Good Enough for the Goose...

"Have a good week," she breathed out. "I love you."

"I love you too," I responded. She grabbed up her bag and opened the front door.

"Bye, dear!" she called over her shoulder.

"Good bye, Kelly," I said. Then I shut the door.

-**-

Thirty minutes later, I left to catch the train to the city. Barbara and I had an appointment with the FBI.

-**-

Turned out I had no need to manufacture any evidence.

I would put Paul Evans' embezzlement skills at moderately clever. Barbara and I met in her off-campus apartment to review the documents she'd pulled off his computer. Fairly standard techniques on the whole. I estimated he had about $2 million stashed in an off-shore account. At least that is how much he funneled to it but I can't be sure it's still there because those records were not included. Most of that money came from a variety of small contributors that would not trigger IRS types but why were out of state people donating to a county DA's campaign? I managed to trace several of them to people with ties to defendants where the case was dismissed or a plea bargain was accepted with unusually light sentences.

It was Barbara that found the biggest bombshell. (The bombshell found a bombshell.) Turns out she was NOT an only child. Evans knocked up two other women along the way. One was born three years prior to his wife's death. The mother was one of his staffers at the time. The third was born eight months after his wife's death to - get this - an eighteen-year-old volunteer at the hospital his wife was in for treatment. Evans was flowing $2000 a month to each woman from campaign contributions as 'poll research consultants'. Barbara almost destroyed her own apartment in her rage. That red-hair really is a warning.

By the time Kelly and Paul left we had everything worked out in Paul's records. There were still questions but we lacked the resources to get to the information. So, I wrote up all of the findings and scheduled a meeting with a senior FBI agent I'd worked with out of the Philly office. Barbara came along to tell him the story we'd cooked up.

Barbara's story was she'd wanted to look at some real records after taking her forensic accounting class. She'd decided to take a look at her father's records out of 'innocent curiosity'. When she'd spotted some oddities she'd called me because my wife worked for her father and she knew of my expertise. Gary was an experienced pro. He knew there was more to it than that but we'd dropped a gift-wrapped present in his lap so he didn't push. A dirty DA in his own backyard? A dirty DA that had just launched a US Senate campaign? It was a career making case dropping like mana from Heaven.

We caught a cab back to Barbara's apartment since she had a late afternoon class and I did the short walk to 30th Street Station for the train ride home. I was thinking of packing up my stuff and being gone when Kelly arrived home. Gary promised to expedite the case to at least subpoena Evans' records by Wednesday. It wouldn't take long for word to get around of the investigation at that point. The bastard would find out how illusionary his power is when all the rats deserted his ship.

Kelly called me while I was on the train heading home. She said she called early because they were going out to some big dinner and it would be really late before she got back to her room. (I had no doubts that she in fact had no plans to ever be in her room tonight.) I made a few vague remarks saying that was fine. She picked up on my distracted tone and asked what the matter was.

"I just had a meeting with some FBI agents on a case," I answered. "I am on the train plus the investigation is still underway so I can't talk about it." All of which was perfectly true.

"Sounds like it really got to you," Kelly said, her tone concerned.

"Yah, well this one is going to be ugly. It will probably make national news when the full story leaks out."

"Really?" Kelly asked sounding a bit intrigued. "Can't you give me a little hint?" I couldn't help it.

"Crooked politician, bribes, money-laundering, sex, marital infidelity, kids involved. Your typical summer novel crap.

"Hmm, anyone I know?" I grimaced.

"I've said too much already. The Bureau would have my hide if I say anything else."

"Oh, you're no fun!" Kelly pouted. "Don't worry, love, your secret is safe with me."

We said our goodbyes and she was gone.

-**-

When I walked into the house, it all just hit me. My marriage was over. Dating and married, we'd been together for ten years. I never expected to be single again but now I was looking at just that. In the end I just sat on the couch and waited as the sun when down. I just sat watching. I felt like I was watching my life sinking down over the horizon. I just watched. It was many hours after it had gone down before I moved again.

-**-

It was noon on Saturday before I emerged from my bout of self-pity. I'm not saying I didn't deserve to indulge some but I knew I needed to shake it off. Ironically, I was mowing the lawn again when I saw a BMW convertible pull into my drive way. I brought the mower to a stop while I watched Barbara emerge.

The first thing I saw was her long, pale legs swing out of the driver's side. She was again wearing sandals with the thin cord wrapped halfway up her calf. They always made me think of the ancient Greeks. As she stood I could see her sculpted legs flex in a way that spoke of strength underneath her firm flesh. Going with the Greek trend, she was wearing a pure white toga-like dress that stopped at mid-thigh but with two inches of lace at the bottom allowing a few teasing peeks of her upper thighs. The dress was a light silky material that hugged her curves and tended towards the translucent. Her firm breasts were held by a bikini top that was just visible through the dress. Her arms were bare of anything save the light freckles that dotted her skin about her upper arms and shoulders. The dress only went over the one shoulder leaving the other bare. Her long red hair hung down in waves over those same shoulders. However, it was her gray-green eyes and that smile that captured my attention as she approached me.

I killed the engine and greeted her.

"Well, you look better than I'd expected," Barbara said. "I half expected to have to pull you out of a bottle or down off a ledge." I snorted. I'd had many thoughts last night towards both options.

"Needed to be done," I said. "Plus it keeps me distracted."

"Not meeting with a lawyer?" she asked.

I shrugged. "I did that Tuesday before they even left. Papers will be ready Monday. I arranged to take an audit at a customer in Austin and leave Tuesday. Normally travel on this type of assignment is for three days and then I work everything remotely until I do my report-out. This one I will be staying there the whole three weeks." I shrugged. "It's the cowards way out I guess but I don't want to be here when the whole mess melts down." I could see the agreement on Barbara's face. She knew this would put some focus on her too as the bastard's daughter.

"Well, I am glad you are thinking ahead," the redhead said. "But I've learned that's something you're good at." There was that smile again. "Now I can plan too."

"Okay, so here's my plan," Barbara announced. "I am going to help you finish up with your work here and then you are coming to my place. We are going to have fun and you can even oogle me to your heart's content! I have a bathing suit that you're just gonna looovve!" That last part was said in a voice that would have raised a dead man.

I tried to rally.

"Barbara, I am still married," I protested. "And I don't think I'll be ready to jump into anything for a while."

"You need to let off some steam before you explode," the sexy redhead insisted. "Besides, you know the old saying, 'What's good for the goose is good for the gander.'" The look she gave me was playful, wicked, and guileless all at the same time. I couldn't help but to laugh.

-**-

In one of those bizarre coincidences that prove that the truth is stranger than fiction, we ran into Olivia of all people.

After I'd finished up my yard work, I cleaned up and we went out for a late lunch to a nice restaurant. I wasn't really up for trying for any revenge sex but it was nice to get out of the house. And going out with someone as nice as Barbara - and who looked like Barbara did - would never be a hardship. When I pulled up, I noticed a certain car parked a bit closer to the restaurant. It was Oliva's. I always thought it was a crime putting OBX and Jersey Shore bumper stickers on Mustang GT. I almost told Barbara to turn around and we'd find another place.

But I didn't.

Instead, I did something that was totally out of character for me. It was all on a whim. After all of my careful planning, something in me just tore seeing Olivia's car parked in that lot.

I casually wrapped my arm around the beautiful redhead and ushered her into the restaurant without another word. I tipped the host to place us at a certain table. It was somewhat obscured but was in plain sight when returning from the bathrooms. I sat Barbara facing out and settled myself into the seat next to her. She smiled when I took her hand.

"What brought this on?" she asked with a cute little smile. "Not that I am complaining..."

I laughed. "Remember me telling you about how I found out about my cheating wife? Her friend Olivia? Well, her car is parked right outside."

Barbara let loose a throaty laugh. "So, I get to be 'the other woman'? Oohh, I can live with that." She leaned forward and placed an incredibly soft kiss on my lips. It wasn't a deep passionate kiss but rather one that hinted and promised so much more to come; a Lover's Kiss.

Our meals had arrived and I was honestly enjoying myself. The subterfuge was mostly forgotten as I enjoyed Barbara's company. Her sharp sense of humor killed me. I'd never heard someone make accounting sound so dirty before. I just happened to glance over and noticed Olivia walk past us. I pointed it out to Barbara.

"Oh goody," she giggled. "I've been so waiting to do this." With that, she leaned forward to kiss me. I found my hand being guided under the table and onto her leg. The skin of her thighs were so incredibly soft with firm, supple muscle underneath. The touch was electric. I could feel the heat radiating out of her panties. My hand slid forward of its own volition to feel the moisture there.

I was so lost in the sensations that I was surprised when I heard Olivia yelling at me.

"Hogan! What the hell are you doing?!" she was screaming at me. "Who is this tramp? Running around on your wife while she is out of town? I thought better of you!" I have no doubt the whole restaurant heard her.

I released Barbara and turned to look at my erstwhile friend. "What is your problem, Liv? It's just a bit of carefree sex before Kelly and I settle down and have a kid. And can you keep it down? People are trying to eat."

Olivia gapped at me like I'd smacked her with a dead fish. "What..." she started.

"Oh, come on now, Liv. Kelly is doing the same thing. I'm sure she's off fucking her boss right now. She has been for months. So I reckoned it was only fair for me to fuck the boss's daughter."

I think Olivia almost had a heart attack right there. I felt Barbara start to giggle so I gave her a little squeeze to keep her quiet. Of course, I sort of forgot where my hand was so her giggle turned more into a groan of pleasure.

"You know about..." Olivia stuttered out.

"I know I'm supposed to be the faithful clueless husband while my wife runs around so ably assisted by a woman I thought was a close friend of mine." Olivia winced at the scorn in my voice. "I know Kelly wanted one last taste of the strange before having a kid. Kind of like that one last fling before we got married. If it was okay for her what is your problem with me?"

I had no information on Kelly having any affairs prior to Asshole Paul but as the saying goes, "Once a Cheater, Always a Cheater." I was taking a shot in the dark with my suspicion and wondered if Liv was off balance enough to confirm it.

She was.

"You know about that, too??" she gasped.

"Nope, but thanks for the confirmation," I answered. Olivia paled at that.

"Go away, Olivia," I said. She turned and fled the table. We heard a commotion a few minutes later that was Olivia leaving the restaurant.

"Well, that was fun while it lasted," Barbara said with a little laugh. "I really wanted her to be in there longer." Her smile caused me to blush.

"You know she is probably on the phone to your wife right now," she added.

"Probably," I agreed. "I give it five minutes before my phone goes off. However, it is five hours to get home from Pittsburgh if she leaves right now. That gives us time for dessert and still gives me enough time to get home and pack. Sorry I won't get to see you in that bikini like you promised." Barbara laughed again.

"Oh, I think we can do a rain check for that." She reached over to grab me by the shirt and pull me closer. "You know my semester ends in a week and a half," she murmured into my ear. "I've always wanted to see Austin." I'd barely grasped her words when her tongue slithered its way into my ear.

Epilogue

Yes, well the shit truly hit the fan.

Kelly started calling me ten minutes after Olivia left the restaurant. I listened to a few of her messages and she was furious for cheating on her. That almost caused me to laugh. After an hour of her messages and texts, I blocked her number. I knew eventually she would just call from another phone but she was driving back from Pittsburg so it wasn't like she could just ask to borrow someone else's on the Turnpike. I went home and packed up all of my personal items not just the stuff for my trip to Austin. I had the time. Within four hours of the encounter with Olivia I was driving away from my house for what was probably the last time.

I booked myself into a hotel near the Philly airport after dropping most of my stuff off in a storage locker until I could find a place to live. I talked to Barbara a few times on the phone. She was straying with a friend as her father was leaving furious messages on her phone now. I moved my flight to Austin up a day and was gone Monday morning.

Kelly managed to call my phone a few times from other numbers. Now they were tearful rants of how could I do this to her, why would I destroy her career, etc. etc. Apparently, Olivia's initial screaming had gotten a lot of people's attention. Someone then posted a fairly accurate account on their blog and identified Barbara and I as the players. My comment about Kelly fucking Paul was also reported along with the fact they were together in Pittsburgh for the weekend. That caused a big stir in the county political circles and the courthouse.

I avoided most of the news out of Philly for the rest of the week. It wasn't until Friday that I got an email that told me what was happening back in Doylestown. Surprisingly, it was from Margret, the senior manager in the DA's office. The older lawyer apologized for all that had happened. She knew Paul was dating two women outside the office but knew nothing of Kelly's involvement. She also applauded my getting revenge by using the law against a lawyer.

According to Margret, it was an eventful week in the Buck DA's office that week. Monday morning Paul was in the office attempting damage control and denying any improper behavior on his part.

"It is just my daughter's rebellion under the influence of a cheating husband" was the story he tried to sell. Then on Tuesday, Kelly was served with the divorce papers on the grounds of adultery. The envelope was filled with pictures, DVD's and a letter from me. Kelly's scream of horror when she read my note brought Margret and two others running into her office. Kelly was slumped in shock in her chair and Margret spotted the pictures that had fallen out onto the desk. My letter to Kelly told her I never had an affair but hoped she now had some idea of how I felt about her and the asshole. I told her I couldn't be married to someone I couldn't trust especially now that I knew she'd been unfaithful before. Not much work was completed in the DA's office on Tuesday.

Margret was in Paul's office for a meeting the next day when four men in suits suddenly walked in. Paul was yelling at them for interrupting an important meeting when one man informed Paul he was under arrest. She said he was in complete shock when they cuffed him and walked him out of the office. They "perp" walked him right out the front door of the courthouse and passed the reporters that had somehow been notified. (I owed Gary a few beers for that.)

Margret closed her email by apologizing for letting their behavior happen in her office. She also said to let her know if I needed anything, as I didn't deserve this kind of thing. I am sure some of her email was damage control but mostly I think it was Margret being the moral, professional person I always took her for.

Now all my plans for a quiet divorce were shot to hell because of my own stupid ass, impulsive stunt with Olivia in that restaurant. The Philly news stations quickly got wind of Paul's arrest and the charges against him. As I told Kelly, this had all the makings of a summer novel: sex, betrayal, revenge, and way too much angst. The news media loved it and it was quickly picked up by the hungry 24-news services. I avoided the worst as I was out of town and they hadn't managed to track me down since I booked a second hotel room in a place ten miles from the one listed on my itinerary at work. I had checked in there though so the reporters camped out around it trying to catch me. I did see on TV that they were camped in front of my house. Kelly wasn't coming out and they only got shots of my in-laws going in and out.

Barbara had it the worst as the 'daughter that turned in her own father'. She still had to go to class and take exams so the media had a fairly easy time finding her the first few days. Then the school forced the reporters off campus as they were disrupting the students. It also helped when the two women who bore Paul's children came forward for their 15 minutes of fame. Her last final completed, Barbara slipped off campus and headed to the airport. The media was disappointed but not too surprised when she was a no-show at the graduation ceremony.

After a while, the story slipped to a secondary news item and stayed there. It flared up when Paul's trial started but he plead guilty to several charges making him a 20-year guest of the Federal government. Thankfully, his pleading guilty meant Barbara and I were never called to testify. Then it dropped completely off their radar taking Barbara, Kelly, and I with it.

Oddly enough after all that publicity, my divorce did go through quickly and with a minimum of fuss. Kelly signed the papers four days after receiving them. I got a letter apologizing for what she had done to me and to us. She'd sworn in her rage driving back from Pittsburgh that she would never forgive me for cheating on her. Finding out that she was in fact the only cheater she'd realized how hypocritical that made her. She took my offer of a 50/50 split and just asked that at some point when it wasn't so raw if I would agree to meet with her so she could apologize in person. She closed saying that she would always love me and wished me well. I heard later from her mother she'd quit her job and moved out to the Midwest with an aunt.

Taking down Paul did wonders for my career. The FBI gave me full credit in the press for the analysis of Paul's records. Since I was hiding from that same press, I was even more thorough on the Austin job and found not just the embezzler they were looking for but a second that they didn't have any indication of at the time. My firm promoted me and assigned leadership of a team focused on white-collar crimes. And yes, some joker hung the label on the team as Hogan's Heroes.