Who Shot Ya

WHO SHOT YA

He thought it was love until it wasn't.

PREAMBLE RAMBLE: How do you follow up your highest rated story? The pressure is on. I'm not the talent of many of these other writers. I'm a singles hitter with the occasional double. I write because I like it. I post because I want people to enjoy what I write. It's not always pretty but I do the best I can. I know people will let me know how they feel. And I appreciate that.

No editor, used Grammarly. I like using Grammarly, and while it helps greatly, it has a tendency to sanitize the heart out of the story. At least for me, I try to write the way people talk. Many of us use colloquialisms or street vernacular. Sometimes, it's just bad English. Grammarly doesn't take that into account. I'll keep punctuation changes and the correct then and than. But I need to keep the soul in my stories, which may bother some people. Pardon me for any mistakes.

Of course, this is a Greenville story.

I hope you enjoy it.

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I always thought there was smoke after a gun was fired. I don't see any smoke. On TV and in the movies, there was always smoke. Who buys a gun that doesn't smoke after you shoot it? Of course, who thinks about that after they've been shot?

Who am I? John S. Smith. Yes, I know the most common and boring name in America. We have a club. I belong to the S chapter. Been an official member since I was 18. Never been to a convention, though. Even though I have a common name, I'm not a common guy. I'm 5 feet 7 inches tall, but I have broad shoulders. I'm built like a block of marble. I don't work out, never needed to. I have good genetics. I wrestled in high school and college. Had a pretty good record my senior year, going 15-3. I was also on the track team in the shot put. I wasn't just a jock. I have a good head on my shoulders. I majored in computer science with a minor in business. I could hear my father's voice in my head, "Always exceed people's expectations of you". People saw a jock, not knowing how deep the water ran.

I graduated from Wingate University Cum Laude, with two degrees. Got a job at Piedmont Consulting in their IT department. I worked there for five years, and I made the decision to strike out on my own. I had developed a process that would save time and money for small businesses. I knew I would be able to license it and have time to keep inventing and have a good life.

Three years down the road, I was 29 years old and moderately wealthy. I lived in a newly built gated community off S. New Hope Rd on the Greenville/Belmont border. Belonged to a country club and traveled the country at a whim. At that time, I was the quintessential bachelor. I dated, but wasn't looking for Ms. Right. I wasn't using these ladies. They knew up front it wouldn't lead to marriage, no matter how hard they tried to change that. That was until I met Ariel Saunders.

I spotted Ariel at the country club, sitting with a group of friends for Sunday Brunch. I was immediately captivated. For me, she stood out from the other women at the table. She was around 5 feet 9 inches tall, six feet with heels. My Black friends would call her thick. She had ass and tits. Legs that reached the floor, as my father would say. Even though she towered over me, I didn't care. I had dated many women taller than me. She wore her dark hair in a loose braid that hung to her butt.

I was there talking to my broker, Jason Richards. He had helped me manage my money. Jason had talked about another potential client of his, Darren Preston, who owned one of the largest rubbish companies in the Southeast. They were having problems with their computer systems. Jason felt it might be something I could help with.

I bided my time for the right moment to talk to her. Don't misunderstand. While I was single and dating, I wasn't a Casanova. I wasn't that smooth-talking guy who could talk a woman into bed. I was a nice guy who treated women well. I was a regular Joe who happened to have money. Having money helps pave the way to many things. It also hinders finding true love. It's hard to know if they love you or your money. That's the main reason I'm single.

I walked up to her as she was getting dessert and introduced myself. "Excuse me, I noticed you earlier and wanted to introduce myself." She looked me up and down, and the smile she had quickly disappeared. At that time, I wasn't dressed to impress. What most people don't realize is that the rich don't dress to impress. We don't wear clothing with designer labels on the outside. Only if you know good clothing and how well it's made can you tell the difference. An older friend taught me that when I joined the club. He said he could tell I just came into money. He schooled me on the ways of the wealthy and well-off. He said the only thing you really spend money on is something that will make you money. Whether tomorrow or in ten years. Clothes aren't an investment, nor is a car, but a nice house is.

"Um, hello." She said in a guarded manner. Like she was wondering who this man was to walk up to her.

She looked dismissively at what I was wearing, Target khakis and an Old Navy button-down shirt. Usually, when I got that look, I would walk away. It was a sure sign of a gold digger. But I was smitten and overlooked the warning signs.

I pushed on, "I don't usually walk up to a woman like this, but I find you captivating. I'm hoping I can take you to dinner sometime soon."

"I don't go out with strangers."

"I'm sorry, I'm John Smith, you have to excuse me, I get nervous around beautiful ladies." Smiling as I introduced myself.

"John Smith... Really? You can do better than that." I could hear the skepticism in her voice.

I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out a business card, and handed it to her. She looked it over, and I saw her eyes widen. The card had 'John S. Smith, President/Owner, New Hope Technologies' on it. For some, that would have been a red flag. For me, not so much. I was blinded by the booty.

"I'm Ariel Saunders, nice to meet you, Mr. Smith. Now that we're no longer strangers, I would love to have dinner with you. I retrieved her phone and made plans to call her later that week.

Our first date was at Lotus Bar & Eatery. It was about two miles from the club on Hoffman Rd. Nice place, good food, but not overpriced. I wasn't trying to impress her with my money. We had a good time, and the conversation was easy. "I grew up in Charlotte and lived there all my life. I have a big family, two brothers, one older, one younger, and an older sister, and of course, my mom and dad."

"You're lucky, I'm an only child. I would love to have brothers and sisters. I have some close cousins, but it's not the same. What do you do for a living?"

"Right now, I'm working in Mooresville at Dress Barn. I'm the manager, but I'm looking for something better. It's an okay job but not a career, you know what I mean?"

"I certainly do, job and career are two different things." We talked about a lot of different things that night. She never mentioned my business. But being a president and owner of a company lets people know you're doing well. Not many people know my true wealth, except my parents and broker. I use the term wealth. I'm not in the Bill Gates range. I have 2 million dollars in assets, with half of that in investments, making me more money, and I live frugally. Besides a nice house that I paid for in cash, I drive a Chevy Equinox. I joined the country club only to network for business purposes. I tell most people I inherited the house from an Uncle. My only extravagance is traveling.

We had a good time at dinner. This led to more dates. I eventually met her family during Thanksgiving, six months after we started dating. Bill and Maude are nice people. Bill works at Greenville Freeze Refrigeration as a repairman. Bill Jr. and his wife, Renee, and their two kids, plus Ed, her younger brother, were there. Sissy, her sister, was spending the day at her husband's parents' this year. Everyone seemed welcoming and made me feel like family. It helped that I bought Bill Sr. a couple of highly rated cigars, an Oliva Series V Maduro, a Plasaencia Cosecha 151, and an Askum Clara Robusto. If you know cigars, you know they cost a pretty penny. He was very impressed. I bought Maude a spa treatment at Wild Rose Spa. She was really appreciative.

They lived in the Druid Hill section of Charlotte, which had seen better days. The house was a detached 3-bedroom 2-bathroom ranch. I could imagine how crowded it would have been with six people in there. The house was clean and showed the love it was filled with, pictures of family all over. Maude is a good cook, and dinner was delicious. I got many stories about them growing up and Ariel's adventures. I got the impression she was a little wild in high school.

Ariel met my family two weeks later. My parents seemed to like her, but I was surprised when my father pulled me onto the deck. "John, I'm glad to see you settling down.' Ariel was the first girlfriend I had bought to my parents for dinner. 'I have to ask, are you sure she's the right one for you?" That question threw me off balance.

"Why would you ask that, Pop? I do like her. She's been great so far." I responded back

"It's hard to put my finger on, son. Just a feeling. She seems to be a nice girl, but something in the back of my mind bothers me. But if you love her, I like her. Just make sure you're 100% if you go forward in this relationship. And always protect yourself, no matter how you feel."

My father's thoughts were shocking. I had never seen anything troubling from Ariel. She seemed to genuinely care about me. People spoke highly of her. I knew my father had my best interests at heart, so I filed it away. Maybe I was blinded by love.

We dated for a year before I proposed to her, and she accepted. As with most couples, we have our ups and downs. She liked to party more than I did and would go out with her girlfriends once or twice a month. We had a couple of blow-ups when she either came home late or didn't come home at all, saying she stayed with a girlfriend because she drank too much. Her friends always vouched for her when it happened. We had been living together for six months by then. She was still working at Dress Barn and would say she had to work late because someone didn't show up. I trusted her because she never gave me any reason not to.

After I proposed, my father, and also Jason Richards, suggested I get a Pre-nup to protect myself. At first, I was against it. My father sat me down and explained that if she truly loves me and is in it for the long haul, she won't have a problem with signing it. It took me a while to come around. Ariel was against it from the start. She argued that it made her feel that I didn't trust her, and she only loved me for my money. By then, she knew how much I was making. I had done some work for Allied Carolina Rubbish, and now other service companies wanted to use my software. I had to do something I never really wanted to do: hire people and have a company.

We got married in July and honeymooned in Turks and Caicos for a week. I would have rather had a small affair, but she went all out. I knew her parents couldn't afford to pay for it, so I did. There was a live band as well as a DJ. Of course, the best caterer in the county is Carolina Delights, so we had them. We had the reception at their new event hall on Garrison. Ariel became a bridezilla before I talked to her and laid down the law. I know she wanted things to be perfect, but treating people badly wasn't the way to go. I also had to rein in the budget. What she had planned was approaching $100,000. She argued I could afford it, so it shouldn't be a problem. I tried to explain to her that just because we have it now doesn't mean we will have it tomorrow. She didn't seem to understand that concept. I should have noticed her preoccupation with money. Particularly my money, but I was in love.

We had several arguments over her partying and money. "Ariel, I'm not going to keep dealing with this party bullshit. It's time you act like someone's wife and not a part-time girlfriend." I yelled at her.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I mean you're out there shaking your ass and partying like you don't have a husband. If you want to be single let me know and I'll call the lawyer to get things started." Things settle down for a little while.

Over the next couple of years, my business continued to grow. We still belonged to the country club, even though she used it more than I did. While she wasn't an ideal housewife she did a lot for me. I liked coming home to dinner waiting for me. And she was very loving and affectionate.

A year after we were married Ariel felt working at Dress Barn wasn't a good look for her anymore, so she quit, not for a better job. Because someone within our social status shouldn't have to work in a menial job like that. So she became a stay-at-home housewife. I told her if she's not going to work, she will have to do something productive, at least work for a charity. So that's what she did, at least in name only. She joined some ladies from the club who worked with charities around the city. In truth, what they did was host events that barely covered the cost of having them. The charity barely made money, but got a lot of publicity and made the ladies look good in the press. They would spend more on planning the parties than the parties actually made, but it looked good in the newspaper. The arguments about money happened more often. Her rebuttal was always I could afford it.

We had two totally different views on money. I was raised in an upper-middle-class household. My parents taught me the value of a dollar. I couldn't understand that someone who grew up counting pennies could be so loose with money. She spent money like it was growing on a tree in the backyard. "Ariel, you need to cut back on your spending. It's getting out of control." Trying to rein in her spending.

"What do you mean, cut back? I only go to the club and out to dinner occasionally with the girls. Why is it a big deal? You can afford it." She said dismissively

"One, you eat at the damn club every day, try cooking once in a while. And two, when you go out with the girls, let them pay, occasionally." I said with as much sarcasm as I could muster. "How about cooking dinner for me every now and then. Or are you too good for that now? And let's not forget I can afford it, you can't. You need to start carrying your weight around here!" That argument was one of the ugliest we ever had. She stormed out and didn't come home for two days. Her credit card showed that she was at the Hilton Garden. Of course, she would pick the most expensive one in the city.

I tried to be the same guy I was before we married. I still took her out to dinner, plays, and other events. She still wanted to go out to nightclubs and bars with her girlfriends. And there were still nights she stayed out, to me, too late for a married woman. Getting home at two or three in the morning. She argued that she was still young and didn't want to sit in the house all the time. It was an ongoing discussion that usually ended in yelling.

By the time we reached our third anniversary, I felt I had made a serious mistake in the marriage. Why it took that long, only God knows. We had talked about having children before we got married. Now she was putting it off for trivial reasons. She wasn't working, or even thinking of working. She hung out at the country club with her group of friends most days. She started taking golf and tennis lessons.

When I spoke to my attorney, Timothy Shelby, he explained that, according to the Pre-nup, she would be entitled to 25% of all my assets from the time of marriage to the end of the marriage. Since there was no infidelity. If I were able to prove she was cheating, she would only get $100,000 per year we were married with a million dollar kicker for every five years. That would be a difference of nearly 1.5 million dollars. The Pre-nup wasn't just in case she cheated. It also penalized me if I cheated to the tune of 50% or three million dollars. I had no evidence that she was or had been unfaithful. For me, it was more about her spending and social habits.

A month later, things took a drastic turn. At first, I didn't notice it. We were working on a new project that took quite a bit of my time. It dawned on me that we hadn't made love for some time. At least 2 weeks, which was unusual, but becoming the new normal. I thought it might be because I was so preoccupied with the business. So, I tried to be more romantic. I sent her flowers at home, since she wasn't working. I offered to take her to dinner and shows. The flowers were ignored, and my dinner invitations were rebuffed. Yet, she had time for her friends from the club and going out with them at night.

After some thought, the only thought left to me was that she was cheating. I needed proof, so I started looking. I hired a well-respected investigative firm, White Investigation and Security. It only took five days to get the evidence of infidelity. Not only was she fucking the Tennis instructor, but also the Golf Pro, and a waiter from the dining room. I had enough evidence to satisfy the Pre-nup. But I wanted more, I wanted to know how long it had been going on. I planned on getting some revenge. She wasted three years of my life.

I had not been to the country club for some time. I decided to start popping up at different times. When I did, I found her with her gaggle of hens. Most of them were a little older than her. The leader of the pack was a woman named Helen. Single, in her early 50s, with more plastic surgery than a Barbie doll. From what I heard, she was the cause of several divorces, directly or indirectly. Gossip was that they had tried to throw her out several times, but somehow they never received enough votes. Once, when I entered the dining room, her friends looked at me and started to laugh. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I knew I wouldn't like it. Several times, I caught them sitting with a group of men who didn't belong to the club.

Two weeks later, Marshall Thomas from White Investigation contacted me. Not only had she been cheating since we got married, but she was also stealing from me. She had squirreled away over $350,000 since we got married. To top it off, she was paying most of the bills for her parents. And he also discovered she was sleeping with some guy who sold drugs. Thomas didn't know if she also used drugs. But he was a pretty bad character. From what he could find out, they went to high school together. I had to put a stop to it.

I canceled her credit cards and had my accountant do an audit of my personal accounts. He said it would take a couple of weeks. It didn't take more than two hours before Ariel was calling me about her credit card not working. "John, my card was declined. What's going on?" She said in a rush.

"There's been some suspicious activity on my accounts, so I had to lock everything down." I didn't want to give away the game just yet.

"How long will that take? It was embarrassing. Luckily, Barbara was able to pick up my tab."

"I don't know, as long as it needs to take. Someone has been stealing from me, and I need to find out who it is." I said a little angrier than I wanted. I wondered if she knew I was on to her.

"Well, let me know when the cards are turned back on," and she hung up. I realized at that point it had been a while since she had said I love you to me. I wanted her to sweat a little. I don't know if she even thought I knew about her stealing money. She probably figured I was still the clueless husband.

She came home around 8 pm. There was no hello, I miss you, or any type of affection. It signified there was no love in our marriage, if there ever was. We were only roommates, I was just the last one to realize it. From that point on, I left her alone, and she left me alone. She bitched and moaned about the cards not working and kept asking for money. I gave her $300 a week in cash. She had a fit, "How am I supposed to live on this little bit of money?"

"What bills do you have to pay? There's food in the house. You have a closet full of clothes, so all you need is gas money, right? Maybe it was time her friends picked up the tab once in a while." She ran out in a huff.

Over the next two weeks, the accountant found out how she was taking money. My attorney said there wasn't much I could do about that since it was considered community property. He drew up the divorce papers, and I was ready to drop the hammer.

I got home and found the front door slightly open. Her car wasn't in the driveway. I didn't notice anything strange when I pulled up. I slowly entered the house. There was noise coming from the back of the house where my office is. Trying not to make any noise, I quietly walked back there. I peeked around the corner to see a White guy with a Guy Fawkes mask on rummaging through my files. He was taller than I am by about five inches, but skinny. For some stupid reason, I yelled "Hey, stop!" He looked up at me. It seemed like time stopped. Out of nowhere, a gun appeared, and he pulled the trigger.

I remember hearing a pop. It wasn't like on TV or in the movies. It sounded like a toy gun. And, as I looked at him, I noticed there wasn't any smoke coming from the barrel. There was always smoke after a gunshot. Suddenly, it felt like my stomach was burning. I reached down and felt wetness. I pulled my hand away, and I looked down to see it covered with blood.

Whoever the guy was ran past to get out of the house, knocking me down. At that point, it wouldn't have taken much to do it. He didn't say one word the whole time. I felt like I was going to pass out. I had enough strength to reach for my phone inside my jacket pocket and call 911. I remember hearing the operator's voice asking me what the problem was, then darkness.

I woke up to a bright light in my face. I had no idea where I was until I looked over to see a nurse in operating scrubs and a doctor walk by. They noticed I was awake, and the doctor quickly explained he was going to put me under for surgery.

When I woke up, my parents were sitting in the room. My mother was the first to notice I was awake. "Oh, my baby, John, he's awake. Get the doctor!" I saw my father jump up and run into the hallway. "We thought we lost you, baby. You had me worried to death." My mother said, crying, as she held my hand.

My father came back in and stood by the bed. "Jesus, John, when did you start leading this exciting life?"

"I wish someone had let me in on it, Pop. If this is excitement, I'll take boredom any day." The doctor walked into the room.

"I'm Dr. Singh. You had a little adventure, Mr. Smith. Let's just say, it's a good thing 911 was able to trace your call. Five years ago, they didn't have that technology. Luck was on your side. The first police officer is an EMT with a volunteer fire company in Steele Creek. He keeps a medic bag in his squad car in cases like this and was able to slow the bleeding down until the ambulance arrived. We removed the bullet along with a small piece of your large intestine. There shouldn't be any long-term effects. No solid food for 2 weeks or strenuous activity. Only protein drinks and water. "There will be some diarrhea until everything stabilizes. I'm sure you'll take that over the alternative.

"You got that right, Doc. I appreciate everything you've done for me. I'm going to have to find that police officer and thank him personally."

"Speaking of the police, now that you're awake, they will want to talk to you. Are you up to it? The doctor asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be." He checked my vitals and then left.

I asked if Ariel had been in to see me. The look on my father's face told the whole story. "No, she hasn't. We've tried to reach her, and so far, nothing. She hasn't been home because if she had, she would have seen the blood and known something was wrong. I found her parents' phone number on your phone, and they haven't heard from her either. Something's not adding up, John."

"Well, I was going to serve her divorce papers tonight.' My mother had a shocked look on her face, my father, not so much. He had expected it. "I found out she's been cheating on me with several guys and also stealing money. I planned on enforcing the pre-nup. Now I have to find out where she is to have her served."

"That can wait, you need to concentrate on getting better, son." My father said putting his hand reassuringly on my shoulder.

I was starting to get tired, so my parents left to let me rest. Of course, getting rest in a hospital is not something that happens easily. Nurses come in and out all night, checking vitals or whatever it is nurses do at night. I had a nightmare of being shot and woke up screaming. The nurse gave me something to help me sleep after that.

The next day, my parents returned. Mom said, "Ariel called last night, asking what happened to you. I asked where she had been, and she said, the beach, because you two were having problems, and she had to get away. She accused you of acting strangely lately. When I told her you had been shot, she acted worried and said she would be here today. I thought it was strange since the beach is only three hours away and we talked at 8."

"Yeah, she's been worried lately. Not about me, though. I cut off her funds when I found out she was stealing from me. I don't know how she could afford a couple of days at the beach. I've only given her $300 a week. Maybe she's dipping into the stolen funds now.' I looked at my father, 'Before you say anything, Pop, you were right. I didn't see it. I thought she loved me."

"That's why they say love is blind, and hindsight is 20/20, son." with a sad smile.

I knew Mom was taking it hard. She always wanted a daughter, but Ariel never fulfilled that role. She was too busy living her best life. She didn't have a good relationship with her own mother, I later found out.

Around noon, two detectives came into the room. They identified themselves as Detective Sgt. Cooper, a tall Black man with a bushy mustache, and Detective Benedict, who looked too young to be a police officer, let alone a detective.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Smith, are you up for some questions?" Cooper started off.

"Sure, we might as well get it over with."

Cooper asked, "Can you explain what happened yesterday?"

I gave them the story from when I entered the house to being shot and finally waking up in the hospital.

"Can you describe the suspect, Mr. Scales?"

I had to think for a minute. "He was tall, about 6 feet, thin, and he was wearing all black and had a Guy Fawkes mask. I'm not 100% sure, but I think he was White. You know, come to think of it, he didn't seem surprised to see me. I mean, it is my house, but it's almost like he was waiting for me to get home. If he wanted, he could have ransacked the house and been gone long before I got home. I'm not an expert, but don't you rob a house either during the day when people are at work or late at night?"

"We believe he was an amateur. The gun he used was a 22. It doesn't do much damage unless it's from close range. Do you know anyone who would want to hurt you?"

"Not that I know of, I don't have any business rivals or ever had an issue in business. I can't think of anyone who would want to shoot me." I said, trying to think why something like this would happen.

"What about Ariel?" my father said. Cooper and Benedict turned to look at him.

"What do you mean by that? And you are?" Benedict finally spoke up.

"I'm his father, and he was going to divorce his wife. She has been cheating and

stealing from him for the last several years."

Cooper and Benedict looked at each other. "Was she aware you were going to divorce her?"

"Not that I know of, but she might have had a clue. I cut off her access to her credit cards. I did say I found some suspicious activity with my account. I had her investigated, and they found she was sleeping with several guys. I had my accountant find out how she was taking the money without me knowing about it."

"That changes things. Who was the investigator, and can you have them release the information to us?"

"It was Chris Weber from White Investigation. I can let him know to give you whatever you need."

"I know Weber, he knows his stuff. Do you know where your wife is, Mr. Smith?"

"My mom talked to her last night. She said she's at the beach and will come to see me. That was at what time, Mom?"

"Around 8 last night. I thought she would be here by now." My mom told the officers. Again, Cooper and Benedict shared a look.

"Okay, thank you, Mr. Smith. If you can think of anything else, give me a call." And he put his card on the table next to my bed. Nodding to my parents they left.

Once they left the room, my father asked the $64,000 question. "Do you think Ariel had something to do with you getting shot?" My mother looked stricken.

"It's hard to rule anything out at this point. The guy had no reason to shoot me. He didn't even try to get away. He immediately pulled out the gun and shot me. I can't think of anyone who would want me dead."

"It's the only way to break the pre-nup, John. She may at least suspect you know about her cheating if you know about the missing money. It's a big difference between what she can get and what she would get."

"Yeah, Pop, almost a two-million-dollar difference. People have killed for less." I may have sounded nonchalant, but I was far from it. I had gotten over the heartbreak. The woman I thought I would spend the rest of my life with may have tried to have me murdered. It was bad enough that she was not only cheating on me but also stealing. I liked her parents. I would have helped them if she had asked. I'm at the last stage of grief, Acceptance.

I was released from the hospital four days later. Ariel never came to visit or tried to contact me. The detectives stopped by one more time before I left the hospital. They had spoken to Weber, and he was helpful, giving them more than enough information. "Mr. Smith, we talked to the Golf and Tennis Pros at the club as well as the waiter. They all have alibis for the time of the shooting. We're looking into the other guy, a Mr. Trent Evans. We haven't been able to locate him at this time. He has a record for dealing drugs and assault going back years. Until we find him, I advise you to be careful. Maybe find somewhere else to stay until we can bring him in for questioning."

"What about Ariel?"

"We haven't been able to locate her either. She was staying at the Beach House Hotel. She never checked out, but her room is empty and her clothes are gone. We can assume she's on the run with Evans. We put a BOLO (Be On the Look Out) for both of them and their cars. We'll keep you up to date."

I wasn't mentally ready to go home, and the police hinted it wouldn't be safe. So I stayed at an Airbnb for a week. My Dad arranged for a cleaning company to take care of the house. Dad told me it looked like the shooter was only interested in my office. The file cabinet had been broken into and torn apart. He said there was a lot of blood that needed to be cleaned up.

DS Cooper kept me up to date concerning the investigation. Fingerprints at the house pointed to Evans as the shooter. He went with my father to see if anything was missing, and there wasn't. So burglary wasn't the motive. They questioned Ariel's parents. They admitted she was giving them money, but thought it was from me. She told them not to talk about it because I didn't want them to feel indebted. They were saddened when they found out she may have been involved in my shooting.

Her brothers and sister had not heard from her either. They were equally shocked to find out I had been shot, and especially that Ariel may be involved. When Cooper mentioned Evans, Bill said that he and Ariel dated in high school. He got arrested and went to jail during their senior year. He wasn't aware he had gotten out and been in touch with Ariel.

They caught Ariel and Evans trying to cross the Mexican border at Laredo two weeks after the shooting. His car had been found in Montgomery, Alabama, and her car in Jackson, Mississippi. They had bought a used car with cash. She cleaned out her account the day after I was shot. They were paying everything with cash. They got caught because Evans didn't have a passport. It took a while for them to be extradited.

Once they were back in Greenville, the District Attorney charged Evans with 1st Degree Attempted Murder, Carrying an unlicensed Firearm, Burglary, and many other charges. Ariel was charged with Accessory After the Fact to Attempted Murder and Burglary, Facilitating Attempted Murder and Burglary, and many more charges. Evans was facing life without a possibility of parole. Ariel faced 20 to 30 years. No bail was granted, even if she had the money, because they tried to get away after the crimes. The trial didn't start for 2 months. I had her served while she was in jail, waiting for her hearing.

Bill Jr came by to visit me. I was surprised because we were never close; we only saw each other at holidays or birthdays. He said his parents were too ashamed to come themselves. "John, we had no clue Evans had come back to town. Last we heard, he was in Jail. They dated for a while, and she always said he was the love of her life. Mom and Dad hated him and tried to keep her away from him. It was like he had some strange hold over her. From all of us, we're really sorry this happened to you.. It doesn't mean a hill of beans to say that. But we all mean it. You were the best thing to happen to her. She was just too stupid to realize it."

I thanked him and told him to tell his parents I have no hard feelings towards them.

I had not seen her since I left for work the morning I was shot. At the trial, she looked completely different. Her attorney tried to clean her up, but if you knew her before, you could tell the difference. It looked like she had aged 10 years. Her face was shallow, her cheeks sunken in, and her hair was combed but lifeless. The trial lasted three days. I testified on the second day. She testified that she was a victim of Evans. She said he forced her to take the money. That, she didn't know he had a gun and was going to shoot me.

On the third day, they stopped the trial. An agreement had been made between Ariel and the DA. From what I garnered, the Feds got involved concerning Evans' drug dealing. He was more than a street-level thug. He had connections throughout the Greenville/Charlotte area. She wasn't directly involved in the actual dealing, but they had been together so long she knew all the players involved. Ariel agreed to testify for a reduced sentence and was then to be placed in witness protection.

I let them know I was not happy with that deal. I was yelling at the DA, James Hilyer, "She tried to have me killed and should pay for it, and you give her a slap on the wrist? For what, to arrest a couple of more small drug dealers? This is bullshit."

"Mr. Smith, I know you're upset, but look at the big picture, she will serve time, 20 years is a long time. Plus, it will make our streets safe across the region to put these thugs away." He said, trying to placate me.

"And what happens if it doesn't work, or they are bullshitting you for a better deal, then what, Hilyer?" You could tell he wasn't used to being addressed like this.

"If she lies, she does the max with no possibility of parole."

"She'll be what, 49 if she does her full bid. She will still have a lot of life left to live. And what about Evans? What kind of sweetheart deal are you going to give him? Candy canes and a trip to Disney Land?"

"With Mrs. Smith's, I'm sorry, Ms. Saunders' testimony, he's going away for a long time. We don't need him since we have Ms. Saunders. His goose is already cooked, he just doesn't know it yet." He said smugly.

"I hope you're right, I don't want to look over my shoulder for the rest of my life.

True to his word, Ariel received twenty years with a possibility of parole in twelve years. Evans got life. While the shooting was his most serious charge, he had a long history with the police department.

I never talked to Ariel. I didn't need to. I didn't need to know the reason why, or even if she ever loved me. My therapist told me that she exhibited psychopathic tendencies. So she not only didn't love me but also didn't love Evans. It's probably not in her nature. Yes, I was seeing a therapist. I still had nightmares about the shooting, but they were coming less and less.

I still had a positive outlook on life with the help of family and my therapist. I was only 33 years old. Had pretty good health considering I had been shot. My business was thriving, and I was still young enough to find love again. But this time I would listen to my father.

THE END

Darren Preston Appeared in Trash Man and This is a Test (both in Loving Wives)

Dr. Singh and Sgt Cooper appeared in Miller's Trauma (Loving Wives)

Helen appeared in Cancer 1 & 2 (Loving Wives)

Jason Richards appeared in Trash Man (Loving Wives)

DA James Hilyer appeared briefly in Double Fault (Loving Wives)

Carolina Delights was in Millers Trauma, Millers Redemption (Loving Wives) and Yes Chef! (Romance)