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Forrest closed the file he’d been occupied with for the last several hours and stretched. He’d been working on this case pretty hard and needed a break. What he really wanted to do was break the little scammer’s neck, but he wasn’t a violent man. Not usually anyway. As he stood up and went to his bathroom, he thought of the woman who he was now going to ruin. It wasn’t a matter of if he was going to do it, but when and how. Jenna had told him to not hold back when it came to ending the marriage of her grandson.

Carol Winslow was a first class cunt. And for as much as he hated to use that word, he thought it fit her perfectly. She’d been ruling the roost for far too long, and now she was going to get her comeuppance. Or at least he hoped so. And he thought he might enjoy it more than he had any other case he’d ever been on. When his phone rang, he made his way back to his desk and answered it. Few had the private number that rang here, and he had an idea who it might be. Jenna had been checking up on him since he started on this divorce yesterday.

“You should know that she is, as of this moment, trying to get my grandson into trouble with the law. Something about spousal abuse.” Forrest loved Jenna as much as he had his own mom when she’d been alive. “I’m telling you, Forrest, this woman has to go down for all the trouble that she’s caused my grandson. She has to. I never liked her as a teenager, and absolutely loathe her as an adult.”

“She will get what she deserves and more if I can help it. I promise.” She huffed. “I’m sorry, did you say that you trusted me? Was that what I heard?”

“You know that I’d trust you with everything I have. And I have since I first approached you right out of college.” He just laughed. “Forrest, you have to make sure that he comes out all right with this. You have no idea how long this has been going on. Jake needs to be able to move on from this. Get on with his own life for a change instead of catering to her every whim and cleaning up all her messes.”

“He will, Jenna. I swear to you; I’m going to do my best for him. As for her messes, I’d say even before they were wed Carol was into one thing or another. I’ve been doing some research on your girl. I know that you’re aware that she didn’t pay property taxes for two years, and you had helped Jake out with that. But there were other situations that I don’t think anyone was aware of. Lucky for Jake he was notified at work or he might have lost it all. One of the smartest things he could have done was put things in your name. But did you know what she did with the money?” She asked him if she’d been shopping again. “Yes, that’s what I would have thought too. No, she used the money for an abortion. Not once, but twice over the course of their marriage. There could have been more, ones that I can’t track down, but she’s been a very wayward girl. And so you know, I don’t think either of the babies were Jake’s. She was having numerous affairs throughout their marriage, mostly with men that Jake thought of as friends. Jake said that they slept in separate rooms for most of their lives together, so that leads me to believe that she didn’t take their vows all that seriously from the beginning.”

“Does Jake know?” Forrest told her that he did now. “Well, if this didn’t close that door with her, I don’t know what will. But I actually think that he’s happy about this. When he came to my home for breakfast this morning, I could have sworn that he was excited for this next chapter of his life to get under way. He told me that he’d actually spent most of last night ordering things that he wanted for his home. This has been very liberating for him.”

“When I spoke to him this afternoon to ask him when he would like to set up a meeting, he told me that he was furniture shopping. I told him that I could get his things back for him, but he said that he wanted fresh and his choices. I asked him what he wanted done with the things and he told me to send them to her parents, since he was sure that was where she was staying. She’s not, but I sent them there anyway. They should arrive there in a couple of days. I had a blast making that wish come to fruition for him. That did not sound like a man that was on the bad end of a divorce.” He laughed. “I cannot wait to meet him, Jenna. After all the things you told me about him, I’m sure I’m going to like him a great deal.”

“He’ll adore you as much as I do. Especially now that he’s getting things finished up with her. Tyler and Belinda did a horrible thing raising her up like they did. I’m telling you, Forrest, they should have beaten her more.” He leaned back in his seat and thought of how much this woman knew about him and his own parents. And the debacle that had been what he thought was the love of his life. “I can almost hear your thoughts, young man. I will not have you being depressed about anything right now. You’re going to be fine, just like my grandson is going to be.”

“I really screwed up with Thomas, Jenna. I don’t know what happened. Everything about him and us was a lie. And the fact that he stole from me, and I sort of let him, hurt me more than I think anyone can know.” She told him that she understood and that she was sorry. “Thank you so much. But it’s been five months. Do you suppose I’ll ever trust anyone again?”

“Yes, I really do. And I think you’re not so much upset about this as you are lonely. You need to meet you a nice man, show him your lovely cat, and live together happily ever after. You deserve that.” He looked at his computer when it notified him of a message. He was sure that Jenna heard it and laughed when she spoke again. “I have to go myself. You go on and set up whatever you need to, and I’ll make sure that my boy is there. And Forrest? You keep your chin up. This too will work out. You can bank on that.”

After he hung up, he sat there for several minutes before he opened his inbox. There were several emails there, most of them from his own attorney, Paul. Thomas Simpson, his former lover—and thief—was suing him for breach of promise and a whole plethora of other things. And unlike Jake’s suit, this wasn’t going to be easy, but messy as fuck.

Thomas had been a bartender in a sleazy bar when he’d met him. The only reason Forrest had even gone into the place was because he’d been meeting a client. It wasn’t his usual haunt. The place had had one redeeming thing, and that had been Thomas. Or so Forrest had thought.

Their relationship started out quickly. Too quickly, he knew that now. Forrest wasn’t sure who had initially started it, or how they’d ended up back at his place. But within hours, just hours, not only was the man in his bed, but he’d moved a few of his things in as well. Forrest thought he should have seen the red flags even then. Then one morning, about three months after their first night, he noticed that some of his things were missing. Then his bank called.

He’d been on his way to work and was looking at his phone when the call came in. For some reason—and he did find out later that Thomas had done it—the calls were muted, and he would have missed the call from the bank had it not been for the fact that he’d been on his phone when the call came in. Answering on the third ring, he could tell that the bank manager, Roger Wayne, was in a tizzy.

“Your friend, Thomas, he’s been in here several times over the last few days trying to add his name to your accounts. I just didn’t know what to do without you here. And to be honest with you, Forrest, I was surprised by it. That just didn’t sound like something you’d do. I mean, you’re a generous man, but I don’t think you’d be that lavish. Not with your own money.” He asked him if he’d added him yet. “No, no. I explained to him that it would take three business days. A lie, I’m sorry to say, but without talking to you, I thought it best in this incident. I was nearly ready to go by your home to see if he’d murdered you off or something. I’m so glad I got you today. I just thought that your signature just didn’t look right. Close but no cigar, as my grannie used to say.”

Forrest wanted to go back in the house and confront Thomas. To demand for him to tell him what else he’d been up to. But he had an idea that Thomas had played this hand before, and would have been very careful in his movements. Roger explained how he’d had all the right forms, knew just what signatures were needed and why.

“I’ll be there in a few minutes. But can you do me a favor? I’d like for you to open another account for me, please. And when I get there, I’ll transfer all my money to that one.” Roger said he could do that as he laughed. “Then we’ll add him to the account that he wants on. Plus, that will get him in big trouble if he’s forged my name to paperwork.”

On the way in, he made several more calls. The first was to a lock company to go out to his apartment with the landlord’s permission and to change the locks. He wanted them changed as soon as Thomas left for the day. Then he had a cleaning crew set up to come in and clean his place from top to bottom, including sending his suits and all clothing out to be cleaned. Forrest wanted no traces of the man anywhere near him, and if it cost him a little to get it done, it was well worth it. Yes, it was rash and quick, he knew this, but in his heart, he knew it was the right thing to do. Cutting the tie quickly and sharply.

Roger had everything ready when he got to the bank. Not only was the forgery of his name pretty close, the account number and routing numbers were correct. One of the things missing from his home had been a check from his checkbook. Now he knew just where it had gone. The only thing Thomas didn’t have, for which Forrest was happy, was his social security number. Thankfully, like most people, he didn’t carry the card in his wallet any more.

By the time he made it to his office later that morning Forrest had called the police, and had made arrangements to have all the other things that he’d been missing reported and the security team at his offices on alert. Forrest was ready for the showdown. And it wasn’t long in coming.

The phone call came in just after two in the afternoon. Forrest had been knee deep in a file when he simply reached over and answered. He smiled the moment he heard Thomas’s voice on the other end of the phone.

“I’ve been arrested. Can you please come down here and help me out? I just don’t know what’s going on.” Forrest told him he was really busy at the moment. “Forrest, they’re putting me in a cell. I need for you to come down here and straighten things out. They won’t even tell me what is going on. And I think that someone has messed with your locks. I can’t get into our apartment either.”

“Straighten what out, Thomas? The fact that you tried to clean out my account? Or is it the paintings and artwork that you’ve sold off that I should help you find? I’m confused as to why you’d think I’d help you out any more than I have already. As for you having access to my apartment and my things, I’ve taken care of that myself.” Thomas started talking about gifts and how he’d given them to him. “No. I’m a nice guy to a point, but I’m not that nice. Nor am I stupid. One thing I’ve never given you was trust; also no gifts, no money, nor have I ever given you any kind of indication that you could get into my bank accounts. How far were you going to take this before you left? My car? My home? I’d really like to know what you thought you were doing.”

“So this is how it’s going to be, is it? Well I have news for you, Forrest. You and I, we were nothing.” Forrest said he had that right. “You were just another notch in my bed. And you know what? You weren’t that good of a lay either. Fuck you, Forrest. I’ll win this in the end. I always do.”

“Yes, you might have before me, but don’t think this is going to just go away. I’m not one to fuck with. You should have figured that out a while ago.” As he hung up the phone, he heard Thomas talking about the others, how he’d taken them, but Forrest had had enough. After laying the phone in the cradle, he sat there for several minutes before he realized he was no longer alone in his office.

“Bad news?” He nodded at Jenna. “Bad news, Forrest, or is it just something that came along at a bad time? You don’t look like a man who has lost a lot, but hated that you’ve been taken. Is that what it is?”

“I’m not sure what you mean.” She nodded. “This guy, I was living with him and he tried to rob me. Well, I guess he did. I don’t think this is the first time either.”

“Mostly he hurt you. And I doubt it’s the first time, either, if he got by you. Thieves and dickheads seem to get away for a long while before they finally fall. You’re going to make him fall, aren’t you?” Forrest nodded, feeling the tears fill his eyes. “I would imagine that he’s out there now crowing to the world about how he got to sleep with the great and powerful Forrest Stout.” The burst of laughter had him smiling at her.

“Not so much, I’m afraid. More than likely he’s going to be trying to get more out of me.” She told him not to worry about things that had no worth. “I could be ruined by this.”

“Could you? I don’t think so. But then, I’m not a gay man on the cusp of finding his feet. What did you think—just curious—was going to happen when you took him to your home? I don’t think you ever really trusted him, did you? I mean, you told me yourself that you’d not even bothered having his name put on your stationary.”

“Jenna, you are a hard woman.” She laughed when he did. “I don’t know that I did, no. I was happy, I think.”

“You can’t think you’re happy, young man. You are or you’re not. Were you?” Forrest didn’t even have to think about it, and shook his head no. “See there, you knew this was coming and you’re a better man for it. There is someone out there for you. A mate, I think you call it. Now, young man, gird up your loins and take him to the cleaners, and be done with it. He’ll regret tangling with you.”

“I hope so. And there is no mate for me, Jenna. Gay tigers just don’t find their mates.” She asked him why not. “Because how do you think that would go over? Hey, I’m your mate for all time, but also I change into an enormous tiger and can eat you alive. I’d like to, as a matter of fact.”

“Sexually, I’m assuming on the eating part.” He felt his face heat up as he nodded. “I’m not like most older people, in the event you haven’t realized that. I go with the flow of things. I read up on things I don’t know, and ask questions when I think the person answering them has a head on his neck and not between his legs. When I first met you, I asked questions enough that I could do some research on your kind. Not a lot out there, sadly. Most of it bodice rippers about sex. But I did read, over and over, that there was one special person for everyone. You just have to wait for them. Are you going to wait, Forrest, or go willy nilly into the next relationship that might get you killed? So you know, I hope you wait. I’d very much like to see you happy.”

“I’ll wait if you wait with me. Or perhaps you and I could live together, and we could be our own little pride.” She shook her head. “You don’t think we’d make a perfect couple?”

“I think—and this could just be me—but I think you’re full of shit.” Forrest had laughed hard, harder than he had in a long while. “But as for living with me, should you like to do that, you’d have to be very careful of the men I bring in. I may be nearing eighty, but I still like a good romp in the bed on occasion.”

Forrest thought of her every time he had a bad thought enter his head about this thing with Thomas. He thought of her and what she’d say whenever he was having some difficulty about a case or just life in general. She was a good balm for his otherwise bad day. As he looked over the emails, most of which he deleted, he wondered if Jenna’s grandson would be anything like her. For some reason he doubted it. There could only be one Jenna Winslow.

~~~

Carol was sick of waiting on someone to help her, especially Jake. And she had to be out of the hotel in the morning. Who made a person vacate a room by eleven in the morning when there were more important things to do than that? She wanted all day to lounge around, soak in the huge tub, and be pampered while she plotted and planned what she was going to do when she got back to her home. But her mother had told her this was her last night, and not even talking to her dad had helped her extend her stay. He’d told her that she was costing them too much money.

“But Daddy, you have no idea how I’ve suffered. And why do you care how much this is costing? You have a lot of money.” He asked her about the bugs, and it took her a moment to think of what he was talking about. “There were some.”

“No there weren’t, Carol. I had those men go there and check each piece out, and there was nothing there. You lied to me. And you know what I think of liars. After all I’ve done for you, this is how you treat me? No, I will not gainsay your mother on this. You’re out by tomorrow first thing or they’ll come to you for the rest.” She asked him why he was taking her mom’s side. “I’m taking the side of the right way this should have been done. Your mother and I talked it over, and we’ve decided that you’ve done this all on your own. Jake might not be the best husband for you, but he’s what you wanted and I made sure you had him. At a great cost to myself. Work this out, or so help me, Carol, I will be done with you.”

Hanging up on him had been hard as her daddy meant the world to her. Everyone was against her. And damn it, Jake wasn’t playing right either. He should have been devastated by now and begging her to return home. But she’d not heard a word from him, only that attorney who kept calling and asking for an appointment. She thought of what she’d seen last night when she’d taken a cab by her house.

There had been a big moving van out front, and the things they were unloading didn’t look a thing like anything she would approve of. And she was pretty sure that Jake knew that too. Why, just the couch alone was as ugly as sin. Not a bit of style; just a dreadful brown color that made her think of poop.

She asked the driver what was going on. “Lady, in the event you don’t know this, I’m a cabbie, not a clairvoyant. Why don’t you get on over there and ask them? I just conveyed your butt here. I’m not doing any kind of prophesying for you.”

Carol didn’t care for the way he spoke to her and told him that. The man laughed and told her tough shit, then he took her back to her hotel at breakneck speed and told her to get out. She thought about not paying him—he’d treated her with no respect—but he put out his big beefy hand and told her that if she didn’t pay in money, he’d take it from her in other ways. Carol had had to fork over the last of her cash she’d managed to take from her mother’s purse when she’d not been looking.

Picking up the phone for the tenth time in as many minutes, she tried to think what she’d say to Jake when he answered. Crying hard was going to have to be the first thing he heard. Then telling him that she felt so abused by him. She was going to sob at just the right time when she explained to him how she hated the way he was treating her by taking her money. Also, she was going to have to mention that furniture. That was going to have to go. Pulling her notes to her, she went over each point as she pressed the buttons to put the call through. She was going to have to tell Jake that her phone was no longer working as well. The cell service, she’d been informed, had been cut off.

“Winslow residence.” Carol thought she might have dialed the wrong number, because she had no idea who the voice belonged to except for the last name being said. “Winslow residence. May I help you?”

“I was looking for Jake. Jake Winslow, my husband. Who is this?” She was told that he was the new butler. “We don’t have a butler. Are you there robbing the place? I’ll call the police right now.”

“I don’t believe that a robber would answer the phone, do you? Nor do I think I’d get very far in my work if I did. Now, you say that you’re the wife? Mr. Winslow has assured me that he is the only one that lives here. He had a wife, I suppose, but she left him for something better.” She told the man that she’d left, but only temporarily. “I see. Well, actually I don’t. But if you’d like to leave a message for Mr. Winslow, I can do that for you. I don’t expect him home until later today.”

“I need to speak to him now. Tell him that I’m coming over there so that we can talk.” He told her again that Jake wasn’t home. “Of course he is. It’s Sunday. Even he takes that day off. Tell him that I want him to sit down and listen to what I have to say to him so we can get this cleared up.”

“It’s Tuesday.” She wasn’t sure he was right, but assumed, for now, that he was. “Mr. Winslow will be returning at five-thirty this evening. If you would like, I can give him a message. But I’m not telling him all that other stuff. Just that you called and your number. Is there one that I can give him?”

Carol wanted to scream. Jake wasn’t doing anything in the order she wanted, not a single thing. After giving the number to the butler, she asked him to repeat it back to her twice so she knew he had it right. After hanging up, she thought about calling back just to ask his name, but decided he wouldn’t be there long enough after she returned to learn it. Things were going to take a nice change when she got back to her home, and then Jake was going to explain a lot of things to her. Like how come he had a butler there now when she’d been begging for one for years.

Next, she called the furniture store whose name had been imprinted across the back of the truck delivering the furniture when she’d been there. She wanted answers and they were going to give them to her. Like what the hell were they doing delivering furniture to her home without her approval? And she wanted to know how many other things had been brought in. Was there anything with color on it? She needed to know just how much she was going to have to work to get things back to the way she wanted them. Jake was going to pay for doing this while she was out.

The phone was answered just as she was writing down some more things to talk to Jake about. “Yes, hello. I’d like to speak to your manager. There has been a dreadful mistake and I want it taken care of today.” She was put on hold as she thought of what she was going to do first when she got home. After tossing out the other things, she was going to go on a shopping spree like none other. She might even go all the way to New York this time. When the line was opened, she told him who she was and why she was calling him. Before she could get into what she needed for him to do, he spoke.

“Mr. Winslow placed the order and had us deliver it to his home yesterday. I do believe he was quite happy with his things.” She told him that wouldn’t do. “I’m sorry. I don’t understand. What won’t do?”

“That monstrosity that you took there. I want you to go back and get it. It’s not at all my taste. I would have thought that a person who owns a furniture store wouldn’t sell such things, unless you cater mostly to the homeless. Is that it? No matter. You’ll have to go out there and pick those things back up and take them away. I’ll be out sometime over the next day or two to replace them. But only if you get there today. I cannot stand the thought that you’ve ruined my home with that monstrosity.” Carol had heard that word used a couple of days ago and was glad that she was able to use it twice now in the same sentence. Monstrosity . It has a nice ring to it, she thought. As she waited for the groveling, the apologies that were due her, she decided to get her nails done as well. “Did you hear me? I said that you have to take care to make this right. Today. I am most upset, and you know as well as I that the customer is always right.”

“In most cases, I would say that’s correct, but not this one. It is my understanding, Ms. Lane, that you are no longer able to purchase for the Winslow household as you are not a resident there any longer. We were told that several times, not only by Mr. Winslow himself, but by his attorney.” She opened her mouth to tell him that she would be taking care of that as well, but he continued before she could. “Mr. Winslow called here just an hour ago, telling me what excellent choices he’d made in his purchases. He said that it was not only the most comfortable thing he’d ever sat in since living in his home, but also that he wanted to get the rest of the set. Two chairs, as well as end tables and coffee tables. He is a man of good taste. So my advice to you is that, if you’re going to be throwing around your weight, you should really check the facts first and foremost.”

“I’m his wife.” He didn’t say anything and she had to think about how to salvage this. She needed this man to understand, but she had questions of her own. “You called me Ms. Lane. Why did you say that? I’m his wife. I’m still a Winslow until I say differently. And you can’t talk to me this way. I’ll have Jake own you for how you’re treating me. He’ll be really pissed off.”

“As you wish, Ms. Lane.” Carol wanted to scream at him to call her by her married name, but she hung up on him instead.

Jake wasn’t playing by any of her rules, and worse yet, she had no idea how to make him understand that he needed to. She knew that he was missing her, he had to be. And she knew that he was doing this because he was lonely or depressed. That was it, her mind told her; he was depressed and lashing out the only way he knew how. Carol was going to have him eating out of her hand soon, and she couldn’t have been happier about it. She was going to be able to get whatever she wanted from him because of this thing he was going through right now.

Going to the door when someone knocked, she was too happy and excited to check to see who it might have been. More than likely Jake, she told herself. She opened the door and stared at the man standing before her for a full minute before she realized he was speaking. Christ, he looked good enough to eat and fuck.

“Are you Carol Lane Winslow?” She nodded. “Good. I thought I had the wrong room again. Here you go.”

The thick envelope was shoved at her before she could figure out who he was. And when he put a pen in her hand and told her to sign on line ten, she did that as well. He smiled at her as he said she’d been served and just walked away. Carol wasn’t sure what to think when he started laughing all the way to the elevator. People were very strange, she thought.

Taking the big blue envelope to her bed, she opened it up. Carol read the first line of it four times before she understood what she had been handed. Divorce papers? Jake was suing her for a divorce? She read it once more, and just to be sure, she read it aloud.

“In the marriage of Jake Anderson Winslow, ten-twenty Lawrence Park, Zanesville, Ohio,” then it listed his social security number. “Petitioner. What the fuck is a petitioner?”

Carol wrote it down to ask her daddy when she spoke to him again, and continued to read until she got to the bottom where it said the word “respondent.” Getting a headache from trying to figure this out, she decided to get some information from someone who always did what she wanted when she wanted. Picking up the hotel phone, she called her parents. Daddy answered on the first ring.

She told him what she had in her hand and asked him what it meant. Carol was really pissed and might have hung up on him when he started cursing, but she wanted answers. And since she had no one to ask but him, she had to endure his ill temper.

“He’s gone and done it. The boy is going to have to cancel this shit right now. Yes, sir. He’s going to cost me a pretty penny, but he’s going to stop this nonsense today. As for what that says, he’s divorcing you, Carol. He’s gone out and grown some balls after all. And petition is the term for what you have in your hand. A formal document stating that he’s gotten stupider in his years since you brought him home, a hell of a lot more irresponsible too if he thinks I’m going to just let this go.” Carol asked him what respondent meant, even though she had a pretty good idea what it was now. “That would be you, the defendant in this. He’s named you as the party that he’s filed against. Holy damn, this is going to cost us both. Never thought he’d have the balls to do it. You had him so pussy whipped I thought for sure that he’d die an unhappy man. I just knew that you taking off the way you did was going to come back and bite me in the ass. And it has, my wallet too.”

“Daddy, I don’t care what he does to your wallet. He’s divorcing me and you think this affects you somehow? That’s not fair. He can’t do this to me. He’s even moving furniture into my home. I never gave him permission to do that.” Her dad stopped swearing again and she thought she might have finally gotten through to him. “Daddy, you have to help me by talking to him. He can’t do this. It’s not in my plan.”

“Your planning is going to put me in the poor house, Carol. I can’t have you doing this to me again. Do you hear me? Not again. You’ve done nothing, not one thing, since the day you set your sights on him to give him an inch without it costing me a bunch of money. The things I’ve had to do for you…well, it just makes me sick. You cannot imagine the amount of money that went to his father for you to have him. But this? It’ll be nothing compared to what he’s going to demand now. And how have you repaid me? Nothing. Not a damned thing. You have been sucking us dry, that’s what you’ve done. All of us. When this gets back to his parents, there will be hell to pay. And I’m not sure I’m going to help you out with it either.” He let out a long breath and she felt her heart twist up. Jake was turning her daddy against her. “I’m not going to help you, Carol. I’m going to have more going out than I can possibly afford right now.”

Carol put the phone back and sat there on the side of the bed and cried. Her own daddy wasn’t playing by her rules either. He’d been the one person in the world she could count on. And now he was treating her as badly as Jake was. She was going to have to do something soon, because she was going to be out of this hotel in a few hours and she had nowhere to go just yet. She glanced at her notes and decided she needed a new list. And she had to talk to Jake. He needed to get with the program.