She took a step towards me and snarled, ‘Get your filthy paws off my husband, you slut.’ She was good, perhaps even better than Adam. Even I believed her!
She looked at me again. ‘This is not Eliza Roberts!’ She looked at Adam. ‘How many whores do you have?’
Adam looked pained. ‘Let me explain.’
‘Oh, sure. She was upset, and you were comforting her. Of course!’ Sarcasm edged her words. ‘Do you REALLY think I’m that STUPID!’ she yelled.
I placed myself between them and held up my hands. ‘Look, you weren’t supposed to find out this way,’ I said softly. ‘Adam was trying to let you down gently, but we fell in love and it’s me he wants to be with. You just have to accept it.’
Lucy went still. She looked at Adam with tears in her eyes. ‘Is this true?’ she whispered.
Adam looked like he hated to hurt her. ‘Let me explain,’ he said.
Lucy growled at him. ‘Just answer the damn question. IS. IT. TRUE?’
Adam looked from me to Lucy and back again, like he couldn’t look at Lucy as he replied, ‘I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you.’
Lucy looked at him for a moment, then turned and walked out, brushing past the two women in the doorway.
Kim, as arranged, was down the corridor and called, ‘Hi’ to Lucy.
Lucy turned to look at her with tears running down her face. Kim ran to her side, briefly looking in Adam’s office as she passed. She put her arms around Lucy.
‘What’s going on? Lucy? Are you okay?’ Kim guided her to her office. ‘Come in here. Give yourself a moment.’ She led Lucy into her office and closed the door behind them.
Adam looked up. His secretary and the receptionist were still watching with open mouths. I crossed to the door. ‘You can stop gawping now,’ I said as I shut the door in their faces.
‘Adam, love, I’m sorry it happened this way, but maybe it’s for the best. You can move into our place with me now. She’ll get over it, you’ll see.’
Adam looked at me. I could see the pain even pretending had caused. I touched his chest and shook my head at him. Reminding him it was only pretend, and he needed to pull himself together.
He shook his head. ‘Well, that was awful,’ he stated in a stronger voice than I expected. ‘I really didn’t want to hurt her, but I guess you’re right, now that it’s out in the open, we don’t have to sneak around. Just give me a moment, baby. I do feel bad for her.’
The door slammed open again and Kim stood in the doorway.
‘What the hell, Adam? This is so not like you! You love Lucy! How you could hurt her like this? You said you got rid of Eliza because she was coming on to you, so what’s the meaning of this?’
‘I got rid of Eliza because I wasn’t interested, and she was. You really don’t know me at all.’ He paused. ‘Not that it’s any of your business, but I didn’t want to hurt Lucy. I just fell in love. I’ve been with Kate for months now. We’ve bought a place together and I’ve been trying to find the right way to tell Lucy.’ He paused again, and put his hands up, palm out. ‘I really didn’t want to hurt her, but now that it’s out in the open, I’ll be moving in with Kate. Where’s Lucy now?’ he asked, almost as an afterthought.
‘Still in my office, trying to collect herself.’
‘Do you think it would help if I talked to her?’ Adam queried.
‘I don’t know.’ She looked at me and I nodded, Adam needed this.
‘Perhaps you should try, but don’t blame me if she doesn’t want to listen to you.’ He followed Kim back to her office. I stood, leaning against his office door, watching. His secretary watched me. Kim waited outside while he went in. She didn’t look at me.
Five minutes later the door opened, and Adam stepped out, accompanied by Lucy’s raised voice
‘Just stay away from me, you scum!’
Adam stopped beside Kim and spoke a few words with her, then came back to his office.
‘Come on,’ he said. ‘I’m taking the afternoon. Kim has agreed to keep Lucy away from home for an hour or two so I can grab my stuff.’
As we left his office, he grunted to his secretary that he would be back in the morning. We headed through reception holding hands. There was a group around reception and there was no doubt as to the topic of their conversation.
Chapter Eight
Adam sat with his head in his hands. It was a good couple of hours later and we were at ‘our’ apartment, having made a production out of grabbling his stuff from home.
‘I know it’s only pretend, but it still felt awful,’ he said sadly.
‘I know what will cheer you up,’ I smiled as he looked up at me.
There was a soft tap on what appeared to be the wall between this apartment and the one next door. I went to the wall and slid a hidden door into the wall recess.
Adam looked up, surprised: he hadn’t realised it was there.
I ushered in what appeared to be a tall woman in a stunning pink jumpsuit. Her chestnut hair tumbled around her shoulders as if escaping from restraint. She kicked off her ultra-high heels as she came through the door, suddenly becoming much shorter.
Adam stood with a beaming smile on his face but didn’t get a chance to move as Lucy rushed forward and threw herself at him. They held each other tightly as I slipped through to next door.
The adjoining apartments had been modified for our use, making it easier to slip people in and out unnoticed. There was a side door with a fire escape camouflaged from the street by shrubbery, which helped if we needed to avoid the front access.
Jethro was there setting up his equipment. We would use the apartment as the base for this case. I may need back up, so it was best to have it ready.
‘I got her to come in through the front door this time. She’s not used to such high heels, we didn’t want to risk an accident on the stairs. She was wearing a black wig and kept big sunnies on till she stepped into the building. Then she kept her head down. We made quite the public spectacle when she knocked on the door. So, if anyone was watching they will be convinced she’s here for me. Don’t worry,’ he laughed at my frown. ‘I made sure I wasn’t visible!’ He grinned, clearly having enjoyed himself. I couldn’t help but grin back.
I headed for the kitchen. I really needed coffee. ‘We’ll give them some time alone, then we’ll have to interrupt to work out the next move.’
Having made my coffee, I sat at the table to drink it. Jethro joined me with a glass of water. ‘What’s wrong?’ he asked gently.
‘It was tough watching the pain this has caused. I have a bad feeling about this one,’ I answered. I lifted my cup to my mouth and took a sip then changed the subject.
‘How did you go with Dawson?’
Jethro had met with Dawson a couple of days ago, but Dawson had refused to say much. He said he wanted to talk to his wife first. Jethro had agreed to give him a couple of days but tried to impress on Dawson how important it was that he speak to us, or the police.
Dawson had finally met Jethro this morning. ‘He was still reluctant but said his wife had insisted he talk to me. Apparently, she has heard of Shamash. He’s still scared of her, afraid she might come after his wife if she thinks she’s been betrayed. I assured him we just wanted the information and had no plans to let her know we’d spoken to him.’ Jethro paused, raising his glass to take a sip before continuing.
‘I explained to him again why we needed to know and that we needed to know if there was anything in his interactions with Eliza that might help us.’ Jethro rubbed his arm, something he did when he was worried.
‘She started with Dawson in much the same way she did with Adam. But unfortunately for him, Dawson allowed himself to get involved with her. He didn’t see the danger until he was in too deep. She started to make demands, and then turned up at his home.
‘When Dawson tried to break things off, Eliza informed him that wasn’t happening and threatened to tell his wife. She said that if she had to, she would get rid of hi
s wife for him.
‘Dawson did his first smart thing. He told his wife, Macy. He told her everything, including how stupid he’d been and how scared he now was. He wanted her to go somewhere safe, because he believed Eliza to be dangerous.
‘Dawson told me that Macy was hurt and angry, but she said all the years they’d been together had to count for something. She wasn’t sure if she could forgive him, but before they could sort things out between them, they needed to get remove the threat of Eliza.
‘Macy made plans, Dawson listened and marvelled as his wife’s calm. She said they’d wait for Eliza to confront Macy. When she did, Macy would tell Eliza that John had many previous affairs, but they were always short-lived and he always came back.
‘She would tell Eliza she wasn’t about to give up her position, because some jumped-up little tart stepped above herself. She would then kick Eliza out. She knew this would make Eliza angry and told Dawson he should tape any further interaction between them.
‘Macy arranged a nanny cam in his office.
‘Sure enough, Eliza turned up to tell Macy of the affair. When it didn’t go as she planned, Eliza confronted Dawson, in his office. She told Dawson she wouldn’t stand for it. She didn’t like the way Macy had spoken to her. She could not be allowed to get away with it. She told Dawson he had to fix this.
‘Dawson gave his carefully rehearsed speech, in which he told her he had no intention of leaving his wife. They’d been married a long time and he wasn’t prepared to throw away what he had. He was sorry if Eliza had believed otherwise, but he had made no promises to her. He told Eliza she should find another job, and that she couldn’t be in his life in any capacity at all, now that Macy knew.’ Jethro paused in his telling, he rubbed his arm again.
‘Dawson said Eliza then went cold. She was quiet for a moment then told him, very quietly, that in that case he would have to get rid of Macy. Dawson couldn’t follow what she meant and told Eliza he had no intention of being with her. He said Eliza laughed and it was a sound that still haunted him. She told him she intended to get rid of Macy and make sure he was in the frame for the murder.
‘She told him exactly how she was going to do it. Then stormed out of his office, telling him to think things over. She would be back in the morning for his decision.
‘When Eliza arrived the next morning, Macy was waiting for her. She showed her a copy of the tape. She congratulated Eliza and told her she had given Dawson a free pass to get himself out their marriage, and a patsy to cover him.
‘Eliza asked how she’d got the tape. Macy laughed and told Eliza she’d had John’s office under surveillance for some time. Eliza believed her. There was no reason not to.
‘She told Eliza she had no choice but to get out of their lives. She could deal with John, but if Eliza didn’t go, she would take the tape to the police, and let them deal with her.
‘Dawson, who was listening in from the next room, said Macy was magnificent. She told Eliza that she really had no choice, because if she stayed, Macy would see she went to jail for threatening or attempted murder. But if she left quietly Macy would make sure she got a good reference.
‘Dawson said the weird part was that Eliza didn’t seem fazed by any of this. She was quiet for a moment, then told Macy she required a recommendation for a job.
‘She said she knew Dawson was friends with the CEO at Davis &Co, Arthur Benham. She agreed to go quietly as long as he got Benham to give her a start. In fact, they need never see her again.
‘Macy considered and told Eliza John would put a word in for her, but that was all he could do. It was up to Benham if he hired her, and for that, Eliza must leave them alone.
‘Eliza said, as long as Dawson told Benham that she was his niece and had to change jobs for personal reasons. He wasn’t allowed to say she had been working for him. If she got that job, she would walk away, and leave them alone. The deal was struck.’ Jethro gave a wry grin.
‘Of course, Dawson says now had they known she’d do it again, they wouldn’t have let her just walk away. But really, what did he think was happening?’ He shook his head.
‘I guess the good news is that Dawson and his wife are working through things and he hoped he could put things right. He said his wife is amazing and if they could help in any way they’d do so.’
Jethro stopped and picked up his glass again, taking a long drink.
‘I get the feeling there’s more going on than we realise. I think she’s dangerous,’ he said with a sober look.
‘That’s what I was afraid of. So, her threat to Lucy is real. Let’s hope she believes the break up and transfers her attention to me!’ I looked at my coffee cup for a moment. Something didn’t make sense.
‘Why do you think she let go of Dawson so easily? Was Benham her target? If so, why did she swap so quickly to Adam? Something doesn’t make sense.’ I was talking half to myself, trying to work out what was wrong with the picture we had. Jethro agreed there was something that didn’t quite fit. We needed more information.
We chatted for a while, throwing ideas back and forth, mainly to give Lucy and Adam some time. They weren’t going to be able to see much of each other for a while.
We left them for as long as we could but then needing to get moving, I went and tapped on the adjoining door.
Adam called come in. I pushed open the door and we both stepped through. They were again sitting close together on the couch.
Adam looked up. ‘You’re well set up here,’ he stated.
‘Not our first time out, mate,’ replied Jethro.
‘Sorry to interrupt, guys,’ I said softly, ‘but we need to get a move on with things. We have a lot to do.’ I paused, looking at them.
‘I’m sorry, but your access to each other will have to be restricted for a while.’ I hurried on as Lucy looked like she was going to remind me of my words.
‘Look, I know I said you would be able to see each other! But new information has led us to rethink. We’ll try to make it happen, but we may not be able to! We need to be very careful.
‘I know it’ll be hard, but we can’t risk her getting wind of you two meeting.’ I took a breath to steady my voice. I didn’t want them to hear the concern I felt.
‘Things that have come up since our earlier talk, pointing to Eliza being dangerous, especially when thwarted. We need to minimise the risks.’
Lucy had been watching Adam, but she swung her head towards us. ‘What do you mean, dangerous? What more have you learned?’
Jethro and I both took seats opposite the couch. Jethro explained what he learned. ‘We think the fact that she has been rejected twice in a relatively short time, makes her more unstable, and therefore more dangerous,’ he ended.
Both their faces paled as they realised the serious nature of the situation they found themselves in.
Adam spoke first. ‘Are Lucy and Gabe still in danger?’
‘If Eliza believes that Lucy is not actually a barrier to her plans, then no, I don’t think so. If she believes you have already discarded her, then Lucy will be of no further interest.
‘That’s why we went to all this trouble to make it public. We need her to shift her focus to me.’
‘Do you think she’ll believe he’s had a mistress for a while? I mean, everyone knows how happy we are.’ Lucy was not convinced.
‘It will be all too easy to believe. I’m sorry but, even those who you think are close to you will believe it. And you won’t be able to set them right.’
Lucy looked at me. ‘Our closest friends won’t believe it, does that mean we will have to stay away from them?’
I looked straight at Lucy
‘Unfortunately, they will believe it! As I said before, humans expect things to go wrong. They’ll not be surprised that the perfect couple is not so perfect after all. It’ll be very hard to listen to your friends taking sides. Some of them will be stupid enough to run the other down to you, trying to make you feel better.
‘You CA
NNOT defend your partner. The most you can do is say, you don’t want to talk about it. They must believe, or this all falls apart.’
I reached out and put my hand on Lucy’s arm. ‘It’ll be really tough. My advice is to limit your contact with anyone but Kim for the next little while. Safer to let them think you’re falling apart, than risk the truth getting out.
‘Do you have someone to cover for you at work?’
‘You think that’s really necessary? Taking time off work?’ Lucy asked.
‘Depends on you. If you can handle it, fine, but if you think you may give yourself away, then you need to take the time off. Kim will stay as close to you as she can, and Jethro will be coming and going. We’ll put other protection in place as well, you and Gabe will be kept safe.
‘Jethro will check your place for devices. Don’t make any references to this until he’s done, just in case. Unless, of course, it’s to rail against Kate.’ I laughed to let them know I was joking.
Lucy and Adam looked at each other. They were struggling with all they had heard.
Jethro spoke. ‘I know it’s hard to take it in and you’ll most likely have a lot of questions later, once you have a chance to digest all this. One of us will always be available.’ He pulled two phones and chargers from his pocket.
‘These have been programmed with Kim’s, mine and JB’s numbers. They’ve also been programmed with the number for the other phone. It will be under “Dad” on Lucy’s and “Mum” on Adam’s. This is the only safe way for you to talk, really. The only restriction is to use it in private. I’m checking both your phones. They’ll be returned once we’ve established if they’re monitored. Just so we know what we’re dealing with.’
We went over things a couple of times. What to us was commonplace was alien territory to these two. We needed to make them as comfortable as possible. Finally, there was silence as they tried to take everything in.
I let the silence remain for a minute, then said, ‘Right, sorry, guys, but you have 10 minutes to say goodbye. Then Lucy has to get home.’ They looked at each other, Lucy’s eyes filling with tears.
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