Taylorwood (Alexandria Whitney Mystery)

by McCarthy, G. L.

  of the time. But I can at least see it and recognize the problem.

  I’m probably eighty percent aware of my faults and admit it

  when I’m wrong. The other twenty percent of the time I just

  don’t care if I’m wrong.” Lucy might have been giving herself

  more credit than she deserved.

  “But what good does it do to admit those faults if you

  don’t try to change them. Saying you’re sorry all the time loses

  it’s meaning after a while. It just becomes an empty word you

  want to cram down the other person’s throat. Trust me on this.

  I got so tired of hearing how sorry Dez was about not being

  able to spend time with me, that it was becoming a bad word

  instead of a good word.” Alex had begun to think of sorry as a

  four letter word, even though it had five letters.

  “I guess you’re right. Bonnie just makes me so mad

  sometimes. We should talk to someone about what we need to

  fix, if our relationship is fixable. Maybe I’ve resented her so

  much lately that I didn’t care if my comments hurt her. I guess

  taking someone for granted is an easy rut to get in. But I can’t

  believe that Dez was such a fool for not spending time with

  you. I guess we always look at someone else’s life and think

  how lucky they are without really knowing the dynamics that

  go on behind closed doors.” Lucy wondered about Dez’s

  sanity for letting Alex slip through her fingers.

  “You’re right. No one knows what anyone else’s life is

  like unless they are part of it. I just wish I had become more

  aware a lot sooner. I don’t regret my years with Dez and she is

  a good, kind woman that I will always love. In fact she did me a favor because she showed me what I want and need from a relationship. It’s priceless knowledge that I intend to benefit from for the rest of my life. What is it they say Cyn, if we don’t learn from history we’re doomed to repeat it.” Alex was beginning to feel this new knowledge was sinking in and hopefully would send up a red flag the minute she saw any of

  Dez’s traits appear in any woman she dated.

  “Absolutely. In fact, Lucy, Alex and I have made a

  promise to look out for each other. By that, I mean steer her

  away from women I see as possible trouble and visa versa.

  You know, so we can avoid problems down the road on our

  relationship journey.” Cyn was beginning to take a disliking to

  Lucy and she wondered why. They had always been able to get

  along, but now Cyn was beginning to see her as a predator and

  Alex was the prey. It was a situation she wanted to correct as

  quickly as possible.

  “That’s great that you have each other to keep you

  from hooking up with Ms. Wrong. But are you sure you two

  can be that objective about the other’s potential girlfriends? I

  mean how can you stop the green eyed monster from clouding

  your judgment? I’ve heard the, “she’s not good enough for

  her” comment more than once.” Lucy thought the two were

  headed for trouble if they weren’t honest about how they truly

  felt about each other. She figured Alex could be open minded,

  but knew Cyn was going to have a tough time approving of

  anyone dating Alex when she was crazy about her herself. “Cyn and I have talked and we want the best for each

  other. I know that sounds a little naïve, but we can only give it

  a shot. The green eyed monster may raise it’s head, or not,

  we’ll have to wait and see. But at least we’ve talked about it

  which is something that you and Bonnie need to do more

  often. I can only speak from my own experiences, and Dez and

  I did talk about things. But when talking doesn’t get you

  anywhere, then it’s time to move on as soon as possible. It’s

  best not to spend any more time and become even more angry

  when it serves no purpose.” Alex felt like she had discussed this topic more than once over the past week. Maybe she needed to see a therapist on her own just to make sure she was on the right track herself and not expecting impossible things

  from someone else.

  “So let me get this straight. You don’t want a

  girlfriend that wants to be with you 24/7, but one who makes

  time for you. And that’s not what you had with Dez?” Lucy

  wanted to be clear on this.

  “Yes, that’s what I want. And no, that’s not what I had

  with Dez.” Alex wasn’t sure how much she wanted to get into

  it with Lucy about her past relationship.

  “Okay, so you’re saying Dez didn’t make time for you

  at all. Right?” Lucy was now convinced Dez was crazy. “Correct. Dez liked having me around, like one of her

  cats. I was a possession that she felt she could take down off of

  a shelf and play with when she felt like playing. Trust me, this

  doll got pretty dusty sitting on that shelf. So from now on I

  intend to speak up, and if they can’t step up and be what they

  promised then we cut our losses and move on.” Alex thought

  that sounded so cold and matter of fact. She hoped when she

  was talking to a potential girlfriend she could make it sound a

  little nicer.

  “Well, all right. You pretty much summed it up in a

  very concise and absolute manner.” Maybe Dez wasn’t crazy,

  just intimidated by Alex’s intensity. Alex was beginning to

  sound a little bit like “my way or the highway” right now. “I’m sorry, Lucy. It didn’t come out the way I wanted

  it to. I’m just trying to say that my next girlfriend and I will

  have long talks about what we expect from the other. We’ll

  talk about everything from having the windows open or closed

  during the winter, to how we’ll handle ex-girlfriends dropping

  by or calling all the time. Plus finances, family, friends, pets,

  household chores and every little detail that can drive the other

  crazy. If it’s not discussed before we get involved emotionally

  and intimately, we could find ourselves resenting the other

  person for not being more considerate in certain areas. Do you understand what I mean?” Alex was talking to Lucy, but hoped Cyn was hearing what she was saying also. She wanted Cyn to understand there was more to her than just the woman she ate

  lunch with.

  “Wow, if I would have had those kind of talks with

  Bonnie we may never have ended up together. We often fight

  about several of the things you just mentioned and it was

  probably due to not understanding how the other person felt

  about it. You really have been giving this a lot of thought. I

  assumed you just got really pissed off at Dez and decided to

  leave, or were leaving to be with someone else.” Lucy would

  have bet money Alex was seeing Cyn.

  “Yes, I’m sure the gossip at school has me cheating on

  Dez with Cyn. But that’s not what’s happening and that is the

  gospel truth.” Alex never lost eye contact with Lucy as she

  made that statement.

  Finally getting to the front of the line, Alex was

  starving. She could smell the chili fries the whole time they

  were waiting. Ordering enough food for five told Lucy and

  Cyn that Alex was buying. Looking around for a place to sit,

  they chit-chatted about food in general as they waited for the
ir

  express cuisine to be ready. Alex suggested they just go back

  to their seats. She didn’t want to miss any of the game.

  Shaking their heads, Lucy and Cyn would follow Alex like the

  good little girls they were.

  When they returned to their seats there was plenty of

  room for them to spread out. It seemed that only the diehard

  fans were still left in the stands. Several proud parents asked

  the women who they were related to. When finding out they

  were just teachers from Taylorwood there to support the home

  town team, they were made honorary parents for the remainder

  of the football season. As introductions were made, it was

  disclosed that the quarterback, both running backs and one

  tight end had parents sitting in their area. To make the cheering

  sound much more convincing, Cyn rounded up the scattered

  fans and brought them into a more compact rooting section so they could do the wave, not to mention she was hoping for a

  lot more body heat and wind breakers.

  They just had time to finish their food before the teams

  came back on the field. Having hot coffee to drink had helped

  warm up their hands and the three found themselves

  surrounded by very animated parents for the second half of the

  game. Screaming out the names of the players was a lot more

  fun, not to mention watching their parents going crazy

  cheering on their big boys. During the quiet parts, for time outs

  and penalties, they learned of the parents’ occupations and

  how many other children they had back at home. It had been

  too cold for them to bring the little ones and older sisters were

  left to baby sit. The cell phone calls were numerous and Alex

  had to laugh out loud at all the reasons given for calling to tell

  mom and dad what was going on at home. She liked children

  but had never really thought about what a full time job it was

  being a parent working all day and then having them around

  the rest of the time demanding to be fed, played with, and

  helped with homework. Alex was glad she only had a horse as

  her child as he didn’t need to be potty trained and lived at

  another location. He was almost as expensive as having a kid,

  but the best part was that she didn’t have to pay for college. Alex was given several business cards by a couple of

  the dads when they found out she was moving. They were

  contractors and had trucks if she needed a hand come moving

  day. Alex couldn’t believe how wonderful and giving they

  were and promised to call if she found herself in over her head.

  She looked at Cyn, who gave her a nudge and reminded her

  that she had said not to worry about having to move all her

  stuff. Alex was beginning to feel like one of the locals and

  knew this wasn’t going to be her last football game, with or

  without Cyn and Lucy. She had made some new friends and

  looked forward to making a lot more.

  Chapter 23

  Alex awoke, laid in bed and thought about her Friday night with Cyn and Lucy. Hastings had pulled it out in the fourth quarter and won by three points after trailing most of the second half. It was a very exciting game to say the least. The girls had enjoyed themselves more than they thought they would at the beginning of the evening considering Mother Nature decided to let it drizzle off and on all through the last quarter. She had enjoyed her dinner as much as if she had been at a restaurant. The food just tasted fantastic and that may have been because she hadn’t had a hot dog and chili fries for quite some time. Dessert was cookies which Cyn had brought from home and had been keeping as a surprise in her inside coat pocket. The trash bags came in handy to help keep their legs a little warmer as the wind blew through the bleachers with gale force. But for the next game Alex was going to bring along a sleeping bag to sit in.

  She took her shower, got dressed, and then made her coffee and breakfast. Dez had already fed the cats, as she was up and out early. Alex hadn’t seen Dez at all during the past week. She realized then that it was truly over, as she hadn’t even missed her. She was not looking forward to getting up in the attic, so decided instead to get online to do her banking and check to see if she had received any e-mails not that she received a lot, but she did get one or two on average per week. As she opened her box she had one e-mail. It was addressed to “Divine Beauty.”

  Dear Alex:

  Did you miss me? I’ve been keeping an eye on you. You have no idea how desirable you are. I know you, Alex. You are a woman who needs special attention and I’m the one who can give it to you. P. S. You should wear your hair up more often.

  Alex wanted to kill, she was so mad. It had to be Richard. How dare he send her an e-mail after his mother had promised she would put an end to this immediately. She was out the door and in her truck before she could think twice. As she was driving to school her cell phone rang. It was Cyn.

  “Hey how’s it going? Are you in the truck?” Cyn was surprised. Alex was supposed to be home packing some of her stuff in anticipation of moving.

  “I just checked my e-mail and that pond scum, Richard Greenway, sent me a sick message. I’m going to school to tell him, and his mother, what they can do with this job if he stays at school one more day.” Alex was done playing nice, as Mrs. Greenway had promised he would be gone.

  “Alex, you shouldn’t even consider facing this guy alone. Plus, how do you know he’s at school?” Cyn thought he could have sent the e-mail from home.

  “The e-mail came from the school. It had the school address from using Outlook Express.” Alex had already thought about this.

  “Wait for me to get there or go find Frederick. Please don’t do this alone.” Cyn was panic stricken – this guy must be psycho.

  “He can’t keep invading my privacy and think nothing of it. He sent the e-mail this morning so I know he’s there. I’m not waiting. He might leave and I don’t want to miss him. We should be in his office, or Mrs. Greenway’s. See you there.” Alex didn’t want to talk about it, and besides she was losing the connection anyway.

  Cyn wanted to talk to her the whole way there and listen even while she confronted Greenway. At least she would know what was going on. She was very worried about Alex’s safety and decided it was time Dez got involved. Three women were better than two, and Greenway was a very big guy. She would also give Frederick a call and let him know Alex was on her way.

  Across town Dez was at the Parkers’ place doing routine work on Phantom. Megan was there to hold him, but no Sally.

  “Where’s your mom this morning? I figured she would be here.” Dez knew Sally had a big crush on her and was even talking about a divorce. Dez hadn’t told her about her breakup, not wanting her to know she was single again. She didn’t like hurting Sally, but she wasn’t her type, not even if she were gay and single. She was hoping she would patch it up with her husband soon. But considering she had been to dinner at their home on Monday and Wednesday night, she knew Sally might be getting the wrong impression so she really did need to tell her.

  “Oh she had something to take care of at school. She said she’d be back later this afternoon. How does he look?” Megan liked Dr. Dez, but unfortunately every time she saw her it was because her pony was sick.

  “He looks fit, but he could stand to lose a pound or two. You would never know he was so sick there for a while. It was the strangest thing. I can’t say I’ve ever seen an animal go up and down like that, weird.” Dez was baffled about his intermittent bouts with colic.

  “I told my mom to stop giving him those vitamins you prescribed, because I knew they would make him sick again. But he’s fine now.” Megan was
beaming as she petted Phantom.

  “You mean the Banimine for his pain when he was colicking?” Dez was confused.

  “No! Those vitamin shots you told her to give him. He would always get sick right after she gave them. Let me get you the bottle.” She handed the lead rope to Dez and went inside the little tack room, emerging with a small bottle. There was a white label placed over the original label that said “Vitamins.” Dez peeled it off. The original label said “Atropine.”

  “Megan, your mother was giving Phantom this?” Dez suddenly realized Sally had been making the pony colic.

  “Yes. Why, isn’t it vitamins?” Megan was afraid she had said something wrong.

  “Has your mom given anymore of this to Phantom recently?” What was that woman thinking? She could have killed him with this stuff.

  “No. I begged her to please stop after the last time he got sick. She said it had done the job and she didn’t need it anymore.” Thank goodness, for Phantom’s sake.

  “She said, she didn’t need it anymore?” Dez’s mind started to race. She had heard of women making their children sick, but not their child’s pony. What was it called? “Munchausen’s by proxy.” But why? All it did was give her big vet bills. Who would want that? Oh my god, what an idiot I am. She did it to get me out here – all those late night calls. Of course she gave her own shots, as that way no one would know what she was injecting into Phantom. Dez’s heart started to pound. If she would risk nearly killing her child’s pony, what else was she capable of?

  Dez needed to talk to Sally right away. She needed to explain that the two of them were never going to work. Then she remembered the missing drugs out of her truck. She had chalked it up to being forgetful when restocking, but now that she thought about it, she noticed not only the Atropine, but a half empty bottle of Ketamine had come up missing. Both drugs weren’t used that much so their disappearance was not as obvious as the drugs she used every day.

  “Megan, I need to talk to your mother. If you see her later, please tell her I must talk to her right away.” In the meantime, Dez was going to drive to school and hope she could catch Sally there. She would try to get her on her cell phone, but first she needed to get out of this “No Service Valley” a.s.a.p.

  “Okay, are you done with Phantom? Can I ride him?” Megan had a hopeful look on her face.

  “Sure. A nice long walk will help disperse the vaccines. But that’s it. He may not feel all that great tomorrow so check his temperature before you do anything with him, and put his food up in his feeder as his neck may be sore from the shots, Okay?” Dez knew Megan knew all of this but it never hurt to mention it again.