Читать книгу It’s Always the Husband: the Sunday Times bestselling thriller for fans of THE MARRIAGE PACT - Michele Campbell, Michele Campbell - Страница 18

9

The wide green lawn of Jenny’s house in Belle Hills teemed with the town’s elite. Jenny made the rounds, greeting people by name, shaking hands, hugging and smiling till her cheeks hurt. The entire business community was here, a healthy number of local judges and politicians, and the upper tier of Carlisle’s administration. Jenny was careful to give each VIP personal attention. She’d been lucky with the weather. Eighty degrees, bright sunshine, a light breeze. The band played oldies. Kids squealed as they jumped into the pool, and the good-looking young lifeguard she’d hired blew his whistle cheerfully. Lines of guests had formed at the open bar and at the grill, where the best caterer in town kept things humming along. Jenny had ordered up burgers (beef and veggie), hot dogs, potato salad, three-bean salad, watermelon, and ice cream. The beer was locally brewed. The party looked like a roaring success, and yet her palms were sweaty and she had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

So many sharks swam beneath the pretty surface. Jenny hadn’t seen Kate yet, but she’d RSVP’d yes. Their relationship had not been easy in the two months since Kate returned to town. Aubrey’s husband and kids had shown up without her, saying Aubrey wasn’t feeling a hundred per cent but might be along later. Aubrey was never sick, so what was up with that? Jenny had a bad feeling. And up on the deck, a reporter from the Belle River Register had Jenny’s husband Tim cornered – literally, had him backed up against the railing. The Register wanted dirt on Jenny and Tim and their real estate deals. Tim knew that, and she’d warned him a thousand times to keep his distance, yet he let himself get cornered anyway.

Jenny loved her husband. He was a local boy, handsome, with a good heart, but he had no game. He was a good father, a reliable builder, who did solid work at a fair price and didn’t cut corners. Tim would’ve made a decent living without Jenny’s help, and probably been happier without the high-profile success. But Jenny wasn’t satisfied with that, so she took matters into her own hands. She called on her contacts, like any smart entrepreneur would, and pretty soon, Healy Construction started getting big contracts from the college. Maybe she did a few things Tim would not have been comfortable with if he knew the particulars, and so maybe she didn’t fill him in on every detail. But she was only acting in Tim’s best interests. He couldn’t handle the truth.

Jenny made her way through the crowd and up onto the deck. Tim was laughing nervously at something the reporter said. He’d put back on his favorite ratty old Healy Construction hat, after she made him take it off before the guests arrived. Her fingers itched to swipe it off his head.

“Here she is now,” Tim said.

The reporter whirled to face her. “Madam Mayor, nice to see you. I had a few questions—”

This reporter was an old-timer who came to all the town council meetings, and had interviewed Jenny several times. She gave him a warm smile.

“No interviews at the party, Bill. I’m off duty, and so is my husband,” Jenny said.

“But if I could just ask about the new arts center project the college is bidding out in Riverside. Is Healy Construction planning to bid? You always seem to get these juicy contracts.”

“Call my office if you’d like to schedule an interview, and in the meantime, have some food, have a beer. It’s such a pretty day.”

“I will take you up on that.” He started to turn away. “Oh, but first, can you point someone out to me? I understand Kate Eastman is here today, and I’m interested in interviewing her.”

Suddenly it felt very hot in the sun. Sweat prickled on the back of Jenny’s neck. “Kate—?” she said.

“Kate Eastman, the trustee’s daughter. I believe she was a friend of yours.”

“Why do you want to talk to Kate?”

“Well, the Eastmans are important to the college. I thought her return might make a good story. That’s all.”

But as he spoke, the reporter shifted his gaze, not meeting Jenny’s eyes, and her suspicions grew. Could this “local interest” story actually be about something else? Something in the past, that had happened in their freshman year, that Jenny had worried would be stirred up by Kate’s return? Or was she being paranoid?

“I don’t think Kate made it to the party, unfortunately. Now if you’ll excuse us, Tim and I have to mingle.”

Jenny grabbed Tim’s arm, pulling him toward the throng on the lawn. “Come on,” she said, when he resisted.

Jenny hadn’t seen Kate yet, but that didn’t mean Kate wasn’t here somewhere. She wanted to find her, and warn her to stay away from that damned reporter.

“No. Stop it,” Tim said, and headed instead for the sliding glass door that led to the kitchen.

Jenny followed him. She knew Tim well enough to see that he was upset. Was it the reporter asking about the real estate deal that set him off, or the mention of Kate?

Inside, the kitchen was deserted and sparkling white, air-conditioned to an arctic chill.

“Don’t let that reporter upset you,” Jenny said. “I can handle the press. And didn’t I tell you not to wear that hat? It looks shabby.”

“Stop telling me what to do,” he said.

Tim went over to the sink and ran the water, filling a glass and chugging it. She came to stand beside him, and glanced out the window to the deck. The reporter had disappeared. Presumably he was out in the crowd, searching for Kate. Jenny couldn’t go after him, not until she calmed her husband down. Tim looked worn out. There were lines around his eyes that hadn’t been there a few months ago. Her hours as mayor had taken a toll on Tim, and on their marriage. He had to pick up the slack with the kids, because Jenny was gone all the time. Meanwhile, bidding for the new Carlisle arts center project had reached the make-or-break stage. Tim wanted to take over the bidding, when in the past he’d been content to let her handle things. The timing could not be worse. Tim was too damn honest for the business he was in, and he would screw up everything. Into the middle of this tinderbox walks Kate Eastman, holding a lit match.

“Everything’s under control, babe,” she said soothingly. She reached out to touch him, but he backed away.

“I’m starting to think I can’t trust you when you say things like that,” he said.

“Come on. We’re a team.”

“Are we? Then why do you keep me in the dark, Jen?”

“We agreed that when it comes to the business, I handle bids and you handle operations.”

“Not just about that. Tell me the truth. You know what that reporter was implying. We’ll bid on the arts project, and we’ll win, because we always win when the college is involved. Why is that, Jen?”

“Because you do good work at a reasonable price. You’ve built up a reputation. They trust you.”

“You’re telling me your pal Keniston Eastman has nothing to do with it?”

“What are you getting at?”

“I don’t want to be in bed with him and his filthy daughter anymore.”

“Kate has nothing to do with this.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Tim’s blue eyes were troubled. She felt bad for him, she really did, but he needed to suck it up and back off. Too much was at stake here. Next he’d be asking her about that incident again, from freshman year, when Kate got in trouble. When an innocent person died. They couldn’t talk about it. It had to stay buried.

“Babe,” she began, squeezing his arm.

Aubrey stepped through the sliding glass door. Thank God, just in time.

“Let’s talk about this later, okay?” Jenny said.

“Yeah, whatever you say, Jen,” Tim said bitterly. “You call the shots.”

He brushed past Aubrey on his way out the door without so much as a hello.

“Sorry about that. We were in the middle of a spat, but I’m glad you’re here. I need to talk to you about something,” Jenny said, thinking of the reporter.

But her words barely seemed to register with Aubrey, who looked pale and ill.

“Are you okay?” Jenny said, looking at her friend with concern. “Ethan said you were sick.”

“I’ve been better. He said I was sick, like physically? Hah,” Aubrey said, with bitterness in her voice.

“Are you two having problems again? Ethan didn’t—?”

“Oh, yes he did. And you’ll never guess who the woman is this time,” Aubrey said, sinking into a chair at the kitchen table.

Jenny filled a glass of water and brought it over to her.

“Who?” Jenny asked. Oh great, was this about to turn into some big drama? Aubrey’s marital problems were nothing new, and Jenny had other things to worry about, like her guests, and the reporter who was looking to track down Kate Eastman and possibly start asking a lot of questions.

“It’s Kate,” Aubrey said simply. She looked through the glass of water like she didn’t see it.

“Kate? You mean—?”

“Yes! Ethan is sleeping with Kate this time.”

“Oh,” Jenny said. She did her best to appear shocked, but privately, she had suspected this for a while. Those two had a chemistry that, given their well-known proclivities, could only mean one thing.

“It’s been going on for a while,” Aubrey said, “but I just found out. I know Ethan is a – well, a sex addict I guess – and a liar. I’ve put up with that for the sake of the children. But to go after my best friend, it’s too much.”

Aubrey shook her head numbly. Her eyes were dry. Jenny might have been tempted to offer comfort anyway, to pull Aubrey into a hug, but instead she backed away, and leaned against the kitchen island. Aubrey’s words stung. Kate barely gave Aubrey the time of day over the past twenty years, and now she was sleeping with Aubrey’s husband. Jenny was there in every crisis. Yet Aubrey called Kate her best friend.

“What is wrong with me, Jenny? I’ve been playing the fool for years. I have to do something about this. I have to make them stop,” Aubrey said.

“I don’t mean to say I told you so,” Jenny said, “but I’ve always said you should leave Ethan.”

“Then he’d win. They would win. Ethan and Kate would get to be together, and I’d be alone. I’d probably have to sell the house. He’d get joint custody. It’s so unfair.”

“As far as Ethan and Kate running off together, I doubt they have any interest in that. They’re so shallow. It’s probably just a fling. And the rest – well, you need to talk to a lawyer. A good one. Take Ethan to the cleaners, and you’ll feel better.”

Aubrey shook her head. “After the way they betrayed me, that’s not enough. I’m so angry at both of them. How could I have been so blind?”

“You like to see the best in people.”

“You mean I’m a fool.”

Jenny sighed. “Well, I’m glad you’re finally seeing Kate for who she is. I’m not only talking about this affair, but—” Jenny glanced over her shoulder, then walked over and closed the sliding glass door. “You know what I’m talking about. There’s a reporter from the Register out there looking for Kate right now. I’m worried about what he wants with her.”

Aubrey focused on Jenny as if noticing her presence for the first time. Her eyes narrowed. “You mean, the reporter wants to ask Kate about – about freshman year?”

“I don’t know for sure, but that’s what I’m afraid of. We can’t have that mess getting dredged up again, not now.”

Aubrey picked up the glass of water and took a careful sip. Her eyes looked clearer suddenly. “Why not? Maybe that’s exactly what Kate deserves.”

“What? You can’t be serious.”

“Think about it for a minute. If we told people what really happened that night, Kate would be in big trouble. The police would get involved. She might even go to jail.” A nasty smile appeared on Aubrey’s face.

“That’s crazy. You can’t do that,” Jenny said. She started to tremble.

“Why not?”

“We can’t change our story now. You were her biggest defender, Aubrey. You always said it wasn’t her fault. You’ve been saying that for twenty years.”

“Just because I change my story doesn’t mean I was lying before. Maybe I was wrong before. Maybe I remembered something new.”

“No. If you tell anyone, or God forbid, go to the police, it will come back on us. We were both there that night. We both gave statements.”

“Maybe I don’t care about the consequences.”

“I do. I’m the mayor of Belle River. I have a family, a business to run. I can’t afford a scandal.”

“I have things to protect, too.”

“Okay, but—” Jenny paused, deciding how much to reveal. There was an angry, stubborn set to Aubrey’s jaw. If Jenny didn’t take a risk and tell her what was really at stake here, Aubrey might be crazy enough to go public. She couldn’t allow that.

“Aubrey, listen. There’s more to this than some old college scandal. I never told Tim the truth about what happened that night. If you change your story now, it could mess up my marriage in a big way.”

“You never told Tim the truth?”

“No.”

“How could you keep it from him? Wasn’t Lucas his cousin?”

“Yes. That’s exactly why I never told him.”

Aubrey looked at Jenny with pain in her eyes.

“I’m sorry, Jenny. I really am. But I’m tired of being played for a fool. I simply can’t do it anymore. I need to fight back.”

“Fine, but pick some other way. Don’t destroy my marriage to get your revenge.”

“I don’t mean to sound cold. But if you never told Tim the truth, that’s your problem.”

Jenny looked at Aubrey, dumbfounded. The ingratitude – after all she’d done for Aubrey.

“If Ethan’s sleeping with Kate, isn’t that your problem? He’s been cheating on you for a decade, and she tumbles into bed with half the men she meets. You act like you’re so shocked. It’s been obvious to everybody for a long time that those two together were trouble.”

A look of horror spread across Aubrey’s face. “You knew?"

Jenny saw she’d made a misstep. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I didn’t know. Not exactly.”

“Not exactly? My God, Jenny. You knew, and you didn’t tell me.”

“That’s not what I said. I suspected, that’s all. Can you honestly tell me you didn’t suspect yourself?”

“Why didn’t you warn me?”

“I didn’t want to upset you for something that was just a hunch.”

“Kate betrayed me, you knew about it, and you said nothing. The two of you were my best girlfriends. My roommates. I was supposed to be able to trust you.”

“You can. Me, you can trust. Kate – well.”

“No. You and Kate are alike. You think about number one, both of you. All you care about now is not shaking things up for yourself. Anybody else be damned. Stupid Aubrey be damned.”

“I’ve always been a true friend to you, Aubrey. A lot better than Kate was, though you refused to see it.”

“Better than Kate isn’t saying much, is it? I get it now. Aubrey’s a mess, that’s what you always thought. Being friends with me made you feel better about yourself. Well, I’m not a doormat anymore, so look out.”

Aubrey stalked out, leaving Jenny ashen. A few seconds passed in which she couldn’t seem to catch her breath. She turned on the faucet, wet a paper towel with cold water, and pressed it carefully to her face until she calmed down. She had guests to attend to. She would pull herself together and do what was necessary to stop Kate and Aubrey from ruining her carefully laid plans. Just like in college. The two of them could cry and whine and self-destruct all they wanted. Jenny would keep her wits about her, and triumph in the end.