Field of Kites

            Jo sat huddled in the darkness. She was cold, hungry and frightened with the taste of chemicals on her tongue. Her head hurt and her nostrils burned from the stench of the pig farm that drifted into her private hell.

            She did not know her immediate location but she knew the general area because there was only one pig farm around. The was comforting because she at least had an idea of where she was.

            The blackness was intense and at first she had thought it was the darkness of night but she knew that was not true. She was being held captive underground.

            She had been walking back from the meeting at Pat’s house, intending to get home and pleasure herself and Donnie spending the afternoon locked away in his embrace.

            Then that crazy woman, Nina Wheeler, had driven by and flipped her off. As usual, Jo had not given her the satisfaction of acknowledging her actions and walked on. What she had not realized was that Nina had drawn her attention long enough for two men to grab her from behind.

            She knew there were two of them because one had caught her from either side and their build and strength made her know they were men as well as the after shave they wore.

            She had put up a fight but they were too strong for her. The thing they put over her head had limited her ability to defend herself and besides her eyes being covered, the affect of a chemical had taken her consciousness.

            If she had been a betting person, she would put her money on Jack and Steve Miller. The two brothers would do anything for money. She had not been able to prove it but she would always believe they had taken part in supplying the product for her husband’s deadly habit.

            She knew they did not make contact with him directly. She also knew that they supplied the means and that they were into most drug trafficking in town and the surrounding area.

            Her stomach still churned when she thought of Nina telling people that she had as affair with her husband. Jo knew he had drifted down into a way of life that was repulsive to her but to sleep with Nina was a bit much.

            Nina was the local whore and she was proud of it. She boasted that she could get the husband of any woman in town in her bed. She bragged that she knew what it took to keep a man happy.

            When Jo’s husband did not deny having an affair with Nina was when she took the final steps to get him out of her life. In those heart breaking days, she became the main suspect in his murder.

            Mark Straub had lied under oath to save her from being found guilty. It had been difficult for her to understand why the man had been willing to put his own career on the line until much later.

            Mark and his wife had been friends to Jo and Jessie Ridge. The fact that his friend had turned to a life of iniquity had caused a great deal of hurt to Mark.

            He and Sue knew Jo had suffered. She had loved Jessie as all women should love their man. At one time Jessie had returned a great deal of that love. Until he allowed his addiction to rule his life and almost take Joe down with him, they had been a happy couple.

            Mark was diagnosed with cancer of the spleen and given less that a year to live. He was dying anyway and he decided to save Jo while he could. He had testified that she was with him in the squad car at the time of Jessie’s disappearance.