End

Chapter 20

Maggie lay on the tile floor, lost in a world of pain and anguish. Somehow, Phillip had learned the truth about her and Jesse. He had left her. He had taken his wedding ring off and dropped it on top of the pile of photographs that showed her betrayal.

But How?

"It had to be Jesse," Maggie exclaimed as she stood to examine the evidence. She picked up more of the photographs and felt herself growing sicker and sicker. Her hands shook as she scanned each picture.

"No, no, no," she said to herself as she realized that these images were not from years ago. They had been taken the day before, in New York. How had Jesse managed to get all of these pictures to Phillip so quickly? It wasn't making sense. She had been with Jesse non-stop until she had tried to kill him.

Maggie was in a panic. First, she tried to call Phillip, but it went straight to voicemail. Not knowing what to say, she just hung up. Next, she began to search the house, frantically. She had no idea what she was looking for, just something to help her understand what was happening.

When she opened the kitchen garbage can, she found a large manilla envelope, just the right size for the 8x10 photos. It had a return address from a company called Palmer Investigations, based across town. That explained it.

Phillip had hired a private investigator. It wasn't Jesse. That meant Phillip had suspected she was going on the business trip to cheat on him. She sat down, head in her hands, and cried out, "But, it wasn't an affair! I went there to kill him!"

"But you fucked him first!" she thought to herself. And, Phillip saw it, all of it.

She jumped with a start when her phone rang. She picked it up, hoping it was Phillip, but felt her stomach tighten when she saw "Unknown Number" on the display. Nervously, she answered.

"Hello?"

"Why did you leave so suddenly," Jesse asked. "It was just getting fun."

"Phillip knows!" she shouted into the phone. "He knows about us. He had a private investigator following us, taking pictures!"

Jesse didn't even hesitate. "Then, there's no reason for us not to be together."

"Are you insane?" Maggie asked, her voice shrill. "I will never be with you! If you ever come near me again, I swear, I'll kill you!"

"You might need your gun for that," Jesse said with a chuckle. "Next time, don't leave it where your intended victim can find it while you're cleaning up."

"You bastard! You've destroyed my life! You've taken everything from me! Are you satisfied?"

Jesse chuckled more. "Satisfied? Not yet. But, now that I have a gun that can't be traced back to me, I will be, soon enough. All I have to do is find Phillip."

Maggie felt a cold chill run down her spine. "You wouldn't hurt Philip," Maggie protested, even though she wasn't sure just what Jesse could do.

"Hurt him?" Jesse asked. "Oh, yes, I want to hurt him. I want to hurt him slowly and painfully. I want to make him beg me to stop until he gives up and implores me to kill him. Then I'll put two bullets in his brain."

Maggie nearly dropped the phone. She was crying hysterically and almost missed what Jesse said next.

"Then, I'm coming for you."

Chapter 21

Phillip woke alone and hungover. His head felt like a team of miniature acrobats was using his brain as a trampoline. He rolled over, knocking the pizza box and two empty beer bottles off the bed. His phone buzzed again. It had been doing that frequently all morning.

He assumed it was Maggie like it had been every other time. She was the last person on Earth he wanted to talk to just then. Actually, that wasn't true. Jesse Milner was the person to win that category. Maggie was a distant second. So, when he saw the call was from his daughter Terri, he picked it up. The movement caused the acrobats in his head to do backflips.

"Hello," Phillip said. His voice was heavy and thick from all the drinking the night before.

"Dad, what's going on?" a very concerned Terri asked. "Mom's freaking out. Did you guys have a fight?"

"You could say that," Phillip replied. "Terri, it's complicated, and I'd rather not get into it with you over the phone."

"Mom was hysterical!" Terri conveyed. "She scared the shit out of me. She kept saying she needed to talk to you — something about you getting the wrong idea. What's this all about, Dad? Can you call her?"

"I can't call her right now, honey," Phillip replied. "We're not in a good place. I moved out."

"What? Why?"

"Honey, it's really not something I want to burden you with."

"She cheated on you, didn't she?" Terri guessed. "That's why you moved out and won't talk to her."

Phillip realized that Terri and the kids would find out sooner or later. "Ok, look, your mother made a choice. You should talk to her to get the details. Let's just say she chose to be in New York this week with someone that wasn't me."

"She's not in New York," Terri said, contradicting her father. "She's at home right now."

That meant she had seen the photographs. Well, that at least explained all the phone calls and text messages.

"She was there yesterday, trust me, I've seen the pictures."

"Oh, my God, Dad, I'm sorry," Terri said, growing increasingly upset. "Was his name Jesse?"

Phillip was taken aback by her question.

"Yeah, how did you know that?"

"Dad, Mom wasn't making any sense, but she said something about having to warn you. She said that Jesse has your gun and that he's coming after you. She told me if I spoke to you to tell you to call the police. What is she talking about, Dad? I'm scared."

"How the fuck did Jesse get my gun," Phillip thought. "Uh, don't worry. I'm not sure what that means, and I don't know how he could have gotten my gun."

"Who is Jesse, Dad?"

"Just a guy we went to school with, a long time ago, before you were born. He's been in prison for the last twenty-five years."

"Prison? Why is mom having an affair with a guy who has been in prison?"

"I don't know," Phillip told her. "I really don't. I didn't even know he was out. I don't get it."

"Why would he come after you?"

"I don't have a clue. Maybe Jesse's mad that I found out about their affair and ruined it for him."

"You should call the police."

"Ok, honey," Phillip reassured his daughter. "I will. I have to go. Don't worry, but if you get any more information from your mother, let me know."

"I will, Dad. Be careful! Please, be careful."

"I will."

"And Dad?"

"Yeah, honey?"

"Maybe you better get another gun."

Phillip hung up and dialed the non-emergency number for the police. He explained his situation to the person who answered, who then transferred him to someone more senior.

"This is Detective Lyle, how can I help you?" a man on the other end of the line said.

"Hi, yeah, I'm not sure if there's anything dangerous going on, but my wife said that an old classmate of ours recently got out of prison, stole my gun, and is coming after me. So, I checked, and the reason I'm calling is, my gun is missing."

"Let's start at the beginning," the detective suggested. Two hours later, Phillip had given his statement multiple times. The detective told him they would look into the situation and get back to him.

"And Mr. Anderson?"

"Yeah?"

"Until we know what's going on, keep the eyes in the back of your head open."

Chapter 22

Maggie sat impatiently in the waiting room. She'd been there for two hours. Finally, a man in a suit approached her.

"Are you Margaret Anderson?" he asked as he stopped next to her.

"Yes!" Maggie said, standing up. "That's me."

"I'm Detective Lyle," he said as he shook her hand, "Please come with me."

He led Maggie to a small room with a table and two chairs. It looked just like something you would see on crime television. Maggie felt awkward but sat down where directed.

"Can I get you anything? Some water? A soda?" he asked in a friendly tone of voice.

"No," Maggie replied nervously. "Thanks."

"So, I understand that you claim someone raped you. That right?" the detective asked, getting right to the point.

Maggie wrung her hands together as she stared at them and nodded. "Yes, I want to file charges."

"When did this rape occur?"

"It was more than once," Maggie explained. "The first time was roughly thirty years ago."

"Woah," Detective Lyle said. "Thirty years is a long time, Mrs. Anderson. The statute of limitations for rape is ten years in Texas unless you were a minor at the time. How old were you?"

"I had just turned eighteen," she replied, taking a kleenex out of her purse to wipe her tears. "It was prom night, and my date forced himself on me."

"This date have a name?"

"Jesse. Jesse Milner," Maggie explained. She noticed that the detective wasn't writing anything down.

"As I said, there's really nothing we can do about it. If you had come forward at the time, yeah, but it's too late now."

"I understand, but that was the first time. Jesse raped me again a few years ago and a couple of times since then."

"Ok, maybe you just need to start at the beginning and tell me everything," the detective said, looking somewhat perturbed."

"On prom night, Jesse got drunk, and he raped me. After that, he drove off with a girl named Teresa Meyer. Jesse wrecked his car, killing Teresa and three other people. He ended up going to prison for twenty-five years, and got out a few years ago."

The detective knew all of this already. Phillip had said the same basic story during his interview.

"When Jesse got out, he found me and blackmailed me into letting him have sex with me."

"So you willingly had sex with him, or did he force you that time, too?"

"I let him do it, but only because he blackmailed me!" Maggie snapped. "That's rape in this state! I looked it up!"

"It's not that simple," the detective argued. "He can just say you consented because, at the end of the day, you did consent."

"That's not true!" Maggie fired back. "The law says that rape is sex without consent, and consent cannot be given when there is coercion. Blackmail is coercion! I had no choice! I had to do it!"

"Or what? How was he blackmailing you?"

Maggie hesitated. She didn't want to reveal her darkest secret. "I-I'd rather not say," she stammered. "I don't want my husband to find out."

"It's a little late for that, don't you think?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"Did you know your husband already called us?"

"N-no, I didn't," Maggie stammered. "But that's good! I warned him! I told him to go to the police!"

"Yeah, well, he had an interesting story to tell us, and frankly, Mrs. Anderson, it doesn't match this bullshit you're feeding me." His tone became hostile. Maggie's nervousness increased to near panic.

"W-what did he say?"

"According to your husband, you've been having an affair with this Jesse Milner for some time now. He had you followed by private investigators, and they got proof of your infidelity. He also stated that someone stole his gun and that you were telling people your lover has it and is coming to kill your husband. You sound more like an accomplice than a victim."

"It's not like that! That's what I'm trying to tell you. I wasn't having an affair with Jesse! He was blackmailing me for money, at first, but then he wanted sex. He beat me! He abused me! He violated me! I only did it because I was scared! He threatened to tell Phillip about something that would destroy my husband and destroy my marriage! I couldn't let that happen! I did whatever I had to do to protect Phillip! Finally, I couldn't take it anymore, so I took Phillip's gun to kill Jesse, but he got the gun from me. I ran and got away, but I don't know where Jesse is now or what he is capable of!"

"You expect me to believe you? Sounds to me like you made up this whole blackmail thing after you got caught cheating."

"It's the truth, I swear on my children's lives!"

"Then, what was Jesse allegedly blackmailing you over, Maggie? What was this dark secret?"

Maggie felt her resistance failing her and put her head in her hands. She took a deep breath, sat up straight, and said, "The night of prom, Jesse raped me. I was a virgin and unsure of what was going on. He forced himself on me, and after, I was so stunned, so shocked, I tried to convince myself that it hadn't happened.

"I was supposed to ride home with Jesse, but Phillip rescued me. He wouldn't let me get in Jesse's car since he was so drunk. I loved Phillip my whole life and gave myself to him that night, while Teresa was dying in my place. I made myself believe that Phillip had been my first, not Jesse.

"I got pregnant that night. Phillip and I got married, but the baby was Jesse's. I knew it the first time I saw her eyes, but I lied to Phillip. I have kept the fact that our first child wasn't his a secret all these years. Jesse figured it out and threatened to tell everyone."

"I paid him off and let him fuck me, but then he used pictures from us having sex to blackmail even more. He wouldn't let me go. It was never going to end. So, I tried to kill him. He must've found the gun because he had taken all the bullets out. In a panic, I dropped the gun and ran."

Detective Lyle stared at Maggie for a long time. "Alright, let's say I believe you. I bet you didn't know it's a felony to take a gun from out of state to New York. But don't worry. We can't do anything about what happened in New York. Are you willing to press charges against Jesse for blackmail and rape for what happened here?"

Maggie raised her head and replied, "Absolutely!"

"Ok, then, I'm going to have you give your statement again, starting at the beginning. I can't guarantee the DA will want to do anything about it, but it's worth a shot."

*****

Wearing heavy leather gloves, Jesse punched through the glass on the back door, then reached through the hole and unlocked it. He walked in, shutting the door behind himself and looked around the room. The first thing he noticed was all the pictures on the table of him and Maggie fucking in New York.

"The son of a bitch ruined everything," Jesse snarled. He searched the house and didn't find much of value. As he was leaving, he placed a bullet up on the kitchen table for Maggie to find.

Chapter 23

Phillip had just completed meeting with a divorce attorney. They agreed to file on the ground of Adultery. It wouldn't do much for him financially, but it gave him a lot of satisfaction to make it publicly known that Maggie was a cheating whore. He was walking to his car when his phone buzzed.

"Good afternoon, Detective Lyle, what can I do for you?" Phillip asked after answering the call.

"Mr. Anderson, we had an interesting interview today. Your wife came by to file charges against Jesse Milner."

"Charges? What the hell for?"

"She claims he was blackmailing her for money and sex for years."

"Blackmail? Blackmailing her over what?"

"I'm not at liberty to say, Mr. Anderson. I suggest you talk with your wife. By the way, she said she took your gun to kill Jesse with, to put an end to the blackmail, but he got it from her. You need to talk to your wife, Mr. Anderson."

Phillip thanked the detective and hung up. "Blackmail?" Phillip thought. "Whatever it was, she believed killing Jesse was better than telling me?"

He got in his car and dialed Maggie's phone. She answered right away.

"Phillip, oh my God, it's not what you think! Please!"

"Shut the fuck up, Maggie," Phillip said bitterly. "I don't want to hear any of your bullshit. Detective Lyle called me and told you that you're trying to claim Jesse was blackmailing you. You seriously thought I'd believe that nonsense?"

"It's the truth! I swear to God! I swear on our kids!"

"Don't fucking do that!" Phillip snapped. "Don't you fucking dare bring them up! You fucking slut!"

"Phillip, I love you! You have to believe me. I would never have sex with Jesse unless he forced me!"

"Did you even look at the pictures on the table?" Phillip asked. "You didn't look very forced."

"I can explain."

"Can you? Well, start talking, and while you're at it, tell me what it was that Jesse had on you to be able to blackmail you into betraying me."

There was a pause, then Maggie replied, "Not over the phone. Meet me at home, and I'll tell you everything."

"I'll meet you at the house, but we no longer have a home! You saw to that! Just, tell me, did you ever fuck him in our bed?"

"No! I swear I never did anything like that!"

"Like I believe anything you say."

"I'm sorry, Phillip."

"Yeah, sure. I'll be there in ten minutes." Phillip said, then hung up. He drove in a furious haze the entire way. When he arrived, he parked in front of the house. He didn't want to park in the garage or where Maggie could box him in. Two minutes later, Maggie pulled into the driveway and got out. Phillip joined her in silence as they walked to the front door.

Inside, Maggie offered Phillip a drink.

"This isn't a fucking social call," he said as he sat down on the couch, she had insisted they buy, then never used. "Start talking."

"I don't know where to start," Maggie said, defeatedly, as she sat across from her husband.

"Start with this bullshit about blackmail. What the hell could Jesse have on you? He was in jail for twenty-five years! How could he have anything to blackmail you about."

Maggie was crying again, but she ignored it, speaking quietly and deliberately. "Because it happened before he went to prison."

"Before he went?" Phillip started to ask a question, but stopped himself to let her get it out. "Go ahead."

"He knew that if you found out about it, you would leave me. I didn't want to lose you, Phillip. At first, Jesse only wanted money. Do you remember me asking you about getting access to money?"

"Yeah, for SMU, right?"

"It wasn't just for SMU," Maggie explained. "I was paying Jesse to keep him silent. Shortly after he got out of prison, he was living homeless in a park next to the community college I was attending. He had stumbled into me one night and recognized me. I gave him some money to get him to go away, but he kept showing up. That's when he first blackmailed me about revealing my secret to you. Do you remember when I said I wanted to quit school?"

"Yeah," Phillip replied. "I do. You were moody for a couple of weeks."

Maggie nodded. "That's why. I was so afraid he would tell you. I didn't know what to do. I paid him, and he went away for several weeks. Just when things were getting back to normal, he came back, wanting more money, a lot more money."

"How much?"

She told him, and he was dumbstruck. "Why didn't you tell me? We could have dealt with him together?"

"No, you wouldn't have helped me," Maggie said. "Not once you learned the secret."

"Maggie, what the hell did you do? Jesse got arrested the night you and I became a couple. You couldn't have cheated on me or anything? So, what could you have possibly done before that night to make me hate you?"

"It wasn't before that night," Maggie whispered.

"What? What do you mean? It couldn't have been after prom; I was with you. Are you saying something happened at prom?"

"Please, let me tell you everything, first?" Maggie begged. "I promise I'll tell you."

Phillip reluctantly agreed. "Ok, go ahead."

"So, the money wasn't enough, it never was," Maggie explained. "He wanted sex. He swore that if I let him fuck me, just one time, that he'd leave, and I'd never hear from him again. Of course, I didn't believe him.

"I refused to do it, but as I stood there, he called you on the phone. He was going to tell you my secret. You answered. I was so terrified that I let him do it."

"He said, 'wrong number' didn't he?" Phillip asked.

Maggie nodded. "Because I took off my clothes."

Phillip looked away, shaking his head. "The crazy thing is I knew it was him! I recognized his voice, but I thought he was still in prison."