Page 7 of More than a Memory

“Why you son-of- . . . why I ought to….” Stephen lunged at Kevin, who sidestepped out of reach.

“Stop it, Stephen! Hasn’t he had enough? He is bleeding everywhere. Do you want murderer on your list of accomplishments?” his wife said hysterically.

Darcy stepped in. “Stephen why don’t you go inside with your wife, and Mr. Kohl and I will take a little ride on down the road. More violence will not change the equation here,” she said, trying to take charge of the situation before anyone got seriously hurt.

“Are you OK with us leaving you here alone?” Darcy directed her question at Sally.

“Yes,” Sally replied, now crying as she began pleading with her husband. “It didn’t mean anything. It was just sex for both of us. I love you! We never intended for things to go this far, we don’t love each other and neither of us wanted to leave our marriage. It was just sex,” she whimpered, as her voice trailed off.

“Tell that to your attorney. I’ve got to get back to work,” her husband practically spat at her.

Looking at Darcy, Stephen said, “I assume Mr. Kohl’s wife hired you? She must be a lot brighter than I am.” With Darcy nodding affirmation, he stomped to his car, backed out, and drove away.

“Well then,” Darcy said uncomfortably, shifting her weight from foot to foot.

“Listen, I will give you three times what my wife is paying you to make this go away,” Kevin implored.

“Sorry, Mr. Kohl, I don’t operate my business that way. She hired me to do a job, and it’s unfortunate that her suspicions were correct. Now I can give you a ride back to your car if you’d like?” Darcy offered.

“Kevin, please don’t leave me!” Sally begged. “I can’t be alone right now.”

“Sally, I can’t stay here. You must be out of your mind?” Kevin said dismissively.

Sally responded by hurling her full body weight at Kevin and began striking him in the chest with her balled-up fists. “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you….” She sank to her knees and began wailing, “My life is over!”

“Get ahold of yourself, Sally. This hysterical display is most unattractive.”

“Screw you! Get off my property NOW!” Sally screamed like a person possessed.

“Not a problem,” Kevin said, already composed and quickly returning to his former arrogant self.

* * *

“Good girl, Fannie!” Darcy said, giving her a dog biscuit reward after they had dropped off Mr. Kohl at his car. “You’re the best sidekick anyone could ask for.” Fannie smiled her wide pit smile, bright eyed with tail wagging anticipating the next treat.

“Here you go!” Darcy held out her hand with two more biscuits, which Fannie quickly devoured.

“There may be a point when I am either too old for this job or I will have to get a lot more selective about the jobs I take,” she commented, as Fannie cocked her head to the side, contemplating Darcy’s words.

Darcy sighed and headed back to the office to type up her report and invoice for Mrs. Kohl. She was not looking forward to the disclosure conversation, but knew she needed to make that call as soon as she got to the office. She was hoping to talk with her before Kevin did, so that Mrs. Kohl would have some advance warning.

Diane Kohl walked into the office with a determined look on her face, “Well?”

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your suspicions were correct. Your husband is having an affair with his secretary, Sally. Do you know her?” Darcy asked.

“Yes, of course I do. How old is she, all of twenty-one?” Diane asked sarcastically.

“From what I could tell, she’s pretty young. The big news is, while I was scoping out the location of their rendezvous, Sally’s husband drove up and caught them in the act. It was quite the scene. Your husband got pretty roughed up, if that is any consolation to you.”

“Is he still alive?” Diane responded.

“Yes.”

“Then it is no consolation,” she said angrily.

Darcy laughed out loud at that, she just couldn’t help herself, triggering a slight smile from Diane.

“Well, here are the photos and meeting times with various notes I took, but there’s no doubt about the outcome. I am so sorry, Diane, but at least you know now,” Darcy said philosophically.