Bernie Sokolowitz was the best government spy money could buy. Anyone who needed his services generally needed to pay cash upfront as a deposit. Mostly wealthy entrepreneurs or socialites were the only kind of clientele that could afford his services.
Bernie was a very analytical type of person. Aside from wearing rectangular glasses for farsightedness, he had thinning brown hair, pale blue eyes, and skin which could use a decent tanning booth. He was in his mid-to-late thirties and had a very nice mansion for a home. Security gates surrounded the perimeter of his home thus protecting all of his assets. He was a statue collector both within and outside the house for décor and pure fascination. However, his beautiful 22 year-old wife was the opposite side of the personality spectrum.
His wife, Lenore, had long blonde hair with both a voluptuous and curvaceous feature. Her skin was tanned to brown perfection. Perfection in every way with her eyes, mouth, nose, and cheek bones as well. Bernie would spoil Lenore on countless occasions with special gifts whether it be perfume, jewelry, or dinner on the Rhine River in Germany. Bernie had a time share there and would take Lenore to it every summer and winter.
Spying and espionage was a tiresome and busy profession. Away from his wife for long periods at a time, Bernie would travel from Beijing, China to Beirut, Lebanon or go from Moscow, Russia to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Yet, he would also be hired within his own town of Rivertown, Iowa as a private detective or shadow agent for a local bystander. The job would entail for Bernie to follow a jealous husband’s wife or the other way around to see if the man or woman was cheating. It could be that maybe Bernie was hired to find out if some corporate honcho was trying to blackmail his or her boss. The best thing about spying for the local population was that he did not have to travel far and would always be able to spend time with his wife.
One night, a woman approached Bernie claiming that she suspected that her husband was having an affair with another woman. Mrs. Sarah Harris knew that something was wrong when she tried to get Hank in the mood for shower sex. Hank pushed her away and claimed he was tired after working late at the office. The same excuse was running thin after being used so many times.
Who would want to ignore the likes of Mrs. Harris? She was a stunning and pretty brunette with brown eyes, slim-figured, with a soft-spoken sexy voice. Her long grey skirt wooed any grown man walking by, with her heavenly red buttoned blouse showing a mammoth of cleavage.
Sarah instructed Bernie to trail Hank one night. She told Bernie that payment would include a bonus, but only if Bernie could find out the name of the adulterer. Bernie complied and told her that he would do his best.
The following evening, Bernie parked outside the huge office building, whose many tenants included Balardi Associates, Inc. Bernie waited patiently in his beige BMW, looking through his trusty metallic binoculars from across the street. Apparently, Hank Balardi was a big shot lawyer who dealt with major clients in the criminal justice system. Bernie’s car was in a large lot which faced the entrance to the enormous structure, consisting of 4 expansive floors for only law practices. It was around 8:00PM. Bernie waited until an hour passed. Then, two hours had gone by. Some people dressed in suits and ties, while others in skirts and dresses were rushing to their cars. All were holding leather briefcases or glitzy purses in check.
Bernie was given a picture of Hank for identification. He took Hank’s picture out from his grey coat pocket. He was a very good-looking man with a wide chest, and a broad build of around 6’3. He had wavy dark hair with a clean shave. Suddenly, a man with a face and body like the photo, came rolling out the building’s main double door glass exit.
However, Hank was not the only one coming out of the building. Bernie saw what looked like someone beside him. ‘Too far away’, Bernie thought. Bernie took the binoculars and zoomed in to capture a better image. As the couple walked, he clearly could see it was a woman with a lovely fur coat. The chill was definitely in the air tonight. As the couple walked closer to Bernie’s viewpoint, he saw the woman had long blonde hair, a great figure, and high red pump shoes.
She looked very familiar to Bernie. ‘Could it be??? Nahhhh……..’ Bernie shook his head. As the couple went down the steps and past a lamppost toward the parking lot, Bernie clearly saw who the woman was and almost cringed as if a massive heart attack seized him. “Noooooooooo it can’t be!”, he mumbled to himself aghast in horror.
As the woman turned her head, she smiled as her arm tightened around Hank’s covered pinstriped arm. “Lenore!”, gulped Bernie in a state of disbelief. Confusion and anger raged within Bernie like dynamite set to explode. ‘How could Lenore do this to me?”, he quipped.
As Hank and Lenore ventured toward a speedy black Ferrari, they turned and grabbed each other in a deep embrace. Observing this through his rear view mirror, Bernie got more and more jealous, grinding his teeth and clenching his fists. With a vengeful mind, Bernie immediately got out of his vehicle and slammed the door. However, before he could confront his cheating wife, both Hank and Lenore had already sped off in the Ferrari.
Brokenhearted, bewildered, and betrayed were just some of the many feelings inside of Bernie. In a trance-like state, Bernie drove back to a nearby coffee shop to rendezvous with Sarah. After telling her the news and evidence of her husband’s lover, Sarah paid Bernie handsomely with an extra bonus of a hot sporty Lamborghini. However, the Lamborghini did not phase Bernie since it was just a reminder of Hank’s illustrious Ferrari.
Sarah, seeing that Bernie was in a state of pain, inquired what was wrong. Staring into space with tears coming down his eyes, Bernie just made a humming sound. Then, he began to laugh out loud and looked up at the moonlit sky and said, “Mrs. Harris, tonight I learned the truth the hard way.”
Puzzled, Sarah retorted back, “What do you mean? I don’t understand.”
Turning away from the darkness toward her, he said, “No Mrs. Harris, you don’t. And when it comes to love, no one understands. But here, you can keep your Lamborghini. I don’t want it.”
With that, Bernie tossed the keys to her hands. Then, he sped off in his BMW, sinking deeper and deeper into depression as he neared the first bar. Before closing curfew at 4:00AM, the bartender blurted, “CLOSING TIME. Hey, buddy….”
The bartender nudged the man who seemed to be non-respondent. The chunky bartender whose mustache was thick as a mink, nudged him again. He then checked his pulse. The man was later found dead of cardiac arrest by the coroner hours later. However, the bartender found a note inside the man’s coat pocket which read:
“TO MY LOVELY LENORE, HERE ARE THE KEYS TO MY SAFE DEPOSIT BOX. BY
THE WAY, AFTER GIVING MY INHERITANCE TO MRS. SUSAN HARRIS, YOU
KNOW THE WOMAN WHOSE HUSBAND YOU WERE BANGING? WELL, I
GAVE EVERYTHING TO HER. FOR YOU, HERE IS $1.00 SINCE THAT IS ALL
YOU WILL EVER BE WORTH. GIVE MY REGARDS TO YOUR LAWYER
BOYFRIEND. THE TRUTH’S A BITCH, AIN’T IT???”
