Page 12 of Rebels and Roses

Finn glanced at Cooper for a moment before continuing.

“Is there anyone else that you’ve talked to about this? Anyone at all?”

Tom gave Cooper a quick look.

“My sister, Fiona.”

“What did she say?”

Another look was shot Cooper’s way.

“She told me to stop being a man-baby, and that I was too boring for anyone to want to follow me.”

That sounded like Fiona. She’d never coddled Cooper during their marriage. She was strictly on the side of tough love. She’d been one of those people who prided themselves on beingbrutally honest.

It had taken Cooper several years to realize that most people who say they’re brutally honest were more interested in being brutal than honest.

“Fiona doesn’t even live in the same state I do,” Tom went on. “Her opinion isn’t really important here. I just told her because we’re very close. We tell each other everything.”

Finn had a few more questions, but eventually, it came down to any advice he might have.

“What I would tell you to do,” Finn said, “is to get proof of what’s happening. Hire your own private investigator if you can. The police aren’t going to be able to help you unless they havesomething to work on. What have the police said about your apartment break-in? Any leads there?”

“No, they just gave me a police report to give to my insurance company. I don’t think they’re investigating it at all. I guess I could hire an investigator of my own to look into that.”

“I would suggest it,” Finn agreed. “I wish I could give you more concrete advice, but there’s nothing actionable here except your burglary. You might also have a friend follow you around, staying in the background. They might see someone following you while they’re doing it, too. You might benefit from a pair of eyes in back of you for a day or two. A private investigator can do that as well. I might also suggest security cameras around your home plus a camera in your car for both the front and back views. Get one of those tracking apps they have for phones and share your location with a few trusted friends. Let people know where you’re going, and who you are going to be with. Try not to go too many places alone until this is all straightened out.”

“Those sound like good ideas,” Tom said, nodding in agreement. “I was thinking I might need to quit my job, change my name, and move to Fiji to get away from all of this.”

“That wouldn’t be my first suggestion,” Finn replied with a smile. “That would be the last resort, I think. What you need to do is start gathering your own evidence. In a way, you’re going to do surveillance on yourself. You never know what you might see.”

“Thanks, this has been helpful.”

“I need to say one more thing,” Finn cautioned. “If you are seeing a woman on the side, you do need to find out whether your girlfriend knows. This whole situation might simply come down to a relationship issue.”

“I don’t think she does know, but now I’m convinced I need to find out,” Tom replied, sighing loudly. His expression was glum, and his shoulders drooped. “I could just end things withthe girl in Chicago. I was sleeping with her just because…you know…I could.”

This is why women say that dogs and cats make better companions.

“Cooper, do you have a minute that we can talk? I have some information for you,” Finn said when they’d all stood. The meeting was over.

“Sure,” Cooper replied. “Tom, can you wait for me in the lobby? We can go for a coffee and pastry when I’m done.”

“Excellent plan,” Tom said, rubbing his hands together. “I’ll wait outside. I need to call a friend.”

“What are you thinking?” Finn asked after Tom had exited the office.

“I wish to hell that I knew,” Cooper admitted. “Tom’s always leaned toward the dramatic but never like this. I’ve never thought of him as delusional. He’s a trifle self-centered, but he’s always been a pretty decent kind of guy.”

“In other words, you don’t think he’d make up the story for the attention?”

“I don’t think so. He wouldn’t need to. In his mind, he’s getting most of the attention anyway. He wouldn’t feel the need to get more.”

“Ah, he’s the star of his own play?”

“And we’re all just bit-part players, yes.”

“Do you think it’s the girlfriend Erica?”

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