"So, how did it go with Mom?" Blake asked Roger on the phone later that night. "I didn't see you for the rest of the day."

Roger stood next to his desk in his apartment, making whiskey swirl around in his glass. "Not good, Honey. I'm afraid that she wouldn't believe me about her crazy fiancé." He took a sip and put the glass down with a thud. I am also afraid that she broke my heart, he felt like adding.

He could hear the disappointment in her voice when she replied. "I'm so sorry, Daddy. What are you going to do now?"

"I'm leaving for Boston tomorrow to try and get to the bottom of Daniel's past. I still think that I can convince your mother if I have hard evidence. She's no fool, even if she's in love with that man, she'll leave him if she knows beyond a doubt that he's a criminal."

"She's not in love with him, Dad! She only thinks that she is because it seems like the right thing to do!"

Roger sighed. "I don't know, Chrissie. I hope you're right." He recalled the end of their conversation in the editing room, and the way she had dismissed the idea that she could actually be in love with him instead. She had sounded so sure. Could a woman as bright as Holly be so misguided about her own feelings?"

The doorbell rang, bringing him back to reality. "I have to go, Blake, but I'll keep you posted as soon as I get back. I love you."

He hung up and went to the door, hoping against hope that it might be Holly. Instead, Susan Thompson walked in briskly, a file under her arm.

"Hello Roger. You got one of those for me?" she said, pointing at his drink.

"Sure. Have a seat," he said while fixing her a glass of whiskey. "Neat?" he asked over his shoulder.

"Of course," she replied, opening her file and spreading some papers on the coffee table for them to go over. Roger soon joined her and studied her pensively as she prepared the documents. He had not planned on mentioning her existence to Blake, even less so to Daniel, but he reflected that it was not such a bad idea after all. Susan was certainly attractive, with her light auburn hair, her baby blues and her full lips. She could convincingly pass as his love interest if need be. And if that made Holly jealous, he could not help that, could he?

"What do you have for me?" he asked when she seemed done.

"Not much, I'm afraid. I've been looking over the police report of Daniel's lover, Carol Donaldson, though, and something struck me as odd."

"What?"

"I'm not sure. Something about the officer's declaration felt off, but I can't put my finger on it yet. At this point, I'd say it's simply a hunch on my part."

Roger sighed. It was not much to go on, but then Susan's hunches were often spot on. There might be hope. "Okay, see if you can dig a little deeper in that direction. I'll be leaving for Boston tomorrow myself to try to speak with the husband of that Carol Donaldson, and her family too. You said that she still had living relatives?"

Susan checked her notes. "Yes, a sister. Her name is Jean Wetterill, and here is where you can reach her," she replied, copying the phone number and address on a slip of paper which she handed to Roger. "Are you sure that you want to implicate yourself in that way? I could easily go myself, you know."

"Thanks for offering, but I need to do this personally. I want to see the expression of these people's faces when I speak to them about Daniel. It's the only way to get to the bottom of things. Besides, Holly already knows about my plan, so it's not as if I had to hide it from her."

"Yes, but Daniel doesn't know. What if one of these people call him and let him know that you're trying to nail him for that woman's death?"

Roger looked at her pensively. "It could send him over the edge, you're right about that. Even if I use a fake identity, they could still describe me to him and he'd figured it out quickly enough. I still want to go, though."

"You could use a disguise. I remember that you were pretty good with face molds back then with the CIA," Susan suggested.

Roger laughed, remembering some of the characters he had to impersonate over the years. "I could go as a Mrs. Doubtfire type, what do you think?"

"Slendid idea!" Susan retorted with a smile.

"You should come too, just in case I need backup. Meet me at the airport tomorrow."

Susan took it as her cue to leave. She gathered her papers and put them into the file. "No problem. And get a good night sleep's tonight, will you? You look like hell."

"I feel like hell too, thanks for noticing," he said sarcastically as he led her to the door. "The plane leaves at ten AM. Don't be late."

She gave him a look. "Please. I'm used to be an agent. I don't do late."

Roger closed the door behind her and went back to the couch. He picked up the newspaper in an effort to take his mind off Holly, but threw it back on the table as soon as he saw the front page. He had forgotten that the article on WSPR's upcoming war documentary was to be published that very day. Holly and he had posed for the cameras a few days before, and he now remembered how thrilled he had been to put his arm around her waist and to get away with it.

So much had happened since then that it seemed like a lifetime ago. He could not believe that he had come so close to win Holly back only to lose her for good. He could make her change her mind about Daniel, he was sure of that, but that was not enough. He wanted her to love him back, and unfortunately, he could not make her change her mind about that. He could only hope that she would do it on her own.


Meanwhile, Holly was standing in front of her bathroom sink at her house, trying to calm down. If she did not get out of there soon, Daniel was bound to get worried.

Dinner had been an excruciatingly long affair where she had to pretend that everything was fine, and now she was so tired that she did not trust herself not to blurt out over dessert that she just had sex on a desk with her ex-husband.

I'll be able to deal with it tomorrow, she mouthed to her reflection in the mirror. I'm just sleep-deprived, that's why I feel so emotional right now. Besides, she thought as she splashed water into her face, today was the last time I ever slept with Roger. Time will go by, and soon it won't be so hard to look into Daniel's eyes again.

When she finally came out of the room, she saw that the lights were out in the living room.

"I'm over here, Honey!" Daniel called out to her from the bedroom.

She dragged her feet down the corridor, almost wishing that she could crash on the couch until she felt like she was in control of the situation again. Instead, she came into her room with a weary smile on her face. Daniel was already under the cover, reading one of his magazine on neuroscience.

"You looked exhausted so I made an executive decision and put the dessert away. Come here," he said, putting the magazine on the nightstand.

A fresh wave of guilt washed over Holly. Daniel was devoted to her, what couldn't she be satisfied with that anymore, like she was at the beginning of their relationship? She changed into her nightgown and slipped under the covers.

"Do you mind turning off the light?" she said as she turned on her side.

"No problem," Daniel said before complying. He turned on side so as to spoon her body with his and slowly slid the straps off of her nightgown. He then started to kiss her neck, gently brushing his lips on her skin.

At first, Holly tried to relax into his touch, but pushed him away after a few minutes. "I'm really tired, Daniel. I'm sorry."

"I'm tired too, but since I wasn't here last night…" his voice trailed off and bent over her again, this time kissing her on the lips.

Maybe I can do this, Holly thought as she closed her eyes. Or maybe not, she realized after a graphic flashback of Roger and she in the shower overcame her. She gently wiggled out of Daniel's embrace and put a hand on his chest.

"I really mean it, Daniel. I'm not in the mood for sex tonight."

Daniel said and fell back on the bed. "Okay, Holly, what is going on?" he asked in a suspicious tone.

"What do you mean? Do we have to have sex every time that you feel like it?" she replied defensively.

"Hey, there no need to be aggressive here! It's just that it's been happening more and more lately that you're not in the mood. I just wondered if maybe I was doing something wrong."

"No! You're very good, you always were. It's nothing like that."

Daniel prompted himself on one elbow and Holly could feel him stared at her in the dark. "So there IS something? Please tell me, Holly. I want to make it right!"

She bit her bottom lip; she could kill herself for not being more careful. She decided to go with a white lie. "Work has been really stressful lately, that's all. It's hard not to think about it at night sometimes."

She heard Daniel snort. "I bet that the fact that Roger is always around doesn't help either. Has he flirted with you again? Do you need me to tell him off?"

"NO! I mean, no, there's no need. Roger has been leaving me alone since the last time that you confronted him." Except here, in this bed, and in the living room and also in the shower. And let's not forget the editing room. She picked up a pillow and put it over her head; she felt like screaming.

Daniel peered at her in the darkness for a few minutes, a dubious expression coming over his face. "If you say so. Goodnight, Holly."

"Goodnight," she muttered from under the covers.

Drained as she was, she fell asleep almost instantly, whereas Daniel lay wide awake next to her, troubled by their conversation. An hour passed where he tossed and turned, trying to reason with himself. Roger was not a threat; Holly hated the guy! This was the man that had raped her and tried to take her child away from her. There was no way that she would ever want to go back to him.

Somewhat reassured, he was about to fall into a deep slumber when he heard Holly mutter something in her sleep. "What is it, Honey?" he asked in a low voice, not wanting to startle her. He bent over her face to hear what she was mumbling and when she repeated the word, he felt as if his blood had turned to ice.

She had just called Roger's name.


Several hours later, a noise from the kitchen woke Holly up with a start. She looked over her shoulder and saw that the other side of the bed was empty. Thinking that Daniel might be fixing himself a midnight snack, she sluggishly got out of bed to go to the bathroom.

She was about to make her presence known in the hallway when something stopped her in her tracks. Daniel was in the living room, pacing to and fro, his face flushed with fury. Tears were streaming down his face, but Holly could not tell if they were of rage or sadness. In his hand, she recognized the edition of that day's newspaper. She saw her picture smiling back at her, but where Roger should have been was now a gaping hole.

Daniel had ripped his face apart and was crumpling it in his other fist.

Her mind racing, Holly silently backtracked into her bedroom. No matter how she turned the problem in her mind, there was no way that Daniel could have learned about her infidelity in the last few hours. Why was he so jealous if he had nothing to suspect? More to the point, was his reaction normal?

Holly shuddered as she recalled the expression in his eyes. Something was definitely wrong with her fiancée.

Could Roger have been right all this time?