Joe Jackson

I went to her office, and said hello to Janice, her secretary. I told Janice I was there to take Susan to lunch. She asked if Susan knew about it. I told her it was going to be a surprise. I heard Janice say under her breath that it was going to be a surprise alright. Janice told me Susan was in conference with Mr. Kelley, discussing a client matter. She would be out as soon as she was able to break free.

I took a seat in Janice's outer office. I noticed Janice picked up her phone, pressed a couple of numbers, and whispered into the phone so I wouldn't hear. It was about ten minutes later that Susan came out of Kelley's office, straightening her blouse and smoothing her skirt. I noticed her usually perfect hair had a few strands askew, and her lipstick needed to be refreshed. Kelley walked out behind her, his shirt rumpled, and his shirt tail sticking out of his fly that wasn't quite zipped all the way. I wondered if the reason her lipstick was mussed was because she left it on his cock.

Susan was flushed and wouldn't look me in the eyes. Bill Kelley, on the other hand walked right up to me to shake my hand like I was his best buddy, with a big old smirk on his face. It was obvious to me that I had interrupted an important conference, so I apologized to Susan and turned and left.

I drove back to my office and shut the door. My first call was to my head of security, Ron Frederickson. I told him I needed a recommendation for a private investigator. I then called my lawyer and told him I needed a divorce lawyer, and it had better be a damn good one that was not afraid of McClain, Winthrop, and Fulbright. I then called my financial advisor and explained my situation. I could do all the usual with moving money around and cancelling credit cards, but I really needed to protect my company. Bobby said he could take care of all of it for me.

After getting off the phone with Bobby, my phone rang. It was Joey Ferguson, a private investigator recommended by Ron. I explained what I thought was going on with my wife and her boss. I didn't know how much was going on locally, but I was suspicious about their business trips. I told him she was going with him to New York City this week. He assured me he would put his best people on it, and he had an associate in New York. He would have a report ready for me next week.

I called Janice to tell Susan that I had to make a quick trip to Houston. NASA was complaining that our last shipment of micro switches didn't meet their standards. Since they are our biggest customer, it required my personal attention. I went home, packed a suitcase, and checked into the Marriott. I would go home again after she left for New York.

*****

Susan

It's been six months since Jack filed for divorce. I've been living in my condo and still working for Bill. Janice quit, saying she wouldn't work for a slut like me. Bill and I have been traveling, going to some marvelous places. I'll always remember the week we spent in Hong Kong, gambling in Macau. We spent a week in Monte Carlo, and then went skiing in the Swiss Alps. Our last trip is going to be to the Bahamas, a whole week at the Atlantis Resort in Nassau. I plan to go snorkeling over a coral reef while we are there.

After we fly back, I'm going to tell Bill that it's over. I'm going to quit my job and move back to Fort Dodge. Maybe my friend Angela is still there. I hope I can go to law school in Iowa. After I get half of Jack's company, I'll be able to afford it.

*****

Federal Joint Task Force

Conference room 3 on the 15^th floor of the Federal Building was being readied for a meeting on Tuesday morning. Beverly Scott, a clerk with the FBI Director's office, made sure there was a coffee carafe on the table, full of hot Columbian coffee. There was a coffee service with cream and various sweeteners. A tray with several ceramic mugs was sitting on a side table along with the coffee service. At one end of the table, there was also a carafe of hot water, and a box containing various tea bags. At the other end of the table was a tray with an assortment of donuts and pastries.

Robert Kramer, the regional FBI Director, stood looking out the window that ran across the other side of the room. From this height he could see across the river, and see the federal prison complex on the other side. He had personally sent some of the inmates housed there. He turned to greet Joe Thomas, the regional director of ATF, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. As they proceeded to fix themselves a cup of coffee, they were joined by John Davis, an assistant district attorney, and Detective Jeffery Masters from the County Sheriff's office.

At nine o'clock Robert called the meeting to order, and each participant took their seat around the large cherry wood conference table. Beverly sat at a small table to one side of the room to operate the recorder. Beverly also sat in front of a computer running a PowerPoint slide show displayed on seventy inch screens on each end of the room. By now, several subordinates of the principal attendees had also taken seats around the walls of the room, seated behind their superior to be in a supporting position.

In front of each of the principal participants was a blue one inch loose-leaf binder with an FBI emblem prominently displayed on the cover. Inside was a summary of the case to be discussed today, and copies of related documents. Each of the subordinates had also been given copies of the materials included in the binders.

"Good morning. I'm Robert Kramer, Regional FBI Director. I'd like to thank you all for attending. We have six cases to go over this morning."

It was necessary that each speaker identify themselves for the recording, even though they had all been meeting here monthly and knew each other well.

"The first case is an incident that occurred on June 22 of this year, involving a car explosion resulting in two deaths. I'll let Special Agent Miller give you the details."

"I'm Special Agent Jeffery Miller with the Chicago FBI office. On June 22 at 3:43 pm, there was an explosion in Parking Lot B at O'Hare airport. The explosion destroyed one car, a Mercedes-AMG GT sedan, severely damaged 10 other vehicles parked next to or in close proximity to it, including the airport shuttle. It resulted in the death of two individuals, Mr. William Kelley, the owner of the car, and his passenger, Mrs. Susan Martin, and injuries to eight people in the shuttle including the driver. Mr. Kelley and Mrs. Martin were both employed by the law firm McClain, Winthrop and Fulbright here in Chicago. Mr. Kelley and Mrs. Martin had just deplaned from a United Airlines flight from Nassau. I'll let the ATF describe their investigation."

"I'm Joseph Thomas, Regional Director of the ATF in Chicago. From our examination of the wreckage, we have determined that Mr. Kelley's car was destroyed by an explosive device attached to the firewall in the engine compartment, on the driver's side. Examination of residue from the explosives used shows it to be two sticks of industrial dynamite, used in building implosions. Indications are these were wired to the engine ignition, and when Mr. Kelley attempted to start the car, the detonation occurred.

"Fragments of the dynamite casing enabled us to trace it back to Williams Construction Company in Kansas City. An inventory of their stocks revealed at least ten sticks of dynamite were missing along with blasting caps and other materials, consistent with the construction of a device of this nature. Special Agent Miller will take it from there."

"Their employee responsible for demolitions, Joe Jackson, quit his job with Williams Construction, and was last seen in Kansas City on June 18. We know he was in Chicago on June 22. At 5:18 pm, he boarded a flight to Jamaica. We believe from there he may have gone to Cuba. Mr. Jackson remains our principle suspect. He had access to the explosives used, and he had the technical knowledge of their use.

"We cannot establish that Mr. Jackson ever had any contact with Mr. Kelley or Mrs. Martin and would have no motive for their murder. We therefore feel this must be a murder-for-hire situation.

"Mr. Kelley has been under observation by this office for over a year. We have reasonable suspicion that he has been involved in a money laundering scheme for a drug cartel in Columbia. He and Mrs. Martin were returning from the Atlantis Resort in Nassau where he was observed meeting with representatives of the Columbians. We haven't determined yet if it was the cartel or one of their rivals that eliminated Mr. Kelly. Whoever did this, wanted to send a very clear signal to someone."

"I'm Detective Eric Masters with the Cook County Sheriff's Department. I'd like to discuss whether the target was not Mr. Kelley, but rather Mrs. Martin. At the time of their death, Susan Martin had worked as the personal assistant for Bill Kelly for ten months. It was well known in their office that they had been having an affair for all of that time. She was in effect his "work wife". Mrs. Martin's husband, Jack Martin, owns a successful manufacturing company. He learned of his wife's infidelity six months before her death, and filed for divorce. She moved out, and with the resources available to her by working at one the most powerful law firms in the state, was preparing to take him to the cleaners. It was probable that she would get half of his company, and half of several lucrative patents. Audits of his finances, both personal and business, have not shown any suspicious expenditures consistent with hiring someone to murder his wife and her lover."

*****

Epilog

On an abandoned sandy beach in Belize, two young children are playing in the sand, under the watchful eye of their mother. She sits here every day, looking out at the surf and the clouds rolling in. Sea gulls wheel overhead. This part of the beach is at least three miles from the closest village, and hardly anyone ever comes by here. Solitude is just what she is looking for.

The young mother and her children live in a house set back from the beach far enough that tides and storms wouldn't be a danger. Her children, a young boy and his little sister, think it is great fun to live on the beach. Every day they play in the sand, wade in the ocean, or chase hermit crabs on the beach. Christina comes over every day to clean and cook for them and she brings her children as well, so they all have playmates.

Three months ago, she was approached by a lawyer from Kansas City that gave her the instructions that would change her life. She was to take her two young children and move to the beach house in Belize. Everything was already paid for. There she would wait to be contacted by her anonymous benefactor. Thinking she has nothing else to lose, she took the chance.

It is late afternoon and shadows are starting to lengthen. The young mother stands to tell her children it is time to go in. She looks down the beach toward her right. She thought she saw someone moving, walking up the beach toward her. She stands there and keeps watching as he gets closer.

"Angie" he calls when he got close enough to see her.

"Oh my God. Joe, is that you? Jason, Emily. It's your daddy."