Working the Lie
It has been four years since our youngest left for college. We raised three good kids and now they were all on their own. It was our time now, or at least I thought so. We did agree on how the kids were to be raised, but that was about all we agreed on. In addition to making sure that the kids were honest and hard working; we insisted that they be able to stand on their own two feet. They all got practical degrees and had no trouble landing high-paying jobs. Dad made sure that they had no student debts. Our marriage was strong up to that point because we had a shared goal; raising the kids. Now we found ourselves drifting apart.
Marsha has been working at Liberty Casualty Insurance for the last ten years. She likes her job and does it well. I don't know exactly what she does and have never been interested in finding out. She was happy and I was happy. We paid off the house and all the expenses for two kids in college.
I started a surveying business with two of my childhood friends almost twenty years ago. It was my idea and my best buds; Tom and Norm Springer, were more than eager to help me get the business up and running.
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Things turned to crap a couple of weeks ago. I usually got home from work earlier than Marsha. I picked up the mail and glanced at it through. An envelope from the Berks County Health Department caught my eye. It was addressed to Marsha Conrad. I tossed all the other mail on the credenza but took that one with me to the kitchen. I set it on the kitchen table while sorting things out for supper. Marsha usually came in thirty or forty minutes later, which gave me plenty of time to get a meal together.
"I'm home, John. Looking forward to lasagna night and a nice glass of red." She kicked off her shoes before coming into the kitchen. I got a light kiss on the cheek before she plopped down in her chair. The letter was on her placemat.
"What the hell is this?" She held it up while I placed the casserole dish on the placemat in front of her.
"I was hoping that you could tell me. It just showed up with the mail." I sat myself down and poured us each some cheap red wine. We liked cheap wine; don't ask me why.
I started in on my supper but she decided to open the letter first. "Sobofabitch". That was a phrase that Marsha didn't use regularly.
"I assume that it is not good news?" That was phrased as a question.
"Somebody has tested positive for venereal disease and has put my name on a list of contacts. I have to report within one week to be tested."
"Is it anybody that I know?"
"Don't be a smart ass, John. I have no idea who it is. Somebody can accuse you of something like this and their name is kept private."
"Well if you had to guess, who would be your first suspect?"
"God damn it, John. You're not funny. How the hell can I even find out?"
"There has to be some sort of reference. A case number or a file. These all have to tie together in some way. Give me the notice and I'll see what I can do."
"I am not comfortable with this. I don't like the whole situation and I really don't like your poking around in it. I am not trying to hide anything, but it just doesn't seem right."
"Just let me work on it tonight. I probably won't find anything, but I'll give it a good try. You can go down and take care of it tomorrow. Just curious, but why didn't I get a letter too?"
"You're being a smart ass again. It doesn't suit you." She didn't eat her lasagna.
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"Norm! It's John. I need some help." Norm's wife worked for the Reading Hospital.
"What do you need?"
"Marsha got a letter today from the Berks County Health Department, about an STD. I got the file number. Is there any way that Mary can find out who submitted the report? I know that this is all supposed to be kept confidential, but something shady is going on here."
"If Mary can't get it, maybe one of her friends can. Give me what you got and I'll see what I can do. It might take a day or so."
The easiest thing to do was just email him a copy of the report.
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Friday was Chinese night. I got everything set up, including the hot tea, and Marsha stopped on her way home and picked up supper from a local restaurant.
She smiled as she handed me a clean bill of health from the clinic.
"Do you know a guy named Malcolm Heard?" That got her attention.
"Hell yes, I know him. He is the guy that I had fired four years ago for sexual harassment. I told you all about it. I thought he left the state."
"Well, it appears that he is back. He has a local address. Have you seen him lately?"
"You are been a smart ass again, John. No! I haven't seen him and I never had any relationship with him at all. You know the whole story. I never hid anything about it from you."
"Okay! I remember now. He kept hitting up on you and you recorded it and turned him into HR, and they let him go. He was not a happy camper was he?"
"No! He was making all sorts of threats as they marched him out of the building. He swore that he would get revenge. After four years I figured it was just a bad memory. I swear, John, I never had any kind of sex with that man."
Her denial sounded sincere, but for some reason, something did not seem right.
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The whole incident seemed to affect Marsha. She became quieter than normal. She was not quite as bubbly and lively as she normally was. Something was bothering her.
I was fairly calm as I approached Malcolm's apartment. I convinced myself that I would not lose my cool under any circumstances, but I did want to dig deeper into this mess. Something was rotten in Denmark.
"Yeah?" He was thinner than normal and a bit smaller than normal. I'd say he was also a bit smarmy.
"My name is John Conrad. Do you know who I am?" He straightened up a bit and looked me straight in the eye.
"Yeah! I know who you are. I can also bet that I know why you are here. Do you want to come in?"
I wasn't expecting that. The decor was early Salvation Army. It looked clean and comfortable, however.
"Take a seat! Do you want a beer?" I nodded, yes.
I disliked him a little bit less when he gave me a Black and Tan.
"So, Mister Conrad. How do you want to do this?"
"I pretty much know the background, I was just wondering why you gave the clinic my wife's name. You didn't have sex with her, did you?"
He chuckled a bit and then took a swig of beer. "No! Lord knows I tried, but No, Mister Conrad, I never had sex with your wife."
"Then why?"
"You said you knew the background, so it is pretty obvious that I was a bit pissed off at your wife. I wasn't trying to get vengeance, or anything like that. I just took the opportunity to tweak her nose a little. I picked up an STD and had to get treated. When I was filling out the forms I got a bit carried away. Putting her name on the list was a bit of fun that's all."
"That's it?"
"Yeah! Hell, I am surprised that you two are still married. I figured that you would have figured it out by now."
"Figured what out?" I watched as he finished his beer.
"You want another?" I nodded no. He took my empty and got himself another.
"Mister Conrad, I didn't just hit on your wife, I was blackmailing her. I am not good looking enough or slick enough to charm women like her. I need a bit of leverage. After much planning, I threatened to expose her affairs to you unless she agreed to meet with me. She called my bluff and before I had a chance to carry out my threat, I was gone. As soon as I got out of the hospital, I went to California."
"Whoa! Whoa! Back up! You lost me in the middle of that."
"What didn't you understand?"
