Mariah smiled softly as the older woman looked at her oddly, but finally shrugged. “Beth and Dan finally got married just before sweetness here was born eight months ago. I don’t know why they waited so long. He bought her this house well over a year ago. Mothers are the last to know and Beth’s not one much for sharing.”
“I know what you mean. I have two grown children myself.” Mariah forced herself to smile and not to show pain or panic. She’d save that for later—much later. Numb to all but the growing realizations she was experiencing, she slipped one of her business cards from her purse. “Let me leave you this. You can just give it to Beth when you tell her I stopped by. She’ll know immediately what it’s about. Since she’s married now, I guess I can delete her from my database anyway.”
“The Perfect Date?” the woman read from the card. She chuckled as she looked at Mariah. “Using a matchmaking service sounds exactly like something my Beth would do, but probably just to irritate Daniel. She likes to keep her man on his toes. Does a fine job of it most days.”
Mariah smiled sadly and thought to herself that Beth’s strategy had worked better than the grandmother knew. Both Beth and Dan had played her for a fool.
The woman laughed as she remembered something. “That girl… I swear I’ve never understood how her mind works. She and Dan were together for nearly a decade before they married. I think he was just one of those guys unwilling to commit.”
“As you can probably imagine, I see a lot of those in my work,” Mariah agreed, waving a hand as she glanced away to keep from glaring.
She looked down once more at the sick little boy now leaning against his grandmother’s leg. In another five years, he was going to look more like Daniel than Randy did. And Amanda… God, her soon-to-be-arriving grandchild was going to only be a year younger than the baby in the woman’s arms. Her grown children now had half siblings. It was nearly unbelievable.
“Sorry to have interrupted your already stressful day. I hope your grandchildren feel better soon. Thank you for your time, Ms. Stanley.”
“No problem, Dr. Bates. I’ll tell Beth you stopped by.”
“Thanks again,” Mariah said, hurrying back to her car now and away from living proof of Daniel’s infidelity.
The situation was worse… far worse… than anything she’d ever imagined. Her mother had been right about Dan’s interest being primarily in her money. His shallowness wasn’t excusable, but she could see why money was important. The man she’d divorced had a whole other family he needed to support.
Other things made more sense now too. Dan told her he had no money for upkeep on the house he’d won in the settlement from her. It was because Dan had used the divorce settlement to buy Beth Stanley a home. Upkeep of one pricey residence would be more than enough challenge for his Detective’s salary, even given his seniority level.
Her shock over her discoveries was large, but it was hard to pinpoint the most appalling one.
She didn’t really care about the woman who’d become a client under false pretenses.
She really didn’t even care about the lies Dan had told her to hide his secret life all these years. If he could hide something this large from her, there were probably many more things she didn’t know about.
But none of those bothered her. Instead, they were just proving out what her gut had been trying to tell her—what Bill and her mother had suspected long ago.
No. The question Mariah was wrestling with the most was how could she take any action to protect herself, much less get revenge on her deceitful ex-husband, without becoming some sort of ex-wife monster who destroyed the lives of all four of their children?
The little boy looked exactly like her ex-husband. He had to be Daniel’s son. Her heart broke for her own children and the pain they would suffer when the truth came out… and it would come out. A second family wasn’t something Dan could hide, despite how long he’d done so up to now.
Mariah drove blindly until she escaped the prestigious neighborhood. She made herself focus on the car and roads and all the people passing her, until she got back to the parking garage of her office building.
Then… and only then… did she lean her head on the steering wheel and let herself cry over being Dan’s fool for so long.
Why? Why? Why had she not seen this sooner?
Not letting Bill investigate Dan back during the divorce was probably the dumbest decision she’d ever made. It would at least have kept her from ever accepting Beth Stanley as a client.
When the crying jag was over, Mariah raised her head and dug down into that reserve of strength her parents had made sure she’d developed. There were many decisions she had to make. The first was legal in nature which meant she had to talk to Bill again.
And Dan wasn’t the only man keeping things from her. Based on the hints he’d been dropping, John Monroe knew about Dan and Beth Stanley. He’d likely known all along—even the day he’d met her. It was somehow worse to think she’d allowed John to get so close without working harder to find out what he was hiding. Wasn’t John’s presence in her life just an echo of her naiveté with Dan?
The only good news coming out of her discoveries today was that John’s secrets no longer mattered. She blessedly no longer cared about the nature of his connection to Dan either. The only remaining problem was that she liked John—she liked him a lot.
It was long past time she knew what was really going on. Next time she asked, she wasn’t going to let him get out of telling her.
Instead of meeting Bill in his office, Mariah called him and drove by his house. Abby answered the door, hugging her and offering her tea before she even got inside.
Bill took a single look at her face and asked Abby if she could let them speak privately about a business matter while she made them all tea. Abby hustled away, blessedly not offended, because she trusted her husband.
Before, during, and after the divorce, Mariah had joked about missing the sex, but if there was anything of real value to grieve in her failed marriage, it was discovering her trust in her husband had not been worth her personal sacrifices.
Always blunt, Bill asked the hard question. “You look like hell. What happened?”
Mariah sat in a comfortable chair by Bill’s comfortable fire. Bill’s house was a real home with loving people who lived in it. She’d introduced the pair of them, that was true, but the love they had built together still thrived between them.
And today was the first day she ever remembered feeling envious.
“I don’t know where to start. How about with me saying Dan’s remarried already.”
Bill dipped his head and looked at his fire. “I’m sorry, Mariah. I know that must hit hard. I can’t even imagine what learning it must feel like.”
Mariah shook her head. “No, it’s not his remarrying that’s upsetting me. I found out Dan has fathered two other children. He has a fairly new baby girl, but the older boy is six or seven years old. Six or seven years, Bill. And the boy looks exactly like him. Dan had to be sleeping with that woman a long time. I don’t understand how he could have been having an affair for years while I never knew it. Am I truly that clueless?”
Bill’s heavy sigh broke across her rant. “No. Of course, you aren’t clueless. You were just being a trusting wife who loved her husband even when he wasn’t being very lovable.”
“The mother of those children is probably the reason Dan moved out of my bed. He probably didn’t have enough sexual energy for both of us. In all the years Dan had to be away from me and the kids for any length of time, not once did I ever question where he was. Now I feel like such a fool. There could have been a dozen women for all I know. I don’t get any of this because I know I was a good wife.”
Bill leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees. “I really am sorry things have turned out like this, Mariah. I never guessed any of it either. Maybe I should have when Dan pulled away from our friendship. I made overtures, but he just never responded. Eventually,
I quit trying to be his friend.”
Mariah shook her head. “You know what the worst part is? The mother of those children is Beth Stanley. That’s who Dan has married. I left my business card with Beth’s kind mother. I know that was poor form but don’t lecture me—it’s been my only act of revenge so far.”
Bill sat back up. “Wait… let’s stop being mad for a few moments and look at the facts. Your divorcing husband’s lover signed up as your client and then brought falsified charges against your company? What was her motive for such an action? We’re looking at possible extortion and collusion between Dan and her to get even more money from you. It also explains why he might be offering to get back together.”
“Georgia Bates was right about him,” Mariah said sadly. “If I didn’t already hate Dan, I would now because I’m going to hear about this for the rest of my life.”
Bill chuckled. “Glad to see your sense of humor coming to the rescue.”
Mariah waved a hand. “You know I’m right about Mom.”
His nod was accompanied by a grin. “That certainly explains John Monroe’s involvement with Dan as well. Those bogus court cases Dan trumped up got noticed by the higher ups.”
Mariah glared. “Glad you get the bigger picture. Why don’t you explain John’s involvement to me?”
Sighing in resignation, Bill cleared his throat. “Alright. I guess it’s time. John Monroe works as a special investigator. I don’t know John personally, but I know about the office he works for, and I’m not talking about his ‘special assignments’. They call people like him investigative troubleshooters, but what he really does is internal affairs work. Until you told me the woman was Beth Stanley, I was only guessing he was looking at Dan for some reason. I’ll also tell you how those things work. Once John gets enough evidence to build a solid case, heads will start rolling downhill until John’s bosses get positioned to chop Dan’s professional head clean off.”
“Oh, dear God.” Mariah rubbed a hand over her face. “Is it bad that all I can think about is the children? No real crimes have been committed yet have they?”
“You would know that better than anyone,” Bill said quietly. “You certainly have enough to bring a possible extortion case against Beth Stanley. Many people would just for the trauma she and Dan have put you through. Something like that, especially if we handle it as a criminal case, would lead right back to Dan if he’s truly married to her now.”
“He also used the money he got in the divorce to buy her a house. I have no proof, but I’m fairly sure. He told me he couldn’t maintain ours and was going to have to sell it.”
Bill shook his head. “Legally, there’s nothing we can do about that, but it would increase the odds of making all his motives towards you highly questionable. The investigation alone would be career damaging. What do you want me to do?”
Mariah sat quietly for a few moments, staring into the fire. Finally, she turned to Bill. “Nothing. I want you to do nothing.”
Bill’s grunt was short. “I like your attitude about forgiving and forgetting, but as your attorney…”
“Do nothing right now, except monitor the charges the former Beth Stanley, now Luray, have brought against The Perfect Date. Protect my company as best you can and make sure nothing remains of the allegations. I want my business to be above any reproach.”
“Can I at least hire a private professional to validate what you found out today?”
Mariah shook her head. “It would be redundant to do that. Someone very professional already has all the evidence we need.” She got up and reached out her arms. “Thank you for listening. The crying was helpful, but I’m much better now after talking with you. I needed a friend more than an attorney today.”
Bill hugged her and rubbed her back. “You’re a good woman, Mariah Bates. Don’t let this bad stuff change you. It wasn’t a fight you started, but it’s one you can finish if you want.”
Mariah nodded. “After I leave, tell Abby everything. I love her too and don’t want her to feel like I’m keeping secrets from her about my personal life. I’d love to stay for tea, but I need to go home and tell my mother. I may have to tie Georgia Bates to a chair so she doesn’t charge off to defend my honor. Wish me luck.”
Bill chuckled as Mariah walked to the door. “Want some genuine friend advice with no joking around?” he asked.
“Sure,” Mariah said, trying to be brave enough to hear it.
“John Monroe’s been doing his job—a thankless one—this whole time. He honestly couldn’t tell you and still do what he had to do in a fair and unbiased manner. If you’d said anything to Dan about what John was doing, even accidentally, it could have jeopardized any case John’s office is building. Dirty cops don’t need to be on our police payroll, Mariah. John’s not the bad guy in this, so don’t turn him into one. And here’s the friend part… don’t let your natural attraction to John be one more thing Dan takes from you.”
Nodding once more, Mariah left, thinking exactly about that.
Chapter Twelve
Mariah lifted her hand to knock despite hearing a man inside swearing about the ball game statistics blaring from the too loud TV. Before she fell too far down the “oh, he’s one of those men” rabbit hole, she cleared her throat and readied her speech.
Twice in one day she’d managed to track someone down. Maybe she’d missed her calling. She wasn’t half-bad at this covert stuff. She knocked a second time. When that didn’t get the door opened, she rang the doorbell multiple times.
“Alright. Hang on. I’m coming,” an irritated voice called from the other side.
It was such a normal, disgruntled male reaction to having his ball game interrupted that Mariah couldn’t help but laugh at the trouble she was causing. No secretive white knight in residence today. Just an off-duty cop trying to watch a freaking ballgame in peace.
Catching John doing something mundane and not supercop-ish made Mariah hopeful. Of course, he could still send her away, but she wasn’t going to look at the worst case scenario yet. She’d chickened out of going home to her mother, but she’d survived a lot of other emotional crap before deciding to show up here.
Tracking John down was a big risk—bigger even than tracking down the woman who’d slept with her husband. Bill was to blame for her standing in front of John Monroe’s door while biting her lip because he’d been right about not letting Dan take this from her.
Blessed with being a mostly optimistic person, Mariah chose to celebrate the minor pain she was accidentally inflicting with her bad timing. She lifted a hand to hide her pleased smile just as John Monroe finally opened his door to her. He looked exceptionally sexy in his black, wire-framed glasses, his faded Bengals shirt, and matching black sweats. Large bare feet poked out from the bottoms of them. No socks… which she found instantly endearing.
His appearance alone made it well worth every cent of lost income she’d given up to in bribing Elliston to tell her where his uncle lived.
“Mariah?”
She smiled at his total shock and lifted her hands out wide. “In the flesh… last time I checked. I don’t think I’m a zombie yet.”
“What are you doing here… I mean, at my house?”
“Not sure yet,” Mariah answered truthfully. “Got any company you’re hiding in there?”
“In where?”
Mariah belly laughed at his confused question. “Have I shaken you up that badly?”
John rubbed his face. “Yes. You tracked me down.”
Mariah crossed her arms and stared at him. “How does it feel to be the person being stalked? First time?”
His grin began at the edges, and then he ran a hand through his hair making it stand up. “Why yes, Detective Bates. This is my first time to be stalked.”
She lifted a brow and waited for a polite invitation.
“Oh, right. You want to come in?” John asked.
Her head bobbed. “Yes. I didn’t bribe your nephew for your address just so I could
stand outside in your hallway. Should I come back after the game’s over?”
John rolled his eyes at her sarcasm. “Of course not. Come in. I was just…”
Mariah stepped across the threshold and walked a few steps inside. “…relaxing,” she finished.
He nodded and motioned down his short apartment hallway. “I thought you were the pizza I ordered an hour ago.”
The doorbell rang on cue as if she’d planned it just to irritate him further. “I’ve got change for a tip if you need it,” Mariah offered sweetly.
Giving her a look that said smart-ass, even though he didn’t call her that out loud, John answered the door again. He came back with a pizza and Mariah realized she hadn’t eaten since breakfast.
“You’re welcome to eat with me, but I have to warn you…”
“…the toppings are all meat and the only vegetable on the pizza is onion,” she finished dryly.
John sighed. “Your comments manage to crawl up my ass faster than any person’s I’ve ever met in my life. How that somehow turns into me frothing at the mouth to get my hands on you is still a mystery to me. I should be running like hell in the opposite direction.”
“Or you could simply ask me to leave,” Mariah suggested.
For a moment or two, John looked like he just might do that. Her mouth twitched at the debate he was having with himself. It was happening in his eyes. If she grinned, it just might prove to be his snapping point.
“If I promise to only eat one piece of pizza and not complain about anything related to your team, can I stay and watch the rest of the game with you?”
John nodded and she could tell he was totally out of his comfort zone. He was definitely not a person who liked surprises, but he was making an effort for her.
“I have wine,” he said at last. “Just no rabbit food.”
“It’s okay. I didn’t bring a rabbit,” Mariah said softly, falling a bit more in love than she’d meant to.
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