The Nosy Neighbor

by Fern Michaels

  “Yes. I was wondering if you want me to call my friend at Duke. You didn’t answer me when I asked you yesterday. Are we still on for the Rutgers library?”

  “I am if you are. You have four-wheel drive, right? Let’s see what we come up with at the library, if anything, before you call him.”

  Lucy was clearing the table when the phone rang. She looked at Wylie, who was on his way out to clear her driveway with his snowblower, and he looked at her. He shrugged. Lucy saw him wince when she said, “Oh, Jonathan, I wasn’t expecting your call.”

  Wylie’s face darkened as he used his index finger to offer up a salute.

  “Lucy, are you there?” Jonathan’s voice was sharp. “Did you hear a word I said?”

  “No, Jonathan, I did not hear what you said,” Lucy responded coolly. “We had a snowstorm last night, and your voice keeps fading in and out. Wet wires, I assume.” Her voice was even cooler when she said, “What did you say?”

  “I said, I’m not going to be able to join you for Thanksgiving after all. I called to apologize.”

  The relief Lucy felt was immeasurable. “Perhaps that’s a good thing, Jonathan. I think I’m coming down with the flu. It seems everyone in the neighborhood has it. My brother will probably come here and bring dinner with him. Is there anything else?”

  “You sound like you’re trying to get rid of me.”

  The chuckle on the other end of the phone didn’t sound sincere to Lucy’s ears.

  “No, no, Jonathan. I know how busy you are. I was looking forward to seeing you,” she lied. She wondered if her tongue would fall out. When she was a kid her mother had scared the daylights out of her and Steven. She’d told them their tongues would fall out if they told a lie or even a little fib. Lucy remembered walking around with a mirror in her pocket to make sure her tongue was still there.

  “I really miss you. I hate this traveling. I can’t wait till we get married so I can cut back. Eat an extra slice of turkey for me, sweetheart. I have to run now. I love you, darling.”

  Lucy didn’t bother to respond. Instead, she pressed her finger down to break the connection. There was no way in hell she was going to tell Jonathan St. Clair she loved him. No way in hell. Right now, right this very minute, she hated the suave, sophisticated man she was supposed to marry. The most she could say about him was that he was decent in bed. Not great but okay. She didn’t know how she knew, but she knew that Wylie would be spectacular between the sheets. Her body grew warm at the thought. She chastised herself immediately. She’d just met the man, for heaven’s sake, and here she was thinking about how he’d perform in bed. Better not to think about things like that. Her life was messed up enough at the moment without adding Wylie to the mix.

  • • •

  The ride down Route 27 with Wylie driving his Land Rover was mostly spent talking about the weather, snowplows, and the newscast predicting even more snow later in the day. “Not to worry, Lucy, this baby can handle anything,” Wylie said confidently referring to his Rover. “I hope we’re still on for Japanese this evening.” He took his eyes off the road for a minute to look across at his companion. She looked wonderful this morning, dressed in a sky-blue winter jacket with matching wool slacks. A snow-white wool hat covered her hair. He liked the way little tendrils escaped by her ears.

  “I’m looking forward to it. So, you really like driving a truck like this?”

  “Absolutely. The gas mileage isn’t that great, but I wouldn’t give it up for anything. It’s five years old. My friend, the one I was telling you about who works at Duke, has the big Range Rover. Of course he needs it, with four kids. He loves to go four-wheeling with his family. Jake is my best friend. We’ve known each other since our college days, when we were in the same fraternity. Do you have a best friend?”

  “Not really. I was pretty much a bookworm, and beyond the necessities for professional contacts, I’m not a joiner. You know how it is with the law. If you’re a lawyer, you’re married to the profession. There isn’t much time for a social life. Tell me about your friend. How did he get into parapsychology?”

  “I’m not really sure. I can give you the version he hands out to most people. Seems he and his mother both have what he calls extrasensory perception. When we shared an apartment when I was at Georgetown Law, he was forever cautioning me about doing or not doing things. He was usually on the money. The guy is a pure whiz. He’s got his doctorate and an MBA.

  “His wife was Miss North Carolina in the Miss America pageant ten years ago. She was the first runner-up. Nice lady. She’s always trying to fix me up with one of her friends,” Wylie said hoping to get a reaction from Lucy. When nothing was forthcoming, he said, “I know you’ll like him. The truth is, it’s impossible not to like Jake,” and focused on the snowy road ahead of them.

  Five minutes later, they arrived at the library. “Let’s split up. We’ll hit the stacks, you take one shelf, and I’ll take another. We can make notes and check stuff on the Net when we get home.”

  “Sounds good.” Lucy hopped out of the truck and immediately went down on her fanny. Wylie bent down to pick her up and ended up right next to her. He laughed uproariously at their predicament. With their faces just inches apart, vapor from their mouths colliding, Wylie leaned slightly forward, intending to kiss her. Alarmed at how much she wanted that to happen, Lucy moved away from him, and the moment was quickly lost.

  Finally, they both managed to get to their feet and into the library. Both of them were huffing and puffing as they shook the fine snow from their jackets. Neither one mentioned how close they’d come to locking their lips together.

  “This is a daunting task,” Lucy mumbled an hour later. “I’ve got a list a yard long. We can try the Internet later. Most of what I found are just case studies of people who suddenly get a feeling that something is happening to a loved one and come to find out that whatever it was actually happened. There seem to be thousands of those that are documented. I haven’t found one instance where anyone hears another person’s thoughts.”

  “Are you hearing anything now?” Wylie asked as he perused his own list.

  “Background voices, but they sound far off. Are you thinking, because if you are, I’m not picking up on it?”

  I’m thinking I wanted to kiss you till your teeth rattled, Wylie thought. He watched Lucy’s eyes to see if she was picking up on his thoughts. It didn’t appear so. “I found a book titled The Frontier of the Mind. I think you are receiving some sort of transmissible signal, for want of a better word, from someone else’s brain. Like mine, when you hear me. I think we will just borrow this book and return it later. I’ll stick it inside my jacket. Tell me if anyone is looking. We’ll bring it back or send it FedEx with a donation. Tell me when the coast is clear.”

  Lucy’s eyes scanned the massive library. “Do it now,” she whispered.

  “Done! Okay, let’s get out of here,” Wylie said in a jittery voice.

  “You go out to the car, Wylie. I want to walk around here for a while to see if I…hear anything. Until now, you’re the only person I’ve been around aside from the FBI agents. I want to see if…if I have the same unusual ability here as at home.”

  “Okay,” Wylie said as he walked quickly out of the library, the “borrowed” book under his jacket. He knew he’d never make a good thief. His heart was pounding so fast he thought he was going to pass out.

  Lucy waited until the door closed behind Wylie before she made her way into the library’s main reading room. She walked slowly as she tried to hear things. Libraries were normally quiet to begin with, so this was probably an exercise in futility, she told herself as she walked around the seating area. She was nervous, her hands twitching as she concentrated on two students sitting together at a table. She almost tripped on the blue carpet when she heard one of the two students’ thoughts. Man, how can I study after last night? She was so hot I thought I was going to go up in smoke. Lucy clapped her hands over her ears as she pressed forward. />
  As she meandered around, she heard words, some clear, some muffled. She heard a reference to a washing machine, a thought about a grade that was unacceptable. A whole jumble of words suddenly seemed to come from all directions. The Chinese fire drill again. She turned and rushed to the front of the library. As she passed the librarian, she heard the librarian arguing with herself about whether to tell her husband she was pregnant or wait another month. Lucy wanted to tell her to tell him now but she didn’t. Instead, she slammed through the doors and saw Wylie waiting in front of the building. He took her hand and guided her across the parking area to the Land Rover. After she helped him clear the snow from the front and back windshields, she hopped into the truck, buckled up and proceeded to tell him what she’d heard. When he laughed, Lucy grimaced. “I bet I could get a job in a circus with this…new talent of mine.”

  Wylie laughed again but he reached over to pat her hand. It felt so comforting. Lucy relaxed immediately.

  “Jake can interpret all this for us. I don’t understand it any more than you do. He’s a real force in his own field, so let’s leave it to the experts. You feeling okay?” Wylie asked anxiously.

  “Yes, I feel fine. My head is quiet now. When we were clearing the snow away, I had the feeling that the snow was buffering my thoughts. Does that make sense?”

  Wylie shrugged. “Listen, Lucy, I don’t want you to get upset, but I called Jake last night after you went to sleep. I really called him just to talk. He volunteered to come here. I swear to you, I didn’t ask him. He’ll be here tomorrow. And, he’s staying through Thanksgiving. His wife and kids went to Minnesota because his mother-in-law broke her hip and Jane wants to be with her mother. I couldn’t say no. If you don’t want to talk to him, that’s okay. He’s going to be staying with me. I’m just trying to help, Lucy.”

  Lucy smiled. “I know that, Wylie. It’s okay. The feds are coming back tomorrow. Up till now it’s been a mind game with them. Tomorrow they’re going to bring out their big guns. It might be a good thing if your friend is here. You can both sit in on the meeting.”

  “With this new…ah…power of yours, you are now the eight-hundred-pound gorilla. Think about that, Lucy.”

  5

  Lucy woke up to a quiet white world. As she looked out at the yard, which was covered in a blinding pristine whiteness, she remembered that Wylie had taken the dogs when he’d left last night so they could play in the snow.

  She wondered if the FBI agents would still come today. Were they like the mailmen, undeterred by sleet, snow, or rain? Thinking about them set her stomach to roiling with fear again. How could I have been so utterly stupid where Jonathan was concerned? Because when you were working eighty hours a week having a fiancé in absentia suited you just fine.

  Twenty minutes later, Lucy was in the kitchen, whipping up pancake batter and frying bacon, while coffee dripped into the pot. She almost jumped out of her skin when she heard a thwamp, thwamp sound at the sliding glass doors. She burst out laughing when she went to the door to see Coop and Sadie, covered in snow from head to foot. Obviously, they’d tunneled from yard to yard and come up through the snow. They barreled through the house to the front door just as the doorbell rang.

  “It’s a holiday!” Wylie bellowed as he stepped out of his Timberlands. “Hmmm, smells good. I could eat a horse. Or, whatever it is you’re making.”

  Lucy laughed again. “Pancakes, bacon, coffee, juice.” This was nice. Good-looking guy, his dog, her dog, her cooking in the kitchen. A roaring fire in the fireplace. Snowbound. The stuff dreams were made of. In this case a nightmare if she carried the thought any further.

  “How’d you sleep?” Wylie asked as he made himself at home in the kitchen by setting the table, getting out napkins and silver. “I slept like a log,” he volunteered.

  “I did, too. I woke up, and it was so quiet. I missed the dogs, though. I can’t believe they made it through the tunnel and then up through all that snow.”

  “Sadie wanted to get home, and Coop was right behind her. They’re in love.” He guffawed.

  Wylie looked really good this morning, in a yellow sweater and jeans that fit him like a second skin. Nice buns and great thighs. Lucy felt like she was sizing up a chicken at the market.

  “How’s the head?” he asked.

  “Quiet. I was thinking when I woke up that maybe this whole thing is just some temporary fluke.”

  Wylie stared at her. “Lucy, I just don’t know. Weather permitting, Jake should be here soon. I checked the airport, and flights are coming in. I hope he can make it from the airport. He told me not to pick him up, that he would rent a car.”

  Lucy placed a stack of buttermilk pancakes in front of Wylie, then fixed two plates for the dogs.

  Wylie looked across the table, wondering if Lucy was tuned in to his thoughts. He didn’t ask. It didn’t matter to him if she knew he was worried about the FBI’s visit. He knew enough about the way the bureau worked to realize that there was no way in hell Lucy was going to get away from them unless she did what they wanted.

  While Lucy cleared the table, he watched her and liked what he was seeing. Hell, he liked everything about her. Today she was wearing a long-sleeved pink shirt, open at the throat, and jeans that hugged her slim hips. Nice shape, 110 pounds, he judged. Nice blond hair, too, although today she wore it pinned on top of her head in a knot secured by tortoiseshell combs. He knew his mother would like Lucy. His dad would dote on her.

  Wylie’s cell phone chirped. He rummaged in his pocket and flipped it on. “Where are you, buddy?” he asked when he recognized Jake’s voice. “You’re standing in my driveway! Hot damn. Come next door, and we’ll cook you some breakfast.

  “It’s Jake. He’s here! I don’t believe that guy! He eats like a truck driver, just so you know. Guess that’s him knocking on the door.”

  Coop and Sadie made it to the door before Wylie. Both dogs barked happily, but they reared back when they heard a bark coming from the bag hanging on Jake’s shoulder.

  “I had to bring Lulu. My mother-in-law is allergic to dogs.” Jake shrugged as he lowered the canvas carry-on to the floor and unzipped it.

  Coop and Sadie skidded backward when a five-pound Yorkshire terrier dressed in a pink sweater with matching bow in her hair pranced out of the bag and started to yip and yap as she sniffed and pawed at her new surroundings.

  Lucy stifled a laugh as she extended her hand. “Lucy Baker,” she said.

  “Jake Parsons. This little stick of dynamite is Lulu. My four-year-old twins named her. They also like to dress her up. Cheaper than buying Barbie clothes. She’s trained,” he added as an afterthought.

  Lucy eyed the studly-looking shrink with the sparkling eyes behind the trench glasses. He looked like a movie star with curly, dark hair.

  “How are the roads?” Wylie asked, leading his friend toward the kitchen.

  “Horrendous. Don’t go out unless you have to. As I was leaving the airport they announced they were closing it. And LaGuardia and Kennedy, too.” He bent down to scoop Lulu into his arms.

  Lucy started to whip up more pancake batter, while Wylie meticulously placed bacon into the fry pan. This movie star type couldn’t possibly help her. What could this hunk who traveled with a miniature dog do for her? She turned around to see the Yorkie squirming to be put down on the floor. “If you’re worried about the dogs hurting her, don’t.” She looked up to see both dogs in the doorway. Both looked like they were poised for flight.

  “Coop thinks Miss Lulu is a wind-up toy. Watch,” Wylie said as he took Lulu out of Jake’s arms and set her down on the floor. She yapped immediately, the pink bow in her hair jiggling with excitement. Clueless Cooper advanced tentatively into the kitchen, then stopped in his tracks while Sadie hung back, her tail tucked between her legs.

  Miss Lulu did a little dance, her tiny feet skittering this way and that, all the while yapping her head off.

  “Nah, they aren’t going to hurt her. Coop will figure o
ut she’s real when she nips his feet.” Wylie grinned.

  The trio watched as Coop bounded over to the yapping dog, bent down to sniff her, then circled her, his weaponlike tail swishing furiously. A second later, he had the pink sweater bunched in his teeth and was trotting off with his prize. Miss Lulu looked around, undecided if she was being rescued or captured. She let out a joyful bark as Coop romped down the hall.

  Lucy shrugged. “I think it’s a good thing. That little gal looks to me like she can hold her own.”

  “That’s the problem. I’d hate to see her hurt Coop.” Jake guffawed as he snatched a strip of bacon off the plate. “She can be a dynamo when she sets her mind to it.”

  Wylie hooted with laughter. Lucy turned to hide her smirk. Sadie did not like other female dogs, especially bossy female dogs. She might also be jealous if Coop paid too much attention to the little fur ball. Something else to worry about.

  Lucy sipped at her coffee while Jake ate his breakfast. The two men talked about the weather, North Carolina, and the dogs. She tried to shift her mind into neutral to see if she could read either man’s mind. Nothing was coming through. She finally gave up and started to think about Jonathan. Maybe the reason Jonathan had canceled his trip was because he knew the FBI was onto him. Maybe he would go back to one of the third-world companies he did business with and never be heard from again. Or, maybe he was busy plotting her death, as the FBI had implied. She shivered inside the pink shirt she was wearing.

  The minute Jake Parsons finished his second cup of coffee, Lucy cleared the table and turned the dishwasher on.

  “That was very good, Lucy. I enjoyed every bit of it. It’s refreshing to find a young woman who actually cooks as opposed to ordering in. Now,” he said, placing a tape recorder in the middle of the table, “let’s get started. I want you to start at whatever you perceive to be the beginning. I only know what Wylie has told me. For now, let’s make the starting point the day you decided to give up practicing law.”