Travis drove back to the sheriff's substation with Rebecca Hale following in her own car.<\/p>\n
He obeyed every speed limit.<\/p>\n
That required conscious effort.<\/p>\n
A forged signature changed the shape of the problem.<\/p>\n
Until that call, Travis could still imagine Bethany making reckless decisions in the collapse of a marriage. Moving Kurt in was betrayal. Withdrawing Kaylee without telling him was frightening. Lying about a relocation was worse.<\/p>\n
Forgery suggested preparation.<\/p>\n
Somebody had expected Travis to return and challenge what he found.<\/p>\n
Miller met them in an interview room.<\/p>\n
A photocopy lay on the table.<\/p>\n
Hale stopped Travis before he touched it.<\/p>\n
"Read first."<\/p>\n
He did.<\/p>\n
RESIDENTIAL LEASE AGREEMENT.<\/p>\n
The property address was correct.<\/p>\n
Kurt's full name appeared as tenant.<\/p>\n
The term was twelve months.<\/p>\n
The rent was absurdly low.<\/p>\n
At the bottom appeared a signature that looked, at first glance, like Travis's.<\/p>\n
His stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
"That's pretty good," he said.<\/p>\n
Miller nodded.<\/p>\n
"You didn't sign it?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
Hale studied the page.<\/p>\n
"Don't say anything else about handwriting yet."<\/p>\n
Travis looked at her.<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
"Because 'looks like mine' and 'is mine' are different statements."<\/p>\n
She turned the photocopy toward the window.<\/p>\n
"Where's the original?"<\/p>\n
"Kurt has it."<\/p>\n
"Of course."<\/p>\n
Miller sat across from them.<\/p>\n
"He says Sergeant Hale\u2014"<\/p>\n
"Travis," Hale corrected. "I'm Hale."<\/p>\n
Miller grimaced.<\/p>\n
"Long morning."<\/p>\n
"Apparently."<\/p>\n
"He says Travis leased him the house before leaving."<\/p>\n
"When?"<\/p>\n
Miller pointed.<\/p>\n
Travis read the date.<\/p>\n
His anger abruptly disappeared.<\/p>\n
Not faded.<\/p>\n
Disappeared.<\/p>\n
He stared at the line.<\/p>\n
Then he laughed once.<\/p>\n
Miller frowned.<\/p>\n
"Something funny?"<\/p>\n
"Yeah."<\/p>\n
Hale followed his finger.<\/p>\n
The lease was dated during a period when Travis had been physically at Fort Sill.<\/p>\n
That alone did not prove much. Documents could be signed remotely.<\/p>\n
But Travis remembered that particular date.<\/p>\n
"I was in the field."<\/p>\n
Miller waited.<\/p>\n
"No phone. No personal computer. Nothing."<\/p>\n
"Can you prove it?"<\/p>\n
Travis looked at him.<\/p>\n
"I'm Army."<\/p>\n
Hale understood first.<\/p>\n
"Records."<\/p>\n
"Everything."<\/p>\n
Miller leaned forward.<\/p>\n
"Would there be proof you couldn't have signed this?"<\/p>\n
"There'll be duty records proving where I was."<\/p>\n
Hale tapped the page.<\/p>\n
"Still not enough by itself. He could claim it was prepared earlier."<\/p>\n
Travis nodded.<\/p>\n
Then something else caught his attention.<\/p>\n
The signature.<\/p>\n
He leaned closer.<\/p>\n
His first name had a long tail on the final letter.<\/p>\n
Travis did sometimes sign that way.<\/p>\n
But not on legal documents.<\/p>\n
His father had trained that habit out of him when he bought the house.<\/p>\n
Formal documents got his full middle initial.<\/p>\n
Always.<\/p>\n
This one did not.<\/p>\n
Hale noticed where he was looking.<\/p>\n
"What?"<\/p>\n
"My middle initial."<\/p>\n
"Missing?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"Do you always use it?"<\/p>\n
"On legal paperwork."<\/p>\n
"Always is a dangerous word."<\/p>\n
"My father will have twenty years of examples."<\/p>\n
Miller sat back.<\/p>\n
"So you think it's forged."<\/p>\n
"I know I didn't sign it."<\/p>\n
That was the answer Hale wanted.<\/p>\n
She nodded once.<\/p>\n
"Good."<\/p>\n
Miller explained that Kurt's complaint had created its own problem. Kurt claimed he was legally occupying the property and that Travis's appearances constituted intimidation.<\/p>\n
"Did he mention Bethany?" Travis asked.<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"As what?"<\/p>\n
Miller consulted his notes.<\/p>\n
"Property manager."<\/p>\n
Travis looked at Hale.<\/p>\n
She looked equally puzzled.<\/p>\n
"Property manager?" she repeated.<\/p>\n
"That's what he said."<\/p>\n
"Not wife?"<\/p>\n
"He knows she's married."<\/p>\n
"Did he say Travis authorized her?"<\/p>\n
"Claims the lease proves it."<\/p>\n
Hale requested a copy.<\/p>\n
Miller provided one.<\/p>\n
Travis's phone vibrated.<\/p>\n
Bethany.<\/p>\n
He showed Hale.<\/p>\n
"Answer."<\/p>\n
Travis put the phone to his ear.<\/p>\n
"Hello."<\/p>\n
"Where are you?"<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
"Just answer."<\/p>\n
"With my attorney."<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then Bethany whispered something Travis could not understand.<\/p>\n
"What?"<\/p>\n
"Did Kurt go to the police?"<\/p>\n
Travis looked at Miller.<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
Bethany inhaled sharply.<\/p>\n
"What did he give them?"<\/p>\n
"Why don't you tell me?"<\/p>\n
"Travis."<\/p>\n
"The lease?"<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
"You know about it."<\/p>\n
"I can explain."<\/p>\n
"Good."<\/p>\n
"Not there."<\/p>\n
"Where?"<\/p>\n
"Do you remember the fishing access past Mill Creek?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"Twenty minutes."<\/p>\n
Hale shook her head.<\/p>\n
Travis understood.<\/p>\n
"Public place."<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Bethany."<\/p>\n
"He checks."<\/p>\n
Travis stopped breathing for a beat.<\/p>\n
"Checks what?"<\/p>\n
"My car."<\/p>\n
Miller was watching him now.<\/p>\n
"So leave it."<\/p>\n
"I can't."<\/p>\n
"Bethany, are you in danger?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
Again, too fast.<\/p>\n
"Is Kaylee?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Where is she right now?"<\/p>\n
"Melissa's."<\/p>\n
"Give me the address."<\/p>\n
"I will."<\/p>\n
Travis stood.<\/p>\n
Hale silently mouthed: public.<\/p>\n
"Meet me at the diner on Range Line."<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Police station."<\/p>\n
"Absolutely not."<\/p>\n
"Then somewhere with people."<\/p>\n
Bethany's voice became thin.<\/p>\n
"You don't understand."<\/p>\n
"You're right. I don't."<\/p>\n
A long silence.<\/p>\n
Finally:<\/p>\n
"Old laundromat by the interstate."<\/p>\n
Travis knew it. Glass frontage. Twenty-four hours. Cameras.<\/p>\n
"Thirty minutes."<\/p>\n
"Come alone."<\/p>\n
He looked at Hale.<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Travis."<\/p>\n
"My attorney comes."<\/p>\n
"Then I'm not coming."<\/p>\n
"Bethany\u2014"<\/p>\n
The call disconnected.<\/p>\n
Travis lowered the phone.<\/p>\n
Miller scratched his jaw.<\/p>\n
"That sounded healthy."<\/p>\n
Hale ignored him.<\/p>\n
"She's frightened."<\/p>\n
"Of Kurt?"<\/p>\n
"Possibly."<\/p>\n
"Then why leave our daughter with Melissa?"<\/p>\n
"You're assuming the fear and the child are connected."<\/p>\n
Travis hated how lawyers could turn one frightening possibility into six.<\/p>\n
"What do we do?"<\/p>\n
"We don't improvise."<\/p>\n
Hale asked Miller whether a deputy could be nearby without appearing to escort Travis.<\/p>\n
Miller hesitated.<\/p>\n
"This isn't a sting operation."<\/p>\n
"No. It's a potentially frightened woman asking to meet her husband away from a man who may have presented forged paperwork."<\/p>\n
That phrasing worked better.<\/p>\n
Miller agreed to have a unit in the area.<\/p>\n
Hale insisted she would come but remain out of sight unless needed.<\/p>\n
Thirty-two minutes later, Travis parked outside the laundromat.<\/p>\n
Rows of fluorescent lights glowed behind the windows.<\/p>\n
Only two customers were inside: an elderly man reading a newspaper beside the dryers and a woman loading children's clothes into a washer.<\/p>\n
Travis chose a plastic chair facing the door.<\/p>\n
He waited.<\/p>\n
Five minutes.<\/p>\n
Ten.<\/p>\n
At twelve minutes, Bethany's sedan appeared.<\/p>\n
She parked far from the entrance.<\/p>\n
Bethany entered carrying a purse pressed against her side.<\/p>\n
She looked thinner than Travis remembered.<\/p>\n
She sat opposite him.<\/p>\n
Neither spoke immediately.<\/p>\n
Washers churned behind them.<\/p>\n
Finally Travis said, "Where's Kaylee?"<\/p>\n
Bethany pulled a folded piece of paper from her purse.<\/p>\n
She slid it across the small table.<\/p>\n
An address near Joplin.<\/p>\n
"Melissa?"<\/p>\n
Bethany nodded.<\/p>\n
"Thank you."<\/p>\n
Travis photographed it and sent it to Hale.<\/p>\n
Bethany flinched.<\/p>\n
"Who did you send that to?"<\/p>\n
"My lawyer."<\/p>\n
"You promised\u2014"<\/p>\n
"I promised nothing."<\/p>\n
Her hands shook.<\/p>\n
Travis lowered his voice.<\/p>\n
"Tell me about the lease."<\/p>\n
Bethany stared at a spinning dryer.<\/p>\n
"I signed your name."<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
Travis had expected the answer.<\/p>\n
Hearing it still hurt.<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
"Kurt said it didn't matter."<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
"He said because we were married, I could handle the property while you were gone."<\/p>\n
"Why did Kurt need a lease?"<\/p>\n
Bethany swallowed.<\/p>\n
"He said he needed proof of residence."<\/p>\n
"For what?"<\/p>\n
"Work."<\/p>\n
"What work?"<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
"Bethany."<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
Travis watched her.<\/p>\n
"You moved a man into my house and signed my name onto a twelve-month lease without knowing why he needed it?"<\/p>\n
Her eyes flashed.<\/p>\n
"It wasn't like that at first."<\/p>\n
"Then what was it like?"<\/p>\n
"He helped me."<\/p>\n
"With what?"<\/p>\n
"Everything."<\/p>\n
Travis waited.<\/p>\n
Bethany rubbed both hands over her face.<\/p>\n
"You were gone. Kaylee kept getting sick. The water heater failed. I missed work. Then the car transmission went. Every time I called you, you were busy or couldn't leave."<\/p>\n
Travis remembered those calls.<\/p>\n
He remembered sending money.<\/p>\n
He also remembered assuming money solved what his absence created.<\/p>\n
"Kurt was around," she continued. "He fixed things. Picked up groceries. Watched Kaylee once when I couldn't get out of work."<\/p>\n
Travis's jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
"Did he hurt her?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Are you sure?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
That answer came without hesitation.<\/p>\n
Travis believed it more than the others.<\/p>\n
"When did the affair start?"<\/p>\n
Bethany looked away.<\/p>\n
"Does it matter?"<\/p>\n
"Not today."<\/p>\n
That surprised her.<\/p>\n
He continued.<\/p>\n
"Why did you withdraw Kaylee?"<\/p>\n
"Kurt said if we were separating, we needed a clean break."<\/p>\n
"Kurt said."<\/p>\n
"I know how it sounds."<\/p>\n
"Do you?"<\/p>\n
She looked at him sharply.<\/p>\n
"I screwed up, Travis."<\/p>\n
"That's one description."<\/p>\n
"I thought you weren't coming back."<\/p>\n
"I told you the date."<\/p>\n
"You changed dates before."<\/p>\n
"By days."<\/p>\n
"I know."<\/p>\n
"Not forever."<\/p>\n
"I know."<\/p>\n
Her voice cracked.<\/p>\n
Travis resisted the instinct to comfort her.<\/p>\n
"Why did you tell the daycare we were moving?"<\/p>\n
"Because I didn't want questions."<\/p>\n
"Why Joplin?"<\/p>\n
"Melissa."<\/p>\n
"Why send Kaylee there?"<\/p>\n
Bethany stared at him.<\/p>\n
"Because Kurt wanted her gone."<\/p>\n
The machines behind Travis seemed suddenly louder.<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
"He said we needed time alone."<\/p>\n
"That's not an answer."<\/p>\n
"I know."<\/p>\n
"Why did you agree?"<\/p>\n
Bethany's eyes filled.<\/p>\n
"Because by then I was scared to disagree."<\/p>\n
Travis leaned forward.<\/p>\n
"Did he threaten you?"<\/p>\n
"Not exactly."<\/p>\n
"What exactly?"<\/p>\n
"He started controlling things."<\/p>\n
"Money?"<\/p>\n
"Some."<\/p>\n
"Phone?"<\/p>\n
"Sometimes."<\/p>\n
"Car?"<\/p>\n
"He tracks the mileage."<\/p>\n
Travis remembered the call.<\/p>\n
He checks.<\/p>\n
"Has he hit you?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Kaylee?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Threatened either of you?"<\/p>\n
Bethany hesitated.<\/p>\n
That was enough.<\/p>\n
"What did he say?"<\/p>\n
"He said if I made trouble, he'd make sure you found out everything in the worst possible way."<\/p>\n
Travis almost laughed from disbelief.<\/p>\n
"I came home and found him wearing my bathrobe."<\/p>\n
"I know."<\/p>\n
"How much worse was he planning?"<\/p>\n
Bethany gave a broken half-smile that disappeared immediately.<\/p>\n
Then her expression changed.<\/p>\n
She was looking through the front windows.<\/p>\n
Travis followed her gaze.<\/p>\n
The black Ram had entered the parking lot.<\/p>\n
Bethany went white.<\/p>\n
"How did he find you?"<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
The Ram stopped behind Bethany's sedan, blocking it in.<\/p>\n
Kurt stepped out.<\/p>\n
He was dressed now.<\/p>\n
Jeans. Boots. Dark T-shirt.<\/p>\n
No robe.<\/p>\n
His expression was nothing like the provocative confidence Travis had seen on the porch.<\/p>\n
This was colder.<\/p>\n
Bethany stood.<\/p>\n
"Don't."<\/p>\n
Travis remained seated.<\/p>\n
"Sit down."<\/p>\n
"He's going to lose it."<\/p>\n
"Sit."<\/p>\n
Kurt crossed the parking lot.<\/p>\n
Travis saw Hale's car at the far end of the service road.<\/p>\n
He also saw another vehicle pull slowly from behind the gas station.<\/p>\n
Miller had kept his word.<\/p>\n
Kurt entered.<\/p>\n
The bell above the laundromat door gave a ridiculous cheerful jingle.<\/p>\n
The elderly man lowered his newspaper.<\/p>\n
Kurt stopped several feet from the table.<\/p>\n
"Beth."<\/p>\n
She said nothing.<\/p>\n
"I've been calling."<\/p>\n
"My phone's off."<\/p>\n
"I noticed."<\/p>\n
Kurt looked at Travis.<\/p>\n
"You just can't leave things alone."<\/p>\n
Travis's voice stayed level.<\/p>\n
"Apparently not."<\/p>\n
"You think bringing lawyers and cops into this helps?"<\/p>\n
"I didn't forge a lease."<\/p>\n
Kurt's eyes shifted toward Bethany.<\/p>\n
"You told him?"<\/p>\n
She folded her arms tightly.<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
Something ugly passed across Kurt's face.<\/p>\n
Travis saw it.<\/p>\n
So did the woman at the washing machine.<\/p>\n
Kurt stepped toward Bethany.<\/p>\n
Travis rose.<\/p>\n
He did not move forward.<\/p>\n
He simply stood.<\/p>\n
Kurt stopped.<\/p>\n
For several seconds they faced each other.<\/p>\n
Then Travis asked the question that had been bothering him since Miller's phone call.<\/p>\n
"If Bethany forged my signature, why did you take the lease to the sheriff?"<\/p>\n
Kurt's expression changed.<\/p>\n
Tiny.<\/p>\n
But enough.<\/p>\n
Travis continued.<\/p>\n
"You knew it wasn't mine."<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"You knew."<\/p>\n
"Prove it."<\/p>\n
That answer came automatically.<\/p>\n
Not I didn't know.<\/p>\n
Prove it.<\/p>\n
Travis heard the difference.<\/p>\n
So did Hale, apparently, because she emerged from her car outside.<\/p>\n
Kurt saw her.<\/p>\n
Then he noticed the deputy's vehicle approaching from the service road.<\/p>\n
His confidence fractured.<\/p>\n
He turned toward Bethany.<\/p>\n
"You planned this."<\/p>\n
Bethany backed away.<\/p>\n
Kurt reached for her arm.<\/p>\n
Travis moved.<\/p>\n
He never got the chance to touch him.<\/p>\n
The laundromat door opened behind Kurt.<\/p>\n
"Hands where I can see them," Miller said.<\/p>\n
Kurt froze.<\/p>\n
His fingers were inches from Bethany's sleeve.<\/p>\n
Miller did not draw his weapon.<\/p>\n
He did not need to.<\/p>\n
"Step away."<\/p>\n
Kurt obeyed.<\/p>\n
Bethany started crying silently.<\/p>\n
Not dramatically. No sobs.<\/p>\n
Tears simply ran down her face while she stared at the floor.<\/p>\n
Miller positioned himself between them.<\/p>\n
Hale entered and walked directly to Travis.<\/p>\n
"Don't speak to him."<\/p>\n
Travis nodded.<\/p>\n
Kurt pointed toward Bethany.<\/p>\n
"She's lying."<\/p>\n
Hale said quietly, "Travis."<\/p>\n
He remained silent.<\/p>\n
"She signed it," Kurt continued. "Ask her."<\/p>\n
Nobody answered.<\/p>\n
"I didn't force her."<\/p>\n
Miller told him again to step back.<\/p>\n
Kurt looked around the laundromat and finally seemed to understand that every person there had witnessed his entrance.<\/p>\n
He gave Bethany one last stare.<\/p>\n
Then he left under Miller's watch.<\/p>\n
Travis remained where he was.<\/p>\n
His hands were shaking now.<\/p>\n
Bethany noticed.<\/p>\n
"I've never seen your hands shake."<\/p>\n
"Long drive."<\/p>\n
It was a poor joke.<\/p>\n
Neither smiled.<\/p>\n
Hale touched Travis's shoulder.<\/p>\n
"We need to go."<\/p>\n
Travis looked at Bethany.<\/p>\n
"Come with us."<\/p>\n
"I can't."<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
She wiped her face.<\/p>\n
"Because there's something else."<\/p>\n
Travis felt dread settle into him.<\/p>\n
"What?"<\/p>\n
Bethany opened her purse again.<\/p>\n
This time she removed an envelope.<\/p>\n
She handed it to him.<\/p>\n
Inside was a photocopy of another document.<\/p>\n
Travis read the first line.<\/p>\n
His own name appeared again.<\/p>\n
So did Kaylee's.<\/p>\n
He looked up.<\/p>\n
"What is this?"<\/p>\n
Bethany could barely meet his eyes.<\/p>\n
"Kurt had me sign more than the lease."<\/p>\n
Travis lowered his gaze to the document.<\/p>\n
Whatever he had believed he was fighting when he reached Missouri\u2014the house, the marriage, even access to Kaylee\u2014had just become secondary.<\/p>\n
Because beneath his forged signature was a declaration concerning his daughter.<\/p>\n
And unlike the lease, this one had already been filed.<\/p>\n
Travis drove back to the sheriff's substation with Rebecca Hale following in her own car. He obeyed every speed limit. That required conscious effort. A forged signature changed the shape … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12729,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12733"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12733\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12761,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12733\/revisions\/12761"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}