February Sucks - Karma is a Demon

The judge then asked my lawyer, Mr Hunts, to begin our case.

"Your honour, my client wishes nothing more than to put an end to this marriage, which, while stable and loving in the early years has recently become untenable. He also attests to the need for the children to live in a stable, loving home. A home which he feels he can provide."

The judge having heard the opening statements, requested that cross examination could begin.

Ms Whyles began. I was the first witness to the stand.

"Mr Ferguson, how would you describe your marriage to my client?"

"Before she cheated, or after?"

"Mr Ferguson, let me be clearer. Before the alleged misunderstanding, how would you describe your marriage to my client?"

"I would say we had the perfect marriage. We had two wonderful kids, Emma and Tommy who we both adored. Our finances were good, we had a steady group of friends. We had a great house in a nice neighbourhood. I worked from home mainly, so we had lots of good quality time together."

"Thank you Mr Ferguson. I am sure that there were a few arguments and disagreements along the way. Would you agree?"

"Yes of course. Every marriage has those. We always managed to overcome these bumps in the road and continue on."

"So would you say there were moments when you had to forgive each other and continue on. is that correct?"

"I would agree to that."

"Mr Ferguson, my client wishes no more than for you and her to talk, like you used to and get over the minor disagreement about what is a misunderstanding."

As I started to explain my point, Ms Whyles shut me down and said to Mr Hunts, "Your witness."

Mr Hunts paused, theatrically, before asking his first question.

"Mr Ferguson, you stated that your marriage was as close to perfection as you could think of. Not those exact words, but would that be a fair summary?"

"Yes. That's right. It was right up to the point where my wife decided to cheat on me in a public place."

"Objection your honour!" Interceded Linda's lawyer. "That is hearsay and not all proven fact in this case."

The judge looked at my lawyer. "Sustained."

"Your honour, I will go on to show that the alleged cheating did indeed happen and that it so devastated my client that he knew his only recourse was to file for divorce."

"Carry on counsellor," the judge said.

"Your honour, I would like to present the following evidence of the fact that my client's wife did indeed cheat on her husband in a cruel, public, embarrassing manner. There is no doubt that the incident did occur and that this particular seduction was only one in a series of episodes perpetrated by Morrisons and one of their frequent clients, one Marc LaValliere."

My lawyer then presented to the judge a folder of still photographs of Linda's dance. It was a series of pictures which clearly showed the progression of depravity and humiliation of me, by Linda and LaValliere.

Also, he projected on the courtroom screens, various video clips which showed what was happening on the dance floor. There were gasps and comments around the courtroom as one scene after another was projected.

"As you can see, your honour, these video clips were from a large number of other clients of Morrisons on that night. Each of these clients have stated that should they be needed, they would gladly testify to the authenticity of these video clips. There can be no doubt about this, what Ms Whyles calls a so-called minor transgression, being a major episode of cheating by my client's wife. I will now present another record of the whole sad episode recorded by Morrison's internal security cameras."

He then handed the USB of the night to the bailiff.

"Objection your honour!" Linda's lawyer almost yelled. "Those alleged video clips are from dubious sources and can not be submitted as evidence. Also, this alleged video purporting to be from Morrison's security cameras can not be real as the police were not even able to obtain them. Apparently there were technical errors at the club."

"How do you answer that?" the judge asked my lawyer.

"Your honour, a very strange thing occurs every Monday at Morrisons. Apparently technical errors occur precisely on that day each week. In fact, when requests for any video of past Fridays were forwarded to the Morrison's management, it replied that it could not provide any. Not for the last six months! The rest of the week was fine, just not Friday, Saturday or Sunday nights. I find it very strange that this problem occurred for so long and no attempt at fixing the problem was made. I request that my client steps down for now and you call on Mr Wells, manager of XYZ Security to come to the stand, if it pleases your honour."

"It does sir. The sooner we get to the bottom of this the better. I must say, I am becoming more intrigued by this whole sorry affair. Bailiff, call Mr Wells to the stand."

Mr Hunts came straight to the point.

"Mr Wells, how long has your company been responsible for maintaining Morrison's security system?"

"For at least the last three years."

"And in all that time, did the management of Morrisons report any difficulties with the security system?"

"Well, yes, but strangely, it was not the management which made the request. It was usually the local police who instigated the fault report when they were investigating some incidents at the club. After a thorough audit of the system, no fault was ever found."

"So, the so-called technical errors were in fact, not technical errors at all? Is that so Mr Wells?"

"Absolutely sir. The disappearance of these files was most likely caused by human error, or foul play."

"What would you mean by that Mr Wells?"

"Ok. Human error could be say, an employee accidentally wiping the files, thinking that they were backing them up to the cloud. However, I find it hard to believe that this would be repeated each Monday for many months. Foul play could simply be someone deliberately wiping the files."

"Mr Wells. You are about to see a series of video clips which allegedly show what actually happened on the Friday night. Before, I show them to you and the court, is there any way that you can verify these videos to be real and not fake, or manufactured?"

"Yes. Certainly. We take security very seriously at XYZ Securities. Every system which we install has a fail safe encoding embedded into the video records. It should show the date, time and also a checksum number which scrolls on the video. It is very difficult to see. You need to magnify the images by a factor of ten for it to be seen."

"Thank you Mr Wells. Please watch the video and point out where we should be looking. I will try to magnify the screen as much as possible."

There was a palpable hush in the room as the video of that night showed on the screen. It started with random dancers enjoying themselves on that night. Mr Wells directed the video operator to zoom in to the bottom right hand corner. Gradually as the magnification increased, some numbers became more visible. They clearly showed the date and time as well as the checksum value that Wells spoke of.

The video was paused and Mr Hunts asked the critical question, "So, Mr Wells, is this a true recording of the night at Morrisons?"

"Yes. It absolutely is. There is no doubt about it."

The collective hush, now exploded into an audible sigh.

"Objection your honour!" Ms Whyles almost shouted. "My client had no knowledge of this video's existence and so cannot be submitted as evidence."

The poor judge did not even have a chance to get a word in. Hunts immediately retorted by informing the honourable Ms Whyles that there is signage in the foyer at Morrisons which clearly states that for the safety and security of all patrons, constant video surveillance was in fact in operation.

The judge agreed.

Now the show could begin.

The progression of dancing from fast to slow was clearly visible. Even the nod by Didkhead to the band leader was visible. The change in dance pace was immediate after that nod. Hunts pointed out the strange fact that for a club wide security system, the video footage was exclusively of asshole and his slut for the night.

This video, because of its high quality showed in maximum resolution, the moment when Linda and shithead started to become more intimate. The courtroom became a mumble of almost whispered comments. Most of them were not very complimentary towards Linda. She hid her head behind her hands, looking down at the floor.

Hunts had a running commentary as the video played.

"Here you can see where Mr LaValliere started to fondle Ms Whyles' client's breast and, later, here you can see where he has his hand in her groin area. And," huge pause, "Here is where your client has an orgasm, right there on the dance floor."

Linda gasped and looked up sharply at that comment. She now sobbed uncontrollably.

Hunts then paused the video again and looked at the judge.

"Your Honour, the next segment of video is even more damning of Ms Whyles' client. For this, I would request that you call Professor Jones to the stand."

Professor Jones, a sprightly elder man, was relishing this moment of fame.

"Professor, what is your speciality field of study? Please inform the court."

"Certainly Mr Hunts. I am a lip reader. I have been employed by many agencies, both government and non-government when they need to know what is being said if they couldn't discern that from audio alone."

"Thank you Professor. We won't ask you to name these agencies, rest assured. I would like you to observe the video and in your learned opinion, please inform the court what is being said by Mr LaValliere."

The video clip scrolled past Linda's orgasm and shithead bent his head down to Linda's ear and as his lips moved, the Professor said aloud the words he said to her.

"So Linda. That was only a start. Are you ready to drop your husband and kids for a night of sexual passion at my place? If you say yes, I will wait for you at the back entrance of the club."

Linda turned her head ever so slightly, probably looking at where Jim was at that moment and replied, (again the Professors words)

"Yes! Oh yes Marc. Take me with you. The kids and Jim will be fine on their own. I will see you there soon"

And that is where I came in. It could be clearly seen that shithead tried to push me away and that my drink 'accidentally' ended up in his eyes.

The court room erupted into loud cries of,

"Shame!"

"You slut!"

"Call yourself a wife? A mother!"

The judge banged his gavel heavily on his bench. This was getting out of hand.

"Silence. Court is adjourned. Bailiff, clear the courtroom. I will see the two counsels in my chambers now!"

Linda and Jim were left alone in the now silent court room. The tension was so thick, it threatened to overwhelm them both. It was Jim who broke the silence with a sob which pierced Linda's heart.

"You were going to go with him?" he whispered angrily. "You were going to leave me there, wallowing in shame, humiliation and helplessness? You were going to abandon me and Tommy, little Tommy. And Emma, poor observant Emma. It would have broken their little hearts. And I would have been left to console them. Me, a person who would also be struggling to keep it together. How could you Linda? How could you? Can't you see that there is no going back from this? There is no going forward either. At least not together, as husband and wife. That will not happen. I will not allow it. Your selfishness has destroyed what I thought was a perfect marriage. A relationship which I experienced with pride so strong, it threatened to overwhelm me at times. What a fool I was. I was fooled by you. That so-called perfect relationship would never have allowed what happened, to happen. That flaw in your feelings for me and us as a family, allowed you to do what you did. Then you had the gall to try to trivialise what you had done and were, so obviously now, going to do.

We can't get past this Linda. I am done. There is no longer any anger, just profound sadness. There is large hole in my heart which used to be filled to overflowing with you and what I thought was your undying love for me. That was obviously a lie, one that you kept well hidden for all of our lives together. Well, the cold light of day has illuminated the true you, Linda, and it is not someone I wish to spend one second more with. Even thinking of you in any way I would consider a complete waste of time and energy. I have our children to think of now. They will need every gram of effort I can give them to get over what you did to them. I never will, but they deserve a more positive future."

Jim left the court room to the sound of Linda heaving, struggling for breath. It no longer affected him.

The judge eventually returned and the bailiff restarted the hearing. Mr Hunts was surprised to see that Jim was no longer there, but he had a job to do.

The judge was not a happy man. He hated cheaters with a passion, but he hated more, cheaters who wasted court time and resources trying to justify their selfish actions.

"I have made my decision. The marriage between the defendant Mr Jim Ferguson and plaintiff, Mrs Linda Ferguson is now dissolved. Let the records show that it was on the grounds of blatant, public adultery on the part of the wife. I grant full custody to Mr Ferguson. The court psychologist, Dr Robyn Smith, has satisfied me that in her interview with the children, they indicated that they no longer wished to live with their mother. Mr Ferguson and the children will remain in the marital home for as long as the children are minors. After this time, the house may be sold and proceeds split seventy-thirty in the favour of Mr Ferguson. If he so wishes, Mr Ferguson may purchase Mrs Ferguson's share, the amount of which will be determined at this time in this market. Mrs Ferguson will have one week to collect all personal items still left at the residence, but only under the supervision of an employee of the court. Enough of this nonsense. Hearing closed. Bailiff prepare for the next case!"

And so it was.

Linda ended up sharing a two bedroom apartment with Dee who was in the process of being divorced by Dave. Apparently, he didn't know the true extent of Dee's involvement in the whole saga and couldn't reconcile her treacherous actions with a person he would want to have children with. Linda and Dee were often seen out together at various dance clubs, but while Dee usually left with one or more partners each night, Linda always left alone. She never danced any of the slow dances ever again.

Linda did make an effort to keep in contact with the children, but it became increasingly obvious to her that their hearts were not in it. One visit, Emma said, "Mum, dad became extremely angry with us today before our visit with you."

Linda immediately asked, "Why Emma? Daddy can't stop you from seeing me. He promised that I could keep seeing you. It looks like I will need to talk to my lawyer."

"No mum. You don't understand. It was me and Tommy who didn't want to keep coming, but dad forced us to, saying that you were still our mum."

Linda was devastated by this revelation and after that the visits became less frequent.

During one of the last infrequent visits, Linda heard Tommy mention their new mum to Emma. Emma quickly hushed Tommy and started speaking about something else. Linda investigated this a little further by speaking to Dave. Dave made amends with Jim and even regularly visited him.

It appeared that Jim had acquired a young housemate. She was a student apparently. Most people just assumed that she did the housework and occasional baby-sitting for Jim in return for much needed income to fund her studies.

Unfortunately for Linda, Dave set her straight about that. Amanda, as her name was, had formed a very close relationship with Jim and the two children. That relationship became more than platonic and there was even talk of engagement soon. The children were delighted with their new mum-to-be. They were extra delighted because 'Mum Amanda' made their dad very happy, as he did her.

It was the final straw for Linda. The mental breakdown was so severe, she was admitted to the local mental ward with little prospect of leaving. The constant medications dulled the pain, but not the realisation of what she had done.

The two monkeys who played interference for asshole came to a painful realisation that bullying was not a social trend to develop. They were drugged, beaten and bound to two beds where certain unsavoury characters were invited to partake in some bdsm sex.

Good old Marc LaValliere, didn't fare very well either. He, like the ex-band leader, had an unfortunate run-in with some muggers. The muggers were armed with a small sledge hammer and a very sharp looking knife.

After breaking every finger and toe with said sledge hammer, they asked him one question. "How would you prefer we deal with your disease-ridden dick? Knife or hammer?"

Marc replied in a pain-filled whisper, "Hammer, not the knife, please not the knife!"

When the paramedics arrived, they looked at the damage to Marc's body. Apart from all of the broken bones, his groin area had obviously come in for some special harsh treatment. They could see that his testicles were smashed useless and his penis would never work again. That area of the male body and hammers were never meant to meet at the high speed that caused the damage. The last thing that shithead heard before someone called emergency, was one of the attackers say clearly, "You should have left married women alone shithead. Karma's a bitch normally, but with our help, she has become your demon!"

Of course, Jim had the perfect alibi for when the police questioned him. He was not the only suspect. The list of wronged husbands would keep the police busy for quite a while. A task they didn't particularly relish. At the time of the incident, Jim was lecturing a small study group at his home. The topic was 'the advantages of working from home as a design engineer'. Amanda had organised the study group amongst her closest friends from university. They all made statements that Jim was indeed there. They even had their study notes to prove it.

Emma and Tommy spent a great deal of time with their dad. He seemed to need them to be close at all times since their first mum's departure. They particularly loved being in the garage where their dad pottered around, fixing things and making knick knacks. One day Emma asked curiously, "Dad, why is that hammer hanging in the middle of your tools all by itself? Shouldn't it be in the tool drawer with all of the other hammers?"

Jim looked at her and then the hammer. It did indeed enjoy pride of place on his tool rack.

"Well Emms, that hammer was used to help a very special lady exact justice on a very evil person."

Emma, still perplexed, asked, "Which lady dad? Anyone we know?"

Jim smiled. "No Emms. I hope you never need to know her. Her name is Karma!"