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Jade stood and stomped
    to the closet. Donna cringed as she watched Jade rip her
    favorite cashmere coat from the hanger, leaving the wooden
    object swinging empty from the rod. “I’m going over there.”
    Donna reached out to touch her, but thought better of it
    last minute. “I don’t think you should do that now while
    you’re mad.”
    Grace frowned. “Why not? No time like the present. Let
    the asshole know he’s been found out.”
    Donna scowled at her supposed backup. “I agree she
    needs to eventually confront him, but do you really think she
    is in any state of mind now? She should calm down first.”
    Jade interrupted the debate when she opened the front
    door and said over her shoulder, “You two can stay here and
    argue if you want, but I’m going.”
    There was no question Donna and Grace were going,
    too. Jade at least agreed to let Donna drive and the three
    piled into her car and headed for the scene of the crime,
    22
    Cat Johnson
    Daniel’s apartment.
    Darkness had fallen by the time they arrived and entered
    through the still broken front door of the building. Grace
    didn’t do stairs so although Jade was nearly bouncing off the
    walls in anticipation of the confrontation they all stood and
    waited for the elevator to arrive.
    “Maybe you shouldn’t go in there accusing him. He
    might have an explanation for the photo. Maybe she is his
    cousin or something,” Donna suggested once inside the
    jolting elevator car.
    Grace and Jade both sent her looks of disbelief and she
    sighed. “Never mind.”
    The doors opened on Daniel’s floor and Jade, moving
    faster than should be humanly possible in boots with three-
    inch heels, was down the hall in a flash and pounding on the
    apartment door.
    Donna cringed and hung back slightly, they should have
    a little bit of privacy, no? Grace had no such inhibitions and
    was right up next to Jade, helping her by kicking at the door
    with her clog. Staying out of it seemed no longer a viable
    option so Donna rushed into the fray.
    “Shhh. Remember. That undercover cop guy lives here.
    We don’t want to be arrested for disturbing the peace or
    something.”
    Face twisted, Grace said, “You worry too much.”
    No, she did not! She only worried when her friends were
    in danger of going to jail, but she didn’t have time to defend
    herself because just then, the door directly next to Daniel’s
    opened and an elderly woman with her hair in curlers
    popped her head out.
    “What is going on out here?” She didn’t sound very
    friendly, not that Donna blamed her.
    Shooting her friends a look that said, ‘see!’, Donna
    stepped forward. “We need to speak with the man who lives
    in this apartment. It’s…uh…urgent.”
    The blue-haired lady shook her head. “He’s not home. I
    saw him leave about an hour ago with a woman. Pretty, dark
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    Trilogy No. 108: Just Desserts
    hair.”
    Jade’s hand flew to her stomach as if she was about to be
    sick. Donna laid a hand on her arm as she said to the older
    woman, “Thank you. We’ll catch up with him later.”
    When the door closed again, Jade let out a shaky breath
    and the anger apparently seeped away. “God, it’s definitely
    true then. I guess deep down I expected to confront him and
    be mad for a bit, but he’d have a good explanation and then
    I’d forgive him and we’d make up.”
    Donna frowned. She knew Jade. She doubted she’d
    believe Daniel even if he had a gold plated alibi, but she
    didn’t mention that.
    Grace shook her head. “Well, there’s nothing we can do
    now. Come on. It’s still happy hour at the Hogs & Heifers.”
    Jade nodded. “Yeah. That sounds good. I could use a
    drink.”
    One of Grace’s favorite single-girl haunts, the former
    meat packing plant turned bar sported buffalo heads
    mounted on the walls and a vast collection of donated bras
    on display. Scantily clad female bartenders wielded attitude
    but still attracted a vast male clientele, as did the fact