Echo

exciting. The corruption of an innocent can often have its moments. Jane had clearly been in love with him when they married. He had to submit to all kinds of suspicion during their courtship, but his charm, ivy-league education and his impeccable, though Muslim, family history as moderates won her family over. And one cannot negate the powerful effect of craggy good looks and irresistible dimples on the insipid American female.
    Not that Jane was less insipid than others. They were all that way. He luckily was able to put his distaste aside long enough to get Jane pregnant. Later, he determined her attachment to the baby was unseemly and unhealthy (he was concerned she not infect the child with her western entitlement philosophy). So, the baby was turned over to a nanny. He then devised a plan to get his wife addicted to heroin to control her. Her incessant whining about the child was distracting him.
    Unfortunately, when Sarasota was hit with the polio epidemic over a decade ago, they lost the child. By then Jane was firmly owned by the white powder. She was in no condition to handle her grief. Her mind temporarily broke. Had the public known what they were going through, his plans would have been ruined. No one votes for a politician with a wife in the loony bin. So he put her in the attic instead. He turned her care over to his men. They knew what had to be done. It had not been easy. They almost lost her to wasting away. They had to use the defibrillator on her; twice. When Brooks finally obtained a baby, she had been in the attic for over a year. By then, she wasn’t even sure who she was. It took the slow introduction of the child to snap her out of it. But she would never be the person she was when he married her. She didn’t even remember the wedding or her family in the Midwest for that matter.
    Jane had initially been easy to handle, even taking a small interest in his political affairs. Enough so that she was more than presentable when he needed to trot out the proof of his normal American family. But it was becoming more difficult to have her around. She was constantly interfering in his decisions for their daughter and she was no longer to be trusted in public. And that was going to get much, much worse as his campaign started to heat up. He was beginning to wonder how a recently widowed senator might fair in the polls. His closest competitor was the Muslim Brotherhood candidate. A brave widower with a young daughter was beginning to sound appealing.
    He was distracted from his musing by his household staff setting up the terrace table for lunch. He changed his mind and requested that his wife join them for lunch. She knew better than to refuse. His new idea was beginning to take shape. If he wanted to go through with this new plan, he had better spend as much time being seen with her in as loving a light as possible, even with the household staff.
    Besides, he had a special present for his daughter. Dialing his secretary, he asked her to make sure the puppy was ready. He wanted it brought to the terrace right after lunch. It would be nice if they could use this as a photo op for the campaign. He asked her to alert the press and arrange the transportation to the island. He ordered the press be coordinated with the conclusion of lunch allowing refreshments to be served to them after the event. Yes, that would work out beautifully. While the press stuffed their faces and his wife and daughter played with the new puppy, he would excuse himself for an important conference.
    The conference would necessitate him donning one of his disguises before the press leaves. He would then mingle with the crowd as they were herded to his yacht to be taken back to the mainland, disembarking at Marina Jacks. He would then spin off from the crowd where he would walk the few blocks downtown to a waiting car driven by his mistress, who would take them the fifteen-minute drive to The Oasis Club. To the exquisite home on a private cul de sac, surrounded by palm trees and a private reserve where no one could observe their comings and goings.
    Lita was a beautiful, intelligent and tempestuous Syrian woman. He met her by chance at his mosque, attracted to her instantly, positive she had no knowledge of his identity as a mover and shaker in U.S. politics. Their relationship flourished for seven years. She refused him nothing, no matter how brutal he became in his lovemaking. He actually developed a real affection for Lita, a