What Goat Farm?

When I arrived at work, I was greeted with a bevy of government cars and a few police units. This was a scenario that I had been through before, so I just tightened up my belt and walked in. Gloria was waiting for me with a smile on her face. She had also seen this before. The work floor was almost entirely empty. There were a few Haitians milling around, but there were no Jamaicans or Dominicans to be seen anywhere, which included Malcolm James. Gloria had already called the lawyers. I spent the next thirty minutes talking gibberish to several government suits, but was not able to determine if they were local, state, or federal. It didn't really matter. The legal beagles finally showed up and Gloria and I were able to slip away with no problem. We were having coffee at Starbucks when Bobby called.

"John, I just heard on the radio that the Feds hit your place. What's going on?"

"It okay, Bobby. The company has control over everything. Gloria and I are enjoying a hot cup right now. How about at your end?"

"I took care of things at work and at the bank. The boys and I are going to be packing the rest of the day and we will be leaving tomorrow morning."

"Sounds good brother. Do you need anything?"

" We are fine, John. By the way I also saw a lawyer. The divorce paper work has been started."

"Sorry to hear that, but I think we both know that it was coming."

"They are going to serve the papers the day she gets back. I will be long gone."

"I guess I will end up having to pick them both up at the airport when they get home. I'll just drop Cora off at the house. Is that okay?"

"Sounds great to me. I guess they are there by now; all settled in their rooms. Are you sure that you don't want to let me in on what is going on?"

"No way brother. The less you know the better. I don't think anything will happen until tomorrow. You can think about it while you are cruising down Route 81."

No sooner had I hung up the phone when I got a call from Pierce Donavon, our division chief, and the man who sets up the new operations. Gloria and I were summoned to headquarters in King of Prussia the next morning. Gloria seemed happy about it, but I was having some reservations. I can't explain it because I really liked the job.

I made arrangements to pick Gloria up the next morning and headed home. Aerial already had her car packed for her trip. I would have really liked to have been able to go with her, but she assured me that she was ready to take care of herself. Under the circumstances, I didn't argue with her. Most of her things were in cardboard boxes in the garage to go to my parents place for storage.

Roger was packing almost all of his things for storage. The military school would be providing him with everything that he needed. They better, for the price that they were charging. Dad was going to be driving him down so that he could visit a few old Air Force buddies in San Antonio. Mom was very adamant in begging out of that trip. I was proud of the way that the kids were handling things. They had a better idea about what they wanted to do than I did.

I decided to stay with mom while dad was traveling. That meant that I had a lot of packing to do also.

We did not receive a call from Doreen and I hadn't really expected one. She had carefully set the stage by explaining that she would only call if there was a problem. The kids and I went to Cici's for pizza and we picked up a couple of bundles of boxes and more packing tape on the way home. It was two in the morning before I had all of my things sorted and ready to go. Dad was coming over in the morning with his pickup to collect everything. It would probably take at least three trips. At least it would keep the kids busy while I was at work.

The next company operation was going to be started up in Lancaster. The big wigs were a little disappointed when I declined this one. I did, however, recommend Gloria because she knew as much about running things as I did and she was ready to move up. As soon as we left the office, she was on the phone to her husband to relay the good news. It would almost double her salary. She was one happy girl.

I had no idea what I would be doing.

On the way home I got a call from Bobby. He and the boys were just getting into Tennessee. He actually seemed happy. I felt good for him.

The kids were staying with mom and dad, but I decided to stay one more night at the house to get all of the loose ends tightened up. I was just about finished for the evening when the phone rang.

"Ah, Mister Ellison. It is nice to see that you are home."

"Malcolm my friend. Where the hell are you?"

"I am home of course. Taking care of business as you requested."

"And you have international calling with your cell phone?"

"Of course. Everybody here does."

"I assume that you have good news for me?" It was a statement posed as a question.

"Most certainly, sir. In fact, things went far easier than I had anticipated. You can rest assured that all of your problems have been taken care off."

"Thanks you. You are a true friend."

"Mister Ellison. I only did what you paid me to do."

"Why do I feel that it is more than that?"

"Be careful Mister Ellison. You do not want to fall into that trap."

We were both laughing for no particular reason.

"Mister Ellison, I was sorry to hear about your trouble at work. I hope that you have survived any repercussions."

"I am fine. I am also curious as to how you got all of your people out of the way."

"I have friends in the INS, Mister Ellison. I guess I should have let you know, but I decided against it. I was able to take care of all my people, but some of the Haitians were a little hard-headed."

"I think it all worked out well."

"What are your plans now?"

"I think I will be taking a short break until I can get a few personal problems worked out."

"Mister Ellison. Remember this number and stay in touch. I think I might have something that you will be interested in."

"That would be nice. I'll plan to do that."

I still had two more beers to finish up before getting some shuteye.

It would be three more days until Doreen and Cora returned from their vacation. After the first day, I found myself doing redundant things. I did stop and see a lawyer, Glenn Roast, to find out exactly what my obligations would be if I filed for a divorce. There wasn't enough money left to open up an off-shore account or anything like that. I decided not to shut off the utilities. I was just not going to be paying for anything any more. My credit rating was going to take a big hit, but I figured I could handle it.

The next morning, Aerial left for North Carolina in her new Volvo. Her summer session would be starting in ten days. Mom and dad gave her a little nest egg to help her get settled in. Roger and dad decide that they were going to take off the same day that Doreen was getting back. Roger wanted to avoid any unpleasant confrontations. I thought that this was a good idea. It appeared that they had a few stops planned on the way, including some Memphis Bar-B-Q and New Orleans gumbo.

Everybody, except me, seemed to be happy. I was trying like hell not to wallow in my misery. The only thing that seemed to help was beer.

Later that night, I got another call from Malcolm, unfortunately, it was on my cell phone.

"Mister Ellison. Is anything happening at your end?"

"What do you mean?"

"The gentlemen in question have been missing for two days now and the ladies have not notified the hotel personnel or the local police. Did they possibly report this to your local authorities there?"

"Not that I know of. Why haven't they contacted any officials in the immediate area?"

"My people tell me that they seem to be baffled or confused about what to do. They are definitely not having a good time. My guess is that they are afraid that if they draw attention to the situation they will expose themselves as... I don't know what the proper term to use, Mister Ellison. I don't want to offend you in any way."

"So they are doing nothing?"

"It appears that they are constantly looking for the gentlemen to show up and hoping that things will resolve themselves. I am afraid that they will be greatly disappointed."

"Mister James, what are you suggesting that I do?"

"As I see it, there is nothing that you can do. We have to wait for them to decide to report it, either here or back in the states when they return."

"That would be awkward. What local authorities would they go to, to report a crime that took place in Jamaica?"

"Mister Ellison, I believe that you have created quite a dilemma for your wife. I have a feeling that she wishes that she had never taken this trip. No matter what she does, she will be in trouble."

"I thank you for the call, Mister James. I am going to sleep with a smile on my face tonight."

"I will call you if anything changes, Mister Ellison."

Morning brought a lot of anxiety. I didn't sleep as well as I thought I would. The first thing I did was make a quick call to Bobby to see if he had heard anything from Cora. He had no contact from his wife either. The trip for him and the boys went well and they were all comfortably settled in. Before hanging up, Bobby mentioned that he was going to be turning off his cell phone for the next two weeks. He told me to call Grant's number if I had to get in touch with him.

It was the longest day of my life. I checked and double checked the house to make sure that I had taken care of everything. I went to see the lawyer again and filled out an information form so that I could file for the divorce with no problems at the appropriate time. I gave him a power of attorney to handle the separation and any other actions for me. Just on a whim, I gave him a hefty retainer for any possible future repercussions from the Jamaica fiasco. I was a little worried that I might have gone too far.

On the drive back to my parents home, I realized that none of the concerns that I had, had anything to do with my marriage. Sure, everything that I had done was a result of Doreen's infidelity, but the breakup did not actually seem to bother me. Somewhere along the line, I had resolved myself to accepting it. There was a bit of serenity that came with that realization. Knowing that the kids were not going to be suffering any great trauma made things a lot easier. I don't know why I didn't feel worse. I felt betrayed, but not humiliated. That was strange, because it was not what I had ever expected.

Roger and dad left with the rising sun. Roger got to drive the first leg of the trip. Mom insisted on packing a lunch for them, but I secretly think they were looking forward to a week or so of junk food. I had about six hours to kill before the plane arrived back from Jamaica. I got to spend some rare one on one time with mom. She was supportive, but just to be on the safe side, she did not say anything against Doreen. They had actually gotten along fairly well over the years and I think mom was sad to see what had transpired.

I didn't park the car and go in to help them. I simply waited for them to come out of the terminal with their bags. I had to move the car twice, but just circled and came back.

"John, why didn't you come in to help us get our bags?"

"It's a damn hassle parking the car and I figured that this would be easier all around."

"John, where is Bobby?" Cora noticed that her husband had not come and felt obligated to inquire.

"He and the boys are tied up. I told him that I would drop you off at the house."

In a few minutes, we were on the way. No one was talking for the first few miles. The silence was quite obvious. Doreen seemed to be occupied looking out the side window and Cora sat in the back trying to be inconspicuous.

"Well? Are you going to tell me about the trip? What you did? Where you went? Did you have anything good to eat? You two are awfully quiet for just returning from a tropical vacation."

"It was a long flight, John. To tell you the truth, we are exhausted. I just want a hot shower and a soft bed."

"That's it? That is all you have to say for five days?"

"I'll tell you all about it tomorrow. Okay? "

Since she was back to looking out the window, she didn't see me smiling to myself. The rest of the trip home was silent. It would have been easy to push the envelope a little, but I was having enough fun just watching them squirm. Since I had not heard anything from Malcolm, I had to assume that they did not report the missing men to any one. I wonder what they did with their luggage. Interesting!

I dropped Cora off at their house and ten minutes later pulled into our driveway. Doreen looked at me with an odd expression when I removed her bags from the car and set them on the grass instead of carrying them into the house. As I was getting back into the car, she finally spoke.

"John, where are you going? Aren't you coming into the house? What about my bags?"

"I have to run right now, darling. I'll call you later."

She looked so bewildered standing there watching me drive away. I would have loved to see her face when she discovered that I had actually moved out of the house. Of course she would not have a lot of time to dwell on it, because Cora was probably on the phone by now.

"John, Doreen has called three times already. She keeps asking me what is going on and I keep trying to avoid answering her. John, you know I am no good at that kind of stuff. I don't like what happened, but I don't want to be in the middle of it either. You are going to have to talk to her."

"Sorry, mom. The next time that she calls I'll take it. Did she ask about the kids at all?"

"No. She was sort of babbling about an empty house and a problem that Cora seemed to be having. I didn't try to give her an explanation. I just put her off."

I grabbed a beer from the fridge and got comfortable in the easy chair by the phone. It was only a ten minute wait for the next call.

"John, what the hell is going on?"

"Can you be a little more specific?"

"What are you doing over at your parents house? Where are the kids? I would appreciate some answers. What the hell is wrong?"

"Aerial left for school. She wanted to get settled in so that she could take a few summer sessions. Everything is fine. You don't have to worry about her."

"Why couldn't she have waited until I got back? What was the big hurry?"

"I don't know. I guess she was anxious."

"All of Roger things are gone. Where is he at?"

"Dad and Roger are on their way to Texas. He is finally getting to go to one of those military schools that he has been nagging us about. Since he is going to be gone for at least five years, he put all of his stuff in storage, like Aerial did."

"Why didn't you discuss this with me. I am their parent too. You completely left me out of everything. That is not fair."

"Yeah, I know. Life sucks!"

"What does that mean? You have no reason to get sarcastic. What the hell are you doing at your parent's house? Did you move out too?"

"Bingo! Jackpot! You figured it out. Yes, I moved out. You have the house all to yourself."

There was no quick retort. I don't know how long the silence was, but it seemed like minutes. I waited patiently for her next move.

"Cora called. She said that Bobby and the twins were gone. He left a note saying that they went to Alaska. Do you know anything about that John?"

"Yeah. He told me a little bit." Doreen hadn't mentioned the divorce papers that Bobby said were going to be served on his wife. I could only assume that it had not been done yet.

"John, what brought all this on? Tell me something."

"I try to stay out of Bobby's life, Doreen. All I know is that he mentioned a guy named Calvin Bostic. Do you know him or anything about him?"

This time the silence was a lot longer. I waited for some type of response. I am sure that she was thinking that if Bobby knew about Calvin than I must know about Addison.

"John, I am not feeling too good right now. I am tired and I am confused. I need to get some rest and to think things over. Can you come by the house tomorrow?"

"Sure, darling. I have plenty of time. Oh, by the way, I think you should know that I also lost my job. I am now officially unemployed."

A few seconds later the phone went dead.

My mother was not happy.

I was in no hurry to face Doreen. I arrived at the house about 10am. It would have to be done eventually. Cora was there.

"John. We know what you did." It appeared that Doreen would be the designated spokesman.

"Can you explain it to me?"

"Don't be a smart ass. It doesn't suit you."

I decided not to respond to that.

"Cora contacted Will Curry. You and Bobby knew about Calvin and Addison. Will told Bobby everything and Bobby told you. You can't deny it and you can't hide it."

"So who is this guy Addison? How come you never mentioned him to me?"

"John, you are trying to be cute again. You know perfectly well who Addison is. You also knew that Calvin and Addison were going on the trip to Jamaica with Cora and I."

Everything that she said was accurate so I saw no reason to argue with her.

"Neither one of you made an attempt to stop us from going on that trip. You both new that we were going to a tropical island with two men and you did nothing to halt it. What kind of husbands react that way? It was like you didn't care."

Things were getting humorous now. Doreen was carefully shifting the blame for the affair from the cheating wives to the indifferent husbands. She noticed me smiling and her tone immediately changed.

"It is not funny, you son-of-a-bitch. Two good men are dead now because of you. You could have said something. You could have stopped it, but no! You had to go and have them killed. You didn't do it yourself, but we know damn well that you arranged it."

"Did you report this?"

"What do you mean?"

"When did you realize that they had been killed? Who did you notify?"

"No one. We couldn't tell anybody. If we had, then you and Bobby would have discovered what we had done. We couldn't take the chance."

"So you left Jamaica without informing the authorities that the two men who were with you had been killed? I think somebody is going to be pissed."

Both women just sat and stared at me. I was still smiling.

"So, my loving wife. What are you going to do now?"

"We are going to the police station and report it. It has to be done."

"And pray tell me, just how are the local police going to handle a murder that happened in Jamaica. By the way, do they have the bodies or the murder weapons?"

"There are no bodies. You were too clever for that weren't you?"

"I don't know what I ever did to deserve this, Doreen, but you go to the police and tell them the whole thing. Make sure that the report shows exactly why the four of you went to Jamaica and what you were intending to do there. I'll need that information for the divorce action."

"You bastard." Cora took advantage of my comment to chime in. "Bobby had me served with papers last night. You knew that didn't you. You were laughing to yourself all the way home from the airport weren't you?"

"Yeah. He did mention something like that before he left."

I watched as Cora stormed out of the room. I couldn't tell if she was crying or just really pissed off.

I stood up and walked towards the door.

"John, I am sorry. It wasn't suppose to turn out this way." Doreen's voice had softened.

"How was it suppose to turn out?"

I waited for a few moments and got no answer.

"Doreen. Can you at least give me some sort of an explanation as to why you did this?"

I waited a few moments while she got her thoughts together.

"The kids were grown and you were working all the time. My life had become drab and uninteresting. Cora had had the same problem and she said that she solved it by making a few male friends outside of the house."