Betrayal

Chapter 9

TALLIE CRIED HERSELF to sleep on Friday night, and she woke up on Saturday morning feeling as though she’d been on a two-week drunk. Every inch of her body ached, and her head hurt from crying. She could hardly get out of bed, and didn’t even want to. She walked downstairs to the kitchen, thinking about what the rest of her life would be like without Hunt. She worried that she had been hasty in her decision or reaction, and as she sat huddled over a cup of tea, she realized again that she’d had no other choice. He wouldn’t give up Angela and their baby, and he had cheated on her for all four years they’d been together. She would never have trusted him again. There had never been a time when he was faithful or honest with her. It was just too much to forgive. There had been no choice except for him to leave. But the emptiness she felt around her sucked the air out of her like a vacuum. Her life felt like a wasteland, and she knew that she would miss him. No matter how dishonest he had been, he had always been so sweet to her, and to Max, and she had loved living and working with him. She thought they were so happy. She didn’t have the heart to tell her daughter yet that he was gone, and when Max called her later that morning, Tallie didn’t take the call. She knew she couldn’t have talked to her without sobbing. She needed some time to absorb what had happened before she told Max. Tallie knew that she would be crushed too. She loved Hunt.

She remembered then the FBI agent that the investigator had wanted her to call. She didn’t have the heart to talk to him either, but she knew it was important to call him. They needed to know now who was stealing money from her, and Meg had given her good advice. She looked for her big canvas tote bag, and found the piece of paper with the number on it. She saw the folder on the kitchen table with the photographs of Hunt in it, with Angela and her son, and she started to cry again.

She called the number for Jim Kingston, FBI special agent, and he didn’t answer, so she left him a voicemail. All she said was her name and number and who had referred her. She didn’t explain what it was about. And then she went upstairs and got back into bed. She couldn’t think of a single reason to get up. She felt like her life was over as she sobbed into her pillow.

The baseball team of Hamilton High School was playing Fairfax High. A tall dark-haired boy was at bat. He was a sophomore, and he looked intent as he watched the pitcher and waited for the ball. The bases were loaded, and the score was three to two, Fairfax was winning, and when the batter hit the ball, he sailed it right out of the ball field, and everyone on base got home. It was the last inning, and all the Hamilton parents in the stands were on their feet and cheering. And a tall, good-looking man in a baseball cap was grinning from ear to ear as he watched. He went down on the field as fast as he could get there and threw his arms around his son. He gave him a high-five, and the boy looked embarrassed.

“You did it!” his father said excitedly.

“We would have won anyway. Their pitcher sucks,” Bobby Kingston said to his father.

“That’s not true, and you know it. You’re a hero!” his father teased him. Jim Kingston never missed a game if he could help it. His older son, Josh, was at Michigan State on a football scholarship. Sports had always been a big part of their lives, and Jim had gotten them even more focused on athletics since they lost their mother five years before. He was a widowed single father, had coached Little League for both boys, and he loved spending time with them whenever he wasn’t working. They were his whole life. That and his job at the FBI, as senior special agent. He had taken tamer assignments in recent years, since his wife died, and spent more time in the office. He had the boys to think about, although in two years, when Bobby left for college, he’d be alone again, but for the past five years, since Jeannie died of breast cancer, he had dedicated himself to them. The boys had been ten and fourteen when she died, and he had been mother and father ever since.

“Way to go, Bobby!” one of the fathers said as he walked by.

“You guys played a great game,” Jim said proudly, as Bobby came out of the locker room a few minutes later and they left the field.

“Yeah, it was pretty good.” Bobby grinned. He looked a lot like his father, with the same long, lanky, dark-haired appearance. And his brother did too, although Josh was broader and more powerful than his father or brother. Josh was the star quarterback at Michigan State. Jim was very proud of both his boys, and Jeannie had been too.

It was a relief to Jim in some ways, once Jeannie died, that he only had sons, which was easier for him to manage and relate to than if he’d had girls. But now and then he wished that he had a daughter who looked like his late wife. She had been the most beautiful woman in the world, full of fire and life, always coming up with some new idea or project to keep them busy. She had been the light of his life, and then after two years of illness, remission, chemo, radiation, relapse, and a double mastectomy, it was all over, and she was gone. He still couldn’t believe it, five years later. But thank God he had his boys. At forty-eight, he had been alone for five years, and still had no interest in dating. Some of the guys he worked with had tried to introduce him to other women, usually friends of their wives, and he just didn’t care. He knew there was no one in the world like her, and no one could measure up. Jeannie had been enough for him for one lifetime. And now he could focus on his boys. Josh came home to visit often, and he and Bobby went to see him play in all his big games. He had already been offered a contract by the NFL when he turned twenty-one, but Jim wanted him to wait and finish college, and so far Josh had agreed, although the offers he’d had to play pro football were very tempting.

Jim’s cell phone rang as they were leaving the field, and he saw an unfamiliar number appear. He didn’t answer, and figured he could call them back later, whoever it was.

He took Bobby out for a hamburger after the game, he was starving, and then he dropped him off at a friend’s. He went to buy groceries and to pick up their dry cleaning, and then he went home to read some reports he’d brought from the office to work on over the weekend. He had a full caseload at the moment. He was dealing with mail fraud, credit card fraud, wire fraud, a bank robbery, and an embezzlement. It was more than enough to keep him busy. He checked his cell phone when he sat down at his desk, and then remembered the call he hadn’t answered and listened to the message. The name sounded familiar to him, but he couldn’t remember why. And then he checked the message before it, from Meg Simpson, and she explained that she had referred a client of hers called Tallie Jones, in a possible embezzlement case, and she’d appreciate it if he’d talk to her. Meg was an old friend, and before she left the Bureau they had worked together for two years. He had always liked her, and so had his wife.

He called Tallie’s number, and it rang a few times before she answered. She sounded as though she’d been sleeping, which struck him as odd at five o’clock in the afternoon. He wondered if she was sick, and she seemed a little groggy. When he told her who he was, she woke up and was more alert.

“Thank you for calling me back,” she said gratefully. Her voice was young, and she seemed a little scattered to him. “My accountant recently discovered that someone has been taking quite a bit of cash from me without my knowledge. I had Meg Simpson do an initial investigation. I didn’t know if my boyfriend or assistant did it. And it looks like it might be my assistant, but I’m not sure. I don’t know why she would, and she’s worked for me for seventeen years. So maybe it’s not her. This has never come up before. It’s all very confusing at the moment. And Meg thought I should check out my accountant too.” It was hard explaining it all to him as briefly as possible, without boring him with the details… my boyfriend cheated on me… and before that he was sleeping with my assistant… and they both lied to me about the hotels they went to… and someone is stealing twenty-five thousand dollars a month. She had no idea where to start and felt lost.

“How much money is involved?” he asked with interest. She gave him the impression that she was a little anxious. Meg had always referred good cases to him, and didn’t waste his time, although he thought Tallie sounded disoriented.

“About twenty-five thousand dollars a month for the past three years, maybe longer. I don’t really know.” It was a sizable amount. “Close to a million dollars.”

“And why the FBI instead of the police?”

“Because Meg said to call you. She thought there could be bank or wire fraud involved eventually, and she thought we should check it out, that is… if you think it’s appropriate… I don’t really know. This is all very new to me. I just found out and it’s never happened to me before.”

“How did you discover it?”

“My accountant found it, during an audit I had to do for my business.”

“And what business is that?”

“I’m a movie director,” she said simply. Obviously her name hadn’t rung a bell for him. But as soon as she told him what she did, he realized why it had been familiar, and he felt foolish for not having recognized it immediately. He just didn’t expect to have a major movie director calling him at home. But he should have known. Meg had some very fancy clients and had made a good name for herself. She had tried several times to get him to come in with her, but he still liked working for the FBI. It suited him and he liked the prestige that went with it. And eventually, the pension.

“Of course, I’m sorry,” Jim said, still feeling silly for not knowing who she was immediately.

“It’s fine.” She didn’t seem to care if he knew who she was or not.

“You suspect your assistant?” he confirmed. People usually had some idea of who it was, although often it was the person they suspected least and trusted most. That was common in embezzlements, and he saw it all the time. And Meg had done the initial groundwork.

“At first I thought it was my… the… uh… the man I was living with. He just moved out yesterday,” she said, and he wondered if that was why she seemed confused. “Or my assistant. I can’t even imagine that, though. She’s the person I’ve trusted most in the world for seventeen years, but I also just discovered that she lied to me, and… uh… ah… she did some other things that have caused me to no longer trust her. I don’t know what to think, but Meg says I should check it out.”

“What kind of other things? Like theft?” He was being businesslike and thorough, like a doctor asking for her symptoms, and Tallie hesitated before she answered.

“No, of a more personal nature, but it makes me question everything now.”

“I understand. Would you like me to come out and see you this week?” he offered, and she sounded flustered again.

“I would. I’m actually shooting on location, in Palm Springs right now, but I’ll juggle my schedule and come in.” He was the FBI after all. “Just tell me when and I’ll work it out. I come home on most weekends anyway, and some nights. It’s no problem to drive in.” He felt sorry for her, she had a sad voice, and she was upset. He wondered what had happened, other than the money she’d lost. She sounded devastated.

“Are you in L.A. now?” he asked her.

“Yes, I am, till Monday morning. Or maybe I can go in late on Monday, and see you then.”

“Would it work for you if I come over tomorrow?” he offered, and she sounded relieved when she answered.

“That would be great, if you don’t mind seeing me on a Sunday.”

“That’s fine.” He knew Bobby had plans the next day, and he wouldn’t be seeing him till dinner. “How about eleven A.M.?”

“That would be perfect,” she said, sounding grateful again. “Really, thank you for seeing me on a Sunday… I’m sorry to bother you with this… maybe it’s nothing… and it might not even be my assistant. Maybe it’s all a big mistake.” She was embarrassed to be calling the FBI, but Meg had said she should.

“We’ll figure it out, and that’s a lot of money, if you’ve lost twenty-five thousand a month for three years. Don’t apologize. This is what we do.” He was calm and reassuring and very professional.

“Thank you… I really appreciate it.” Her noice was very small.

“Do you have any paperwork on it that I can look at?” he asked her, and she remembered the spreadsheet she had given her father. He still had it, and she could pick it up from him.

“Yes, I do. I have a spreadsheet, and my accountant has all the books. We just had an audit, for an investor.” She had already told him that and forgotten. She was obviously distracted, but most people were if they thought they’d been embezzled. He couldn’t know that she was also in a state of shock that her relationship with Hunt had ended. She gave him her address then, thanked him, and they hung up. And Jim called Meg Simpson after that. She was just about to go out with her husband and kids.

“Your client called me,” Jim told her quickly, so as not to delay her unduly. He could hear her children in the background and her husband telling her to hurry up. “I just called her back.”

“Tallie Jones?”

“Yeah. Moron that I am, I had no idea who she was until she told me she’s a director. You and your Hollywood clients. Why didn’t you warn me so I didn’t make an ass of myself?” he teased her, and she laughed.

“How could I know you’ve become a shut-in and don’t go to movies? What rock do you live under these days?”

“I’m busy with the boys, or with Bobby anyway. Josh is away in college.”

“How depressing. I remember when they were born.”

“Yeah, me too,” he said, sounding wistful for a minute. He and Jeannie had been so happy then.

“She needs your help.” She was talking about Tallie again. “She’s pretty shaken up. I gave her a heavy dose of bad news. Her boyfriend is cheating on her, and apparently before that he slept with her assistant, whom she considers her best friend and who has worked for her for seventeen years. And she may be stealing money from her too. Nice people. People in her position are such targets for every kind of bad behavior, exploitation, and theft. I hated to tell her, but that’s why she came to me. I think the money theft is serious, and you should give it a good look.”

“You think it’s the boyfriend?”

“I doubt it. He’s rolling in dough. He doesn’t need her money even if the guy is a shit.”

“She said something about his moving out yesterday.”

“That’s new,” Meg told him. “It must have happened after she left my office, with a folder full of photographs of him and his new girlfriend. As far as the money goes, I think it’s the accountant or the assistant. Or God knows who else, other people may have access that I don’t know about. She hired me mostly to check out the boyfriend, and figure out if her assistant had gone to a hotel and charged it to her. She did-with him.”

“No wonder she sounded like she’d been hit over the head with a hammer. I don’t know how you tell people stuff like that. All I do is tell them they’re going to jail.” It was more complicated than that, and they both knew it, but he did admire the work she did. Meg was smart and thorough, and worked fast. He had really missed her when she left. And if he ever left the Bureau, which he had no intention of doing for the moment, he would go to work with her in a flash. She was still hoping he would one day.

“Are you seeing her?” Meg asked as her husband shouted again that they were late, and Jim could hear a child crying. It sounded like a normal family Saturday to him, and made him miss his wife even more.

“I’m going over to her house tomorrow.”

“Good. I’m glad she called you. Be nice to her. She’s having a tough time.”

“I’m always nice,” he laughed at Meg. “I’ll let you know what happens.”

“Fine. Take care.” And then she rushed off the phone to go out with her husband and kids, and Jim sat thinking for a minute, about everything Meg had said about Tallie. It sounded to him like she had gotten a raw deal from the boyfriend and her assistant, and was being embezzled on top of it. Without even knowing her, he felt badly for her.

Tallie called her father after speaking to the FBI agent. She wanted to get the spreadsheet back from him that Victor had prepared, and she told him that she wanted to pick it up, which Sam said was fine. She didn’t say anything about Hunt, but when he saw her that afternoon when she came by the house, he was shocked. She looked awful and like she’d been through the wars. She was deathly pale and there were dark circles under eyes.

“Are you okay?” He was genuinely worried about her.

“I’m just tired.”

“What’s wrong?” He knew her better than that, and before she could stop herself, she was crying and told him about Hunt. Sam was furious when he heard. Hunt had cheated on her with not just one woman but two? And what was wrong with Brigitte? How could she do a thing like that to her employer and friend? He was disgusted with them both, and sorry for Tallie. It was a terrible blow. “Men are such fools sometimes,” he said as he hugged his daughter, and then handed her the spreadsheet she had come for. “What a stupid, rotten thing for him to do. And I always liked the guy. What a dishonest little shit.” He was livid, and Tallie laughed through her tears.

“Yeah, that’s pretty much what I think too.”

“What are you doing about Brigitte?”

“I don’t know yet. The investigator I used told me to call the FBI and have them check it out. An agent is coming over tomorrow, which is why I want the spreadsheet, to give to him. I don’t know if Brigitte is taking the money or not, but she slept with Hunt for three years, so I guess that’s grounds to fire her. I just haven’t had the heart to deal with it yet. I’m still reeling over Hunt. He moved out last night.”

“Does Max know?” He looked worried, and Tallie was too.

“I haven’t told her yet. It’s all a little fresh. I just found out at four o’clock yesterday afternoon. His girlfriend is pregnant on top of it, so I guess they’re getting married. I asked him if he’d give her up, and he wouldn’t. So that’s that.” She tried to sound blithe about it, and failed abysmally. She looked and sounded devastated, and she was. But they both knew that Max had adored him, and it would be a terrible shock to her too.

“What are you going to do about your next movie with him?” This touched on so many areas of her life. Her father was genuinely concerned.

“I won’t do it. I told him that last night. I couldn’t work with him now. I’ll finish this one, and that’s it. End of a partnership and a romance.”

“I’m sorry, baby,” her father said, touching her cheek with his gnarled hand. “You two were good together, in a lot of ways. You didn’t deserve this to happen. I guess he wasn’t the man we thought he was, if he cheated on you for all four years. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise,” he said, trying to cheer her up, but she wasn’t ready for that yet.

“I’m a little tired of this kind of blessing, the ones in disguise. I like the ones that sound like good news, not the ones that break your heart.”

“I know, I know… someone else will come along,” he said convincingly, although no one ever had for him. He had never had another serious woman in his life after Tallie’s mother died. He always said she had been the love of his life. Hunt hadn’t been that to her, but he had been very important to her. They had been comfortable and happy, and she had loved him a lot.

“That’s the last thing I want, Dad,” she said somberly, “for someone else to come along. This is it for me. I think I’m done. Three strikes, I’m out.”

“At least you weren’t married to him. There won’t be a lot of legal complications. And you never bought any property together. That’s always a disaster when things go sour, and you have to take it all apart.” He had always told her not to, and she had listened to him. Her father gave good advice. Except when he had made her marry Max’s father when she was twenty, but he had done that for Max, not for her, and maybe he was right about that too. At least she knew her parents had been married, if she cared. “I think you ought to fire Brigitte immediately,” he added. He was furious with her. Tallie was less angry than deeply hurt. She was profoundly wounded by what Brigitte had done, her affair with Hunt and her lies for years.

“I’ll deal with it on Monday,” she said sadly. She couldn’t imagine life without Brigitte either. They had worked together forever. Seventeen years. It was almost like a marriage. And they were best friends, as well as employer and employee. And Brigitte made her life run so smoothly. It was going to be chaos for a while. She didn’t have the heart to look for a new assistant either. Tallie felt like her whole life was upside down and broken to bits, like her heart.

Her father asked her about the Academy Awards before she left. It was coming up soon, and he wondered if she was going. She said she didn’t have the heart to now, and she didn’t want to run into Hunt, and her father agreed. Particularly if the other woman was with him.

She left a little while after that, and when she went home, she looked in all the closets and looked at Hunt’s things. He had a whole dressing room full of clothes, a kitchen full of equipment he had brought with him and added to in three years, two bookcases full of books, a home office full of his work, and odds and ends all over the house, tennis rackets, his rowing machine, a treadmill they had bought together. She didn’t know where to start. She went to the supermarket that night and got some boxes, and little by little she started packing up, and the whole time she did, she cried. Normally, she would have asked Brigitte to help her with it, but she didn’t want to do that now, not after what she’d done. She was going to pack it all herself, and then call a moving company to drop it off. She didn’t want to see him again.

Her cell phone rang at midnight, and it was Hunt. She didn’t know whether to answer it or not, but she missed him so much, she took the call.

“Are you okay?” he asked as soon as she picked it up. He sounded worried about her and unhappy. Angela had been thrilled when he showed up the night before, particularly since she was expecting his baby, but Hunt was sad. Not sad enough to want to come back and give up Angela, but sad anyway. Angela was his future now, and Tallie was his past. She had become ancient history in his life overnight. It had all happened so fast.

“No, I’m not okay,” she said, deciding to be honest about it. “I’m falling apart.” She started crying again as soon as she said it. “How would you be if you found out all those things about me?”

“Homicidal. Or suicidal. I’m not sure which. But I don’t think I’d be as decent about it as you are. Tallie, I’m so sorry.”

“You should be. It was such a rotten thing to do to me, for the whole time we were together,” she sobbed, and he felt like a total bastard.

“I don’t know what happened. Things got off on the wrong foot, when I got involved with Brig. I swear she did it on purpose. She wants to be you, Tallie, even if that meant sleeping with me. I never knew what hit me after that first time, and I couldn’t get away from her. She got me in her web.” He portrayed her as someone evil and himself as her victim, and Tallie still couldn’t see her that way. Hunt was absolving himself from all responsibility and blaming Brigitte. Tallie thought he should have had more balls than that, and never gotten involved with her in the first place. She hadn’t held a gun to his head after all. And she said as much to him.

“No, but she threatened to tell you if I stopped, and I didn’t want her to do that. I thought I’d lose you, and I did anyway.”

“That doesn’t explain why you got involved with someone else after her. Did Angela blackmail you too?”

“No, I was just a fool, and she’s a sweet girl. This isn’t her fault, or Brig’s, I guess. It’s mine. I did the wrong thing all the way.”

“Yes, you did,” Tallie agreed.

“Did you tell your father?”

“Yes.”

“He must hate me.” He was embarrassed to have Sam know how badly he’d behaved.

“He’s pretty pissed.” And he was right.

“Did you tell Max?”

“Not yet. She’s going to be heartbroken. She loves you,” Tallie said, crying. “So did I.”

“I do too. I love you both… I told you that… I love you and Angela… and Max, and your father. This is such a fucking mess.”

“Yes, it is,” Tallie agreed. And he was having a baby, which added insult to injury. Tallie wanted to hate him, but she couldn’t. She was just crushed, and he felt like a total heel. “I’ll pack your stuff up and send it to you next week,” she said sadly. It was the end of an era for both of them. He was embarrassed to tell her to send it all to Angela’s, although he had just agreed to move in with her, because of the baby. And Tallie didn’t want to ask, so she told him she’d send it to his office, and he said that was fine. There was nothing left to say except goodbye after that.

Tallie had never stopped crying during the entire conversation, and Hunt felt like a monster by the time he hung up. He didn’t know how he had expected it to end, but he realized now that if you were involved with two people and lied to one of them, this was what happened. He felt terrible about what he’d done to Tallie, and now it looked like he was jumping from one woman to the next, which was in fact what he was doing by moving in with Angela right away. But he also wanted to protect her from her ex-husband now that she was carrying his baby. That was a new concept for him too since he had never had kids nor wanted them before. And now he would have two almost immediately, since she was already four months pregnant. She had waited to tell him until it was too late to have an abortion, because she wanted his baby so much. Hunt was feeling overwhelmed too.

Tallie went on packing his things until two o’clock in the morning. She had cleared two closets and some of his books by then. He had a mountain of stuff. She wasn’t even sure she could pack it all before she left for Palm Springs. And she went back to work on it at nine in the morning on Sunday. She wanted to get it done, so she didn’t just stand there and cry every time she opened a closet and saw his things. It took two boxes just to pack everything in his bathroom. She had never realized he had this much stuff.

She was working on his office when the doorbell rang and it was Senior Special Agent Jim Kingston from the FBI. She found herself looking up at a tall, dark-haired man with blue eyes and a pleasant face, wearing a shirt, tie, blazer, and gray slacks with loafers. He had come dressed for work since it was an official visit. He introduced himself immediately and she invited him in. There were boxes everywhere. She apologized, and he could guess what they were for, but he didn’t comment.

She took him into the kitchen and offered him a cup of coffee or tea. He said he was fine, and didn’t want either. They sat down at the kitchen table, and she handed him the spreadsheet she had retrieved from her father. He glanced at it for a minute and then found himself looking into her big green eyes. She looked sad, and he could see that she was in pain.

“Let’s talk about the three possibilities here, about who might be taking your money,” he said calmly. “What do you think? What does your gut say?”

“My gut says that I’m an idiot for not suspecting it before,” she said, looking unhappy. “Apparently, a lot went on around here that I never suspected.”

“People who embezzle money are very clever about it. They know just how far to go, how much they can take, when, and how to get away with it, under the radar. And if it makes you feel any better, in most cases it’s the person you trust most, who has been there the longest time. If it were obvious, they’d get caught the first day. And usually schemes like this go on for a long, long time,” he said to reassure her.

“Maybe it’s my accountant. If it isn’t, he should have figured it out.”

“If he didn’t do it, then whoever did knew how to get by him too. Believe me, this is the kind of thing we see every day. But I’ll talk to your accountant too, and we’ll get you forensic accountants to look at your books and your general ledger. We’ll do an investigation on the accountant and your assistant, and the man you were living with.” Tallie nodded. They were the only three people who could have been ripping her off, and she really didn’t think it was Hunt. She said as much to Jim.

“Meg Simpson said that too. Your assistant actually fits the profile of the most likely suspect,” he said calmly.

“Why?” Tallie was puzzled by what he said.

“Because you trust her implicitly. That gives someone a lot of leeway if they’re dishonest, and she’s already lied to you once that you know of.” They both knew about what, and didn’t need to go into detail, much to Tallie’s relief.

“I’m going to fire her tomorrow,” Tallie said sadly. She had thought about it all night, and decided when she got up that morning. She couldn’t keep her after what she’d done.

“I’d rather you didn’t,” Jim said quietly, and Tallie was surprised. She thought the FBI would expect her to move quickly, although Meg had told her to be cautious too.

“Why not?”

“Because if she’s a serious suspect, I’d rather she not realize that we’re suspicious of her, and see what she does. Have you confronted her about the money yet?”

“No. I asked her, and she told me it was Hunt, and I believed her.”

“Have you spoken to her since you got the report from Meg?”

“No, she doesn’t know about that. And I just got it Friday.”

“If you think you can pull it off, I’d rather you not tell her anything you heard from Meg. Your assistant told you about your boyfriend’s other woman. You could tell her that you broke up over that, without telling her you know the rest. And you can tell her you’re suspicious of him and your accountant about the money. If you can deal with it, I’d like to give her some room, and see what she does, although she can’t blame the ex-boyfriend for money that disappears now, so she might be more careful for a while. But it gives us a big advantage if she doesn’t know we suspect her. She’ll relax. If we find strong evidence that it’s her, you can fire her then. Right now we’re not sure, and what we need is time.”

“How much time?” Tallie didn’t look enthused about his plan. It also meant that she couldn’t confront her over Hunt. As far as Brigitte knew right now, Tallie was upset that she hadn’t exposed Hunt’s crimes earlier, but Tallie had never suspected her of taking the money, she had only asked, not accused her of it, and Brigitte had no idea at all that Tallie knew about her and Hunt, and their affair of three years. All of that was new.

“It could take us a month or two to get what we need, or longer. I actually think we might know in a month. We can reassess the situation then. But until then I’d like you to give her the impression that you’ve forgiven her, and let’s give her enough rope to hang herself, while we conduct the investigation. We can keep an eye on her, and your money going in and out, and we can interview your accountant and Mr. Lloyd to see if they are viable suspects or not. I’d like to save the most likely one for last, if you agree.” Tallie nodded her head slowly. What he was asking of her sounded difficult and uncomfortable, and it would be unpleasant to keep an enemy close to her for that much longer. But it made perfect sense too. “Do you think you can pull it off?” he asked with a look of concern, and she smiled ruefully.

“Yes. I was an actress before I was a director. I can do it. It just sounds unpleasant to have to act like everything is fine.”

“It might give us the best results in the long run. And I don’t want you to tell her you’ve contacted the FBI about the money nor went to a PI.” He warned her then that they might have to turn it over to the police in the end, if there was no wire fraud or bank fraud committed and no federal offenses, but they could assess that later on. He sounded infinitely professional and interested in her case. She was glad that he’d come to talk to her, and so was he. Tallie felt somewhat reassured that she was in good hands, and he thought the case was worth pursuing. She had been betrayed by two people she loved and trusted, and he wanted to figure out who was stealing money from her.

“Thank you, Special Agent Kingston,” she said with a look of relief. She felt safe with him handling the case. He had a very sympathetic, comforting style about him, which put her at ease.

“Jim. Please. If you’re patient with us, we’ll solve the problem. Sometimes these things move slower than the victim likes.” She winced at the word.

“I hate to think of myself as a ‘victim.’ It sounds so awful.”

“It is awful. But you’ve been the victim of a crime, and sadly often people in your position are a very appealing target.”

“Yeah, I’ve always relied on her so much. And after all this time, I don’t question what she does. I trust her totally.”

“And she, or someone else, has taken full advantage of that. If this goes to trial and she’s convicted, her sentence will be increased because of the abuse of trust. Judges take a dim view of that in situations like this. Abuse of trust is a serious offense.” She thought wistfully that that applied to Hunt too, and he hadn’t committed a crime. Just breach of promise, and trust, and all her faith in him. “I’ll get the investigation started tomorrow.” She gave him Hunt’s and Victor’s contact information, and he was planning to ask for interviews with both of them. He was going to leave Brigitte alone for a while, to see what she did, and if Tallie lost money at the same rate. She’d have to be more careful now that Hunt was gone, and she could no longer blame him. She’d have to be even more cunning, if it was her. If it was Hunt, it would stop entirely now that he was gone. And if it was Victor, it might continue at the same rate, though in different ways.

Jim Kingston stayed for an hour and a half, and then he stood up, and she thanked him again for coming.

“I’m sorry to eat into your Sunday,” she said apologetically, and he smiled.

“It’s fine. I had nothing else to do. I spend Sundays with my fifteen-year-old son, and he had better things to do today than hang out with his dad. That seems to be happening a lot these days.” He smiled ruefully as he said it.

“My daughter’s eighteen, in college in New York, and it’s pretty much that way with her now too. When she’s home, she’d rather be out with her friends.” Tallie smiled as they chatted about their kids. It established a friendly link between them, which was his style.

“I have a son at Michigan State too,” he added. “Once they’re gone, they don’t belong to us anymore. I’m hanging on to my fifteen-year-old for dear life,” he confessed, and they both laughed. She wondered if he was divorced. He somehow made it sound like he didn’t have a wife, just his kids, or maybe she was wrong. He seemed like a pleasant man to her. He was wholesome, intelligent, and clean-cut. She felt like her case was in good hands. He seemed mildly impressed with her Hollywood status, but not overly so. He referred to it but didn’t have stars in his eyes. And he apologized again for not knowing who she was when she called.

“I don’t mind at all,” she assured him. “It’s a lot better that way.” She looked as though she meant it, which he found refreshing. There was nothing pretentious or Hollywood about her despite how famous she was.

“I’ll give you a call this week if I have any other questions or if something comes up that you should know,” he said as they walked to the door. And after they shook hands and he left, she watched him as he drove away. She was glad she’d called, although she wasn’t thrilled about not being able to fire Brigitte yet. It was going to be uncomfortable playing a game for the next month or two. That sounded like a very long time. He had also explained to her that it would take them a while to get bank records that would allow them to assess the suspect’s financial activity. He promised that they would move as fast as they could, but banks moved slowly, and everything took time.

Her father called an hour later when she was in the midst of packing Hunt’s things again.

“How did it go with the FBI?” Sam asked, anxious to hear what they’d said.

“They said they’re going to check it out, and I can’t fire Brigitte yet. They want me to buy time, and not let on that we suspect. They want to see what she does.”

“Clever tactic, though hard on you, given what she did with Hunt.”

“She doesn’t know that I know that, Dad. I can just tell her that Hunt confessed about his current girlfriend. She doesn’t need to know that he admitted about her too. And she sounds a little nuts from what Hunt told me. Anyway, we’ll see how crazy she really is. I can pretend to have forgiven her for not telling me sooner what Hunt was up to, and then we can go about our business, while the FBI keeps an eye on her.”

“Sounds like a good plan to me. But tough on you.”

“I guess I’ll have to live with it. He says it’s the best way. So I can’t even fire the bitch tomorrow,” Tallie said, sounding angry, and Sam nodded, thinking unhappily about what an evil person Brigitte had turned out to be. He was furious on his daughter’s behalf, but there was nothing he could do. All they could do now was wait and trust the FBI. It was all hard to believe.