Page 58 of The Devoted Husband

“I don’t deny that, but again, you have no proof. And I can make a safe bet that if you called the delivery company, Jones willnotbe the name of the person who placed that delivery.”

“Are you saying you don’t believe he’s behind this or that I can’t prove it?”

“I’m saying that you can’t prove it.” Bennit released a loaded sigh. “Before the truth came out about what he did in Memphis, I would have said it was impossible for Jones to do any of this, but now, I’m not sure. What I can say is that without proof, neither we nor the Memphis Police Department would be able to press harassment or vandalizing charges against him. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help. If you get some proof, come back and see me, and I’ll get someone on this.”

“So what? That’s it?”

Bennit shrugged. “I mean...yeah. Honestly, we have no way of proving that Jones has been logging into our software to get those photos or do anything else, for that matter. Even if he was following the two of you, we can’t prove that unless you see him and take pictures. If he is doing something, he’s doing it without leaving proof, which is what you’ll need for us to help you.”

Dante chuckled as he stood. “Don’t worry, I’ll handle it myself.”

“I would advise against that,” Bennit said, “If anything were to happen to Jones, I wouldn’t be able to ignore this threat. You’d be the prime suspect.”

“Ask me if I give a fuck,” Dante tossed over his shoulder, opening the door to leave.

Sade

Sade stared at the pictures that were screenshots of Patrice and Trina’s discussion about her with the caption,The police may have stopped...but I won’t.

She tossed her phone onto the bed and walked over to the window. Though it was her idea to ignore Jones, she didn’t know how much more she could take of this. Guilt hadn’t gnawed at her because of what she’d done, but Jones’s taunting made her anxious. It didn’t seem to matter that the police had released her as a suspect and kept the cases closed. Jones wanted her to suffer, and though she may not have said vocally that she was, his actions were weighing on her mind heavily.

Suddenly, her phone vibrated, regaining her attention. Sade’s eyes widened when she opened it and saw one spam email after enough pop up. They came back-to-back so fast she couldn’t block one without another notification. With a growl, she powered off her phone and plopped down on the bed. Boisterous laughter escaped her before she screamed. Being on the receiving end of Jones’s actions started to drive her insane. She’d need to be on the offense to get ahead of this.

Sade grabbed her computer and went to the kitchen, setting it up on the island. She did a brief search on the Vanzette Police Department’s website. They didn’t have a list of their detectives, so that didn’t lead her to anything. A search of his name only led to cases he’d worked on in the past. There was no personal information or reports of him having this type of behavior with anyone else.

Stumped, she tried to think of a way to contact him. Then she remembered he’d called Dante. Sade Facetimed him from her computer, hoping he still had Jones’s number.

“Hello, Smiley.”

“Hey, babe. Do you have Jones’s number?”

“I have the number he called me from, but it’s no longer in service.”

“Damn.”

“Why? What’s wrong? Did he do something else?”

Sade massaged her temple. “He’s spamming my email and sent me some screenshots of conversations between Patrice and Trina.”

“Send that to me. I’ll start collecting everything he sends and keep a record of what he does. Even if he doesn’t slip up and do something that will tie it back to him, I’m going to take care of him, and this proof will explain why.”

“I take it things didn’t go well with the captain?”

Dante chuckled. “Not at all. He said they can’t do anything with solid proof.”

“Of course they can’t. What more proof do they need than him stealing my sister’s damn DNA?”

“I don’t know, bae. I know I told you I’d try to ignore him, but when I find him, it’s over. I can’t stand around and not do anything. That’s not the kind of man I am.”

“There has to be more to it than this. What about this case could have made him snap? I’m looking into it, but I’m not seeing any news reports or articles about him ever doing anything else like this.”

“Hmm...” Dante massaged his chin. “Just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened. I doubt if this is the first time he’s gone rogue like this. Maybe I should hire a private investigator. If this is a pattern for him, that’ll help us build a better case against him. And at the least, hopefully, they will help me track him down.”

“That sounds like a good idea, baby. I can look up some since I’m already on the computer, and we can go through them together when you get home.”

“All right, Smiley. Do you need me to bring anything home?”

“Home...I love the sound of that.” Dante bit down on his bottom lip and moaned at the sight of her smile. “All I need is you.”

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