The perfect marriage

My eyes were closing, as I was drifting off into a deep slumber on my couch again. The television was still on, bright as ever in a dark room, and all I could hear was the laughter booming from talk show that once had my interest. I could feel myself losing grip of the glass of wine I had in my hand, as I was feeling more relaxed and light as a feather. There it was, the feeling of sleepiness leading me into a deep, dark hole that I would not be able to get out of.

Suddenly, there was a pounding sound that was so loud, that I couldn't understand where it was coming from. Was I dreaming? I slowly opened my eyes, thinking that the rain was pounding hard outside, but the sound was getting louder. I felt disgruntled as I slowly stood up and walked towards the hallway. The pounding sound was coming from the front door. It was louder than ever, giving me a headache and making me feel disorientated. "I'm coming." I murmured.

I opened the door and to my surprise, there were two police officers standing there, showing their badges. "Mrs. Brown, I am detective Morgan and this is detective Reese. May we ask you a few questions?" One of them said.

"What is this about?" I asked, trying to stay composed.

"Can we come inside?" Detective Reese asked. I nodded anxiously and allowed them to pass through. The living room was a mess. There was a fresh wine stain on the floor with my glass, chocolate wrappers covering the table and Chinese takeout left out on the table. The television was still on, and my clothes were laid out all over my furniture. They awkwardly sat down on the sofa, observing every detail in the room. Then they glared at me.

"Mrs.Brown, your husband has been reported missing." Detective Morgan said bluntly. "We received a report that he did not turn up to work for two nights now. His co workers are worried, since they haven't heard from him at all." He continued to explain. I sat there feeling gobsmacked. I couldn't process what they were telling me. I could feel the tears rolling down my cheeks and my lips began to quiver. I tried to stay composed, but I was starting to have a headache, my heart was pounding fast and I couldn't believe that this was happening. I felt a shiver down my spine.

"I don't understand. He said he was going on a business trip. You mean to tell me he was in the city all this time?" I questioned suspiciously. I couldn't wrap my head around it all. Detective Morgan frowned and asked, "Business trip? Do taxi drivers go on business trips?" That's when I felt stupid. I cleared my throat and drank the glass of water that was on the table. It was probably sitting there for hours.

"He said that there was this big taxi driver convention that they do annually. I know that sounds odd, but I never questioned it, since I trust him. We have been married for 30 years." I explained as I stared directly at Detective Morgan.

Detective Reese cleared his throat and asked, "Mrs.Brown, when was the last time you saw your husband?" I pondered for a moment, and cried even more. "Um, two days ago?" I said quietly.

"Have you been in touch with him?" Detective Reese asked. I shook my head and placed my left hand on my chest. "I tried calling him, but he didn't pick up." I confessed. Detective Reese glared at me. "Do you know which hotel he was staying at?" He asked sharply.

"He told me he was going to stay at The President Hotel." I answered right away. Both detectives stood up and sighed. "Thank you for your time Mrs.Brown." Detective Morgan said half heartedly. I led them out of the room and into the hallway. I opened the front door, and the rain was coming down hard. Both detectives were staring at something, but I couldn't make out what it was. "Who's Ford is that?" Detective Morgan asked.

"It's his." I answered quietly. They greeted me goodbye and left. I slammed the door shut and fell to the ground. I couldn't take the pain that I was feeling. He left me, and without a trace. I took a few deep breaths and slowly walked back into the living room. I cried myself to sleep, back into the deep, dark hole.

This time I was walking down the high street, it was night time and I just finished catching up with a friend for dinner. As I was two blocks away from our house, I noticed that his Ford was parked outside a beautiful, white painted townhouse. Only, he never uses his Ford for work. I had the urge to surprise him, so I ran over to the car and tapped on the window, only to be surprised myself. There he was, groping and kissing another woman in the backseat of his car. He stared at me like a deer in the headlights and that's when I screamed.

Then I woke up. This time the house phone was ringing, as if it was ringing in my ears too. "Hello?" I answered in a croaky voice. She was crying down the phone to me, but breathing heavily at the same time. "I know it was you! You just couldn't let us be happy! What did you do?" She screamed. I was taken aback by the audacity she had to call me. "You dare to call me? My house? You dare to ask me about MY husband! You ruined our lives, you manipulated him and you are blaming me?" I screamed back and hung up. I could feel my blood boil, and the urge to rip her hair out.

But, instead, I decided to go down to the police station and sort things out the right way. But to my surprise, she was already there. She was sitting in the waiting room, crying endlessly. She was half my age and looked awful. "HOW DARE YOU!" I shouted. She looked up at me and I could see the sadness had quickly disappeared from her face, and had turned into anger. "You killed him!" She screamed.

"YOU RUINED MY LIFE!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. It was dead silent and two police officers were trying to calm us down. They took me away from her with force and placed me in a room. Detective Morgan ran into the room and said, "Mrs.Brown, you cannot make a scene like that here." I crossed my arms like a child and huffed and puffed. "Why is she here?" I questioned angrily. Detective Morgan sat down and placed his hands together. He was very serious and hard to read. "You know Rosie Cunningham?"

I laughed and murmured, "That bitch has a name?" He sat there quietly and looked at me. "Yes, yes I know that she was sleeping with my husband." I confessed as I rolled my eyes. Detective Morgan cleared his throat and explained, "She came here voluntarily to answer some questions about your husband." I shook my head with disgust.

"She probably killed him you know." I said the words like I was spitting out venom. He looked at me suspiciously, but quickly changed his expression and had his poker face back on. "What makes you say that?" He asked. I smirked as I tapped my fingers on the table, feeling impatient and angry. "He wouldn't leave me for her. She was just his dessert for the night, but I am the main course. She was just his toy to play with, but I am his prized possession. She is just a homewrecker, and I am the homemaker." I said loudly. I couldn't help it, my skin was itchy, my heart was pounding and I was ready to lose control.

"But why do you think she would have a motive to kill?" He asked cunningly. There it was, the feeling of impatience. The feeling of a ticking time bomb ready to explode inside of me. I stood up and raised my hands in the air and shouted, "BECAUSE SHE WAS PREGNANT WITH HIS BABY! SHE DIDN'T WANT HIM TO BE HAPPY WITH ME! SHE WANTED TO RUIN MY LIFE AND HAVE HIM START A FAMILY WITH HER!"

Detective Morgan sat there calmly, observing me. Before he could reply to me, a police officer ran into the waiting room. "We found the body sir." She said in a rushed voice. I stood there, frozen like a statue. He looked at me and calmly stood up. "Since you're here Mrs.Brown, you can help me identify the body. But for now, I need you to stay put. Officer Mitchell will stay here." He said, as he left the room. I cracked a smile at Officer Mitchell, and tried to stay composed. My heart was pounding hard, and my palms were feeling sweaty.

Hours had passed by, and Detective Morgan was finally back. This time he came back with the force of law. "Mrs.Brown we would like to ask you some questions. We will record this conversation." He said as he sat down with Detective Reese. I know that I should have a lawyer present with me, but I was dying to find out what had happened to my husband. "Okay. Okay." I said quietly.

"Mrs.Brown, do you know someone called Justin Jenkins?" Detective Reese asked. I shook my head, the name was unfamiliar to me. "He was the last customer that your husband had. But, he also knew your husband personally." Detective Reese explained. He then showed me a CCTV image of a short, handsome man who was close to my age. I instantly recognized him, only I didn't know him as Justin. I held onto the picture for a while, as it gave me a flashback of how I met him.

It was on a cold winter's night, and we were hosting a poker game at our house. He turned up with a bottle of chardonnay and pecan pie. He introduced himself as Aaron Smith. It wasn't until after the first round of poker I overheard him in the kitchen with my husband. "After all these years, you're not going to tell her?" Aaron asked my husband in a shocked tone. I heard my husband chuckle nervously and say, "If I do, I will lose everything."

"I haven't met this man." I lied. Both detectives looked at me and held onto the picture. "Your husband was found dead in his taxi outside this man's apartment. However, Justin is not to be found." Detective Reese explained. I sat there in silence. "He killed my husband?" I asked, confused.

"We haven't concluded anything just yet. We need to bring him in for questioning. But, before we ask more questions, we need to ask you to help us identify the body. You see, the way he died, was hard for us to identify if it is truly him." I nodded anxiously. I felt like I needed something to take me off the edge.

They escorted me to the room where his body was covered with a sheet. I had only ever seen this scenario on television, but I had never been in this situation myself. They carefully revealed his body, and I gasped. I broke down crying, and shook my head with shock. "That's not him!" I wailed. They looked at me confused. "That's his twin brother Scott!" I wailed loudly.

Detective Morgan lifted me up from the ground and asked me coldly, "How do you know this?" My finger was shaking, as I pointed at the large dragon tattoo on his stomach. "My husband doesn't have a tattoo, his brother does!" I howled. Both detectives looked at each other with shock.

My husband was missing, but his brother was found dead. The mystery was yet to unfold and I was finding myself going down a rabbit hole.