Noah stalked toward Deidre’s desk. “I’m calling security.”
“You know her better as Rochelle Mauvais,” Piper said. “It’s a great hooker name.”
The color drained from his face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Deidre had come to her feet, her hands braced on the desktop.
“Ellen is Noah’s longtime… girlfriend,” Piper explained. “She’s also the woman who accused Coop of rape. Interesting, right?”
Coop straightened from his position against the wall.
Noah leaned over and hit the intercom on Deidre’s desk. “Get security up here!”
“Ellen told me all about it,” Piper said.
Deidre looked dazed. “Noah, is this true?”
“No! Of course, it’s not true.”
“She’s with the police right now,” Piper said. “Along with a copy of your computer’s hard drive.”
Noah bolted for the door. But Coop was too quick for him. He threw a block that sent Noah staggering backward. Before he could fall, Coop grabbed him and shoved him down on the office couch. “Let’s hear what Piper has to say.”
Piper had a lot to say. “Noah paid Ms. Englley ten thousand dollars to accuse Coop of rape. Noah wanted to destroy him. Get him out of your life. He even used a drone to spy on him.” Noah slumped forward on the couch, his head in his hands. Deidre stood frozen as Piper went on. “The police are going to find that hard drive very interesting. You really should empty your e-mail trash folder, although dumping the cockroaches at the club is small potatoes compared to the rest.”
“You stole it,” he said into his hands.
“Why, Noah?” Deidre cried. “Why would you do something like this?”
He set his jaw, refusing to speak, so Piper answered for him. “He wants to be the most important man in your life. He got used to the way you relied on him after your husband died. Maybe he hoped to be the next Mr. Joss, but whether he wanted that or not, he had to make sure he stayed the most important man in your life. Your personal interest in Coop was threatening that. He wanted both Coop and Spiral out of the picture.”
Coop witnessed it all, saying nothing.
Deidre sank back into her chair. She put her head in her hands, then slowly lifted it. “How could you do this?”
“What else was I supposed to do?” Noah’s face twisted bitterly. “I couldn’t stop you from marrying Sam, even though anybody could see he wasn’t good enough for you. I wasn’t going to lose you to Graham, too.”
“I trusted you more than I trusted anyone.”
“I needed more time!” he exclaimed. “I love you. I’ve always loved you.”
Loved Joss Investments was more like it.
The door shot open and two security guards charged in.
Deidre came up from the chair, in full command. “Put him in his office and keep him there until the police get here.” As they led him away, she went to Coop. “I don’t know how I can ever make this up to you.”
Piper had a few ideas, and she hated every one of them.
Coop got behind the wheel of Piper’s Sonata himself and headed toward Spiral. “How did you get his computer?”
Piper rested her head and shut her eyes. Words were pressing at her lips, emotions churning-thoughts and feelings so contradictory, so painful, she couldn’t let them escape. “I can’t talk to you until I get some sleep.”
“I need answers.”
“I’m serious, Coop. I haven’t slept since Sunday night, and I need to go to bed.”
“Fine. I’ll be with my lawyers most of tomorrow, but I’ll pick you up for dinner at five o’clock.”
She opened her eyes. “What are you? Eighty years old? Who goes out to dinner that early?”
“You’re bitchy when you don’t sleep.”
“Got it. Old Country Buffet at five o’clock.”
“Five o’clock because I want plenty of time to get you drunk.”
“In that case…” She shut her eyes again.
By the time Piper awoke the next day, the police had issued a statement saying Coop had been falsely accused. They didn’t name Noah but merely referred to “a person with a grudge against the former Stars quarterback.” By noon, the local channels were showing footage of Ellen Englley with a hoodie pulled over her head trying to duck the news cameras. Piper gazed at the screen in disgust. Noah’s mistress would probably end up with a reality show.
Coop’s attorney held a short press conference at three o’clock where, among other things, Piper learned that Coop was a long-standing member of the NFL’s task force on sexual violence. His attorney read a statement from Coop about the serious impact false accusations have on real rape victims. How could Piper not want to protect someone like that?
Eric called with the unwelcome news that Noah Parks had an airtight alibi for both the night Coop had been attacked outside his condo and the night Karah had been forced off the road. Piper assumed Noah had hired someone to carry out the first attack, but she’d been counting on him being behind the wheel of the mystery vehicle that had gone after the Tesla. Unless the police found another connection, Noah could get off with a slap on the wrist.
She made herself focus on the long-sleeved, bittersweet-orange knit dress she’d unearthed from the back of the closet. She’d last worn it at a college friend’s wedding a couple of years ago. The boatneck framed her long neck, something she generally didn’t think about, but for tonight, she wanted to feel at least halfway pretty.
Coop had traded in his jeans and boots for an open-collar white dress shirt, gray pants, and a darker gray sports coat that fit his body as if he’d grown it there. Appreciation glinted in his eyes. “Damn, Pipe, you really do know how to look like a girl.”
“I told you I could,” she said. “Where are we going to dinner?”
“Drinks first. This great new place I’ve heard about.”
“You’re going to be mobbed.”
“All taken care of.”
He was right. The great new place turned out to be right below them, which explained their early date time.
Even though Spiral wouldn’t open for another four hours, soft light glowed from inside the cube-shaped cocktail tables, and the suspended rods glimmered like golden stalactites above the bar. The leather banquettes were welcoming, and music played quietly in the background. No one was around.
Coop stepped behind the bar. “We have three hours until the staff shows up,” he said. “The place is locked tight for now, and I gave strict orders that nobody can get in until eight.”
“Not much prep time before the club opens.”
“They’ll cope.” He uncorked a very expensive cabernet and filled two goblets.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be a team player,” she said as she slid up onto a barstool. “But you weren’t exactly available for consultation.”
“You’re forgiven.”
She held up the wine goblet he gave her. “Here’s to being innocent.”
“Not in that dress.”
The dress’s wide neckline extended all the way to her collarbones, but the rest of it hugged her body. “I was talking about you.”
“I know.” He smiled. “How did you figure it out?”
She told him about Noah’s license plate.
“Not much to go on.”
“And intuition. He hovered around Deidre, and there was something about his attitude toward you that felt more personal than professional.”
He rested his hand on the bar and gave her one of his brain-piercing looks. “How did you get his computer?”
He’d brought up the thing she most didn’t want to look at. “Not legally.” She stared into her wineglass. “I’m turning into somebody I don’t respect. One of those people so focused on the end goal that they don’t care how they reach it.”
“It’s called passion.”
She had another word for it. Unethical.