[There is sex in this story. Vanilla sex, anal sex, lesbian sex, strap-on sex and sex between a man and two women. The basis for the story is betrayal and cheating. The main character is not a wimp. If you find legal problems with the story recognize that this is fiction, so the laws fit the world I'm writing about and I've never wanted to be a lawyer.]
My office had the desk and chairs arranged so I could watch people as they approached. Over the years I had become quite good and figuring out why they were coming to me before they actually got inside my office. They each came with body language and clues about why they were there.
The sign on my door was the only external sign that this wasn't a home. It was a home once. Two bedrooms and two baths with an attached garage. When the city changed zonings for the area I bought the house and put the sign on the door: Mark Kona & Associates, Private Investigations. There weren't any associates.
Even as a kid I loved solving mysteries. I read hundreds of books and did my best to solve the mysteries before the author did. I still read some when I wasn't on a case. My experience as a member of the city police department for sixteen years helped me get work after I was medically retired. I was medically retired by a 9mm round that damaged some nerves in my right leg. I could walk Ok and even run but the feelings were gone between mid thigh and my foot.
I watched as a nicely dressed woman looked at a slip of paper and the address on the house, then she stepped up the sidewalk towards my door. She left a two-year-old Caddy parked in front. A freshly cleaned and polished Caddy. The woman appeared to be about forty, five foot seven or so and about one-forty. Blond hair that was actually her natural color, cut short and easy to care for. Her clothes were probably from Nordies or somewhere like it. A suit, skirt and jacket in Navy blue with a white silk blouse showing. A Coach purse. Expensive shoes that begged for attention. My windows and door were closed and I could easily hear the clack of her heels on the concrete.
'Her husband is cheating.' I thought.
The door opened and I stood up. She stepped inside and when our eyes met she asked, "Mister Kona?" We went through the quick formalities and both sat down. She introduced herself as Marilyn Templeton.
"So, what brings you to me today?" I asked.
"Suspicions."
"About the status of your marriage. Maybe even a look into the future to answer some questions like will you still be married at the end of the year?"
"It's that obvious?"
"I get paid to notice things. Your friends and your husband probably don't suspect anything at this point."
"Ok. I think Brian is cheating. What do we do next?"
I pulled a tape recorder out of my desk drawer and started it. I put it on the desk between us. "First thing you do is tell me about you and Brian. All the biographical things you think might be important."
She talked for almost an hour. She opened that Coach purse and gave me copies of bills, receipts and statements. I asked questions and she answered. At the end she said, "So, what will it cost me to find out for sure?"
"There are options. I can take the case and call you in three days and say, "Brian did a woman at the Hilton. I can take the case and get pictures of the happy couple in bed together doing each other. I can get pictures and audio of them together having sex and get the names, addresses and data on every partner he has. The final option is strange. It's the one where I follow him for days or even weeks and he never goes near another woman. Each of those options comes with a different price."
She nodded and said, "I want the one he cannot fight in court! When we go to court I want to win, to take him apart and leave him broke and naked in the courthouse."
I added, "If he's guilty. There is a possibility he isn't cheating, isn't there?"
"Last time we went dancing and drinking we had sex when we got home. As he was falling asleep he said, "Thanks, Amanda."
"Your name is Marilyn." She nodded. She had a strong suspicion.
"Ok. Is there a way you can pay me five thousand dollars without leaving a trail that he could follow back to me?"
"Do you have a way in mind?"
"Yes." I gave her a business card for Mahalo Plumbing, a company owned by my cousin. "Call them. Have them come out to your house and estimate the cost to repair and upgrade the fixtures in one of your bathrooms. Tell them I referred you. He'll set it up so you actually have a plumbing problem you can show your husband and the bill will come to five thousand dollars. That will cover my expenses for the month. If your husband is doing someone during the month we will get the evidence."
She took my cousin's card and stood up. "If you need to talk to me..."
"I won't leave a trail. You gave me lots of places I can find you without leaving a trail." We shook hands and she was gone.
My first order of business was a phone call. I called my cousin at the police department. She sits at a computer all day. I gave her the man's information and she ran a background on him. I'd have it that night. Then I drove to his business. He had an office on the third floor of an office building on Santa Monica Place, in Santa Monica. Like a fair percentage of the people with offices in that building he was a CPA. As the background would show most of his clients were in the entertainment business. I drove into the underground parking and saw three parking spaces with his name on them. One space was open, one had a new Lexus in it and one had a four-year-old Audi. As I drove past them I saw a man in a gray suit come out of the elevator and head toward those parking spots. I made the turn and went around again. As he got out his keys and beeped the Lexus I stopped near him. I rolled down my window and asked, "When you leave, can I use your space? I only need to go up to the sixth floor and deliver this envelope." I showed him a 9 by 11 inch envelope.
"I'll be gone about two hours. Go ahead." He said. I backed up and watched him leave. He turned right onto Santa Monica. I waited a few seconds and followed him.
Following someone can be difficult or it can be really easy. Following him was easy. On the antenna for his car radio he had one of those orange clown heads from Jack-in-the-Box. Not many black Lexus two doors had those. I stayed about ten cars back and followed him all the way to Ocean Avenue where he made a right turn. When I made the same right I was just in time to see him turn and enter the parking for one of the small hotels along Ocean Avenue.
I recorded the address and parked pointed south on Ocean Avenue about two hundred yards away from the hotel. Two hours later his Lexus left the hotel and headed back towards his office. I put more money in the meter and walked to the hotel. I identified myself and asked to speak to their security person.
He was an ex-cop. One I'd known when we both were walking a beat in South Central years before. He took me to his office, a small room filled with monitors and video equipment. I told him what I was doing and he helped me watch the right video. We watched the Lexus drive in.
Josh said, "Oh, that's Mr. Templeton. His company rents a room here all the time. He almost never spends the night, but he comes two or three days a week for a couple hours."
"Can we follow him to his room?" I asked. Josh pushed buttons and things and we watched Mr. Templeton walk to his room, number 326. He unlocked it with a key card from his wallet and went inside.
