A Hidden Danger

Clutch

Marco

"How many calls have we been getting regarding Marigold?" I asked.

"Thousands, sir. It seems the ten million dollars has been a great incentive to get information." Rico said.

Even though my parents and Marigold's didn't think it was a good idea to offer a reward. They wanted to keep all of it in house. No cops and no public help. I had gone against everyone to find my wife. If she was running with my child, I was going to find her. Nothing she could do would protect her forever. I was determined to make sure that my child would be with me and takeover the family after me.

"Marco, there's a man here who claims that he has information about Marigold. After questioning him, I think he may be credible." Rico said.

"Bring him in."

The man that Rico brings in looked like a stereotypical biker. Wearing dark jeans, a t-shirt and his cut, the man looked menacing. He looked around my office like he owned the place, and it pissed me off to have someone with so little respect in my office. He walked around, touching and poking at the things that were sitting around the office. It made me want to take the gun out of my jacket and shoot at his hands.

"Mr. Camilleri this is Clutch. He claims to have information regarding Marigold." Rico said. The tone of his voice was icy. Rico didn't like the man which spoke volumes.

"More than claims, pretty boy. I've got mother fuckin proof. I've got pictures and video to prove that bitch has been at my clubhouse."

"I'd tell you to watch your mouth when speaking about my wife, but I'm sure your small brain would have trouble understanding the concept." I said to the man.

The sneer he gave was nothing short of gruesome. Although the man had all his teeth, he looked as if he was someone who could use a few lessons on hygiene. Rico rounded the man and stood right in front of him, reaching for his gun.

"I don't think that will be necessary, Rico. Show me what you have that makes you believe you have found my wife."

"Before I pull this phone out and show you, I need to know that you are willing to follow my plan. I ain't given this over for just ten million." Clutch said scoffing.

"Mr.... Clutch, or whatever you call yourself, the reward is set. I will not be offering more than that. I don't know what you think you are going to get, but it won't be more than that." I sneered.

"Did I say anything about more fucking money?" the man shouted.

I rarely judge people by the things that they cannot help in their life, but this man was pushing my buttons. He was uneducated, and it was obvious that he had no intention of making things any different. He was happy in his subpar life and nothing would change that.

"I want no more money than what you are offering. What I want is to talk about how this all goes down when you take your woman back. See there's this woman that I want. I thought if we use her as the cover for me."

I looked at the man as if he lost his mind. How in the world did he think he was going to use some woman to cover his tracks and be able to make her want him back? Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew there would be more to the story, but I hadn't been prepared for it.

"I don't see how that is anything you could use in your favor." I looked at Rico as I spoke. He had the same thoughts as I did on the matter, and I could see it in his eyes.

"That's because you don't know the whole story. See your woman seems to have found herself a man. A man that the woman I want also likes the same man. Macy, the woman I'm after, hates your Marigold, or Autumn, as we call her, with a fiery passion. The man they both want doesn't care too much for Macy. Got the club girls kicked out. That right there is an easy way to pin this on Macy." Clutch grinned like the cat that got the milk.

"Go on." I said.

"Once Macy starts taking the blame for turning in your girl, I swoop in and save the day with her."

Nothing about what the man said was making me happy. Had Marigold really found a man? Would she have dared to have an affair on me? It wasn't that it hurt me that she could think of doing something like that. It was simply the fact that it had been a disrespectful act against me her husband and Don. She may have not known everything about our marriage and the reasons for it, but she was raised to know her place. Where had that defiance come from?

"Show me your proof. If it is truly her, you will get what you want." I said.

Clutch walked to the front of my desk and pulled a phone from his cut. After taking a moment to find the video, he handed the phone over to me. I pressed play, and the video started. I couldn't believe my eyes. There before, on the small screen was Marigold. My Marigold, but she looked nothing like she had when she was with me. There was a smile on her face that I had never seen.

She looked carefree and dare I say happy. I had always thought Marigold was happy with our arrangement. She never once complained, and I always came home to a soft smile and kind words. We never fought, and she always gave me whatever I wanted. Had I been blinded by what I wanted to see? Who was the woman that I saw on the video and why wasn't she the same one who lived with me?

"It's here. Rico set up surveillance on her at once." I called out.

"You may have some problems with that. They went into hiding because of your search. Maybe you should think about how to cool down the search. It may cause them to come back out of hiding. I can help you with that." Clutch said.

By the end of the meeting, a plan had been put in place. I sent out a press release that was to go out the next day. We were calling off the search, stating that we had reason to believe Marigold was believed to be dead. That would make them think it was safe to come out.

Once I told our families that I had found her, I set to work on what I wanted to find out about her. Using some information from Clutch, I was able to set up men to follow Marigold and her man once they came out of hiding. The only thing I needed to do was wait, and then Marigold would be under my po