Without Any Warning (A Samantha Jamison Mystery Volume 2)

by Peggy A. Edelheit

  “Wow!” I commented, admiring her tailored navy slacks and white silk, body-hugging blouse. The strappy silver sandals were perfect. “Big occasion?”

  Barbara started primping in front of my mirror, checking herself out and turning around. “Nothing special, just a dinner out. Bill should be here any minute.”

  My mouth flew open. “You mean Bill the realtor?’

  “Why, of course! Do you know of another one?”

  “But he’s married, Barbara! You did know that, right? And, I might add, please don’t forget about your Jack.”

  “Of course, Samantha! It’s only dinner. I’m surprised by your attitude. Don’t be so provincial!”

  “I’m not. I feel sort of responsible for all of you. It’s been sort of crazy here lately. You know what I mean?”

  She walked over and sat on the edge of the other chair opposite me, then leaned over and patted my hand. “Of course, I do. And I appreciate your concern. But after all I’ve been through in my life, I think I can handle a harmless little evening out, having fun at a club and a casino.”

  A horn blared from the street below. “Oh! That must be Bill! I better get down there. We have reservations.”

  I stared at her as she got up to leave. I swear, I almost offered myself as a chaperone for the evening, but hesitated in going that far. “…Can I ask you a question?”

  She turned back to me. “Why of course, Samantha.”

  “Does his wife at least know where you two are going? I mean …a night club and a casino in Atlantic City?”

  “Well, I should hope so!” Barbara laughed. “She’s downstairs waiting in the car too!”

  I heaved a sigh of relief and laughed at my foolishness. “Boy, you had me going there for a minute! I’ve always had you up there on this pedestal since I first met you, and just now, you were sort of teetering there for a bit. Sorry, I should have known better.”

  “Don’t be sorry, Sam. I’m flattered by the compliment though. Trust me. I definitely have both feet on the ground and certainly not on some silly old pedestal. What you see, is what you get!”

  “Well, don’t be too late!” I joked. “I wouldn’t want to stay up worrying about you.”

  “Oh, please don’t worry. I’ll have plenty of company!” She said, smiling as she turned to leave. “David is joining us too!” And, just like that, she headed down the stairwell.

  Bar…Bar…Bar…Bar…Barbara and…who?

  What was going on?

  Chapter 68

  Clutching, Catching & Calming Down

  M is for the infamous Martha, who always kept me on my toes. For a senior citizen, she was hard to pin down, but I was pushing to get some information from her before she dodged me again and ran out. Hearing her getting ready to make her exit, I planted myself at the bottom of the stairwell in the foyer and waited. As her rushed footsteps echoed on the stairs, I promptly revealed myself.

  “Martha, hold on a minute!”

  She clutched her hand to her chest. “God almighty, Sam! Give me some kind of warning, will you? It’s not time for a heart attack! I haven’t made out my will yet!”

  “Sorry,” I offered unrepentantly, “but I need to speak to you before you leave. You always seem to be running off somewhere lately and are impossible to catch.”

  She chuckled. “That’s not what Roland says!”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, thrown off track.

  “He said not only am I a good catch, but, unlike some fish he’s caught before, I don’t put up much of a fight. I practically jump right into his net.”

  As usual, I was swallowed up into an entirely different conversation than the one I intended. “What…?”

  She winked at me. “He said it sort of turns him on!”

  My face reddened. I tried taking the lead. “Martha, this is not what I had in mind when I said I needed to talk!”

  Martha stood there looking me up and down, tsk, tsking loudly, and then finally crossed her arms and tapped her foot. “Well, enough of the girl-talk then! I’m here now, and you have my full attention. Better make this quick. I got places to go and people to see!”

  I hated being put on the spot like that. Over the last year, I have learned that when dealing with Martha, you had to be slow and deliberate, or the conversation wandered off to unknown territory like it just did, and I didn’t want to fall for it. Not again anyway.

  Martha checked her watch. “Well? Time’s a-wastin’!”

  “You’re telling me!” I replied. I cleared my throat to get the words out. “We need to have a talk regarding an incident that took place the other day involving you and David.”

  She stood regarding me, and then said, “Now, I could ask you, which incident. You know, to be kind of humorous. Or I could act dumb and veer off the subject again, but I think you and I both know what incident you’re referring to, the courtyard episode. Am I right?”

  I could not believe it! We were actually on the same page conversationally. This had to be an absolute first.

  Well, for this book anyway.

  “…Yes. The courtyard.”

  “Well,” Martha offered, turning toward the steps. She started to walk back up. “We might as well head upstairs, because this might take some explaining. Besides, I can already tell by the look I’m getting that you might be better off sitting down for this one. Trouble is, even sitting down, you’re not going to like what I’m about to tell you. I know you too well to think otherwise. Just promise me you won’t overreact, okay?”

  I reached for the stair railing and followed her up, mentally preparing for the worst. I should have been relieved to finally pin her down for something tangible to go on, but now I half-regretted what I had asked for. Maybe it was something I didn’t want to hear.

  Chapter 69

  Courting More Than Trouble

  Obviously, there were a few hundred other avenues I could pursue, but I guess I was lucky? to be sitting across from Martha, waiting for her to explain why she was talking, excuse me, arguing with David in the courtyard. I needed anything she had to offer that would help, and also knew I should be used to her by now, but when we were together, trouble just sat there waiting to happen.

  Now, if I played my cards right, I could bluff my way through this conversation. It sort of worked before. Why not try it now? I planted a confident smile on my face, as I patiently waited for her to get herself comfortable for the big reveal. Impatient, yet ambivalent, I sensed trouble.

  Martha sat across from me, her folded hands resting in her lap. “I suppose you want full disclosure?” she asked.

  “Sounds good to me,” I replied.

  “Now you know, I am not someone to horn in where I am not wanted or supposed to be, but as you very well know, there are exceptions. …Right?” she asked, waiting for some kind of response from me.

  “…Why would I think otherwise?” I replied, but really knew that with Martha, it was the rule rather than the exception. Butting in was her main specialty.

  “Well, to begin with, I sort of overheard some things being bantered about around here regarding you, Mona and this Joey guy.”

  Since I wasn’t denying what was said, Martha took my silence as confirmation and continued on.

  “There’s something strange going on here.”

  How was I supposed to react? What was I supposed to say? Exactly, how much did she really know, or had heard? With Martha it was always a guessing game. I wasn’t giving up anything yet and threw it back in her direction. “…Like what?”

  “For one thing, I have a feeling Mona is running away from something or someone. And what I’ve been able to piece together from patchy conversations I’ve heard around here, is that I think it’s this Joey fellow. Am I close?”

  “Could be,” I offered evenly, blinking in anticipation.

  “Now, what I’m thinking is that somehow you’ve gotten dragged into this, through no fault of your own. And that last item disturbs me because of my long-standing, veste
d interested in your well-being and safety.”

  I broke eye contact with her and looked over toward the ocean trying to think. “…Could be,” I replied once more.

  “The thing is, what are we going to do about it?”

  I turned back, my eyes catching hers. “What exactly do you mean, we?”

  “This is personal now!” Martha challenged in a huff.

  “Hold on a minute, Martha. What started all this? How did you end up arguing with David in the courtyard?”

  “I overheard him on his cell when he was out on his deck, quarrelling with someone about you nosing around where you shouldn’t be and that things might get dicey with your safety. I pieced bits of conversation I’ve been hearing around here together and figured trouble was brewing. So, I challenged him down in the courtyard when he was leaving the other day.”

  I needed to shield Martha from endangering herself because of her protective snooping. “You have this all wrong. Mona used to date this guy, Joey. It was a bad breakup, that’s all. You must have misunderstood what you heard.”

  “I don’t think so,” said Martha.

  What more did she know? “What makes you so sure?”

  She opened her bag and pulled a sheet out. “Not after I found this! Believe me, I’ve read enough detective books over the years to know exactly what it is, too. Plus, I checked it out on the Internet just to make sure. Here you go. I printed one out for you.”

  She slapped a photograph down in front of me. I sat there looking at the object in question. “What is it?”

  Martha slowly turned it around for me to have a better look. “It’s a tracking device that is currently attached to your car bumper. I noticed it when I dropped my purse in the garage.”

  I couldn’t believe it! I looked at her. “…Oh!”

  Martha shook her head. “After finding this, I’d say you’re courting more than trouble, Sam.”

  Chapter 70

  Tracking & Parceling Services

  It was well after dark and I was trying not to make noise, considering the circumstances. Everyone was off in their own rooms, and I had made it back safely to my own without being noticed by anyone. My pulse was racing.

  This was not exactly what I thought of as author qualifications, but then after thinking it over; maybe I had created a whole new category called, ‘transferring the evidence while developing your story line.’

  When I had finally snuck downstairs to pry that thing off my car, to my surprise, the tracking device, which was magnetic, came off easily. My biggest decision then was what should I do with it? Apparently, someone else was keeping close tabs on my every move. Who?

  Obviously I had no way of knowing, but in the meantime, I had to throw off whoever was tracking me, or else I couldn’t go anywhere without them knowing where I was. Was this David trying to protect me? Was it the mob tracking my moves? Or worse yet, was David in cahoots with the mob? Either way, their tracking would be history.

  My next question was who was the lucky individual who would be the recipient of my largesse? In other words, how would I ditch that device? And where? I needed a plan. I hated to admit it, but, as usual, I had none.

  At the exact moment when I finally had that device in my hands, I suddenly heard a loud screech of brakes and a definite shift into park, as the driver jumped out quickly and ran up to the house across the street. Bingo!

  I almost felt guilty about going over and tucking that device on that bumper, but I was under the gun trying to get rid of it. I needed to move about freely without prying eyes watching and keeping close tabs on me to make sure it’s handed back to the right person. Plus I was worried about my friends’ safety. This was too up close and personal.

  I took a breath and ran like hell across the street in the dark, tucked that sucker under the bumper and raced back to my garage, breathing heavily. My nerves were jumping. I leaned against the wall and waited for that engine to rev up and take off before I eased away from the shadows to have a look. I crossed the street to make sure it had not fallen off. It was nowhere in sight. I sighed with relief and high-tailed it back to the house and sprinted up to my room.

  Maybe the individual who was trying to track me would be thrown off long enough to give me a breather. I smiled. If anything, they would be kept busy come morning, running off and on the island. I wondered how long it would take them before they eventually caught on.

  I had heard that even after dark, service was their number one priority! Imagine knowing so many routes, while making all those right turns and tracking all those parcels! Go UPS!

  Chapter 71

  Diversions & Repercussions

  Martha was shadowing me closely. Ever since she found that tracking device under my bumper, she was on me like glue on a stick. Her words, not mine, by the way. To be fair, I had to admit; she did have a legitimate reason for being so concerned about my well being. So I made allowances for her always being within visual range. But I had to admit, that after a while, it was wearing on me.

  Every time I turned around, there she was, just staring and smiling sweetly. Between her IPhone and the two book worms, Betty and Hazel, trailing after her with their iPads, they’d have to get their own Kindle, mine was off limits, it was grating on my nerves with all this surveillance stuff. How could I track Mona or David with that high-tech geriatric parade following me, without drawing uncalled-for attention? I wanted to further check out the Borgata, again and alone.

  I needed a diversion to kill two birds with one stone. What would work? I stood there looking out at the courtyard when all of a sudden it hit me. I whipped out my phone and dialed a familiar number. I whispered into the phone discreetly.

  The voice at the end of the line said, “Give me five.”

  It took ten, but who was counting? I was desperate to get away and squeeze in some time out on my own. I smiled as she approached. Her motorcycle was parked a block away.

  You know, older people were supposed to start losing their hearing at a certain age; so I’ve been told in the past. But my three geriatric agents on duty defied all the odds, not only able to hear a pin drop from anywhere, but could probably spot a deer at seven hundred yards. I smiled at them, and then turned back to the window and hit redial.

  I was watching Crystal standing down in the courtyard talking to me on her phone. “I’ve got to talk low,” I said.

  “I don’t know what you’re up to, but it sounds strange if you ask me,” she said, standing there, shaking her head in disapproval. “Why am I parking your car over on Chelsea?”

  “Trust me, this should at least keep them busy for a while and they’ll forget exactly how long I’ve been gone.”

  “Breaking vases sounds sort of extreme if you ask me. You sure you can afford it? Isn’t there something cheaper you can pick out to destroy? What’re you trying to accomplish anyway?”

  “I’ve got my reasons. Besides they’re reproductions.”

  “I mean this sounds kind of odd-ball, going to all these lengths to keep the three of them busy from paying attention to you. Why all the deception?”

  I had to think fast. “Well, I have a date for lunch and wanted some personal privacy. They’d sort of put a damper on things if you know what I mean, wanting to go along.”

  Crystal stared up at me and then threw her head back, laughing. “You’re gonna have a nooner, aren’t you? Sure, why not? Hey, anyone I know? Remember, you owe me!”

  I could feel my face flush. “No. …I mean …It’s only…”

  “Hey, after all, it’s for a good cause,” she said, still laughing. “We babes have to stick together. Good luck, hot momma!”

  Embarrassed, I rubbed my eyes, mumbling, “…Thanks.”

  Chapter 72

  What Was That Girl Thinking?

  When Crystal had safely taken my car to Chelsea, I pivoted in place and walked up to Martha, who had been sitting off to the side in the living room, half-glancing at a magazine. Not too far from her were Hazel and Betty, s
itting out on the deck, sipping iced tea and guardedly watching Martha.

  I tried not to smile at how comical their actions portrayed the three of them, as they constantly tried to figure out what that girl, me, was thinking.

  I checked my watch. Almost noon. “I’m biking down a few streets over to CVS,” I said loud enough for all of three of them to hear. “Then I thought I’d hop on over to the library a few of blocks further. I could use the exercise.”

  I pointedly looked at Martha. “Got any books for me to return? I’m going to wander around a bit at the library.”

  Martha eyed me suspiciously. “No, I already returned my book! But if you insist on going, at least I’ve got high powered binoculars and a clear view for a couple of blocks from up here. Remember to be careful from that point on.”

  I sighed. “Martha you are worrying too much. Besides, I’m taking my bicycle, not the car. Understand?”

  She nodded, smiling. “Got it.” Knowing her, she must have checked out my bicycle for transmitters too.

  “Okay then! I’m off!” I said, waving goodbye. I raced down the stairwell, purposely leaning into two huge vases, which teetered precariously before finally crashing down to the marble foyer with an ear-shattering explosion.

  Perfect!

  “Oh no!” I said loudly, feigning complete disbelief.

  The three of them came running down the stairs.

  “Oh my, look what I’ve done!” I cried all upset. “How could I have been so stupid and clumsy?”

  “Oh my goodness!” said Betty, shaking her head.

  “What a mess!” said Hazel, clutching her chest.

  “Oh, Lordy me!” said Martha, coming to an abrupt halt.

  I appeared beside myself, all in a state at what I had done. “I can’t believe this. I am such an idiot!” I started to tear up.

  Martha grabbed my arm. “Hey, relax. No biggy. We’ve got it covered. Girls, we can handle this, right?”