Page 15 of Fatal Attraction

Jesus, fuck.

Carter was a big guy. He stood well over six feet tall and was unbelievably muscular, at least twice, if not three times the size of Spike and I combined. His eyes were distant, like he was completely spaced out and was unaware of Charlotte hollering his name. Then as he grew closer, I shared a frown with Spike after taking in the redness spread across his puffy cheeks.

He knew.

“Carter,” she shouted again, and he immediately shook his head, having heard her this time. “It’s me. Charlotte.”

His face fell, confirming my fears when he dropped his luggage and broke into a fast run. His arms literally swallowed Charlotte whole when he slightly kneeled down and wrapped them around her, weeping softly.

“Harley told you, didn’t she?” she asked him.

Carter nodded, unhanding her and standing tall, swiping the tears off his face. “She left me a voicemail asking me to call her as soon as I landed. I got off the phone with her just a few minutes ago.”

“I’m so sorry, Carter. I—” Spike loudly cleared his throat, making Charlotte’s mouth clamp shut for a brief moment. “Carter, this is Detective Hutch and Detective Rhodes. They’re working Blaire’s case.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Carter said calmly, sniffling as he wiped a hand down his uniform and offered it to me first.

“I’m Detective Rhodes, but you can call me Phoenix,” I said, shaking his hand before he moved on to my partner.

“And I’m Spike. It’s nice to meet you, Carter. We’re sincerely sorry for your loss.”

“What all did Harley say?” asked Charlotte.

“Not much,” he answered. “Just that she was sorry to inform me that Blaire was found murdered inside our home. I-uh… I assume it was you who found her body?”

“Not here,” Spike cut in just as Charlotte began explaining what happened. “We’ll be happy to answer any and all of your questions, but it’s best we take this somewhere else. Somewhere private.”

“Where are you staying?” Charlotte asked, her wet eyes flicking from Spike to Carter.

“Home was the plan,” he muttered, another tear snaking down his cheek. “But since that’s not an option now, I don’t know. I guess I’ll have to stay in a hotel.”

“We’ll make the arrangements,” I promised him. “Would you like to get something to eat as well?”

“No.” Carter shook his head. “The only thing I want is to know what happened to my wife.”

“She,” Carter rasped, his body shaking with a puddle of tears pouring down his face. “She was…pregnant?”

“I’m sorry,” Charlotte whispered, wiping her own tears away. “I swear I had no idea she was seeing someone. She never told me.”

We were back at the hotel. Together, Spike, Charlotte, and I had split the cost and treated Carter to the most expensive suite the hotel had to offer.

It was like a fucking mansion in here.

Highceilings. A massive open layout with several sets of designer furniture that cost hundreds, if not thousands of dollars to replace. There was a mini bar fully stocked with expensive top-shelf booze Spike and Carter had no problem whatsoever helping themselves to, and there was a sliding glass door which led out to a gigantic balcony and gave a remarkable view of the surrounding buildings spread throughout the Pines. I couldn’t begin to explain what the actual bedrooms looked like.

Carter got to his feet then, shaking harder as he made his way over to Spike, who was at the mini bar and had Carter’s drink ready for him in no time. He downed his glass, slapping the countertop twice at Spike for another. Spike frowned deeply and poured them both fresh drinks, clanking them before their faces shared an identical scrunch of revulsion.

“Fill it to the rim,” Carter pleaded, cursing as he shook his head, trying not to break down.

Spike sighed but did as Carter suggested.

“How far along?” he asked, turning to gape between me and Charlotte.

“10 weeks,” Spike answered, which had Carter whipping around and cocking his head at him. “And no, we don’t know who she was seeing.We haven’t figured that part out yet. We checked the accounts, texts, and phone calls dated back to the last three months.”

“And?” Carter pressed.

“There’s nothing there. We’re not sure how she did it but somehow, Blaire was able to hide the affair without leaving any breadcrumbs behind.”

---