by S. J. Lewis
“You’ve been doing that lately,” Jerry observed with a smile. “Maybe you need a real vacation, instead of these half-day things you’ve been doing.”
Claudia felt herself blushing more deeply. “Ah…well…it’s different when you’re the boss, Jer.”
“One reason I never wanted to be the boss,” Jerry shrugged. He wandered off to get himself some coffee. Claudia had the distinct impression he’d wanted to say more but had decided against it. He was a smart man, despite his careless and rumpled appearance. She was sure he’d guessed what was behind her half-days and occasional mental lapses, and grateful that he wasn’t saying anything about it. The situation must be pretty confusing to Amanda, though.
The phone rang, and Amanda answered it with her usual cheerful tone. “Good morning! Cole Investigations. How may I help you?” After a moment, she took the phone away from her ear and put her hand over the mouthpiece. “Miss Cole? It’s for you. Sergeant Sanchez.”
“Oh.” Claudia nodded. “Yes. I’ll take it at my desk.” She got up, walked over and plopped herself down in her office chair. She picked up her phone and punched the blinking button. “Cole here,” she said. “What’s up, Sergeant?”
“Hi, Cole.” Sanchez chuckled at the other end. “Understand you’ve been slacking off this week.”
“Just afternoons,” Claudia replied, smiling. She liked the stocky little detective and considered her a friend. “Don’t you cops get some time off after a shooting?”
“Depends on who shot and who got shot. The other night, nobody got shot,” Sanchez said. “Anyway, I’m figurin’ you’re spending that time off with that tall, dark and rugged Pender character. Right?”
“Ah…” Claudia felt herself beginning to blush again. First Jerry, now Sanchez. What did Amanda know, or guess? She swiveled her chair so that she was facing away from her. “So?” she said defensively.
Sanchez chuckled again. “Hey, I don’t blame you,” she answered. “He’s not my type, but I can see where some women might find him attractive. Anyway, he’s the reason I’m calling.”
“Oh? But then, why call me here at the office about that?”
“I though it might be better. I know he’s staying at your place nowadays.”
Claudia felt a faint chill. She dropped her voice to a whisper. “Have you been watching me?”
“No way, Cole.” Sanchez snapped back. “He moved out of his hotel suite and left your apartment as a forwarding address. I was checking up on him when I found that out, not on you.”
“Sorry,” Claudia felt herself blushing yet again. “So that’s why you didn’t call me at home. Did you think it would matter where I was when you called?”
“Oh…” Sanchez sounded overly casual. “Maybe it wouldn’t. I dunno. But I did some checking on him.”
“I thought you would. What did you find out?” Claudia spoke very quietly, almost in a whisper. She was worried about what Sanchez might say.
“Well, he’s an engineer, like he said, and he owns his own company, like he said. He’s also a couple years older than you. He’s got a clean record going back about ten years.”
“There’s a ‘but’ coming, isn’t there?” Claudia prompted.
“Yep.” Sanchez sighed. “You know me. I keep digging until the shovel hits something.”
“And?”
“Look, Cole, there’s nothing really, really bad, just this one thing that bothers me. I thought you should know. Mr. Pender had kind of a colorful youth. You want to talk about this over the phone in your office, or you want to meet somewhere in private?”
“You’re making me think maybe it is kind of bad.”
“So you want it now?”
“N-no.” Claudia shook her head. “I’ll meet you. Can you take an early lunch?”
“If you’re springing for it, sure.”
“All right, then…”
The restaurant she chose for the meeting was just over the township line. Claudia had chosen it because she’d only been to it once before and wasn’t likely to be recognized. She didn’t know why that seemed to be important to her just now, but it also served good Italian food, and that was likely to be important to Sanchez. She had the hostess seat her in a corner booth where she could watch the door. When Sanchez arrived, she waved her over with a smile that wasn’t entirely sincere.
“Not bad, Cole.” Sanchez grinned as she sat down facing her. “I wasn’t expecting anything this upscale for lunch.”
“I thought you’d like it.” Claudia replied. “The food here is pretty good, as I recall.”
A skinny young waitress brought them menus and ice water and left without saying anything.
“I hope it’s better than the service seems to be,” Sanchez observed sourly, turning her head to frown at the departing waitress’ back.
“Well, we’re not really meeting here just for lunch, are we?”
Sanchez turned back with a sheepish grin. “No, we’re not.” She picked up her menu and opened it, eying Claudia over the top of it. “You want it now or after we’ve ordered?”
“Go ahead and order,” Claudia sighed. “I’m not all that hungry.”
Sanchez closed the menu and laid it down on the table. “You’re pissed,” she observed with a shrug. “Well, I don’t blame you. I’ve been kinda jerking your chain here.”
“Yes, you have,” Claudia agreed. “And I’m thinking that if it was something really bad you would’ve told me right away. If it wasn’t anything much, you’d have told me over the phone. So it’s something in between and trying to figure out what that could be is driving me nuts.”
Sanchez shrugged again. “Hell, I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell you, and that’s been driving me nuts.” She took a drink of her water, thumped the glass back down on the table. Some of the water splashed onto the red-and-white checked tablecloth. “Look, Cole, he’s got a lot of the usual stuff for a wild young man: A couple of DUI’s, way back when, a couple of drunk and disorderlies, disturbing the peace, stuff like that. There’s only one thing in his record that bothers me.”
“What is it?”
“Manslaughter. The charges were dropped before it ever got to trial, though.”
“Dropped? Do you know why?” Claudia leaned forward, keeping her voice low. She saw the skinny waitress approaching and waved her off with a frown. The girl made a face and went away.
“His lawyer claimed it was self-defense. Some sheriff was pushing for a trial, but the district attorney wouldn’t go for it. That’s all I’ve been able to come up with so far.”
“How long ago was that?”
“Ten years. He’s been squeaky-clean ever since, as near as I can tell.”
“Any particulars on the case?”
Sanchez sighed. “No. I told you all I could find out. That’s what bothers me about it all, Cole. The record is complete and yet totally sterile. It tells me who, what and when, but doesn’t even hint at the why. I think somebody got hold of it and…well, let’s say it was sanitized, somehow. I don’t have a clue as to the why of that, either.”
“Politics?” Claudia suggested. “Family connections?”
“Cole,” Sanchez shook her head, “He had no family connections. His folks were dirt-poor ranchers. He’s an only child. Mother died when he was fifteen. Car accident. Father died in a hospital a couple of years ago. He smoked too much. Both of them came from dirt-poor families too. He might have a couple of third cousins around somewhere, but that’s as close as he gets to any kind of family connections.”
“You’re going to keep digging, though?” Claudia asked.
Sanchez smiled wanly. “Nope,” she shook her head. “I got as far as I could before they took away my shovel and told me I couldn’t dig there any more.”
“They?”
“I think I annoyed somebody back in Pender’s old neighborhood with all my questions. I think they called somebody who called somebody who called my chief who then called me into his office.”
<
br /> “Oh.” Claudia frowned. “You’re not in any trouble, are you?”
“Not so long as I leave Mr. Pender alone.” Sanchez looked straight into Claudia’s eyes. “I don’t know what it’s all about, Cole. And that bothers me more than anything else.” She picked up her menu again and opened it. “I get hungry when I’m annoyed,” she announced. Can you get that stick-figure of a waitress back now?”
Chapter Four
Claudia drove slowly back towards her apartment, taking back roads. She wanted time to think, lots of time to think. She’d prodded Sanchez for more information, but the stocky little detective hadn’t been able to provide much. It had been like pulling teeth, she’d said, just to get what little information she had. Nobody she’d spoken to had wanted to talk about what had happened ten years ago.
Manslaughter. Sam had killed a man. She couldn’t picture him doing that…or could she? The more she thought about it, the less certain she was. It was on the record that he had indeed done so, and it didn’t matter if she could picture it or not. What had been the circumstances? Apparently it had been ruled self-defense, and he’d never been tried for it. That was a bit of a relief, but still…
She turned off the radio. It was just a distracting noise now. What was she going to do? Her first thought had been to confront Sam about it directly. It still seemed to be the best course in spite of all the other ideas that were clamoring for attention in her mind. So…if it was such a good idea, why was she taking such a long time to get home?
It was because she was afraid, she realized. She wasn’t afraid of what Sam might do. She was afraid of what he might say. She was also afraid of what he might not say. He might not say anything about it at all and that would somehow be worse than if he just shrugged and said, “So what?”
On second thought, she was afraid of what he might do after all. Oh, she wasn’t afraid that he would hurt her physically. Their lovemaking…no, their fucking, she corrected herself…was wild and kinky and fierce. His spankings stung and smarted, sometimes for hours afterwards, but that was savage foreplay that both of them enjoyed. Some times he gripped her so hard that it hurt, but that was a good hurt. She was completely convinced that Sam would never truly strike her. But…what if he said nothing and just left? That would hurt worse than if he actually beat her.
She kept driving, paying only the minimum attention required to stay on her side of the road. Maybe she was just overthinking things. What she really needed was a close friend to talk this all over with. Too bad the only close friend she had was Diane. Diane lived a long, long way away from here, and this wouldn’t be the kind of talk they could have over a long-distance line.
She sighed heavily. She could keep on thinking about this, worrying about it, and what-iffing it, but sooner or later she was going to have to face it…and Sam. As much as she dreaded some of the possible outcomes she could imagine, even as a little girl she hadn’t been the type to hide from boogeymen. She straightened in her seat. Her foot began to apply pressure to the accelerator. The highway was up ahead.
As she pulled into the parking lot of her apartment complex, she saw that Sam’s rental car wasn’t there. Her first feeling of relief didn’t last long. He might have parked it somewhere else in order to surprise her again. Even if he was out and about, he’d be back eventually. She parked in her usual spot and killed the engine. She sat in her car for a long moment before getting out.
Her apartment was cool and dark and empty when she entered. She made a point of making noise, closing the door a bit too hard, jingling her car keys before laying them down on the wooden stand next to the living room closet, stalking boldly into the kitchen still wearing her low heels. It was a few minutes before she was certain that Sam was not there. She still checked each closet in the apartment, feeling a little foolish. There was no Sam. There was no note from him, either.
She sat down on her bed, at a loss for what to do. Before Sam came, she usually never got home before six. She had a more-or-less regular schedule for her early evenings which included sessions at the health club, continuing self-defense classes and sometimes a trip to the indoor pistol range, just to keep in practice. This past week, she had done none of those things. Instead, she had stayed at home, held in lusty, eager captivity by Sam. Even when they weren’t fucking, it was very, very nice to be held in his arms in the dark as they talked in low voices about a variety of things. Sam was very interested in her life, where had she grown up, what was it like there, what was her family like. He in turn talked about different projects he had worked on and odd characters he’d met. He never said anything about his boyhood. Any time she’d brought the matter up, he would change the subject, sometimes in a very ingeniously carnal way.
But…here it was, early afternoon, no Sam and she felt completely lost. Go back to the office? She could do that, but why? Just because she couldn’t think of anything else to do? She kicked off her shoes and laid back on the bed. Now she was beginning to feel more than a little irritated at Sam. Why couldn’t he have at least left a note for her? Did he expect her to just wait for him, no matter how long it took?
The phone rang. Without thinking, she sat up quickly, eagerly reaching for it. She caught herself. If it was Sam, she didn’t want to seem to eager to answer. She let it ring again and again. On the fourth ring, she picked it up, just before the answering machine would have kicked in.
“Hello?”
“Hi Red, it’s me. Sorry I didn’t leave you a note, but I expected to be back a while ago.” Sam sounded unreasonably cheerful.
“Oh.” She bit back the complaint she’d been ready to make about just that thing. “Where are you now?”
“Not far. I’m on my way back. You have any plans for the rest of the day?”
She almost laughed at that. “No, why?”
“I should be there in ten, fifteen minutes. I’m takin’ you to the zoo, so dress comfortable, okay?”
“What? The zoo? But…”
“Gotta go, Red. See you soon. Bye!”
Claudia stared at the receiver for a moment. The zoo? She hadn’t been to a zoo since…well, she couldn’t remember exactly, but it was a long time ago. She’d still been in high school then. She hung up the receiver. What did he have in mind? What would she wear?
“You look good, Red,” Sam grinned as he looked her up and down. “You ready to go?”
“Sure.” Claudia nodded. She didn’t feel all that good. She’d dug the jeans out from the back of her closet. She hadn’t worn them in a while, and they felt disturbingly tight. When she’d found the jeans, she’d also found an old, oversized white cotton shirt. It was worn at the collar and cuffs, but soft and comfortable. For shoes, she’d thrown on the same pair she usually wore to the gym. She’d also retrieved an old straw hat, a souvenir from a holiday many years ago. And there was still that question she would have to ask him, but later, later. “But where did you find a zoo around here? I didn’t know there was one.”
“When did you go looking for one, Red?” he countered. “You’ve been too busy up to now, haven’t you?”
“Well, yes, I guess I have. But where is it?”
“Not too far. Maybe twenty, twenty-five minutes. I’ll drive.”
She followed him out to his car. She wanted to blurt out the question with every step, but fought the urge back. This was the closest thing she’d had to a date since she’d moved here two years ago. She didn’t want to spoil the mood. Not just yet, anyway.
Much to her surprise, Sam opened the car door for her. She slid into the passenger seat and smiled up at him just before he shut the door. When was the last time a man had treated her like that? It was another one of those things she couldn’t quite remember. Or…was it two years ago, when Sam and Rom had taken her and Dianne to that restaurant for dinner and dancing…before later taking them out into the country for… She shivered at the memory.
“What’s the problem, Red?” They were out on one of the county highways. Sam was a careful
driver, leaving plenty of room between himself and any vehicles in front. The windows were up. The air conditioning kept the interior comfortable and the only sounds for the past few minutes had been the faint whirr of the fan and the muted sound of the tires on the road.
“Ah…what do you mean?” She knew what he meant. For a moment she debated telling him that she hadn’t been on a date for so long she’d forgotten how to act, but that wouldn’t fool him.
“C’mon, Red. Something’s bugging you. What is it?”
She was silent for a long minute. Sam just waited it out.
“Detective Sanchez called me today.” Claudia looked at him, trying not to appear as nervous as she felt.
“And?” Sam prompted. He certainly wasn’t making this easy for her.
“Remember I told you she was going to check up on you, Sam?”
“I remember. So what did she find out?”
Claudia swallowed before continuing. Sam kept his eyes on the traffic. She could only see his profile, and it was unreadable. “Sam, she told me about a manslaughter charge. Ten years ago? What happened?”
“I ain’t proud of it, Red,” he replied. “I was still kind of a wild kid in those days. Drinkin’ too much sometimes, gettin’ into fights. My parents had busted their asses to be able to put me through college, and I got my degree…but I was wastin’ it all. And I thought I was just havin’ fun. What else was there?” he shrugged. Now, in profile, he looked grim.
“But…” Claudia searched for words. “How did it happen? Sanchez told me it had been ruled self-defense.”
He looked at her once, smiling wryly, before turning his attention back to the road. “Yeah, it was and it wasn’t, Red.” He fell silent. Claudia thought he didn’t want to talk about it anymore, but then he began to speak again.
“There was this bad bunch. Young guys, just like me and my friends, only bad. We’d get busted for drunk and disorderly or DUI any time the local cops thought we needed to be reined in a bit. We knew how it worked and no hard feelings. But this other bunch…they didn’t live in the area like we did. They’d roll into town every so often just to make trouble. Bad trouble. They put people into the hospital some times. We usually kept clear of them. Let the cops handle it.” He took a measured breath.
