Dena was nearly as nervous as Robbie. She paced the sitting room looking out the window every few minutes even though it was still ten minutes until Shep was meant to arrive.

“Have you met her before?”

“Sure I’ve met her. Lots of times.”

“So, is she nice? Lizzy has two grandmothers and one is nice and bakes nice cakes and cookies and lets her eat as many as she wants. But the other one is mean. She’s always shouting, thinking Lizzy wants to break her things. I hope this grandmother is like Lizzy’s good one. Does she bake cookies?”

“I don’t know. I can’t really remember. It’s been a long time. But she was nice. She’ll be nice to you in any case. If she’s not and you want to come home, you just tell Shep.”

“So I’ve got cousins too?”

“Yeah, sure.” Dena saw the car pull up. She didn’t know it but thought it must be Shep, maybe his mother’s car.

“How many?”

She was right. It was him. Why was she so nervous? “Okay, Shep is here but I want to speak to him for a few minutes, outside on the porch. Can you give us a few minutes?”

“Sure, but don’t take long.” She bounced back and forth on her feet holding her coat and hat in her hands.

“Okay, Pumpkin, I’ll come and get you when we’re though talking.” Dena quickly threw on a coat and rushed out to meet Shep as he walked up the sidewalk to the house.

“Can we talk a minute?” Dena asked when she got up to him.

Shep smiled and Dena was shot back to the weekend and she felt suddenly very unsure. “Okay. What’s up?”

They sat down on the bench under the bare maple tree, brushing off the snow first.

“About last weekend?” Dena started.

“Yes?”

“I… I just wanted to say I’m not ready for any of that.” Shep tried to take her hand and she pulled it away. “Don’t. Shep you don’t know what you did to me. The case the trial, what it did to me. You weren’t around. You didn’t see how it nearly killed me. I’m not ready for all those things.”

“I know some of it.” He looked up at the window and saw Robbie’s face looking out at them. He waved at her and she disappeared. “I know some, and I’m sorry. But I’m trying to sort things out. Don’t you know that?”

“Yes, I do.”

“I’m innocent. I’m going to show you that. I promise I’m going to show you that.”

“Okay.”

“If I do…if I find the proof and I show you, will you give me another chance?”

Dena shook her head. She reminded herself she must go slowly. Everything was racing too fast. She was frightened. “I can’t say. I can only know when I’m there. But I’ll be honest with you, Shep, what happened in Milwaukee. In the room. It felt right. That’s what I wanted to say. It felt right.”

Shep shot to his feet. “I knew it! God, I knew it! You love me.” He spun around slapping his thighs.

“Please Shep sit down, Robbie’s watching us.”

He sat back down. “Dena, come with me tomorrow. I met the guy, for the tape today. I have it. I’m taking it to the video expert tomorrow. I want you there. That tape is fake. I’ve known it all along. I did not take that money. Say you’ll come with me tomorrow. I really want you to be there.”

“I’ll come.” She looked up at the window and Robbie was looking at them. “Someone is very excited about meeting her grandmother.”

Shep laughed when he saw his daughter’s face in the curtains again. “She can’t hold a candle to the old lady’s excitement I can assure you. I left her chewing up her fingernails back home. She’s baked cakes, cookies, made homemade ice cream and a couple of pies. I think my ma’s trying to make up for nine years of feeding.”

Dena waved to Robbie to come out and she came bursting out the front door and ran to Shep.

“Are you ready?” Shep asked her.

“Yep.” Robbie nodded her head while Dena attempted to zip up her coat and fit her hat in place.

“Then here we go.” Shep grabbed her up and flew her through the air spinning her around. He put her on his shoulders and carried her to the car and called back to Dena, “We’ll be back in three hours.”

Robbie giggled as Shep buckled her into the passenger seat. As the care moved off, Robbie turned and waved at Dena.

*****

Dena pulled into a parking spot just as the car that had been there pulled out. Finding parking downtown was murder, but it was her lucky day. She saw Shep across the street at the office block where they agreed to meet. He had his leather bomber jacket zipped up tight and he stamped his feet against the cold. The weather had turned, the warmer, snowy days had become snow-less and penetratingly icy.

“Sorry I kept you. And on top of that, I only have two hours,” Dena said rushing up to him.

“The guy said it won’t take long. He runs it through a computer programme that can pick up any manipulations in the tape.” Shep took her hand. “Thanks for coming.”

They took the elevator to the 16th floor. Shep checked the office number, 1634. They found the door and he knocked. “Come in.”

Inside was a cramped stuffy office. Dena estimated it was about six feet by six feet. There was a table against the one window with a line of computer and electronic equipment. A man sat in the only chair and faced the computer. He didn’t turn when they came in. He first finished what he was doing and turned to them and said, “Yeah?”

“Hi. I called you yesterday. Shep Campbell?”

The pale man took his glasses off and wiped his eyes. “Okay yep. You got some bank CCV footage, right?”

“Yes, that’s it.” Shep handed him the video tape. The man moved his chair to the side and pulled out a short wooden bench from under the table.

“Sit, it will take a few minutes.”

Dena took off her coat before sitting down. The office was sweltering. She considered taking off her sweater too. She fanned her face with her handbag. The man looked at her. “Yeah, sorry about that. The landlord’s a real ass. I keep the thermostat at 85 F just to piss him off. Should I turn on the fan?” He reached over and turned on a squeaky rotating fan in the corner of the table not waiting for her answer. Dena was thankful even if it was madness to have a fan on in Chicago in December.

Until she sat down, she hadn’t realised how much everything rode on this tape being a fake. Suddenly she was very nervous. It would mean that Jongman had arranged the entire thing. It would prove that Shep had never been in the Caymen Islands, as he always said, and that he had not taken the money. It would mean that he was telling the truth when he said he never knew anything about the bank account in the Caymens. It would mean he was innocent. The tape was the most incriminating piece of evidence, the piece that denied Dena the chance to keep thinking Shep was guilty. If it was a fake, everything toppled. If it was a fake, then maybe Dena could let Shep back in. Maybe she could trust him again.

The man put the tape in the VCR which was connected to the computer. Dena watched the footage she’d watched a hundred times at least. She’d watched it over and over to try to find anything that proved the man going up to the window was not Shep. The way he moved. His hands. How he held the suitcase. Again her mind picked everything apart and still it was Shep.

“Yep…okay…” the man said after some minutes of studying the screen. He’d been looking at some rolling numbers on the side. Underneath lines of computer text were being generated as the tape ran.

“So do you see anything?” Shep asked.

“Yep. Someone doctored this tape.”

“I knew it!” Shep said standing up and pacing the tiny office. “I knew it.”

“So can you see what they’ve done?” Dena asked.

“Yeah, it’s easy on this tape. This is old school tech, nowadays it would be a bit trickier, but this fellow here he changed the date.”

“The date? Is that all? What about the tape itself? What it’s showing? The man?” Dena asked.

“Nope. Just the date. Everything else is correct. No tampering at all. It’s the bank’s footage. But they altered the date; this footage is from 10 November, 2002 not 21 February 2003 as it is written. At the time, it would have been almost impossible to pick it up. An expert did this.”

The man popped the tape out of the VCR and handed it to Shep. “300 bucks,” the guy said.

Shep took out his wallet, counted the money and handed it to him.

“Thanks,” the guy said and turned back to the computer.

Dena and Shep left the office. Dena felt like she’d been hit in the stomach. Unfortunately, she’d been right and Grace had been wrong. She made a mistake by letting Shep know her feelings. Opening herself up, making herself vulnerable-again. It had all been a mistake. As soon as she heard the date, she knew Shep had lied to her. He lied to her then and he was lying to her now. She walked to the elevator and punched the button. All she wanted was to be away from him.

“So? That’s good right? The money was withdrawn on 21 February, 2003. We all know that. But that wasn’t me. He proved it,” Shep said. “I knew that tape was a phoney.”

“So what! The date was changed. That’s it- nothing else, didn’t you hear him? And what about the date? 10 November 2002? Does the date sound familiar, Shep?”

“No, why?”

“Stop it, Shep! Just stop it now. You’re lying. You’re a liar. Get it?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean 10 November 2002. You went out to LA for Phil’s wedding, remember?”

“I don’t know. How would you remember that date? Yeah, I remember he got married in November but I don’t think it was that date.”

“Yes! It was that date! That date is also the date Taylor Jr was born, Grace’s son. Did you forget? I was her birthing partner and at the last minute she needed a C-section. So I stayed behind, I didn’t go to the wedding. But you went. You got on the plane and went. But you didn’t go straight to the wedding did you? You took a detour. You took a detour to the Caymen Islands! The bank footage proved it.”

“No, I…you don’t know any of this.”

“No, Shep, I do. Did you hear the man? That is you. A video of you in the Cayman Islands at the bank on the 10 November 2002. What don’t you understand?”

The elevator opened. Two people were inside. Dena took a step and Shep held her shoulder. “Please, wait, I want to explain…”

Dena tore her shoulder loose from Shep’s hand and punched the elevator button. Dena watched as the door closed on Shep’s desperate face.

*****

Dena sat with Robbie as she read her ten assigned pages from her reading book for the week. She listened as Robbie read a story called, “My Grandma Pat”. Every few minutes Robbie stopped reading and mentioned new things she forgot to tell Dena about Shep’s mother.

“Grandma plays piano. She said she’d teach me. She doesn’t live far. I could walk for lessons after school or on weekends,” Robbie said.

“That would be nice,” Dena said.

“And she crochets. Did I tell you that already? She is going to crochet me a pink and white afghan for my bed. I told her my favourite colours were pink and purple. She started already but she said she could add purple later as she goes along.”

“That’s nice, Pumpkin. You know what. It’s almost bath time. Let’s finish reading.”

Robbie went back to reading and Dena went back to being angry at Shep. He claimed he wanted to be honest with her, he wanted to clear his name but then it comes out, yet again that he was lying. She tried not to think about how close she felt to him when they were in Milwaukee. It was all a lie. So even as far back as 2002 he was organising to take the money. She couldn’t believe it. She was such an idiot.

It was suddenly quiet. She looked down and Robbie was looking up at her. “I’m done.”

“Okay, sorry,” Dena said.

“What were you thinking about?” Robbie asked.

“Nothing I was listening to you read.”

“No you weren’t. Your forehead was all wrinkly like when you’re angry.”

“Okay, yes, I was just worrying about things, stuff from work. Sorry, next time I’ll listen better.” She gave Robbie a kiss. “Now, you go upstairs. Grandpa ran your bath. Don’t forget to brush your teeth and I’ll be up there just now.”

“Okay Mommy!”

Robbie ran up the stairs and Dena went into the kitchen and got a beer. She turned on the TV in the sitting room and sat down. What she needed was a bit of couch-potato, no thinking time. She could hear Robbie upstairs shouting to Mac to bring a towel.

Dena felt angry that all of this with Shep had stirred up emotions that she didn’t need stirred. She’d been content with her life, her work, her life with Mac and Robbie. Now it didn’t seem enough. He turned her passions back on. She wanted more now. She wanted a man in her life. She wished that man could be Shep, but she knew now it never would be. She needed to accept that and move on. But one thing she discovered, she didn’t want to move on alone.

The doorbell rang and Dena checked her watch. Almost 8:30. She called up the stairs. “Pa, I’ll get the door, can you get her to bed?”

“No problem,” he shouted down.

Dena opened the door and saw Shep standing there, his face set in determination. “I need to talk to you.”

“No, I told you I’m done. No more talking.” Dena tried to close the door and Shep put his foot in the way.

“You need to understand everything. I want to tell you everything.”

Dena could see the determined look on his face. He wasn’t going away until he got out what he intended to. She yelled up the stairs. “I’m going out for a minute, Pa.”

“Okay, Sweetheart.”

Dena got her coat, purse and car keys. “Let’s go.”

They got in her car without talking. She drove down the block to the park. She parked and got out of the car without saying anything. It was a clear night. The air was cold, but there was no wind so it didn’t feel as bad as it might have. The moon, nearly full, reflected back on the icy surface of the snow. She brushed off a bench and sat down. She looked up at Shep who was still standing. “Okay I’m listening. But I’m warning you, you’ve got one shot. I’m tired of the lies. I want the truth.”

“I was in the Cayman Islands that day. You’re right. I went to LA via the Caymens. I only got to the wedding two days later and then only in time for the reception. I knew about the account in the Caymans because I opened it. I opened it after Terrence instructed me to. Terrence knew that side of the business. He said we were going to be killed with taxes, our clients wouldn’t get as good of a return on their money. He wanted the money temporarily in the Caymans. I’ll be honest, I didn’t like it. I told him so. But he said he leaves the selling side to me, I should leave the administrative side to him. There was nothing they were doing wrong.

“But at the time I was scared. I told him I didn’t like the money not being in American banks. What if something happened to it? Terrence showed me some records for a business we worked with, a stockbroker company. He claimed they kept their money in the Caymans for years, safely.

“After a long discussion I agreed. I took the money and deposited it in an account that was already opened. Looking back it seems crazy. I was so naïve about everything. When the money first disappeared, I went to Terrence and reminded him about my fears, that the banking system there was not safe. He told me that it must be a mix-up, that it would all come right.

“Then he sent the PI there and the forensic accountants. He kept assuring me that everything would be fine. But once the tape arrived, with the dates showing I went back to the bank later, he, like everyone else, blamed me. I felt betrayed by him I won’t lie. But he believed the tape just like you. I told my lawyer I was the one who took the money to that account, but I didn’t open it and I didn’t take the money out. He advised me to tell no one about that, it would just incriminate me more. So I didn’t. You know Terrence was angry. He never spoke about the account at all. And like my lawyer said, at that point it would be his word against mine and the video footage tipped the scale in his favours. I felt trapped so I followed my lawyer’s advice, I kept quiet.

“But I never went back there again. Ever. I promise. I have no idea what happened to that money. Maybe Jongman took it. Maybe that dodgy PI. I don’t know. The money vanished. But I promise you I had nothing to do with it.”

Dena sat looking at him in the cool moonlight. She didn’t know what to think. Shep’s lawyer was right, the fact that he took the money there and deposited it in that account incriminated him. The paperwork for the bank showed that he had opened the account too, not just deposited the money. There were records of a flight on 21 February, 2003 that showed that he had flown there. Even if the bank footage was tampered with, the flight records showed he was there when the money was taken out of the account. It was too much. Too much against him. Too much against them.

She stood up. “Is that it then?”

“Yes, that’s it.”

“Good. I need to get home. I have work tomorrow. Unlike you who has a girlfriend that funds his life, I need to work for my living.”

“I’m not with Ilsa anymore. I moved out from Terrence’s too. I’m living at home. I got a few shifts bartending down at Deon’s.”

Dena was surprised to hear that. “I hope Ilsa didn’t take it hard.”

“Ilsa takes few things hard.”

Dena continued to walk to the car. Shep grabbed her hand. She turned and he pulled her to him. He kissed her and then kissed her again, deeper. She wanted to resist but couldn’t. Her desire had no sense. He pushed her scarf and jacket away and kissed her neck. It felt incredible. Her long sleeping body was waking up. Shep knew her, he knew how to make love to her. He kissed her ear, running his tongue along the edge and Dena lay back. He held her in his strong capable arms. She watched the moon tinge the world in blue as he ran his hands along her back lifting her up to him.

But then she made it stop. She pulled away from him. “No.”

She walked to the car. He followed her. His voice sizzled with anger. “Dena, keep saying no. I’m not perfect okay? I’m not. I never once in all of our time together said I was. I made a mistake. I’ve told you everything now. Everything. I made a mistake by agreeing to take that money to the Caymans, but that’s it. I did not steal that money. I’m done! I’ve tried to make you see, but still you want to keep us apart. Because Dena is perfect. Dena never makes mistakes, does she? See the thing is, I’ve never played you. I’ve always showed you my flaws. I was always honest about who I was. But not Queen Dena. Queen Dena is flawless.

“But are you Dena? Are you really? If you are so caring, so responsible how come you lied? Hmm? How come you lied? You kept my daughter from me for nine years Dena.” He banged on his chest his voice raised. “My daughter Dena! She was not only yours, she was mine too. And I had rights. But no! Dena always knows best. Dena on her moral high ground. So I don’t get to even know my daughter exists until now. I miss it all. My ma missed it all… my sisters. Do you know how my mother cried when I told her what you did?”

He stopped talking and the quietness of the park, of the cool moonlit night surrounded them, but it did not cushion his next words. “You know what Dena? Do you know what? After all of that- I forgave you. I did. You made a mistake and I forgave you. But you can’t do the same and I didn’t do anything. But that’s fine. You keep pushing me away, and I keep coming back. I know Dena and Dena is perfect. Perfect means she’ll soon understand and she’ll forgive me. But you can’t can you? You’ve grown bitter and cold. You can’t forgive me! You never will and I’m a fool to think otherwise. So tonight know this, know that this time you pushed me for the last time. I’m done.”

He walked off toward the other side of the park away from the car, into the cold blue night. Dena got in her car and sat watching him as he walked away. Smaller and smaller, until he was gone. But then she kept on watching. She kept watching and he never came back. Only the emptiness stayed where he had been and she was beginning to understand that was how it was going to be now.