2. Payback

by Fern Michaels

  “I know, it’s just that I don’t have all the time in the world.”

  “I think you should start at the beginning, dear, just like we did when we were preparing to take care of Kathryn’s problem. Charles, please turn the recorder on.”

  Julia licked at her dry lips and took a sip of water before she started her story.

  “It was in the fall, around the first of November, the first time I met Mitchell. We met a few times after that, just going for coffee, that kind of thing. He appeared to like me because he called quite often and we’d talk. I had this really weird feeling that he had checked up on me and knew my family was wealthy. He never mentioned it, though. Each time I would try to find out about his background, he’d change the subject and say things like, ‘What you see is what you get’ or ‘I’m an open book.’ His evasiveness bothered me so I did a check on him myself. Nothing jumped out at me right away. He wasn’t close to the people he left behind. And, no, I never did meet any of Mitch’s family.”

  “Never?” Myra said.

  Julia shook her head. “In a way it really didn’t seem important. I was in medical school, Mitch was in Washington ‘running the country’ as he put it. We were lucky we could meet up twice a month. I knew there was something wrong but I didn’t want to pry. Remember, I was in love. I was also young and impressionable.

  “Anyway, I managed to get a little background on Mitch, just enough to scare me out of my wits. If what I found out was true, Mitch should be in prison. He’d been involved with a young girl who was later found dead. Mitch then disappeared, according to what I was able to find out. I thought there had to be a mistake and there were two Mitchell Websters. You don’t get to be a senator without a thorough background check. I convinced myself Mitchell was who he said he was. I let it go. Years later when DNA became well known and used, it turned out Mitch hadn’t killed her after all.

  “Mitch and I got married a year later and moved here. I put his name on all my bank accounts and brokerage accounts. We were happy. At least I was. I never, ever, dreamed he was…seeing other women. I suspect now that he was an alley cat from the beginning. I was so busy…he was so busy…We had our weekends. That’s what our marriage was for many, many years. Weekends. Then even those dropped away because Mitch was always going somewhere. He moved up, sat on more prestigious committees and became very high profile. I was busy with my patients. We still had sex once in a while, but the last three years of our marriage became strained. Mitch started staying away for days at a time, but he was mysterious about it. He said everything he did was on a need-to-know basis and he couldn’t talk about it. I’m sad to say I believed him.

  “When I had my physical I found out I was HIV positive. I was so numb with shock I didn’t know what to do. I went to the Hay-Adams and checked in for a week to try to get myself together. I took three more blood tests, all with the same result. The only way I could have contracted HIV was through Mitch. I checked and double-checked each and every one of my surgeries. None of my patients had HIV. I had no mishaps in the operating room. Mitch gave it to me.” She paused and looked around the table. Nobody moved a muscle. Everyone was looking at her, waiting for what she would say next. She took a sip of water and got her emotions under control.

  “And now I want my pound of flesh. If you could rip his skin off at the same time, I’ll accept that, too. I’m sure he doesn’t even suspect that he’s infected. If they don’t do a full-blown AIDS check, HIV can go unnoticed. He would never believe he could contact such a violent disease. He simply wouldn’t allow it.”

  Charles spoke first. “What kind of background did the firm create for Mitchell?”

  “Everything that’s public knowledge. His parents died, he had foster parents who put him through college. I think he has a sister somewhere who he pays to stay out of his life. I heard him on the phone one time but I never put it together until much later. At this point, I’m not even sure I heard what I heard. I’m not sure about anything anymore,” Julia said sadly. “I guess my point is, no one in the media came up with anything on his background; his phony background. I find it strange.”

  Charles handed a box of tissues to Myra who then handed it to Julia. She wiped her eyes. “Was I an idiot or what? I can’t believe I was so naive.” She looked at the other women. She saw nothing in their expressions except sympathy and a new hatred for the man she was married to.

  “So, where do we start?” Nikki asked Charles. “I know you still have connections at the White House, but are they secure?”

  “Yes, but I don’t think I’ll need to use them just yet. We have several options. It’s up to Julia to decide.”

  Julia looked around the table at her friends. “I want the bastard to suffer, and I want it to happen gradually. Mitchell believes he is invincible. It’s going to take a lot more than a threat from me to bring him to his knees. He’s a master at covering his ass. That means no matter what I come up with, he will have a pat answer. He’ll turn the whole thing around and accuse me of having an affair. He’ll say it often enough that he will believe it. Whatever you do, do not forget how powerful he is. His friends are even more powerful.”

  The group of women nodded. “What about his past? You said his entire background was phony. Can we actually prove it?” Charles asked Julia.

  Julia laughed, a bitter sound. “Yes, and no. The problem is getting the right people to listen, and believe me, Mitch has spent most of his adult life on the Hill. He has lots of friends in Washington. Friends who owe him favors. Some of those friends are on the…scummy side. Mitch won’t hesitate to call all his favors in if he thinks I’m going after him,” Julia said.

  “Tell me about his past. The real story,” Charles insisted. “The story he doesn’t want his adoring public to hear.”

  Julia nodded. “You’ll probably find this hard to believe, but Mitch has no idea I know about his past.”

  “How did you find out and manage to keep it from him? I don’t know if I would be able to keep quiet about my husband’s past; if I knew he did something terrible I’d want to confront him,” Nikki said.

  “I lost count of the times I wanted to confront him but something always held me back. I’m afraid of him. He has a lot to lose and he wouldn’t think twice about…letting me ruin his life. I want to think I was supposed to save this information to use at the right time. Now is the right time. The world is in bad enough shape without people like Mitchell Webster controlling it.”

  “Go on,” Myra urged. “I want to hear what that horrible man has gotten away with. And to think I would have voted for him if I’d lived in Pennsylvania.”

  Julia smiled wryly. “He sucked you in too? Don’t feel bad, Myra, it’s what he does best. He’s sucked in the whole state of Pennsylvania with that phony background he made up. He lied. He had sex with a girl who was later murdered.

  “For starters, we all now know Mitchell is HIV positive. That in itself would blow his image all to hell but not enough to ruin his career because he’d find a way around it. He could say he was infected when he donated blood. He would come out the victor, I have no doubt. So that alone isn’t enough to damage him permanently. And I want my vengeance to be permanent. I don’t want to see the bastard resurface five years later. He may not even have five years.” Julia paused. “I may not have five years left myself. I do have enough time to see that Mitch gets what’s coming to him. All I need is your help in planning his destruction.” She looked at Charles with hope in her eyes.

  “You already have our support. What we need to do right now is decide in what order we’re going to start dropping tidbits of information to the public,” Charles said. “First, I think we should start by revealing his phony past anonymously to a few of the tabloids. Those vultures run with everything. Let Mitch go to war with them. Give him a few weeks to lie low, let the dust settle. Then, we move on to the next wave.”

  “Which is?” Julia questioned.

  Charles spoke up. “You realize you w
ill be in the public eye with him, don’t you? Next, I think you should reveal that you suspect Mitchell is being unfaithful. But let it out accidentally. Better yet, let one of your friends do it for you. Would Sara, the oncologist, help you out here? We want your image to be that of a heartbroken wife who stands by her man.” He heard several groans. “Scratch that thought. I’ll come up with something better.”

  “I’m sure Sara will help. I will be more than happy to play the scorned wife. You know, there was a time when I first learned about Mitch’s cheating, that I was heartbroken. After the fifth or sixth time, I didn’t care anymore. I had my career, I was happy with that. If Mitch needed me at his side for some political function, I was there. I wonder how many times his colleagues were laughing at me behind my back. I guarantee Mitchell’s cronies knew he was a cheating bastard.” Tears formed in Julia’s eyes. “You know what bothers me more than anything?”

  “What, dear?” Myra asked, sensing Julia needed an older woman, a mother image, to listen and empathize with her now.

  “Being laughed at. It enrages me to think about all the women he’s had affairs with. I’m sure some of those women are the wives of his good old ‘Capitol Hill buddies.’ I wonder what those good old Capitol Hill buddies would do if they suddenly learned Mitch had affairs with their wives.”

  “I think I can find out everything you want to know. I, too, have friends on the Hill. We could use the information later if we need to. It couldn’t hurt to have Senator Webster’s cronies by the…short hairs,” Charles said bluntly.

  “Yes. I can give you names of some of the wives I’ve suspected over the years. Linda Cromwell for one. Her husband is Senator Cromwell from Delaware. She called the house several times when Mitchell didn’t think I was home. I picked up the extension and listened to their phone conversation once. They weren’t talking about politics.”

  Myra flinched. “And I thought Mrs. Cromwell was such a prim and proper lady. Very school-marmish. I saw her on Face the Nation the other day with some other senators’ wives. They’ve formed a committee of some sort,” Myra said. “I might be wrong but I think it had something to do with pediatric AIDS.”

  Julia nodded. “You’re not wrong, Myra. The wives scheduled a fund-raising dinner for next week, five thousand dollars a plate. The proceeds will go to their newly established foundation. I can offer my help if you think it’s a good idea.”

  Nikki beamed. “I think it’s a wonderful idea but let’s not decide just yet. If the senator’s world starts falling apart, he’s going to place blame on the person he’s closest to. That person is you, Julia.”

  Julia nodded. “Yes, I suppose you’re right. There is something else. After Mitchell and I were married I insisted his name go on all my accounts. Damn, I already told you that. I’m sorry. I’m starting to stress out about this. I haven’t seen any bank statements for months. I don’t know if that means anything, but he does have access to my money. What does that have to do with anything, anyway?”

  Charles bit down on his lower lip. He didn’t like the sound of this and it showed. “I want you to close out your accounts immediately. For your sake, Julia, I hope there is something left to close out. Can you do it without Mitchell finding out? You didn’t do anything with your trusts did you?”

  Julia swallowed hard and shook her head.

  “That’s good, at least you have money coming in. We might want to take a look at those trusts later on.”

  “I don’t foresee a problem. The accounts don’t require both signatures. I can do it first thing tomorrow.”

  “Good.” Charles said. “The rest of us will be acting behind the scenes as much as possible. Tonight when you get home, act as if nothing has happened. Don’t say or do anything that you wouldn’t normally do.”

  “What about my leave of absence from the hospital? I went to Nicole’s office to have her review my new contract with the hospital a while ago and to ask her advice. At that time I was still trying to figure out a way to stay on, perhaps as a consultant. We both decided it was a good idea to just take a leave of absence for now and not renew the contract. I had Nikki draw up my resignation papers but I haven’t turned them over to the hospital nor did I mention it to Mitchell because…Nikki advised me not to. And as you all know, that’s how I learned of the sisterhood. Nikki seemed to think I was a good candidate. I don’t want Mitch to suspect I’m not working. I am a doctor and he might wonder why I’m not going to the hospital. I can’t keep going shopping every day, which is what I’ve been doing. Not that Mitch checks up on me but there is a first time for everything. Do any of you have any ideas?”

  “Have you taken a leave of absence before?” Myra asked.

  “I’ve taken time off when Mitchell was running for office. I went on the campaign trail with him for a few weeks. Other than that, no.”

  “Let me ask you this, does Mitchell confide in you? Would he tell you about Governor Cartwright asking him to be his running mate if he decides to run for the presidency? Those rumors are floating all over the District.”

  “He confides in me about certain things. Yes, I think he would tell me about that. I think it’s just a rumor that Mitch started himself. He likes to gloat too much not to tell me. This is just my opinion but I’ve always thought he felt inferior to me. Don’t ask me why. He’s been a senator for sixteen years now. I suppose it could be my money. I’ve thought for years he resented me because of it but it doesn’t stop him from spending it. Yes, I think he would tell me about the nomination, just to rub my nose in it. It’s just a rumor at this point. Isn’t it?”

  Charles held up the latest edition of a smarmy tabloid and pointed to the headline that said, “Webster on Crawford’s short list.” “Then you have your answer. Don’t tell him you’ve taken a leave of absence until he tells you about Crawford. After he tells you, wait a few days, then tell him you’ll take a leave of absence to help him with his campaign.”

  “I can do that. Yes, I think it will work. I have to go to the hospital and clear out a few things in my office. I’ll take a day longer. Mitchell doesn’t keep close tabs on me anyway. He’s never had a reason to.”

  “Now, Julia, tell us what you know about Mitchell’s past. Everyone, take notes. I’ve got the recorder on, but notes are an extra precaution. Just in case. One of you might pick up on something the rest of us miss,” Charles said, pointing to the high-tech recorder that was no bigger than a cigarette lighter.

  Julia took a deep breath. This was harder than she’d thought it would be. When she’d learned she was HIV positive, her world had come to a crashing halt. Getting even with the bastard she was married to was the only thing that kept her going. Now that it was time to get down and dirty, she wondered if she had enough guts to make it happen. She didn’t want to place herself in the same category as Mitchell and his Capitol Hill cronies, but if she didn’t stop him, he would keep lying, seducing women and spreading a disease that would be the death of everyone he touched.

  “I’m ready,” Julia said as the others prepared themselves to take notes.

  “Just start out telling us what he told you. Then you can tell us how you found out he lied,” Charles instructed.

  Julia nodded. “I always knew Mitchell’s ‘public’ family history. I never had a reason to question it until after we were married.” Julia twisted her hair around her finger, a faraway look in her eyes.

  “Sorry. I was…this is harder to talk about than I thought.”

  Myra smiled gently. “Take your time. We understand what you’re going through, Julia. You’re human. You are about to destroy a man you once loved,” Myra said.

  “We married in November, almost a year to the day after we met. I was in love and all was right with the world. However, when the holidays rolled around I asked Mitchell if we would be going to Virginia to spend the holidays with his family. I still hadn’t met them and I thought they’d want to meet their daughter-in-law. Mitchell got angry and told me he was estranged from his f
amily. He said when he was ready for me to meet them, he would see to it that I did. I pretended to understand. Some families don’t get along. Two years went by and I still hadn’t met Mitchell’s family. By that time I knew whatever was wrong had to be something more than a family dispute.”

  “Two years is a long time to wait,” Alexis said.

  “Yes, two years is a long time but I was in medical school and didn’t have a lot of free time, so I didn’t give the matter too much thought. Mitchell was busy running for another term at the time, we were both wrapped up in our careers. Christmas rolled around again. I asked Mitch if he was going home for Christmas and he blew up. He threw a few plates as I remember. We were having dinner together for a change. I guess I thought it was the right time to ask about them. It wasn’t. I realized then there would never be a right time to discuss Mitch’s so-called adopted family. I let it go. For weeks I thought about hiring a private detective to track Mitch’s parents down. Turns out the father drank himself to death and the mother had the same addiction and died shortly after. I found out what the real argument was all about. I debated a few months, thinking it wouldn’t be in the best interest of my marriage to send someone digging into Mitch’s past. Of course I got over that after I convinced myself Mitch gave me no other choice. He was being dishonest and I wanted to find out why.” Julia paused for breath, then took a pen and started to scribble on a yellow legal pad.

  “When I found out I was shocked. I couldn’t believe how Mitch had fooled the voters. To this day I don’t understand why a tabloid hasn’t homed in on this information and made it public. They feed on stories like Mitchell’s. If he does run with Cartwright, they’ll turn him inside out. Mitch and his public relations experts, if you want to call them that, said Mitch was adopted by a well-to-do Virginia family when he was thirteen, after spending thirteen years in and out of foster homes. I guess that was supposed to make him appear more sympathetic to his voters. I was his wife. You would’ve thought he would at least tell me the truth.”