Fran also knew that with a large, hungry ego came the need for other women. Younger women, prettier women, more successful women. Think famous sports celebrity with low-life strippers. Why does a man risk everything just to have one more woman tell him how much she loves his big, hard cock? Fran understood men and their egos.
And so when she decided it was time for Bob to run for office—the first office in a line of offices she dreamed would march them right into Washington one day—she hired the private investigator to document his dalliances.
This is how she explained it to Charlotte:
She said it was worth the risk. Having those tapes and photos. She knew she could pay the PI as much as he would be offered by any media outlet. She had already bought his loyalty with years of solid income. She kept them all. Each tape, each photo of her husband with other women. She said they were her insurance policy for two possible storms. The first against any allegations of force. I guess she didn’t want a repeat of what happened when he was on spring break. Can you imagine? She was home working her ass off, and he went on spring break in Florida. Anyway, the second storm was if he ever tried to leave her.
Bob had affairs with dozens of women over the years. There were tapes and photos of them. Some were one-night stands. Some were strippers. Others were staples, like Charlotte. The investigator planted recording devices in the locations where Bob was a regular. The showrooms. Lovers’ bedrooms. The friend’s place in Cranston. The Kramers’ pool house. He also kept a device in Bob’s briefcase. Most of them were voice activated. Some he could get only when he was in radio range, and so he followed Bob any evening he was working late or attending a sales dinner. He gave the recordings and hard copies of the photos to Fran, who kept them in a safe deposit box. A spare key was held by her sister in Hartford.
Fran followed Charlotte to the grocery store two days after Bob said “fuck you” and left. She waited in her car until Charlotte came out with her bags.
I was putting the bags into the trunk when I heard her say my name. I turned around, and my heart nearly stooped. She had this big smile on her face. It was so big and sweet that it was terrifying. I said hello, how are you, what a surprise, and all of that. I’ve known her for years. Obviously, we’ve had many social functions and work parties. We even played golf at the company’s annual outing. She helped me with the bags, and then she just walked to the passenger side of my car and got in.
“You must have been very scared.”
You have no idea! She didn’t say anything. She just sat there, staring at me until, finally, she pulled out a small tape player. Then she let it play. It was Bob …
Charlotte broke down, remembering that moment.
“Wait, stop.…” [female voice, worried]
“What?” [male voice, alarmed]
“The bathroom door … It’s closed, but under the door … I think the light’s on.” [female voice, whispering]
[rustling, then silence]
[loud female scream]
“Oh dear Lord! Dear Lord!” [male voice, terrified]
[female screams]
“Help her! My baby! My baby girl!”
“Is she alive? Oh shit! Shit!”
“Grab a towel! Wrap her wrists, tight!”
“My baby!”
“Wrap them! Tight! Oh dear Lord! There’s so much blood.…”
“I feel a pulse! Jenny! Jenny, can you hear me! Hand me those towels! Oh dear Lord, dear Lord, dear Lord!”
“Jenny!” [desperate female voice]
“Call 911! Jenny! Jenny, wake up!” [male voice]
“Where’s my phone!” [female voice, shuffling]
“On the floor! Go!” [male voice]
[footsteps, shuffling, female voice speaking to 911, giving address, hysterical]
“You have to go! Right now! Go!” [female voice]
“No! I can’t! Dear Lord!”
I stared at that machine, listening to the recording of that horrible day. My baby! All that blood!
“My God. She was recording you,” I said. I am not easily surprised. This one did it.
For years. She had dozens of tapes. That’s what she told me. And then she pulled out a second tape and she played that one.
“Where are your parents?” [male voice, sexy tone]
“They’re out.” [female voice, flirtatious]
“Mmmm.” [male voice, a heavy moan]
[rustling, kissing sounds]
“I’m gonna fuck you so hard while your mommy and daddy are away.” [male voice, aggressive].
“Oh no. But I’m a good girl. I can’t.” [female voice]
“You didn’t hear me, did you? I’m going to fuck you right now. I’m going to bend you over and pull off your little pink panties.” [male voice]
[female gasp]
“No, stop, don’t . . [female voice]
It was disgusting. That man is a disgusting pig.
“Who was this woman he was with?”
One of the girls from his dealership. Lila something. She’s twenty years old! That makes her nineteen at the time. And he’s known her family for years. He plays golf with her father!
“And why did Fran Sullivan want you to hear this tape—out of all of them?”