……………………………………………..
Amy April 9th 5:50p driving home
“Yes, I am so sorry, are you sure that is what you want to do?”
{garbled yelling from the phone receiver} I move the receiver away from my ear a few inches, he is pissed, this is not good. “All right, understood, remember your high blood pres…”, he cuts me off to yell more. “Got it, I will stop by tomorrow morning, I am really sorry. I love you, bye.”
I am so mad I have trouble focusing on my driving. I turn down the radio so I can focus my thoughts and get my anger under control. I know I let him know about this today multiple times, I reminded him just this morning. My parents haven’t been out to visit in a few years, interesting timing to say the least, their proclamation that they have something they need to discuss with us in person can only mean one thing. It will give me a good reason to reach back out to Rick and meet up in person.
…………………………………
Roger April 9th 5:30p
“I tried calling both of them, no answer.”, we head back inside the baggage claim area as it’s too hot to stand outside for too long.
“Well there has to be good reason, I hope they are ok.”
Gwen was always the patient one, too patient. “They knew we were coming, I let her know they didn’t have to pick us up we can just take a cab or an Uber, but no she insisted.”
“Roger, I get it, but you are not helping the situation by getting all worked up.”
“Worked up, I am just stating facts here. I mean we all have mobile phones, that’s 4 f’ing phones that all work.”, she is right of course, but I can’t help myself, that stupid selfish video game playing bastard of a son-in-law.
“Well, it is doing us no good waiting around here, I mean it has been over an hour already.”, she sits back down on the metal bench and tries her phone again.
“You’re right Gwen, I’m sorry, just mad at the situation. Let’s catch a hotel shuttle and get a room and get everything straightened out tomorrow.”, I walk over and sit next to her, waiting for an answer.
“Yes, it’s right in the middle of rush hour, it will take us over an hour to get to their house and we don’t even know if they are home.”
I lean in to kiss her, “alright it’s settled then, the shuttles are right over there we can catch the one to the Hyatt and use our points. I will call and see about getting the letter postponed for delivery tomorrow afternoon.” Not sure why we had to come out here in person, but I guess it is worth it to get everything out in the open. We could have just as easily done this with a phone call, but Gwen really wants do this right.
We board the shuttle and arrive at the hotel about 30 minutes later, luckily it is close enough to the airport that we don’t have to sit in traffic. As we get done checking in my daughter calls.
{warm greeting} “Amy we just checked into a hotel, not sure what happened, are you ok? Is Paul ok?” {surprised response} “Well when you get home, call back to let us know everything is ok or if you need our help. Is there any reason you didn’t answer your phone? Lockdown? Um, ok well not happy about being stranded.” {multiple apologies can be heard} I have to speak loudly over the chorus of the patrons at the hotel bar enjoying happy hour. {concerned statement} “my blood pressure? Your mom and I are fine, you can come by and grab us in the morning.” I start to hand the phone to my wife, but the call ends before I finish. I swear, Amy used to be much more in tune and in control, Paul’s influence is changing her for the worse.
……………………………….
Paul April 9th 6:33p home
“Are you home? Why didn’t you at least answer your phone?”, she is talking as she walks upstairs toward the bedroom. {bathroom door jiggles} “Can you open the door? Are you alright?”
“uh, no and no, I am pretty sure I got food poisoning. I think I left my phone downstairs, I heard it ringing quite a few times, but I am in no position to leave right now. Sorry about not answering.”
“Wow, is there anything I can do? Do you know what you ate? Do you need to go to urgent care?”
“I was getting ready to go pick up your folks and it hit me like a truck. I had to run in here as quick as possible, didn’t quite make it. I figured I would go, get cleaned up and head out, but unfortunately that was over an hour and a half ago.”
“what triggered it?”
“Not sure, I had some oatmeal before I headed into work, didn’t eat lunch I figured we would go out with your parents. Got home a couple of hours ago was fine for a little bit than bam.” I lean over to turn on the water for the bath.
“Well I was at that team building lockdown for the last half of the day and we all had to turn our phones off, freaking leadership BS. I did speak to my dad on the way over, I will call him back and let him know what happened. Are you going to be ok?”
“yeah, babe I’m fine just need to get cleaned up.”
“ok, well I am going to call my parents back and get this straightened out.”
…………………
Gwen April 9th 6:47p
“What do you think happened?”, he asks me while wringing his hands nervously.
“He probably got the package you sent and freaked out, I told you we should have confronted him in person.”, I love Roger, but sometimes, no most times, he just doesn’t think things through. His theatrics with the letter have now backfired and we played our hand early, well at least the truth will finally get out.
“I paid the courier service extra to make sure the letter was delivered tonight while we were all together, if he got it already it was delivered way too early, he was probably the only one home. I called them to get it postponed for tomorrow, but they said they couldn’t reach the driver. Freaking BS I paid to get this done right, stupid lazy laid back surfer bro culture. That is why we left this damn state in the first place.”
“Well I don’t remember that, I do remember you wanting to follow Stan out east when he got that new gig and he offered you a job a few months later.”
{phone rings}
Roger answers the phone, “Hi sweetie, we are fine, here’s your mom, love you.”
“Hi honey, oh don’t worry about it, is everything all right?” {explanation from Amy} I cover the receiver with my hand and whisper to Roger while rolling my eyes, “He got food poisoning”
“What the fu…”
“Shhh, she will hear you. Oh that was Roger he stubbed his toe or something. Food poisoning you say? Is he alright? {Amy answers} Oh, ok well good to hear he’s fine. Just come by tomorrow morning after breakfast and pick us up, or better yet you can eat brunch here with us, they have a wonderful buffet. Understand about Paul he doesn’t have to eat, but he should come out. {agreement} Good, it’s settled then let’s plan on meeting up in the lobby at 11am tomorrow. Love you, bye.”
“Is that a good idea, discussing this in public with them?”
“Yes, it will guarantee everyone will be civil.”
…………………………….
Roger April 2nd 1:13p EST
“Is this ‘Metro Courier Service’?”
“Yep, how can I help you?”
“Yep? What kind of greeting is that? This is a professional outfit, no?”
“Yes, how can I help you?”
“Better, well I have a very important delivery that needs to be on time no exceptions, can you handle that?”
“Sure, we handle those types of request all the time. Is this a parcel delivery?”
“Well, yes, what did you think I needed? I swear you west coast surfer dudes take the cake.”
“um, ok, just making I understand what you need, can you please provide me some details?”
“I need a parcel delivered, on time, no exceptions. It contains very confidential information, can I trust your stoner drivers won’t open the contents?”
“Well, we don’t have any ‘stoner’ drivers, we will guarantee the delivery and respect the confidential nature of the parcel.”
“Ok, that will work. So, what are the next steps?”
“The website will guide you through the process and collect your payments, please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. Have a good day.”
“got it, thanks.” I navigate through the website and enter the required information. The delivery time is in UTC, I search online to figure it out and enter the time I need the delivery to happen, freaking LA hipster techies, why do they have to complicate everything?
…………………………….
Paul Mar 26th 2p
“We have to stop meeting like this. Maybe we can get a hotel room next time so we have more privacy?” We are both sitting in her car, in the mall parking lot outside of one the anchor department stores.
“Uh, no, this is fine. I can’t let it go, I keep playing it out in my mind. I can’t even stand being in the same bed with him, whatever feelings I had for him are gone now.”, She is openly sobbing now. I reach over to console her, seeing her in pain is difficult to handle, she is so fragile.
I take a minute to wipe the tears from her eyes and brush her hair from her face, “Why don’t you just leave him?”
“Right now is not a good time, I will in the near future.”
“I don’t agree, I would dump his ass, but I won’t press the matter.”
“I need more time. Thanks again for not telling anyone about this until I can determine my next steps.”
“What we talk about is between you and me and no one else needs to know.”, I mean that, and it scares me, not telling my wife is a big deal.
“I still need to figure out who the other woman is as well.”
“Who cares who the other woman is, they are both worthless human beings. Speaking of worthless human beings remember Justin Reynolds?”
“From high school? Oh yeah, what a piece of work, thanks for bringing him up by the way.”
“Similar situation, stakes not as high, but he paid for what he did to you, karma has a way of evening things out.”
{both laughing} “Yeah the class camping trip, he just had to be the one to get the BBQ grill lit for the hamburgers.”
“Yep, very same Justin, he must have poured a whole bottle of charcoal lighter fluid to get it started, then he dropped the lit match and bam.” {very loud laughing}
“he lost his bangs, part of that stupid mustache, and all of his eyebrows, good times! Great point, I needed that. You were there for me when I went through all the drama with Justin as well, really good to have you in my life. As far as the other woman goes, I need to know for closure.”
“I have to get back to work, are you going to be ok?”, I am really worried about her, but also frustrated, she knows how I feel about her. I don’t understand why she insists on staying with him.
“I am fine, thanks again for being a great friend, it really means a lot to me.” She leans over and kisses me on the cheek. Just when I think she doesn’t have feelings for me, she does something like that.
…………………….
Paul Apr 9th 4:30p
{doorbell rings} I answer the door and a courier is waiting there with a legal envelope. I sign for the delivery and it is addressed to Amy and me. I notice it had a specific delivery time of 11:30p UTC, weird they wouldn’t use the local Pacific time zone. I decide to open it up, glad I did. It contains color printed images of Tracy and me sitting in her car. You can see me consoling her as well as her leaning over to kiss me on the cheek, although from this angle it looks like she is kissing me on the lips, not good. There is also a letter:
Dear ex son-in-law,
We finally caught you, you worthless excuse for a human being. You have strung our daughter along for the last time. We got a tip from a friend that still lives out here that you have been spending afternoons with a woman who obviously isn’t your wife. They know Amy quite well, but they also know Tracy since the two of them were inseparable in high school, actually the three of you were best of friends at one time, weren’t you? Kissing your wife’s best friend in a mall parking lot and who knows what else you two have been up to. Well, it’s disgusting, you are a weak coward of a man, and our daughter deserves better. Now that we are all together face-to-face we will give you and Amy some time to process, we would like Amy to fly out with us back east to give her some space away from you. Needless to say, we expect to make sure Amy gets her fair share in the divorce proceedings.
Your soon to be ex in-laws
Whoa! I got lucky, this has to be Roger, that bastard, he was trying to corner me with this information tonight, no wonder they had to fly out here to deliver their news in person. All those years ago and he still holds a freaking grudge. I search for a pen and some paper to put my thoughts down, I remember that Amy keeps stationary in her roll top desk in the study. Now, I just need to figure out a way to buy some time.
…………………
Amy Apr 9th 1p Airport remote parking structure in Rick’s car
“Have you figured out what we need to do? I mean it has been over a month, we need to let them know.”, I stare into his eyes trying to gauge a response, he is so hard to read at times. I feel like I understand him better now at least, just need to spend more time with him.
“This is not easy, thanks for keeping it confidential, while we work through this together. We have to do this right, people are not going to understand and they will get hurt.”, he narrows his eyes to drive his point home. Those steel blue eyes, need to focus on the matter at hand. I still don’t understand why we are taking so long with this.
“You know how I feel, we have waited too long, we need to break the news soon so we can work through the impact and hopefully, the eventually healing.”, I say as I hold his hand to let him know we are in this together.
“What about the letter, did you get a follow-up? Who do you think it was? A co-worker? We both ruled Paul out, he hasn’t changed his behavior at all, or he’s the world’s greatest actor.”
“What about Tracy?”, I say as I lean in for his answer.
“It could have been, but I doubt it, she has been acting differently, not angry, just more distant than usual. If I thought for a second she suspected anything I would let her know. That letter bothers me though”, he leans back away from me. I know he is conflicted between Tracy and me, if anything, I have proven to him that I can be trusted and I have real feelings for him.
“Very weird missive, just a vague threat that they have proof and there will be repercussions for our actions. It sounded impersonal, that is why I think it is a co-worker maybe trying to extort money. The words themselves cut from magazines to keep the identity of the sender secret.” Rick is rich so it probably is someone from his company, executives from my experience are all cut throat, all for one type A’s.
“I think so too, not sure what ‘proof’ they think they have of anything. We will make this right as soon as we come out with the truth about everything.”
“Agreed, well I have to get back to work, I told Paul I was in a leadership lockdown meeting all afternoon. It will be a few days before we can meet again, my parents decided to come into town all of a sudden. They said they have news to share with me and Paul.”
“You don’t think they suspect anything?”
“I think the visit is unrelated, although I don’t know what news they have to share that they have to deliver it in person, that is strange.”
“Very strange, well let me know how it plays out and if we need move up our timeline for the reveal.”
“I think we should, they are flying in this afternoon and Paul is picking them up from the airport. Why don’t we get this over with?”
“Ok, well all parties won’t be present, but we can make it work. Let’s do this. I will come by your house tonight around 8 or so.” Finally! Maybe I should tell him how I feel again? He seems distant, better to wait, it is probably because we need to get the truth out before we move forward with anything else.
…………………..
Paul Apr 9th 6:47p
She walked away to call her parents and she said she was going to go out and get something to eat really quick, so I don’t have to smell any food in my current condition. I sit on the edge of the bathtub holding the letter I found in her desk. Not sure why she locked it, but it was easy enough to jimmy, I figured I would grab some stationary and secure it back up and she wouldn’t be the wiser. I was rummaging through the desk looking for a pen and there it was just sitting indiscriminately inside one of the drawers, it was labeled to ‘Amy and Friend’, that was odd. I had to see what that was about, I opened it up to find a note pasted together from magazine clippings:
You are not fooling anyone, I caught you both in the act. Your actions have consequences that you will discover about soon enough. Karma has a way of evening these things out.
X
Signed with a simple X, interesting turn of phrase there at the end, wait a minute.
…………………..
Sam Mortimore Detective Agency Mar 30th 10:05a
Holy shit, that is the woman I spotted with my target, how did she catch on so quickly? I keep my mouth shut to see how it plays out. My receptionist closes the door behind her as I motion for her to take a seat. “Nice to meet you Ms. Bryan”, good, no surprised look, she doesn’t recognize me.
“It’s Mrs. Bryant, please call me Tracy, thank you Mr. Mortimore.”
“Call me Sam, would you like a soda or a glass of water?”, got to keep my cool here, figure out what the angle is, there is always an angle.
“No, I am fine”, she doesn’t look angry and she didn’t bring legal counsel, so she just might be ignorant to the ongoing investigation into her. She may be playing me as well, can’t trust anyone, too many scars to prove otherwise.
“How can I help you?”, I make continuous eye contact seeing if I can spot a crack in the façade.
“May I be direct with you.”
“I would prefer that.”, alright here it comes, not another restraining order, please god not another restraining order.
“I believe my husband is cheating on me with another woman.”, she is visibly shaking now, the anger is palatable, not someone you want to cross.
“Do you have any proof?”
“Call it a woman’s intuition, I never really trusted him, but lately he has been more distant and not interested in extracurricular activities, if you get my drift.”
“I believe I do”, very gorgeous, the telephoto lens doesn’t catch the in-person beauty of her. If I didn’t already know that she is cheating on him I would say her husband is an idiot.
“Well, we can play this a few ways, my recommendation is to let me track him for a few days and see if anything untoward turns up. Are you sure you are ready if this turns out to be a worst-case scenario?”, I need the money, and I can keep the investigations separated, plus I am not one to turn down a beautiful woman in need of help.
“I want the truth, that is paramount to me now. My husband is quite well off and he required me to sign a prenuptial agreement as part of our marriage pact. The only exception clause is in case of infidelity, so I need enough evidence to potentially make that document null and void.” Love is weird, that is not a good clause for a prenup, what a dumbass! Damn, this is also a conflict of interest, If I help her I stand to make much more money than I would from that other schmuck that hired me. Hell, I could even play her and her husband off against each other with the evidence I already have on her, goldmine! “I need you to place this GPS tracker on his car, it’s magnetic so just stick it on the inside of one of his wheel wells, and I will do the rest. Can you do that tonight?”
“I can, no problem. How much will this cost me?”
“I will work pro-bono for now, until we have the evidence you need then we can discuss the cost. Is that acceptable?”
“Yes, that is acceptable.” I stand up to shake her hand as she gets up to leave. I can tell by the way she is sizing me up she likes what she sees.
Think, Sam, think, got it, I just need that other guy to drop his case and no more conflict of interest.
“Myrna”
“Yes, Sam”
“Get Al on the phone, I need his help with something out east.”
“Will do.”
…………………….
Tracy leaving detective agency Mar 30th
What a piece of work, something wrong with that guy, very shady. Fat grubby, wanna be tough guy, disgusting! How about a shave and maybe a bath? Maybe layoff the Gin for a few weeks, that smell of Juniper was making my eyes water. That car out in front of the office, where have I seen that before, a brown SUV with a huge dent on the driver side door? This guy has been following me, I wonder if Rick already approached him to dig up some dirt on me? Well, let me play along, I will hire another detective agency as well to hedge my bets. These GPS trackers are interesting, let me figure out how to source my own and put them to use.
………………………..
Stan Apr 6th 1p
{Phone rings}
“Mr. Johnson?”
“Yes, this is he.”
“We haven’t met, my name is Al Irving with the Mortimore detective agency in Los Angeles.”
“Ok, what is this about?”
“Well, I was involved in what I thought was an unrelated investigation and I uncovered some disturbing evidence. Do you have a few minutes to go over the specifics?”
“Of course, what’s going on?”
“Can I get your email so I can send you some photos?”, oh-uh this can’t be good.
I give him my email and he sends me a few photos. They found the hotel in Rhode Island, we are right there in the lobby engaged in an extended kiss, clear as day.
“I need your help Mr. Johnson.”
“I’m listening.”
“Your friends, the Smiths are pursuing an investigation into their son-in-law Paul, you have to talk them out of it. You get that done and the photos disappear. Am I clear?”
“Crystal.”
…………………….
Paul Apr 9th 6:50p
“Tracy, hi, it’s Paul.”
“Oh, hi Paul, don’t have a time to talk right now.”
“I just need a few minutes.”
“Ok, let me step outside.” <Pause> “Alright, what’s going on?”
“Amy’s parents are in town, they sent me a parcel with pictures of you and I together, they think we are having an affair and want to confront me about it tomorrow.”
“WHAT! How the hell? Wait a minute, I’ll meet you there tomorrow, where exactly?”
“The LAX Hyatt at 11a or so, if you could get there early that would be good.”
“Yeah, yeah, I will see you there.”
“Oh, and Tracy, I just wanted to say.” <click> “Tracy?” <dial tone> Must have gotten disconnected, let me call back. <call goes directly to voice mail>. Must be a bad connection. I was going to tell her how I felt. It can wait until tomorrow.
…………………….
Tracy Apr 9th 7:01p
“This is Sam”
“Listen up jackass”
“Tracy”
“Just listen. I had you followed. You’re married with two kids, a real suburbanite. Only your wife doesn’t know about the questionable massage parlor you frequent on 7th street, does she? Don’t answer just keep listening, the photos don’t do your fat ass justice.”
“Look, I can…”
“You can’t, so shut up. Your other client, a Roger Smith.”
“I can’t discuss client…”
“Once again, shut the fuck up. He thinks he has some dirt on me, only there is no dirt, either you doctored some photos or made some shit up. I don’t really care, you will get him to drop his case and back off, or your wife gets the photos. Then your kid’s school, then your parents, then maybe I just send them to the vice squad for good measure. Are we on the same page shitbag?”
“Well, I…”
“Yes or no, before I hit send.”
“Yes, please, I love my wife.”
“I can see that in the photos, with you and the masseuse, you must have been thinking of your wife when you got the happy ending.”
“Alright, alright, no need to get nasty. Let me make some calls. I will get this cleared up.”
“It needs to happen tonight.”
“Tonight, that is not much…”
“Not my problem.” <click> God help this guy if he doesn’t come through for me. Between this guy and the other private eye I hired, I still don’t have any real evidence against Rick. He is spending a good deal of time with Amy in his car talking, but no hotels, and no making out. Next steps are to probably figure out how to force their hand.
…………………….
Rick Apr 9th 6:52p
{Phone Rings}
“This is Rick”
“Rick, it’s Amy, we have a change in plans. Paul was unable to pick up my parents and they want to meet up tomorrow at 11a to discuss their news. I think this will be a good opportunity for us to move forward.”
“Agreed.”
“Tomorrow 10:30a at the LAX Hyatt. I want you know I am here for you as well.”
“Yep, thanks. I know the place.”, sometimes I almost think she has feelings for me, can’t be though. She is happily married to Paul, probably just worried about me.
………………………..
Sam detective agency Apr 9th 10:02p
“Mr. Smith, thanks for meeting me at this late hour, please know that this is important.”
“Yeah, I can see that from the photos you sent me.”, he is relatively calm for a man who now knows for certain his wife is cheating on him. I will never understand the power of love, he must be head over heels for his wife, what a sucker.
“We reached out to the other party in the photo, a Mr. Johnson, you know him, right?”
“Of course, I know Stan we work together.”
“Well, we approached him in hopes he would use some discretion in getting you to drop your case against your son-in-law Paul. I mean I asked you politely, and even offered a full refund of your fees paid to this office. You were non-plussed, do you remember what you said to me?”
{pause} “Go fuck yourself.”
“Yes, go fuck myself, well, you had your chance and Mr. Johnson was unable to dissuade you as well, so now I am going to send these photos to Mrs. Johnson as well as your kids and your parents.”, I pause for effect and to let him sweat for a while. I learned something from that crazy bitch Tracy as well, holy hell what a woman.
“Please, this will ruin a lot of lives besides just me and my wife. Let me talk to her, I will get her to back down, we won’t pursue the case against Paul.”
“I am keeping the money you gave me as well, you had your chance. I suggest you have a nice brunch with your family and engage in some small talk only.”
“Understood”
“Oh, and my associates will be on-site tomorrow in case you or your wife has a change of heart. We didn’t have this talk, you decided that Paul is a good guy on your volition, and just want to give him another chance. Are we on the same page?”
{Roger nods in agreement}
…..stay tuned for the next chapter in the ‘Tangled Web’ serial
Impractical Application 