Double Identity

"Could she have been right?" Frank pondered.
There had been moments he felt that Tracy did not understand him. They had been married for three years and each time Tracy raised the question of her boss harassing her, he would not believe it. Larry was his best friend after all.

"Look, Frank, Larry has been sending me alluring messages in my Facebook profile under a false name."
Frank just shook his head. “How do you know it's him?"
"You don't know what he is capable of. Each time he is alone with me, he makes passes at me and tries to touch me."
"Maybe it's not intentional."

The sweet aroma of brewed coffee wafted the air. Frank was quietly sipping his coffee when the door bells chimed. Two policemen were standing by the door asking him where he was during the early wee hours of the morning Frank stood there, mouth agape. His wife came to the police station claiming she had been raped.
“I don’t think she was raped.” Frank mumbled.
“I don’t think so myself. She looks so impeccable, so confident in herself.” One of the cops replied.

Frank could not believe that his wife would stoop so low.
"Where is she?"
"We detained her at the police station awaiting further investigation."
That day, she begged her husband to attend the conference with her at the intercontinental hotel where she would be with her chief.
"Stop being a pain in the ass. Larry, for the gentleman he is, would protect you.
Besides, you know that he is my childhood friend."
"But don't you understand, Larry is not the person whom he pretends to be with you."
Frank flashed a derisive smile.
"Are you telling me that you know Larry better than me?"

Sometimes, Frank wondered why he married her. It was her confidence that attracted him. She looked every inch the woman who could master her emotions and yet after they were married, Hannah just stayed glued to Frank, giving Frank less space to do his own things, thus in a way stifling his identity. Hannah herself looked like someone who could not manage her relationships. She constantly shot him with her problems with Larry.

Now Frank could not stop thinking about what his friend told him about her.
"Are you going to marry this whore?"
The reason he told her that, he had argued then was that he had heard lots of things about her and had even investigated about her. Just to say that Larry had been totally against their marriage from the start.
"Look, please don't interfere with my private life, Larry."
Larry had even admitted his mistake when he saw Hannah, how well groomed she was and he had even proposed to give her a job as his own confidential secretary.

The two policemen were looking at him, waiting for a reply. What could be said? He punched in the number of his friend but his phone had no dial tone.
When he was a child, he recalled of the day when his mum passed away, leaving him all alone in this world. His father had never been here for him. Besides, he had an insecure childhood as his father kept drinking, later to abandon them. At this moment, he never felt more alone than before, he just wanted to cry, tears already starting to form at the corners of his eyes and he reclined in his sofa, just staring at nothing in particular.
The cops decided to take leave and just closed the door behind them.

"What did I do? Could she be right?" There was a loud bang on the door and the knob turned to reveal a tall man of large corpulence wearing a tuxedo.
"Hey, Frankie, Are you feeling ok?"
"Larrie, what has happened to my Hannah? What did you do to her? He burst out, breaking into fits.
"Calm down, my dear friend. Nothing had happened to her. She just wants your attention."
"Why would she accuse you?"
"Can't you see? She wants your undivided attention. Maybe she is jealous of our friendship?"
"Do you really think so?"
"I think it must be something else. Why would she go on and on about it?"
"Come on, are you saying I raped her?"
"Raped her? Did I mention anything about rape right now?"
Frank was starting to get suspicious. He quickly checked his watch. He could not believe that he had thought about ending his life.
Feeling surged by a fire, by a passion, he nearly knocked the chairs when he rose from his crouched position.
His voice grew smaller, almost in a whisper. "Why, Larry?"
"Did you ever consider me as your friend, Frank? You had it all. You were the best student in class and every woman falling at your feet when all I had was this paper." He drew a packet of hundred dollar bills in his pocket. "What is this? Just paper. Yes, I grew up to be a boss. I could not even trust myself. You know how Dad was. I could not do my own thing. I had to follow him into HIS business. But I longed to be as carefree as you and Hannah."
"That's no reason for you to rape my wife."
"Did I rape her? No, but I only caressed her, feeling her inside me. I just wanted to feel that feeling, you know, the feeling of freedom inside me."
"You, bastard!"
Frank charged towards Larry but the latter just swerved in time to avoid a punch in the jaw. Frank just toppled on the floor, crashing with all his weight down the floor.
Frank just sneered.
"You still don't know your karate moves. When will you learn?"
Frank quickly got up on his feet.
"But why Hannah? I remembered that you did not seem to like her"
"Yes, but inwardly, I was attracted to her. She seemed so jovial, so carefree. How come she only saw you? What did she see in you?"
"Listen, man, I thought you were man enough and to tell you the truth, I had always envied you. Thought you had it all and I placed my entire trust on you when all this time, I thought Hannah was wrong. But now I have seen how despicable you are."
"Oh so now you think I am despicable. Just like Dad. You didn't hesitate to take my money though."
"Can you just get out of my way? I need to find my beloved.”
"Ah! She is your beloved! Since when? She always complained to me about your lack of attention towards her."
"She told you what?"
"She was my confidante. She tells me everything."
"Was? What did you do to her?"
"What do you think I did to her? Have you ever thought of your wife? I only gave her what you could not give her, my dear friend."
"What! You monster!"
"Yes, my dear, she is so good in bed. You think I raped her. Go and ask her."
"Where is she? What did you do to her?"
"I think it's too late, my dear."
Frank's hand, already in fists, gnashed his teeth and charged at him, punching him in the jaw.
"You made my life miserable but now it's for you to pay."
"Do you think you will get away with it? Who would believe you?" Larry cackled. "I've got power, my dear, money and what about you?”
"You won't get away with it this time." Frank swore under his breath. "You will pay for what you've done." He continued, "To think I had always trusted you more than my wife."
"Lesson number one: Never to trust anybody. Lesson number two: always mind your business. Lesson number three...” His voice trailed off, obviously enjoying the sound of his own voice.
Frank stealthily, seeing his penknife on the floor, quickly cupped it between his toes. He had seen the knob turning.
It was then that he saw Hannah. Hannah’s hair was folded neatly in a bin and her lopsided grin. How could he have forgotten the first time they have met and the way they always looked in each other's eyes, silently devouring each and every detail of the other? Larry was still droning on and on, completely captivated in his own world.
"Hey, Larry, What are you doing there?"
He stopped in mid-sentence. He stared at her. "I dare you to tell Frank."
He blurted out.
"What do I have to tell Frank? How you abused me?"
"Now, stop acting like a goody-two-shoe! Tell Frank what happened in the hotel. You still remember, do you? Or has a screw turned loose in your head?"
"Larry, did you ever think I love you? It's true I made love to you but I did it to escape from you." She blurted.
Frank just then swirled the penknife, sweeping it across the room into Hannah’s hand.
"Look, Larry, I still don't want to do you any harm although you have caused both of us harm." She said. "Would you leave now or shall I call the cops?"
"What proof have you got against me, my dear? You made love to me voluntarily and I have not killed anyone. So what are you going to do?"
"Wrong! You coaxed me in making love to you and you think you are going to get away with this?"
Larry just sniggered.
The cops who came with Hannah were waiting outside, heard it all.
"Unfortunately, he is right. We can't arrest him just on that basis and you don't really have any proof of him harassing you, do you?
They shrugged their shoulders.
"At least now, you would be able to live a peaceful life without him bothering you."
"I just hoped so."
Larry looked at them, saluting them and in a tranquil manner, just walked in his BMW car and drove off.
"Better to forget about him and live your lives than to seek revenge. I don't think he would be doing it again. He would have to bear that stigma till his death."
"Once again, "He said to the cops "Thanks for being there at the right moment."