[JEMMA]

The alarm went off at 7:00 as usual, and even though she hadn't gotten very much sleep, Susan leapt out of bed. She had a plan. She knew how to get out of this situation.

"You seem happy this morning," Jim commented after his shower, as she bustled about the bedroom, making the bed and laying out her clothes for the day.

"Thank you, hon, I feel really good today!"

And she did, aside from the pain still in her back. He slipped his arms around her from behind and again she had to do her best not to flinch as he touched the bruises. There was no way she could explain them away. One maybe, she could say she fell last night. But there were five of them, laddered down to her buttocks.

"I'm glad," he said, nuzzling her ear, "You've seemed so tense the last few days."

She smiled, thinking that soon that particular tension would be gone for good. Patting his hands, she said, "I have to get Lindsay up."

"Okay, love." He kissed her on the cheek and let her go. She left the room and he got dressed.

Breakfast was hurried as usual, then she saw them both off. Jim drove Lindsay to school each day, father-daughter time. They didn't get much of that, with the hours that Jim worked.

Alone, she went back upstairs to dress. Then she made herself another cup of coffee, and settled down by the window to wait. She had a clear view of Matt's house. She couldn't see the front door, but the car in the driveway and the back door were both in plain view. When he left, she would know. And she'd know if he used the back door, she hoped it was still unlocked from last night.

"Let him forget about that," she prayed. He'd been drinking, there was a chance. But she didn't know how much of one.

An hour and a half later she saw him get into his car and leave. She forced herself to wait ten minutes, and she headed over.

Her heart in her throat, she put her hand on the doorknob, and turned it. YES! She had been right, he had forgotten to check the door! She slipped inside, her heart pounding. She stood in the hall, thinking. Where would he keep the pictures? Would the negatives be in the same place?

Upstairs. In the bedroom. She would have bet her life that's where they were. But then, she nearly was betting her life, at least the life she had with her family. She didn't want to go up there, not after what had happened last night. Steeling herself, she went anyway.

Susan knew she had to hurry. Matt had lost his job a couple of months ago, so there was no way for her to know how long he would be gone.

Halfway up the stairs, the phone rang, scaring her half to death. She grabbed onto the railing to steady herself, she could hardly hear for the blood pounding in her ears. Calming down, she heard the answering machine picking up in the living room. She went back to the foot of the stairs, and listened to the incoming message.

"Good morning Mr. Ho. This is Karen calling from the law offices of Michaels and Bains. We have some papers here for you to sign regarding your wife's alimony. I believe we had some questions for you from her lawyer also. Oh yes! and I have a note here about a package you wanted us to hold for you. It's an unusual request, but I believe we can accommodate you. Please call us back as soon as you can..."

She stopped listening and headed back up the stairs. Turning into the bedroom, again she was hit with the stuffy air, the smell of dirty clothes and old wine, now mingled with a whiff of stale sweat, and sex. She looked around, considering. The room looked worse in daylight than it had last night. She opened the dresser and searched through the drawers, nothing. The bedside table, the closet, under the bed, no joy.

There was a sound....coming....from outside? She froze, listening with every fiber of her. What would she say, what could she do if he came home? But the noise didn't come again, and slowly she relaxed a little.

She started digging through the closet again, maybe she'd missed something? Then she stopped, thinking, running over in her mind what she knew about Matt. Then she walked over to the bed and after a moment's hesitation, lifted the pillow.

There it was. A plastic envelope, the kind pictures come in now. Her hand shook as she reached for it. She flipped it open, and saw that they were indeed the pictures of her with the contractor. It looked like a full roll. And the negatives were there! She breathed a sigh of relief, she had them at last!

But she couldn't linger. She replaced the pillow and fairly fled the house, making sure to lock the door behind her. Just in case. Didn't want him to discover his lapse before she could confront him with it.

She walked across his yard into hers, stuffing the envelope into her blouse. When she was nearly at her front steps, she heard a car. She turned to see Matt's car turn into his driveway.

Susan felt her heart pounding again. There was no reason for him to suspect she had been in the house, but the adrenaline still flooded her. It was all she could do to act casually, kneeling down to dead head some mums. She wanted to run into her house and bolt the door, not be out here in the open, but she couldn't, she didn't dare.

He got out of the car and called, "Hi," with a friendly wave. She stood, looked over at him, and then turned and with measured steps, walked inside. She thought she could hear his laughter following her.

Closing the door behind her, she leaned back against it, breathing deeply, shaking a little. That had really been too close. Another minute, and she would have been caught. But she'd done it! Without the pictures, it was his word against hers, and there was no way, none, that Jim would believe Matt over her.

She felt empowered, like she could take on the world. But she didn't need to. Just one neighbor.

She decided that she would act tonight, once her family was asleep. It would be a long day...