Jan's mouth gaped. "What?"
Lydia laughed. "Like I said, I have my reasons. Only don't get too close, he may try poking you with something."
Jan blushed again, giggling. "Okay. But what am I smelling him for?"
"To see if he wears cologne," Lydia said, and on that note, she went looking for Bill.
He was at his desk, going over a schematic with Tony, who greeted her with a look that seemed to imply, "What are you doing here?" So she responded accordingly.
"I took my break, I read my newspaper, and now I need you to tell me what to do next."
Tony smiled, shaking his head. Here she was, zinging him again. "I think I'll leave that up to you."
"Good," she said. "Because I'd like to check out a hunch and need a volunteer."
Tony crossed his arms and leaned back against the desk. "Not me. I don't volunteer for anything."
Oh...his smile. It was so irresistible. Lydia regretted having to look away. "What about you?" she asked Bill.
"What is it first?"
"No big thing. I just need you to take a walk with me."
"And hold your hand, too?" Tony said.
Lydia laughed. "No, smartass. I'm serious. I want to go over to the plant next door, but there's a part of me that…."
Tony agreed before she had even finished. "All right, I'll walk with you, let's go."
"Now?"
"Sure. Why not? Were you making a date for later?"
Lydia felt foolish and suddenly somewhat apprehensive. "No, we can go now, I guess."
"Then let's do it."
They were quiet as they walked down through the shop, even keeping some distance from each other, perhaps because so many people were turning and watching them. At the door, when they accidentally brushed up against one another, they both apologized, then smiled and looked away.
Outside though, and having started across the parking lot, they were a little more comfortable with each other. That's when Lydia noticed he was limping, something she'd seen him do before on occasion.
"What's wrong with your legs?" she asked.
Tony glanced at her. "Nothing as noble as a war wound or anything like that."
"What then?"
"Basically it's arthritis."
"At your age?"
"Age has nothing to do with it. Kids get it."
"Is that when you did?"
Tony shook his head and, glancing at her again, thought about the newspaper article. "No."
"When then?"
Tony didn't reply at first, then simply said, "It's not important." Lydia looked off, shaking her head. She hated the way he only said what he wanted to, and even more irritating were these sudden mood swings of his.
"So what are we going over here for?" he asked.
"I don't know. I guess I just want to see what's going on. And that car right there has me bugged."
It was the black station wagon she thought looked like a mortician's, and behind the wheel, sat a portly, red-haired man, studying a nude magazine's centerfold. Studying it so passionately in fact that they approached unnoticed.
Lydia tapped on the window. "Excuse me...."
The man jumped, tossing the magazine into the air, but he recovered quickly to snap, "What do you want?"
Lydia stepped back and attached herself to Tony, thanking God she hadn't come over alone. This man reminded her of a slasher in a horror movie. He even had pockmarks in his face.
"Um…we just had to get away," she said, as sultry as can be. "If you know what I mean?"
Tony could barely maintain a straight face through this, and even had to look away for a moment. It was obvious from the way Lydia was squeezing his hand, that it was his turn to say something, so he motioned to the back of the building.
"Think we can have a few minutes back there?"
The man was eyeing Lydia up and down. "There ain't nobody supposed to be here."
"Ten minutes," Tony pleaded, giving it his best "got-to-have-it-now" look. "Just ten minutes."
"Where you from?"
"Merchant," Tony said. "But there isn't any place over there to...."
The man eyed Lydia again, looking like he wished he were in Tony's shoes. "Go on, but I didn't see ya."
Tony nodded, tugging at Lydia as he thanked him, and they went around to the back of the building.
"Now what?"
Lydia shrugged. "I don't know. Let's just look around."
"Okay. But the way I see it, you've got about three minutes, then you're going to have to get into a compromising position, because that guy's going to be back here wanting to watch."
Lydia stopped dead. "You're kidding."
Tony laughed and motioned for her to keep going. As he followed, he started looking over his shoulder.
Lydia appeared intrigued by what she could see in the basement windows. Tony went right for the loading dock. There were two flatbeds of steel at the receiving ramp, which seemed odd to him, in light of how long they'd been on strike and the fact that now they'd shut down totally.
He climbed up on one of the trailers to look at the warehouse tag, then jumped down and landed in a way that had him swearing under his breath and hobbling around for a second or two.
"Are you all right?" Lydia asked.
He nodded, then pulled himself up onto the loading dock, and reached down for her.
Jokingly, she thanked him for the helping hand - he'd practically lifted her off her feet - and he laughed. But when she started to say something else, he covered her mouth with his hand and motioned for her to keep quiet.
He thought he'd heard something, and when he heard it again, a shuffling sound, he pushed her back into the corner. "It's probably the guard," he whispered, pulling his shirt out of his pants and loosening his belt. "Shhhh...."
No need to worry, Lydia couldn't have said anything if she'd tried. She was speechless, because now he was unzipping his pants. Unzipping them and looking right into her eyes as he listened, waiting until the sound grew closer. Then he backed up and turned around, fumbling with his pants and looking surprised.
"Sorry," the man said. "But you've been back here more'n ten minutes."
Tony kind of shrugged. "It took longer."
"I hear ya," the man said. "But now I want you outta here."
Tony nodded and turned slightly while tucking his shirt in to look at Lydia staring wide-eyed at him and holding her breath, which almost made him laugh. "She's getting herself back together."
The man leaned to the side, trying to see for himself. But Tony was blocking his view, so he left disappointed. As soon as he'd gone around the side of the building, Tony got down off the dock and reached up for her.
"Do you have experience at this sort of thing?" she asked, when he put her down at a walk and took her by the hand.
He smiled. "No, now come on. He's probably waiting somewhere to make sure we leave." Sure enough, the guard was just around the corner.
Lydia hid her face against Tony's arm as they walked by, pretending to be embarrassed, and didn't look up or let go until they started across the parking lot.
"Well, that certainly was fun," she said, smoothing her hair back.
Tony smiled. "Did you find what you were looking for?"
"I don't know. I think I need to look again."
"Yeah, well good luck. I doubt he'll let us back, especially since we didn't let him watch."
Lydia blushed at the thought of that. "Then we'll have to use a different approach."
"Try taking Bill next time."
Lydia laughed. "Oh great! How would that look? A different one every day."
Tony motioned over his shoulder. "I don't know. That guy'd probably get a kick out of it, though I doubt Bill would."
Lydia stopped dead in her tracks. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing." Tony kept walking, disappointed with himself for letting that slip. "Come on."
Only Lydia wasn't budging and now had an incredibly hurt expression
on her face, one that had Tony sighing, and walking back to explain. "Bill seems to have this thing about being touched," he said, looking around the parking lot first, then leaning down to talk to her. "That's all I meant."
Lydia studied his eyes.
"Honest," he said.
His eyes couldn't have been clearer.
"So let's just forget I said it. Okay?"
Lydia hesitated before nodding, and they walked on without saying another word until they were inside and about to go their separate ways.
"Didn't you think it was strange the way everything looked so normal over there?" Lydia asked.
Tony nodded, watching a machinist just off the main aisle. "Yeah, I did," he said. "Right down to the steel on the dock." He touched her arm and started around her. "I'll talk to you later."
Waiting upstairs for Lydia was a man stylishly dressed in a three-piece cashmere suit, his hair the color of bronze, with not a strand out of place, manicured, buffed, and polished from there down to his shoes, which could have reflected his smile. For sure, she thought, this had to be....
"Philip Carmichael," he said, extending his hand. "Soon to be your best friend when it comes to money."
Lydia smiled and shook his hand warmly. There was a good feeling about him. "I hope you haven't been waiting long."
"Just a while, but your secretary made me comfortable. Lovely woman."
Lydia sat down, still smiling. "What can I do for you, Philip?" she asked, pronouncing it "Pheeleep" as he had.
From beside his chair, he produced an attaché case. "I have several financial plans I'd like to go over with you, specifically designed to fit your needs."
Her needs? Lydia's mind wandered back to the building next door with Tony, their bodies touching, and thought about a confession story she and Sharon had read years ago. They'd bought it at the drug store and hid it until late that night when they were sure everyone was asleep, then read it by flashlight. At fourteen, they were dumbstruck when the heroine shivered at the very sound of her lover's zipper being undone, in anticipation of what he was about to do to her.
"Miss Merchant? Are you listening?"
"Uh...no, sorry. Please, go on."
"As I was saying, I have several plans here. This one in particular I feel is best suited to someone of your means."
"Means?"
"Capital. Funds."
"I'm sorry, I really am. I seem to be having trouble with my concentration today. Why don't you leave that with me and I' 11 go over it later and get back with you?"
"Richard said you were evasive and that I would have to pin you down."
Lydia smiled. He'd said that so affectionately. "I'll go over it, I promise."
Philip conceded with a nod, placing the portfolio he'd prepared for her at her fingertips, then closed his attaché and reached into his pocket for one of his business cards. "I'll be expecting your call."
Lydia walked him to the door, where, upon thanking her for seeing him, he produced an envelope. "My ticket in here today," he said.
Lydia thanked him in return. He left, and she walked back to the table, staring down at the envelope. Jan buzzed her. "Julius Randall on line four."
"Tell him you're paging me," Lydia said. She needed a moment. She wasn't ready for anything. Not the envelope. Not Julius Randall. Nothing. All she could think about was the sound of a zipper being undone and the memory of Tony's breath on her face. That these thoughts seemed to prevail over everything else irritated the hell out of her.
"Julius! I hope you haven't been waiting long. I was tending to business."
"Busy, were you?"
Lydia forced a giggle. "Actually I was in the ladies room. Funny you should call then. Do you have radar for those kinds of things?"
Julius snorted and laughed. "Must be a talent of mine," he said, his chest practically puffing out through the phone. "But now that I have you right where I want you...."
Lydia forced another giggle.
"I wanted to let you know that I'm giving some thought to having you quote me the entire assembly on that Mago run."
Lydia sensed a stall, which wouldn't have been so unusual had this been the first time he'd called. "Great! Just let me know. But I've got to run now; I'm late for a hair appointment."
Julius laughed again. "I'll get back with you as soon as I can."
Lydia hung up and sat back, shaking her head. Her first instinct had been to get off the phone quickly, now she wasn't so sure. "Oh Jesus!" she said out loud. "Now I'm second-guessing myself! What next?"
Jan buzzed her again. "Two things," she said. "First is Greg. He's called three times, and he's getting hostile, the last message being if you don't talk to him, he's flying in on the next plane. And second, the only thing Mr. Carlson smells of is body odor."
"Damn, you're good!"
Jan snickered. "So what do I tell Greg when he calls back?"
Lydia thought for a moment. "I don't know. Just keep putting him off. I doubt he'll fly in, he has a match, and the press….Wait! That's it! Tell him if he keeps pushing me, I'll leak the broken engagement to the press."
"All right," Jan said, sounding reluctant.
"I know, it's cruel. But I need some time to think this out."
Silence. Then, "Oh, and there's one more thing."
"You said two."
Jan laughed. "So I did. Go figure!"
Go figure? Lydia smiled.
"Your father has a tentative appointment with a Dr. Granger the day after tomorrow. They'll call back with a time. If they have a cancellation before then, they'll let us know."
Lydia marveled. "You're a godsend. You know that?"
"Well, I do try," Jan said, ever so modestly, which had Lydia laughing as they hung up. Then it was time to get serious. She took a deep breath and reached for the envelope Philip had given her. She'd avoided it long enough.
Both sides of the check had been copied on one side, so in taking in out, why she turned it over made no sense. Yet she did it twice before laying it down on the table and then just stared at it for a while - all eighty-four thousand dollars of it, made out to her and endorsed by her, just as Richard Robert had said.
How could a bank cash a check this size without identification, she wondered? And what was she going to do about it, if anything? There were so many things to consider. Foremost was her father's health. Then the police and what an investigation might uncover, its effect on the employees, the repercussions...now more than ever.
When Tony came in a little while later, she'd gone full circle several times and was studying the signature again. It was so precise, had she not known for sure, she would swear it was genuine. Genuine to the point of eerie.
She folded the copy and slipped it into her pocket, appearing almost casual about it, even smiling. But her hands were shaking.
Tony noticed. "What's wrong?"
Lydia shrugged and said the first thing that came to mind. "I quit smoking."
Tony smiled and just looked at her for a moment, remembering how good she'd felt up against him. "I think our little jaunt may have set me back."
"Does this mean tomorrow's off for sure then?"
Tony kind of laughed.
"And here I had my heart set on it."
He smiled. "Maybe some other time."
Lydia felt a wave of warmth come over her, a feeling...a sensuous feeling of losing herself, losing herself in him. "I'm sorry if I set you back."
"You don't have to be sorry," he said, with a look that made her shudder. "I had my own reasons for going along."
Lydia melted inside.
"But had I not gone, I don't think I'd have a busted machine on my hands right now."
"Are you saying...?"
Tony laughed. "That they only break down when I'm gone? No, but this one did. With a little help."
Lydia leaned forward. "You mean you think someone did it on purpose?"
Tony nodded. "Bill said he heard a grinding noise and went out to check
. But the damage was already done."
"Where was the operator?"
"At lunch."
"And nobody saw anything?"
"Not even the holy roller."
"You mean the Bible reader?"
Tony nodded. "And while he is strange, I doubt if he…."
Lydia thought for a moment, then shook her head. "No, it has to be somebody else. It wasn't him. I'm sure of it."
Tony smiled. "Just like that?"
"I told you, when I'm sure, I'm sure."
Tony's smile faded. "It's a shame you weren't on the jury that heard my trial."
Lydia gazed at him sadly. He was telling her she'd have found him innocent without a doubt. Reed came in then, rustling blueprints and clearing his throat purposefully. "Sorry to interrupt," he said. "But I have some questions about these Mago prints."
Tony hardly glanced at him, still looking at Lydia, and it was she who reluctantly turned away. "What Mago prints?"
Reed spread them out in front of Tony. "The ones for those small run jobs."
Lydia nodded, remembering now. "I've had several calls from Bob Miller." She leafed through her phone messages to find one. "They're always the same: 'Need to talk to you, but I'm on the road. I'll try again.'"
Reed smiled as if that were good news.
Tony propped his elbow and stared at the prints. "What's the question?"
Reed pointed to the diagram in the middle. "I was wondering if we could make a tool to take this notch out, stacking maybe five, six parts at a time."
Tony studied it for a moment, glancing at Lydia when she stood up and walked over to the window, thinking it might be possible, but then he studied it further. "No, no way. You'd have a problem with the flatness."
"You sure?"
Tony nodded, looking up into Reed's face. Reed sat down next to him. "Damn that Miller. I think he had these prints given to me just to aggravate me."
Tony looked over his shoulder at Lydia.
"What if we make a vice for it?" Reed asked.
Tony shook his head and looked over his shoulder again at Lydia as she stared out the window. "I wouldn't chance it," he said. "Especially with the material being this hard."
Reed drew a breath and let out a heavy sigh. He hated giving up on a job. He hated giving up on anything.
"But you know what's odd," Tony said, turning back and looking at the print as if something had just occurred to him "The material. This isn't common stock, yet there's two truck loads of it sitting next door waiting to be unloaded."
Call Me Lydia Page 25
