Table for Two Ch. 04: Final Act

"Oh the leaded window opened

But you moved the dancing candle flame

And the first moths of summer

Suicidal came, oh suicidal came."

I had just finished all the preparations when the doorbell rang. Answering it, I saw Julie with a clothes bag and an overnight bag, so I invited her inside.

"You know, you don't need to ring the doorbell. Mi casa es su casa."

"I appreciate that, Mike," Julie said as she entered. "Oh, I can smell that barbecue already."

"I haven't put the meat on yet. I wanted to wait till you got here. How do you like yours, by the way?"

"Rare. I mean, so rare that it practically moos."

"A woman after my own heart," I quipped.

"Let me go put this stuff upstairs and I'll be right out," Julie said.

"Need any help with that?"

"I got it, but thank you for offering anyway," Julie answered as she went up the stairs. I went out, put the food on the grill, and then opened the wine. Julie came back down, put an arm around my waist, and kissed me on the cheek. I felt more love in that small act than I had felt from Samantha in a long time.

The food ready, I grabbed a couple of plates and loaded them with the steaks and potatoes. We went into the kitchen, spooned some green beans, and then loaded the potatoes with butter and sour cream.

"This smells so delicious, Mike," Julie said.

"I hope you like it," I told her. "Been a while since I grilled anything."

"I'm sure I'll love it. Been a long time since I had a man cook a meal for me. Next time, I'll take kitchen duty, okay?"

"You're on," I responded. I watched as she took her first bite of steak. She closed her eyes and moaned as she ate her food.

"This is divine, Mike. Perfect."

"Thank you for saying so." We ate our food, engaging in small talk. When we finished, Julie insisted on cleaning up the dishes, so I let her. Then we retired to the front room with a glass of wine.

"So, anything interesting happen today?" I asked after we settled down on the couch.

"Yes, actually. We went over the evidence from Cartwright's house." She saw the look on my face. I figured they would execute a search warrant, but I wasn't aware that it had already been done. "I probably should've told you. The FBI searched her place the day after the arrest. Found an awful lot."

"Oh?"

"For starters, they found the digital files Cartwright used to make the photos. Believe it or not, she used the same base photos against hundreds of men over the years."

"Damn," I said.

"You can say that again. We also have information on all of the accounts Cartwright has access to. The funds in all of them have been frozen for the time being. We're talking millions more than we originally thought."

"So she's been running this scam for years," I said.

"Yes. With Samantha's help, I might add. And as you thought, Williams' thumb drive was full of child porn, which we also found on Cartwright's computer. It appears to us that she used that along with the faked photos as leverage against her targets. We also found evidence directly linking Cartwright and Williams to at least three murders. That, on top of their conspiracy against you."

"Sounds like they'll be going to prison for a very long time," I added.

"Well, if Ron has his way, all three of them will get the needle," Julie said. "We just have to wait to see what the grand jury says. It could take months for the investigators to sort all of this out. Maybe a couple of years, based on what I saw."

"What about all the men Cartwright screwed over?" I asked.

"That's a whole different can of worms," Julie said. "I expect there'll be a judicial review of every divorce Cartwright worked on. And I'm sure there's going to be a bunch of lawsuits filed. Your attorney, Alice, is chomping at the bit over that." I chuckled at that.

"I'm sure she is."

"At any rate, it's going to be a bloodbath, legally speaking. I'd be very surprised if Hempstead survives the fallout," Julie said.

"So, you've got your work cut out for you the next couple years, then, I take it." Julie nodded her head.

"Yeah, Ray put me on point, so I'll either be here or at Fort Apache. I'll probably have to go to Washington now and then."

"At least you won't have to worry about a place to stay when you come here," I told her. Julie smiled and wrapped her arms around my neck.

"No, I don't. I just hope you don't get tired of having me in your bed."

"I could never get tired of that," I told her. We took another sip of wine and fell into each other's arms for our second night of lovemaking.

...

Epilogue:

My divorce went through without a hitch, as I knew it would. Alice filed a number of lawsuits, and by the time it was all over, more than 600 men, including Alvin, walked away with a nice-sized check. Alice cut her percentage by more than half. Even then, she walked away with enough money to retire. Hempstead nearly went under, what with the bad press and judicial reviews, but managed to survive.

As Julie predicted, the federal investigation took 26 months to complete. At the end of the investigation, a federal grand jury handed down several indictments against Samantha, Allison, and Alan for various charges, including premeditated first-degree murder. Ron, the U.S. Attorney in charge of the case, sought the death penalty for all three.

Julie spent those 26 months commuting between Fort Apache, Washington, D.C., and my house. It was nice having her with me, and our love for each other grew to the point that I asked her to marry me a few days before Samantha's sentencing hearing.

"I thought you'd never ask," Julie said as I slipped the engagement ring on her finger. We celebrated with a night of unbridled passion. Pop was happy for us and even happier when Julie asked him to walk her down the aisle.

Samantha was given the opportunity to turn against her co-conspirators in exchange for a guilty plea and a life sentence. She wisely accepted, much to Pop's relief. After making the deal, she sang like a canary. As a result, Allison and Alan, who had been cleaned out by his wife in her divorce, were convicted of all charges and sentenced to death.

I saw Samantha twice after she was taken to Washington. The first time was during the trial when I was asked to testify. She sat in her chair, her face downcast as I answered the questions put to me. The second time was at the sentencing hearing. Pop and Julie joined me for that trip.

Samantha looked like hell the second time I saw her. Her hair, which used to be full and voluminous, was now ratty with streaks of gray. She looked as if she had aged twenty years, and wrinkles lined her face. She looked at me with hatred after her sentence was announced.

"Happy now?" she spit.

"Actually, I've never been happier," I answered, glancing at Julie. I saw a tear form in Samantha's eye, then she looked down. I glanced at Allison, who looked as worn and tired as Samantha.

"I told you, I don't like to lose an argument." Allison dropped her head and studied the table in front of her. With a smile, I walked away and started a new chapter in my life.

...

Fade to black...

In Memoriam: LJ (1951-2022)

A bit of a saddle tramp in his day, he was always ready with a laugh or a joke and treated everyone with kindness and respect.

Rest in peace, my friend. You have been an inspiration and will never be forgotten.

...

Notes: Julie Bascomb first appeared in "The Warren Files 04: Jim and Lisa." The DIU was introduced in "Breaking Point 01: Pilot."

The statement made by Julie, "Please. Take me to your parlor, kind sir," comes from my e-book, "Justice Rides," the story of how Eli Jones became Justice O. Peace. Yes, my characters read my stories...

The story of the county commissioner who was murdered was told in "Tip of the Spear."

The demise of the "New Way" was covered in my story, "Revenge in Advance: The New Way."