Chased

The sergeant was very interested to hear who she was. When she told them where John had been when she last saw him, he jumped on the radio and briskly gave orders to his unit on patrol. He then made some other calls before interviewing Lyn properly. She was very cooperative and soon he had a witness statement attesting to two assaults by motor vehicle and an assault on the farmer. Part way through, a groggy John was brought in. The sergeant took one look at him and called an ambulance. When it arrived, and John was stretchered up and loaded, the bikers closed in, but were kept at bay by the police escort. As the ambulance and escort drove off, Lyn, peering around the doorframe, saw John's brother-in-law sprinting for his car, and a ton of bikers racing for their rides.

Things quietened down again, and Lyn finished her statement. She denied knowing anything about how John was injured. With only shoplifting to her name, Lyn was formally charged and told she could go. With her part in the serious injury of an officer, the police weren't at all cooperative about letting her use a phone, and her mobile having gone flat, she decided to walk to the nearest pay phone to make a call. To who, she hadn't yet decided. Suddenly, all hell broke loose in the station. Gradually, Lyn pieced the story together. The ambulance and escort had been hijacked by unidentified bikers and others. Luckily, no one resisted, and everyone was unharmed. John was missing. Lyn sighed. Now there was no one to refute her side of the story.

She stepped out into the street and saw half a dozen bikers in either direction, looking at her. She ran back inside and asked for protective custody. Still in an unforgiving mood, the sergeant laughed and asked for what? Shoplifting? She was told that as it was public property, they couldn't force her to leave until 5:00 p.m., when they closed.

Lyn begged and pleaded, but the sergeant was vindictively adamant. Just before five, she checked to see if the bikers were still there. They were. Lyn; sore, hungry, tired, and weary beyond belief, felt she had no choice. Dropping her chin to her chest, she turned and walked back into the station. Fifteen minutes later, the sergeant had a confession to two serious assaults and Lyn took residency of a nice safe cell.

EPILOGUE

Lyn's husband put down the phone. The call from his lawyer had told him not to expect his wife home in the next five years or so. It also predicted one of the quickest and most one-sided divorces in history.

He glanced toward the tempting bottle of Laphroaig. He'd been nudging the bottle a little much in the last month or so. Ever since his and Lyn's wedding anniversary. He'd been at work and needed the date for a form. Glancing at the calendar, his heart sank as he realised it was their anniversary. Like the last time he forgot it, he predicted he was going to cop a flogging when he got home. He was just in the middle of arranging to leave early, to buy a gift, when Lyn rang. She had to work late that night. She'd obviously forgotten their anniversary as well, which was very, very out of character for her. Something must really be distracting her.

He did leave early, and did buy her a nice necklace, then was home in time to meet the kids from school and make them a healthy dinner. Lyn came home after nine and he looked at her unemotionally for once. She avoided coming over for the customary kiss or even making eye contact. With blinkers off, he could see she was freshly showered. The hair on the nape of her neck was still damp. There was no mention of the missed anniversary.

He was lucky that she was so busy hiding her own demeanour that she totally failed to spot his unusual one.

The rest was easy. He waited for her to 'work late' again, followed her from her office to a restaurant, then motel, noted her lover's number plate, then did his research.

He had no plan when he confronted her. For the sake of the children, he may have forgiven her if she'd been suitably remorseful and convinced him it would never happen again. Her actual reaction shocked, appalled, but, most importantly, offended him. He left to calm down, to avoid physically hurting her. Cheap, commercially available, telephone and email bugs provided the data necessary to fulfil the rest of his plan.

The whisky bottle beckoned to him still. Why not? The kids were in bed, it would be harmless. That made him sad. Tomorrow he'd have to have that conversation with his kids. They wouldn't be seeing their mum for a while. Well, not unless she found another source of bail money. That was a conversation he really wasn't looking forward to.

He thought back to the paperwork shuffle he'd accomplished at work today. With luck, and only a cursory audit, the missing sleeping pills would never be missed. If one of six customers actually counted the pills in the bottle and reported them one short, then he'd get a slight rap on the knuckles.

He idly picked up his phone and deleted the tracking program. Then he deleted a few contacts he would never need again; Lyn, Maria. Checking his bank balance online showed him that all their old joint account balances had all been transferred to his new account. The balance was consistent with the contents of Lyn's secret account being added as well. As soon as he'd come to terms with the fact his wife could be deceptive, he'd gone looking. The arrogance of the woman. Putting the statements in a folder next to the regular accounts. Relying on the fact that he took little interest in the family finances, them being her domain throughout their marriage. Her password had been predictable.

He shook his head. How long had she known him? Did she really believe he'd contemplate, for even a second, leading the life of a cuckold? To give up the pride he knew was the cornerstone of his belief system? She knew he would die for his kids. How much easier it would be to kill for them?

He rubbed his sore knee. Bloody cheap shit Japanese cars. The dashboard shouldn't collapse after the car hit one itty-bitty little brick wall. He poured himself a generous tot. For medicinal purposes only, you understand.

Pulling out his checklist, he double checked everything was completed, then lit it with the fire lighter and threw it into the fireplace. As he watched it burn, he scoured his brain for anything he'd missed, but once again could not find a base uncovered.

He took another sip, and for the first time in weeks, fully relaxed.

"That'll do, Dave. That'll do.

THE END

Now lighten the fuck up.

A Baptist preacher was seated next to a cowboy on a flight to Texas.

After the plane took off, the cowboy asked for a whiskey and soda, which was brought and placed before him.

The flight attendant then asked the preacher if he would like a similar drink.

Appalled, the preacher replied, "I'd rather be tied up and taken advantage of by women of ill-repute, than let liquor touch my lips."

The cowboy then handed his drink back to the attendant and said, "Me too, I didn't know we had that choice."

And you can blame XTCHR for this one.

What did our parents do when they were bored and had no internet?

I asked all 18 of my brothers and sisters that and none of them knew either.