The Leafing: the 2nd book in The Green Man series

by Sharon Brubaker

  “Let me call you back in five minutes,” Sylvia told him. “I’m finishing up here, okay?”

  “Good,” he replied and hung up.

  Detective Collins was coming back with the copy. “Everything all right?” he asked her.

  “I’m not sure,” Sylvia said slowly. “That was Tony. He sounded…” she paused, “sounded not quite right.”

  “Do you need assistance?” Detective Collins asked, concerned.

  “No, I don’t think so,” Sylvia said. “I need to talk to him and find out what’s going on. He wants to see me, but I’m not sure why.”

  “Step in here,” Detective Collins said.

  He led her to a small room, smiled and shut the door. Sylvia sat down in the sterile room of light gray tile and white walls. Again, there was a nondescript small table and two uncomfortable looking chairs. She sat on one and leaned heavily on the table and called Tony back.

  “Sylvia!” Tony answered sounding relieved, “Where are you?”

  “Still at the police station,” she said. “They let me sit in an empty room to call you.”

  “Oh,” Tony said abruptly, “It’s probably bugged.”

  “Really?” Sylvia asked in surprise and looked around the room. “Trust me,” she told Tony, “it’s nothing to write home about. This room is very plain.”

  “Is there a mirror?” Tony asked wearily.

  “Ummm, no,” she answered him. “I think it used to be an office,” she said as she looked around at the stark walls. The only thing in the room was a wall clock. It was a standard issue that she remembered from school. The red second hand ticked silently, but methodically around the hands.

  “Oh,” he said again abruptly.

  There was silence for a few seconds.

  “What’s up?” Sylvia asked.

  Tony cleared his throat a couple of times. “Sylvia, I don’t know how to ask you this…” he trailed off.

  “My grandmother used to tell me to just spit it out,” she told him. She was weary and wasn’t in the mood for guessing games.

  “Okay,” he said. “Would you…would you take Percy?”

  Without hesitation she replied, “Of course I’ll watch Percy for you,” she told him.

  “No!” Tony nearly shouted and she held the phone away from her ear. “It’s not for a visit,” he explained, “I want you to have him. He’s driving me crazy.”

  Sylvia literally stared at the phone.

  “Forever?” she asked in disbelief.

  “Yes,” Tony said resignedly. “Forever.”

  “I…uh…” Sylvia stumbled to answer.

  “When are you getting home?” Tony asked.

  Sylvia glanced at the clock. She wasn’t going to get back to work this afternoon.

  “In about half an hour,” she told him.

  “Call me when you get in and Percy and I will stop by,” he said, almost curtly.

  “Okay,” Sylvia said and the line went dead.

  She wasn’t sure why her hands were shaky, but they were. She put her phone in her purse and stood up, smoothing her shirt and pants as she tried to get her hands to stop shaking.

  She opened the door and stepped into the hallway. Detective Collins was almost immediately by her side. He noticed she was pale.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  “I think so,” she replied. She didn’t want to go into details about her conversation with Tony.

  “Look,” she said, “I need to get going.”

  Detective Collins nodded. “Call me if you have any concerns, questions, whatever,” he told her. “And, thank you for coming in today.”

  Sylvia nodded.

  “You have my number?” he asked?

  She nodded again and left the station.

  Out in the cold, bright sunlight, Sylvia took deep cleansing breaths before getting into her car.

  As promised she called Tony when she got home. Moments later, Tony and Percy were knocking at her door.

  “Hi,” she greeted them and opened it wide for them to come in. Percy rubbed up against her hand and she patted his pouf. Tony made his way to the living room. He sat down on the couch, but was clearly agitated.

  “Hi,” he belatedly returned her greeting. “You must think I’m pretty crazy.”

  “No,” Sylvia told him. “I don’t.”

  “I,” Tony began and stopped. “Percy and I…” he trailed of.

  She waited.

  “Sylvia, the dog is driving me crazy,” he said. “It’s Joyce’s dog. He’s whining and carrying on. He’s even been snappish. I don’t know what to do.”

  “Snappish?” Sylvia asked. “Percy?” she said unbelievingly.

  “Yes, Percy,” Tony said wearily.

  During the conversation, Percy sat by Sylvia’s side and leaned into her. She rubbed at his ears and he closed his eyes in doggy contentment making happy groaning noises.

  “You see, he never does that for me. We just aren’t buddies,” Tony said resignedly. “Please, I beg you, please take him. It’s you or a shelter,” Tony looked at her with pleading in his eyes.

  “How can I say no?” Sylvia murmured and she kissed the top of his pouf.

  “You’re an angel!” Tony cried. He moved quickly to give her a kiss, but Percy stood up knocking him back.

  “See,” Tony said, “he’s protective of you already.” Without skipping a beat, he asked, “We missed our dinner the other night. Do you want to go out tonight?”

  She was weary and not really sure if she wanted to go out or not. Tony looked at her with pleading eyes again and she relented.

  “Are you okay with going now?” Sylvia asked him. “I know it’s early, but I’m really tired.”

  “Sure,” Tony answered, obviously happy with her answer. “Let’s go somewhere close by.”

  He drove her to her favorite Chinese restaurant. It was the restaurant where she and Owen had eaten at least every week to ten days. The waitress recognized her and smiled at her. Sylvia wondered what she was thinking. Guilt assuaged her and a knife of bittersweet disappointment twisted in her stomach. Tony didn’t seem to notice.

  They sat down with menus and the waitress came to get their drink orders.

  “Mai tai?” Tony asked.

  Sylvia shook her head.

  “Wine?” he suggested.

  She shook her head again. “No, no thanks,” she said.

  “How about a cold beer?” he tried again.

  She thought briefly and nodded her head.

  He turned to the waitress to consult and she informed them both that all they had was Tsingtao. Owen would drink it when they dined there.

  “That’s fine,” Tony told her and Sylvia nodded.

  The waitress went to get them their drinks.

  “Are you okay?” Tony asked her.

  Sylvia took a deep breath and eventually nodded.

  “Yes,” she said. “I’m okay.”

  “But, you’re not really,” Tony guessed. “Is this a favorite haunt for you and Owen?”

  Sylvia sighed, “Yes, it is, or rather it was,” she said bitterly.

  The waitress brought the Tsingtao and he asked her to give them a few minutes.

  He held up his beer in a toast to Sylvia, “To better times,” he said.

  “Better times,” she agreed.

  “Well, if this is one of your favorite restaurants, you can recommend dinner,” he said as he put on a melting smile for her.

  She smiled almost shyly at him and recommended a few sushi rolls of spicy tuna, New York roll and orange roll. He nodded in agreement as she made the suggestions. For dinner she recommended the Singapore Mei Fun and asked him to choose the other dish to share. Tony chose Szechuan green beans and Moo Shu Chicken. Moo Shu was Owen’s favorite. She nodded in agreement.

  This dinner was not as comfortable as their meals had been in the past. They talked of the weather, Tony’s business, their neighborhood of Bayside, the town of North Bay and everything except Joyce.
There were many hesitancies and quiet moments. Sylvia drifted into memories, briefly, of her first time to the restaurant with Owen and Marian.

  “Sylvia?” Tony’s voice seemed in the distance. “Sylvia,” it sounded firmer and a little louder.

  “Oh!” she came back from her daydream with a jolt. “Sorry,” she said to him, blushing.

  He was putting down a credit card for the check.

  “Where were you?” he asked as he handed the waitress the bill and credit card. She handed him back a savory smelling bag of leftover food.

  Sylvia blushed slightly. “I was just remembering,” she said.

  “And…” Tony pushed gently.

  “You remember my friend Marian?” she asked him. When he nodded, she continued. “Marian and her husband Bran tricked Owen into trying Chinese food when he was a little boy.”

  Tony raised one eyebrow quizzically. “How?” He asked.

  “They told him Moo Shu was a type of Chinese taco,” she said giggling. “He believed it and it has been his favorite since.”

  “Makes sense,” Tony said. “Good for Marian and Bran. They were clever,” he remarked. “Shall we go?” he asked reaching to take her hand to help her out of the red leatherette booth.

  As she slid across the booth her purse spilled. Out of the purse slid the artist’s drawing of the murderer. Tony picked it up gingerly.

  “What’s this?” he asked in a steely voice.

  “It’s him,” Sylvia said quietly. “It’s the police artist sketch of the guy I saw Joyce with.”

  Tony’s mood went from jovial to grim in less than thirty seconds.

  “Bastard,” he muttered. “Bastard!” His anger was barely contained and shot out in his aura with ugly slashes of red.

  They drove home in silence and Tony walked Sylvia to the door. Percy barked until they were both inside. He whined, but Tony held up his hand and Percy sat, patiently.

  “Thank you for dinner,” Sylvia told him. She did not want to look up into his eyes at the moment.

  “Thank you for taking Percy and for the good company,” he told her. He took one finger and lifted up her chin until she was looking straight at him.

  She gasped slightly at the look of raw emotion in his eyes.

  “You and your come hither eyes are dangerous,” Tony said lightly. He kissed her on the cheek and shut the door behind him.”

  Sylvia stood still until Percy nudged at her hand. She came back to Earth.

  “Okay, boy,” she said. “Go get your leash.”

  Percy obediently trotted and brought back his leash. She snapped it on and walked up the road away from Tony’s house. ‘Come hither eyes’ was the term Tony had dubbed her. How could she believe that? Percy tugged at the leash and she gave her full attention to him and his business before returning home to bed.

  Chapter 18

  You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.

  Marcus Aurelius

  In her dream state, Sylvia heard a snuffling and whuffling. Suddenly a cold, wet something nosed her cheek. Percy whined softly.

  “Oh, Percy,” Sylvia complained, “five more minutes. Please!”

  Percy’s whining increased in volume.

  “Come up and snuggle for a minute, Perc,” she told him.

  Sylvia patted the bed. Obediently he jumped up on the bed, circled three times and lay down beside her, his head on her chest.

  “Aww,” she crooned patting the soft puff on the top of his head. “You are such a handsome boy.”

  Percy inched closer so that he could kiss her nose with his warm, wet tongue. He whined plaintively.

  “Oh, Percy,” she sighed happily, “My Percy,” she said remembering he was now her dog. She kissed him on the top of his pouf and swung her legs out of bed.

  She rooted around in a drawer and found a pair of sweatpants and put them on before shoving her feet into shearling boots with Percy waiting anxiously near her.

  Downstairs she turned the water on for coffee, threw on her coat and grabbed a flashlight by the door before she clipped the leash to Percy’s collar.

  “Brrr Percy!” Sylvia told him. “Let’s do this fast.” She pointed her flashlight at the frosty morning.

  Percy was quick and trotted back to the door quickly. Without hesitation, Sylvia followed rubbing her arms and hands when she got inside. The coffee water was ready and she heard the sound of her alarm clock from her cell phone blaring by her bed. She ran upstairs to turn it off before pouring water into the coffee grounds. While it dripped she poured kibble into Percy’s bowl as he waited patiently.

  Cradling the warm cup of coffee, Sylvia sat at the kitchen table. Tony had placed a small box of files on the table last night. She glanced through them as she sipped her coffee. These were Percy’s pedigree papers and veterinary history. She shivered when she saw Joyce’s signature on the majority of the papers.

  “You are some dog, Percy,” she told him as he was munching on his kibble. “I would love to stay and snuggle with you today, but I need to get to work.”

  With Percy’s early arousal, Sylvia was able to get to the office before Carol and Mr. Carter. She dove into the many emails she had received the previous day when she was at the police station. Then she worked on the community action board plan. She was concentrating so hard on her work that she did not hear Carol.

  “Knock, knock,” Carol said opening the door and peeking around the corner.

  “Hi, Carol,” Sylvia said distractedly.

  “Coffee?” Carol suggested.

  “Sure,” Sylvia replied.

  “Back in a sec,” Carol told her, and was back in a moment with two hot mugs of coffee. She set one down on Sylvia’s desk.

  Sylvia looked up from her computer with a sigh. “Why is it, that works seems to multiply when you miss a few hours of work?” she asked.

  “How did you make out yesterday?” Carol asked.

  “Okay,” Sylvia told her and explained how things went at the station, pulling out the drawing from her purse.

  “Wow,” Carol said. “Cool. Just like on TV...”

  “I guess so,” Sylvia answered. ”If Tinkerbelle worked on the NCIS team,” she told Carol.

  “W-h-a-t?” Carol asked, not understanding.

  Sylvia told Carol about Susan looking like Tinkerbelle. They both had a good chuckle.

  “Hey,” Carol asked, “Do you want to go out after work to the movies?”

  Sylvia shook her head. “I can’t,” she said. “I need to get home.”

  “What for?” Carol pushed, “for another microwave dinner?”

  “No,” Sylvia said. “I need to let Percy out.”

  “Percy!” Carol sputtered. “Are you babysitting him again?”

  “No,” Sylvia answered a little uncomfortably. “Not exactly. Now, he is my dog.”

  “What?” Carol replied aghast.

  “Tony can’t handle having him around. He knew I wanted a dog and that I adore Percy. He gave him to me last night – papers and everything.”

  Carol just shook her head and turned to go. Sylvia skittered the computer’s mouse back and forth quickly to wake up the program and continue to work. A couple of hours later she stood up and stretched before walking out to the outer office.

  “Hey,” she said to Carol. “I think I’m going to head to the cafeteria early to get lunch and bring it back to work at my desk.”

  “Okay,” Carol told her. “I was thinking of running some errands. I still need to get more baby presents for Shannon.”

  “That’s right,” Sylvia remember. “She must be due soon.”

  “The shower is next weekend,” Carol reminded her. “And Shannon would love it if you would come.”

  “I’ll think about it,” Sylvia told her.

  Sylvia walked down to the cafeteria. She was still a little dazed from sitting in front of the computer screen for so long. She had no idea what she wanted for lunch, and stood staring at the
selection of sandwiches.

  “The turkey and avocado wrap is pretty good,” a deep familiar voice said behind her, “but, I wouldn’t recommend the tuna wrap today.”

  Owen. Sylvia turned to face him.

  “Hi, Owen,” Sylvia greeted him. She took his advice, putting the plastic box with the turkey and avocado wrap on her tray before picking up a bag of chips from a display in front of the sandwiches.

  “How was the skiing last weekend?” she asked him.

  “Fine,” he said stiltedly. “Fun. I haven’t skied in a while,” he told her. “I found a few new muscles,” he grimaced.

  More people were coming into the cafeteria. Sylvia realized they were blocking the sandwiches as the queue for the food choices became longer.

  “I should pay for these and get out of the way,” Sylvia said.

  Owen looked around and saw the crowd beginning to fill the area. They sidestepped away from the sandwich and chips on display.

  “Are you meeting Carol for lunch?” he asked.

  “No, I have a bunch of work to catch up on,” Sylvia replied. “I’m headed straight back to the office.”

  Owen had a pained look in his eyes. “Oh,” he said lamely.

  “See you later,” Sylvia said and she went to check out with the cashier.

  Sylvia walked to the cashier and paid for her food. It was all she could do not to look back at Owen. Head up, she walked out of the cafeteria, proud of herself for the smooth encounter with Owen. Back at the office, Carol had already gone and Mr. Carter was behind closed doors in a meeting. Sylvia sat at her desk and put her head in her hands. She drew in a shaky breath. Owen still had an effect on her. She was glad she kept her cool around him. She opened her sandwich and ate, while surfing the internet and catching up on personal email. While she was eating an instant message on the company’s network popped up on her screen. It was from Owen.

  “Syl, we need to talk,” Owen stated.

  She replied, “Do we now?” hoping some of her sarcasm dripped through the instant message.

  His reply came quickly, “I know, I know I’ve been an ass. I would like to explain.”

  She took a deep shaky breath trying to control her emotions. It took all of her courage to write, “I’m not sure I want to hear an explanation.”