Seduction P.i.

A hard boiled detective genre story.

The storm broke on the city just as the night closed in, enveloping it in a wet, velvet darkness. The rain beat against my office window washing off some of the city's grit and grime. The city's sins ran down the window in narrow rivulets.

I was alone in my office. Feet crossed and resting on my desktop as I sipped at my coffee contemplating my next step to keep the wolf from the door. The door had a pebbled glass window with a painted name plate which read, "T. Griggs P.I." It could have read "Thomas Griggs Private Investigator" however the sign painter charged by the letter and business was down.

Our wise legislators brought in no "fault divorce" which easily wrecked half of the P. I. business.

As I continued my thoughts the door buzzer sounded. I checked the feed from the camera over the door and saw that it was a gentleman, tall, well dressed with a face I thought looked familiar but I couldn't remember where. I buzzed him in.

"I am Thomas Griggs, how can I help you?"

I stood to greet him and we shook hands. Strong grip but not crushing. He was not just well dressed, he was immaculately dressed. His overcoat was probably worth what I grossed in a quarter.

"I am Brad Seymour, Seymour Industries. V.P. And General Manager. I have an opportunity to discuss with you."

"Well, have a seat and let's talk. Can I get you a coffee or a water?" I asked as a hospitable host.

"No, I have a short amount of time tonight and it is best I get right to it. To put it succinctly Mr. Griggs I would like you to seduce my wife."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me right. I want you to seduce my wife."

" Mr. Seymour the escort service is on the 3rd floor, this is the 2nd floor." Seymour didn't seem to appreciate my sense of humour.

"Let me draw you a clearer picture. My wife and I were sharing an intimate moment one night. I playfully asked her if she had ever wanted to sleep with another person. She was indignant that I would even think she would want to be unfaithful. I asked if she had ever been tempted. She said absolutely not. Never propositioned, never seduced. If there has been no temptation to sin then where is the virtue?"

He paused. I wasn't sure if it was a rhetorical question. He continued, "I want her virtue tested."

"Mr. Seymour, Brad, look at my nose. I am a fighter not a lover. I have a terrible history of failed relationships. I am no Don Juan. I am serious, the escort agency can supply a willing lothario for you who is much more skilled."

" Thomas you are ideal because you are exactly Mary's type. She had a boyfriend back in school and he looks a lot like you might have at that age, he looks like a big man and a brawler."

"Thomas, what is your weekly rate?"

"Look, I don't want this job but fyi a week would be $2500 plus expenses." Ok I padded the price a bit.

"Thomas, I will double it"

"Come on Brad, this so far out of the question."

"I will triple it plus I will pay you for a month up front."

Shit, now he was talking real money and I had bills to pay and debts to settle.

"Tell me about your wife then"

Brad Seymour left me a dossier on his wife. She was an only child from a middle class family. She and Brad met when they were both 20 years old and married at 21. they were both 30 now. In their wedding photo she looked very attractive, small almost elven. She had married up that was for sure. She was well educated with a masters degree in philosophy and occupied herself in several charitable organizations. Most recent project for her was the local food bank. That seemed the best place to meet her.

Seeing her in person at the food bank put the photo to shame. She had matured from merely attractive to drop dead gorgeous. She was no longer elven thin. she had curves that she didn't have back then.

I was put to work unloading trucks that brought supplies in for sorting. About an hour into it she came to me.

" You are new here. Hello my name is Mary."She held out her hand to shake.

"Thomas, pleased to meet you." I gave her my 100 watt smile and she smiled back, giving me that funny feeling you get in the pit of your stomach, someone once said that was common sense leaving.

"Glad to have you aboard. We need muscle to unload all this stuff and you look perfect for the job. Let's work together and get this truck unloaded, we have a couple more waiting."

We worked and chatted till noon. I asked if she would like to grab lunch together. She respectfully declined.

"I don't really know you that well and it could be misinterpreted. Besides I bring my own lunch."

"Great idea, I will have to remember that. Maybe tomorrow I will bring mine too."

After a lunch break we got back to work sorting. She told me about her husband and how he was always so busy. She loved doing her charity work.

"So Thomas, what do you do for a living?"

Decision time, do I tell the truth and maybe make her suspicious or lie and maybe get caught up in the lie and screw up the job.

"I own a small private investigation agency. I am the sole employee."

"How fascinating. What kind of jobs do you get?"

"It used to be divorce work but times have changed. A lot of finding people, chasing down deadbeat dads, some insurance work."

"It is great to see the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well!"

As the day ended I told her I had a job to do tomorrow but I would be back the next day.

She said she would look forward to it and gave me a 100 watt smile. Wow!

I did some skip tracing work the next day but I had Mary on my mind throughout. I just couldn't understand why Brad Seymour would want to tempt this wonderfully interesting woman to stray. His explanation didn't really pass the sniff test for me.

The following day I got to the food bank bright and early. She was already there. When she saw me she came over and gave me a quick hug and asked me to help her unload again. It was another interesting day with a fascinating woman. She was as interested in me as I was in her. She was making me feel ashamed of myself for having an ulterior motive.

At lunch we sat together in a nearby park. We laughed a lot, talked about movies and books, dance and the theatre. She asked me if I had a special someone.

"No, there aren't a lot of women that are interested in a thug like me. They like the pretty boys, the guys in the fancy suits."

"That's where you are wrong. You have a very solid core belief in yourself and that is very attractive."

"How is your marriage Mary?" I was taking a chance. I didn't want her to clam up.

"It is ok. I know that sounds wishy washy. Brad is so tied up with the family business he has trouble finding time for us. I do my best for him but sometimes it just isn't enough. He wants me to be bolder in, well private things, to experiment, cross boundaries. But I am not that kind of person. I am not a prude but I am not a libertine either."

I was surprised she was opening up so freely with me. God she was making this harder for me!

We met for lunch several times each week.

The days passed quickly and it pained me that I had to make a seduction attempt in our final week.That last Monday we took our lunches to the park as usual. We were in the middle of talking about southern cuisine when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. Mary got excited talking about blackened red snapper and she reached for my hand. I pulled it away as if it was a hot coal.

"What's wrong Thom?

" Give me a minute to think."

And think I did. The thoughts tumbled like dice and I prayed they wouldn't come up snake eyes. They didn't but I didn't like the way things were unfolding.

I spoke softly with my hand covering my mouth as if coughing.

"Follow me, don't talk."

I lead her through the park and took the path leading to the fountain. It was a wide pool with 12 jets of water pumped 2 meters into the air and falling back to the pool below creating a noise that would make it very difficult for any listening devices to pick up our voices.

"I recognized a man in the park. I had seen him several times in the area. He is an operative for a large investigation firm. I think we are under surveillance."

"Why would anyone want to follow us?" Mary asked.

"I am working on a theory. I will be in touch. Go home. Act normally and don't mention this to your husband."

As she turned to leave I stopped her.

"Do you and Brad have a prenup?"

"Yes of course, his family insisted."

"Mary, I smell a rat. Do you trust me? Can you send me a copy of your prenup? A lot could be riding on this."

"Yes I trust you and I'll send a copy tonight."

"I promise I will fill you in but not here and now. Ok?"

We said goodbye. She went east and I went west.

Later that night I got the prenup. It looked like a standard boilerplate agreement with some additions. What I saw gave me pause. Could that be the reason he wanted her seduced? In the case of adultery the offending partner would get 10% of the communal assets, the non offending partner would get 90%.

This sounded like a motive to me but the more I thought about it the worse it got.

Suppose Brad had strayed from his marriage? Suppose he was now getting nervous because he was afraid that Mary might find out and talk to a lawyer. That might just make Brad try to hurry things up and hire a dumb old gumshoe like me to do the dirty work.

The tail that Mary and I had picked up was ready to pounce on any evidence that we were having an affair. They knew I would be trying so it should have been easy for them but I am either too slow or Mary is too virtuous. That was why I swatted her hand away in the park. As innocent as it looked I didn't want to have any bodily contact.

The following day I stopped in at the electronics supermarket to pick up a couple of burner phones. I assumed her phone was likely bugged. I gave her one and I worked for an hour, told Mary I would call later. I figured if we were not together they would slacken the surveillance. I called.

"Mary, true confession time for me."

I explained to her what happened, from her husbands visit to the theory of why.

"So you agreed to seduce me Thomas? Really?"

"I know Mary and believe me I am sorry. I should never have taken the job but your husband is very persuasive and persistent. Plus I had debts and bills to pay. I didn't know you then like I do now. Besides I am shit at being a seducer of women."

"For being shit at seduction you were doing a pretty damn good job of it. So what do we do now?"

"I need to investigate your husband. I need to get evidence of him having an affair. I anticipate he will be very cautious so I am going to need help. Can you think of anyone he might be sexually attracted to or involved with?"

"My guess is it has to be someone at his office. Someone he can control. Maybe on his close staff so he could free up their time to suit his schedule."

"Makes a lot of sense, his personal assistant maybe or is that too cliche?"

"Exactly, far too cute. If I had my guess I'd say the redhead in the PR department. She has been in on a lot of my husband's meetings these days and she is very enticing to a certain kind of man."

"By certain kind of man I think you mean one who has a pulse and can fog a mirror. We are easily distracted Mary. I will work on this and if we catch a few breaks we may just turn this to your advantage."

My immediate thought was that the mook who was tailing us in the park worked for J. Robertson Agency. It was one of the largest, most prestigious PI company and had a nice client list that covered all the city's toffs and nabobs. I knew I couldn't go there for any thing. So I visited my old friend Charlie Star. Charlie ran a small outfit out of the apartment upstairs to a Chinese restaurant. I came to his office with two steaming bowls of hot and sour soup"

Peter stood and smiled at me, "Beware of PI's bearing gifts, especially hot and sour soup. Sit down, let's enjoy."

After catching up on each others lives we got down to brass tacks.

"Brad Seymour is using Robertson for investigative work right?" Peter answered in the affirmative. "I saw an operative of his keeping a close eye on me and Mary Seymour. We believe that Brad is desperately afraid of being caught in an infidelity. He wants Mary to commit adultery before he can get caught, so he can nullify the financial loss spelled out in the prenup."

"You have got to be kidding me Thom. Seymour chose you to seduce his wife!" Peter was now laughing so hard I thought he would choke."

"Thanks for vote of confidence you bastard. This is actually a very big thing."

Peter stopped laughing and spoke quietly with determination. "Brad is a prick to his wife and anyone who's has the temerity to cross swords with him. I will help if I can."

"Peter, we need access to his schedule and determine meeting with who and when. Watch for personal time. Maybe check the hot prospects close to him because we could see a pattern. Oh, special emphasis on the P. R. Director, she might be Brad's main attraction."

"I have just the man for you. He is on Robertson's team but he has done some work for us and he is a pal. He is the best source for the dirt on him. I will get on it right away.

Noon the following day Mary and I are on the bench by the fountain. We speak just loudly enough that we can hear each other. I fill her in on more details and let her know that we are putting this in motion as quickly as possible. I have checked out and approve of her choice in lawyers. The divorce lawyer is a shark and can't wait to take this on. I remind Mary that we must keep up appearances. We need to walk a fine line between my appearing to seduce her and giving Brad enough photo evidence to prove infidelity.

"Remember Mary, we talk, laugh and eat but no hugs, hand holding or touching by you. I will occasionally put my arm around you but you need to shrug it off politely."

"Damn, just when a little hug or an arm around the shoulder would have been welcome." she sighed.

"I still don't understand why Brad would hire me instead of an escort."

"Thom I can think of a couple of good reasons. First of all hiring an escort would not look good in a court of law and it might screw up his chances of success. Hiring a PI for the job, off books, makes it harder for that PI to own up to being hired as a seducer. I dare say it might put your license in jeopardy. Another good reason is you fit the mould of a fictional lover I invented. You see Brad and I developed this game while we were in bed. He would ask me about past boyfriends and lovers, it seemed to spice things up for him. I was a virgin when I married Brad so I simply made up the boyfriends from my own imagination. One recurring lover was Bruno. A big man, tough, a man who had seen the seedier side of things but was gentle and caring when it came to love making. Needless to say Bruno came to mind often. The moment I first saw you working at the food bank I did a double take. You were Bruno come to life! My guess is that Brad saw that similarity and knew you were perfect for the job."

At that moment my phone buzzed. It was a text from Peter. "Got it...meet at 6pm Beer on you."

Let's get back to the food bank. The plan is coming together.

Peter showed me the info he got from his pal. God bless computers and secretaries who use digital scheduling. The voluptuous PR redhead was at a lot of these meetings and the lunches following them. Brad's company also happened to own a condo in the building right across from the restaurant. Peter's source told him that Brad and Janet, the redhead, would go there for a couple of hours after those meetings.

Nice. This is great news and advances our cause. Next step is to somehow get audio and video into that condo suite to catch them in the act. That turned out to be harder than I hoped.

They can make cameras so good and so small they can be difficult to detect but getting said camera into a very secure room proved nearly impossible. Once again Brad's digital schedule was the key. It showed an entry. Kings Carpet 1pm Ambassador.

Ambassador was the name of the condo building and apparently Kings was going to be doing some work at 1pm on Friday.

Kings carpet had a nice website which showed the installation staff laying a fine looking Berber carpet. Installers wore plain white coveralls. No other markings. A plan began forming. I needed some coveralls, plain white, XXL.

Thursday night I got a call from my client.

"So how is it going Romeo. Have you bedded Juliet yet?" I could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Your were right, your wife is a very beautiful woman but she is one hard nut to crack. She has managed to spurn all of my advances. She has put me firmly in the friend zone."

"Have you plied her with liquor yet? She gets really quite horny after a few glasses of wine."

"Brad she won't even agree to let me take her into a bar. She loves you Brad. All she and I have done is take lunch in the park and the odd hug in greeting. I don't think you have anything to worry about. Or maybe the escort idea was better."

"Thomas, the month is up but I am willing to give you a little more time. I gave you cash for the first month. I will deliver an envelope to your office tomorrow with one more week's worth. For fuck sake Griggs pull your thumb out of your ass and get her into bed by next week. Hey if you want I could get her liquored up at home and then make sure she is still a little drunk when you next meet."

"Fuck Brad, why are you doing this to her!"

"Because she denies she is a slut but I know from our nine years together she longs to get some big strange dick in her. It is her fantasy."

It was plain to me that wasn't the reason at all but it sounded plausible and that was all he was going for. Keep the damn gumshoe on the job!

When I finished the phone call I had to take a shower, Brad made me feel like I had just taken a hike through a sewer. On the other hand the warm fingers of water on my chest and the thoughts of Mary had me enjoying the shower a little bit more than usual. Small pleasures.

I showed up at the condo on time with clip board in hand, wearing a long haired wig and matching porn star moustache. I think that was the first lesson in gumshoe 101, look like you belong there and carry a clipboard. I walked up to the security desk and asked, "King carpet site, which suite?" I asked never looking up from my clip board.

I was told suite 1492 and that the team was already there.

I thanked them and took the elevator to the 14th floor. 1492 was a huge, beautiful suite. the installation team was busily pulling up old carpet. One worker looked over at me and asked who I was.

"Quality control inspector for the corporation."

That satisfied him and they got back to work. I made my rounds and placed cameras in the most likely locations to catch Brad in the middle of some afternoon delight. I checked everything and the feed came through on my phone loud and clear.

I called Mary's burner phone and told her everything was in place. We just had to wait for Brad and Janet to make their move.

Brad and Mary were spending the weekend visiting family so I spent a quiet weekend. On Monday the action heated up.

Monday mornings meeting was just as it normally was. The group ate at the restaurant and they returned to their office. Brad and Janet walked across the street and took the elevator to the luxurious love nest.

I recorded the feed as I watched in real time.

The two were certainly relaxed. They enjoyed a glass of wine or two then off to the bedroom. Janet stripped of her office clothes and laid them over a chair. She walked over to Brad, knelt on the floor in front of him and undid belt and fly. The pants pooled at his ankles. She pulled the boxers down and began to stroke his half erect member. Thomas noted to himself that Brad was nothing to write home about. Janet then took him into her mouth. She was damn good at what she did. She was a spectacular woman and I could easily understand Brad's wanting her. She was as tall as he was with a mane of thick auburn hair. She had obviously had some breast augmentation done. Her body was kept in very good shape. Following the blow job she went to lie down on the bed but Brad told her to get up, put her hands on the bed and bend over. He said he had time a quick fuck and this was his favorite if he wanted to cum fast. He mounted her and it was wham, bam, thank you mam. Without a word to her he turned away, got dressed and left the room. She got up, cleaned herself in the bathroom then dressed. They both left the condo, presumably to go back to the office.