Who Glares Wins (Lexi Graves Mysteries) (28 page)

"We had a week in Cabo
,
which was amazing. Great beach, not that we left the hotel much
,
if you know what I mean." Donna giggled and took a sip of her drink.

"Wow. And I was pleased with earrings for Christmas!"

"Teddy is great with jewelry. He's got fabulous taste." Donna held out her wrist. "He bought me this bracelet for my birthday."

"Tiffany's?"

"You bet."

"Gorgeous." I took another drink and sighed, checking my watch.

"Is he late?"

"Yeah, kinda. I think his wife is onto us," I lied, fluttering my eyelashes just enough that said I might cry.

"No!"

I nodded. "Yeah. She's a total snoop. She knows he doesn't love her
,
but she just won't let go. He says she can't stand to see him happy."

"Totally with you, sister. You know what my Teddy's wife did?"

I shook my head.

Donna raised her eyebrows and thrust her jaw out, shaking her head. "Got
. P
regnant."

"No!"

"Uh
-
huh. Ted says she swears it
’
s his
,
but he's not so sure.
She seduced him one night.
She said she'd sue the pants off him if he ever left. He could lose everything.
What a bitch!
"

"No!" Also:
N
o way! That evil, lying, disgusting,
betraying
, sneaky bastard. How dare he talk about my sister like that?
!

Donna nodded
and exhaled hard
. "I'm just trying to be supportive
,
you know.
I feel so bad for him.
"

"I bet you're his rock." I could barely
strain
the contempt
from
my voice
,
but Donna didn't notice, so taken up in her story of being wronged.

"That's what he said," she agreed
, examining her pink nails
.

"
Are y
ou meeting him for lunch?"

"Yeah. He's due anytime. We just can't stay away from each other
,
you know.
Every moment counts.
"

Shit! Time for me to go. I could just imagine Ted's face when Donna introduced her new friend, the slack
-
jaw
ed
response, the limp handshake as he struggled to put an acceptable face on their tryst. I shuffled in my seat, then raised a hand and waved
in the direction of the street
.

"Speaking of my honey, there he is," I cooed. "It was so great talking to you."

"Me too. Us sisters have to stick together. Good luck!"

I hopped off the stool and grabbed my purse. "Hope you get everything you deserve," I said.

Donna's face clouded for a moment
,
then she smiled. "You too!"

It was hard not to run out of the bar
. J
ust as I stepped outside
,
I saw Ted. I turned in a circle twice
,
like a puppy chasing its tail, suddenly with no idea which way to go, then shot off in the opposite direction.

I had to walk around the block before it was safe for me to pick up my car
, thanks to the plate glass windows of the restaurant
,
and not being sure where they
were sitting
.
Finally, when I realized I was running out of time, I hoped they were in a dark corner at the rear
,
and hurried to my VW.
Sliding into the seat, I hit the lock on the door, and unhooked my wire. I pressed the pin code into my cell phone and found the app
Lucas
installed, hitting
“
play
”
and hearing Donna's
and my
conversation replay loud and clear. I had the whole conversation on record and another nail in Ted's playboy coffin.

I added a note to the file about my conversation with Donna and what she said about her relationship with Ted, noting that I possessed a recording.

With an increasingly heavy heart, I continued towards my sister's house, pulling into Serena's driveway a short while later. I parked and took a deep breath, ready to confirm what a slea
zy
,
rat bastard Ted Whitman the T
hird really was.

Baby Victoria
lay
in her basket, her fat
,
pink legs kicking so that the layered skirt of her
cotton
dress fluttered upwards only to drift down again. Instead of sitting on the sofa
,
I settled down beside her
on the floor
. Victoria screech
ed
,
giggled
,
and kicked again, her little arms pumping.

"I get the feeling this isn't a social call." Serena placed a glass of iced tea on the side table, far away from Victoria and settled on the floor
on
the other side of her, her fingers dancing across Victoria's belly, much to the baby's delight.

"No, it isn't," I admitted.

Serena breathed in sharply through her nose
,
then exhaled, repeating it twice. "Ted?"
she asked.

I nodded. I dragged my gaze away from Victoria and caught my bag by its long handle, dragging it towards me. Opening the flap
,
I pulled out the large envelope and placed it on the coffee table, its sharp corners now padded with plastic corner protectors.

"This envelope is sealed," I told her. "It's up to you if you want to open it."

"But there is something inside?"

Again, I nodded.

Serena focused on her daughter, stroking her hand over Victoria's short, dark crop of hair, then down
,
so Victoria could wrap her whole hand around a single one of her mother's fingers. Serena waggled her finger and Victoria wriggled her body and screeched, her legs
rocketing straight
,
then kicking upwards
.

"I knew," said Serena, her voice sad, "but it doesn't make it any easier."

"I know this is going to sound harsh, but remember that you asked me to get evidence. I only brought confirmation. It's up to you if you want to open it, and what you want to do with it," I told her. "You never have to open it
,
if you don't want to."

"I'm not going to get mad at you," said Serena, her eyes firmly fixed on her daughter's. She kissed Victoria,
then
detangled herself as Victoria grabbed her hair
. She
reached for the envelope, holding it for a moment before calmly slit
ting
it open. She pulled out the eight
-
by
-
tens and sifted through them, pausing for a moment on each one. Finally
,
she stuck them back in the envelope and read through my surveillance report and conclusions, including my last minute addition of my conversation with Donna
,
which I summarized as delicately as I could. It didn't make for pleasant reading. Ted was having an affair
,
and it had been going on a while, possibly through
out
Serena's pregnancy, maybe even before. Donna Keegan, I found from snooping, was a junior at his office
,
and either stupid or career hungry. I also noted that Ruby was a honeytrap and
might not
stand up in court
,
but could be good for blackmail.

If Serena wanted a divorce, she had plenty of evidence. If she wanted to play hardball, she had evidence.
Thanks to Donna’s frank comments, I also had audio of the sexual element to their affair.

"I'm not sure what I'm going to do right now," said Serena. "I need to see my lawyer."

"I understand."

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything to the family."

"Client confidentiality," I assured her.

"Don't I have to pay you to be a client?"

"No, you don't. You're my pro
bono client."

Serena pushed the file inside the envelope
,
which she then sl
ipp
ed inside her diaper bag.

"Don't let Ted find it," I warned her. "I have copies
,
but don't let him know until you're ready. Keep it somewhere else."

"My lawyer will keep it for me." Serena shuffled back to Victoria, picking her up and cradling her in her arms. Victoria stopped kicking and nuzzled closer to her, her little eyelids blinking and her lips puckering. My ovaries simultaneously twanged. "You think you know someone, huh?" said Serena, with a shake of her head.

"Tell me about it." I thought I knew someone once, then one day
,
he just up and left, without even a note. A week later
,
I got a postcard saying
,
sorry, it
di
dn't work out
,
but he got an awesome job in New York and couldn't pass it up. He left me with an engagement ring, a part
ly
paid wedding dress, a lot of embarrassment
,
and a whole lot of unanswered que
stions. I sold the ring, cancel
ed the dress and ran away to join the
A
rmy. It could have been worse. I could have married the bastard before he ditched me
,
so I had to count myself lucky.

"We've been married eight years, together since college. We've got a new baby. And he's carrying on with his secretary. It's such a
cliché
!"

"She's not his secretary."

Serena flapped a hand. "Same difference. It's still a
cliché
. I've sacrificed so much for him and he couldn't even be faithful. He wanted to live in Montgomery. We came home to Montgomery. I turned down six offers at city firms to come back here, because that's what Ted wanted. He wanted to buy this house. We bought this house. He wants, wants, wants and gets, gets, gets. What do I get? I get fired for having a baby."

"At least
,
you got the baby."

Serena hugged Victoria closer to her. "At least
,
I got the baby," she agreed. "Do you know how many times Ted has gotten up in the night for her? Or changed a diaper?"

I hazarded a guess. "None?"

"Exactly! None! Apparently
men
don't change diapers. I told him Garrett and Daniel change diapers. I remember Dad changed your diapers.
Real
men change goddamn diapers!" Serena shoved Victoria
under
her top
,
and a moment later
,
there was a wet
,
sucking sound. "But no, babies are women's work. I'm an accountant. I went to Harvard. Now all I do is change diapers."

"It's not forever," I assured her. "Things will change. In a couple of years
,
diapers will be a thing of the past."

"It's not the diapers, Lexi. It's the point. What am I now? The stay
-
at
-
home wife with the cheating husband that's she totally reliant on
?
"

"Maybe you need to change things."

"How? Get a divorce?"

"That's up to you," I said as gently as I could. "But you could start your own business. Everyone needs accountants. I need one." Dear God, did I need one. "You could work from home. You'd be able to look after Victoria and
earn
an income. You won't be reliant on Ted."

"Really? You really think I could do that?" Serena brightened. I don't think she'd ever asked me if I thought she could do something before. For a moment, I felt needed. It was nice.

"Really," I said. "I think you can do anything."

Serena smiled
warmly
. "I'll think about it."

"I'm here if you want to talk about it." I glanced at my watch and winced. I was going to be late. "Actually, I need to get back to work, but any other time. And Mom and Dad will help if you want to tell them. We all will. You're not alone."

"Thanks, Lexi. I wish I could just take Victoria and go away for a few days. A change of walls."