Call Me Lydia

by MaryAnn Myers

  "She is being serious," he said, crossing his arms as he leaned against the counter. "And any second now, she's probably going to tell you just how scary it was."

  Lydia frowned at him, and Sharon glanced from one to the other. "No shit? You mean someone really stabbed you?"

  Lydia shrugged, going back to what she was doing, and it was Tony who egged her on. "Go ahead," he said. "Tell her what happened. I'd like to hear this again myself."

  Lydia gave him a look, one of those looks he usually gave her. "Let's just drop this, okay?" She motioned for him to go out on the patio.

  He didn't budge. He just stood there. With a sigh, she turned to Sharon and explained, "I think I may have been…." Cut? That was a given. But intentionally? "I'm not sure. I was at the plant, and there was this woman coming out of the ladies room. I don't think she meant to hurt me, I really don't. In fact, I'm sure of it. Otherwise...." She turned to Tony, realizing what she'd just said. "Wait a minute. I just called her a woman, didn't I?"

  He nodded. "Yeah, you did. So, okay, it's a woman. Now is this your sense thing, or another one of your...?"

  Sharon interrupted, sputtering. "You told him about your sense?! I don't believe you! You kept it from me for years!"

  "What sense thing?" Jan asked, looking from one to the other. "You mean a woman actually stabbed you?"

  This whole scene proved too much for Tony, especially when Lydia got around to saying, "It really was scary," and Reed followed him out onto the patio.

  "Okay," Sharon said, rubbing her hands together. "How do we play this mystery game?

  "I don't know," Lydia said. "I suppose we should start with clues."

  Jan suggested they write them down. "To keep score."

  "Good idea," Sharon said. Without thinking, Lydia told her there was a pad and a pen in her purse. Sharon picked it up and gasped. "My God! There's a gun in here!"

  Lydia stared. How could she have forgotten about that? "Yeah, I know." Act casual, she told herself. Things were bad enough without scaring Sharon - pregnant and all. "I bought it the other day."

  "Is it loaded?"

  "What good would it be if it weren't?"

  "Wow...!" Sharon said, taking the pad and pen out and putting the purse down gently. "This is a mystery."

  Jan persisted. "What's this sense thing Tony was talking about?"

  "Lydia reads minds," Sharon said matter-of-factly. "She interprets dreams and senses things about to happen too."

  Jan's eyes widened in amazement. She looked at Lydia.

  Lydia sighed. "Not all that well, though. In fact, lately I haven't even been close." She was thinking about what Tony said. She shuddered at the thought. What if something had happened last night? "So let's not rely on it, okay? Let's eat."

  They set up an assembly line of sorts, throwing the sandwiches together, and while Jan and Sharon made several trips back and forth to the patio, setting the table, Lydia changed sweaters and fixed drinks.

  "Iced tea," Jan said, swaying at the mere suggestion of alcohol. When they were all seated and had raised their glasses to Sharon's toast of, "Let the games begin!" Tony looked off, shaking his head in disbelief.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The first clue was English Leather, which Lydia declared to be, "The most important, but probably the least significant." Everyone laughed, except Tony. He just sighed.

  "And let's not forget the areas where you smelled it the most," Reed said, waving his sandwich.

  Lydia nodded, thinking out loud. "Well, there's the com­puter area, and most of accounting, my garbage can, and the ladies room."

  "English Leather in the ladies' room?" Sharon said. "Goddamn! Wild place!"

  Lydia nodded. "I know, it really threw me too. And not only that, aside from English Leather, this woman stunk. I mean, really bad. Like I was telling Tony the other day…."

  Sharon interrupted. "Is this something we can talk about while eating? Or should we put it off till later?"

  Lydia chuckled, saying, "Later," and pointed to the list. "Put down, uh, put down...a man clearing his throat."

  Sharon made a face. "Okay, what else?"

  "Dan Morris," Lydia said. "Doing his...uh, backstroke."

  Reed laughed. He was the only one other than Tony who knew what she was referring to. Tony just shook his head.

  "And that other creep, Jack Cox," Lydia said. She turned to Reed. "You know, I still don't understand what he was doing running a shift."

  "Not much," Tony said. Just like that.

  Lydia smiled. "Well, it's so nice of you to join us."

  Tony took a drink of his beer. "This isn't a game as far as I'm concerned, Lydia."

  "Maybe not. But if we take it too seriously, it's gonna get scary."

  Tony laughed in spite of himself. "Yeah, and we wouldn't want that, now would we?"

  Lydia smiled. "Tell me about Jack Cox."

  Tony shook his head, as if the man wasn't worth talking about, and Lydia turned to Reed, who explained. "Tony's second day on the job, he wanted Jack fired. And I probably should have, but…."

  "But what?" Lydia asked.

  Reed shrugged. "The third shift was running smoothly. Besides, I hadn't been there that long either. I guess I didn't want to rock the boat."

  Lydia looked at Tony, smiling as she searched his eyes. No wonder he wasn't mad when she'd fired him.

  "So who else?" Sharon said, wanting to get back to the game.

  Lydia thought for a second. "Well, let's not forget my wino."

  "Your wino?" Sharon said. "Does he know Jan?"

  Jan giggled, pressing her hand to her brow. "Please, don't remind me."

  Lydia laughed and glanced at Tony; he was smiling at her. One look in his eyes told her why. He'd mellowed somewhat and was making love to her in his mind. She shook her head, chewing on her bottom lip, and he raised an eyebrow. She smiled…yes.

  Sharon cleared her throat dramatically. "Hey you two - the mystery game. Remember?"

  Lydia was reluctant to look away. Knowing she was sensing his thoughts, he was taking it further, imagining doing things that they hadn't even tried yet.

  Sharon cleared her throat again. "Come on. Who else?"

  "Uh...." Lydia turned, smiling. "Well, there's Julius Randall. I'm sure he figures in this somewhere."

  Jan wrote the name down, and Lydia turned back to Tony, damning him for having those thoughts and yet loving them all the same. "What do you have against Julius?"

  Tony smiled. "Nothing. I just don't like him."

  Lydia shook her head. Only he would say that, as if that alone was reason enough. "And Bob Miller?"

  "I don't like him either."

  Lydia smiled, and Sharon thought of something. "Are we talking about the same Bob Miller who used to come to your house all the time? The one who used to drool over your mom's boobs?"

  Lydia nodded. "That's him."

  "Now he's drooling over Lydia's," Reed said with a chuckle. "But then what man wouldn't?"

  "Tony," Lydia teased. "He thinks they're too big."

  "Bullshit!" Tony said, laughing.

  Sharon sat back and crossed her arms. "So what are you saying, Reed? You don't like women without big boobs?"

  Reed shrugged. "I don't know. I never give them a thought."

  Everyone laughed.

  "Men!" Sharon said. "It's like I told you, Jan. They're all alike."

  Jan nodded, blushing as she remembered the rest of that particular conversation, and Sharon glanced at Lydia and Tony. They were gazing into each other's eyes again. She tapped on the table. "We'd better get on with this. I think we're losing them."

  Lydia turned. "Write down phony."

  Jan frowned. "Phony?"

  Lydia nodded. "Yes, as in, Dan Morris. He's not what we think he is. He's a phony. He's probably a woman in drag."

  Tony leaned forward so he could see her eyes. "Why would you say that?"

  "I don't know. I never know. I just say it."

  To
ny sat back slowly, shaking his head as he looked at Reed. "Now that's scary."

  Lydia laughed. "I didn't say I was positive."

  Still Tony was amazed. Even more amazing, he wished she'd come sit on his lap, and she got up and did just that.

  "Now, where were we?" she said, getting comfortable.

  "Well, I think we should make note of the animals," Reed said.

  "Animals?" Sharon said. "What animals?"

  Lydia held her hand up. "Trust me, you don't want to know."

  Sharon let it go at that and turned to Reed. "So tell me, is there a perfect woman in your life, or can you be had?"

  Reed smiled and shrugged, finding the attention flattering at first. But the longer Sharon stared at him, the more self-conscious he became.

  Jan came to his rescue. "Lydia says she's perfectly harmless."

  Lydia pulled her eyes away from Tony' s only long enough to nod. When she looked back, the two of them drifted off into their own private world again.

  "How's your arm?"

  "It's a little sore, but not bad."

  Tony kissed her lightly, then kissed her again, their lips lingering before parting, and Lydia pretended like she was going to get up off his lap. He smiled, daring her to, which made her laugh.

  Sharon sighed melodramatically. "Excuse us, but you two aren't alone, you know."

  Lydia turned with a thought. "Speaking of dead."

  Sharon made a face. "Were we?"

  Lydia nodded. "Yeah, that woman, the smelly one, the one I think is a man." She glanced around to make sure everyone was done eating. "The other smell was like she was dead. Dead for a long time."

  "Oh wonderful," Reed said.

  "You know, and the more I think about it...Damn! Why didn't I connect this before? It was the same day that dead animal showed up in my car."

  Sharon sat back. "I don't like this game. What about you, Reed? What'd ya say to gettin' out of here, and gettin' married and havin' four children in the next three years? I'm peaking sexually and feeling really fertile."

  Reed managed a chuckle, but was seriously starting to wonder about her, and seeing that, Lydia was the one who made an attempt to rescue him this time. "More drinks?"

  Sharon stood up, grinning. "Good idea. Reed and I'll get them. I have a feeling if I can get him alone, we'll become an instant item, so stay out here. I don't want you and your big boobs getting in my way."

  Lydia shook her head and laughed. Reed looked like a lamb being led to slaughter. He could really play it up, too. When he glanced back from the door, first with exaggerated reluctance and then a wink, they all laughed.

  Lydia grew somewhat serious then. "How well did you know Dan Morris?" she asked Jan.

  "Not very," she answered frankly. "He used to come in late all the time and leave early. I didn't have much to do with him."

  Lydia looked at Tony. "Did you know him?"

  "You asked me that before, and the answer's still the same. I'd run into him a few times."

  Reed and Sharon came out with the drinks and placed them around as Reed said, "You know, Sharon just brought up a good point. One we should give some thought to."

  "What's that?" Tony asked, while discreetly slipping his hand up underneath the back of Lydia's sweater.

  "I'll let her tell you," Reed said. "Oh, and by the way, she is not harmless. She was all over me in there."

  Sharon smacked him on the arm, laughing as they sat down. "I was not! But what I was saying is that if you look at the list, what you have is a bunch of odd things and weird people, but no motive. What's the motive?"

  Lydia pressed her arm tightly to her side to stop Tony's slow but steady progression toward her breasts, smiling as she scolded him with her eyes. He was incorrigible. "Dad said someone approached him a while back with an offer to buy him out, so that's one motive. And another, the one I'm leaning toward, is embezzlement."

  Jan's eyes widened. "You mean Dan Morris?"

  Lydia shrugged. "I don't know. I just know that he went to an awful lot of trouble to hide something." She thought for a second, then pointed to the list. "Put down the company next door. I'm sure it figures in this too."

  Reed leaned forward, with his elbow on the table. "Okay, let's just suppose someone is trying to take the company over, by whatever means." He paused, and Tony wrapped his arms around Lydia's waist, nodding for him to go on. "How could it possibly be tied to the company next door, especially with them being a union shop?"

  "I don't know." Lydia shrugged. "But I'm positive it does."

  "How can you be so sure?"

  "For several reasons," she said. "One, it's just a feeling. Two, Tony was lured over there...." She trailed off, thinking about something, then got up, which had Tony all but dying from the way she'd pushed down on his right knee.

  "What's my banker's name again? I keep forgetting it."

  "Richard Robert," Jan said.

  "Why?" Reed asked.

  "Because I need to talk to him," Lydia said.

  This time Tony asked, "Why?"

  "I've got a hunch. Well, actually, it's a hunch about a hunch. Remember that letter I sent to the company next door?"

  Tony nodded.

  "I think I should follow up on it."

  "And do what?"

  "See if there's a connection. I mean, think about it. What if whoever's behind what's going on with us turns out to be the same force that put them out of business?"

  Reed glanced from one to the other. "What does Richard Robert have to do with it then?"

  "Nothing," Lydia said. "I just want to know how much money I have, in case I have to back up my inquiry with a serious offer." She looked at Jan. "How late is the bank open today?"

  "Two-thirty," she said, on her feet. "Do you want me to get him on the phone?"

  Lydia nodded, and soon Jan waved her inside. "He'd already gone for the day, but his home phone was in the book."

  Lydia smiled, thanking her, and got on the line. "How much money do I have?" she asked.

  Richard Robert cleared his throat to reply. "I can't give that kind of information out over the phone."

  Lydia could just see him in his huff. "Why not? It's me, goddamn it. Who else would call and ask? Now come on, I need to know."

  Silence.

  "A ball-park figure? Can you do that?"

  Richard Robert hedged. "Uh…I uh…."

  "Is Philip there?"

  "Yes, but...."

  "Put him on. He'll tell me."

  Richard Robert sighed, and Philip got on the line. "Yes, Miss Merchant?"

  "Hi, Philip. How are you?" Lydia said, like they were old friends. "Sorry to bother you."

  "No bother. What can I do for you?"

  "I need to know how much money I have. I've been uh, going over some of the uh…things you left me the other day, and uh...."

  Philip didn't even hesitate. "A little more than half a million."

  Lydia mouthed the words half a million to Tony, and he looked away, just shaking his head. "Thanks," she told Philip. "I'll get back with you." She hung up and came back out, sitting down on Tony's lap again, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

  "I'll draw up a proposal first thing Monday."

  When Tony nodded, Reed looked from one to the other. "I don't get it," he said. "What's going on?"

  Tony explained. "If there's a connection, like we suspect, and they're working their way toward Merchant, it'll call their hand."

  "But they're union," Reed argued. "And we're not."

  "Wrong," Tony said. "They were union. They're nothing now."

  Sharon had been getting a little bored with this, but now sat up, taking notice. "I get it! Someone's out to sweep the street!"

  Reed turned slowly, ever so slowly, and looked at her for a second. "Tell me you understand this, and I don't."

  Sharon shrugged arrogantly. "Sorry, but I do. It makes perfect sense. Someone broke the union over there so they could set up shop without it, but since you're a non-un
ion shop, and right next door, they have to eliminate the compe­tition first."

  Reed kind of snorted. "We're not a shopping mall, Sharon. Customers don't go up and down the street looking for a company they want to do business with."

  Tony and Lydia had to laugh, and even Jan laughed at Sharon's now indignant expression. "Well, if you don't understand, then that's your problem. Because like I said, it makes perfect sense to me. I studied this type of thing in school. And while I may not look all that academic and didn't finish top of the class like Lydia did, I know what I'm talking about. Now do I win this game or what?"

  "Yes, you win!" Lydia said, still laughing, and now seemed as good a time as any to move on. "It's getting hot. Let's go swimming."

  "What about your arm?" Tony asked.

  "And a suit?" Reed said.

  "I'll hold my arm up. We don't have to get crazy. And we have lots of suits. All different sizes."

  Tony nudged her up off his lap. "Then let's do it."

  Swimming did get crazy though, thanks to Sharon. The first to tire, she pulled herself up onto the side to catch her breath and watched the rest. She'd caught glimpses of Tony and Reed before they all got in and couldn't get over how muscular Tony was, or how hairy for that matter. And though Reed was slight in build, when she got a good long look at both of them now, she just couldn't keep her mouth shut.

  "Damn! You two are absolutely gorgeous!"

  Reed tapped Tony on the arm and grinned. "Harmless? Let's find out."

  Sharon jumped up and ran to the patio doors. They turned to Lydia then, who held up her bandaged arm to ward them off. With that, they set their sights on Jan.

  She never had a chance.

  Sharon screamed, "Get out!" but it was too late. Jan was underwater before she could even blink. Underwater and surrounded. She came up giggling, wiping her eyes, with her hair in her face, and soon was turning in all directions, trying to make a break as they splashed her.

  "What'11 we do with her?" Reed teased.

  "I don't know," Tony said. "But let's make it good."

  "Remember Judy Wilson?"

  Tony nodded, smiling, and Lydia needed only to look at his expression and then Reed's to know what they were thinking about. "Tony! Reed! You didn't!"

  Tony turned. "Jesus Christ, Will! She's reading your mind!"