He was concentrating so intently on the video he barely noticed his cell phone beep, indicating he had a text. It was his wife. He paused the disgusting video and read the text.
“Going straight to the store from work. Want anything special for dinner?”
Brad text back, “Nothing special. See you when you get home.”
He was going to type “love you” at the end. But after watching her blatantly violating their marriage vows, his heart had turned bitter cold.
She text back, “Okay. See you at home. Love you Baby.”
Yeah right, he whispered bitterly.
He checked the time and knew she’d be home in about an hour.
Marie is 52 years old, working as an administration assistant a few miles away at the Admissions department of the local community college. She’s worked there for a few years after leaving her previous job as a Secretary for a small company. She goes to work later than Brad and gets off later. So he’s usually home before her if he doesn’t have to work overtime.
Brad Kendelson’s a 55 year old financial analyst, working at his firm for the past dozen years. His job is stressful at times. Some of the firm’s customers are well off businessmen, understandably concerned about their finances. So devotes all his energy and concentration to his clients during working hours. He also has to travel on occasion, which was why he finally found out about his wife’s cheating.
A few months ago he just finished one of his required business trips to a nearby city. He usually took a plane, but drove this time instead of flying. It was close enough from home and took about the same amount of time.
On the way home, decided on the spur of the moment to stop by the old cabin he and Marie owned to check on it. It was a small, rustic, one bedroom vacation cabin in the hills, forty five minutes from their house. It had electricity, a working well, a small propane stove for cooking and a fireplace for heat. Other than that it was without any other amenities. Her late father used to own it and her mother left it to Marie after she died. Since they acquired it, they only stayed there three times in ten years. The last was two years ago, when they stayed there for a quiet weekend of solitude.
Since they almost never used it, Brad was thinking about selling it. He knew they wouldn’t get much. Its not in the best condition, but was located near a scenic lake on one acre of land in a small cluster of similar cabins. Unfortunately it had no security, only a chain link fence stretched across the dirt road leading to the group of cabins. A retired farmer owned the land and built the small community of cabins, selling them to fund his retirement.
Brad simply wanted to take a few minutes to make sure no one was squatting at the property, or broke in and wrecked the place. As he drove up the long dirt road he wondered who would want such a remote, rustic cabin. Maybe some hunters or an old couple like them that would use it for a weekend getaway.
They kept a key under a specific rock in the garden, and Brad used that key for entry. Once inside he checked the water and found that the well was still working properly. It was when he used the bathroom that he noticed the shower curtain was not pushed all the way to the side of the tub. It was unusual because he specifically remembered pushing it all the way to the side the last time they were there. The sink also had faint soap stains around the drain like it had been used. The stains were faint, but they were there, and he knew he had cleaned it before they left.