Turning the Tide (Eastern Shore Swingers, #5) Page 11

  “Well, damn, Doc, you must really have a quandary. I know you’re not really the drinking type!” He poured them both another serving which met a similar fate as the first. “Okay, I gotta stop there, or I’ll be too sloshed to run our meeting here in a little bit.”

  Luke chuckled. Maybe he’d be having this conversation with his partner, Jim, if he hadn’t called out sick. He was glad, though, that he had another friend he could call on in his time of need. He began to tell Cap about the charges on his credit card and the two bank accounts that were missing money, and how he’d been locked out of the latter.

  “Did you go to the bank to straighten that out today?” Cap questioned.

  “No, I didn’t get a chance. I had to see my partner’s patients, and it was all a big mess. But I’m going to do that tomorrow, and I have appointments with my lawyer and accountant later this week. I just don’t know what’s going on, and to tell you the truth, I don’t trust the damn woman at all.” Luke was on his third whiskey, and his tongue had loosened accordingly. He hardly noticed Connie and Leah joining them at the bar.

  “So, I guess I’m just trying to understand your wife’s motivation for all of this,” Leah interjected. “I mean, I know about your history—” She flashed an apologetic smile. “Were you cheating on her before you came to the club a couple weeks ago? Is this retribution or something?”

  Luke shook his head adamantly. “No. I swear to God: when I came to the club two weeks ago and kissed Connie, that was the first time in my entire twenty-six-year marriage that I’ve ever been unfaithful—even though we haven’t had sex in ten years.”

  Leah shook her head. “Wow, that is unbelievable.”

  “Which part? That I cheated or that I didn’t cheat?” Luke questioned.

  “That you didn’t!” she clarified.

  “You still haven’t technically,” Connie added. “I mean...if you follow Bill Clinton’s definition of sex.”

  Everyone laughed. Luke would have been embarrassed, but he was too flummoxed by Leah’s original question. Why would Barbara do this to him now? The money disappeared over the span of several months, and nothing had changed over those months except for his daughter’s wedding...

  But I paid for that myself. It’s not like Barbara paid for it or it even affected her in any way. She still got her $2000 a month.

  “And his wife gets an allowance of $2000 per month,” Connie said as though she read his mind.

  “Yeah, it’s really weird. Could she be draining your accounts for a friend? A lover?” Leah hypothesized.

  Luke had to laugh about how the ladies had completely taken over the detective work. Cap just leaned against the bar watching the two women Nancy Drew the situation.

  “No, no lover,” he responded when he realized Leah was expecting an answer. “She has some medical issues, and sex is too painful for her.”

  “Oh.” Leah’s brows furrowed. “So that explains why you haven’t had sex in ten years...”

  Her expression immediately changed. Her eyes darted over to her husband’s, and he gave a little shrug. Oh, great. Now she thinks I’m a terrible person too.

  “Before you judge,” Connie jumped in to defend him, “they went to counseling. Luke has tried to open up many different conversations about alternatives to complete celibacy, but she has no interest in meeting any of Luke’s needs.”

  Luke’s heart skipped a beat as he realized Connie did understand his situation. She not only understood it; she agreed with him.

  “And, to make matters worse, I believe she emotionally abuses him. She expects him to do everything at the house and cater to her every whim. She literally does nothing but eat, sleep and spend money. It’s not much of a marriage, or even a partnership, for that matter.”

  “Wow, Connie. Luke doesn’t need a lawyer,” Cap joked. “He’s got you.”

  “Very funny,” she sneered. But then she affixed a smile to her face as she turned to Leah. “Oh, and no doctor has been able to come up with a definitive diagnosis for her many ailments, either. She’s been to dozens of specialists and undergone zillions of tests, and no one can even agree on what’s wrong with her.”

  “Okay, okay. I’m not judging, alright?” Leah shrugged. “I’m just trying to get to the bottom of this, same as you.”

  “Get to the bottom of what?” came another voice. Calvin appeared from the back entrance with Paisley in tow.

  “Luke was telling us about his situation,” Leah announced. “His wife is draining his bank accounts—”

  “Well, we don’t know for sure it’s her,” Luke corrected Leah. “But we are pretty certain. We just don’t understand why.”

  “Oh,” Calvin said with a knowing smile. “You should have her followed, then. See what she’s up to.”

  Luke laughed. “Right. I’ll just call up Magnum P.I. and see if he’ll take on my case!”

  Calvin shrugged, not seeming to get the reference. His wife rolled her eyes. “He’s a baby,” she explained. “I robbed the damn cradle with this one.”

  Everyone laughed except Calvin. “My dad is a P.I. Didn’t I tell you that when we met this weekend? He’s a retired detective with the Maryland State Police.”

  Recognition bloomed on Luke’s face. “That’s right. Wow, well, I would have never thought of that one. That seems so—” he shook his head, “—out of my element.”

  Having an affair with his nurse and hiring a private investigator? It sounded like a Hollywood blockbuster more than the Lackluster Life of Luke Cannon.

  “At least go talk to him.” Calvin reached into his pocket and pulled out a worn business card. “It can’t hurt. I help him with the tech side of things, but, really, he’s pretty damn good. Like I told you before: he knows everything.”

  “When does she get home?” Connie questioned, her eyes darting across his face with concern.

  “I asked her to tell me if she’d be home in time for dinner—she said her mother was admitted to the hospital this weekend when they thought she’d had a heart attack. She didn’t, but Barbara barely communicated with me all weekend. She said she’d be home tonight, but she never said when.”

  “Well, now you’ve got us all on pins and needles,” Leah said. “You better let us know how everything goes.”

  “And call my dad,” Calvin reiterated. “Seriously. He can help.”

  When Luke got home from the club, his wife’s car was in the garage. Heart pounding despite the remnants of those three shots of whiskey still coursing through his blood, he steeled himself for confronting her. As soon as he opened the door, his loyal collie, excited to see him, leaped up to put his front paws on Luke’s chest. “I’m going to take Alfie out,” he called down the hall. There was no response.

  During the entire walk with his dog, Luke prepared exactly what he would say. He would be calm. He would be calculating. He had it all planned out.

  When he returned and freed Alfie from his leash, he made his way down the hall to his wife’s room. She was in bed with a wet washcloth spread across her eyes.

  “Hi,” Luke simply said.

  “Where have you been?” Her voice dripped with accusation, and she didn’t remove the washcloth.

  “I grabbed a drink with Cap, then I took Alfie out. Had a long day at work.” None of those things are lies, he reminded himself, trying to get his racing heart to calm down.

  He had a bad feeling this conversation was going to go south.

  “So you don’t even care that I was here expecting dinner, and you were MIA,” she snapped.

  “I asked you if you wanted dinner, but you never responded.” He tried so hard not to sound defensive. He was pretty sure he failed. After a beat of silence, he steeled himself all over again and took a flying leap into the abyss. “Look, we need to talk—”

  She cut him off like she was slicing through his words with a knife. “No. I’m not in the mood for your crap tonight, Luke. My mother is still having issues, and I got no sleep over the weekend. I am a
mess, and you don’t even care. She could have died, and all you’d care about is yourself. Just leave me alone and let me rest.”

  He was going to suppress his eyeroll, but her eyes were still covered, so what did it matter?

  “This is important,” he pressed.

  “I said no!” she shouted, loud enough that Alfie rushed into her room. “Get that damn dog out of here and bring me a Flexeril and an oxy.”

  When he hesitated, she added, “NOW!” at the top of her lungs.

  NINE

  We’re not natural monogamists...Then why in so many cultures—Judeo-Christian, Islamic—is adultery a death penalty offense? What species has to be threatened with death to do that which comes naturally? – Dan Savage

  He was glad, though surprised, that Connie wanted to go with him to meet Calvin Mitchell, Sr., the private investigator. His office was in the historic part of Berlin in a cramped room above a restaurant. Luke resisted the urge to grab Connie’s ass as they made their way up the stairs. He’d been dying to touch her all day; every time he saw her pass by at work, he had to remind himself she was off limits. She’d awoken a beast inside him that now didn’t want to go back in his cage.

  Right outside Mr. Mitchell’s door, he grabbed her wrist and swung her around to face him. She squealed, sounding more like a teenage girl than her almost sixty years. But when his lips crashed against hers, she melted into him, savoring every second of their steamy kiss.

  “You ready for this?” she asked, tearing herself away. “Oh, and damn that was hot... Better not do that again, or we’ll never make it inside.”

  He pressed her against the wall again. “I can’t seem to help myself,” he whispered against her neck before nibbling on her delicate flesh.

  “You’re killing me,” she gasped. “Come on, let’s go in... We need to get this taken care of.”

  The fact she used the word “we” did not escape his notice. He knocked on the door and waited for a response. There was a slight rumble of noises, a chair squeaking across the floor and footsteps, before the door swung open to reveal a tall, dark-skinned man with deep-set brown eyes and a gleaming grin. “You must be Dr. Cannon!”

  Luke extended his hand to shake the detective’s. “I am, and this is my...uh...friend, Connie Stewart.”

  “Come in, come in!” Calvin Sr. ushered them inside his humble office. There were bookcases lined with leather-bound law books and a faded oriental rug under a metal desk. The view down to the street below was through old-fashioned glass, the kind that had a wavy appearance. Luke felt like he’d stepped into a turn-of-the-century office.

  He and Connie took seats in the simple metal chairs, while Mr. Mitchell sank into his squeaky rolling executive chair. “I know this office isn’t much, but the rent is cheap. I don’t spend much time here because I’m usually out on a case.”

  “Your son told me you recently retired from the state police?” Luke questioned.

  “Sure did. Twenty-five years with MSP, and yet I’m not quite ready to throw in the towel yet. Besides, my wife wouldn’t know what to do with me if I were underfoot all the time. She doesn’t want to see me till dinnertime!” He chuckled a deep, rumbling laugh before his expression completely morphed into one of grave seriousness. “Tell me what’s been going on.”

  Luke launched into detailing all of the financial oddities he’d uncovered in the past week and why he suspected his wife. Then he explained how she didn’t work but got an allowance.

  “And have you talked to her about it?” Calvin Sr. asked, folding his hands together on top of his desk and piercing into Luke with his dark stare.

  “Well, I tried to, but she bit my head off,” Luke explained. “And that made me even more suspicious that something nefarious is going on.”

  Calvin scratched his chin as his eyes glimmered. “‘Nefarious.’ I really like that word, don’t you?”

  Luke saw now where Calvin got his charm. “Though she always bites my head off...so last night was nothing new.”

  “What’s her schedule like? Where do you live?” the detective asked, pulling out a small yellow legal pad with his pen poised over the top line.

  Luke rattled off his address first. “She doesn’t work, though she does drive. She doesn’t have a regular schedule. The only place she really goes is Washington DC for the weekend to see our daughter and her mother and sister.”

  “Okay. Do you have wi-fi in your house?” he questioned.

  Luke nodded.

  “I’m going to have my son the computer guru set up some surveillance. I’ll need your wi-fi password.” He rubbed his hands together. “Well, we’re going to find out what Mrs. Cannon is up to. If I were you, I would close any bank accounts you have in just your own name, and cancel any credit cards. I would set up a new account she doesn’t know about and transfer as much of your money as you can there so she can’t touch it.”

  Luke nodded again. “Okay. And I’m meeting with my accountant tomorrow, my attorney the day after that.”

  “We’re going to get to the bottom of this,” Calvin assured him. “Oh—one more thing—”

  “Yes?” Luke shifted his gaze back to the tall, broad-shouldered man. His office wasn’t much to look at, but Luke felt confident in Calvin’s abilities.

  “It may not be something you want to consider, but is it possible she’s having an affair?”

  Luke had to stifle a laugh. “I really don’t think so. She has a medical condition that has prevented her from having sex in ten years...”

  Mr. Mitchell looked at him blankly for a moment until comprehension of what Luke had just implied settled in. “You haven’t had...relations...for ten years?” He set his pen down on top of the legal pad.

  “No, sir,” Luke answered. “Not once.”

  Calvin cleared his throat. “Okay, then. I’ve got your number. I’ll be in touch as soon as I know something.”

  The two men settled the payment arrangements, then Luke and Connie headed back down the stairs to their respective cars. They were careful to pretend like they were not together. Luke headed to his car down the block, while Connie returned to hers parked around the back of the building. His phone buzzed with a text from her moments later. Come to my place was all it said.

  Luke assumed Connie would want to rehash their appointment with Detective Mitchell, but that is not what happened. Instead, he waited until he was sure she was settled in her apartment before climbing the stairs and ringing her doorbell. And when she opened it, she was wearing nothing but a pale peach-colored satin robe that set off her golden skin and blonde hair, and lit her blue eyes like the ocean sparkling under the sun.

  He wasn’t able to stifle his gasp as he drank her in, eyes raking from her head to her bare feet with pink-polished toes and back up again to her radiant smile. She reached out to grab his dress shirt and yanked him inside. He was still wearing his tie, but she had that loosened and his shirt unbuttoned like she’d spent years studying the fine art of clothing removal. With every inch of his skin she bared, she planted a soft kiss on his smoldering flesh.

  “What’s gotten into you?” he asked, finally lifting her chin and forcing her to meet his gaze after she’d deftly unbuckled his belt.

  “I don’t want to wait anymore,” she said breathlessly. “I have been thinking about your sexy ass body and that beautiful thick cock of yours all day, and I want it inside me.” She stood back and untied the satin belt at her waist. The robe fluttered to the floor with a dramatic flourish, revealing her ravishing naked body.

  His eyes nearly popped out of his skull at her words and the lovely sight of her nude. “Really? You’re giving me the green light, then?” Casey’s advice about asserting himself once he got the green light rang in his thoughts.

  An exuberant smile spread across her face as she nodded. He stepped back, still reeling with shock. A few days ago she’d seemed reticent to pursue something with him because of his marriage and him being her boss—but now it seemed that all her inhi
bitions had been stripped away. Like her clothes. And his clothes, apparently.

  She stood before him, her cheeks aglow and eyes heavy with lust, silently begging him to take her. She didn’t want to have to say the words; he somehow picked up on that. She’d seemed to love the way he’d pushed her up against the wall outside Calvin’s office, and she wanted more. She wanted him.

  Without another word, he whisked her off her feet and carried her down the hallway to where he presumed her bedroom was. When he’d been there a few days ago, he’d never seen anything but the kitchen and living room. When she’d been at his house, they hadn’t ventured into his bedroom either. At the club, they’d been on the dance floor, at the bar, and in the dungeon together. Their only other locale was the supply room at work. But now, carrying her into her bedroom, the plush carpet giving away under his bare feet, he felt like he was crossing the threshold into heaven. And he never wanted to leave.

  He laid her gently on the bed and finished removing the final item of clothing standing in the way of being completely naked in front of her, his boxer briefs. There was a wet spot at the front where his engorged cock had already leaked a few drops of precum just during their makeout session in the foyer. But he wasn’t thinking about that, not when her beautiful body was spread out before him on the bed. He took in her subtle curves, her shapely thighs and the swell of her stomach, which had borne two children. She had dimples and stretch marks and lines and scars, and he appreciated the brutal honesty they lent to the masterpiece that was her womanly canvas.

  “What are you looking at?” Her eyes flashed up to where he hovered over her. “I want you. I’m tired of waiting.”

  “I’m looking at how beautiful you are.” His gaze trailed up and down her body again. “I haven’t had the pleasure of looking at a fully nude female body in person in so long...”

  “At the club,” she reminded him, her tone clipped, impatient. She reached for him, trying to pull him down on top of her.