Don't Mess with Her

"Was he married or single?"

"He told me that he was divorced," Sara responded.

"Describe him," Hanna said, squeezing Sara's hand for support.

"Well, he was about six foot, six one, slim build, brown eyes, light brown hair, good looking, average size dick, and a mole on his hip," she said.

Hanna was floored, but recovered.

"Let me see if I can do a little investigation," Hanna said, then squeezed her hand again.

As Hanna left the charity that evening, she was livid. For only the second time in her life she was so angry that all she wanted to do was destroy someone -- namely Will. She didn't dare go home because she might kill him that night and while she would be happy about that, she wouldn't be happy about spending time in prison.

Hanna sat in her car for hours. She thought about how Will had refused to have kids with her and now would be having one with another woman; how it was now clear that he had been cheating for a year, not just with Sara but with others; how he had taken advantage of Sara by forcing unprotected sex on her while she was drunk and then not taking responsibility for his actions; and how he had been using her money to support his infidelity.

When she regained control, Hanna went and checked into a hotel. She called Will and told him that she was helping a woman from the center that was in crisis and wouldn't be home that night, and without waiting for a real reply terminated the conversation with a small scream then, "I've got to go, Will, I'll call you tomorrow."

Hanna took the next day off of work and went to see Sara. She showed Sara photos of six men, including Will, and she immediately identified him as the father. Hanna didn't react to it; in fact she pretended like the identification was unexpected.

Hanna then talked Sara into a blood prenatal paternity test, a safe and accurate test that needed a health professional only to draw blood from the mother (10 ml) and father (5 ml); the womb is not touched. Getting the blood from Sara was easy; now she had to get it from Will.

Hanna called Will at work. "Honey," she started out, almost choking on that word. "We're getting a new and better health plan at work that will cover you 100% now, so you don't have to pay for your health plan any more."

"Great, Hanna; how did it work out with the woman in crisis?" he replied, a little miffed.

"Oh thank you for understanding, honey. It worked out as well as could be expected. I didn't get home until after you left for work, though -- and then this health insurance thing came up. We need to act on it promptly because I put it off -- sorry," she said with an apologetic tone.

"OK, if I can stop paying for insurance. What do I have to do?" he mumbled.

"A nurse will come by your office today when it is convenient for you and do a quick physical, including taking a very small sample of blood. That's all! When is convenient, honey?"

After fumbling with his calendar Will replied, "2:00 p. m. is fine, I guess."

"She'll be there then; thanks again, honey, gotta run," Hanna signed off.

Hanna paid for rush service to have a nurse from a roving health care organization go get the blood sample from Will and do a fake short physical while she was at it. She then submitted both blood samples to an organization specializing in prenatal DNA testing. The results would be available in five days, giving Hanna the time she needed to effectuate her plan.

Since Hanna's last promotion she was not responsible for accounting for all of her time on a specific project. She had eight projects that she supervised so she could spread her time over several labs of the large agricultural chemical company she worked for, giving her time to do her own research or project without being missed elsewhere.

The chemical that Hanna was interested in was a fungicide called "carbendazim." Hanna's company did not make, sell, or even have research quantities of carbendazim because it is extremely toxic, is known to destroy testicles of mammals, and has other gross environmental disadvantages. However, with her expertise Hanna knew that she could make it herself.

It took Hanna three days, working on the project about three hours a day, to make the quantity of carbendzim that she required. After manufacturing it and putting it in a syringe she destroyed all evidence of her work, and her company reports indicated splitting time on the eight projects that she supervised.

Hanna's most difficult task was not making the carbendzim but acting normal until she was to spring her trap. She did the best she could, even having sex with Will one night; in fact she gave it her all during that session, which she was certain would allay any suspicions that Will might have about what she was up to.

The day after sex with Will, while he was at work, she injected a bottle of Harlan Reserve wine with the syringe. The only possible indication that the carbendazim had been introduced into the bottle was a small puncture in the lead sheath around the cork, and the cork itself.

When the prenatal test results came back five days later it showed what Hanna knew that it would -- that Will was the father of Sara's baby. Through another charity that the Paxon family supported she had her parents make anonymous donations to make sure that Sara would be able to effectively care for the baby, including getting her new housing, furniture, formula, diapers, and other essentials. Hanna also arranged for Sara to get a higher paying part time Sarab at the charity. Hanna never told her parents what the anonymous donations were for.

Late afternoon of the day that the test results came back Hanna made sure that her fingerprints or DNA were not on the poisoned bottle of Harlan Reserve. Then she placed it so that it was easily the most accessible of the bottles remaining, and put a small nick on the bottom of the bottle so that she could be sure to identify it.

She had all her most valuable things removed from the apartment to her parents' house and left Will a note.

"Dear Scumbag:

Actually calling you a 'scumbag' gives scumbags a bad name.

I found out for sure today that you are the father of Sara Collins' baby. Do you remember her? Maybe not since she's just one of many of your fuck buddies, so you may have forgotten her. You wouldn't have kids with me, but you screwed other women without protection, including Sara when she was drunk. How could you justify paying for your trysts with money I made?

Obviously I'm divorcing you and it won't be for 'irreconcilable differences' so that anyone who checks public records will know what a scumbag you are. I'm going to see the most bad-ass divorce attorney in the state tomorrow morning and hope that you'll be served by Monday. I'll be seeking return of all money you spent above your salary since it obviously went to supporting your lecherous lifestyle!

I've removed some of my stuff, but not all. Do not touch any remaining items that are mine including the entire spice rack, the Sabathia Knife set, the Harlan Reserve wine, the crystal decanter and glasses, or the Delft china -- they're mine and they'll be gone by the end of the day tomorrow.

Do NOT try and contact me -- if you do I'll get a restraining order against you and have it served at your workplace.

With total disgust, your soon-to-be ex-wife, Hanna."

Despite Hanna's admonition to Will not to touch the Harlan Reserve or to call her, she knew that he would do both. He called her that night, drunk; she recorded the conversation. He told her that he had consumed a bottle of Harlan Reserve and was on the second one, he had broken the crystal and china, was throwing out the spices, and had plans to use the Sabathia Knives to cut her to pieces.

Once Hanna was certain that he would be passed out, or suffering from the carbendazim, she surreptitiously returned to her apartment wearing gloves. She thoroughly flushed with water the bottle of Harlan Reserve that had the carbendazim in it and rinsed it with small amounts of wine from the almost finished second bottle, removed the metal wrap and cork that had been penetrated with the syringe, and in their place put a wrap and cork from a bottle of Harlan Reserve from her parents' house.

First thing the next morning, Hanna -- acting completely distraught -- called the police and reported Will's threat. She asked to accompany four officers to her apartment. They found Will there, writhing in pain on the floor of his bedroom. Broken china and crystal and bottle of spices were strewn all over the place, and of course there were the open bottles of wine.

The police cuffed Will and had an ambulance transport him to the prison wing of the local hospital. At Hanna's urging they taped off the apartment as a crime scene so that no one could enter it or remove evidence since she convinced them that she would be swearing out a warrant for theft and destruction of property.

Since carbendazim was not something normally located on a tox screen, the doctors at the hospital could not initially determine what was wrong with Will. After two days they called in an expert from a University hospital in an adjacent state. After a thorough examination of Will, including examination and testing of his testicles, the expert ordered a more detailed tox screen to test for carbendazim and a few other possible poisons.

By the time that the second tox screen results came back the next day Will was long past hope that his testicles could be saved. He had essentially been chemically castrated.

Once the cause of Will's condition was determined, the police initiated an investigation. The wine bottles, and almost every other food item or container in Hanna and Will's apartment, was tested. No trace could be found of carbendazim.

Management and co-workers at Hanna's place of employment were interviewed. They all were consistent in assuring authorities that carbendazim had never been in their facilities and that if someone were to purchase it there would be a paper trail since it was a highly controlled substance.

Hanna cooperated fully in the investigation. She admitted to everything about how she found out about Will's affairs and getting Sara pregnant, identified the note, crumpled up on the floor, telling Will that she was divorcing him as one she had written, and was honest about everything -- except, of course, making the carbendazim and placing it in a bottle of wine she was sure that Will would drink.

The police never had any evidence allowing them to charge Hanna so the case went cold. However, with Hanna's persistence, including personally seeing the District Attorney, Will was charged with theft and destruction of property. In a plea deal was sentenced to six months in prison and supervised probation for two years, and ordered to reimburse Hanna for his actions.

With the pre-nuptial agreement, Will's conviction, and a separate lawsuit Hanna filed against him for return of funds he spent on his trysts, the eunuch Will gave up. He agreed to a divorce degree dissolving the marriage because of his infidelity, and giving him nothing except his car and clothing. Hanna was 'magnanimous' and paid for one year of climate controlled storage of his possessions, so that they would be available to him once he got out of prison, and $2,000 cash when he was released.

After Will was in jail, as Hanna and her brother Gil walked out of the Courthouse once the judge had entered her final divorce decree Gil turned to her and peered into her eyes. "I see that you learned something since the John-Samantha incident in High School," he said with a smile.

Returning his smile she said "Why Gil, whatever do you mean?"