Down the Staircase Ch. 02

While I was making copies of the video, my phone alerted me Judy was making a phone call. I was busy and did not listen at the time. The call was automatically recorded.

"I'm just driving home from meeting with Robert." Judy said. "There is nothing wrong with his memory. He remembers every detail of what happened. Even details I had forgot. I'm glad you did not go with me like you wanted. I'm sure he would have shot you on the spot. He is not taking chances. It was not a good idea for me to even think about recording the conversation either. I'm glad I didn't try like you wanted. He called me on it right away. I stripped naked to show him I did not have a bug planted on me. I could not believe it. I sat there stark naked and other than looking me over a few times, he ignored my body. He is that pissed. I even begged him to take me to bed and reclaim me."

"What a fool!" Mark scoffed. "He is a full cuck. Not even willing to try to reclaim his wife. Too much a pussy for even a revenge fuck. The good thing is he has no actual proof we are screwing. His claims aren't worth shit." WERE SCREWING, corrected Judy. "Yeah, were. We are gonna have to cool it for now. I'm sure my wife has somebody following me. She needs proof to clean me out in a divorce. The kids are damn near grown but she'd get seventy percent of everything we have, even the business. Plus support. Her father made us get the prenup before he'd finance us going into business. This might be the end of our marriage anyway, just based on what the cuck told her. But I could get by with a fifty fifty split and no alimony. I'd have to give her the house but I'd at least keep the brokerage. I could still earn a living."

"You know I don't make enough to support myself if Robert divorces me." Judy said. "Even with some alimony. I just hope he gets over it. I'm willing to do anything to keep him. Counseling, wear a chastity belt, post nuptial agreement, whatever it takes."

"Why? Fuck the cuck!" Mark scoffed. "That rhymes, I'll send some sales your way to keep you afloat. We'd have to keep it quiet though so we don't piss off the other agents. You'll just have to give up that pussy like you have been doing. Maybe throw in that ass every now and then for a little extra. But not now. Not until I am in the clear with Julie. The first thing to worry about is I gotta get out from under this assault charge. What did the cuck say about taking the money to say he tripped?"

"He said no way. He might go for a hundred K but he'd need to see the transfer including routing number and all first. He believes you are lying about the account and says you wouldn't pay off anyway." Judy said.

"Well, he's probably right there. If he was stupid enough to go contradict his statement, and came to me with his hand out, I might spit in it." Mark laughed. "I might get the cash and give him twenty five up front. I'd record it though. Then accuse him of blackmailing me if he asked for more. A hundred? Fuck that. I could have him killed for a whole lot less."

"If you say anything like that again, I'll confess to the cops myself." Judy said. "And just in case you have those same ideas about getting rid of me, I'm going to make a video confession and give it to a few people for safekeeping. I'll tell you right now if Robert so much as gets dizzy and falls off his dock on his own and drowns, I'm going to turn you in. You will NOT threaten him again!"

"Hey!" Mark backpedaled quickly. "I was just spouting off. I'd NEVER do something like that."

I don't think Judy was gullible enough to believe him. I was going to be on my toes. I made a recording of that conversation as well. I had an appointment with Bergeron later. He came out to the camp since it was not far out of town. I began to wonder if maybe Mark really did have a secret account. But why in the world would he tell anybody? Maybe he just opened his mouth and revealed it to Judy without thinking like he did about having me killed.

Bergeron was impressed with the video of my conversation with Judy. I could see he was impressed with her body although he did not comment about that. He would take it to the associate district attorney who was working the case. "This is icing on the cake. We got back the initial forensic results. You had spatters of semen on your pants and a smear of semen and vaginal secretion on your right leg. We'll have to compare that with their DNA before the trial of course. But who else would it be? We also checked out the sofa and the carpet where you said they had sex. Sure enough, matching spatters. Even a few towards the door. I guess as you two scuffled he dripped a bit and as he struggled with you, it spread."

"The good thing is it shows you got into it with him a full twelve feet from the door. That plus the three feet from there to the top of the stairs further supports your story. I'm sure we will be upgrading the charges against him to attempted murder. Your wife might get charged as well. I'm not sure if they will call her just complicit or an active participant. That is up to the DA. Your skin and blood were under her fingernails so she definitely grabbed you. Her statement she was trying to keep you from pulling your pistol could be used either way by a good attorney."

I asked him how? If I was being attacked, I had the right to defend myself. "Sometimes a good lawyer makes a situation sound different than it really was. For example, while Danvers grabbed you, he was not beating on you. He is a big man who likely would have beat you to a pulp, but had no weapon. You could not know he might throw you down the stairs. His saying he was going to kill you would make you think your life was in danger. Of course he is going to deny he said anything like that. It comes down to the jury in those cases."

"But since you didn't shoot him, that part does not matter. I'm sure he cannot say he was afraid for HIS life because you had a gun and threw you down the stairs to defend himself. But don't be surprised if his lawyer tries something like that. I've seen some wild shit attempted to cast doubt."

I got a call from my father in law that evening. He had heard I had been hurt but had been released from the hospital. He apologized for not coming to the hospital while I was there. He and my mother in law had been on a cruise for the past ten days. Their flight back had just arrived. They were now on the road returning home. "We have not been able to get through to Judy. We had three messages when we turned our phones back on. The first saying you had fallen down the stairs and you might die. One later saying you would be okay. And the last one saying you had been discharged from the hospital. You are doing okay, right?""

"Bill, I hate you to hear it this way, but those messages do not tell you the whole story." I said. I liked the man. Both he and his wife had been good to me. "I did not fall down the stairs. I was pushed, virtually thrown. Judy's boss tried to kill me. I caught them having sex in my living room. It is going to be a mess." To say he was shocked would be an understatement. I heard him relate what I'd said to Sandy, my mother in law. I could hear her wail. "Look, you need to have a talk with Judy and hear her side. Needless to say, I am not at home." A few moments later we hung up.

I needed to get the ball rolling. I called my attorney first thing the next morning to check on the status of the divorce paperwork. The papers were ready to serve Judy. He only needed to know where she was. The process server had called the real estate office and checked my apartment and Judy was at neither place. Bergeron called to say they had arrested both Mark and Judy as soon as they got to work this morning. He had taken the audio and video files I provided to the associate District Attorney the night before. The DA had apparently stayed late and got all the charges filed. The assistant DA wanted to see me in his office. I wondered why. Bergeron went with me.

It turned out he wanted to caution me about my talking about the bribe to change my story. He said it could be construed I was willing if the price was right. I assured him Danvers did not have near enough money to buy me off or get me to settle. I wanted the bank information so I could pass it along to Julie Danvers. I told him I had already called Julie to tell her about the alleged secret account and she was going to have her lawyer look into it. That satisfied him but he still had me write a statement to that effect. "Look, best to leave the investigating to others. You don't want to get into trouble. We can't use the audio recordings. We can't even use illegally obtained information to further an investigation. It is called fruit of the poisonous tree. But you got a lot of good stuff on video and that is legal because you are in it."

Mark Danvers was charged with attempted murder. Judy was charged as an accomplice after the act. The DA did not think they could get charges of assault to stick in her case but he did not want to let her get away scot free either. With accomplice after the fact charges she could get no more than a five hundred dollar fine and up five years in jail. I thought that was ludicrous. Five hundred vs five years. Bergeron laughed and said the law is screwy sometimes. Danvers would likely go down. The DA suggested he'd be lenient on Judy if she testified against Mark.

That seemed like all the satisfaction I'd get. At least Judy would not get off completely. I really hated to see her get burned too bad, no matter how much I hated what she had done to me. I called my lawyer to tell him where she was. She would be served when she got released.

My brother John went with me to get the rest of my clothes out of the apartment. My clothes, my desktop computer and a few pistols I had locked in the safe was about all I wanted out of the house. I looked around. Everything else would remind me too much of Judy and the life we had built together, as short as it was.

We were almost finished packing the last bit when Sandy, Judy's mother drove up. We were stacking the boxes on the landing. Crying, she grabbed me in a big hug. "I cannot believe my daughter would throw away what she had for a little sex with somebody else." she bemoaned tearfully. "Do you think there is any way possible you could work through this?" Before I could react she continued. "I'm not talking forgive her. Especially not right away. I mean after a lot of counseling. Just before Bill and I left on our cruise, Judy had said you guys were going to start working on getting her pregnant. We were SO looking forward to that."

I looked over at Rachel, Judy's twenty two year old sister. She had come with her mother to get some of Judy's things. She was shaking her head. "I can't tell you how much this tears me up." I confessed. "I have video and audio that shows just how bad it was. Judy has no idea I have any of this. Both her and her boyfriend think it is my word against theirs."

"You have proof?" Sandy asked, surprised. "Judy made it sound like the affair was just a little fling. She regretted it of course, but you were totally unforgiving."

"This was not a little fling. It went on for months. No. What I have is damning." I said. "Some of it is pretty bad. Nudity, bad language, the works. I don't think you should see it."

"Fuck that, Robert!!!" Sandy said, vehemently. "I'm a big girl. You always were polite. You stifled cursing in front of Bill and me. I probably use worse language than you do. And I know what a naked person having sex looks like. So does Bill. I want to see and hear whatever you have. ALL of it. I am guessing from the way you are acting, the files will show my daughter a complete slut. It's bad isn't it?"

I nodded. "I started out not wanting Judy to be able to claim I was an ass who could not forgive a little indiscretion. That went south quick. It is bad. I really do not want to hurt you." I said.

"I told you. I want to see what you have." Sandy declared. "Cheating pisses me off. I don't care if it was you who did it or Judy. I had plenty of chances to fuck around on Bill over the years. Some of the offers might have rocked my boat, I'm sure. I never did." I agreed to give her the audio portion of my meeting with Judy and the other audio files.

"Judy is going to need your support." I said. "She is in for a rough legal battle." Sandy nodded.

"We'll support her, but that does not mean we'll condone what she did." Sandy said.

I told them I was moving out and Judy could stay but Sandy said Judy would live with them for the time being. At Rachael's insistence she went to pack some of Judy's clothes.

"Damn! This is some shit!" Rachael offered. I agreed. "No. You know only part of it. I was seventeen when you and Judy got together. I was dating a guy on the football team, not having sex, just going out. Mom made a big issue how Judy hit the mother lode. She found a great guy who would stick by her forever. Somebody like Dad. You weren't big and handsome but decent looking and sexy in your own way. Somebody a girl could count on to love her. Smart and loyal"

I laughed. "You are making me sound like a border collie."

"Asshole!" Rachael said, grinning. "You know what I mean. I got to know you. I envied my sister. I dated guys and looked for somebody like she had. Never found one." Rachael grabbed me in an embrace. "I'm just gonna say it. If my sister is so fucking dumb she'd give you up, I want you. I've loved you for a long time. I just want you to know. I'm here."

I really did not know how to react. I knew none of this was good. I hugged Rachael and told her I appreciated her love. She smiled and planted a lip lock on me that gave me a hard on. All three of the women in Judy's family had that effect on me. I told Rachael that Judy did not really have to move out of the apartment. I would be living at my family's fish camp outside of town. Rachael shook her head. "Mom is pissed Judy fucked up a good thing. She wants her back at home where she can tell her how she fucked up. And I think to keep an eye on her."

"I offered Judy could live with me if she had to and Mom shut that down." Rachael said. "I am just graduating and Mom does not want me saddled with Judy. Mom says I need to seek my own life and live with the decisions I make. On the way over she repeated that same thing a hundred times." John began to carry my things to the car. The doctor had cautioned me about strenuous activity so John was doing all the heavy work. My cast did not help either. "I have your phone number. I know where your fish camp is. Get ready for me!" Rachael said with a grin. She leaned forward and whispered she hoped I might be ready for some exertion soon.

"Hey, guy!" I heard from behind me. It was Cheryl, the woman from across the landing. "I see you are up and at 'em." Then she looked at the boxes on the landing. "I hope you aren't trying to carry any of those. You know you are not supposed to do any lifting. You suffered a pretty good concussion. You don't need to aggravate that."

"How did you know how bad I was hurt and what my doctor's orders were?" I asked. "I do want to thank you for helping me out when I got hurt. I heard you were right there, checking me out."

Cheryl pulled at name tag on her scrub top. "I work in critical care in the hallway right around the corner from where you were. I do mainly cardiac instead of neuro. Greta, the nurse taking care of you most of the time was my roommate in nursing school. I kept tabs on you." I said the doctor said I only had a little swelling. "Yeah, that's like saying you had a little heart attack or are a little pregnant." Cheryl laughed. "I looked at your chart and we nurses share information on the unit. You had a significant injury. You need to take it easy. Just because they say seven to ten days, my advice is to make that a minimum." I knew she was a nurse but not the details. Judy and I had invited her over a few times. She had shared snippets of her personal life. I liked her.

I told her my brother was doing all the carrying and loading. I only packed my clothes. I thanked her again for saving my life. She snorted. "I was scared shitless, to be truthful. I don't do neuro but I was trained. I was afraid you had broken your neck. Cervical breaks can stop respiration. If you quit breathing, I'd have a hell of a time doing CPR in the position you were in. I just loosened your tie and pulled the top of your shirt open and checked your eyes. Upside down like that wasn't helping your cranial pressure, but I could not do a thing to help that. I had nothing to stabilize your neck so moving you was out of the question. I was glad you didn't start to wake up and move around. But the ambulance arrived pretty quick."

"Do you still have the video you took?" I asked. She said her mother had taken all the pictures and video. But she had copies. She asked for my phone number so she could forward it all. I watched the video. Rachael looked at it as well.

"Wow! There is no doubt what they were doing! Judy is gonna piss her panties when I tell her about seeing her 'fresh-fucked' look." Rachael giggled.

Cheryl said,"I'm guessing you are Judy's sister. You look like her." We stood there for a minute. Then Cheryl gave me a hug whispering in my ear."You have my number now. Call me when you want to talk to somebody." Out loud she said, "Take care of yourself Robert. Do everything slow and easy. No exertion." She turned and went to her apartment. I was not sure if she put a little extra wiggle into her step or if it was just my imagination.

John was amused as we drove away. "Your mother in law would jump your bones in a heartbeat if she was single. She is one classy lady. But she loves her husband and won't cheat." I looked over at him. "Judy's sister wants you too. Now she'd jump into your bed quick. All you gotta do is let her." I shook my head. "Plus that neighbor, the nurse. She wants you, too. You think I wasn't listening? Yeah, kinda fucked up. But you have options, little brother." He laughed half way to the fish camp.

I wanted the divorce to be as easy as possible. I wanted to get it done quickly. I had my lawyer offer Judy I would pay half her rent, and utilities if she stayed in the apartment alone. I'd even pay half her grocery bill as long as it was food bought for her alone and not takeout or at a restaurant. I'd even keep her on my cell phone plan. I offered this support for two years saying she could use that time to get on her feet. Judy's lawyer quickly computed this was far more in her favor than the percentage of my income the law specified. I knew he told her how restrictive it would be but she accepted my terms and signed.

Of course Judy had bigger things to worry about than our impending divorce. She had been accused of being an accomplice after the fact for helping Mark attempt murder. She got released on her own recognizance. She had not been not charged the first time, only questioned.

Mark Danvers did not fare so well. The charge of attempted murder called for another bail to be set and a percentage paid. Mark only had a little cash available. Julie had taken her seventy percent of their cash and sealed their investment accounts. He could not touch any of that money. He did not have the ten thousand to pay the bondsman fee. His lawyer was trying to get him a signature loan. Apparently having the community assets locked in a divorce made it difficult to use as collateral. I laughed, imagining him stewing in a jail cell. Mark considered himself a mover and a shaker. Now he was being moved and shaken. Julie was as vindictive as me. I had told her about the alleged secret account in the Caribbean under her son's name. She said she would check it out.

To my surprise the secret account really did exist. Julie's lawyer confirmed it so he, Julie, and her son flew down to get the money. Her son was not on the signature card but because it was in his name, he could transfer the funds. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall when Mark found out his hidden money was gone. Because it was in his son's name it was not part of the community property. To make things worse for poor Mark, he would soon be facing problems with the IRS. He did not follow proper procedure for gifting minors. However it worked out and whoever paid the taxes, Mark would never get a penny. I loved it.