Playing with Fire

"You see, Julio is something of a germophobe. He's deathly afraid of catching disease. According to some reports I read, he caught a cold and thought he got it from this girl when they were having sex. She was just 19 at the time. That's who you're dealing with," I said. "So you see, it's highly unlikely he's just going to let you walk away into the sunset.

"And even if he does, you've already destroyed this marriage. I hope it was worth it to you," I said.

"I'm so sorry," Marie cried. "Please forgive me, Joe. I really do love you. But I have to do this." She got up from the table, kissed me on the cheek and slowly made her way to the door. Wiping her eyes, she picked up her bags and looked back one last time.

"I do love you, Joe," she said, sadly. "I'll make this up to you, I promise."

She opened the door and walked out to the taxi waiting in front of the house. I didn't know it then, but that would be the last time I ever saw her alive.

I cried for a while, still confused. Why had she done this? I remembered the app on her phone and pulled it up on mine. I hoped that I could keep track of her and maybe rescue her from whatever fate Julio had in store for her.

According to the app, her phone was at my address, stationary. I went upstairs and saw it on the dresser. It hit me that she deliberately left the phone so she couldn't be tracked. I also realized that I couldn't report her missing for at least 24 hours. All I could do was wait and hope for the best.

I called Chelsea and talked with her and my mom for a while. I told them to stay put and let me know if anyone called either one of them about Marie.

That weekend was hell on all of us. Even though the marriage was destroyed, I didn't want her physically harmed. I even drove by the Riverfront Motel to see if I could spot her or anyone from Julio's group, but saw nothing.

The next day, I called the police and tried to put in a missing person's report. The person I spoke to, however, didn't seem to give a rat's ass and said I should wait until Monday.

There was literally nothing more I could do but wait and hope for the best.

Finally, Monday morning came. I called in to my work and explained I had an emergency at home. I had comp time coming so my boss let me take a couple days to get things squared away. I called Marie's work, but she wasn't there. I asked for Sue and was put right through.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Have you seen or heard from Marie?" I asked.

"No, I haven't," she said. "She's usually here by now, but no one's seen or heard anything."

I told her about what happened Friday.

"Oh my God," Sue said. "I had no idea. Let me call the police, okay? We're all a bit worried. Thanks for letting me know and I'll call if I hear anything."

I thanked her, hung up and called the police again. This time, they seemed a bit more receptive, taking my information and referring me to a detective.

"Detective Marshall speaking, is this Mr. Klein?" the man on the other end asked. I answered in the affirmative.

"Mr. Klein, I'd like to come and speak with you if that's okay," he said. Again, I said that would be fine.

"Good," he responded. "I'll see you in about an hour or so."

Immediately after ending the call, I heard a report on the local news that sent a chill up my spine.

"Early this morning, the decapitated, nude body of a woman was found on the bank of the Rapaport River. The body was found shortly after a shootout between law enforcement authorities and members of what is believed to be members of MS-13. No officers were hurt but as many as 10 gang members were reportedly shot. The woman's identity is being withheld pending notification of the next of kin. Stay tuned to Eyewitness News for updates," the announcer said.

I spent the next hour hoping the woman wasn't Marie, but those hopes were dashed when Detective Marshall showed up with another man wearing a badge.

"Mr. Klein?" the detective asked when I opened the door.

"Yes," I said.

"I'm Detective Marshall," he said, showing me his badge and identification. "This is FBI Special Agent Owens," he added, pointing to the man standing next to him. Special Agent Owens also offered his identification to me. I invited them both inside.

"Mr. Klein, are you related to a Marie Klein?" Detective Marshall asked. I told them she was my wife, at least for the time being. They looked at each other before addressing me.

"I'm sorry to inform you, Mr. Klein, that your wife was found dead this morning," the detective said. I felt like I had been gut-punched. I was ready to divorce her for cheating on me, but I didn't want any harm to come to her.

"Was my wife's body the one found by the river this morning?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Klein, it was. Again, I'm sorry for your loss," the detective said. The FBI man spoke up.

"Mr. Klein, you should know that your wife has been working with us for a while, and she was instrumental in our raid against Julio Cabrera and his gang this morning," he said.

"What?" I asked. "She's not an FBI agent. She works for an insurance agency. She handles applications and paperwork. When did she start working for you?"

"I understand your confusion," he said. "We've been watching Cabrera for quite a while and we made contact with your wife after her fourth, um, encounter, with Cabrera. She agreed to carry a wire in her purse so we could monitor what the group was planning."

"Oh my God," I said. "Did she know the danger she was in?"

"Absolutely," Agent Owens said. "Your wife felt that she needed to redeem herself for what she had done. So yes, she went into this knowing full well she might not make it. She never told you, but her actions may very well have saved your life and the life of your daughter. You see, Cabrera was planning to kill you and sell both your wife and your daughter into slavery. I don't think I need to elaborate on what he was planning for them. If it's any consolation, your wife would probably have endured a fate much worse than death if Cabrera was successful."

"Is that why she couldn't tell me anything?" I asked, fighting the tears that threatened to flood my eyes.

"Yes, it is," Agent Owens said. "It's also why she left her phone here. She knew that you would try to rescue her and she wanted to keep you safe. By the way, I'm the one who picked her up on Friday. Your wife was one very brave woman, Mr. Klein. You and your daughter should be proud of her. Thanks to her sacrifice, Cabrera and his gang are either all dead, in jail or on the run. And trust me, the few members left will be caught and dealt with very soon."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope.

"Marie asked me to give you this if she didn't make it. Again, Mr. Klein, I'd like to offer my condolences on behalf of the entire FBI and on behalf of a very grateful nation," he said.

"Good day, Mr. Klein," the detective said, shaking my hand. "We'll be in touch in a few days to help with final arrangements. Again, we're sorry for your loss."

Closing the door behind them, I suddenly felt like shit. The last words to my wife were full of hate and bitterness and yet her final act was to save my life and the life of our daughter. Hot tears began flowing as I numbly opened the envelope Agent Owens gave me. Inside was a note along with Marie's rings.

"My dearest Joe," the letter began in her flowery, nearly perfect handwriting I always loved.

"If you're reading this, then it's quite likely that I'm dead. I'm so sorry for all the hurt and pain I've caused you. I never wanted to lie or cheat on you and I'd rather be dead than live a lonely life without you and our Chelsea.

"The truth is, I did cheat, even though I was drugged the first time and blackmailed every time after that. I joined a gym to get back in shape for our anniversary. I had hoped you would like the new me and ravish me the way you did on our honeymoon. That's when I met Julio. Like I told you earlier, he was supposed to help me with my workouts.

"After that first workout, he invited me to have a drink with him. I foolishly agreed, and that's when he drugged me and later seduced me. I won't lie, I enjoyed the sex, even though I was drugged. He told me I needed to be available for him and his friends and he threatened to show you and Chelsea video of my first seduction.

"It got worse after that. Julio videotaped everything that was done and he made it clear that if I didn't go along, he and his friends would rape both me and Chelsea while you were forced to watch, then kill you. He also threatened to sell us into prostitution.

"That's when the FBI contacted me. I agreed to help them, in hopes that I could get out of this mess and maybe redeem myself in your eyes. I had a wire in my purse that last night and that's why I couldn't tell you the truth. I wanted to, so bad, but I couldn't.

"Please don't mourn me. If I'm dead, then I'm in a much better place and we'll be together again forever. The truth is, I got what I deserved. I can only hope that you and Chelsea are safe and can one day find it in your hearts to forgive me.

"I also want you to find another woman and live a long, happy life. And please remember that I have always loved you. You were the best husband, provider and father a woman could ever ask for. I had the best and I screwed it all up.

"Again, my love, I'm so sorry I hurt you. I never wanted to do that.

"Your loving wife, Marie."

"P.S. By the way, you were right, as always. I played with fire. And I got burned."