It was on the second day of December 1990, the sun had not yet begun to rise over the sleeping city of Chicago, it was not yet Winter but the city received a light dusting of snow and ice crystals, a little after midnight. Azir had still not come home. His wife had managed to sleep a little, as she tossed and turned worrying. Azir's wife was well aware of his indiscretions and transgressions throughout their seven year marriage, and she had learned to accept it, even though his affairs made her feel so pathetic. She found comfort and solace in the riches of life Azir was able to afford her, her big beautiful home, her Jaguar X-J 6 parked in her three car garage, the clothes and furs and jewelry, the vacations to Hawaii and Paris. Her acceptance was rooted in her long held belief that men were not capable of being monogamous, and why should they have to be, she surmised. So Azir's wife assumed her husband had fallen asleep at one of his young girlfriend's place, finding comfort in another bed. With a lonely sigh she got up out of her marital bed, going over to the thermostat, turning up the heat on this cold morning, it was still dark out and a little before 6:00 in the a.m. Just as she pulled up the goose down warm comforter up over her lean naked body, she closed her eyes trying to get one more hour of sleep before waking the children and making them a nice breakfast. Suddenly the telephone rang.
Ia jumped a little, sitting straight up in bed, her heart racing, thinking it was her husband calling. "Azir?" Ia said as she snatched up the receiver.
"Mrs. Naphtali, I am so sorry to be calling you so early in the morning." an unfamiliar man's voice came over the other end of the telephone line.
"Who is this?" Ia asked a terrible sense of dread pouring into her body like ice water.
"Oh, my apologies, my name is Walter Vega, your husband's attorney."
"My husband has an attorney?"
"Azir has had me on a retainer since he opened up his pain clinic.., that is why I am calling you Mrs.Naphtali." Mr.Vega explained.
"I do not understand? Where is my husband?" Ia asked the panic rising in her voice.
"Calm down ma'am, I can assure you, Azir is no physical danger.., however, he is in a very difficult legal situation." Mr.Vega gave this information a moment to be received by the frantic woman. "Your husband was taken into to custody yesterday at his pharmacy along with Dr.Michael Cullen and all the members of his staff."
"What? What is happening Mr. Vega? Why was my husband arrested?"
"It was all part of an, on going, D.E.A undercover operation. Your husband is accused of running a 'prescription mill', in abuse of his authority as a licensed pharmacologist. Azir and Michael will both appear for a bond hearing at 10:30 this morning, later today. The judge will set bond, and give us a date for a pre-trial hearing, at which point we will post bail and your husband could be home later, sometime this evening."
"I..?" Ia paused, as this sudden realization left her shocked in stunned silence as her husbands attorney continued with more information.
"Now these are very serious charges ,and it looks as though the Feds have a strong case against your husband and the good doctor. They could both, if convicted, spend up to ten years in a federal prison and owe hundreds of thousands in fines." the learned attorney paused clearing his throat for the most important and imperative part of the conversation. "Now, Mrs. Naphtali, about the bond hearing."
"Yes?"
"The bond could be as high as $1,000,000, but we only have to pay 10% of that amount to the bail bondsman."
"$100,000.., we don't have that kind of money!" she replied flabbergasted.
"Well.., I have been to see Azir and he informs that, you do." Mr. Vega said plainly.
"Is that a fact?" she said in utter disbelief.
"Your husband informs me there is a black duffel bag at the back of his closet, behind his winter coats, could you ma'am, go and look in his closet and see if what he has told me is true." he asked kindly.
"One moment." Ia set the receiver down as she got up out of bed going over to her husband's closet, where she did, indeed, find a large black leather duffel bag hidden back behind the long wool coats. Now when she tried to pull the bag out, it was very heavy and difficult to carry, for she was weak, a slip of a girl weighing around 100 lbs. Ia, intrigued, tossed the heavy bag on top of the bed. Carefully she unzipped the bag and there, to her absolute shock and delight, she found hundreds of bundles of 100 dollar bills gathered together in increments of $10, 000. Ia began puling out bundle after bundle, finally dumping the entire contents of the bag all over the mattress. She could hear her husband's attorney's voice yelling through the receiver. She went over to the phone never once taking her wide, bright eyes off the huge pile of American currency. "Yes." she spoke into the phone.
"Ia? Did you find the money?" he asked with a serious tone as if she were about to dismantle a nuclear war head.
"I'll have to call you back." she said in a daze.
"You don't have my phone number!" Mr. Vega shouted into the phone as she hung up on him.
Ring, ring! It was Walter Vega calling again. Ia would not, and could not, be bothered by any one or anything ever again, so she went to the phone ripping the cord from the wall to silence the ever present ringing. Ia, still nude from her slumber, felt an arousing surge of energy rise up through her body like lava bubbling up from a volcano. She went to the foot of the bed and slowly crept up holding her slim, energy filled body over the great pile of cash, she knew there had to be well over a million dollars, and it was all hers! Ia by this point had even forgotten she was married to a cheating bastard, whom she secretly despised. Now just as she was about to lay herself upon the fortune she heard the familiar little voice of her youngest son crying out from down the hall "Mommy? Was that daddy on the phone."
Ia snapped back to reality, jumping down off the bed as if she had just been caught with a lover. Throwing on her silk embroidered robe, she pulled the comforter over the money, then she skipped down the hall to her son's room, bringing him the great news that they would all need to get up and dressed and ready, for she was taking the boys back to Bombay to visit their grandparents. Ia made this happen, she took her boys and she, nor his sons, ever saw or spoke to Azir again. Azir was left to toil in prison for many long years, as for Michael he did not have a distraught wife who would betray him, and he was readily able to post bond with the help of his own lawyer, whom had been keeping his money safe for Michael in case of an emergency. As for the pre-trial hearing Michael was not about to sit around and wait, so he made a crucial decision that would alter his life forever, and that decision was to run.
Ia jumped a little, sitting straight up in bed, her heart racing, thinking it was her husband calling. "Azir?" Ia said as she snatched up the receiver.
"Mrs. Naphtali, I am so sorry to be calling you so early in the morning." an unfamiliar man's voice came over the other end of the telephone line.
"Who is this?" Ia asked a terrible sense of dread pouring into her body like ice water.
"Oh, my apologies, my name is Walter Vega, your husband's attorney."
"My husband has an attorney?"
"Azir has had me on a retainer since he opened up his pain clinic.., that is why I am calling you Mrs.Naphtali." Mr.Vega explained.
"I do not understand? Where is my husband?" Ia asked the panic rising in her voice.
"Calm down ma'am, I can assure you, Azir is no physical danger.., however, he is in a very difficult legal situation." Mr.Vega gave this information a moment to be received by the frantic woman. "Your husband was taken into to custody yesterday at his pharmacy along with Dr.Michael Cullen and all the members of his staff."
"What? What is happening Mr. Vega? Why was my husband arrested?"
"It was all part of an, on going, D.E.A undercover operation. Your husband is accused of running a 'prescription mill', in abuse of his authority as a licensed pharmacologist. Azir and Michael will both appear for a bond hearing at 10:30 this morning, later today. The judge will set bond, and give us a date for a pre-trial hearing, at which point we will post bail and your husband could be home later, sometime this evening."
"I..?" Ia paused, as this sudden realization left her shocked in stunned silence as her husbands attorney continued with more information.
"Now these are very serious charges ,and it looks as though the Feds have a strong case against your husband and the good doctor. They could both, if convicted, spend up to ten years in a federal prison and owe hundreds of thousands in fines." the learned attorney paused clearing his throat for the most important and imperative part of the conversation. "Now, Mrs. Naphtali, about the bond hearing."
"Yes?"
"The bond could be as high as $1,000,000, but we only have to pay 10% of that amount to the bail bondsman."
"$100,000.., we don't have that kind of money!" she replied flabbergasted.
"Well.., I have been to see Azir and he informs that, you do." Mr. Vega said plainly.
"Is that a fact?" she said in utter disbelief.
"Your husband informs me there is a black duffel bag at the back of his closet, behind his winter coats, could you ma'am, go and look in his closet and see if what he has told me is true." he asked kindly.
"One moment." Ia set the receiver down as she got up out of bed going over to her husband's closet, where she did, indeed, find a large black leather duffel bag hidden back behind the long wool coats. Now when she tried to pull the bag out, it was very heavy and difficult to carry, for she was weak, a slip of a girl weighing around 100 lbs. Ia, intrigued, tossed the heavy bag on top of the bed. Carefully she unzipped the bag and there, to her absolute shock and delight, she found hundreds of bundles of 100 dollar bills gathered together in increments of $10, 000. Ia began puling out bundle after bundle, finally dumping the entire contents of the bag all over the mattress. She could hear her husband's attorney's voice yelling through the receiver. She went over to the phone never once taking her wide, bright eyes off the huge pile of American currency. "Yes." she spoke into the phone.
"Ia? Did you find the money?" he asked with a serious tone as if she were about to dismantle a nuclear war head.
"I'll have to call you back." she said in a daze.
"You don't have my phone number!" Mr. Vega shouted into the phone as she hung up on him.
Ring, ring! It was Walter Vega calling again. Ia would not, and could not, be bothered by any one or anything ever again, so she went to the phone ripping the cord from the wall to silence the ever present ringing. Ia, still nude from her slumber, felt an arousing surge of energy rise up through her body like lava bubbling up from a volcano. She went to the foot of the bed and slowly crept up holding her slim, energy filled body over the great pile of cash, she knew there had to be well over a million dollars, and it was all hers! Ia by this point had even forgotten she was married to a cheating bastard, whom she secretly despised. Now just as she was about to lay herself upon the fortune she heard the familiar little voice of her youngest son crying out from down the hall "Mommy? Was that daddy on the phone."
Ia snapped back to reality, jumping down off the bed as if she had just been caught with a lover. Throwing on her silk embroidered robe, she pulled the comforter over the money, then she skipped down the hall to her son's room, bringing him the great news that they would all need to get up and dressed and ready, for she was taking the boys back to Bombay to visit their grandparents. Ia made this happen, she took her boys and she, nor his sons, ever saw or spoke to Azir again. Azir was left to toil in prison for many long years, as for Michael he did not have a distraught wife who would betray him, and he was readily able to post bond with the help of his own lawyer, whom had been keeping his money safe for Michael in case of an emergency. As for the pre-trial hearing Michael was not about to sit around and wait, so he made a crucial decision that would alter his life forever, and that decision was to run.
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