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“We’re not prepared for visitors,” the guard said, his tone accusing. “And you’re not an officer of the court.”
“A what?”
“A lawyer,” Peter said, avoiding her gaze. “You’re not a lawyer.”
“I can’t stick around to make sure you don’t get into trouble,” the guard continues. “He stays in restraints.”
“It’s fine,” Peter said, kicking a chair out from the table so he could sit down.
Erica started to help, but he shook his head. “Stay back. It’s better that way.” His gaze finally met hers. “They’ll be watching remotely. We don’t want them thinking you’re passing me drugs.”
She wasn’t sure if he was trying to be funny or telling the truth. Regardless, she settled back in her seat.
“You’re a surprise,” he said. “I was told you would be visiting and that I would be fine with it.”
“I can leave if you’re not.”
“No, it’s okay. Visitors break up the routine. Plus Allison can’t get here as often as I’d like.”
At the mention of his wife’s name, he seemed to shrink a little, his face crumbling. “This is so hard for her and it’s all my fault. God, I’ve hurt her. I’ve put her through so much and I only wanted things to be good for her, you know. Better than what we had. I would lie awake at night in that shit rental and think about the house you and I had. I wanted something like that for her. Beautiful things, never worrying about money.”
He turned away. “She looks for coupons online. Did you know that? My wife has to clip coupons.”
The conversation had taken an unexpected turn and Erica didn’t know how to respond. She understood that Peter wanted the best for his current wife, but the way he was talking about the house confused her. It had never been theirs. She’d been the one to buy it and she’d been the one to arrange for it to be taken care of. Peter had shown no interest in repairs or maintenance. He’d come and gone with the ease of a man living in a hotel.
“Peter, what happened? Why are you here?”
He tensed at the question, looking around, as if expecting to see someone nearby, listening. “I’m not going to talk about that. They’re probably recording this conversation.”
Could they do that? Was it legal? She had no idea and that wasn’t the point. “The charges against you are serious. Allison isn’t sure you even have a lawyer yet. You need a lawyer.”
“I have the newly minted court-appointed lawyer for now, but I’m working on getting someone decent. Once I figure out who, everything will change.”
She had her doubts. “You threatened police with a gun. I didn’t know you owned a gun.”
“Just for work stuff.”
“You’re an accountant! Why would you need a gun?”
He looked at her. “Please lower your voice.”
There was something in his tone. More than a request—almost a demand. But Peter never demanded anything. He went along to get along. He never got that involved. His easygoing nature had been such a contrast to her drive and she’d liked that. She’d thought he would help her get more balance in her life and she thought she would... Well, looking back she wasn’t sure what she thought she brought to the table.
Her determination? Her success? With a little perspective, she saw that he’d admired both of those until he hadn’t. That the very thing that had drawn him to her had ended up pushing him away. Or maybe she was fooling herself. Maybe she’d fallen for a charming, slightly awkward but sweet facade. Maybe it had all been an act, a way to access a very nice life.
Yes, they’d been divorced for over four years now, but she had a feeling the reason she didn’t know him now was because she never had.
“Have they set bail?”
His gaze slid to the floor. “It’s a million dollars.”
“What?” Her voice was a shriek. “That’s insane. So you need to come up with what? Ten percent, so a hundred thousand. Why is it so high?”
“They want to make sure I cooperate. I’d need a guarantor. For the million. So ten percent in cash or property and a guarantor.”
The hundred thousand was bad enough but finding someone to guarantee the million dollars? “I don’t know how that’s going to happen. Your business is basically shut down. Once the police trashed it, everyone quit but Hillary.”
He frowned. “Gail quit?”
