Framed

He continued filling out the necessary forms and said, "You're right. I did. I liked you...a lot. But you turned me down for a second date. You told me I was too young for you. Way too young, as I recall."

"I'm sorry. At the time, twelve years seemed insurmountable. Now I'm 39 and...."

Rick looked around and said quietly, "You're still just as beautiful as you ever were, but that ship has sailed. You're in very deep trouble, Brooke, and there's nothing I can do to help."

"Yes, there is," she insisted. "You can check into my husband's background. I'm going to hire a private investigator, but any help you can provide could make the difference in my son having a normal life or...." She fought back the urge to lose it knowing she had to hold it together for Tyler's sake. "Look, if what Evan said when he called me is true, he'll take Tyler away from here and if he does...." It hit her that if Evan did molest children, this almost certainly wasn't the first time. What if there were others? What if this was a pattern? What if....?

"Please let me call my friend, Gayle. If I'm right, we can't waste another minute. Rick? Please?"

He hit 'enter' and said, "Okay, follow me."

He led her to a wall-mounted phone and watched her dial the number. As it rang, Brooke said to herself, "Please pick up. Gayle, please, please pick up!" On the fifth ring she heard, "Hello?"

"Gayle?"

"Yes. Brooke? Is it true? Evan called me. Did you...?"

"No! None of it is true. Listen, I need you to call someone for me, okay? I'll explain this all later, but you have to do this for me."

"Okay. Go ahead," she said as she grabbed a pen and a notepad.

"That private investigator you know. What was his name?"

"You mean the one I recommended you use to look into Evan if you felt so strongly about him? I know I talked you out of it by showing you how hard it was to find information about someone, but I did recommend him until you told me to forget about it."

"Yes, yes. You were right. Listen, Evan called me after he staged all of this. He was taunting me. He said if I'd looked just one level deeper into his past I'd have found out who he is. Gayle? I need this investigator to find out who he really is. Where does he come from? And most importantly, does Evan...or whatever his real name is...have any history of..." She spoke very quietly, "Child molestation."

"Oh, my God! Brooke, what are you saying? You can't possibly believe a guy who loves Tyler that much is capable of...."

She cut her friend off and told her what Evan had said to her. "I also need you to go into my house. Wait for Evan to go get Tyler from school but get over there now and watch. When you go in, there's a small safe in our closet. The code is 8575. Open it up and take pictures of anything that's inside it. I should have done it myself, but I put it off in favor of following him out of town instead knowing I could check the safe anytime. And that's where I found Cheryl. Dead. In a motel."

"But she was found in her home, right next door to you and you were on the floor next her body with blood on your clothes. That's what Evan told me just a few minutes ago. He sounded frantic with worry about you, about Tyler, about...."

"It's not true, Gayle. None of it is true. It's a setup!"

"Mrs. Walters? Your time is up," Rick told her.

"I have to go. But make that call and get him on this immediately, check the safe, and keep an eye on Tyler. If I'm right, you know what that means for him. Oh, Jesus. I almost forgot. Call my attorney, too. You know her, right?"

"Sure, of course I know her. My God, Brooke. This is all so surreal," Gayle said. "Okay, I'll do it. I'll make both calls on my way to your house and I'll do my best to see what Evan does....." She wanted to say 'with Tyler' but couldn't voice the words.

"Thank you, Gayle. I know this looks bad, but I'm innocent. It's a setup. I swear to you."

Rick nodded at the wall letting her know he meant 'now.' "I gotta hang up. Don't let me down, Gayle. Please!" She hung up the phone and Rick escorted her to her holding cell.

"You'll be in here until your arraignment sometime tomorrow." He opened the cell and closed it behind her.

Brooke grabbed the bars and said, "Rick? Please don't hold what I said against me. I need your help and more importantly, so does my son."

"I can't make any promises, Brooke, but if Tyler's in danger, you have my word I'll do whatever I can."

"Do you believe me?" she said her voice filled with desperation.

"I want to," he said. "I really do." He turned away then stopped and turned around. "The age difference didn't mean a damn thing to me." He hesitated then said, "It still doesn't."

"Rick!" she said as he walked away. With no other options, Brooke sat down and finally let the emotional dam break and cried until she couldn't cry any longer.

Gayle called Brooke's attorney first. She told her she'd be at the jail in less than an hour. She let her know she was also calling her PI friend and the lawyer suggested another name, as well. "He specializes in stolen identities. I can't recommend him strongly enough."

Gayle chose to take the attorney's advice and called her private investigator over the one she personally knew. "I'll meet you near the Walter's home in twenty minutes. If this is true, there's no time to waste. The step father will take the child out of school then out of state and it'll be over."

Evan was on the sidewalk talking—and laughing—with a uniformed officer. They were shaking hands and the patrol car left as she parked about 50 yards away. She sat there waiting for the PI or for Evan to leave. The PI hadn't arrived yet when she saw Evan back the black Malibu out of his driveway and head in the other direction which was the way to Tyler's school.

She decided to go ahead and go into the house using the spare key she knew Brooke kept in one of those rock-looking clamshell things in the flower bed out back. She slowly pulled up next to the house, got out and went around the back and found the key. Her heart was pounding as she opened the back door and went inside.

She carefully made her way to the master bedroom looking for any kind of sign that said things were different. She didn't notice anything until she entered the bedroom and saw that Evan had placed two suitcases on the bed. One of them was nearly full of Evan's clothes and the other one had a few things she knew belonged to Tyler in it. The closet door was open and she saw the safe in the back right corner. She knelt down and punched in the code. The light turned green and the door opened. She reached in and when she pulled out the contents, her blood ran cold.

There were three passports. All of them had Evan's picture at various ages and all three had different names. Jeremy Thompson, Jason Stephens, and Derek McNeely. They covered a span of some 18 years. Gayle pulled out her phone and took pictures of each of them before noticing there was also a wad of cash that was about the size of a bundle of socks. She took a picture of it too, then uploaded them to the PI and to Brooke's cell. She was uploading them to Brooke's attorney when she heard Evan's voice.

"You stupid, meddling cunt," he said. Gayle set the phone down and froze.

"All you had to do was mind your own fucking business, Gayle. You could have lived out the rest of your sorry, boring existence you call a life in peace. But now, I can't very well let you walk out of here, can I?"

"I already sent the pics of your phony passports, Evan. Or Jeremy or Derek or whatever your real name is."

"It's Colin. Colin Murphy." He exhaled deeply and said, "God, it feels good to be able to use my real name. Thank you for that, Gayle."

"You'll never get away with this," she said, her voice shaky with fear.

"Oh, I wouldn't be too sure about that. You see, I've gotten away with...this...three times before. Three different, unsuspecting wives with beautiful boys the same age as Tyler. It's true, you know. We all have an age range."

"What? An age range?" Gayle said as her body began trembling.

"Yeah. Those of us who prefer um...younger lovers. There's an age where they become like Goldilocks—just right. Mine is from eight to twelve and Tyler is almost nine so even a ditzy bitch like you can connect those dots, right Gayle?"

He knelt behind her and she could feel his breath on her neck. "Tyler was standing outside waiting for me at school. I didn't even have to stop. The car's running and as soon as I throw these suitcases—and these passports—in it, we're out of here. Sorry, but no one's gonna discover your dead body until someone smells the stench of rotting flesh and it's gonna look like suicide because you'll be holding the gun."

He stood up and Gayle heard him rack the slide on a handgun. "No! Don't kill me! Please! Evan! Don't...."

She thought it strange that she heard the shot ring out. She'd always imagined one couldn't hear oneself being shot in the head, but she'd heard it quite clearly. Only this time it ended in a kind of thud rather than an echoing ring. Then she heard the sound of a body slumping to the floor as blood began pooling around her feet.

"Gayle? Are you Gayle?" she heard a man's voice say.

"Yes, I'm Gayle," she said fighting the urge to throw up.

The man stepped across Evan's body and said, "Here. Give me your hand."

She turned around and reached back and saw a good-looking man around her age smiling at her. It had to be the PI she'd called. "It's okay. You're safe," he said as he offered her his hand.

"Be careful," he told her as she stepped around the blood and over Evan's corpse.

"Jesus fucking...." She couldn't even look. His eyes were wide open staring into space. Gayle threw her arms around the private investigator's neck and said, "Thank God." She pulled her head back and said, "No. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She hugged him again and just stood there for a moment.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "Okay enough to go sit with the boy outside?"

"Tyler! Oh, my God. I forgot. Yes, of course," she said as she let go of him and headed outside to the car idling in the driveway.

"Where's my daddy?" he asked as she climbed into the driver's seat. "Who was that man that went inside our house and why was he holding a gun?" He looked over at her then asked, "Why are you crying, Gayle?"

The private investigator called the police department and in less than fifteen minutes, the house was once again filled with detectives and uniformed officers. The lead detective looked through the passports and told his assistant to run a check on the names while the crime lab folks processed the scene.

Within an hour, the preliminary investigation traced two of the phony names to people who had died within two years of Evan having assumed their identities. It would take several days to run down the third, but a search of Colin Murphy yielded the most important information. Murphy was wanted on multiple counts of sexual battery upon minor children—all boys ranging in ages from eight to twelve—in Massachusetts from 18 years ago. He'd evidently escaped by paying for the first passport and re-establishing himself in another state where he married a woman with a boy about Tyler's age. She went missing within an year and was never found. The second wife was serving a long prison sentence for second-degree murder, ostensibly committed in a jealous rage. As in this case, that was most likely a set up wherein Evan or whoever he was at the time, planted evidence of an affair to arouse his current wife's suspicion. Whether she went to prison for life or ended up dead, he got the child. Sick but criminally brilliant.

Once this information came to light, Brooke was released from custody and Gayle was there to meet her. Brooke hugged her and thanked her then went looking for Officer Rick Jensen. He was sitting behind a desk booking someone else into jail as she stood there waiting patiently for him to finish.

"You look much nicer in those clothes than jailhouse orange," he told her. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of any real help."

"It all happened too quickly for you to be able to do anything," Brooke told him. "I just wanted to apologize again for the way I...."

"No need," he told her. "I don't hold grudges."

She smiled and said, "Do you still date older women?"

"I guess that depends," he said smiling back at her.

"On?" she asked.

"If you're asking me out, Brooke, the answer is 'yes.'"

"Then I'm asking you out, Officer Jensen. I have a lot 'splaining to do," she said trying to do some improv from I Love Lucy.

"You don't owe me anything, Brooke. I'm just glad this all got cleared up. How's Tyler?" he asked her.

"I still haven't seen him yet," Brooke said. "But I'm sure he's fine. Physically, at least. It's going to be very difficult for him to understand all of this. I'm just thankful we found out before...you know."

"So where are you taking me?" Rick smiled trying to lighten the mood. "On our date."

"Is dinner at my house okay?" she asked with a smile.

"Sounds perfect," he told her.

"And um...I'll be happy to watch Tyler for you," Gayle said with a smile.

"Saturday evening around 7 o'clock?" Brooke said.

"I'll bring a bottle of wine," Rick told her.

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A year later, Brooke looked back on the chain of events that led up to this day. The day she married Detective Rick Jensen, who'd been promoted three months ago. He'd just finished making love to her a second time on their wedding night and she couldn't help but think back on that second date.

He'd come over for dinner that Saturday and although Brooke felt like she should be grieving or angry or...something...she had no such feelings. All she wanted was to be held; to be with someone who cared about her. Someone genuine. Someone she could trust. Yes, she knew she might be rushing into something. But she'd been so cautious and careful before while ignoring her intuition and that ended in disaster. This time, she listened to it and otherwise threw caution to the wind as she realized the right guy had been there right in front of her all along. Her fear of falling in love with a younger man had pushed her right passed him and into the arms of a lying psychopath who'd nearly destroyed her son. Tyler had indeed struggled with the loss of his 'father' but Rick had quite literally stepped in and ran with the ball after she invited him over following that second date at her home while Tyler was with Gayle.

Brooke laughed as she thought of the word 'ball' as she'd let him ball her that very night. She was so hungry for love and affection and quite frankly for sex, and so willing to trust her gut this time, that she never thought twice. She hoped Rick might be at least okay in bed after having had her world rocked by Evan, but that night she learned he was every bit as attentive and 'substantial' as her late (and good riddance to him) husband.

She smiled when she met him at the door. "Hi there," she said as he handed her a bottle of wine. She thanked him with a one-armed hug and a kiss on the cheek.

He told her how beautiful she looked to him, and unlike before with him, or even the way she'd felt with Evan, she never once doubted him or his sincerity. After a second glass of wine, Brooke invited him to sit next to her and said, "Are you really okay with dating a slightly older woman who has a son?"

He put his arm around her and said, "Brooke, I already told you the age difference has no meaning to me. None. And as to Tyler, I'd love to be a part of his life. I've always wanted children and I love playing sports and all the things boys like doing. Does that at least partially answer your question?"

She smiled and said, "Well, one of them." She looked up at him and said, "You know, as an older woman...."

"A much older woman as you once reminded me," Rick interjected correcting her.

"Careful," she teased. "As a somewhat older woman, I don't want to waste any more time with a guy....

"A much younger guy...." he said still smiling.

"Yes, a much younger guy I also happen to find very attractive," she agreed. She snuggled up close to him and said, "So as a slightly older woman who doesn't want to waste time with a much younger man she finds very attractive, would it bother you if I told you I really want you to take me to bed?"

Rick gave her a very serious look and said, "Only if it's a one-time offer. That would bother me. You see, if this a quickie or some kind of rebound thing, I'll pass in the hope of winning your heart the old-fashioned way."

"You've already won my heart," she told him softly. "I just need you to um...win my body."

"In that case...." he said as he leaned over and kissed her. Brooke sighed with pleasure as their lips met for the first time.

"I have a lot of pent-up energy," she warned him. "And I really do feel like I've wasted a lot of valuable time on the wrong man when Mr. Right was right here all along."

"Detective Right," he playfully corrected her again with a warm smile.

"Right. Detective Right. You are indeed right," she said taking the shtick to extremes.

"Okay, that's gotta stop," he told her pretending to be annoyed as he stood up and extended his hand. He helped her stand, as well, then put his arms around her and kissed her again.

"Mmmm," Brooke purred. "I believe I missed the forest for the trees," she said as she kissed him back. "The right guy really was right in front of me all along and I couldn't see it because of something as silly as age. Can you ever forgive me?"

"That depends," he told her.

"On?" She smiled and said, "You know, this reminds me of a conversation we very recently had. So...on?"

"On how good you are in bed," he said.

She pulled him close and said, "I could tell you, but you'd never believe me. How about I show you instead? But I can promise you you won't be disappointed." She held out her hand and led him to the bedroom where the carpet had been removed along with her late husband's body. The fact that he'd died in that very place just several feet from where another man was about to make love to her not only didn't bother her in the least, it excited her beyond words. And that she could feel that way without guilt was an added bonus that went along with her new approach to life.

They hungrily undressed one another as they kissed and tore at each other's clothes. When Brooke was down to nothing but stockings and heels and Jensen was in a pair of white socks, he pulled close to himself and pushed hard against her, his growing cock already pointing upward.

She reached down and grabbed it thankful to know it was thick and hard. "Mmmm. So far, so good," she said as he picked her up and laid her on the bed.

He rolled in beside her and kissed her while reaching for one of her large, soft breasts and squeezed gently causing Brooke to sigh with pleasure. "That's nice," she moaned as he rolled her nipple between his thumb and index finger.

Brooke reached for him and softly stroked his hard shaft as the kissed deeply and passionately. Deciding to take a small risk, Rick pushed Brooke down between his legs and to his delight, she again moaned with pleasure. "I like a man who takes charge," she told him as she immediately pulled his cock into her eager mouth.

Brooke took him deep on the very first stroke and as she came up, she used her hand to extend the pleasure. She quickly went back down then slowly rose up sucking hard on the head of his cock making him groan with pleasure. After several more slow repetitions, she began mouth-fucking him hard and fast using her lips, tongue, and hand the way only experience can teach a woman.

"Fuck!" Rick called out. "You are...amazing!"