Divorced! Now what?
Chapter 165

Pam POV

Our statements were made. Bob was gone with Scott, the girls had left for the hospital to check on Nate, and most of the guests had left, leaving those waiting for news and looking lost. Kitty, her face etched with worry, was cleaning up the kitchen; now the family had all gone, and I headed in there to speak with her. I could hear Jacko, his voice filled with urgency, still doing his job, and I hoped to catch up with him later.

'Kitty,' I said, my voice echoing in the empty kitchen as I walked in, a hint of tension in my tone.

'Oh, hey, I thought you had gone to check on Nate,' she said, her voice distant. Her actions focused on scrubbing the table as if trying to erase the memory of the blood that was no longer there.

'We need to talk.' She looked up at me, puzzled.

'About what?'

'I noticed you at the hotel on several occasions, and you were not alone,' I said, her face paling at the implication. But before I could delve further, Jacko burst into the kitchen, demanding a report. I hadn't yet had a chance to question Kitty; there was nothing to report. The mystery of Kitty's actions remains unsolved for now.

Jacko reprimanded me and put me on report, and Kitty was full of lies and shed tears for him. Her ability to cry so easily amazes me; it is not a skill I have mastered. Fumed, I stormed out of there, wondering how all this was so terribly wrong.

I headed to my desk at the precinct and packed my personal things. People were staring at me as I walked by, dressed in a dirty wedding dress. I could already guess what was going to be said after I left today. I opened my locker, grabbed a change of clothes, changed there, and threw the wedding dress in the locker, not interested in carrying it around at the moment.

I did not even speak to anyone. I was so angry. It's time to report to my real boss, the head of the FBI. He needs to know what I have remembered and let him deal with it.

My boss was there in the office even on a Sunday; I knew he would be there, so he invited me into his office and closed the door.

'I thought you were getting married today. But what I hear, you have had more than you bargained for.' He chuckled a mirthless sound.

'Let me fill you in with what I know.' I told him about the shooting, Nate's heroic act, and how Jacko treated me, and he did not give me a chance to explain and put me off with no pay.

'Don't worry. You are still under me so that you will get paid, but take time off and sniff around.

'Well, that is why I am here. It is Kitty! I said sadly.

'You are sure?'

'Yeah, remember when I was doing the undercover job at the hotel?' He nodded for me to go on.

'Kitty arrived with three young girls dressed to the nines. They looked afraid and clung to Kitty as if their lives depended on it. I never saw them leave or see what room they went to, but on more than one occasion, I saw her there with young girls in tow. I thought her sewing room was odd, full of evening gowns and wedding dresses. My gut says she makes the clothes for weddings. He looked at me for a while, saying nothing. It was as if his mind was churning something over. 'Do you think Hank is involved too?' He spoke at last.,

'My gut says no, he may have treated a girl or two with injuries, but as Kitty does work for the battered woman, he would not have questioned why they had the injuries, trusting his wife implicitly.

'I tend to agree with you. Hank had not been on my radar, but Kitty had been a few too many places where the criminals had been seen not to be part of it. What is the connection to this? What do you think?' He probed.

'I think she is related to one of the women in the wedding group. She is the right age to go to the same school, and we need to dig further! My mind was running over all I had seen and heard over the years, trying to piece a few loose ends together. 'Leave that to me; we have to tread carefully here.

'Okay, what are your orders?'

'Go to the hospital and see how Nate is doing, then head home and take time off. It seems Jacko wants you off duty for some reason, so it is best if you do that, take the break, and get some rest; you are not helping the baby by getting stressed out. 'Jacko thinks I am using being married to Bob as an excuse not to report to him. But I still need to report. He must have something else on his mind and wants me out of the way!

'Agreed, maybe he has some digging he wants to do that is sensitive and does not want you around when things go down.' 'I will accept that for now. My wedding dress is in my locker if you want to check it out; my locker code is....' I wrote it down and gave it to him. 'I will send one of the girls to pick it up and bring it here. I nodded and waited, and he looked to have more on his mind. 'Getting the head of the syndicate was a good result. A new fight will begin, with Peter temporarily out of the picture, fighting to get out of jail. The streets might be a dangerous place to be for you. Stay home, renovate, be careful who comes over, and have Scott give you a security guard. Your face might be too well known now. I informed people at Interpol, and after they finished cheering, we talked about pending gang wars. They agreed. The repercussions would be worldwide, and the man had hands in a lot of places. The hotels will be an issue, as he owns more than 50 percent. Peter was his successor, but the government might seize them all. Most of the properties owned by the criminals will be taken. Even the wives are now under arrest. Kitty was the last link we were looking for. But we won't be taking Hanks home. He owned it before he married Kitty and has worked hard for what he has. There is no proof he had gained anything from unlawful dealings.

'That is why you want to tread carefully. You can't have innocent people getting caught up in this just by association!' 'Exactly, his children are going to be devastated, and I hate to think how Hank is going to cope with this. I might have to find out if he is married to Kitty. Maybe he was scammed, too. I had not thought of that. At least that would make him closer to Bethany and Bob, being caught up in all of this, too, and knowing Bob will understand how he feels.

I was so drained after leaving my boss's office because too much had happened. I hope this is the end of it for us. This family deserves a break from the drama it has caused. I was sitting in my car, thinking about when Bob had called. 'Hey, Sweetie, I was about to head over to the hospital; how is Nate?' I asked, trying to be as positive as I could. 'On my way home, should I be there in half an hour? Would you like takeaway for dinner?'

'Sure, I will be home in fifteen minutes. Bob hung up without telling me, and I needed clarification. Suddenly, I thought that Jacko might have told him I was suspended