The Blonde Ch. 03

"What happened to the vice president?"

"Oh, I made a big production of going back home and firing him, telling him publicly he'd never get a recommendation from me, humiliating him in front of everyone. It was all a set-up. He already had a better job lined-up at a firm in New York--he's a senior vice president there, making a lot more than I paid him. But no one back in Indianapolis knows anything about it.

"Anyway, after that Tommie saw me as a friend--she trusted me and she didn't have her guard up so much. And I'd been working on her husband Jack the whole time--first I got some suspicious-looking pictures of him and a couple of women, in different bars and restaurants while Tommie and I were out of town.

"In one bar this woman fell all over him, hugging him and kissing him like he was her boyfriend. Jack got away from her but my photographer got 3-4 shots that looked kind of bad, like he was embracing her.

"I made sure Tommie saw the pictures. I went to talk to her, all concerned, and said that I heard some rumors that her husband might be stepping out, so I'd arranged to have him tailed and my photographer had come up with these pictures.

"And then I set him up to get caught in bed with another woman."

"How?"

"It was pretty complicated, actually." Damon started to smile for a moment, then remembered the situation he was in. "Through Daniel from Minestra I set up a phony meeting in Chicago with a potential client, and designed the account so that the company would send Jack as their representative.

"Then when Jack got to Chicago, the 'client' he met with was a plant--a very upscale escort I'd hired. She faked her way through the business meeting, then insisted on taking Jack out to dinner.

"At dinner she had to spike Jack's coffee, since he wasn't drinking any alcohol. He got woozy and the hooker took him upstairs to bed. She was supposed to fuck him so a couple of cameras in his room could get it on film, and I would show it to Tommie. But the drugs put him totally to sleep; so she went to Plan B. She stripped herself and him, and made things look like they'd been fucking all night.

"When Jack woke up the next morning she was cooing and playing with his dick and saying, 'oh baby, you were fantastic--I want some more this morning.' And she was going to fuck him then. Better late than never."

"Did Jack fall for it?"

Damon frowned. "No, actually, he didn't. He went crazy, threw the girl out of the hotel room and immediately called for the hotel doctor. When the doctor came Jack made him test him for drugs. Then he flew home and told Tommie the whole crazy story, and four days later when the drug test results came in he could prove to her that he'd been given some kind of crazy barbiturate cocktail that knocked him out.

"That might have fucked up my entire plan, since I didn't get any film out of it that I could use. But I knew all about what was going on, because I could see all her email messages. So any time Jack told Tommie something reassuring, I could speak to her and casually offer a different interpretation, one that made Jack look like a lying cheat.

"With this one, I waited for her to tell me the whole story: how Jack had woke up in bed with a woman, but he swore he'd been drugged, and how he had a drug test to prove it. Then I frowned and pretended to look thoughtful, and said, 'something about that seems fishy, Tommie--let me see what I can find out.'

"And two days later I talked to her, all hesitant and sad. I told her that I'd hired a PI firm in Chicago to do some checking. They found out that the doctor was an old college buddy of Jack's; and the lab that supposedly had done the drug testing didn't actually exist. It must have been all faked, I said, with Jack's friend helping him make up a complicated lie so Tommie wouldn't think he'd actually cheated.

"Even then she didn't believe me--not all the way. So I gave her the PI's report I'd had done--it was very convincing, on fancy letterhead and full of details about what happened, interviews with the woman and the hotel staff.

"That did it. She dissolved in tears, furiously cursed her husband, let me console her like a true friend with an arm around her. I told her she had to break with him completely, no giving him another chance to make up some lying story.

"So I took her home to pack some stuff and then away to Fiji for a week--just to get away from it all, I said, give her some time to sort things out. My wife and I have a house on the beach there, very private.

"I knew I could get in her pants, but even as upset as she was it took me four days. I walked with her on the beach, we had long talks, she cried and vented and told me she'd never ever trust a man again. And I was the perfect friend, the shoulder to cry on, the guy she didn't have to worry about."

He stopped, perhaps wondering if that was enough.

"And the sex?" the tall man said. "Tell me about that--not the details, just the bare outline."

Damon looked uneasy again. "Well, I ... each night I saw to it that we had a lot to drink at dinner, and each time she got very emotional. So the first three nights I was a complete gentleman, just listened to her cry and rage, then escorted her to her room and left her.

"The fourth night I pushed harder, made sure that all of her drinks were doubles. And I kept carefully working the conversation around to revenge, to the need for Tommie not to take what her asshole husband had done lying down.

"I'm pretty good at this--I've been seducing women for a long time. By the time we got upstairs she was pretty sure that inviting me into her room was HER idea. So we fucked a couple of times and then fell asleep. It wasn't so great, because she was really drunk--and to tell the truth she pretty much cried all through it, about Jack and how she couldn't believe he would do that to her.

"But she has an amazing body, and I didn't care that the sex wasn't so good--I was sure it would get better when she calmed down in a couple of days.

"So I thought I was in like Flynn, but the next morning she was all weepy again, said that even though her marriage was over she hadn't wanted to do this, and she asked me to leave. And I didn't push her, I figured I'd give her a day or so to get over feeling remorseful before I tried to get back in her pants again.

"And that afternoon I took a nap before dinner, and the next thing I know I'm tied to this chair." He thought a few moments more and said, "that's it, really--that's the whole entire story. Anything else you need me to tell you, just ask."

The tall man stood silently, apparently gazing at Damon though you couldn't really tell because of his mask.

"Have you done this before?"

"Well, I ... no, nothing like this." Damon licked his lips nervously. "I mean, I fucked a lot of women I've hired, my Personal Assistants. That was why I hired them, mainly.

"But nothing like this, no screwing around with their husbands. I never needed to. Putting a few moves on 'em, offering fancy vacations, that's all I ever had to do with the other ones."

"Are you sorry for what you did? Ruining Tommie and Jack's marriage, putting them both through hell, just because you wanted to fuck her?"

Damon looked truly startled, as though the thought had never before crossed his mind. After a moment he pulled himself together and said, "uh, sure. Of course! I realize now, it was a terrible thing to do. Awful."

He looked up expectantly but the tall man made no reply. Damon looked uneasy, and he said, "I ... I ... obviously I have to make it up to her somehow. And I will. Of course.

"Yeah, I'll talk to her as soon as I get out of here--I'll tell her the whole story, and beg her forgiveness. And I'll give her and Jack a lot of money, I don't know, several million, so they'll never have to work again. That'll be--"

"Shut up," the tall man said. He went out of the picture for a moment and returned carrying a laptop computer.

"I'm going to log onto your email for you and send a message," he said. He worked on the computer for a minute and then said, "what's your password?"

Damon looked unhappy, but he hesitated for only a moment. "Studman22," he said.

The tall man entered it, waited, then typed a few sentences, pressed a couple more keys, and closed the laptop.

He stood up and towered over Damon, gazing down at him. Then he said, "I was never here. You were never here. You've never seen this room in your life."

"Got it--sure--I understand," said Damon, nodding vigorously.

"And you'll never contact Tommie or Jack again, nor will anyone you know or anyone who works for you."

"Yes, absolutely. Of course."

"If you happen to hear from Tommie--only if SHE contacts YOU--then you will respond. You will give her anything she might ask for: the truth, or money, or a recommendation for a new job. Anything. If she asks you for twin solid-gold Ferrari convertibles, they'll be in her driveway in a week, do you understand?

"Because I found you once--and I'll find you again. Is that perfectly clear?"

"Yes--I understand completely." Damon nodded his head rapidly, eager to show his agreement.

The tall man looked at Damon--then he nodded, apparently to himself. He removed the vial from his pocket again, filled the dropper from it, and stepped over to Damon.

"I've changed my mind--let's make it Choice 2," he said.

Damon started to struggle as soon as he saw what the tall man was doing. "Wait, no, I told you, I did everything you--"

"Doesn't matter, Damon. You're a dog. A beast. A total piece of shit. And you deserve to die like one."

"No, no, please, I can--anything, I can pay you--" Damon's voice rose to a shriek as he twisted desperately in his chair, trying to free himself.

Ignoring his captive's struggles, the tall man squeezed the dropper and let a dozen drops land on Damon's bare chest, Damon yelping and twisting violently in a vain attempt to avoid letting the liquid touch him.

"Please, no!" he screamed, "I'll do anything--please!!" Damon continued to contort his body violently, absolute terror showing on his face. He spit several times onto his chest, hoping to douse the liquid from the vial, then shook his body as he tried frantically to get it off his skin.

Without paying any attention to Damon's gyrations and pleading, the tall man carefully closed the vial and returned it to his pocket. Then he picked up the animal cage and laptop and walked towards the camera that had recorded the entire scene. He reached his arm towards the image and the screen suddenly went black.

****************

I sat there for a long time, staring at the dark screen without seeing it. Thinking it all through, noticing how what I'd just heard from Damon put so many of the mysterious pieces together. Above all, the way Tommie and I would be okay, and then later or the next day she'd come home from work upset and distant.

It was nearly 7:00 am. I picked up the phone and called David.

"Yes?" He seemed half-asleep.

"It's me--sorry to wake you. I just watched it."

"I'm awake, it's okay." He yawned.

"Jesus, David. Is he dead? And was that you?"

David chuckled. "No and no. I'm on the other side of the world right now. It was a ... colleague, who was not too far from Fiji and had the time to do a big favor for me. And no, he didn't kill Ebberson. I haven't seen the DVD, but I imagine he took along two vials and did a switcheroo. He did kill the mouse, but Ebberson just got some water. My colleague seems to have felt that he deserved a few minutes of total terror, as partial punishment for what he did."

"My God..." I thought some more. "How on earth did you find them? And kidnap Damon and everything?"

"Those are questions I'm not going to answer, little brother. No offense."

"Of course--none taken. But can you tell me how Tommie got back, and what's up with her?"

"My colleague sent her an email from Ebberson's account. It said something like 'sorry, an emergency came up and I had to run out. Please book yourself a first-class flight back to Indianapolis and check in to Grand Valley's suite at the Conrad. I'll be in touch in a few days.'

"The DVD will be delivered to her door around 9:00 this morning. That's why I want you to wait until noon to go see her--and take Katie along if you can."

"Okay," I said. My head was whirling. "David, how can I ever--"

"Forget it," he said. "Take care of Tommie, all right? None of this was her fault. I'll come see you, maybe in a couple of weeks."

I hung up and called the Conrad. "Uh, good morning--could you tell me whether a Ms. Tommie Hitchcock has checked into the Grand Valley suite?"

"Just a moment ... yes she has, shall I connect you?"

"No thanks, it's a bit early. I'll call again later, thank you."

Thank God thank God. I sat a few minutes, then called Katie.

"Katie, it's Jack. Tommie's back, she's staying at the Conrad. I haven't talked to her yet but I'm going to go over around noon. Is there any way you could come with me?

Katie started to cry. "Ohmygod, Jack, that's ... I'm so relieved! Hang on a minute ... " I could hear her blowing her nose. "Sorry, I just burst into tears, I've been so worried! Do you want to go over right now?"

"No, it's ... a little complicated, and I think waiting until noon is better."

"Okay--do you want to pick me up at work at 11:30? My God, Jack, how do you know she's there if you haven't talked to her?"

"I got an email, and then I called the hotel to confirm that she'd checked in. Look, it's a long story...how about if I tell you later?"

I got off the phone and found myself weeping. From relief? Despair? Exhaustion? It didn't really matter. I made some coffee, had a long hot shower, tried to make myself eat some eggs and toast. I couldn't turn off my thoughts, couldn't make my mind go less than 100 mph. No surprise there, I guess.

****************

When I picked up Katie she was full of questions, asking them all at virtually the same time. I had tried to think through what to tell her and what to hold back.

"Hang on, hang on, Katie--I'll tell you what I know." I paused.

"Tommie's boss Damon Ebberson is behind everything that's been going on. He wanted to ... to sleep with her, that's what this is all about. And he finally convinced her once and for all that I'd been cheating--so last Friday he whisked her away to Fiji with him. He's got a house there.

"And ... and I'm pretty sure he had sex with her. But someone ... I don't know who, intervened and got her back here. And by now she's probably seen a DVD, the same one that was sent to me, that makes clear what Damon was doing."

Katie was staring at me aghast, her mouth hanging open.

"Oh ... my God," she said slowly. "Jack, I'm ... God, you must be going crazy!"

"Yeah, well, it's been a pretty rotten week. A rotten six months, now that I think about it. But at least she's back now."

"Was she ... I mean, did you have to watch her ..."

"Oh no, nothing like that. It's a DVD of Damon confessing what he did; how he worked on her all these months, how he set me up to be photographed or filmed with other women, all the lies he's been telling her."

"My God my God." She closed her eyes for a minute. "I can't begin to imagine what Tommie is going through right now--or you either, Jack! How are you holding it together?"

I laughed. "I'm not sure I am. But I think it makes sense for you to go in to see Tommie first. I don't know if she'll be angry, or suicidal, or ... I don't know, mad at me for somehow having let this happen."

We walked into the Conrad; Katie went straight to the front desk and asked them to call the Grand Valley suite. She spoke briefly into the phone, then came over to me. "She sounded awful, Jack--but she told me to come up."

"Thanks Katie. I'm going to wait down here until you think she's ready to see me--just call my cell."

****************

It was a long half-hour. I was sleep-deprived, angry, frightened for me and Tommie, and full of regrets. If only ... if only we'd seen what that bastard was up to, if only Tommie had been more honest with me about her suspicions, if ... if.

My phone finally rang. "Jack, come on up. Suite 1501."

"Is she all right?" I asked urgently, but Katie only replied, "just come up, okay?"

When I knocked on the door Katie let me in. Tommie sat on a couch across the room looking at me with a neutral expression on her face. She looked utterly exhausted and drained--my beautiful wife, but without any of her usual energy and warmth.

"Tommie--are you all right?" I walked towards her but slowly, as if afraid she'd run from me.

"I'm ... I'm ok, Jack," she said quietly. "Angry, sad, ashamed ... afraid. I don't know what I am, actually."

I reached her and took her by the hands, pulling her gently to her feet and into my arms. She hugged me back mechanically, without feeling, as I held her tightly to me.

"Thank God, thank God you're here," I whispered, and she pulled back, looking into my eyes doubtfully.

"You really mean that? You still want to be with me, after...?" She shuddered and looked away from me. "After what I did?"

I kissed her forehead. "You didn't do anything. It was what HE did. And it's over now."

"Don't say that, Jack!" She pulled away from me and walked to the other side of the room. "Don't say I didn't do anything. You don't ...." Her voice trailed off.

I glanced at Katie, who was watching us unhappily. "How about we get Tommie's things and get out of here?" I said.

Katie nodded. "Tommie, c'mon, I'll help you pack up." She took Tommie's hand and led her into the bedroom, while I slumped down on the couch to wait. I don't know what I'd expected out of this reunion, but this was certainly far less than I'd hoped for.

****************

We dropped Katie back at work, after she promised to check in with us again that evening, and drove home largely in silence. Tommie gazed steadily out the window and responded to all my attempts at conversation with one or two-word answers.

I carried the suitcases to the door and unlocked it for Tommie. As we went inside I said, "have you eaten, honey? How about if I make us some lunch, and we can talk?"

"Lunch sounds good, thanks," she said, and sat down wearily at the kitchen table. "I haven't had much sleep in the last 36 hours, Jack--do you mind if I just sit here?"

I smiled and kissed her cheek. "No, it'll be a pleasure to wait on you, ma'am."

I quickly pulled together a couple of sandwiches and we ate in silence. I smiled at Tommie but she couldn't muster up much of a response. When we were done I took her hand and led us towards the living room, sitting with her on the couch. I wanted to put my arm around her, but instead left a couple of feet between us.

"I'm so glad you're back," I said. "And I guess we have a lot to talk about."

She regarded me expressionlessly. Then, to my shock, she stood up and said, "I know, Jack--but I'm just not ready for that yet. I'm going to go lie down for a while, okay?" And without waiting for my reply she started towards the bedroom.

"No. No, goddammit that's not okay." I stood up too, and faced her, my eyes suddenly full of tears. She turned around and looked at me, startled.

"I know you're tired, Tommie, I know you've been through a horrible ordeal, but--"

I was crying now. "--but it's been a nightmare for me too, you just disappearing like that, with that note...

"And now that you're back and the one thing I need most in the world is to reconnect with you, to start getting past everything that's happened, you ... you push me away--because you're 'not ready for that yet.'

"Well, fine!" I sobbed. "The hell with it! You can let me know when you ARE ready!"

I pulled the car keys out of my pocket and headed for the front door, crying hard. I had no idea where I was going--I just knew I needed to get out of there.