Part 18
Cassy stood on the beach and watched the water. There was a cool breeze
coming off of the ocean.
"Cass?" She turned around and saw Tom and Denise Tucker standing there.
Denise stepped forward. "Hello Cassy. It's been a long time."
"Yeah. How have you been?"
"Good. You?" Cassy looked at her old friend. She hadn't changed much.
"Pretty good. I was surprised to hear from Tom this morning. He said the
two of you need to talk to me."
"We do. Do you still work for Dr. Sanchez?" Tom asked.
"Sometimes. When she joined a practice with four other Ob-Gyns, I went with
her. I work with all five doctors."
"Do you know if she knows a Dr. Brian Reed of the Anderson Reed Clinic?"
Tom asked.
"Professionally, I guess. I don't think she is too fond of him."
"Why?"
"It was just a rumor, but I heard that he came on to an employee she had
recommended to him."
Cassy's could barely keep the interest out of her voice. "Oh really? Who
was this employee?"
"Of course it was just a rumor, but we heard it was this pretty young girl
named Greer Garnett."
"So Dr. Reed hit on this Greer Garnett?"
"So say the rumors. Another rumor was that Greer was having an affair with
Dr. Reed and his wife killed her. You did know she was dead?"
"Yes, we heard that," Cassy replied.
"Do you know if Greer had any friends?" Tom asked.
"Not really. She mostly kept to herself. I always thought she was very
shy, but a few weeks after she took the job with Dr. Reed I ran into her at
the drugstore. I said hello to her and she just froze. She stared at me for
the longest moment and then fled the store. The next thing I heard, she was
dead."
"How long after Greer went to work for Dr. Reed did the rumors about the
affair begin?"
"A couple of weeks. Apparently Mrs. Reed caught Greer and her husband
in the office basement." She looked at her watch. "I've got to be getting
out of here soon. Dr. Sanchez has a C-section scheduled and I'm assisting. A
nurse's job is never done."
"The same could be said about a cop." Tom leaned over and hugged Denise.
"Well, it was great seeing you again."
"You too. Call me if you have any more questions." She smiled and then
looked over at Cassy. "Could you give Cassy and me a few moments alone?"
Tom looked at Cassy but her face revealed nothing.
"Sure." He walked over to the water.
"Tom told me you know about what happened."
"Look, Den, there really is no reason to go into this. What happened
happened. It's in the past."
"No, it's not. Not when you can look at me and see someone who betrayed
your trust by sleeping with your husband."
"Ex-husband," Cassy stated.
"Maybe on paper, but not in your heart. I want you to know that I did not
go over there that day to seduce Tom."
"Why did you go over there?"
"Because he was my friend and I know the pain a divorce can cause."
"You and I were best friends before I ever met Tom. Why didn't you offer me
some of your support?"
"I tried, Cassy. Many times in fact, but you wouldn't listen."
"No, you tried to tell me I was making a mistake. That's not being
supportive."
Denise sighed. "There is just so many times a friend can hear 'Leave me
alone' before she gets the hint. At the courthouse I asked you if you
needed a shoulder to cry on or someone to talk to and you told me you had
plans for the evening. I couldn't understand how a kind and carrying person
I knew so well could break the heart of a great guy and then go out and
celebrate. I thought I knew you."
"If you knew me at all then you would have seen through me and realized how
miserable I was. While you were sleeping with my new ex-husband, I was
having a sob fest, in my home, in my bed, all alone."
"You didn't go out?"
"No. I didn't leave the house for the next two days."
"I had no idea."
"If you had known, would you still have slept with Tom?"
Denise turned her back to Cassy and watched the water. "You still think I
went over there to seduce him, don't you?"
"You didn't answer the question."
"You were my best friend. I loved you. I would never do anything to hurt
you." She turned back around and faced Cassy. "I went over there to make
sure that Tom was going to be all right. You wouldn't let me help you so I
tried to help Tom. He didn't seduce me and I didn't seduce him. It just
happened. Hasn't anything ever happened to you that just happened without any outside forces?"
Cassy couldn't disagree with that.
"Why didn't you tell me this before? You've had five years."
"At first, it was because I felt I had betrayed you. I couldn't face you.
In the time since, I have thought about contacting you, especially after
I'd see a case you solved in the paper, but I couldn't do it. And then Tom
calls me and asks to meet the two of you here and I couldn't put it off anymore.
Since you knew, I wanted you to hear my side."
They both could see Tom watching the waves carry in a couple of surfers.
"I hope one day you can understand what happened and we can be friends
again. I've missed you, Cassy."
Denise started to walk away.
"How about lunch next week?"
She looked back with a big smile.
"Sounds great. Call me."
Cassy watched as she got in her car and drove off.
"Well?" Tom had appeared beside her.
"'Well' what?"
"Are we all friends again?
"She and I are, but if I find out you slept with any more of my friends,
during or post marriage, I'm going to give you your very own at-home-
vasectomy. Got it Ryan?"
"You know what? You look like you could use a little cooling off." He swung
her off her feet and headed towards the water listening to her yelling and
laughing.
To Part 19