The Wife Stalker(35)
She shook her head. “I hope you have a good attorney who can help you navigate this.”
I nodded. “My friend Janice, the lawyer I told you about, is helping me, but Leo’s connected in the legal community. Don’t forget that. I’m sure Piper is whispering in his ear at night. She’s Lady Macbeth.” I sighed heavily, the emotion settling in my chest. “I didn’t mean to hit Stelli. I barely tapped him. I was already so wound up that day about the wedding and then got so rattled when that truck almost hit him.” I took a breath, trying to keep from crying.
“Don’t believe anyone who tells you family court is fair. It takes weeks to get a court date, and if you get the wrong judge, you’re screwed. Leo is a brilliant litigator, and Janice is no match for him, but at least I know she’s on my side. I’d be afraid to hire anyone he knows in case they were biased toward him, even subconsciously.”
“I see,” Celeste said, and then was quiet for a moment, as if considering what I’d just told her. “So have you thought any further about what your next steps might be?”
“I have to find character witnesses to testify that I’ve never done anything like this before. The irony is, I’m worried that Piper is the one who’s a danger to the children.”
Celeste frowned. “I understand that you’re upset and looking for a way out, but that’s fantastical thinking. You have no basis for that.”
“Actually, I do.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Which is?”
“I finally spoke to Ava Dunn. She sent me pictures of her husband’s wife, Pamela.” I pulled out my phone and handed it to Celeste. On the screen was a photograph of a slender woman standing on the beach and dressed in white shorts and a cropped black T-shirt. “Look—it’s Piper, only with black hair. I’m flying out to California and meeting with Ava tomorrow.”
“What do you hope to gain by that, Joanna? So what if she was married before—lots of people have been. It has nothing to do with her marriage to Leo.”
“But it does, it does. Ava’s ex-husband and daughter died in a sailing accident. Piper was with them, and she was unharmed. Ava thinks she was responsible for both of their deaths.”
I leaned back and waited for Celeste to digest this.
“I understand that the fact that Piper must have changed her name is alarming,” she said with a sigh. “But I think you need to tread carefully, Joanna. You don’t know anything about this woman or what happened. Accidents happen every day. It’s a big leap to assume that Piper is a murderer.”
I was becoming exasperated with Celeste’s inability to grasp the obvious. “But if she is, I can’t just sit back and wait until she hurts my children. I need to find out what happened to her husband and stepdaughter.”
“Joanna”—her voice held a warning tone—“if you’re not supposed to be around the children, and you are, you could lose them forever. Don’t give up what you really want just to prove a point.”
I clenched my jaw. “That’s not it at all. Call it mother’s intuition, but something’s off about that woman, and I won’t let her hurt my babies.”
“I understand.” She paused, and I swear, I could see her figuring out how to change the subject. “What about your mother? How are you going to do this while taking care of her?”
“Mom’s walking now and almost healed,” I told her. “She wasn’t happy about my trip, but nothing is going to get in the way of my doing whatever is necessary to protect my family.”
25
Piper
Piper leaned in closer to the bathroom mirror. Damn it. Where had that spot come from? There was a big red blotch on her beige linen blouse. She thought back to the last time she’d worn it—picking the kids up from a birthday party—and remembered the sticky lollipop Stelli had been holding as he got into the car. It must have somehow rubbed against her as she helped buckle him in. She took a deep breath and told herself that it was okay to feel annoyance, that it would pass. She was new to this mothering thing, and she needed to be kind to herself, to give herself time to figure it all out. Wasn’t that what she told her clients? Piper pulled out a different top from the master bedroom closet, relieved again that Leo had cleared it out for her before she’d moved in. She’d take the beige blouse to the dry cleaner’s later.
It was pajama day at school, and she’d volunteered to take the kids, but Stelli had looked less than thrilled at the prospect. Leo and Piper had been married for two weeks, so it was natural that the children still hadn’t fully accepted her. Of course, they still wanted their mother, not her. And despite Leo’s long talks with the children about how the four of them were a family now, she could see the skepticism in both their eyes.
She went to the kitchen to make them breakfast, but Rebecca had beaten her to it. A sumptuous feast of homemade waffles and whipped cream, bacon, and coffee cake was displayed on platters. She resisted the urge to point out that these weren’t the healthiest of foods with which to start the day, and she said good morning and made herself a cup of coffee instead. She’d be making changes to their diet soon enough.
“Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer it if I took the children to school?” Rebecca asked her.