Tears of Rage

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Sam counted off the seconds in his head before he turned from the blank monitor to Vicki. She was staring straight ahead. He pulled the remote from her limp hand.

“Hey,” he said.

“Yeah,” she whispered breathily.

“You all right?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. A little headachy, that’s all.”

“Oh. Okay. Just watching you, I was a bit worried.” Sam waited, but got no reaction. “You want an aspirin or something?”

“No.”

“You sure?”

“I said no!” Vicki wiped at the tears rolling down her face. “Don’t be so helpful, okay?”

Sam proffered his hankie. “You’re upset.”

“Jesus,” she cried, batting his hand away. “I’m not upset. I’m angry. These,” she said wiping her cheeks with the heels of her hands, “are tears of rage, not grief.”

“Alright, okay. I get it. Do you want to talk about it?

“There’s nothing to…” She got up, walked to the window, pulled the curtain aside and peered out into the gloom. “Talk about what?”

Sam followed her to the window and took the curtain out of her hand, closing them into the room. “About… about what you saw in the video and what –”

“I saw it. I don’t need to talk about it.”

“But you hired me to follow him and get proof that he –”

“No! I hired you to prove that I was crazy. Paranoid. Seeing things that weren’t there. I wanted to believe that it was all in my head.”

“Unfortunately, it’s not. But there is more that you need to see.”

“No. No, I’ve seen enough of that bimbo. More than enough. Just get her to my lawyer so he can depose her and –”

Sam interrupted. “That won’t be possible.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Vicki dismissed Sam’s comment, picked up her purse and started for the door. “She’ll have her price. Pay her whatever it takes. Get it done and send me your bill.”

“Ms. LaCroix, wait. You can’t leave.” Sam waited for her to turn and look at him before continuing. “It’s impossible to depose her because – The rest of the video. She… she’s dead.”

“What? How?”

“I was packing up my gear so I could go down to their room and retrieve my spycam and I looked out the window. They… your husband and her, they came out of the hotel. I grabbed my camera, thinking to get a couple more shots of them together, you know, a hug, a parting kiss, and they started across the road, in conversation. Then he stopped, said something, and turned back to the sidewalk. That’s when a car came speeding down the road…”

“Hit and run?”

“It wasn’t an accident. The car stopped after it hit her. It looked like the driver turned to your husband, who nodded, and then drove over her, right over her body, and sped off. People started running to help her, but Mr. LaCroix, he just walked away.”

“Oh my God!” Vicki’s voice trembled; her hand went to her mouth.

“Come and sit down,” Sam offered, taking her arm and helping her into a chair.

“Why? Why would…” She could barely get the words out.

“I’m not sure, but if you look at the rest of the footage –“

“No. No. I can’t. She died?”

“Yes. The paramedics pronounce her.” Sam let the solemnity of his response linger for a moment. “When I looked at the video I took, from their body language it seemed they were arguing before Mr. LaCroix stepped back onto the sidewalk. About what, I don’t know. But all of that is why I had you meet me here in this co-op rental space instead of at your home or even at my office. I believe you are not safe. If he was capable of that….” Sam let Vicki fill in the rest of the sentence.

“The terms of the prenup I had him sign change next month,” Vicki realized.

“Yes.”

Vicki furrowed her brow. “But it’s the terms of the trust I set up for him. He’ll have access to the capital, not just the allowance he’s been receiving.”

“Only if he’s been faithful. The affair he’s… he had been having with –.” Sam couldn’t bring himself to say her name. “The affair would disqualify him.”

“Then I’ll file the divorce papers today.”

“It’s not that simple. Given what I just saw him capable of, once you start the process and he becomes aware of it, I believe your life would be in danger.”

“I don’t follow.”

“Although the video I have is damning, without the… the young woman’s testimony he could argue that the video file was doctored. There would be no guarantee that you would win the case.”

“Then I’ll pay him off. If this is about money, I’ll give him, what, five million in cash? That should get rid of him.”

“I’m afraid not. There’s another term in the prenup I’m sure he is aware of.”

“Which other term?”

“He becomes executor of your estate and prime beneficiary.” Sam let that sink in. “I believe you could become his next victim.”

“I don’t believe it. He’s never – I mean, my attorney had him vetted once I started seeing him. There was no history of violence.”

“The possibility of getting access to hundreds of millions of dollars can change people, make them do what was otherwise unthinkable.”

“But why would he jeopardize it by taking up with… with someone else? Especially now, after almost five years?”

“That’s in my written report to you. This wasn’t a fling. He apparently had had a relationship with… that woman in the past. Before you and he met. And it has, I mean it had been going on for several months.”

“But why would he…?” Vicki pointed to the camera.

“She may have tried blackmailing him. Threatening to tell you.”

“But how would he know anyone who would carry out a, a murder like that?”

“He’d been spending time in the casinos over the last year.”

“His trips out of town. He said to look at real estate property. They were gambling junkets?”

“Yes. I didn’t get a definitive answer, but there were hints that he had accumulated some significant debts. If they became aware of the problem that he might have in getting the money to pay them off because of the affair, well, there are enough unsavoury characters around that business.”

“The bastard. It’s never enough for some people.”

“I know this is probably a lot for you right now, Ms. LaCroix –”, Sam started with a diplomatic gravitas.

“Vicki. Call me Vicki, please.”

“All right, Vicki, I’ve procured a safe house for you until all of the issues get resolved.”

“A safe house? For me?” Vicki laughed. She laughed so hard she began to have trouble catching her breath. Concerned, Sam leaned over to her, but she wagged a finger at him. “No, no. I’m okay. I’m fine. A safe house. No, Sam, I won’t need a safe house.” She pulled out her phone. “When you’ve amassed as much as I have, you meet and do business with a wide range of people. I have some unsavoury contacts of my own.” She tapped a name on her contact list and brought the phone up to her ear. “Send me your bill and expect to get a sizeable tip along with my payment.” Vicki motioned him out of the room, turned and spoke into her phone. “Gregor, I have a job for you.”