Treacherous Secrets novel Chapter 26

"Hey," Harold yelled. "Don't be hitting my car."

"Sorry," Carol said. She turned back to Janice and Barbara. "That son-of-a-bitch was playing me all along. I can't believe I was so stupid. I hurt Emily and Damon, not that I give a rat's ass about hurting Damon now. But, if he hadn't been cheating too, I would have hurt both of them over Kenton's stupid lies."

Janice nodded knowingly. "It happens to a lot of women, Mrs. Butler. I wonder when exactly his affair started with your husband."

Carol thought back over the year before she started sleeping with Kenton. Damon had become more distant after he met Kenton. "You know, Damon was never really big on sex. I mean it was okay and had been pretty regular up until Damon started working for Morgan Chase. After that, sex was less frequent because he was gone all the time or too tired when he was home. That was about a year before Kenton and I started."

"Hmm," Janice said. "Isn't that interesting?"

Emily was looking out over the hotel pool from her room where she had been staying since the day before Kenton was killed. The police had released the house a few days after Kenton's death but she wasn't sure if she would be able to live in the house again. She knew that every time she walked out on the patio, she would see Kenton's body and the blood in the pool. She wasn't sure what she was going to do, but she knew she would have to figure something out soon.

She was going back to the house today to get clean clothes and to pick out something to wear to the funeral home. Mario and Sonja were supposed to come by in a little while. She would get them to go to the house with her, and then it might not seem so horrifying.

Mario and Sonja had been at the hotel with her every day trying to help her deal with making plans for Kenton's funeral. Kenton had been an only child and his parents were traveling in Europe. She had been trying to get hold of them, but apparently their cell phones weren't working wherever they were. She refused to leave a message telling them that Kenton was dead. She just said that there was an emergency and that they needed to contact her right away.

Emily's phone buzzed. She expected it to be Sonja, but it was Kim. Kim had called daily to check on her. She was fast becoming a good friend. "Hey," Kim said cheerfully.

"Good morning," Emily said.

"How are you holding up this morning?"

"Pretty good. I'm going to the house later to get clothes and see how I feel about being there."

"I can't imagine how weird that will be," Kim said. "How long are you going to be there?"

"I'm not sure," Emily admitted. She wasn't sure how long she would be able to deal with being there.

"Ashley called me late last night and told me that Damon left Atlanta without a word to anyone. She said Walter had somehow gotten a copy of the police report and was furious when he found out that Kenton was having an affair with Carol and Damon."

"I bet. He's a pretty big homophobe. I was surprised he let Damon bring Ashley in on the deal," Emily said.

There was a knock at the door. Emily got up and went to the door. "Who is it?"

"It's me," Mario called.

She opened the door and Mario was standing there with Sonja. She was holding a platter with breakfast burritos and Mario was holding a cup holder with three cups of coffee in it.

"My heroes," Emily said and opened the door wider to let them in.

Sonja took the burritos to the table and put them on the plates she had in a bag. Mario put the cups on the table and threw away the carrier. He gently squeezed Emily's shoulder as he moved past her to sit at the table next to her.

She smiled warmly at him. They were becoming closer by the day. With Kenton gone, there was nothing to stop her from wanting to be with Mario. The biggest problem was the investigation into the murder. She didn't want them to jump right into a relationship and give the police any more reason to suspect that they were the murderers. Even though the hotel manager and the hotel videos provided proof that she and Mario had been here all night that night, Emily didn't want to take any chances. She wanted them to find the real killer and for this whole thing to be over with. Sunday she would bury Kenton, and then hopefully they could move on with their lives.

"I think the police are just about done with the house," Sonja said, putting a small tub of salsa on the table.

"They are. Detective Carter called and said they had released the house," Emily said. She poured some salsa over her burrito and took one of the forks Sonja had put out and cut a bite off the burrito. She moaned and said, "God, I have been missing your cooking so much."