Throw a Double for Spite

by Cherie Mitchell

  He continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “It’s been a long time since I was intimate with a woman. Too long. I miss it.” He stood up, placing his feet apart against each side of the bridge and again using his body to make a wide blockade. He pushed his hand into his pocket and Riley heard the distinct jingle of keys. “Well, lookee here. Seems you have something that I want while I have something that you want. There’s no one around and I know for a fact that none of the movies are due to end for at least another twenty minutes or so. Perhaps we could agree on a trade? There are plenty of little private places alongside the canal.”

  A rash of goosebumps stood up on Riley’s arms and her scalp prickled. “This has gone too far. Give me my keys or I’m calling the police.”

  He took another step towards her, this time moving fully into the light. His face was twisted in anger and she could see no resemblance to the cordial man who she’d spoken to in the restaurant. The sweet dimples in his cheeks were gone and a small bubble of spittle clung to one corner of his mouth. “Bitch,” he hissed. “You’re all the same, every last one of you.”

  A group of rowdy teenagers emerged from the alley at the side of the movie theatre and began to walk over to the bridge, jeering and pushing at each other as they crossed the courtyard. A copious cloud of vaping smoke hung in the air above their heads as they passed under one of the lights.

  “My keys.” Riley held out her hand with her palm flat, trying to stop her fingers from trembling. “This conversation is over.”

  Oliver wrenched the keys out of his pocket and threw them over her head, where they landed with a clunk on the asphalt of the parking lot. “Let this be a warning for you. It doesn’t pay to go around seducing strange men in these dangerous times, getting our hopes up with your provocative glances and your teasing smiles. It’s a sure fire way to get yourself into trouble. This city isn’t a safe place for lone women right now and it would do you well to remember that.” He abruptly turned on his heel and pushed past the group of teenagers before vanishing into the darkness of the alley.

  Riley scampered over the bridge and bent to snatch up her keys as the group of boys thudded across the bridge.

  “Are you alright, lady?” A tall boy with sagging jeans and an oversized sweatshirt stopped to look at her, his glance curious rather than concerned.

  “I’m fine.” She flattened her mouth into a grim smile before turning and fleeing for her car. She stabbed the keys into the lock, yanked the door open, and fell into the seat. She slammed the door shut and hit her hand on the button to activate the door lock. She was trembling all over now, shaking enough to make her teeth chatter. She’d been stupid, and she’d done so many things wrong. She should have gone straight home when Jack canceled their date, and should never have encouraged a conversation with that deluded man. Yes, she would heed his warning and she would not put herself in a position like this again. She took a deep breath and switched on the ignition, suddenly anxious to be back in the solitary safety of her apartment.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Heather’s eyes were huge in her plump, round face as Riley finished her story. “And he propositioned you right there on the bridge? Why didn’t you scream? I would have screamed. I would have screamed so loudly that even the people watching the movie would have heard me.”

  Riley picked up her coffee cup and carried it over to the table in the breakroom, where Heather was already sitting with the remains of her lunch. “Strangely enough, it never crossed my mind to scream. I guess it was because I felt that I should have been safe there. The movie theater was only a few feet away, I could see the restaurant clearly on the other side of the courtyard, and there were a lot of people around at that time of night. It wasn’t even 8 o’clock, which isn’t late by anyone’s standards.”

  “You can’t be too safe these days,” Heather said, nodding knowingly. “My Pete says that no woman is safe until they arrest that madman. He won’t even let me catch the subway anymore – he picks me up each day when I finish here. The evenings are getting darker much earlier now as the seasons change and he doesn’t want me out on my own.”

  “You’re lucky to have a husband like Pete. It’s nice to hear that he’s putting your safety first.”

  Heather smiled proudly. She had just opened her mouth to say something further when Colin walked into the room. Heather bulged her eyes at Riley and hastily rose from her chair. “I should get back to work. I’m glad that it had a happy ending, Riley.” She gathered up her things and hurried out of the room as Colin took a coffee cup from the cupboard and dropped a capsule into the coffee machine.

  Riley unwrapped the plastic from around her sandwich. She hadn’t slept well last night, her dreams plagued with frightening reconstructions of the incident on the bridge. Jack had texted her before she went to bed, apologizing again for not turning up, but she hadn’t told him about what happened. She would leave that sorry tale for when and if she saw him in person.

  Without warning, Colin dropped his large hand down onto the table beside her and she found herself staring at it, remembering the abnormal size of the ghastly Oliver’s hand. “Did you speak to the woman at Jacobsen again? Any updates?”

  Riley subtly shifted in her seat, widening the space between their two bodies. Colin was an imposing man and after the unasked-for aggression of last night, she was keen to keep a comforting bubble around herself and hold onto her personal space. “I phoned their office but she was in a meeting. I’ll try again after I’ve had my break,” she added. She didn’t find Colin at all attractive, with his gloomy face and squashed, pockmarked nose. How on earth had had he managed to tempt Angus’s slim, vivacious wife into an affair? Riley had met Marjorie Gordon on several occasions at company social events and it was difficult for her to get her head around the idea that somber Colin and glamorous Marjorie had enjoyed an illicit liaison. Perhaps the stress of caring for Paul’s disabled brother had pushed her into it.

  Colin mumbled something that might have been either an agreement or an argument and moved away to finish making his coffee. Riley stared down at her sandwich, finding no pleasure in the thought of finishing it. She rewrapped it and tossed it in the trashcan before picking up her coffee and heading for the door.

  “Will you phone her?”

  She bit back her retort and exchanged it for acquiescence. “Of course, Colin.” She walked over to her desk, where Paul was standing beside her chair and bending over a folder that lay open beside her keyboard. He looked up and smiled as she approached. “I hope you didn’t come back early from your break because of me. This can wait.”

  “No, I was coming back to my desk anyway.”

  “I just wanted to show you these figures.” He ran his finger along the page as he pointed out a couple of items that had exceeded the budget.

  Riley found herself gazing down at the thinning hair on top of his head instead of listening to what he was saying, feeling oddly maternal towards him. “How is your brother?” she asked softly.

  He stopped talking and she saw his finger jerk before finding its place on the page again. He didn’t turn his head to look at her and she studied the bruise on his cheek, which had now faded to a muted grey. “He’s not doing so well.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.” She looked over at Angus’s closed door and the unlit office on the other side of the window. “Is that why Angus didn’t come in today?”

  “He’s out of town.” Paul didn’t offer any further explanation and instead returned to his page of figures. “I’m going to look at the expense sheet this afternoon. Some of the figures don’t add up here and I think it has something to do with an anomaly with the monthly outgoings. Rent and suchlike.”

  “Do you want me to do that?”

  “No, I’ll do it. I just wanted to make you aware.” He closed the folder and held it against his chest. He didn’t make any move to leave and instead nodded at her cherry tree screensaver. “Pretty scene.”

  “Yes.” She sat dow
n and reached for her mouse.

  “Are they the famous Japanese cherry blossoms?”

  “Yes. I’ve always liked them.” She clicked the mouse and the screensaver faded away.

  Paul left her to it and Riley reopened the screen she’d been working on earlier. She stopped to get a pen from her drawer and her phone flashed with a text just as she pulled the drawer open.

  ‘Konnichiwa. How has your day been so far, lovely Riley? Jack.’

  She jerked around in her chair to look over at Paul’s desk, stacked high with files in semblance of a makeshift wall while he investigated the accounts, but he’d just picked up the receiver of his desk phone to hold against his ear. She looked down at the message again. She had never asked Jack where he worked and it now felt imperative that she did so. Their conversations had been full of light banter and compliments but they hadn’t delved into anything more real than that. She needed to make sure that she was taking enough safety precautions, even if it was a little late. With Oliver still on her mind, she typed out her reply.

  ‘My day hasn’t been too bad, better than last night at least. How’s your day going? Do you work in the city?’

  She sat the phone on the desk and tried to return to her task but her gaze kept drifting back to the phone as she waited for his response, which was taking a long time to arrive. Was that it? Was he going to fade away as soon as she asked for actual details about his life? As her friends had suggested on numerous occasions, he could be anyone. She grabbed for the phone as soon as it buzzed.

  ‘Yes, I work in the city but my job sometimes takes me to different locations. I guess you could say it’s a mobile position.’

  She frowned at his cryptic comment and was about to send a reply when the phone vibrated again. ‘My car is in the auto shop until Wednesday. Would you say yes if I asked you to meet me at the movies again on Wednesday evening?’

  Another text followed almost immediately. ‘I’ll understand if you say no.’

  Riley sucked at the inside of her cheek. Should she say yes? Should she ask more questions first or should she save her questions until they met? Twice now she’d arranged to meet him and failed to do so, but didn’t they say that the third time was the charm? As she was trying to make up her mind, Heather left her desk to return her empty cup to the breakroom. Heather had a life that Riley wanted, a cozy loving relationship with a man who adored her. How could she expect to make her dreams come true if she didn’t put herself out there and take a risk? If she said no, she might be walking away from her own Mr. Right. She would give him one more opportunity to prove himself. Even people like Briar couldn’t claim that she disliked men if she was prepared to allow Jack three chances before calling it quits. She tapped again at the keyboard. ‘Ok. Same time, same place?’

  ‘Same time, same place. I’ll be counting down the minutes until then.’

  Riley grinned and dropped her phone back into the drawer. Whatever else she might have to say about the mysterious Jack, there was absolutely no doubt about his charming way with words.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Riley stayed late at the office, planning to drive from work straight to Morgan’s house. She knew the family ate dinner early because of the girls and if she timed her arrival after the dinner hour, perhaps she could take Morgan aside for a quiet conversation. She hadn’t yet decided how she would broach the tricky subject of Morgan’s drinking but something was sure to come to her between now and then. They were sisters after all, and even if they weren’t particularly close they should be able to discuss any topic without too much drama. Ruth had said that Riley was closer to Morgan than she was but in Riley’s opinion, Morgan didn’t allow anyone to get too close to her – not even her husband. Some people were just naturally standoffish.

  “Goodnight, Riley. Don’t stay too late.” Paul lifted his hand in a wave as he left the office.

  “Night, Paul. No, I won’t stay too late. I’ll finish this and then I’m leaving. Enjoy your evening.”

  The front door banged shut and the office fell into silence. Everyone had gone except for Colin, and Riley could see him bent over his desk through the window in his office. Colin, punctual to arrive and punctual to leave, did not often stay late so it was unusual to see him still working at this time of the evening. Angus had not shown his face all day and his office window remained blank and dark. Riley signed out of her computer and switched off the screen. She unmuted her phone and went to pick up her handbag when the device rang, the sound loud in the empty office. Colin turned his head to stare through the window at her as she answered Briar’s call. “Hi, Briar. How did your hot date go on Saturday?”

  “It was ok. How was your meeting with the divine Jack?”

  Riley’s elbow knocked a pen off the table and she stooped to pick it up, stretching out her arm in an attempt to reach across to where it had rolled under her desk. She edged under the desk as she continued talking to Briar, on her hands and knees now and her body almost all the way beneath it as she chased the errant pen. “Would you believe he didn’t turn up? Car trouble.”

  Briar gave a short, sharp bark of laughter as Riley’s fingers closed around the pen. “Car trouble must be contagious. Mine wouldn’t start yesterday afternoon and I had to call a truck and get it towed. I’m picking it up from the garage tomorrow.”

  “Oh. Sounds expensive.” Riley started to back out from under the desk.

  “I hope not. What are you doing now? Do you want to come over to mine and hang out?”

  “I’m still at work but I’m about to drive over to visit Morgan. There’s a few things that the two of us need to discuss.”

  “Ok. I guess we’ll talk again soon.”

  “We will.”

  Briar ended the call and Riley was about to stand up when a shiny black shoe appeared at the corner of her desk. She slowly lifted her head to see Colin glaring down at her. “Can I help you, Colin?”

  He didn’t move from where he stood, trapping her in the space between the desk and his legs and preventing her from standing up. He shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his black coat. “I didn’t expect to see you still here. You’re the last one left.”

  “I often stay behind to get my work finished. I don’t like to leave tasks half done and I like the peace and quiet of an empty office.” She felt hugely disadvantaged to be crouched down here at his feet while he loomed over her. “Um, can I get up?”

  He seemed surprised by the request, as if he was unaware that he was in her way. “Oh, of course.” He shuffled backwards, knocking the back of his thigh heavily against her desk in the process. He yanked his hand out of his pocket to grab at the desk and save himself from falling. In doing so, he dislodged an object from inside his roomy pocket and it dropped down to hit the floor. Riley watched, mesmerized, as a roll of silver duct tape wobbled on its edge across the office carpet and came to rest up against a filing cabinet.

  Colin jumped to attention, moving quickly to snatch up the roll of tape and stuff it back into his pocket. He cleared his throat, looking embarrassed and jittery as Riley stared at him. “I’ve been doing some DIY. You might have noticed the freshly painted front door. I’ve always been a bit of a handyman and I enjoy testing my skills on general repairs every now and again. Anyway, I’ll leave you to it.”

  She nodded and watched as he wove his way around the empty desks. Seconds later, the front door banged shut. Those were probably the most words she’d ever heard him speak. Feeling vaguely uneasy after the encounter and anxious to leave the office herself now, Riley quickly walked across to switch off the lights. She stepped into the reception area and jumped as the air conditioning unit behind Lucy’s desk hummed into noisy life. Shaking her head at her own nervousness, she turned off the main lights and punched in the security code beside the door. She walked outside into the thick, enveloping darkness of the night, pulling the door shut behind her until it locked with a click.

  “The temperature has dropped considerably o
ver the past few nights.”

  Riley gasped at the sound of Colin’s voice from the shadows next to the dumpsters. She could just make out the outline of his stocky figure and the glowing ember at the end of his cigarette punctuated his words as he moved his hand. Her frightened gasp seemed to have no impact on him. “Won’t be long until winter is upon us.”

  “You gave me a fright.”

  He chuckled, a rare sound to hear uttered from the generally dour and unemotional man. “It was purely unintentional.”

  “Goodnight.” She hurried across to her car, forcing herself not to run. She tumbled into her car and peered through the windscreen as Colin tossed his cigarette aside and walked over to his own car. He left quickly, driving straight out onto the street and turning right.

  Riley exhaled noisily as she shoved her keys into the ignition. She needed to get a grip on herself and not follow the news too closely. The combination of too many Condo Killer updates and an overactive imagination would be her undoing.

  She parked her car outside Morgan’s house, which was lit up from the inside like a Christmas tree with all the lights blazing. Through the un-curtained window, she saw Samantha skip across the living room and into the kitchen. She left her car and was about to walk up the path when a vehicle turned into the end of the street, its headlights bright and dazzling. She shielded her eyes against the high beam as the car drove up behind her own and stopped. The headlights went out and she dropped her hand from her eyes as the driver’s door opened. Bill climbed out and called to her over the roof of his car. “Riley! I didn’t expect to see you here tonight.”

  “I’ve popped around to see Morgan. What are you doing here? Didn’t you start your treatment today?” She waited for him to walk across to join her. “You’re looking remarkably fit for a man in the midst of radiation therapy.”

  “The doc said that I’ll barely notice any affects from the first few treatments. I’m feeling as fit as a fiddle.” He sounded robust, exuberant and full of life.