A Friday Night Mare

No real sex in this one...

It's Friday night and somebody was ringing my doorbell around two in the morning or I guess it was really Saturday. I looked at the ring cam and saw two police officers. This wasn't going to be good as I did an inventory of my family, my wife was on a business trip out of state and due home around noon, my oldest lived an hour away and my youngest was at her university, also an hour away. Through the ring cam I told the officers I was coming.

When I opened the door, they asked if they could come in, this was definitely not going to be good. They started with introductions and then wanted to know my whereabouts that evening, I got angry.

"I was here all night but I'm not answering anymore questions until you tell me what this is about."

Then they wanted to know if I could prove I didn't leave the house. I knew all the entrances including the garage and driveway were covered by cameras but I just crossed my arms and stared back at them.

"We're sorry to inform you that your wife was murdered tonight."

I collapsed on the couch, feeling like a big piece of me had just been ripped from my body. Dozens of questions were running through my mind, who what when how but I couldn't get my mouth to ask the questions. Then my mind started generating a list of people I had to inform, do I tell the kids by phone or ask them to come home first. What about Liz's body, how do I reclaim that. I was so lost in thought I didn't hear the police were still talking to me until one of them touched my arm.

Then I realized they thought I did it, it's always the husband on the cop shows but Liz was a two hour flight away if you could find a flight to our little county airport that only had two or three flights a day. That's why Liz was coming back on a Saturday instead of Friday.

"Mr. Smith, we're going to need you to identify the body and we will need to question you."

"Ok," I muttered, "But how are we going to get to Denver?"

"Why Denver," they asked.

"Liz was in Denver for a business conference, she wasn't due home till around lunch time."

The two officers stared at each other, you could see them slipping into good cop and bad cop roles.

The good cop said, "Your wife was not in Denver, at least as far as we know. She was at a park near the lake when she was murdered along with a Jacob White. Did you know your wife was having an affair with Mr. White?"

I had been trying to stand when he said that and I collapsed on the couch again.

"I did not know my wife was having an affair and that's the last question I will answer without my lawyer present. I am in a state of extreme distress and in no condition to answer your questions"

"You've been watching too many cop shows Mr. Smith but lawyering up isn't going to make your life any easier, only more expensive," said bad cop.

"It's almost three in the morning, if you want me to identify her body, we should do that now. After that I'll call my lawyer."

"Have it your way Mr. Smith," said bad cop.

They led me to the police car and I got in the back seat. I was surprised at the number of neighbors looking at their windows so early. We lived a simple town in an older development. That's what Liz and I wanted when we got married. A nice small town, barely any crime, a perfect place to raise our family. This was going to make headlines the following day. I was wondering if we still had a local paper.

On the way to the hospital, Mr. good cop was chatting away with some questions in between. My guard was down and I found myself answering some.

"Did you know Jacob White?"

"The name sounds familiar, maybe he worked with my wife."

"When was the last time you saw or spoke to your wife?"

"She left on her trip Wednesday so Wednesday morning was the last time I saw her. Whenever either of us is traveling we always call each other near bedtime so we talked Friday night. I could look at my phone and tell you what time."

"That won't be necessary," good cop said as we pulled into the hospital.

Liz was always a fan of cop shows so I watched a few. The trip to the morgue felt like a tv show with two bodies covered by sheets. They led me to one and pulled the sheet back reveling Liz's face and asked if that was my wife. I couldn't get any words out. I pulled the sheet away to reveal that Liz was naked with a bullet hole in the center of her chest.

"That is Liz, why did you take her clothes off?"

"I'm sorry to say she was naked when she was murdered along with Mr. White," said good cop. As he spoke he nodded to the other corpse. Good cop wanted me to take a look at the other body to see if I recognized him.

Mr. White also had a bullet hole in the center of his chest although much bigger than the one Liz had.

"I've seen him before, at one of my wife's work functions I believe or maybe at her office. I never knew his name before now."

"So, he worked with your wife."

"I don't really know where he worked, you asked me if I recognized him and I told you where I thought I saw him before."

Mr. White wasn't better looking than me, a little overweight maybe. How does muscle tone look when your dead, do you end up looking flabby? I resisted the temptation to look at his cock, can you judge cock size on a dead man?

As we headed upstairs, two other officers were leading a very distraught woman down to the morgue. I was assuming that was Mrs. White. I think there were only six officers in the whole town plus a chief. But I didn't really know.

The police took me to the police station where I called my longtime friend James. I knew he was a lawyer but really didn't know what kind. He was the one who recommended that Liz and I move to this town. I called his cell and he groggily answered the phone, it was a little after four.

"James, this is Jack. Sorry for waking you so early but Liz was murdered last night and the police have me in the station for questioning. I told them I would not answer their questions. Could you represent me, do you do criminal law."

"Oh shit, I'm so sorry Jack. I do criminal law but there isn't a lot of criminal activity in this area. I can represent you but if this gets complicated it might be wise to bring in someone with more experience. Just being honest. I'll be there in twenty minutes."

James came into the room I was in, looked around and saw the cameras. He had his cell on record and told the police to turn off the cameras. We saw the cameras turn off. James turned to the mirror in the room and said, let me remind you that this is a conversation between Mr. Smith and his attorney and therefore protected by attorney client privilege. Then he took me through what I knew which wasn't much.

James stepped out and called the officers in, I had warned James that they were doing the good cop bad cop thing. As soon as they sat down, bad cop started asking questions and James held up his hand.

"First, let me remind you officers that my client has not had much sleep, plus being shocked with the news that his wife was murdered and having an affair. He is in no condition to answer your questions at this time but you can answer some of mine." I thought bad cop was going to lose his mind. Good cop said shoot.

"Besides being a person of interest, are you planning on arresting my client at this time?"

The officers said no.

"In a spirit of cooperation, my client has an extensive security system at his home which would prove he was home all evening, I recommend you get a warrant specific to the security system and get a qualified technician to retrieve that data."

Good cop was busily scribbling notes.

James said, "Now tell me what you think happened."

Bad cop said, "We ain't telling you shit."

James stood up and said, "Then we're done here and unless you're arresting my client he is free to go."

James motioned for me to get up but good cop asked us to wait.

"We don't know much either except that Mrs. Smith and Mr. White were both naked engaging in sexual intercourse on a picnic table at lake park. Someone came up behind Mr. White and shot him in the back. The large caliber bullet passed through Mr. White and Mrs. Smith and lodged into the picnic table. We're waiting on additional resources from the state for an autopsy and other assistance. This is the first violent crime in this town in almost fifty years. Your client is free to go for now but the state guys will want to interview him."

James was driving me home. After dropping me off, he told me to grab some clothes and plan on being away for a few weeks. As the husband, my life was going to turn to shit and I should meet him as quickly as possible at a two star motel on the edge of town, he would text me the room number. I did as he said but while in a fog as I loaded my suitcase but had enough sense to grab my briefcase and laptop.

It was almost six when I got into the room and I was still numb. James had a box of coffee and a dozen donuts waiting for me when I got to the room. He had to go to work so I was alone for the first time since the cops visited me. While I showered, I went through the list of people I had to call. I thought I would start with my son, something happened a while back and he had grown distant. Liz said it was his new job stressing him out. Then I thought I would start with our daughter, then Liz's parents, then my parents. I would let the parents tell the siblings. Somewhere in there I would call Liz's office.

The first call went to my daughter Beth, "Beth honey, I need to tell you your mother was murdered last night. She was with her lover." Her response shocked me.

"Oh my god, is Jacob okay."

"No, he was murdered too, you knew about her affair and didn't tell me?"

"Yes dad, mom told me maybe six months ago. She was so happy when she talked about him. I actually met him once. I thought you knew."

"Does your brother know?"

"Yes but he didn't take it well, that's why he ghosted all of us. Mom said you knew and were okay with her affair."

"Listen very carefully you fucking idiot. I didn't know and would never have been okay with it. Did you ever think that you might want to check in with me, just as a courtesy to the man who's been bankrolling your college tuition, car payments and all your other necessities. This is the end of our relationship and my support. Fuck off and do not try and contact me again."

She was screaming something as I ended the call. She was trying to call me back and I blocked her number. I quickly called my son.

"John I need to tell you that you mother was murdered last night."

"I know dad, it's on the morning news, I can't say I'm sorry."

"Beth said you knew about her affair."

"Yes, mom told us you knew. The two of them went on like it was some great love affair. Beth couldn't wait to meet him. The news said he was also murdered."

"John, let me assure you, I did not know about her affair and would have been filing for divorce as soon as I knew. I'm guessing that's why you've been so distant."

"I'm sorry dad, I didn't know what to do. Every time I looked at mom I felt like I was going to lose my stomach. I couldn't believe you were okay with it. She said you had some erection problems and that's why you let her take a lover."

"Jesus fuck," I said, "I don't have erection problems and your mother and I had a healthy sex life including the night before she left on her trip. Sorry, that may be too much information. Can this day get any worse."

We ended the call and agreed to stay in touch. In less than twelve hours I had gone from grieving the loss of my wife to hating the fucking bitch. Sadness had been replaced by an incredible anger. And I was almost in a rage when my father-in-law called.

"Jack may I begin by saying my wife and I are sorry for your loss, an incredible loss shared by all of us. We just saw it on the news, and that poor other guy leaving a wife and three small children. How are you holding up?"

"As you can expect, I've been cycling through all the emotions and have settled into an anger fueled rage. Did you know your slut daughter had been having an affair with that guy, that they were naked and fucking on a picnic table in a park when they were murdered. One bullet and it went through both bodies. Did you know that both of my children knew and didn't tell me. Did you know she was telling them I had erection problems and was okay with her affair? Did you know?"

"Jack, let me assure you I didn't know and please refrain from name calling. She's my daughter for god sakes. I understand you are angry..."

"Go ask your wife, I bet she knew!" I hung up on him.

I needed to do something, with a ball cap and sunglasses I went for a jog, turning off my cell phone before I left. After a good jog, I stopped by my office and grabbed some files on a project I had been working on. I sent my boss an email telling him I would be out of the office for a bit and had my cell with me. Attached to the email was the local tv news story that showed a bunch of reporters camped outside my house. Then I went to the next town over for dinner. There was a dispensary there so I picked up some CBD gummies.

When I got back to my luxurious accommodations, I turned my cell phone back on and hundreds of missed calls and messages came through. There was a missed call from my mother, I completely forgot to call them. There was a voice mail from my father-in-law, he said his wife did know and heard the story about my erection problems. He was leaving her, probably temporary but his question was, why didn't anybody try and stop this, if they had their daughter would still be alive.

My son also sent me a text, Beth had called him. She was upset that I was cutting her off. He said he told her she earned it.

My lawyer called me when I was deleting all the bullshit messages. "Jack, the state police want to formally interview you. They wanted to do it in town but I persuaded them to do it about 30 minutes away, hopefully to avoid the press. Its tentatively scheduled for Wednesday morning at nine, let me know if you're available. More importantly, this is getting too serious for my skill set. I have arranged to have a much more experienced criminal lawyer to take over your case, I'll email you his bio. You are under no obligation to have him represent you. I'll be there on Wednesday too."

"Thanks James and I respect your decision to step away. It has been a shit morning. It seems my kids and my mother-in-law knew about Liz's affair for over six months. Liz told them I was okay with her affair because I had erection problems which is a big fat fucking lie."

"Jack, if you don't mind, I'm going to pass that onto the police, throw them a bone you might say. They'll want to interview them and I feel capable of representing them during that interview."

"Let my daughter hang James but I would appreciate you taking care of John. I'll let him know to expect your call."

Then I called my parents, they were both on the phone and had seen the news. As I told them the whole story, the rage evaporated and I was holding back tears. They wanted me to come stay with them but there was a strange car parked out front which they thought may be a reporter. But I liked the idea, mom's cooking was definitely better that what I had to look forward to and they provided me with some comfort. We made plans that I would go there at the end of the week although it was an hour drive away.

The meeting with the state police was almost a non-event. They had the security camera footage by then and one of the cameras showed me taking out the garbage close to the time of the shooting so I was in the clear.

But the first murder in a small town in over fifty years plus the victims were naked and having sex in a public park kept the press's interest. And social media was raping my ass and convinced I was guilty. Nobody cared that I was seen taking the trash out at the time of the murder. One amateur sleuth was convinced I had doctored the footage and how appropriate that I was taking the trash out when I was really murdering my wife.

My boss didn't want me anywhere near the office during normal work hours so I was going in real early and leaving before six or coming in late in the evening. A couple of my staff including my admin were occasionally coming in early with me or staying late and by some miracle we were able to keep my projects on schedule.

Two weeks after the murder, the morgue called and asked me to make arrangements for Liz's body. I started to tell them to donate her to science and maybe they could find the slut gene. Instead, I called my father-in-law and asked if he was interested in her body. He still wasn't at home and I tried to rein in my anger. He said he'll take care of her. They ended up having a very quiet service for her. Neither me or my son attended.

The reporters camped outside my parents house gave up so I moved back into my old bedroom. It was certainly better than the hotel but every morning I looked at my ceiling and thought about how far I came in life.

During that second week and the third, I began my revenge on my daughter. The easiest was cancelling her cell phone. Next I paid off her auto loan and put her car up for sale. John called me laughing, to tell me how pissed his sister was. She couldn't live without her cell and she needed a car to get to her classes. Beth wanted him to help her and he told her to fuck off.

By week four, the interest of social media had transitioned to other people doing stupid shit. The police had no leads, even Jacob's wife had a good alibi. The police drained the lake looking for the murder weapon but it wasn't found. The case would not be closed but shoved into a file cabinet somewhere.

And then I was able to move back into my home and return to work. My son came home for a weekend and we loaded all of my wife's shit into a U-Haul including my bed and donated it to goodwill. I sent our wedding album to my daughter with a note that said, "I want you to look back at the marriage you helped destroy." Yes I know that was mean.

Returning to work was a circus, I didn't get shit done as people kept stopping by my office to offer their condolences. My admin cried on my shoulder for fifteen minutes. There were also several women offering their condolences who I barely knew.

"You're fresh meat Jack," my admin Sheryl said. "I'm sure that there are some who want to nurture you through your grief. To the others you're good looking guy, with a good career, no alimony and no erection problems. That's a hot commodity in this neighborhood. If I wasn't married, I might throw my hat in the ring."

Things settled down in the office by week seven. Each week, one or two women would invite me out to lunch but I wasn't interested and even that died down. My daughter sent me a letter telling me she had to drop out of college and had moved in with her maternal grandmother. She was still insisting that she did nothing wrong. I wanted to tell her that she did nothing, which is what she did wrong.

It was definitely during week seven that one of my older staff members pointed out to me that Sheryl was looking hot. I reminded him that it was inappropriate to talk about women in the workplace like that. He apologized, said some of this new stuff was hard to adapt to and in the same breath asked if she always showed that much cleavage.

With that thought in my head, I started noticing what she was wearing when she came in and usually she was displaying a lot of cleavage and a lot of leg. Maybe it was my imagination so I looked through a lot of old group photos and she barely ever wore a dress or skirt and never showed any cleavage.

That same week, Sheryl came into my office to go over her suggested edits to a report I wrote. She was leaning over my desk and when I looked up, most of her tits were on display. Sheryl caught me looking, smiled but did nothing to hide her breasts. I was embarrassed and hastily agreed to her changes.