Once they were inside the Cartwright mansion, William and Jennifer went their separate ways. Shortly after she arrived, Jennifer bumped into Selena Johnson, one of the women who were serving as hostesses. Selena, dressed in an 18th century period costume, was chatting with a big, good-looking man Jennifer had never seen before.
Selena, a buxom woman in her seventies, who had a pleasant face and purple hair, smiled when she saw Jennifer and said, "Jennifer! I'm so glad you could make it. Jennifer McIntyre, I'd like you to meet Alex Martin. He's a police officer."
"I'm very pleased to meet you, Miss McIntyre," Alex said, taking the hand offered by the attractive young woman, who smiled at him shyly. Her hand was soft, but her grip was firm. After the hand shake ended, his hand still tingled a little, and that puzzled him.
"It's Mrs....ah...Jennifer," Jennifer replied. Something about the big man drew her to him and disconcerted her.
"Alex just joined the Jamestown Police Department recently," Selena continued. "He's a captain, in charge of the detective division."
Jennifer smiled at Alex. "You look too young to be a police captain," she said.
"Maybe I'm wise beyond my years," Alex told her, grinning. "That and I work cheap."
"How long have you been a police officer, Alex?" Jennifer asked.
"Almost fifteen years," Alex replied. "Ever since I was old enough to be sworn." He'd always wanted to be a cop. He started his career in a metropolitan police department where, thanks to his better than average intelligence and willingness to work hard, he wound up becoming the youngest detective sergeant ever in the homicide division.
The impulsive purchase of a lottery ticket changed his life completely. He bought the ticket when he and his partner stopped at a convenience store to buy sodas one afternoon, and never expected to win, but he did.
When he realized he had more money than he'd ever need, he decided to try a quieter pace of life, so he quit the police department and bought a horse farm just outside Jamestown. He loved horses and had even spent a few years in the police department's mounted division, so the horse farm was a natural. A lot of the horses on his place were retired police horses whose officers occasionally came to visit. Those visits kept Alex in contact with his old police colleagues.
The farm kept him busy, but he missed police work. A few months earlier, itching to get back to his real love, he accepted the job of Detective Captain on the Jamestown Police Department. The Jamestown chief was Alex's old homicide commander in his former department and he very much wanted Alex to use his knowledge to reorganize and modernize the Jamestown department's detective division.
"Are you married, Alex?" Jennifer asked.
"Divorced," Alex replied. "It's a problem for a lot of cops." He got divorced because he caught his wife Myra in bed with a fellow officer. He left Myra and he filed for divorce within twenty-four hours. Since they had no kids and owned no property, getting the divorce didn't take long.
Fortunately for Alex, he won the lottery two years after he got the divorce, so Myra had no claim on the money, even though she did hire a shyster lawyer who tried to get her some of it.
"You know, Alex," Selena said knowingly, "Jennifer's divorced, too. And she raises horses, just like you do."
As they talked, Alex noticed Dean Abbott, a prominent local criminal attorney, walking in the front door, looking like he'd just come from a photo shoot for a fashion magazine. Alex knew Abbott because he'd had some dealings with him in court. He didn't like the lawyer one bit.
Abbott saw them, and started in their direction. Alex watched him come and wished he'd refused Selena's invitation to chat.
"Selena! Jennifer! Talk about luck. I walk in and the first thing I see are two of the loveliest women in Jamestown. How are you, ladies?" Abbott asked, completely ignoring Alex.
"I'm fine, Dean," Jennifer said.
"Dean, you are such a flatterer!" Selena exclaimed, blushing.
The two women chatted with Abbott for a few minutes then both he and Jennifer drifted off.
Selena linked her arm in Alex's and leaned close to him. "I wouldn't say this to anyone but you, Alex" she whispered, "but I think Dean Abbott is a pig. I don't know what it is about him, but every time I talk with him, I feel dirty. And his wife, Nora, is so sweet. I'm not sure why that poor girl stays with him."
"Love is strange sometimes," Alex observed. He wasn't really thinking about Dean Abbott. Jennifer McIntyre was occupying his thoughts. There was something about her he found very attractive. He reminded himself to be careful about how he was thinking. After what happened with Myra, he promised himself he'd never let a woman get to again. He wasn't sure he'd be able to handle the pain of another failed relationship.
Dean Abbott got a drink, and when he did, he bumped into Anita Selzer, the attractive wife of a young associate in his law firm. Dean had been checking the young woman out for some time. He thought she was a hot item, and hoped he'd get an opportunity to talk with her alone at tonight's affair. Now he had it.
A few minutes into their conversation, the innuendo in Anita's statements and the hot looks she was giving Dean told him she might not turn him down if he wanted to sleep with her.
"Did you know there's a carriage house out back?" Dean asked her quietly.