Lynn Osterkamp - Cleo Sims 03 - Too Many Secrets by Lynn Osterkamp Page B

sleeping with someone
else when his wife was pregnant, and blamed her for not being affectionate
enough. This was when she was working sixty hours a week to support them both
because he was unemployed. He spent money on whatever he wanted and told her it
was none of her business what he did. He said she was nosey. Sometimes he hit
her, but she stayed with him because she wanted them to be a family. When it
got worse and she finally saved some money and decided to leave him, he found
it and took it. Then she found out she was pregnant again. She decided to stay.
She tried to get along with him but he found every excuse he could to have a
tantrum and leave the house. Sometimes he stayed away for days. It took her
another year to come up with the money to take the kids and leave. She’s been
really bitter about the whole thing.”
    “What did Moxie do to get revenge on guys like
him?”
    “They found out how to set up websites in a way that
hides the owner’s identity. Then they started creating sites about these guys
telling what they had done in the past. They kept their own names out of it,
but they told the truth. They used keywords so the search engines would pick up
the sites and they’d come up if anyone googled the guy. Apparently it’s not
illegal as long as you’re telling the truth, but it sure sends out a lot of
negative energy.”
    “Is that what you and Sabrina were upset about?”
    “We weren’t happy about that stuff, but it was nothing
compared to what came after it. Some Moxie members made it their mission to
punish men who mistreat women. They made themselves the judges—kind of a
warped worldview. It’s risky and it’s wrong and Sabrina was determined to
change it. But that’s all I can say about it, and I need to get to work.”
    She opened the car door and got out, leaving me sitting there
wondering why Tyler had told me not to let Moxie blow it. It sounded like they
already had.

Chapter 10
    When I got home from my meeting with Lark, I had a sudden
urge to start a painting of the Moxie women. I headed out my back door to my
studio in the stone carriage house remodeled by my grandmother years ago. It’s
where I learned to paint in the peaceful summer mornings I spent there with
Gramma during my childhood and teenage years.
    I hadn’t been doing much painting in the last couple of
months, partly because since my pregnancy the smells of the pigments and
thinners made me sick. But I was feeling good and I had a strong vision of how
I wanted to portray the complex women as individuals and as a group. I knew
painting them would help me get in touch with my subconscious insights about
these multifaceted women.
    The Moxie members began to take shape as a pack of sleek
panthers, elegant and strong, each with the face of one of the women in the
group. I painted the faces to sharply contrast the women’s most distinct
traits: Hana’s analytical impassiveness, Gayle’s vivid intensity, Lark’s confident
independence, Paige’s earnest inclusiveness, and Diana’s forceful
confrontation. As the painting came together, I sensed their individual
strengths contributing to the group energy but fragmenting it at the same time.
    I was deeply absorbed when my cell phone rang. I didn’t
recognize the number, but decided to pick up in case it was one of the Moxie
members wanting to change an appointment.
    “Cleo Sims.”
    “Hi, Cleo. This is Brandi Peyton. I’m Sabrina Larson’s
sister and I really need to talk to you.” Her warm friendly voice drew me
in immediately.
    But wait—this was Brandi. The sister Hana had called an
ungrateful brat. The sister Gayle had said Sabrina didn’t want taking care of
Ian. But then again, also the sister Maria had said she and Ian think is hilarious
and fun to be around. Another complicated woman added to the mix.
    I kept my voice neutral and gave no indication that I’d heard
anything about her. “Oh, hello, Brandi. I’m sorry for what you must be
going through