“Have you been waiting long?” she asked with knitted brows.
“Not at all.” I removed my jacket before retaking my seat.
“Good.” She took her seat across from me. “I couldn’t find parking.”
“This part of town gets crazy with the parking situation.”
“Tuh, tell me about it.”
Our waitress approached, took our drink orders, and left us with the menus.
“I’m so hungry,” she said. “I skipped lunch to get some work done since I had to leave the office early to meet up with you.”
I nodded. “Why don’t we start with an appetizer, then? Salad and fried plantains?”
Marjorie smiled. “That sounds good.”
“Great.”
I waved the waitress over and ordered our food before putting my full attention back on Marjorie. Though self-assured and confident at first sight, I could feel the nervousness coming off of Marjorie the longer we sat at the table. Instead of overwhelming her with questions within the first few minutes of our meeting, I opted to make friendly conversation.
“How long have you lived in Williamsport?” I asked, knowing from our initial conversation she wasn’t born here.
“Almost ten years now. I moved here right out of college for my first big-girl job.” She grinned.
“And you decided to stay, huh?”
She nodded at the same time our waitress brought out the appetizers we’d ordered.
“Sure did. I fell in love with the city. I’m from a smallish town in Virginia and couldn’t wait to move to a larger city to start my career.”
We chatted a little about our backgrounds as we ate. Once we finished with the appetizers, I felt it was time to get down to business.
“So,” I began, pushing my empty salad plate out of the way. “Before we get started, I want to go over some things with you.”
Marjorie pushed out a deep breath and moved her plate to the side as well. She wrung her hands nervously while her large chestnut eyes that matched her skin tone filled with caution.
“Nothing we discuss will go any further than my office. Whatever I find or don’t find, it’s up to your discretion what you will do with that information. Remember, as I said on the phone, think of me as the messenger.”
“The middleman or woman.”
I smiled reassuringly. “Right. I don’t have a personal stake in what happens. The information I gather will be one hundred percent the truth, as far as my team and I can discern it.”
She eased back as the waitress brought out plates of spicy chicken and rice and calamari with French fries.
Marjorie stared down at her plate, moving her food around with her fork.
“What is it?” I asked.
“I don’t know.” She leaned into the table. “What if I’m making all of this up? He’s a good man,” she said, sounding as if she wanted to believe her own words.
With a sigh, I placed my fork down and moved closer. “Marjorie, I know this is a difficult thing to do. To even consider. But, nine times out of ten, if you have a hunch, you’re likely correct about it.”
“Womn’s intuition.”
I nodded. “Exactly.”
“I love him so much. And when I’m with him, I can’t even imagine he’s cheating on me. He dotes on me, but lately…”
