Dead Men Tell No Lies Pt. 01

This story ended up being much longer than I had originally anticipated, so I decided to break it up into two parts. Hopefully, Part 2 will get published in the next day or so.

Constructive comments are always welcome and appreciated. Please refer to my profile for more on my personal policy regarding comments, feedback, follows, etc. As always, remember this is a work of fiction and not a docu-drama...

*****

April 7, 2019:

Over and over again, he kept experiencing the same thing -- a bright flash of light, followed by searing pain, then darkness. From time to time, he would hear voices, but couldn't make out who they were from or what they were saying. He tried to speak, but couldn't. He tried to move but was unable to.

This time, however, the light was different. It was like looking through a fog but he couldn't make anything out and he couldn't focus on anything. Shadowy figures passed before him, and he tried calling out, but couldn't.

He began hearing noises but nothing he heard made any sense. He forced himself to move, but wasn't able to. He tried screaming, but nothing came out. Exhausted, he stopped to rest and the darkness came over him again.

A while later -- he didn't know how long -- the light returned. He willed himself to move and was finally able to, but it took all of his strength. He tried to yell, but the only thing that came out was a sickly gurgle. He felt like something was in his throat keeping him from talking.

A shadow moved in front of him, stopped for a moment and then ran off, making a loud noise. He saw more shadows, this time coming closer and gathering around him. He blinked his eyes, hoping to clear his vision. The shadows moved quickly around him, doing things to him he couldn't understand.

Then he heard someone speak.

"Mr. Smith, can you hear me?" a man's voice said. Who the fuck was 'Mr. Smith,' he wondered. Nevertheless, he could hear the man and tried nodding his head. It took a lot of work but he finally managed a weak nod.

As his vision began to clear, he could tell that he was in a hospital bed and the people around him -- all dressed in medical garb -- were working frantically to bring him back to consciousness. A man he presumed was a doctor mentioned something about seeing if he could breathe on his own. Soon, he felt tape being pulled off his face, and something was being pulled out of his throat.

Panting, he suddenly realized his throat was clear of obstruction and he took a few tentative breaths on his own, relishing the feel of inhaling air on his own.

"Good, good," the man said.

As he looked around, he could see a number of wires attached to his body, along with a blood pressure cuff on his upper arm and an IV inserted into his lower arm. He could also feel the catheter that had been placed inside his penis.

Looking on the wall, he saw the thinnest television he had ever seen in his life and noticed the chyron along the bottom of the screen that said something about a President Trump.

"Trump?" he asked himself. How long had he been here? The last he knew Barack Obama had only been in the White House for a few months.

"How... long?" he asked, weakly. The doctor looked at his thick chart before answering.

"From what I can tell, about 10 years, Mr. Smith," he said. Ten years? What the hell happened? And who was this Smith guy they all referred to, he wondered. "Just relax, Mr. Smith, we're going to check you out and get you set up for rehab."

As he watched, the nurses took his arms and legs out of the restraints holding him in the bed and the doctor made adjustments in his notes. He looked at another nurse before speaking.

"Do we have Mr. Smith's contact information available?" he asked. A young nurse looked in her computer and answered in the affirmative. "Very well, reach out and let them know." The nurse began making a call and the man wondered who would be coming to see him. His memory was still a bit foggy, but he remembered being married with an eight-year-old daughter.

My God, he thought, my daughter, Jenny, would be 18 now and probably ready to go to college. He thought about his wife, Lydia, but for some reason didn't seem to interested in seeing her. Something about seeing his wife -- he wasn't quite sure what -- actually repulsed and angered him.

"Well, Mr. Smith," the doctor said, "your vitals look good, but we're going to run some tests anyway. Once we get those back, we'll get this feeding tube out of you and get you up to your room. You're going to be our guest for a little while but we'll get you into a rehab facility and get you back on your feet, okay?" The man nodded.

"Doctor," he said, "who's 'Smith?'" The doctor looked down at his notes before looking back at him.

"Why, you are," he said. "It seems you may be experiencing some amnesia. I'm not surprised, really. You've been through a lot. That's okay. We'll get someone in to work with you. Now, you just relax and we'll get you set up." With that, the doctor left, giving instructions to a couple of nurses on his way out.

The man knew who he was, and it wasn't this "Smith" character. His name was Avery Wilson. He was born in 1972 to Dan and Barbara Wilson. He had a brother, Robert, who was a year older than him. He joined the Army at 18 right out of high school and was trained to become a sniper. He spent the next four years in various trouble spots around the world, including Kuwait.

He survived Desert Storm and finally got out in 1994, and went home to southern California, where he completed his Associate Degree in criminal justice in 1996. He had always wanted to be a policeman, so he joined the LAPD, where his military training was put to use. After graduating from the police academy, he was made a sharpshooter in 1997.

He met Lydia Jackson and after two years of dating, married her in 1999. Things were great, he thought, and their daughter, Jennifer, came along in October 2000. He stayed with the force while his wife worked as an attorney for the same firm where his brother was a partner. He won a rather large lottery in late 2008 and things went downhill from there.

About the time he won the lottery, he learned quite by accident that his wife had been in a long-standing affair with his brother. Fortunately, his good friend and confidant, Ben Jacobs, had talked him into letting him set up an overseas account under a different name so Lydia couldn't access most of his lottery winnings.

Ben, being an expert on things financial, managed the account for him. He also put him into contact with a real shark of an attorney who hated cheating spouses, and hated Robert even more. He also set up surveillance on Lydia and Robert and had managed to get pictures and video of their trysts.

He had planned on confronting his wife about her affair, but something happened. He couldn't remember the details of that night, but he was sure that it would all come back to him soon. The next thing he remembered was waking up in this hospital ward 10 years later.

Exhausted, he laid his head back down and watched the television as the nurses did their jobs. But who was this "Smith" character? What was that all about?

He considered his life as he watched the local news. According to the news, a Robert Wilson had declared himself to be a candidate for public office. He wondered if this Robert Wilson could possibly be his brother. As he watched, a well-dressed man with a bit of gray at his temples addressed a group of people outside a building somewhere in downtown Los Angeles. Next to him were two women -- Lydia and a teenage girl who looked like a grown-up version of his Jenny.

"And I promise the people of this great state that I'll bring ethics and accountability back into our state government," Robert said to some fanfare. "Sacramento is out of control and we get to get back to basics."

After this, Robert turned and kissed Lydia on the cheek. She was two years younger than Avery and, he thought, had the best looks money could buy.

"Wilson, who was joined by his wife and daughter, made his announcement this afternoon and is already ahead in the polls. Since the tragic shooting death of his brother, Avery, in 2009, Wilson has worked with the families of fallen police officers," the news announcer said, showing a picture of him in his police uniform.

"What the fuck?" the man thought as he watched the report. "Death? I'm not dead, you asshole," he said to himself. "And what's this about Jenny being Robert's daughter?"

He laid his head back down and tried to remember the last few days before he ended up in the hospital, but his mind kept drawing a blank. His mind wandered back over the main events of his life, hoping to find an answer.

He thought about Robert, his older brother. For as long as he could remember, Robert was the bane of his existence. Not only was he a bully, he delighted in taking whatever he could from his younger brother. Money, credit for whatever he did, his possessions, even his girlfriends. It seemed that no matter what he had, Robert wanted it whether he needed it or not.

Worse yet, his parents went along with whatever Robert said or did. And if Robert did something wrong, he always turned it around so his parents would end up punishing the younger sibling. He grew up hating his older brother. And the crap he put up with from his parents didn't help. Robert was the "good" son who would make something of himself, leaving Avery to be the black sheep.

It was so bad that he never told his family he had enlisted. He had just graduated from high school, and was off to boot camp the next day. He had signed the enlistment papers one day after school was out, went through all the physicals and was set to go. No one even knew where he was until he was forced to call home.

"You did what?" his father roared when he called. "You get your ass back home right now, young man."

"Fuck you," Avery said. "I'm over 18 and I'm already in boot camp. And there's not a goddamn thing you can do about it. Don't expect to hear from me again." And with that, he slammed the phone down, ending the call. He kept his word and never communicated with any of them until he graduated from the police academy in 1997. That wasn't his choice, by the way. They learned from the LAPD that he would be graduating and showed up to see him. He never forgot that day.

He spotted them while standing in formation. After the speeches, they stood to receive their certificates and he saw them, including Robert, watching as he became the newest officer on the force. After the ceremony, he tried his best to get away quickly, but was stopped when they blocked his path. And they didn't look too happy.

"You're not getting away from us again, Avery," his father said. "I knew you'd finally make something of yourself. I had hoped you would've gone to college to be a lawyer like your brother and I." Robert smirked, but the smirk quickly left his face.

"Yeah, well, this is my choice and it's something shithead here can't take from me," Avery said, glancing at Robert. "And for your information, I DID make something of myself in the Army."

"Avery, please," his mother, Barbara, said. "We haven't seen or heard from you in seven years. Can't you please be civil to us just once?"

"Maybe if just once you and Dad had given me some benefit of the doubt, things would've been different. But no, you always listened to HIM, always took HIS side in everything and never once gave me the time of day," he said. "This is MY day, and I'll be damned if I'm going to have you screw it up for me."

"Avery," Robert said. "I don't get it. Why do you hate me so much?"

"Are you fucking kidding me? You were a fucking bully. You took everything I ever had, even my girlfriends," he said. "You blamed me for every shitty thing you did, and you got them to believe all of your fucking lies," he added, motioning to his parents. His parents were shocked to hear him talk this way. He was always so quiet, so polite. Who is this man before them, they wondered.

"So guess what, asshole? I'm through with you. I've paid my dues and I'm making my own life. So stay the fuck out of it," he told Robert, his eyes burning with hatred.

"Avery, son, what happened to you?" his mother asked, shocked at her son's language. This wasn't the same quiet man who took whatever they dished out to him. He looked at his mother.

"I grew up, mother," he said. "I became a soldier and you know what? I've even killed men." She backed up a bit after hearing that. He continued. "Don't worry, mother, they were all bad guys and deserved it. I'm not the same person who grew up in your house and I don't take crap off of anyone." He looked at Robert before continuing. "Ever." He turned and walked away from them, leaving them open-mouthed.

He didn't see them again until the day he married Lydia. He met her at a police event shortly after becoming a cop. At the time, she worked in the Public Defender's office but was looking for a job with a major firm. He proposed a year to the day they met and she accepted. They decided to have a long engagement to make sure things would work out and got married a year later. Divorces were quite common among police officers.

He never invited his family to the wedding, but they showed up anyway. He saw them during the reception, when Lydia pointed them out.

"Isn't that your family?" she asked, pointing to his parents and Robert.

"Yeah," he said. "I don't know why they're here."

"You have to introduce me. Please?" she begged. Avery gave in and walked his bride over to them. They smiled as Avery introduced his wife.

"Well, it's so good to finally meet you," Avery's father said.

"I don't understand, Avery, why didn't we get an invitation to your wedding?" his mother asked.

"Must've been an oversight or something," Avery said. The truth was, he never invited them.

"I hear you're going to be joining our firm soon," Dan said. Avery looked shocked as Lydia looked at him. "Oh, I'm sorry, Avery, didn't you know? The board just accepted her today."

"No, I didn't know," Avery said as Robert smirked.

"I'm sorry, Avery, I didn't know I had been accepted until just now," Lydia said. Avery nodded his head.

"That's okay, dear," he said. "We'll talk about it later."

"Mind if I have a dance with my new sister-in-law?" Robert asked with a shit-eating grin. Avery pulled him off to the side and spoke to him in a quiet tone of voice so no one else could hear.

"Listen up, asshole," he told his older brother. "This isn't fucking high school. She's my wife, not some school girl."

"I understand," Robert said, condescendingly. Avery grabbed his shoulder.

"No, you don't. Do you know what I did in the Army?" Avery asked. Robert shook his head.

"No. I assume you were some kind of clerk or something," Robert said.

"No. I was a sniper. I killed motherfuckers like you for a living. And I can blow your balls off from 1,000 yards away," Avery said. "Understand?" The smirk left Robert's face and he looked at his younger brother, shocked.

"Is that a threat, Avery?" he asked. Avery shook his head.

"No, asshole. It's a goddamn fucking promise," he said.

"Okay, Avery, I got it," Robert said. "Hands off. Message received." They walked back to Lydia and his parents.

"May I have a dance, please?" Robert asked in a respectful tone of voice. Lydia looked at Avery who nodded his head in permission.

"What did you tell him?" his father asked after they left.

"I gave him a bit of sage brotherly advise," Avery said, watching his wife and brother dance. He was relieved to see they kept a respectful distance from each other. He turned back to his father.

"You know, Robert always managed to take my girl friends when we were in school," he said.

"I know, Avery," his father said. "Believe me when I tell you I didn't approve of it."

"Yeah, well, you never did anything to stop it, either. Even when he rubbed it in my face right in front of you," Avery told him. "This is different. She's my wife. And I damn well expect you to enforce your firm's morals clause."

"I understand, Avery," his father said. "Look, I'm sorry about everything that's happened, but it's all in the past. Can't we just put it behind us and move forward?"

"Please, Avery," his mother added. "Can you please set your hatred for us aside so we can be a family again?"

"We'll see, mother," Avery said. Barbara smiled.

"That's all I ask. I know you don't believe me, but we really do love you and we're so proud of what you've done," she said. Avery nodded his head and accepted his mother's hug.

"Thank you," he said. "you're right, I don't believe you but deep down, I love you too. There's a lot of hurt that needs to heal. And you can start by making sure HE doesn't get his hooks in my wife," he added, looking at his father.

"I understand, son," Dan said. "I'll take care of it personally."

"See that you do," Avery said as his wife and brother returned.

As they left the reception for their honeymoon in Las Vegas, Avery turned to see Robert and his father discussing something quietly while looking at them. He hoped for the best, but experience had taught him to expect the worst.

On the way to Vegas, Lydia talked to him about his relationship with his family.

"You know, your brother really is a very charming man," she said. "He even asked me to call him Bobby. Said all his friends call him that. But you don't. And he's your brother. Why?"

Avery told her about his childhood, how his brother had taken everything he had, even his girl friends. He told her about the spankings and groundings he received for things his brother had done and how his parents always sided with Robert over him.

"So, when the time came to leave, I did," he said. "I put it all behind me and built my own life."

"Oh my God," Lydia said. "I never knew. And they never mentioned you at all. Honestly, if I had known any of this, I never would have applied at their firm."

"It's okay," Avery told her. "But forewarned is fore-armed. Watch out for Robert. He's trouble. And yes, his charm is just a tool to get his way. Trust me, I've seen it happen too many times."

"You can trust me, sweetie," she said. "I'll never do anything to hurt you, ever."

He believed her, but he lived by the motto, 'trust but verify.' He kept an eye on her, what she wore to work, the times she had to work late, the way she smelled when she came home and her general demeanor. Two years after their marriage, Jenny was born. She was his little girl and could always be counted on to make him happy. Lydia turned out to be a great mother as well.

For the first several years, his wife gave no indication that anything was wrong, not even at the firm's various parties and functions. He even started warming up to his parents a bit and let them spend time with their granddaughter. But he still kept an eye on things. If there was something happening, they were very good at covering it up.

He met Ben Jacobs, an all-around "master-of-all-trades" who was into all sorts of things -- financial planning, private investigations, you name it, at a police seminar in San Diego in November 2008. The two hit it off, especially since Ben was also an Army veteran. They became fast friends and Avery felt like he could trust the man with his life.

That was when he first learned of Lydia's betrayal. The previous Christmas, he had bought two new Apple iPhones, which featured a virtual keyboard and allowed text messages to be sent. He kept one for himself and gave her the other. His reasoning was that they would help the two keep in touch no matter where they were.

He was on his way back to their home in Los Angeles County when his phone dinged, letting him know he had a message. He looked at the screen and was shocked at what he saw.