by Linda Wisdom
“True, we all know the real perverts are down there.” Gail twirled her ear protectors around two fingers. “Talk to Kevin. Maybe he can do something to speed up the process.”
“Good idea. I’ll ask him. I just hate to think what will happen next.” Someone standing near the entrance caught Lauren’s attention. “I guess it’s a sign of the times when you see more women here than men.”
Gail turned around. She suddenly frowned. “That’s true, although I don’t remember ever seeing Mitzi here.”
Lauren turned back to slap a new cartridge in her weapon. “Is Mitzi the redhead near the end? The one giving me a mild version of the evil eye?”
“Yes. She was the one I told you about. Josh advised her when she was escaping an abusive marriage. I’d heard she’d applied for a gun permit when her husband tried to snatch their son out of school not long ago.” Gail leaned over to confide, “I’d say she doesn’t look too happy to see you. I don’t know why she tries to consider Josh hers. He never gave her that indication, but don’t let it worry you. I doubt she’s the type to make a scene.”
Lauren clipped on another target and sent it sailing down the lane. She took a quick look to her left, noticed the woman was still staring at her, and deliberately turned back, arranging the ear protectors in place. Gail stepped back.
“Maybe she’s just surprised to see me still in one piece,” she muttered, squeezing off each shot in quick succession. This time, her aim was a great deal more accurate.
…
“You were very lucky, you know.”
Lauren looked up from the spinach salad she’d just finished. Gail sat across from her, looking at her with frank envy.
“If I’m considered lucky, the world is in a great deal of trouble.”
Gail shook her head. “What I mean is, and don’t take this the wrong way, but you should look as if you have all these pockmarks all over your face and it doesn’t look any different than usual.”
“I used a lot of concealer to cover up the worst of the marks, so I wouldn’t look as if something had erupted all over my face. I’m just glad the irritation from that powder went away. The ointment the doctor used on my face felt as if it was motor oil.”
“I wouldn’t worry. With looks like yours, no one would notice if you had a wart on the end of your nose.” Gail made a face as she tugged on a ponytail that brushed the back of her neck. “With me, they’d notice the absolute worst.”
“I doubt that.” Lauren set her fork down. “Come on, give me some good gossip. Who have you been dating lately? Anyone I might know about, or someone you’ve kept under wraps?”
“A love life and my old schedule didn’t work out, so I’m hoping to rectify that now. But good men around here are pretty scarce, so I’ll probably have to go out of town to find somebody!” she laughed. “I’m real picky about the men I date. Not to mention that most of the ones I’ve met lately don’t even seem to belong to the human race.”
“They can’t be that bad,” Lauren protested.
“You want to bet? You haven’t seen some of the guys I’ve dated. You’re the lucky one. You’ve got Josh hanging on to your every word. The way he acts about you, he wouldn’t see another woman if she stood naked in front of him. That’s a lot of power for one woman to have. We all should be so lucky.” She smiled to take any sting from her words.
Lauren decided it might be a good time to venture into unknown territory. “I don’t consider it power.” She took several sips of her iced tea as she tried to formulate her thoughts. This wasn’t the first time Gail had made pointed comments about her looks. “I consider it more genetics. I have my father’s coloring and my mother’s build. They both freely admit my personality belongs to a past descendent because both have extremely weak stomachs. They can’t imagine being a doctor, much less specializing in pathology. My dad once made a mistake of looking through one of my infectious disease textbooks and he became convinced he had a skin ailment that had been last seen in Southeast Asia about eighty-five years ago. It took a lot of persuasive arguing for him to realize the truth.” She smiled at the memory.
“Have you told your parents about what’s going on?”
Lauren shook her head. “My mother had a minor stroke a little over a year ago. I didn’t want to worry them more than necessary.”
“I don’t blame you for not wanting to upset them.” Gail looked toward the rear of the restaurant and stood up. “I’ll be right back.”
Lauren looked up and nodded when the waitress asked if she wanted more iced tea, then froze when she looked across the room and saw the woman she’d seen at the shooting range standing at the cashier’s desk. After she paid her bill, she walked directly toward Lauren.
“Dr. Hunter, you wouldn’t know me and who I am doesn’t matter, but I’ve heard a lot of nice things about you,” she said without preamble. “Josh Brandon seems like a really nice guy and he’s a wonderful help to women in trouble, but he also has this black cloud following him, so to speak. Please, for your own sake, don’t get any more involved with him. So many other women have had difficulties because of him. Don’t let yourself be another victim in Josh’s name.” The minute she finished, she turned away.
“Wait a minute, if you don’t know me, you shouldn’t even care what happens to me. So why the warning?” Lauren demanded in a low voice.
She didn’t bother to turn around. “Because the next time you might not be so lucky.” She started to walk off.
“Why do you care about Josh?” Lauren called after her.
But her question went unanswered. She reached for her glass but found her hand shaking so badly she was afraid to pick it up. She concentrated on breathing deeply, willing herself to calm down before Gail returned. She didn’t want to be asked any questions she didn’t care to answer at that moment.
“I swear men are behind the lousy lighting in women’s bathrooms,” Gail grumbled, sliding into her chair. “How can they expect you to put on lipstick when you can barely see the end of your nose?” She flashed an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I guess I’m going through PMS or something. I woke up this morning hating myself and I haven’t been able to shake myself out of this ugly mood.”
“Then I suggest we do something to take care of that.” Lauren quickly finished her drink.
“Meaning.”
“Meaning shopping. New clothes, makeup, the whole thing. There’s nothing better to cure the uglies than spending money on things that are absolutely not necessary, but which can make you feel much better just knowing you have them.”
It wasn’t until late that afternoon, after Gail dropped her off after their marathon shopping trip, that Lauren realized she hadn’t told Gail about Mitzi’s warning. She wasn’t sure if her oversight was deliberate or if she’d just plain forgot. But she felt a voice deep inside warn her to keep it to herself for now. She made the decision to not even tell Josh because she was afraid how he would react to what sounded to her like a less-than-subtle threat. As far as she was concerned, she’d experienced enough violence to last her a lifetime.
…
Lauren was upset. Good. Lauren was worried. Even better. Too bad she couldn’t become so distraught that she felt she had to commit suicide. Wouldn’t that send the right kind of message to any other slut who thought they could take Josh away from her! She wanted to laugh and dance as she thought of the ways Lauren could hurt herself. Just as Celia had hurt herself in the end.
She thought of driving by Lauren’s house to see if Josh’s car was there and decided against it, for now. No, now she would just sit here and think lovely thoughts—of Lauren out of her life for good.
“But first,” she heaved the weary sigh of one who considered her next chore an exhausting one, “I must give Josh a call. Lauren didn’t listen to me, and so, as much as I dislike doing this, I must punish her for ignoring my advice.” She picked up her phone and tapped a number she’d committed to memory long ago. She smiled as Josh’s drawl instructed the
caller to leave a message. “Hello, darling,” she whispered, in that husky voice she knew would drive him wild in bed. “Do you know the whole truth about Lauren? The woman ignored her marriage vows by flaunting her affairs to her poor husband. She passed her work on to her assistants and went out looking for cheap sex. She’s no better than a whore, lover. Is that the kind of woman you want in your life? The kind of woman you need? Look at Carol. She wanted you only because of your status. All she liked to talk about was how good you were in bed. And what about Celia?
“Dear, sweet, Celia,” she spat out the name. Her face turned red with the anger simmering inside her. “She was the worst of the lot. She thought she could give you what you needed, but she couldn’t, could she? I’m the only one who can, Josh. I just wish you could realize that. The others have. That’s why they won’t see you anymore. And now, if you come to your senses and realize I’m telling the truth about Lauren, you’ll know how wrong for you she is. And then we can be together. I’ll see you soon again, love. But don’t worry. I left a surprise for you that I hope will encourage you to think of me. I hope you liked the one I left this morning. Turquoise is such a passionate color, isn’t it?”
As she returned the phone to the cradle, she kept smiling at the newspaper photograph of Josh she’d carefully arranged in an ornate gold frame that she kept by her bedside.
She curled up against her bed pillows, comforted by the T-shirt she wore that was still imbued with Josh’s scent, since she’d taken it from the hamper when she last visited his house. The scent would soon be soaked up by her skin blending the two scents. It was all so fitting. And very soon, he would be all hers.
…
Josh almost threw his cell against a wall to silence the seductive whisper that still echoed in his mind.
“I’ll never understand what makes a woman think she can force a man to love her, sight unseen.” Kevin squatted on his heels so he could better examine the crystal paperweight that had been placed by the cordless phone sitting on the coffee table. The tiny figurines of a woman making love to a man made the paperweight an erotic art object. “It looks like she’s pulling out all the stops to keep you as her very own boy toy. And now she’s getting careless. I doubt you could buy this thing at your corner gift store.” He held up the paperweight.
“Funny, that’s what you said about the wig.”
Kevin ignored his friend’s sarcasm. He straightened up, wincing as his knees protested. “How did I know there were so many companies out there that make wigs? With the label cut out, it won’t be easy to find out where it came from. The right kind of lab could tell us, by examining the hairs, what wig company it came from, and I’m checking into having that done. Until then, we’re making calls just to see if we can get lucky. But they’re all demanding we put our request in writing for names and addresses of anyone from this area ordering a blond wig.”
“What I want to know is who this Celia she mentioned is?” Josh shook his head. “I’ve never known anyone by that name.”
Kevin’s eyes lit up along with his grin. “Buddy, I think we just got our first clue.”
“How easy will it be to find out who she is?”
“About as easy as this case has been so far, but I’ll take anything I can get.” He hesitated as if unsure whether to bring something up. “My contact got back to me. I don’t know how to say this except straight out, and I hope you don’t go for my throat in the meantime.
“The doc was beaten and raped a couple years ago. Story has it that she came unhinged for a while, brought guys home, had sex marathons, and was even coming on to guys in her department. Her husband got so fed up with what she was doing that he kicked her out. Then she was told to resign or else. She bargained with her superiors to keep the story under wraps so she could go elsewhere. She knew enough people to latch onto the position here.” The detective looked uncomfortable.
Josh experienced that now familiar red haze in front of his eyes. Right now, he wanted to do nothing more than beat the hell out of his best friend for saying such a thing. “Do you honestly believe that shit?”
Kevin shrugged, which could have meant many things. He never believed in tipping his hand to anyone. “I only believe the truth when it hits me in the face, Josh. I’ll say she doesn’t look like your typical nympho, but who knows what being raped could do to a woman’s thought processes.” He refused to back down from Josh’s warning glare.
Josh leaned forward, looking very dangerous as he ground out the words. “I’ve prosecuted enough rape cases that I can tell you the victims don’t turn into raving nymphos because of it. If anything, they shun any form of physical contact, especially a man’s touch. Which is why Lauren gives off that ‘touch me not’ manner to everyone she meets, especially members of the opposite sex. But then, maybe I’ve missed something and you’ve seen her throw herself at men. Which I doubt. The woman you’re talking about isn’t Lauren.”
Kevin held his hands up in surrender. “Hey, don’t shoot the messenger. I’m only repeating the story they gave me. I didn’t say I believed it. Anybody can see Doc’s got too much class to turn into a nympho, rape or no rape. I think they were just stringing me along. But I did get something a hell of a lot more interesting about her ex. It appears he likes to play around with teenage hookers. That one I’d believe. While he’s considered a decent cop and has a number of commendations to prove it, he wouldn’t receive any good conduct medals as a human being. And this is from his so-called friends.”
“No wonder she got out of there if she put up with crap like that,” Josh murmured, looking down and finding his fists clenched. “He deserves to be thrown out with the garbage.”
Kevin reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a tiny case. “I want you to start keeping this with you at all times from now on. If anything happens, all you’ll have to do is push the button on the side here and it will activate my cell, alerting me that you’re in trouble. It’s faster than you trying to make a call if you don’t have a chance to. I’ve got one for the doc, too.” He pushed in the side button, which immediately set off his beeper.
Josh took the case and examined it. “What’s the range?”
“According to the guys who invented it, it should be far enough for our purposes. Call it a little bit of insurance. The doc asked for a special concealed carry permit.”
He shook his head. “I can’t see her request being approved.”
“She’s only asking for one until the woman is caught, and it’s under consideration. After all that’s happened, they’re figuring it might not be a bad idea.” Kevin watched Josh thread the case through his belt loops. “But they want her to try this first.”
“I’ll give it to her tonight.” Josh took the second case and tucked it into his shirt pocket. “While I admit I don’t like the idea of private citizens carrying weapons since they’re been turned on them so frequently, I’m beginning to see why Lauren would want hers with her all the time. Who knows what will happen next?”
Distaste flashed across his features as he looked down at the paperweight, with its glittering snowflakes floating about the figures. A tiny brass plaque attached to the base was engraved in an ornate script with the words “The Eternal Lovers.”
“I sure don’t like the idea of her using the word ‘eternal’,” Kevin said, carefully easing the paperweight into a box that wouldn’t smudge any fingerprints, although he doubted the lab would find any. They hadn’t before. He sealed it shut with several strips of Scotch tape and wrote his initials across it. “It has a final sound to me.”
Eternal, as in forever.
Josh was never so glad as when the paperweight was tucked out of sight. He’d given up the hassle of changing his locks and changing the alarm codes. She seemed to find a way in anyway, so why should he bother? If he thought it would help, he’d just put out the welcome mat and wait around until she showed up.
“Yeah, I’m not too fond of the sound of it, either.”
Ch
apter Fourteen
“Do you think she wanted you to think of the figures in the paperweight as the two of you?” Lauren walked out of the kitchen carrying a glass of white wine. On the way to the couch, she paused by the stereo to insert another batch of CDs in the carousel. Humming along with the music, she walked over, handed Josh the wine, and curled up on the couch next to him. She leaned back against his outstretched arm resting along the back of the couch. She tucked her bare feet up under her body.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what she meant.” He downed half the wine, then offered his glass to her. “From the very beginning, she seems to have visualized us as estranged lovers. What I don’t understand is her reference to a Celia. It doesn’t make any sense. Which makes me think of Heather since it wasn’t long before she didn’t make a lick of sense.” He frowned in thought. “Heather once mentioned playing some kind of sick game with a girl in college where they’d see who could score the most guys in a weekend.” He twisted his face in an expression of distaste. “That’s when I knew what a mistake she was.”
“And here Heather sounds so cute and cuddly, like a kitten,” she cooed. “I even heard that she used to call you all sorts of cutesy names.”
“Yeah, a kitten with the morals of an alley cat.” He shook his head. “It just sounds like the kind of sick joke she’d enjoy playing. Maybe Celia was her friend in college.”
“From what you said, it sounds as if she was so upset she slipped up without realizing it. Maybe this will be your first break. She just might do it again.” She absently tapped the glass rim against her teeth as she mulled it over. “When all this first began, did you ever try to find out her identity? Didn’t you want to get in touch with her to find out why she was sending you notes and gifts? Explain to her that there couldn’t be anything between you?” She peered at him over the rim of the glass as she sipped the tart liquid before handing it back to him.