To Catch a Cheater

I was at work, reviewing a spreadsheet when my phone rang. Camille Haynes showed up on the screen. I frowned as I accepted the call, my neighbor and wife's best friend didn't call me very often, and never at work.

"Hi Camille." I answered.

"Mike hi, it's Cam... I guess you already knew it was me." She chuckled nervously. "Sorry to bother you at work, but are you free for lunch today?" Her voice had an urgent tone.

"Yeah, I can be free. Is everything ok?" I asked, a sense of unease coming over me.

"No, but I'd rather do this in person. Can you meet me at Metro Cafe at one?" She asked.

"I will be there. Is there anything you can tell me? Is Laurie OK?" I asked, trying to fight the urge to rush home and check on my wife and sons.

"Everyone is fine. It's not like that. I'll see you at one. And Mike?" She asked.

"Yes Camille?" I asked.

"Don't tell Laurie, please. I promise I'll explain it all when I see you." She said before ending the call.

I looked at the time on my phone, it was almost 10:30. I had two and a half hours to worry and come up with a million different reasons why she wanted to meet me.

I tried to focus on my work, but Camille's call had my attention. Nobody was hurt, that was obvious. It had to have something to do with my wife, Laurie. Was she leaving me, and this was her way to make sure I didn't find out? That didn't make sense, we had our share of problems, but she would tell me herself if she was leaving, she'd probably enjoy it. To be honest, so would I.

Our marriage had dissolved into more of a partnership over the past few years and was teetering on the edge of divorce. I don't know what happened, but two or three years ago, Laurie started to grow distant from me. Our sex life had gone from a healthy two or more times a week to four times in the past year. She was never in the mood anymore. When I asked her about it, she just said she wasn't in the mood. I tried everything I could think of to rekindle our spark; flowers, love notes, date nights, weekend getaways without the kids, I even tried to get her to go to counseling but she refused.

Around the kids or friends, everything was fine, when we were alone, she became cold and distant. I felt like I was only around to pay the bills, keep up the maintenance on the house and vehicles, and be her show husband. If it weren't for the boys and what I assumed would be an unfavorable settlement, I would have asked for a divorce.

I managed to get a bit of work done before I took off for my clandestine meeting with Camille, still trying to figure out what was going on. I was 15 minutes early, but Camille was earlier. She looked rough, which I thought was impossible, because she was so beautiful. She was 5'5" tall with black hair that rested on her shoulders. She had a fantastic body; large B-cup or small C-cup breasts and a small waist that flared out to nice hips and a firm ass.

Camille's eyes met mine as I approached and she gave me a weary smile. "Thanks for coming."

"No problem." I replied as I sat down. "Now please tell me what this is about. My mind has been working non-stop on what this could be about. All I can assume is that it has to do with Laurie, and it's not good."

"You're right, it does and it's not." She sighed and dropped her head. I'm pretty sure that Laurie and Brett are having an affair." She said. When she looked back up at me, I could see tears welling in her eyes.

"What!?" I replied, maybe a bit too loudly, as the people closest to us looked our way. "That's ridiculous!" I said in a quieter voice.

"I thought so too." She said. "She is my best friend, she has been almost since we moved in across the street." She dabbed the tears from her cheeks with a napkin. "I've known my husband has been cheating for a while. I've tried to catch him before, but he always seemed one step ahead of me." She sighed.

"Ok, why do you think he's cheating, and why do you think it's with Laurie?" I asked, starting to think she might be a little crazy.

"All of the signs are there, he's freshly showered when I get home, there's fresh bedding, even if i put fresh ones on a few days prior, and he's lost interest in me in the bedroom." She sniffed, fresh tears threatening to come. "Laurie always told me I was crazy... I had a headache yesterday and left work after lunch, when I walked in the door, I saw Laurie and Brett on the couch, both looking guilty and flushed. I didn't think much of it at the time, I was not thinking clearly. When I went to kiss Brett, I could smell Laurie's perfume. It made my head hurt more, so I went upstairs to lay down. Brett came up about ten minutes later and I could still smell it, plus I'm pretty sure I could smell sex on his clothes." Her voice was a whisper.

I just sat there, staring at her, processing what she'd said. It could be possible. Brett did work from home and Laurie was a homemaker. There were days when I got home and she was freshly showered, but I didn't question it. "I... I don't know what to say. Did you talk to either of them about it?" I asked.

"As in ask Brett if he was fucking my best friend? No, I didn't think he'd be honest with me all of a sudden." She hissed.

I saw that the tears had all but stopped, there was now a fire burning in her eyes. "Whoah! Take it easy." I defended myself. "I'm just trying to understand. I meant if you asked either of them what they were doing."

"I'm sorry." She said as her face softened. "I know I shouldn't be taking this out on you. You must be as hurt as I am."

"I don't know." I shrugged. "If they actually are sleeping together, it makes things easier for me."

"What do you mean, easier?" She asked, her eyes focused on me.

"I've been contemplating divorce for a while now, an affair would make it easier." I replied. "I'm sure you know, Laurie has probably told you everything."

"She hasn't said anything about problems between the two of you. In fact, the way she talks, you guys are doing great." She said, eyeing me suspiciously. "What problems are you having?" She asked.

I told her my side of how our relationship had gone downhill, Camille's face saddened even more and she took my hand.

"I'm so sorry Mike, I didn't know." She said sympathetically. "I always looked to you guys as an example of a good marriage. Laurie always talks about..." She pulled her hand away and covered her mouth, a look of horror washed over her. "She's always talked about how hot you two are in bed. Do you think she was actually talking about Brett?" The tears started flowing again and she slumped in her seat.

Her words triggered something deep inside me, it all made sense. "That fucking whore!" I cursed. My mind was running in a million different directions at once. Do I go home and confront her? Do I go over to Camille's house and beat Brett to within an inch of his life? Do I go straight to a lawyer and file for divorce? I took a deep breath to calm myself, don't overreact, think.

"Mike?" Camille had asked me something, but I hadn't heard.

"Sorry, what?" I asked. A plan starting to form in my head.

"What should we do?" She asked. "Or is there a 'we'?"

"I need proof. I can't just take suspicion as fact, neither can a divorce lawyer." I replied coldly. "I have an idea, but I need to know what you want out of this. Do you want proof?"

"Yes, I want to know that I'm not crazy. If he's cheating on me, he's gone." She smiled. "Tell me your plan."

I told her what I was thinking; find some small, high resolution wi-fi cameras, and hide them in both houses - living room and bedroom. I'd set them up to record on motion and review the footage. When we had our proof, we'd be set.

"Once I find the right cameras, I'll just have to find a time to install them. I can do the ones in my house fairly easily, but your house will be difficult. I'll need a time when I'm home, your husband is out, my wife is out, and my kids are out or distracted. That will take planning and luck." I looked at her, gauging her reaction.

She almost looked like the Camille I knew again when she smiled at me. "I'm in! We'll get those fuckers dead to rights." She said, then immediately blushed. "Sorry, I'm just excited to finally have a plan to catch him."

"If we want this to work, we have to act normal around them. You can't claw out Laurie's eyes and I can't knock Brett's teeth out. For me it's not going to be very hard, I've always thought he was a smarmy ass, but you have to continue being Laurie's friend. Can you do that?" I asked directly.

"I don't know. I think I can. I do it all the time at work, there's a few other admins that make my blood boil, but they think we're friends." She gave me a worried frown. "What if I can't?"

"I don't know, maybe fake a headache or something?" I suggested. "Apparently I'm an idiot when it comes to her, so my advice is probably not the best."

She reached out and put her hand on mine. "I think she's the idiot, you're an amazing catch and she screwed it up. Not you."

I gave her a genuine smile. "Thank you. I wish I could say something poetic, but that's not me. I always thought Brett was an idiot, cheating on you confirmed it."

"I think that was perfectly poetic. Thank you." She said.

We sat and talked while we ate. We always got along fine before, but now we shared a bond. I went back to work after and spent the rest of the afternoon researching WiFi cameras.

It took me a week to settle on a model and get them, another three days before I had the chance to install them in my house. The camera itself was only as big around as a pencil, it was corded to a power/broadcast section that was half the size of a phone. It could do motion activated, scheduled, or remote activated. The living room was easy, I had it hidden in the entertainment center and could give it direct power. My bedroom was a little more difficult, to get a wide enough view of the bedroom, I had to mount it high, which meant no power. I managed to get it placed in our closet, under our winter bedding and used a USB battery to supply power. Our closet door is always open, so it should be fine.

It had been a week and the cameras in my house hadn't caught anything suspicious, maybe they weren't actually having an affair, maybe they hadn't gotten together again, or maybe they hadn't used my house. Getting into Camille's was proving difficult. She invited us over for supper, so I could scout locations, but I hadn't been able to get anything in yet. Camille had definitely changed around Laurie and hadn't gone shopping or for coffee since she figured out what was happening, and that made for less chances.

Camille was hesitant to talk on the phone because Brett was the one who looked after their bills and she was worried he would notice her calling me, she could dismiss the first call as an accident and it was short. We had a chance to talk when Laurie and I came for supper because Laurie and Brett were usually the cooks and were busy in the kitchen when she showed me her bedroom.

"How are you doing?" I asked, placing what I hoped was a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Ugh." She groaned. "This is harder than I thought. I sometimes forget that nothing has changed as far as they're concerned, and I have to act like nothing has changed for me. But I'm getting through it." She put her hand on mine. "How are you doing?"

"Pretty good, actually." I chuckled as I reluctantly pulled away and looked the room over. "I know why things are the way they are now, so I'm not wasting energy and time trying to fix things. I've already met with a divorce lawyer, and he's pretty confident I'll do well if I can get the proof. She'd be better off settling than going to court or arbitration."

Satisfied with my surveillance, I gestured towards the door. "Have you seen a lawyer yet?" I asked quietly.

"I am, Monday afternoon." She smiled nervously. "It's the official beginning of the end."

"You'll feel better after, I'm sure of it." I said squeezing her shoulder again as I walked past her out the door.

Now that I was aware they were probably cheating, I noticed more between Brett and Laurie. She smiled at him the way she used to smile at me. I tried my best to not let it get to me, but by the end of the night I was tense.

When we got home, my wife said goodnight to our sons from the top of the stairs to the basement and headed off to bed, completely ignoring me. I went down to the basement to see my boys.

Lucas was 14, and Matthew was 12. They were playing COD together on the two TVs we had set-up in the basement. They were more than brothers, they were best friends. I talked with them a bit, asking about their evening and what pizza they got. They were good kids, they earned the money for their XBoxes through shoveling snow and cutting grass in the neighborhood. They rarely got into trouble, and were good students. I started to think about how their lives were about to change and the emotions almost caught me off guard. I maintained control long enough to remind them of the time and tell them I loved them before I retreated to my office.

I wasn't a crier, I could only remember crying when I got married, when Lucas was born, and when Matthew was born. The tears were streaming down my face before I got my office door closed, and I was barely able to breathe in the five steps to my chair. All of my bottled up emotions poured out. The betrayal of my wife, the upheaval my boys were about to have, the failure of my marriage, my failure as a man to keep my wife happy... I sat there for half an hour, quietly letting all of it out.

Once the tears had dried up, I was able to think more clearly. Whatever happened, it was Laurie's doing, not mine. I would do my best to make the transition, whatever it was, as painless as possible.

I started to think back, wondering if I could figure out when the affair started. Camille and Brett moved in six years ago. They were both 24 and just starting their life together. Laurie was 29 and I was 31 at the time and we were the youngest couple in the neighborhood by probably 15 years. Laurie and Camille hit it off right away, Brett and I not so much.

Brett liked to brag about whatever he had. Everything was shown off and the price no-so subtly mentioned. He rubbed me the wrong way right from the beginning. As I got to know him better, my opinion never changed. He generally put himself ahead of Camille, going out golfing when she was off work, going on a boys' trip to Vegas but not ever taking her anywhere. I never understood what she saw in him, other than his looks.

A memory hit me like a ton of bricks. Three years ago, I wanted to go camping and Laurie had no interest. So I took my boys and my father and we had the best time. When we came back, Laurie was different. She seemed almost sad. I asked what was wrong, and she said she was just lonely while we were gone and missed us, I never thought about it again. I remember Camille was gone to visit her parents that weekend as well, and Brett was staying home to golf. Not long after that is when I first remember things changing between Laurie and I.

Was that when it started? Was she sad because something happened with Brett? Had this really been going on that long?

I wasn't going to get any answers tonight, so I went upstairs to bed.

Tuesday morning, my cellphone rang CALLER UNKNOWN on the screen. "Hello?" I answered.

"Hi Mike, it's Camille." Said the perky voice on the other end of the phone.

"Hi. I thought you were scared to call me?" I asked.

"My lawyer said I should get a disposable phone. It will help us get this over faster." She replied.

"Ok." I replied. "So your meeting went well I take it? You sound happy."

"It did. My lawyer thinks it will be pretty quick." She replied.

"Good. I hope we get what we need quickly, although I don't know if we'll ever get the chance to place the cameras in your house." I said.

"I actually have an idea for that. Laurie's been bugging me to go shopping, I told her we could go Saturday morning. Brett has a golf tournament that day too. We just need to figure out your boys." She said.

"Wow! That's great. Are you sure you can be normal around her though?" I asked.

"Yes. I think I've come to terms with what's happening now. I am ready to put this behind me." She said proudly.

"That's good. I'm sure I can find something to keep the boys busy while I get the cameras setup. I'll probably just force them to play video games." I said, dryly.

"I'm sure they're going to hate that." She said with a giggle.

"Very much." I replied.

She gave me her new number and we promised to talk if plans changed.

Saturday morning came and after Laurie left with Camille, I let the boys go to the basement to play their video games. I had seen Brett leave earlier, so I knew the coast was clear. We already had a key to Camille's house, so I was able to let myself in. I knew Brett wasn't very technical, so I was confident he wouldn't find the camera I hid beside the cable box, stealing USB power from the box itself. I had been the one to set-up their WiFi network, so access wasn't a problem at all.

I thought I had located a perfect spot in the bedroom, but after setting it up, the angle didn't work. They had a sparsely decorated bedroom, and I didn't know their habits, so I was limited in my options. My only other option was the air vent on the wall, it was going to take more time and some tools. I had to run home to get my multi-tool and electrical tape.

Camille and Laurie had already been gone for an hour, I should still be good for time, I hoped. I brought the kitchen stool up with me as well, I may be 6'4" tall, but I had to make sure this would work. I removed the vent cover and looked inside, thankfully the vent was framed properly and there was a ledge for the camera and battery pack to sit. I positioned the camera and taped it all to the ledge, it wasn't perfect, but it would do. I double checked the feed after putting the cover back on and it gave me a clear view of the bed from the side, perfect! I put everything back the way it was and cleaned up the drywall dust from removing the screws of the vent cover.

I was just putting things away at home when Matthew and Lucas came upstairs to see what I was up to. We mowed the lawns and were throwing a baseball around when the ladies made it back. I gave Camille a subtle nod when our eyes met and her smile reached her eyes.

I hadn't had a chance to check the feed from home, when I had a chance later in the day, I logged in to check the feeds and froze when the bedroom loaded up. Camille was standing in perfect view of the camera in just her bra and panties looking at herself in the mirror. God she was beautiful, I was transfixed. She started to slide a strap off of her shoulder, and I snapped out of it, closing the feed. I knew it was an innocent mistake, but I still felt guilty.

Camille called me from her burner phone Monday morning.

"Hi Mike, it's Camille." She said. "You got the cameras installed, right? I couldn't see them, and I knew to look."

"Yes, I did. About that..." I hesitated.

"Is something wrong, do they not work? Oh my god, I don't think I can spend another morning with her." She said, sounding defeated.

"No, it's not that. They work really well." I replied. "It's just... I accidentally saw you, getting undressed."

"You what? How?" She asked, her tone suspicious.

"I never got a chance to test the cameras from off your network, I had to change the location, and by the time I was done, the boys wanted to spend time with me. I wasn't even thinking when I logged in later, I'm sorry." I sighed, expecting a tirade.

"What did you see?" She asked cautiously.

"I saw you in your bra and panties, I shut it off right away." I said, with genuine sincerity.

"I never thought about the fact that I could be seen on the cameras." She said. "Where exactly are they?" She asked.