Irresistible Impulse Ch. 02

My rival continued his cajolery for a full five minutes, during which time I held my wife tightly and she clung to me, trembling all over her body. It ended when he cursed, "Damn you, Toby," and we heard his footsteps move away.

By the time he had returned to the front of the house I was back in my vantage point at the upstairs window. Looking up, with seeming good nature, Jerry said, "You certainly seem to have thought of everything, old friend but you can't really blame me for trying, last throw of the dice kind of thing."

He retrieved his hold-alls which he packed in the boot of his car and then returned to get the bin liners full of clothes and throw them in the back of the vehicle. Then for the final time he walked back to stand gazing up. "So this is farewell but the big question is - how magnanimous in victory are you prepared to be?"

"What do you mean," I had to ask.

"I'm on the point of walking out of both your lives for good," he replied. "I've got real feelings for Louise and I think she is passably fond of me, so as a last favour, will you bring her to the window so I can say 'Goodbye' face to face?"

"Sorry," I told him. "I can blow you a kiss from her if that will help."

Jerry's face reddened. "Fuck you!" he said before striding away to yank opened his car. But before entering, he turned to shout angrily, "Just winning one battle doesn't necessarily mean you've won the war, wimp. If I turn up here during the day, do you really believe that Louise will send me away? I'm giving you fair warning, every single day from now on, all the time that you are at work you'll have to wonder if I'm in your house fucking her brains out." With that parting shot he drove away, engine roaring.

"He's gone," I said simply, letting my wife know the good news. The next moment she launched herself forward to throw her arms round me.

I'm not sure how long we clung to each other but when we eventually broke apart, Louise said seriously, "I've never actually liked Jerry and now I almost hate him for what he's done to us but whenever he's near I seem to have some kind of compunction to do what he says."

What I replied to that has slipped from memory but I do recall that shortly afterwards my wife admitted, "I'm so glad Jerry has gone but I'm not at all sure how I'm going to manage without him in my life."

"Davina succeeded and she was exposed to his influence far longer than you," I pointed out. That was a turning point because Louise cheered up immeasurably until at times her mood verged on euphoria and I felt obliged to say, "I don't believe this is over yet. If I know Jerry he'll be back."

"Does that mean more days like today?"

"Possibly but I hope not. It will be more his style to try to creep up on my blind side. I'm actually banking on that being his tactic because I've deliberately given him the opportunity." We spent a reasonably pleasant evening and even watched a bit of TV. My wife consumed some alcohol to help her relax but, although I had the same need, I abstained. She went to bed just after midnight. It was so tempting to join her and lose myself in the warmth of her body but I knew I had provoked Jerry enough for him to want to strike back immediately. It was imperative that I stay on guard.

Left to my own devices I purloined the wooden rolling pin from the kitchen and fitted two of my old socks on one end, fixed in place with rubber bands. Next I recovered two lengths of nylon rope that I had bought at the same time I purchased the replacement locks and finally I added to this small collection something of Jerry's. When putting his belongings outside, I had retained one item from his toolbox, a Stanley knife. This was a cutting tool with a short, retractable, scalpel sharp blade. I had stolen this while wearing surgical gloves and it now resided in a plastic bag with no possibility of my fingerprints being on it. All these instruments of my intended revenge I left conveniently to hand in Jerry's old room.

My watch was uneventful until just before 3 A.M. when I saw car headlights approaching only to be killed some distance down the road. Shortly afterwards I saw a shape moving cautiously through the darkness of my garden and was slightly disappointed at the degree of his predictability. Jerry stood studying the house for some minutes and next I saw him struggling across the lawn under the weight of the wooden ladder taken from its storage place behind the garage.

I waited until hearing the soft thud of the ladder on the window sill before grasping the rolling pin and moving silently to stand, concealed by the curtains, on one side of the window. I was actually surprised that he was falling into such an obvious trap but realised that his great underestimation of my ability was a true indication of the extent of his contempt for me.

He paused for a moment to regain his breath and I could easily imagine his pleasure, anticipating appearing silently by our sleeping forms to order Louise from my bed and into his. I drew equal pleasure knowing he was to be disappointed.

Jerry ascended the ladder very slowly and took even longer cautiously easing up the partially open window until the gap was wide enough to allow him access. Even then he only poked his head through and listened for what seemed an eternity, during which time I felt constrained to keep my breathing shallow. At last he came though head first, supporting himself with his hands on the floor as his legs followed. This was the moment that I chose to step forward and bring my weapon down hard on his unprotected head, just as he was in the process of rising.

I did not want to actually kill him or even cause severe injury but on the other hand I definitely didn't want him to remain conscious and able to grapple with me. In any event, I possibly erred on the side of my own self-interest because he was to remain insensible for almost an hour.

The early part of this time I put to good use tying him up. I put a loop of nylon rope round his foot and bound the rest round his legs until he was cocooned up to the knee and then with somewhat more difficulty did the same to his upper half until his arms were effectively pinioned to his sides. I resorted to this rather laborious process so that, if it ever became significant, his body would show no sign of having been restrained. My final touch was to deposit the knife on the floor a short distance from him.

His recovery was signalled by moaning followed by groans of, "Oh, my fucking head" but I think he regained his wits some minutes before he let on because, when he spoke, it was with some spirit. "Don't you think this is a bit over the top, Toby? For a start, I don't think you needed to hit me quite that hard."

"I knew you'd come back and this is the only way I can stop you."

"It stops nothing," he said confidently. "Eventually you will have to let me go, even if you want to inflict some indignities on me before then. I will be back. I like fucking your wife, she loves my cock and I'm going to keep on sticking it up her whether you want me to or not. You can't protect her from me every minute of every day."

"If I surgically remove your testicles, then that famous penis won't be a whole lot of good to her," I told him, nodding towards the Stanley knife on the floor."

Jerry's eyes widened in panic and the blood visibly drained from his face but, when I made no immediate move towards the implement, he recovered his composure. "You're bluffing."

"Why should I bluff?" I asked. "It is the most effective way to stop your sexual prowess being a problem."

"You're bound to be bluffing because you know as well as I do that you'd lose more than you stand to gain. If you castrate me, even if I don't die, you are certain to go to prison for a very long time with little prospect that Louise will still be waiting when you get out."

He was correct in his rationalisation and, when I made no immediate response, Jerry followed up his advantage. "Come on, untie me. You've given me a right crack on the head and a nasty fright but it is possibly no more than I deserve. How about we call it honours even and say no more about it?"

I think he thought I was actually considering whether to cut his bonds because he rushed on eagerly. "We agree that Louise is always going to need a more sexual man than you occasionally so why not stick with the devil you know? I know I've behaved rather badly over the past few months but I've gained a lot of respect for you now. I'd be happy to see Louise only a couple of times a week, one even, and it doesn't have to be here because she could come to me when I've got a flat. It was true what I said about being tight for cash but Davina is only being punitive to pay me back for living here. She's already told me that if I moved out of your house she would make no financial demands on me at all."

"My alternative to mutilating your genitals was to kill you," I told Jerry, completely ignoring everything he had said. "The easiest way I could think of is to put a plastic bag over your head and watch you suffocate." To emphasise my words I produced an appropriate bag to show him but this failed to instil the fear I had hoped for.

"It would kill me sure enough but you would be left with the problem of either explaining how I came to die like that or getting rid of my body."

"Then that only leaves hitting you on the head again but far harder. There would be no body problem because I would just have to report that I had hit a burglar I'd caught climbing in through a window."

"Yes, you might easily get away that," Jerry admitted, "But I still don't think you'll do it. You have really surprised me but I still don't believe that you are a killer. I have been a total shit but I don't think I deserve to lose my life because of that. Very importantly, I don't believe you do either."

"There is a third option."

"I can't think what," Jerry scoffed, rapidly regaining confidence.

It was time to end the charade. Taking out my mobile phone I dialled the emergency number to say, "Police, please. I've just caught a burglar breaking into my house. He is tied up but I need somebody to come quickly." That done, ignoring my prisoner's protestations, I went to wake Louise and tell her to prepare for visitors. The squad car arrived in a little under five minutes.

Taking the two officers up to where Jerry lay, I explained briefly, "I took this man into my home when his marriage broke up but he rewarded me by having an affair with my wife. I actually knew about it but the situation got so intolerable that earlier today I put him out of the house. He threatened to kill me if I didn't let him back and a few minutes ago I caught him climbing in through this upstairs window carrying that knife."

I knew that I had him. No matter what Jerry might claim or whatever divided loyalties might prompt Louise to say, my bit of window dressing added to real evidence of Jerry's nefarious intent meant that he was dead in the water.

In releasing Jerry from his bonds and cuffing him instead, the two lawmen displayed the gentleness reserved for violent criminals. My one time friend was loud in voicing denial but his words were completely ignored. I needed a final say and the opportunity came when my wife entered the room, automatically distracting the attention of the constables. Stepping close to Jerry I said, "About that war you were talking about, I'm pretty sure that this is check-mate, old mate."

*

Jerry has already spent two months in custody on remand. The word is that he intends to plead guilty to aggravated burglary rather than contest the more serious charge of attempted murder. I've been told he is likely to serve a minimum of two years so by the time he is released we should be nicely relocated a long way away.

As to Louise's future fidelity, only time will tell.