Fidelity (Infidelity #5)(51)

“What?” Nox and I said together.

“It’s part of the Infidelity agreement. If Chelsea makes a statement against him that includes Infidelity, it will null and void her agreement and risk exposing Infidelity. She can report him to the company, but she can’t break the nondisclosure or confidentiality portion of her agreement. If she abides by it, Infidelity will pay its full one-year obligation.”

“B-but you said we were going to Savannah to make statements,” Chelsea said, looking up at me.

“I thought we were.”

We all looked to Deloris. “Now that they know the time of death, they’ll want to know where you both were on Saturday. Were you in contact with him? Did you ever see Melissa during the months you lived at Carmichael Hall?”

“I didn’t,” Chelsea said. “I never saw her. Oh God. The place is big, not as big as Montague, but there are other buildings, places I never went.” Chelsea turned to me. “Do you really think he had her there all those months?”

We both knew the answer. He’d made it perfectly clear that he intended to keep the two of us. We just hadn’t realized he’d not only had two, but three women at his disposal.

“Can I answer those questions? Will it hurt Infidelity?”

“You can. You can do whatever you want. I would suggest you do only that. Answer the questions. Don’t make accusations. Answer questions in regard to Saturday, to Mr. Spencer in general. Avoid the nature of your relationship from a legal perspective. Speak about it in general emotional terms.”

Chelsea’s hand moved to her battered cheek. “But they’ll see.”

Deloris nodded. “Which could be the nail in his coffin. Pictures speak louder than words.”

“What about me?” I asked.

“Technically, you don’t have to make a statement. A wife can’t be made to testify against her husband.”

My gaze met Nox’s as the small hairs on the back of my neck stood to attention. “I’m not married.”

“Then that’s where we need to start. I believe we have proof that the marriage is illegal, at the very least that it was signed without the knowledge of either of you, thus fraudulently.” She shrugged. “However, there is the slight problem that our proof was not legally obtained.”

“What proof?”

“I bugged your phone.”

My nose scrunched. “My phone? The one Alton gave me? How?”

Oh, shit. I still need to find it.

Deloris tilted her head. “The how isn’t as important as the audible recordings. Saturday morning Edward Spencer called you. I recently replayed the conversation.”

“That would have been before he…” It was hard to say it out loud, to say before he killed Melissa.

“During the call,” she went on, “Mr. Spencer specifically states that the two of you are going to be married. He doesn’t say that you’re already married.”

“That’s right! Can the recording help?”

“Not in a court of law. In the state of Georgia they’re only admissible if one of the two parties is aware of the wiretap.”

“I could say I knew.”

Deloris shook her head. “I’d rather not. However, I suspect we can stop this farce from ever getting that far. I can send the recording to Fitzgerald’s attorney. It will show him that we have evidence to fight the claim. That should help as well as a few other loopholes.”

Oren repeated, “Loopholes?”

Silvia laid a phone on the table. Though it wasn’t making noise, the screen was bright. “It’s the house phone,” she said, explaining how it was attached to her cell phone. “The caller ID only says Georgia.”

At first no one responded. How many times would it ring?

Finally, Oren nodded to Silvia, who connected the call.

“Hello?”

We all hung on each of Silvia’s responses.

“Yes.”

Her eyes darted to my mother. “Mrs. Fitzgerald?”

Momma’s head moved back and forth.

“I’ll talk to them,” I volunteered. Deloris had already said they’d tracked me down.

“No,” Nox said. “Give me the phone.”

Silvia asked the person to please hold before she pushed something on the screen. “It’s a Ralph Porter, representing Alton Fitzgerald. He’s looking for…” She bobbed her head toward Momma. “…Mrs. Fitzgerald.”

Nox reached for the phone. “This is Mr. Demetri.”

A familiar concoction of anger and fear stewed inside me, simmering below the surface.

“If we hear from her, we’ll let you know… Yes…” He looked at me. “…Miss Collins is here.” The way he emphasized my name made me worry Ralph had referred to me as Spencer again. “No, she’s unavailable at this time… I’m not sure. Perhaps you could try again tomorrow?… We’ll be looking forward to that… Yes, I understand you’re concerned. I hope you locate her soon… Goodbye.” Nox handed the phone back to Silvia.

“Even after we’re gone, if they call, only say that we’re unavailable.” He turned to my mother. “No one will give up your location until you’re ready.”