She pulled her shoulders back. “I know she probably told her side of the story about what happened with Roger. But I just want you to know that he and I found true love with each other. The kind of love that only comes across once in a lifetime. I did Beth a favor by taking him. I mean, would she really want to stay with a guy who wanted to be with me?”
I crossed my arms over my chest, glaring at her. “My husband cheated too. What story do you think his new lady tells people? Probably something like the steaming pile of garbage that you just spewed to try to rewrite why you did one of the worst things imaginable to a woman who loved and raised you? Right?”
Her eyes filled with tears. “Don’t be mean to me! My husband just died!”
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes and fold my arms over my chest. “Karma’s a bitch, sometimes.”
She glared back at me and wiped a tear angrily from her cheek, then spun around to march off. But she only made it like two steps, and then her shoulders curved down. Very slowly, she turned back around, and her expression was certainly humbled. Not that I trusted her as far as I could throw her.
“There’s something else. I’m afraid Beth might be in danger,” she whispered.
Now my suspicion was up. “Why didn’t you lead with that?”
Tiffany shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m just reeling. I can’t think straight.”
She looked so pitiful I almost reached out to pull her into my arms, but then stopped myself. “I am sorry he died.” Cheaters deserved to be walked through the streets while people pelted them with old, moldy, rotten fruit. They deserved to constantly be able to smell something off in the fridge but never be able to find it, to have an itch they could never scratch, or to never be able to get an ice-cold drink on a hot day. Or even to never be able to taste anything but cabbage for the rest of their life, no matter what they ate. But they didn’t deserve to be murdered. At least not in my world.
“So why do you think Beth might be in danger?”
She moved closer to me, then glanced around the alley as if sincerely afraid. “I think a while ago, possibly, well, Roger might’ve murdered his business partner,” she whispered, the confession rushing out of her mouth. I tried not to react. Wow, this girl knew how to pick them. A cheater and a murderer? “Cliff disappeared, and I think someone found out and killed Roger for it.”
Okay, so maybe Roger did deserve to die. He murdered his old partner? Man, I was just glad Beth got away from him. Still, as I stared at the young woman, my little bit of empathy was starting to wither away. She’d willingly stayed with someone even when she suspected he killed someone?
I hadn’t wanted to get involved in this before. Her words didn’t convince me any more that there was a reason for me to care the least bit about Roger’s death. And yet… there was still the matter of Beth and how all of this impacted her.
“What does that have to do with Beth?” I said with a sigh.
“She’s still part owner of Roger’s company. So, what if the person comes after Beth next?” She looked around nervously again. “Look, here’s what I’ve got so far.” Pulling a file folder out of the oversized designer bag that hung from her shoulder, she handed it to me and then covered her mouth. “I know you don’t like me. I know you don’t like Roger. But as much as I might have hurt my sister, I don’t want Roger’s actions to get her killed.”
“Can you tell me more about Cliff’s disappearance and why you think Roger had something to do with it?”
She shook her head and stepped backwards. “I already took a huge risk coming here and giving you that. I’m done now. I need to take care of Roger’s funeral. You know now, so it’s your job to protect Beth. I did my part.” Whirling on her heel, Tiffany took off and disappeared down the alley behind my car.
After everything, this was how she acted? I knew I shouldn’t be surprised, I mean, the woman had stolen her sister’s husband and baby daddy and acted like she was in the right the whole time. But to know that your sister’s life might be in danger and claim that it’s taken care of by handing a file folder off to someone? That was cold. My skin broke out in goosebumps as though she’d given me literal chills.
As I stared down at the file folder, I wondered what in the world I’d gotten myself into.
6
Emma
A little while later, I sat in the kitchen of Deva’s diner, where there was a tiny table tucked away for friends and family. It wasn’t that I was starving, more so that I needed Deva’s magical food. I felt like the decision about what to do with Beth and her sister was too much for me to handle. It was as if I’d been handed a bomb, and I had no idea when it was going to go off.
The problem was I didn’t want it to go off at all. I was scared that it would explode Beth or explode our relationship. Beth was one of the most important people in my life. I never wanted to do anything that would hurt her or drive a wedge between us. She’d already been through so much. She deserved all the happiness she could get in life and here I was trying to decide whether to bring her a big pile of exploding poop.
Karma needed to get her butt in gear because my friend didn’t deserve any of this. I wished for the umpteenth time that I had
