The Neighbor [The Complete Collection] (25 page)

Once she was washed and dressed she went back down to the drawing room. Henry and Malcolm were still there waiting for her.

—You must be starving, my dear, Henry said to her.

Janey nodded. She was amazed at how hungry she was. She hadn’t eaten a thing since the day before. She was also amazed at how good it felt to finally have someone looking after her. She’d been so scared out at the other house, she’d felt so alone and vulnerable. Now she felt safe and cared for. The difference was like night and day.

—Thank you so much for getting me out of that house, she said to Malcolm.

—Oh, you don’t have to thank me, dear, Malcolm said. As soon as Henry told me you were in trouble, I knew I had to come get you.

—If you hadn’t come for me I’d still be out there.

—I’m only sorry we couldn’t come sooner.

—How did you know where to find me?

Malcolm looked to Henry to provide the answer to that question.

—Well, Henry said. Let’s just say I’ve had my eye on your husband. Ever since that day when you captivated me by the window, I couldn’t take my eyes off you. I took every opportunity to watch you. I even did a little research on your life.

Janey smiled, thinking back to the research she herself had done on Henry. She still wasn’t sure if he knew that she knew about how his family had died so tragically.

—Well, I’m glad you did, she said.

—Yes. And I noticed a lot of things. I found out that you are a caring, confident, competent young woman. But the more I found out about your husband, the more concerned I became. I’d seen him act violently toward you. That was the first thing that alerted me to his proclivities. But the deeper I searched, the more I found out.

—What exactly is the swinging thing he’s gotten involved in? Janey asked.

Her mind was still racing at the thought of that meeting she’d had with the man who looked like a sailor. She had no idea what it was all about.

—Yes, well that was the big surprise. It’s an organization for married men. The organization is called, The Neighbor.

—Why is it called that?

—I’m not sure. Something about coveting your neighbor’s wife I believe. And being neighborly by sharing your wife with other men.

—I don’t think that’s what being neighborly is supposed to mean, Janey said.

—Well their idea of a good neighbor, it seems, is someone who allows you to do whatever you want to his wife, whenever you want.

—So men join the organization because they want to sleep with other men’s wives?

—That, and more, Henry said. You can also watch other men sleep with your own wife. That seems to be a big part of the attraction for many men. Then there are group encounters that can be arranged. The thing about it, is that there is actually a more sinister angle to the whole thing. It’s not just about sleeping with other men’s wives. You can also go farther.

—What do you mean?

—Well, suppose you want to hurt someone’s wife, beat her, whip her, humiliate her.

—They actually allow each other to do those things too? Janey said.

She was horrified. She knew that such things existed, but it was hard to imagine her own husband wanting to be a part of it.

—Yes they do, Henry said, gravely. There have been a number of police investigations into it. Even some arrests a few years back.

—But it still continues?

—Unfortunately it does. They just get more and more secretive. And the more careful they become, the more difficult it becomes for new members to join up.

—That must be what the man at the house was talking about earlier.

—What man?

—There was a man dressed a bit like a sailor. He seemed to be assessing Ben and Luke, seeing if they were suitable for joining the group.

—Well, they’re all extremely cautious now. Especially about new members. It seems, your husband has been desperate to get into the organization.

—So he was going to get involved in this group that would allow other men to harm me?

—Yes.

—Why?

—We would have to ask your husband that, Henry said.

—And does Suzy know about all of this?

—From what my people could tell, yes she does. She and her husband, Luke, have been involved in this scene for a couple of years. She must know what goes on. They haven’t been accepted into The Neighbor formally, but they’re getting close. From what I could discover, it can often take years to get in. The husband has to subject his wife to greater and greater forms of degradation until finally, he can become a full member.

—No wonder she was so cagey about everything.

A waiter came into the room carrying a silver tray. He put it on the large dining table close to where Janey was seated with Henry and Malcolm.

—Go ahead, Henry said. You should eat something.

Janey couldn’t resist the delicious smell. She was starving.

—Thank you, she said.

She went over to the table and uncovered the dish. It was a medium cooked steak, just the way she liked it, served with french fries and a Caesar salad. There was a little dish on the side containing homemade ketchup.

—How did you know my favorite food? she said to Henry.

Henry just smiled.

—So tell me, she said between bites. What is going to happen tonight? Why have you invited Ben and Luke here?

—That’s simple, my dear, Henry said. I wanted to give you a chance to tell Ben the truth.

—What do you mean?

—Tell him how you really feel. If you want to get involved in this organization, The Neighbor as they call it, you can tell him that. But I wanted to give you a fair opportunity to decide for yourself.

—And what about the business deal?

—Ah, that. Yes, Henry said.

He seemed a little embarrassed about that.

—That was really just childishness on my part, Henry said. I was quite upset with your husband, as you can imagine. I didn’t like the way he was treating you. You caught my eye and he had the nerve to mistreat you right in front of me. I just felt I had to get a little revenge of my own.

—So you pretended you wanted to give him your business.

—Yes. I know. It’s not exactly sporting. It was just a way I had to hit him where it would hurt. I have a lot of business interests in this area. So I got one of my medical foundations to approach him and offer him all sorts of ongoing trust and equities work. The kind of thing lawyers dream about. Managing a high value investment trust, very little work, very high fees. I was going to pull the plug on it as soon as you confronted him.

—I see, Janey said.

—Unless of course, you don’t want me to.

—No, Janey said. I do want you to. Henry, I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am for all of this. You’ve given me my life back. All I want is to get back at Ben, get out of my unhealthy relationship with him, and give him a taste of his own medicine. I don’t know what would have happened to me if you hadn’t come along.

—Never underestimate the value of a neighbor, Henry said.

IX

W
HEN THE SERVANT BROUGHT BEN
and Luke into the extravagant drawing room a few hours later, they both had smirks on their faces like two cats who had just drank a quart of cream. They must have thought they’d really hit the big time, coming into a palatial mansion like this one. Ben already thought his life was on the upswing since making partner. Now he thought he was being invited to Henry Walden’s own private residence to allow the man to have fun with his wife, and at the same time increase the fees he was going to pay Ben to do the legal work for one of his trusts.

When Ben strutted in behind the servant, there was a slight look of surprise on his face. He hadn’t expected to see Janey dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, looking completely at home with Malcolm and Henry. Henry had taken the precaution of ensuring that there were four guards waiting behind the scenes in case things were to get ugly.

—Take a seat, Henry said to Ben.

Ben sat at the end of the long dining table a little uneasily. Janey was sitting at the other end of the table. Henry and Malcolm waited by the fire close by.

—What’s going on, Janey? Ben said.

—I’m divorcing you, darling. That’s what’s going on?

The look on Ben’s face when he heard those words was priceless. Janey would have loved to have a photo of it. After all the pain and fear he’d put her through in the last few weeks, telling him that she was leaving him was a poetic justice. She didn’t hate Ben, but she didn’t trust him, and she knew he was a danger to women. All the members of The Neighbor were.

—What do you mean? he said.

—What do you think I mean?

—You can’t divorce me.

Janey looked over at Malcolm and nodded. Malcolm brought a carefully drawn up legal document to Ben and handed it to him with a pen.

—Sign it, Janey said.

Ben looked around at Luke. Luke was waiting uncertainly at the entrance to the drawing room. He looked uneasily at the two guards standing to his left and right. Luke was a big guy but so were the guards.

—And what if I say no? Ben asked.

—If you say no? My friends here will have the police come right over. They’ve got enough evidence of your involvement in this Neighbor organization to get you into a lot of trouble. Forcing women to perform demeaning sexual activities isn’t exactly kosher in the state of New York, Janey said.

—No one forces them, Ben said.

—Oh really? I felt pretty forced this morning, Janey said.

Behind Ben, Luke cleared his throat.

—Excuse me, he said. But where is my wife?

Henry looked over at Luke with an impatient expression on his face. He spoke to the two guards who were watching Luke closely.

—Escort that,
man
, to his wife, Henry said. And then escort them both to the front gate. I don’t ever want to see either of them on my property again.

Ben turned and looked at Luke. Luke simply shrugged before turning to leave the room with the guards.

—Abandoned so easily? Henry said. That can’t feel good.

Ben looked at Henry, pure rage in his eyes.

—Just sign the document, Mr Carver, Henry said.

—Who drew this up? Ben said.

—I had my lawyers prepare it. You’ll find it’s more than fair.

Ben read over it quickly. He couldn’t have read it very closely, it was four pages long, but he looked at it long enough to get the general idea of its provisions.

—It’s pretty generous to my wife, he said at last.

—Do you think a judge would think so? Henry asked.

Ben sighed. After what he’d put Janey through, he wouldn’t have a leg to stand on in court. He picked up the pen and signed the divorce agreement. Just as he finished signing it his hand froze. He was looking at the crest that was on the top corner of the document’s cover sheet.

—Wait a minute, he said. I recognize that crest.

—Of course you do, Henry said. I use it for all my official documents.

—It’s the same as the one on the Northrop paperwork.

—Why wouldn’t it be?

—Northrop’s got something to do with you? Ben asked.

Janey heard a crack in his voice. This was what defeat tasted like, she thought, as she looked at Ben. A rising tide of dismay seemed to be washing over him.

—Well, Henry said, savoring the moment. I do own it.

Janey could see all of Ben’s hopes tumbling down before his eyes. He’d been so proud of bringing that business to the firm. It had been the making of him. It was because of that account alone that the firm had made him partner. It was probably because of that money that Ben had been so willing to try for membership of The Neighbor. It had been everything to him, and now he could see it being taken away.

—Wait just one goddamned minute, he said.

He stood up and knocked his seat over as he did so. Without warning, he lunged over the dining table toward Janey. Before he was even half way across the table, three of Henry’s guards rushed in from the next room and grabbed him.

—Call the police, Janey said. He’s not going anywhere.

Confidently, she walked past Ben and snatched the signed legal document from the table.

—I’ll be needing this, she said.

X

J
ANEY WASTED NO TIME EXPLAINING
to the Albany city police all that had happened to her in the past couple of days. The beating she’d endured in the car alone would have been enough to get Ben arrested. It was corroborated by Henry. Henry and Malcolm also corroborated everything Janey said about The Neighbor, the secret swinging organization that Ben had been in the process of joining. It seemed that the police already knew all about the organization and had been trying to build a case against it for a long time. They’d just been waiting for someone like Janey to come forward and offer them the information they needed.

On their way out of the property, the police also picked up Suzy and Luke. Janey had been more than happy to implicate Luke in all of it, and even Suzy had been an accessory to some of the crimes, willfully assisting Ben and Luke in their treatment of Janey.

When all the statements had been given and signed, and all the police cars had left, Janey went and sat with Henry and Malcolm by their fire. She couldn’t help letting a big smile spread across her face.

—You look pleased, Malcolm said.

—Well, why shouldn’t I be? Janey said. I just got the best deal of my life. I got out of a rotten marriage to an absolute asshole, got my husband arrested, Luke and Suzy are being questioned, and all the marital assets have been signed over to me.

—And that’s just the beginning, Henry said.

—What do you mean?

—Oh, nothing. It’s just, Malcolm and I were wondering if you would be so kind as to accompany us on a little trip to Europe.

—Well, Janey said, the smile on her face turning mischievous, I have always wanted to see Paris.

—We’ll show you Paris, Henry said.

—And we’ll show you a hundred other things if you let us, Malcolm said.

That sounded perfect to Janey. In fact, nothing could have sounded better!