“Besides,” Dex said, “Huntington Beach isn’t really in the news coverage area of the Las Piernas News Express.”

“I’ve told her all of this a million times,” Roy said, shaking his head.

“Do you think she’s losing her nerve?” Dex asked, getting right to the heart of the matter.

Roy hesitated, then said, “I worry about that, given her history of running away from problems.”

“What would she do? Try to go back to her first husband?”

“No. She knows I’d find her. She also knows Blake Ives won’t forgive her for taking the child. He undoubtedly still thinks of her as the alcoholic he last knew her to be.”

“She can’t divorce you.” Nelson stated this as fact.

“We are married, so technically, I suppose she could,” said Roy. “Our marriage was in another state, but under her real name. Her ex-husband believes she was with another man when the child went missing, so her ex has never known about me. If she starts proceedings to divorce me, though, she risks calling attention to herself from a system that’s been looking for her in connection with a missing child. And she knows that would lead to other discoveries, would mean our entire family would split up. Our children would be taken from us. She and I might go to prison.”

“You could leave her,” Nelson said.

Roy shook his head. “Even if I disappeared with the children, she would be able to cause a lot of problems. She disappeared with one child. A man disappearing with four children is another matter. She wouldn’t take any of that silently, either. Nothing would keep her in check-she wouldn’t have anything to lose. She would cause as much trouble for me as she could.”

“Ultimately not just for you and your four children, but for many others,” Dex said, in his cool, unruffled way.

“Yes. For many others in the Fletcher family. That’s why I’ve come to you. I want you to be aware of the situation.”

“Does she know of your infidelity?” Dex asked.

Roy and Nelson looked shocked, then Roy blushed.

Giles smiled a little. Dex glanced at him, and Giles saw the faintest hint of shared amusement in Dex’s eyes.

Roy said, “No.”

“No what?” Nelson asked. “No, you aren’t cheating on her? Or no, she doesn’t know?”

Roy took a deep breath and said, “No, she doesn’t know that I have cheated on her.”

“You don’t think she knows,” Dex said.

“Does she?” Roy asked anxiously, as if Dex might know his own wife better than he did.

Well, Giles reflected, that was entirely possible.

“She suspects, at the very least.” Dex smiled, a look of apology on his face. “At the gathering yesterday? After Sheila’s death?”

Roy nodded.

“Victoria approached me and said she was worried about Maggie, because Maggie’s looked a little tired lately. I said I thought Maggie looked quite well, as beautiful as ever. She said she thought most men thought Maggie was beautiful. She then wondered how Maggie coped with all the late-night business meetings we’ve been having, and said perhaps that might account for her lack of sleep.”

Roy looked stricken.

Nelson glanced between them, then asked Dex, “What did you say?”

“I didn’t deny the meetings, of course. I said that Maggie understood that it was easier for the men with small children if we occasionally met after the children had gone to bed. It gave those men more time with their children.” He paused. “She smiled and said Maggie was generous to put her own needs as a wife aside for the needs of the Fletcher brothers. She added that Maggie seemed to get out and about more than the other Fletcher women did, so perhaps she didn’t mind my neglecting her in the evening.”

Giles said, “Oh, my. Usually Victoria is more subtle with her barbs.”

“Yes,” Roy said, his voice a dry whisper.

“Let’s review,” Giles said. “You cannot relocate as a couple, you cannot leave her, she cannot leave you-at least, anyone who left the marriage would lose the children.”

“Right.”

“She believes this Irene Kelly is a threat. Do you?”

“I won’t say that it’s impossible for Ms. Kelly to track us down. The Express might publish photos of a woman who looked something like Victoria does now, and that might lead someone to identify her, but I think all of these possibilities are highly unlikely. The only place Victoria visits in Las Piernas is Dad’s house. I don’t believe anyone in the family would try to harm us, do you?”

“No,” said Nelson. Giles wasn’t so sure, but he kept this to himself.

“What about the possibility of someone in your neighborhood recognizing her?” Dex asked.

“Some people in Huntington Beach subscribe to the Express, but they’re a minority. Most people subscribe to the Register or the Times. I’ve looked around, checking driveways in the morning when I go for a run-I don’t think anyone on my street gets the Express.”

“Not at home, perhaps, but what if they see it elsewhere?”

“Our neighbors aren’t nosy types. We keep the house painted, the garage clean, and the lawn cared for. The children do nothing to annoy them. It’s suburban Orange County. All of that adds up to invisibility.”

“So far,” Dex said.

“Whom would Victoria go to for help?” Giles asked.

Roy thought for a moment, then answered, “The family-our family. She cut herself off from her own family a long time ago. She has a sister who lives in Pennsylvania, but they hate each other. I keep an eye on our phone records. No long-distance calls are showing up.”

“What about your…your other women?” Nelson asked.

“What do you mean?”

“If you’re sleeping around-”

“I’m not! I mean…Look, it’s one woman, whom I see very rarely and…and with complete discretion.”

“Not complete,” Dex said. “Victoria knows.”

“Victoria suspects,” Roy said.

Dex didn’t reply.

“What does your…your mistress know about you, about your family?” Nelson asked. “What if she tries to break up your marriage?”

“Not possible. There won’t be any problems there.”

“Who is she?” Nelson asked.

Clumsy! Giles thought, and frowned. “Really, Nelson. It’s not our business. I’m sure Roy knows what he’s doing. He won’t take unnecessary risks. When and if he feels comfortable talking to us about her, he may. If he never wants to, fine.”

“It’s not-” Roy broke off, frustrated. “It’s not about my trust for you. It’s that I don’t want to cause problems for her. It’s not my secret-not mine alone-to tell.”

“Of course not,” Giles said, and turned to Nelson. “Now. Let’s talk about Caleb. What progress are you making?”

As a strategy to distract Nelson, it worked perfectly. It also had the desired effect of getting him to leave at the earliest possible moment. Nelson could only admit failure where Caleb was concerned. He didn’t want to hear his brothers’ suggestions on the matter.

When he had gone, Giles said, “Roy, if necessary, do you think the children can be convinced that Victoria abandoned them?”

Roy sat in silence, then said quietly, “That will be difficult.”

“Dex, can you help out there?”

“I never assume that any individual will succumb to my charms,” he said dryly.

“It would not be distasteful to you?”

“No,” he said, not looking at Roy.

“So you will try?”

“Certainly, if Roy consents.” Now he looked Roy straight in the eye.

Roy looked away. He brooded, and Giles thought perhaps Roy was going to be the dog in the manger.

Roy said, “Even if she is…happier with Dex, I don’t see how it solves the problem in the long run.”

“No, I’ll work on that. This is just a first step. I think Cleo needs to know about this problem of yours.”

Roy blushed again.

Giles appreciated that Dex did not say aloud what they both knew-that Roy had already “talked” to Cleo and more.

But Giles was surprised when Roy said, “I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

Giles could have sworn that Roy had been working himself up to making private arrangements with Cleo, who-if things had reached that point-would have refused. Oh dear. If he was sincerely attached to his wife, that would be troublesome.