Chastity Chronicles Pt. 03

I nodded my head. My mouth was full, and I knew not to talk.

"I want to thank you."

I almost choked. I swallowed with difficulty and slurped some tea to wash it down. "Thank me?"

"I see that surprises you. I believed my daughter when she told me those things about Ben. Of course, I believed her! She was my daughter. You don't have children, so perhaps you don't understand. Your children are everything to a mother. It isn't until they get older that they start to disappoint you."

I looked at my little fork and wondered if it was strong enough to stab this woman to death.

"I had no reason to doubt her. When his mother threw him out of her home—her own son!—it merely confirmed it with me. I befriended her. I felt sorry for her. I didn't realise what a petty vile woman she was. I only discovered it the night of the gala. I hauled Sandra out of there and had a long talk. She confessed everything to me."

"That she ruined a man's life, destroyed his reputation and any prospect for a good future, and ended up making him homeless? All because she couldn't handle a big dick?"

Diane shushed me and looked around the café. I stole her smoked salmon sandwich from her side of the tray. I ate it when she looked back at me. Her eyes dropped to the platter for a second.

"Yes. She did. It was stupid and juvenile. I had a long talk with her. It didn't go well. She then took a fancy to that artist kid. Talked about him a lot. Then the other night she came home crying. She wouldn't speak to me. She's shut me out. Then I find out what happened."

What she meant was, she found out Billy raped her daughter and had him beaten within an inch of his life.

I grabbed a scone and cut it open. Steam rose. I slavered jam on one half and then dropped a large dollop of cream on it. One bite and I was in heaven. English food is terrible, but they sure got it right with this stuff. I quickly put together the other half and devoured it.

I have to bring Ben here.

"So, thank you."

"You still haven't said for what."

"For exposing all that. That bastard deserves jail."

"Are you talking about Carl or Billy?"

"Both, I suppose."

"Soon to be you, too."

Diane looked shocked. "Me? What are you talking about?"

"I was in the warehouse. The one Carl owns. The police had moved all the paintings down to the first floor. They left me alone with them. It only took me like five minutes to confirm they were all painted by the same person and that person was Billy. I'm really good at what I do. So then I looked around. The cops hadn't bothered because the crime scene was upstairs. There was a lot of art there. Priceless stuff. From all over the world. Some I didn't recognise, but I could recognise the authenticity."

I grabbed another scone and cut it open. More steam! These things were amazing. The jam with the clotted cream made it.

As I had prepped another jam covered delicacy I continued. "Stolen antiquities are a lucrative market. Did you know most stolen art is bought by curators and museums? They actually say when caught that if they hadn't bought them, they would have ended up in private collections and no one would ever see them. Can you believe that? But the crime is hardly policed. There's simply too much of it going on worldwide. So, I naturally noticed a lot of the art was going to museums worldwide. Imagine my surprise when I found a manifest hidden in a filing cabinet in a back office and saw quite a few pieces had been shipped to our quaint little museum right here in Centreville.

"Yesterday morning I went to the museum and walked around. I found most of the stolen pieces already on display. There were two pieces missing. So, I pulled out my credentials and spoke to the curator. At first, he was pleased to speak to the senior editor of my magazine. You do know which one, correct? Then when I asked about those two missing pieces, he nearly fainted, the poor soul. I calmed him down and he told me everything. I have a way with men. Then I called Sergeant Clarke. He should be here momentarily after he executes the search warrant at your home.

"I would eat up if I were you. The scones are going to get cold."

Epilogue

My door buzzed, and I answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hi Chastity, it's me, Adam."

"Adam?"

"Yes, let me up."

I hesitated and then let him in, and fretted until he knocked at my door.

I opened it and there was Adam. I looked for Ben, but he wasn't there.

"Ben doesn't know I'm here. Can I come in?"

"Yes, of course. Sorry. Come in."

I took his jacket, wet from rain, and hung it in the closet. "Can I get you a coffee? It's miserable outside. Who knew it could get this wet and cold in August?"

"I would love a coffee. Just black, please."

"Ooh. I like black."

"That doesn't surprise me."

I raised my eyebrows as I led Adam into my kitchen. I guess Adam has a little sass in him.

I turned to my espresso thingy and dropped a golden pod in the top and put a glass mug under it and pressed the button. So much work.

"What can I do for you, Adam?"

"I read the papers. Saw the story about the art smuggling ring right here in town. The police took down a lot of the rich and famous."

"Rich, yes. Famous, no. Well, a little bit now."

"Took a little digging, but I found out it was you that led the police to them."

"Not completely true. I had a small part."

"I lost my job. We all did who worked for that man. You knew that, right?"

"Yes, and I'm sorry, Adam. That was not my intention. I merely reported what I found."

"I know that, and I'm not blaming you. That whole family was fucked up. I landed on my feet. I have connections. I'm making the same salary and working fewer hours. I couldn't be happier."

His coffee finished brewing, and I handed it to him. He waited and looked at me.

"You're not having one?"

"No, I don't like coffee."

"You don't like coffee? Don't think I can trust someone who doesn't like coffee."

"Then don't trust me. What's this about? What are you doing here? Not that I mind, but this is unusual."

"You dumped Ben again."

I sighed. "Yes. I did."

"Good."

"Good?"

"Yes, of course. It wouldn't work and Ben needs someone his age to grow old with. You were the best thing that ever happened to him. He needed you when he did, but he needs his own life, too."

"I agree."

"I'm here to see if you're all right, Chastity. I don't think you have anyone in your life to confide in, do you? I know you loved him. More than he deserved perhaps, because you let him go. He'll see that one day and understand. But you must be broken-hearted. Are you doing okay?"

I went rigid. I didn't know how to respond. For the past two weeks, I had been going through the motions. Keeping myself busy with the magazine. I had cried once and then shut off the taps. And now here was Adam, cranking both the hot and cold taps on to full. That wasn't fair. This wasn't right. This was...

Adam held me for an hour until the crying finally stopped. He dried my tears, kissed my cheek, and quietly left.

I managed to cop one feel. He was just as big as Ben.

Author's Closing Comments:

A little light on the erotica. All right, there was no sex. Not really. Sorry about that. The tale didn't really fit with that. It will ramp up again in the next chronicle.

Let me know what you think. I respond to all queries.

And NO, it would totally NOT be appropriate for Chastity to sleep with Ben's father! Don't even suggest it. Adam is a good man, one of the better ones, despite allowing his wife to throw his son out of the house. But he never abandoned Ben. Remember that. And he could never cheat on his own son with Chastity. These are the life values that make us all better people.

Stay safe!

Lana Ocean

May 2023

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