Part 22 - Chapter 6 - Temptation

"This is nice, isn't it?" Veronica said as she, Arthur, and Eileen chatted while waiting for their meals at the restaurant.

"Yes, it is. We should do this more often," Arthur agreed.

Veronica reached over to hold her husband's hand. "If I get to see you this cheerful more often, we definitely have to make a habit of spending more time together as a family."

"Hello," a voice called out. The Townsends looked up to see Hector approaching their table with a drink in his hand. "What a surprise seeing you here tonight. Out for a family dinner?"

"Yes, how are you, Hector?" Arthur asked.

As Arthur and Hector made small talk about Arthur's health and how things were going at the office, Eileen stared down at her plate silently, hoping Hector would just go away. Seeing him here talking so casually with her father, knowing what he had done, made her feel sick.

"You're quiet tonight, Eileen. How have you been?" Hector asked.

"Excuse me," Eileen said, without looking up. She retreated to the ladies' room, planning to hide until Hector was gone.

After leaving Alma's, Vanessa stopped downtown to do some shopping before going home. On the way back to her car she spotted Andrew coming out of a restaurant.

"Andy," she called out as she walked towards him. He didn't seem to realize she was there until she was right next to him. "Hi, what are you doing here, hun?"

Andrew seemed to put a lot of thought into answering the question. "Just having dinner."

"Where's Amanda?" she asked, looking around suspiciously. Something seemed odd.

Andrew shrugged his shoulders, "Don't know. Home, I guess."

From his slurred voice and his off-balance gestures, Vanessa knew what was wrong. "Andy, how much have you had to drink tonight?"

Andrew thought a moment. His cheeks puffed out before he exhaled the breath he'd been holding. "Uh, I don't know. Didn't keep count."

"Well, come on, hun. My car is right here. I'll give you a ride home."

"To your home?" Andrew asked, swaying as he walked. "You're so good to me, not like Manda. Nothing's ever good enough. I wish I'd married you."

When Andrew leaned towards Vanessa, as if he was about to kiss her, Vanessa gently pushed him away and helped him into the car.

"Hold on. Don't do something you might regret, hun. I'm sure things will seem different in the morning . . . when you're sober." As she got into the car, she wondered what she was going to say to Amanda when she got Andrew home. She was sure no matter how she handled it, this situation wasn't going to do anything to help her relationship with her half-sister.

"Is everything alright, Eileen?" Arthur asked as they returned home from the restaurant. They had been having such a good time together until Hector showed up. After that, Eileen seemed completely distant.

"Yeah, I'm ok."

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" Veronica asked. "It's not easy seeing an ex unexpectedly."

"It's not that. I'm over that."

"Are you upset that he told me about your job? You shouldn't blame him for that. He was concerned about you and I'm glad he told me," Arthur said.

"No," Eileen scoffed. She wished it were over something so trivial. How could she tell them what the real problem was, especially when her father still believed Hector had good intentions? "I don't want to talk about it."

On the way up to her room, Eileen paused at the window and looked out at the Burgess's house next door. It was hard to believe someone she had known for years and who had lived next door to her for most of her life, someone she thought she knew, was capable of murdering another human being.

Even worse, he was getting away with it. He was free to come and go as he pleased, to eat out at the same restaurants as she and her family, to sleep in the house right next door. He was always going to be around as a constant reminder of the secret she knew and that no one, at least no one in a position to do something about it, believed.

He had gotten away with murder and there was nothing she could do about it.

Vanessa drove Andrew home without incident. She walked him to the door to make sure he got inside safely, as prepared as she could be for another confrontation with Amanda, but when Andrew opened the door, the apartment was dark inside. Not wanting to press her luck, Vanessa said goodnight and went back to her car.

As she drove home, she realized she was faced with a dilemma. Should she tell Amanda about what happened or let it go? She didn't want to cause any more problems in Amanda's life, but she thought her sister had a right to know what was going on with her husband. Amanda probably wouldn't listen to what she had to say anyway, but Vanessa hated to stand silently by when saying something might help their marriage.

Vanessa tried to put it out of her mind. She didn't have to decide on anything right now. She hoped things would look clearer in the morning.

When Vanessa returned to her apartment, she was surprised to find the door unlocked. She tried to remember if she had locked it before she left or if she had given Cassie or Zara a spare key.

Cautiously, she opened the door and stepped quietly inside. The room was dark. If one of the girls had stopped by, they weren't here now. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness she noticed the state of the room. Desk drawers had been pulled out and papers thrown across the floor. Books had been knocked off the shelves. Someone had been here while she was out and torn the place apart.

Afraid that whoever did this might still be inside the apartment, she quickly backed out of the room and went next door to call the police.