Part 29 - Chapter 6 - Suspect

Eileen hurried across the yard to greet Lawrence with open arms as soon as he arrived at the house.

"What's going on? Are you ok?" he asked. She had sounded so panicked on the phone that he had trouble following exactly what she was trying to tell him.

"I came home from shopping and the door was wide open. I know I locked it when I left. I'm certain."

"And you called the police?"

"Yes, they checked the house and no one was there. I didn't notice anything missing. They're taking another look around to make sure they didn't miss anything the first time."

"Miss Townsend?" one of the police officers called out as he and his partner came from around the corner of the house. "We had another look around and nothing looks disturbed. We did find some footprints around the house that we'll make imprints of, but everything looks ok. We'll keep an eye on the house and around the neighborhood for suspicious activity, but there's not much else we can do at this point."

Eileen sighed. She wasn't sure if she should be relieved that the police didn't find anything or more unnerved at their lack of answers. "Ok. Thank you."

As the police were leaving, Lawrence turned to Eileen. "Even with the police keeping an eye on the neighborhood, I don't think it's a good idea for you to stay here alone."

"Me neither. I don't know if I would be able to sleep tonight if I was here all by myself after this." She looked around nervously before turning to Lawrence. "Would you stay the night with me? I know I would feel safe with you here."

"The evening of the 16th?" Lucy repeated as she led the police officers into the house. She remembered that night very well and couldn't see any reason why the police would want to ask her about it. "Why do you need to know?"

"We're investigating a missing persons case and one of our suspects gave your name as an alibi."

"Oh." Suddenly she wasn't hesitant to tell the police what they needed to know, even with her husband there. "I was at my country club with my assistant, Justin Jordan. We were looking at applicants for his replacement."

"And what time were you there together exactly?"

"We met about 5:00 and stayed late, until midnight or so I think."

"Thank you for your help, Mrs. Sexton. That's all we needed to know."

"Is Justin still a suspect?" Lucy asked anxiously as she showed the two men to the door.

"We don't want to rule anything out prematurely, but since his alibi checks out, it doesn't seem very likely he's the man we're looking for."

"I'm sure he's not," Lucy said. "We've worked together for a long time and I'd be willing to vouch for his character if necessary."

When Lucy shut the door after showing the officers out and turned around, she found Craig standing close behind her, waiting.

"What?"

"Isn't it about time you admitted what's really going on between you two?"

"What are you talking about? We were just working late."

"Sure," Craig scoffed. "If that's what you want to call it. I've known for a long time that something was going on. Do you think I'm blind or totally stupid? I see the way you two flirt with each other constantly and I notice how you're always making excuses to keep him around. Why else would you meet him at the country club at night when you know no one else is going to be there and meet him up in that cushy little private room too? Just to look at resumes? I don't think so."

"You're crazy. I wasn't trying to plan some kind of rendezvous. It was just a comfortable place to meet."

"Maybe you didn't try to plan it, but it certainly happened, didn't it?"

Lucy paused as she realized something. "How did you know where we met in the building? I never mentioned what room we were in." Suddenly she remembered all the times when she thought she was alone, but felt like she was being followed. "We're you spying on me? Have you been having me followed while you were out of town?"

"It's a good thing I did, isn't it? Now I know what kind of lying tramp of a wife I married."

"Oh my God. I don't believe you. How could you do that to me? How could you completely invade my privacy like that? Did you have no trust in me at all?"

"Why should I trust you? You've obviously given me good reason not to."

"Well, it looks like I can say the same for you. If we can't even trust each other, what is there?" she asked. "Just get out. Get your things and get out of my house. I'm through. I don't want to see you again."

"Hi, I'm home," Cassie announced as she walked through the door. When she saw Blaine sitting in the living room with her sister, her face lit up. "Hey Blaine. What are you doing here?"

"I just came by to see how you and your mother were doing, but I should get going."

"Are you sure you can't stay? I wish I would have gotten home sooner."

"I'm sure. How's your mom?"

"She's doing ok. Pretty much the same, but they might let her come home by tomorrow."

"That's good. If you need anything, just give me a call."

"I will," Cassie promised.

Blaine turned to Zara before heading for the door. "Thanks for the talk and the advice. I'm going to go over to Reese's now, so wish me luck."

"Good luck."

Cassie frowned at the mention of Reese's name, but managed to muster a smile at Blaine as they said goodbye. As soon as he was out the door, she turned to her sister. "What's this about Reese and you giving advice to Blaine?"

Zara knew this wasn't going to go over well with Cassie, but she had to be direct. "We were just talking and Blaine told me that he had mixed feelings about breaking up with Reese. He was afraid he had been too hasty, so I told him he should talk it out with her, either try to work things out of get some closure."

"Zara, how could you?" Cassie sighed. "What have you done?"

As Blaine drove towards Reese's house, in his mind he was rehearsing what he wanted to say to her and he began to feel more optimistic about salvaging their relationship. Maybe they weren't as far apart as they seemed. If they really wanted to be together, there must be some sort of compromise that would make them both happy.

If she didn't want to give up any time from her career, maybe they could adopt a child. She wouldn't have to go on maternity leave, he wouldn't mind staying home with the baby, and a child in Reese's situation would have a family. Or maybe he could just spend time volunteering with kids, like a big brother. Maybe that would be enough or maybe in time Reese would even change her mind about wanting a family. Surely one of those options would work for them. Breaking up couldn't be the only solution.

As he approached the house, Blaine noticed someone in front of Reese's house and he slowed down, squinting ahead to get a better view. When he could finally make out the figures in front of him, he couldn't believe his eyes. It was Reese with Cassie's friend James. He was holding her in his arms, their faces pressed closely against each other.

Unable to watch what was happening in front of him, Blaine put the truck in reverse, turned around, and drove away from the scene as fast as he could.