No Clue

We spent the better part of two hours going over what the law required and allowed and what I could expect. Thankfully Foremost was a corporation and there wasn't much that Kelly could get. She could get half the house and half of our bank account including our IRAs. Just then Crystal knocked at the door and said, "There's a gentleman here to see Mr. Wilson." Sara told her to send him in.

This very handsome young man walks in and offers me his hand and says, "Don Wilson, I'm Steven Dahl. I'm your bodyguard. Manny sent me." I swear Sara and Crystal were sizing him up like they wanted him for themselves. Sara shook my hand and said she'd be in touch as soon as she had the papers ready to be served to Kelly. Steven followed me to my office and as soon as I got out of my car he was right behind me.

He was following me closely and I felt he was being over protective when suddenly he shoved me into the juniper bushes just as two shots rang out. A passenger in a plumber's van parked at the curb was pointing his pistol at us and Steven pulled out his Desert Eagle 45 magnum and fired just rear of the window as the van tried to pull out into heavy traffic. Steven then ran into the street and pulled off three rounds into the back window to where he hoped the driver was sitting. The van pulled out in front of a Cadillac, T-boning the van and the passenger, a black guy, fell out, trying to crawl away but only made it a few feet before he passed away. Steven turned to me and yelled, "Call 911!"

I immediately did and said to the 911 operator, "Shots fired, someone tried to kill me. My bodyguard took out one of them and I'm not sure about the driver. Please send someone to Foremost Plaza. Yes, I'll stay on the line." Almost immediately I could hear multiple sirens coming from different directions as Steven stood guard over me, just in case there was a back-up team waiting for me.

Soon, there were police everywhere. They had cordoned off the area and found the driver had been shot twice, once in his spine and one that took off the right side of his skull. The paramedics were administering oxygen to me when two detectives walked up. They flipped open their detective's badges and the older one said, "Jonsey said you had a bit of trouble this morning and we should look you up. I guess we should have taken him a bit more seriously, shouldn't we?" looking over at his partner. "How about we go inside where we can talk a little more, well, privately. Shall we?" They helped me up and the four of us walked into my office building.

As we did, Sherri, my secretary ran up and hugged me, tears in her eyes and said, "I'm so glad you're alive. I thought we'd lost you." Hell, I didn't know she even cared.

Once in my office, they introduced themselves as Tom Baker, the older one and Tony Nottell. Tom took the lead, "Mr. Wilson, Trooper Jones told us that the brake lines on your vehicle were cut and that it looked like someone was hoping that you would have a fatal accident. Then this afternoon, someone tries to gun you down. Can you tell us why someone wants you dead?"

My throat dried up and the tears fell like Niagara Falls. Steven handed me a box of Kleenex as Tom and Tony stood there looking on and eventually said, "Mr. Wilson, we don't have all day. Do you need us to call your doctor to get something to calm you down?"

Wiping the tears from my eyes, I managed to get out, "Sorry officers. It's just that I found out that my wife has been cheating on me for the past two years with from what I gather is a former gangster and he has asked her to marry him. She told him that she wasn't going to leave me because it would hurt me too much. He told her that he could always have me killed so she wouldn't have to worry about it. At the time she told him she wouldn't marry him if he killed me but now I'm wondering if she has changed her mind."

Officer Nottell had been writing in his notepad and asked, "Just who is this supposed gangster and do you have any real proof of your wife's affair?"

Mustering up my courage, I said, "Warren LeGuarde and here, take a look!" as I tossed him the folder. The two officers opened the folder and both of them were wide eyed as they saw my wife performing porn star-like antics with LeGuarde and his friends. There were several clear shots of LeGuarde's face leaving no doubt as to his identity.

Officer Baker spoke, "Mr. Wilson, if LG is after you, we may have to put you in protective custody. We're going to have to verify the identities of those two assassins that your man Dahl took out but if we can prove that they're LG's men, we might be able to put him away. Don't hold your breath, he's as slippery as an eel.

Steven stood behind me, his hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry, Mr. Wilson, I'll be here to protect you."

The officers handed me their cards and said they'd be in touch. As they started to leave my office, officer Baker turned to and said, "By the way Dahl, nice shooting today. We miss you down at the precinct. " his smirk said it all.

I looked up at and asked, "So you were a police officer? How come you left the force?"

Steven smiled and said, "Well one morning, I was working with the other detectives and got a call that I was needed to report to the commissioners office. The other detectives were chiding me saying that it was either a promotion or an ass chewing and wanted to know what I had done wrong. I had no idea. I got to his office and was ushered inside where he was sitting behind his big desk, looking very pissed. He never asked me to sit, he stood and asked me if I knew Ashley Baker. I told him that I didn't recall anyone by that name. He got red in the face and told me that Ashley was his step-daughter and that I had made her pregnant and I would have to marry her to make an honest woman of her as he wasn't going to have a bastard grandchild."

"I asked him just when this coupling was supposed to have happened and he said that Ashley said it was at a party when one of the detectives received their gold shield. Then it hit me that there was a cute gal that had a pretty good buzz on that asked me if I wanted to fuck her and I told her not really but she dragged me into the bathroom and gave me a blowjob. She had no panties on and cum was leaking out of her pussy. I looked at the commissioner and told him, "Sir, I don't think I'm marrying your step-daughter. I'll wait for the paternity test because I don't think she can get pregnant by swallowing my cum. You'll have to ask one of the other guys at the party that fucked her before she blew me." The next thing I knew I was suspended without pay so I had to quit. I got my P.I.'s license and haven't looked back."

Smiling at Steven's revelation, I called Sara, my attorney and told her of the second attempt on my life and told her to have Kelly served as soon as possible. She asked if I knew her whereabouts. I checked her schedule and it said she'd be at the Senior's Living Care Center tonight from 6:00 until after 11:00. Sara said she's have her served then. I then called to have the locks and garage door opener codes changed. That included the secret lower garage I had just found.

Around 10:00 I got a call from Sara. She told me that when her server went to Living Care Center, they told her that they hadn't seen Kelly in months, maybe even years. I couldn't understand it because I knew Kelly had filled out her calendar so I would know where she was. I told Sara to have the server waiting for her at our front door. I'd pay the overtime if necessary.

At 11:30, my doorbell rang along with banging on the door. It was Kelly. She was furious. I refused to open the door and she yelled, "Donald Wilson, open this door right now. Why in the hell are you divorcing me? Why won't you talk to me?" Steven stood next to me, his reassuring hand on my shoulder.

I stood there for a minute then said through the door, "You don't need me. Go back to your lover, Warren. Let me know where you want your stuff sent, alright?"

Kelly wailed and said, "No, Don! I love you. With him it was just sex, honest." I turned and walked away. My cell phone was ringing and it was Kelly. I simply turned it off and went to the kitchen and poured myself a drink. Four Roses on the rocks. I offered Steven one but he refused, saying he didn't drink when on duty. I could hear Kelly trying the other doors and windows around the house and trying to get me to let her in but I wouldn't budge. Downing my drink, I went upstairs to our bedroom and as I laid down, I wondered if she had ever brought him there. I got up and went to one of the guest bedrooms and made a mental note to buy a new bedroom set.

Steven and I went out to Denny's for breakfast. It was more for him as I only had coffee. My stomach felt like I had ridden the roller coaster way too many times. When we got to the office, Sherri, my secretary came up to me, gave me a quick hug and said, "There's a couple of men here that demanded to see our bookkeeper first thing this morning. One is from the I.R. S. The other one has been here before only I don't remember his name. I walked down the hall to our bookkeeper's office, closely followed by Steven.

Betty Shouls had been with us for years and was in the middle of printing stuff out for Pete and this other man when she noticed me. Shaking her head she said, "I'm so sorry Don. I should have noticed this long ago.

Then the other man turned to me and introduced himself, "Ivan Crow, Mr. Wilson. I'm an investigator with the I.R.S. Pete asked me to take a look at these charitable donations you have been making to your wife's charities."

A little shook up, I asked, "Is there a problem? I mean I donated in good faith. Can you tell me what's going on?" Ivan and Pete looked at one another for what seemed an eternity but was actually only seconds, then Ivan picked up one of the printouts from Betty's printer. He handed me the paper showing me the check to Christian Choir Charities which I had made out for $150,000. "Is there something wrong with this? I asked.

Pete said, "Look at the back. See who cashed it." I looked at the bottom of the sheet which showed the back of the check. My throat dried up as I saw that it was deposited to the account of W.L.G. Charity Distributions and signed by Kelly Anderson. I crumpled the paper in my hands.

"I don't understand," I said, you mean checks I wrote to Kelly's charities didn't go to them? Paul shook his head in the negative. I looked at Ivan and asked, "So what's my penalty for taking that amount of money off my taxes thinking I was making charitable contributions? He said, "As far as we can tell, the only two that have been making withdrawals are Warren and Kelly so I doubt you'll be charged. It may affect your taxes and you'll have to file an amended return for those years."

Ivan looked at me and said, "Mr. Wilson, you honestly believed that you were giving to a real charity, didn't you?" I nodded. "Well then, as long as you will testify against them, I will try to get the penalty expunged. I'm not sure as it's really quite a lot. Do you realize that in the past two years alone, you have donated almost four million dollars to those bogus charities? Your wife and Mr. LeGuarde are looking at some serious federal time for tax evasion. I'm bringing in an assistant and we're going to go through your books for the past few years, just to make sure. I'll also need your personal tax information. Can you have it here for me in the morning?"

Before I could answer, Betty spoke and said, "Mr. Crow, I have the Wilson's personal tax information for the past 10 years right here. Would you like them right now or would you rather have them in the tomorrow?"

I left the men in Betty's office and and I walked down to my office. I sat in silence, trying to take this all in. Not only had my wife been unfaithful to me but she had been stealing from me and the company to live her fantasy life. Suddenly the tears came streaming down my cheeks just as Sherri came into my office. She hurried over to me and handed me the box of Kleenex and hugged me. When I eventually caught my by breath, she said, "Sir, there's a woman here to see you. She says she's Emma Knox." Damn I didn't want to see her right now. My emotions were on a roller coaster but I figured I'd give her a chance to say her piece and told Sherri to see her in but stay around as a witness. Soon she came back with Emma.

Em ran over to me and hugged me tightly, a few tears on her cheeks. "Don, I'm so sorry how this turned out. If I had known what was going to happen, I would never have introduced Kelly to Warren. I thought she could just have a little fling then go back to being your happy little wife. She showed up and told me the whole story, at least I think it was. She was rather vague about some parts. Can't you forgive her. Do you really need to divorce her?"

I opened my desk drawer and pulled out the folder, placing it in front of her. I opened it and started flipping through the pictures, one by one. Em turned away, tears now streaming down her cheeks and I closed the folder. I stood and told her, "Her lover has twice tried to have me killed. I narrowly escaped death thanks to him," pointing to Steven. I didn't want to tell her about the fraud she had perpetrated on me until the I.R.S. had their warrants ready which Ivan said would take a day or two.

Emma's lips quivered as she started to leave. At the doorway, she mouthed the words, 'I'm sorry' and walked away. The next two days were hell, waiting for the other shoe to drop. I opened the morning paper, sitting across the kitchen table from Steven and on the front page were mug shots of Kelly and Warren after being arrested by the I.R.S. for tax evasion, fraud, theft and attempted murder. I had blocked Kelly's number on my cell phone but Rhonni's number lit up my phone so I answered.

"Hello Beautiful. To what do I owe this honor?" I asked my lovely daughter.

"Dad, did you have to have her arrested? Wasn't divorcing her enough? She said.

"Sorry honey, that wasn't me. It was the I.R.S. She's been getting me to donate to bogus charities that never existed for the past two years so her and her lover could live an exotic lifestyle. It's cost me almost four million dollars," I said.

"FUCK!" I heard my daughter yell. "What did she do with that much money?

"Rhonni," I said, "I wished I knew. You're going to have to ask her when you see her. Her arraignment isn't until this Thursday at the Federal Courthouse. I'm not sure if I'm going or not. It's supposed to be at 1:00." Rhonni said she'd be there.

I walked into the courtroom at 1:00 and found Thomas, Casey and Rhonni sitting together so I joined them. The bailiff had us stand as the judge entered then had us sit. Soon they led Warren LeGuarde and Kelly into the room in handcuffs, wearing their orange jumpsuits. As they removed the handcuffs, Kelly saw us sitting there and gave us a half smile. Tommy pushed his glasses up using his middle finger to flip off his mother. She quickly turned to face the judge.

After reading the charges, the judge reviewed Warren's record and ordered him held without bail and they removed him back to holding. He then had Kelly brought in front of him. He asked her why she had thought it was OK to steal money from her husband's company for her and Mr. LeGuarde.

She was a good actress and said, "Your honor, Mr. LeGuarde convinced me that if we did it his way, we could donate the monies to charities all over the world, not just locally."

Then the judge reviewed the I.R.S. paperwork and said, "Mrs. Wilson, according to the records, W.L.G. Charity Distributions NEVER donated any money to any charity. It was all spent on trips, clothes, meals and a lot taken out in cash. I suspect it was used in his drug trade. You wrote many of the checks yourself. How do you explain that?"

Kelly stood there thinking for a minute or two then said, "Well, Warren said that we were entitled as overseers to use some of the money on ourselves. I thought that he was donating to the charities."

The judge was shaking his head. He didn't believe a word she said. Not looking at her, he looked at the court reporter and said, "Bail is hereby set at four million dollars." Kelly's knees buckled and the bailiff had to hold her up.

She turned to me and said, "Don?" I just shook my head and walked out. The kids followed and we all went to lunch. Not much was said about Kelly as we ate.

Two months later I got a call from Ivan Crow, "Don, for some reason, the prosecuting attorney has moved Kelly's case up. Can you make it tomorrow morning at 9:00 A.M.? Same courtroom as before." I told him I'd be there and called the kids.

A little before nine, we were all there, waiting as Kelly walked in with her attorney, this time she was dressed in a nice pants suit and her hair was somewhat presentable. As the judge addressed the court he said to her attorney, "I understand your client wishes to amend her plea?"

Her attorney cleared his throat and said, "Yes your honor, Mrs. Wilson would now like to plea nolo contendere, against my advice."

The judge now looking over the top of his glasses at Kelly said, "Mrs. Wilson, you do realize that by pleading nolo contendere, I have to sentence you as if you were found guilty, don't you?" Kelly nodded then looked back at the four of us sitting there, holding hands. The judge asked his clerk for a copy of the sentencing guidelines.

After writing some things down on a piece of paper he addressed Kelly, "Mrs. Wilson, on the I.R.S. charge of attempting to secret monies away to evade taxes I hereby sentence you to twenty years at a federal prison to be determined by this court at a hearing within two weeks. On the charge of grand theft, I sentence you to federal prison of not less than seven years and not more than 15 years, Sentences to run consecutively. On the count of conspiracy to commit murder of your husband I sentence you to a minimum of ten years and not more than twenty years, sentences to run consecutively."

Kelly's mouth dropped open and she muttered, "T-t-that's thirty seven years! I'll be an old woman. I never conspired to kill Don. I was just kidding when I said that if he was dead I wouldn't have to divorce him. I want to change my plea."

The judge said, "Sorry, your plea has already been recorded into the record." Then he said, "Off the record Mrs. Wilson, after reviewing all the facts in this case, including what's in your divorce papers, I was hoping I could give you more time. You deserve it." Then he sat back and banged his gavel and said, "Bailiff, take Mrs. Wilson back to holding. We're done here."

It was another month when we had our divorce hearing. The court administrator that heard our case was a law clerk, not a judge. They had to bring Kelly in from the prison. She was in a gray jumpsuit with a bright orange INMATE painted front and back. The administrator quickly glanced over the papers and said to Kelly, "Well, it looks like you're not going to be needing much for the next thirty seven years because the feds are going to take care of your every need. You two are now divorced."

Kelly tried to tell me that she still loved me and that Warren didn't mean anything to her. She said that it was just sex and she had gotten caught up in all the excitement of his world. I said, "Kelly, if you really loved me, you never would have cheated on me or stolen money from our company. Not only did you have sex with him but you refused me, your husband, any affection other than an occasional kiss on the cheek or a half-hearted I love you. Do you know some of our friends knew of the affair before I did and our son found out about it and brought me pictures of it before I could even really believe it?"

Before she could come back with an answer, the guard told her it was time to go. He told me that we could talk during visiting hours and she begged me to come visit. I felt no reason to visit her. My love for her had died.