Chapter 39
THIRTY-NINE
As I stared at that phone screen, then out my windshield, I realized I had no idea where to go.
I pulled up my browser and typed in the Seagull’s Nest. It was the closest decent hotel besides the Bayview.
Mark was right about one thing. I needed some time to clear my head and figure out my next move. I barely knew what I wanted anymore.
I called the hotel and asked to book a room for the night.
“You’re in luck,” the receptionist said. “We have one king room left. There was a cancellation. That’s really rare in peak season.”
“Maybe the planets are finally aligning for me,” I joked. I pulled out my credit card and gave her the number. I could hear her typing.
“Let me put you on hold for one second,” she said.
I listened to canned, warped music for a full minute before she came back on. “I’m sorry. Mrs. Manning?”
“Yes.”
“Um… I’m getting an alert that the card was reported stolen.”
My head started to buzz. “That’s not true. I’m holding it.”
“Hmm. Well, if you have it, maybe you could call the number on the back. Actually, if you were here at the desk, I’d have to confiscate the card. Do you have a different card you could use?”
“Sure,” I said, pulling out another one. I gave her the number. A moment later, she said the exact same thing. My card had been reported stolen.
It felt like I had a boulder sitting on my chest. Had Lock done this too?
“I’m really sorry,” the receptionist said. “I’m afraid I can’t reserve a room for you if you don’t have a valid credit card.”
It felt like the world had tilted on its axis. Both credit cards were reported stolen? This wasn’t a mistake. It was sabotage. I clicked off the call while the girl was in mid-sentence.
I rested my head on my steering wheel, feeling like I was in a crash position. Maybe that wasn’t such a bad idea.
A knock on my window startled me. I looked up. Judge Clarke stood there, waving her fingers.
I rolled down my window. “Your Honor, I—”
“Open up,” she said, pointing down toward my door lock. I hit the button. She came to the passenger side and got in.
“Your Honor—”
She put a hand up. “I suppose the parking lot is technically outside the courtroom. It’s Elena out here. I hear you could use a friend.”
“You mind telling me what else you’ve heard?”
“Drive,” she said. “I’m through with hearings for the rest of the day. And I’m starving. You can take me to lunch.”
I started to laugh, but not from real humor. It was my shot nerves. “I hope you like fast food. I’ve got about forty dollars in my wallet, and apparently all of my credit cards have been stolen.”
She looked down. She saw the credit cards I dropped into my console cup holder.
“Long story?” she asked.
I didn’t want to give in to tears, or panic, or anything else.
“I’m really not great company at the moment.”
“Well, tough. You can owe me. Let’s go to McDougal’s. It’s too late for breakfast, too early for lunch. Nobody will be there. Consider that a court order. Wouldn’t want to jail you for contempt.”
“At least I’d know where I was sleeping tonight,” I joked. I ignored the alarm on her face.
She was right. McDougal’s was empty. We took a booth against the wall away from the windows.
“You said you heard I could use a friend,” I said.
She nodded. “Ashley.”
The server came with our drinks. Elena ordered a cheese Danish. I copied her.
“Don’t hold it against her,” she said. “Ashley’s like family.
I used to babysit her. Her mother used to babysit me.
Anyway, so you’ve been sleeping in your office all week.
You got called onto the carpet by Gilchrist and, apparently, Dennison?
Now you’re telling me your credit cards have been cancelled.
I’ve been a circuit court judge a long time and a family lawyer before that. Are you filing or is Lock?”
I felt a hole in my chest. “I don’t know,” I said, holding back the rush of tears I wanted to cry.
“Oh, honey,” she said, reaching for me. Elena wasn’t that much older than me. Her appointment to the bench had come with controversy and valid charges of nepotism. But she was doing a great job, so I, for one, never held it against her.
I explained what I could. I didn’t tell her Corrine’s name or that she was a witness in the TRACE investigations. But I told her about the photos, my confrontation with Corrine, and what both Roy and Mark believed. Elena blew out a hard breath at the end of my tale.
“I suppose I’ve just disqualified you from presiding over any proceedings I’m involved in. Some people might think that was my plan all along.”
She shook her head as she sipped her iced tea. “I’d have recused myself anyway. We’re friends, Mina. And as your friend, would you mind if I gave you some advice?”
“Sure.”
“You have to be really careful here. This woman sounds calculating, and Lock is powerful. You say you haven’t spoken?”
“Not for days.”
“But he called Mark instead?” She narrowed her eyes.
“That’s what he says.”
She tapped her straw against the side of her glass. “That’s the strangest part of all this to me.”
“That’s what’s strange? Elena, you know me. I thought Roy and Mark did too. I haven’t done any of the things this woman has accused me of.”
“Except you did,” she said. “You went to her house to confront her. That was a bad idea. I understand the urge. But you walked into this mess.”
I couldn’t argue with her. That was the crux of it.
“And now he’s kicked you out of the house?”
I shook my head. “Not exactly. I needed to get away and clear my head.”
“It’s his house. You won’t have a claim to it if he files. Did you sign a prenup?”
I wanted to throw up. I had along with that blasted NDA. I suppose I hadn’t technically violated it. Not yet.
“I don’t care about his money.”
“That’s shortsighted. The trouble is, you’ve only been married for two years. But I don’t imagine Lock would want a long, drawn-out, scandalous process. Especially if he’s cheating on you.”
“Elena, I’m sorry. I appreciate your wisdom. I do. But I can’t even think about strategizing a divorce settlement. I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck. I’m roadkill.”
“Understood. I’ll back off. It’s just… he is clearly thinking about this. He’s cut off access to your credit cards. Do you have any joint accounts with him?”
“What?”
“Mina, think.”
“No,” I said. “Our banking is separate. I have my salary from the county that goes into the checking account I’ve had since my parents died. He put my name on his credit cards. I cancelled whatever ones I had in my own name. Obviously, that was a mistake.”
“Well, I suppose the immediate issue is you need a place to stay. I can help with that. I have a rental at Breaker’s Cove. I’ve got a long-term booking coming in at the end of the month. But for the next ten days, it’s empty.”
She grabbed a napkin and wrote down an address and a number.
“That’s the code to the lockbox.”
“Thank you. I don’t know how to repay you.”
She threw two twenties on the table. “Just take care of yourself. Get a good night’s sleep. You’ll feel better tomorrow.”
She rose. “I drove,” I said. “I have to take you back.” A new horror occurred to me. My rental car. If my credit cards were cut off, I had no idea how long I’d have wheels.
She waved me off. “I’ve got a hair appointment across the street. I got a ride to work today. My car’s on the fritz. I’ll Uber home. I was planning to anyway.”
When I stood up, I hugged her. I don’t know if Elena believed me, but it didn’t seem to matter to her. She gave me the benefit of the doubt. I wished Mark and Roy could do the same.
Women believe women, I thought. I don’t know how many times I’d had that conversation with domestic violence victims.
Women believe women. Only Corrine Egan had been lying all along.
Elena’s rental was gorgeous. A two-bedroom, one bath right on the shoreline at Breaker’s Cove. She was probably charging several hundred a night for it. It had a washer and dryer, so at least I wouldn’t need a laundromat.
She had white wine stocked in the fridge, and I poured myself a glass. I lost track of time as I relaxed in front of the bay window. There were kids playing on the beach, their mothers keeping watchful eyes.
That’s what finally made me cry. Two weeks ago, Lock and I were trying to start our family. Now…
My phone buzzed and my heart jumped. It was Lock’s text tone. I dove for the phone on the coffee table in front of me. With shaking hands, I fumbled and nearly dropped my phone on the tile floor.
I opened the message.
I didn’t want things to happen this way.
But yes. I talked to Mark. You’ve been erratic.
You accused me of things I would never do.
That hurts me more than you could ever know.
Even with all of that, I could forgive you and put it behind us.
But now I know you’ve turned violent. To a victim you were supposed to protect, no less.
I cannot tolerate that and you of all people know why.
I’ve worked so hard to overcome my past. I cannot go back to that kind of life.
I have to protect my own hard-won mental health.
But I’m ready to talk about it. I want to see you.
I’ll be back tomorrow evening. If you still care about me, you’ll give me the space I need.
But you can come and collect some of your things.
Please meet me at the house at six o’clock.
I’m not a monster, Mina. In spite of everything they’re telling me, I want to believe you aren’t either.
My eyes went in and out of focus. I read Lock’s wall of text three more times.
He believed Roy. He believed Corrine. My mind…
my heart… were twisted up in knots. I knew the irony of this.
For weeks, he’d begged me not to believe the worst of him.
Now he was thinking the worst of me. How did we get here?
How had our lives turned so violently upside down?
I was lost. Spinning into space with no tether to Earth.
God help me, the only person who could have made me feel safe was Lock.