The Cyber Strain

By Jay B. Hilliard

The Cyber Strain, by Jay B Hiliard provides a modern day romance/mystery journey with twists and turns and a surprise ending.

An online chat room is the setting of a tale that will keep you up all night turning pages.

Nygel Stewart, a banker from Detroit, discovers the online world through an online chatroom, which at first is friendly, but as he spends time in there, he slowly discovers that the members aren’t so friendly.

He meets a woman who he ends up spending several hours with chatting, texting, and talking on the phone.

One by one the members of the room are being murdered. Nygel suspects the murders are related. He brings the murders to the attention of the authorities and the investigation is on.

This novella contains mystery, romance, and adult humor, language, and content.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jay B. Hilliard
• Release date: Mar 8, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301121755

Jay B. Hilliard

Author of Whatever Makes You Happy Volumes One and Two and The Cyber Strain. I was born and raised in the Salt Lake area. At a young age I was a troublemaker in school. I spent my time trying to make the other kids laugh. When I was in fourth grade I was suspended from school for the first time for mooning the entire fourth grade class. I was suspended several other times for making the other kids laugh by swearing. I started writing in middle school. I would write poems and short stories. In high school I started up a short lived literary magazine called The Salt Laker. I spent many hours writing poems, concert reviews, and editorials. The newsletter saw three issues before I decided to put it down. In high school I found the best friends anyone could ask for. We were all inseparable. We spent many days cutting class, knocking over garbage cans, and causing trouble. I always thought our experiences would make a good movie. Little did I know I would use these experiences in my book I would publish 16 years later. I served an LDS mission in the Montana Billings Mission. I constantly wrote letters to friends and family members. Each of these letters expressed the humor I was able to maintain throughout my mission. I spent a year at the community college in Laramie Wyoming. There I excelled in my classes, especially English. After I left school, I took a long break from writing. The idea of the book 'Whatever Makes You Happy,' came to me when I was in college. It wasn't until August of 2011 that I started actually planning the book. The actual writing of the book didn't start until May of 2012. Since then, I have worked full time on writing this series.

Book preview

Chapter One

It’s over Nigel, Mimi said. Her and Nigel were on their last leg of their marriage. He had caught her texting provocatively with some man from Buffalo. The texts contained pictures of her naked. In the five years they had been together, she had never taken any pictures for him like that for him.

He took a long drink of beer. He found the texts a few days ago and had been waiting for the right time to approach her about them. He thought he handled it well. He didn’t yell, he just told her he had found the texts. Apparently she was looking for a reason to leave him.

He was six foot three inches tall, slender with blonde hair and hazel eyes. He was a good-looking man. He never had a hard time finding women, but was a gentleman. He was 32 years old.

Well fuck you too then, he said. They had been constantly fighting for the last three years. She had threatened to leave him before, and in desperation he begged her not to leave. In light of the recent events, he decided not to beg her back. Do you want me to leave, or are you going to leave?

I’m going to my mom’s, she said. Her mother and her were joined at the hip. Their relationship actually scared him. He didn’t like her mother. He thought she was literally insane. He constantly caught her lying.

Mimi had done every thing her mother told her to. He wondered what kind of lies she would make up about him. Luckily they didn’t have any children, though it wasn’t from a lack of trying.

Mimi wanted to get pregnant since the first time they had sex. They had tried really hard in the first two years of their marriage; but with them being unsuccessful, they had given up. They hadn’t had sex more than once a week in the last three years.

He worked at a national bank and made decent money. They lived in Detroit Michigan. His family lived in Nebraska. He was born and raised as a farmer. When he graduated high school he swore off farming and went to college at the University of Nebraska.

He met Mimi in college. Their relationship thrived for the first two years until they moved to Michigan to be closer to her mother. That’s when their relationship went downhill.

He was very successful at work. He was in upper management and was paid well. Other than being overworked, he didn’t think he was a bad husband. He tried romancing her, but she seemed disconnected.

He wondered how long her online affair had been going on with this gentleman from Buffalo. He also wondered if Mimi and this man had actually met; it wouldn’t surprise him.

As she packed her belongings he got on the computer and started looking up apartments to rent. He didn’t believe that Mimi was actually going to stay at her mom’s. He was sure she would insist that she take the house. It didn’t matter to him. He wanted to start over in a new place anyway.

I’m selling the house, he said. She dropped her bags.

Why would you do that? she asked.

I don’t want to live in the same house you cheated with me on.

I didn’t cheat; I was just lonely. If you don’t want the house, then I’ll take it.

He knew she would say this. He didn’t know how she would be able to afford to maintain a home, much less a house payment. She hadn’t worked a day in her life. She received her bachelor’s degree in home economics, though she never applied herself. Instead she’d stay at home playing online video games while he worked.

For the most part he had been supportive of her. He went to church with her, and even hung out with her friends. They all hated him. He didn’t know why and didn’t care.

She may not have actually performed any sexual acts with Mr. Buffalo, as he so cleverly called him, but he surely felt betrayed.

She started yelling at him at the top of her lungs. He ignored her, grabbed another beer and stepped outside for a cigarette. He looked at his phone. He wondered who he could call for support. He was on the verge of tears, but was also very angry. He called his dad.

His dad still lived in Nebraska, but had since divorced his mother. He remarried and was living the good life with a wonderful woman that loved him. His mother also lived in Nebraska, and also remarried. The man she was married to was unkind to her. He didn’t know how she put up with his bullshit. He figured it was because of money.

Mimi frowned on him having friends, so he didn’t really have any friends in the area. He had his coworkers, but they weren’t the kind of people he could unload his problems on. His dad was pretty much the only person he could talk to candidly.

Hey Pa, this is Nigel, he said.

Hey Nigel. What’s new? he asked.

You don’t want to know, but I’m going to tell you.

You’re not having problems with Mimi again aren’t you?

Yeah, we’re splitting up. This time it’s going to be permanent.

You said that last time Son. Why don’t you just buy her some flowers, take her out on a romantic date, and whatever differences you have will work themselves out. Nigel filled him in on the text messages he had found.

With that being the case, I’d say dump the bitch. To be honest, we never liked her anyway. When I say we, I mean your entire family including your mother. She is too controlling and talks way too much. Why don’t you move back to Nebraska and get a job?

I don’t to move to fucking Nebraska. I like it here in Detroit. I have a good job, and you know how much I hate change. I’m not fucking moving.

Okay Son, I understand. Why don’t you just visit then? Nigel thought about it. The last place he wanted to be at that point was the empty house.

That might be a good idea. I have some vacation time saved up and under the circumstances, I’m sure my boss will let me take a couple of weeks off.

Hold on a second. He consulted with his wife. A couple of minutes later he returned to the phone. Your step mother and I would be happy if you were to come stay with us for a couple of weeks. We can have a good time. We can cook, drink, and maybe catch an opera.

Nigel’s dad was an opera aficionado. Nigel enjoyed the opera and other fine arts. His offer was tempting. The only problem was he wanted to get moved into a new apartment, and get the house ready to sell. He thought about it and decided that could wait for a couple of weeks while he took some time to unwind from the marriage.

Okay Dad, I’ll do it.

Are you going to fly in?

No, I’m going to drive. He had driven back and forth from Detroit to Omaha so many times that he could do it in his sleep. He lit another cigarette and hung up the phone with his dad.

Mimi came out while he was smoking. Her face showed animosity toward him. Her countenance then changed to a sign of meekness.

She looked at him with her brown eyes. She had a medium build, and was short. When he married her he thought she was drop dead gorgeous, but time hadn’t done her any favors. She now stood with a defined frown line. Nigel thought she had let herself go.

I’ve thought it over, and I don’t think we should divorce, she said.

You what? he asked.

I’m going to give you a second chance.

Give me a second change? This is fucking bullshit. I find out that you’re sending dirty pictures and exchanges to Mr. Buffalo, and now you’re saying you want to give me a second chance? You have seriously got to be kidding me.

Mark is his name. It was just something stupid we did. I regret doing it and I’m sorry. I promise it won’t happen again.

He was also expecting this. This had been their pattern for years. Now he had physical evidence of her indiscretions. This was proof enough that things were getting worse and not better.

Mimi, let’s not fool ourselves. Our relationship has been on the rocks for years. I don’t see it working out. I want a divorce.

Fine fucker. If it’s over then I want you to know that I’m going to fuck you over in divorce court. I’m going to get the meanest lawyer and take you for everything you’ve got.

Mimi, I’m done fighting over this. If you want to take me to court then that’s fine. I have copies of the texts sent. Good luck trying to get a judge to rule in your favor when I show him the portfolio between you and Mr. Buffalo.

You fucker! she exclaimed. She called her mom. Her mom and brothers showed up and they started loading her belongings into their truck. When they were done her mother approached him.

Nigel, you are making a big mistake leaving Mimi, she said. You have no idea what you are losing. Once she is gone, she is gone for good. He believed her. He knew that once her mother was on board with the divorce, she would follow.

Julie, your point is taken, he said, but I don’t want her around anymore. You should ask to see the pictures she sent Mr. Buffalo via text. He started bringing them up on his phone. Her mother ignored this fully. As they were driving away, her brothers flipped him off. He gave them a friendly wave back.

He went back into the house and grabbed another beer. He ordered pizza and watched T.V. After a couple of hours of mindless T.V. watching, he decided to walk to the local bar. He sat at a table and ordered a pitcher of beer.

He reflected on his last five years. He figured they weren’t wasted. He had learned a lot over those years. He learned what not to look for in a woman, and he sure as hell knew that he would get a good look at the mother before he chose to marry again.

Her mother had been a big distraction throughout their marriage. He felt like he was married to her also. Her father was a truck driver and wasn’t around much. He now knew why her father chose that profession. If he had to live with Mimi for another day, he would consider a change in careers.

As the night passed, he moved from beer to vodka tonic. He also moved from the table to the bar. A couple sat down next to him. They announced to the bar that they had just got married.

This round is on me, he said drunkenly. He outstretched his hand. My name is Nigel Stewart. So you got married today huh?

Yes, and thank you for the drinks, the groom said.

No fucking problem. He put his head close to them and in a whisper said, marriage isn’t as bad as everyone says it is. Just don’t marry the wrong woman. He slugged the groom’s arm in jest.

I know she’s the right woman, he said.

Do you know any men from Buffalo? Nigel asked.

What? she asked.

Nigel, I think it’s about time to cut you off buddy, the bartended said.

The night is still young and you’re throwing me out of the bar?

I’m not throwing you out, but my boss over there told me I can’t serve you anymore. He motioned to the owner of the pub. You don’t have to leave, in fact, please stay. You’re making everybody laugh and you’re a good tipper.

Well, if I can’t drink, then I’m going to fucking leave. He stumbled into the bathroom. When he returned, he tried ordering another drink, but was denied. Fine, I’ll take my money and good tips elsewhere.

He slammed a hundred dollar bill on the counter and said, The bride and groom drink on me tonight. Good luck to you two. I hope you live a happy and prosperous life.

He just found out he’s getting a divorce, the bartender informed the couple.

Poor guy, the bride said. She got up and hugged him. He looked over at the groom. He wondered if he was going to get his ass kicked by hugging his bride on their wedding night. He gave him a reassuring look.

I’ll see you all next time. Thanks Chad, he said as he nodded to the bartender.

He stumbled out of the bar and onto the street. He staggered side to side on the sidewalk. He was really drunk, but there was still booze to be consumed. Suddenly a car pulled over to the side of the road. It was one of his colleagues from work.

Nigel, what the hell are you doing? Tony asked.

I’m walking to the bar, he said.

Why don’t you go to T’s Bar, it’s just up the street?

Those fuckers threw me out. Well, they cut me off.

Do you want a ride?

Sure buddy.

Just don’t puke in my car.

I don’t puke. Let’s go to Baron’s.

That sounds good. I’ll have a beer with you.

As they were entering the bar Nigel said to Tony, I don’t want to be cut off in here, so I’m going to play it cool. Please don’t cut me off either.

Don’t worry Nigel. You can drink as much as you want and I won’t say a word.

They walked to the bar and ordered two beers. Nigel pounded the first, then ordered another. After a couple of drinks Tony realized that Nigel shouldn’t be drinking anymore. He promised him he wouldn’t cut him off, but had no idea how drunk he already was.

Nigel ran to the bathroom and threw up. Tony followed him with his keys in his hands. It’s time to go buddy.

I thought you weren’t going to cut me off.

You didn’t tell me how drunk you were. He helped him up off the floor and led him to the car. He dropped him off at his house, and made sure he got in bed

You’re going to have one hell of a hangover in the morning.

Hey Tony, thanks for everything. I’ll see you at work tomorrow.

I highly doubt that.

Chapter Two

Emma woke up at six in the morning. She opened her curtains and the warm sunlight cascaded through the leaves from the large oaks, which shimmered through the windows. She loved Florida in the winter.

She was a 28-year-old woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes. She had gone through boyfriends quite frequently. She fell in love easily, and usually got her heart broken.

Her most recent heartbreak was with a man that ended up being married. They had been together for six months, and she had no idea he was married.

She lived alone and had two Shih Tzu’s named Harry and Sally. She loved her puppies more than any man she had ever been with. In her spare time she played on an online poker site where she had several friends.

She took a shower, and had a cup of coffee and a bagel for breakfast. She rushed to work and made it barely in time. She logged into her phone and waited for the barrage of calls she was destined to take.

She worked