Duplicity - A True Story of Crime and Deceit by Paul Goldman (surface ebook reader txt) 📗

and then afterwards, calls tocollect messages, then calls to men, then a gap of an hour or two,then the pattern repeated. Calls to hotels, calls to some girls,and calls to Palm Beach Bail Bonds. What would astay-at-home mom bedoing calling and receiving calls from Palm Beach Bail Bonds? Atfirst, I simply didn’t believe it, so in order to get confirmation,I hired the investigators, to get the proof of her frauds andconfirm my suspicions that my wife was a working prostitute whilewe were married. They followed her to Sandsprit Park, where shemeets weekly with her girls to do their paperwork.”

“Objection.” Peter Walton roseagain. I had actually been waiting for it, surprised that he let meget away with my working prostitute remark. Either he didn’tbelieve it bore any weight, or he was as captivated by the story asthe rest of the courtroom. In the meantime, Judge Andrews looked atme with a “you knew that was coming” look.

“Sustained,” he said.

“It's all in their report, and onvideotape, right there on that desk,” I explained, pointing to ourdesk where the pile of exhibits rested. “They also followed her onthat Friday night last November, when she drove to two differentcommunities in Boca, one at 10:00 p.m. and one at midnight. That'sthe pattern of a prostitute, not a stay-at-home mom!” My voice hadraised as the emotions I’d been squelching started to bubble up. Itook a deep breath and calmed down. “Your Honor, it’s still hard tobelieve. Sometimes I feel like I’ve been living in“The Twilight Zone.” Imarried a thief, a liar, a con artist, and aprostitute.”

Peter Walton objected again.

“Sustained. Mr. Goldman... ” thejudge began.

“I know, Your Honor. Sorry,” Isaid with a slight grin. Too late. It's all part of the publicrecord now, I thought, with satisfaction. Adam, however, must havethought he better end this before I got a contempt of courtcitation.

“Mr. Goldman, I think you’vecovered everything. Anything else to add?”

“Yes. In the last few months, Ihave done everything in my power to stop Audrey Munson fromcommitting crimes against me, and against others. Today, Audrey istrying to steal half the equity of my California townhouse. I amdetermined not to allow her to do this to me, and to my son. Butthis time, I cannot do it alone. My son and I need your help, YourHonor. Thank you.”

“Thank you very much, Mr.Goldman,” said Adam. He returned to his seat at the table, and, ashe turned his back to me, I mentally prepared myself for what wasto come, thinking how glad I was that Walton wasn't quicker on thedraw. I had gotten into the public record everything that I'dwanted to, and I knew the cross would go just as well. Peter Waltonrose from his seat and approached me.

“Mr. Goldman, would you pleaseread this email from you to Ms. Munson, written by you during yourengagement period?” I looked in his eyes with a level gaze, tookthe paper, and began to read:

As far as my ability to support a large family, mybusiness is doing very well, grossing almost two hundred thousand amonth.

I looked back up at him, shrugging my shoulders. Whatexactly was he trying to prove with this?

“Mr. Goldman, why did you writethis email?”

“Because Audrey kept asking me todetail my financial situation,” I answeredmatter-of-factly.

“Mr. Goldman, would you pleaseread this email that you wrote to Ms. Munson a few months afteryour marriage to her?”

Dear Audrey, it has nowbeen a little over two months since we were married, and I want totell you what a joy it is being married to you. Even though we onlyspend half the week together, I feel that we have created a bondbetween us, which will only deepen with time. I hope we will have the wisdom to compromise andovercome any future problems that develop between us, because Itruly feel that you are the love of mylife and that we should be togetherforever.

Again, I looked up at Audrey’slawyer, unsure as to why he was making me read this.My own lawyer seized an opportunity.

“Mr. Goldman, isn’t it a shamethat while you were writing love letters to your wife, she waswriting love letters to Royce?”

With that, someone in thecourtroom actually started to clap before being quickly muffled. Itdidn’t matter. Adam had effectively delivered the first home run ofthe day. Any hope Peter Walton had ofpainting me as a welcher was now gone and, acknowledging hisfailure, I was quickly dismissed.

Happy to be back at our table, I struggled to keepmyself from openly high-fiving Adam, though the look we exchangedsaid enough. This was ours for the taking. We had one more thing todo before popping the cork on the champagne, however. It was timefor the final arguments. Adam spoke first, keeping his statementsdirect and effectual.

“Your Honor, let me quote from theFlorida ‘Presumption of Gift’ statute, and, contained in thestatute, the things that can legally ‘rebut’ the presumption ofgift. They are: One, the contribution of each spouse to themarriage. Clearly, while Mr. Goldman contributed 100% to themarriage, Ms. Munson, if such a thing is possible, had a negativecontribution. Two, the length of the marriage. Fifty-six days, YourHonor. They lived together as husband and wife for only fifty-sixdays. Three, fairness. It simply would not be fair to Mr. Goldman,Your Honor, to give Ms. Munson a windfall for a fifty-six daymarriage.” Adam thanked the judge, and returned to his seat whilePeter Walton was already standing.

“Your Honor, Mr. Goldman is awelcher. The house was a gift, per the statute. Ms. Munson isentitled to half the equity in the California house, half theamount of money that was in Mr. Goldman’s business checking accounton September 15, 2008, the day the divorce was filed, half themoney that was in Mr. Goldman’s personal checking account on theday the divorce was filed, and legal fees.” With that, Peter Waltonalso turned to take his seat, but the judge stopped him in histracks.

“Okay, I am going to give myruling,” Judge Andrews declared, and I watched as Peter Walton’sface froze. He paused before quickly sitting down. The judgecontinued, “Mr. Nettles, please prepare the final ruling.” Though Ididn’t know it at the time, the lawyer whom