This is the final chapter. Thank you for everyone who stayed with me on this story. Roden Addison edited this last chapter for me and made it a much better read.
Chapter 4
Jen and I were a bit at odds before she left for her vacation with her parents. Since I found out her friends Nicole and Marty were going I developed a distrust very quickly. That's when I asked my friend Keith, who was a Private Investigator, to get me a background check on Nicole.
He previously had gotten pictures for Marty of his ex wife cheating on him. He told me it was a pretty easy gig since Marty had given him all the details of where his wife would be and who she would be with. It was just a matter of setting up an audio and video camera in the apartment they would be in. Keith told me it was pretty easy money.
Jen left early Monday morning. She told me she loved me and would be home Sunday. We kissed but I didn't put much effort into it. Jen looked a bit dejected as she kissed little Jeffery. She thought of taking him with her but he was only a few months old.
After her parents picked her up I got Jeffery ready to go to my Mom's place. He would spend the week there and I would stop by each evening after work to see him. When I finally got home on Monday after seeing Jeffery, Keith stopped by. He said he had a little information about Nicole.
She had been arrested once in college for nude and lascivious behavior. She had taken off her clothes in a lounge and went on the stage and started having sex with the female stripper. According to the report she was drunk and made a bet with some guys that were at the lounge.
Police officers were called so the lounge owner didn't have a choice in filing a report. Nicole spent one night in jail and Jen bailed her out the next morning. It wasn't much of a record. She did admit at the time she was bi sexual and had done it on a bet. She didn't mind being with the occasional woman.
It made me wonder about Jenβ after all, Nicole was one of her best friends. Keith did tell me it was after graduating from college that Nicole got the position as Marty's secretary. He decided to run a check on Marty as well, seeing Nicole was working for him when Keith did the PI work for him.
"It turns out Marty and his ex wife were swingers, or at least their marriage was open," Keith said. "I believe the whole picture scheme was a scam. I now think Marty knew all about the relationship. The only reason Rita, Marty's ex wife didn't fight the divorce was because the man she was with was in politics and a friend of her father's," said Keith.
"I don't get it Keith. What did Marty have to gain from the whole episode? Couldn't he just divorce his wife and go on with his life?" I asked.
"I ran the background check on Marty and found out he and his ex had a pre nuptial agreement. Because of the video he was able to keep his business and most of his assets. He didn't have to split them with his ex. I also found out that he was dating Nicole at the time but his wife had no proof of infidelity. I guess I was part of the plan and didn't even know it. It really pisses me off; the fucking bastard used me!"
We drank a couple of beers, and Keith told me if I ever needed anything to let him know. He did say to watch out for Marty and Nicole. He said he wouldn't trust either one of them.
Keith did mention he was leaving Tuesday with his girlfriend Kelly and his two sons. He was taking them to the Cedar Point amusement park, and then they would be camping out Tuesday and Wednesday night. He'd be home Thursday afternoon. He mentioned that two nights in a tent was about all he could handle.
I went to work and later over to Mom's house to spend some time with Jeffery. I was sulking a bit about Jen. I missed her. It was Tuesday night and my cell phone rang, It was Jen.
"Hi, Jeff, how is everything? I didn't get a chance to say goodbye properly or how much I was going to miss you."
"I miss you too, and I'm sure Jeffery misses his mommy." I put the phone next to Jeffery's ear so he could hear his mommy's voice. He smiled but I don't know if he even knew it was her.
"Jeff, my mom isn't feeling very good and she and dad are coming home tomorrow. It's just a cold but she says she feels miserable. I talked with Nicole and she and Marty said I could stay with them in their spare room. I wanted to be here for the Luau Saturday night, but I'll still be home Sunday."
I didn't know what to say. I felt okay when she was staying with her parents but I didn't want her to stay with Marty and Nicole. I was lost for words. All I could say was how much I missed her and wished she would come home. She told me she missed me too and would see me Sunday.
I was a little in shock. I thought I knew her well but now I wasn't sure. Would she be faithful to me? Damn it! I called Keith. He was surprised to hear from me. He told me that he, Kelly, and the boys were just getting ready to leave the park and go to a campground.
I asked him if he could do me a gigantic favor? Could he go to the camp grounds where Jen was at. I was getting paranoid and wanted him to set up an audio and video camera in Jen's room at Nicole's cabin.
"Jeff! That's an extra hour drive. Are you sure you want to do this. If you were to find out anything it would be inadmissible in court. Besides, it's too late tonight to get in the cabin to set up the equipment. I can set it up for tomorrow night, but I would have to remove it Thursday morning when I leave, so you'll only get the one night. Do you still want me to do this?"
"Yes, I hope it turns out to be paranoia and everything is ok. I don't want anyone to know, not even Kelly, or most of all Jen. I don't want her to know I didn't trust her but I feel like I have to do something."
"Ok, Jeff. I'll go by tomorrow morning and set up the camera and audio feed after they leave for the boat. The way the feed works is by wireless remote. It will record up to five hundred feet away. I won't even see it.
"I'll record and bring you the tapes on Thursday. I can get six hours of audio only. I'll set it up somewhere in the living room of the cabin. I've been there before and there is no where for a video camera in the main living room but it picks up sound great.
"As far as the camera goes I can put it in the overhead fan light in Jen's room. I'll set both for six hours beginning at eight in the evening. Is that ok with you?"
"That's great, Keith. I hope it turns out to be nothing. I really want to be able to trust Jen. I feel bad enough having this done but I have to know, at least for one night."
****
I was a mess on Wednesday. I called my friend Billy and asked him if he wanted to work with me the rest of the week. The ice cream business was booming and I was glad to get the help. I even thought of asking him to work Friday and Saturday for me and I would go up to the lake to see Jen. Then I figured she would get pissed that I didn't do it in the first place. I figured I would wait and see what the tape showed.
Keith caught me on my ice cream route around noon on Thursday. He handed me the disks and told me he never looked at them and wished me the best. I asked Billy to finish the route and told him that I wasn't feeling very good. Actually, I wanted to go home and check out the disks.
I called Mom and told her I wouldn't be over, that I'd caught a bug and decided to doctor myself for it. I sat down and watch the video that was set up in Jen's bedroom first.