by Diana Orgain
“I just don’t understand,” I said, sulking in the passenger seat of our car. “You don’t usually get into arguments with people. Especially not a total stranger. Why don’t you want to talk about this if it was nothing?”
Jim gripped the steering wheel tight. I could tell that he was getting frustrated with me, but honestly, I was just so appalled by the idea of his being escorted off someone’s property by police that I didn’t care. Jim wasn’t a rule breaker. He wasn’t an aggressive personality type. And, the fact that this had happened several weeks before, and he had never told me, made me all the more upset.
He glanced my way. “Kate, drop it,” he said, coldly.
“No,” I spouted back.
“I told you, it wasn’t a big deal, okay?” he said, raising his voice ever so slightly. Jim never raised his voice. “I went to get you some of those brownies you wanted, and Cassandra and I just got into an argument. The argument escalated into shouting, and Cassandra overreacted and called the police. The only reason I even stayed at the shop at that point was because I wanted to speak to the police and make sure they got everything down right. They walked me out of the shop. Obviously, it wasn’t even that big of a deal because I wound up going back inside with the police, and she sold me the brownies, and we moved on. I’ve been back there twice since then to get you those stupid brownies, and we haven’t had a problem. So, drop it, okay?”
He still didn’t tell me what the argument was about. That was what bothered me. “You’re not helping me with my investigation any,” I said.
“I have nothing to do with your investigation,” he snapped. “Unless you think I killed someone.”
I sat upright. “Are you serious, Jim?” I questioned. I exhaled, loudly. “You know what, let’s just forget about this for now. I’m done arguing with you.”
“I told you not to take this case,” he griped, and I chose not to respond because my response would have been loud and angry – it wasn’t up to Jim which cases I took. He was just being uptight, and he didn’t care to share with me why. If he would have given me an explanation as to why he didn’t want me to take the case, I probably would have listened. But, he was being weird and secretive. I didn’t care for it.
We were quiet for a while – which was uncomfortable. I had questions I wanted to ask him. Even though I obviously didn’t think Jim was behind it, I still had to do my job. See if he knew anything, but he wasn’t having it. I just sat there stewing in my seat, trying not to let my anger escalate.
After a while, he reached over and touched my hand – his silent way of apologizing without actually having to say it.
I sighed. “So, we haven’t started thinking up names yet,” I said, patting my stomach with my free hand.
I saw a smile creep across his face. “We don’t even know if we’re having boys or girls or one of each yet.”
“Like we waited to find out what Laurie was before we started throwing names around,” I said with a smirk. “What are you hoping for?”
“Honestly…” he said, glancing at me for a moment. “I just hope one of them is a boy.”
I grinned. “Me too. Although, you would be an adorable daddy of a house full of girls.”
“I really want a son,” he said. “But, I’ll be happy so long as they’re healthy.”
“I hope one of them is a boy too,” I said. “So, what do you think about a junior?”
He beamed. “Really? You’d like that?”
“Why not?” I questioned. “I like the name Jim. I’d want to call him Jimmy, though.”
“I like that,” he said. “Jimmy Junior has a nice ring to it.”
“Okay, but what if we have two boys?” I ask.
“First one out is junior,” he said.
“Okay, but what do we name the other one?” I question.
He thought for a second. “Well, if we have two boys, I don’t want the other one to feel left out with one of them being named after me.”
“Should we name the second one after someone else in the family, then?” I asked, and he nodded. “What about your dad?” I asked.
He smiled and agreed.
“That was way too easy,” I said. “We fought over Laurie’s name.”
“Boys are easy,” Jim said. “Its’ the girls that are always difficult.”
“So, if we have one boy, it’s Jimmy Junior, and if it’s two it’s going to be Jimmy Junior and Billy after you and Dad,” I said. “But what if one of them is a girl?”
“Not this again,” Jim said, laughing as we both recounted how we had gone back and forth over girl names with Laurie.
“Oh, geez,” I giggled. “What if it’s two girls? We’ll never figure out names for them!”
Jim chuckled and pulled into our garage.
Truthfully, I was hoping for one boy and one girl. Paula’s son, Danny, was a handful. I couldn’t imagine twin boys once they reached that toddler age.
Kenny was sitting on our couch watching television when we entered. He jumped up and smiled. “She’s asleep,” he said. “Are you guys okay? Your mom called and told me what happened.”
“We’re fine,” Jim said and disappeared into our bedroom. He seemed a little disgruntled – probably wondering just how much detail my mom had given Kenny. Knowing Mom, Kenny knew everything she did.
“Ugh, it’s late,” I moaned. “And, I have to take those pictures to Galigani tonight before I get to go to bed.” I was already heading toward the kitchen where I’d left the envelope full of the incriminating photos. I wanted to get some sleep before I had to meet Galigani in the morning. Too bad he needed those pictures to review before his meeting with Sarah tomorrow morning, otherwise I would have just given them to him later.
“Hey, Kate, I’m meeting my friends for a late night jam session. Scotty lives near Galigani’s office. You want me to drop them off for you?”
“You wouldn’t mind?” I asked.
“Nah? I owe you anyway. I ordered an extra large pizza with the works, on your dime. I thought I’d leave you and Jim some leftovers, but I ate it all.”
I laughed. “It’s okay. I think Jim and I are going straight to bed. “I handed him the folder. “This has important information inside, okay? Make sure it gets to Galigani’s mailbox.”
“Will do,” he said.
“You are a doll,” I said, walking him out.
I was so anxious for bed, my skin itched. Despite the volatile night, I knew I needed my rest.
I changed into my pjs and practically dove under the covers next to Jim. And to be honest, I think I might have actually been asleep before my head hit the pillow.
Suddenly there was a knock on our door.
I bolted upright and looked at the clock. We’d only been in bed about an hour.
I grabbed my robe and hurried down the hallway to the answer the door. I was surprised to see Galigani standing there.
If he had been planning on stopping by, why in the world would he have had me come all the way to his office?
Then, I saw a police cruiser parked out in the street. Two, in fact. Alarms started going off in my head. “Hey, Kate,” he said.
“Everything all right?” I asked.
“Yeah, for the most part, but I’m going to need some more copies of those pictures you took,” he said.
Jim was by my side; I felt him touch my shoulder. “What’s going on?” Jim asked.
Galigani frowned. “Your nanny got mugged out in front of my office.”
“Kenny!” I yelped.
“He’s fine,” Galigani said, nodding toward Kenny’s yard next door where I could see him standing and talking to his mom.
“Geez, hold on,” I said, exiting the house and stepping out into the dark. I crossed over into Kenny’s yard, and I was outraged when I saw the poor kid’s face. “Kenny! What happened!”
His mom put her hands on her hips. “What in the world did you have my son delivering?” she questioned.
“Mom, don’t be mad
at Kate,” Kenny said, defending me. His lip was busted, and his eyes were already starting to bruise.
“What happened? Who did this to you?” I cried and gave Kenny a big hug.
Guilt overwhelmed me.
This is my fault for sending him off in the middle of the night.
Kenny pulled back. “I’m fine, really,” he said. “But, some creep jumped me in front of Galigani’s office. He took the envelope you had given me. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “I have copies on my computer. I’m just glad you’re okay. Who was it? A grown man?”
My blood was boiling.
Who punches a kid in the face like that?
“Did a grown man really punch you in the face?” I asked.
“Pretty much,” he said. “Galigani was there, and he ran outside, and the guy took off. But, we’re pretty sure it was that lumberjack, Raymond. The guy we took the photos of.”
“What?” Kenny’s mother demanded.
“I could have taken the pictures over for you,” Jim said. “Why didn’t you ask me?”
“I… I don’t know, Kenny said he had a jam—a”
“I told Kate I would, okay? It’s no big deal,” Kenny said, interrupting me, and I got the distinct impression his mother didn’t know about his late night rendezvous with his friends.
“I’m so, so sorry, Kenny,” I said.
His mom huffed and squinted at her son, then she turned on a heel and went into the house. I was a little bit afraid of what awaited Kenny later.
How did Raymond even know that Kenny had those photos?
Kenny just wanted to go to bed; I couldn’t blame him. He assured me again he didn’t blame me for what happened, and after talking to the police, he headed inside.
The police questioned Galigani and me about what Kenny had been delivering, and they assured us that they would handle things.
After the police left, Galigani followed Jim and me into the house. “Please tell me you had additional copies of those?” Galigani asked.
I grabbed a flash drive from our home office and handed it to Galigani while we stood in the living room – all very upset about what had happened to Kenny. “Yeah, this pregnancy brain I’ve been dealing with didn’t prevent me from making copies of the photos. Only problem is my office printer is out of ink.”
“I’ll get these printed before our meeting in the morning,” Galigani said, sighing. “Poor kid. Maybe don’t send him to drop off your paperwork for me anymore?”
“Agreed,” I said, shaking my head. “I can’t believe someone assaulted Kenny.”
“Well, I’m furious,” Jim said. “I thought this was a simple cheating husband case. It could have been Kate getting mugged!”
Galigani chewed his lip. He didn’t want to debate with Jim the merits vs. dangers of the career I’d chosen.
“Don’t worry, honey. I can handle myself,” I said with more bravado in my voice than I felt. I turned to Galigani. “Did you see anything?’
“Not much. But, I’m pretty sure it was Raymond. He was tall with a beard. Anyway, who else would want those pictures but him?” Galigani questioned.
“Yeah,” I said, “But how did he know we had the pictures? I didn’t think he ever saw me.”
“You’re new at the PI game,” Galigani said. “You’re going to make mistakes.”
I sighed. I didn’t like hearing that. “I guess so,” I said. “I feel like I’ve been making a lot of those lately.”
“And, things are about to get a lot more complicated,” Galigani said. “With Raymond’s mistress dead, he’s starting to look pretty suspicious for that extra case you’ve picked up. Now he attacked someone to get hold of the photographs. He probably knows his wife is about to find out about the affair. We’re going to have to work with the police on this one because they’re going to want those photographs.”
“You should get some rest,” Galigani said. “We have a busy day tomorrow.” Galigani thanked me again for the thumb drive with the pictures, and headed out.
Jim and I locked up and then made our way back to our bedroom. Despite crawling back into bed, sleep eluded me.
I was wide awake. My mind was going off in a million different directions. I couldn’t shut it down.
First, I reviewed everything we had for Sarah in the morning. Galigani had bugged Raymond’s phone. We had text messages, emails, and entire phone conversations recorded that incriminated the man. He probably didn’t realize we had all of that, in addition to those photographs I’d taken of him and Morgan.
Second, I was worried about the actual conversation. How was I supposed to tell a woman that her husband was cheating? Third, that her husband’s mistress had been poisoned, automatically making him a suspect for murder – and probably her as well, if we’re being honest.
It was a lot to think about. I just lay there, staring up at the ceiling. I heard Jim roll over, and I glanced in his direction to see him looking at me through tired eyes. “You all right, babe?”
Fourth – I was worried about Jim. Why had he lied to me? Well, not so much lie as just omit telling me something important, but still it felt like a lie. Why wouldn’t he talk to me about what he and Cassandra had gotten into an argument about? It made me uncomfortable that he was so unwilling to talk to me about something, and that thought was going to keep me up for a good bit that night.
“I’m fine,” I lied. “Go to sleep, honey.”
He nodded, kissed my cheek, and then rolled over – exhausted. He was asleep in a matter of minutes.
How could he do that?
Just shut off his brain?
My brain never worked that way. It was at least an hour before I finally managed to drift off to sleep that night.
Chapter Eight
When I awoke, Jim had already left for work. I scrambled to get dressed for my meeting with Galigani and take care of Laurie at the same time.
When would I learn that I actually need a sitter before I have to leave?
It seemed impossible to juggle Laurie’s morning needs and even a cup of coffee, much less a shower and make-up.
By the time Kenny knocked on my front door, I only had one shoe on and was having a hard time wrestling my other shoe out of Laurie’s hands.
My heart lurched to see his face. One eye was swollen shut, and his lips were about three times their normal size.
“Kenny! You poor thing,” I grabbed his sweatshirt and pulled him into my house.
“Aw, don’t worry, Kate. It looks a lot worse than it feels.”
“You should go home and sleep. I’ll call my mom to watch Laurie,” I said, scrambling around the room looking for my cell phone.
He waved a hand at me as something plopped onto the floor in my living room. Laurie, who’d been sitting on her play mat, drooling on my dress shoe, happily dropped it in exchange for Kenny’s hand.
With his free hand, Kenny passed me my discarded shoe.
I slipped the shoe on, saying. “So, who’s Scotty and why doesn’t your mom want you to hang out with him?”
A guilty smile crossed swollen lips. “He’s butterfly’s brother.”
Kenny had recently been broken-hearted by a girl a few years older than him, a girl we’d nicknamed butterfly because of her tattoo.
“Ah,” I said.
“I sent him a selfie; he showed butterfly, and she’s going to make me chicken soup today.”
“Oh my goodness, Kenny. Do I have to play mom now and tell you she’s no good for you? Remember the last time you saw her she was with the guy with—”
He held up a hand. “I remember, Kate.”
“But you don’t want to listen. Kenny, take my advice. Once a cheater always a cheater!”
“Pfft,” he said, dismissing me. “I don’t want anything serious with her, Kate. I’m seventeen.”
I laughed. “Okay, well, as long as you aren’t planning a wedding. Look, I have to go meet with poor Lumberjack’s wife. Who knows how many times the di
rt bag cheated on her?”
Kenny was already grabbing the remote and flipping through cartoons, more for himself than Laurie who was now fascinated with my cell phone.
There it is!
I snatched it out of her hands, and she cried. Kenny scooped her up and moved to the couch.
I fired off a message to my mom, while I finished my hair and make-up.
Then as I flew out the door, I yelled to Kenny, “My mom will be here in about 30 minutes, so you can go get some rest. Drink lots of water today? Okay? It will help with the swelling.”
I closed the door behind me, but still heard Kenny sing out, “Chicken soup is good for swelling too.”
<><><>
On the drive to Galigani’s office, I contemplated the task ahead of us.
How do you look a woman in the eye and tell her that her suspicions about her sleazy husband are right?
By some miracle, I arrived on time to Galigani’s. He’d instructed me to arrive about thirty minutes prior to when Sarah was scheduled. He said his female clients hiring him for things like this – cheating husbands or boyfriends – did one of three things. Showed up ridiculously early in anticipation of the news, showed up ridiculously late because they weren’t too anxious to hear it, or pulled a no show because they decided they didn’t want to know. Never, he said, did they show up on time. So, turns out, I didn’t need to be there early. Sarah was a type two – she was late by nearly forty minutes which was just insane to me.
I couldn’t imagine keeping someone waiting for that long, and especially if you’re waiting to find out if your husband is cheating, well, I guess I’m a type one.
Upon arrival, Galigani poured me a cup of coffee and brought me up to speed.
“So kid, Morgan dying last night complicates our simple cheating husband case.”
I nodded. “Do you know the cause of death?”
He shook his head. “Autopsy is scheduled today. But I can tell you, that if it’s ruled a homicide, Raymond is going to be suspect numero uno, despite his not being near the theater last night.”
“What about Kenny’s assault?” I asked.