Nuclear Response

Mom chimed in and asked, "Would you like something to drink?"

"Just water please ma'am."

I was a bit nervous about what the detective had to say. I pretty much knew what he was going to say but hearing it was a lot different than thinking it. Mom brought each of us a bottle of water and set a plate of her oatmeal cookies on the coffee table. Nobody could resist her oatmeal cookies.

Archer started. "Mister Brooks I've got several things to tell you about the investigation. Some you won't like but you need to know.

First of all there has been a major development concerning Mr. Butcher. This past Monday a judge set bail for him at one million dollars during his arraignment on the murder charges. That evening Mr. Butcher's wife posted his bail. Sometime that night she put twelve bullets into him. He's dead. The reason she killed him is directly related to the next part that I've got to tell you about."

He paused arranging in his mind exactly what he wanted to say.

"Sir, did you know that your wife was HIV positive? Her autopsy report came back with positive results."

I said, "Oh my God. No, I had no idea."

"Well she was and now the state health department is involved. They're going to want you and your daughter to be tested. Don't get upset with my next question but I've got to ask, when was the last time you had relations with your wife?"

I thought for a while before I answered. I knew mom knew what I was going to say so I had to tell the truth, well at least part of it. "It's been a long time. We separated in March of last year. We lived in the same house but slept in separate bedrooms. We did this mostly for our little girl. Neither of us wanted to lose her but we didn't have any love for each other any more. We wanted to stay under the same roof for her sake. I don't know how long this arrangement would have lasted but it's been a year since we've been together in that way."

"OK, but I think the health department is still going to want you to be tested. Can you tell me the reason you separated?"

"It's hard to talk about but it's all here in a journal that I found when I was cleaning out her bedroom. I also found these DVDs that show her in action. I suspected that she was seeing another man and when I confronted her she admitted that she was. I thought then that she was lying to protect someone but until now I didn't know the extent of it. It looks like she was involved with Mr. Butcher at work and a lot of others. I only read part of this journal but it looks like she had sex with an awful lot of people, and she kept a diary of what she did. You can have it. I don't want it in the house. What she did was awful."

Archer took the book and opened it up to a random page. He read for a few seconds and then got a wide-eyed look on his face.

"I think this is going to help a lot actually. The health department is going to want a copy to track down all the people she may have been involved with. Who knows, we might have a major health problem on our hands. I'll keep you informed of what's happening. As for the murder case against Mr. Butcher, I'm afraid that's moot. His death ended that case and started another involving his wife. I didn't tell you why she shot her husband. It's because she was HIV positive too. When she was arrested she said she got the disease from her husband. And after a quick glance at your wife's journal I bet he got it from your wife. However, his autopsy results are not back yet so we don't know for sure. We have three people we know about already and we've only just started."

"If there's anything else I can tell you or help you with please let me know. I'll do whatever I can to help."

"Well there is one other item I need to tell you. We found hundreds of DVDs in Butcher's office showing your wife and other men and women. Between this journal and the videos we may be able to track down everybody and get them checked out."

I just stared at him. Tears started to form in my eyes.

"Thank you Mr. Brooks," said the detective. "You've been very helpful. I'll keep in touch."

When the detective left mom turned to me and said, "Randy you weren't entirely honest with the officer. You knew last year what she was doing and said you couldn't do anything about it. You should have told him."

"I couldn't mom. I already look like a wimp husband and I didn't want the police to think that I didn't have the guts to stand up to Jenni. I did stand up to Butcher mom and all I got was a little trip to the hospital. I was afraid that if I said or did anything then it would have been much worse. I didn't want to take the chance that Jana would get hurt."

"Did Jenni threaten Jana?"

"No mom, Jenni didn't, Butcher did. He told me if I said anything to anybody about what Jenni was doing then he'd make sure that Jana was hurt, and hurt bad. I didn't want to take the chance that he'd follow through with his threat so I kept quiet. That's why I rearranged some facts with detective Archer just now."

"God, what you went through over the last year must have been pure hell. I don't blame you for hating Jenni. I'm just glad you protected Jana and took care of everything else as best as you could."

"Mom, I did what I had to do. I hated myself for doing it but I did it. But really it's just beginning. Just wait and see."

March 9, 2009 (Monday)

Detective Archer brought me a copy of the health department's preliminary report when he came to tell me that Jenni's death investigation case was closed. The problem was worse than anybody thought. It seems that the extent of the spread of the HIV infection from Jenni could reach hundreds of people. The health department was calling it 'An HIV Hotspot.' The local papers called it the 'Thompson Epidemic.' Whatever you call it there is a major HIV outbreak with Jenni and Thompson Inc. directly in the center.

The preliminary report said:

1. Jenni had sexual relations with 411 different people that they could identify by name. There were some that they couldn't identify at all.

2. They contacted and tested all of the people she had relations with. 36 People that had contact with Jenni were HIV positive.

3. They were still tracking down any other partner that all 411 people may have had relations with. And after them their partners, and so on.

4. Since the incubation period is variable it may take 9 to 12 months to make a full determination of the extent of the outbreak.

5. They had not determined how Jenni was infected.

What the official report didn't say was that Jana and I were not infected. All but one of the managers at Thompson tested positive. The Thompson corporate headquarters closed down the local branch and laid off the staff, pending an investigation into criminal activities of the management and staff.

The newspapers got a copy of the health department report and had a field day. Every newspaper in the state reported that the number of HIV test requests had tripled and that doctor's offices are flooded with requests for testing. Only the health department knew the 411 names but some people came forward and talked to the press. Most of what they said was bullshit and they put the blame completely on Jenni. Even the national news outlets had reports about the outbreak. The media was swarming all over town.

I disconnected my phone because of threats. Mom took Jana to school every day because I was barred from the building (they said I was a health concern.) Every couple days a reporter would show up at the door looking for an exclusive story. I don't even bother to answer the door anymore. I still go to work but I get a lot of people looking at me and whispering. I do my job in silence and then go home.

Life's a bitch, and then you die.

April 2, 2009 (Thursday)

I got a call from my insurance company telling me that they settled Jenni's life insurance policy claim. I would be able to come down to the local office and pick up the check on Monday. Jana was the beneficiary of her one million dollar policy.

That's only the first part.

I had an appointment yesterday with an attorney in town that wanted me to sue Thompson for Jenni's wrongful death. He had some interpretation of the law and felt I had a good case. I don't know the law but I said to go ahead, anyway I had nothing to lose. He also had an idea about suing all of the 411 people known to have been in Jenni's journal. He said that it was a long shot in getting any money out of them but at least everybody's name will be in the public record. The health department closely guarded the names of the people involved but since I had access to Jenni's journal I could use that as the basis for the lawsuits. Again I said go ahead. Publicity would be a bad thing for everybody involved.

I just sat back and waited for the fallout.

June 15, 2009 (Monday)

My attorney and I met with the lawyers from Thompson. I gave my deposition the week before and they reviewed it and asked a lot of questions, some very personal. I answered them the best I could, sometimes I used the words that the attorney advised me to use. At the end they made me an offer of $500,000 to settle out of court. My attorney was flabbergasted and he threw back a lot of legal mumbo jumbo and threatened to leave. While their attorneys were talking among themselves my attorney quietly whispered to me that he knew that the initial offer could go three or four times higher and he was waiting for their next bid. They made a counter offer and the attorneys went back and forth for over an hour. In the end I accepted a settlement of $1.5 million dollars. My attorney got a very large chunk of that money.

As we walked out of the building my attorney said with a very big smile, "This is going to go a very long way in making all of the other 411 individual suits settle too. We should do OK in the long run." I thought that the 'we' he just mentioned was really 'him.'

December 25, 2009 (Friday)

Jana and I spent Christmas at mom's house away from the craziness at home. It was another subdued time for mom and me but Jana loved the snow and her presents. It seemed that she had outgrown Barbie and now wanted a video game. Oh well.

I talked to mom about our moving when we settled on all of the lawsuits. Jana and I could go somewhere where nobody knew us and start over. She thought it was a good idea, if I took her along. I simply said, "I'll start looking."

December 31, 2009 (Thursday)

Today was a turning point in my life. Two things happened.

First, we settled the last of the 411 lawsuits. That brought the final count to:

1. I settled on 244 lawsuits each for a modest dollar amount.

2. I dropped 99 lawsuits for various personal reasons.

3. There were 11 lawsuits dismissed in court.

4. The court threw out 5 cases for 'technical' reasons.

5. The court dismissed 46 lawsuits when the defendants showed hardship due to their health.

6. A total of 6 lawsuits went to trial and all found for me, with substantial monetary amounts awarded.

The total amount of money awarded was roughly $1.4 million dollars. Again my lawyer took a substantial chunk.

Second, I settled on my house. I very quietly sold the house 'as is' to a real estate agent for a substantially reduced amount. I just wanted to get away as quickly and as quietly as possible and start over somewhere else. The money really didn't matter.

At the end of the settlement I told him, "You now own the house but I've got a couple things left to do. Tomorrow, Goodwill will be taking everything out of the house; furniture, kitchen stuff, beds, everything. I'm not taking anything with me - too many bad memories. I've already sent ahead everything I want to keep. You can take anything you want before Goodwill gets here in the morning. In the afternoon a cleaning company will come in and clean everything from top to bottom. That's the least I could do. Also, somebody will be by to pick up my other car. I sold it too. I can't drive two cars at the same time to get to my new home. By this time tomorrow we will be far away from here. You can say I'm sneaking out of town in the middle of the night if you want, I don't care. In the morning we're going to be far away from here and the past."

January 1, 2010 (Friday)

I looked back to check on Jana in the backseat and saw that she was asleep among a collection of toys. I glanced down at the morning newspaper on the seat beside me that had a front page article about one of their reporters who received a nomination for the Pulitzer Prize in journalism for his series of articles on the 'Thompson Epidemic.' At least someone was benefiting from this mess I thought.

A few days ago the same newspaper reported on the happenings since the story broke. They said that:

1. The 36 cases of HIV infection originally reported was now at 54.

2. An additional 107 people have tested positive reportedly from contact with those that had sex with Jenni. Included was one of the Thompson managers that had sex with Jenni and then gave the disease to his wife, two of his lovers, his sister, his daughter, and his son. That guy must have been a real sleaze.

3. There had been approximately 200 divorce cases filed relating to those named in the lawsuits.

4. According to the police, they responded to over 150 domestic violence calls, again related to those named in the lawsuits.

5. There have been 72 restraining orders issued by the spouses of those 411 people.

6. The state health department estimated that it will cost over 50 million dollars in health care costs for all those infected.

7. They fired all 12 executive managers, 6 department heads, and 23 employees from the Thompson office. This included the entire security staff. They offered positions to the remaining 35 employees at other branch offices.

8. The city fired the chief of police and two of his officers. They too were HIV positive.

9. Nobody has yet developed full blown AIDS.

10. Nobody ever found out how or when Jenni became infected.

11. Two people were murdered.

12. Two people committed suicide.

We have another thousand miles to go before we get home.

Aftermath

When one door is closed, don't you know, another is open. Bob Marley

June 17, 2010 (Thursday)

I haven't felt anything like this for a long time. I thought that Jenni ripped out of my soul any ability to feel. But lately I've noticed that I occasionally smile at something, usually something Jana said or did. I think she's the only reason I made it this far. God I love that little girl. As long as she stays my little girl I may someday get past everything.

But it's not going to happen today. Right now I'm standing outside of a funeral home with my hands in my pockets staring up at the white front door afraid to go in. Inside are the ashes of my oldest friend. We were born on the same day. We grew up together, played together, laughed together, and learned everything about life together. Hell, we even lost our virginity together on the same camping trip. He had Sherry Marx and I had Donna Barnett. I think I got the better end of the deal. We were inseparable. We even went to the same college. That's when we got interested in different things and went down different life paths. We stayed in touch all through the years but were never as close as when we were growing up. We grew up and became different men.

But now he's dead and I'm an emotional mess and can't go in. I don't want to make a fool of myself in front of all those people so I don't do anything. I just stand on the sidewalk and stare at the door hoping that the ground will open up and swallow me whole.

As I stared at the door it opened. Standing there smiling down at me was Mrs. Pellegrino. I haven't seen her in almost 12 years. Except for a couple pounds and a grey streak in her long black hair she looked exactly as I remembered her - absolutely gorgeous. When I was a teenager I used to lie in bed at night and think about her. I used to think about her long beautiful legs, her ample chest, and her perfectly shaped backside. I would close my eyes and see her long black hair cascading down over her broad tanned shoulders creating an ebony frame for her oh so delicate face. Her eyes were hypnotic but she had the most incredible mouth I'd ever seen. It seemed to always be smiling. A smile that could light up the room or make any childhood problem go away. I spent a lot of time fantasizing about her with my hands down my pants. God I loved that woman.

But even then I knew that it was wrong. After all she was the mother of my best friend, a friend that is now in an urn just past the door she's holding open. Despite her beautiful smile I stood there frozen to the sidewalk hoping for the ground to open up. I looked down at my feet.

The heat of her body forced my gaze to rise and look up. Those beautiful brown eyes and that broad smile were just inches away.

"How are you Randy?" she asked with her crisp youthful voice. Even the sounds she made were gorgeous.

"I'm fine Mrs. Pellegrino. I'm just having a little trouble with my feet though. They don't seem to want to move up the steps."

"I had the same problem when I got here. It's not as bad inside as you think, really." She took one final step forward and put her arms around me. The mother of my best friend, my dead best friend, was holding me, trying to comfort me. I knew that was all she was doing but all I could only think about the warmth she radiated and the large soft bosom she pressed me into. I was both embarrassed and aroused. I dreamt of this long ago and after all these years I was surprised I still felt that way about her. But I was more surprised that I could still feel something, anything. And just knowing that was somewhat comforting.

I mumbled into her hair at the side of her head, "Thank you. You can't know what he did for me, how much he meant to me. I'm just so sorry he's gone. I miss him a lot."

We stood together for a while holding each other not saying a word. Just by holding me tenderly she made me feel like I could almost go through the door and face what was inside.

Slowly she broke our embrace and stood looking into my eyes. She had a quizzical look on her face when she asked, "Randy, I've got a question for you before we go in. I need some honest answers."

"OK, sure, anything you want."

"Yesterday a lawyer showed up at my door. She introduced herself and gave me an envelope. The contents were about a trust fund. Somebody set up a trust fund in my son's name for Joshua. It's a trust fund for a million dollars, a million dollars! I asked her who was responsible and she said that nobody knew; an anonymous donor arranged it. I think they do know but couldn't tell me. My question for you is this; did you have anything to do with this? Did you set up a trust fund in Portus's name?"

I looked her straight in her beautiful brown eyes and told the best lie I've ever told when I said, "No ma'am, I don't know anything about it."

She stood there looking at me and I knew that I could never lie to her and get away with it, but I had to try. After a minute her face went from serious to happy and she smiled her beautiful broad smile at me as she whispered, "Thank you."

I didn't let on that I knew that she knew, or however that goes. I just smiled back at her.

"I don't know if you know but I'm now Josh's legal guardian. You knew that Portus was sick for the last three years and before he passed we arranged for me to adopt Josh. So my grandson is now my son. I plan to use the trust fund money to see that Josh gets into the finest schools and colleges. If there is any left over he can have it as a wedding present. Josh said that he wanted to become a doctor so he can find a cure for what killed his dad. I'm going to try to make that happen."