JR and Sue Ellen fell into a comfortable routine of being together overnight in her hotel suite. They would take dinner and afterwards JR would work whilst Sue Ellen read or watched television. At the end of the evening they would bid each other goodnight and retire to their respective rooms. A peck on the cheek was the most physical contact that they made with each other and Sue Ellen was grateful that JR didn't attempt to take matters any further because she realised that the temptation just to give in to him would be very strong.
All efforts by Don to make contact with Sue Ellen were blocked by her. After several days of not leaving the suite she was beginning to feel somewhat claustrophobic. However, until JR's men had come back to him and a plan was formulated she preferred not to risk any chance encounter with her ex-husband, particularly during the day when JR would not be with her.
Finally, at the end of the week JR announced that his chief investigator had made contact. There had been a development that he needed to discuss with him. JR didn't elaborate and Sue Ellen decided it was probably better not to know what it was that had been discovered. Assuring her that no physical harm was going to come to Don, Sue Ellen permitted JR to get on with it.
JR opened the envelope that his man had handed over to him in the office. "It's a sworn affidavit" the man explained. "From the young woman Mr Lockwood had the affair with." JR looked at him questioningly. "Affair?" he asked. The man nodded. "Sad tale really, for her I mean." JR sat down and began to read.
The document began with the woman's name, address and date of birth. "Twenty- two years old" JR muttered to himself. She was a graduate in Film Studies with the ambition of eventually becoming a Director. This was her first job as a junior runner on the set of Don Lockwood's latest movie. One month in, after a boozy dinner, she allowed herself to be seduced by him. She had been flattered by the older man's attention but, more than that, she had ambition and she felt that by sleeping with him he might recommend her to the movers and shakers in Hollywood. They had sex virtually every night after filming had wrapped for the day. The last time was when Don's wife caught them, on his birthday, in his hotel room. He had told her that he and his wife were separated albeit living in the same house until matters were formally settled between them. She hadn't been completely sure that he was telling the truth about that but had decided to accept his word for it.
A week after she and Don had parted company as lovers she discovered that she was pregnant. She telephoned him to break the news. He was dismissive and told her to terminate the pregnancy. He would pay the clinic's fees. She responded negatively to the suggestion. She was going to have the baby. He didn't need to have anything to do with the child but he would have to pay her child support given that she would not be able to work whilst the child was young. To buy her silence Don agreed. Their daughter was now two months old. Don had paid her $2000 immediately after the birth but nothing since. He was not taking her calls. She despaired of ever receiving any more money from him. She had tried to contact his ex-wife at their old address but her letter had been returned as "no longer living there." She couldn't afford the legal fees to take him to Court. She and her child were now back living with her parents as this was the only option remaining to them.
JR shook his head. "Well now, that's one heck of a sorry story isn't it?" he asked rhetorically. "Excellent work, thank you. This is exactly what I needed." He handed over a smaller envelope containing the agreed fee which the man accepted gratefully before taking his leave.
As the door to the office closed shut JR broke into a wide grin. The English man was keeping a very big secret from Sue Ellen. Now he had to decide how to deal with him. He determined not to inform Sue Ellen immediately, if at all. It would only cause her even greater heartache to learn of the lies that she had been told, he thought as he read through the affidavit once more, hardly able to believe what he was reading.
He then picked up the telephone having retrieved from his desk drawer the contact details for Don that his men had supplied to him. "Lockwood? JR Ewing here" he announced as the call was picked up. "What do you want?" Don responded gruffly. "Are you the one keeping me away from my wife?" he asked. "She isn't your wife any longer, never was really. She hasn't even kept your name!" JR goaded him. "She's back to being what she always should have been, Mrs Ewing." "I asked you what you wanted?" Don countered. He had always loathed JR and had no wish to engage him in conversation. However, he realised that JR was a dangerous person particularly where Sue Ellen was concerned. There had to be a reason why he was now making contact with him.
"I want to have a little talk with you. On neutral ground if you wish. You see there's something that I know that you have been keeping from Sue Ellen and it needs to be discussed in relation to your future plans." JR responded menacingly.
Don's stomach churned. JR had found out. He knew. This wasn't a game of bluff. He had banked on his ex-lover being untraceable now that she was back living with her parents in a small town in the mid-west. However, he had evidently underestimated JR's resourcefulness and determination. "Where?" he asked annoyedly. Taking a pen and paper he wrote down the address of a small gentlemen's club that JR dictated to him. "This evening at six" JR informed him. "Don't mess me around, Lockwood. Otherwise Sue Ellen is going to have a nasty shock when I see her later." At that JR hung up. Smiling wickedly to himself once more he poured himself a drink. Time for a little celebration he told himself as he took his first sip.
tbc