Page 129 of Devil's Dilemma

“When I found that out… If I’d known,” I try again, “I wouldn’t have gone anywhere near him. It’s one matter to represent himself with a different identity, quite another to hide that his lies about commitment were just that, lies. He wasn’t free to make any promises.”

Booth and Forsyth exchange a look between them.

Forsyth is the one to speak. “When undercover, our agents have to become the person they’re representing. If it had been expected…”

“Skull didn’t have to fuck anyone or could have gone with a club girl if he couldn’t keep it in his pants, or had a relationship and never taken a woman to the club. The club rules do not demand a member fucks, and the brothers don’t question whether a man wants to remain celibate.”

“You’re being very blunt,” Booth notes scathingly. “Is your language because you spend time with bikers?”

“My language is because I thought Skull and I had made love. That our baby came to be as a result of an expression of the emotion we both shared. But to him, it was just fucking. I was used, in circumstances where I wouldn’t have given my consent had I known who he truly was, and certainly if I’d known he had a wife waiting on him.” I pause then cry out, “Have you any idea what that feels like? I’m no cheater, would never have dreamed of going with a man who was already taken. But he made me into the other woman.”

“You sure the baby was his?”

As I gasp in air, the expected question strangely taking me by surprise, Dad passes another piece of paper across. “We used DNA from his toothbrush, but you can redo the test if you want. A DNA sample is also in storage at the hospital where the child was… delivered.”

“When I found out he wasn’t dead, but alive and living with his family, I miscarried.” I tell them what they’ll already know, bluntly. Then again, without giving them a chance to speak or voice their own objection, “Oh, I know mental distress can’t be proven as the cause of the miscarriage, but the timing fits. I found Skull, found out the truth, and… my baby stopped breathing.”

My head falls into my palms. Then, when I raise it and reach for some more water, I spill it as my hands are violently shaking.

“Do you need a moment?” Booth asks, for the first time his eyes lose a little of their hardness.

Dad’s brow is creased, and while it might not be the professional front he wanted to present, he reaches over and lays his hand on top of mine. “You okay?”

I take a deep breath and work on calming myself down. “I’d prefer to get this over with.”

“I take it you’ve seen Ms Martins is suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?” Dad asks to buy me some time. “There’s a report there from the psychologist who’s been treating her. There obviously is no evidence that the stress from Skull’s disappearance then reappearance caused her to miscarry. But it had such an effect that she’s still continuing to suffer the loss of self-esteem and self-confidence, with the result she has heightened anxiety. Those are the facts. What seems irrefutable to any reasonable person is that such distress could have contributed, if not caused, her miscarriage. The effects of the psychological torture imposed on Ms Martins will probably remain with her for life.” He pauses before delivering the punch line. “The psychologist’s report is evidence Agent Jordan failed to protect a civilian from harm. In fact, he inflicted it.”

The agents also take the opportunity to drink some water.

“You have one of the bikers living in your house, Ms Martins,” Forsyth observes, breaking the silence that had fallen.

“How… how do you know that?”

He just raises an eyebrow.Stupid. He’s the FBI.They must have had someone checking me out.

I glance at Dad, he raises his chin, then lowers it again.

“When Skull disappeared, I was distraught. I’d never felt that kind of hurt before. All the brothers stepped up, but Pyro, well, he was like my rock. He was there when I discovered I was pregnant. From that point on, he did what he could to make my life easier.” I swallow, trying to put it into words. “At first it was a duty to the brother who had disappeared. That’s what these bikers do, make sure family is cared for. Being together so much, our relationship changed.”

“I’d like to point out, Ms Martins was essentially a single woman at that point. Her man had gone, and as time passed, he was unlikely to return.”

“So, you started a physical relationship with this… Pyro?”

I shake my head at Forsyth and deny it. “No. Although my feelings changed toward Pyro, I was still carrying the baby of another man. Our relationship didn’t develop that way until after I’d found out the truth about Skull, and after I’d recovered from the miscarriage. I did not hop from one man’s bed to another.”

Booth leans forward. “Part of your case is that Agent Jordan drew you, aninnocentwoman, into a life of crime. Seems like you didn’t need a lot of encouragement, and after you entered it, you stayed.”

“Objection.” Dad raises his hand. “Skull assumed it was alife of crimeas you call it. What Ms Martins discovered was something entirely different. She found a club based around the concept of family. That’s why she stayed, and why Agent Jordan left. He left because he found the premise he’d been working on was false. He clearly found no evidence of wrongdoing.”

“And how do you come to that conclusion?” Booth won’t give up.

“Because there have been no charges.” Dad shifts impatiently as though he shouldn’t need to teach them their jobs. “It’s well over ninety days since the investigation was brought to its abrupt end. As you are aware, any charges must be brought within that time, unless you’re going to insist the investigation is ongoing. In any event, our argument stands. Agent Jordan recruited Ms Martins as he thought she would lead him to what he believed was the truth, and therefore inducted her into the criminal world, or that’s how he saw it at the time.”

Forsyth isn’t giving ground and he proves it when he takes over again. His voice is stern. “And we refute that. Kidnapping is a crime. The Satan’s Devils have a chapter in Vegas do they not?”

What?Oh, shit.

I hope I’m hiding my reaction as he continues. “Agent Jordan has told us his wife was kidnapped,” he looks down at his notes, “by members of the Las Vegas club and also four members of the Pueblo chapter.”

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