she looked at me for a moment then walked into the kitchen without saying a word. Sam jumped up and followed her into the kitchen. "Mommy, Mommy, I went to Sunday school and Mrs. Benson read us Bible stories and we played and I had a cookie and some milk!"

"That's nice sweetie."

"Mommy, why didn't you go to church with us?"

"Mommy didn't feel good and needed to sleep, honey."

There was a pause for a few moments and I could imagine Sam thinking about that. "Mommy, why don't you like to go places with us anymore?"

"That's enough Samantha. I told you I don't feel good now go watch TV." Donna said sharply.

Sam walked slowly back into the living room. She picked up her stuffed puppy and climbed up on the sofa and curled up as close to me as she could get. She just stared at the TV and didn't say a word.

My heart broke for her. All she wanted was her Mother's attention and Donna was too absorbed in her own screwing around to see it. The last vestiges of uncertainty I had over what I was going to do was gone.

We stayed cuddled on the couch while Donna got something to eat in the kitchen. Eventually she walked back through the living room, down the hall and went into our bedroom and shut the door. She never said another word to either of us.

I turned to Sam and said, "You want to go for a ride with Daddy?"

Sam just nodded and said, "Okay."

I got Sam into some play clothes and we got into the pick-up and took off. I wanted to scout out the Red Roof Inn and the surrounding area. That would keep Sam occupied and both of us away from home. The Forest Road exit was just outside the city limits. Going east from the freeway the Red Roof Inn was on the left and a Best Western Motel on the right. The road ended against a cross road on the other side of which was farmer's fields and a horse farm.

Sam got all excited when she saw the horses romping in the fields with this year's crop of colts. I pulled off the road and let Sam get out of the truck to stand along the fence to watch. While she laughed and clapped at the antics of the horses, I pulled a pair of field glasses out of my glove box and checked out the Inn.

The parking lot was partially screened from the road by a line of spaced pine trees. It appeared I could park at the Best Western, walk across the road and hide in the line of trees. The Inn was an L-shaped two story building and the type where you parked up next to your room and entered directly from outside. Depending on which room they had I could slip up to their cars and plant the drugs and then slip back into the trees fairly quickly. There wasn't much going on in town this weekend so I didn't think the Inn would be too full.

I needed to locate a working payphone fairly close. From a distance there looked to be one outside of the Best Western Motel Office. I finally got Sam back into the truck and I drove over to check it out. I put some change in it and dialed directory assistance just to verify it was working. It did. Sam and I spent a couple more hours driving around the countryside and looking at stuff before we finally went home.

Sam was about asleep so I carried her into the house. When I walked in the door I could smell something cooking in the kitchen and hear Donna rustling dishes and silverware. Donna stuck her head around the corner and looked at us. Without looking me in the eye she seemed to force a smile on her face and said, "Dinner will be ready in about an hour." And she ducked back into the kitchen.

Mentally I just shook my head and wondered if Donna felt as schizophrenic as she was behaving. I carried Sam into her room and laid her down. She just curled up in her blanket and closed her eyes.

I went back to the living room and turned on the baseball game and decided to finish reading the newspaper. If Donna wanted to pretend everything was okay then that was fine with me. Donna poked her head out of the kitchen once and said, "Where's Sam?"

"Taking a nap, she will probably sleep until dinner."

"Okay." And she went back to whatever she was doing.

I watched the game and read the paper. Donna never came out of the kitchen except to set the dining room table. I noticed a couple of photos of crime scenes in the local section. The byline under them had the name of the photographer, Dennis Thompson. He was kind of a local celebrity in that he was a free lance photographer who sold his pictures to several area newspapers and local magazines. And once, one of his photos had gotten picked up by the Associated Press. Our local newspaper had done a spotlight article on him about six months before. He apparently had been accepted by several police and fire departments in the area as their official photographer which got him access to take pictures where others were usually denied. Thinking about him gave me an idea.

Donna finally came out of the kitchen and said, "Dinner's ready. I'll go see if Sam is awake."

I didn't say anything. I figured she was trying to make amends for being so short with her earlier. She disappeared into Sam's room and didn't reappear right away. After about ten minutes she came back out carrying Sam and whispering in her ear. I could see Sam nodding her head and holding Donna tightly around her neck. Donna sat her down in her chair and said cheerfully, "Dinners ready."

We sat down and it seemed like the three of us were all playing a role. Donna was pretending nothing was wrong and that she was happy and content. I was pretending that I was buying her act. And Sam was pretending that her mother had not hurt her feelings earlier.

We talked superficially about work and school. I finally told a lie of my own. I said I was going to register for classes on her day off this week. The thought of being alone together with her all day was more than I could stomach.

The evening was a typical Sunday night. We played with Sam, watched some TV and read a little. When it came time for bed I pretended to be interested in a movie and Donna went up to bed alone.

The next day I started my preparations for the week. I decided I needed to lay some ground work with the tip hot-line. I went to a payphone outside the 7-11 down the street. I put a piece of cheese cloth over the mouthpiece and dialed the hotline number. I pitched my voice lower than normal and when the operator answered I said I wanted to report a crime and how did the hotline work? They told me to select a code word, phrase or number sequence and that my information would be filed under that code. If a reward should be authorized for the information the money would be paid to the informant that had that code. They also said for legal purposes all calls were being recorded.