Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.

HOW HIGH A PRICE - ANOTHER VIEW

By E. Z. Riter

Dear Reader,

The Troubador wrote a story entitled How High a Price in March, 2003,

about a man and his cheating wife. That is always a popular subject.

Since then, other authors have written stories based on The Troubador's

theme and his characters, Early and Susan Conroy. Thanks to Lazeez, those

stories can all be found at www.storiesonline.net

This is my story using the same theme and characters. It is a realistic

story. Not sexy. Not sweet. Sad. Heavy. But realistic.

I thank The Troubador for allowing me to follow his lead. The title of

the story, plot idea, and character names are his, but the story is mine.

So if you have problems with it (or if you like it), contact me, not him.

Early Conroy, a friendly, sunny-natured man with a constant smile on his

face, was a trouble-shooter and negotiator for his company. Travel was

part of the job. When he traveled, he always left a detailed itinerary

with Susan, his wife. Susan, a lawyer for a large firm, always informed

him in detail as to her schedule. It was automatic after all these years

together.

A business problem called Early out of town, this one a long trip to Los

Angeles scheduled from Tuesday through Saturday. He had planned on

catching the return flight out of Los Angeles at 9:15 Saturday evening. As

usual, his car was at the SeaTac Airport. He would be home and with Susan

by one a.m. Sunday morning at the latest.

Thursday morning, the deal suddenly came together. The people he was

negotiating with signed the contract by 11:00 AM and left to deal with a

crisis in one of their East Coast operations. With the change in plans, he

could take the 1:45 p.m. shuttle on Thursday and be home by dinner. He

rushed to the airport. He wanted Susan to know he was on his way home, so,

once in the air, he called Susan's office from the in-flight phone.

"Jenson, Sharone and Anderson, how may I help you?" the receptionist

greeted him.

"Oh, where's Jennifer?" Early asked. Jennifer, Susan's personal

secretary, usually answered Susan's calls on the direct line Early called.

"Mrs. Conroy's secretary is out of the office today and tomorrow. May

I help you?" came the perky response from the office receptionist.

"May I speak to Mrs. Conroy?" he asked.

"Um, Mrs. Conroy is tied up at the moment. I'm not sure when she might

be available. Would you like to leave a message for her?" was the reply

from a suddenly mildly flustered receptionist.

Something in the woman's voice activated Early's well-trained people

skills. He thought for a moment. "No, thanks. I'll call back later," he

said and he hung up.

The conversation with the receptionist troubled him, but it took him

another half hour to put his finger on it. Susan told him on the phone

last night that she would be in the office all day today. Still, it was

possible she was working on a legal file or with a client and couldn't be

pulled away. The real stickler was Jennifer's absence. Susan made it a

point to have Jennifer working the same hours she did. The only times

Early remembered Jennifer out of the office when Susan was working were

when she was sick.

The plane landed on time in Seattle, and he was home by 6:35 PM. Susan

wasn't there and the house was dark, which was surprising. The only times

his wife worked late was at her office. If she was with a client, she was

almost always home by 6 PM. He called her private office number again,

only to get the answering machine. He left no message.

Early unpacked, tossed his dirty linen in the hamper, and changed

clothes. When Susan wasn't home by eight o'clock, he made himself a

toasted cheese sandwich for dinner. He started to sit in front of the TV

to wait, but worrying about Susan overcame him. Had she had an accident?

But if she had, someone would have called the house, and, at least, left a

message. He was too restless to sit still and he found himself pacing the

floor. He dialed her cell phone, but received the "out of service"

message, indicating the phone was turned off.

The suspicion something was terribly wrong had grown to a hot ember by

9:20 when his own cell phone rang.

"Early, I was getting worried when I hadn't heard from you, but then I

realized my cell was off. I'm so sorry about that."

"No problem. Where are you?" Early asked.

"At home," she replied. Was there a change in the timbre of her voice

or had Early imagined it? "I'm just finished cleaning up the kitchen.

It's been lonely around here without you."

"I miss you, too, baby," he replied.

His eyes were fixed on the darkened, deserted kitchen of their home.

"No wife there," he thought.

He said, "I tried to get you at the office this afternoon." He let the

sentence hang and waited for Susan to reply.

"I was there," Susan finally said.

"They told me you couldn't be interrupted. Something important going

on?"

"Uh, I was working with John Stickner. He got me through that mess with

the Melrose account this week. I owe him big time for that," she said with

a voice that seemed to have a hidden meaning in it, one which Early

couldn't yet fathom. "Honey, after I was able to turn that disaster

around, it looks like I'm going to get that partnership! Mr. Jenson

practically promised it to me!" Susan crowed. "Isn't that grand?"

"It sure is honey. We'll have to celebrate when I get back. I'm just

sorry I wasn't there to get the celebration off the ground."

"Don't worry about that, love. Will you be home Sunday as scheduled?"

Susan asked.

"Right on target." he replied.

"We can start our fiesta Sunday when you come home. It's going to be

lonely in that big bed without you tonight."

After chatting about domestic issues for a few minutes, they broke the

connection. Early thought of the many lies Susan had thrown at him. Until

tonight, he believed his marriage and their love was solid and strong. It

had been something he never questioned. Now he feared the worst.

Early Conroy was a man who always chose action over inaction.

Discovering facts and making decisions under pressure was what he did for a

living. He suspected his wife was lying to him and he needed more

information.

He began to go through Susan's belongings, writing down on his legal pad

anything he thought was missing and carefully returning everything to its

exact place so she wouldn't discover his investigation. He inventoried her

clothes, her chest-of-drawers, and her closet before turning his attention

to her medicine cabinet and cosmetics. He finished with her home computer.

The computer yielding nothing but the clothing search proved fruitful.

She had not taken sporting clothes, such as things she would wear if she

was going to play tennis. She had taken her slinky black cocktail dress, a

stunning pants suit, and her best high heeled shoes. She had taken her

sexiest lingerie, including her red teddy and her lacy g-string panties.

She hadn't taken her regular swim suit but her thong bikini, the one she

refused to wear anywhere except in their own back yard by their hot tub,

was missing. Most significantly, her birth control pills were gone from

the medicine cabinet. Early knew his wife's habits. If she thought she

might be gone overnight, she packed those pills.

Since Susan had mentioned John Stickner, Early decided to begin there.

He found Stickner's address in Susan's home office Rolodex.

They owned a dark green Explorer used to tow their camping trailer and

for trips into the Cascade Mountains. Since they rarely drove it in town

and it was a common vehicle in a common color, it would be less conspicuous

than his Mercedes. He drove the Explorer to Susan's Bellevue office,

entered the parking garage, and drove directly to her private parking

space. Susan's gray BMW wasn't there. To be sure, he checked every car in

the garage before departing.

With a sinking heart, he drove towards John Stickner's home. He found

it in a wooded area in the exclusive Medina area. The grounds were

surrounded with an eight foot red brick fence and heavily shadowed with

towering fir trees. As he slowly drove by, he saw Susan's BMW parked

beside the garage where it didn't block the circular driveway. The house

was dark, without a light to be seen.

Death can come slowly with old age or the ravages of cancer. Death can

come quickly, with the screeching of tires on the highway or a heart

attack. However death arrives, there is intense pain - a pain no one can

share or relieve.

The death of love is the same - quick or slow there is enervating pain.

With Early Conroy, it came quickly as he sat in a green Ford Explorer on

an exclusive street outside an expensive home wherein his beloved wife,

Susan, was fucking another man. Early felt his body tingle and a cold,

clammy sweat break out on his forehead. He threw open the car door, took a

single step, and fell to his knees to puke out his guts in the damp grass.

He puked until only green bile remained. Wobbly, he staggered to his feet

and climbed back in the driver's seat. He started his car and went home.

When he got home, Early called Steve Majors, the head of security at his

company.

"Jesus, Early, it's one fifteen in the morning. What the hell's wrong?"

Steve exclaimed.

"I need the name and number of the private investigators the company

uses," Early said.

Steve gave Early the name of John Wells and Wells' home phone number.

"Anything else, Early?" Steve asked.

"I want my phone bugged," Early replied.

"Tell Wells. They'll do it. Do you want to talk?" Steve said.

"No. Thanks for the information," Early replied.

Early called John Wells and explained what he wanted. By four a.m., the

Stickner house was under surveillance.

Early had no desire to sleep or drink or eat. He was a man possessed

with a single thought: end his marriage as quickly as possible.

He could not stay married to Susan. He didn't love her. Not now. Her

betrayal severed his love like the falling blade of the guillotine severed

Louis XVI's head. Nothing could repair it.

Early knew men and women who had taken back their spouses after

adultery. Once, he thought that was both civilized and loving, but now that

he was the cuckold, he couldn't imagine a man letting a cheating wife back

into his bed or his life.

Early went to the basement room where Susan stored old things. There

were boxes on hers he had never opened. Now, he rummaged through them. He

read her high school and college diaries. There he found evidence she was

sexually active with eight men before he met her. She had told him three.

He wondered if that was the first lie she had ever told him. But he found

nothing to indicate she had cheated on him. He found references to him and

how she loved him and loved sex with him. They made his stomach churn.

At six a.m., he called Paul Landon, general counsel for his company.

Paul was already at his desk in the office. Early asked Paul for the name

of the best divorce attorney in the Seattle area.

"Her name is Cynthia Rodgers. I'll have her call you," Paul said.

Ten minutes later, Cynthia Rodgers called Early. They talked for twenty

minutes as he told her his situation and what he wanted out of the divorce

and she gave advice. She promised divorce papers would be filed before the

day was over.

Early returned the task of searching through their belongings for clues

without uncovering any more. At nine, Early was at their bank. He began

by purchasing bank money orders payable to his attorney and his private

investigators for their estimated fees. He opened a new account in his

name only and transferred half the money remaining in the joint accounts to

it, before removing his name from the old accounts. He was home by ten

fifteen. By ten thirty, all joint credit cards had been cancelled. He

thanked his lucky stars that they had kept separate brokerage and

investment accounts, so he didn't have to unravel their investments. He

did contact his broker to remove Susan's authority to use his accounts.

Since it was clear Susan wasn't coming home, he called her office. When

the receptionist answered instead of Jennifer, he just asked if he could

speak with Mrs. Conroy. When she told him Mrs. Conroy wasn't available,

he thanked her, told her it wasn't a pressing problem, and asked when he

should call again.

"She's out of the office on personal business and won't return until

9:00 Monday morning. Would you like to leave a message?" was the friendly

response. Early left no message for her.

Early pulled the Explorer out of the garage and drove toward Bellevue,

stopping for a breakfast so belated he had to call it brunch. It was 11:30

when he sat down and ordered eggs and pancakes with hot tea. His stomach

was too upset to take coffee. Eating slowly, having to force each bite to

stay down, he finally finished the meal, paid for it, and left the

restaurant an hour later. He returned to the road past Stickner's place.

Susan's car, still in Stickner's driveway, had not moved. His P.I. was no

where to be seen.

Early called the P.I. firm from his cell phone and asked for John

Wells. In a moment, Wells came on the line.

"I'm out by the Stickner place and your operative isn't here," Early

said coldly.

"Shit, man, get out of there," Wells replied. "If they saw you, it will

blow everything."

"But..." Early began.

"Get out of there. Go somewhere, park, and call me back," Wells

ordered.

Ten minutes later, Early called Wells again. "All right. What's going

on?" Early demanded.

"Are you parked?" Wells asked.

"Yes," Early replied curtly.

Wells said, "Our first operative is back in the office, but his

replacement is on site." Wells chuckled. "We're old pros at this, Mr.

Conroy. You aren't supposed to see us."

"Where is he?" Early asked.

"There's a park behind the Stickner property. He parked on that street,

worked his way to Stickner's property line, and climbed a tree. We have

proof positive of your wife's adultery, Mr. Conroy."

Wells waited, listening for the slightest clue of Early's state of mind.

He had never met his client and he didn't want anything bad to happen. It

was the reason he told him to park before they talked. Finally, he heard

Early breathe. It sounded like a shudder.

"Go on," Early said. His voice sounded drained.

"It's a good thing you called us in the middle of the night. It seems

they like early morning sex outdoors by his hot tub."

"What do the pictures show?" Early asked.

"Do you really want to know?" Wells responded.

"I do," Early said.

"Everything. Missionary position. Anal. Fellatio. But the best are

of them doing it doggy style. Both of them were facing our camera, and our

man click-clicked away." Wells waited almost a minute before asking, "Since

we have the proof, do you want to continue the surveillance? I mean, the

meter is running."

"Keep after it until I tell you to stop," Early replied. "When can I

get prints of the photos?"

"Later today. He took over two hundred shots, so we haven't developed

them all yet."

"Give me fifteen or so, all in eleven by fifteen, and all showing their

faces."

"We'll deliver them to your house. Any for your lawyer?"

"Not now, but I want all the pictures developed so we can send them to

her later," Early replied.

Early drove home, his mind numb from loss yet thinking clearly. His

marriage and the life he had enjoyed were over. He wondered if he would

ever smile again. He wondered what would become of him. Whatever it was,

it would be better without Susan. On that point, he was perfectly clear

and without a doubt.

Home wasn't home any longer. It was a house. Nothing more. Yet, Early

hated it. As he drove into the driveway, he was tempted to go out to a

motel or sleep on the damn street or anywhere but there. He steeled

himself and parked his car in the garage. There was too much to do to walk

away now.

Early called Catherine Means, a realtor they knew. Catherine and her

husband were old friends of theirs.

"Hi, Early?" Catherine said brightly. "To what do I owe the pleasure of

this call?"

"I want to sell the house. Can you come over now to do the paper work?"

"Are you and Susan moving?" Catherine asked. O

"We're getting divorced on grounds of adultery. Hers, not mine. The

house is in my name only because I bought it before we married, so I can

sign the papers. But I want it done now, Cathy. And I want the for-sale

sign up in front by seven."

"Early, I..." Catherine began.

"No counseling. No discussion. You're a realtor and I'm a home seller.

Nothing more. If you can't do it that way, I need to find a realtor who

can," Early said.

"We'll do it your way, Early," Catherine replied. "I'll be there in

thirty minutes."

Early had not picked Catherine idly. She loved to talk. She would

spread word of the Conroy divorce and why it happened in their social group

and beyond. She might even come on to him. She had once before at a party

given by a mutual friend, but he had turned her down. He hoped she

wouldn't approach him now. Sex didn't interest him at the moment and he

didn't want to deal with someone else's cheating wife.

Early went from room to room in the house that once was his home. He

saw the memories and shoved those thoughts aside. He was planning what to

take with him and what he ultimately wanted, making notes on his legal pad.

He was in the basement when he heard the doorbell ring.

Expecting Catherine, he girded himself as he answered the door, but it

was a messenger from the P.I. firm with his copies of the pictures. Early

looked through them quickly. They did show Susan and John Stickner eagerly

engaging in consensual sex. As he placed them on the mantle, he felt his

stomach roil. He barely made it to the toilet before he puked again. But

this time was different. Unlike the first time he vomited over his mess of

a marriage, he didn't have the shakes and the cold sweats were milder.

Early took that as a good sign. Hell, in times like those, he would take

whatever good signs came his way.

Catherine was the consummate professional when she arrived, never once

asking about the impending divorce. She got the contract signed and

installed a for-sale sign in the front yard, then left without further

comment.

At five fifteen, Cynthia Rodgers, Early's divorce attorney, called to

inform him the divorce papers were filed before the courthouse closed at

five.

"Is a copy on the way to me?" Early asked.

"Yes," Cynthia replied.

"Good. I'll serve them on her."

"Only if you have a disinterested party witness it," Cynthia said. "We

need proof she was served the papers."

"My P.I. will photograph me giving them to her," Early said.

"That will work," Cynthia said.

Early then called John Wells again and asked what was happening.

"The second operative is in for the day. He got a few pictures but

nothing as damning as the ones taken earlier. Our current operative just

called in. They are on the move. He said they were dressed like they were

going someplace fancy and had suitcases with them."

"Keep following them," Early said. "And I need something else. I want

someone out here ASAP to take pictures of the stuff in the house."

"A photographic inventory?" Wells asked.

"Exactly, but I need a witness, too. I need proof of what I did to her

just in case she claims I did something violent, and I need proof the

divorce papers were served."

Wells asked neutrally, "Are you feeling particularly violent?"

"No," Early replied. "But she and her lover are lawyers and liars by

profession and practice. I just want to get out of this thing the best I

can."

"We should video rather than use stills," Wells said.

"Good idea. Call me when they get to their restaurant. I'll call her

there and confront her," Early said.

"Do you want an operative to stay with you later?"

"Why?" Early asked.

"As a witness that you didn't do any harm to her after you confronted

her?" Wells asked.

"Good idea. Plan to watch me until further notice. I'm at home now."

Early looked at his watch. It was almost seven. He hadn't slept in

thirty-eight hours, yet he wasn't sleepy. He was drained emotionally and

empty inside, but he wasn't tired. He was hungry. He got into his car,

went to a burger joint, and got a meal to go.

When he turned back into his driveway, there was a nondescript Chevy

parked out front. A nondescript man exited the Chevy and joined Early as

he got to the front door. The man introduced himself as Bill Miller and

gave Early his business card showing he was an operative for John Wells.

Early finished his burger and was pleased his stomach felt fine. He was

helping the operative inventory when the phone rang. It was John Wells

again.

"They're having dinner at the Queen Victoria Hotel on Vancouver Island,"

John Wells said. "And they have a room for the night."

"Have they already registered?" Early asked.

"Yes," John replied. "They checked in under the name of Mr. and Mrs.

John Stickner."

Early felt no anger at hearing Susan being called another man's wife.

He knew that was a sign the marriage was over for good.

"Thanks, John," Early said. "I'll call her now, so they'll probably be

on the move again. You might warn your operative."

Bill Miller watched Early as he attached the recording equipment to his

cell phone. "Did I do this correctly?" Early asked.

Miller checked it and replied, "It'll work just fine."

Early turned on the recorder and dialed Susan's cell phone. She

answered on the third ring.

"Early?" Susan said, sounding more perturbed than happy to hear from

him. "Why are you calling at this time? Is everything all right?"

"It's been a very long, very hard day," Early said. "How was yours?"

"Long, too, but very productive. I got a lot of things off my desk,"

Susan said.

"Where are you?" Early asked. He could hear sounds of the restaurant in

the background.

"I'm in our bedroom in our home. Where did you expect me to be?" Susan

replied testily.

Maybe a guilty conscious caused her tone of voice, Early thought.

"I expected you to be at the house," Early said. "Say, you know that

old watch my grandfather left me. I was talking to one of the guys down

here about it. He's a watch collector and he thinks he might be worth a

bundle, but he can't be sure until he sees the serial number off the back.

Will you get it and read me the serial number to me, please?"

Early counted the seconds on his watch. It was nine seconds before

Susan said, "Honey, you can't possibly sell that old watch. Your

grandfather left it to you, and... and you said you wanted to have a son

to leave it to."

"I'm not going to sell it," Early said, "but I do want to know how much

it's worth. Now, where did you say you were?"

"In our bedroom," Susan said. Early heard the tremor in her voice.

"On the bed?"

"Yes," she replied. The word caught in her throat.

"Okay, look to your left. See the dresser?" Early asked.

"Early, this is silly," Susan barked.

"Why?" he asked.

This time it was seven seconds before Susan responded. "It just is,"

she said.

"Humor me. Do you see the dresser?" Early said.

"Yes," she whispered.

"The watch in the bottom left-hand drawer in an old wooden case." He

waited a few seconds as if giving her time to get off the bed and look.

"Do you see it?"

"No," Susan said.

"Well, I'm at home in our bedroom looking in the bottom left-hand drawer

and I see it. What I don't see is you."

Early disconnected from Susan before she could say a word, turned off

his cell phone, and took the house phone off the hook. "Will you keep the

recording?" Early asked Bill Miller.

"It's best that I do," Miller replied. "That way I can testify as to

its authenticity."

"How far is it from Vancouver Island?" Early asked.

"An hour at this time of day."

"Then I have fifty minutes to finish what I need to do," Early said.

"Do you have a firearm?" Miller asked.

"Two of them," Early replied. "I'm licensed."

"Let me have them. I'll keep them for you."

"Good idea," Early replied.

In a moment, he returned with both his pistols in their cases. The

operative checked to make sure they were unloaded before taking them to his

car.

When the operative joined Early again, he said, "Is this your first

divorce?"

"It is," Early replied.

"You're handling it well," Miller said.

"Thanks," Early replied.

Bill Miller looked at Early from his wrinkled, knowing face with its

cool, sad eyes. He said, "But the hard part is yet to come. I don't know

whether you'll want to immediately go out and get laid, or wait awhile.

Each guy reacts differently. Whichever it is, there will be plenty of

available women. Getting laid is not the problem.

"The problem is trust. If you find another woman worth marrying, can

you trust her? Will your blood pressure rise if she's a few minutes late?

Will you think she's lying to you with every breath she takes? Will you

think she told you big lies if you catch her in a little one? Will you

wonder about her when she's not with you? You can't build a great marriage

without trust. And if you don't care enough for trust to be an issue, you

shouldn't be marrying her. "

"I can handle it," Early said, but he wondered.

"I hope so. A lot of people can't."

"You sound like the voice of experience," Early said.

"I've been a private detective doing divorce work for twenty-nine years.

I've seen a lot of sorrow."

"Have you been married?" Early asked.

"Four times and divorced three," Miller said. "My first wife is also my

fourth one. She cheated on me and I dumped her, but, years later..."

"So your comments about not trusting..."

"Comes from here," Miller said, tapping his chest over his heart. "And

in here." He put his hand on his stomach. "Not here," he said as he tapped

his head. "That's what makes it so hard to trust again, particularly for a

guy that makes his living with his mind like you do."

The house was dark inside and the doors locked. The exterior security

lights were on, flooding most of the front yard and driveway with light.

Bill Miller was leaning against his car ready to video the impending

confrontation. Early's Mercedes, packed with the clothes and other items

he thought he needed the next few days, was at the curb so it couldn't be

blocked in. His reservation at a Holiday Inn was made.

Early was walking around his house one last time when tires squealed and

John Stickner's Lexus roared onto the driveway. Susan flew out the moment

the car stopped. Bill Miller had the video rolling and was slowly moving

toward the action.

From the shadows, Early saw Susan, who was dressed in the slinky black

cocktail dress taken from her closet. He had never seen her like this.

She was distraught beyond his imagination, near hysteria, with her makeup

running down her tear-streaked face. She stopped when she saw the for-sale

sign and her mouth fell open. Stickner, out of his car and beside her,

tried to touch her and she jerked away.

Susan saw a movement in the shadows. "Early?" she gasped.

Early came into the light, but he was walking toward the for-sale sign,

not Susan.

"Early!!" she screamed. She ran toward him, arms outstretched.

But when she got close to him, Early hissed, "Don't touch me."

His voice, so cold and dead and threatening, stopped her in place, where

she stood as if frozen by the icy blast of his tone. He picked up an

envelope leaning against the sign and withdrew a legal document.

He handed the document to Susan, saying, "You are officially served with

a lawsuit filed today in the case of Conroy vs. Conroy, a petition for

divorce on grounds of adultery. Mr. Stickner is named as your

correspondent." He handed her the stack of photographs. "These are

pictures of you two love birds happily fornicating. They will be a small

part of the evidence at the trial."

Early turned to walk away.

"You fucking asshole," John Stickner growled as he grabbed Early's arm.

Early didn't think. He let the red-faced adulterer turn him around, and

saw Stickner's fist coming his way. He took Strickner's blow on his

shoulder and delivered one of his own. He felt the spatter of Stickner's

blood on his face and saw Susan faint, dropping the pictures documenting

her adultery on the grass around her.

"Did you get it all, Bill?" he asked the operative.

"Of course. Now get the hell out of here. I'll clean up."

Early glanced at Strickner groaning in the grass with the side of his

face crushed in. He looked long and hard at the woman he once had loved

sprawled unconscious beside the for-sale sign with pictures around her.

He went to the Holiday Inn, registered, and went to his room. He filled

the room's ice bucket from the ice machine. He returned to his room and

poured himself a large bourbon on the rocks, filling the crystal highball

glass he brought from home. He hated those cheap plastic motel glasses.

He took off his shoes, propped his feet up, and turned on the TV. He stuck

his bruised and battered hand into the ice bucket and sipped his whiskey.

He was still sitting there twenty minutes later when someone knocked on

his motel room door. He ignored them.

"Early, it's Bill Miller," the voice at the door said.

Getting out of that chair might have been the hardest thing he did all

day, but Early managed, trudging to the door and opening it. Miller was

standing there with another man about Miller's age. "This is Sergeant

Simmons, Seattle P.D.," Miller said.

Early motioned them in and collapsed in his chair again. Miller shut

the door behind them, took Early's hand, and looked at it. He pushed and

pulled, making Early wince. "I don't think it's broken," Miller said.

The policeman cleared his throat. "Mr. Conroy, Mr. Stickner wants us

to file assault charges against you. You messed him up pretty good. A

surgeon is trying to repair his broken cheekbone now."

"Life's tough all over," Early said in a flat tone. His eyes were dead

and no emotion registered on his face.

"You don't care that the man is facing multiple surgeries to repair what

you did," Sergeant Simmons asked.

"How do I repair what he did to me?" Early asked the policeman without

looking at him.

"I could arrest you for assault, Mr. Conroy, but Bill here assures us

it was self-defense and he has the video to prove it, although I haven't

seen it yet," Sergeant Simmons said.

"You'll get it in the morning," Miller said.

"So what happens now?" Early said.

"No arrest will be made until we've seen the evidence. If Bill's wrong,

and your punch wasn't in self-defense, we will file charges. That's the

law."

"It's a stupid law," Early said in the same flat tone.

The sergeant studied the despondent man before saying, "You can expect a

civil suit."

"Not hardly," Early replied. "Law suits bring facts out in the open and

these two lawyers will want to bury this like a cat buries its shit. I can

guarantee you of that."

Sergeant Simmons waited as police officers do so well. When he thought

sufficient time has passed, he said, "Aren't you going to ask about your

wife?"

"I don't have a wife."

"Your wife..." the sergeant began.

Early jammed his feet on the floor and sat up as if to spring into

action. "Aren't you listening to me?" Early said loudly. "I do not have a

wife."

The sergeant stood. "Don't leave the county without clearing it with

me. And, Mr. Conroy, don't do anything rash."

Early only nodded.

"Want me to stay in here?" Miller asked Early. Early shook his head.

"I'll be outside in my car if you need me. I go off at midnight but

someone will be there. Take care of yourself."

"Thanks, Bill, for everything," Early said.

The two men left Early alone.

It was done. The divorce papers were filed. His confrontation of Susan

was over. His life with Susan was over. Gone like dust in the wind.

Early was too tired to undress. He downed the rest of his drink,

crawled into the bed, and pulled the covers over himself. He began to cry,

fighting his tears until they overwhelmed him. He cried until he had no

more tears to give, leaving a man broken but unbowed.

Early knew he would get up tomorrow and go on. He knew the weekend

would be hell, but Monday morning he would go to work and bury himself in

the familiar routines. He knew his life would get better day by day, and

be goo again someday. He knew someone else would come along for him.

He knew all that in his mind.

In his heart and in his gut, there was a gaping, bleeding, black, empty

hole. He felt like a deer that had been gutted, its entrails ripped out

and fed to the dogs with the carcass left hanging in a tree. He wondered

if he would ever be whole again. He wondered if he could ever trust again.

With that thought, he slept like the dead.

The End