Dead to Me

"You son of a bitch," Darren snarled as he unsuccessfully tried to jerk free of the two deputies holding him. "I'll be out of jail in no time. And then I'm going to fucking kill you. You hear me, you motherfucking piece of shit?"

"That sounds like a threat to me. What do you think, Uncle Bob?" Tom asked with a smirk that trumped all of Darren's previous condescension by a wide mark.

"Sure sounded like one to me as well," Bob said. "We'll just add that to all the other charges against him. And it'll help make sure he never gets bail. Don't worry, Mr. Hansen. My boys will take good care of you," he chuckled. "And your friends. Get these... people... outta here," he ordered the deputies, who instantly complied.

Tom and Bob watched as the perpetrators were loaded into the bus. Tom felt as if the last several years of his life were a lie. He loved Janice from the moment they met, and Bob slapped him on the shoulder.

"It'll get better, son. Trust me on that," he said. Bob had been through a divorce from a cheating spouse years ago and knew the pain Tom felt.

"Thanks, Uncle Bob. For everything."

"You're welcome, son. If you need anything, give me a call. And tell your Dad I said hello. I think he has a bottle of his best waiting for your visit."

"I will. Is it safe for me to get my things? I need to get the hell outta here."

"Sure. I think they're just about finished up inside the place anyway," Bob told him. After they said their goodbyes, Tom packed his things and went home.

...

One week later:

After commiserating with his father, Tom saw the family attorney and had divorce papers drawn up according to the prenuptial they had signed before the marriage. He waited until they were served before visiting Janice in the county jail.

"This will be the one and only time I visit you, Janice," he said when she took her seat. "I legally need to make sure you got the papers."

"I got them," Janice said quietly. "I've already signed them and sent them back."

"Good. As I'm sure you could tell, I followed the prenuptial. I'll wait until after your trial to... dispose of your things."

"I appreciate that," Janice said. "I don't understand something. How did you know?"

"You'll hear the gory details in court, so I'll give you the Reader's Digest version. I suspected something was happening for a couple of months before that weekend, but I didn't have any proof.

"About four months before that Memorial Day, the estranged husband of one of Darren's so-called 'assistants' approached Dad with a pretty wild story. He also brought some spreadsheets and documents he said his estranged wife got from Darren's system.

"Dad had me look over the spreadsheets to see what I could find. Naturally, I couldn't say anything to you, privilege and conflict of interest and all that sort of thing. It took some time, but we finally found what we were looking for - evidence of all kinds of nefarious financial dealings with some rather shady characters. Your lover did an excellent job hiding them, but not good enough.

"A couple of weeks before that weekend, Dad turned what he had over to the feds, who were more than interested in Hansen's dealings. In fact, they were set to raid your offices sometime in June. Dad said I needed to be very careful that weekend. He relayed what his contact told him, even though he found it very difficult to believe.

"We spoke with my Uncle Bob, who, as you know, is the county sheriff where Darren's property is located. I had hoped nothing would happen. But that's not how it worked. Eve Carson told me what you and your lover had planned. By the way, I recorded that little conversation. I'm glad we live in a state where only one party's permission is required for a recording like that.

"I do have a few questions for you, though."

"What do you want to know?" Janice asked.

"How long before that weekend were you screwing your so-called master?"

"About two months," Janice replied. Tom was surprised that she was so candid.

"That's about the time things fell off with us. Did he tell you to cut me off?"

"Yes," she said quietly, her face turning red.

"I suppose I should get tested for STIs then," Tom said, causing Janice even more embarrassment. "Did you really want to see me... suck your lover off?"

Janice looked down, refusing to meet her husband's gaze.

"Well?" he pressed angrily. She looked back up at him with tears in her eyes.

"Again... yes," she said.

"Surely you knew I would never willingly agree to do that. I would rather die first. So why?"

"Because... I was so smitten with Darren that I would have gone along with anything he wanted. You don't understand. He liked the feeling of having power over everyone around him."

"And if I didn't comply?"

"He had what he called a plan B," Janice admitted.

"You mean the drugs? Yes, they found the vial with the chemical he intended to use on me."

"I had nothing to do with that," Janice claimed.

"That's interesting, because they found your prints all over the vial," Tom said, causing Janice to look at him with shock. "Which tells me you were part of his plot against me."

"No... no. I never wanted to hurt you," she sobbed.

"The evidence says otherwise, Janice. You not only cheated on me, you plotted and schemed with your so-called master to destroy me as a man."

"So, there's no way back?"

"No. None. No forgiveness. Nothing. Like I told you that day, you are DEAD TO ME, bitch," Tom hissed as Janice shed hot tears but didn't flinch. "I've wasted enough time on you. Goodbye, Janice. Enjoy what's left of your miserable life." With that, he stood and walked away, immune to her tears.

...

Epilogue:

After several court appearances, Janice, Darren, Eve, and the others were found guilty of all the charges leveled against them. As the "ringmaster," Darren received a life sentence in federal prison, meaning he would never be paroled.

Having played a minor role in Darren's illegal financial schemes, the three executives were sentenced to twenty years. For their parts in Darren schemes, Eve and Janice were given somewhat lighter sentences.

Several others in the firm were charged for their roles in the conspiracy. A few turned State's evidence against Darren and were given immunity as part of a plea deal. By the time the smoke cleared, the Remington Law Group no longer existed.

Tom's divorce from Janice went through quickly and without a hitch. Due to Janice's prison sentence, Tom boxed up all of her possessions and placed them in storage for her parents to collect at their convenience.

On July fourth, Tom, his father, and Bob celebrated Independence Day as did the rest of the nation - with a barbecue and fireworks. Bob brought a guest to the festivities and introduced her to Tom. He was instantly taken by the attractive shapely brown-eyed brunette in front of him, and had a difficult time not staring at her well-toned legs, set off by a pair of short denim cutoffs.

"Son, this is Marsha Simmons. She just moved here from Dallas and started up with me a couple weeks ago."

"You're a deputy?" Tom asked.

"Sure am," Marsha said with a confident smile that lit her face.

"She's also a former Marine," Bob said. "An MP, like your Dad. Marsha, my nephew here was also in the Corps. A sniper with Force Recon."

"Semper fi," Marsha said.

"Oorah," Tom replied. "I think we're gonna get along just fine," Tom gushed with a huge grin.

"I think so, too," Marsha agreed. "Buy a girl a beer?"

"Sure," Tom replied. "I could use a fresh one myself." He grabbed two beers from his father's ice chest and handed one to her.

"Your uncle told me about your last... op. Sounds perfectly executed," Marsha said when they sat down. "I'm sorry about what you went through with your ex."

"Yeah, well... I guess it happens," Tom remarked quietly. "The divorce will be final soon. How about you? I saw the mark on your ring finger. Were you married as well?"

"I was," Marsha said. "Apparently, my husband wasn't, if you know what I mean. I came home early one night and found him in bed with his secretary. In my bed, no less."

"I'm sorry to hear that. If you ask me, he was an idiot and a fool," Tom told her as he took in her figure.

"I agree," Marsha said. "I'm just glad we didn't have any children. Do you have kids?"

"No, thankfully. We were talking about starting a family, then things went to hell in a hand basket."

Tom and Marsha talked for much of the evening and had a blast when Bob and Tom's father set off the fireworks. By the time the evening was over, Tom felt much better. At the very least, he believed he had met a kindred spirit in Marsha.

"Are you about ready to head back, Marsha?" Bob asked after they finished the fireworks display.

"I guess it is about that time," she remarked before turning to Tom. "I had a wonderful time, Tom. It was a real pleasure meeting you."

"I had a wonderful time as well, Marsha. And I'm very glad I got to meet you. In fact, I'd like to see you again, if that's all right."

"That would be more than all right, Tom," she said, a broad smile on her face. "Here's my number," she added, handing him a card with her cell number. "Your uncle keeps me busy, but I'm usually off Saturday nights. Give me a call."

"Will do," Tom said, returning her smile. He took her card, observing the wink and smile from his uncle. "I'll call you this Thursday."

"Talk to you then," Marsha said before kissing his cheek. They said their goodbyes and left.

"Nice-looking young lady," Tom's father said after they left.

"Yes, very nice," Tom said with a massive grin.

"I hope you intend to keep your promise to her," the older man said.

"Absolutely," Tom said.

"Good man," his father said, slapping Tom on the back. "C'mon, help me clean up, and let's see if we can polish off the rest of that beer."

"You gonna give me the day off tomorrow to sleep it off?" Tom asked.

"Hell no," his father replied with a laugh. Laughing in return, Tom joined his father, his mind on a sweet brunette with the sexiest legs he had seen in quite some time.

"Waterloo Waterloo

Where will you meet your Waterloo?

Every puppy has his day

Everybody has to pay

Everybody has to meet his Waterloo"

...

Fade to black...

Note: The story of Tom and Marsha continues in my story, "More Than A Motto," to be published as part of a collection of summer stories.