Never Is A Very Long Time

by Donna McDonald

  Mariah chuckled and gave her mother a real smile. “I have a doctorate and am still only half as smart as you. How did you get that way? Tell me the truth.”

  “I said your father was good in bed,” Georgia admitted. “I didn’t say he was easy to live with outside of it. Military men are a lifelong education money can’t buy. I was secretly glad when you married a civilian… or at least I was until Dan turned into a greedy bastard.”

  “You never told me that before… I mean about being glad I didn’t marry someone in the military.”

  Georgia shrugged. “I was happy my grandchildren wouldn’t be moving every three years. Ted and I had a good life, and we did the best by you kids as we could, but it wasn’t always easy. Based on how exhausted I was by the time you hit college, I decided being settled in one place for most of your life was better.”

  “Yet you didn’t blink when Amanda married Randy.”

  “They were high school sweethearts. That’s a whole different matter. She loved him and he loved her. You didn’t blink either.”

  Mariah sighed. “For the same reasons. Because she loved him… and he loved her. I was only worried because I didn’t want my divorce to affect their belief that love was worth…” She stopped and looked at her very smart mother. “Love. That’s why it works or doesn’t. When I married Dan, we worked.”

  Georgia lifted her hands.

  Mariah walked around the bar and hugged her mother. “I’ll try to remember to let love in if it shows up a second time in my life. Will you?”

  She laughed when her mother’s only answer was a long, exasperated sigh.

  Chapter Six

  Della’s knock had her head lifting. She always appreciated that her assistant knew not to jar her out of her work. She tended to get lost in whatever task held her attention. The woman’s deep in-drawn breath followed by a resigned sigh had her sitting straighter in her chair though.

  “What is it, Della?”

  “John Monroe is back to see you.”

  Mariah wilted with relief. Then her pulse sped up. Honestly… how could she be excited to see him? Especially after he admitted he was working with Dan.

  “It’s okay,” Mariah said finally. “He really is Elliston McElroy’s uncle. We can take Detective Monroe on as a client if he’s truly interested.”

  “Your ex is here with him.”

  Mariah put a hand on her forehead and leaned an elbow on her desk. Just for a moment she’d allow herself a mini-meltdown. Then she needed to get hold of herself before she screamed.

  “Alright,” Mariah said finally, proud of herself for her calm answer.

  “Your ex said he and Mr. Monroe are here to serve you with a subpoena.”

  “Not alright then.”

  “No, Dr. Bates. It’s not alright. What do you want me to do with them?”

  “Unless you brought a gun with you to work… nothing. I’ll just have to deal with them the old fashioned way.”

  Mariah stood and braced herself on the desk with both hands. She slipped her feet back into the low, black, dressy heels she’d thrown on that morning instead of looking for more comfortable shoes. Her closet at her house had been bigger than her entire bedroom at her mother’s. She really was going to have to get her own place soon. She’d kicked the uncomfortable things under her desk while she worked, but a business woman couldn’t accept legal service for court in bare feet, could she?

  She pulled her jacket off the back of her chair and tugged it on as well. Standing straight and now fully dressed again, Mariah walked around the desk only to pause in the doorway. “Stay close, Della. If my Kung Fu powers kick in like I hope, I’m going to need help burying the bodies later.”

  Della’s low laughter over her joking only eased her trepidation a fraction, but it was all the humor she could reach for in that awful moment.

  In her client waiting area, the first person she saw was Detective John Monroe, who stood glaring at her smugly grinning ex-husband.

  “Don’t you have real criminals you should be chasing? What is it now, Dan?”

  He held out a legal sized sealed envelope to her. “The prosecutor’s office has a witness who says you paid her to sleep with a client. This subpoena is for your financial records, Mariah. They want to have a look at your books.”

  “They do… or you do?” Mariah asked, taking the envelope from him. “I’ll see Bill gets these. He’ll advise me what to do. Is that all, Dan?”

  “Nothing Bill does is going to change this, Mariah. You have no choice except to show us your dirty money.”

  She glanced over at John Monroe to see how he was reacting to Dan’s callousness. The man looked nearly ready to explode. John Monroe’s face was flushed and the fierce glare aimed at her ex could have leveled a building. Strangely, Dan seemed impervious to the other man’s growing upset. She let her gaze linger on John Monroe’s wide shoulders as she answered because she couldn’t seem to make him meet her eyes.

  “Dan, people always have choices. You just keep making bad ones.”

  “So do you,” Dan replied.

  Mariah shrugged. “There’s where we disagree. Now if you’ll both excuse me… I’m expecting a client shortly.” It was a lie, but she felt no guilt for it, none at all. She wanted both men gone before she privately looked at the latest legal torment.

  “It’s only a matter of time until I shut you down, Mariah.”

  She lifted her chin and glared into the face of the father of her children. Remembering that always helped her tolerate the snake when his venom started spewing in her direction.

  But when… when had Dan become the heartless man in front of her? What had happened to that laughing, sexy boy she’d met in college?

  “I don’t understand any of this, Dan. You got the house and enough money to care for it for at least twenty years. As a senior detective, you make a good salary with your work. Why are you so determined to see me financially ruined? Are you really that mad at me just for changing jobs?”

  Dan gave her an evil look, but she’d seen that meanness so often now, she’d become numb to it.

  “Your old job calls you every month, Dr. Bates. We both know they’d take you back in a heartbeat. You should go back to your real work while you still can. This farce has already cost you our marriage. Do you want it to take the rest of your life down too? Your reputation used to mean everything to you.”

  Mariah shook her head and looked away. She was never, never going to understand Dan’s determination to ruin her. It wasn’t like splitting up had even been her idea. He was the one who’d moved out of her bed and then eventually left the house all together. He’d been the one who originally filed for the divorce.

  But now… now she was just glad he’d ended it. She’d have never found her calm center living in the same house with him when he acted this way. There had been no peace between them since Dan got the house, but at least there had been distance.

  “If you’re done torturing me for today, I’d really like you to just go,” she said softly, her emotional weariness showing up at last in her plea.

  She knew when Dan finally softened because he said her name softly in return and stepped towards her. Mariah stepped determinedly back and held the legal envelope out between the two of them.

  “You’re delusional if you think for one minute I’d let you ever comfort me again. Those days are over for good. You’ve served this legal crap and I’ve accepted receipt of it. Now I need you to leave—both of you. I’m done being polite.”

  “Let’s go, Luray… before you cross any more lines.”

  Dan’s concerned gaze changed to irritation as it swung from her to Detective John Monroe. “You’re a real stickler for rules, aren’t you, John?”

  “You have no idea how true that statement is,” John answered him back.

  Mariah realized it was the first time John had spoken since they’d arrived. He looked ready to drag Dan out of her office, and given his greater size, could probably do it if h
e wanted. But what was his role in Dan’s grand scheme to destroy her? Mariah couldn’t figure John out any more than she could Dan.

  John turned and opened her office door, glaring at Dan until he finally walked through it ahead of him. He turned back to look at her… a strange penetrating gaze to be sure… then followed Dan out.

  And that was the third time in a week she’d seen the strange man. Was it too much to hope it would be the last?

  When she and Della were alone again, Della bit her lip. Mariah chuckled despite her stress. “I know. We don’t really have a client coming in. I lied.”

  Della instantly wilted in relief. “Great. I thought I’d screwed up.”

  Mariah chuckled. “You didn’t.” She held up the envelope, all the while trying hard not to stare at it. “Guess I’m calling Bill again. I can’t imagine who Dan got to lie to the prosecutor’s office. I also can’t imagine why he’d go to all that trouble.”

  “You could always seduce John Monroe. He’d probably tell you just to spite your ex. There were a couple of moments where I thought he was going to yank him out of here. You didn’t see it, but when Dan took that step toward you, John went all tense and made fists. That’s a sure tell. He wasn’t going to let your ex get his hands on you.”

  Mariah shook her head. “Dr. Livingston, no amount of higher education can ever adequately explain the motivations of men. I don’t know why Dan is out to get me. I don’t know what role John Monroe is playing. Frankly, I don’t know anything.”

  Della grunted. “Well, I know something.”

  Mariah tilted her head to listen. “What’s that?”

  “John Monroe wants to protect you. Everything about his body fairly screamed it the whole time he was here. Whatever his role is, I think he’s secretly on your side. I also don’t think your ex knows it.”

  Mariah laughed at the incredible optimism of her young assistant. “That’s a great theory, but my days of believing in white knights are long gone. Well, except for one and I need to go call him now. Bill isn’t going to believe this.”

  Chapter Seven

  “Her name is Beth Stanley. Is she a client?” Bill asked.

  Mariah couldn’t have been more shocked if Bill had slapped her. “Yes. She is. Beth Stanley brought the charge against me?”

  Bill nodded. “That’s what it says, but Ms. Stanley wasn’t willing to say much about the matter. Given the charges, I find that strange. It makes their case weak.”

  “She paid just to be listed in the database and never went on any dates. Her criteria was too specific for me to match her easily.”

  “Explain that statement to me,” Bill commanded.

  “Beth Stanley was only willing to date men above a certain income level, preferably those who didn’t have to work for a living. She said she wanted to have a companion and be entertained, not be some man’s slave.”

  “Sounds like a lovely woman,” Bill said dryly.

  Mariah shrugged. “Some people know exactly what they want. Others are open-minded. I don’t judge a person by their ability to know what they need, but… why would she lie about this, Bill? She came in, paid the fee, made her video, and then left. I have sixty other women who did the same. Why would Beth Stanley help Dan?”

  “I don’t know. At this point, it’s just her word against yours, which won’t take her far unless she names the man she allegedly serviced. However, you’re probably going to have to provide the prosecutor’s office with your financials, and perhaps even name some clients. I unfortunately don’t see you getting out of all of this. We could ask them to review the records discreetly, but it would be up to the judge whether or not they honor our request to keep them private. If they get entered into court records, they won’t be kept that way.”

  Mariah groaned loudly and rose to pace. “Why in the world is he doing this to me? He wants me to go back to my old job. What in hell would Dan have to gain by that?”

  “I don’t know, Mariah.”

  “What happens if I refuse to turn over my records?”

  “You would look like you’re hiding something.” Bill pushed the subpoena to the side. “I suggest giving them last year’s profit and loss statement, but not client names. Let’s start with that. It will at least buy you a bit more time to think about all this.”

  Mariah nodded. “Alright. Let’s do that.” She came back to the chair and lifted her purse from it. “I’m going to dinner. I need Chinese food. And a fortune cookie with some positive news in it.”

  “Want some company?”

  Mariah shook her head. “Thanks, but no. I need some time alone.”

  Bill nodded. “I’m sorry I don’t have better news, Mariah.”

  Mariah smiled sadly. “I’m sorry I don’t have a nicer ex-husband. The divorce was hard, but this is the stuff of nightmares. I was a good wife and a good mother. I did love him once, though even the memories of that love are nearly gone now. Something’s happened to Dan. I don’t know what, but he’s not the man I married. It’s hard to feel anything but loathing for who he’s become.”

  “I’ve often thought the same thing,” Bill said softly. “He changed a lot when the kids hit high school. Dan got distant… hard-hearted even. He stopped coming over to watch ball games and wouldn’t bother catching a beer with me. All he seemed to be about was the next job.”

  “I remember. He had to be away a lot for work back then. I used to blame his worsening moods on job stress, but now I wonder if something else was going on. We had no lack of money. We had the life everyone dreams of having. When Andrew started his last year of law school, I started my new business. Dan moved into his own room and told the kids we were fighting. Apathy from him I could understand, but he’s worked to turn himself into my enemy. That’s what doesn’t make any sense to me.”

  Bill nodded. “I agree. Maybe you should hire a private investigator to dig into his private life a little.”

  “To investigate one of the city’s most decorated detectives?” Mariah exclaimed. “No way. And besides… if there was another woman all that time, I think I would rather not know about her. I’ve handled enough disillusionment about my relationship with him. That might just be the one that makes me close my business for real.”

  Mariah found no reasons for Dan’s behavior at the bottom of her Moo-Goo-Gai-Pan, but at least her stomach was full. The two cups of plum wine she’d started with hadn’t revealed anything except the need to drink a couple cups of the hot tea in front of her before she made her way home.

  “Here you are. Chinese. Of course. I should have checked here first.”

  A shadow loomed over her table a few moments before her ex dropped into the seat across from her. Not really having anything more to say to him, Mariah lifted her teacup and sipped. Maybe she could just ignore Dan and he’d go away on his own.

  “Pretending I’m not here isn’t going to work,” he said, reading her mind.

  She lowered her teacup. “I have nothing to say to you, Dan.”

  “Fine. I’ll say it then. I’m sorry I upset you so badly today. Seeing you hurt made me want to comfort you. Mariah. It also made me think that I was wrong to divorce you. As crazy it sounds, I think I want you back.”

  Mariah sunk back into her chair. She wondered if she looked as stunned as she felt. “You’re kidding.”

  Dan rolled his eyes. “No. I’m not kidding. Why would I kid about that?”

  “You’re trying to ruin me, Dan. That’s not exactly a sign of true love.”

  Dan shook his head. “I’m not trying to ruin you, Mariah. I’m trying to save you from making the biggest mistake of your life. Don’t you miss the life we had? I know I do. Give up this business, go back to the show, and let’s fix this.”

  Mariah threw up a hand. “Dan, you somehow convinced a client of mine to lie to the prosecutor’s office. That can’t be fixed with an apology.”

  “That woman coming forward was nothing I did.”

  Mariah huffed. “Right… like I ca
n ever trust what you say again. Bill’s sending the paperwork to the prosecutor’s office. Now get out of my sight before I call and report you for harassment.”

  “Mariah, don’t be this way.”

  “What way, Dan? You mean rational? If the kids knew what you’ve pulled on me, they’d never speak to you again. Be grateful I’m sparing them the whole sordid truth about their father.”

  Dan lifted his chin and stared hard at her. “I wish there was a way to make you understand. Why did you take our perfect life away from both of us?”

  Mariah lifted her tea again. “Perfect life? You mean, the life where my husband moved into another bedroom and stopped sleeping with me after nearly twenty years? That perfect life, Dan? You’re the one who stepped away. I’m just the one who had to get used to it.”

  Dan leaned on the table. “I was going through a bad time. I realize now that pulling away from you was a terrible mistake.” He sighed and put a hand on the table palm up. “Please think about this. I want you back, Mariah.”

  Mariah ignored his hand. It was remarkably easy, especially after today. “What are you hiding from me, Dan? What is this really about? Everyone that knows you suspects something strange is going on. I was just the last one to give a good damn about helping you, but all that caring got me was the chance to know what it was like to be homeless.”

  Dan hung his head. “You know I’m going to have to sell the house in a short while. Without your steady income, I can’t maintain it.”

  “I gave you money enough to maintain it. You don’t owe a penny in mortgage. Sell it and run with what you get for all I care.”