“That low-down little twit,” she said heatedly, then turned to Misty. “Sweetheart, why didn’t you tell me?”
“The stuff she was saying was too awful,” Misty said. “You already had enough going on with Dad.”
“I will never have too much going on to defend you,” Diana said, clearly stirred from her earlier apathy. “What’s next?” she asked Laura.
“I’m going to take the evidence I have to Betty Donovan. She’ll follow whatever procedures she must to see that Annabelle is held accountable and stopped.”
“Mariah will never take this lying down,” Diana predicted. “We can assume that. It will get ugly.”
“We could let it go,” Misty once again pleaded.
Her mother reached over and covered her hand. “No way. This will not get swept under the carpet.”
“But I’m going to be even more humiliated if everybody in town is talking about this. And what about the pictures?” she asked plaintively. “Now everybody will see them.”
“I’m going to make a call as soon as I get home to see what we’d need to do to have them taken down at once,” Laura said. “I’ll start with Helen Decatur-Whitney, and if she can’t handle it, I’ll speak to Carter Rollins.”
“Carrie’s dad?” Misty said, her eyes wide with dismay. “You’ll tell the police chief?”
Laura nodded. “I imagine between him and Helen, they’ll know what to do legally to put an end to these vicious posts and have the old ones deleted.”
“Thank you,” Diana said. “And you’ll let us know what’s going on and what we need to do next?”
“Absolutely.” Laura hesitated, then asked, “What about Mr. Dawson? Will you fill him in or should I?”
Diana drew herself up, squaring her shoulders. “I’ll tell him. He may not listen to me about much these days, but he cares about Misty and Jake. He’ll step up.”
“Mom, don’t use me to try to drag Dad back home,” Misty pleaded.
“It’s not about me and what I want this time,” her mother assured her. “He’ll do whatever it takes to support you. I’m sorry if everything that’s been happening here made you doubt that for a single second. Your dad adores you. I only wish you’d told us yourself much sooner. You shouldn’t have been facing this alone.”
“Jake’s kinda helped,” she admitted. “He stood up for me at school.”
Diana looked startled. “That’s how he got the black eye?”
Misty nodded. “It made me sick when I found out he’d seen the pictures, Mom. It was so twisted. That’s how I feel about Dad seeing all this. He’s going to be totally disillusioned.”
“Never about you,” Diana soothed her. “Your dad will understand that it’s all lies. It reflects badly on Annabelle far more than it does on you.”
Though Misty didn’t look entirely convinced by her mother’s words, Laura thought she detected the faintest hint of hope in her eyes for the first time in a long while.
By the time she’d left Misty’s, it was too late for Laura to reach Helen at her office. She knew the attorney often stopped by Sullivan’s to see her husband, the restaurant’s sous-chef, on her way home. Helen had even been there when Laura had dined there with J.C. the other night.
Sure enough, she found her in a corner booth toward the back, papers spread out around her and a half-eaten sandwich pushed aside.
“Helen, I’m so sorry to interrupt you, but do you have a minute?” Laura asked.
Helen glanced up, blinked as if to bring herself back to reality, then smiled. “Laura, of course. Have a seat. I’m afraid I was so absorbed by the extent to which my client’s husband has been hiding his assets from her that I didn’t even see you.”
“Are you sure you can spare the time? It’s important or I wouldn’t bother you.”
“I’m just killing time till Erik can take a break. My mother has my daughter for a couple of hours this evening, so it’s supposed to be my date night with my husband. Unfortunately, the place is swamped, and he can’t seem to tear himself away from the kitchen. Trust me, if you want to spend time with a man on a weekend, don’t ever get involved with a chef.”
Laura grinned. “At least your loss is the customer’s gain. Erik’s desserts are pretty decadent.”
“Believe me, I am all too aware of that,” she said ruefully. “I think I’ve gained ten pounds since we got married just by sampling all his experiments.” She grinned at Laura. “I hear there was a mini margarita night at your place last night. Sorry I missed it, but I gather Raylene has nailed the margaritas.”