Electric Dreams

In the story below, we're bringing back one of our favorite recurring characters; Karin Roland, a private investigator, most recently starred in last year's 'Karin and Katiana'.

Everyone portrayed is over eighteen. This is fiction; as always, all characters and events, etc. are figments of our imagination and have no connection to any living or dead persons, or true events.

Electric Dreams

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Derek Miller's first words in the last thirty minutes jarred his wife from whatever she was thinking, which wasn't the panorama.

"What?" Zoe Miller's answer confirmed that Zoe was a million miles away, and not for the first time this past weekend.

"The leaves, the mountains, the river; it's all so beautiful."

"I guess." Zoe's response was the verbal equivalent to a shoulder shrug.

Rather than get upset, Derek simply let it go. "Crap, what a fucking waste of a weekend and six-hundred dollars this turned out to be." Derek was thinking to himself as he continued to drive west on one of the prettiest roads in the country. Derek had taken the scenic Columbia River Historic Highway instead of Interstate 84 on their way back from Hood River. It was a last ditch effort to salvage what turned out to be a bust of a weekend. He began to wonder why Zoe even agreed to spend this weekend with him. As Derek thought back on it, Zoe hadn't exhibited more than a few moments of pleasure since they left Portland Friday night. The one attempt at love-making at the Inn was emotionless, he would have gotten more response from a blow-up doll.

Derek's interruption of her day-dream was just one more thing to piss off Zoe. Luckily, Derek had no idea what she was thinking to herself. Having to spend two days and nights with her asshole husband better have been worth the effort. Zoe had done her part; she got Derek out of town and gave Paul a key to the house. Now, Paul better have finished everything on his 'honey-do' list.

Zoe wondered how her hatred and disrespect had grown to such a monumental heights that she would even contemplate the course of action she now found herself taking. When did the love and admiration for her husband - the man she vowed to love, honor and cherish - turn to hatred?

$$$$$ -----$$$$$

It was nine months ago, the day she came home excited after an afternoon of shopping, a pair of Jimmy Choo heels and a new dress in the Nordstrom's bag. Derek had thoroughly spoiled her good mood with his line of questioning. That's the day she realized she hated Derek.

"You spent how much today?" Derek asked when she came home Saturday afternoon.

Zoe reluctantly answered him. "A thousand dollars. Why?"

She couldn't understand why Derek was beside himself. All Derek seemed to think about lately was how much they were sinking into the damn 1920's Craftsman house they bought the previous year. "I'm working every other Saturday doing bookkeeping and you're out spending a thousand dollars on clothes? What about the plumber's bill? How can you possibly spend a thousand dollars on clothes when we owe the plumber three thousand?"

She never answered Derek questions because she walked out of the room sobbing and went into their bedroom, slamming the door. When Derek tried the bedroom door, it was locked. Zoe sat on their bed thinking, "Well, at least something works in this damn house!" Derek knocked on the door and waited.

Half a minute later, she opened the door, but rather than talking to Derek as he hoped, she rushed past him. Just as Derek came down the stairs and entered the kitchen, she came up from the basement holding two red, Milwaukee tool cases.

"What about these? You get to buy things for yourself and I can't?"

Derek stood there with a stupid look on his face. "Yes, I bought a power drill and a sander. Both of which I'm using to avoid having to hire a handyman or painter."

She didn't know how to answer that, so she took the easy way out, told him to "Go fuck yourself!" and left the kitchen. Things stayed frosty the rest of that weekend. Few words were exchanged between them, they slept in the same bed, but didn't kiss goodnight.

By the time Zoe got to work Monday morning, she needed to vent her frustrations. Unfortunately for her marriage, she chose one of her co-workers, Paul Roberts, as her confidant. Paul had stopped by her workstation to say 'hello' and ended up listening to Zoe vent. After a mild rebuke from their supervisor to get back to work, Paul suggested they continue the conversation over lunch.

During that lunch, Zoe pouted and between bites of her salad, told Paul how tired she was of being on a budget. Paul listened to Zoe's litany of grievances. Paul thought Zoe was being a bit of a bitch; she obviously didn't think about any of this from her husband's point of view, but like any guy trying to get into a married woman's panties, he pretended to fully sympathize. Paul said all the right things and they made plans to have lunch again on Tuesday.

Zoe and Paul ended up having lunch together every day that week. By Wednesday, Paul was making derogatory comments about Derek; how he must not appreciate what a wonderful wife he had in Zoe.

Before the end of that first month, Zoe was convinced everything wrong in her life was Derek's fault, especially the lack of disposable income. Even though buying the fixer-upper was mostly her idea - she needed a house and a yard before she'd even think about having their child - Zoe blamed Derek for the time and money needed to bring the house up to code. The plumbing was old, the electrical panel and wiring were old, the woodwork and floors all needed to be refinished.

The more time she spent with Paul, the more Zoe lost respect for Derek, to the point that after the first month, she now spent every Saturday in Paul's bed. Zoe's adultery only magnified her loss of respect for Derek. The more she fucked Paul, the more she grew to hate Derek. Gone was any of the love she felt when she married Derek five year earlier.

Then came the day, Zoe was lying in bed next to Paul, basking in the after-glow of their second round. Zoe was beside herself in lust with Paul, the man could turn her inside out with his love-making. No man ever got it up three times, something Paul seemed to have no problem doing. The orgasms sent her into orbit, she once nearly passed out from the way he banged into her pussy from behind. Paul brought it up. "It'd be nice if we could do this every day."

As much as Zoe loved hearing the words, there was a problem. "It'd be nice, but not very practical. If I divorce Derek, I'd be responsible for half our debts. I've already talked to an attorney about it. I'd be responsible for half the mortgage and all the other money we owe buying that money-pit fixer-upper. Derek's income is the only thing keeping us afloat. Even together, you and I don't make enough for me to divorce him and pay off what I'd owe."

This was the tricky part for Paul, knowing when to broach the subject. He had an idea how to solve both their money problems, the Millers weren't the only ones with crushing debts. But Paul decided that it was still too soon, he'd wait just a little while longer.

Over the next few Saturdays and during their lunches, Paul occasionally brought up that it was only a lack of money keeping them apart. Finally, a month after the first mention of it, two months after the beginning of their physical affair, it was Zoe who brought it up. Once again, Zoe and Paul were lying in bed.

"Derek has a million-dollar life insurance policy and I'm the beneficiary."

Paul could hardly contain himself. "What are you suggesting?"

"If we could find a way for him to die, I'd get the insurance money and we could be together."

Paul continued to play dumb. "Have you thought about how it could be done?"

"No, I haven't. I've never killed anything bigger than an insect. I wouldn't know how to do it, let alone get away with it. It wouldn't do any good to kill him and end up in jail."

Paul agreed. "Well, I bet people get away with murder all the time. It's a matter of being smart about it."

Zoe sat up and looked into Paul's eyes. "Could you kill him? Maybe you could pretend like it's a hold-up and shoot him with a gun."

Paul didn't like this idea at all. He'd seen too many movies, movies such as 'Body Heat', where the wife gets some chump to murder the husband. The wife gets her freedom and the insurance money, the man gets set up and ends up taking the fall. If he and Zoe were going to pull this off, Zoe was going to do the killing. He'd been giving this a lot of thought, but once again didn't want to make it seem as if he was too anxious.

Zoe and Paul were lying in bed naked while brainstorming how to murder her husband. Paul didn't want to tip his hand too early, so he listened to Zoe's ideas, most of which were so outlandish that it took all of Paul's self-restraint not to laugh at her. Finally, he couldn't wait any longer. "Didn't you say that the electrical panel was old?"

"Yea, Derek complained because he had a hard time finding the right kind of fuse when one burned out. It uses old-school, screw-in fuses. He had me run out to some special store to get replacements when he found they carried them. Derek plans to replace the panel as soon as we can afford it."

"Well, that's it - that's how we'll get him." Paul explained how they could bypass the fuse with pennies placed in the fuse socket. It was a matter of making certain the coins only had Derek's fingerprints on them.

Paul told her how it would work, and Zoe listened as Paul explained that she'd be the one to commit the final step in his plan. She was amazed it had come to this, to the point she'd even consider murdering another person, let alone the man she so desperately loved not that long ago. Of course, if Zoe was honest with herself, the million-dollar insurance policy - a policy that Derek had bought last year when the couple first started talking about a family - was the determining factor.

Zoe was still apprehensive. "Won't they suspect me? How do I make it seem like an accident? Who knows if Derek has told anyone we've been having issues? I can't remember the last time he and I made love. Maybe he's complained to someone - like a friend or co-worker."

"Then you'll have to fix that. Time to re-kindle your romance with the cuck. Make him think you're a loving couple again."

"I don't know if I can do that. Just being around him makes my skin crawl."

"Every time he fucks you, just think about the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, one million will go a long way to making you put up with his dick. Think about how many hours working at Kopple and Sons it would take us to make a million dollars."

Zoe thought about it, but at that moment, it was hard contemplating the actual murder. Luckily, Paul was hard, too; so Zoe decided to think about it later and straddled Paul's hips before sinking down on his incredible cock.

After they both got off, it was time for Zoe to head home. Zoe showered and dressed, enjoying the post-coital bliss until Paul interrupted her thoughts.

"This was it for a while, Zoe. We can have lunch occasionally, but no more getting together until after we're done getting rid of the cuck. We can't afford to have someone see us making eyes at each other or catch you leaving my apartment."

"Really, Paul? Do you really expect me to go the next few weeks without you?"

"Let me put it this way, Zoe; do you want to spend the next couple decades locked up in prison? Or would you rather spend a couple months faking it with Derek, then spending those same decades laying on a sandy beach and in bed with me? You decide because if you're not in this all the way, then you and I are through. It's all or nothing!"

The thought of life without Paul was enough to get Zoe on board with the plan. She kissed him good-bye and drove home.

Over the course of the next six weeks, Derek felt he was living with a loving reincarnation of the woman he married. They kissed with passion, she made his favorite meals, she seemed to take pleasure in hanging out with him again. Zoe did such an excellent job of acting the loving spouse that Paul began to worry he may have made a mistake. Zoe would come in every Monday morning and tell all the other women what a romantic weekend she spent in her husband's arms, all the wonderful things they did together.

After the first four weeks of this, Paul couldn't take it any longer and invited Zoe out for lunch. They sat at a table where their conversation couldn't be overheard.

"What the fuck, Zoe? Have you fallen back in love with Derek?"

Zoe looked at Paul as if he'd lost his mind. "No, you imbecile. I'm doing exactly what you told me to do. Everybody in the office thinks I'm madly in love with Derek. And I'm betting Derek's co-workers are getting the same report every Monday. The guy is literally putty in my hands."

Zoe was giggling like a schoolgirl as she continued. "And do you want to know the best part? I probably haven't had to fuck the little wanker more than a few times. I used the excuse that I had a terrible yeast infection. Told him we can masturbate while watching each other - he loved that. Of course, I had to give him a few blow-jobs, too."

If Paul really cared about Zoe as anything other than a piece of ass and a future meal ticket, he might have been jealous. He knew better than to over-react, but also needed to act slightly relieved that Zoe was still on board with the plan.

"Well, that's a relief. I don't know what I'd do if I thought we didn't have a future together." As the words left his mouth, he could tell the stupid bitch believed every word.

Paul's words were music to Zoe's ears. Silently, she thought "He really loves me." To Paul she said, "You'll just have to live with sharing me for another month, then I'm all yours."

It was two weeks later when Derek asked Zoe if she'd like to spend a weekend touring around Hood River. They'd get a room at the Hood River Inn, a place they previously spent many romantic nights during their courtship and the first four years of their marriage. Zoe felt trapped, she was getting tired of faking it and wasn't looking forward to "reliving those special times" as Derek put it. She didn't want to spend "two romantic days and nights" alone with Derek. It sounded like hell until Paul told her this was the solution to one of their problems. With the house empty, Paul would have time to make the final arrangements. If all went well, it would be one of the last weekends that Zoe would ever spend with Derek.

$$$$$ -----$$$$$

So, Zoe agreed to the Hood River trip. Despite her best efforts, she had a hard time pretending to be a loving wife over the weekend, especially Saturday night when Derek insisted on making love. Now, on the drive home, Zoe realized that all the effort she expended the previous two months may have been for nothing due to the way she acted all weekend. And with everything she dreamed of being so close! How could she have been such a fool? She looked at Derek and decided to try and salvage what she could.

Zoe put her hand on top of Derek's and gave him a sad smile. "Derek, I'm sorry. Let's stop at the Vista House overlook."

They were only a few miles from the point, Derek didn't say anything, he just squeezed Zoe's hand, pulled into the parking area and turned the car off.

Zoe broke the silence. "Let's take a walk."

As they got out of the car, Zoe took Derek's hand and they walked up the Vista House steps, Derek was afraid to ruin the mood, so he kept his mouth shut. Looking over the Columbia River, Zoe broke the silence a second time.

"I'm sorry, Derek. I had a bad week at work and took it out on you this weekend. I should be able to separate work and home life, but I just couldn't this time. Sorry."

"Do you want to talk about what's bothering you at work?"

"Not really. I just feel like I'm stuck doing the same thing day after day. It's not particularly challenging and the money sucks."

"Maybe it's a good thing, Zoe. Maybe you won't miss it when you have to quit to have a baby."

Zoe's hand reflexively squeezed Derek's when Derek brought up the baby. Derek thought it meant Zoe was happy with the thought of becoming a mother, he had no idea her hand responded in horror at the thought of becoming pregnant. Why did he have to insist on having children? How could he be so clueless to her aversion of being tied down to one or more rug-rats?

Becoming a mother sounded so wonderful until Zoe's best friend had her first last year. Zoe couldn't believe how much it changed Denise. Her body still looked like shit a year after the birth, she always looked tired, and worse of all - all Denise ever talked about was the damn kid. Boring! This was just one more reason to end this farce of a marriage, before she accidently got pregnant. Wouldn't that be the pits?

Despite her inner-most thoughts, Zoe continued to play the loving wife as they walked around the Vista House veranda. She changed the subject, looking down on Rooster Rock State Park.

"Remember the time you convinced me to go to the nude beach down there? I still can't believe you took off your bathing suit."

Derek smiled at the memory. "And I can't believe you took off your top and wore that skimpy thong bottom. Damn, you looked hot. I had to jump in the river so no one could see I was sprouting wood. It's the only time in my life I ever skinny-dipped and it felt awesome. But I kept worrying about some big salmon coming and mistaking my cock for another fish. Took some of the thrill out of it."

Zoe laughed. It was the first time in months that she laughed at something Derek said without faking it. She wondered if Derek could tell the difference. Derek took the opportunity to kiss her.

Zoe kissed him back. "Let's go home and get naked. I need to make love to you."

She didn't have to ask twice. Derek took her back to the car and they continued the drive west.

As Derek drove, he couldn't help but wonder if his wife wasn't a bit schizoid, a Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde. For months, she treated him with contempt. Then two months ago, she turns all lovey-dovey again. This weekend was the return of the evil Mrs. Miller, then out of nowhere, here comes the loving wife again. How long would this last?

Two months ago Derek had had enough. All attempts to find out why Zoe wasn't talking to him, let alone making love with him, were met with silence. He even considered that Zoe must be having an affair. She was "gone shopping" or "seeing my girlfriends" every Saturday afternoon. Derek finally hired a guy to follow her. It cost him a thousand bucks, but after three weekends, the PI reported that Zoe did go shopping or was out with a female friend. Nothing suspicious. It was Derek's bad luck that the surveillance started the weekend after Zoe and Paul made their pact to stay away from each other.

Sometimes little things, little things like Derek's procrastination before hiring the PI, can have such enormous repercussions.

$$$$$ -----$$$$$

'Good Zoe' was back again after their weekend in Hood River. Back to the loving Zoe who Derek worshipped for the first four years of their marriage, back to the loving wife of the past two months. They made love that Sunday night. Zoe came home Monday night and made Derek his favorite meal, her version of his mother's lasagna. Served with red wine and followed by another evening in bed. Zoe didn't have to fake being in a good mood; she'd been practically walking on air since Monday morning when Paul stopped at her desk and said the magic words, "It's all set."

Tuesday evening, Zoe asked Derek if they could invite both sets of parents over to the house on Sunday. Derek was pleased with the suggestion even though Zoe said it meant they'd have to spend Saturday cleaning house and clearing the front and back yards.