completely shattered, only to find him slumped on their bed in a stupor.
At first, Kathy decided to bite her lip and say nothing to her husband. After all, he had been the breadwinner for many years before it had all turned sour. Things would pick up and he would sorthimself out, she kept telling herself. The truth was that Keith Gaultney had long since given up the fight. His pride had taken a huge knock and now he was sinking rapidly into alcoholic oblivion. He did not really care any more. Just so long as Kathy kept working they could just about survive – and that would do him just fine.
When Kathy Gaultney met Mary O’Guinn one night as she was serving beers behind the bar of the hostelry, she was at an all-time low. The mortgage had not been paid for three months. She could barely afford to clothe their baby son and 11-year-old daughter Rachel from an earlier marriage. Times were pretty desperate and she was not bashful about admitting it to anyone who would listen. It was a plea for help. Kathy knew full well that time was running out unless she could find some other, more profitable way of earning a living.
Mary O’Guinn appeared like some angel of mercy – the answer to those desperate dreams. The attractive redheaded housewife was fully aware of how vulnerable Kathy was and she made her an offer she could not really refuse. On the surface it sounded like the opportunity of a lifetime.
Within a few weeks of that first meeting, Kathy and her equally stretched pal Martha Young were the proud owners of the New Way Toning Salon for housewives, in Collinsville. No one questioned thewomen’s sudden ability to pay tens of thousands of dollars in cash for the premises needed to house the club. But then only Kathy, Martha and their new best friend Mary O’Guinn were aware of the secret office hidden behind the gym.
In it was an assortment of weighing machines – but these had nothing whatsoever to do with keeping people fit. They were small scales which were perfect for weighing drugs before distributing them to a network of suppliers throughout the American mid-West. Kathy Gaultney had just become a full-time employee of one of the country’s biggest drug cartels.
For the first few months, life at the New Way Toning Salon was very very good for Kathy and her pal Martha Young. The two women really looked and acted the part of bosses of a health club. Both of them looked like ordinary suburban housewives. Kathy, with her glasses and neat, short hairstyle, always dressed in a tracksuit and sneakers. She could have been any one of a million hardworking women in a middle-class enclave anywhere in the Western World.
And, perhaps surprisingly, the legitimate business was actually doing quite well. They had worked very hard to build it up. They had something to prove to Mary O’Guinn. For both Kathy and Martha rather looked down on the drug dealing that was going onin their backroom. But they also knew that without the narcotics gang behind their little venture it would have been nothing more than a fantasy for the rest of their lives.
Kathy tried hard not to consider the consequences of all those millions of dollars’ worth of cannabis that were weighed, re-weighed and then packaged up for distribution among the street dealers of Illinois. She turned a blind eye when heavy-set characters used to turn up with vans for delivery and collection at all times of the day and night. Kathy was just delighted that for the first time in her adult life she had enough money to pay the mortgage, feed and clothe her children and enjoy some of the better things in life.
When Mary O’Guinn and her brother Roy Vernon Dean asked her if she would begin delivering some of the cannabis herself, she agreed because they were offering her more money to do it. And, with the drunken Keith now hitting rock bottom back at home in nearby St Jacob, it seemed to make a lot of sense. Kathy was actually starting to enjoy life again. There was
At first, Kathy decided to bite her lip and say nothing to her husband. After all, he had been the breadwinner for many years before it had all turned sour. Things would pick up and he would sorthimself out, she kept telling herself. The truth was that Keith Gaultney had long since given up the fight. His pride had taken a huge knock and now he was sinking rapidly into alcoholic oblivion. He did not really care any more. Just so long as Kathy kept working they could just about survive – and that would do him just fine.
When Kathy Gaultney met Mary O’Guinn one night as she was serving beers behind the bar of the hostelry, she was at an all-time low. The mortgage had not been paid for three months. She could barely afford to clothe their baby son and 11-year-old daughter Rachel from an earlier marriage. Times were pretty desperate and she was not bashful about admitting it to anyone who would listen. It was a plea for help. Kathy knew full well that time was running out unless she could find some other, more profitable way of earning a living.
Mary O’Guinn appeared like some angel of mercy – the answer to those desperate dreams. The attractive redheaded housewife was fully aware of how vulnerable Kathy was and she made her an offer she could not really refuse. On the surface it sounded like the opportunity of a lifetime.
Within a few weeks of that first meeting, Kathy and her equally stretched pal Martha Young were the proud owners of the New Way Toning Salon for housewives, in Collinsville. No one questioned thewomen’s sudden ability to pay tens of thousands of dollars in cash for the premises needed to house the club. But then only Kathy, Martha and their new best friend Mary O’Guinn were aware of the secret office hidden behind the gym.
In it was an assortment of weighing machines – but these had nothing whatsoever to do with keeping people fit. They were small scales which were perfect for weighing drugs before distributing them to a network of suppliers throughout the American mid-West. Kathy Gaultney had just become a full-time employee of one of the country’s biggest drug cartels.
For the first few months, life at the New Way Toning Salon was very very good for Kathy and her pal Martha Young. The two women really looked and acted the part of bosses of a health club. Both of them looked like ordinary suburban housewives. Kathy, with her glasses and neat, short hairstyle, always dressed in a tracksuit and sneakers. She could have been any one of a million hardworking women in a middle-class enclave anywhere in the Western World.
And, perhaps surprisingly, the legitimate business was actually doing quite well. They had worked very hard to build it up. They had something to prove to Mary O’Guinn. For both Kathy and Martha rather looked down on the drug dealing that was going onin their backroom. But they also knew that without the narcotics gang behind their little venture it would have been nothing more than a fantasy for the rest of their lives.
Kathy tried hard not to consider the consequences of all those millions of dollars’ worth of cannabis that were weighed, re-weighed and then packaged up for distribution among the street dealers of Illinois. She turned a blind eye when heavy-set characters used to turn up with vans for delivery and collection at all times of the day and night. Kathy was just delighted that for the first time in her adult life she had enough money to pay the mortgage, feed and clothe her children and enjoy some of the better things in life.
When Mary O’Guinn and her brother Roy Vernon Dean asked her if she would begin delivering some of the cannabis herself, she agreed because they were offering her more money to do it. And, with the drunken Keith now hitting rock bottom back at home in nearby St Jacob, it seemed to make a lot of sense. Kathy was actually starting to enjoy life again. There was
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