Lockbox

It had been a twelve hour shift and I was exhausted. Larry was almost bursting with energy as I walked through the door. Was this the day? I saw his phone on the table, face down. Wearily, I shrugged off my jacket, pulled the gun from my holster and handed it to him.

"I'm beat. Would you mind? I'm going to grab some water."

Gun in hand, he walked towards the cabinet where we keep the lockbox. "Not at all."

"Where are the kids?"

"My mom's. Sit down, we need to talk."

I scanned the dining room and didn't see anything out of place, nothing was moved, no visible cameras. I guessed that he was relying on an audio recording of our conversation. There was a large envelope on the table. Reaching into the pocket of my jacket interior, I pulled out the notepad and pen I used on the job.

Water bottle next to me, I waited for him to take a seat.

He sighed as he sat and shook his head slowly. "I think you know what this is about, Melissa."

I did. "I don't."

"Sadly, I believe you. You've been ignoring me and the kids for months, they're terrified. You come home late all the time, they think you may have been shot or something. And when I beg you to spend time with them, you tell me to screw myself and get on the computer for hours. We can't live like this.

"I've found someone else. The kids love her. I'm going to be fair. You can get the kids two weekends a month. If that's too much for you, I'll be happy to take that time and not hold it against you for your next weekend."

Nodding, I raised an eyebrow. "Okay. I see. So, you've been cheating on me, introduced your lover to our children and you're going for, what, eighty percent custody?"

I began scribbling.

"Yes. I didn't want any of this, but it's best for all involved. I don't want this to get ugly, but I'll do what's best for the kids."

He was lying. Larry was almost never home. The kids were indifferent about their father. He was a stranger that they saw a few times a week and on holidays. My husband took off every night to see Elly, his girlfriend. How he thought he could keep that going unnoticed when I was a detective was baffling.

I held up the piece of paper.

Elly bought molly and coke two nights ago. She's being arrested tomorrow.

Larry's face turned red. "You bitch. Keep her out of this!"

"Keep... What? Keep who out of it?"

He took a deep breath before continuing. "This is between us and the kids. Just sign the damned papers."

"Okay, Larry. Fine. I'll sign."

I was scribbling again.

Remember wondering why I wanted all the documentation before I loaned your mom the money? I'm taking her condo.

He read it and his eye began twitching. Until now, that had never bothered me. Now it was amusing.

"You fucking bitch!"

Glancing at his phone, his eyes widened. He grabbed a pencil off the table and an envelope. Larry scribbled on the back of it and held it up.

Ellys brothers a shrink. Seen the kids. Testify you molested. You never see them again!!!

Inspite of my blood running cold, my voice was soft and almost pleading. "Larry, I said I'd sign. Please... Just calm down. Put the gun away."

"What? You crazy bitch, you—"

Leaping out of my chair, I took one step, grabbed his hair and slammed his head into the table. He was unconscious after the third time. Steeling myself, I took three deep breaths and rammed my face into the same table. Blood was everywhere and I was confident I'd broken my nose. Tilting my head back, I went to get the lockbox. Using the dishwashing gloves was a pain, but I wanted the most recent prints to be Larry's. Opening it, I dumped the gun on the table.

Scooping up the notepaper and the envelope, I walked back to the kitchen, set each one on fire in the sink, and washed the ashes down the sink. The whole time I kept up a constant moaning. Back at the table, I grabbed his phone and called 911.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"This... This is Detective Lonnagan. Badge 1623. My husband took my gun... He hit me and was going to shoot..."

Fuck you, Larry.

*****

The trope of the woman taking the kids and leaving for a richer guy while setting up the husband so he couldn't see the children and was in trouble with the law has been done by others. I wanted to put a different spin on the concept.

I hope you enjoyed the story.