Ordeal by cheque By Hollis Mermelstein

Lawrence Exeter and his wife were buying a crib and car seat for their baby that was due in a couple of weeks. All Larry wanted to do was buy the cheapest things they needed and leave. His wife, however, was talking to the manager about the items that were most popular and best for the baby. In mid-sleep on one of the rocking chairs, Larry heard a scream; his wife's water broke. The couple rushed to the hospital and their son Lawrence Exeter, Jr. was born.

From the start, Jr. was a wild baby. He once was a few inches from rolling down the stairs until Larry caught him just in time. As he became a toddler, he would rip the heads off of all his toys and throw them into the fire. He would watch their faces burn away with big eyes and a mischievous face.

By age six, Jr. was ready for school at Palisades School for Boys. Larry saw how girls distracted Jr. and he didn't want them to interfere with his school work. After doing well in elementary school, Larry enrolled Jr. in Columbia Military Academy. After Jr. had excelled in high school, his father bought him a beautiful, black Cadillac. Not surprisingly, he was looking at a girl walking on the street while driving and ran into a tree. Larry took the beauty to the Wilshire Auto Repair Service right away.

Jr. was accepted to Stanford University and couldn't wait to start. Not only was it the first time he was far away from home, but it was also full of gorgeous, California girls. When Jr. was in his junior year of college, his father got the worst news - his son had gotten one of his professors pregnant. Larry and his wife were devastated with this news but knew Jr. wouldn't want to help or be a part of the baby's life. Larry paid Miss Daisy Windsor off and told her that she could do much better.

After this terrible event in their lives, Larry and his wife felt like they needed to get away for a couple of months. They had been wanting to take a luxurious trip like this for years. With Larry's steel mill high ranked in the manufacturing world and all of their stress, it was the perfect timing for their dream vacation to France.

After a few years, Jr.'s parents felt that he had calmed down and was okay to be left alone. Larry decided that he wanted to renew his vows with his wife in Hawaii. He planned out a very romantic trip that he was sure his wife would love. To the parents' horror once again, Jr. ended up in jail five days after they left. Jr. was arrested for stealing money and murdering the owner of a huge oil company. Embarrassed by his son's actions and publicity, Larry persuaded the police with $200,000 to let his son out of jail. Larry sent his son to a rehabilitation center for a little over a year.

The center released Jr. when they thought he had learned the importance of well-being and life. They also noticed that he was able to fall in love with his nurse. Little did anybody know, Jr. was still up to no good. He became pals with a Mafia member named Tony Spagoni who helped him rob big companies.

Less than six months after marrying the nurse, Jr. had an affair with her best friend. Jr. paid her off and made her promise not to tell anyone about the affair - especially his wife. He reminded her that if she told a soul, she would be dead. Being a woman, she told his wife and the next day explaining how awful she felt and how it was a spur of the moment affair. Jr.'s wife filed for divorce immediately.

Jr.'s ex-wife's best friend was now in serious trouble. Jr. called Spagoni saying that they must kill her for ruining the only good thing in his life. As Spagoni approached her house, her boyfriend opened the door and shot Spagoni. Then, her boyfriend went to Jr.'s house and told him that if he ever tried coming near his girlfriend, he was a dead man. Her boyfriend stabbed him and then left.

Two days later, Larry found his son unconscious in his house. He rushed him to the hospital right away where he was pronounced dead.