AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She visibly swallows hard, her wide eyes transforming into little slits. “What are you saying?” she asks.
“Nothing,” I say breezily. “Oh, did I tell you my family’s here? I was going to surprise you, since we’re back together and all, with a visit with everyone.”
“Your family?” she squeaks out.
“Yeah, well, they’ll all be here tomorrow, but my cousin is here tonight. I can’t wait for you to finally meet him,” I say proudly, just as my cousin walks into the room. He’s wearing pressed khakis and a button-down shirt with his police force logo, and his badge and gun are both on his hip. He’s tall and imposing, and makes me smile to myself as Carrie swallows hard again at his appearance.
“Carrie, this is my cousin, Maddox. He’s a cop. An investigator, actually. He’s here on vacation with his family, but there has been some weird reports of druggings lately, so it has turned into a working vacation for him.”
Maddox doesn’t move. Just stands there, his arms crossed firmly over his expansive chest, as he stares down at Carrie. She watches him and seemingly crouches down into the seat cushions a little more. “Druggings?” she chirps, her voice unnaturally high.
“Yeah, druggings. You know, Maddox and I were talking last night and I was telling him all about how I can’t remember anything that happened Saturday night after AJ left. You know, when you were here and I was declaring my undying love for you? Anyway, we were talking and he mentioned that my symptoms sounded just like other cases he’s worked.”
“You were drugged? How horrible!” she declares with a manicured hand to her mouth, her horrified performance clearly securing her an Oscar nomination.
“I know. What’s worse is the only thing I can remember eating or drinking was that beer. The one you got me.” I let my words sink in and watch a flash of fear sweep across her face.
“I’m going to need to take that beer bottle, Sawyer,” Maddox says, keeping his eyes focused solely on my ex-wife.
“Why would I drug you? What if it was AJ? You know, before she left!”
“Could have been,” I concede with a nod. “I mean, she had just confessed her love to me. Nothing says ‘I love you, baby,’ like a roofie.”
“That’s the only plausible explanation,” she gasps, her eyes wide and bouncing back and forth between Maddox and me.
“Actually, I had another scenario in mind,” Maddox says, stepping a bit closer to Carrie. “I think you were actually the one to put the drug in Sawyer’s beer. I think you knew that AJ was coming back in the morning. And I think you set this whole thing up. When I get that bottle from the trash, I have a feeling I’ll find traces of the drug and your fingerprints.”
“You won’t find it! I took the bottle with me when I left!” Carrie hollers, then seeming to realize what she said and covers her open mouth with her hand. “I…I…” her fearful eyes bounce back and forth between the two of us, and she seems to swallow hard. And then she bursts into tears. “I’m so sorry,” she wails, as big crocodile tears slide down her face. “I just thought that if we could spend a little more time together, you’d see that being apart was a mistake.”
“The only mistake was marrying you in the first place. I was one hundred percent faithful to you the entire time we were together, and at the first sign of me struggling with my injury, you jump on the first cock to swing your way,” I seethe at her. She cries harder. “I should press charges.” That gets her attention.
“No, please!” she begs, her wide eyes pleading.
I glare over at her, ready to put this entire scene behind me. “Tell you what, Carrie, you tell us what really happened that night and I won’t press charges.” She seems relieved instantly, yet reluctant to admit just how far she went. “But…you’ll also agree to leave me and AJ alone. No more private investigating, no more showing up in town, and you definitely stay the fuck away from my home.”
After a few moments, she swallows again and nods her head. “Fine.”
“So what happened?” Maddox asks.
“It was just dumb luck that you left the back door open,” she says, nodding at the sliding glass door. “I let myself in when I heard the shower upstairs. I got a beer and slipped some GHB into your drink and waited. I figured AJ was coming back at some point, so I knew I had a small window of opportunity to get you upstairs and in bed.”
“How did you get me naked?” I ask, dumbfounded. It’s not like she could have carried me.
“Well, that was easy. I told you AJ was on her way to your place. You actually stripped on your own and crawled into bed, mumbling about how much you loved her and missed her while she was gone.” Carrie has the decency to look remorseful as she fills in the blanks of Saturday night.
It’s silent for several moments as it all sinks in.
“I think it’s time to go,” Maddox says, taking a step toward Carrie. He pulls his handcuffs out of his utility belt as he motions for her to stand.
“But, wait! You said you wouldn’t press charges! You can’t arrest me,” she begs, crying a fresh wave of tears.
Maddox glances at me, playing the part of bad cop to a T. I stare up at Carrie and watch her squirm. As rewarding as it would be to see her in cuffs and hauled off to jail, that’s not what Maddox is really doing here. In fact, he has no jurisdiction in Jupiter Bay. He’s here merely as a scare tactic. One that I think is working perfectly.
“Let her go,” I tell my cousin, standing up and approaching my ex. “But you’d better hold up your end of the bargain. The first time I see you anywhere near Jupiter Bay or breathe a word about AJ or me, I’ll have Maddox all over your ass for assault, you got it?”
She nods profusely, her wide, tear-stained eyes full of fear and relief.
“Get out of my house and don’t ever come back,” I tell her, turning and giving her my back.
