All Comments on 'The Presumption of Guilt'

If you wrote stories like this there wouldn't be any trolls. This is what you do best. I don't know how anyone could not love this story. You've always been a great writer, just fell off into some bad shit. This is the good stuff. 5*****

Always enjoy your writing regardless of any trolls... One needs some spice in life and that includes having a different plot in the story periodically! LOL 5*

But why is Bob still with Jenny? Will you write their story?

Excellent, a very clever story indeed. 5*

and the people who need to be charged are given a nod and a wink, TK U MLJ LV NV

I’m not a big mystery or BTB fan, but I liked this story. It was just long enough to get the story told without being too long.

Since Bob paid Bruce for the defense, Bruce is now bound by confidentiality; he can never tell.

BTB or not....I just like the stories where husband is not a wooze

5 starrs

The pace... the tone... the suspense... then WOW! Best one yet this morning. 5 stars.

My can you spin a great tale...this kind of theme is right up your alley, you bring your characters to life... love them or hate them, it's a sign of good writing.

a story that is close to excellent this morning.

Thanks,

MGM

5* from me!

No fan of bankers but the predatory lender statement is factually false. True financial institutions bundled and sold moftgages for profit, but thos loans were guaranteed by quasi government institutions-freddie mae, fha,...

The fact is Clinton, the Democrats, and groups like ACORN forced banks to offer mortgages to lower income minority families. Creative financing took off and established loan practices were ignored. NO DOWN PAYMENT, NO PROOF OF INCOME OR JOB....

No one forced anyone to sign motgage contract. No one was kidnapped off the streets and into the bank and forced to apply.

The fluctuations and dangers of variable interest rates were explained.

Then almost everyone got greedy as the shortage of houses and the artificially created high demand had millions of people ''FLIPPING'' out.

GREED PURE AND SIMPLE

INCLUDING LOW INCOME BUYERS.

For nothing they get to live in house they know they can't afford but have been told to which they are entitled.

People rushing to refinance and cash in the false equity.

YES, BANKERS GOT GREEDY ALSO.

But place the blame where it belongs-on govt, bankers, people who bought houses they couldn't afford, realtors, average people turned house flippers, people rushing to cash in the extra $150K equity that bubble had added to homes worth, localand state govts loving increase in tax revenues

It worked best by not reading the diary at all.

I am not giving you five stars because it is a quality story. It is.

I am not giving you five stars because you (forced by deadline, I think) did not put in the 523 irrelevant characters which is your normal wont. This was a much tighter and crisper story with the lack of breast cancer victim/ Jewish grandmothers who mean absolutely nothing to the story but somehow merit a thousand words all their own. So well done there.

I AM giving you five star because you did not include that Cock in the Mouth Foxy and his Whore of a Wife. And being able to read a Richard Gerald story without that fatuous windbag of a character is, all on it's own, such a relief that it deserves some special consideration. Sort of like that first pain free piss after the passage of a large jagged kidney stone.

So well done!

That last 'if you pay this bill, I am bound by confidentiality' is actually better than what was given us. But second guessing is easier as a commenter and an author.

I figured out that Jenny's husband was the shooter, probably thinking the woman with the perp was Jenny. Subtitle of this story could have been, "take the money and stay." Great story.

Excellent work!

Very well written ! RGIII is the best at NY politics. I really enjoyed it!

Forget the trolls who dump on some of your other contributions, can't please everyone. "Presumption" is indeed tightly plotted, nicely handled, economical - I'm with FD45 on that one. But please don't give up on your other, unfinished pieces. I'm a fan of Foxy and crew, and would love to see how it all turns out. I like multiple secondary characters in a longer work, although the Jewish grandmother-political type could have been trimmed and presented without an accent!

Nice to have you back.

Well done - tightly plotted. Five stars Courtroom scenes are a bit fanciful. How come our boy was out on bail in a capital case? Possible, but unlikely

The unlikeliest thing about the story is our boy takes an American Express card. My life seems to be a succession of vendors who do not wait an instant to tell you that they won't touch one. If he deals with the criminal element you know that his clients are all pay their bills through the agency of Mr Green - cash pays the rent, you know

RG is one helluva storyteller, and his stories always have a flip of humour that I appreciate. Good job of story telling RG, I will await your next issue.

BobNbobbi43@gmail.com

BigK10's story "The Fate of Her Lovers" is more humorouse and the husband paid a beer to the murderer in BigK10's story. A lawyer character.

BTW 5*****

You sir write a cracking good story. Well done. Times like this I wish I could elucidate all the superlatives this tale entails...alas. Looking forward to the next one.

No other writer on this site delves into the complexity of human psychology and emotional response with RG’s thoroughness. His protagonists never take the easy way out of personal challenges. As an author he recognizes that a will lived life often requires compromises and that happiness may depend on difficult choices.This may trouble the trolls but I hope he continues to explore the rich environment he has created. I eagerly await his next effort. CAVEAT. As a former prosecutor I never would have tolerated planted evidence or any law enforcement officer who tried to do it. Fiction is fiction.

This is the best one so far . Really good , no condom for you my friend

Nobody is more deeply cynical, and more in touch with how the "legal system" actually works, than RG--or at least than his protagonists. This is a wonderfully engrossing, wonderfully dark story. Beautifully done as always!

Many thanks,

ohio

What does his daughter think, now that it looks like he got away with murdering her mother?

Waiting for the conclusion of Simone's tale if you have it in you. Heck, if you want, I even promise to not comment on the story if that is an incentive.

I like what you do well a LOT.

Multi-layered, well written with a deep and consistant, if morally flexible character.

Great job. 5*

The fact that I suspected that Bob was the murderer very early in this one notwithstanding, the tale was still well planned with enough twists and turns to make it fun. Certainly one of the best in this contest.

Sure would like to see the exploration of the daughter's feelings after the discovery of the bodies. Seems like Bruce still stands to lose more in this story. The price of silence can be steep.

Again thanks for taking time to share with us. 5 stars.

If we weren't going to get the daughter's reaction, maybe have the murder weapon NOT be his gun?

BTW, not that the Big Reveal of the surveillance disk wasn't neat, and notwithstanding the attempt to railroad him, to not allow him to question the cop about using the keys to open the trunk is overkill. Until the big reveal it would only be speculation anyway that anything was planted. Might have normally allowed for some reasonable doubt, but with the animus against him, without the hard evidence backing him up it would probably been swept under the rug,

Unless I total missed it there is one BIG hole in this story. It all has to do with his .44 Magnum and "Actually, it was a gift from a client."

Bruce did not buy the pistol - there would be no official paperwork/transfer of ownership to this 'gift'. How did the cops know he had this specific model gun in the home search? It wasn't in her diary. She did report it. It's not something you talk about on a phone tap. Sure Bruce knew it was missing and maybe he should have reported it stolen butttttt it was also not traceable to him....

Also, cops not being nailed for evidence tampering and perjury - even the State Police/AG/State BI would not let that slide since this would have been such a high profile case. Even the judge & DA would be in trouble for not bringing bench charges against the perjury's & searchers with all the false police reports.

6* - Still a good story but for this BIG hole.

Just grabbed me and swept me along. So sad that law and order is really like this, people are so corruptible, lying on both sides, evil deeds on both sides, but alas it is true.

Why did you gloss over the RichardGerald speech that Jenny made to Bob about how women are entitled to more than a man can give? About how it is his duty as the man who loves her to give her the space she needs? And then the part where all of her friends and most of his (plus any children that they have or who may come along later) would condemn him if he selfishly refused his cuckoldry?

Otherwise, I really liked the story and your account of a man who is guilty of many things, but not the one they think. Giving Bob a bill was a wonderful touch.

Oh, and please write more stories about Mr Fitzgerald doing shitty things that hurt his wife. Really. Please.

Good story, well told.

Great story from a talented writer.

I really enjoyed this one...one of your best and a 5+ from me. I actually thought for the most part that he had in fact committed the crime..nice twist. Thanks for the story and please keep on writing!

"Buckeye Fan"

Sucked me in. Well told.

Thank you fun read

Knew it was the Butler! Agatha Christie eat your heart out! "Just Kidding"

Hey I Never saw that coming? Thanks for sharing this Fantastic Story with us! ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ WOOF!

Being from that area of the country I can place myself in the locations you write about. Knowing people on that area from my youth I can also imagine their faces and I can certainly identify with the attitudes expressed in your story - very good read!

You are the only author I know who can make lawyers seem sympathetic. No, Grisham doesn't come close. I, too, am from the Albany area and appreciate the plethora of crooked lawyers, cops and politicians. More stories from you in the future! This one was great. 5 stars. Thanks for writing. JPR

A short read but well received after the s--t load of garbage your so called peers put out. Only two left and I will be on a third day, but maybe another surprise awaits.

Story is a standout, even in present company. I'm a big mystery fan, but I didn't see Bob coming. Thanks.

When "Crime & Punishment: The Prequel Ch. 07" ?

You're a great mystery writer. I enjoyed this story no end. Bob came to the forefront in the middle of the story, but just enough doubt left me on the edge. It's the ending that sets this apart from run-of-the-mill. The real client paid the real defense attorney. Thank you !

I am a big fan of your writing RG. I didn't like Bob admitting to the killing with Bruce's gun. The lovers didn't suffer by being shot, but being caught in a flood would let them think about their mistakes before Karma got them. The daughter would question as to why her dad's gun was involved in her mom's murder. She is innocent and that would play on her mind forever. Just my opinion. I read this yesterday, but didn't vote or comment until today. I still gave you a 5 because it did make me think and I do enjoy your stories. Thank You...5

I'm glad somebody else caught at this time besides me.

Really mr. Gerald your mentally ill if you think this is the way the world works

In my opinion, your new best.

Thanks for the story.

Cog

apparently in an effort to show you are king of the deranged ignorant right wing kooks of America your wrote

..."No fan of bankers but the predatory lender statement is factually false. True financial institutions bundled and sold moftgages for profit, but thos loans were guaranteed by quasi government institutions-freddie mae, fha,...

The fact is Clinton, the Democrats, and groups like ACORN forced banks to offer mortgages to lower income minority families. Creative financing took off and established loan practices were ignored. NO DOWN PAYMENT, NO PROOF OF INCOME OR JOB...."

Dude are you ACTUALLY arguing that a small insignificant action group from chicago like ACORN somehow Forced Mortgage bankers all aroudn the USA to give out $400K loans to people with 550 FICO scores and incomes of 50K/ YR?

Are You actually saying that that wall street and mainstreet established banking firms...some over 100 years are all actually SECRET liberal democrats even though 95% of them are run by Middle age and old white men who are famous for being country club republicans?

look dumb fuck turn off fox news and brietbart ... and read abook.

or better yet... see if you get your moomy to read it to you

Magnifico!

. . . the government was very much complicit in the mortgage mess, pushing regs which could bring down regulators on mortgage bankers who had too low approval rates for minority applicants. It’s just that government wasn’t solely at fault.

Not too many people noticed that the 2001 recession skipped home building, and people were still getting huge mortgages for highly inflated McMansions. Builders kept building, and buyers kept bidding prices higher, and nobody cared because home prices were inflating so rapidly that banks could always recoup any losses by selling foreclosed propertied for more than the outstanding loan balance.

When the same thing came to a head in 1987, the recession was a short one, and equities recovered their value in less than a year. That was the lesson learned by people with long enough memories.

Harry seems to have a better than superficial grasp of the mortgage crisis

Now excuse me, must soak my fingers in bleach after typing that.

quit binge watching msnbc and al sharpton and read the entire comment. He put the blame where it belonged.

The title of this story is apropos to this discussion.

Why not lay all the blame on sleazy bankers instead of acknowledging the truth.

Less is more. This is the first story that you didn't fill with irrelevant stuff. Nice tight mystery with a twist with Bob. I don't know how any reader could guess that Bob did it with Bruce's gun. While Bruce could not be prosecuted for murder by the state he could be sued for wrongful death and possibly for Federal crimes eg killing a witness obstruction the lover was investigating Bruce. Bob's payment was extortion not covered by attorney client privilege; the defense was for Bruce. Bob could still be prosecuted and the credit card payment would be evidence of his guilt. The cops would be prosecuted for obstruction. You can't ignore video evidence see what happened to the Baltimore cops.

Great story with too many typos but I gave it 5 stars.

reasonable man

A very good story...As someone said: "Maybe @RichardGerald best story"! The best part? The evidence planting! 4*

Really happy we're getting a new Gerald tale.

Don't know how happy I'll be when I finish reading it, though (expecting disappointment is part of the ride!)

Hopefully, this story is the one of the reasons why the author left his "Crime & Punishment" prequel dormant since last year, and we'll finally get some new chapters soon (please, enough with the teasing, Richard!)

Pretty much all I have to say for now...

Personally I was from the generation that thought that adultery is a crime. After all

it is in the Good Book. But somehow we constructed a society where if you have children a male can not get a decent break in divorcing a wife who deserves it.

Well written as are all your stories.

Crime and punishment and the new part of that series are still among my favorites.

I do worry we are destroying the glue that holds our society together in allowing people to willfully destroy marriages.

Heck all you have to do is divorce and you can sex whoever you want.

So why do we allow adultery to go unpunished?

I have read here! The bad guys he defends are not the evil in society. No its people like Paul and Elaine, and of course the system comprised of Tanya, the judge, and police investigators. They are responsible for shaking faith in the system and corrupting all the decent values. If Paul had broken a contract, or convinced Elaine to, the law would mete out terrible justice. But no, all they Did was destroy moral law, and marriage vows. Not very important in this society, eh what?

Loved the ending.

some.

something like insight.

Am I to assume that all of your stuff is in fact comedic farces?

Shocking - I thought they were also fairly spot on renditions of NYC (high) society...

Green-something

W an interesting fatalism on the part of Bruce.

As far as the banking crisis the idea that it was all because of minority lending/Fannie Mae and being forced to lend to minorities who didn't deserve it is fox news bullshit. Yes there was some of that involved, but the program in question was started by George w Bush to have an 'ownership society',more importantly such lending was a tiny part of the disaster. The real villain us banks don't hold mortgages (savings and loans do but they were not the root cause of this) ,the real villain was wall street. They created a new type if derivative called a collatarilized debt obligation,or cdo,that represented literally slices of thousands of mortgages as its backing. To create these wall street investment banks like Goldman Sachs (re Steve mnuchin,trumps Secretary of the treasury these days) needed mortgages,new mortgages, and they told banks they would buy any mortgages they produced ,banks literally were being contacted constantly like this. The banks didn't care, if they wrote garbage mortgages they didnt care,had no risk,thry sold them and got nice fees. Hedge funds bought these crappy cdo's, then used them as collateral to borrow 10's of billions of dollars (hedge funds generally have 60 bucks borrowed for every dollar under invrstment). Then geniuses like AIG started writing 10s of billions in a kind of insurance against these cdo's called a credit default swap or cds,that in return for a huge initial payment and yearly premiums, pay off if the cdo defaulted. Aig sometimes wrote multiple cds"s against a singlke cdo,and also wrote cds"s for people who didn't own the coveted cdo (known as a naked cds). When the shit hit the fan and people realized the mortgages that made up the cdo were garbage,cdo's became worthless and the crash happened.

Aig alone had an exposure of 160 billion dollars, and got bailed out,and the total was 1.6 trillion...fannie Mae was about 100 billion in the hole but only about 30 billion was the minority lending program middle America blames (lot easier to blame blacks and Hispanics and liberals rather than corporate greed and the gop Congress and white house letting all this happen then bailing out the banks and Aug and Goldman, and leaving the rest of us with banks paying huge bonuses but refusing to write loans...

Won't do much for the bleeeetbart closet cases trolling here but for some others who truly don't know the root causes it provides a succinct overview of the crash.

This is the sort of story that RG has in him, and why he is invited to these events. Intricate plotting, great characterization and tightly woven prose. A very good story. Thank you, Richard. Randi.

The cops had to be lead by their noses to find the missing couple, as they were incapable working it out for them selves, enjoyed the teasing story.

Thanks for providing al sharpton view. Clinton started Bush continued. Your rant focused on the banks greed in trying to make money after being forced to make loans.

If you read original comment in its entirety blame was affixed to numerous sources.

Every segment of American society was involved from the poor to the rich. But the genisis was govt action. At some point in history certain segments started claiming everyone is guaranteed home ownership.

Tough for those such as you to understand that minorities, while they certainly are allowed to own homes, they must be able to afford them.

You sign mortgage notes for a $200K home when you have no money for a down payment, no job, or if you have a job you are only barely able to make payments as long as the variable rate stays artificially low. An rise in rates and you cannot make payments.

Greed and something for nothing.

Boo hoo your house is underwater....your fault. Govt spends billions helping those people out. But what about those who scrimped saved and sacrifice to purchase their home...why not give them a bonus for wise fiscal mamagement. All those who rushed to cash in all that imaginary equity crying now but laughing all the way home from the bank the day they got those funds and spent them on new cars second homes. What about those that resisted the urge knowing bubble would burst.

Fox News and MSNBC take your pick.

I'll take Brit Hume anyday over the reverend but it down and cry rape al sharpster

Very interesting and creative.

Bill paid the cost someone else incurred for his own actions. What a fitting end. And other stuff, but it was a good story. Thank you.

And...this has the highest view to favorite ratio of any story I've seen to date. 400 views per favorite (.00235). Decent stories range between 2000 (.00050) and 1000 (.00100) views per favorite.

Hate to pull for a lawyer, but RG had me liking this one. Another outstanding story.

Well done, one of the best in this great group.

Amazing 🤓❗

How do you write stories with so many unlikable characters. Yet the writing is so well done. I have to admire your talent. Gave you 4*s.

Such a good plot, everything fit.

Thank you. Write some more soon.

Maybe you can finish that multi-part, single page chapter story. Or maybe you did finish?? I'll have to go check it out.

AMerryman

Call me naive or idealistic, but I am neither. The other truth is that good intelligent women don't commit adultery, and definitely not for sex. Of course those who will object most to my premise will be the stupid unethical women who fuck around, and the poor suckers who married them for their beauty and sexuality. Neither group has the honesty or integrity to admit the truth, or to avoid becoming whores and cuckolds.

We have to accept that Paul was Elaine's Martian Slut Ray. The progression of her affair as described in her diary is a bit of an embarrassment. A supposedly intelligent virtuous woman cannot tell that Paul is just another handsome pussy hound who wants to fuck her brains out and damned what it does to her and her family? No, we are asked to accept that she was swept off her feet, by a selfish, transparent, heartless monster. Oh, but she was distracted by his good looks and smooth charm, and chiseled body, and (duh!) nine inch cock. Pulease. Even an average looking woman can get all the sex she is willing to lower herself to. No woman with the virtue and integrity to be a good wife and mother would give Paul the time of day, much less sacrifice her child and marriage for supposedly Intergalactic sex and orgasms.

So this was a great story, about a woman who cannot exist: fiction. And great fiction. But I felt compelled to assert, for the decent women of the world, including one very near and dear to me, that Elaine is an oxymoron. A contradiction that feeds some erotic, or self-serving, imaginations.

You who do this to your husbands and families are not wandering, not fallen, and not sorry, except for getting caught. And you who marry these shallow selfish soulless beauty queens get what you deserve, for passing over average, less glamorous, but a thousand times more virtuous women, who really would laugh in Paul's face, and immediately inform her husband of his approach, so they could both laugh over one more narcissistic brainless cock hound. They are as common as dirt.

Thanks for a clever and entertaining work of fiction. And thank you for allowing anonymous comments.

His wife didn't need a so called Martian slut ray. If you read the Diary excerpts carefully, they painted a clear portrait of an incredibly selfish person. She had to have an antique desk even though she chose to go to graduate school while only her husband worked. She was a social worker, her chosen profession, which you hardly need a master's degree for.

She decided to go off birth control while they were still struggling, because she didn't want or need her husband's input. She repeatedly compared her husband as a loving and faithful dog. Her own daughter disliked her enough, before she even strayed, to ask to be sent to boarding school. Oral sex with her husband was, as she put it, mostly a one way street in her favor.

This amazingly self absorbed person also chose to keep as a friend a woman who not only was a cheater herself, shoving her actions into her husband's face, but was doing her dead level best to get her to cheat as well.

Obviously, this is all a story and that is just how she was written, but there are women (and men) like that in reality. They are narcissists and when they start to feel threatened in their self image, usually due to aging, they do things like the wife in the story. They buy a sports car, they get plastic surgery, or they have a fling with a younger lover.

"The other truth is that good intelligent women don't commit adultery, and definitely not for sex."

Uhhh, no, that's wrong: good, intelligent men and good, intelligent women both commit adultery. All sorts of people have occasional moral lapses, people who never expected to cheat suddenly find themselves excited, shit just happens. Sometimes things turn out badly, and sometimes people get away with it, never found out.

It ain't a Martian Slut Ray that's the issue; Earthlings have managed to commit adultery for all of history without any extraterrestrial help!

Almost as devious as David Landon pulled off in Jail Breaking. Very clever. Brains over brawn. Very entertaining to read. *****

I gave it a well earned five, but you did use a "cheat". "The diary" is a gimmick used frequently to get information into the narrative that would be otherwise almost impossible to reveal. Jane Austin used to use letters in her books, so you're not in any trouble. Then again how many writers on this site have their protagonists go out and buy a ton of electronic equipment to get the same result?

Second, I'm with Harry about the idiot anonymous comment about the banks. That's an anon who has spent too much time watching Fox News. Gee, blaming poor people for wanting to buy a house. And blaming ACORN? That was preposterous. Hey let's blame GOD for sin. I mean no Ten Commandments, no sin. Right?

You spin a good yarn R.G. I love reading your stuff. You're right there with Ohio, HDK, JPB, and Rehnquist, and Francis MacComber.

Thanks again!

Jedd Clampett

But you left out a couple of things.

The law suit with the police department for false arrest, planting evidence, and especially the cost of restoring his home after they tore it up during the search.

He might could sue for the cops "letting" Romeo seduce his wife. He was supposed to be working but he was really seducing. What are the chances that his superiors knew, or should have.

I knew the creek played a part. Why else introduce it?

Bob wasnt much of a surprise after he knew about his wife. But the bill for the legal fee was a great twist.

Thanks for writing this tale.

On a side note, it seems to me that the "Go West" invitational was a little more successful producing a more enjoyable batch of stories. But then again, i dont read many Westerns and i read a lot mpre mystries and crime stories, so maybe i'm biased?

Thanks again for the enjoyable read.

This was another excellent story by the author who excels in such writing. Although people do kill others, guns are unfortunately a common tool for such. An ongoing discussion but we would be much safer, and criminals would need to work much harder if we diminish the number of guns in our country by 90%.

Keep up the creative and excellent writing.

Tiny Tim

Didn’t see that one coming! Great job Richard Gerald

Strange story a twist of the unexpected

That was amazing. Really liking your courtroom scenes. Wasn't a fan of the diary. I understood why it was there though and that's a cool idea, just don't like cuckolding scenes like that so I skimmed it.

I thought the twist was going to be that since cops have this thing about not going after wives of other cops, it turned out that scumbag detective was actually having sex with other cops wives.

Thought more could've been done with the public opinion of cops in this story. Or maybe just that you didn't want to get too political. In this day and age where the public opinion of cops isn't too high, finding out that they tried to plant evidence would not go over well with the public.

I am a fan of RG's writing,

though not his morals.

By skipping over most

of the cheater's whining

(the diary), I find myself

with no problems

with the morals, lol.

There are some pieces

missing from this puzzle,

but that is to be expected

in a big story written

in relatively few words.

This is a big story.

Superbly done.

Absolutely top ratings from me.

I usually dislike most of your stories ( and I don’t vote on the stories I don’t like). But this story I loved. 5stars

Shorter format

Fewer side characters

No forced evil morality or false equivalency

No unearned reconciliation

No Foxy

More positive comments and favorable reactions...while still offering a high quality story.

Just like 'The Bridge'

Who, I say, WHO could have seen that?

great story

A clever little gem of a tale.

LA

Obviously the writer has a knowledge of law and some police workings. The story was well crafted and easy to follow and I enjoyed the surprise ending. To satisfy me completely would have had the unlawful police and DA practices prosecuted. Thanks, top marks.

Are accepted for who they are. Well done. Great twist.

I enjoyed this story. The 'twist' at the end really caught me by surprise. I really thought that the husband did the crime and the ending would explain how he did it and got away with it. Boy, was I surprised at the end. I love a story where the cheaters lose and the non-cheaters win, especially when there are twists and turns that I don't see coming.

Thank you for writing an entertaining story.

I really liked this story with the great twist ending. Five out of five.

RichardGerald is one of my favourite authors.

But I noticed a couple of things that author may want to at least consider if he ever tweaks or revises this story.

Ford makes a very expense sports car called the GT. It costs about half a million dollars. I kept wondering how a cop could afford it. Then near the end we find out it is actually Ford Mustang GT. That is a very different car and certainly something a cop could afford.

The protagonist seemed to love his wife, even though he was going to divorce her. Yet he seems to feel nothing over her death. A little more emotion and mourning from him would have worked better for me.

How did he find out she was cheating? Did he read her diary? Did someone tell him? I would like to know. I know the story still works without knowing, but I am still curious.

Cops can't really be video taped planting evidence in a murder case and get away with it. The story says nothing happened to them but the DA got canned. I know everything is supposed to be corrupt, but some discipline would have been applied to those cops.

I liked the scene, but why take a cop to a cop bar to get secret information. I get it was supposed to be so no one suspected the cop. But if you just talk to the cop secretly, no one would know either. Seems a bit convoluted.

Anyway. really liked the story and look forward to more RG stories.

Steve

First let me state my opinion of our "Justice System." It was basically engineered by lawyers and ex-lawyers to generate money for those in the system and has little to do with justice. Your story was a good read and well written. I thought the possible ending was going to be that the lawyer had killed them. Then set things up so they would prosecute him but find him not guilty...then they couldn't retry him if the evidence was ever found... but a smart lawyer wouldn't use his own gun to murder his wife and her lover. Could have been Bruce,Bob or one of the criminals Paul had been investigating!

Not as entertaining as the comments which have clearly stated both sides of the corporate media's talking points on the crash of aught-eight. Which is nice, but what if they're both wrong? What if the crash happened because kids were still being forced to read that no talent hack, Jane Austen, which clearly left their cognitive ability lacking when it came to form a budget around the ballooning house payment...

It really is a shame they let that woman die a natural death when most of society's woes are a direct result of her attempts at literature.

Cops can be caught planting evidence in a murder investigation and get away with it! Just found this out. Usually nothing bad happens to them (relatively). They may be forced to retire early, but that's about it. If they are already retired then nothing will be done about it.

Read an article recently about a guy getting out of prison because it was found out the cops framed him for murder. He was payed some millions of dollars, but nothing happened to the cops that framed him because they were already retired. Some world we live in huh?

That's just one case. Happens more than some would like to think. Looks like RG really does know the world better than most of us.

Paying by Am-Ex, it now falls under attorney, client previlege...nice!

Check out the Innocence Project. Complete exonerations most times involving prosecutorial cheating, lying, cover-up, failure to disclose exculpatory evidence...and the list goes on! AND the courts regularly FAIL to hold prosecutors to account!!!

FUN FUCKING STORY!!!!! FIVE big stars in the northern sky!

I was unable to afford a lawyer. So the courts appointed one for me. I saw him once. He told me if I could pay him, he could assure me he could get me off. When I told him I was currently unemployed and couldn't afford him, he left. My case came up 378 days later. I never saw him again. I was found guilty and was sentenced to 2 years. It shocked everyone that I did not get time off for good behavior. I served every day of my two year sentence. Kill all lawyers.

Interesting that you list Denocrats, but leave out the Criminal-in-Chief, Herr GroppenFuhrer!

Not quite sure just who got manipulated here, but I suspect it may have been me!

So good!