This is a repost of a 2009 story that has been edited.
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It was a great picnic I just wasn't having a lot of fun. Every year the head of our company had a gathering at his home for all the employees. There was lots of food and drinks and fun for the kids. The guys I worked with were gathered around one table and the wives were sitting together at other tables. I just wasn't in a party mood I guess.
My name is Marty Sanders and I have been with the same company for ten years. I married my wife Marcie right after we finished college. It was a typical romance and getting married just felt like the natural thing to do. I wanted lots of kids but Marcie wasn't interested in being a mother. I thought everything was fine with our relationship until a few weeks ago when I started noticing the signs. At first, I thought I was imagining things and tried to stay cool about it. The little things that were bothering me did not go away and I finally decided I had to verify her infidelity or put it aside.
It just seemed like Wednesdays were significant so that was my target date for checking things out. I went to work as usual that morning but before leaving I placed my GPS on the back floor of Marcie's Beemer. I turned the auto shutdown off and put in fresh batteries that would hold for a minimum of 14 hours. Work went as normal except I left a few hours early and swung by the house. Her car was there so I parked down the street and went back and retrieved the GPS from the backseat. It worked perfectly. She had left the house and I had a nice track to exactly where she went. I set the unit on the center console and took off on my treasure hunt. About twenty minutes later I found myself in the Airport Holiday Inn parking lot.
The counter guy at the hotel seemed friendly enough and I mentioned that my wife had been there earlier at a business meeting and left a pair of expensive sunglasses in the room. I asked if he could check the lost and found but I didn't know the room number. Taking a long shot I gave him her name and asked which room she had rented. I got a weird look and a small smile from him as he checked the computer. He said she had room 417 and checked out about 2 PM. The room hadn't been cleaned yet but I could check with the maid that was doing that floor. I thanked him with a twenty and went looking for the maid.
The maid was as agreeable as the desk clerk and another twenty got me in with no problem. Nothing much exciting in the room except dirty sheets, wet towels, and three used condoms in the trash can. I took the condoms in one of the tumbler wrappers and went back down to the lobby.
I was glad that the clerk was friendly and decided to try another long shot. I pushed a C note across the counter and asked if I could get a copy of the surveillance tape for that floor. He didn't make a copy. He just gave me the original and popped a new tape in the recorder. I thanked him, he smiled a knowing smile and I was on my way home.
At home everything was normal. Of course, I said nothing and she did not indicate that anything had happened. I was tempted to make some cutesy inquiries but decided against it. I wasn't ready to tip my hat yet. In my mind, I was busy planning my next step. After Marcie turned in I quietly played the surveillance tape and now I knew who the guy was. I checked the credit card files in the den before turning in. The Master Card bills for the last three months were missing. Marcie usually pays the household bills and after making the Master Card payments she destroyed the bills so I had no record of the room rentals.
I went to work as normal the next day. The center of Marcie's affections was Kevin Chapman. He was a middle manager in the company and appeared to be an OK guy. I was able to pull up his personnel records and soon knew everything there was to know about him. I didn't know how or where they met and really didn't care. I only wanted to get it over with. Kevin was married and had two small children. His wife, Janet, was short and had dark hair. She was a little on the chunky side but still had a nice shape. I had seen her at a few company functions and found her to be attractive even though she didn't fit the mold of a beauty queen.
Cassie, my secretary was a little suspicious of my investigations and with an impish grim offered me whatever help I might need. It is hard to keep secrets from good secretaries. I asked her to see if she could get copies of my wife's Master Card bills and a call log of my wife's cell phone for the last three months. I got the feeling everybody in the company knew what was going on but me. Later that day I found a business card on my desk for a female divorce lawyer. I don't know where it came from but I put it in my pocket for future reference.
At home that night everything was normal. I mentioned the company picnic on Saturday and she said she was looking forward to it. We went to bed at separate times as usual and there was no sex, as usual.
Friday was a slow day at work. The high point of the day was that Cassie had the Master Card records and Marcie's cell phone log. She also had a copy of Kevin's cell phone log. I had never mentioned his name to her. I felt like a cuckold. Before the end of the day, Cassie sat down and said that I should make an effort to talk to Janet Chapman at the picnic if possible and also to try and talk with Jake Williamson, the company CEO. She winked as if to say everything was going to be OK.
That night I sat and watched TV alone while Marcie read a book. The wheels were turning. It was time to do something.
Which brings us back to the picnic. The beer was flowing and everybody was having a great time, but me. Bob Sever, a close working friend, started ribbing me about being a party pooper. I tried to joke it off with little success.
"I hope you are in a better mood at next year's picnic Marty" Bob squawked.
"I don't think I'll be at next year's picnic Bob"
That got everyone's attention.
"What is going on Marty, are you leaving the company?" He asked.
"No, I think I will be in jail next year at this time."
There was a mixture of gasps and giggles at that. Everyone at the table was asking for an explanation at the same time. They couldn't tell if I was joking or serious but they were all waiting for an answer.
"Well Bob, somebody in the company has been having sex with my wife and very shortly I intend to kill him, his wife, and his kids. I will not put up with this shit."
There was silence around the table. Kevin was sitting at the far end. I avoided looking directly at him but I could see he was disturbed. Suddenly Bill Thomas chimed in "Well, in that case, Marty can I have your boat?" That got a laugh from most people and took the chill off the conversation.
"Bill the boat is worth over ten grand and you can have it for four thousand."
After a short pause, Bill said, "If you are serious Marty, it's a deal."
"Fine, I'll get it cleaned up for you and you can pick it up tomorrow at about noon. Stan, if you still want those Ping golf clubs you can have them for a hundred bucks, OK."
Stan Franks nodded and said he would pick them up Sunday also. About this time Kevin got up from the table and went to the side of the yard by a bush. I saw him get out his cell phone and hit a speed dial. At the same time, across the yard, Marcie was digging in her purse for her phone. They talked for a few moments and then Marcie saw me looking her way and quickly hung up. By the time Kevin came back to the table I had also sold my truck to a guy in the shipping department. It was turning out to be a good picnic.
I was getting ready to call it a day so I wouldn't put a damper on everyone's fun when I remembered what Cassie said. I walked over toward Jake who was busy with some visiting biggies. I decided I didn't want to interrupt and turned to walk away. Jake grabbed my arm, leaned over, and said, "Don't worry, I got your back." I wasn't sure what he meant but it sounded good.
As I walked over to tell Marcie I was leaving, Janet, with the two tykes, sort of bumped into me. Before I could say anything she quietly blurted out, " We need to talk, I will call you, don't call me."
I told Marcie I was leaving. She could stay and get a ride with someone else or go with me. She left with me. There was no conversation all the way home or after we got there. I felt very satisfied.
I was up bright and early the next day feeling a little confident now. I got the set of golf clubs out and cleaned them up a little for Stan. He got a good buy and he knew it. I washed the truck, threw on a quick wax job, and vacuumed it out. I didn't have to do this but it helped to keep my mind off my problems. The boat was a major project so I saved it for last. I figured I could kill the entire morning getting everything shipshape for Bill. While I was outside keeping busy I could see Marcia burning up the phone lines. I'm sure Kevin and her had a lot to discuss. I wished I had come up with a way to record the phone conversations but then I figured it didn't matter anyhow. Stan picked up the clubs and I went inside and made a sandwich and got a beer. I spent over an hour with Bill explaining the boat wiring and fuel system and loading him up with all the accessories. I made him take all my fishing stuff also. Hell, I wasn't going to have a boat I didn't need the fishing gear.
It was a busy day. After a quick shower, I dressed and asked Marcie if she wanted to go get a bite to eat. She turned me down and offered no excuse. I felt it was interesting that she never once asked about the boat, the truck, or the golf clubs. I got the feeling she was trying to avoid the subject altogether. Fine with me. I had a great meal, went to a local watering hole, and relaxed the rest of the night. Marcie was asleep when I got home and was still in bed when I left for work in the morning.
I stopped at the International House of Pancakes on the way to work. It was something I normally didn't do but I felt frisky. I took my time, read the newspaper, and sauntered into work at about ten am. Everybody appeared to be overly friendly and smiling more than normal. Cassie sort of snickered and got me some coffee I did not need.
"What the hell is going on?" I asked.
"Well, today you are considered to be a celebrity of sorts. Your performance at the picnic has spread all over the company."
"And that is a good thing?"
Cassie smiled. "Kevin was in very early this morning and asked for an immediate transfer. He didn't offer any explanation but mister Williamson had already notified personnel that if he did come in they were to transfer him to the Baltimore office immediately. Kevin cleaned out his desk and was gone within the hour."
"Damn, I didn't think I was that convincing but it is sort of funny."
"Everybody said he looked like a scared rabbit." Said Cassie.
