by Marja McGraw
I was about to close the door when I heard Felicity’s voice. “Dolly and I thought you might like a snack. I brought you some cake.”
“Go back to Dolly’s and stay in the house with the doors locked.” This wasn’t the Stanley we were used to. Where had my klutzy, shy friend gone? Who was this man sitting on my porch with a baseball bat across his lap?
Although Felicity said it softly, I could hear determination in her voice. “I’m going to stay here with you for a while. If you don’t like it, you can lump it. You’ll need me if that guy shows up.”
I closed the door, trying not to make any noise, and watched out the window for a minute. Looking to the right I could see the headlights of a car moving slowly down the street. When it reached my house a spotlight blinked on and swept the front of the house. I saw Stanley wave at Officer Hernandez and realized I could rest easy. It was time to get some sleep.
“Time for bed, M…” Oof! I turned and ran into my mother, almost knocking her down.
“Watch where you’re going,” she whispered.
“Next time let me know when you’re going to sneak up on me.”
“That doesn’t make any sense, Sandi. What good would it do to sneak up on you if I warned you I was coming first? Besides, I wasn’t sneaking. I was simply trying to be quiet.”
“Well, we’re inside the house. You can make a little noise.”
“Does Stan want the porch light on?” she asked, reaching for the switch.
“Not unless you want to turn him into a target.”
She dropped her hand. “Oh. I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Come on, Mom. Let’s go to bed. There’s so much activity around here tonight that I don’t think David will make a move. And I want to be rested for tomorrow.”
“What’s going on tomorrow?”
“I think David will scope things out before he does anything. He’ll try to get me alone before he comes after me. I may just have to oblige him.”
“Sandra! You will not be bait for that man. Do you understand what I’m saying, young lady?”
“Yes, Mother.” I’d have to be a little craftier and keep my mother busy so I could become human bait. The more I thought about it, I wanted David to try to take me out on my terms, not his. I’d set him up, and then I’d take him down. Simple as one-two-three – if I had my way.
I heard a thud when my mother walked into something. “Turn on the lamp for a minute. I can’t see the stairs.”
Turning on the lamp, I saw her standing next to an end table rubbing her leg.
Bubba stood next to her, giving her the same adoring look I’d seen him turn on Felicity. He wanted another treat, and after all, this was the Treat Lady. She pulled something out of her pocket and held it out to him. He gently took it and smiled at her. She patted his head.
“Mother, that’s enough for tonight. He doesn’t need any more to eat. You go upstairs and I’ll take him out to do his doggie business. I’ll be up in a minute.”
My mother smiled sweetly. “I love you, sweetie.” She turned and headed up the stairs.
I shook my head. “Let’s go outside, Bubba.”
For such a big dog, Bubba can be pretty fast. He whizzed by and I found him waiting at the back door, tail thumping on the floor and a big toothy grin on his face.
I let him out and waited while he sniffed everything in the yard before finding a good place to take care of things. I saw a napkin someone had left on the sink and threw it in the trash.
Wait a minute, I thought to myself. Where did Bubba get the bone I threw in the trash?
I stood very still, watching the dog out the window. David! He’d been here and tried to make nice with my mangy mutt. But Bubba is a good judge of character. He wouldn’t have taken anything from David. I was sure of it. On the other hand, maybe David tossed it up on the porch instead of trying to approach such a big dog. After all, Bubba is about the size of a small bear. He can be very intimidating.
I quickly walked through the house and quietly opened the front door. “Stan, I just wanted to give you a heads up. I think David has already been here and tried to make friends with Bubba.”
He didn’t answer.
“Stan?”
He still didn’t answer, so I stuck my head outside and looked around. I saw him pacing back and forth at the end of the driveway, swinging the bat by his side. There was no sign of Felicity until I stepped outside and glanced toward Dolly’s house. Both women were sitting on the porch watching Stanley.
Sighing, I went back inside and locked the door behind me. I chuckled to myself. I’d been right. My house was so busy that I didn’t need to worry about David, at least for one night.
Walking back through the kitchen, I let Bubba in and made sure the door was locked securely.
~ * ~
When I arose the next morning I found my mother in the kitchen with the phone in her hand. “Wouldn’t you think a florist would open early?” she asked.
“A florist?”
“Well, of course. We need to start pricing flowers for your wedding.”
“Is that the plan for today? Are we going to start ordering things for the wedding?”
“These things need to be done. And, besides, it’ll keep our minds off of that crazy man who wants to hurt you.”
“I see.” I noticed she’d already brewed a pot of coffee and poured myself a cup. Mother held her cup out and I refilled it for her before sitting at the table.
“Do you want a church ceremony or a civil ceremony?” She blew on her coffee to cool it off.
“I’ve already talked to the pastor at church. All he needs is a date.”
“Do you go to church regularly? We always used to go when you were young, but I’ve kind of gotten away from it. I should start going again.” She watched me for a moment. “Have you decided on a date?”
“We want the wedding to be in October, but we haven’t come up with a specific date yet. Pete said to go ahead and choose whatever date I want and he’ll be there.”
“He’ll be there? I would hope so. So what date are you choosing?” My mother likes things to be neat. She wanted a date, and she wanted it now. I could read her. She was looking at my wall calendar and, walking over to it, she took it off the wall and set it in front of me after turning to the month of October.
I glanced at her before turning my attention to the calendar. “Let’s make it the second Saturday.” I tapped my index finger on the calendar. “No, make that the first Saturday. I don’t want it too close to Halloween.”
“Good. Today you can call your pastor and make the necessary arrangements.”
We both turned when there was a tapping at the front door. I stood up and left the kitchen.
“Don’t forget to check the peep hole,” Mother called after me.
“I won’t.”
After checking, I opened the door and let Felicity in.
“How late did Stanley stay outside?” I asked.
“All night. He’s sleeping on Dolly’s couch right now. He said Officer Hernandez must have had a slow night because he drove by several times. In fact, he stopped around midnight and he and Stan talked.”
“Thanks to all of you I slept pretty well. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate each of you.”
“Well, I’m glad we could be here for you. Dolly and I were sitting on the porch last night, and – ”
“I saw you,” I interrupted.
“Well, we were talking about you and David. If we’re sitting on the porch and Stan is out front, they’re not going to catch this guy. As much as I hate to say it, he needs to think you’re alone.”
“I know. I was surprised when I saw all of you outside last night. I thought you were going to hide out inside.”
“So did I, but Stan couldn’t stand it. He wanted David to know you weren’t alone.”
“We’re going to have to come up with a better plan.”
Felicity started to chuckle. “When you see Stan, don’t
say anything about the scrape on his chin.”
“What happened?”
“He started swinging the bat and tripped himself. He hit his chin on the curb. I think he almost knocked himself out. Anyway, I think he’d be embarrassed if you asked him what happened.”
“Mum’s the word.”
I just love Stanley stories.
Chapter Nine
My mother cleared her throat loudly. I assumed it was to remind me she was sitting in the kitchen by herself.
“I think my mother wants company. She doesn’t like being left out. Want some coffee?”
Felicity nodded and followed me to the other room. “Good morning, Livvie. How are you today? Did you sleep okay?”
“I’ve been better. The police need to catch David Smith so we can all sleep at night.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” Felicity sat down at the table, patting my mother’s hand.
I poured a cup of coffee and set it in front of her. “What’s Dolly doing?”
Felicity laughed. “She’s doing everything she can to be quiet so she won’t wake Stan, but she’s been trying too hard and she keeps making loud noises.”
“Like what?” my mother asked.
“Oh, like she was taking cereal out of the cupboard for breakfast and accidentally slammed the cupboard door. That kind of thing. Stan never woke up though. He’s out like a light.”
I heard another knock at the front door and left the women while I answered it.
“Don’t forget to peek out the peep hole,” my mother called.
“Yes, Mother.” I kept all the comments running through my head to myself. I knew she meant well, but I didn’t need to be reminded every time someone knocked on the door.
All I could see was the top of a curly-haired white head, so I knew it was Dolly. I opened the door and she hurried inside, pushing it closed behind her and locking the dead bolt.
“You can’t be too careful,” she said.
I smiled at her and motioned for her to follow me to the kitchen. She took the fourth chair at the table and I poured her a cup of coffee before sitting down with my friends.
I listened while the women talked about David, about finding David, about smacking David silly, and about how they could do a better job of finding him than the police.
“Excuse me,” I said. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t think any of you realize the severity of this situation. I know you’d all like to catch him and wring his neck, but this isn’t a game. Somehow I have the feeling that none of you are thinking about how much danger you could be in just by sitting here with me.”
There was stunned silence around the table and a lot of fidgeting.
Felicity drummed a beat on the table with her long fingernails before speaking. “Sandi’s right. We’re treating this like some kind of game. We’ve been acting like we’re Super Women or something. From what Sandi’s said, this guy can be devious. He’ll come after her, and maybe we can’t stop him. We need to start being devious.”
My mother turned wide eyes toward Felicity. “But – ”
“No buts,” I interrupted. “I know this sounds crazy, but I need to make myself available for David to approach.”
“You make it sound like you want to send him a birthday party invitation.” Dolly looked alarmed, like I’d lost touch with reality.
The phone rang and I excused myself from the table to answer it.
“Hello?”
“I didn’t like any of the wedding dresses you tried on yesterday. You know, it could have been us getting married if you hadn’t been so nosey.”
My heart rammed into overdrive. “David!” My head felt light.
“Yes, this is David. Guess you never thought you’d hear from me again.”
“Where are you?”
“Do you really think I’m going to tell you where I am? But seriously, Sandi, I don’t think you’re going to need a wedding dress.”
“Why is that?”
“You’re going to have to stand up the groom. You’ll be dead. Dead women don’t need wedding dresses.”
“David, I – ”
He hung up. Quietly. Softly. He didn’t yell, and he sounded conversational. You’ll be dead. That’s what he said. He’d been stating a fact, nothing more and nothing less. And he’d seen me trying on dresses. He was close. He was…
Someone tapped my shoulder and I squeaked. I didn’t scream. I just squeaked.
Dolly reached up and put her hand on my cheek. “That was him, wasn’t it?”
“How could you tell?”
“Simple. I heard you say his name.”
“Ah.”
She took my hand and pulled me back to the table. “Sit down. I’ll get you a glass of water. Do you want ice in it?”
“Please.” My heart was still pounding. I willed myself to calm down, but it took a few minutes. I realized I still had a death grip on the phone and set it on the table.
Felicity and my mother watched me without saying a word.
I cleared my throat. “He saw me trying on dresses yesterday. He was that close, and I never knew it.”
A tear slid down my mother’s face. “I’d just die if anything ever happened to you, Sandi. You see stories on the news, and now I have an inkling of what mothers must feel like when something happens to their children.”
“We won’t let anything happen to her, Livvie.” Felicity looked hopeful, but not positive. I needed all of them to look and feel positive.
My mother’s moods changed as fast as a flash of lightning. “You’re damn right nothing is going to happen to my baby. Now let’s quit fooling around and come up with a real plan.” Mother wiped the tear away and stood up. She paced around the kitchen, stopping in front of Dolly. Taking the glass of water that Dolly held, my mother slammed it on the table in front of me and water sloshed on the table.
“He had to have been following us,” I said, thoughtfully. “Otherwise he wouldn’t have known about the bridal shop. So let’s use that to our advantage. If he’s going to follow me, I can make him jump through all kinds of hoops. Eventually we’ll spot him.”
Felicity stood up and joined my mother. “There’s just one thing, Sandi. Other than Stan, none of us know what he looks like.”
“Good point.” I picked up the phone and dialed Rick’s number. He could supply us with some pictures of David. He was in the field and whoever I talked to said they’d leave him a message.
“One more time. How did you get mixed up with him?” Felicity asked. “Knowing the background might help us figure out what to do. You know, like they profile people on TV shows.”
“Long story short, I was investigating the disappearance of a young college student named Robert. His sister-in-law hired me. The last time Robert was seen was at a party. I contacted David during the process of investigating and we hit it off and starting seeing each other.”
“Where was Pete during all of this?” Felicity wanted details.
“Pete had just started working for me. We didn’t really know each other yet.”
“And did Stan fit into this in any way?”
“Not other than the fact that he hired us at the same time as the student’s sister-in-law. You’ve met her. Jessica and Rick have been dating since that case.”
“Then how does Stanley know what David looks like?”
“Let me finish this part of the story before I tell you about Stanley.”
Felicity nodded, and my mother and Dolly sat down to listen. They knew most of the story, but not all of it.
“I had trouble figuring David out. He seemed shy, and yet we went on a picnic and he was pushy – so much so that I almost told him to get lost. But he apologized and we tried starting over. Pete never did like him, by the way. I should have listened to him.
“One day we went out to the site where he and the students were digging and he showed me what they were doing. And surprise, surprise, I found a clue which it later turned out David had pl
anted. He was crafty, I’ll give him that.”
“Where does Stan figure into all of this?” Felicity could be persistent when she wanted to be.
I smiled at her. “You’re not going to let go of this until I tell you more about Stan, are you? No, I can see that. Okay, let me back up a little.”
Dolly leaned forward. “I never did hear everything about Stan. This should be good.”
“Well, Pete decided to follow Stanley and his stalker, Al Draper. It was going to be a regular parade with everyone following everyone else. Unfortunately, Pete didn’t tell Stanley what he was doing because he was afraid he’d give him away. The next thing I knew, I had a very worried Stanley calling on the phone.”
~ * ~
“Ms. Webster, this is Stanley Hawks, and I don’t know what to do.” His voice was shaky – panicky. “Now I’m being followed by two men. Oh, oh, I just don’t know – ”
“Mr. Hawks,” I interrupted. My mind’s eye could see his eye twitching.
“ – what to do.” His voice had gone up an octave.
I knew I had to do something before he fell apart.
“Mr. Hawks,” I repeated a little louder, trying to get his attention. It didn’t work. He was too excited to listen.
“One was bad enough, but now there are two,” he repeated, completely ignoring me. “What should I do?” His voice had moved from high to shrill.
“Mr. Hawks!” My voice was sharp. “Listen to me for a second.”
“Yes, yes. What is it?” He sounded impatient, and I heard a clunk as he dropped the receiver.
After a lot of fumbling and some background noise, he came back on the line and I asked, “Where are you calling from?”
“A pay phone near my office.”
“Okay. Now I want you to be as nonchalant as possible, but take a look. Could the second man possibly be my partner? Mr. Goldberg? You remember him, the dark-complexioned Italian guy?”
“Just a moment, please.” There was a long pause with more thunking and clunking noises. “I think you’re correct. It is he. What a relief. Oh,” he added, “I was careful in my observations so I wouldn’t give him away. I certainly wouldn’t want the man who’s following me to know we’re on to him.”