The Suicide Princess (17 page)

The trooper confidently replied, “If that's the case, then you also know that your refusal to do a field sobriety test will result in your immediate arrest. Are you sure that’s the route you want to go?”

“Please, sir,” Stephanie begged. “I had two drinks, that's all, just two drinks. If I get arrested I could lose everything. Please don't do this.”

“Ma'am, if you've only had two drinks, you should have no problem with the test I'd like to perform, and then I'll be happy to send you off on your way. But right now, you only have two choices: do the test or go to jail.”

“Look,” Stephanie said. “I'll do anything if you look the other way, literally anything. We can go anywhere you want, and I'll do anything you want.” The tears began streaming down her face as she realized what she was saying. She begged, “Please don't do this to me.”

“Ma'am, I want to inform you that there is a dash camera in my police cruiser, and I'm equipped with a microphone. All of our actions are being recorded, and this can all be used as evidence in court. I'm only
going to ask you one last time -- are you going to comply with my request to conduct a field sobriety test?”

Stephanie replied, “No.”

She heard the ratcheting clicks of the cold, steel handcuffs securing her wrists behind her back as the trooper announced, “I'm placing you under arrest for suspicion of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.” He continued, “You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have an attorney present during any and all questioning, and if you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. If you decide to answer any questions, you can stop at any time. Do you understand the rights I just read to you?”

“Yes,” Stephanie said as the surreal feeling of the situation faded into the frightening reality of what was happening.

Oh my God, I'm being arrested
.
This is actually happening,
she thought as she sat in the rear of the trooper's cruiser. She watched as the trooper searched her car, and he then walked back to the cruiser and opened the rear door to speak with her.

“Ma'am, do you know what this is?” he asked while holding out his hand.

Stephanie saw a single Vicodin pill in his palm. She knew it must have been one she got from Derrick, but she answered, “No, it's not mine.”

“Well, I just found it in your purse.” The trooper paused before continuing, “It will take me about twenty minutes to call poison control, wait on hold, give them the number stamped on the side, and have them tell me what this is, or you can just be honest and tell me right now. The end result is the same either way, but you can just save me a lot of time.”

“I think I need a lawyer,” Stephanie mumbled between tears.

“I think you're right,” the trooper commented
before closing the car door. “Is there anyone you’d like me to call for you?”

“My husband
,  Jacob,” she reluctantly answered.

Jacob was woken from a sound sleep by the vibration of his cell phone on the nightstand. He hurried to find the phone in the darkness, and he answered with a concerned, “Hello?”

The man on the other end of the phone asked, “Is this Jacob Bradford?”

“It is, and who is this?”

The caller replied, “Sir, my name is Trooper Shea with the Massachusetts State Police.”

Jacob suddenly recalled Stephanie was not home, and he quickly snapped to his senses and asked, “The State Police?” He sat up in bed as he continued, “Is everything okay?”

“Well, sir, I wouldn
’t exactly say everything is okay, but everyone is safe and sound. Unfortunately, your wife, Stephanie Bradford, is being arrested for driving a vehicle while intoxicated as well as a narcotics possession charge.”

Jacob asked, “Are you sure you have the right Stephanie Bradford?”

“I’m afraid I do, Mr. Bradford – she provided me with your number. The reason I’m calling is regarding the white Volvo she was operating this evening. It’s registered in your name, and I was wondering if you’d like to arrange for a private tow rather than have me impound the vehicle.”

“Un-fucking-believable,” Jacob said in disbelief. “Alright, yeah I
’d much rather have the car towed to the house.”

“I just can
’t arrange that for you,” the trooper explained. “But if you can find a company that will respond in the next few minutes, I’ll be more than happy to stand by with your vehicle.”

“Thank you, so much. Where exactly are you?”

“We’re on the southbound side of Route 24, just south of 106 in Bridgewater. The tow driver will see my lights.”

Jacob thanked the trooper again, and he began calling tow truck companies until he found one willing to get his car from the highway. Jacob returned the phone call to Trooper Shea, “Hi Trooper, there is a tow truck from Reynolds’ Towing on their way to get the car now.”

“Good deal! Did they give you an estimated arrival time?”

“They said they
’ll be with you in twenty minutes.”

“That works,” said Trooper Shea. “Would you like to talk to your wife before we hang up?”

“No,” replied Jacob. “I have nothing left to say to her.”

Just less than an hour later, Jacob heard the loud beeping of the tow truck backing into his driveway with Stephanie
’s Volvo attached to the back. Jacob walked to the front yard where he waited in the grass for the car to be released.

“That
’ll be two hundred cash,” said the driver.

“Damn, you guys really know when you have someone by the balls,” Jacob said as he counted out the money and handed it to the driver.

The driver folded the stack of tens and twenties, and he placed the money in his shirt pocket. He started lowering the car and said, “Hey, it beats the shit out of having the car impounded. You’d pay for the tow, the storage fee, and all that other crap. It would end up costing you twice as much.”

“You sure know how to sugar coat something, don
’t you?”

“Bet your ass I do,” the burly driver said with a laugh. “Before I go, we just have to go over the property in the car. I did an inventory sheet with the trooper, and he signed it to verify what was in the car when I left the scene. Now, I just need you to look over the property and give your signature saying it
’s all still there.”

Jacob began to look through Stephanie
’s car, and he saw the schoolgirl skirt, her stockings, and her heels. He then went to the trunk where he found the crumpled up parking ticket and a man’s belt that didn’t belong to him. Jacob stopped looking through the car, and he signed the form. As the tow truck driver left, Jacob walked into the house carrying the brown belt he found in the trunk.

Jacob was torn over his decision, and while he already knew he was making the right decision, he now knew with certainty that leaving Stephanie was the best thing he could do. He walked to the bedroom and sat at the edge of the bed, holding his cell phone in his hand, waiting for the call from Stephanie, which he was
certain would come, needing him to bail her out of jail. He thought to himself,
I know that shithead she’s sleeping with isn’t going to get her out, so of course she’ll call me
.

Jacob was angry and even disgusted by Stephanie and what she had done, but for some unexplained reason he still wanted to help her. Whether it was a sign of the love he had for her, or his own selfish desire to be there for her just one last time, he sat patiently waiting for Stephanie’s call.

The sun was just beginning to dawn on a new morning as Stephanie was being released from jail on her own recognizance. She was escorted from her cell and walked down a long hallway. The generic quality tile floor, white cinder block walls, and bright fluorescent lights gave the jail facility a cold feeling that felt lost and abandoned.

Stephanie was wearing a jail-issued yellow jumpsuit, white socks, and cheap flip-flops. As she arrived at the Release and Property Return Window, she was given a large plastic bag with her clothes and other belongings.

“You need to change into your own clothes, and leave the facility’s clothes in the laundry bin on your left. You can keep the shower shoes,” instructed a very butch female deputy.

Stephanie looked around inquisitively and asked, “Where can I change?”

“This isn’t Nordstrom’s, darling, and we don’t have fitting rooms. You can change right here.”

“Right here?”

The deputy responded, “Ma’am, we’re trying to release you, but if you want to give us a hard time, we can turn you around and take you right back to a cell.”

“No, I’m sorry. You’re right,” said Stephanie as she began disrobing in front of the deputy.

Her property, including her purse and cell phone, were returned to her and she was escorted to the jail’s exit. As she walked through the last secured point, the large metal door closed behind her and slammed with a loud bang. Stephanie stood at the main entrance to the jail facility with no idea what she was going to do next.

Stephanie powered her cell phone on, and her eyes began to tear as she w
aited for the phone to finish rebooting. As it did, and she saw she had a signal, she contemplated whether she would call Jacob or Derrick. Stephanie knew there was only one person she could turn to for help in absolutely any situation, and she started the call.

Jacob was still sitting in bed, waiting for the phone call from Stephanie, when his phone alerted to an incoming call. “Hello,” he answered on the first ring.

“Baby, it’s me,” Stephanie said while crying. “I need you to help me. I don’t even know where to begin…”

“I already talked to Trooper Shea, and he told me what happened. What do you need from me?”

“I don’t know where my car is, I don’t know how I’m going to get home, and I have no idea what I’m going to do,” cried Stephanie.

“Your car is here at the house. Just tell me where you are, and I
’ll come get you.”

Stephanie gratefully stated, “My God, Jacob, thank you. I
’m at the Plymouth County Jail. And Jacob, please don’t tell anybody...please!”

“I don
’t know why you wouldn’t want me to say anything, something like this won’t stay a secret for very long. Either way, I’ll be there in a little while,” said Jacob before hanging up the phone.

Jacob thought in silence as he drove to pick up Stephanie, and arrived to find her sitting on the curb in front of the jail. Even at her worst, she looked adorable in her little shorts and tight
T-shirt. She got in the car with neither of them saying a single word to the other. Stephanie spent nearly the entire ride home in complete silence out of fear and humiliation, and Jacob remained lost for words from sheer anger.

Stephanie looked out of the passenger side window as Jacob drove, and she entered deep thought. Everything suddenly came into focus, and for the first time in a long time, she saw things very clearly. It was like someone had twisted a kaleidoscope, and what was once a distorted confusing image was now clear and beautiful.

When she needed someone the most, it was Jacob who was there for her without question. Jacob was obviously angry with her, and Stephanie knew their relationship was in trouble, but he was still willing to drop everything to come save her. Stephanie saw, more than ever, that Jacob was the rock in her life. He may not have been the most adventurous, outgoing, or exciting man, but he was stable and safe. He never lured her into doing anything that would be detrimental to her future, and he was always there to build her up or catch her when she fell. Jacob was her shelter from any storm.

Having no idea Jacob already knew about Derrick, she looked over at him and thought,
I can’t believe I almost threw this marriage away. I can’t believe I almost lost Jacob.

As the drive was nearing its end and they were just minutes from their house, Stephanie finally spoke and asked, “Did you look in my car, Jacob?”

“I did,” he replied without any sign of emotion.

Stephanie became extremely nervous because of the clothing she left in her car when she was arrested. “Did you see the outfit I put together to wear for you?” she asked very unconvincingly.

“For me?” Jacob replied. “If it’s for me, why does it look like it had been worn very recently?”

“I had to try it on, silly, to see if it still fits,” said Stephanie with a crack in her voice.

Before Jacob could retort, he turned into their driveway, and Stephanie saw the moving truck Jacob rented. “Why is that there?” she asked.

Jacob stared straight ahead without removing his hands from the steering wheel or looking at Stephanie. He dug deep for the courage to blurt out what needed to be said, and he replied, “I
’m leaving you. I’m moving out, today.”

“Leaving me? What? I know we
’ve had our problems lately, but it’s no reason to ruin our marriage.” She reached her hand to Jacob, placed it on his forearm, and continued, “We can fix this – we can work through it.”

“Work through what?” Jacob asked. “Let
’s just pretend for a minute that I believe you about the skirt and shoes in your car being for me, how can you explain some other man’s belt in your trunk?”

Stephanie worked up a fake laugh, and answered, “That
’s what this is about? That’s not another man’s belt, it’s your belt. I brought a bunch of your old clothes to the Goodwill box, and it must have fallen out of the bag. You honestly don’t remember wearing that belt when we first met?”

Still cold as an arctic chill, Jacob asked, “Then the parking ticket in your trunk – who were you going to see near Boston Common?”

Stephanie struggled for a reply and began, “That was from when – it was the night that...” until she was abruptly stopped by Jacob.

“Stephanie, stop the bullshit. You want to know what this is
about?” Jacob retrieved the small digital voice recorder from the car’s center console and pressed play as he said, “This is what it’s about...”

As the recorder played, Stephanie instantly recognized Derrick
’s voice:

I just have two stringing along right now. One is a little blonde that I
’ve been tapping for a while, and she’s starting to get a little on the boring side – kind of reached my end with her. But my most recent one, is a tight little brunette that’s a shit ton of fun.

Stephanie had the intense feeling of fear that we have all experienced at least once in our lives. The feeling when we were just caught doing something that
we know is about to get us in deep, life-altering trouble. She felt the frightening sensation of being caught with nowhere to run, and she had absolutely no idea of what to do next. She had no excuse or explanation, but despite all of that, she wasn’t yet willing to concede to telling the truth.

“Jacob, it
’s not what you think, I was only...”

“Stop!”
Jacob shouted. “After everything you’ve done, everything you’ve been doing, the very least you could do is show me enough dignity to be honest with me.”

“Okay, I will. I
’ll be honest and tell you the truth about anything you ask me. What do you want to know?”

He replied, “I already know more than I ever thought I wanted to. All that is left is to hear it directly from you
– have you been sleeping with another man?”

She looked down towards the floor of the car, tears streaming down her face, and struggling to breathe, and she barely answered, “Please don
’t leave me.”

“Answer me!” Jacob demanded. “I want to hear you say it.”

“Yes,” she answered. “I slept with another man. Just please don’t leave me.”

“I already left, Stephanie,” said Jacob. “I
’m moving everything I want out of the house, today. I don’t really care where you go, but I don’t want you here while I’m doing it. I already opened a new bank account, and I took half of our savings. I want to sell the house and split whatever is left after the sale. After that, we go our separate ways. I think I’m being extremely fair.”