James stepped forward.“You want to take your hand off my door, or do you want me to take it off of you?”
Marcus still smiled, but it was no longer a just-a-guy smile.His eyes hardened, and for one of only a handful of times since Kate had known him, she saw the violence of the Navy SEAL he used to be.He wouldn’t start this fight, but he would finish it if he had to.“That would be a very unfortunate decision, Mr.Thornton.”
Thornton, to his credit, seemed to realize that, especially when Kate put her hands on her hips, thus opening her jacket and revealing her service weapon.He swallowed and said, “Fine.This is bullshit, but you can talk to me.You try to arrest me for shit I didn’t do, and we’re gonna have a problem.”
He stomped into the apartment.Marcus shared a look with Kate, and the two agents followed him.
Marcus’s guess turned out to be correct.Kate hadn’t seen the other apartments in the building, so she couldn’t be sure how this one compared, but this was definitely not what she would consider living on limited means.
Two walls forming the exterior corner of the apartment were glass floor to ceiling and afforded a breathtaking view of Biscayne Bay and downtown.The floor was the same granite tile as the lobby, and the furniture was all real leather and oiled hardwood.James definitely still had money.
“You want to know why I hated that bitch?”James said, not offering a seat or a drink to his guests.“She ruined my fucking marriage.”
“You’re talking about Dr.Patricia Hammond?”Kate asked.
“Yeah, I’m talking about her.”
He opened his fridge.Marcus crossed his arms, surreptitiously grasping the butt of his service weapon just in case James was planning a surprise for them.
James closed the fridge, holding a beer.Kate had a feeling it wasn’t his first of the day.He popped it on the edge of the kitchen counter and didn’t seem to care that a generous amount spilled on the floor.“She said we should have an open relationship.You know what that is?”
“Why don’t you tell us what she told you?”Kate prompted.
He was emotional and barely in control.It was a touchy game, but if he lost enough control, he might blurt out a confession.
“It’s when you sleep with other people.”He laughed and took a swig.“Bullshit.I can’t believe I fell for it.”
“How did Janice feel about this arrangement?”Marcus asked.He was back to a gentle look, but one of compassion.Hey guy, I get itrather thanjust a guy.
James scoffed.“At first, she loved the idea.She thought she was going to flaunt a bunch of men in front of me and punish me for not being a good husband or whatever.Turned out she couldn’t get a date, and I had no trouble finding dates.”
“Did that surprise you?”Kate asked.
“Hell yeah, it surprised me.Have you seen my wife?She’s beautiful.”
Kate noted that he still referred to her as his wife despite the fact that they were divorced.She noted also, the way his chest swelled when he showed her a picture of Janice on his phone.
Janice was not a bad-looking woman.She had a nice smile and kind eyes.That was about all that was going for her, though.The rest of her screamed plain.Kate didn’t feel wonderful thinking that way, but she could understand how it might have been difficult for Janice to sleep around while James, heavier in the photo but somehow better looking since he didn’t have the scrawny folds of flesh or the stringy muscles that made him look like a recent coke addict, had no trouble finding partners.
James Thornton really loved his wife.
“I just wanted her to be happy,” he said.“I thought… I mean when I slept around a little, I thought that maybe she’d realize we were better together.I don’t know why I thought that.I mean, it’s stupid, right?”
“You were desperate,” Marcus said, “and Dr.Hammond took advantage of you.”
“She did,” James agreed.“You know what she said when I called her out for ruining our marriage?”
Kate did, but she wanted to hear James say it.“What?”
“She said I was better off without her.Better off without my wife.The woman I loved more than anyone on Earth.The woman I…” He closed his eyes and squeezed his hands shut, taking steady breaths.“I was so mad at her.”
“Tell us what happened, James,” Kate said softly.“Tell us about last night.”
James laughed hollowly.“I was on a flight back home from Bali.I was there all last week for a conference.I’m a regional vice president for General Electric.”
Kate had to bite her lip to keep from showing her frustration.“Can you confirm that?”
“Sure.I can show you my boarding pass and my luggage tags.I keep those for expense reports.No one ever checks executives, but I keep them anyway.I like to be honest.”
