She did not anticipate him staying home. She didn’t have a chance to contact Ted until she had been home for two days. Donald seemed stuck to her like glue.
She was able to send him a text message. “Hey. Sorry I’m just contacting you. I had a heart attack. I’m home. I’ll explain later. Donald is home with me. Cannot talk,” her text read.
“Oh baby, I am so happy to hear from you. I love you. Call ASAP,” he replied.
“Okay,” she texted back.
As soon as she finished texting Ted, Donald came into the room.
“How’s my girl doing? Is there anything else you need?” he asked.
“I’m doing better; thank you so much. I think I’m good. I don’t need anything. I’m going to try to nap for a few hours,” she said sleepily.
“That’s a good idea. I’ll be downstairs if you need anything. I will come and check in on you in about two hours.” Don kissed her forehead and continued tenderly, “I love you, baby. I know I’ve been acting distant lately and I apologize for that. I promise you things will be different. When I got the call about you having a heart attack, I was so scared.
“I promise that once you get well I’ll do everything in my power to make things up to you. You are a beautiful woman and it’s time I show how much I appreciate you. From this day forward I will make you happy. I just hope you give me another chance to prove my love to you,” he vowed.
“I don’t know what to say. I love you too, Donald,” replied Kristie.
“That’s okay baby; you don’t have to say anything. It’s time I do the talking with my actions. Now get some rest and we’ll talk later,” he said as he kissed her gently on the lips and then left the room.
Kristie didn’t know what to make of his new attitude.
Is that what it took to get his attention—the thought of me dying? Well I guess I can’t complain because he could have been happy that I almost died. Of course he could be lying or feeling guilty for seeing his mistress the same day I had a heart attack. Only time will tell how sincere he is, she thought as she dozed off.
Donald kept his word. Nearly four months after her heart attack he continued to be a new man. He helped more around the house and he insisted they spend more time together without the kids.
One evening he surprised her by taking her dancing. He knew that she loved to dance but it had been nearly four years since they last went dancing.
“I have a surprise for you, baby,” he said excitedly.
“What kind of surprise?” she asked.
“I am taking you dancing at the Joynt on North Dearborn Street. I thought we would do something different tonight,” he offered.
She laughed, “Okay, who are you and what did you do with my husband?”
“I am your husband. I told you, the thought of losing you woke something up in me. I apologize again for whatever wrong I have done or pain I have inadvertently caused you, Kristie. You are my wife, my friend, my lover, and the mother of my children and you will never have to question your place in my heart again.
“I have a lot of making up to do and this is only the beginning. I hope you’re ready for the time of your life because you are about to have it,” he smiled as he kissed her.
She didn’t know what to say. She was actually speechless. His new attitude and actions completely confused her. A few months before she was convinced their marriage had ended and now she didn’t know what to think or believe.
Is this all an act? When is he going to pull the plug on this nice guy routine? It has gone on for nearly four months now and he hasn’t missed a beat. After catching him with his mistress and seeing how intimate they acted towards each other in her doorway, I figured he would’ve left us by now.
Damn Donald, what are you up to? When am I going to see the old Donald? I know it’s just a matter of time before he shows up again.
Kristie’s thoughts grew more charitable, Then again, maybe I should give him a chance to get things right. After all, I had an affair too—I just didn’t get caught. Maybe he has changed, she reflected as they headed to the club.
Donald and Kristie had a wonderful time together. They danced and laughed all night. She could not remember the last time they had this much fun. It felt like old times. This was the man she fell in love with. This was the man she had planned on spending the rest of her life with when she married him so long before.
As she and her husband grew closer to each other, she had very little communication with Ted. Although she still loved him, she decided that her marriage was worth salvaging after all.
After six months, Donald continued showering her with lots of love, affection, and attention. Their sex life was restored and they began enjoying each other regularly in the bedroom. They even spruced up their sexual activity by using adult toys. He had forgotten how freaky his wife could be in bed.
He started to realize that he was foolish for cheating on her. He stopped going over to Lynn’s house and mailed his key to her along with a note:
Dear Lynn,
I know you are wondering why I haven’t called you for the past six months but Kristie had a heart attack and I’ve been taking care of her.
What we had was great but I am afraid I can no longer see you. She needs me now and for the sake of our children I need to be here. Here is your key. I know you will find true happiness again, his note read.
When Lynn saw the key and read the note she was livid. She had been trying to reach him for months but he stopped taking her calls. She often thought about going to his office but decided that was not a good idea. She started getting depressed.
How can he do this to me? He promised me that we would be together. I have sacrificed so much for our relationship and he does this to me? Where does this leave me? First Ted leaves me and takes my children away and now Don.
This is not fair. I’m a good person. Why is this happening to me? I know he’s leaving me because of the surgeries. I am certain that’s why Ted left. He promised to be here always. He promised, she speculated as she began to cry uncontrollably.
Almost two weekends had passed since Ted had last spoken with Lynn. She was scheduled to get the kids over the weekend but failed to call or pick them up. This was unusual for her. Since their divorce she would get them every weekend like clockwork unless she had to work, which was not too common on the weekend.
The weekend she received Don’s note, she lied and told Ted that she had to teach class that Saturday and was unable to get them. When she failed to show or call the following Friday evening he started to worry.
“Hey Lynn, the kids have been waiting for you to come and get them. Please give us a call when you get this message,” he said on her voicemail.
After she failed to call him back he thought maybe she had to teach class again and had gone to bed early. He called her early Saturday morning around 7:00 a.m. Whenever she had to work on the weekend, he knew she would get up early.
He received her voicemail, so he called again around 8:30 a.m.; there was no answer, so he began to worry. Without telling the kids he decided to go by her place to make sure things were okay. Since they remained friends after the divorce, she gave him a key to her house to use for emergencies.
After ringing the doorbell and knocking on the door, he let himself in. When he walked in everything seemed in place. The house was as neat as it normally was. He did not want to startle her so he called out before walking around.
When he didn’t see her downstairs he cautiously climbed the stairs, calling her name. The door to her bedroom was closed. He did not want to walk in on her so knocked gently.
When there was no answer he opened the door and was stunned with what he found. Lynn was sitting on her bed crying and rocking back and forth. There was blood on her. He couldn’t tell where the blood was coming from. It was not until he stepped closer to her that he realized the blood was not hers.
On the floor right across from her was the body of a man who appeared to have been shot.
Ted wasn’t sure if he was dead or alive. On the floor in the corner was a handgun.
Ted rushed over to the man and tried to get a pulse. When he was unable to get one he hurried and called 911. He tried performing CPR but had no success at reviving him. By the time the police and paramedics arrived it was too late. He was dead.
Lynn had shot and killed her lover. She called Don to come over that morning so she could talk to him about his decision to leave. He had no idea how depressed she had become after he sent her the note and key.
He only agreed to meet with her because she told him if he did not come that she was going to kill herself. He didn’t want her death on his conscience so he agreed to see her.
Ted knew that his ex-wife was in serious trouble. He told her not to say anything to the police and to immediately tell them she wanted to speak with her lawyer. He wanted to represent her but knew he needed to be there for the children once the news hit the press so he called one of his partners and explained what was going on. His partner immediately went to the police station to represent her.
After the police took Ted’s statement he was released. He wasn’t sure how he was going to explain everything to the children. He had no idea that the dead man on the floor of his ex-wife’s bedroom was his lover’s husband.
Around 10:30 a.m. the police showed up at Kristie’s home. When she opened the door she was shocked to see them.
“Hello, I am Detective Johnson and this is my partner, Detective Williams. Are you Mrs. Blakely?” asked the detective.
“Yes, I’m Mrs. Blakely. Detectives! What is this about?” asked an extremely worried Kristie.
“Ma’am, can we come in?” asked Detective Johnson.
“Yes, come in. Now please tell me what is this about? Was my husband involved in a car accident or something?” Kristie nervously welcomed the police inside.
“Ma’am, I am afraid I have some terrible news. Your husband is dead,” he said gently.
“What are you talking about—dead? He was just here a few hours ago. He can’t be dead,” screamed Kristie hysterically.
“Ma’am, please calm down. Is your husband Donald Blakely?” he led Kristie to the couch and helped her sit.
“Oh my God Donald! No. No. No. I don’t believe it. I don’t believe it. Not Donald,” she yelled as she almost fainted.
By this time Katherine and DJ ran downstairs.
“Mom, what’s wrong? What happened to Dad? Who are they? What’s going on?” shouted Katherine.
“Oh my God, Donald! How did it happen?” asked Kristie.
“I’m not sure if you want the children to hear this. If it’s okay with you, Detective Williams will take them in the back and talk to them,” explained Detective Johnson.
“Kat and DJ, go with Detective Williams,” said Kristie, wiping her tears and giving each of the children a long hug.
“But Mom, we don’t want to leave. We want to know what happened to Dad,” insisted DJ.
“Come on, we can talk in the back,” said Detective Williams to the kids.
After they left, Detective Johnson turned to Kristie, “At around 8:50 a.m. we received a call about a man being shot. When we arrived at the home in question, we discovered your husband had been shot and killed. His body was found on the floor in the home of another woman. It seems as if she shot him as he was leaving the room. I’m so sorry you have to find out this way.”
Kristie could not stop crying. The children were allowed to come back into the living room with her. Detective Williams explained to them that their dad had been murdered. Kristie and the children were devastated.
When the detectives left she called Donald’s family and told them what happened. They immediately rushed over to her home. Later that day she had to go to the morgue to identify the body. Her father-in-law went with her. When she saw Donald lying there she became sick to her stomach.
She started regurgitating and nearly passed out.
“Daughter, you need to try and calm down. We don’t want you to have another heart attack. The children cannot afford to lose both of their parents in one day,” said her father-in-law, helping her to a chair.
“I need to get out of here. I can’t stand to see him like this. What are we going to do?” she cried.
“You know Mom and I are here for you. You are like a daughter to us and you won’t go through any of this alone,” he reassured her.
When they arrived back at the house more people were there. Katherine and DJ were sitting on the couch, holding each other and quietly weeping. Kristie immediately ran to them and they began crying together. They felt so lost.
Meanwhile, at the police station Lynn was charged with murder. She was fingerprinted and booked.
Ted had gone back home and called Rebecca and Jonathan to the den so he could tell them what happened. Their oldest, Ted Jr., was away at college. He did not want to explain the situation over the telephone, so he called the airport and scheduled a flight for him to return home later that afternoon.
He knew it would be difficult for them to understand but he would rather they heard the truth from him than from the media.
“Guys, you know your mom and I love you, right?” he asked.
“Yes, we know,” they said, looking at each other nervously.
“Dad, what is this about? Is Mom okay?” asked Jonathan.
“Is she in the hospital again?” Rebecca worried.
“No, she is not okay and she’s not in the hospital. What I’m about to tell you is very difficult but I need for you to try and understand as best you can.
“Your mother is in serious trouble. She has been arrested. The police think that she murdered someone. When I went over to her house this morning I found her on the bed shaking and there was a body on the floor,” he said, knowing what he told them was painful.
“What? It’s not true. Mom would never kill anyone. She’s not a murderer. She is the nicest person around. They must be mistaken. It has to be a mistake,” cried Rebecca.
“Why are you saying this? Why are you lying about Mom? It can’t be true. It just can’t be,” yelled Jonathan as he started hitting his dad on the chest with both of his hands.
Ted grabbed both his children and held them tightly, “I know it’s hard to hear but I had to tell you. You’re going to hear a lot of bad things on the news about it and I wanted to be honest with you guys.”
“But why, Dad? Why would they say she did something like that? Do you think she did it?” asked Rebecca, her voice muffled in her father’s chest.
“I honestly don’t know, baby. But it’s not looking good. I am going to do everything in my power to get her off but I can’t make any promises. Promise me that you won’t tell Ted Jr. I’ll talk to him once I get him here from school,” he said.
After picking up Ted Jr. from the airport and bringing him home, Ted told him everything. He offered more details then he did to Jonathan and Rebecca. He was older and Ted felt he could handle the whole story.
Ted Jr. could not believe what his father told him. He became so angry that he stormed out of the house and started walking down the street. Ted started to go after him but he knew his son needed time alone to sort things out.
Rebecca and Jonathan were in their rooms. Ted decided to call Kristie to tell her what happened and to get some emotional support from her. He was desperate and needed someone to talk to.
When he called her cellular phone the voicemail immediately came on.
“Hey Kristie, this is Ted. When you get this message please call me. I really need to talk to you. Okay bye,” he said.
After leaving the message, he called his partner to learn what was happening with Lynn. Ted had prosecuted and defended cases like hers before. From a legal standpoint he knew she would more than likely serve prison time for the murder. Because he had a reasonable working relationship with the District Attorney, he decided to call the prosecutor’s office to see the evidence they had and learn if a plea deal was on the table.
Although he was not going to represent her, if her case went to trial, he planned to work on it and attempt to get as little prison time as possible for her.
The next several days proved even more challenging for Kristie and her children. Each day she had a difficult time getting out of bed. She was still in shock. She just could not believe that Donald was dead.
One morning when she was finally able to get out of bed she heard the kids in the kitchen talking.
“I wonder where Dad was when he was shot. Officer Williams said he was at a friend’s house when it happened. Do you think Daddy was cheating on Mom?” asked Katherine.
“I don’t know, Kat. It was awfully strange that he would get up that early to go over a male friend’s house. He was probably at another woman’s house. But why would she kill him? It just doesn’t make any sense. I want to ask Mom but I don’t want to upset her any more than she already is,” said DJ.
“But why would Daddy cheat on Mom? She’s the best mom in the world. Maybe he was over a lady friend’s house because she needed him to fix something for her,” Katherine suggested.
Kristie entered the kitchen and kissed both children on the forehead, “Good morning guys. You’re up early. Did anyone get any sleep last night?”
“Good morning, Mom,” said Katherine, wondering what her mother overheard.
“Good morning, Mom,” said DJ, standing to give her a hug.
“Thanks DJ, I really needed that hug. So what do you guys want to eat?” asked Kristie.
“I’m really not that hungry,” mumbled DJ.
“Me neither,” said Katherine.
“Are you guys sure? Well, at least drink some orange juice,” said Kristie, trying to pretend she hadn’t been listening to their conversation.
“Grandma and Grandpa are coming over this afternoon to spend some time with us. They’re taking it pretty hard too. I know you guys have some questions surrounding everything that happened. I would rather you ask me than get the wrong information from the news or someone else,” she offered gently.
Simply Complicated Page 30