A Twist Of Noir 429 - BJ Bourg

FINAL DIVORCE - BJ BOURG

Rosalie Beard shut the suitcase and flipped the latch. “I’m sorry, but it has to be this way.”

Jay backhanded a school of tears that slid down his face. “You mean, you’re just going to throw away six years of marriage over a lousy job?”

“It’s not about the job. It’s about your integrity, and your ability to support me and the kids.”

“Baby, I’m telling you, Richard’s lying. I didn’t steal any money from the company.”

Rosalie frowned and brushed her blonde hair out of her eyes. “He’s got the proof. You won’t be able to get a job within a hundred miles of here.”

“To hell with getting a job. What about love?”

“Love doesn’t pay the bills. Love doesn’t put clothes on our children’s backs.”

“I can get another job.”

“Doing what?”

“I’ll find something.”

“Not making the kind of money we’re accustomed to.”

“When did it become about the money with you?”

“When I had to support two kids.”

Jay looked around the bedroom. “Where are they?”

“My Mom’s.”

“I want to see them.”

“Not until the divorce is final. I want the custody issue resolved before I let them out of my sight.”

Jay’s lower jaw dropped. “Divorce? I thought you said we couldn’t afford to get a divorce? That it would cripple us financially?”

“That was before you stole money from your boss and got fired.”

“For the last time--”

“I know, I know, you didn’t do it.” Rosalie heaved the suitcase from the bed and stumbled toward the door.

Tears flowed freely down Jay’s face. He dropped to his knees in front of Rosalie. “Please, don’t leave! I can’t live without you. I can fix this, I can make this right!”

Rosalie dropped the suitcase and leaned against the wall. “How?”

Jay rubbed his face and spoke like an auctioneer on speed. “I know what to do. Richard’s doing this to try to get rid of me because I found out he’s been screwing around on his wife. That’s why he fabricated this story. He claims he has documents that show I’ve been stealing, but I know it’s bogus. If I can get my hands on those documents, I can prove it’s a fraud.”

“Do you know where he keeps it?”

“It has to be with all his important papers in a lockbox at his house. It has a simple lock; I can pry it open with a screwdriver.”

“How do you plan on getting into his house?”

Jay smiled. “His wife’s at a nursing conference in Boston and he’s planning to meet his girlfriend tonight.”

Rosalie gasped. “Are you thinking of breaking into his house? That’s against the law!”

“What he’s doing is against the law. Plus, he’s destroying our lives.”

“What if you get caught?”

“I won’t.” Jay stood and touched Rosalie’s face. “Besides, I’d risk anything just to prove to you that I didn’t do this.”

Rosalie’s eyes moistened. “Baby, I’ve never seen you this determined.”

Jay leaned and kissed her softly on the lips. “I’ll call you when I have the documents.”

*

Rosalie jerked awake. She stared with wide eyes around the room. Her heart jumped in her chest when the phone rang again. She snatched it up. “Hello?”

“It’s done.”

She sighed. “Any problems?”

“No.”

“What now?”

“All you have to do is act surprised when the police notify you.”

“What are you going to do about her?”

“I’ll have to wait a while--”

“Richard, I didn’t help you kill my husband just so I could be alone.”

“You won’t. We’ll be together soon. I just don’t want to draw any attention to us.”

“You shot Jay while he was breaking into your house. How will that be suspicious?”

“If my wife dies soon after that, the cops will start digging deeper into our lives and we don’t want that to happen.”

Rosalie sat silent for several minutes.

“Are you there?”

“Yeah.” More silence.

“What’s wrong?”

“It sucks that the kids can never know you’re their real father.”

BIO: BJ Bourg lives in southeast Louisiana with his beautiful wife and two wonderful children. For more information, please visit his website at BJ Bourg.