“I’m fine. He doesn’t know you stopped by the store. When he’s out of town, he hardly even calls anymore. He only calls to make sure I’m home or at work.”
Katherine sighed with relief. “Good. I mean, not good that he’s keeping you under his thumb, but good he’s not back in town.”
She waited for Alex to get to her reason for calling. She wouldn’t pressure her. Katherine would let her set the tone and the pace. Alex sipped her coffee and Katherine could see her working up the courage to tell her whatever it was that was on her mind.
“I thought about what you said. You’re right. Tim is violent. The first time it happened, I thought it was because he’d been drinking, and I had really made him angry. I promised to be better. And then it happened again,” she said in a small voice.
Katherine’s heart went out to the woman. “I’m so sorry.”
Alex had tears in her eyes as she shrugged a shoulder. “He is so kind most of the time and he treats me very well. He apologized and felt horrible for what he had done, so I forgave him. Then it happened again and again, every time I would swear I was leaving him and somehow, he always convinced me to stay.”
“I know. I understand. You can leave. You don’t have to stay,” she said in a gentle voice.
“I’m going to, but I wanted to give you something before I did,” she said, reaching down to the bench and picking up a stack of papers, placing them on the table before sliding them towards Katherine.
“What’s this?” she asked, a little confused how the papers could help her.
Alex grinned. “Tim is out of town a lot. He doesn’t like me to go out with my friends when he isn’t there with me, so I spend a lot of time alone in that big house. I get bored and I will admit, I did a little snooping. I saw where he hid the key to his desk and inside a drawer, I found a key to the filing cabinet.”
Katherine was nodding her head as she half-listened to what Alex was saying. “I know which one you’re talking about. He always kept it locked.”
“I unlocked it and started digging around. I found those,” she said, pointing to the stack of papers that included bank statements, handwritten notes by Tim and a few pages of case notes.
“Is this what I think it is?” Katherine asked, holding up a particularly interesting piece of paper.
Alex smiled. “It is. I planned on using the evidence as part of my escape. I was going to demand he let me go or I would turn it all over to the police. He bribed a judge in that case. In another case, he paid off a witness to disappear. He kept track of all of it.”
“This is amazing. You’re giving this to me?” Katherine asked, wondering what the catch was.
Alex nodded. “I’m going to leave him regardless. I have a feeling you’ll know what to do with these more than I would.”
“Alex, I think these are more powerful being used to control Tim rather than turn them over to anyone just yet. Are you okay with that?” Katherine asked.
In her mind, she had the leverage she needed to get Tim to drop his suit against Ben. She would demand he sign the divorce papers and leave her and Alex alone. If he refused or if he did anything, she would send the papers to the police and the Bar Association. He’d never practice law again and would spend a healthy amount of time behind bars.
“I’m fine with whatever you do. I’m leaving him.”
Katherine nodded. “Promise me you’ll leave here and go pack tonight. Don’t stay there another night.”
“I promise. I’m moving back into my parents’ house. My dad has known Tim wasn’t good from the beginning, but I refused to listen to him. I will now. My dad will keep me safe should Tim come knocking on the door,” she said, her voice strong and committed.
“Good. Don’t look back. You take your things and change your phone number. I will use these papers to try and get him to stay away from you, but you have to watch your back,” Katherine warned.
“I will.”
“Good. Will you call me if anything changes? It is going to take me a few days to do what needs to be done. That means he’s going to be looking for you and you know he?
??ll hurt you if he gets the chance,” Katherine said, wanting to make sure the young woman knew they weren’t playing a game.
It wasn’t the movies. The good guys didn’t always win. Alex was in real danger. Katherine would never forgive herself if she played a role in Alex being hurt.
“I will call. I’ll keep the phone. Please let me know if anything changes,” Alex said, a nervous smile on her lips.
“I will. Take care of yourself,” Katherine said, before walking out of the café without ordering anything.
She was anxious to get back to the hotel and read through all the documents. It was hard to believe she had real proof of his evil ways. She knew it was her ticket to freedom. As she walked to the street corner, her mind was already reeling with how she could use the information. She debated telling him over the phone or in person. She would really love to see the look on his face when she showed him the papers. It would make the past two years’ worth it.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” she cautioned, as she held her hand up to hail a cab.