The Cover Up Part Twelve

Rick had been legally separated for about eighteen months now and a divorce was in the works. Rick felt very guilty that he had been the one to cause the break up of his marriage. After all he was the one who had the affair. At least he was the one who got caught. His ex-wife had a few male friends as she referred to them. She swore that her relationships with these men were all Platonic but sometimes Rick had his doubts. But Rick was the one who got caught red handed with his hand in the cookie jar. At the time that his ex-wife told him to get out of their house Rick already had a girlfriend. Monica was her name. She was a thirty-two year old double divorcee. When they first met she had told Rick about her horrid life history. She told Rick about how her father beat both her and her step mother. Monica went on to tell Rick about the time she had been gang raped when she was trying to hitch a ride. She told Rick that her second ex-husband had was a biker and a small time drug dealer. When they lived in the States, her ex was a “hang around” for The Outlaws, the outlaw motorcycle gang that he wanted to join. Her ex husband, Tyler repeated the pattern of her father and beat Monica whenever one of his black moods came over him. Tyler had once bragged to Monica that he had once killed a man over a drug deal that went south. Monica didn't know whether to believe Tyler or not. She thought that Tyler was capable of killing someone given the right circumstances, but she was smart enough to know that her ex liked to scare her. Tyler felt that the only way he could hang on to Monica was to keep her in a constant state of fear. He did not believe that any woman could truly love him. One night while Tyler was passed out drunk she got into her old Datsun in the middle of the night and drove to Canada. She said she had no intention of ever returning to Tyler but that it probably wouldn't be long before he tracked her down and then it would be time to run again.

Rick considered himself to be quite the macho guy himself. He was forty years old and still had an impressive physique. He had trained with weights since he was fifteen years old. Rick was six foot two and weight two hundred thirty-five pounds. He was quite confident that he could take care of himself if need be. Rick told Monica that if Tyler ever came after her again he would make Tyler afraid of him. Monica actually felt safe for the first time in her life when she was around Rick.

Rick felt needed by a woman and it felt good. He had never felt that his first wife really needed him. Sure, she liked being married to a strapping, good looking man as it fueled her ego. But did she really need Rick? No, she was far too independent for that. She was now a successful attorney who would continue to do very well without Rick Jennings.

Still, there was the guilt. Rick had been brought up in a good Christian family and had been taught that adultery and divorce were wrong. He also had his son to think about. Rick tossed and turned all night thinking about how he had managed to make such a mess of his life. And now he had screwed up again.

Rick had managed to dose off for about an hour when he looked up at his clock and saw that it was 6:00 AM. He made himself a coffee and smoked his first cigarette of the day. He next had a shower and cleaned himself up. It was time to back to work and see what was happening.