Page 95 of Innocent Intent

“Your show. Please, proceed.”

“Your fraud-ass husband wasn’t important to me until I realized his importance to you. It’s a shame you never really meant as much to him until it was too late. All he originally wanted was your money. The guy wasn’t shit, truthfully, and I almost felt sorry for you. Almost.”

“I’m assuming that he admitted to marrying me for money.” Cassidy tensed, almost holding her breath as she waited.

“You and about ten other women. Well, that’s a bit of a lie. He never married any of the ones before you. Not sure why you got a ring and they didn’t, but I guess maybe you did mean something to him in a twisted sort of way. He fessed up about the others after I found out who he really was. Dexter Calvin Taylor. Thirty-eight. Born and raised in Austin, Texas, where he married his high school sweetheart, Dana Taylor, then woke up one day and decided he was done with her and tired of being Dexter. Can’t say I blame him. Who the fuck wants to be named Dexter?” Tia smirked before continuing. “He completely walked away. Just disappeared. I didn’t believe him until I did a little digging. He got cocky about it too. That’s how I found out about the other women. He’d meet them, fuck them really good, steal their money, and disappear. I’m still amazed that he could do that so many times without getting caught. But I suppose he had a type.” Tia glanced at Cassidy, sending a silent message. “You do realize that’s why he never wanted kids with you. Children complicate things. Makes it a little bit harder to make a clean break.”

Cassidy cringed at the reminder that Niles never did want children. He had been adamant about making sure they didn’t.

“The guy was pretty damn smart. I have to give him that.”

“When?” Cassidy’s jaw clenched.

“When did it start?”

“Yes.”

“Eight years ago is as far back as I know, but I’m sure it’s longer. Eight years ago is when he became Jerrod Williams.”

“He told you this?”

“Not at first. I found out right after I started sleeping with him. That’s when he tried to convince me that I needed to leave you alone. Take the money and go. I guess it wasn’t a good idea to have two cons working the same hustle.”

“He offered you money?”

“Yes, the money he was stealing from you. He had an entire life you didn’t know about. He could have easily paid me off; you would have never known. There was a little over half a million in one of his accounts. Part of that he stole from you. I assume you know about that by now?”

“I do.” It was a struggle to remain calm, but Cassidy managed, which wasn’t what Tia wanted. “Did you help him steal that money from me?”

Cassidy still hadn’t figured out how he’d gotten access to the money. Someone had to help. She felt it could have been Tia after everything she just confessed.

“No, but like I said, he was smart and had plenty of other women he was dealing with. It wouldn’t take much to transfer your calls to another phone. He knew we were out of town. He knew what time you were scheduled to speak and also knew you kept your phone with you. I’m sure he had it all planned out.”

“So, when I asked about the dates, you knew why?”

“Assumed, yes.”

“I guess I should be surprised, but I’m not,” Cassidy said calmly.

“Come on, Cass. You have to give me more than that. You’re a little too composed,” Tia taunted. “I just told you I was fucking your husband, who married you intending to clear out your bank accounts and then disappearing like he had done to his wife and multiple other women without a second thought. That’s got to be worth something.”

Cassidy could tell that Tia’s goal was to hurt her, and it was upsetting that Cassidy was taking this all in stride.

“Why would I react? Niles obviously played me, lied to me, stole from me, cheated on me, but he got what he deserved, didn’t he? You killed him. No reason for me to react—”

Tia’s eyes flickered with amusement. “Who says I killed him?”

Cassidy’s smile mirrored Tia’s but for a completely different reason. “Not who. More like what proves you killed him? The evidence is pretty convincing.”

“There is no evidence, and even if there was, I have an alibi.”

“Do you?”

Tia nodded. “Yes, I do. I can show you if you want. Ask them to get my phone. We have an audience, right?” Tia smiled and waved at the one-way, but Cassidy kept her eyes straight ahead so they were waiting when she had Tia’s again.

“They’ve already seen the video.”

“Then you know I couldn’t have killed him.”

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