Page 1 of More than a Memory
1
“Sometimes I hate my job,” Darcy thought dejectedly, as she laid out the photographs of a middle-aged man leaving a hotel room with a young blonde clinging to his arm. She patted her client’s back while watching her vacillate between cursing—“I knew it! That son-of-a-bitch!”—and then wailing—“What am I going to do?!”
As a self-employed private detective, Darcy knew this was part of the job even though she didn’t like it. Unfortunately, this type of case was much of her bread and butter. Darcy Morgan never regretted leaving the police force to go into the private sector, but the more interesting cases were few and far between. She had to admit to herself that she was an adrenalin junkie, which lent itself well to her chosen career. However, the already-oversized protective armor that she used to shield her heart was becoming thicker with every passing year. She knew she was more distrustful and cynical now than she had ever been, which did not enhance her love life at all.
Darcy liked to keep her relationships with men casual and uncomplicated. She wasn’t interested in intimacy or opening her heart again. She was completely happy to save the intimate chats for her friends and family. That prevented a lot of heartbreak, which she was unwilling to risk again. Men who got too close were quickly discarded. Her beauty and exuberant personality were sexy and attractive to men, but they were left bewildered when she pushed them away as soon as things seemed to be advancing or heating up.
More than one man had tried to pierce her armor and find out what made Darcy tick. So far, none had been successful. Since she had lost her fiancé, Ryan, a fellow cop and her partner, six years ago, she felt that the part of herself that could love a man that deeply had died with him. She would never subject herself to that level of vulnerability again.
At thirty-four, Darcy was comfortable living alone with her three mutts, pit rescues—Fannie, Freddie, and Mac—who were the biggest babies you would ever want to meet. They were devoted to her and she to them. They all piled up in bed together every night, so who could feel lonely?
She felt like she was living her best life. It just happened to be single, which seemed to be a problem for all who knew her. Her friends and family were continually trying to fix her up. They just couldn’t believe that a woman might actually be content and happy without a man. Listening to Susy, her client, sob, she knew that they were wrong.
“I did tell you before you hired me that you had to prepare yourself for a truth you might not be ready to accept,” Darcy counseled.
“I know,” Susy sniffled. “I knew in my core that he was cheating, but I still didn’t want to believe it.”
“We never do. It’s such a deep betrayal. I believe that lying is one of the cruelest forms of abuse. It makes you doubt your reality. Don’t let that happen here, Susy. You knew the truth deep inside, so you were well grounded. This is on him, not you,” Darcy said reassuringly.
“Thank you, Darcy. You’re the best. I’ll definitely recommend you to every one of my married friends,” Susy said naively.
“Don’t forget, I do other things besides bust cheating husbands,” Darcy reminded her.
“Oh, I know. I just want all of the cheaters to be called out,” Susy replied, showing some spunk and spirit.
“Well, here’s the file, along with my invoice. If you have any questions after reviewing it give me a call,” Darcy said, slipping the photographs inside and handing over a jumbo manila envelope stuffed full. Darcy was nothing if not thorough.
“Thank you again,” Susy said.
“If you want my advice, make sure you don’t confront him when you’re alone. You think you know someone, but you never really do. It’s hard to predict how a person will react under these circumstances. People can lose their minds when they get called out on their bad behavior. Promise me?” Darcy asked.
“Sure, I promise,” Susy replied.
Darcy got up and walked to the door, slightly depressed, as she usually was after an outcome like this one. Climbing into her large, white utility van was a stretch, even for her five-foot, six-inch frame. She held on to the bar and pulled herself into the bucket seat. Latching her seat belt, she turned on the ignition and headed for home.
Arriving at her house, she pulled the mail out of her roadside box and leafed through it before continuing down the drive. She noticed an envelope that appeared to be an invitation. Curious, she slid her finger under the seal and opened it before pulling into the garage. It was, in fact, an invitation to Allie and Zane’s wedding. This couple gave her hope. A happy ending for sure. Last year, she had been hired by Zane Dunn’s law firm to help them in a client’s criminal defense case. In the process, they had become friends.
Not that they had much time to get together. Allie and Zane were new parents, having welcomed a baby girl, Olivia, into their lives in the middle of July. She would be about two months old now Darcy estimated. The wedding was going to be held the second week of October at a small chapel down the road from their farm. They had rented the attached hall for the reception. There would be a buffet-style dinner, open bar, and live entertainment. It sounded like it was going to be a really fun day.
A quick memory of another guest, the handsome vet Sam Parker, flitted through Darcy’s mind. Remembering the chemistry between them that Thanksgiving at Allie’s house, she stopped to wonder if he would be at Allie and Zane’s wedding, too. Even though the night had ended without an opportunity to exchange contact information, there had been a strong attraction between herself and Sam that evening. She was pretty sure he would be there, since Allie’s best friend, Casey, was his older sister. The invitation stressed casual attire and no gifts. Less than four weeks from now. She couldn’t be happier for her friends. They were both great people and had suffered through losses and bad marriages, which only made them appreciate the gift of their love even more.
Darcy sighed. She and Ryan had had a love like that. She knew you were lucky if you experienced it once in a lifetime. She and Ryan’s story had been cut way too short, but she was grateful for every moment of it. Shaking off her melancholy, she used the remote to open the garage and pulled in next to her other vehicles. When she wasn’t using her van for surveillance and stakeouts, her primary mode of transportation was her motorcycle, whenever possible, and a VW Golf hatchback for everything else.
She entered through the back door of her sprawling ranch home, deactivating the alarm system as soon as she walked in. Her three excited canines greeted her, twisting their bodies into contortions with joy to see their person. Darcy sat on the ground and let them assail her with kisses. Laughing, she was completely pinned to the floor with their enthusiastic reception, “OK you guys, enough! Want to go outside?” she asked in an animated voice. This did the trick, as they raced to the door, allowing her to get up off the floor. She opened the door and they rushed out immediately to do their business. She had almost an acre of fenced-in yard for them to romp around in.
Darcy loved her home. It was large and spacious, around twenty-five hundred square feet, with three bedrooms, two full baths, a study/home office, and a full finished basement. It had an open-concept floor plan with the kitchen, dining, and living room all centralized. Everything was customized to her modern tastes. She had a woodburning fireplace, and the sliding glass doors leading to a patio area looked out over her partially wooded lot. She entertained outside and used the space like an additional room all summer long. Friends had helped her landscape to create a stunning backyard display of perennials that flowered spring, summer, and fall.
Her master suite was large, with a connecting full bath, complete with a Jacuzzi tub and a separate granite-tiled shower. The entire house, except for the bathrooms, was covered in cherry hardwood floors with various sized rugs scattered around. Of course, there were orthopedic dog beds strewn everywhere.
Darcy pulled up a stool and sat at the kitchen counter sorting through her mail. Fortunately, there were a couple of checks from clients for jobs completed and closed. Her clients paid a retainer fee at the time the contract was signed, but if her billable hours exceeded that amount, she often didn’t get paid the balance until the work was done. If she required more money to cover her out-of-pocket expenses during the investigation, she would collect it from her clients as needed. She always gave an estimate of what the costs would be, but there were often unforeseen expenses that could throw the quote off. A decision on a payment plan was usually made at the beginning of an agreement. If a job was going to be drawn-out, requiring lots of her time, she billed monthly.
Darcy had found that the more assertive and clear she was at the beginning, the better the odds she would get paid. She had learned the hard way that it was part of the job to make sure her clients accepted their responsibility for paying her. Mostly, it hadn’t been an issue, but there had been a learning curve for sure. Generally, people were grateful to her and knew she was competent, thorough, and reasonably priced.
“Well, kids,” Darcy said, as they all looked up at her, wagging their tails in sync with big pit smiles, “Ready for dinner?”
Mac barked his concurrence. Fannie and Freddie got up and started wrestling, showing off for their mama. “OK already! No wrestling in the house, you two,” she said affectionately. There were very few rules and, frankly, they didn’t need them. They were great dogs with fun-loving personalities.
Scooping three portions of kibble into their individual bowls, Darcy added some ground beef she had heated in the microwave and a little water and stirred. She set their dishes on the floor and they quickly licked them clean. They then had to inspect each other’s bowls to make sure they had all been served the same thing and that there was no morsel left behind.