Good Night Sleep Tight Don't Let the Stalkers Bite (Charlie Bannerman Mysteries)

by Teresa Watson

  I shoved him away. “I miss you like I miss having another hole in the head.”

  Cash chuckled. “You always said that right before we got back together. Of course, you needed a little reminder of why we were so good together in the first place.” He backed me up against the door and placed a hand on either side of me. “I think I need to remind you again.”

  “Perhaps you need a reminder of what I said the last time you tried this,” I said right before my knee smashed into his groin. He groaned and fell to his knees.

  I slid around him, grabbed my cell phone, and started for the back door to let Duke in. Cash reached out and caught my ankle, sending me crashing to the floor. My phone flew out of my hand and skidded across the floor. I rolled over onto my back and kicked him in the face three times. A crunching sound indicated I had probably broken his nose, which I knew would make him madder.

  My left knee hurt from the fall, but I scrambled to my feet, whistling for Duke as I hobbled to the back door. Throwing it open, Duke came running in and went straight at Cash, backing him up against the front door. “Call him off, call him off!” he yelled, holding one hand over his bleeding nose.

  I called to Duke, who came back to stand next to me. He kept his eyes on Cash, emitting a low growl that sounded a bit like a tiger. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. “Get out, Cash. Don’t come back here ever again or I won’t call him off next time.”

  Pushing himself up off the floor, Cash felt around for the doorknob, never taking his eyes off Duke. “This ain’t over, babe, not by a long shot.”

  I followed him, with Duke by my side, as he tripped down the steps. Standing on the porch, I watched him get in his truck and sped off, burning rubber as he took off. I bent down and gave Duke a big hug. “Good boy, Duke, good boy.” I kissed his head and hobbled inside, locking the door behind me.

  Deciding to take affirmative action before Cash did, I called Bernie and told him what happened. “I want a restraining order,” I said. “What do I do?”

  Bernie sighed. “You can get one, Charlie, but it won’t do much good. Women have filed restraining orders against him before, and he never pays attention to them. I can’t remember how many times I have thrown him in jail for violating those orders.”

  “What other choices do I have?”

  “I don’t know, to be honest. Go ahead and file for the order. Maybe this time will be different. Considering Duke hates him and Cash is genuinely afraid of the dog, it might be enough to keep him away, at least for a while. Throw Deja into the mix, and it could be a while before he bothers you.”

  “You don’t sound very encouraging, Bernie.”

  “I know, and I’m sorry.”

  “Could you have my car dusted for fingerprints?”

  “Why? You think he might have been the one who tampered with it?”

  “Maybe. He said he would never hurt my ‘precious car’, but he once threatened to turn it into a classic hunk of metal with a sledgehammer.”

  “Sure, I can send someone over there to check for prints. I’ll let you know if we find anything. Put some ice on that knee and take it easy. With your track record, you’ll be lucky if you didn’t tear something.”

  I thanked him for the help and hung up. Filing for a restraining order would like upset Cash more, and the best thing to do at this point was to fly under the radar for a while. Hm, answered that question, didn’t I? Maybe it was time to look into a security alarm. Keaton would know who to talk - whoops, here I go again, asking him for help. Hm, not a good sign. I didn’t want to become dependent on a man. And I really didn’t want to prove Sydney right, that I have a thing for Keaton. She would be impossible to live with for months.

  Some days it just doesn’t pay to get out of bed.

  Chapter 6

  By noon, I had written two more articles, sent them off to my editor, and melted two ice packs on my aching knee. I finally gave in and took a painkiller from my last klutzy episode. It had started to rain by mid-morning, and rainy days always made me want to curl up in bed and watch old movies.

  Just as I popped ‘Gunfight at the O.K. Corral’ into the DVD player, the doorbell rang. I’m Ms. Popularity today, aren’t I? Grumbling to myself over the interruption of my perfectly planned afternoon, I hobbled to the door with Duke at my side. “Who is it?”

  “Keaton.”

  “Go away, Keaton. I’m not in the mood for company right now.”

  “Harry followed me over here with your car,” he said through the door. “I thought you’d want to thank him in person.”

  Drat him for knowing how polite I am! I unlocked and opened the door. “You’re right. It was nice of him to take my car on the spur of the moment.”

  Harry blushed. “It weren’t nothing, ma’am. Glad to help a friend of Keaton’s. Yer car is as good as new. Gave it a tune-up, rotated the tires, even washed it fer ya.” He handed me the keys. “If ya have any other problems with it, ya let me know.”

  I shook his hand. “Thank you very much, Harry. I will.”

  He shook hands with Keaton before getting in his truck and driving off. “Nice guy, that Harry,” Keaton said. “A whiz with cars. He rebuilds classic cars in his spare time, so he was thrilled to get a chance to work on yours.”

  “I appreciate your help, Keaton, I really do. But if you don’t mind, I really just want to spend some time alone right now.” I carefully stepped back inside, trying not to wince as I walked.

  “Hold on a minute. What happened to your leg?”

  “I tripped this morning. Just my usual accident prone self.”

  “Really?” Keaton said. “You know, I heard a rumor that Cash Christian showed up in the emergency room with blood all over his face, screaming at the top of his lungs that you had broken his nose.” I looked away. “I guess it’s true then.”

  “I refuse to answer on the grounds that I may incriminate others,” I said, hobbling over to the couch to sit down.

  Keaton closed the door. “You mean yourself. My source tells me Cash was hollering for Bernie, and that when Bernie showed up, Cash ordered him to arrest you.”

  “Is that so?”

  “It is. Bernie told Cash what he could do with his orders, and that he should consider himself lucky he wasn’t being arrested himself for tampering with your car and harassment.” Keaton raised an eyebrow. “Now, you want to tell me again how you tripped and fell?”

  “Technically, I did trip, thereby causing me to fall. I just didn’t say how I tripped.”

  Grabbing a pillow off the couch, Keaton pulled the coffee table closer and placed the pillow under my foot. “I can guess what happened. Cash came in, trying to push you around, you gave him a shot to the groin, and it went downhill from there.”

  “Close enough.”

  “Deja is going to go berserk, but I am not sure which one of you she is going to be more ticked off at – Cash for coming over here, or you for breaking his nose and messing up his ‘beautiful’ face.”

  The phone rang before I could tell him what I thought Deja could do with her anger. “Hello?”

  Mother’s voice has always had a calming effect on me, and this time was no different. “Charlotte? Renee called me from the emergency room. She says you broke Cash’s nose. Are you alright?”

  “Yes, ma’am, I’m just fine.”

  “Is there anything I can do for you?”

  “No, ma’am.”

  “Are you still coming for dinner tomorrow night?”

  “I’ll be there. Are you still making your green chili casserole?”

  “Of course! Why don’t you ask Keaton to drive you over? He is welcome to stay for dinner.”

  “I am sure he is too busy to drive me around, Mother. Besides, I have my car back.”

  Keaton took the phone from me. “I’ll be happy to drive her, Mrs. Bannerman. Just tell me when, where and what time.”

  I grabbed the phone from him. “Forget it, Mother. I know what you are trying to do. I will se
e you at dinner. Bye.” I hung up the phone and glared at him. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “What? I’m just trying to help! You aren’t going to be able to drive with that sore knee.”

  “I have a day and a half, and plenty of painkillers. I will be just fine. I don’t need a knight in shining armor to come riding to my rescue every time something goes wrong.”

  “You think I’m a knight?”

  “I didn’t say that!”

  “You did, too!”

  Loud banging on the front door interrupted us. Keaton got up to answer the door and went flying backwards as the door flew open. Deja barreled into the room, stepping on Keaton as she came in. “You!” she pointed at me. “How dare you make a pass at my boyfriend and then break his nose when he rejected you!”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Cash told me what happened. He said he came over here, offered to help you run some errands while you were without your car. You accused him of trashing your old heap, which he denied. He told me you made a pass at him, but he said that he wasn’t interested in you anymore, and that he loved only me. So you attacked him and broke his nose.”

  I was speechless. What could I say? Knowing Cash, he made up that story to save his own neck. He knew that if Deja found out he had been making passes at me, she’d make sure he would never have kids (which would probably be a good thing, actually). But there was no way I was going to save his butt from her.

  “Deja, I think you need to talk to Bernie. Cash fed you a load of bull. He is the one that made the passes at me, not the other way around. I wouldn’t take him back if we were the last two ticks on a hound dog.” I gently pulled my pants leg up and showed her the bruises around my ankle. “Does this look like I was the one making the passes?” I shook my head. “I’m sorry he lied to you, Deja, but that’s just the way he is, and always will be. You can’t change him, and you should stop trying. Dump him now. You can find someone better, trust me.”

  Her bluster gone, Deja looked worn and tired. “I don’t want anyone else,” she whispered. “I want him.” She turned and left, closing the door behind her.

  “Well, how do you like that?” Keaton said, sitting down on the end of the table.

  I leaned back and sighed. “She’ll never give him up. She’ll die first before she does.”

  Little did I know then how right I would turn out to be.

  Chapter 7

  Keaton stayed for another hour before he got a call from his office. As much as I hated to admit it, I was sorry to see him go. He was starting to grow on me. Oh boy, this isn’t good.

  The rain had stopped, and I didn’t feel like crawling back into bed to watch my movie. I had asked Keaton to bring me my laptop before he left, figuring I could get some work done. Just as I got into the story I was working on, loud noises coming from Mr. Crubbs’ house distracted me. Curiosity got the better of me, and I slowly made my way out the front door, down the steps and over to the fence between our house.

  There were several men digging in his front yard, and I noticed PVC pipes in the bed of one truck. Mr. Crubbs was sitting in his rocker on the front porch watching them work. “Mr. Crubbs, are you putting in a sprinkler system?”

  “Sure am.”

  “But why?”

  “I’m getting too old to move that sprinkler around the yard all the time,” he said. “This way, I just have to flip a switch and it will come on when I want it to.”

  I had a feeling there was more to this than moving a sprinkler, but wisely chose not to say anything. Whatever else was going on, I knew I would find out eventually.

  As I went back inside, my stomach growled and I realized I had missed lunch. My knee didn’t hurt as much, probably because of the painkillers, which meant I wouldn’t be able to drive. Going to the store had been on my list of things to do today; obviously I hadn’t made it. Sure hope there is something in the fridge to eat.

  Well, if you count half an onion, half a container of sour cream, and a head of lettuce as food, then you were in good shape. Hm, looks like take out for dinner tonight. I rummaged around in the menu drawer, trying to find something that sounded appetizing. No pizza – I tossed those aside. How did that Chinese menu get in there? Yuck. I tossed that one in the trash. The phone postponed my decision.

  “Have you eaten yet?” Sydney asked.

  “Nope. I am sitting here going through the menu drawer right now. Why?”

  “Open the door for me.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I have my hands full, and if you don’t open this door, the food is going to become Duke’s meal.”

  I got to the door just before she dropped the phone instead of the food, catching it before it hit the ground. “Good grief!” I said as she brought in three bags. “What have you got in there?”

  “I went to the Olive Garden. I heard all about your morning, and thought you could use some comfort food.”

  “You are a God send! It smells wonderful!”

  Sydney put the bags on the counter and turned around. “Did you really break Cash’s nose?”

  I nodded. “So I’ve heard.”

  “Wow, girl! That must have really pissed him off.”

  “He tried to get Bernie to arrest me, according to Keaton. Bernie told him he should consider himself lucky he wasn’t being arrested for assault and property damage. Cash may have been the one who poured the sugar in the car and put the potato in the tailpipe.”

  “Good grief, why?”

  “So I would need him, I guess. He told Deja that I was the one who made a pass at him, and that he spurned me. I told her she had the story wrong and even showed her the bruises on my ankle as proof.” I pulled silverware out of the drawer and put them on the table as Sydney unpacked the bags. “When I told her she needed to find someone other than Cash, she said she didn’t want anyone else.”

  “That’s sad.”

  “Tell me about it.” I pulled two Dr Peppers from the pantry, got two glasses from the cupboard, and ice from the freezer. “I wonder if she was the one who left that message for me on my car?”

  “Before or after Cash messed with it?”

  “She couldn’t have known he was going to mess with it. Whoever constructed the letter took the time to cut each individual piece out of magazines. I’d say two separate incidents.”

  “Maybe you should give Bernie the note to see if he can get any fingerprints from it.”

  I noticed that Sydney had pulled out three meals from the bags. “Who else is coming?”

  “Looking for me?” Keaton asked, coming up behind me.

  I glared at Sydney. “What?” she said. “It was his idea.”

  “You didn’t have to agree!”

  “Good point, but he did say one thing that I couldn’t disagree with.”

  “And what was that?”

  “He said, ‘I’m buying’.”

  See what I have to put up with?

  “So, what are we talking about?” Keaton said, grabbing some silverware and one of the meals.

  “Cash and Deja.”

  Keaton made a face. “I can think of better things to talk about.”

  “Like what?” Sydney asked.

  “Like what the heck is Mr. Crubbs doing to his yard?”

  “He told me he was putting in a sprinkler system.”

  “Seriously?” he said.

  “He said he was too old to bend over and move the sprinkler from place to place.”

  “I’ll bet money it has something to do with whatever he is planning next for the neighborhood kids,” Sydney said.

  “Do you really think he would spend that much money for a sprinkler system because of a petty fight?”

  Keaton shrugged. “Stranger things have happened. He doesn’t have any family to leave his money to, does he?”

  I shook my head. “He’s been divorced twice and both ex-wives remarried.”

  “Sounds to me like he is doing what he wants to, then,” Keaton said, looki
ng down at his food.

  “You know something, don’t you?” I said.

  “Who, me?”

  “Don’t give me that innocent bit. You know something. Spill it.”

  “I swear, I don’t know a thing!”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “I don’t either,” Sydney said. “You’re up to something.”

  Keaton changed the subject. “Did Cash or Deja show up after I left?”

  “Nope, it’s been pretty quiet, except for the work over at Mr. Crubbs’ house.”

  “Did Cash actually admit that he tinkered with your car?” Sydney asked.

  “I don’t know if he admitted anything to Bernie, but he flat out denied it to Deja. I wouldn’t put it past him, though.”

  “You are forgetting one thing, Charlie,” Keaton said. “Who broke your windows?”

  “It couldn’t have been the neighborhood kids,” Sydney replied. “They know the difference between your house and Mr. Crubbs’ place. That leaves Cash or Deja.”

  “Those two are giving me a migraine,” I moaned. Duke sat down next to me and put his head on my lap. I absentmindedly stroked his head.

  “Larry said he’ll be here tomorrow with the replacement panes for your windows,” Keaton said. “I hope you don’t mind one more night of plywood boards.”

  “No problem. They seemed to have weathered the rain just fine.”

  Sydney looked at her watch. “Well, I’ve got to jet. I have to pick up Aspen and her friend Nikki on campus. They are spending the weekend with us and then Aspen is taking her car back with them. She thought it would be too much of a hassle dealing with the car on campus, but has since discovered that if she wants to go anywhere, she has to bum a ride with someone else. She said if she was going to be in an accident, she wants to be the one driving.”

  “That’s encouraging,” Keaton said.

  “Good thing she didn’t tell Mother that,” Sydney replied. “She’d would probably hide the car keys from her and cancel her insurance. Before I forget, I have that information your mother wanted, Charlie.”

  “Why don’t you join us for dinner tomorrow night?”