Page 46 of Rekindled

“You should let us in unless you want us to go to the authorities instead,” Molly warned.

Reluctantly, he stepped back and let them come inside. The house was modestly decorated. It was clean and orderly with little personal touches present. The space felt more like a hotel room than a home.

“Bill, we’re aware of what you tried to do. The question is, why did you do it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, crossing his arms defensively.

“You’re going to deny that you created fake documents to try to frame me for unethical dealings with the district attorney? I’d think long and hard before you pretend you don’t know again. What you say and do will determine my next actions,” Spencer informed his co-worker.

“I think you’ve lost your marbles, Spencer. We’ve known each other all our lives. We played football together since we were kids. Why would I do that to you?”

Spencer waffled for a moment. He had wondered the same thing. Though they hadn’t been close, there had never been any bad blood between them. It seemed odd he would go to such lengths to frame him, not to mention he wasn’t the brightest guy to come up with such an elaborate scheme.

“Honestly, I don’t know. I always got the feeling you resented me being the first-string quarterback, but I wouldn’t think that would motivate you to do something like this.”

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about,” Bob stated with confusion. “Why do you think I’m involved?”

Molly pulled out a set of folded papers and handed them to Bob. “Because these emails are made from fake accounts linked to the IP at this address. We had someone look into it who is an expert at deciphering electronic footprints.”

Bob looked down at the papers and shuffled through them. His face turned white as he shook his head. “I’m not saying another word without an attorney present. It’s time for both of you to leave.”

“If we leave without getting to the bottom of this, we’re going to the police,” Molly warned. “The next time someone brings this up, they will be putting handcuffs on you.”

“We’ll just see about that,” Spencer heard Tiffany’s familiar voice say from behind all of them.

The group spun around to find her standing by the hallway to the back of the house, holding a gun in her hands. She was pointing it at them with a look of anger on her face.

“What are you doing, Tiffany? Why do you have my gun? Why are you pointing it at all of us?” Bob asked in bewilderment.

“I’m not pointing it at you,sweetie, just them,” she said, gesturing towards Molly and Spencer.

“I don’t understand what’s going on,” Bob stated, looking back and forth between everyone.

“It wasn’t supposed to go down like this. The plan was to kill two birds with one stone. I knew the reunion was coming up, and that it would be the perfect time to spring into action,” she said, coming up to Bob and pulling him over to her side. “I was doing all of this to get you the position you deserve. Once you were the senior public defender, we could go public with our relationship and start setting the stage for you to run for political office. I had plans for you to be the governor and for me to be the first lady of Washington.”

“Wait, what are you talking about, Tiffany? Sure, we’ve been dating for six months now, but I had no idea you had any of that in mind.”

Her face scrunched up in irritation. “You don’t think I want to be with a low-level public defender for the rest of my life, do you? I mean, if you’re going to be my second husband, it has to be a step up, not a step down. I knew you couldn’t do it on your own, so I made a plan to remove your competition,” she explained, gesturing to Spencer with the gun. “I figured Molly was the perfect person to send the evidence to by way of her boss. I knew you wouldn’t mind me using your computer to do it. She had a score to settle with Spencer from when we were all in high school. I knew she would be an easy target to convince he was corrupt. Plus, it didn’t hurt that I would be able to stick it to Spencer since he’s treated me so badly over the years.”

“Your plan didn’t work though, Tiffany. I found out the truth,” Molly pointed out. “All you’ve managed to do is bring us closer together.”

“I know,” Tiffany spat out, narrowing her eyes into slits. “I didn’t account for the fact you two might actually reconcile. It derailed my plans, but I had no idea you were smart enough to figure out where the emails came from.”

“Tiffany, it’s time to put down the gun,” Bob said, trying to coax her to comply, “before anyone gets hurt.”

She stepped back and shook her head. “Don’t you get it, Bob? It’s too late for that. They’re going to turn me in, and no one is going to believe I worked alone. Even if they do, this scandal will ruin your career. Neither one of us are going to walk away without being ruined.”

“There’s nothing we can do about it,” Bob said. “You have to turn yourself in, and then we’ll deal with the consequences.”

“No, there’s still a way out,” she said, shaking the gun at Molly and Spencer. “We get rid of them.”

Molly gasped as Spencer stepped in front of her.

Bob looked shocked by her suggestion, then he looked like he was contemplating his options. Finally, a complacent look settled on his face as he said, “I think you’re right, Tiffany. I don’t see any other way. I’ve worked too hard to have my life destroyed.” He reached out and touched the side of her face, “Plus, I love you, so there’s no way I’m letting you go to jail for trying to help me.”

“Ah, I love you too, sweetie,” Tiffany cooed, leaning over and placing a kiss on his lips, “which is why wehaveto do this. We can still be the king and queen of Washington if we play our cards right.”

Tiffany handed the gun over to Bob, who took it and kept it leveled at Molly and Spencer. He was steady and on high-alert, making it clear to Spencer, now wasn’t the time to try to make a move to disarm him.

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