Once I'd decided that I was going to get revenge on Mindy it felt as if a weight had been taken off my chest. I was going to find a way to release the rage and pain. I started going through my options for how to get back at Mindy.
The first thing that occurred to me was to physically overpower her. There was a unbelievable appeal to this; I was surprised how appealing the idea of controlling her was to me, but I was more than willing willing to work with it. Despite the initial appeal of the idea, the more I thought about it the more it seemed like it was iffy at best.
I had no desire to get into a war with Mindy where I would hope that I would use my size and strength but she would use handcuffs or whatever else whenever I was sleeping. No, I needed to have something to hold over her head, I needed to find a way to make it so that should couldn't retaliate.
Some sort of blackmail was the obvious solution, but I knew Mindy well enough to know her general actions on a day to day basis and I was fairly sure that she didn't get up to anything worth blackmailing over. Besides, even if she was doing something, she was technically a single widow so how bad would it be? I doubted the repercussions would affect her even if I could dig something up.
I thought about financials too and while it was possible she was stealing money or something else that was wrong, it seemed incredibly unlikely. Mindy had cards with no limit and in her current life could do anything she wanted, she had no reason to steal anything. I also knew that she could just walk away if need be. My dad had made sure that Mindy would get enough money that she wouldn't be strapped for cash for a long time, if ever, even if she left our lives completely.
I needed leverage that was undeniably wrong and associated with her as a person so she couldn't just leave if the shit hit the fan. I figured the only thing like that would be a criminal record. It occurred to me that molestation was a criminal charge in my state. What she was doing to ME was illegal... I was fairly sure that the age of consent in my state was 16 but there was no consenting in any of the things that Mindy had done to me. I needed to capture her in the act of abusing me.
I didn't know yet how I wanted to go about catching Mindy in the act, but by my math I had some time to figure it out. My aunt and uncle would be home the following afternoon. I didn't want a repeat of this morning so I'd just stay out overnight. I could crash at a hotel. So long as I was home before my aunt and uncle arrived I doubted that Mindy would make an issue out of it. That meant that if I could dodge tomorrow morning I would have two and a half weeks until my aunt and uncle were out of town again, leaving me alone with Mindy.
They were going to Japan or China or something for that trip and would be gone for two and a half weeks so I knew that I needed to have my plan figured by then or those two weeks would be a living hell for me.
I wasn't sure where to begin looking for assistance on how to catch her but I knew someone who might know how to get me what I needed. I called my dad's lawyer. I didn't know Francis extremely well, but I knew him pretty well all things considered. He'd been at my birthday parties before and I know that my dad had considered him to be nearly family. Going to Francis to ask to put me in touch with someone who knew about covert surveillance would probably be an awkward conversation, but a 16 year old kid is probably a weird enough client that he'd just shrug it off to me being a teen boy. I was worried that maybe he'd tell my uncle, or, even worse, Mindy, but it was a risk I was willing to take so called him and to hell with the consequences.
His assistant answered after only a single ring. I asked her to put me through to him.
"Jason! This is an unexpected call. Before we get to what you're calling about I want you to know that you don't need to call my office. Let me give you my personal phone number, it'll go right through unless I'm in a meeting or already on a call."
He sounded genuinely happy to hear from me which emboldened me to get down to business.
"I'll make sure to do so in the future. Francis I have a couple of questions for you that are not in and of themselves wrong, but before I ask I need to know if our conversations will be passed on to anyone else."
He paused for a few seconds as if to gather his thoughts before replying, "Jason, your relationship with your lawyer is one of the few relationships where you can tell me literally anything and be confident that I won't say a word to another soul. After your father's passing I've considered myself to be your lawyer. My invoices are paid by your accounts and any of our conversations, no matter the content, will remain between you and I without another soul knowing. Not your uncle. Not your aunt. Not your step mom. I really mean that. I hope that we have years left to work together, and I hope that we can be friends, but know that regardless of that nothing you tell me will ever be passed on to another soul."
I didn't quite breathe a sigh of relief, but I wanted to. "Well I'm very glad to hear that. I don't think that I have any business secrets that can't get out and I have no mistresses to hide from my wife, but I'm glad to know that when my life is at its worst I'll have one place I can surely go.
"I have two questions to put to you. The first question is when are you free to grab a lunch. I've been out of touch with what's happening and I'd really appreciate if you could take a few hours to explain to me where my business stands, how my finances are, and anything else you might think is pertinent for me to know. Second, I'd really appreciate if you could put me in contact with a PI who specializes in covertly, and remotely capturing evidence."
"As to the first, I'm sure that we can make that happen as soon as this Friday, but I'll have my assistant give you a call when we finish and she can give you more definite dates. I'll make sure she knows it's a priority to find a time that is convenient for you. As to the second, a few names are coming to mind but I'll ask around to make sure I find the best. Are you looking to hire their services or just get a consult? If you're looking to hire we can handle that for you," Francis replied.
"I think that right now I'm only looking to get a consult but if I need to hire them for anything I'll be sure to let you know," I said.