Chapter 12
“Start from the beginning.” Deacon opened a notebook he’d found on Julia’s desk and used a Sand & Surf Hotel pen to take notes. “I need his full name, address, date of birth and anything else you can give me that’ll help the local police track him down.”
Julia had bought the notebook to start a new journal, but hadn’t written anything in it yet, so it was safe for him to use. While he was stretched out on the other bed, she lay on her side so she could see him, still bundled under the blanket.
She recited the man’s full name, address and date of birth from memory. “I met Michael, who goes by Mike, through a friend from work. He saw my picture on one of her Facebook posts and asked her about me. She fixed us up.”
“How did she know him?”
“He was in a softball league with her husband.”
“How long have they known him?”
“A couple of years, but only through softball. They didn’t hang out with him other than that.”
“So they fixed you up with someone they don’t really know all that well.”
“They were upfront with me about that. They said they knew him through softball, but not too much beyond that.”
“How did you connect with him?”
“At first, we messaged through Facebook, which evolved into talking on the phone and then FaceTime. We had great conversations about our families, our work and lives. He told me about how his mom battled cancer on and off since he was a kid and how that affected him. I shared some things about my life that I rarely talk about. I felt like we’d made a real connection before we ever met in person. ”
“How long had you known him before you met in person?”
“About four weeks. I took it slowly because I have a bad habit of jumping into things with men and getting in too deep before I realize they’re no good. I wanted to do better.”
“Where and when did you meet him?”
“We went to a Tex-Mex restaurant because we’d learned that we both loved that kind of food best. It was a Saturday night about five months ago. I can look up the exact date.”
“That’d be good to have.”
Julia consulted the calendar on her cell phone and gave him the date from late December.
“Did he pick you up, or did you meet him there?”
“I met him.”
“What happened that night?” Deacon asked without looking up from the notebook where he was recording the details.
“We had a really good time. The conversation flowed easily with no awkward silences, and I thought he was even more attractive in person.” Julia could still remember the hopeful feeling that’d come from meeting someone special, or so she’d thought.
“Do you have photos?”
Julia shook her head. “Not anymore. I deleted them all.”
“Does your phone back up to the cloud?”
“Yes…”
“Then you still have them. I need them to show that you thought you were in a genuine relationship with him.”
“I’ll get them.” The thought of seeing his face again made her stomach turn, but she’d do whatever she had to if there was a chance of making him pay for what he’d done to her.
“What happened after dinner?”
“We went to the bar in the restaurant where they had live music and had a drink.”
“How did the evening end?”
“He walked me to my car and kissed me good night. I liked that he didn’t get aggressive with me the way so many guys tend to do.
He was a perfect gentleman.” Talking about something she’d much rather forget was beyond painful, but Deacon had convinced her it was worth the effort.
If they could recoup the money she’d given Mike, that would mean everything to her.
“When did you see him again?”
“Two days later. He texted me the next day to say what a great time he’d had and how he couldn’t wait to see me again.
We met for dinner after work that Tuesday night and then again on Thursday.
On Saturday, he took me on a picnic by a lake, and when we came back to my place that night, I asked him if he wanted to come in. ”
Julia swallowed hard as emotion threatened to get the better of her. She’d been so certain that she’d finally found a good man who wanted her for the right reasons.
“I know it’s hard to talk about, darlin’, but every detail you can give me will help to build the case against him.”
What did it say about her and her dick diet that her heart skipped a beat when he called her that? “It is hard to talk about. How do I ever trust my own instincts again after this?”
“You will. When the time and the situation are right, you’ll know.”
She shook her head. “I’ll never know for certain.”
“Yes, you will.” The fierce look he gave her did weird things to her insides, making her feel safe and protected and—
Stop.
You don’t need him or any man to make you feel safe or protected. He’s doing you a favor. That’s all this is.
“He spent the night, and it was great. After that, we were pretty much together all the time. My friend who fixed us up was so excited that she’d introduced me to someone I really liked.
I’d had a rough year after Katie moved here when she met Shane at Owen’s wedding.
After I met Mike, I felt like things were finally getting back on track. ”
“The thing I don’t get is how did he have someone else on the side if you guys were together most of the time?”
“I wondered that, too, after it all came to light. I figured out that she worked nights as a nurse, so she had no idea he was with me when she was at work.”
“Does she know now?”
“I don’t think she has any idea that I ever existed.”
“That’ll change as soon as there’re charges filed against him.”
“You really think they’ll charge him?”
“They’ll have no choice but to charge him if we hand them an airtight case.” He shifted to find a more comfortable position, the movement stretching the fabric of his shirt over well-defined muscles.
Julia didn’t want to notice his well-defined muscles, but she couldn’t help but stare anyway. Deacon was a finely built man and had turned into a rather good friend over the last two days.
“Tell me about how he ended up asking you for the money.”
“We’d been together a few weeks, and it was still really good between us.
He was always bringing me little presents and buying me dinner.
Once, he sent flowers to me at work, just because he was thinking of me.
” After receiving those flowers, she’d told the coworker who introduced them that she was falling in love with him.
Julia blinked back tears when she thought of that day and how excited she’d been.
“Are you okay?” Deacon asked.
“I will be.” She felt like she’d torn the scab off a healing wound.
“One night, he came over with pizza for dinner, and from the moment he arrived, he was different. I asked him what was wrong, and he said nothing I needed to worry about. But as the night went on, he was more and more distracted. We were watching a movie when I looked over and saw tears running down his face. I pleaded with him to talk to me, and that’s when he said his mom’s cancer had come back.
She needed experimental treatment that wasn’t covered by insurance.
He apologized profusely for dumping his troubles on me.
He said he would just go and that he was sorry.
I asked how much they needed, and he said twenty-five thousand. I said I could give him fifteen.”
“What did he say?”
“He said he could never take money from me but that he loved me for caring—and for many other reasons. That was the first time he’d said anything about love, and with hindsight, I can see that was all part of the plan. He played me from the beginning, and that was his kill shot.”
“You said earlier that you sent him the money through Venmo.”
“Right.”
“And he just took it?”
“No, at first he said he couldn’t take it, but he appreciated so much that I cared enough to offer it.
I said this was no time to be worried about anything other than whatever his mother needed.
I convinced him to give me his Venmo address, and I sent him the money in two transactions.
He cried some more and hugged me and told me how much I meant to him before we ended up in my bed having sex.
By the time he left the next morning, I was emotionally whipped and totally in love with him.
All I could think about was how I could help him get the rest of the money he needed for her treatment. ”
“What happened then?”
“Nothing,” Julia said softly. “I never heard from him again. The first couple of days, I figured he was dealing with his mom and trying to get the rest of the money. After five days of silence, I broached the subject with my work friend, who suddenly didn’t want to talk about him or my burgeoning relationship with him.
One night after work, I confronted her in the parking lot, and she started crying right away.
I couldn’t figure out what the hell was wrong with her until she told me he had someone else, that they were expecting a baby.
Apparently, she’d only just found this out a few days earlier and had no idea how to tell me.
She kept apologizing over and over again for introducing me to someone who’d do this to me.
Of course, she had no idea that I’d given him the money. ”
“You didn’t tell her?”