by Gale Deitch
She dipped her head and I could see tears in her eyes. “Daddy was right, you know. Not to bail me out. Oh, I raved and carried on and we didn’t speak for months. But he did the right thing. I needed a wake-up call.”
I smiled at her. “Yeah. It probably was the best thing he could have done for you.”
Suddenly, her face lit up. “Trudie, I have this great concept for a restaurant. Not one, but a chain of restaurants with delicious food that is healthy. But we won’t advertise it that way. People think healthy food means tofu and steamed vegetables.”
Ally stood up and started pacing again, but this time with nervous excitement. “Bob is going to help me get up and running. We’ll have menu items like Unfried Chicken and Spicy Baked Fries and Maltless Shakes. Everything will taste yummy, but without all the fat and sugar and white flour.” She turned to me with a huge smile, and her face radiated joy.
Propelled by her enthusiasm, I got up and hugged her. “I think you’re going to be all right, Ally. I’m so happy for you.”
“Do you think we can be friends again?” she asked.
I grinned at her. “Only if you’ll let me finish asking you these questions.”
She sat back down. “I’m listening.”
“Okay,” I continued. “So you’re not having an affair with Mr. Lewis.”
“No,” she giggled.
“And you didn’t make airline reservations for you and Zach to run off to Toronto.”
“No,” she said in a loud, emphatic tone.
“All right then. One more thing and then I’m done. Tell me about your brother. Your mom told me you have a half-brother.”
“Steven? There’s nothing to tell really. He first contacted me about a year ago. I had no idea I had a brother. Even though we’d never met in person, he insisted he cared about me. Kept calling me saying that siblings needed to stick together and that he had my back. Kinda weird.” She shook her head and shrugged.
“Did Steven know what happened with your restaurant? I mean, why it folded?”
“Yes. He’d been calling me on and off, and I started to confide in him. Steven was the only person who would listen to me, hear my side of the story.”
“So he knew about the general manager who took the money and ran?”
“Yes, he knew about him. He kept insisting that he would take care of the guy himself. Steven sounded kind of creepy, so I told him to let the police handle it.”
“Did Steven also know that your father wouldn’t give you the money to keep the restaurant open?”
“Oh, yeah. I was so pissed with Daddy, and Steven would call and I’d scream and cry and carry on. He tried to console me, telling me that all fathers were nasty bastards who didn’t care about their kids. We kind of fed into each other’s misery.”
“So Steven had a problem with his father, too?”
“Well, yes. His father cheated with other women. Made his mom miserable.”
Something kept gnawing at me, but I just couldn’t figure out what.
“Have we finished the interrogation?” Ally asked.
“I guess so,” I said, more puzzled than ever.
“Are we good now?” she asked, smiling.
I smiled back. Maybe I’d been too hard on Ally lately. “We’re good,” I nodded.
I started for the door and then turned.
“Just one more question.”
Ally groaned.
“Whatever happened to that general manager—the one who ran off with all the money?” I’d been curious about that for some time. “Did he get away scot free?”
“Oh, they found him, all right. He’d taken another job as general manager of a restaurant in Chicago. Changed his name, cut all ties with friends and associates.”
“Did they arrest him?”
Ally frowned. “They discovered his body, frozen in the restaurant walk-in cooler.”
“The walk-in cooler?”
“Yes, they called it an accident, but I figured a guy that crooked has plenty of enemies. He probably tried to steal from them, too. In the back of my mind, though, I kept wondering about Steven who always talked about getting even. I mean, he’s a little weird, but do you think he would do something like that? Just because he’s my half-brother?”
A tingle crept up my spine, and I shivered. In fact, I couldn’t stop shivering.
“Trudie, are you all right?” Ally asked.
“I-I-m f-f-fine,” I lied.
She walked me to the sofa, sat me down and covered me with the creamsicle-colored fleece throw that had been draped across the arm. Then she opened a cabinet and poured an amber-colored liquid into a small glass. “Here, Trudie. Drink this.”
I scrutinized the glass, doubtful about its contents.
“It’s just brandy. Go ahead. I guarantee it will help.”
The first sip gave me a jolt. But as the liquid moved through my system, it warmed me. I took another sip, and another. Ally was right. It did make me feel better. Soon the shivers were gone, and my nerves were as calm as butter cream icing smoothed across the top of a cake.
“Are you okay now?”
“Yes, a little better. Ally?”
“What?”
“Yesterday, at my warehouse—“
“Uh-huh.”
“Someone locked me in the walk-in cooler.”
Chapter Twenty
On the way home, I kept peering into my rearview mirror, checking to see if I was being followed. I dialed and redialed Daniel’s number, but got his voice mail every time. I left three messages for him to call me. Had he already gotten tired of me or, like a typical guy, panicked that he was getting too close? Or maybe after all these years I was just paranoid about men.
All of a sudden, home didn’t seem like the place I wanted to be. I didn’t want to pull into the parking garage or go up to my apartment alone. Daniel wasn’t there to escort me safely into my apartment or check for intruders. Even if I did get home safely, would I be harassed by threatening phone calls again? My body began to shake so much I could have blended a daiquiri.
I turned the car around and headed to the only place where I knew I would feel safe: my parents’ house. There my mother would make me her special blueberry pancakes and hot cocoa. I could sleep the entire night without worry, bundled beneath my purple comforter and cuddled with my white stuffed childhood friend, Hopper, the bunny. I’d sleep in an old oversized t-shirt from my high school days. I even kept a toothbrush there for occasions like this.
What was I thinking? There were never occasions like this.
I knew that nothing bad could happen on this quaint, tree-lined street in Bethesda where I’d grown up, the houses populated by empty-nesters and young families. But when I pulled up to the curb at my parents’ house, their car was gone. Darn! Where the hamburger were they? But, okay. This would still be a safe haven until I could get in touch with Daniel. I gathered my purse and jacket from the passenger seat and opened the car door.
“Well hello, Trudie. Fancy meeting you here.”
I jumped and turned, banging my knee on the steering wheel.
Holding my car door open, and smiling brightly, was none other than Bradley Miller.
My heart vaulted to my throat.
He put his hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry. I startled you, didn’t I?”
“Well, yes. I didn’t expect anyone to be standing here when I opened the car door.” The brandy Ally had given me must have worn off because I began to shiver again.
Bradley stopped smiling, and his forehead creased in concern. His hand, still resting on my shoulder, felt clammy as it moved down my arm. “Trudie, you’re trembling. Are you okay?” His eyes, which had darkened to a forest green, bored into mine.
“I’m fine. But what are you doing here?” Just a couple of days ago, I would have melted like a pat of butter in a frying pan with Bradley standing so close, touching me. Today, I wanted to run and hide.
He put both hands on the roof of the car and lean
ed toward me. “I wanted to thank your parents for that great dinner last night. I brought flowers for your mom.” He gestured toward the house and shook his head. “But I guess they’re not home.”
I gathered my purse, jacket and keys and turned to signal him that I wanted to get out of the car. “Just give the flowers to me, and I’ll let them know you stopped by.”
Bradley didn’t move. For the first time, I noticed his appearance. He sported the same preppy clothes he wore yesterday—a horizontal striped polo and khakis, but the shirt was only half-tucked into his wrinkled slacks. The streaked blond hair I’d admired before now appeared jaundiced in the sunlight and damp from perspiration.
“I think I’ll just wait for them,” he said. “Shall we wait together?”
“Listen, Bradley. It was thoughtful of you to stop by and bring flowers for Mom. She’ll be delighted. But I’ve had a long day and didn’t get much sleep last night. I just want to go inside. Okay?”
“Sure. How did Zach’s hearing go this morning?”
“It went well. He’s free for now and hopefully forever if the police catch the real killer. So if you’ll just let me out of my car...” What was it going to take to get Bradley to leave?
“Oh.” He shifted his body sideways, barely leaving room for me to slip by him and close the car door. Was he clueless or what? Why hadn’t I seen this side of him before? Sweat beaded on his upper lip.
Finally, after an awkward pause, he walked to his car, extracted a bouquet of red roses and handed them to me as if he was cradling a whole red snapper in his arms.
I managed a smile. “Thanks. I’ll be sure to let Mom know these are from you.”
He stood still like a lost boy. “You’ll call me if you need my help, right?”
“I’ve got your number.” I knew I would need help at the vodka and caviar event at the law firm on Wednesday, but maybe I would call the bartender agency instead. I didn’t think I could deal with Bradley any more. He was too intense. I just wanted some anonymous guy to come, do the job, and leave—no strings attached.
I waited until Bradley drove away and then entered my parents’ house. All I wanted to do was climb into my old bed and take a nice long nap.
IT WAS SO cold. Men’s suits and jackets and trousers hung stiff as cutting boards. I spotted rows of sweaters neatly folded on shelves, but when I picked one up, it cracked into shards of ice and fell to the floor. I shivered in my thin t-shirt, my bare feet sliding along slick ice as I headed for the closed door. The knob was encrusted with ice, and I couldn’t get a good enough grip to turn it. I began to pound on the door with both hands, but my palms stuck to the frozen metal and wouldn’t pull away.
“Help. Open the door. Get me out of here,” I rasped, but my vocal chords had freeze-dried, and only puffs of frosty mist emerged from my mouth into the air.
“Trudie. Trudie, wake up.”
My shoulders were shaking.
“Wha—what?” I opened my eyes.
My mother sat on the bed leaning over me, her hands on my shoulders. “You were having a bad dream, honey.”
“I was?” My body trembled.
Frowning, my mother covered me with the blanket and comforter and then sat down next to me on the bed. She put a hand to my forehead. “Poor baby. Are you all right?”
“I am now. Just a bad dream. Where were you?”
“Daddy and I went to a matinee at the Regal. The prices are much lower on a weekday afternoon. And with the senior discount and our theater club card points, they practically pay us to come watch movies.” She reached over and smoothed the hair out of my eyes.
“Well, I’m glad you’re home.” I sat up and hugged my knees.
I relaxed in the normalcy of my old bedroom, my mother sporting one of her typical pants outfits, this one a mint green. Her smile glowed, but creases around her eyes and lips showed concern.
“What are you doing here? Not that I’m upset that my daughter chose to make an unexpected visit.”
I sighed. “I’ve had a rough week.”
A frown shadowed her face. “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong? Mr. Schwartz’s murder, my business ransacked, Zach’s arrest, not to mention my parents embarrassing me to death at dinner last night.”
“Trudie, we were just being sociable. After all, how many times does our daughter bring home eligible young men, much less three of them at the same time? Bradley and Daniel were perfectly fine with the conversation and, obviously, both enamored with you.”
“Well I wasn’t fine with it. Anyway, did you see the flowers in the foyer? Bradley brought them by to thank you for dinner last night.”
Mom’s eyes lit up. “How thoughtful. He really is a very charming young man, Trudie.”
“He has his moments.” I understood my mother’s reaction to him. He’d had me under his spell the last week. But now I had my doubts about Bradley, but I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what they were.
“Anyway,” I continued, softening my tone. “You and Dad need to back off a little. I’ve only known them for a week. Let’s take it a step at a time, okay?”
She brushed my bangs back out of my eyes and smiled. “Okay, honey. I promise to be good next time. I’ll speak to your dad, too.”
I brightened. “Zach’s been released on bail. So maybe we can get back to work and back to normal.”
“That’s wonderful news. Things will get better now. I’m sure the police will catch the real murderer. That nice Detective Goldman will solve the crime.”
I smiled. Yes, that nice Detective Goldman would solve the case. My stomach growled. “What time is it?”
“Five-thirty. Are you hungry?”
“Famished.”
“Good.” She stood up. “How about some nice chicken and dumplings?”
“Comfort food. Perfect. Thanks, Mom.”
She knelt and kissed me on the forehead.
As she headed out the door, I called after her. “Tell me now why I moved out into my own place?”
I reached over to the nightstand where I’d left my cell phone, sunk back into the pillows and dialed Daniel.
“Trudie. Where have you been? I’ve been trying to reach you.” I heard the alarm in Daniel’s voice.
“You’ve been trying to reach me? I left you at least three messages asking you to call me right away. I’ve needed to talk to you all day. Where have you been?”
“I’m in the middle of an investigation. Involved in some heavy surveillance. But when I returned your call, you didn’t answer. I went to your apartment, banged on your door. I was so worried, I got the super to let me in. Where are you?”
“Really? You were that worried about me?” My heart fluttered. Never in my entire life had a guy actually worried about me. Except maybe Zach. But he was my best friend so that didn’t count.
“Of course I was worried. I heard your messages. What’s going on? Where are you?”
“I’m at my parents’ house. My phone must have been on vibrate. Sorry.”
I had so much to tell Daniel I didn’t know where to begin. I had to tell him about the threatening phone call during the night and my conversations with Mrs. Schwartz and Ally, about the half-brother and the tickets to Toronto and Ally’s relationship with Bob Lewis.
And this weird feeling about Bradley.
“Daniel, so much has happened. I’m having dinner here with my parents. Can you meet me at my apartment about eight o’clock? In the parking garage so you can walk me upstairs. Okay?”
“Trudie, of course I’ll meet you at your place, but what’s going on? You need to tell me now.”
I hesitated. Maybe I should tell him at least the most important information, like the scary phone call and Ally’s half-brother. But Mom was calling me to dinner. “A couple of hours won’t make a difference. There’s just too much to tell. Can’t we do this later, in person?”
“Sure. We have all night. I’m not going anywhere.”
I closed my eyes and exhal
ed the breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. Daniel was going to stay with me tonight. That was exactly what I needed.
Chapter Twenty-One
The drive home was thankfully uneventful. At seven-thirty on a July evening, the sun, although beginning to set, still brightened the sky. Mom’s chicken and dumplings had warmed my belly and satisfied my soul.
I pulled into my parking garage at seven-fifty, turned off the ignition, and waited for Daniel. And waited. Eight o’clock came and went. Eight ten. Eight fifteen. I called his cell phone. No answer. Where was he?
As it got later, I began to feel uncomfortable sitting in my car in the garage. I might as well go up to my apartment while other people were coming and going and before the darkness cast shadows in every corner. No danger lurking right now. I called Daniel’s number again and left him a message. “I’m headed upstairs, unescorted. But I can’t wait to see you. Come soon,” I whispered into the phone in a breathy hiss, trying to sound sexy. I wanted my voice to sizzle like pepper steak with rice when it hits a steaming hot platter at Mr. Wu’s.
A couple I recognized approached the entrance. I got out of my car, locked it, and followed them into the building. When the elevator reached my floor, I was alone. I checked the hallway. No one in sight. I hurried down the hall, entered my condo, slammed the door shut and locked it. Then I leaned back against the door, breathing hard.
Made it. But had I, really? Daniel wasn’t here this time to check each room for unwanted guests. Slowly, I began to survey the apartment. The living room appeared fine; no one behind the sofa. My small galley kitchen was also clear. I took off my sandals and padded slowly toward the bathroom. I swung the door inward so it tapped the wall and inched my way into the room. The shower curtain could easily conceal someone. Holding my breath, I grabbed the edge and, like pulling off a band-aid to lessen the pain, yanked it back. Empty. I released my breath.
My hands trembled as I approached my bedroom. There were so many places to hide in a bedroom—in the closet, on the floor behind the bed, under the bed, behind the door. Did I really want to go into the bedroom? What would I do if I found someone there? I hoped I’d be fast enough to get out the door. But I’d locked the deadbolt, which would slow me down. Maybe I should unlock it for a quick escape. Or maybe I would just wait in the living room until Daniel arrived.