2. Payback

by Fern Michaels

  Julia muttered and mumbled as she looked through her desk to see if there was anything else she needed to take with her. At the last second, she opened the drawer and took out all of her prescription pads and jammed them into her medical bag.

  Done.

  Julia was just about to walk through the emergency door exit when she stopped and ran back to her office. She reached for the plant and smiled. “You still have six leaves, my friend. That’s not a death sentence.” She stopped in the kitchen and took the bottle of plant food and left a ten dollar bill with a note in its place. Now, she could leave this place. In her heart she said good-bye because she knew she’d never be coming back.

  Fifteen minutes later, Julia entered her house in Georgetown carrying her plant. She set it on the kitchen counter, then turned to face her husband. Mitch Webster roared like a lion as he stormed about chastising her for making him wait when he had a golf date with the House Speaker.

  “Ask me if I care, Mitch. I don’t. Did you make coffee? I need a cup. Would you like one?”

  “No, I don’t want any coffee. What the hell’s gotten into you, Julia? I just heard you took a leave of absence. Why?”

  “I felt like it. Overwork, you know,” Julia said as she scooped coffee into the plastic container. She turned to look at her husband with clinical interest. He was still a handsome man, tall and lean, exquisite tailoring, just the right tan to his face. He must use a sunlamp, she thought. His nails were manicured. She hadn’t noticed that before, either. Just the right amount of gray at his temples to make him distinguished. Beautiful, dove gray eyes, thanks to artificial lenses. Capped teeth that had made some dentist happy. A good-looking man who shared her house, and a senator to boot. She wondered why she didn’t feel anything.

  “Congratulations, Mitch! You should have told me.”

  “They told me not to say anything. You knew I was on the short list. It was in all the papers. It’s a whole new ball game now, Julia.”

  “You bet it is. Well, guess what, I don’t want to play in that ball game, Mitch. The reason I wanted you to wait for this little talk was to tell you I want a divorce. I also want to know, down to the penny, what you did with all the money you took out of my account. Close your mouth, Mitch, you look like a hooked fish.”

  “What the hell’s gotten into you, Julia? You can’t divorce me. Not now. I’m going to be the next vice president of the United States.”

  Julia sniffed. “I hope you don’t expect me to be impressed, Mitch, because I’m not. I have no desire to live in Washington’s fishbowl. Being a senator’s wife was bad enough. I’m surprised you’re so willing to give up your senate seat. Being a vice president will be incredibly boring. All those funerals you have to attend. You’ll have to give up your tomcatting ways because every move you make will come under scrutiny. Like I said, I want a divorce.”

  “Julia, Julia, Julia. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. We’re an old married couple. We’re going to grow old together. That’s what we promised each other when we got married. Look, I know we more or less lead separate lives these days but that’s what this fast paced life isall about. You have your career. I never interfered with what you wanted to do when you wanted to do it. I tried not to make demands on you. I know how you hate politics. But for Christ’s sake, Julia, this is the vice presidency. I could even be president some day.”

  “Don’t grovel, Mitch. It’s very unbecoming. You made a fool of me with all those women you chased around with. I know about them all. This whole town has been chittering about you for years.” I should tell him now that I have AIDS. Why am I so unwilling to say the words aloud? I should be sticking a knife in his gut for what he’s done to me. Charles said this wasn’t the time.

  Mitch’s face lost some of its color. “I’m not going to deny it, Julia. But, I was discreet. It’s your fault. You were never home. You never wanted to go anywhere or do anything. You turned into some old frump. And let’s not forget how tired you always were and how many headaches you had. What was I supposed to do? You need to take your share of the blame for that, too.”

  “I’m not willing to take the blame for anything, Mitch. No one forced you to have affairs. They’re going to vet you big time. How long do you think that make-believe background of yours is going to hold up? Voters don’t like it when their politicians lie to them. You lied. You made up a phony background. You pretended to be something you’re not. You’ll be fodder for the press from now till the election in November. They’re going to find out about all those women you had affairs with. Give it up now.”

  “Oh, I get it. You’re right, Julia, sometimes I am stupid. You’re having an affair yourself, aren’t you? Who is it, one of the pretty doctors you hang out with? One of the guys who speaks your language that I’m too stupid to understand? That’s it, isn’t it? Well, they’ll be vetting you right along with me. How’s that going to look to your board of directors? Now, let’s get serious here.”

  Julia poured herself a second cup of coffee. “Yes, let’s get serious. I went to the bank yesterday. You’ve taken three quarters of a million dollars over the years from my account. Where did it go, Mitch? What did you do with it? Like I said, I closed out the account and I’m going to close out the others, too. You can live on your salary and might I also remind you, this is my house, left to me by my father. I can kick your ass out of here any time I want to.” She tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for her husband’s reply.”

  “You told me the money was at my disposal. I used it for things. Golf memberships don’t come cheap. Clothing isn’t cheap. Cars aren’t cheap. The cost of dining out is astronomical. I didn’t steal your money, Julia. You insisted on putting my name on your accounts when we got married. You said what was yours was mine. I believed you. Are you saying you lied to me?”

  He was right, she’d done just what he said. But she’d been in love back then and believed her husband loved her. “The well’s gone dry. You’ll have to live on your salary. I meant it when I said I wanted a divorce.”

  “Well, I don’t want a divorce, and I will fight you. I want this nomination, Julia, and I want you at my side when I accept it.”

  Julia pretended to think on the matter. Charles would say she overplayed her hand and now she had to backpedal. “I’ll tell you what, Mitch. I promise to rethink my feelings but on one condition. I want you to sit down at the table right now and list every single woman you slept with from the day we got married, and the dates and how long the affairs lasted. Just for the record, I am not nor have I ever had an affair. The FBI can vet me from now till the end of time and I will come out clean. Unlike you, I honored my marriage vows. Take it or leave it, you son of a bitch!”

  “You want me to do what?” Mitch snarled.

  “You heard me the first time.” Julia whirled around and fished in one of the kitchen drawers for a pencil and a pad of paper. She tossed them on the table. “Get busy because I have to leave shortly. No list, no marriage.”

  “You miserable bitch!”

  Something snapped in Julia. Her eyes narrowed to slits, venom dripping from her tongue as she let loose. “Listen to me, you bloodsucking son of a bitch, you make the list or I will contact that guy who comes on the FOX network at eight o’clock every night and tell him my story, and your story, and I won’t leave a single thing out about our perfect marriage. I’ll even tell him about your made up background and that girl Janet Bradshaw the police thought you killed way back when. So you see, you aren’t as smart as you think you are. I found out and so will the FBI. Now, goddamn it, write!

  “I’m going upstairs to pack. When I get back here, that list better be finished.”

  In the whole of his life Mitch Webster had never seen such hatred spew from anyone’s eyes. He reached for the pencil with the dull point. He started to write. He needed to have the last word, though. “You’re going to regret this, bitch!”

  “What I regret is the day I married you.”

  Halfway
up the stairs, Julia grasped the railing and sat down on the steps to calm herself. Who was that person back in the kitchen? Her eyes welled up. That was the real Julia Webster, the Julia Webster who could be dying. That’s who the person was back in the kitchen.

  When she felt strong enough, Julia got to her feet, her legs shaky. She made it the rest of the way up the steps and down the hall to her bedroom. She packed a bag quickly, wondering as she did so if she’d ever come back to this house. If she couldn’t go back to the hospital and couldn’t come back to this house, where would she go? To the cemetery, next to her father? The tears spilled over and dropped on her hands. She brushed at them impatiently. She still had time.

  Julia carried her bag downstairs and set it down by the front door before she made her way to the kitchen. Mitchell was still writing. Julia poured more coffee into the cup she’d left sitting on the counter. She risked a covert glance at the list her husband was writing. Suddenly, she felt sick to her stomach. She had no idea the list would be so long. It would take her forever to weed through the names to find out which of the women had infected her husband with the AIDS virus. She couldn’t help but wonder how many of the names on the list she would recognize, how many she knew personally and how many she’d operated on.

  “One has to wonder how you had time to perform your senatorial duties, Mitch. That’s starting to look like a very impressive list. Did I tell you I want addresses, too?”

  “No, you didn’t tell me that and no, I am not writing that down because I don’t know. I always met them someplace. If your next question is did I ever bring them here, the answer is no.”

  Julia snatched the list and read through the names. She gasped. “You did…and her husband never found out! I guess you were discreet because you’d be dead if he did find out, Mitch. I’m leaving now,” she said as she folded the two sheets of paper and put them in her purse.

  “Where are you going? What if I need to get in touch with you? The party is less than a week away. The press is going to want to talk to you. I want an answer, Julia.”

  “It’s none of your business where I’m going. Do I ask you where you’re going when you leave the house? Have your people call my people. Isn’t that what all you power politicians say to each other? I’ll call you when I’m ready to call you.”

  “Then you aren’t going to file for divorce?” There was such relief in Mitch’s voice, Julia almost laughed. Squirm, you miserable bastard.

  “I didn’t say that. I said I would think about it. I’m thinking. When I’m done thinking, I’ll let you know. Now, get the hell out of my way. I can’t bear to look at you. You disgust me.”

  Julia was outside when she remembered the green plant. She opened the door and walked back to the kitchen. Mitch had the phone to his ear, shocked to see her. What woman was he bleeding to this time? She ignored him as she picked up the plant and left the kitchen.

  Seated in her car, she stared across the driveway at Mitch’s bright red, $165,000 Porsche. Two seats. She’d never even ridden in the car her money had paid for. What a fool she was.

  For the next four hours, Julia followed the instructions Charles had laid out for her. She shopped, she filled prescriptions, she had a bite to eat and then she headed for a well-known steak house where she parked her car and got out. A dusty black Suburban pulled right next to her car. Julia blinked when she saw Kathryn behind the wheel. She grabbed her bags and the green plant and hoisted herself into the backseat. Murphy barked a greeting from the front seat.

  “How ya doing, Miss Daisy?” Kathryn laughed.

  “Just peachy. Were you followed?”

  “Not that I could see. Were you?”

  “If I was, they’re good. I don’t think so but that doesn’t mean anything, as we both know. God, what are we going to do about that D.A.?”

  Kathryn drove the Suburban the way she drove her eighteen-wheeler, with gusto. “I guess that’s up to Charles. You don’t want to know what I’d do to him if it was left up to me. He grilled me months ago when he thought he had the goods on us. The guy is relentless but Nikki had it covered. She’s in a bad place, Julia. She still loves the guy but her duty is to the Sisterhood. Hey, how’d it go with the senator?”

  Julia told her. “The worst part was, some of those women were friends of mine. There were some I even operated on. I must be naive. Kathryn, I had no idea there were so many unhappy married women who slept around. I’m thinking he picked married women knowing they wouldn’t put the squeeze on him. Married women were safe.”

  Kathryn leaned on the horn to speed up a gray Taurus that was going too slow for her comfort. When she sailed past him she offered up her middle finger. Julia laughed and didn’t know why.

  “I know this is a stupid question but are you OK, Julia? What’s with the green plant?”

  “Yeah, I’m OK. My last checkup was better than I expected. I’m holding my own. The new drugs are terrific. I have some time yet, Kathryn. You don’t know how badly I wanted to kill my husband a few hours ago. It was all I could do not to blurt it out. But, like a good little soldier, I held my tongue just the way Charles told me to. I have to find a way to let all those women Mitch had affairs with know they need to get tested but I want to do it anonymously. Charles can help me locate them. I’m having a hard time dealing with the fact that some of my friends slept with my husband and then went to lunch with me the next day.”

  “Yeah, I’d say that pretty much sucks. My God, Julia, why didn’t you ever tell your husband?”

  Julia stared out the window. “I had to get used to…to…I just had to deal with it first. In the beginning I had to check on every patient I’d operated on in the last year. That took some time. Once I was certain I didn’t get infected from one of my patients, I knew it had to be Mitch. I made myself sick over it for a while. I was almost ready to confront him when I met up with Nikki a year or so ago. The rest is history.

  “The plant was in my office. No one watered it, and it was dying but I found some plant food in the nurses’ kitchen and doctored it up. I guess I felt it was like me, on its last legs. Maybe with some tender loving care, it will come back to life. It has five leaves on it, Kathryn, and one that might or might not fall off. I don’t want it to die, that’s the bottom line. I thought maybe Myra would let me keep it on the kitchen windowsill for the morning sun.”

  Kathryn listened to Julia’s desperate-sounding voice. “I don’t think that’s a problem at all. Myra loves green plants.”

  “But I want to take care of it.”

  “I don’t think that will be a problem either, Julia.”

  “Good. What did you all do today?”

  “We all watched Charles bustle about. He did take a short nap and he was right back at it. We’re to meet in the war room after dinner, which, by the way, is a full-blown turkey dinner, just like at Thanksgiving. Baked Alaska for dessert. Murphy is drooling already. For some reason I don’t think you’re supposed to give a dog turkey. I think I read that somewhere.”

  “I’m sure Myra will have something for Murphy.”

  “The dogs are there, Julia. The handler came by this morning and Myra and he talked for a long time. Isabelle is having a dog compound constructed for them for daytime use. They eat red meat. Murphy’s nose is out of joint.”

  “Kathryn, are you worried about Jack Emery?”

  “Yeah. So are the others. If we allow him to home in on us, we’re going to do a nice long stretch in the federal slammer. Your husband is a goddamn senator.”

  Murphy started to bark.

  Kathryn laughed. “This dog is starting to think of Pinewood as home. We’re almost there, Julia. You look tired. No one will mind if you take a nap before dinner.”

  The gates swung open. Kathryn drove through and then waited a few seconds to make sure they closed behind her before she drove on.

  Home sweet home.

  “That dinner was scrumptious,” Isabelle said as she pushed her chair back from the table. “I fee
l like going to sleep right now.”

  Charles stood up and winked at the women. “That, dear lady, is not an option. I cooked, you all clean up. Trust me, you will wake up rather quickly when you start to scour the pans. I’m off now. Join me when your kitchen duties are finished.”

  “That baked Alaska will stay on my hips for months,” Nikki protested as she, too, started to help clear the table. She looked over at Julia who was staring at the green plant on the kitchen windowsill.

  “It should have perked up by now,” Julia muttered.

  “By tomorrow it will be fine,” Myra soothed. Kathryn had clued her in earlier about the plant. “Maybe the plant food was old. It may require repotting. Let’s just wait till morning to see how it does, Julia. I’ve always found philodendrons to be extremely hardy.”

  “I thought I was hardy, too, and looked what’s happening to me,” Julia muttered a second time. “I’ll scour the pans, you dry, Nikki. We have way too many dishes for the dishwasher as it is.”

  “No problem,” Nikki said, reaching for a dish towel. “I’m not going to be joining you all in the war room. I’m going out to the woods to talk to Jack.”

  Myra’s hand flew to her heart. “Dear, that definitely is not a good idea. Did you tell Charles?”

  “Yes, I did tell Charles, Myra. I thought I’d take Murphy with me. He’ll pick up Jack’s scent and lead me right to him. I worked with Charles all afternoon so I know what’s going on. I don’t need to be there this evening.”

  “What if Jack isn’t out there tonight? Then what?” Myra asked, her brow furrowed in worry. “And if he is, what are you going to say to him? What if he won’t listen? We all deserve to know what you’re planning.”

  “If I knew, Myra, I would tell you. I’m going to wing it. Jack’s a wild card and I don’t know how he’ll react or what he’ll do. He is on your property, Myra, and the property is posted, which means he’s trespassing. He wouldn’t give a little thing like a no trespassing sign a second thought. You can have him arrested because he’s breaking the law. In fact, Myra, I want you to give me fifteen minutes and then I want you to call the local police. Murphy and I will guard him and send up a flare. I’d like to see him explain all of this to his superiors.”