Without Any Warning (A Samantha Jamison Mystery Volume 2)

by Peggy A. Edelheit

  Plus, I was tired of playing her game. “Tell me Mona, exactly what were you expecting when you arrived at my doorstep? A secret place to hide? Why me?” Although my unexpected candor scored, she handled it with style.

  “You know me too well, don’t you, Sam?” She smiled, already knowing what I was thinking. “Apparently, you learned a lot in my absence. Tell me, was it that bad when Stephen died?”

  “Yes, it was. I learned a few life lessons last year, and fending for myself was one of them. I found men didn’t understand what a woman was willing to go through to justify her existence, and of course, what she was not willing to go through when the truth was finally exposed.”

  “I guess I’m not the only one to have underestimated the new you. You are the same, Sam, in many ways, but then again, you are totally different.”

  I smiled momentarily, but then sobered, saying, “Okay, let’s cut the mindless meandering and get straight to the point. What have you gotten involved in this time, Mona?”

  “What do you mean this time?” she countered.

  “What are you running from and why?”

  Mona sighed heavily. “I used to think I was running from myself in one way or another, but this time it’s different. I’ve somehow gotten involved way over my head, and it appears to be something that doesn’t include a happy ending like in the movies. This is real and toxic. But I still feel I can handle it alone. All I’m asking is for you to please let me stay so I can straighten it all out.”

  I sat there staring. “That goes without saying, Mona. Of course, you can stay. How could you ask such a ridiculous question? I’m disturbed in not knowing what to do. Obviously, you are in trouble, but unless you confide in me, I can’t help. Don’t you get it? Try to understand my frustration at seeing a friend disappear, then reappear, and then I’m forced to watch from the sidelines all the mental stress she’s under? Let me help. You can trust me.”

  “I know that, Sam. It’s a matter of safety. That’s all.”

  “Whose safety?” I asked, not connecting the dots.

  “…Yours! I don’t want you involved in something this complicated and potentially dangerous.”

  Mona,” I shot back. “I’m already involved.”

  “How so?” she asked. She obviously didn’t get it either.

  “Think back,” I replied. “I’ve been here for weeks all by myself, and not one single incident occurred. Ever since you’ve arrived, we’ve experienced an attempted mugging on the beach, and an intruder sneaking around in my house in the dark. And I’m not even addressing that strange phone call. Now, please tell me. Why is that, Mona?”

  Her eyes nervously darted in my direction from her sandwich. “Coincidence?” she asked, half smiling.

  “Yeah, right. Don’t make me laugh.” I crossed my arms and sat back, waiting for some kind of explanation.

  Mona shifted uncomfortably. “All I’m asking is, for now; let me figure this out for myself. What you don’t know can’t harm you. I can’t say anything more than that. I recognize that sounds ridiculous, but I need more time to straighten it all out on my own. I appreciate your concern, but I’m sure, that if I can just explain my actions to certain people, they will understand why I did what I did.”

  I hated to admit it, but in some bizarre way, it made sense, plus, I felt she was telling the truth when she said she was trying to protect me. But at some point, she might have bitten off more than she could chew, a lesson and a warning we all needed to digest at one time or another in our life.

  Myself? I was still chewing on mine.

  Chapter 31

  RSVP ASAP

  How this got arranged, I’m not quite sure. One moment, I’m talking to Martha, who mentioned she was talking to Mona, who mentioned she met Crystal on Tuesday, and the next thing I knew, I was off the island, and it was girl’s night out with second drinks in Atlantic City for all of us. This was trouble waiting to happen, as far as I was concerned, but I went anyway. Why? That’s not quite so easy to explain, but let me try.

  Now, I have to stipulate that women are an intriguing breed. They tread where they shouldn’t, are intrigued by situations and any after-effects that might spontaneously happen. Some like to plow through layers of emotional debris, overlooking other’s former transgressions, the unknown, and any potential possibilities that might follow.

  Okay, so I am getting a little wordy here, but you get my drift. Some women like to flirt with disaster, knowing there is always an easier way out, but still choose to take the riskier choice. Why? Because they can, and because they enjoy the invitation to challenge their former weaknesses.

  I was sitting on high alert in the bar of one of the casinos with Mona, Martha and Crystal. I was also a nervous wreck and working on my second glass. I wasn’t peeling back anything; I was knocking back wine instead, hoping I could make it through the evening without a major incident. Something told me that wasn’t on the agenda. This combination of a friend missing in action for several years, a candidate for the geriatric ward, and a tattooed Harley girl was lethal, and I wasn’t sure where I fit into that crazy mix.

  But I had to admit all was going fairly smoothly until ‘he’ walked into the bar. I swear, I think it was something in the air. We all turned simultaneously, as though a magnet was pulling us all in the same direction without any of us knowing why. Who? Why, tall, dark and handsome David. That’s who.

  “Whoa!” said Mona, leaning forward.

  “Well, hello there good looking,” commented Crystal.

  “I gotta put on my glasses for this,” said Martha. “Well, look at what we got here!” she said, perking up.

  My mouth popped open to speak, but nothing came out. Now, what was he doing here? The three of them all turned to me at once, waiting. Obviously, I was the only one who hadn’t made a comment.

  Mona nudged me with her elbow. “Have you suddenly gone blind? Or are your hormones on vacation?”

  Martha had turned back in his direction. “Holy mackerel!” she suddenly whispered. “Who is that redheaded bombshell with him?”

  Again, we all turned simultaneously in his direction, as he turned to his obvious date, who apparently had just rejoined him. With upswept auburn hair, flawless make-up and a very low-cut, sexy cocktail dress on, she was an absolute knockout.

  Pat, the realtor.

  All that came out of my mouth was, “Uh oh.” But my mind was saying, ‘Trouble with a capital T, again.’

  Pat intertwined her arm with David’s and smiled up at him, while batting her eyelashes flirtatiously.

  I turned to Mona for her reaction. “Mona…?”

  There was just one little problem. Mona wasn’t there!

  “What the hell?” laughed Crystal, looking all around. “Where’d she go?”

  Martha grabbed the tablecloth, lifting it up in the air and bent downward to have a look. “Mona! What in the heck are you doing under the table? Are you drunk? Somebody quick, grab her.”

  “No! Don’t touch me!” hissed Mona from under the table. “Quick, will the three of you just sit up like I am not here, for God’s sake? Please! … Do … it … now!”

  We all jerked upright, smoothing down the tablecloth, just as David and Pat approached our table.

  “Well isn’t this a pleasant surprise!” greeted David, smiling at us.

  Pat aimed her pearly whites in my direction. “We thought we’d stop by for a quick drink at the bar before the show started. How nice to see you again, Samantha!” She already knew Crystal because of all the rentals and their requests for cleaning services on a weekly basis.

  After faltering slightly, I made the necessary introduction to Martha, still mindful of Mona somewhere under our table. It was hard to ignore her because she kept banging down on my foot with her fist. Obviously, claustrophobia was in play. Or maybe she’d found a spider or two.

  I decided to savor her discomfort for putting all of us on the spot. I smiled at David and Pat, as I gently nudged Mona’s hand
away with my other foot. “They decided on a girl’s night out,” I happily explained, “and I tagged along.”

  Crystal, somewhat confused by what was going on, played right along, trying not to reveal what we were concealing at our feet. “So far, I have to admit that it’s been interesting,” she ventured, smiling at David.

  Martha darted her eyes downward, nervously tapped her fingers on the table, and then looked back up to David. “So, you’re the new renter next door to us. Now, I just don’t know why Sam didn’t mention what a looker you were!” She glanced my way, suspiciously. Then she turned back to David. “There’s something sort of familiar about you. I just can’t place it though. Have we met before?”

  David nodded in affirmation. “Remember me? The casino? I certainly remember you. You were the lady in all that red.”

  “Yes! By golly, you’re absolutely right! I completely forgot! Heck, if I was Samantha, and I had you next door to me, I wouldn’t tell anybody either!”

  Pat laughed briefly. “Sam, I can see why you invited her to stay awhile. She’s hilarious!”

  Martha stared Pat up and down. “You know, I’m like family. I don’t need an invitation. I just show up like you two did tonight. It makes things much more interesting that way!”

  Chapter 32

  Truth Be Told?

  They finally left us, had a quick drink at the bar and then departed for their show. The three of us started talking simultaneously as we bent down, scrambling to get Mona out from under the table. Strange looks were thrown our way from across the room as Mona, once again, sat among us, quickly brushing herself off and breathing heavily. “I hate dark places,” she spat angrily.

  “What in the world was all that craziness about?” asked Martha. “Have you gone off your rocker? What in the world would possess you to jump under the table like that? You know, that’s not normal.”

  “I don’t know what is going on,” said Crystal, “and I really don’t care! I haven’t had so much fun in I don’t know when. To think I thought this might turn out to be a boring night. Was I off base on that one! You girls are an absolute riot! Now, for the record, would someone please tell me what’s going on here?”

  Mona was still mentally and physically shaking off the fear from her, oh so close encounter. I had a slight advantage, already knowing she did not want to be seen by Pat for some particular reason. It was clear she knew her, but something had happened in the past and I wanted to know what it was. Without giving away my previous knowledge of the supermarket incident, I wanted to hear how she was going to talk her way out of her bizarre behavior and her reaction.

  All eyes were on Mona.

  “What?” Mona asked all of us. “Haven’t any of you seen anybody trying to avoid being seen by someone else before?”

  “Not quite in that fashion,” remarked Martha. “That was the icing on my cake, that’s for sure.”

  We all waited, sipping our drinks, still looking at her. Mona was gulping hers. She finally leaned back against the club booth we sat in, exhaling with a loud sigh. I could hear her mind working, trying to think of some way out of this without explaining too much. She finally half smiled. “What the hell. Why not?” she mumbled to no one in particular.

  “Well?” asked Martha impatiently. “We’re waiting!”

  “Hey, you even have my attention now,” said Crystal. “Do you know this David guy? Did he jilt you or something?”

  Mona turned to Crystal. “…No.”

  “So it’s about Pat?” she asked.

  I noticed her squirming in her seat, so I added more pressure. “Yeah, what about Pat?”

  “…Well, we knew each other a few years ago and were interested in the same guy,” Mona finally admitted. “It appeared I won. What happened didn’t exactly set well with her, and I didn’t feel like having a confrontation with her right now. That’s all.”

  “Does she know you’re in town?’ asked Crystal.

  “…Maybe.” Mona replied carefully.

  “What do you mean, maybe?” asked Martha.

  “I think she spotted me in the grocery store the other day. I took off before she could corner me. I was hoping she would eventually think it was simply mistaken identity.”

  “Really?” I asked with a sarcastic edge.

  Who was she kidding?

  Mona turned to face me, clearly not enjoying our interrogation one bit. “…Well no, not really. She apparently got a good look at me. I barely made it out of there in my car. That crazy woman chased me clear across the parking lot! On foot, too! But I got away just in time.”

  “What happened to the guy in between?” asked Crystal.

  “Truth be told? He cut out on both of us, taking not only her car, but her money too. It happened a while back.”

  Chapter 33

  It’s A New Day & A New Dawn

  I was sipping my coffee out on the deck, wearing my fleece jacket, and watching the first flecks of sun, as a new day slowly rose over the horizon. I was also mulling over what took place at the bar the previous night and wondering when it would finally dawn on Mona that eventually she was going to have to cough up the truth.

  “Mind if I join you?” asked Mona, hesitantly from behind me.

  Evidently, Martha, the up-at-dawn, early bird riser, was sleeping in, I noted, after glancing at my watch. “No, go right ahead and help yourself,” I said, as I shoved a chair out from under the table with my foot.

  I had my feet propped up on another chair and was leaning back, trying to catch the first rays of morning sunshine. It felt really good. Apparently, Mona, by the looks of her, did not.

  She appeared extremely uncomfortable after sitting down with her mug of coffee. “…I’m sorry,” she offered.

  “That’s it?” I shot back, as I turned towards her. “Certainly you, of all people, can do better than that!”

  “I should have been more forthcoming. You took me in without a second thought and this was how I thanked you, blindsiding you with secrecy and evasion.”

  “It was always that way with you, wasn’t it?” I leaned back and closed my eyes.

  She laughed nervously. “And you were the only one who tolerated me and all my baggage.”

  “Yes. Well, I think we all have emotional baggage. It’s just that some of us have more than others, that all.”

  “You see?” Mona pointed out, finally smiling. “That’s what’s so great about you. You are never judgmental or morally superior about people and their problems. You just accept and adapt.”

  “Well, I’ve had a lot of practice trying to accept my past and adapt to my future,” I replied, smiling.

  “I know,” said Mona. “But right now it’s a game of life or death and if I’m not careful, Sam, I won’t have a future, and that’s no joke. In due time, I promise I will explain.”

  We both sipped our coffee in silence, Mona with shaky hands holding her mug and worry lines creasing her forehead, and me frustrated yet again, but thinking about the prospect of waiting for a new day and a new dawn of explanations in the near future, while this strange and foreboding feeling just sat there like a rock in the pit of my stomach. My patience was slowly running out.

  What was next?

  Chapter 34

  Predicaments & Plausible Possibilities

  I sat at my laptop, considering. Our conversation had meandered without Mona being more forthcoming about her predicament. Not helpful, but expected.

  After much pleading from her, I relented, and said I was willing to look the other way for a little while longer, but then she had better come up with a good explanation for, what Martha referred to as, all this craziness going on.

  What I didn’t want to do was push too hard and scare her away. No Mona. No rest of the story for my book. Period! Besides, how would I ever find out the answers to all the questions I had about those years cast in doubt?

  Once hooked, I was like a dog with a bone. I continually surprised myself and never underestimated my resourcefulne
ss. There were other ways to get around this. All I had to do was come up with one that worked.

  My phone rang. I hesitated, as I looked for the caller ID. Let me tell you, old habits die hard. Past history had taught me, time and again, to be very cautious.

  Oh! “Hi David,” I said, casually considering plausible reasons for his phone call.

  Okay, so I was really interested in why he was calling.

  Besides, I wanted to find out how and why he was out on the town that night with that hot momma, Pat. Somehow, I never would have connected the two of them as potential dating material.

  Of course, after seeing her dressed to kill, he would be crazy not to consider all his options. After all, he was free, single, and good-looking. I was pleased to see him out and about after our lunch and his unexpected, revealing conversation on his deck.

  “Hi there,” he greeted cheerfully. “Have you got some free time? I was hoping you weren’t planning anything because I thought we might go for a ride together.”

  Chapter 35

  Make It Who For The Road?

  After my acceptance, David explained that he would be waiting in the courtyard for our so called, road trip? Grabbing my purse and jacket, I hustled down the staircase. I set the alarm, locked the door, hustled down the walkway and then swung open the courtyard walk-in gate, but abruptly came to a screeching halt. Uh, oh!

  There he stood, casually leaning against a creamy white and overwhelmingly magnificent Harley Davison motorcycle. He smiled at my reaction. “Ready?”

  My eyes were riveted. “Uh… Where’d you get that?”

  “I brought it down last week when you were out for the day. It would have spoiled my little surprise today if I started it, so I pushed it across the courtyard from my garage.”