James gritted his teeth. Her way of thinking had become self-delusional. Whatever she wanted to be true suddenly was, in her mind. “You were seen with Bogart at a Raleigh shelter. You can be identified.”
“So you keep saying. My attorney says that woman’s testimony has been tainted. That could have been anybody bringing in your dog. You found the witness. Only you have talked to her. Only you are saying she can identify me. And you wrote up the report. You aren’t unbiased by a long shot, mister!”
“Is that all you’ve got?”
“You wish, you bastard! I know you were over in Raleigh this past weekend. I know you’re seeing her, probably fucking her.”
James made a quick calculation. “You hired a private investigator.”
“Two. My attorney said I needed to get information quickly. One to find her and one to watch you. Funny how they met last Friday in Raleigh. I hear one PI gave your little slut makeup lessons in the ladies’ room. God knows, she needs the help. We’ve got pictures of you two together. I hit the jackpot, didn’t I? Now that I know you two know each other I can see that I was framed. You set me up!”
Every muscle in James’s body tensed as the minefield of Jaylynn’s thinking opened up before him. The woman at the bar, the one he’d pegged as police. PI. He swallowed his anger. He needed to know just how elaborate her negative spin had become. “Why would I set you up?”
“Because I’m a celebrity. You’re trying to ruin me because I dumped you. You’ve been feeding that little slut information about me. My attorney says that amounts to co—cohesion.”
“I think you mean collusion.” And extortion. But why help her out?
“Whatever. Once the judge sees pictures of you with that slut, who’s going to think you chose her over me?”
“Nothing you’ve said changes the fact that you went to the police with the story that Bogart was stolen from your car, Jaylynn.”
“That’s right. I lost him, like I said the first time.” She sounded so confident. “For all I know, you hired your slut to steal him so you could have an excuse to go after me because you knew I was moving on. I’m the victim here.”
James shifted quickly through her argument. Someone was coaching her, and doing a damn good job of burying the truth with innuendo. While he was certain she hadn’t thought up any of this herself, Jaylynn was a pro at delivering someone else’s script. She would be believable in front of a judge. He needed to crack her story in order to refute it.
“Have you moved on, Jaylynn?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Bet I can find out who he is by reading a few copies of the society pages.”
There was a long pause. He knew he’d hit a nerve, and a thread to follow up. “Is that who’s footing the attorney bills? And hired the two detectives? I’m impressed.”
“How I conduct my life is none of your business.”
He needed to put her back on the defensive. “You must be more generous in bed with him than you were with me.”
She didn’t answer for so long he thought she’d hung up. “I’ll bet trailer-park Barbie doesn’t know how little you make as a doggy cop. Or maybe she thinks that being with you is trading up from the bubbas she’s known. We’re digging into her background. Who knows what else will turn up?”
James went cold inside. “What do you want to make this go away, Jaylynn?”
“Oh no! You started this. You’re the one accusing me of stealing your damn dog. Now you’ll have to deal with my payback. Tell your bitch I’ll see her in court!” She hung up.
James palmed his forehead, trying to concentrate on every word spoken as he played their conversation back in his head. Jaylynn’s attorney sounded like one of those grandstanding types who’d do anything for a client, providing it made the papers and enhanced his career profile.
He needed to put in a call to his sergeant about what the department was going to do about Bogart’s disappearance. He doubted it was top priority. He’d wanted to scare Jaylynn, shake her up for all the worry and pain she’d put him and Bogart through. For trying to kill Bogart.
James could have kicked himself for not seeing something like this coming. He knew Jaylynn was arrogant and self-involved, and ruthless. He had counted on her pride forcing her to make a strategic retreat out of town before she was charged. Or if she had turned on him, he thought he was prepared.
But Jaylynn had seen through his tough stance and found a vulnerable spot. She wasn’t going after him. She’d chosen to focus on the one innocent party in the whole screwed-up business. Shay.
James swore colorfully enough to turn a few heads but he didn’t even acknowledge the men he passed as he headed back to the field.
He should have told Shay about Jaylynn being a possible threat. But so much was going on when he found her in Raleigh that that concern was wiped right out of his mind.