by J. S. Peck
Sam gently pushed my shoulder. I backed out of the doorway and raced to the computer. I grabbed the thumb drive from it. I looked up to see Sam watching me. As I put it into my purse his eyes never left mine. Still, he didn’t say a word.
Just then, Sophia’s boss moved to the doorway. Then he took several steps toward me. In a threatening voice, he shouted, “You, whatever your name is, don’t say a word to ANYONE about this. If this leaks out, I’ll know where it came from, and I personally will make you wish that you had never been born! Everything has to look normal, understand?”
I nodded my head while tears trailed down my face. “What about tomorrow? Am I supposed to still come into the office?” I whispered in a hoarse voice.
“When are you scheduled for the Purple Passion?”
“Not until next Monday, for training.
“Then show up for work that day. Now, get the hell out!”
As Sam walked me out to my car, he said, “You need to be careful. For God’s sake, don’t say a word to anyone about this! Here’s my number. Call me within a day or two and I’ll let you know what’s happening with Sophia.”
In gratitude, I grabbed onto his arm with shaking hands. “Thank you, Sam.”
He nodded his head and gently guided me toward my car. “Drive carefully, now.”
As if I could…
CHAPTER 18
I annoyed every driver on the road who let me know I had by honking their car horns and freely waving their middle finger at me. Some, of course, called me names, even a few I had never heard before, as I crawled along the roads trying to make my way home. I was in a daze after all that happened. I kept thinking how fortunate I was not to have to meet Brian at Sam’s. I couldn’t have done it and pretend nothing was wrong.
When I got home, Sweet Pea was glad to see me. As I picked her up, holding her close, I began to cry in earnest. Poor Sophia. Was there anything I could have done to prevent her death? I knew I had to let that thought go or go crazy.
I made my way to the kitchen and poured myself a stiff drink of vodka. Then I headed to the couch with Sweet Pea trailing close on my heels. I could tell she sensed my sadness. As I sat there, my thoughts ran wild. I certainly had managed to get myself so deeply entrenched into the murders of Melissa and Sally, and now the death of Sophia, that I couldn’t see any way out. All this within 8 days! I decided that I had no choice but to ride this horse until the end. What other option did I have? I gave a deep sigh and sniffled some more at my quandary.
Suddenly, I sat straight up remembering that I hadn’t called Brian – something I wasn’t about to do now. I wasn’t in any position to talk to anyone, much less him. I hunted down my purse which I had let drop as soon as I had come through the door. I grabbed my telephone and sent him a quick text. I said I wasn’t feeling well and we would talk in the morning. I put my phone back on vibrate and tossed it into my purse.
I moaned, what was I going to do? That’s when I heard pounding on the front door. Thinking it had to be Brian, I thought, just go away!
Sweet Pea began barking uncontrollably and wouldn’t stop. I decided to ignore both Sweet Pea and the knocking at the door. I remained still and quiet in my bedroom where I was trying to gather myself together.
All of a sudden, I heard the door swing open and crash against the wall. “What is going on?” I yelled as I headed down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, I just stood there with my mouth open, in shock. It wasn’t Brian at all, but two men in black masks.
“What do you want?”
“Aw right, lady, just give it to me.”
“Give you what?”
“You know as well as I do, what!”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about!”
The first one said to the other, “Grab the dog! Maybe she’ll talk then.”
“My dog doesn’t know what you want either,” I retorted stupidly.
“Ha, ha. We have a live one here. I like a feisty lady.”
“Look, feel free to search for what it is you want, but I can tell you, I don’t have whatever it is you’re looking for!”
Sweet Pea began to twist and turn in the intruder’s arms until he was forced to let her go. She headed as fast as she could out the front door barking so much that the neighbor closest to me stepped outside and called, “Rosalie, is everything okay?”
The man who stood closest to me swung his arm toward me. That is the last thing I remember until I woke up with my neighbor fluttering his arm above me. He was calling, “Rosalie, come back to us. You’re okay now.”
I sat up and could feel a bump rising on my forehead. As I rose up on one elbow, I told my neighbor, “Ron, I’m fine. Honestly, I am. Please, let me up.”
“Do you want me to call the police?”
That being the last thing I wanted, I said, “No, Ron, thank you anyway. I’ll call them in a few minutes. Thanks so much for coming to my rescue.”
“These kids today. Always looking for drug money, huh? Good thing Sweet Pea was on the alert. I’m just glad that I got here before any more damage could be done. Are you sure you’re okay?
As I nodded, he said, “Okay, if you’re sure, I’ll head back home then.”
“Thanks again for everything.”
“Sure thing,” he said and off he went.
I closed the door as best as I could. I had no choice but to call in a locksmith to change the locks as soon as possible. “Guess I better put on stronger ones on all the doors,” I mumbled. “Dammit, I need to remember to use my alarm system which for some stupid reason, I seem to ignore.”
I made arrangements with the locksmith who would be here within the hour. I laid down on my bed to rest. A few minutes later, I barely could make out my telephone vibrating in my purse which I had brought upstairs with me after locking the house up as best as I could. Was this day never going to end? I reached for it and saw who it was, suddenly glad to answer it. It was one of my close friends, Karen from Boston.
“Hi, Rosie! Just checking in to see how everything is going. Nancy, Susannah, and I are getting excited to see you soon! It will be good to relax, unwind and be naughty in Vegas like old times, right?”
In spite of being close to tears, I laughed just hearing my dear friend’s voice. Being “naughty” in Vegas meant shopping, shopping, shopping - such a far cry from what I was discovering being naughty in Vegas was all about.
We chatted some more about simple things. I hadn’t shared any of my happenings with her. She must have intuitively sensed something because her parting words were, “See you soon! Stay safe, my friend.”
“From your lips to God’s ears,” I whispered. I smelled my grandmother’s favorite perfume and knew she was there to help me as well.
CHAPTER 19
Early the next morning, Brian was pounding on my door. As soon as I opened it, he pushed in, swooped up Sweet Pea, who was prancing around his feet, and asked in concern, “Just what the hell happened?”
“What do you mean?” I responded, dread filling my body.
“My friend from the police department called me this morning to say that your neighbor wanted to file a complaint about two hoodlums who were looking for drug money in your neighborhood yesterday. He mentioned your name!”
Damn. “Oh, that,” I answered in relief that it wasn’t about Sophia. “Yes, no big deal. All’s taken care of now, anyway.”
“What do you mean all’s taken care of? How come you didn’t file a complaint, Rosie? I don’t like this one little bit.”
“No worries. I had new locks installed and I’m going to be using my security system from now on.”
“That’s all fine and well, but that’s not going to stop someone from entering if they really want to. You know that, right?”
“Well…”
“Well, nothing. Things are getti
ng more and more complicated with these two murders we’re investigating. I’m worried about you and I want you to pull out NOW!’
“I can’t do that, Cowboy. You know I can’t. I have commitments, and I’m going to keep them.”
“What commitments are you talking about?”
“Monday I start at the Purple Passion Lounge and I promised Sophia I would be there,” I answered with a lump in my throat.
“That may have to change…”
“Nothing’s going to stop me from doing that,” I interrupted in a determined voice, knowing full well that my life had been threatened to keep everything ‘normal.’
“We need to talk, Rosie. I meant it when I said that things were getting complicated. Things are not what we may have thought. The reason I couldn’t meet you last night is that I was tailing Tony Angelo to see what I could find out. There’s more going on at the Purple Passion Lounge than getting clients drunk and fleecing them out of their money. I don’t want you involved.”
“Well, I’m afraid that is not your decision. I’m going to begin working at the Purple Passion on Monday and that is that!”
“Dammit, Rosie! This time you need to do what I say! Now!”
“Listen, Cowboy, who do you think you’re talking to? I don’t take orders from you or anyone. I have made up my mind about this, and nothing is going to change it!”
“I thought this would be happening,” he said with a sigh. “You are maddening! I knew you’d be too stubborn to change your mind so I’ve a proposal for you then. I not only want you to consider my offer but I absolutely won’t accept any excuse from you not to do what I ask,” carefully emphasizing the last word.
“Well, we’ll see…”
After Brian left, I needed to clear my head and took Sweet Pea for a walk in the large dog park near my house. My thoughts were on Brian and his proposal so I wasn’t watching where I going. I bumped into a man who was as surprised as I was to see each other. Instantly, I recognized him as one of the men that had broken into my house. Before I knew what was happening, he grabbed me around the neck and pulled me toward him. He whispered in my ear, “Give it to me!”
“Give you, what?” I hollered, angered at being held captive and not knowing exactly what it was he wanted. Was it the money? The coded notes? The thumb drive? Sweet Pea began growling and barking, jumping up on him. She yelped when his foot kicked her into the air. That did it for me! No one was ever allowed to hurt my dog! A surge of adrenaline filled my body. I surprised him with my sudden twisting which I had learned in Karate, allowing me to land a swift kick to his knee. This caused him to twist in pain and lose his balance. As he writhed in pain, I brought my foot down on his groin. The expression, ‘Never kick a man when he is down’ didn’t apply in this case. I bent over him and whispered, “Don’t you ever hurt my dog again! I don’t have what you think I do so leave me alone or I will …”
A woman had heard Sweet Pea’s barking and yelping and had come running as fast as she could. “What’s happening?” she screamed as she raced toward me, out of breath. “Want me to call the Police?”
Once the man heard that, he painfully forced himself up to his knees and with pleading eyes, hoarsely whispered, “Okay, lady, I’ll leave you alone. Just don’t call the cops. If you do, I’m dead meat.” He half crawled and half ran away as I stood there in shock. I certainly didn’t want anyone calling in the police. I knew that would entail nothing good. What was I going to do?
“What was that all about?” the woman asked, out of breath.
I knew she couldn’t have heard his whisperings so I said, “That jerk was upset because I bumped into him and he took it out on Sweet Pea. Can you imagine that?”
After she walked away, I stood there trying to make sense out of what had just happened. I started to shake all over as adrenaline began to drain from my body. The thing that worried me most is that I had actually enjoyed the physical aspect of my encounter with that man. It reminded me of the time when I was a kid. I’d become the bully after having been continuously bullied by a school mate and the tremendous satisfaction that it had brought about. This time, being able to not only defend myself but to overpower a man that large was more than satisfying. It went beyond a judo class with disciplined steps and parrying. I had been fighting for a cause and had won.
Feeling so jubilant about my part in what had happened made me feel proud; yet, it wasn’t anything I “should” be proud of – to injure another person, was it? What was wrong with me? Had I opened a deep dark side of me? Was I creating a monster that was craving to get out? What was I becoming?
My thoughts returned to the man who I had run into. Why was he even here? Had he been following me all along or had someone tipped him off as to my whereabouts?
It was time to call Brian to tell him I’d made up my mind on his proposal. When I punched in his number, his phone rang and rang with no response. It left me no choice but to leave a message. “Hey, Cowboy, give me a call, please.”
I expected him to call me right away but my phone remained silent for the rest of the day. Something was up, alright. Something bigger than my incident for he would have certainly called me by now, wouldn’t he?
When Brian called me later, he hurriedly said, “My friend in the police department called me late this afternoon to give me a lead on a story. They found an older man badly beaten and nearly dead in the parking lot near PUP’s office. They found his wallet a few feet away from him. All his money was still intact. They have identified him as Samuel Jenkins. Right now, he is in a coma at the hospital and unable to talk. Do you know anything about him?
My heart fell and my eyes watered as I nodded my head in affirmation. “I met him at PUP. He’s the one responsible for inspecting the cars to make sure they are up to snuff before their owners join as drivers.”
I paused trying to remember my last conversation with Sam. I wouldn’t be sharing that with Brian. I had promised not to say anything to anyone about my last day at PUP – a memory that would remain with me forever – and I wasn’t about to break that promise. “Sam knew my grandmother when I was very young. After he saw me at PUP he told me that it was because of my hair that he had recognized me. That’s all I really know about him.”
I could sense Brian biting back a chuckle when he heard the comment about my hair. There was no doubt about my hair being a dead giveaway with its flyaway long curls that sought its freedom from anything that tried to contain it. With my hair, it was difficult not to draw attention to myself.
My stomach began to roil at the vision of Sam lying on the hard pavement with no one there to help him. I made a small choking sound as I held back tears. Brian said with concern, “Rosie, you’ve got to give up working at the Purple Passion Lounge now. It’s not safe.”
“We don’t know if there is any connection between what happened to Sam and anything to do with the Purple Passion. I can promise you this, I’m going to be there on Monday and no one can stop me, even you.” I stated this more firmly than I felt.
There was a long pause. I could sense his dismay at my refusal to stop my part in the investigation. When he finally spoke, he said, “At least you’ll take me up on my proposal, right?”
“Yes, I will.”
“Good. Mike will be there in the morning. That will give you both several days to get acquainted. He’s a really good guy and very professional.”
“Okay,” I answered meekly. Brian had hired Mike to be my personal body guard, playing the new love in my life. It would be interesting to have a boyfriend again - even a pretend one.
As I picked up the Tarot cards laying on top of the coffee table, they fell out of my hands and I knelt to pick them up. Most had stayed together and it was easy to quickly gather them in one swoop, pushing them together. One fell out and as I reached for it, I saw it was the Death card. I put it back into the deck with certainty that I wouldn�
�t be going to the hospital tomorrow to see Sam. It was already too late.
CHAPTER 20
Secretly, I felt relieved Mike would be staying with me for the next few days as my protector and “boyfriend” under Brian’s order. I became more and more curious to learn more about Brian and exactly what he was all about. Why did he have the authority to tell others what to do? Who was he, exactly?
I would know soon enough as he was meeting with me at 9 o’clock sharp. I knew that our meeting was going to be difficult when each of us became clean with what was really going on. In as much as I was going to be relieved to share what I knew, I dreaded it at the same time. I just needed to be strong. Little did I realize how much.
Brian came swinging into the house all business-like with a slight frown. He almost didn’t stop to take the time to bend down and pat Sweet Pea, who was bouncing at his feet. “Where’s Mike?”
I pointed to the living room where Mike was sitting with a cup of coffee I had made for him. Brian went in to speak with him. I could just make out what he was saying, “Listen, Mike. Now that I’m here, I need you to run that errand we talked about, okay?”
“Sure, boss,” he responded, good-naturedly.
“Rosie, where are your car keys? Hand them to me, please.”
“Here you go,” I responded, tossing them to Brian.
In turn, he gave them to Mike, saying, “Thanks for everything. I really appreciate you stepping in.”
Mike responded in a teasing manner, “You have no idea how much fun this is going to be.”
Brian looked surprised and annoyed at the same time and simply pointed to the front door. At that, Mike drained his cup, made his way toward me and play acting the role of boyfriend gave me a goodbye hug and went out the door. Brian looked none too happy, and Sweet Pea was beside herself to think that she was losing an admirer. She barked her annoyance. I picked her up to keep her quiet and stared at Brian. “Are you ready?” I asked, dreading the moment had arrived for me to unveil what I’d been hiding from him.