Hutch's Property Ch. 02

Jenny was already seated when Lorna arrived, "Hi Jenny, how ya doin'?"

"Iahm doin' fine. However, Lorna Jean? It doesn't sound like you're doin' well, at all."

Setting down at the table, Lorna whined, "Oh Jenneee.., lately, I don't know much about nothin'. Mid-life crisis or somethin' like that. In the last couple of weeks I've manage to make a total wreck out of our marriage and our whole family." She was hesitant to tell Jenny about the scene with Randy on Sunday morning or Kathy on Monday morning. But, Jenny was her very best friend, so Lorna told her anyway.

"Well m'dear, over the last thirty some years, you an' I have been able to talk out things like this and avoided such a mess as you have here. But, Lorna Jean? You haven't even called me in a month or more. Now, here ya are, totally upside down. Worst part of it is, what I'm about to tell ya, I know you're not gonna wanta hear. But, you're gonna hear it anyway, 'cause it's your own damn fault."

Stunned, Lorna asked, "Jenny?!? What are you talkin' about?"

The waitress came and took their orders. When she had left the table, Jenny continued, "Let me just say this, I talked to Hutch last Saturday. He knows that you're fuckin' that guy. He knows how many times, and where.."

Lorna gasped, then asked "What do you mean? How does he know that?"

"Lorna?? Ya know Kathy talks to him, has all along. And, honey chil' don't you know the capabilities of your own husband's practice and his employees? Hutch brought in Jeremy, of course, who brought in the head of his family law unit to represent Hutch. Jeremy also brought in one of his resident physiologists. Hutch has brought in one of his young lawyers and a young forensic auditor. Both of them are computer nerds."

"Is the auditor female? Kinda nerdy lookin'?"

"Yep, I think so. He said she is the one they call Missus Columbo 'cause nobody takes her seriously."

"Oh nooo. I know some of the people that work for that work for Norm and I thought I recognized her. She was videoing that school district party where everything blew up. Then she was hangin' around at the district office's lunch room all last week. Oh krap, Jenny! I'll just bet she recorded every word Ken an' I said ta each other at lunch."

"But, it gets worse Lorna, much worse."

"How could it, Jenneee? How could this mess get any worse than it is right now?"

"You know Barbara Johnson, the foundations poster lady and I are very good friends?"

"Sure, I consider her a good friend, too."

"Well, she called me Sunday evenin' a bit distraught. She told me first that she has no intention of being a marriage breaker, annd, that she is really very sorry about what happened. She doesn't wanta talk to you. Afraid you might just bite her head off!" Lorna sat up straight in her chair. Sensing what was coming and diligently trying to maintain her composure, she moaned, "Oh Jen... Barb's a lovely person." Thinking "She sure isn't a slut like me." She continued, "I know she hasn't been with a man since her husband died in that shoot out a year and a half or two years ago. Ahhh, I'm almost afraid to ask, but go ahead, spill it out here."

Jenny looked right into the eyes of her best friend. She knew that neither one of them wanted to hear what she had to say. "It seems that Hutch ran into Barb in a supermarket check out line. She asked him why he was buying what he had. Hutch told her that he was tried of eating out. So, she invited him over for supper. Ah Lorna? I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but I'm sure that I am the only one that should and can tell you this, right now. But Lorna Jean? Damn it, like I said, it's your own fault!!"

Now, having a good idea of what was coming next, finding it difficult, almost impossible to maintain her composure, Lorna whined a little over a whisper, "Jenneee? The whole damn thing my fault. How could I be so damn stupid." Then with an aspirated exhale, "Okeh, tell me, what happened next?"

Jenny blew it all out in one breath, "After the boys went to bed, Barb and Hutch had a glass of brandy, then a second, then a third... One thing lead to another and they went to bed together."

Lorna gasped, feeling faint, "Ohhh nooo, nooo, noooo!!!" Then whined, "Normieee?!? I can't handle anymore of this... I need you, pleeease come back to meee, I need you so bad... Oh gawd I wish I could end this nightmare. Wake up, maybe just die, or somethin' like that..."

Their lunch was served, giving Lorna some time to compose herself. When the waitress had left the table, she said in little over a whisper, "Jen? I gotta end this, bring it all to a screeching halt. Just fix it somehow. I need Normie back with me, I, ah, I just cannot make it without him. I haven't slept at all since Saturday night. And, since he left, it has only been a couple of hours a night. Then I wake up from nightmares, the worst I've ever had. But Jen, I don't know what to do... I'm so afraid that I'm gonna loose him. I'll just die if I do. Iah jus' know I will...."

Jenny placed one hand on her wrist and said calmly, "Lorna? When I talked to Hutch, he told me that you have hurt him very, very badly. But, he also said that he still loves you and that there will be no divorce." She prepared her sandwich and before she took a bite, said, "You've caused him to do things I thought he would never do..." She shook her head, "In all the years I've known him..."

"I know Jen. I know and I still love him, Oh how I love him. And Jen, now I know just how much it hurts, how much I have hurt him. Oh krap, just the thought of my husband with another woman, and especially Barb, oh gawd... You and I know that she is no mess around. Ohhh gawd, that makes it hurt so much more. I'll bet they enjoyed one another. Ah.." Under her breath she whispered, "Oh Normie, I'm sorry, so sorry.." Then she said to Jenny, "Ah, I'm gonna tell Norm this, but I gotta tell you, too. Just keep it to yourself, please? Ah, when I couldn't sleep, I went on the internet and read a lot of erotic stories on sites like literotica.com. Many of the cheating wives seem to have one thing in common. Their lovers did it better than their husband did. Their penis' were longer, fatter and they knew how to use it better than the husband. The wives all had wild exciting orgasms... And, yeah, they all claimed it was just sex. Well Jenny, That's not the case with me an' Ken. He's not near as big as Norm and doesn't know or seem to care what to do to make me happy. I've had one small orgasm since he got into my pants. And Jenny? He's always wanting to get into my ass. Norm and I never discussed that. It was never anything we wanted to do..."

Jenny chuckled, "OK, you're secret is safe with me. But ah, you know, Lorna? You're not much the cheater. Fantastic wife, mother and do-gooder socialite. But, cheat on your husband, no, I don't think so. You can't even pick'em right. You're just not made that way, neither am I.... Now, eat your sandwich." Jenny said taking a bite of hers. They ate in silence for a couple of minutes. Then Jenny said, "Lorna? I think you should just go to him and crawl, beg him to come back to you. I'd be willin' ta bet he'll meetcha half way."

Lorna used her napkin to brush away some tears, "Yeah, I think you're right there., fact is I now know you're right. During the last few nights, I 've found myself about two in the morning, taking coffee and cake or donuts down to the officers keeping the media away from our house. The officer in charge knows all four of us. He told me to do the same thing. Eat some crow, as he put it."

Jenny smiled, "Yeah, I think that's what it's gonna take. Although, the first thing I think you should do is.., drop the divorce. He's not gonna give you one, anyway. So, why waste the money on that two bit lawyer of yours?"

After lunch, Lorna called her office and told them that she did not feel well. That she would take the remainder of the day off. She did feel sick. But, it was not due to anything other than the knowledge of her husband having sex with someone other than her. It was a long drive home, trying to see through the tears. Jenny was right, it was all her fault and she knew it, too. Once home she threw herself into her bed and sobbed for an hour. A little after two she swam some laps, then went into the kitchen and started coffee maker. She then took a shower and changed clothes.

Just as Lorna was about to set down with a cup of coffee, the front door chimes rang. Opening the door, she found a man in a suit, holding a brief case. "Jeremy?!? Ah, oh, is it alright for you to be here without my attorney? I ah, I mean..."

"Not to worry, Lorna. I'm not Hutch's attorney and I'm not here to talk about the divorce. I am here to talk to you about a couple of other cases brought on by the divorce in which you are a material witness."

"Oh." Lorna sighed, stepping aside to let him in the house, "Well ah, come on in, then. As she closed the door behind them, she said, "Jeremy? Ah, I ah, I'm glad you came by. I had lunch with Jenny, today. I really need you guys, right now. Would you like a cup of coffee? Freshly brewed."

"Yeah Lorna, I'd like that. Black's good. And yeah, Jenny called me after your lunch."

Lorna motioned for him to take a seat at the breakfast table. He sat down, opened his brief case and withdrew two packs of paper she recognized as legal briefs. Placing a cup of coffee in front of him, Lorna took a seat across the table and asked, "So, what do you have there, Jeremy?"

Taking a sip of coffee, Jeremy said, "Well Lorna, let's start with the case against Mister Kenneth Burns." He passed one of the briefs over to her and resumed, "alienation of affection precipitating a divorce..."

Reading the first couple of pages, she gasp "Two million??"

"Lorna?" Jeremy asked, leaning toward her, "We found that he has a twenty million dollar trust fund put up by his grandfather. This school administration gig is just a cover to get close to women like you. We have found seven other women that he has turned into, well to put it crudely, fuck toys and sluts. That is exactly what he has in mind for you and Kathy." Her head snapped up to look right at him in disbelief and horror. "Yes Lorna, he wants Kathy, too. Talks about popping her cherry after she becomes eighteen. He says she's jail bait right now. Wants to make you two a mother and daughter slut team. A wealthy team of sluts, as he put it."

A look of horror still on her face, and still weak from what she heard at lunch with Jenny, she asked in a soft voice, "Ah, ah, Jeremy? Ah, oh no, How do you know all that?"

"Lorna?? You don't have the slightest idea of the capabilities of those your husband employs, do you?" Jenny's words of a few hours earlier came back to her, but she had no answer for him. He continued, "They had webcams and audio bugs in this house before that school district party. The Monday after the party they placed them in the master bedroom, guest bedroom, living and family rooms. They have two in the kitchen area and got the whole scene with Randy, last Sunday morning." She gasped, but was still rendered speechless. He went on, "That Saturday after the party, they placed bugs on your cellphone and office phone, Mister Burn's cell and office phone. Your home land line was already bugged. We can't use most of it in court. But, that wasn't the point. We also have your email back about seven months, Ken's too. We knew you we're going to file for divorce that Sunday before Beth filed for you." Lorna gazed at him with both hands over her month. Jeremy continued, ""When you went over to Ken's condo, you were intercepted and followed by one of Hutch's people on his motorcycle. Then they placed tracking devices on both of your cars. When the two of you went to lunch, they placed web cams in his bedroom and living room."

Lorna bowed her head, "Oh my God..."

"Lorna? You should have known and warned the guy! Your husband and I play in the major leagues. What we are doing here is minor league stuff." Tears rolled down her cheeks as she resumed eye contact with a man she had known for as long as she had known her husband. Across from her sat the best man at her wedding, his wife was the maid of honor.

As the tears continued to roll, she whined, "Jeremy? What do I do to get him back. I love him dearly and I need him here with me. I just cannot live without him. Oh Jeremy pleease help me fix this mess I've made of everything."

Jeremy said with a bit of an authoritarian tone, "We'll get into that a little later." He pitched another stack of paper over to her and said, "Right now, we need to discuss that case."

Lorna, already horrified at what she had heard, gasp and her eyes grew wider. Again, Jeremy himself was the attorney of record. She gasp again when she read that her husband was the plaintiff, the school district the defendants. But, she almost had a heart attack when she read the amount asked in damages, verbalizing it, "Seven and a half million??" Looking up at Jeremy, he gave her that slightly overconfident smile of his, "Yep, that school district has deep pockets, so you know I will get every penny. But, Lorna? You, Ken and Doctor Allen are the main witnesses. Any way it goes down, I'm sure the three of you will be out of a job." He took a sip of coffee, then continued, "Lorna? Listen to me carefully. Either of these law suits could destroy you. Bring you to a point where you would not want to even leave this house. However, the reason they haven't already been filed is because Hutch won't sign them. He still loves his wife. I sincerely do not know why, but he does, very much. If Jenny ever pull on me what you have on Hutch, you know as well I do, my big ol' ego would not tolerate it. I know , I just know that I would handle it a lot differently. She knows it, too. All I can say is that Hutch doesn't function on ego, never has..."

Lorna sat stunned, finding it hard to even form words. She had intended to use her friendship with Ken to learn how to better communicate with Hutch and strengthen their marriage. Now, she realized that what Ken was trying to do and that everything gone wrong for her. Nothing was right. She had completely screwed up. The mud she had stepped in was beginning to get above her neck and turning to quick sand. Overwhelmed with it all, she barely heard Jeremy when he said, "You do have one thing going for you here. Hutch sees you as sort of a victim in the ordeal." However, Jeremy's words did give her some encouragement.

She gazed across the table at him, tears flowing and whimpered, "Jeremy? You're his very best friend, only real friend. Help me! Pleease Jeremy, pleease?? Help me, pleeease?!?"

"OK Lorna, I'll do what I can. The way I see it, there are four actions you need to take. First, you have to clean out your bedroom. Strip it to the walls. Change the color of paint, the pictures on the wall and the carpeting. Buy new furniture. Even place the bed on a different wall. I know a contractor that could get it completed for you tomorrow. Second, call your gynecologist and get a clean bill of health that you can show Hutch. Third, resign your position at the school district." She gasped at that. He continued, "Annd, Lorna? Last, but equally important. Go to him and crawl, literally crawl. Get as low as you can and crawl, beg, plead, gravel. Then, I bet he'll meet you half way. However Lorna, listen to me carefully. That most likely will bring him back and start the healing process. But, it will not happen over night and without quite a bit of effort from both of you."

Lorna immediately grabbed her purse and drew out her cell phone. Finding her gynecologist's number in her speed dial, she hit the send button and booked an appointment for the next morning. While she was on the phone, Kathy returned home from school. Terminating the call just as she heard Kathy say, "Hi mom...Oh uncle Jeremy." Giving him a hug, she asked, "What are you doing here?"

Jeremy hug her back and said, "Oh just here as an old friend trying to do what I can to help your mom off this slippery slope she's on right now..."

Kathy hugged him again, "Thank you, she needs someone like you." Then she turned to her mother, "How ya doin' mom?"

Lorna stood up, put her cell phone back into her purse and answered Kathy, "Better now, dear. Much better, now. Jeremy has given me a plan of action and I fully intend to carry it out. You and I will start right now by going out and doing some bedroom furniture shopping." She then went over and hugged Jeremy. "Thank you for being such a good friend. Tell Jenny that I will give her a call. Maybe we can get together again for lunch early next week.."

"Sure Lorna. I think she would like that. She wants to do what she can for the two of you."

"What about that guy, Ken?" blurted Kathy, "He still has his stuff here from last weekend."

Lorna stood looking at her daughter with no thought of what to say. Jeremy asked, "How far does he live from here?"

Lorna replied, "About twenty minutes..."

Jeremy smiled and said, "Get him on the phone. Tell him it is over. To come and get his belongings. I'll bet he'll be here in less than eighteen minutes."

Lorna made the call, then turned to Kathy, " Run down and tell the police to let him by..." Then turning back to Jeremy, "I'll be right back. I'm going upstairs to get his stuff..."

Jeremy had glanced at his watch when Lorna made the call to Ken. Now alone, he strolled over to the kitchen and poured himself another cup of coffee, thinking, "The shit is about to hit the fan and most of it is gonna get all over you, Kenneth Burns."

In a little less than seventeen minutes, a car screeched to a halt in front the house. Finding the front door unlocked, Ken burst into the house. Lorna pointed to his belongings. As Ken gather them together, he looked at Jeremy, then back to Lorna and asked snidely, "Who's this guy? My replacement?"

Lorna just gave him a little smile and said politely, "No Ken, this is Jeremy Baker, an old friend of the family. He's here to show me a couple of lawsuits. One is against you for alienation of affection. The second is against the school district for failure to enforce their fraternization policy."

Ken immediately recalled what Beth had told him about Jeremy the week before. That he did not file a lawsuit unless he intended to win and better than ninety percent of the time he did. Rapidly losing color in his face Ken searched for something to say. Finally, with all his belongings in his arms, "Well, Lorna Jean, you are a beautiful woman and one hell of a good fuck. But, you are just to expensive for my blood." With that he exited.

Jeremy wanted to make a comment about Lorna's choice of lovers. However, he thought it inappropriate and held his tongue. Concluding that Randy's comments said it all.

Friday afternoon - third week

Hutch had just returned from lunch when Freddie called, "Hey Freddie, what's up?"

"Hey boss, your wife's car just entered the parking garage."

"Good, thank you Freddie." Hutch closed the cell phone and walked out into the outer office, "Janet? Lorna is on her way up here. Show her into my office as soon as she arrives."

"Yes sir." responded Janet with a big smile. Then in a more gentle tone, "Ah, sir?"

About to return to his office, Hutch spun around to face her, "Yes, Janet."

"Ah sir? In addition to everything else, after listening to Mister and Missus Baker yesterday and watching that scene with your son on Sunday, ah sir? She is very fragile right now. So, be nice, Try to meet her half way."

Hutch gave her a little smile. "Yes Janet, you are very right there. I must admit that I am on some very unfamiliar terrain here. But yes, I will try to meet her half way. I don't really know where that is right now, but let's try to remember our number one desired result. You know that I love my wife and that I want nothing else but to be back with her..."