“Can I ask a special request?”
“You can always ask.” I roll my eyes. So this one’s gonna start out high maintenance. This is why I prefer Evie to handle client communication. I have no patience for this shit.
“I, uh… I happen to know your partner, Evelyn. Quite well, in fact. So, I’d like to have you handle the case without her involvement.”
“Huh. Well, I’m sure we can work something out. How exactly do you know Evelyn?”
“She and my daughter have been best friends since middle school.”
My eyes widen. Wow. I’m speaking to Kate’s mother. I’m glad Mrs. Bryant can’t see my reaction as I’m sure my face reads: WTF!
“I just don’t want her personal feelings toward myself or my husband to cloud the investigation. And I can’t have my daughter aware of what’s going on. You understand, I’m sure.”
I clear my throat. “Of course. I’m pulling up to a meeting now. Is this the best number to reach you?”
“Yes, it’s my cell phone.”
“Okay, give me a few hours and I’ll call you back with a time to meet.”
“I look forward to your call, Mr. Beltran.”
I press end and shake my head again. I should probably decline the case, being so personally involved with Kate and Evie, but hell if I’m not curious as to what Kate’s parents have going on. Since I’ve moved back it’s clear Kate doesn’t have much of a relationship with her parents. I wonder what happened while I was in the service to cause that change.
Grabbing the manila envelope from the dash, I secure it under one arm, step out of my truck, and lock the doors with a click. I see Evie just inside a booth and wave as I approach. We talked last night on the phone and came up with the best way to break the news to Mrs. McAllister. I hope this goes well. In these situations you really can’t predict just how people will react.
“Hey, Evie.”
“Hey, Jon. How’s it going?”
“Not too bad. You ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be for this kind of meeting. I already ordered breakfast for the three of us. Food should soften the news, right?”
“Usually does. Can I ask you something?”
“Shoot.”
“How come Kate doesn’t talk to her parents anymore?” The words barely leave my mouth before Evie frantically shakes her head.
“Oh, nope. Not going there. Bestie code and all that. You’ll have to ask Kate if you want to know and just a heads up—” I nod for her to continue. “—you don’t want to ask her about it.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.” Evie waves over my shoulder and I get up to switch sides of the booth so I sit across from our client.
“Mrs. McAllister, you look beautiful this morning.” Evie compliments.
“I look like hell.” She squeezes herself into the booth and rubs her belly, huffing out a big breath of air. “It is too hot to be this pregnant. Now, what did you find on my husband?” I’m glad for her no nonsense attitude this morning. Should make things easier.
“I was able to obtain some documents over the weekend. And what we found is very surprising.” I open the envelope and slide out the copies I printed.
“He cheated on me, didn’t he? With that pretty young secretary? He knocked her up too, didn’t he? That lying son of a—”
“Susie.” Evie cuts in. “Your husband didn’t cheat on you. That is, unless you were dating during his senior year of high school?”
Susie blinks her eyes, her brows furrowing. “What? No. We didn’t meet until after grad school.”
“That’s what we thought. Has Rob ever told you he has a child?”
“No. That can’t be. What are you talking about?” I hand over each copied document as I give her the rundown.
“We found documentation that shows your husband’s secretary, Tammy Fellows, was given up for adoption three days after her birth. These records were sealed until she was eighteen. Only a year ago, she was able to track down her father, your husband, with the help of a private investigator. Your husband had her go through testing to confirm she actually is his biological daughter. That and sign an NDA agreeing that she would never tell anyone of their relationship if he helped her with employment and medical expenses. About the same time you became pregnant, Rob received the proof he was Tammy’s father, and a soon to be grandfather.”
Susie’s eyes are wide and her mouth gapes open. She hasn’t stopped rubbing her large belly. The server stops by and plops down three big, steaming plates. Continuing to stare at the paperwork laid before her, Susie grabs a fork with her left hand and shovels food into her mouth.
“Anything else I can getcha?” Our server smacks her gum and glances at Susie, Evie, and myself before taking in my headshake to move to the next table.
“So you’re telling me that my husband is going to be a father and a grandfather about the same time, all before his thirty-eighth birthday.” Susie chokes out between bites.
Evie and I nod our agreement. I glance at Evie, who shrugs before she picks up her fork and digs in. I guess I better catch up before these women move in on my plate.
Susie shakes her head and blinks her eyes. “Of all the possibilities I was prepared to face today, this wasn’t even a guess. Do you know why Rob didn’t tell me?”
“Now, that we don’t know. That’s something only you can find out. If you choose to confront him on the matter.” Evie offers sympathetically.
“Well, I don’t know how I can’t. It’s not like I’ll be able to forget what I’ve learned. And now it’s clear that Rob loves Tammy, just not in the way I feared. He’s always talking about how she’s the best assistant he’s ever had and how she’s such a strong woman for being brave enough to be a single mom. Oh!” Susie’s face lights up. “Now I get it. Everything makes sense. I was taking all of his interest as a romantic relationship. He’s just a proud father. Yes. I have to confront him. Confront them both. Tammy needs to know she’s welcome in our home. Hell, that makes me a stepmom doesn’t it?” She giggles before adding. “And I guess grandma too. Never thought I could say that at thirty-three!”
I’m relieved Susie’s taking the news in stride. I just have one last piece to deliver.
“Mrs. McAllister. There’s something else you should know. The methods used to obtain these documents. Not completely innocent. So, if you bring this up, be prepared to answer questions.”
“Where were the documents?”
“In the client and vendor files of your husband’s office. Under the tab Virgo. That’s what caught my eye.”
“Ha! My OCD husband. Even when he’s hiding something, he’s organized.”
“What do you mean?” Evie questions.
“Oh, just a conversation I had once with Tammy. She’s a Virgo and I’m a Sagittarius, astrology signs.” Evie and I nod. “Oh! I can’t stand it. I have to talk to Rob right now. I hope you don’t mind that I eat and run. I’m just so relieved. I can’t wait another second to clear the air.”
“Of course. It was a pleasure working for you, Susie.” Evie and I both stand and shake hands before she waddles out the restaurant.
“Well, that went well.”
“It sure did. I’m glad. So, shall we?” Evie nods to the exit and I drop cash on the table cover the bill.
“I’ll meet you back at the office.”
“Sounds good.”
When I’m back in my truck I pull my cell out and dial Mrs. Bryant’s number. Well, if Evie and Kate didn’t want to tell me about the past I’d just have to find out on my own. That, and figure out what exactly Mr. Bryant is up to these days to cause his wife to hire a PI. I set up a meeting for the following evening. Now to focus on another day’s work before I pick up my roommate.
Pulling up to the studio, I find a coveted space street side. She asked me to pick her up any time after six, but I’m a little early so I decide to go inside and see where she spends all her time.
I open the front door and appreciate the blast of cool air that comes from inside. The building is older but the place is clean and modern. Indie rock plays through the stereo and a pretty young thing with a full sleeve of tattoos sits behind a big desk. Breathtaking photographs, some more commercial, others portraits, line the walls in the only decoration. Loud laughter drifts down the hallway.