by Diana Orgain
“If the bakery workers give you a hard time, let me know, and I’ll see what I can do about getting a warrant,” Deb said.
“Sounds like a plan,” I said, and we shook hands.
I kind of liked having a cop buddy. It sure was going to make things easier to work with the police instead of against them.
I called Sarah from the car where we decided on a place to meet. I pulled out of the neighborhood, and a few miles down the road I spotted the billboard. I laughed – hard. There was Raymond and Morgan, locking lips with her shoulder sensually exposed.
I’d taken that picture.
The tagline read, “My husband cheated: here’s his information – feel free to let him know what you think!” followed by his phone number, email, place of business, and a few other ways to contact him through social media.
“Harsh,” I said, but I was somewhat proud of the timid woman.
I pulled over on the side of the road. Sarah was standing there next to her car, admiring the giant billboard she’d rented. I inched my car forward and rolled down my window, smiling at her as she trotted up to me.
“What do you think?” she asked.
“Genius,” I said.
“His parents saw it,” she said. “I’m glad. They’ll give him hell.”
“Good,” I said. “Listen, Sarah, we need to talk about Raymond and Morgan.”
“You know… I’m really sorry about what happened to her,” Sarah said. “I mean, I was angry when you told me that this woman was sleeping with my husband, but… well, I wouldn’t wish that on anybody, you know? Not even Raymond. I mean, I did put this billboard up, so it’s not like I’m a super forgiving person.”
“I understand,” I said. “Is Raymond usually a violent person?”
“No! That’s the thing, he’s not. I heard about what he did to you, and I’m so sorry. I don’t understand. If he was so desperate to save our marriage, he should have just broken up with Morgan and come clean. Not this filthy sneaking around crap he’s pulled. That’s what I get for sending my husband to get cupcakes at Skank Bakery. I’m sure that’s how they met – I sent him to get cupcakes I ordered for my mom for her birthday last year… I wonder if they’ve been together since then? Ugh, I don’t even want to think about it.”
I snorted slightly. “I’m sorry, Skank Bakery?” I questioned.
“That’s the nickname a lot of people around here have for Cassandra’s Cookies. All the women who work there are sort of notorious for dating married men,” Sarah said.
“Oh, really?” I questioned.
“Yeah, it’s just local gossip, but that’s what I’ve heard,” Sarah said. “I never imagined that Raymond would fall for that, though.”
“I think I need to speak to some of the workers there,” I said, gripping the steering wheel as I thought about Jim. “One more thing, did Raymond like to cook? Or bake? Or, you know, did he have any kitchen skills?”
Sarah barked a laugh. “Raymond? You’ve got to be kidding me? The only time he went near a kitchen was to fill his plate!”
The more Sarah and I chatted, the better I felt good about her. I didn’t believe she or Raymond had anything to do with what happened to Morgan.
After I left, I called Deb. We cracked up on the phone with each other about the billboard, and I told her about my conversation with Sarah and that it had gone well.
“Yeah, I don’t think she did it either,” Deb said. “There’s no evidence suggesting that. And, I just checked out Raymond’s alibi. He and his buddies rented a fishing boat at Shasta. We have receipts and convenience store video tape footage. Alan is at the precinct downloading it now, but I think we’ll find it’s a pretty tight alibi.”
“Dang,” I said. “So, Raymond’s not our guy, is he?”
“You were right, though,” Deb said. “Now that we know he’s not, we can refocus. You headed to the bakery?”
“I am,” I said.
“Let me know how it goes. I’m getting a warrant, but they’re being slow down here today. You’re not a cop, and Cassandra seems to like you. Maybe you can sweet talk your way into looking around,” Deb suggested.
I agreed. Cassandra would likely be back to work today and hopefully be agreeable to my inquiries.
As soon as I stepped inside the colorful bakery, I spotted her behind the counter. She still looked a little pale, but better.
“Hey, Kate!” she said. “Oh my goodness! What happened to you?”
I rubbed at my temple, that still had a small bandage on it. “Long story,” I said. “Perils of being a PI.”
She made a pouty face for me. “I’m sorry. Can I get you one of your special brownies?”
“No thanks,” I said. “I think that craving has finally been satisfied. It took eating so many that it made me physically sick to get over it, though. You’re quite a baker.”
“Thanks!” Cassandra said, smiling. “What can I help you with?”
“Would you mind if I spoke with some of your employees about Morgan?” I asked.
“Of course,” she said. “I did hire you, remember? Feel free to talk and look around or whatever you need to do.”
That was easy.
Maybe I really do have a knack for investigations?
“I will,” I said.
I spoke with a few employees, and outright asked about Morgan’s love life again. Once more, they confirmed she dated married men, and it sounded like quite a few of the girls there shared similar dating life. I wanted to punch them – all of them. But, I had to remain professional.
I strolled into the back, finding Cassandra’s work office.
“Well, she did say I could look around,” I said under my breath as I made my way past the Employees Only sign. Cassandra’s desk was fairly plain, a few decorations from some sorority she’d been in during college. A framed diploma from a culinary academy. A picture of what was probably her dog sat by her computer. I went to pick up the picture, and I unintentionally jiggled her mouse. Her Facebook page was pulled open. I glanced over my shoulder – no one was coming, so I sat down.
I looked at the messenger app, and sure enough Jim’s name popped up. My palms were sweating as I found myself debating on whether or not to check. I did, and I got an eye full of… naked Cassandra.
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” I practically growled. She sent Jim naked pictures!
My ears and cheeks grew warm. If I was a cartoon, steam would have started spewing out of my ears and nostrils. I gripped the mouse, and wanted to slam it into her monitor.
I’ll kill her!
No, I was going to do this right. I grabbed my thumb drive and copied over the screenshots. Then I immediately deleted my screenshots so she wouldn’t know what I’d done. On impulse, I copied her entire delete folder on to my thumb drive, then emptied.
I stood, taking a moment to compose myself before leaving the office. As I was leaving, Cassandra spotted me from where she stood behind the counter.
“You leaving already?” she asked me curiously.
Yeah, so I don’t punch you, I thought, but I just smiled and acted like nothing was wrong. “Yeah, got to get back home to my kiddo.”
You home wrecker!
“I understand. Listen, if there’s anything else I can do to help with the case, please let me know. Morgan was my friend, you know?”
She seemed sad. I wanted to strangle her, but I had a job to do. I needed to separate whatever was going on with her and Jim from the case – I needed to get justice for Morgan whether she was a cheat like Cassandra or not.
“I’ll let you know,” I said and hurried out, stopping by the store to grab some more printer ink before driving home.
Mom was at my house watching Laurie, and she asked me what felt like a million questions, but I feigned tiredness and promised to call her later after I napped. First order of business, I took care of Laurie, feeding her, bathing her, and then putting her down for a nap before heading into my and Jim’s home office.
I started crying, but I kept working. I printed the pictures of Cassandra and placed them on the kitchen table. I scanned her deleted folder, but it seemed full of old security videos from the bakery camera. I ignored those and kept on working.
By the time I was done, I was shaking.
Then, I waited.
Whiskers seemed to realize how upset I was and settled into my lap.
I received a friendly, “On my way home, babe!” text from Jim, and as per usual I told him to drive safe.
At this point, I had way too much anger and sadness built up.
I mean, naked pictures! How could there possibly be an excuse for that? This woman was sending him nudes! I kept looking at the pictures laid out on my kitchen table, and every once in a while, I’d choked up.
It was just too much. I started thinking about Raymond and Sarah – Deb’s relationship, Butterfly and Kenny. Heck, even Vicente’s stupid play was about cheaters! They disgusted me. I saw no excuse for it.
None.
Yet, here I was, sitting in my kitchen, waiting to confront my husband about it.
Had Jim cheated on me? Even if he didn’t, had he willingly accepted these pictures from Cassandra? And, didn’t that count as cheating?
Jim came through the door and Whiskers jumped from my lap and arched her back.
“Laurie sleeping?” I heard him say as he rounded the corner into the kitchen. He glanced over to see what I was doing and saw the pictures, and his face went pale.
I practically hissed at him. “We I need to talk.”
Chapter Fourteen
Yeah, that escalated really quickly. Never call a pregnant woman crazy and paranoid – because as soon as those words slipped out of Jim’s lips, I lost it. I started screaming and throwing my hands around like I’d truly lost my mind.
“Well, Jim, what do you expect me to think?” I questioned him, my fists shaking at my side.
“You’re supposed to trust me – that’s what!” he snapped back.
“Trust you? How can I trust you, when you won’t even tell me what’s going on!” I shouted, my whole body joining my fists in shaking. “First of all, you’ve been secretly going to see your ex-girlfriend—”
“I haven’t secretly been seeing her! I was going there to get you your brownies!”
“You didn’t tell me, Jim! That’s the point! You didn’t tell me that the bakery was owned by your ex!”
“You’re right, I didn’t,” he said. “But, only because I didn’t think it was worth mentioning. We dated briefly in high school. We hardly spoke at all the first few times I went into the bakery. I didn’t even realize it was her at first.”
“Second,” I said, holding up two fingers. “Secondly, you didn’t tell me you had the police called on you!”
“I didn’t want you to freak out,” he said.
“Well, I’m freaking out now, Jim!” I snarled. “And, I know you have her cell phone number in your phone!”
“Oh my God, Kate, have you seriously been going through my phone?” he asked.
“You’ve been texting her! And, she keeps sending you all these flirty emojis, and then I find this—” I pointed toward all the erotic photos spread out across our kitchen table.
“Where did you even find that?” he asked.
“She left her Facebook logged in when I went to the bakery to interview some of the employees,” I said. “And, she had sent those to you!”
Jim sat down at the table; he started snatching up the photos and crumpling them up in his frustration. “You’re unbelievable,” he told me.
“Me!” I shrieked. “I’m unbelievable? Are – are you kidding me! Look at all this, Jim! Are you seriously questioning why I’m upset right now?” I took a breath, and that pause made me break down. I started crying. I lost all the confidence I had gathered prior to the confrontation and Jim looked up at me with these sad eyes. “Are you sleeping with her, Jim?” I asked.
“God, babe, no!” he said and jumped up. “Kate, I would never hurt you like that. Look… just… sit down. I’m going to make some coffee, and I’ll explain what’s going on, okay?”
This should be good, I thought and collapsed on a chair at the table, arms crossed. We didn’t speak while the coffee was brewing. I was too upset to talk, and he was very timid – he kept shaking his head and muttering to himself. He set a cup of coffee in front of me – plenty of sugar just like I liked it, and he poured a tiny bit of creamer for me before sitting down and taking a swig of his coffee, cringing as he burnt his tongue.
I shook my head; he always burnt himself with coffee when he was distracted.
Idiot!
He took a breath. “Okay, so I haven’t been totally open with you about what’s going on. I’ll admit that, and I’m sorry, Kate. I never meant to get you upset or make you worry. I love you, Kate. And, I would never do anything intentionally to hurt you. I hope you know that.”
He reached for my hand, but I crossed my arms and gave him my stone face. I was willing to listen, but it better be good or I’d kill him.
“Right,” he said to himself more than to me. “The first time I went to the bakery Cassandra wasn’t there. I had no idea she owned it. Then, you just really liked them, remember?” I nodded, and he continued. “So, I kept going back. I’d see her, but I honestly didn’t recognize her. It was high school, you know? And, we didn’t even date that long. Just a little in junior year, I think. Anyway, one day we’re talking, and she starts flirting with me. I turned her down, told her I was happily married. That’s the God’s honest truth, Kate. I thought she was a lunatic redhead. I mean, you know, what I’m trying to say. I’m not even interested in anyone else, because I’m in love with you. But if I was single, she… she… wouldn’t interest me.”
He stopped talking to look at me and see if things were moving in his favor.
I made a face to indicate to him that they weren’t, then sipped my coffee.
He nodded, understanding he still had an uphill battle. “So she told me she was Cassandra from high school. And we both just laughed about it. She told me a little about college and culinary school, and I told her about you and Laurie and the new baby. Just catching up. I thought everything was normal. She talked me into exchanging numbers; she was being friendly and told me that if you were ever craving anything at weird hours to just hit her up, and she’d be happy to swing by early or stay late for me, since we were friends.”
“So, that’s why her number is in your phone?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said. “And, at first, it was fine. We just texted about brownies, and I think I sent her a picture of Laurie once. That was it. But, then she just started texting me more. She friended me on Facebook, and I accepted – not thinking anything about it. She kept texting me about random stuff – innocent at first. She sent a picture of her dog. Then one day she sent me a picture of herself – it was fairly innocent – just her in a dress asking me what I thought. I ignored the text because I thought it was inappropriate, and the next time I went into her shop she asked me why I didn’t respond. I told her I didn’t think it was appropriate, and she acted like she understood. She even apologized. But, later that night I got a message from her on my phone, and she had sent me a picture of her cleavage and made some joke about whether or not it was inappropriate. I told her to stop.”
“And, what, it just escalated?” I asked.
“Yes,” Jim said. “I went into the shop the next day and told her to knock it off, and she grabbed me… um…” his face turned bright red. He cleared his throat. “She grabbed me inappropriately, and I pushed her back.” Jim sat back, looking quite embarrassed. “She fell back into one of her workers, and they knocked a whole tray of cookies down. Cassandra called the police and said I assaulted her, and I told the police what happened, but they didn’t really believe me. Cassandra chose not to press charges, and we moved on. She apologized, I apologized, and that was it. I didn’t tell you about it because, well, I don’t know wh
y… I think I was hoping the whole thing would just go away.”
I nodded toward the pile of crumpled up paper. “And, the pictures?” I asked.
“I blocked her on Facebook as soon as I saw those in my inbox,” he said and handed me his phone. “Look for yourself.”
I did. I wasn’t playing around at this point. He also pulled open the conversation I had seen only a bit of when I had spied at the hospital. He had ignored her several times. He never responded whenever she sent him flirtatious emojis, and there was even a whole conversation from a week or two before with Jim telling her to stop flirting – that he was married and didn’t find it cute.
I felt awful. I sunk down in my seat. “Why didn’t you just tell me?” I asked.
“I thought you had enough to worry about,” he said. “I just handled it, or at least, I thought I had. I ignored her advances, and I only ever went to the shop to get you those brownies. It was getting close to the point that I was going to tell you I couldn’t keep going back there, though. But, I started ordering them ahead of time so all I had to do was go and pick them up. And, I’m sure you noticed, I started buying them in bulk instead of just picking up one or two for you so that I wouldn’t have to go back as often.”
Yeah, I had noticed that. I had just thought he was tired of always having to go out to get my brownies. “Jim, I’m sorry,” I said.
“Kate, I’m sorry,” he said and reached across the table to me to take my hand. “I should have just told you what was going on. I mean, it sure would have saved us both a lot of heartache. I just didn’t want you to worry. I’m sorry I made you think that I would ever do something to hurt you. I love you. I would never cheat on you, Kate.”
I smiled at him. “I love you too. I just wish you would have talked to me about all this. I think I’ve spent more time worrying about this than actually investigating the case your ex-girlfriend hired me for.”
