Experiment in Terror (Koehler Brothers Book 1)

by Anderson, Alene

  Unfortunately, it would be a disappointment to the young woman. It wasn’t personal. Just a smart business decision. She was careful about giving the artists who were already in the store any competition by allowing more products in that were too similar.

  Amanda gave her the courtesy of listening to her presentation and then explained to her why she wouldn’t be asking her to sign a contract at this time.

  “But if you have a business card, I would like to have it,” Amanda told her. “I never know when an artist might decide for one reason or another to pull out of the store. If that happens, I would be happy to call you.”

  Kathy reached in her bag for a card and handed it to Amanda. Then she carefully put all her jewelry back into the case she had brought it in. Thanking Amanda for her time, she left the office.

  Amanda leaned back in her chair with a sigh. She could tell Kathy had obviously put a lot of time into the creation of her jewelry and she hated to tell her she didn’t have a place for her at the moment.

  Jenessa entered Amanda’s office and without any ceremony plopped down into a chair.

  “I noticed you didn’t need me in here for the last interview,” she said, smiling.

  “No, I felt able to handle it myself.” Amanda smiled back.

  “All right, tell me what the interview with Dennis was all about.”

  “I just don’t care for his type.”

  “What is his type?”

  “I don’t know, but it’s something about the way he stared at me.”

  “Well, you are very attractive.”

  “I saw enough of that when my ex-husband met a woman for the first time.”

  “I understand, but it’s strange, he didn’t give me that kind of treatment. Of course, I have to admit, I can’t hold a candle to you.”

  “It was probably because he knew I was the owner and not because of my looks. You know how some people will try and make up to someone they feel is important.”

  “Since you feel that way about him, are you going to have him sign a contract?”

  “I’ll have to think about it. I must admit his photography is different from anything in the store. And I’m not about to cut off my nose to spite my face, if you know what I mean.”

  “I know. For you it’s all about the bottom line. I must admit you are one shrewd businesswoman. How else could you have stayed in business for six years? You had an amazing concept when you started this store right out of college.”

  “I was lucky to have a father who believed in me and put up the initial capital to get me started.”

  “Well, I had better get back out in the store before Justin buzzes for my help.”

  “Okay. I think I’ll run home and pick up those papers I forgot,” Amanda said as Jenessa stood up.

  She should feel guilty for lying to Jenessa, but she would find something to bring back to work with her so it wouldn’t be a total lie.

  If the homeless men weren’t in the area where they had been that morning, she would turn around and ride to the library and check out a book instead. She knew they often lounged on the lawn in front of the library.

  Just the thought of seeing the man again excited her. Her driving need to see him shocked her. What was so special about him? When she had first seen him, she had experienced a feeling that she had thought long since dead.

  Amanda went into the private restroom off her office and brushed her hair and touched up her lipstick. Putting on her riding helmet, she stared into the mirror, wondering what the homeless man had seen when he saw her.

  Her blond hair and blue eyes, which tilted up slightly at the outer edges giving her a slightly exotic look, and a faint sprinkling of freckles across the bridge of her nose fading at her upper cheeks.

  Stepping back out into her office, she grabbed the bag containing her wallet, keys, and riding gloves. As she strolled through the store to retrieve her bike, she glanced around. Justin and Jenessa were both waiting on customers, and she felt comfortable leaving the store in their competent hands.

  She rode the block to the Boulder Creek Path. When she saw there were no homeless men sitting on the stone bench, she stopped on the pretense of getting a drink of water out of the fountain. Then she turned her bike around and headed in the direction of the library.

  The bike path curved down and under Arapahoe Street and then up again and through a small park with a few picnic tables. She had forgotten that homeless men sometimes sat there and ate their lunch as they were doing now.

  She didn’t see the man she was looking for unless he was sitting with his back toward her. They all looked alike from behind with their dirty clothes and shaggy hair. She slowed down, her eyes studying each one.

  Then she saw him. His back was toward her, but as he stood up, wadding a paper into a tight ball, he turned to toss it into a nearby trashcan as though he were attempting to throw a basketball through the hoop.

  His hand stopped in midair as he saw her. Her breath caught. Never taking his eyes from hers, his hand continued its upward motion and he released the paper into the air where it dropped into the trash barrel.

  Her bike began to wobble, and Amanda knew if she slowed down anymore, she would tip it over. She hated to break eye contact, but there was nothing else to do. She had to ride on. There was no reason for her to stop. She would go into the library and check out a couple of books. Any books. If she hurried, the group of homeless men would still be sitting at the picnic tables.

  Reluctantly, she looked ahead and biked on down the path, through the tunnel that ran under the main street of Broadway, and up the wide sidewalk to the library.

  Locking her bike to the rack placed beside the library door for that purpose, she hurried inside. She grabbed a couple of books from the first section she came to and rushed to check them out. Without looking at them, she stuck them into her bag, and hurried out to her bike.

  Riding back through the tunnel, she was soon into the park. At that moment a young child ran out in front of her. Heart pounding, she slammed on her brakes and swerved to miss the youngster. She heard a woman’s voice screaming from a short distance away.

  Amanda skidded and in the next instant, she had lost control and knew she was headed for a fall. She put her hands out to catch herself as she went down. Her bag flew out of the basket attached to the bike and the two library books landed on the grass beside the path.

  “Are you hurt, miss?” a deep voice asked her, and she stared up into steel-gray eyes.

  “Only my pride,” she replied.

  He held out a grimy hand. “Let me help you up.”

  Hard telling where that hand has been, she thought, making no attempt to take it.

  “It’s not the first time I’ve fallen,” she said. “Nor will it be the last. I think I can make it up by myself.”

  “Then, let me see you get up. I want to make sure you’re not hurt.”

  She pushed herself up and smiled. “See, I’m all in one piece.”

  He smiled back. A heart-stopping smile, teeth gleaming white above the scraggly beard. He leaned to pick up her bag and the two library books that had fallen out on the grass.

  “You must have young children,” he commented as he held the books out to her.

  She glanced down and saw the titles. Alex and the Talking Caterpillar and The Alphabet Cart.

  “Oh, I got those to read to my niece,” she lied, creating an imaginary one. “I don’t have children. I’m not married.” Now why had she felt it necessary to give him that last piece of information? It wasn’t as though she was ever going to date a homeless man.

  Amanda took the books and stuck them in the bag. “Thanks. I had better get back to work. I just ran to the library on my lunch hour.”

  He nodded and stood watching as she got on her
bike. Before she could push on a pedal, he put his hand on the middle of the handlebars, holding her in place.

  “Don’t ride the Creek Path after dark,” he said in a low voice, his steel-gray eyes holding hers in a hypnotic gaze. “It’s too dangerous.”

  Dropping her eyes from his, Amanda pushed hard on one pedal. The unexpected movement caused him to lose his grip and he stepped back. She had a feeling he watched her until she was out of sight, but she didn’t turn around to look.

  Her heart was beating fast, her throat was dry, and it wasn’t from peddling her bike. Why did this homeless man affect her in such a way? She knew her feelings had nothing to do with reason. His hands were dirty, his clothes were ragged and filthy, his hair could do with a good shampoo, and he definitely needed a shave.

  This nonsense has to stop. If her parents knew how ridiculous she was acting over an unkempt homeless man, they would be extremely upset with her. She adored her father, and the very thought of his disapproval was like an ice-cold shower.

  As Amanda headed back to work, she resolved to do whatever she had to, to put the homeless man out of her mind. She remembered a saying her father had once quoted from Sharon Creech. It had to do with controlling one’s thoughts. Somehow she had to find a way to stop thinking about the homeless man. It was a dead-end street and except for a moment’s pleasure when their eyes met, it could go no further. There was no way she would ever date a homeless man.

  Walking into the store a few minutes later, she saw a friend who owned a store across the mall talking to Jenessa. Quickly, she pushed her bike into the back room and headed for the front of the store.

  “Charlie, it’s good to see you,” she said as the young woman spotted her. “What brings you here today? Looking for a gift?”

  “Actually I was looking for you. I was wondering if you had time to have lunch with me.”

  “I’d love to. Let me put my helmet away and I’ll be right with you.”

  Charlie followed her into her office and watched while Amanda removed her helmet and ran her fingers through her hair to fluff it up. Grabbing up her bag with her wallet inside, she followed Charlie out of the store. They strolled over to Paradise, one of their favorite restaurants because it was close to both their stores.

  After they were seated at a table with their lunch in front of them, Amanda looked at Charlie. Since she had married Sloan Harrison, she was absolutely radiant.

  “I can tell you’re still on your honeymoon,” Amanda commented a bit enviously.

  “With Sloan, I’ll always be on a honeymoon.” Charlie smiled happily. “I can’t believe that I resisted him as long as I did. He’s not only a wonderful husband, he’s a wonderful father. Josh is absolutely crazy about him. Sometimes I’m a little jealous when Josh prefers to do something with Sloan rather than me.”

  Amanda smiled, thinking about Charlie and Sloan’s romance.

  “Sloan has taken Josh flying with him and Ross Avedon today,” Charlie said, breaking into Amanda’s thoughts.

  “Speaking of Ross, there’s another couple who I understand is still on their honeymoon. Have they had their baby yet?”

  “No, it’s due in October.”

  “You say ‘it.’ Don’t they know what they’re having?”

  “No. They made the decision not to find out.”

  They ate in silence for a moment, then Charlie asked, “Anything new happening?”

  Amanda immediately thought of the homeless man. Should she tell Charlie about the strange attraction she had felt?

  Chapter 4

  I should be embarrassed to even mention it to anyone, Amanda thought. But she knew she could trust Charlie not to say anything, not even to Sloan if she asked her not to.

  “I had two interviews with prospective artists today. One I will definitely not write a contract with. Her product is too similar to another artist in the store. But I’m debating on the other one. His photography is spectacular, different from anything I have in the store right now.”

  “You sound like you have some reservations. What are they?”

  “It’s his manner. He’s a little flirtatious like Eric and that really turns me off. I even had Jenessa come into the interview with me. You know I’m totally confident in my own judgment so I always do those interviews alone.”

  “How was he with Jenessa?”

  “Totally different. I was thinking I could turn him over to her and she could deal with him from here on out. Unless he just happened to drop into the store, I wouldn’t have to see him, because the artist does have to have an appointment when they bring in new merchandise or come in to restock.”

  “If he’s good, and you think his photos will sell, why don’t you do that? Both you and I are in business to make money and there’s no reason to turn down an opportunity to do so.”

  Amanda sighed. “You’re right, of course. I just don’t care to be even remotely connected to someone like that.”

  “Well, there are a lot of them in this town, so maybe you should learn to deal,” Charlie suggested.

  Amanda was silent, thinking over her friend’s advice.

  “Charlie, you are probably the best friend I have,” she said, after a moment.

  “Thank you. I consider that a real compliment.”

  “I want to tell you something, but could you keep it in confidence? That means I don’t want you to say anything to anyone, not even Sloan. I’m embarrassed just thinking about it, let alone talking about it.”

  Charlie raised her eyebrows and waited for Amanda to say more. When she didn’t, she said, “Of course, I won’t say anything to Sloan, if you ask me not to. Obviously, it’s nothing legal or you would be talking to him, not me.”

  Amanda smiled. “No, it’s not legal.”

  “Okay, let’s hear it. You have my curiosity aroused. I promise not to say a word to anyone, not even Sloan.”

  “This is so embarrassing. But I would like your take on it.”

  “I’m listening,” Charlie said, giving her friend a smile of encouragement.

  “You know how I often ride my bike to work on the Boulder Creek Path?”

  Charlie nodded, but said nothing.

  “This morning when I came to the ‘Y’ in the path, you know, where you get off the path and go onto the street or you ride under Arapahoe and on through the park to the library?”

  Charlie nodded again.

  “What you may not know is that first thing in the morning there is usually a group of homeless men sitting on the stone bench near the water fountain. Everyone knows they are perfectly harmless. I always wave and call out ‘good morning’ and they always respond in the same way.”

  Amanda paused in her narration and took a sip of her ice tea.

  “This morning there was a new man with them. He was tall, and had the most remarkable gray eyes. I had gotten off my bike so I could cross the street and I was waiting for the signal light to turn green. When I saw him, I couldn’t quit staring. He was so different from the rest of them even though he had shaggy hair, with a scraggly beard, and ragged clothes. He stood straight and tall and didn’t have that hopeless look in his eyes that most of them have. In fact, he had a strange air of confidence about him. We stared at each other for what seemed like the longest time. Neither one of us looked away, until I realized the light had turned green.”

  “That is interesting,” Charlie said, leaning her chin on her hand and staring at Amanda.

  “There’s more,” Amanda said.

  “Don’t tell me he followed you.”

  “No, but all morning I couldn’t stop thinking about him. I wondered if he was a businessman who had lost everything and was now homeless.”

  Amanda went on to tell Charlie the details of their encounter when she had gone to the library on her lu
nch hour.

  She finished her narration by telling how he had grabbed the handlebars of her bike and warned her not to ride the path after dark.

  “What an interesting morning you’ve had,” Charlie said, staring at her though narrowed eyes. “What did you make of his warning?”

  “The only thing I could think of was that he had heard of the three University girls who have been found, raped and murdered, near the library.”