A Penny for Your Thoughts

by Bess McBride

“I know,” Penny sighed. “Do you...do you want some coffee or something, Matt? I know you’re tired.”

  Matt peered at his watch. Penny noted her own watch showed four twenty-five a.m. “I doubt if I’m going to get a lot of sleep tonight. Sure! That sounds good. Do you mind? I don’t want to keep you up.”

  She unlocked the door of her condominium. “No, not at all. I couldn’t go back to sleep now anyway.”

  Penny moved into the kitchen and flipped on a small stove light while Matt stood uncertainly in the living room. He moved over to the sliding glass door and tried to peer out, but moist sea air fogged the window. He turned and strolled back to the couch.

  “So, do you lose a lot of sleep on this job? How do you catch up?” Penny asked as she spooned coffee grounds into a filter.

  “Not usually,” he called from the living room. “The town is pretty quiet. I can’t imagine why all of this is happening in one day.”

  Penny looked over her shoulder. She’d forgotten to turn on the lights in the living room, and Matt looked quite forlorn sitting on the couch in the dark.

  “Turn on the lamp,” she urged and returned her attention to the coffee.

  She poured water into the coffeemaker and watched the coffee begin to drip while she retrieved two mugs from the cabinets and set them on the counter.

  “Do you still take your coffee black, Matt?” she called.

  There was no answer.

  “Matt?”

  Silence.

  Chapter Five

  Penny looked over her shoulder. Matt still sat in the dark on the sofa. She came around the kitchen counter and approached him. His head lolled against the back against the sofa and his eyes were closed. She leaned down to peer into his face. Steady breathing indicated he’d fallen asleep. She reached to touch his face--something she’d dreamed of doing for fifteen years--but she pulled back, unwilling to awaken him. His face was drawn and haggard. Dark stubble covered his chin, and his full lips looked dry.

  Penny had dreamed of many things over the past fifteen years but having Matt fall asleep on the couch in her apartment was not one of them. Somehow, her fantasies had always involved the bedroom. She returned to the kitchen and turned off the coffee maker, then headed for the bedroom closet to pull a blanket down from the upper shelf. She returned to the living room and covered Matt. Though she longed to creep up onto the couch and lay her head in his lap while he slept, she resisted the insane urge and returned to the bedroom, shutting the door behind her. She undressed and crawled back into bed...to lay awake for a long time wishing the man in the room next door loved her as much as she apparently still loved him.

  It seemed only a few hours later when Penny opened one eye against the bright sun flooding the room through the open curtains. She turned to look at the bedside clock. Eight fifteen.

  Matt! Matt was out in the living room!

  Penny rolled off the bed and tiptoed to the door, an unnecessary maneuver since the thick pile of the beige carpeting in the condominium muffled most footsteps. She inched the door open to peek out into the living room, now brightly lit from sun streaming in the sliding glass doors. Matt was nowhere to be seen.

  “Matt?” she called from behind the door. No answer. Worried that he might have left, she abandoned all attempts at modesty and stepped into the living room to look around.

  “Matt?” she called again. The door to the small guest washroom was open but the light was off. She stepped in. Everything looked the same. She touched the light blue face towel. It was wet. With a dejected slump, she turned to reenter the living room.

  He’d left without a word. And she had to call the insurance company today...and get the window fixed.

  Penny shuffled into the kitchen to make coffee. She flipped on the light switch and saw a small piece of paper torn from a memo pad in front of the coffee pot. The smell of brewed coffee permeated the air. She touched the hot pot and smiled.

  Good morning, Penny

  I can’t believe I fell asleep last night...this morning. I’m sorry. I have to take off to get showered and changed before work. I started the coffee for you. Talk to you soon.

  Matt

  Penny laid the note back on the counter and poured herself a cup of coffee. His handwriting was large and elegant, a strange contrast to his quiet, almost shy personality. She ran her fingertips along the curves of the letters, admiring the handwriting she remembered so well. He didn’t mention when he might see her again. She shook her head and sighed.

  Why should he? He used to hold back in the old days as well. She had never been quite sure when she would see him next.

  Penny stopped talking to herself long enough to take a sip of coffee. She returned to the living room and located her purse and phone, dropping onto the couch to begin making phone calls regarding her car. She dug in her handbag for her address book but couldn’t find it. Frustrated and tired, she upended the purse onto the coffee table. It wasn’t there.

  This was just too much, she fumed. Where did she put that thing? When had she last used it? It seemed like it was just yesterday. But why?

  She shot up straight. The post office. She had taken a package of T-shirts to the post office and mailed them to Travis. Had she left it there...where she’d used their large marker to write the address on the package? She ran an exhausted hand over her forehead. Why couldn’t she remember? Why couldn’t she concentrate? It was just a small green thing. Think, Penny, think! A rising sense of anxiety began to take hold. Surely, she hadn’t...left it in the car. No one would break into a car to steal an address book, would they? Penny grabbed her keys, jumped up and flew out the door and down the stairs. She hurried over to the car and peered inside. Some shards of glass still lay on the floorboard and seat, but she didn’t see the address book. She pulled open the door and checked underneath the seat, under the floor mat and behind the seat. Cursing the vandal who broke into her car, she opened the glove compartment, knowing full well she hadn’t put the address book inside there. She would have remembered.

  There was nothing inside except her registration and proof of insurance which Sam had looked at the night before. She grabbed the insurance papers and slammed the glove box closed.

  Penny took a deep calming breath and pinned her hopes on calling the post office. Perhaps she’d left it there. She trudged back up the stairs, her legs aching from lack of sleep.

  She reached the third floor and pushed her door open, cursing herself for leaving it unlocked. Matt would not be impressed.

  A phone call to the post office revealed no address book had been left in their building the day before. Penny burrowed herself into the sofa and wracked her brain, but she simply could not remember where it was. Why would a car vandal take it? It held only addresses...no passwords, no codes of any sort.

  ****

  “Chief, you look like death warmed over,” Patty chuckled. “Up late?” she grinned.

  Matt’s lips twitched and he shook his head, determined to keep Patty at bay. He poured himself a cup of coffee and turned to face his inquisitor while trying to appear nonchalant as he leaned against the counter. Running a quick hand through his wet hair, he debated how best to throw his trusty desk sergeant off the “scent” of romance. Too confused about Penny’s sudden reappearance in his life to actually think straight, Matt could only respond with a foolish grin and an even more foolish attempt at a joke.

  “I’m always up late, Patty. Crime never sleeps. You know that.”

  Patty arched an eyebrow, pursed her lips and favored him with a pointed look.

  “Mmm hmmm... And how is Mrs. Brown this morning, Chief?”

  “I’m sure she’s just fine, Patty.” His smile broadened. “Although her car was broken into last night...or rather this morning. Did Sam leave the report on your desk?”

  “It’s right here. Says that you responded to the scene with him. That sure was nice of you.”

  Matt ran a hasty hand over his heated face. “Well, she is an old friend.�
�� He dropped his eyes to his cup for a second. “We’ve got this sudden rash of criminal activity in town. I have no idea what’s going on.”

  “Me either, Chief, but your Mrs. Brown seems to be involved in several of them. No chance she did the bank robbery?”

  Matt eyed Patty doubtfully. A big grin lit up her face, and he relaxed. She was kidding. She’d been with the department for years, long before he’d come on board. She knew everything about everybody.

  “I doubt it, Patty, but I’ll sure ask her the next time I see her. How’s that?”

  “Sounds good, Chief. I wouldn’t want you to miss a possible suspect because you’ve got stars in your eyes.”

  Matt blinked at the less than subtle innuendo and rubbed his chin while trying to think of a retort. Patty swallowed a smirk, gave him a pleasant nod and returned to the paperwork on her desk.

  “Well, you know the state motto, Patty. Stars fell on Alabama.” His shoulders shaking with barely suppressed laughter, Matt headed for his office.

  Without raising her face from her computer, Patty got the last word.

  “Mmm hmm... That would be stars from above, Chief, not from Michigan. You’ve got a stack of messages on your desk.”

  Matt grinned but didn’t turn around. He opened the door of his office and stepped around to the front of his desk. He set his coffee cup down and dropped heavily into his chair. He was so tired his bones ached. Not enough sleep. He glanced at a bunch of pink message slips in the middle of his desk but made no move to look at them.

  Pulling open a side drawer on his desk, he moved a few papers aside and pulled out a small photograph.

  Penny’s younger face grinned at the camera...at him. She stood behind a dark-haired five-year-old Travis with her arms crossed in front of his small chest, both of them beaming for the camera. A sparkling blue river ran behind them with a massive emerald green mountain filling the backdrop. The picture had been taken on one of their camping trips; he’d forgotten which one. Penny wore a dark blue sweatshirt and beige shorts.

  She hadn’t changed much in fifteen years, at least not physically. She looked as beautiful now as she did then.

  Matt set the picture down on his desk and picked up his cup of coffee while he stared at it.

  Of all the places he’d looked for her after his divorce, he’d never thought to look in Traverse City. He assumed she’d married, changed her name. Of course, he could have called her mother to find out where she was, but he’d lacked the courage at the time. Maybe he hadn’t tried hard enough because he wasn’t sure if he could go through the emotional roller coaster of loving Penny again. She had been a handful. There was no doubt about it.

  Matt leaned forward and picked up the dog-eared picture with an unsteady hand to peer at it more closely. They were both older and wiser now. And it seemed painfully clear that he’d never stopped loving her.

  What was she doing now? He set his cup down and checked his watch.

  ****

  A half hour later, phone calls made and arrangements in place to have her car window repaired, she returned to the bedroom to dress so she could take the car down to the body shop. She dragged some shorts out of her dresser and pulled them on. The phone rang and she raced for it. Matt? She needed to tell him about the address book.

  “Hi, honey. I thought you were going to call this morning.”

  “Oh, hi, Mom. Well, I was, but some stuff came up.” Penny returned to the kitchen to pour another cup of coffee. Phone calls with her mom were never short. She stepped out onto the balcony and settled into a chair as she told her mom about the vandalism to the car. She hesitated to mention the phone call. Her mom would worry.

  “I can’t believe this. Are you sure that town is safe, Penny? We don’t have that much crime here in Missoula.” Her mother chuckled. “Okay, yes we do, but...”

  “It’s a safe town, Mom. In fact, I’m pretty sure that’s the only event of the week,” Penny laughed. “Well, that and a bank robbery.”

  “And who’s this Chief of Police you keep talking about. You sound pretty impressed with him. Is he single?”

  “Ummm...yes.”

  “Penny?”

  “Yes, Mom?” Penny heard the tone in her mother’s voice that had ferreted out many a secret from her teen years.

  “What aren’t you saying?”

  “How come you never went into law enforcement, Mom? You have a knack for it.”

  “Law enforcement? Oh, you mean how I can always get the truth out of you?” Her mother’s throaty chuckle made Penny smile. “That’s just a mother’s instincts, honey.”

  “Aha!” Penny stalled.

  “You were saying?” her mother prodded mercilessly. “About the Chief of Police?”

  Penny sighed. Her mother had read many a tear-stained letter when her daughter had been in Europe.

  “It’s Matt, Mom.”

  “Matt?”

  Could her mother have forgotten? Was it possible?

  “Matt Williams.”

  “You’re kidding!”

  From the sound of it, her mother had not forgotten.

  “What’s he doing there? How did you run into him? Why is he in Gulf Shores? Didn’t you tell me he was in Gulfport? Did you get the towns wrong? Is that why you went there? To see him?”

  “Mom! Stop!” Penny couldn’t even remember half her mother’s questions. “Wait. I don’t even remember the first question. I was wondering if you remembered him.”

  “Oh yes, honey. I couldn’t forget that man.”

  “Oh!” Penny paused and took a sip of coffee while she wondered what her mother meant by the simple statement. The sun shone brightly overhead in the cloudless sky giving the water a delightfully tropical aqua hue. People strolled the beach, and several brightly colored umbrellas dotted the sand even at midmorning.

  ****

  He raced around the side of the building and into the carport. Taking the stairs two by two, he got to her door in minimum time. He checked for an instant at the top of the stairs. The hallway was empty. Taking the few steps to her doorway with confidence, he twisted the knob and the door gave way. He shook his head. She really should lock her doors. The world wasn’t a safe place to live.

  ****

  “Well?” Penny’s mom urged.

  “Umm...let’s see. No, I didn’t know he was here. The last I heard he was in Gulfport, Mississippi. That’s two hours away. So, no, I didn’t come down here because of him.”

  “Really?” A skeptical tone in her mother’s voice urged Penny on.

  “Mom, I didn’t come down here because of him. Really! A lot of people come down here from Michigan, and I always wanted to see the place. It’s beautiful.” She paused to collect her thoughts. “Anyway, what else did you want to know? I forgot.”

  “How did you run into him?”

  “It’s a small town. He was the one who responded when I got the phone--” Penny bit her lip, but it was too late.

  “When you got what? A phone call? What’s going on?”

  “Nothing, Mom. I just... I didn’t mean to tell you. You’ll worry too much.”

  “Well, I’m worrying more now. Tell me!”

  “It’s just...” Penny rolled her eyes. “I got this phone call yesterday, that’s all. Kind of an anonymous thing.”

  “And you called the police?”

  “Yes,” Penny’s face flamed. It did sound like overreacting when her mother put it that way.

  “Why would you call the police over an anonymous call?” Detective Mom prodded.

  “Well, I didn’t want to tell you...”

  “So you said.”

  Penny sighed. “It was a man. He knew my name. And he threatened to kill me.”

  Her mother’s shriek outdid even the seagulls.

  “What!”

  “It’s nothing, Mom. He hasn’t called back. We think it was a prank phone call.”

  ****

  He backed out of the closet, kept the door open in case he needed
to duck in quickly, but he couldn’t resist listening to snatches of the conversation on the balcony. The words carried into the bedroom. He moved near the bedroom door and peered around the corner. As he had seen from the beach, she sat in a lounge chair, one foot braced on the glass coffee table. Her back was to him. He grinned and retreated back into the bedroom to pull open the drawer of the nightstand, moving things to the side...searching. A glint of brass caught his eye. He held the key up and studied it. Not what he was looking for, but if it went to the apartment, he’d take it. He stuffed it in his pocket. He paused to listen for a moment. She was still talking. He searched the other nightstand. Empty. A check of the top dresser drawers revealed nothing. Clothes, socks, lingerie. He fingered a pair of purple lace underwear for a moment, and threw a glance over his shoulder as if he could see her on the balcony.

  “Oh, really?” he whispered with a grin. “Who knew, Miss Therapist? I’ll bet old Jerry didn’t.”

  He tossed them back into the drawer and snapped it shut with impatience, albeit in silence. A search of the other drawers revealed nothing of interest.

  ****

  “Who’s we?” Penny’s mother demanded.

  “Well, me...” Penny rubbed her left temple with her spare hand. “The call was forwarded from my boss’s number in some kind of phone scam thing. I don’t know how it works.”

  “Your boss. You mean Tim?”

  “Yeah, but he didn’t have anything to do with it. At any rate, whoever called probably lives in Michigan somewhere. For all I know, he could be some youngster with a deep voice and little parental supervision. I think I’m going to stop worrying about it.”

  “But now your car has been broken into. Don’t you think something’s up?”

  Penny tamped down a surge of anxiety at her mother’s words. She was down here to heal, not take on new misery.

  “I don’t think so, Mom. I hope not. Let’s change the subject. I’ll let you know if I get another phone call, how’s that?”

  “You’d better,” her mother warned. “That must be a small town if they send the Chief of Police out on a call.”

  “Yes, Mom. It’s small.”