CHAPTER SEVEN
Marcus stared at the network of notes on the wall and tried to make it make sense.When that didn’t work, he tried to make himself understand what it all meant.Whenthatdidn’t work, he just took it at face value and accepted that if there was some grand scheme behind it all, he wouldn’t figure it out without more information.
Whether for a purpose other than their own nosiness or not, the Carltonswereheavily invested in the failed marriages, affairs, hookups, and other indiscretions their guests exhibited.They had detailed files on every single time one of them strayed from their partners.One individual had cheated on his wife with his wife’s sister.Another had cheated with his wife’sbrother.A third hadn’t cheated but would attend the parties under an assumed name and flirt with different men, presumably to experience the thrill of being wanted by people who couldn’t have her.A fourth apparently had an arrangement with her husband where oral sex with anyone was allowed.She just couldn’t have penetrative sex.
But most of the cheaters weren’t following some convoluted ruleset or accepting some blind date coordinated by the Carltons.Most of them were just your old, garden-variety hookups.Met at a party, got drunk, and had sex.
The Carltons, oddly enough, seemed to enjoy these the best.They had detailed notes of follow-up encounters and effects on the respective marriages.They took particular delight when the spouses stumbled accidentally on the indiscretions and then publicly confronted the cheating couple.
The problem was that none of this screamed devious real-estate scheme to Marcus.Or scheme of any kind.In fact, it wasn’t clear that anyone even knew the Carltons were keeping these records.Sterling’s crackpot theory about using this information to sell real estate didn’t hold water.
Marcus was pretty sure the Carltons were just freaks.
His phone buzzed.A text from Cheryl.Marcus, I need you to call me.Some stuff’s come up, and I need to know what’s going on?
Marcus frowned.Stuff?What stuff?For the love of God,shehad lefthim.
You moved on pretty fast after your wife dumped you, huh?
A pang went through his chest.It wasn’t like that.He loved Cheryl.Had loved her.He had tried so hard to make things work with her.He’d put every ounce of himself into that marriage.It had ended because Cheryl couldn’t handle a marriage to someone working a job that required him to be on-call twenty-four-seven and available at any moment to his boss or his partner.There was nothing wrong with that.He understood.She wanted someone who could give her more.Or different.Or…
He sighed.The point was that he hadn’t been carrying a torch for Kate and just waiting for the chance to take advantage of that.The end of his marriage with Cheryl had nothing to do with his feelings for Kate and everything to do with the two of them not being right for each other.
He tried to convince himself that was true, but he kept thinking about the way the light would catch Kate’s hair sometimes when they were driving, or the adorable groggy look in her eyes when she just woke up, or the depth of kindness he felt from her when he was feeling down.All of that had existed before Cheryl left him, and there were times with Cheryl when they’d be fighting, and he’d look at her and wish that she was Kate because it would be easier if he was with Kate.
The door opened, and Marcus quickly put his phone in his pocket and said, “I think these guys were just nutso, Rivera.Not in a crazy way either.I think they probably just got off watching sexual drama in other people’s marriages.”
“And that is the sign that you need to stop and eat dinner,” Kate said.
Marcus turned to see his partner was, in fact, standing in the room, not Rivera.He frowned.“Dinner?It’s…”
He checked his phone and blinked.“How the hell is it so late?”
"That's what happens when time moves at the same speed it always does," Kate replied."Come on.Let's go get some grub.I got a little bit more information from the cipher.I think it fits with the hypothesis that the Carltons were actively attempting to break up marriages.Though I agree it probably has nothing to do with business, and they were probably just freaks who liked watching people have affairs."
Marcus’s head was starting to hurt.“Kate, I… Let’s skip dinner, okay?Or you can get dinner, but I want to keep working.”
Kate’s brow furrowed.“You can take five minutes to heat up some ramen in the break room.It can be a working dinner, but you need to eat.You especially need to eat since you’re six-four, two-thirty, and full of dense muscle.”
“I’m six-two.”
Kate rolled her eyes.Then she looked away and bit her lip.Oh, God, Kate.Please not now.
“Is this because of what I—”
“No,” Marcus interrupted, chopping his hand in front of his chest to emphasize the point.“No, it’s not.Cheryl and I broke up because we weren’t right for each other, and she left me.So, she doesn’t get to tell me how to live my life.If I want to be with someone else, I can.”
He stopped when he saw Kate’s eyes fixed on her shoes.Apparently interrupting her and shouting that Cheryl couldn’t tell them not to be together wasn’t the right way to approach this.
But he knew what the right way was.
Better rip the Band-aid off now.It only gets worse the longer you put it off.
He sighed.“I’m sorry.You’re right.I wasn’t thinking clearly.Honestly, I haven’t been thinking clearly for a little while now.I think we should get dinner and talk.”
The color drained from her face.She looked at him almost pleadingly.“Talk about the case, right?”
“Yes,” he replied.“After.”
