Up in Michigan

That was all gathered in a flash. Because Wirt had gotten his wits about him and was coming after me.

I knew that I had to buy some time before the cops got there and so I took off hoping that Wirt would chase me. I was counting on his bare feet slowing him down.

Well - that didn't work out so well.

One of the most one-sided naval battles of all time was fought off Samar in the Philippines in World War Two. Look it up. It was between a group of American destroyers and escort carriers called Taffy-3 and every freaking battleship in the entire Japanese navy.

Needless to say the little American ships were mostly all sunk but the fight that they put up as they scurried around the Japanese caused enough delay for the American's to ultimately react.

That pretty much describes my fight with Wirt. He was six inches taller, a hundred pounds heavier and much faster than I was. My only hope was to distract him long enough for the cops to get there.

I said as derisively as possible, "Wow, is that a dick or a cocktail weenie? Our Chihuahua has a bigger schlong."

He let out a roar and lunged at me. I dodged away from him. The force of his momentum carried him past me and directly into the side of my truck.

Score one for the little guy.

He made a grunt of pain and turned toward me with his nose bleeding profusely. I ran to my left, hoping to draw him toward the main road. I was laughing mockingly at him as I went.

I had gone about six strides when a fist like a club hit me in the middle of my upper back and I sprawled face first in the dirt.

I scrambled back to my feet and dodged to his right. I yelled, "Is that the best you can do you pussy?!!"

Pure bravado - he had actually nearly killed me with that blow.Wirt took off after me again.

I yelled, "You're a hopeless faggot. You can't even catch little old me!!"

I could hear the sound of rapidly approaching police sirens. I needed to prolong this another minute at most and Janet would be safe.

Wirt would have been smart to get out of there but he was so enraged at that point that he was like a crazed beast.

I stopped, laughed at him, pointed at his dick-which was totally deflated at this point, and said, "Where'd your cock go bitch??!!" He let out another yell and chased me up the lane toward the entrance.

I was almost to Fair Lane Drive and safety when he managed to get a good grip on my arm. He spun me around and slammed a beefy fist into my stomach. It was like a bomb exploded down there.

Then, as I was folding up unable to breath, he brought an upper-cut off the floor that hit me right on the point of the chin.

My head snapped back and the breakers toggled. As the nausea and darkness descended I could see flashing police lights and hear loud voices.

I awoke groggily. My jaw hurt, my neck hurt and I was lying in a hospital bed. The pain in my abdomen was excruciating. I was looking at a nurse who was examining the drip that was next to my bed. I said in a surprisingly clear voice, "What happened?"

She turned with a smile and said, "I'll get the doctor."

She came back five minutes later with a serious looking older guy. Without saying anything he glanced into my eyes using an ophthalmoscope and took my pulse.

Once he was satisfied he said, "You had several serious injuries Mr. Ostrovski. When you came into the ER you had a grade III concussion and whiplash and your spleen was ruptured.

We had to operate on the spleen immediately. Fortunately we are just up the road from where it happened so we were able to contain the bleeding without too much long-term trauma. But we are going to have to keep you here for a couple of days just to make sure there are no complications."

I thought back. The last thing I could remember was talking to Dean about a school project that we were working on. I said, "How long have I been out?"

T

he doctor gave me a comforting smile and said, "This is Saturday afternoon. You would have regained consciousness almost immediately afterward. But we had to put you under for the operation and we have kept you sedated since then. It helps you handle the pain."

I said, "What happened. Was I in a car accident? Was anybody else hurt? I had no recollection of Friday night, or Saturday."

He said, "There are a couple of gentlemen who want to talk to you about that. They have been called and they will be here shortly. Can you stay with us until they get here?"

I did a quick inventory. It felt like I had been hit by a truck. I had a splitting headache and my abdominal area was killing me. My neck felt like I had been the main attraction at a hanging. And I couldn't remember anything much about the last twelve hours."

Other than that, I was fine.

I said, "I can stay awake. Where is my wife? Is she okay? Can I talk to her?"

He said, "She is in another room. She was admitted for observation too."

I thought, "Oh poor Janet!! What have I done?!!"

My musings were interrupted by the arrival of two nondescript guys in cheap suits. They were so clearly cops that they might as well have been wearing Police Athletic League ball-caps.

I thought to myself, "Holy shit!! Am I being arrested?? I must have really fucked up this time!"

They introduced themselves as detectives with the Dearborn Police and told me that they wanted to ask a couple of questions about – as they put it – "the incident."

I told them that I would try to answer their questions. But that my memory of the last day had been wiped. I said, "Did I get in an accident? Was somebody hurt?"

They looked at each other. Than the skinny one with the high and tight said, "No, you weren't in an accident. We want to ask you a few questions about William Wirt."

I said, "What does Wirt have to do with this? He is one of our former vendors. We decided to terminate Ford's contract with his company. Was he driving the car?"

The fat guy with the food stains on his tie said, "You and he were in an altercation Friday evening. He was the one who put you here."

My first thought was, "Wirt beat me up?? I'm such a wuss!!"

He continued with, "Do you have any recollection of being struck by him and the circumstances surrounding the situation?"

I said, "No I don't. My last memory was from early Friday evening. I wish I could help but I just don't remember."

High and tight looked at me appraisingly and said, "We believe that you were injured trying to prevent Mr. Wirt from assaulting your wife. We know he drugged her because the blood work that was done when she came in showed a high level of Rohypnol in her system. And she was discovered naked and passed out in the back seat of Mr. Wirt's car.

"We have your 911 call and it gives us the general picture. But we have to confirm what actually happened.

"Mr. Wirt is very insistent and detailed about what he says occurred. He claims that he was simply defending himself from you. He claims that you attacked him while he was having consensual sexual relations with your wife Janet.

"When our officers arrived it was clear that you had come on the scene and interrupted the act. But we need to know exactly what you saw and why you were there.

"If what we believe is true we plan to charge Mr. Wirt with first degree criminal sexual conduct with special circumstances. His battery of you would justify that. That is a class "A" felony and a long time in jail, even for a first offender.

I was thunderstruck. I said, "Janet having sex with Wirt - in the back seat of his car? I don't believe it? She is a very intelligent and sensitive woman. And a blowhard like Wirt is definitely not her type.

"She only met him once two weeks ago. And she was grossed-out. She's just not that kind of person. Did you say she was drugged?"

High and tight said, "Mrs. Ostrovski had enough Rohypnol in her system to drug a moose. That was what leads us to believe that - if she was having sex with Mr. Wirt it was not with her consent.

"Nevertheless, we need to get all of the facts of the case and you are our only eye-witness. Mrs. Ostrovski will have no memory of yesterday either. Memory loss is a common side effect of Rohypnol and it is usually permanent.

"On the other hand the doctor has suggested that your amnesia is only temporary. So you need to try very hard to remember what happened."

Food stains said, "We also want to talk to

your wife, maybe she can fill in some of the missing pieces. Is she available?"

I said, "The doctor told me that she was in another room. Could you please wait to question her?"

Food stains said, "We plan to arrest and charge Mr. Wirt today – so no – we need to talk to her right now.

I said, "Janet is an honest woman. And whatever Wirt claims I can assure you that nothing took place between the two of them involving her willing participation."

The nurse who had been fussing with my drips disappeared and then reappeared fifteen minutes later wheeling a very groggy looking Janet in a wheel chair.

The instant she saw me awake she started crying. My fear and worry evaporated just seeing her reaction.

She sobbed in her hands for a couple of minutes and then sat up in the chair. Her beautiful emerald eyes were red with pain and clouded with tears.

I said, "I love you baby." And she went back to weeping.

She said, "Oh God!! What happened to us? Are you all-right?"

I said, "I'm fine, just a little banged up. You know what my Pollock head is like - solid rock." That was accompanied by a wan smile.

It was a truly touching moment.

But at that point things got serious.

High and tight said, "We would like to talk to you Mrs. Ostrovski. Is there some place private that we can do that?"

She said, "We can talk right here. I am not leaving my husband's bedside."

I squeezed her hand to reaffirm that.

She looked lovingly at me and said with a little humor in her voice, "We are such a mess."

Food stains said to the nurse, "Can you give us some privacy please?" The nurse smiled sympathetically, walked out and closed the door behind her.

As soon as the door was shut high and tight said, "We are investigating the circumstances behind what happened last night.

"We understand that you were at Andiamos with Mr. Wirt yesterday evening. Mr. Wirt claims that you propositioned him during dinner and that the two of you subsequently found a secluded spot to consummate the affair."

That shot a lightning bolt of jealousy through me. I knew it wasn't true but it was a devastating statement nonetheless.

Food stains continued, "Mr. Wirt claims that Mr. Ostrovski somehow discovered you two together and began to assault him. He claims that he was only defending himself.

"The severity of your husband's injuries tends to make that claim a little spurious. But right now it is your word against his.

"So I am afraid I have to ask you outright. Have you had willing sexual relations with Mr. Wirt?"

What a question!! Janet had been drugged and raped. It's the worst thing that can happen to a woman. But she is always steadfast.

She said in a voice laden with cold anger. She was only barely keeping control of her Irish temper, "That man is a psychopath. He has been harassing me at work since we met him.

"I agreed to have dinner with him to warn him in a polite fashion that he had to stay away from me or we would take legal action. I would never let him touch me under any circumstances."

I thought, "Good girl!! I could still remember our plan. And we wouldn't have looked quite so innocent If Janet had told them what the real motivation was."

Janet continued in a voice constricted by anger, "The man is repulsive. I remember feeling nauseous over dinner and the rest is a blur of unreal and very erotic dreams. Then I woke up here."

She turned to me with tears in her eyes and said with profound grief in her voice, "I'm sorry baby. I would never do anything like that willingly."

Food stains said, "Why was your husband not with you."

It was a fair question. I hoped that she was not planning on giving him an honest answer.

She said with some resentment in her voice, "I know what you are implying and it was for the very simple reason that my husband had to terminate an important contract with Mr. Wirt and we BOTH felt that the hostility that business deal generated would prevent me from having a reasonable conversation with the man."

I breathed a sigh of relief. Janet is a very smart woman.

Food stains looked meaningfully at high and tight. As far as they were concerned they had gotten to the heart of the matter.

He said, "So what you are saying is that Mr. Wirt drugged you and raped you as revenge for your husband terminating a contract with him."

Janet said, "I assume that is the case. I don't pretend to understand what was going on in that disgusting pervert's mind."

There was a question hanging out there and high and tight asked it. He turned to me and said, "How were you able to be Johnny on the spot so quickly?"

I was waiting for it and I had already formulated the answer. I still couldn't recall what had actually happened. But I could put two and two together. I assumed that I must have gone looking for her. And I remembered asking Mario to keep an eye on her.

I said, "We have a good friend who is the bartender at Andiamos. I had told him to watch out for Janet because I knew that Wirt was dangerous.

"Mario called me the minute he suspected that something was wrong. We live nearby and I rushed over. It was sheer luck that I found the right place but there are very few out-of-the-way spots around Andiamos. And you two both know that the most obvious one is Fairlane."

They exchanged glances like that answered their question.

High and tight said, "I think that wraps it up. We are going to arrest Wirt and charge him with CSC in the first and aggravated battery."

Then he turned to me and said, "But we want you to call us as soon as you have any memory about the rest of the incident. The doctors say that will be within the next day or so. You will probably have to testify at his trial as well."

They both left and it was just Janet and me now. As the door closed, Janet jumped up from her wheel chair, ran to my bed and threw herself on my chest crying.

It was more than a little painful since she was very close to the incision on my stomach. But the discomfort was worth it. Just to experience the joy of holding her.

I hugged her and stroked her trying to keep my IV's and other medical paraphernalia out of the way as I did it.

I said, "Are you okay baby?"

She said, "I'm as fine as can be. I don't want to think about what put me here. I'm just worried about you."

I said, "I never should have let you do this in the first place. I have to admit that I was savoring the idea of settling the score with that son-of-a–bitch. But it was hubris plain and simple. I guess we both underestimated him.

"And then after that I couldn't protect you. I failed you and I'm sorry."

The man I wanted to be would have beaten Wirt to a pulp. But the person who I actually am knew THAT would never happen. Wirt was just too physically dominant. I had even gotten a shot into his most vulnerable spot and all it did was piss him off.

Janet stood up angrily, put her hands on her hips, and said with conviction in her voice, "I don't want to hear that!! You could have just sat safely in your truck and let him keep on raping me. But instead you distracted him away from me long enough for the police to arrive.

"The nurse told me all about it as she was bringing me up the hall. She said that Wirt was chasing you when the cops got there. And that you were dodging around taunting him. You had him so enraged that the two cops had to Taser him just to arrest him.

"The story is all over the hospital and everybody thinks that you are a very brave man. Most men would not have had the quick thinking or courage to do what you did.

"You wouldn't be in this bed if you hadn't given me your last full measure of devotion. So as far as I'm concerned you will always be my knight in shining armor. And don't you ever forget it!!"

Then she took my hand in both of hers, kissed me lightly on the forehead, and sat back down in her wheelchair still holding my hand. She looked exhausted and I was about to drift back off to sleep myself.

As I did I was thinking that we probably got what we deserved. Little people like Janet and me should never think that they are smart enough to mess with fate. But it was over now and we had each other.

As I drifted off I mumbled to her, "I am never going to be any more than I am. But I'm special because you love me."

Epilog

My memory returned by the following Wednesday and I was able to give the police a full account of the events of that Friday.

Janet and I stuck to the story that she had first told the police in the hospital, since as far as we were concerned her actual motivation for being with Wirt wasn't relevant. The actions that put him in jail were all on him.

Because law enforcement had a detailed eye-witness account they charged Wirt with the complete package. He was arrested and sat in the Wayne County lockup until the $300,000 bail was raised.

In the meantime his business went into the dumper. It is hard for any company to survive if they lose 95% of their customers. I had arranged that little situation with a few phone calls to friends at other companies.

Wirt's wife divorced him with extreme prejudice.

There is nothing like having your husband arrested for drugging and raping another woman to motivate a spouse to adopt scorched earth.

And she filed the day after the arrest. She was not going to presume innocence until proven guilty. My guess is that she already knew who Wirt really was and she was just waiting for the proof.

After the pieces of THAT explosion had hit the ground the dude was living in a shithole in a high crime area of Highland Park.

My testimony at the trial was detailed. Both Wirt and his lawyer tried to rattle me. Wirt sat there staring death and the lawyer implied that I was making all of this up as retribution for Wirt fucking Janet.

I just stuck to recounting what I saw. I did it all in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. It gave me great pleasure to know that my humble words were cooking Wirt's goose.

Janet also testified. A lot of victims don't have the courage. But Janet was an avenging angel. She was totally unshakable as Wirt's lawyer battered her during the cross-examination.

Wirt had claimed that he was seduced and that the sex was consensual. The medical evidence of the high level of Rohypnol in her system and Janet's unwavering testimony about his harassment of her prior to meeting him made that claim sound ridiculous.

My recounting the boast that Wirt had made about Janet on the day that we terminated his contract was the final nail in his coffin.

The jury deliberated less than an hour and the verdict was "guilty" on all counts. Knowing Wirt I almost expected him to give me an "I fucked your wife" sneer as they led him away. But he just looked thoroughly beaten.

His assets were liquidated. What the wife didn't take, we eventually took in the civil suit that we filed. So he was penniless. At least he would have a roof over his head and three square meals a day for the next 20 years - courtesy of the State of Michigan.

And as for Janet and me? - Our marriage never faltered.

I know that some of you might get it in your pea sized brains that Janet was unfaithful because she was so clearly loving the fucking that she was getting. And frankly - if that is what you think you seriously need to grow up.

It was Rohypnol plain and simple - not her overwhelming lust for Wirt that put her on her back. And I am absolutely convinced that she would not have been there otherwise.