He closed his eyes and soaked in the feel of her. “It’s okay.”
This might be hitting her even harder than him. From the start, Remy had concluded that he’d loved Alexis. But the whole happy newlywed thing had never resonated with him.
Nor had the idea of himself as the grieving, heartbroken husband.
That had just never . . . felt like it fit. But this information about Alexis?
As harsh as it was, it did fit. And explained why his dreams of Alexis had not been happy.
His brother had told him his marriage to Alexis was solid. Which suggested that he’d told Jude about his suspicions regarding Alexis’s death but not about her affair. Why? Because he’d been too proud? Too private? Had he been protecting Alexis or his own reputation?
Remy moved to straighten.
He immediately let go. “Ready to continue?”
“Yes.”
He placed the first page to the side, facedown. Below it rested bank statements. Pages and pages worth. Kimley had highlighted certain transactions. Hotel rooms. Dinners. Travel. Lingerie purchases. Huge amounts of money had been deducted. “This must be the physical evidence he said he’d mail,” Jeremiah said.
Next came phone records with highlighted calls and texts.
Then photos of Alexis with a good-looking, black-haired guy. One photo captured the two of them snuggled into a corner table at a fancy restaurant. One of them walking into a hotel. One of them sitting at a bar facing each other and leaning in for a kiss.
He cut a glance in Remy’s direction. She looked pale and grim. He raised a questioning eyebrow.
“I’m just . . .” She dashed a tendril of hair off her forehead. “I’m just disappointed, I guess. I’d been imagining Alexis as this wonderful, loyal, devoted person.”
“Are there very many wonderful, loyal, devoted people in the world?”
“Ihaveto believe so.” She said it in a way that made him think it really was necessary for her to believe that.
“Maybe Alexis was wonderful, but also made some mistakes? Or maybe I cheated on her first? Like father, like son. And this was how she paid me back.”
Remy’s expression told him that the possibility of that, him cheating on Alexis the way his father had cheated on both his wives, made her nauseous. “If you were a cheater, why would you have gone to the trouble of paying a private investigator to catch Alexis in the act?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I might have been a cheater who was fine with my own affairs but jealous of hers? I mean, I hope not. We don’t have all the facts.” What kind of person was 1.0? What kind of person was Alexis?
He continued through the stack until he reached another letter from Fred Kimley. This one was dated more recently—fifteen months ago, over a year after the first letter from Kimley, one day after Alexis died.
June 25
Dear Mr. Camden,
I’ve completed the investigation you requested. As before, you will find an electronic file containing the evidence I’ve compiled online here and can expect to receive hard copies in the mail.
It is my opinion that your wife is engaged in another affair, but I was unable to prove it conclusively this time. Mrs. Camden has learned how to evade detection. When she did not wish to be followed, she took public transportation.
For example, you’ll see in the log that on one particular trip she drove from Camden to Brunswick and bought a ticket on Amtrak’s Downeaster train. Because Brunswick is the northern-most stop, I purchased a ticket going as far as the final stop, Boston. I was at a disadvantage because I didn’t know where she was exiting. Moments before the doors closed at Wells, she disembarked and hurried to a taxi she’d pre-scheduled. She was gone before I could secure a taxi and follow. The next time she took the train, she drove farther south to its Freeport stop. I booked a ticket south again, but this time she stepped onto the northbound train at the last second.
She no longer uses her credit cards to make purchases linked to her secretive behavior. She now withdraws cash. See the attached bank statements.
On March 19-22 she told you she was traveling with her friend Naomi Nomura to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. On April 29-May 2, she told you she was on a trip with her cousin Bree Whitcomb to New York City. Both those women were quiet on social media during the days of the supposed trips. Alexis did post during those time windows. However, when I ran the images Alexis said were taken at the Outer Banks through reverse image search software, I was able to confirm the photos she posted were not taken at the Outer Banks. The photos in New York were taken there, but none of them included Bree, which makes me doubt whether she was in New York with Bree. She may have been there with a man.
I completed the number of hours you requested for this case and only regret my investigation was not able to yield more concrete information.
Sincerely, Fred Kimley
More bank statements followed. More photos, this time Alexis behind the wheel driving, then walking onto a train. She wore big sunglasses on her beautiful face. Her dark hair was thick and long. Her clothes elegant.
