Power Corrupts

"I'll fill you kids in later today, I promise" I told him. "And under no circumstances are you to have any contact with your mother or Steve. This is extremely important. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, Dad, I got it. What's going on?" he asked.

"No time to explain right now, son. Just do as I say, okay?"

"Okay, Dad," he said.

I grabbed my gun, the DVD I just burned, left the office and jumped in my truck. I knew my dad would be on his way soon so I didn't wait around. If he said he was gonna be somewhere, that's exactly what would happen. I pulled out and headed home.

About 15 minutes later, I pulled up to my house. I didn't see Steve's truck, but Jolene's car was there. Good. I knew my father would be there soon.

I went into the house, looked around for Steve or anyone else who might be waiting to do me harm. I kept my right hand on the pistol in its holster. I didn't see or hear anyone at first. I took a tentative step into the house. Jolene came down the stairs.

"Bill, you're home early," she said. "Anything wrong?" I looked at her, not saying anything at first.

"Is Steve or anyone else here?" I asked.

"Why would Steve be here?" she responded.

"I think you know why Steve would be here. Maybe to get himself a little afternoon nookie or plot my murder," I said. Jolene's eyes grew wide and her hand flew to her mouth. "Yeah, Jolene, I know."

"My God," she said. "I'm sorry."

"Bullshit. Let me show you what your lover just told me, then I'll give you 30 seconds to grab your shit and get the fuck out of my house," I said. I put the DVD in the player, turned on the TV and hit play on the remote. I watched Jolene's reaction to Steve's confession and his threat.

"Bill, it's not what you think," she said. "Please let me explain. Steve was just talking trash. We can work through this."

"Are you fucking kidding me, bitch? You conspire with Steve to cuckold me from the beginning, then you conspire with him to deny me children and then you conspire with Steve to kill me. Now your lover is threatening to kill his own children if I don't obey him. What the fuck kind of people are you? Now get your shit and get the fuck out! NOW, GODDAMMIT!"

I had never raised my voice to her, but she was clearly scared. I reached out and grabbed her left hand and pulled her rings off. I put my grandmother's ring in my pocket, took off my ring and slapped it into her hand.

"Eat it, bitch," I growled.

"Bill, please don't do this to me. I'm sorry," she whined through her tears.

"Yeah, you're sorry, alright. You're a sorry-assed excuse for a wife. Now get the fuck out of here."

I grabbed her purse and threw it at her. It hit her in the chest. She started for the door. I hurried her along.

"Move, dammit!" I said. I was tempted to kick her in the ass, but I was raised to never hit a woman. We got outside and walked to her car. She turned back to me as she opened her door.

"Where will I go?" she asked, crying.

"First of all," I said, "stop your goddamn crying. You're getting what you wanted. Second, I don't give a shit. Go to Steve's place, go to your mother's apartment or better yet, GO TO HELL!"

After I said that, I noticed two vehicles coming up the driveway - Dad's truck pulled in first, followed by Steve's. Jolene instantly stopped crying and smirked as she looked at me.

"Now, we'll just see who has to leave, babe," she said sarcastically. "It would've been a lot easier if you had just cooperated with us. Now, you and the kids will be begging us to kill you by the time we're done."

"You'd really kill me and the kids?" I asked.

"In a fucking heartbeat," she said. "And I'll enjoy every fucking minute of it. Don't worry, we'll give y'all a real good show before we start slicing you into pieces."

Dad turned his truck to block Steve's access to the house and stopped. Steve slammed on his brakes, missing my dad's truck by just a couple feet. Steve jumped out of his truck. So did my dad. He brought out his 12-gauge shotgun, chambered a round and pointed it at Steve.

"What the fuck are you doing, Jennings?" Steve shouted.

"I'm enforcing the restraining order," my dad said.

"What restraining order?" Steve asked.

"The one against you and your lover. The one that says the two of you are required to stay 500 feet from my family, and our property," Dad said. "And trust me, asshole, I'd love nothing more than to blow your fucking head off right now. So just get back in your truck and back the hell out of here."

Steve wasn't used to being spoken to like this and stopped moving forward. Two vehicles with flashing lights pulled into the driveway, stopping behind Steve's truck. Four state DPS officers got out, guns drawn.

"We got it from here, Mr. Jennings," one officer said, walking up to Steve. Dad lowered his shotgun as the officer served Steve with the restraining order. "Is that her?" he asked as he nodded his head at Jolene. Dad shook his head. The officer walked toward Jolene and I and handed her a paper.

"Mrs. Jennings, you've been served with an order requiring you to remain 500 feet from any member of the Jennings family and any property under the control of the Jennings Historic Family Trust, which includes this home," he said. "If you refuse to obey this order, you will be taken into custody. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I do," Jolene said quietly.

"Excuse me, officer," I said as he began to turn away. He stopped and looked at me.

"Yes, Mr. Jennings?" he asked. I pulled a digital audio recorder from my shirt pocket.

"I'd appreciate it if you could take Jolene and Mr. Jenkins into custody," I said.

"And why would I do that," he asked. I pressed the play button and let them hear the threat Jolene just made against me and the children. Jolene looked like she was going to start crying. The officer looked hard at her before taking out his handcuffs.

"Mrs. Jennings, you are under arrest. Please turn around and place your hands behind your back," he said. After cuffing Jolene and reading her Miranda rights, he called another officer on his radio and instructed him to arrest Steve.

"You're gonna pay for this, asshole," Jolene said as she was led away in cuffs. "All of you are gonna pay."

By now, another vehicle had turned into the driveway. A news van from a local television station had stopped and a reporter followed by a camera crew were walking up the drive as Steve was being arrested. They managed to get coverage of his arrest which made it to the evening news.

Steve was not happy, to say the least.

"Goddammit, do you know who I am?" he asked the state officer putting him in cuffs.

"Yessir, I do," the officer said. "And frankly, I don't give a shit. You're still under arrest."

"I'll have your badge for this," a red-faced Steve yelled.

I realized I should have mentioned their conspiracy to murder me and the children, but I didn't have that evidence on me - part of it was still in the DVD player in the house - and things were moving rather quickly. Still, I knew my contacts in Dallas had the evidence and were working on the charges.

The news van backed up and moved so the patrol cars could get out of the driveway. The reporter and her cameraman came up to me, my dad in tow.

"Mr. Jennings, can you explain why Commissioner Jenkins was just arrested?" she asked.

"Yes, I can," I said. "The last time I looked, it's still a crime to threaten murder and even popular politicians like Steve and his married girlfriend are subject to the law. Now if you don't mind, I have children to look after."

I walked away and Dad joined me, leaving the reporter and her cameraman in shock. Steve was well-thought of by the voters in our county, and I knew that his reputation as a "family values" guy had just taken a huge hit. Unfortunately, the voters didn't know Steve the way I did. But I would make sure they did.

My next stop was to my parent's house where I would explain all to what was left of my family.

I hated telling my children that the man they knew as "Uncle Steve" was really their biological father. But I felt I owed them the truth. At first they didn't want to believe it, but I had the DNA test results to prove it.

"I don't care what that piece of paper says," Jessica said. "You're my dad and you always will be."

"I agree," Bryan said. I loved these kids and I was so proud of them, even if Steve was the sperm donor. We shared a group hug and shed some tears.

After a tearful 'so long' to the kids and my folks, I went back to my house, grabbed enough stuff to hold me over for a couple days and headed to Dallas.

"And that's when you learned how bad things really were?" Ashley asked, interrupting my narrative.

"Yeah," I said, resuming my narrative after taking another sip of coffee.

The next day I met with Dave Brooks, the Dallas attorney well-known as a bloodthirsty shark who generally got his way in the courtroom. What I didn't know is that he had arranged for me to meet with all three of the men I had reached out to. I was rather surprised to see them all there when I showed up at his office early that day.

"Sorry to bushwhack you like this, Mr. Jennings," Dave said, "but after that last video you sent us we felt it would be better if all of us got together at once."

I accepted his apology and he introduced me to the other two men.

John Hancock, the prosecutor with the State Attorney's Office, shook my hand and took charge of the meeting.

"Mr. Jennings, let me start by apologizing for what you've been going through," he said. "There's no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to put it out there.

"We have evidence - lots of it - showing that Steve Jenkins is not only involved in a number of criminal activities, but that he has been helped by your wife. Not only is he involved in running drugs, but we have proof that he has been running guns, engaged in human trafficking and human slavery and is also involved in a prostitution ring. Worse yet, forensics has tied him directly to at least six murders.

"Moreover, your wife is implicated in most of that activity, especially the prostitution. We had hoped that we might have had a little more time to put it all together, but the threats against you and your children have forced us to move our timetable up significantly," he said.

The third man, Don Jacobs, a Captain in the Texas Rangers, gave a brief rundown from his perspective. He made it clear to me that the entire Sheriff's Department had been compromised and could not be trusted to do its job. As a result, he said, efforts were underway to temporarily replace the department with Rangers and officers with the DPS until replacements could be trained and hired.

"Unfortunately, that includes the corrections facilities where Jenkins and your wife are being held," he said. "So we need to move fast before things get worse."

"As for your divorce," Dave said, "I'm going to push for an annulment given your wife's criminal activity and the trickery she and Jenkins used against you. If that doesn't work, we'll file on grounds of adultery and mental cruelty. From what you've provided, I believe you'll come away with all of your assets along with custody of the children, if that's what you want."

We talked for about another hour, discussing strategy and possible scenarios.

Dave handed me a DVD he said contained videos of my wife's activities taken by private and state investigators. Some of them, he said, were quite graphic in nature and involved a number of men, including Sheriff's deputies.

John wrapped up by telling me what he intended to do with Steve and Jolene.

"I'm not going to sugar-coat this, Mr. Jennings," he said. "I'm going for the death penalty here, at least with Jenkins. Your wife may luck out and just get life in prison with no parole."

"I have to warn you, though," he added. "Your life and the lives of your family members are in danger. Be very careful. From what I've seen, you and your kids are damn lucky to be alive right now. People who cross those two usually end up dead.

"You have our direct numbers, though. So if you see or suspect anything, you call us, immediately, hear?"

"I hear ya," I said.

We shook hands and departed. My mind was in a daze. The man I once considered my best friend was not only a murderer, he was into drugs, guns, prostitution, you name it. And my so-called loving wife was all part of it.

The trip home was spent thinking over all that had happened the last seventeen years. How could I have not seen it? Was I really so blinded by love and friendship?

I finally got back to town and got a frantic call from my son.

"Dad, you need to come home, right now," Bryan said.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Just get home, NOW," he said, hanging up.

I stomped on the gas and made it home in about 20 minutes. I saw the ambulance and the DPS patrol cars out front and immediately thought about what I was told.

I rushed to the door just as the paramedics wheeled a gurney outside. I stopped them to find out what happened. A paramedic lifted back a corner of the sheet revealing Jolene's face.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Jennings," the paramedic said. "She's gone."

Strangely enough, I wasn't all that upset. I went inside to find Steve being lifted on another gurney. His left shoulder was shredded from a shotgun blast, but he was still alive judging from his groans. I saw the kids and my father standing off to the side. Thank God they seemed to be okay, I thought.

Avoiding the blood on the carpet, I made my way around to them and hugged them all after making sure they were okay.

"What happened," I asked. My father responded.

"I brought the kids here to get a few things," he said. "We were here for a few minutes when those two came inside. I guess they managed to make bail. Jessica and Jolene got into it and Steve drew a pistol. I heard the commotion and came in the back door. Bryan and I were out back getting some stuff. I grabbed my shotgun and came in here just as Steve drew his pistol. Jolene tried to get him to put the gun down, but it went off. He shot her, accidentally, I think. Right in the gut. I took Steve's shoulder out and called 911. That's when Bryan called you.

"Jolene didn't last very long. She was gone by the time paramedics arrived. I'm sorry, son," he said. I shook my head.

"It's alright, Dad," I said. "You did the right thing."

That's when I remembered I still had the security system running on the home server. I checked and sure enough, the entire incident was captured on video. I showed the video to one of the officers as another was taking statements from my dad and the kids. He asked me to make a copy, so I did.

I stopped my narration long enough to take another sip of coffee.

"Do you have that video here," Ashley asked.

"As a matter of fact, yes, I do," I said, pulling it from the stack. I put it in the DVD player and hit the button on the remote.

The video began with Jolene and Steve entering the house through the front door. Shortly afterward, Jessica was seen entering the room.

"What are you two doing here?" she asked. "You're not supposed to be here. You're supposed to be in jail."

"We made bail," Jolene said. "And we came by to get you kids. You're coming with us."

"I'm not going anywhere with either one of you," Jessica said. "You need to leave, now."

Jolene grabbed Jessica by the wrist.

"Oh, yes, you are, young lady. You and your brother are leaving with us now," Jolene said. Jessica struggled and pulled away from her mother.

"No way, bitch," Jessica yelled. "I hate you and I'm not going anywhere with you."

Jolene slapped her hard across the face. "Oh, yes you are," she replied. "I've got a nice little room set up for you in Abilene. You're going to go and you're going to do exactly what I say."

Jessica struck back, hitting her mother full in the face.

"Not gonna happen," she said. Jessica, stung by the blow, grabbed both of Jessica's arms.

"Oh but yes, you are," she said. "You're gonna be our new star. Isn't she, Steve?" Steve smirked as he responded.

"The guys are gonna love you, little girl," he said. Steve and Jolene laughed as the realization of what they planned dawned on Jessica. She struggled even harder and eventually broke free of her mother's grip.

"I'm not going, and you can't make me," she said. "Now get the hell away from me."

Steve pulled a pistol out of his belt and began waving it as he spoke.

"Well, then I guess it's lights out for you and your brother," he said.

Jolene turned to Steve and tried to reason with him as Jessica began screaming for her grandfather.

"Wait, Steve, we agreed we wouldn't kill them here. Let's take them out to the spot by Indian Trail where they won't be found. You know the place," she said. Steve shook his head angrily.

"No," he said. "I want that cucky wimp of yours to watch me fuck her before I blow her pretty little brains out." That aggravated Jolene even further.

"No, Steve, put the gun down before you have an accident. We'll take care of them, but not here. We have to stick to our plan," she said.

The two began wrestling and a loud report was heard, followed by an even louder shot. Jolene was thrown backward by the .45 caliber hollow-point fired at point-blank range into her abdomen as Steve was thrown backwards by the shotgun blast that ripped his left shoulder to pieces.

I stopped the DVD at that point.

"That's when I got the call from Bryan," he said. "You pretty much know the rest from here."

Ashley wiped tears from her eyes as I got up off the couch.

"I've about had enough for the night if you don't mind," I said. "I think I'll step out back and have a smoke, then hit the rack." Ashley got up and followed me out.

"I'll join you if you don't mind," she said.

We got a fresh cup of coffee and stepped on the back porch. For a while, neither of us said anything. Ashley broke the silence.

"I've forgotten how dark and quiet it is out here," she said. "I guess I've gotten used to city life."

She looked at me before saying anything else.

"Bill, you've got to get closure on this before it tears you up," she said.

"Easier said than done," I told her. "How do you deal with the fact that the woman you loved all those years was lying to you the whole time? I feel like I've been cheated out of an entire life. My kids aren't even mine, for crying out loud."

"I know a bit of what you're feeling," she said. "Remember, my husband was a serial cheater. But not everyone's like them."

"Yeah, I know," I said quietly. Ashley put her arm around me, trying to comfort me.

"Whatever it takes, Bill, just know that I'm here for you, okay? I'll always be here for you." I hugged her back and thanked her. It was comforting to have her there and she felt really good next to me.

"I can't tell you how many times I wished we'd gotten together in school," she said. I thought the same thing. "Maybe if my dad hadn't been reassigned to Austin we would've. And none of this would have happened. You know, I was kinda jealous of Jolene back in those days."

"Really?" I asked. "But you were with Steve."

"We only dated because you and Jolene were an item back then. But I had my doubts even then. I knew Steve wasn't one to get tied down to one girl. He even told me," she said.

"Well, no sense crying over it now," I said. "Besides, if you and I had've gotten together, you wouldn't have become a big city reporter."

"Pffft," she said. "Yeah, right. You know there's times I'd give all that up just to be with a good man," she added, looking up at me. I looked back at her.

"You know, I believe you would at that," I said.

We went back inside after a while and prepared to call it a day. I decided to crash on the couch as I had done so many times since Jolene was shot. Even though a DPS officer was posted outside, I was still concerned that some of Steve's cronies could get inside. On top of that, I was still a bit unsure of where things might go with Ashley and I didn't want to push the issue, considering that I had only slept with one woman for my entire adult life. Ashley understood, fortunately.