Page 15 of The Perfect Divorce

He leans forward, propping his elbows on the desk, while I pace across his lush Persian rug.

“I’m trying to work with you, Bob.Youasked me to represent you in your divorce, but you’ve been dragging your heels this whole time. You’re not letting me do my job as it is, and now you’re bringing up a case that has nothing to do with your separation... So you tell me,what is itthat you want?” Brad’s friendly demeanor has faded, replaced with the abrasive, no-nonsense persona he’s known for.

I let out a heavy sigh and continue pacing, mulling it over. I don’t know what to do. In my heart, I want to fight for Sarah. I want to win her back. But in my gut, I feel like shit’s about to hit the fan, and if I don’t start thinking clearly, I’m going to get plastered with it. I know I’ve lost my focus. I’ve got tunnel vision. Sarah and I have been together for over a decade, and that’s not something I can just walk away from unless I know I have no other choice. Idohave eyes on her, so I know she’s not up to anything nefarious, at least not yet. Well, aside from slicing my hand open. I look down at the white bandage, rubbing my thumb over the soft cotton. It was more like a love tap, though, because I know what she can really do with a knife.

“Bob,” Brad snaps, indicating his patience has worn thin. “What do you want?”

“I don’t know,” I say. “I need a little more time to figure that out.”

“Fine, but you also need to decide what you want in the divorce.”

I shoot him a glare.

“In caseyou’re not able to convince Sarah to stay with you,” he adds. “And in the last meeting, she said she wants full custody of Summer. That’s clearly going to be a battle, so you’ll need ammo if you want to ensure that doesn’t happen.”

“She wasn’t being serious,” I say.

“She seemed pretty serious to me. Is Sarah one to bluff?”

I stare back at Brad, pondering, thinking of my beloved wife—with her blond hair, green eyes, sculpted cheekbones, and slender frame, she could be confused for an angel. But that’s only if you don’t know her.

I shake my head. “No, she’s not one to bluff.”

“Then you’ll need ammo.”

“I already have it.”

He smiles at me, pleased with this information.

I knew from the very beginning I had to have an insurance policy with Sarah, something to guarantee she could never do to me what she did to her first husband, Adam. Right now, I’m glad I have it, but I still hope I don’t have to use it. There’s no going back if I do.

ELEVEN

SHERIFF HUDSON

I have to look Stevens in the eye when I confront him about Kelly. I’ll know right away if he was involved in her murder because he’s never been a good liar. I also have to be sure there isn’t anything else he hid from the Summers investigation, or from any other investigation he oversaw, for that matter. The last thing I need right now is any more goddamn surprises.

I wave my badge in front of the reader and pull open the door, entering the intake area. It’s quiet in here, empty aside from Officer Clark, who’s seated behind the control desk.

“Morning, Sheriff Hudson.” Clark’s a heavyset man with a bad leg, which is why he’s on desk duty.

“How’s Stevens doing?”

He looks at his watch. “As of twenty minutes ago, he was asleep, so I’d say he’s doing just fine.”

“I wanna see him.”

“Sure thing, Sheriff,” Officer Clark says as he slowly gets to his feet. Pulling the set of keys from his belt, he ambles a few steps and unlocks the steel door leading to the back, where the holding cells are.

I extend my hand out to the corrections officer, palm face up. “I’ll take it from here.”

He nods and relinquishes the keys to me.

“Does Stevens know anything about the media leak?”

Officer Clark shakes his head. “I don’t believe so. I mean, he hasn’t had any visitors or made any phone calls since before the news broke.”

“Good,” I say, knowing it’s better if I catch him off guard so he won’t have a chance to start spinning stories.

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