Chapter 6

The last days before Bill's intended confrontation with his wife seemed to fly by, and Wednesday arrived quickly. Those last days were filled with a number of meetings, long phone calls, and periods of introspection for Bill. His last meeting took place Wednesday during his afternoon coffee break, when Bill paid a visit to his friend Jason Shields, and the two of them met in the empty conference room adjacent to the Technical Services Department at Abstract Devices Inc.

"Well Bill, is everything all set for your meeting with your wife?" Jason seemed concerned at how his friend was holding up as he continued, "I would guess you must be feeling the strain of these past few weeks. I know what it was like for me, and your situation seems to be a lot more complicated."

Bill gave his friend a weak smile before answering, "I guess I'm as prepared as I will ever be. Everything finally seems to be falling into place. I had my last meeting with the vice president, and I just got off the phone with my sister. There's one more call I have to make; just a quick confirmation from my parents."

Bill leaned back in his chair, apparently trying to relax. Jason could tell that it seemed Bill had lost a bit of weight, and that there were signs that dark circles were soon going to be more obvious beneath his eyes, likely from the strain he had been under while trying to maintain civility with his wife under the circumstances. It was easy for Jason to imagine that Bill would feel a tremendous sense of relief once his confrontation with Linda was over.

"There sure have been a lot of details for you to look after, Bill. Not every man would be able to handle what you took upon yourself."

Bill stretched his arms, obviously trying to relax a bit. "It has been a challenge, Jason. I really want to thank you for your help with all of this, as without it I would have probably been forced to just imagine what it would have been like to have exacted a measure of retribution on those that deserve it."

Bill continued, "You have those two envelopes I gave you put away safely, I hope. I know you've probably got a pretty good handle on what needs to be done, since we've talked about things so much. There are some written instructions in each envelope, just in case you need them. Don't take offense, Jason. I just wanted to cover every possibility."

"I have them hidden away in my apartment under lock and key. The only person I would have to worry about finding them is my housecleaner, and she's always proven to be completely dependable and honest. I doubt that if she were able to access them, that she would actually touch them. The outside of each envelope is dated, and I have notes on my calendar to remind me when the date arrives."

Bill nodded his head and said, "I guess the biggest concern is that you make sure you don't leave a trail back to yourself. You obviously know an awful lot about computers, and how the Internet addressing works. I trust you to completely cover your tracks. The last thing I want is for you to end up in any trouble over this. I know you volunteered to do this for me, but it's one of those 'not quite legal' aspects of this little project of mine. Please be careful."

Jason chuckled before he replied, "I already have plans on how to do it. I'm in Cincinnati pretty much every weekend now, spending time with Heidi, so I'll find a WiFi hotspot there to get onto the Internet. I have an old laptop that will do the job, and I have a replacement hard drive for after it's done; that way I can remove and destroy the old one to eliminate any evidence on the disc. Don't worry about me, Bill; I'll be okay."

"Let me know what your costs are for the hard drive, and anything else you may need. I don't want you to be out of pocket over this."

Jason shook his head and said, "Don't worry about it at all, Bill. I have a couple of salvaged hard drives just sitting in a drawer. There's no other use for them, as they're obsolete now. You know how that goes."

The two men continued their conversation for a couple of minutes before Bill left to return to his office, looking more relieved than he had been earlier in the day.

Bill was seated in the living room in his favorite chair when Linda came home from work. He had his briefcase open beside him on one of the dining room chairs. The two chairs were pulled close enough to the coffee table that he could reach it easily. When his wife announced that she was home, Bill called her into the living room.

When Linda entered the living room Bill simply pointed at the sofa and said, "Why don't you sit down there on the sofa, Linda. There are some things we need to talk about."

Linda looked a little confused, but sat on the sofa anyway. "Is something wrong, Bill? Did you get the results of your test for the Urinary Tract Infection?"

"There's nothing new that is wrong, Linda; this is an old problem we need to discuss."

Linda still looked confused and asked, "What old problem, Bill?"

Bill didn't answer the question, but instead he reached into his briefcase and took out a photograph that he placed on the table in front of her. It was the first photo that he had captured from the bedroom videos, and showed his wife reaching up to turn off the lamp after Denise had left that night.

"Can you tell me what this photograph means?"

Linda looked at it briefly before she answered, "It's just a picture of me." She looked at it a second time and added, "I don't remember you taking it, though."

Again he didn't comment on her reply, but instead he reached into the briefcase and took out another photograph, this one an enlargement grabbed from the living room video, showing Linda standing by the telephone, her arms crossed and apparently waiting for something.

"What about this one, Linda. Does it tell you anything?"

Linda was looking even more confused, if that was possible, and quickly answered after glancing at the photo, "It's just another picture of me. Why are you asking me these questions? What's going on, Bill?"

Her questions went unanswered yet again, and Bill pulled out the package of matches from The Puma's Den. "I showed you these before, and you said you didn't know where you got them. Are you sure of that?" He reached over and placed them in front of her.

This time Linda's face went a bit pale, and a momentary look of fear crossed over her face before she said, "I told you I don't know where they're from, Bill. I must've just picked them up somewhere."

Bill was ready with the next item, another still from the bedroom video, this one showing Linda unbuttoning the fourth button on the blouse she wore that night. Her face showed a very slight smile, and the picture was clear enough that the pattern of the flowers embroidered on her bra was visible through the fabric of the blouse.

"What about this one. Do you remember this? Does it bring back any memories?"

The photograph obviously shocked her, and her face blanched as she briefly looked at it. "When did you take this? How did you get this picture?"

Bill wordlessly took another photograph from the briefcase and carefully placed it in front of her. It was a still taken from the living room video, showing Linda and Dennis just seconds before they turned to walk to the bedroom. Linda's blouse was off, dangling from her right hand, and Dennis had just pushed her bra up, leaving her breasts fully exposed to the camera.

This picture caused Linda to almost faint, forcing her to grab hold of the heavy coffee table as she seemed to sway in her seat. Her face was now a picture of fear and panic, her complexion as pale as Bill had ever seen it. Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times before she was able to speak.

"Wha ... how ... how did you get this? I have to explain. It's ... it's not ... what it seems, Bill."

She looked up at him, searching his face for any indication of what he was thinking, but seeing only an unsmiling mask.

Bill made no comment before reaching into the briefcase and pulling out a group of photos which he laid on the coffee table side by side. There was a picture of Linda on her hands and knees on the bed, her pussy clearly visible, with Earl's shiny, condom covered cock only an inch or two away from reentering her. Linda was glancing back over her shoulder, a lustful look on her face.

The next picture showed her seated on the bed naked, with Earl's cock almost buried in her mouth. Another had caught Dennis on top of Linda, straining to enter her more deeply, her heels locked on his ass. Beside it was a photograph of Linda seated on Dennis' cock. Bill had captured the picture just as Linda had swung her head to face the camera, a look of ecstasy on her face as she was in the middle of a climax. Dennis' hands were visible squeezing her breasts.

The last picture showed the two men giving Denise her desired double penetration while Linda looked on, the fingers of her left hand busy in her crotch while her right hand was pulling at her left nipple. The photograph had been enlarged, so that she could clearly be seen biting her lower lip, a sign of how turned on she was by the scene in front of her.

While Linda was taking in the contents of the photographs, her eyes moving to each one as Bill laid them out in front of her, the tears started. By the time she looked up at him they were already starting to run down her cheeks.

"I ... I'm so sorry ... How ... can I make this up to you? Please ... please let me explain and make it up to you. Please forgive me."

Bill finally spoke as he said, "You expect forgiveness for this? You think you can make it up to me? You have hurt me more than I could have ever imagined possible, and you expect me to just accept this? What makes you think I would even consider it?"

Linda seemed to be in agony, her hands clasped tightly in front of her as if in prayer, while the tears continued to stream down her cheeks until they dripped from her chin to her blouse. "Please, Bill. Please let me try to explain. I didn't mean to hurt you; I didn't do this to hurt you. You have to believe me. I love you, and I know we can get past this. Please let me..."

Bill interrupted her angrily and said, "Enough, Linda! I would never have believed you could have done this to us! You've obviously done it before, probably for years behind my back. And you expect some sort of 'get out of jail free' pass on this? You have to be kidding!"

"Please, Bill. I truly wasn't trying to hurt you. I haven't been doing this for years, I swear!" She was rocking back-and-forth now with her hands in her lap, still clasped and her tears still flowing.

"Just for the sake of argument, Linda, tell me how many times you've snuck out behind my back. Tell me how many times you've brought men back to the house or to some other place. How many times have you switched partners with Denise so you could have two strange cocks on the same night? Tell me all about The Puma's Den. I would like the whole, complete truth, and I would like it now!"

As Bill sat there staring at Linda, it was obvious he was waiting for her answers. Once again she began opening and closing her mouth without speaking. Finally she said, "I ... I've only been out four times, I swear. I ... I went with Denise to ... that bar ... a few months ago, but I swear I didn't leave with anyone; I just danced a few times. Denise picked up a ... young guy, but I just drove. I drove her car home ... here ... but I was by myself."

Linda had been staring at the photographs as she spoke, and looked up to see how Bill was reacting, but his expression hadn't changed. Her tears had slowed, and she wiped her face with her sleeves before she continued, "I ... I watched them ... fooling around in the back seat and it got me horny. When we got back here Denise and the guy went into the guest bedroom, and I ... I went into our bathroom to ... to ... make myself ... come."

Linda's face had changed colors now, and was red with embarrassment as she spoke. "After a while I could hear Denise calling me, so I went to the guest bedroom to see what she wanted. She wanted me to watch them, and I ... did. It got me horny all over again. I ... I ... made myself come again ... while I watched them. I left before they ... finished, and went back into our bedroom. I couldn't ... believe I did that in front of ... them."

"The next time you went out of town we went there again, and I brought a guy back with me. We ... we had sex ... a couple of times ... and then the two guys left with Denise." Linda looked up again to see how Bill was reacting to what she had just said, but his face was unreadable, devoid of emotion.

"Are you sure you want to hear this, Bill? You've already seen these pictures; isn't that enough?"

Bill reached over into his briefcase and pulled out a DVD in a clear case and set it on the table. "I don't just have a few still pictures. There are over two hours of video here, complete with sound, and there isn't a minute of what happened that night that I haven't seen at least twice over. It was obvious that you've done this before." The coldness of his words almost brought a chill to Linda's back.

Linda once again went white, and her tears resumed before she said, "You ... you have video? Oh my God ... Oh God ... you saw ... you heard ... everything? I'm sorry ... I'm so sorry Bill. Can't we work this out somehow?"

"Just carry on with what you're telling me. Tell me about how big of a slut you've become. Come on, tell me!" He was waving both of his arms as he was encouraging her to speak.

His words and actions shocked Linda, so she quickly continued, "The next time we went ... that was the time I picked up the matches you found ... we came back with two guys and ... we switched partners ... after ... you know." She reached over and touched the DVD before she continued, "The last time ... you know all about it ... you saw ... everything." She buried her face in her hands and cried quietly, her shoulders bobbing in time with her sobs.

Bill reached over and gathered the photographs, matches and the DVD and put them back into his briefcase. When that was done he shuffled around in the briefcase and pulled out a small sheaf of papers that were stapled together. He tossed it on the coffee table in front of Linda. When they landed there was enough of a sound that Linda jumped, and moved her hands away from her face. It was obvious that her eyes were tear-filled, so Bill reached over to the end table for a box of tissues and handed it to her.

"Dry your eyes, Linda. You need to look at these papers." She quickly grabbed a handful of tissues and in a few seconds when she finished wiping at her eyes, she picked up the group of papers in front of her.

"Petition for Divorce! Bill, please, can't we work this out? Please, no divorce ... I love you!"

"You have a hell of a way of showing it, Linda. You just confirmed what I pretty much knew. How can we not be divorced after that? It's not just the number of times you cheated, or the things you did, there's also this." Bill reached into the briefcase and pulled out one of the pictures, dropping it in front of Linda. It was the picture of her reaching up to shut off the bedside lamp just before the end of the video.

Linda looked at the picture again, even picking it up and staring at it before she finally placed it back on the coffee table, a look of confusion on her face. "I don't understand Bill. What is it about this picture that's worse than what I did on those videos you have?"

Bill picked it up and looked at it in anger before he held it up for her to look at again and said, "Look at the expression on your face; that smile, that sly smile is what has really shown me that our marriage is over. That smile isn't for me, or even because you're thinking about me; that smile is telling me that you enjoyed screwing around on me so much that thinking about it is what's on your mind as you're about to go to sleep. There's no guilt or sadness at all for having betrayed me, or for breaking your marriage vows."

Tears had begun to form in Bill's eyes now, and one in fact began to make its way down his cheek before he angrily grabbed a tissue from the box and wiped it away. "There is no doubt in my mind whatsoever that you would've done this again, probably in a week or so during my next scheduled trip to Colorado Springs. I'm willing to bet that you would've let Denise set you up for a double penetration the next time, too. You were too turned on by watching the three of them to have not wanted to try it yourself."

He wiped his eyes again before he continued, "I heard you say that you would have me take your ass first, but you haven't even made a comment or suggestion about it since that night. There's no doubt that's what I would have seen if I had waited a month to put in those cameras."

Linda seemed to become very excited as she quickly said, "No, Bill! That's not what would've happened. I already told Denise that I wasn't ever doing that again, that I wasn't going with her to the bar ever again; I told her that you and I were going to try to have a family. You must have heard me tell her that; I phoned her again from home just a few days ago. I was reminding her that I meant what I said about never going to that bar again, or getting involved with her and her guys again."

A sad look came across Bill's face as he replied, "I don't have any recording of that, Linda. I took all of the recording equipment out a couple of weeks ago. It wouldn't really matter, though, anyway. I could never trust you again after some of what I heard, or the things I saw."

Linda's face told the story of how Bill's words affected her, as it went from hopeful with a slight smile to extreme sadness complete with tears. "Oh, Bill! It's true! I told her I was done with that, and that you and I were going to start a family. You have to believe me! I will spend the rest of my life making you realize you can trust me." She was pleading her case now, using every hopeful expression and nuance of voice and language she could muster. It was easy to see she was desperate.

"I'm sorry, Linda. It's over. I've had more than enough time to come to terms with it, and you will too, once you accept it. I don't expect you to read those legal forms there in front of you right now, so I'll tell you what's going to happen."

While Linda was beginning to cry again, Bill reached into his briefcase and pulled out another handful of papers. The first one was a check, and as he placed it on the coffee table he said, "Here is a check for your share of the joint savings and checking accounts. We'll each keep our own savings accounts and retirement accounts. I closed the old joint accounts, and canceled our joint credit cards after I paid them off from the joint account. The one that's in your name only will still work."

"I signed the papers to sell this house to my sister Sandy. It was in my name before we were married, and I don't think you have a claim on it anyway. She'll be coming over this evening to start staying here, in the guest room. You can have 10 days to move out of here."

Linda got very upset and quickly said, "I have to move out of here? Where am I going to go? Why is your sister coming here? I don't think you can cut me out of a share of this house. We've lived here for 10 years, almost." It was apparent that besides being upset, a trace of anger had shown itself in her voice.

Bill wasn't intimidated at all and continued, "I sold this house to Sandy, and you aren't going to fight about it. I'll explain that in a minute. She's going to be staying here to protect our interests while I'm gone. She's going to make sure that you only take the things you're supposed to take. Here's a list of the things you can have."

Bill slid another piece of paper onto the coffee table; a list of furnishings, appliances and household goods that was headed with the title 'Items You Can Have'. He then slid another piece of paper across to her, but this time the list was entitled 'These Items Stay With the House'.

"You have 10 days to find yourself another house or apartment to live in, or you could even move in with Denise if you want. I don't really care. You will be gone in 10 days. You can take whatever you want off that list, but you can't take anything that's on the other one. Those items stay with the house because they belonged to my parents.

Sandy has her own furniture in the condo she's renting, and she'll be moving her things in here to replace the ones that you're allowed to take. If you don't have an apartment or someplace to put them, you can rent a storage unit. There's one over by the mall."