The House Husband by James Patterson & Duane Swierczynski

Author:James Patterson & Duane Swierczynski [Patterson, James & Swierczynski, Duane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B01M0XFF7K
Publisher: BookShots
Published: 2017-01-03T06:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 21

Boy, this has been an uncomfortable couple of hours.

I really thought Detective Diaz would have been home a lot sooner. I mean, how long can an extramarital dalliance take? What, did they stop for pizza and milkshakes afterward?

I swear, I didn’t mean to snoop into his personal life. I was simply curious about the two homicide detectives tasked with the Pancoast case. Were they smart cops? Lazy cops just showing up for the paycheck? Not that I was all that worried. I had thought everything through to the smallest detail. I’m a full-time stay-at-home dad; I have to be a detail man.

And part of that attention to detail is knowing who it is you’re up against.

Detective Teaghan Beaumont is apparently just back from maternity leave, which explains the way she moved at the Pancoast crime scene. And the beautiful glow in her cheeks—only new moms have that kind of radiance. I remember how sore Ruth was after each of our children was born; it’s a heck of an ordeal, natural childbirth.

But I also remember how beautiful she was.

With his partner off to become a mom, Detective Diaz was temporarily partnered with one Theresa McCafferty, who was three years older and a shameless boozehound. Also a shameless flirt.

Most cops knew to steer clear of this particular train wreck. But Detective Diaz, well, I suppose he felt he was owed some attention. Anyone else might find Detective McCafferty a bitter pill to swallow. But to Detective Diaz, she was just what the doctor ordered.

How did I learn all of this, you ask?

Fair question.

Sure, I’m a stay-at-home dad. But I used to have a job outside the home, and I still have contacts in that world. Which come in handy from time to time. (Plus, Facebook is great at filling in the gaps.) And let’s just say that Detective Diaz wasn’t doing much to cover his own tracks.

The thing is, Detective Diaz soon began an ill-advised and very public affair with Detective McCafferty. Perhaps they thought they were safe, carrying on in cop bars and at McCafferty’s Northern Liberties apartment. But the thing about cop bars is, they’re full of cops.

And cops really like to talk.

I’ll admit it—I immediately felt horrible for the Diaz family, even though I hadn’t met them until the moment I knocked on their door, presenting myself as a police department counselor with a very urgent matter to discuss. Mrs. Diaz was all too eager to grant me access to her home, offering me a seat and a cup of unsweetened iced tea.

You see, I had to intervene, because I knew exactly how this would all play out. At some point, Mrs. Diaz—Franny—would learn about the affair, and she would either (a) soldier through the faithless marriage for the kids’ sake or (b) divorce her cheating husband for the kids’ sake.

But what she wouldn’t realize is that the kids would be the ones to suffer no matter what option she chose. Detective Martin Diaz would already have damned them.

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