Chapter 11

There was a soft knock on the connecting door to her hotel room and Michelle Young made her way over, letting in an anxious looking Matthew Keller.

'Come on in, he's out like a light' she said as she opened the door.

Matthew Keller took one look at Neal Caffrey, passed out on the bed, and smiled a conniving, deceitful smile. Now, he had his ex-partner exactly where he wanted him – unconscious, totally vulnerable and at his mercy.

'Hurry up and change and get into bed with him, I want to take a few special shots before I call his wife' he said, deviously.

'Why?' Michelle asked.

She was beginning to feel like a whore, prostituting herself for a few measly bucks. Truth was, she cared about Neal and she'd truly enjoyed spending time with him the last few days.

'Because I want to…' Matthew Keller responded brazenly. 'I want to leave them for Mrs. Caffrey so she can remember this momentous occasion, the moment when her high and mighty husband finally gave in to temptation and strayed from his marriage vows.'

'But she's going to see us with her own eyes' whined Michelle. 'Isn't that enough?'

'Ah, but there's nothing like photographs to commemorate those 'special' moments in your life' he said with a leer. 'Now hurry up and change into that cute little number I got you.'

Michelle stepped into the bathroom to change her clothes while Keller walked over to the bed, looming over Neal, a perpetual sneer on his face.

'Not so high and mighty now, huh, Caffrey?' he said. 'Even the great Neal Caffrey can hit rock bottom and today is the day your wife and kids walk out on you for good.'

Neal lay on the bed, moaning softly as Keller spoke. He was mumbling something that sounded like Sara's name and Keller laughed in response. 'You can call her name all you want, Caffrey, she's not going to be giving you the time of day after tonight.'

Suddenly, Michelle reappeared wearing a very skimpy little number and Keller looked her up and down as she made her way back towards the bed.

'You're really creepy, you know that?' she said as she sat in the bed by Neal.

'Now, get him out of his clothes' he barked as she proceeded to strip Neal from the waist up, throwing his shirt and tie on the nearby chair.

Keller took a step back, surveying the situation. 'Now, get in and slip under his arm' he ordered as if he were the director of some cheap porn flick.

He began to give directions as Michelle placed Neal in one compromising position after another, taking care to keep Neal's unresponsive eyes out of the shots. Keller began to check out the photographs through the camera's screen and smiled in satisfaction.

'All right, well you two relax and I'll send out a little invitation to Ms Ellis to come and join the party. But don't bother fixing her a drink' he added, laughing cruelly. 'I have a feeling she won't be staying very long.'

WCWCWC

'I really want to believe what you're saying, Elizabeth, but pictures don't lie' Sara said, calmer than she'd been all day.

'Pictures can be made to look very incriminating, you know that. Remember those pictures Neal took of you and Peter? Look, has Neal ever given you any reason to think he's been unfaithful?' Elizabeth asked, knowing full well the answer.

'No, of course not' admitted Sara, sheepishly.

'And knowing everything you know about him, do you think he would choose now, the moment when you're the most vulnerable to step out on you?' asked El, the voice of reason.

'I don't know anymore, Elizabeth' Sara moaned as she began to pace. 'I just don't understand why Neal would go out to lunch with a beautiful ex-girlfriend and not tell me – and then, to invite her into our home when I'm not here. It's...'

'You're right, it showed very poor judgement on his part. But he always wants to believe the best of people, that's how he is.'

Elizabeth searched Sara's eyes, hoping her words were having the desired effect. 'Look, why don't you just hear him out. Don't you think you've got enough on your plate right now without being estranged from the one person who loves you the most?' she asked.

Sara was beginning to come around but her confidence was already shaken, her judgement not what it normally was and she continued pacing the kitchen back and forth as she took in El's words of advice. Her cell phone vibrated nearby and she instantly thought of Neal, her heart fluttering for an instant at the thought of him. She reached out to see a text from an unknown number.

'Your husband is waiting for you in room 806 of the Plaza Hotel' she read.

'Do you think it's from Neal?' asked Elizabeth as her friend read the text out loud.

'I don't know, why would Neal use a stranger's phone to text me and talk about himself in the third person?' Sara asked, puzzled yet intrigued.

'I don't feel right about this, Sara' Elizabeth said, moving to stand next to her best friend.

'Look, whatever's this is, I need to know' Sara said as she began to gather her things.

'Sara, I can't let you go over there alone' said Elizabeth as she looked on, worried.

'But I need you to stay with the kids' replied Sara, her eyes imploring.

'All right, all right, just call me and let me know what's going on. And Sara, please be careful' she warned as Sara prepared to leave.

The moment Sara was out of the house, Elizabeth grabbed for her phone. Whatever she was walking into at the Plaza reeked of danger – if not physical, at least emotional.

She dialled Peter's number, disappointed to get his voice mail. 'Honey, I'm worried about Neal and Sara. She just got a text telling her to go to room 806 at the Plaza Hotel and I'm afraid she might be walking into something. Can you go over and make sure she's all right?'

It was past nine o'clock and she realized Peter must be out walking Satchmo. Hopefully, he would get the message and make his way over to the Plaza before anything happened to either Sara or Neal.

Suddenly, Elizabeth had the feeling that whatever Sara was walking into was going to cause nothing but heartache.

WCWCWC

Michelle lay in bed next to an unresponsive Neal and waited patiently for the other shoe to drop. Keller had retreated to his own room to wait for the fireworks to begin and she had strict instructions on what to do when Sara arrived. The scene was set so that when Sara opened the door and peered inside the room, there would be no doubt as to what was going on.

She thought back to the last few days and the time she'd gotten to spend with Neal. He was a terrific guy and he seemed to have made a success of his life despite the confession he'd let slip a little while earlier. She'd always known Neal was impulsive and that he didn't always walk on the right side of the law but she had no idea he'd done jail time or that he'd worked as a criminal informant – Neal didn't strike her as the G-man type in the least. She looked over at him, lying semi-conscious on the bed.

Whatever those two had must be pretty special, she thought. Sadly, he was one of those increasingly rare husbands who remained faithful to their wives. She reasoned that it would have been harmless for him to have a quick little interlude with her but instead, he'd resisted her advances, not wanting to stray from his marriage vows. She had to admit his rebuke had bruised her ego somewhat; he had never tried to resist her back when they were together, she mused, as she thought back to all those years ago..

Although they'd been together barely a few months and despite the fact that it was so long ago, she looked fondly at Neal as he lay there, realizing she had very happy memories of that simpler time. How had her life gotten so off track, she wondered. Meeting Brad had been the beginning of a nightmare and she thought back to all those years she'd spent with the jerk as he undermined her self-esteem, treating her like trash and finally leaving her in a pile of shame and regret as he moved on to another unsuspecting woman half her age. Neal, on the other hand, looked like a decent man; he had surely worked hard to get what he had – a good job, a beautiful wife and two great kids. She suddenly felt sleazy and dirty for agreeing to con him and ruin his life. All for a few baubles...

She continued to look down at him, running her hand through his hair and wondering what life might had been like if they'd stayed together – would she be the one to have his undying love and devotion and two beautiful children that looked like the two of them.

She checked the time. It wouldn't be long before Sara arrived and her job was to make sure Sara got an eyeful when she entered the room. Anyone taking the time to look carefully would be able to see that Neal was drugged and unresponsive but Keller was confident Sara would take one very quick look at the situation, draw her erroneous conclusion and run out of the room.

WCWCWC

Sara made her way to the Plaza Hotel; it was close to ten o'clock and the streets of Manhattan were buzzing as usual. She sat in the back of a cab, wondering what she'd find when she got there. Was this some misguided grand romantic gesture on Neal's part to get her to listen to his version of the events from the last few days? Who else would be instructing her to meet her husband? Was it his fancy piece flaunting their affair in her face?

Her train of thought was interrupted abruptly by some clearer thinking – Neal with another woman just didn't make sense. Elizabeth was right; whatever Neal was, he was loyal to those he loved. He'd stood by her unwaveringly through the ups and downs of the past six years – her getting pregnant quite by accident, her bout with cancer and all the day to day, not so sexy humdrum tempo of domestic life. He always saw the glass as half full; he was an eternal optimist at heart and although she knew that, like all couples, they were not immune to drifting apart over time, she was convinced that he would be honest and open about his feelings if he felt himself drifting away from her and their marriage.

At least, she'd always thought so; she was about to find out just how well she knew her husband.

TBC