Common Enemy

by Sandra Dailey

  “I was thinking of taking this boy out for a good beating,” Connor replied.

  “That sounds like a great idea. I’ll forget I saw you, just in case they look for witnesses later.”

  The remaining boy looked at each of them in panic and ran.

  “You’re one mean son-of-a-bitch, McCrae.” The woman laughed.

  “How do you know me?” Connor knelt to untie the plastic bag.

  “I’m a friend of old man Coleman. Don’t judge me. Even old geezers like him need companionship on occasion. He told me about you.” She held her hand out to shake his. “My name is Joyce Walker. So, what’s in the bag?”

  “Looks like a kitten. I don’t think they had a chance to hurt it. Sure is dirty. Smells like pot too.”

  “Give me that thing while it’s still mellowed out. I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

  She returned with a clean fluffy tabby. “Here you go.”

  “What am I supposed to do with it?”

  “You’re the hero. You’ll figure it out.”

  Before Connor walked away, he had to ask, “How did you know how to handle those boys?”

  “You’ve never met Mrs. Donahue. She looks just like her boys but with more hair…and a whole lot bigger.”

  On the way home Jordan chatted on and on about the plans for the house. Connor nodded and tried to pretend he was listening. In his mind, he kept playing back the scene in that alley, the words ugly and Frankenstein ringing in his head. He reminded himself he shouldn’t let the punks, high on pot, bother him. The truth was, they did. Those boys were uninhibited by the dope. They just said what they saw. That’s how most people saw him. He realized Jordan had asked a question.

  “I’m sorry. I was distracted. What did you say?”

  “I said, are you okay? You’re staring out the window rubbing your stomach.”

  “Oh, I forgot.” He unbuttoned his plaid shirt and pulled out the kitten. He jumped when Jordan and Lizzy squealed loudly.

  “It’s so cute. Where did you get it?” Jordan asked.

  “I found it. Thought it might grow into a pretty good mouser.”

  “What’s his name? Is he a boy?” Lizzy asked.

  Taking a quick look, Connor said, “Yep, looks like he’s a tom.”

  “I like the name Tom. Can we keep him in the house?”

  “It’s Connor’s cat, not ours. He’ll want to keep it with him,” Jordan replied.

  “I don’t get too many mice in my van, but it’s your call.”

  “Well, if you’re sure, I guess it’ll be okay to let Lizzy take care of him.”

  That night at dinner Lizzy told Connor about their invitation to the Douglas’s for a barbeque.

  “That sounds like fun,” Connor said.

  “You’re coming too, aren’t you?” Lizzy silently pleaded with puppy dog eyes.

  “Nope, I think I’ll go fishing.”

  “Well then, I’m going fishing too. Do you want to come with us Mommy?”

  “No honey. I already told Miss Holly that I’d come to her house. You should come too. She has two little boys for you to make friends with.” She turned to Connor. “She did say you were welcome to come if you’d like.”

  “Boss, I think socializing with your friends on the weekend is stepping a little over the line.”

  “Connor is already my friend. How is he going to eat if we’re not here?” Lizzy was near tears.

  “Calm down, Lizzy.” Connor gently rubbed her head. “I ate for a long time before I started working here. I can make do on my own just fine. Now, you need to make friends with other kids. They’ll go to your school, and they can help you out. I can’t go to school with you, you know. I think it’s important that you meet these guys. Besides that, you can’t make your mom go all by herself, can you?”

  “I guess not,” Lizzy pouted.

  “You’re better with Lizzy than I am,” Jordan said after her daughter had left the table. “It almost makes me jealous.”

  “I’m thinking she may be getting too attached to me. It might be better if I didn’t spend so much time with her.”

  “I have to admit the same thing crossed my mind. It’ll break her heart though. I don’t know if I can handle that right now. She’s already been through so much. Maybe after she meets more people she won’t be so attracted to you.”

  Connor was surprised by her choice of words. How could she think anyone would be attracted to him? The phone rang.

  “Aren’t you going to answer that?”

  “No, just let it ring.”

  Chapter Four

  Connor walked through the parking garage near his office building in downtown Tampa. He’d worked late and was on his way home to his wife. As he reached for the handle of his car door, a man stepped out from behind the support column beside him. Just then, he heard more footsteps close behind. A car passed the entrance. Its headlights reflected off the blade of a knife in the first man’s hand. He looked at the man’s face just before another from behind grabbed him. A third man spoke. “Hand over your wallet.”

  Connor forced himself awake. He could still see that man’s face and the knife. The tap on his van window startled him. He sat up to see Jordan standing outside in a long flannel nightshirt. He checked his watch. It was only eleven thirty. He slid open the back door.

  “Is everything okay?” he asked. “Has something happened to Lizzy?”

  “Yes, everything’s fine. Lizzy is sound asleep. I’m sorry if I woke you.” She looked embarrassed. “I couldn’t sleep. An old movie is coming on. I was thinking about making popcorn. Since it’s Friday night and all, I thought you might like to join me. I’m sorry if I woke you. I’ll go back inside and leave you alone.”

  “What’s the movie?” Connor rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

  “The Philadelphia Story. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen it. You may not like it.”

  “Kate Hepburn, Cary Grant, I’m there. You do have butter for the popcorn, I hope.”

  “Of course I do. I even have Coke, beer, or Kool-Aid.”

  “What flavor of Kool-Aid?”

  “Grape.”

  “I’ll take the beer. Give me a minute to get dressed.”

  “Why? You’re not naked.”

  “Did you come out here to see if I sleep naked?” he teased.

  “No!”

  Even in the moonlight, he saw her face redden. He stepped out of the van in a T-shirt and running shorts. Putting his arm around her shoulders, he walked toward the house.

  “Come on, boss. I’ll take you to the movies. I hear the girl at the concession stand is really cute.”

  They sat on either end of the sofa with a bowl of popcorn between them, sipping beer. Connor thoroughly enjoyed himself. He hadn’t had a night like this in years. When the movie was over, he noticed that Jordan was squirming uncomfortably.

  “Are you tired? I should let you get to bed.”

  “No. I can’t sleep. I think I’ll stay up and watch the next movie. You don’t have to stay with me, though. I know you’ve worked hard today.”

  “That was yesterday. It’s two o’clock now. What’s the problem? Why are you wiggling so much?”

  “No real problem. I think I must have pulled my back a little when we were moving furniture.”

  “Why didn’t you say so? These magic fingers can fix anything.” He ran up the stairs for just a minute and returned with the comforter and pillows from her bed. He spread the comforter on the floor in front of the television. “You’re lucky this happened on a Cary Grant night. Lie on your stomach and put your arms up.”

  He rubbed her back trying to keep his mind on the movie. At the first commercial, he looked down to see that she had fallen asleep. He turned off the TV and lay down on the floor beside her. He just wanted to study her face for a moment before he left. He brought a lock of her hair to his face to breathe in its sweet scent. He placed a light kiss on his fingertips and touched her cheek. A soft feminine sigh slipped from her lip
s as she slept. Her steady breathing lulled him into a dreamless sleep almost instantly.

  Sun was streaming through the window when Connor heard the voice of Sponge Bob Square Pants. Lizzy sat on the sofa watching the cartoon intently. Jordan had rolled over in the night. Her bottom nestled against his stomach. He felt her stir awake.

  “What are you doing out of bed?” she asked sleepily.

  “I’m waiting for my breakfast,” Lizzy replied. “Are you two going to sleep all day?”

  “What?” Jordan whipped her head around to find Connor beside her. Her eyes widened with panic. “No, no, I’m getting up now.”

  Connor grabbed her around the waist. “Don’t get up, not yet,” he whispered.

  “Why, what’s wrong?”

  “If you get up, I’m going to be very embarrassed, and you’re going to have a lot of explaining to do.” To his surprise, Jordan burst out laughing. He was not amused.

  “Go upstairs and get dressed, Lizzy.” When the coast was clear, Jordan sat up. “The bathroom is all yours, Romeo.” She was still snickering as she skipped up the stairs.

  ****

  Connor was nowhere in sight when Jordan and Lizzy returned to the living room.

  “Help me get this stuff picked up before we cook breakfast.” Jordan gathered the bedclothes from the floor.

  “Maybe Connor will have breakfast with us today.”

  “I don’t know. That’s up to him.”

  “Is Connor my daddy now?” Lizzy asked.

  “Why would you ask something like that?”

  “My friend Ashley, in Tampa, says that mommies and daddies sleep together.”

  “We didn’t sleep together. We just fell asleep in the same place. It was an accident.”

  “What’s the difference?”

  “Usually, mommies and daddies love each other,” Jordan replied.

  “Don’t you love Connor?”

  “Connor is just working here for a while.” Jordan pulled her close. “After he’s done, he’ll be going away.”

  “I don’t want him to go away. Why can’t he stay here?” Lizzy cried.

  The screen door in the kitchen slammed.

  For the rest of the day, Connor stayed busy scraping loose paint from the outside of the house. Jordan knew he’d overheard their conversation. She tried to think of what to say to him about it. She finally decided maybe it would be best to just ignore the whole incident. She waited for him to finish his shower.

  “Dinner will be ready soon. You’d better hurry up. How do you feel about meatloaf tonight?” Her smile felt stiff.

  “I’m not staying for dinner.” He wouldn’t look her in the eye. “I’ll be back by Monday morning.”

  “My meatloaf isn’t that bad.”

  “I need some time to myself.” He walked away.

  That night, Jordan tossed fitfully in her bed. At four in the morning she gave up the idea of sleeping and decided to make a pot of coffee. She sat at her kitchen table waiting for the coffeemaker to finish and picked up the kitten.

  “I’ve been living alone for five years,” she told Tom, stroking his soft head. “Why is my mind so unsettled now? Maybe it’s just that I know Bobby Ray is going to be released soon. He’ll be under the supervision of a parole officer, though. He wouldn’t be allowed to follow me, even if he knew where I was. I need to get over this ridiculous paranoia.”

  A small, bright orange reflection spotted the side of her coffee carafe. She turned to look through the living room. Out the window were twin orange lights. A vehicle was parked in the driveway with only its parking beams on. Had Connor returned early? When she moved forward to get a better look, the glowing white headlights came on, blinding her momentarily. Then, the vehicle receded and moved down the road toward town.

  “It was just the paper delivery,” she assured Tom. “I’m sure that’s who it was, no doubt in my mind.”

  Now she was lying to the cat. She placed him on the floor and pulled a cookbook from the cabinet. By the time Lizzy woke, six pies lined the kitchen counter.

  ****

  Connor sat on the bank of the creek. He’d been so deep in thought he’d forgotten to throw his line in the water for over an hour.

  Lizzy was just a little girl. She hadn’t meant for her words to hurt him the way they had. She didn’t know how much he ached to have a family of his own. How could she? He hadn’t even realized it until lately. What hurt more was Jordan’s complete dismissal of the idea.

  What did he expect her to say? It must have been shocking for her to wake up next to him. His own wife hadn’t lost any time filing for divorce after she’d seen what had been done to him.

  He’d signed the papers in his hospital bed, letting her have almost everything. He’d given up his career and walked away from his whole life. He’d never looked back. Since then, he hadn’t wanted another woman for more than a couple of hours. He’d found a few willing to leave a bar with him. It didn’t happen often, and they weren’t the most reputable ladies in town.

  Jordan was different though. She was clean, fresh, and beautiful. She was so expressive; he knew she would be a bottomless well of passion. She was the kind of woman made for a man’s arms. So why was she alone?

  Connor jumped to his feet when the bushes rustled behind him.

  “I see you’ve found my favorite hiding place.” Arnold Coleman walked toward the water.

  “I don’t see a fishing pole in your hand, old man.”

  “Sometimes I just like to watch the water.” Without turning he asked, “How’s the job going?”

  “I’ve got a good start on it. It’s a very nice house.”

  “I know. Elizabeth Holbrook was a close friend. I went over every Sunday evening to have a glass of tea and a talk out on that front porch. It was on one of those evenings that she had her stroke. I had to be the one to call Jordan four years ago and have her take Elizabeth away. I miss that front porch.” He sat on a tree stump. They both looked out on the water.

  “Lizzy must have been named after her.”

  “Yep, Elizabeth, Elizabeth Holbrook,” Arnold confirmed. “She’s like her too, smart as a whip. Her looks are different though. Elizabeth was a small woman with light blonde hair and the bluest eyes you’ve ever seen. Jordan must have taken after her daddy, whoever he was.”

  Connor raised a brow, but let it pass.

  “Why doesn’t Lizzy have her daddy’s name?”

  “That man was incarcerated just before she was born. What a piece of work he was. Jordan gave the baby her maiden name and took it back herself, once she was divorced.”

  “How would Jordan get mixed up with a criminal? She doesn’t seem the type.”

  “She’s not the type, but we all make mistakes.” Arnold picked up a long twig and began breaking it into little pieces. “Butler came to work for the company Jordan worked for in Tampa. He said he was an orphan. He claimed to be in trouble for stealing as a kid, in order to feed himself. Butler also admitted he’d been in jail later for beating a man half to death because the guy had attacked him in an alley. Jordan felt sorry for him, which is what he’d intended.

  He’d been in jail all right, but he’d been guilty. By the time Jordan found out the truth, she was married and pregnant. Butler beat her up the first time when he found out she was having the baby. Jordan knew he was still at his old tricks. The people he brought home were that sort too. She didn’t know what to do. One day they were at one of those little quickie stores. Butler decided to hold the place up.”

  “You mean, while she was with him?” Connor asked in disbelief.

  “He used her as a hostage. Holding a knife on a pregnant woman will usually make a man open a cash register pretty fast. The videotape was very clear. You could see every bruise on her face. I think the jury would have convicted on that alone. Since then it’s just been her and Lizzy. I’m surprised to hear that she lets you in the house. She doesn’t usually trust anybody these days. I just hope he never finds her.”
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  “Why? He can’t hold her responsible for what he did.”

  “Oh yes he can. He can hold her responsible for getting him caught, too.”

  “You said the police had a clear videotape.”

  “But they didn’t have his name and location until Jordan called and turned him in.”

  “Damn,” Connor snapped. No wonder she had the attitude. “How did you find out about all of this?”

  “Elizabeth. She was in that courtroom every day. She was furious when he was only sentenced for ten to fifteen years.”

  “You two must have been close.”

  “Not as close as I would have liked.” Arnold tossed the rest of the twig into the water and stood. “I gave her too much space. I lost my chance.”

  Arnold had almost reached the edge of the woods when Connor called out to him.

  “Hey Coleman, how long did you say his sentence was?”

  “Ten to fifteen.”

  “How long ago was that?”

  “About five and a half years…right before Lizzy was born.”

  Connor decided to pack up his van and head back early. He had a few things to look into.

  Chapter Five

  The stubby pencil broke in Bobby Ray’s hand. Damn. He wouldn’t be able to finish the picture until after his next trip to the commissary. It was bad enough they were the size of the pencils you’d find in a bowling alley or miniature golf course. The only way he had to sharpen them was to use his teeth. But, this one was already too small.

  Thinking about Jordan always put him in a foul mood. Not only was his being here her fault but he hadn’t heard a word from her in all this time.

  His lawyer had promised that if he signed the divorce papers she’d sent, his chance of parole would be better. At least that had been true, but it still took too long. That same day, his lawyer had also told him that she had given birth to a girl. She couldn’t even give him a son. She never did anything right. To hear she’d named the brat after her grandmother had been the last insult. He pictured the old lady’s face glaring at him from across the courtroom, so high and mighty. That was okay. He had a plan.

  He’d met Bennett in the chow hall last February and they’d become friends before Bennett was released. It was convenient to have a lawyer as a friend, even if the guy was a weasel. He was collecting information for him right this minute.