Affair of Terror

"Okay, let's see what we have here, Ms... Hodges," he said as he started to read. "Has this Tony ever put his hands on you or your husband, ever been physical wit..." He stopped for a second. "Alan Hodges? Is your husband a photographer?"

Cathy's heart just dropped, over two million people in Chicago and she runs into one that knows her husband? She was nervous before, now she almost broke out in a cold sweat. She didn't know how to answer, but before she knew it, she heard the words coming from her mouth. "Yes, he is," she said before even realizing it. Now she had to go into damage control. "How did you know that?" she asked.

"My wife is a part-time hand model. She's worked with him a few times. She really likes him, says she wishes all the photographers were as professional as he is."

Cathy gave him a nervous smile, but couldn't think of anything to say. She was glad he only knew Al through his wife and was reassured that her secret would remain safe.

"Sorry," the young man apologized. "I didn't mean to get off the subject here. I was asking if this Tony has ever gotten physical with either you or your husband?"

She had already told the police she had no idea who would bomb Al's studio and she wasn't sure it was him, so she wasn't going to mention that. "He slapped me one time, not very hard but it stung a little. I didn't mention it to Al because I didn't want him going after Tony and maybe getting into trouble."

"Okay," he said, making a notation on the corner of the application. "Anything else?"

"No, it was just that one time, but he won't leave me alone."

"How do you know him?"

"He works with a friend of mine. He sat down at our table while we were having lunch. Since then he's been trying to get me to sleep with him. I keep refusing but he just gets more insistent."

"Has he ever gone after your husband, tried to confront him, or pick a fight with him?"

"No, I don't think he'd dare, but I don't want to take a chance."

"Ms. Hodges, does Al know this guy is hassling you?"

"No, I'm just worried he'd go after him and wind up in jail. I would appreciate it if you didn't mention it to your wife."

"No, of course not," he affirmed. "Okay, this will be filed in the third district court tomorrow morning. Anthony Belshaw will not be allowed within one-hundred feet of you or your husband. If he approaches you, call nine-one-one immediately and he'll be arrested for stalking."

It suddenly felt as if someone took the weight of the entire world off her shoulders. "Thank you, Mr..."

"Aaron, Aaron Nelson. My wife's name is Peggy if it ever comes up," he said, with a smile.

Cathy thanked him again and left the building feeling better than she had in several days. She couldn't wait to text her antagonist.

Tony: I just filed a restraining order on you. If you come within 100 ft. of me, I'll have you arrested. I'm sure you don't want to have your wife bail you out of jail, so leave me alone.

She was relieved when he didn't reply. I'm going to have to buy Diane lunch, she thought with a smile.

Diane was happy to see Cathy at work the next day. She was getting worried. "So, did you do it? Did you get the restraining order?"

"Yes, I did," she replied with a big smile. "Lunch for you and your daughter is on me if she can join us."

"Evie works downtown. She'd never make it, but I'll take you up on it," Diane responded with a grin. "Did you email the bastard yet?"

"I sent him a text. He hasn't gotten back to me so I'm hoping I've heard the last from him."

"Good, I hope you meant what you said about never looking at another man, again."

"So help me, God, Di," she said while raising her right hand to swear. "I've learned my lesson, never again."

Cathy checked her phone again at the end of the day, still nothing from the asshole. She felt on top of the world by the time she got home. She was in the kitchen, singing and humming to herself when Al walked in. He chuckled when he reached the kitchen doorway.

"Wow, someone feels happy," he joked.

She walked up, threw her arms around his neck, and stared into his blue eyes. "And why not, look who I'm married to," she said before planting a French kiss on him.

Cathy couldn't wait to get Al in bed after dinner. Once again, she needed to feel rededicated to her marriage. Even if he wasn't aware of it, it was a must, a necessity to show her husband that she belonged to him and only to him.

Later that night, she literally turned him inside out, getting him to come four times. It was an extremely satisfying night for both, even if it was for different reasons.

Of course, only Diane knew why, but several of Cathy's co-workers remarked on her bubbly demeanor during the following week. The smile never left her face during the day, and the nightly bedroom workouts with Al didn't hurt either. By the next weekend, Cathy had relegated Tony to a bad, distant memory. It wasn't until the ensuing Tuesday that he popped her balloon.

She was sitting at her desk that afternoon when she heard her phone buzz with a text message. She finished what she was working on before checking it several minutes later. She could almost feel the color drain from her face as the photo stared back at her. Cathy instinctively pressed the face of the phone to her chest and quickly looked around to make sure no one else saw it before sticking it back into her purse and making a beeline for the women's washroom. She walked directly into the first stall and locked the door behind her. She lowered the toilet lid and sat down before her legs gave out on her.

Cathy took a couple of deep breaths before pulling the phone back out of her purse and looking at the vile picture again. Most of her body was blocked but her face was very prominently displayed, looking at the naked man who was obviously fucking her. She knew it was a fake. Tony was the only other man she'd been with since she married Al, and this wasn't Tony. Of course not, he'd never send a picture of himself, but she knew he sent it. There was no one else who'd do such a thing. She was so angry; she didn't even realize what a chance she was taking, calling him from a public washroom. She could literally hear the smirk on his face when he answered.

"You know my husband is a photographer!" she almost shouted. "He'll take one look at that picture and know it's a fake, instantly."

"Cathy, I have no idea what you're talking about, but it sounds like something we should discuss in person; lunch, tomorrow, Plato's Place."

The line went dead before she had a chance to say anything else. Damn him, she silently cursed. What a mess, she thought. He knew she'd do almost anything to protect her marriage and he was using it for leverage.

That night she was so quiet that Al wondered if there was a problem. She told him she was just tired and had several issues at work with which she was dealing. He, of course, accepted her explanation and offered any help he could provide, but she begged off, telling him she'd work it out.

She got very little sleep that night but had a plan by morning. Al always left the house for work long before she did. That gave her a chance to go into their home office and take the digital mini recorder that Al used for making notes. She'd watched him use it enough times that she knew there were different channels on which she could record. She found one that was blank and set it up to record at the push of a button.

When Cathy got to work, she enlisted the aid of her friend. Diane was a little reluctant to get involved. She certainly didn't want the creep harassing her, but Cathy assured her that wouldn't happen.

A little after noon, Cathy nervously sat in Plato's Place waiting for her tormentor. She reached into her purse and turned her recording device on as soon as she saw him pull into the parking lot. He literally made her skin crawl as she watched him swagger toward her table and take a seat. He paid no attention to the woman sitting alone at the next table. Cathy leaned forward and lowered her voice to greet him. "You really are a piece of scum, you know that?"

He just smiled. "Let me have your purse," he demanded.

"What? My purse, what for?"

"Just let me have it," he reiterated.

"No, I'm not giving you my purse."

"Give me your purse or this meeting is over and your husband will have the pictures in his email before he comes home tonight."

She knew this moment would come and thought about how she should act. Reluctantly, she handed him her purse.

Sitting right on top of everything else, was Cathy's phone. Knowing he had outsmarted her, a big grin stretched across Tony's face as he saw the record function activated. He picked it up and turned off the recorder.

Cathy lowered her head as if she'd just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"Did you really think I was stupid enough to let you record our conversation?" He chuckled while handing her purse back.

Cathy worked hard to keep the smile from her lips. Thanks to her husband's propensity for Sherlock Holmes mysteries, she learned that if someone is looking for something, they stop looking once they think they've found it. To protect something of value, hide it in plain sight, then conceal a decoy.

"That picture won't do you any good," Cathy told him. "You know my husband's a photographer. He'll know that picture's a fake in two seconds."

"I don't think so. I paid good money to a professional graphic artist to have it done. He assures me nobody will be able to tell, not even under a microscope."

Just then the waitress came and took their orders. Cathy ordered a salad but Tony only ordered coffee. They resumed their conversation as soon as she left.

"Tony, I won't be your sex slave."

"Then you won't likely be married much longer," he replied. "Look, Brian..."

"Who's Brian?"

They stopped talking as the waitress came back with Cathy's salad and Tony's coffee. They waited until she was out of range to hear.

"Brian's the guy whose apartment we've been using. He's single. He has no problem telling your husband that you two have been fucking each other's brains out for months. I even told him enough about the things you do in bed to make it convincing. He also knows about the little brown landing strip you have down there. Believe me, together with the picture, he'll have your hubby thoroughly persuaded that he's married to a slut."

A cold chill went up Cathy's back. She just prayed her ace-in-the-hole worked.

"He's getting anxious, by the way," Tony continued. "He's looking forward to fucking the shit out of you. Ever since I told him how well you suck cock, he's been chomping at the bit."

"I'm not your whore," she stated.

"Oh yes you are," he responded. "That's exactly what you are. Brian and I talked about some threesomes, know what spit-roasting is?" She shook her head no. "You're on your hands and knees in the middle with one cock down your throat and another in your pussy at the same time. Another fun activity is DP, double penetration. That's where you have one of us inside your pussy and the other up your ass. We might invite a third guy and make you air-tight. I'm even going to use you to keep a few of my clients happy from time to time."

Ace or no ace, she couldn't keep the tears from coming as she listened to what he had planned for her.

"Now," he said as he downed the last of his coffee, "you will be at the apartment tomorrow at noon or Brian sends that picture to your husband, along with enough details of your bedroom skills to make him a believer."

With tears dripping down her cheek, Cathy nodded her head.

"I'll let you pay for the coffee," he said as he got up to leave. "Remember, noon, don't be late. Oh," he leaned in close so only Cathy could hear him, "and I want that fucking restraining order canceled this afternoon." With those parting words, he left. Cathy watched through the window as he drove out of the parking lot.

"Jesus, what an asshole," Diane grunted as she moved over to Cathy's table.

"Did we get it?"

"Oh, yeah, I kept looking to make sure it was still recording. Just to make sure, I had the recorder on my phone going as well." She handed Cathy the digital recorder that had been sitting toward the nearest edge of Diane's table the whole time. Cathy hit the stop button, then the rewind, then the play. There was some background noise but Tony's voice was loud and clear. She had the whole conversation on tape, every threatening syllable. She sighed with relief. She knew she had him.

Under the guise of asking what he wanted for dinner, Cathy called Al as soon as she got back to the office. After he offered a couple of suggestions, she asked him what time he'd be home. He told her he was pretty busy and it would be around seven. That would give her time to do what she needed, but just to make sure, she wondered if she could get off a little early. She knocked on her boss's door and entered on his invite.

"Hal, I have some personal errands I have to get done. Would you mind if I took off around four today?"

"I need that Jenkin's proposal before you go," he replied.

"I put it on your desk earlier. You were on the phone, but I thought you saw me. That's it in the red folder."

He picked it up and glanced through it. "Yeah, this looks good. Okay, as long as all your work is done, I don't have a problem."

"Thanks, Hal. I'll check in with you before I leave."

As per her husband's request, she had to stop for pork chops on the way home, but was pulling into her drive at four-forty-five. She seasoned the chops and let them sit on the counter while she made her way to their home office. She grabbed the two thumb drives she took from the supply closet at work and made copies of the conversation before deleting it from Al's recorder. She plugged one of them into the computer and clipped out the best parts of Tony's threats, then made an audio file and emailed him.

Tony, you're not as smart as you think you are. If you don't want your wife and kids to know what a douchebag you really are, you'll leave me alone and NEVER contact me again, and that goes for your maggot friends, as well.

She sent it off with a copy of the audio file, and figuring she now had him by the balls, sighed with relief. She felt sorry for the next married woman he hooked and wished there was a way to warn the city's entire female population. For now, she'd just settle for ridding herself of the vile creature.

Once again, Al was the unknowing but happy recipient of his wife's victory. That night she did everything she could to kill him with erotic and carnal passions. It was past one AM when she finally snuggled into his arms as they drifted off in a deep, sated sleep. Unfortunately, their post-coital slumber wasn't long-lived.

"Uugh, what now?" Al mumbled as he awoke. It took him a second to identify the irritating noise. It was his phone. "Shit, not again?" It wasn't even four o'clock yet, he knew whoever was calling wasn't going to have good news.

Cathy stirred as he got out of bed and walked to the dresser to remove his phone from the charger. "What's going on?" she asked.

"I don't know yet," he answered. "Hello... "

Cathy sat up and watched his face as Al listened to whoever was on the other end of the line. She could tell by his expression, it wasn't good.

"Okay, I'll be there in twenty minutes," he finally said.

"Not the studio again?"

"Yeah, that was the cops... another bomb, this time it went off and caused some damage."

"I'm going with you," she announced, throwing the sheet off her naked body.

It was a familiar sight as they pulled up, only this time they both smelled smoke. It was a different cop but the same routine, same questions. Again, both Al and Cathy told the officers they couldn't think of anyone who would do such a thing. As soon as the firemen told them it was okay, Al took a small delegation of cops and firefighters inside where they could assess the damage.

Luckily, the destruction had been contained to the back of the building, away from the studio and all his expensive lighting and cameras. The rear door was blown off its hinges and shrapnel tore into the ceiling and took out the office computer, the coffee maker, and a few other items. The filing cabinet was knocked over from the blast and some of the paperwork was destroyed by water damage.

"I guess it could have been worse," Al said as he looked around at the mess.

"Mr. Hodges, I'm told this was attempted before and you said you were going to install some outside surveillance cameras. Did you do it?" asked the uniformed man in charge.

"Yeah, I did, but I had them going to into this computer," he said, indicating the smashed pile of junk lying on the floor. "They do have mini SD cards inside each unit."

"I'd appreciate it if I could have those. I'll take them to our lab where they can be examined by our IT forensics team," the officer requested.

"Yeah, sure," Al agreed, "I'll go get them right now for you."

It was almost seven in the morning by the time Al and Cathy got back home. Al took a shower, grabbed a cup of coffee, and went right back. He had to call the insurance company and get repairs started. He also wanted to get there before Michelle so she didn't walk into the mess, not knowing the situation.

Again, after explaining what happened, Al told her to go home, and just as before, she refused.

Al took pictures of all the damage done to the office before he and Michelle started cleaning up. In the meantime, Cathy was home, nervously getting ready for work. She wished she could take off, but she had already missed so much, she didn't dare call in.

Diane could tell something was wrong before Cathy even got to her desk. "You look beat," Diane told her friend.

"Yeah, I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Oh, I see," Diane acknowledged with a smile, getting the wrong impression.

Cathy knew what she was thinking. "No, that's not..." she stopped and looked around. "Let's go to the lady's room." Once they checked to make sure they were alone, Cathy's eyes teared up as she unloaded. "Oh, Di, Al's studio was bombed again last night."

"Oh, no! And you think it was Tony?"

"I just don't know who else it could be, Di. I can't believe he would take a chance like this. Maybe his marriage isn't as important to him as I thought. I... I just wish I knew for sure if it was him," she sniffled.

"Cath, who else? Look at the timing. You backed him into a corner with that tape. This is probably his way of warning you that he's willing to go after Al, next. Cathy, you've got to tell Al. You have to warn him."

"Oh, Di, I can't," Cathy cried. "I'll lose him for sure."

"I don't know him that well, but maybe he'll forgive you, I don't know, but if you don't warn him and something happens to him, you'll never forgive yourself, Cath."

"I know, I know," she wept. "You're right, I...I... oh, Diane, what am I going to do?"

Diane put her arms around her distraught friend as she broke down and sobbed. "You've got to do the right thing, hon. No more lies; you've got to tell him the truth."

She knew her friend was right, but that didn't make it any easier. Cathy wandered through the rest of the day like a zombie. Luckily, there was nothing too demanding that she had to contend with. Her driving, on the way home, wasn't much better. She blew right through the stop sign at the end of their street and didn't even realize it until she heard the horn of the car that actually had the right-of-way.

A sudden feeling of loneliness washed over her as she unlocked the door and walked inside. It was so quiet, so empty and still; a prophecy of her future. Still, in a mental fog, she laid her things down and walked to the kitchen. She took the casserole intended for dinner from the fridge and set it on the counter before warming a cup of leftover coffee in the microwave. She had more tears coursing down her cheeks by the time she sat down at the kitchen table to ponder her imminent confession and its aftermath.