Divorced! Now what?
Chapter 134

Bob POV

Hank did a thorough checkup on Bethany; according to Hank, she never complained once. Like Theo said, Bethany was not behaving like the girl we all know and love. Had this k********g been the catalyst that sent her over the edge? Or maybe seeing that it was Bret, the man she was married to for three years attempted to kill her, the betrayal she must feel at the moment must be high; we have to give her love and attention and be there for when the dam breaks, We need to get her around the people and things she loves, so she can be reminded that there is more to life, with so many bad things going on one after another, she barely got a chance to breathe and she was under threat again. Was it because it was all because of the ones who should have loved her unconditionally? Who were also the ones behind it all, and she does not know where to turn anymore or who to trust and believe anymore. So, she has withdrawn herself, and we must find a way to draw her back out before she gets trapped. I hope it is only a short setback. We have always said my girl is strong, but even the strongest has weak moments.

Judy was okay with Pam coming. She had met her once already and did not mind her company; I asked Thomas if I could use his office when she arrived, I think she is coming to kiss b**t, and I am interested to hear her side of the story because, as it stands at the moment, my girl was hurt on her watch. I do not like that one bit.

Sitting half watching the replay of a game I had missed and wanted to see, holding mini Bob in my arms was like a dream after the stress we had been having. Actually, to sit and enjoy the time I have with Thomas, I am so glad that Bethany had pushed me to contact Thomas. I know she had been talking to him before the accident and planning a change to visit, but with all the research and planning she had done at the hospital, time seemed always to slip away. But it's about time to change that. We should consider doing a sports day here and sharing more between the homes. I am sure Thomas would like that, and Hank is okay with the travel. I hope that after some sleep, Bethany will return to her normal self. She had gone a long time with no sleep, and maybe it was all just a shutdown; I would have to wait for her to wake up to find out. I was humming a tune my mother used to sing me to sleep with. I had not thought of that tune for many years, and I was a little surprised to find myself humming it without much thought. It is incredible what the mind does when not pushed to do something, like muscle memory; it is just factored in the brain as the thing to do.

The knock on the door told me time with little Bob was over, and reckoning with Pam was about to start. Thomas entered the room, trailed behind by Pam. Pam had a large bunch of flowers, which she handed to Judy. I thought that was a nice touch, and I noticed that Thomas had a case of beer under his arm. After the pleasantries, oohs, and ahs over mini Bob, I handed the baby to Judy.

'Follow me.' I did not wait for Pam to acknowledge what I commanded. I turned and headed down the hallway, Thomas nodding as I walked by. His poor office had become more mine lately; he kept it very clean and tidy. Even his bin was empty, but the scattering of files told me it was used often.

I sat behind his desk, wanting space between me and Pam. I did not know what she had planned to tell me, but I needed that gap in case I wanted to hit her or something for endangering my girl. Pam took the seat opposite me, and I stared at her for a little while; she looked like she had had very little sleep, and she looked apprehensive.

'Talk to me, Pam. Help me understand why you left my girl in danger like that! I spoke calmly, too calm. If one of my officers were here right now, they would be quacking in their boots; they know that voice, which generates fear in the best of them. This was a well- honed skill I had developed over the years, and it served me well.

'Could you tell my story with no interruptions?' Pam asked with as much authority as she could raise, but it did little to me. I nodded for her to continue.

'My name is Pamela Stevens, not Pamela Jones, as most of your branches know me. I am an uncover on behalf of the FBI and internal affairs, and I guess a bit of Interpol police. Interpol only came on board the last six months or so. She waited for me to nod acceptance, but I refused to ask any questions; she asked for time to explain, advising me that she was undercover and had not excused her from her neglect.

'Three years ago, our department had enough reports on police corruption to send me undercover. Jacko's team was picked because we trusted him, and before you ask, no, he did not know I was undercover as far as I know; I had to get special permission to tell you and Jacko.

Though I was here serving under Jacko, the cover-up was good. Even after three years, we needed more concrete proof. We knew they were dirty, but we had trouble proving it. It was not until Bethany left Bret and took that information to her lawyer that all the proof started to come forward, links made more sense, and we finally had a whole section in a precinct and the Judge, too.

You already knew a lot of this, but not my part in the background. I had given my boss a lot of proof over the years, but not the missing links. We had enough to get the old police commissioner to take a long holiday, and I think he knew the time was ending; he did not know how much we knew.

We could not get rid of him until you accepted the job; we trusted no one else in that top job, or at least a person we respected, and we had nothing dirty on you, your wife, and your daughter. But nothing to link you to any of it, and your accepting the job gave us a chance to what you more closely.

No offense, but we had to be sure. Pam took a breath, and she still had not explained about the removal of Scott's men. So I gave her a blank look and waited for her to continue.

'We did not expect the ram raid on Bethany; we knew about the tunnel and had been working on getting in there; we found that the day before the hit on her, we wanted to put cameras inside and monitor what was happening. But things got crazy after Bethany was taken. Since the accident, I had organized a team to stay on Bethany's tail, follow her, protect her, and never leave her sight; even when she was asleep, I had a team outside. That was where we got to meet. I had seen you move into our building, and I was pleased that you had come to live there; it saved me from moving into whatever building you moved to. I needed to be close. Before you say it, I did not take you to bed for the job; I took you to bed because I like you. I like you a lot, and I had to get permission to pursue a personal life, I had to prove you were clean before they would let me see if what I felt for you would grow. Anyway, the day Bethany was kidnapped, we had a long day and night. As you know, I had already sent Scott's team away, and Jacko wanted all the books translated, but when we found more, I called it a night. Bethany could barely keep her eyes open. My team followed behind, and when they knew where I was headed, they gave the team parked across the road the heads up. They wanted me to drop her off and drive away. Instead of watching her enter the building, they were having a smoke and were leaning on their car chatting; by the time they realized what was going on, it was too late; even I had turned around and was headed back to try and reach her in time. I was fuming; they took the task too lightly, and it had cost me the respect and trust I had worked hard to gain. But worse than that, I caused you, Bethany, and your whole family, even Theo and his family, pain. I am not a good person to have as a friend. I have ruined it all.' When Pam finished her explanation, she had tears running down her cheeks, and I felt terrible for her. She had a team watching, and they were caught napping like Scott and his team. I do not blame Scott for his team's failure, so I doubt I should blame Pam for hers. Now, to digest all that she had said.