Deployed

"The techs aren't finding much. They aren't finding prints where there should be some of his. They think the place was wiped down."

"What's their best guess on when it happened?"

"They like Friday night or Saturday morning at the latest."

"I'm thinking jealous husband. This wasn't about termites. He may have been a player. We need to take the bed in."

"It's stripped. Sheets, pillows and mattress pad, if there was one, are gone. Just the box springs and mattress in there."

"Have patrol check dumpsters and garbage cans in the area. He may have dumped them."

"The perp may have watched to many CSI shows."

"OK, I'll go over to his office and start collecting names. Have someone canvas the neighborhood, maybe someone saw something."

"OK, see you back at the office.

*

Tuesday evening, when Sarah walked in from work, I knew immediately she had found out about Mark. Playing dumb, I took her in my arms.

"What is it, babe. Something bad happen at work today?"

"Oh my god, yes. An agent I know was murdered."

"Was he from your office?"

"No, he was with Century Twenty One, across town. Remember that big sale I told you about?"

"Of course, it was your first big sale. I remember how proud you were."

"Well, he represented the seller on that deal. We met off and on for almost two weeks to make that sale."

"Wow, that's really close to home. Did the cops say if they had a suspect?"

"No, they just wanted the names of people the knew him. They asked if we knew anyone that wanted him dead."

"He's in sales. That has to be a really big list. All the people he did business with, the other agents and his friends."

I held her for a few minutes till she calmed down. We went in the kitchen and started dinner.

Sarah was still upset for the next few days. Friday evening, after we finished dinner, the doorbell rang. I got up and answered it.

"Hello. Are you Don Wilson?"

"Who's asking?"

I'm Detective Johnson. I need to ask you some question about the death of one Mark Putnum."

"Sure, come in. Sarah told me about it."

Sarah came in from the kitchen.

"Hello, Sarah. I just have a few questions for your husband. I won't be long."

"Please sit down. Can I get you something to drink?"

"No thanks. I won't be long."

We sat on the sofa and he sat on the love seat across from us.

"Mr. Wilson, did you know Mark?"

"I knew of him, but I never met him."

"Where were you when he was killed?"

I knew that was a loaded question. He wanted to know if I knew when it happened.

"I don't know. When did it happen?"

I saw the disappointment in his eyes. The trap didn't work.

"Last Friday or Saturday is our best guess."

"Last Friday was my poker night. I play poker with three of my friends every other Friday. We drank a little so I spent the night."

"I see. You won't mind giving me their names, so I can verify your alibi."

"I really don't want them involved, but I guess it's necessary."

"How long have these poker nights been going on?"

"They started in the sand box. It was a good way to kill time."

"The sand box? Iraq or Afghanistan?"

"Both. I was there for about a year."

Then he hit me with the big one.

"Did you wife tell you she had sex with Mark?"

"She told you that, huh? We talked about that when I got back. I couldn't expect her to live like a nun for that long. We agreed that we wouldn't talk about what happened while we were apart. It was like the don't ask, don't tell. I was ok if it stopped."

"I wasn't exactly an angel while I was gone either. There were some civilian contractors that thought it was their patriotic duty to take care of the troops. You know, for god and country."

"I learned to compartmentalize a lot of things I saw over there. If Sarah had a lover, I put it away with all the other bad stuff."

"Do you know if it stopped?"

"A marriage is built on love and trust. I love Sarah and I trust her."

"Well, if you'll give me the names of your poker buddies, I'll bet out of here."

I opened my phone and wrote down their names and numbers.

"You can call them for the addresses. I don't remember the house numbers offhand."

"That will work. Thanks for your time. I'll call you if I have any other questions."

After I showed him out I looked at Sarah. She was looking at her feet and wringing her hands. I sat beside her and put my arm around her. It wasn't time to get rid of her yet. I had to wait till the heat died down.

"Calm down, babe. We're ok. This will all go away in time. We'll just have to deal with it one day at a time."

"I'm sorry. I had to tell him the truth."

"I wouldn't expect you to lie. You did just fine."

"Are you sure we're ok. I don't want to lose you."

"Don't worry, babe. We're fine."

I held her till she settled down. That night in bed, she hung on to me like a limpet.

*

A month had passed since the detective questioned me. By then, I suspected he didn't tie me to the crime. Of course, my alibi checked out. I decided it was time. This would be short and sweet. I got dressed and ready to leave for my poker game. I walked in the kitchen and saw Sarah finishing up the dinner dishes. She had her back to me.

"Damn shame about Mark. He should have known better than to fuck a married woman."

She didn't react for a few seconds. Then she realized that I knew and had killed him.

She turned and backed into the corner by the fridge. Her eyes were big and her mouth was open. I could see fear in her eyes.

"Oh my god. You...

I turned and walked out.

*

The night the Detective came, I was really nervous. I knew he was coming. He told me he would come and talk to Don. He explained it was just routine to eliminate him as a suspect.

I had told him I had sex with Mark when he questioned me at the office. I told him about us going out to dinner and dancing. He wanted to know if it stopped when Don got home. I told him it only happened a few time and we broke if off a month before Don came home. He seemed satisfied.

I suspected he would bring it up when he talked to Don. I was dreading that happening because we agreed never to talk about it. I hoped Don would be ok with knowing who it was. I was relieved when Don told me we were ok and that he loved and trusted me.

A month later he was getting ready to go play poker. I was finishing up the dinner dishes when he walked in the kitchen and dropped the bomb on me.

Somehow he knew I hadn't stopped seeing Mark. I stood there, in terror. I just knew he was going to kill me too. When he walked out, I collapsed on the floor. I could hardly breathe and my heart was pounding in my chest.

I regrouped as much as I could and quickly packed some clothes. One bag would have to do. Everything else could be replaced. In fifteen minutes I was out the door, on the way to my Mom and Dad's.

It was almost two hundred miles to their home. I drove straight through only stopping once for gas. I really didn't think he would kill me. He had plenty of time to do it but there was no way I could stay with him, knowing he had killed Mark. I felt a little tinge of responsibility about his death. If I could have resisted him he would still be alive. On the other hand, if he had just let me go he wouldn't be dead. Maybe it was both our faults.

I knew I couldn't tell Mom or Dad about Don killing Mark. I would just have to tell them he found out about my affair and we split up. I would die, knowing my husband was a murderer.

*

It took me a little while to get my dastardly deed compartmentalized and my mind back on track. It was different from the killing I had done in the military but the technique worked. The poker nights continued just as before and none of us ever spoke of it.

Two weeks later I got the divorce papers in the mail. The return address I recognized as her parents. All she wanted was for me to pay the lawyer fees. I was OK with that because I didn't think she had a job yet.

I signed the papers, enclosed a check and mailed them back. Three months later I got the final decree in the mail.

Instead of jumping back into the social scene, I threw myself into my work. I took all overtime work that was offered. I got a nice surprise from my boss. He liked my work and my dedication so he made me an offer I couldn't resist.

He offered to pay me while I went for my degree in engineering if I would sign a contract to stay with him for ten years after I graduated. I would come back to work during summers. He would pick up what my GI bill didn't cover. Not being a fool, I took his offer. When I could, I doubled up on the classes. With the auditing I had done before, I passed with the highest grade in all of my classes. I got my degree in three years.

Toward the end of my freshman year, a classmate I started hanging with introduced me to a friend of his sister. We started dating and in no time at all she reassured my manhood for me. We took a break during the summers and got back together when classes started again. We both knew we would never be more that fuck buddies, but our encounters were good to break up the monotony of studying.

Nothing serious happened in the romance department till the second year after I got my degree. I met a little redhead at one of my buds weekend barbecues. Right off, I told her about the baggage I was carrying and she made it her goal to help me get it unpacked.

I never did hear from Sarah after the divorce. We never met and talked. For all I knew she might have fallen off the earth. That was fine with me because that part of my life was tucked away in that compartment in my head.

***

I stayed with my Mom and Dad till the divorce was final. I quit worrying if Don was going to come after me. I never did really think he would, but it was always in the back of my mind.

The day I got the final notice from the court, I made my choice. I borrowed some money from my parents and moved two states away. I rented a small apartment and got settled in.

I found a course online to get my real estate license for that state. For two weeks l lived and breathed their polices and regulations. I took the test and passed.

I decided to celebrate and I went out to dinner, alone, of course. Just to test the waters, after I age I went in the cocktail lounge. I sat at the bar and ordered a white wine. It was a little slow so the bartender hung around we we struck up a conversation. It was when I ordered my second glass that a man sat down next to me. It was as obvious as the nose on his face what he had in mind. He started to work in about one minute.

It felt good getting hit on, but I had no intentions on getting laid that night. I was new to the singles scene and I finished my wine and left.

The next day I started looking for an office to hang my license. Two days later I found it. I threw myself into my work.

I was getting hit on now and then, but I was hesitant to start something. Plain and simple, I was a cheater. I cheated on my husband and lost him. I wondered if it would happen again. Would I get involved and then when the first hot guy came by, I would open my legs and hurt another man.

Don never let me see the hurt I caused. He was a master at compartmentalizing and I never saw it. Simply, I didn't want to hurt anyone else.

I made my first sale two months late. I took my check to a bank near my apartment and opened an account. The guy in charge of new accounts seemed real nice and I was surprised when he asked me out. I was more surprised when I accepted.

We had a nice dinner and danced till our carafe of wine was gone. He took me home and when we got to my doorstep, the nervousness hit me. I knew he wanted a kiss, but I was hesitant. He saw it and held out his hand. He held it with both of his and looked into my eyes. I leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. I turned and went in. I saw a smile on his face as I closed the door.

He called me the next Wednesday and asked me out again. I accepted and we had another dinner date. He made me talk to him that night. I decided to come clean and I confessed my unfaithfulness. We talked long into the night about it. I was surprised when he wanted another date. I think it was my telling him I was afraid of hurting someone again that set him at ease.

It was two months later that I held his cock as it slid in my wet pussy. I knew we would be ok.