by Nic Saint
“But you can drive if you want to.” It wasn’t a question, merely a statement of the facts. He returned to his notes. “He says you two have been arguing about the alimony lately? You applied to the court to have it raised?”
“I never did such a thing. There’s nothing I want from that man.”
“Well, I did find a request for an inflation-adjusted increase.” He produced the document and laid it on the table in front of her.
She scrutinized it carefully, then shook her head. “My attorney must have filed this. I didn’t even know about it.”
“Did you voice a concern lately that your ex-husband’s alimony payments were falling behind?”
“I did. He was becoming more and more irregular, and the amount hadn’t been increased for the last two years. My attorney must have taken the matter in hand. She’s a good friend of mine and doesn’t want to see me suffer at the hands of the man who cheated on me with the mayor’s wife.” She gave him a hard stare.
Burt blinked. That, he didn’t know about.
“It’s a well-documented fact, officer,” she said with a thin-lipped smile. “Was in all the papers at the time.”
Suddenly, curiosity got the better of him. “Are… they still together?”
She shook her head. “The mayor’s wife apologized profusely and her husband forgave her the misstep. Not that Jack minded. By then he was already screwing some other woman.” Her eyes glowed. “Did you know that he once confessed to me that he was unfaithful no less than twenty-five times in the five years we were together? I remember thinking at the time it must have been some sort of record.”
Eileen wasn’t surprised to see the policeman’s eyebrows shoot up at this statement. Her dearly beloved hubby was a philanderer like few existed, and the only thing she now regretted was that it had taken her five years to screw up the courage to leave him.
“Look, officer. I don’t know what kind of game Jack is playing, but I can assure you he’s full of crap. I should know. I gave him the best years of my life and he pissed them away without remorse. The man is not only a serial philanderer, but a very skilled liar as well. He’ll tell any lie to escape the consequences of his actions.”
“I can see that,” the policeman admitted, shifting in his seat.
For a cop, he was quite nice, she concluded. He treated her without the contempt some of his colleagues had once subjected her to.
“I think if you really look into the matter, you will find that Jack Rafter did run over that girl in the street this morning, and that he fled from the scene. And now he’s trying to pin it on me with this cockamamie story that I stole his car.” She threw up her hands. “Honestly, the story is simply too crazy for words. It’s a stretch, even for a compulsive liar like him.”
The policeman tapped his notebook. “One thing still troubles me, Miss Stoker.”
“What’s that?”
“Your husband cheated on you, right?”
She frowned, wondering where this was going. “Yes?”
“Then why are you still married?”
Her eyebrows shot up, as did her blood pressure. “What? But we’re not. As I said, we divorced years ago.”
He shook his head. “Not according to the court papers. You filed for divorce, but were never granted one.”
“But I was. I mean, my attorney told me everything was in order.” She held up her hand. “I mean, why else would he have paid my alimony all these years?”
“Mr Rafter says he paid you out of the goodness of his heart.”
“Hah! The man has no heart.”
“Even though technically you were separated, he says he never stopped carrying a torch for you, and shared the profits of his business with you not because he was court ordered to do so, but because he never stopped loving you, and never wanted to see you suffer the consequences of your rash actions.”
This was getting more and more bizarre, Eileen thought. What was this man talking about? “Actions? What actions?”
“He claims that you cheated on him and out of self-respect he decided to sever the ties. His religious beliefs compelled him to.”
Eileen was speechless at this. Jack? Religious beliefs? The man only believed in one God and that was the almighty dollar.
“I never cheated on him, and if he’s trying to convince you otherwise, he’s an even bigger liar than I thought possible.”
“He’s got pictures.”
“Pictures? Of me?”
“With Father Ramon.”
Eileen’s jaw dropped.
“He says he’s willing to let bygones be bygones, if only you confess to the theft of his car and being involved in the accident this morning. If not, he’s going to feel obliged to share this information with the rest of the community.”
Eileen opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, the horror of the situation now fully hitting home.
“You’ve… seen these pictures?”
The policeman shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I have.”
“But… I’ve never been involved with any man, and most definitely not with… Ramon. Those pictures must be fake.”
“They look pretty real to me, Eileen—may I call you Eileen?”
She nodded quickly, wondering what the hell was going on. “May I see them?”
The man hesitated for a moment, then opened a file folder on the table in front of her. She stared at the pictures of her and Ramon, wrapped up in a tight embrace.
She shook her head. How had the bastard managed to get a hold of these? And why? Had he been planning this all along? How had he know she would be there this morning? It was all just so surreal.
“I… don’t understand,” she finally muttered, horrified by the ‘evidence’ of her adultery. “Father Ramon was simply consoling me. Nothing happened. Absolutely nothing—H-how did he get these pictures? How—”
“He says he’s in love with another woman, Eileen. Says he wants a divorce but you refuse to grant him one. So he hired a private detective to follow you around, figured he had a better chance at a divorce if he proved you were unfaithful.”
“But we’ve been separated for years. If the divorce never went through—something I’m sure it did—he could have gotten a divorce solely based on the fact we didn’t live together. Why go to the trouble of hiring a detective?”
“He claims you fought his divorce application. Even though you were separated, you refused to grant him one, and the judge followed your request. He claims you strong-armed the judge by…” He coughed and looked properly embarrassed. “By sleeping with him, Eileen.”
The only thought that stood out amongst the welter of confusion, was that her lawyer had somehow double-crossed her. She was divorced, dammit, Jacqueline had told her so years ago. How could it be that she wasn’t? Only if Jacqueline had lied to her.
“This is crazy,” she muttered. “This is just…” Her voice trailed off when the policeman put a hand on her arm.
“Miss Stoker? Eileen? I think you need to hire a very good lawyer. I don’t know what’s going on here, but as things now stand, you’re being accused of a crime that is punishable to the full extent of the law.”
“But I’m innocent!” she cried. “I-I’m being set up!”
He nodded solemnly, then fixed her with a somber stare. “Hire a lawyer, Eileen. And a good one, because this thing isn’t going away. And it’s only going to get worse from here on out.” He hesitated. “I haven’t told you this yet, but Mr Rafter also claims you stole from him.”
“Yes, you did tell me. The car, right? But that’s ridiculous. I would never steal Jack’s car.”
“Not his car, Eileen. He says you stole his gun, and he now fears for his own life and that of his girlfriend.”
Chapter 9
Stunned. It was the only way to describe how she felt. After the interview, the policeman had allowed her to return home, with the emphasis on the word ‘allow’, indicating he would delve deeply into the case, and if he needed
her for further statements, he knew where to find her. Oh, and would she postpone any plans she might harbor to leave town?
She’d stormed out of the place, feeling like a proper criminal, for no matter what she said, the policeman had insisted on giving credence to the words of an obvious liar.
It had always been the case with Jack. He was such a smooth talker that everyone believed anything he said. It was also the way he’d managed to bed so many women.
To her chagrin, it had been the way he’d bedded and married her. The man had a way with words, and simply oozed charm by the gallon.
She was sitting in Ramon’s kitchen, sipping from a cup of hot coffee the priest had made her, and wondered for a moment if she’d made the right decision to come here and implicate the good father even more in this sordid affair.
Ramon had assured her that he would do everything that lay in his power to help her, including testifying under oath she’d never left his church that morning, and that he could also attest to her character as an honorable and reliable person who would never stoop so low as to go around stealing cars and guns and make her ex-husband’s life a living hell as he apparently claimed she had.
“The man is evil, Ramon. That’s the only way to explain it. Pure and simple evil.”
“I don’t know about that,” he said evasively. “But he’s definitely up to something and we need to find out what it is.”
“He’s out to destroy me. My reputation, my…” Well, not her reputation, obviously, as that was already shot to hell a long time ago. The Mrs Coopers of this world had seen to that. Then she realized it wasn’t her reputation that would suffer, but Ramon’s. “I’m so sorry to have dragged you into this, Ramon. If I had known what that man was up to, I would have stayed far away.”
He gave her a gentle smile. “Don’t give it a second thought. If I can’t even console a parishioner without raising eyebrows, the world has become a very cold and ugly place indeed. I’m sure people will understand—”
“You don’t know people like I do,” she interjected. “They’ll take one look at these pictures and draw their own conclusions.”
She’d described the exact nature of the pictures, and Ramon had said he couldn’t understand how anyone could take an innocent scene like the one they’d engaged in, and turn it into something ugly and lurid.
“Trust me. They will. They’ll read all kinds of ugly fantasies into it, and reckon this was only the beginning, and the real sexy stuff has been withheld.”
“The real sexy stuff?” He lifted one eyebrow, and she thought he’d never looked… sexier.
“You know what I mean. They’ll think this was just the prelude to…” She cast down her eyes in embarrassment, a blush mantling her cheeks.
He gently lifted her chin and made her look up. “I do know what you mean. I just don’t see it, that’s all.”
“That’s because you’re a good, honorable man, father. You refuse to see the bad in people. You always see the good.”
“That’s my job, isn’t it, Eileen? If I only saw the bad in people, I wouldn’t be much of a priest now would I?”
She had to smile at that. He was right, of course, but what she really wanted to tell him was that he saw the good in her. Unlike most people, he looked at her with the eyes of one who understood, and who saw the beauty and the goodness in her.
Others made her feel dirty and ugly, but he made her feel beautiful. Desirable, even. Sexy, also.
She didn’t want to go there, but when she was with him, she actually felt good in her own skin. And it made her feel good about being with him. If only he could look at her like this always, she’d be the happiest woman alive.
“You’re a good man, Father Ramon,” was all she said. “And you don’t deserve to get mixed up in this sordid affair.”
“I’ll decide what I want to be mixed up with, Eileen. And with whom.”
Their eyes met, and Eileen felt something like a shudder pass between them. It made her body tingle, the way he looked at her now, and she thought if only they’d continued their embrace that morning, the photographer her husband had sent would have snapped some really smoking hot pictures instead of the tame stuff he’d had to make due with.
She suddenly wondered if that photographer was here now, snapping pictures…
“I wonder how he managed this morning,” she said thoughtfully. “I mean, judging from the angle, he must have snapped those shots through the window, but how did he know we were going to be there, let alone in that, um, compromising position?”
“He must have been following you around for some time,” opined Ramon. He sat back, slinging his leg over his knee. “I know how these PIs work. When they’re hired by a spouse to catch a cheating partner, they simply follow them around until they manage to get the shots they want. Anything that will convince the judge they’ve been unfaithful. Instant divorce and no alimony.”
“But I thought I was divorced. Jacqueline told me so.” She’d been trying to get through to her friend, leaving at least a dozen messages. No sign of life.
“It’s a muddled affair,” conceded Ramon. “Perhaps we should visit this lawyer friend of yours. Perhaps she’ll be able to cast some light on the matter.”
Eileen looked up at this. We? “Ramon, you really don’t need to concern yourself with this. In fact, I think it’s best if you don’t get involved at all. Your reputation—”
“I don’t give a hoot about my reputation, Eileen. Not a damn. The only thing I care about is to see justice being done here. You’ve suffered from the hands of this man so much already, it’s time to put a stop to it.”
“Thank you, Ramon, but—”
He cradled her face in his hands. It felt wonderful. “No buts. We’re in this together now, you and I.”
“But we aren’t. I’m the only person affected by this craziness.”
He shook his head. “But you’re not, are you? Your ex-husband claims you and I are engaged in a torrid affair, so it’s as important to me as it is to you to get to the bottom of this.”
“But… I thought you didn’t care about your reputation,” she countered feebly. What was he saying?
He suddenly raised his voice. “I don’t. I care about you, Eileen. That’s the only thing that matters to me.”
They were both silent after this. He seemingly taken aback by this sudden confession of his true feelings for her, she by the nature of those feelings.
“No one has ever said something like that to me before,” she muttered.
“No man has ever said something like this to you before,” he quietly corrected.
She shook her head, wondering what was going on here. She knew she felt drawn to him, but wondered if it wasn’t merely survival instinct on her part. She would have been drawn to any man who treated her like a human being at this point, and she damn well could use the protection. As far as he was concerned? She’d noticed the looks he’d been casting at her. Men had looked at her like that ever since she’d grown into a woman, so there were no surprises there. He lusted after her, same way all men lusted after her. He wanted to see her naked, to lay his eyes on the famous Stoker chest.
Well, perhaps she should let him. Perhaps she should engage in a simple bargain with this man. He could have her any way he wanted, as long as he stood by her side and helped her get through this mess.
It wasn’t a bad deal as deals went. And when it was all over, when he’d had his fill and had tired of her body like they all did, and longed for something new and something fresh, they’d go their separate ways again.
Just a mutually beneficial arrangement…
She swallowed and held his gaze, then slowly rose to her feet and started unbuttoning her blouse, gratified to see the confusion in his eyes slowly turn to lust as she revealed more and more of her sinful flesh.
Chapter 10
Ramon watched her strip off her blouse with rising confusion. What was she thinking, undressing like this in front of him? But then she
revealed her black lacy bra to him and his mind went blank.
Contained within the confines of the brassiere were the largest pair of breasts he’d ever seen. Even though she’d obviously selected a size easily beyond most women’s need, her boobs still strained against the confines of the material, tugging at the straps and cutting into her shoulders.
His heart was filled with remorse as his body filled with the telltale signs of arousal. His length slowly began its ascent as she revealed more and more of herself, her eyes on him, her face revealing nothing.
She stepped out of her jeans, and his eyes dropped from her wiggling jugs to the surprisingly slim waistline and her long and shapely legs.
“Eileen,” he implored, his voice hoarse.
But she didn’t stop. Throwing her hair back so that it flowed over her shoulders in undulating waves, she unclasped her bra and her breasts spilled out, her dark areolae puckered and hard.
God, she was gorgeous. In his wildest imagination, he’d never pictured a woman could look this hot. Then she stepped out of her slip, and the dark triangle of her sex winked at him invitingly.
She stood there for a moment, allowing him to examine her, get an eyeful of the beautiful woman that she was. It irked him a little that her face was impassive, as if undressing for him didn’t touch her heart in any way, but then he rose, and she was in his arms in a flash, and when he claimed her lips, it was obvious the passion ran both ways.
Her breath caught in her throat when he captured her. It was as if she’d been falling—falling into an abyss, and suddenly this strong man was here and caught her before she tumbled past the point of no return.
He caught her, and when their lips met, she knew he was the one. Not merely a man to sell her body to for the protection and support he might offer, but the man she’d longed to meet for all these years, fearing she never would.
The moment their bodies melted into a single embrace, she knew there was more to Ramon than a mere man of the cloth. He was a man with a heart, a man with a soul, a decent man. A good man.