by Rachel Bo
“Because Sutter’s dad had banned the friendship.”
“That’s right.”
“But he gave in pretty easily after Sutter swore they weren’t physically involved.”
Kendall nodded.
“So it was kind of like token resistance.”
Kendall thought for a moment. “Well, yeah. I guess so.”
“But then when they got to college and were still so close, he started freaking out. Putting on more and more pressure to break them up. Especially at the beginning of their senior year.”
Kendall nodded again. She couldn’t quite see where Brandy was going with this. “But after I became involved, and Sutter and I got married, he seemed okay with things. He was mad about Sutter not going to law school, but he seemed to have resigned himself to that.”
“Until he walked in on the three of you that weekend.”
Kendall studied her friend. “What are you thinking?”
“I don’t know. There’s something niggling at the back of my mind. Let’s talk it out.” She tilted her head thoughtfully. “At first glance, he just seems homophobic. But the pattern, his reactions—they’re kind of odd. I’m sure he suspected it might get physical back when they were in high school.” She stood and began pacing, thinking aloud. “But he backed off. Then he got agitated again when they started college, and was freaking by the time they were seniors. Then he backed off again when you came along and married Sutter, even though it was obvious Sutter still had a relationship with Josh.” She stopped and frowned. “I know walking in on the three of you would be quite a shock, but in the end, why would he care? I mean, he knew the three of you were living together—probably even knew about the second wedding.”
“You think so?” Kendall interrupted.
Brandy looked at her pityingly. “Trust me. David Campbell knew.”
Kendall nodded, her mind racing. “So then—assume that he had convinced himself nothing of that sort was going on between Sutter and Josh. That it was only me they had sexual relations with. Sutter and I made it even easier for him to delude himself when we got married for the sake of public appearance.”
“Exactly.” Brandy began pacing again, her brow furrowed in concentration. “Then he saw something that took away that self-delusion.” She stopped again. “But he didn’t react quite the way I would have expected. Didn’t call them names or act disgusted, right?”
Again, Kendall nodded. “Just angry.”
“Right. And not so much about the actual act, but more like he was just furious with Sutter for not complying with his wishes. As a matter of fact, if Josh were to end up in jail, he would welcome Sutter back into the fold. Reinstate the will. Be all involved in his life again, right? Wouldn’t even mention what went on with Josh.”
Kendall nodded slowly. “Yes, I think he would. But that’s because he will have finally gotten his way.”
“No.” Brandy shook her head. “It’s more than that. If there’s one thing I know, it’s people.”
Kendall forced a smile. “I know, that’s why I needed your help figuring this thing out.”
“A true homophobe—especially a controlling, old-school guy like David—would be disgusted. Repulsed. He’d never welcome a son back with open arms after seeing him like that, even with the guy gone and a heterosexual marriage in place. He wouldn’t have any respect for Sutter. Or you, for that matter—a woman who would condone that, even participate.”
“What are you saying?”
“For him to feel guilt, if that’s what it was—” She settled on the couch next to Kendall, a serious expression on her face. “I think he’s done it. Experimented. Probably in college. Or maybe it was involuntary, who knows?” She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Anyway, he thinks it’s his fault.” She grabbed Kendall’s hands and squeezed them tight. “That’s where the guilt comes from. He thinks he’s responsible for Sutter and Josh’s relationship. That’s why he can forgive and forget if Josh disappears.”
Kendall was stunned. “This is—wild speculation!”
Brandy bared her teeth—the grin of a bloodhound on the scent. “So let’s find out if I’m right.”
* * * * *
Brandy pulled into the driveway of a neat little cottage painted a buttery yellow. Despite the fact that it was November, colorful plants brightened the landscape—flowering kale, variegated ivies. Normally Kendall would have admired the view, but her stomach was in knots. She held back as Brandy marched up the sidewalk. “I’m not sure we should be doing this.”
Brandy turned and planted her hands on her hips. “Kendall. David Campbell is a criminal defense attorney. A good one. If he did this, the case against Josh is going to be airtight. Figuring out his motivation is the only thing that’s going to give you any leverage.”
Kendall continued reluctantly up the walk. Brandy rang the doorbell. A moment later the door opened.
“Brandy!” The petite, plump brunette who answered hugged Kendall’s friend tightly. “I’m so glad you called.”
“Me too, Joy.” Brandy smiled and gestured toward Kendall. “This is my friend, Kendall Reed-Campbell.”
Joy smiled and held out her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Kendall shook her hand and the woman ushered them into the house.
When she had them ensconced in the screened porch off the kitchen, a pitcher of iced tea at the ready, she asked, “So. What is this research project you needed help with?”
Brandy blushed. “I may have misled you a bit.” Joy Daniels had been Brandy’s instructor her freshman year, a mentor who eventually became a friend. They had kept in touch until Brandy had graduated in May, but hadn’t talked for the past few months. “I wanted to ask you some questions, actually. About David Campbell.”
Joy’s eyes widened. “What about David?”
Kendall sat and listened uncomfortably while Brandy related as briefly as possible the details of Kendall’s relationship with Sutter for the past year. Brandy had told her Joy would have to know the whole story, but it was still unnerving to hear it related to a perfect stranger. “Anyway,” Brandy said when she had finished, “I knew you and David had dated his senior year—my mom mentioned it. I was wondering if you knew anything.”
Joy looked at Kendall, her expression veiled. “What exactly are you planning to do?”
“I don’t want to hurt him,” Kendall insisted. “But I know he’s behind this. Maybe if I understand what’s going on and confront him, we can clear this up. In the absence of that…” She thought long and hard before she said the next few words. She could tell that the woman still cared a great deal for David. Finally, she decided she owed it to her to be completely honest. “If what we think is true, and there’s any way to use it to make him confess, then that’s what I’ll do.”
Joy stared down at the tablecloth. So many years ago. And David was still trying to control the people in his life. She had seen him recently, at a charity banquet. He hadn’t noticed her, but she had watched him and known that he was as miserable as ever—trying so hard to be the person his dad was. Denying himself. She couldn’t stand the thought of helping this woman to hurt him, but what would happen to Sutter if David won? Another Campbell generation passing down bitterness and anger. Maybe it was time to shake up David Campbell’s world. “I could see him doing this. He was always a control freak. In college, they nicknamed him ‘Ruthless’. He had to win at everything, no matter what the cost. I had hoped he would mellow with age. Obviously he hasn’t.” She sighed. “I don’t know if this is the right thing to do, but—there was this guy our senior year. Jason Weir. He was David’s roommate. Of course, David didn’t live on campus. He had a beach house. Didn’t need a roommate, financially speaking, but he’s the kind of man who always wants someone around. An audience. Sometimes I would get this strange vibe from the two of them.” She shrugged. “I don’t know the truth. If there was anything between them, it was very discreet.”
Brandy leaned forward eagerly. “D
o you know where he is?”
Joy nodded, somewhat reluctantly. “He teaches at a college in the Fort Worth area. Astronomy. I—I think I have his address.” She stood to get it. “You know, I never thought anything of it, the fact that he used to write to me occasionally. We were never that close back then, but after he moved I would get the odd letter, and he always asked about David. Haven’t heard from him in a couple of years, though.”
She returned with an envelope in her hands. “Here’s the envelope from the last letter he sent. The address isn’t necessarily current, but it should help.” She handed it to Kendall. “Just—don’t do anything rash, okay? I—” She shook her head. “I shouldn’t care, but I do.”
Kendall took her hand. “Joy. He’s my husband’s father. Sutter loves him. I don’t want to see him destroyed. I just want him to let us live our lives. If I do find out something that could be damaging, I’ll use it for leverage. But if he calls my bluff—” She hesitated, then admitted, “I won’t go public. I couldn’t do that.”
Joy’s expression brightened. “Thank you for that.”
“Just wish me luck. Josh and Sutter and I—we belong together.” Beside her, Brandy nodded emphatically.
“I don’t have any hang-ups about things needing to be traditional. Some of the strongest relationships I’ve ever seen have been out of the ordinary.” Joy smiled. “And Brandy’s the best judge of character I know. So, good luck and—will you let me know how it turns out?”
Brandy hugged her tight. “Definitely. We won’t lose touch this time, either. I promise.”
* * * * *
Kendall’s plane landed at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport forty-five minutes ahead of schedule. She settled into a seat to wait for her ride. By calling DFW information, she and Brandy had been able to use the address Joy gave them to obtain Jason Weir’s phone number. Kendall had talked to him briefly on the phone, once again using a cover story to get in the door. She said she was doing a write-up on David Campbell for Galveston’s Big G magazine—a Man-of-the-Year piece—and wanted to interview friends from his past. Jason had expressed surprise that David had even mentioned him and questioned the need for her to actually come to Fort Worth, suggesting they conduct the interview over the phone. Thinking fast, Kendall had told him that the magazine was going to pay to fly in a couple of the interviewees for the big night, and preferred a face-to-face interview, with photos, in order to make their decision. Jason had gone quiet, but had finally agreed.
“Kendall Reed?” She glanced up to find a tall, slender gentleman with a great smile and twinkling eyes standing at her side.
“Yes.” She picked up her bag and stood. “Jason?”
He held out his hand. “Nice to meet you.” He took her bag and started for the exit. “How was your flight?”
“Not bad.” She glanced at her watch. She had only been waiting for about ten minutes. “You’re early.”
Jason smiled. “I only live fifteen minutes from the airport. I called to check on the arrival time, and found out you guys were ahead of schedule.” He held the door open for her and led the way to his car.
They made small talk during the short drive. The weather, the recent meteor shower, what it was like living so close to a noisy airport. Not too bad, it turned out, since the house was not in the direction of the usual flight paths. When they arrived, he carried her bag into the house and led the way into the kitchen. “Coffee, tea, soda?” he asked.
“Coffee would be great.”
“Good. I started a pot before I left.” Jason poured their drinks and brought them to the table. “So. What do you want to know?”
Kendall looked down at the table. “I haven’t been honest with you.” She looked up. He had such an open face and friendly demeanor. “I feel terrible about lying to you, but I’m desperate.”
Jason frowned, his dark brows nearly meeting in the middle. “What’s this all about?”
For the third time in four days, Kendall related the story of her life for the last year. When she was finished, Jason looked sad. “He still doesn’t get it.” He shook his head. “I wondered about your story. I didn’t think David would ever mention me to any journalist.” He sipped at his coffee. “Yeah, we were involved.”
Kendall’s heart did a flip. She never dreamed it would be this easy. He noticed her expression and laughed. “Thought you’d have to drag it out of me, huh?”
Kendall nodded.
“I’ve never been ashamed of what I am,” Jason said. “David was the one. His dad had very particular ideas about what he wanted his son to be, and Dave bought into all of it. When he realized we were attracted to each other, he fought it tooth and nail at first. But David—he very seldom denies himself anything. He finally couldn’t stand the suspense anymore. He invited me over to his place one night to experiment, and a few days later I was his roommate.”
“How did it end?”
“We graduated. David went away to Harvard. I moved here and pursued my Master, then my Doctorate. I never had any delusions that it would be a permanent situation. The only reason our relationship lasted as long as it did was because we lived a double life. Nobody ever suspected.” He grinned ruefully. “That was important to David. We never would have been able to keep it up, long-term. I guess Joy saw through it, though.”
“I think Joy is the kind of person that sees things other people miss,” Kendall said. “Plus, you wrote to her after you left, asking about David. She said she never thought about it until we asked, but I think in the back of her mind, she may have suspected.”
“I suppose so.” He frowned. “David really did care for her, I think. He broke up with Joy when I moved in. He could have hung onto her. He dated other girls while we were together, to keep up appearances. But I think he regretted losing her.”
“He must have been a very different person then,” Kendall mused.
Jason looked surprised. “Why do you say that?”
“Because you and Joy so obviously still care for him. This may sound callous, but I can’t imagine anyone feeling so strongly about the man I’ve come to know in the past year.”
“David had a very generous nature. He just buried it under all the crap his dad used to feed him.” He sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe he has changed. Living a lie all these years—it has to affect him.
“For a while there, I thought he might be all right. Joy wrote to me—it must be thirteen, fourteen years or so ago—that he was doing a lot of charity work. Donated money for an entire wing to a hospital. Sponsored some kid at that Whitecliff school his son went to.”
Kendall’s breath caught. “What did you say?”
“He used to do charity—”
“No.” She leaned into the table. “He sponsored somebody at Whitecliff?”
Jason nodded, taken aback. “Yeah. So what?”
“Do you know the kid’s name?”
“I can check. I still have Joy’s letters.” He left the room and came back carrying a small wooden box with a hinged lid. He rifled through the envelopes, opened a couple and read the first few lines. “Yeah. Here it is. Reed. Joshua Reed.”
Kendall sat back, dumbfounded. Suddenly everything clicked into place. “I can’t believe it.”
“Believe what?” Jason’s eyebrows rose. “Wait a minute—your other husband, you said his name is Josh? That Josh?”
Kendall nodded.
“Damn. I’m surprised Joy didn’t say anything.”
“I’m not sure we ever mentioned Josh’s last name specifically, or that he had gone to Whitecliff. Brandy just told her the stuff that had gone on in the past year.” Kendall picked up her coffee, warming her hands. The temperatures in Galveston had not been that cold lately, but Fort Worth had been invaded by a cold front the night before. “So. David Campbell has a homosexual relationship in college, and he’s ashamed of it. Then—”
“Not exactly ashamed,” Jason interrupted. “It just wasn’t done. And he knew his father wouldn’t ap
prove.”
“Okay,” Kendall mused. “So he doesn’t really think it’s wrong, but he knows society doesn’t approve. And he’s very concerned about what society thinks. Then he sponsors Josh at Whitecliff, Josh and Sutter become really close, and he starts thinking Sutter’s following in his footsteps. And that bothers him because by this time, he’s trapped in his own father’s role, and he isn’t capable of letting Sutter be any different.”
Jason nodded. “So he cuts them off in high school, but Sutter swears it’s not physical, which he wants to believe, so he backs off.”
“But when they get to college, he becomes more and more anxious, because that’s when he became physically involved with you. He thinks history’s repeating itself.”
“Then you come along, and marry Sutter, and he thinks everything’s going to be okay. You guys are presenting an appearance he can live with—”
“But he walks in on us, and he can’t pretend he doesn’t know any more.” Kendall sipped her coffee. “And he feels responsible. For Sutter’s inclinations, and for the fact that he’s the one that brought Josh into Sutter’s life. So he decided to try to get rid of him once and for all.” Kendall shook her head in disbelief. “God. It’s like a bad soap opera.”
Jason laughed. “We’re right, though. I know we are.”
“How does this help us, though?”
Jason looked at her for a long time, then stood again. He came back and pushed a large manilla envelope into her hands. “Open it.”
Kendall opened the envelope and flipped silently through the pictures inside. She looked up at Jason. “He let you take pictures?”
Jason chuckled. “Let me? Hell, it was his idea. I told you, once he tried it, he enjoyed it. David Campbell really throws himself into things. We even made a home movie. You can’t have that, though.” He grinned wickedly.
“You’re so—comfortable with yourself,” Kendall observed. “I’m probably more comfortable with my situation than either Josh or Sutter, but I could never hand these pictures to a complete stranger and sit there so nonchalantly while they looked through them.”