Meant to Be (RightMatch.com Trilogy) (14 page)

He’d just bundled Beth into the car and slid in the driver’s side when his phone buzzed. “I should get that. Maybe somebody wants me to pick something up for the party.”

“Go ahead. It’ll be a while before the group shows up.”

Checking the phone, he recognized the caller as Sabrina Jenkins, his psychologist. Why would she be calling at ten at night?

“Hey, Sabrina, what’s up?”

“Oh, Cole. Something terrible has happened.”

“Tell me.”

“Carrie Lawson, the woman who was being bothered by the guy we kicked off the site? She was attacked outside of her home.”

“Tell me the attacker wasn’t Ernesto Street.”

“I’m sorry, Cole. It was.”

o0o

Cole asked Joe and Spence to meet him in the den, but he led Beth down there a few minutes beforehand. He wished he could appreciate how cool the space was—all Dana’s trophies and accolades took up one wall and Joe’s football and sports awards covered another. Now Kara’s were accumulating, too. He knew Dana hadn’t displayed her prizes since the accident, until they’d built this house together.

Beth was studying them. “She’s something else, isn’t she? To be able to look at these and run a studio when she can’t dance anymore? I’m not sure I could be so strong.”

“Beth, turn around.” She did. Her face didn’t show her emotions about what he’d told her. Or hadn’t told her. “Are you upset that I didn’t tell you about the predator?”

“Frankly, yes. You promised not to keep things from me.”

“I did. It’s just that things were so tenuous with you and Ellie, I was—”

“You were afraid to tell me. I know, love, just like the first time you left me out of something.”

“I guess.”

“Look, you’re worried about the stalker, which you should be, so let’s get this out in the open.” She waved to the trophies. “Life is short, Cole, and things can be taken away in a heartbeat. Both of these people know that. So we shouldn’t have something like this between us.”

“I apologize for not telling you. It’s obvious why, isn’t it?”

“Sure. Ernesto Street is the epitome of liars online. And you were thinking about how you lied to me.”

“Yes. I was afraid to rub salt into the wounds.”

“I can see that. Though I would have helped you work through this. I imagine you’re feeling guilty that a woman was harmed emotionally and now physically.”

“Of course I am.”

She crossed to him and circled her arms around his waist. Her eyes were a pretty hazel tonight, set off by the brown-and-white checked dress she wore. “First off, I want your solemn promise you won’t keep something of vital importance like this from me again.”

“Okay, I promise.”

“I’ll choose to believe that, Cole, but you better not chicken out if it’s something serious.”

“I won’t. Thanks for understanding this time.”

“Now, about this predator. Why do you feel responsible for what he’s done?”

“If we brag about the number of matches we make, and advertise how many marriages result from them, then we have to bear responsibility for the negative effects of our service.”

 “How about if one of those marriages results in divorce? Is RightMatch at fault for those? Or for abuse that happens during a relationship? Or for unwanted pregnancies?”

Kissing her nose, he said, “Okay, okay. I get it.” He hugged her close.

“You two need to get a room!” This from Joe, who’d come to the doorway. Spence was behind him. Hugging Beth even closer, he added, “Yeah, like you can make that statement. You two hardly keep your hands off your pregnant women.”

His two brothers joked about hormones as they came into the room and took seats on the couches. Beth and Cole dropped down on a sofa facing them.

Sobering, Spence asked, “What happened?”

“You know the incident I told you about—the woman who was being harassed by a match she didn’t want to see anymore.”

Joe shook his head. “Don’t tell me. It’s gone further.”

“Yep. Apparently, the guy followed the woman home after that first date, so he knew where she lived. Tonight he attacked her.”

“You know, even though the three of us found love on your site, I hate matchmaking online. It opens itself to so much of this.”

“Let that slide for now. Luckily, after Carrie Lawson reported the initial harassment, the police had given her a panic alarm to carry with her, which was patched into nine-one-one. She pressed it.”

“Did it scare the attacker away?” Joe wanted to know. “It makes a god awful noise.”

“Not before he tackled her to the ground, right outside her front door, and punched her in the face.”

“Jesus.”

Cole moved to the edge of the cushion. “I have to do more, Joe.”

Spence had been silent, but now he leaned forward and clasped his hands between his knees. “You’re not responsible for this.”

Cole shot a quick glance at Beth. “Yeah, I know. But there has to be more I can do.”

Joe whipped out his cell phone. “I’m calling my buddy at the FBI again. Last time I talked to him, he said he was going to do some research on the issue.”

“Thanks, Joe. I don’t know what else to do.”

After his brother left a message, he stood. “Well, now you can come upstairs and celebrate with Kara. Wasn’t she something?”

Cole smiled. Thank God for his family. He didn’t know what he’d do without their support. He smiled at Beth. Or without hers. Sometimes that scared him, but tonight he was going to forget about it and do what both Beth and Joey had suggested—he was going to celebrate what he had, this minute, right now.

o0o

Chase Sanders sat behind his desk at Rockland’s FBI headquarters, intimidating as hell. He fit the typical agent stereotype: short dark hair, muscular build, immaculate suit and a stern expression on his face. Maybe Cole should have worn a suit, but the last time he put one on was the tux for Joe’s wedding. Did he even own a regular one that fit?

Stop it. You’re just nervous.

“So you’re Moretti’s brother.”

“Yeah.”

A hint of a smile on Sanders’s face. “Did he tell you he saved my life once?”

Cole’s jaw dropped. “No, he didn’t. When?”

“About five years ago. He’d just become sergeant and we caught a case of bank embezzlement in downtown Rockland. It seemed routine and my crew went in to arrest the guy. We got to his office and he was cooperative, or so we thought. We put him in handcuffs, but when we hit the pavement outside, he’d gotten out of the cuffs with something, literally, up his sleeve, and grabbed another agent’s gun. I was right behind the agent, who the embezzler pushed to the ground and held the gun to my temple. He threatened to shoot me if the two other agents didn’t give him the keys to my car.”

“Where does Joey come in?”

“Unbeknownst to me, your brother was across the street from the bank in plain clothes. He said later he’d had a bad feeling about the arrest. He crossed the street when he saw what went down, he jumped the guy from behind, knocking the gun out of his hand.”

“How come this wasn’t in the papers? And Joe never told us?”

“Because the episode didn’t put the FBI in a very good light. Joe said there was no need to publicize what went down and we could save face. Needless to say, we were grateful—especially the agent who he got the drop on. And me, of course.”

“Which is why you were willing to talk to me.”

“Partly.” Sanders tapped a pen on the desk. “I’m also worried about online dating. All the feds are. I scanned the notes that I took when Joe asked about the predator earlier, so start with the latest development.”

Cole told him the new part of the story. Repeating it aloud made him feel worse. Sanders nodded and asked a few pointed questions.

“So now you’re after more ways of preventing this from happening?”

“Uh-huh.”

“First off, what you’ve done so far with the BeenChecked.com site and requiring payment by a paper check is better than most online-dating sites. But we have a few things more you can do. The agency has a profiling division and they’ve come up with profiles of predators.” Leaning over, he clicked some keys on a computer and swiveled it to face Cole. A screen came up with a list of traits of predators. “If you scroll down, you’ll see some special ones for online dating.”

The missive started with statistics. “You gotta be kidding me. One to four percent of the population are sociopaths? That means, like, millions.”

“Three to twelve million.”

“Wow.”

Cole read the red flags for identifying predators: intense flattery, inflated credentials and the pressure to make decisions quickly. Others were charisma and charm, claims of being sudden soul mates; gaps or inconsistencies in a story were others that could be detected. These would all be obvious online.

Fuck, a few could be applied to his and his brothers’ behavior online. He told the FBI agent as much.

“Look at it this way. What’s before you is a compilation of the factors. If you only fit a few, then we wouldn’t be suspicious.”

Cole continued to read. Next were the triggers that would come into play after the couple met. Does the guy (or girl, and there were many) try to isolate the one he wants to date? Does he want to move fast to be sexually involved? Does he play the pity card, as in, no one understands him?

 Sanders added, “We also have a quiz to see if you’re a target. Unfortunately, most online-dating-site clients answer a lot of yeses to those. No offense, but that’s why sites like yours drive the bureau nuts.”

“I get it, but if I publicize these things on the predator page, or even more predominantly, we may have less of a chance of this happening on RightMatch.”

“Could be. It certainly wouldn’t hurt.”

“Anything else I need to know?”

“We have a list of resources for people who are suspicious of their matches or have been directly targeted, like your woman here. She can get help from a lot of different people: investigators who specialize in this and social service organizations who deal with the aftermath. As a matter of fact, the government is giving us funding to further this particular area of research.”

Cole leaned back. “These will help, and thanks. But in reality, it’s hard to stop this kind of thing, isn’t it?”

“Of course it is. If it wasn’t, we would have stopped it long ago. If we had the power, we’d probably shut all sites like yours down.”

“Yeah, I see where you’re coming from.”

Cole left the FBI offices with a heavy heart. Previously, he’d only worried about his own experiences online and what harm could be done by hurting people. Now, he wasn’t feeling so great about providing a service which set up people for physical assault. He’d have to think about that.

Chapter 10

As she drove Cole and Ellie to Ava’s house in Pittsfield, an upscale suburb of Rockland, where Ava lived with her doctor husband, Beth’s nerves jittered at the impending visit. Her daughter had invited her, Cole, Ellie and Rob to dinner. Luckily, her son was free, too, because he had a calming effect on Ava. And Beth knew she’d need her son’s influence.

Why are you doing this?
Beth had asked Ava.

You said I needed to get to know him better.

Still she’d been suspicious.
Honey, do you have an ulterior motive?

Mom, I love you. But you should see what you’re in for. Bring him and the baby. Get a look at the rest of your life.

Exasperated, Beth had taken her daughter’s words as a challenge.
He’ll do fine with our family. We’ll be there.

“Penny for your thoughts.” Cole spoke from the other side of the car, where he sat wearing jeans, a pressed shirt and a light, leather sports coat.

“Thinking about how today will go.” She confessed her misgivings.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I can handle myself.” He winked at her. “I’m known to be quite a charmer.”

“Of course you are. It’ll be fine.”

Ellie babbled from the back, “Da-Da-Da, Be-Be-Be, Ellie.”

Glancing in the rearview mirror, Beth gave the kid an air kiss. “That’s right, sweetheart. I’m Beth. And you’re Ellie.”

“Up,” Ellie said as soon as Beth spoke. Her arms lifted.

“No, love. You have to stay in the car seat.” Cole turned around to distract the child with a toy—this one a rubber book, which she pretended to open and read nonsense words. To Beth, he said, “You know how happy seeing you like this with Ellie makes me, don’t you?”

“It makes me happy, too. I’m falling in love with her just like I did her dad.”

“Still scared?”

“Uh-huh, but I couldn’t control myself once I spent any time with her. Let’s drop it. We got bigger fish to fry today.”

“Tell me about Mariel.” He was trying to distract her and she was glad to go along.

“She’s as adorable as Ellie, of course. She’s got her dad’s light hair and brown eyes.”

“They’ll be great together. Ellie loves other kids, especially those her own age.” He added lightly, “Maybe Ava and I can set up a play date.”

The comment caused Beth to laugh, as it was meant to do.

They made small talk until they reached their destination. “Wow, nice house,” Cole said when they pulled into the driveway of the oversized colonial.

“Yeah, and she’s only twenty-five. When I was that age, Peter and I lived in a small apartment with two babies because he was starting the firm and refused to take his family money.” She shook her head. “I didn’t have the kind of help she does, either.”

“How old is Mark Mason?” Ava’s husband.

“Only twenty-eight, but he’s a full-fledged surgeon already as he skipped a few grades in school. Some kind of prodigy.” She took a glance at him. “You two should get along well.” Once parked, she shut off the engine and sighed deeply. “You ready?”

Squeezing her arm, he smiled in support. “I am. But the real question is, are you?”

“Sure.”

“It’ll be okay, Beth. I don’t bruise that easily.”

They exited the car and she led Cole and Ellie, who insisted on walking, through the garage and into the house. Rob’s car was here and Beth took comfort in that.

“There they are.” Mark stood at the stove stirring something on a burner. He was tall and thin, with a kind face and a good, solid inner core. Beth loved him. He crossed to them, wiping his hands on his apron which read,
This is my kitchen, too
. “Hey, Mom,” he said kissing Beth’s cheek.