Jen blinked and sat up straight. “What the hell are you talking about, Patty? Are you trying to tell me that you colluded with Lee against my husband? That you blew him for a ‘noble’ cause, and not because you’re a…?” Jen checked herself. “Am I expected to believe your bullshit?” She felt ganged up against, angry, betrayed and stupid. The sympathy, which had compelled her to reach out to Patty, had lasted only an instant.
“God, Jen, I can imagine how hurt you are, and I’m sorry. The story is so complicated, even unbelievable, and I don’t blame you for hating me. I just want you to give me a chance to explain.”
“Well it sounds as if you and Lee trapped my husband. Not only that, you managed to get rich off it, too. I should be exposing you, Patty, not giving you a chance to explain yourself.”
“Lee had nothing to do with me, um, and John, in the tasting room. In fact, he was furious with me when he found out.”
Jen glared at Patty. Patty held her glare.
“I’m sorry for what I did, but I’ve done you a favour.”
“A favour!”
“All you need to do, Jen, is listen.”
There was a silence. Jen noticed Patty’s hand shaking as she reached for her water. “Well, tell me, for God’s sake. Tell me why I shouldn’t go to the cops about this! In fact, I’m interested to know how you’re okay with prostituting yourself?”
Patty took another sip of water followed by a deep breath. “I need to start from the beginning◦– to tell you how I became Lee’s good friend and personal assistant.”
Jen rolled her eyes. Can’t she just edit her story? It’s bad enough having to sit here with her after what she did, never mind having to listen to her justify things.
Patty ignored Jen’s obvious hostility and launched into her explanation. “When I first met Lee, my divorce had just gone through and it was my thirtieth birthday. I had absolutely no money, but I felt a newfound sense of freedom. I also had no friends. My husband hadn’t allowed me any, so I was very alone. But that didn’t deter me from celebrating, even on my own.
“I went to a club because I wanted to dance. I hadn’t danced for as long as I’d been married, and I danced alone, shamelessly. I was just so happy to be free to do exactly as I pleased and to do what I had loved doing so much. Occasionally, guys would join me on the dance floor, and I danced for what felt like hours, lost in the music.”
Jen sat back and looked out of the window. It was a beautiful day, belying the fact that it had poured with rain the night before.
Patty finished her water and continued. “I spotted a very good-looking man at the bar. He hadn’t looked up once, and it seemed as if he was lost in thought. After a few glasses of bubbly, I felt brave enough to approach him. I’ve always loved sex.”
Jen turned from the window and looked at her reproachfully. “Well, it’s the truth. That’s why I stayed so long in my marriage. Our sex life was phenomenal, if you can believe that! Anyway, I went straight up to him and propositioned him. The man was Lee, and we landed up having sex in the club’s toilet.”
“Oh my God! Spare me the gory details!”
“No. I need to tell you the details.” She paused, and Jen nodded for her to continue. “We both felt so fucking guilty. Lee more so than me. He’d cheated on Frankie to get back at her.”
“What was he getting back at her for?”
“She told him that she’d had her tubes tied.”
“That’s news to me!”
“It was news to Lee, too. Apparently, when she married him, she promised she’d try for two children. But she changed her mind after having Clive. She said she didn’t want to go through it all again. He thought that, with time, she’d come around and they would try for their second, but the more time passed, the less keen she seemed.”
Jen crossed her arms and snorted.
“So anyway, that day, Lee had brought it up with her. Time was running out. They had a fight, and that’s when Frankie told him that it didn’t matter what he wanted because she’d had her tubes tied years ago.”
Jen unfolded her arms. “How? When?”
“I don’t know the details. Apparently, Lee had booked an overseas trip with the boys. Frankie was furious. She eventually said he could go on condition that she book herself in at a health farm. Seems she checked in to a hospital instead.
“Lee was so angry that he landed up at this club, and my proposition seemed a good idea. His way of getting back at Frankie.”
By now, Jen was thoroughly engrossed in the story. “Go on,” she urged.
“I told Lee my whole sob story about my abusive husband, my acrimonious divorce and my joblessness. That was when he offered me a job. He was a partner in an upmarket gentlemen’s club, a whorehouse really, and they were looking for a well-groomed, clean-living woman to work as hostess, see to the tips and payments and oversee the strippers and prostitutes.”
Jen felt sick. “Oh my God, Lee is one of the owners of that ‘poker’ club?”
“Yes, he was. And I’ve inherited his share of the business. He was such a generous man. I can’t believe my best friend◦– let’s be honest, my only friend◦– is gone.” Patty began to cry again, her sobs washing over her in waves. Jen was intrigued at how easily Patty allowed herself to mourn. She had been raised to stay composed, no matter what.
When her sobs subsided, Patty sniffed deeply, grabbed her tissue and blew into it. “So you know about the club? It’s very off the radar, and we’re in the process of moving premises as people are getting wind of it. Strangely enough, working there turned out to be fabulous.” Jen remained mute as Patty continued. “I had loads of responsibilities and I had a chance to show my managerial qualities. I could handle the men, and I was able to handle the women too. I started organising Lee’s personal stuff; he needed someone who could be discreet about his ‘other’ life◦– the one that included an illicit business interest. He couldn’t trust anyone else with the job. The people involved in the club aren’t exactly like you and your townsfolk, but at least they’re honest about who they are and what they’re doing.”
“That’s debatable,” interjected Jen. “Their whole operation is undercover.”
Patty shrugged. “I guess. It is by invitation only. That’s how I got to meet John and the rest of the group. I’m going to be honest, Jen. John never slept with any of the women at the club, but he pursued me relentlessly.”
Anger began to show on Jen’s face, but Patty didn’t seem to notice. “When he eventually understood my boundaries, we became quite friendly and we spoke often. That’s when he offered me a job as a wine rep.”
“Oh?”
“Ya. I laughed it off because I was happy working at the club. But Lee, in the meantime, had found out about Frankie’s affair with a French diplomat.”
“A what? She never told me about it!”
“Lee had hired a private detective and he had hard evidence of the affair.”
“Photos?” Jen remembered Leonard saying it had been Patty, on Lee’s instruction, who had given him the photos of John with other women.
“Exactly. But Frankie’s other affair was harder to pin down even by the investigator Lee had hired to tail her. She was often at your farm, but Lee thought nothing of it, for obvious reasons.”
Jen wasn’t sure what she meant by obvious reasons.
“Well, the two of you were friends. It’s only when he found a number Frankie called regularly that he became suspicious. After investigating, he discovered that the number belonged to your husband. Do you know that John has a second phone?”