Page 6 of Proof

Chapter Two

U.S. Marshal’s Field Office

Charlotte, North Carolina

U.S. Marshal Christopher Gaines looked down at his cell phone. The caller ID said Lucinda, Gaines’s ex-wife. “This can’t be good,” he muttered to himself. “Yes, Lucinda. What’s up?”

“Chris, it’s Lucinda.”

Yeah, duh.

“I have something important we need to discuss.”

“Everything alright? Carter okay?” Gaines’s thoughts sobered as they turned to his son.

“Yes, everything is fine, actually,” Lucinda said matter-of-factly.

“So?”

“So, I wanted to let you know that Bruce and I are planning on moving to Chicago.”

“You’re what!” Gaines bellowed. “When was this decided? You can’t take Carter out of the state without my permission.”

“I realize that, Christopher, but Bruce has an opportunity to buy into a dental practice in Chicago.”

Chris had been thrilled when Lucinda remarried. After Carter was born, she’d complained she was bored, so she started working at a dental practice when they moved to Charlotte. It didn’t take long for Lucinda to have the dentist wrapped around her finger—and a few other body parts. When the affair became obvious, she blamed Chris. She said he was married to his job, and she didn’t want to live her life alone. Fortunately for Chris, he didn’t want to live with a whiny, spoiled woman who seemed to have forgotten what had attracted her to him in the first place: he was a U.S. Marshal. He kept long hours, often traveling for days at a time.

But, like many people, Lucinda ignored reality and hoped things would change for the better, or to what she wanted. Unfortunately, under most circumstances, they only changed for the worse. If one wanted things to get better, the changes had to be big. Really big. In Chris and Lucinda’s case, the big change was her affair. With both of them getting what they wanted, it was a relatively amicable divorce. Chris was not bitter about Lucinda’s transgressions. He was relieved. And then even more relieved that there would be no alimony. He had no problem with child support, but paying alimony to someone who clearly was able to work but didn’t irked him to the moon and back.

“We’ll have to go back to court,” he said into the phone.

“I was hoping we could resolve this between the two of us.”

“I don’t think so, Lucinda.” Gaines was in law enforcement. If there weren’t any rules, then they couldn’t be enforced, and he didn’t want Lucinda to have the advantage of doing whatever she pleased. “We have a legal and binding joint-custody arrangement.”

“I am aware of that, Chris.” She softened a bit. “But do we really need to go through all that legalese stuff when we can work this out together?”

“Nope.” He was adamant. Lucinda’s life’s work was to get her own way, but he wasn’t about to let her sweet-talk, threaten, or pull whatever tricks she had planned. “Call your lawyer, and I’ll call mine.” He waited for a response.

“I really wish you wouldn’t be so difficult,” she huffed, sounding more like herself.

“Lucinda, I am not being difficult. I’m being thorough.” He inhaled. “When is all of this supposed to happen?”

“Within the next six to eight months,” she replied.

“Then we have time to work this out.” Chris was being thoughtful, not for her sake, but for his own. And Carter’s.

“Oh, I am so glad to hear you say that,” she murmured.

Chris was trying to keep the lid on his steam. “Don’t get so excited, Lucinda. This is not going to be easy. Listen, I have to go. I have a meeting in ten minutes.”

“It’s always about your job, Chris,” she snarked.

“Please, Lucinda. Let’s not get into that now.”

“Fine. You’ll be hearing from my lawyer. Bye.”

Chris’s mind was racing. This could not be happening. He was not going to send his son off to the other side of the country. Not with Dr. Tooth. Lucinda’s husband Bruce was a good dentist, except for one thing: he had the worst buck teeth in the state of North Carolina. Why any person would trust their mouth to someone who was oblivious to his own was a head-scratcher.

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