The Deadliest Game

by H E Joyce

  ‘Okay, honey, don’t worry I’m not leaving. I’ll stay a while longer.’

  ‘Thank you, Michael, and I’m sorry, you know how I get when you have to leave,’ she said, still sniffling a little, yet smiling.

  ‘Yes, I know, don’t worry; I’ve got a little more time,’ he said, discreetly glancing at his watch. ‘How about another drink?’

  ‘Yes, I’d like that.’

  Michael caught the waitress’s attention. ‘Could we have another bourbon here please?’ He felt certain she had noticed Beth’s crying by the sly grin on her face as she left them. He could only assume that the woman must have found it amusing, witnessing a lover’s quarrel. If only it were amusing, he thought. And if only he had been stronger from the outset, when he and Laura had become a couple. That was when he should have ended it, yet somehow he had allowed the affair to continue.

  Beth had moved to the area some two years before and it had been an on-off affair between them for a year or so, and shortly before Michael met Laura it had become a little more serious. Beth, at twenty-nine, was ten years younger than Michael, and he being one of the few available males, and almost certainly the most eligible in Brooksville, she had had her thoughts firmly set on marriage.

  She had suggested as much to him on many occasions in a roundabout fashion, but he had been impervious to the idea. That was until a few weeks before he met Laura, when he began to think it could work between them and that perhaps it might be time to settle down. He had not reached the stage of proposing marriage to her, yet she sensed the time was coming when he would. He and Beth eventually became engaged, but at the back of his mind, even at the point where he bought the ring, he knew he would end it; he had even gone to great lengths to keep the engagement a secret. And then, the icing on the cake which decided him against committing, they had a quarrel. It was the same evening that Laura came into his life. Soon after that he tried to end the relationship.

  The waitress brought their drinks over and left.

  ‘So, how is Laura?’ Beth asked.

  ‘She’s just fine, thanks for asking.’

  ‘And the kid?’

  ‘You mean Jody, don’t you? Yes, he’s fine too, but then you’d know that.’

  ‘He’s a nice kid, his mother must be very proud of him. Look, I’m sorry I got upset just then. I’m happy for you, Michael – really I am.’

  ‘Thank you.’ He knew she was being insincere and he paused for a moment. ‘How about you though? Don’t you have anyone on the horizon? You’re a very attractive woman, surely you must have had offers.’

  ‘Around here, are you kidding?’

  ‘Well, there is a great big world outside of this district, you know.’

  ‘So why did you come back if it’s so great in the city? I suppose it would suit you just fine if I were to leave, wouldn’t it?’

  ‘Come on, Beth, you know I didn’t mean that. I just want you to be happy, that’s all.’

  ‘Sure you do,’ she said, taking a large slug of her drink.

  ‘Yes, I mean it, I really do.’

  ‘You want to know what I think, Michael?’ She leant forward, her eyes firmly fixed on his. ‘I think you want the best of both worlds. A nice little wife, a nice house, and someone like me on the side for a little fun. I wasn’t classy enough to be your wife – is that it? Maybe you even enjoy taking risks – is that why you keep seeing me?’

  ‘Keep it down will you. If you must know – no, I don’t like taking risks with my marriage, in fact I hate it. Laura deserves better than this, and that’s why it has to end.’

  ‘Michael, please, no, don’t say that. I’m sorry.’

  ‘It ends now, Beth,’ he said, narrowing his eyes, glaring at her. ‘Right here, right now.’ He put twenty dollars on the table for the drinks. ‘I’m sorry, but that’s the way it has to be.’ He stood up, took the last swig from his bottle and placed it on the table. ‘Goodbye, Beth.’ He took one final look at her and walked away.

  ‘You’ll regret this, Michael,’ she shouted. He stopped briefly but didn’t look back; he just wanted to get out of the place as quickly as he could.

  As Michael drove back in the direction of Brooksville, he felt tense and nervous, knowing only too well he had badly mishandled the situation. He needed to calm himself before going home, so he pulled into a filling station along the tree-lined road, and made his way to the small diner alongside it. As he sat at the table with a mug of coffee, his mind whirled into overdrive. He had always had a genuine fondness for Beth, but searching his soul, he realised he had never really loved her. Also, he was well aware of her unpredictable temperament, he had seen it for himself on more than one occasion. And now he dreaded to think what she might be capable of. It was possible, he thought, that feeling rejected, she could be on her way to tell Laura everything right now. The thought filled him with a sense of panic.

  The feeling was powerful enough to convince him he could not face going home. He finished his coffee, drove back to his office and called Laura.

  *

  The day had been uneventful, no sign of any intruders or shadowy figures lurking in the shadows, and no odd phone calls. On her return from town, Laura had changed into some old jeans and set to work on fixing the bolts and padlock onto the barn doors. With the storm due to strike in the week ahead there would be little time for Michael to do it, besides, she was accustomed to doing the occasional small maintenance job around the place, having lived alone in the country for a few years it had been necessary to learn some new skills.

  As Michael had suggested, she had considered giving her sister a call and asking her to stay for a couple of days, but somehow kept putting it off. If the truth were known, the idea was not one that greatly appealed to her. It was doubtful that Sally would accept the invitation anyway, but if for some reason she did, it would almost certainly make for an awkward and uncomfortable time. Nevertheless, Michael was quite right, she would always find a reason not to call, so perhaps now, uncomfortable as it may be, it was time they sorted out their differences.

  As Laura prepared the evening meal, and Jody watched T.V in the kitchen, she stopped what she was doing for a moment, her hand hovering over the phone. She tentatively dialled the first few digits of Sally’s number, paused for a moment, considering what she would say, then continued to dial the number.

  ‘Who you calling, Mom?’ asked Jody.

  ‘Your Aunt Sally, honey.’

  She waited nervously for an answer, and although only moments, it seemed an eternity before her sister finally picked up and answered.

  ‘Hello, Sally Munroe speaking.’

  ‘Sally, Hi, it’s Laura.’

  ‘Oh, Laura, to what do I owe the pleasure?’

  ‘Well, I just thought I’d give you a call, no particular reason. How are you?’

  ‘I’m fine, how are you?’

  ‘Oh, you know… getting along.’

  ‘And Jody?’

  ‘He’s fine too, thanks. So, how are Mom and Dad?’

  ‘They’re fine, but then you could always call and ask them that yourself couldn’t you?’

  Laura bit her tongue. ‘Yes, I will, I’ve been a little busy lately, that’s all.’

  ‘Right.’

  This wasn’t going the way she’d wanted it to. ‘I take it you’ve heard there’s a storm on its way,’ she said, stuck for anything else to engage her with.

  Sally audibly sighed. ‘Look, Laura, was there something you actually wanted?’

  It would have been so easy simply to hang up the phone, but Laura tried to ignore her sister’s brusqueness and continued.

  ‘Well, as a matter of fact there was something. I was wondering if you would like to come up to stay with us for a couple of days for Thanksgiving. I just thought it might be nice – seeing as how we don’t see much of each other.’

  There was a pause, and then: ‘Well, I…’

  ‘Besides, I think it’s time we talked. I hate this atmosphere between us
. What do you say?’

  ‘I’ll have to think about it,’ she said firmly. ‘I’ll get back to you.’

  ‘Well, okay, but do say yes. I know Jody would love to see you.’

  ‘As I said, I’ll think about it. I’ll call you.’

  ‘When?’

  ‘I’ll call tomorrow. I have to go now, goodbye Laura.’

  There was a clunk as Sally hung up, not even giving Laura the chance to say goodbye. She stared at the handset and shook her head in disbelief. It wasn’t that her sister’s abruptness surprised her, but somehow it never ceased to amaze her just how ill tempered and angry she could be with her.

  ‘Is she coming to stay with us, Mom?’ asked Jody.

  ‘I don’t know, sweetheart, we’ll have to see.’

  ‘Don’t you like Aunty Sally?’

  ‘Yes, of course I like her, she’s my sister, what kind of question’s that, young man?’ She berated herself, she should never have made the call with Jody in the room. ‘Dinner’s ready soon,’ she said. ‘Go and wash your hands, okay?’

  Wandering back over to the range, she glanced at the clock and wondered where Michael was. A few moments later, when she was stirring the gravy, the phone rang. It was almost seven.

  ‘Hi, honey, who was on the phone? I tried to call a few minutes ago.’

  He sounded apprehensive. ‘sorry, it was Sally; I called her like you said.’

  ‘Oh, that’s great,’ he said, his voice calmer.

  ‘Where are you anyway? I thought you’d be home by now.’

  ‘I thought I would be too, but I’ve had a lot of paperwork to get through. I’ll be home soon though’

  ‘Okay, I’ll see you when you get here.’

  ‘Yes, I’m on my way. You can tell me how it went with your sister when I get there. No other phone calls?’

  Laura stopped stirring. ‘No, were you expecting one?’

  ‘No, not really. Anyway, I won’t be long.’

  There was something in his voice, an odd and unusual edginess. She had never known Michael to be nervous before.

  It was around fifteen minutes later that Michael arrived home looking pale and exhausted, and as he kissed Laura lightly on her cheek, she detected the faint aroma of alcohol on his breath.

  ‘So, how was your day?’ Michael asked.

  ‘It was okay. How about you?’

  ‘Oh well, you know, pretty average.’

  ‘The sheriff dropped by this morning,’ Laura said.

  ‘Yes, of course, I almost forgot, I asked him to. Hope you didn’t mind, I just thought… well, you know.’

  ‘No, I didn’t mind, it was a nice thought. I went into town after and got some new bolts and a padlock for the barn. He thought it was for the best. The keys are on the table in the hallway.’

  ‘Okay, I’ll fix them at the weekend.’

  Laura spooned the carrots onto the plates. ‘I’ve already done it.’

  ‘Really? Right. Probably just as well, I’m sure you did a better job than I would have anyway.’ He poured himself a small shot of whiskey, drank it and then immediately half-filled the glass again. ‘Drink, honey?’

  ‘I’ll wait until dinner if it’s all the same to you.’ She put the empty pan into the sink and watched him for a moment. He looked tense. ‘Whiskey? That’s not like you.’

  ‘Well, you know, it’s been a long day.’

  ‘Right.’ she said, nodding her head, not believing it for a second. Well, now you’re here, let’s eat shall we?’

  He put his glass on the dresser and turned to face her, his face sombre. ‘There’s nothing wrong is there?’ Michael asked.

  ‘Wrong? No, nothing’s wrong. Why? Should there be?’

  ‘No, of course not, but you seem a little... distant.’

  ‘Everything’s fine, just fine. Jody!’ she called, turning away from him. ‘Dinner’s ready!’

  He picked up his glass. ‘So, what did Ron think about this intruder you thought you saw?’

  Laura gripped the cutlery in her hand. ‘I don’t think I saw an intruder – I did see one, Michael.’

  ‘Of course you did. I’m sorry, you know what I meant.’

  She pushed down the feeling of unease that swam in her stomach. ‘Well, as expected, he didn’t say much really, he just said it would be a good idea to get the barn doors secured, but that was mostly because of the storm that’s coming ’

  ‘Yeah, that sounds like Ron, always practical.’ Michael took his place at the table as Jody joined them. ‘Hi, Tiger,’ he said, his voice sounding almost normal for a second, ‘how are you?’

  ‘I’m good. Hey, Mike, Aunt Sally might be coming to stay with us. I hope she does.’

  ‘That’s right, of course, you were going to tell me all about it, weren’t you, honey.’

  ‘Well, there’s nothing to tell,’ Laura said flatly. ‘She just said she’d think about it.’

  ‘Still, it’s a start isn’t it?’

  ‘Yeah, I guess so, but I won’t hold my breath.’

  ‘Well, you never know, she may just surprise you.’

  It was about halfway through their meal that the phone rang. Michael’s knife and fork clattered against his dinner plate as they dropped from his grip.

  ‘I’ll get it,’ he said, rising hastily from his chair. He hesitated for the briefest of moments before picking up the handset. Yet brief as it was, the reluctance was plain to Laura. He answered the call in a slow deliberate manner, but the tense furrows of his brow diminished as quickly as they had appeared. ‘Oh, Hi Sally, yes, she’s right here. I’ll hand you over. It’s Sally.’

  ‘Yes, I guessed it was. Thanks,’ she said, taking the phone from him. It was right then, right at that moment when she saw the relief wash over his face, that she knew he was hiding something.

  Seven

  Her sister’s agreement to stay with them for a couple of days had come as a shock to Laura. All the same, it was a pleasant shock; in fact she was delighted; it merely wasn’t what she had expected. Yet at the same time, she was anxious about spending an entire two days with a sister that had so openly distanced herself, but it was, nevertheless, as Michael had said, an opportunity to mend some bridges. And despite many years having gone by with them, seemingly and for whatever reason, both disliking one another so intensely, there was, Laura thought, still time to make things better between them. Sally had shown no joy at spending time with her during their brief telephone conversation, her manner, as always, was matter of fact.

  To be friends at least would be something. And right now, Laura felt desperately in need of one.

  Michael had seemed on edge the previous evening, and after a while had told Laura he’d needed to work. After that, he’d stayed in his study until long after she had gone to bed, though she could not find sleep. She tossed and turned, it seemed for hours, but eventually, having decided what she must do, she somehow managed to drift off to sleep.

  The next morning, and once she had the house to herself, she went to her study, sat at her desk and switched on the laptop. She looked blankly at the Google search box for a moment, wondering whether or not she was doing the right thing. Could she really justify such drastic action? She began to type in a search, but stopped halfway through and held down the delete key, watching the characters disappearing one by one from the screen. She slumped back in her chair and stared at the screen again in deep thought. It was a sad indictment of her marriage that she could even be considering taking such a step, but short of asking Michael outright, it seemed the only way.

  She sat upright again and started typing, and this time completed the search for private investigators in Maine. There were around 270,000 results, with headings such as: “Think you are being cheated on? Call us now for advice in complete confidence.” She viewed a number of the websites, most of them large companies, until she stumbled on one that gave the impression it might offer a more personal approach. The website for FD Confidential Enquiries was not as ostentatious as s
ome of the others, but professional looking nevertheless. What’s more, it was only thirty miles away in Bangor.

  Laura jotted down the office telephone number and a mobile number, which indicated that it might be a one-man operation, then cleared her history. Now all she had to do was find the courage to make the call to a complete stranger, and then ask that complete stranger to spy on her husband. The thought sickened her. What if he was completely innocent and it was nothing more than her imagination? Deep down though, she was certain something was going on, and she needed to know exactly what.

  A few minutes went by before she finally dialled the number for the office, and she reacted with a degree of surprise when a voice answered. Somehow, she had assumed the detective would be out on a case, snooping on someone else’s husband or wife.

  ‘FD Confidential Enquiries, Frank Doyle speaking.’ His voice was gravelly, not one of a young man, and with a tiny hint of an Irish accent, she thought.

  She hesitated for a moment or two before answering. ‘Hi,’ was all she could say.

  ‘Hi, can I help you, Ma’am?’

  ‘Well, um, I’m not sure.’ She paused. ‘God, this is so embarrassing.’

  ‘Look, don’t be embarrassed. Whatever it is, I promise you I will have heard it a thousand times before, so please, in your own time, go ahead. Tell me what your problem is. If I can help you, I will, if I can’t, I’ll tell you straight. Deal?’

  There was something in his voice that somehow put her at ease. ‘Well I… I’d like you to… well I think my husband may be having an affair. I can’t be certain, but…’

  ‘I see, Ma’am. I’m sorry to hear that. And you’d like me to look into it, right?’

  ‘Yes, that’s about the size of it, I guess.’

  ‘It’s not easy, I know, but if you have any doubts, it’s best to know. And I will of course look into it for you – If that’s what you wish?’