She frowned. “Maybe a little.”
“Maybe you have no reason to be jealous. Maybe I like real boobs better than fake ones. And maybe I like your boobs most of all.” He dipped his head and pressed a lingering kiss to her lips, leaving no doubt about who held his interest for now.
Forgiveness is divine, Molly thought and kissed him back, slipping her tongue between his lips, savoring his masculine taste for a long moment before lifting her head. “Sorry I pitched a jealous fit.”
He laughed. “I kind of liked it.”
“Well, don’t let it go to your head, okay?”
“Okay. Ready to go find Lydia McCarthy?” he asked.
“More than ready. What a bonus that she’s actually here.”
Hunter grasped her hand and together they made their way up one small flight of stairs, then followed the signs to room 215.
Molly raised her hand and knocked. To her surprise, the door quickly opened wide and Lydia, her father’s office secretary whom she’d met many times, stood before them.
“You’re not the pizza delivery,” Lydia said, her voice flat.
“No, but we need to talk to you.”
Molly made a move to step inside but Lydia blocked her way. “I have nothing to say to you or your father. I’m sorry, Molly, I like you but we’re on opposite sides now.” She pushed the door shut, but Hunter wedged his foot inside.
“Please, Lydia. We have nothing against you. We know you’re grieving over Paul. We just don’t want an innocent man to go to prison and you might know something that could help us,” Molly said. “Please.”
Hunter placed a supportive hand on her back and she leaned into him, grateful he stood by her side right now.
“A few minutes,” Lydia said in a begrudging voice.
“Thank you.” Molly followed her inside, Hunter coming behind her.
Lydia gestured to two chairs by sliding glass doors that overlooked a parking lot. Molly and Hunter settled in while she took a seat on the bed.
From the other woman’s puffy eyes, she’d obviously been crying. And from her general disheveled appearance, she hadn’t left this motel room in quite a while. Molly almost felt sorry for the woman. But the fact that she’d been having an affair with a married man, that she was willing to believe the general had killed his best friend and partner, and that she’d deserted Molly’s father and his business in their time of need, made it hard.
“Ms. McCarthy, my name is Daniel Hunter. I’m General Addams’s lawyer. I’d just like to ask you a few questions about the night Paul was killed. We already know about your relationship with the victim, so I’m not going to push you for details you aren’t comfortable discussing.”
“I appreciate that,” Lydia said.
“So how long have you been hiding out here?” Molly asked.
Hunter leaned forward in his seat. “What she means is, how long have you been here? It can’t be good for you to be alone right now.”
Molly nodded and decided then and there to bite her tongue. Although she’d wanted to question Lydia, she knew Hunter would have more finesse in handling her. Right now, Molly was too upset to use any tact.
“Paul and I used to stay here together. I came here to be closer to him. I wasn’t much good to anybody at home.” Lydia pulled a tissue from the box on the bed and blew her nose. “Look, I didn’t do anything. I didn’t see anything. I don’t know what you want from me.”
Hunter cleared his throat. “I want you to tell me what happened the night Paul died.”
“Fine.” She rose from the bed and walked around the small room. “You already said you knew Paul and I were involved. He’d been promising to leave his wife for years and marry me. He swore he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me.”
Molly opened her mouth but Hunter’s hand clamped down on her leg, clearly warning her to shut up. She did.
“And that night?”
“Well, it all started that day. Paul and Frank had an argument over money. I didn’t know exactly what happened, but they fought badly and Paul stormed out. He returned later that night and he was angry. I’d never seen him so furious.” She paused and glanced at Hunter. “He said he’d had a fight with Sonya. That she didn’t understand him and never would. He told me he’d taken an exorbitant amount of money from the business and he’d gambled it away. All of it.”
“Gambling?” Molly asked, surprised.
“Here in Atlantic City,” Hunter said.
Lydia nodded. “Many of his business trips included side visits here. I’d meet him at this motel for the weekend. He gave me money for spa treatments and massages and he’d go to the casino. I never thought much of it and frankly I didn’t care.”
Molly nearly snorted, but Hunter hadn’t removed his hand and she didn’t want to subject herself to a hard squeeze that would definitely hurt. Besides, right now she was getting more details than she’d ever imagined from Lydia McCarthy, and pieces were finally starting to fall into place regarding Paul and the money.
“But that night you realized he’d lost everything,” Hunter said.
“Yes, but I didn’t care. I saw it as a blessing and a sign that we were free. I told Paul he should take the chance he was given and run away with me.”
“He refused?” Hunter guessed.
Lydia gave a short jerk of her head. “Not only that, he said he’d never had any intention of leaving Sonya or his son. He said he had a life that he wasn’t about to give up on. Every word was like a dagger in my heart.” She clasped her hands to her chest.
Molly wanted to scream at Lydia’s theatrics, but she realized for all its absurdity, Lydia’s pain was real. Molly didn’t have to like the choices she’d made, but she had no right to judge her for them.
“What did you do?” Molly asked. What did a woman do when the man she loved suddenly turned his back on her?
What had Hunter done when Molly had turned her back on him? He’d retreated into his own private hell, she realized, looking back at the situation she’d walked in on a few weeks ago. The messy apartment, the heavy drinking and the woman in his bed who he hadn’t mentioned since showing up on her doorstep to help her dad.
Wow. Nothing like having the impact of your own actions thrown back in your face, Molly thought.
“What happened after he threw you out?” Hunter asked.
His voice brought Molly out of her painful epiphany. She hoped she hadn’t missed much and shook her head, clearing her mind of personal thoughts, at least for now.
“I left. I honestly believed he was upset over the money and Frank’s anger, and the fight with his wife. I thought he’d change his mind when he realized Sonya probably wouldn’t take him back, but I was still here for him despite everything. I decided I’d talk to him again in the morning, but when I got to the office, the police were there and Paul was gone.” She blinked, forcing back tears.
“Are you okay?” Hunter asked Lydia.
The other woman nodded. “I’ll be right back.”
Hunter rose as she walked to the bathroom and shut the door behind her.
He turned to Molly. “How about you? Are you all right?”
She nodded, surprised and warmed by his concern, especially in light of the comparisons she’d drawn. She didn’t like what she realized about the pain she’d caused Hunter and she hated thinking what the time since she’d left had been like for him.
Nor did she know what to say, so she remained silent.
Lydia stepped back into the room. “Are we almost finished? This really is painful to relive.”
“Just a few more minutes,” Hunter assured her. “What did you do that night, after you left the office?”
“What any woman who’d just been dumped would do. I went home and cried myself to sleep.”
Hunter stepped closer to Lydia. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m sure you already told all this to the police. Sometimes it just helps to hear the story from the person instead of reading the statements.”
