A Path Well Traveled

Chapter 11

Sharon had arranged herself with the fact that, on occasion, she would have to face her ex-husband, not just in his capacity as her children's father, but also as a defense attorney. Since she had stopped involving herself in the relationship between Jack and her kids, the former was far less annoying than the latter. Having to face him as a suspect was an entirely new experience, however, and she was not sure if she was prepared for that.

They had discussed their plan of attack with Lieutenant McCarthy earlier that morning, after bringing everyone up to speed on their late night discoveries and after their brief interview with Sergeant Mendez. In order to make Jack feel a little more secure, they had asked Buzz to set up the conference room with cameras and microphones. He had gotten Mike to help him to speed up the process and finish before Jack arrived.

McCarthy had been skeptical at first when Sharon had suggested that she should conduct the interview with the IA Lieutenant. The younger woman had listened to her arguments and, in the end, agreed that no one in the room knew Jack as well as his ex-wife, and that it was not necessarily a bad thing. It was not exactly policy to allow someone to be part of an investigation who was personally involved in some way, but they were not dealing with a regular investigation. Besides, with as little evidence as they had on Jack, they needed to get him to admit to something. He was not stupid and very familiar with the way police officers usually attempted to coax information out of their suspects. He would not respond to their usual tactics. Not making him feel like a suspect from the start was one way to approach him, but that impression would not last very long. Their only real hope was to get him riled up enough so that he would make a mistake. His ex-wife was the perfect person to accomplish that.

As she stood in the corridor outside the conference room, waiting for McCarthy to join her, Sharon began to doubt that. She was not the only one who knew how to push buttons, and she was certain that Jack would not hesitate to hit her where it hurt. It had been a while since he had been able to get to her, but in this instance, he had plenty of ammunition. He was aware of how much she despised having her private life dragged into the office, and he would take great pleasure in doing just that. Her imagination had no problem providing her with all kinds of scenarios, the most troubling of which being a very public argument about her extra-marital activities, witnessed by her entire team and caught on tape. She knew that that was where they were headed, and she felt sick at the thought of facing that.

"You know, you don't have to do this, Sharon."

Andy's quiet, rumbling voice drew her out of her thoughts, and she leaned slightly into his soft touch at the small of her back. It was all the comfort she allowed herself to draw from him, but she was grateful for this short moment. She was not surprised that he had sought her out before the interview started. Andy had kept an eye on her all morning, discreetly enough not to give her reason to reprimand him, but his concern had been apparent. Sighing, she closed her eyes for a moment, swaying towards him just enough to lightly bump her shoulder against his arm to convey her gratitude.

"Yes, I do. He is not going to talk to Lieutenant McCarthy or anyone else. Not long enough to put his head into the noose. If he is responsible for this, he will want to see me squirm. We will have to give him that pleasure to get what we need."

She did not like it, and it was clear from the deep frown on Andy's forehead that he was not happy about it, either.

"I could go in with McCarthy instead of you. He'd be just as happy to push my buttons," Andy suggested.

Sharon smiled up at him, reaching up to place her hand against his cheek in a brief caress. It was nice to have someone who was willing to help her fight her battles. Usually, she would object to that sort of behavior, to the insinuation that she was unable to stand up for herself. However, Andy was well aware that she did not need him to come to her rescue, that she was more than capable of dealing with her ex-husband on her own. He never gave her the feeling that he thought of her as weak or helpless. On the contrary. He never tired of telling her how much he admired her for her strength. Always being willing to help was simply who he was, even if he knew that his offer would be rejected. It was the knowledge that she finally had a true partner in her life, someone who had her back no matter what, who was there for her to lean on and to give her a hand when needed, but who knew when to step back and let her handle things on her own.

"You are probably right about that, but I would rather not have to explain to my former colleagues at FID why my fiancé punched my ex-husband in the face in an LAPD conference room, and you know that he will make you want to do that."

He rubbed his neck with his free hand, looking at the floor while he tried very hard to suppress a grin. She was right, of course. That was exactly what he would want to do. The thought of feeling his fist connect with Jack's flabby chin was a very satisfying one, but he knew better than to say so in front of Sharon. Although, he had a feeling that she would not be surprised. Despite his desire to knock her dirtbag ex-husband out, he had to admit that it might look a little bad, and having to talk him out of a suspension was the last thing Sharon needed on her plate at the moment.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I just don't like that you have to deal with him on your own."

There was more that he wanted to say, but she would not appreciate him being overly protective, especially while they were at work.

When they saw Lieutenant McCarthy walk down the hallway towards them, Sharon gently squeezed his arm, giving him a warm, reassuring smile.

"I'm not on my own, Andy," she said quietly, holding his eyes with her own, allowing him to see all the love and gratitude she held in her heart.

What she said was true. For too many years, Sharon had known what it was like to be alone, to feel true loneliness. That was no longer the case. Even when she faced a difficult situation by herself, all she had to do was turn around and he would be right there, and that made all the difference.

Jack sat at the large conference table, his eyes focused on his iPhone, and he did not bother to acknowledge them until well after the two women had taken a seat across from him. When he did, he looked annoyed, as if they had just interrupted something much more important than whatever it was they wanted to discuss with him. If the presence of the unfamiliar person next to his ex-wife surprised him, he did not let them see it.

"Sharon," he greeted her, stressing the last syllable of her name the way she hated. "It's been a while, and I'd love to catch up with you, but I'm a busy man, so if we could get this over with…"

Sharon smiled at him, but there was no warmth in the gesture. "Jack, I am so sorry for interrupting your busy schedule. We will try to make this short." Her tone was dripping with sarcasm, and she felt a familiar thrill at the narrowing of his eyes.

"Please allow me to introduce Lieutenant McCarthy." She gestured towards the younger woman next to her, intentionally omitting her position within the LAPD.

With slow, deliberate movements, Sharon opened the thin folder in front of her and slid two photographs across the table, turning them on the way so that Jack would be able to see them. She had chosen two of the least incriminating ones. The first showed her and Andy sitting on the steps in front of her house, her head leaned against his shoulder, the second was a capture of her kissing his cheek.

They had picked pictures that had been sent to the online publication in the first batch, but had not been published. Sharon studied him closely as he looked at the photographs in front of him. His eyes widened and a puzzled frown appeared on his forehead, but she knew right away that he was faking his surprise. Jack always overdid it when he tried to hide something. He was one of the worst actors she knew, which was probably why he never had any lasting success playing poker.

"What is this, Sharon?" His tone was outraged, and he shoved the pictures back towards her, sitting back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. "Are you trying to get back at me for my little indiscretions over the years? Why would you bring this up now, after you made clear you don't want me in your life anymore? That's cruel, even for you."

She waited patiently for him to finish his little song and dance, simply raising an eyebrow at his badly disguised insult.

"Sir, are you saying that you did not know about your ex-wife's relationship with this man?" Lieutenant McCarthy tilted her head slightly, her hands resting flat on the table, and her entire demeanor speaking of sympathy for the poor, wronged husband.

Sharon rolled her lips between her teeth in order to suppress a smile. The younger woman was beautiful. In her early forties, she was blond and very fit, her bright blue eyes giving her pretty face a special shine. She was Jack's type, and she seemed to have figured out exactly how to use that. It had taken Sharon the better part of three decades to figure out that Jack thrived on being the victim, and that he craved to have someone take care of him. The other woman had picked up on that in a matter of minutes and shamelessly used it to their advantage.

"Well, of course not," he exclaimed, all outrage and hurt feelings.

With McCarthy taking on the role of sympathetic friend, Sharon stepped up her bitchy ex-wife game a little. They had not explicitly planned it that way, but it was a good strategy.

"Jack, you know that's not true. I told you myself that I had been seeing Andy when you came home fifteen years ago. You remember, don't you? When we decided we would make a new start, being open and honest with each other?"

The bite in her tone was not entirely played. The memories of that time were still very fresh in her mind, as was the pain she had felt when he had not held up his end of the bargain.

He gave her a dirty look before he quickly backpedaled, focusing on the Lieutenant next to her as he tried to defend his obvious lie.

"I knew she'd been sleeping with the guy. Didn't know they had a real thing going on." He gestured at the photos that still lay between them, his voice wavering slightly as he played up his hurt feelings even more.

"We did not have a thing going on, Jack. I never lied to you about this. Or anything else for that matter. And we are not here to discuss my past relationship with Lieutenant Flynn," she snapped, hoping that McCarthy would keep up her protective act.

"We sort of are, Captain. And I hate to say this, but from these pictures it does look like there was more between the Lieutenant and you than just a little fling."

She was good, Sharon had to admit. Even though she knew that they were putting on an act for her ex-husband, she felt the urge defend herself to the other woman. She had known that this interview would be an unpleasant experience.

"The exact nature of my relationship to Lieutenant Flynn does not matter. The purpose of this meeting is to find out what you know about these photographs," she addressed her husband, keeping her voice even and emotionless, because she knew that would rile him up. He hated the fact that she seldom lost control.

"What do you mean, what do I know about them? I can tell you they aren't recent." He picked up one of the photographs and studied it closely before he eyed her critically. "Round about fifteen pounds ago, so in the 90s?"

Narrowing her eyes at him, she bit back her first response. He liked to take cheap shots at her looks whenever he was feeling cornered. Knowing that they were getting closer to having him where they needed did not make his digs hurt any less. She should no longer care. There was a man who loved her the way she was, even though he had known her fifteen pounds ago. She did not need Jack's approval, and yet, she had to swallow past a familiar lump in her throat.

"Don't play dumb, Jack. That doesn't suit you as well as you think. We both know that it was you who had those pictures taken. There is no one else who could have had an interest in anything like that back in the day."

Jack leaned back again, a smug expression on his face. "So that's your evidence? You haven't found a better person to pin this on? You and I both know that no judge will accept that argument, even though you've got half of them wrapped around your little finger."

She pursed her lips, holding his gaze for a long moment until she could see him start to grow uncomfortable. Then she smiled sweetly, her tone practically dripping honey. "You were working for Martin Bryson back then, were you not? You know, Martin always liked me. We still go out for drinks sometimes. I bet if I asked him very nicely, he would be willing to give me the names of the private investigators his firm worked with at the time. What do you think are the odds one of them remembers you asking them to follow your wife around for a bit?"

Raising an eyebrow, she waited for his response, satisfied at his slightly flushed appearance. He was getting nervous, which meant that he was about to say something stupid. They almost had them.

"You know, Captain," Lieutenant McCarthy said, "Even if Mr Raydor hired a private investigator to have you followed, that is not a crime. And those picture were taken in public places. If you'd wanted your affair to remain a secret, you shouldn't have conducted it out in the open. There's no law against taking photos of people out on the street."

Jack practically jumped at the defense that was provided for him, visibly relieved that someone was on his side. "Right! Even if I did what you're accusing me of, and I'm not admitting to anything here, there's nothing you can charge me with. And even if there were, the statute of limitations ran out years ago. If you want to get back at me for something, you'll have to think up something else."

"Hmm, yes," she agreed, appearing pensive for a moment. "If this were the only issue we think we have got, you would be right. Unfortunately for you, there is a little more."

Sharon pulled another photograph out of the folder. This one was a screenshot of the video that had been published. They had chosen a moment that merely showed the sated couple under the covers, dozing peacefully.

"This one was not taken in a public space. It was captured inside Andy's apartment, meaning that whoever took it is guilty of breaking and entering a private residence on top of filming in a private home without permission. This, as I am sure you are aware of, is not legal."

He kept staring at the photo, a slightly haunted expression on his face that was definitely not faked. For a second she almost felt sorry for him, imagining what he must have felt when he had first watched that video. Then she remembered her own feelings upon finding out that this intensely private moment had been filmed and published, and her sympathy for her ex-husband vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

"It still doesn't matter," he defended himself. "You won't be able to bring charges against whoever did this anymore. Should've figured that out a little earlier, but I guess you're used to dealing with murder charges. If you need to brush up on your legal knowledge, I can recommend a few really good books."

It was hard not to roll her eyes at his impossible attitude, but Sharon had more than enough practice doing just that.

"Yes, that is correct, and if we had just happened upon those images in a box in someone's attic, we would not have bothered to invite you for this conversation. However, some of the pictures were very recently published, and whoever sent them to the press is in very big trouble. Do you need me to tell you exactly which laws were violated or is your memory of law school good enough?"

He was beginning to get to her, and she would have to watch her reaction more carefully. She was getting too close to letting him see how much his behavior was really affecting her, and that would not help them get ahead in this case.

"You're out of luck again, Sharon. I have no idea what you're talking about, but I didn't send any pictures to anyone. If it helps you, Sandrine and I were in Tijuana until the day before yesterday. Went on a nice three week vacation, so whatever you want to pin on me, it's not going to stick."

That smug look made her blood pressure spike, and she allowed herself a brief moment to imagine how Andy would push her ex-husband's face into the wall. She knew that it was what he would be itching to do right at that moment, and it was very tempting to let him. Of course she would not let that happen, no matter how much Jack tried to convince her that it was a good idea. If for no other reason than the fact that she did not need her fiancé to come to her rescue. She would get Jack to hang himself all on her own, and there would be no way for him to get a lawsuit out of the experience.

"I would not be so sure," she cautioned him, but before she could continue, Lieutenant McCarthy chimed in, still very much in good cop mode.

"We don't want to imply any such thing, Mr. Raydor. I'm sure that you would never think of publishing intimate photos of your ex-wife. She is the mother of your children after all. Surely, you would not want to expose your own children to this kind of embarrassment. Right now, we have no choice but to look at you as a suspect. I would hate to bring charges against you. All you have to do is give us something to go on, someone else to look at. Can you think of anyone?"

The stubborn set of his jaw told Sharon that he was not going to bite even before he opened his mouth.

"Look, I have never seen these pictures before today, and I didn't send them to anyone. Who knows how many other lovers you had while we were married. Maybe someone got jealous and decided to get back at you. Sure wasn't me. I haven't cared enough about you for longer than I can remember, so what reason would I have?"

At his last words, Sharon felt the woman next to her stiffen for a split second, and she had to take a deep breath to control the initial wave of anger and pain.

"Okay, enough!" She no longer bothered to stay civil. "It is not going to take more than a few hours for us to find the person who you hired to follow me, and we already know who sent the material to the publication. We also established a connection between you and that person."

This information made Jack squirm in his seat once again, and she went on to describe just how very screwed he was.

"We have already invited her up here for an interview. That is going to happen as soon as we are done here. What do you think she will tell us when we lay the facts out for her? Do you really think that she is going to keep your name out of it?"

Sharon could almost feel the cold metal of her handcuffs as she slipped them around his wrists. She wanted to do it so badly, but that was not what they had agreed to do. She was glad that McCarthy took over to explain to him how he would be able to get out of trouble.

"Captain Raydor is right. Things aren't looking good for you right now, but we want to help you. I mean, you could take your chances in court. Even if you lost, you probably wouldn't have to do time. A few thousand dollars should do the trick. The thing is, though, whether you win or lose, this is going to follow you around for a long time. If we can prove that you used a company PI to do your private business, you probably won't get a job as a lawyer again. Not to mention that you might lose your license."

She let that sink in for a moment, and his sagging shoulders indicated that he began to see how bad his situation really was.

"We are not looking to ruin your life, Mr. Raydor. If you help us out, we will forget your involvement in this matter and you can go on as if nothing happened. Just be honest with us and we will work something out together."

The two women silently studied Jack for a while, giving him a moment to consider his options. They had put all their cards on the table, and all that was left was to hope for him to fold. Jack liked to gamble, both in his personal and in his professional life. The question was whether or not he would risk getting disbarred. Sharon was reasonably sure that he would not be that bold, even knowing that they had very little on him, but there was still a chance that he would go for it.

When he sat up a little straighter, Sharon held her breath, taking great pains to maintain her poker face.

"Okay," Jack finally conceded, heaving a big, resigned sigh. "What exactly do you want me to say?"

Sharon felt the tension in her shoulders relax at his words, even though they still had a long way to go. Jack's cooperation was a first step, and they would build on that.

"Thank you, Mr. Raydor. I think you're making the right decision."

McCarthy slowly pushed a notepad and pen towards him and leaned her underarms on the table, creating a sense of intimacy. Sharon simply sat back in her own chair, adding to the impression that she was being excluded from their conversation.

"We already agreed that any possible crimes connected to the taking of the photos and videos in question are beyond the statute of limitations, so you won't get in trouble for that. It would be very helpful for our case if you were able to tell us who took them. Do you remember the name of the person hired for that?"

He thought about that for a moment, his thumb absentmindedly playing with the clip of his pen. "I think his name was Reynolds. Not sure about his first name. He was pretty young back then and a really good investigator. Maybe he's still working for Martin."

When McCarthy pointed at the paper in front of him, Jack scribbled down what he had just told them before he looked up at her again, waiting for the next question. It was obvious to Sharon that he was extremely uncomfortable, but she had a hard time feeling any compassion for him. Not after what he had put her and Andy through.

She cast a surreptitious look at one of the cameras Buzz and Mike had hidden earlier, knowing that, on the other end, her people were already chasing down that new lead. By the time they were done with Jack, they would already have a name and, if they were lucky, a set time for an interview. It felt good to have a team she knew and could trust like that.

"Okay, this is a great start," the Lieutenant encouraged. "Now tell me how you know Deputy Chief Davis."

Jack sighed, quickly looking over to his ex-wife before focusing on the younger woman once more.

"I defended a few of her division's suspects since I came back to Los Angeles. Then, a few months ago, she showed up at a bar I like to go to. She came up to me and started talking, and I thought she'd give me crap about drinking. I mean, that's what it usually is with those women." He cast another glance at Sharon, defiant in the face of her narrowed eyes.

"Turned out that she was interested in something different." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Now, you see, she's not really my type. A bit older and a little less glamorous than I usually like them, but she seemed a little desperate and so needy. I've always had a weakness for that."

This time he held Sharon's gaze for a long moment, a smirk on his lips that made clear to everyone who was watching what exactly he meant. She felt heat rise into her cheeks, more from anger than embarrassment, but the idea that the people she worked with every day were seeing how little regard her ex-husband had for her was mortifying. She no longer wanted or needed Jack's love or approval, and she hadn't in a very long time. That did not mean that she was immune to his continued emotional abuse, and it was much harder to brush off when other people witnessed it.

"So yeah, we saw each other for a while. I broke it off when Sandrine came back from France and wanted to get back together. Winnie wasn't happy about that, so I gave her the pictures as a little farewell gift. You know, to get her off my back. I didn't want Sandrine to know that I'd been seeing someone else while she was away, and Winnie had been going on and on about how she wants that promotion and how Sharon here was going to snatch it away from her because Pope had a thing for her or something."

It would be funny if there weren't some truth to his words. Sharon cringed inwardly, wondering how Andy would react to that information. She had never bothered to tell him how, years ago, then Assistant Chief Pope had appeared somewhat interested in her. He'd had the good sense not to act on his feelings, however, and a few warning glares and tactical mentions of her marital status had diverted him towards easier targets. It was hardly worth mentioning at all, and she had only told Jack because it had amused her, and her husband had been spending a few days in her guest room at the time.

If Jack had been hoping to get a reaction out of her, he did not let her see it. Instead he went on as if what he had just dropped was common knowledge.

"So I thought it would distract her if she had some dirt on Sharon. Didn't think she'd publish it, though. I thought she'd maybe go for a little friendly blackmail or something like that."

He shrugged, as if the consequences of his actions were only a minor inconvenience. McCarthy narrowed her eyes at the man across from her, not appreciating his flippant attitude.

"Can you tell us how you shared the material with Deputy Chief Davis? Did you give her a flash drive or did you email it?" She left the rest of the sentence hanging, not willing to list all possible ways he could have delivered the files.

"Nothing like that, no. She set up one of those anonymous cloud sharing things, and I uploaded everything I had onto that. She said that would be the safest option. I'm just glad that I had everything digitalized years ago when I cleaned out my storage space. Made all this a lot less of a hassle. I just had to upload everything and then we were done. She left me alone, and I didn't think about any of that again until you called me here."

He spread his hands out to indicate that he had told them everything. The Lieutenant nodded, and after casting a quick glance at Sharon, she told Jack to write everything he had just told them down, including the information they would need to access the cloud drive.

Sharon chose that moment to excuse herself. Jack was digging his laptop out of his briefcase to find the link and login data they needed, and she had no desire to watch him any longer. Nodding at the younger woman, she rose from her chair and walked out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her and taking a few steps down the hall and around the nearest corner, where she leaned her back against the wall and closed her eyes.

Taking a few measured breaths, she tired to clear her mind of the anger and disappointment she felt, but was only partially successful. It would take considerably more effort than an on the run meditation to rid herself of the toxicity her ex-husband kept dragging into her life. Since there was no time for anything else, she would have to deal with that later. She had to check on her team to see what they had managed to find out while she was in the interview room, and then they had to prepare their interrogation of Chief Davis. She would suggest that Lieutenant McCarthy take Mike into that interview. He had a cool head on his shoulders, and he understood all the technical details of their investigation.

After another deep breath, Sharon pushed away from the wall and headed towards the interview room, already mapping out their next steps in her head. It would be a long day, but with a little luck, they would have the case wrapped up by the end of it.

~TBC~