Erica and Me

As I walked in the door, all I could hear was the ceaseless drone of silence. 1

I walked past the shoe rack and coat hooks, noticing several anomalies as I did so. First of all, Erica’s coat and shoes were there. She was usually at work at midday on a Tuesday, and I would have eaten the entire contents of my underwear drawer if she’d ever called in sick before that day.2

Secondly, her coat had a wrinkled, squashed look about it, as though another coat had been hung over it. And there was a small patch of dried mud near the shoe rack. Erica’s shoes weren’t muddy. 3

I walked past the bath room and noticed lots of condensation, the shower dripping and the toilet seat was up. There was also a very masculine smell coming from in there. Like male deodorant. 4

I knew from the moment her car hadn’t left for work that something was going on. She’d found a boyfriend. He pulled up at ten-thirty in a brand new mx-5, hair blond and wavy, large build. Very handsome I had to say. I was sitting across the street in my brother’s fiesta, keeping a low profile. Watching and waiting for the prick to turn up, and there he was! So I gave them time to get it out of their systems (or maybe time for me to confirm in my own mind what was going on) then walked in through the unlocked door. Unlocked! How careless…5

So, knowing what I was about to find in the bedroom, I put my hand on the door handle. My heart was pounding. I still couldn’t believe that my one and only love had betrayed me like this. I started to turn it. I had loved Erica completely. She was the one thought that got me through each day. My one solace in a world of pain. Handle was down now. I started to push open the door. Nothing could have prepared me for what I walked into.6

“Hands on your head! On the ground! Now!” the blond guy yelled. He was up, fully dressed and had a gun pointed at me. Shit.7

Erica was also fully dressed, looking at me in disgust. I didn’t understand. This was her boyfriend. All the anomalies…the toilet seat up…the betrayal.8

“Marcus Kusack! I’m arresting you for breach of a court-ordered injunction! You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention, when questioned, something which you may later rely on in court!9

It was then that the uniforms came in behind me and cuffed me, hauling me out to the open police car, in the meantime relieving me of my 9mm semi-automatic pistol. The one with which I was going to shoot Erica‘s boyfriend. Just like I’d shot her husband four years before. She thought she’d got away from me then, but I found her again. 10

It turned out that it had all been a set up. I should’ve known better. But I’ll be out in eighteen months and I’ll find her this time too. I’ll always find her11