Chapter 3: Extracting the Truth

I asked Barry to meet with me in my office at coffee break on Thursday morning. I didn't tell him what I wanted to talk to him about, but I tried not to make it sound like a serious issue. In fact, in a moment of frustration, I had decided to confront him with what I knew ... or what I thought I knew. This could blow up in my face, but my self-admitted obsession with finding out what Andrea had been up to was becoming too much to let lie.

I had a strategy ... or at least the outline of one. It wasn't my first plan but I thought it might bring a quicker result.

"How did you make out at the races yesterday?" I asked as I leaned back in my chair.

He looked up quickly and then as he watched my expression carefully I saw the beginning of a smile.

"Yeah ... I was there. Didn't do too well, though. I just wanted a break and I was in the vicinity."

It sounded reasonable and he wasn't denying it. I wanted him to be in a relaxed and comfortable mood.

"I saw you on TV. Just a fluke. No problem though, Barry. I used to take an afternoon off in my time too. It's the results that matter and I don't have any complaint about yours."

I saw him loosen up even further, now confident I wasn't about to get on his case about taking time off without letting anyone know.

"You okay otherwise?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Yeah ... sure. No problems."

"Good. You'd tell me if there were any wouldn't you?"

He nodded. "Yeah ... of course."

"Any new women in your life?" This was the first risky question.

"Naw. No one special. I don't have any problem getting a date but I haven't found one that I want to keep yet."

I nodded my understanding. I let the conversation lapse for a few moments before I got to where I wanted to go.

"I ran into Janice a little while ago."

His head came up quickly and there was quite a different look on his face this time.

"Oh? How is she?"

"Looks good, as always. We had a chance to talk. She tells me she's engaged to a nice guy. Plans to get married soon. Guess that will mean the end to your alimony obligations."

"Yeah ... great," he said, not sounding like he meant it. "I didn't know she was serious about anyone. Engaged, huh. Well, I don't expect an invite to the wedding."

"No, I guess not," I said quietly, allowing another pause before venturing onto uncertain ground.

"She told me what happened between you two."

He nodded. "I'm not surprised. She was pretty pissed with me. It wasn't like she didn't give me a chance. More than one, in fact."

"She told me that too."

"I was stupid, but I guess I'm a slow learner. Probably shouldn't be married in the first place."

"She didn't want to talk about Andrea, though. Do you know why?" I asked, knowing now I was taking the biggest risk.

"No ... no, I don't," he answered too quickly.

"When I mentioned I saw Janice to Andrea, she freaked. I've figured out why. I'm sure you can too, Barry."

I had kept my voice even and non-confrontational. I was proud of myself considering what I was accusing him of and how I felt about what I was sure had happened.

Barry had a very unhappy look now. He didn't know what to do at that point. I needed to encourage him.

"I figure you might have been the first, but you weren't the last," I said, again with as even a tone as I could manage.

He sat there silently, wondering what to say or perhaps, what not to say. At last he spoke.

"I'm sorry, Norm. I'd like to blame it on her, but it was me. She's a very beautiful woman and when the opportunity arose, I wasn't smart enough to resist. I'm sorry."

I nodded. Again, knowing what I believed to be true made it easier to keep my cool than otherwise. Just the same, inside I was angry and upset that he had taken what was mine alone and used it for his own selfish purposes.

"How long did it last ... you and Andrea?"

"Look, Norm, are you sure you want to drag this all up? I made a mistake and I'm paying for it. You can't blame Andrea when it was all my fault."

"How long?" I repeated.

He shook his head, unable to look me in the eye.

"A few months, maybe six. I'd see her once a week. I got caught by Janice but I didn't think she knew I was with Andrea."

"Where did you meet?"

"At a motel. There were four or five we used so it wouldn't become predictable."

"What ended it?"

"Like I said, Janice caught me. It was the second time she had found out. She left me for a while. I was lucky. I talked her into forgiving me one more time. I promised I'd never do anything like that again. I really did want to keep that promise ... but ... well ... shit happens."

"When was the last time you talked to Andrea?"

"I don't remember. Just after Janice caught me, I guess. I let her know we couldn't be together any more."

We sat there in silence for a while. I'm sure he was wondering what I might do now that he had confirmed what I believed. I'm not a hot-tempered or violent person and I think Barry knew that. On the other hand, he couldn't be sure.

"I want you to do me a favor," I said at length.

"What kind?" he said, looking up at me for the first time in a while.

I want you to call Andrea and talk to her. I want you to use my cell phone and call her cell phone number."

I could almost see the question mark on his face.

"I don't get it. Why?"

"I want you to ask her for a date. I want to see if she'll get together with you again."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes. Absolutely. I have reason to believe Andrea is still cheating on me and I want to know for sure. This is one way that you can help me that won't cost you. You owe me this much at least," I said in a solemn voice.

"What if she won't go?"

"Then it won't matter. You and I have to work together, Barry. I'm sure I can get over what happened between you two if she's moved on to someone else. Maybe she'll volunteer that information if you ask her."

He looked very dubious about my request and I didn't rush him to make a decision. I was pretty sure he would do as I asked. He didn't need to mess up his career here by antagonizing me.

"When do you want to do this?"

"Now is as good a time as any. She'll be home now. She keeps her cell phone in her purse, so you might have to let it ring a few times before she answers."

He nodded. I wondered if it was he who suggested she get a trac phone. I took my phone from my pocket, turned it on and handed it to Barry.

"Do you remember the number?"

He nodded and began punching in the numbers.

I waited while it was ringing, unable to hear anything. Barry looked decidedly uncomfortable, probably rehearsing what he might say. After what seemed like an interminable amount of time, Barry finally spoke.

"Hello ... Andrea ... it's Barry. How are you?"

"Yeah ... well ... I was thinking of you."

"No ... I'm by myself. No one can hear me," he said, looking up at me sheepishly.

"Well ... I was wondering ... you know ... if you'd like to get together some time? Like we used to."

I had been checking my watch and we were already approaching thirty seconds. I was now assured that Andrea's phone would be paired, assuming the software worked.

"Yeah ... okay ... I understand. Is there someone else?"

"Okay, I understand. You don't want to talk about it. I miss you Andrea. We had a great time together. Too bad it had to end."

"Yeah ... yeah. You too. Thanks for talking to me, Andrea. Hope I'll see you sometime. Bye."

The call had lasted over a minute, plenty of time according to the instructions. Now I would find out more about my wayward wife.

"What did she say?"

"She didn't want to talk about anyone else. I got the feeling there was someone, though. She didn't want to see me either. Maybe too close to home for her."

"It didn't bother her before."

Barry shrugged. He was back to avoiding my gaze.

"Okay, Barry. Thanks for doing this. You can probably guess I'm pretty unhappy with what you did and what Andrea is still doing. We'll get along as far as the business goes, but I'm afraid we won't be friends any longer. I hope you can understand that."

He nodded. "Yeah. Can't say I blame you. I'm sorry, Norm. I wish I was smarter and it had never happened. But it did. I hate to lose your friendship, but I can hardly complain."

He rose, thought about offering me his hand, thought the better of it, turned and let himself out of my office, closing the door behind him.

So now I knew for a certainty that Andrea had cheated on me with Barry. And assuming my pairing of her cell phone worked, I would soon know if Kurt Howell was in fact her current lover. But none of that told me what to do then. I had the children to think of, first and foremost. What was best for them? After that, what was best for me?

Later that afternoon I logged onto the site where I had downloaded the software for my trac phone and went over the information thoroughly once more. If either Andrea or Kurt or anyone used that number to call out or in, it would ring on my phone. I would be able to listen in without worrying about them detecting me. It wouldn't matter if she was at home or in her car or anywhere in the world, according to the material on the site.