Brad Meltzer - Dead Even

By the time she returned to her apartment, there was only one person Sara wanted to see – and when she entered her bedroom, she was surprised to find him on her bed. Fully dressed and lying on top on the covers, Jared was sound asleep. Sara kicked off her shoes just loud enough to wake him.

“Sorry,” Jared said, rubbing his eye “I called, but you weren’t here. If it’s okay, I was hoping I could sleep here tonight.”

Sara stared at her husband. On any other night, this would’ve been a fight. Tonight, though, she could only say, “Of course. Whatever you want.”

When he woke up the next morning, Jared considered not going in to the office. He knew he had an imposing amount of work to do if he expected to be ready for trial, but he couldn’t help but think that a relaxing mental-health day might be the best way to recharge his batteries. When he turned over and saw that Sara had already left for work, however, he kicked off the covers and jumped out of bed. Regardless of how tired he was, regardless of how exhausted, he couldn’t let her win.

An hour later, Jared arrived at the office, briefcase in hand. As he rode the elevator to the forty-fourth floor, he thought about running on the treadmill in the gym. That was always the best method for clearing his head. But, once again, fear outweighed personal time, and anxiety outweighed relaxation. By the time Jared opened the door to his office, his mind was racing with trial strategies.

“You’re late,” a voice said as Jared stepped inside.

Jared jumped. It was Rafferty.

“For a man who’s behind on points, you’re getting an awfully late start on the day,” Rafferty said, leaning back in Jared’s leather chair.

“It’s not even eight yet.”

“Big deal. Sara got in by a quarter after seven.”

Jared dropped his briefcase on his desk. “Is there anything else you want, or are you just here to threaten me after yesterday’s debacle?”

“I don’t need to threaten you anymore, Jared. You understand the consequences.” Rafferty then put his hand on a sealed envelope and slid it across Jared’s desk. “I’m just here to show you what else is happening while you’re so busy drowning.”

Jared opened the envelope, pulled out a small stack of photographs, and flipped through them. The first few photos were of Sara and Conrad talking, while the last few were of his wife and Conrad kissing. His face went white.

“And you’ve been wondering why she’s spending so much time at the office,” Rafferty said.

“Who took these?” Jared asked, his eyes still glued to the photos. “When were they taken?”

“Last night. An associate in their office took them for us. He does great work, don’t you think?”

Jared rushed for the door.

“Where are you going?” Rafferty asked.

Jared didn’t respond as he stormed out.

Jared barged through the metal detector on Sara’s floor, ignored the sign-in sheet, and walked right past the security guard. “Hey, get back here!” the guard called. “Visitors have to sign in!”

As Jared marched down the hallway, he announced in a loud voice, “I’m looking for Sara Tate. Where is she?” A secretary pointed down the hall.

By the time Jared caught sight of Guff at his desk outside Sara’s office, the security guard had caught up with Jared and seized him by the arm. “Do you know this guy?” the guard asked Guff.

“Yeah,” Guff said nervously. “He’s okay.”

“Next time, sign in,” the guard told Jared.

“Thanks,” Jared said, pulling free of the guard’s grip.

“I guess you want to see Sara?” Guff asked.

Without answering, Jared barreled past Guff and threw Sara’s door wide open. As it crashed into the wall, Sara looked up from her desk, startled. “What the hell are you doing?” she asked, covering the papers on her desk. “I’m working here.”

“I need to speak to you for a moment,” Jared demanded.

Recognizing the gravity of her husband’s tone, Sara shoved the papers back into their file folder. “Guff, can you leave us alone for a second?”

“Sure thing,” Guff said, exiting the office and shutting the door.

Sara and Jared stared at each other. “Are you having an affair?” he asked in a low voice.

Sara’s mouth dropped open and she looked away.

“Sara, please look at me,” Jared said, his voice cracking. “We’ve always been honest with each other. Now answer my question: Last night, did you kiss Conrad?”

“Who said we kissed?”

“Who said we…? I can’t believe you!” Jared yelled. “You’re lying! You’re fucking lying to me!”

“Do you have someone spying on this office?” Sara asked accusingly. She looked out her window to see who could see in. Across the air shaft was a row of dusty windows to other ADAs’ offices.

“Don’t you dare change the subject,” Jared said. “You betrayed me, and now you want to turn it around? You’re the one who cheated on me! ”

“First of all, lower your voice. Second, I didn’t cheat on you. It wasn’t like that. Conrad tried to kiss me, but I pulled away.”

“So your lips never touched?”

“No,” Sara shot back. “They didn’t.”

Pausing, Jared fought to contain himself. He felt a sharp pain at the base of his neck. Finally, he exploded. “Sara, I saw the damn pictures with my own eyes! I saw them! You were kissing him on this couch! This couch right here!”

“I don’t know what pictures you saw, but I pulled away immediately! Nothing happened.”

“First you say your lips never touched, then you say you pulled away. How the hell do you expect me to believe you?”

“Jared, I just do.”

“Well, you can take that load of bullshit and sell it somewhere else. You’re in no position to ask for trust.”

“And you are?” Sara asked.

“I didn’t cheat on my wife.”

“No, you just rifled her briefcase last night.”

“What?” Jared asked, forcing a laugh.

“I heard you, Jared. I heard every move you made last night. And when I turned over, I saw you. You must think I’m an idiot, though – after what happened last time, do you really think I’d bring important files home with me? I was testing you. You failed. So stop lying to my face.”

His lips pursed in anger and his arms crossed, Jared just stood there. Eventually, he said, “Fine, I admit it. You caught me. But don’t think this comes close to what you did with Conrad. This isn’t some damn file, it’s our marriage!”

“It’s our trust! And when you went through my briefcase-”

“Your briefcase? You’re equating this with your briefcase? Did you hear what I said? This is our marriage, Sara! Our marriage!”

“I know what’s at stake, Jared! I’m not blind!” Sara shouted, getting up from her seat. “But I’m telling you, nothing happened! It was just a kiss-”

“ Just a kiss? ”

“And I pulled away! Now stop rubbing my nose in it!” Sara yelled, pointing a finger at her husband.

He grabbed her firmly by the wrist. “Get your hand out of my face.”

“Don’t touch me!” she shouted as she wrestled out of his grip. “I can have you disbarred! You’re a thief!”

“Well, at least I’m not a whore!”

With a quick swing, Sara slapped Jared across the face.

Holding his cheek, Jared stared at his wife and saw something he had never seen. “You never should’ve done it, Sara. You ruined it.”

“Jared, I swear to you. We never-” Before she could finish, Jared headed for the door. “Please… just listen.” She reached for him and grabbed his arm. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s too late for that. Now let go.” He tried to pull away, but Sara held fast. “I said, let go!” he shouted. “It’s over!” With a sharp tug, he freed his arm, and the resulting momentum sent Sara smashing into a file cabinet.