Woke Up Dead

by Tina Wainscott

  Maxine was watching James’s reaction to this one. Sam said, “No, it’s just the word on the streets.” He shot her a look that said, ‘Don’t blow it.’ She nodded before turning to find Armand snatching up her hand again.

  After dinner, James excused himself. “Unless you’re not done with your questioning.”

  Sam waved him off. “No, go right ahead.”

  Maxine was trying to come up with a way to get more of her stuff out of the house without alarming Armand too much. Sally curled up on the white couch near where Sam had taken a seat in the matching chair. Armand sat down on the far end of the couch, and tugged her hand like a little fish caught on a fishing line.

  “I’m going to get a couple of things I need,” she said, loosening her hand. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

  She ignored Mr. Wiggles, who was sitting like a sentry by the door, and walked to the closet. Some of the outfits were things she wasn’t likely to wear in her life with Sam, so she’d leave them there. Maybe Armand could burn them later and feel better about her leaving.

  There were several boxes on the shelf above her clothing, and she reached up to take them down. Most were hats, some were papers and old checkbooks. She opened the last one to find her personal documents: birth certificate, passport, and some loose photos. Possibly it was Maxine’s parents who smiled in the old picture. There was a newspaper clipping about her new decorating business. And a picture of Maxine and Sam in some sunny place. They looked young and in love, and she felt a pang of jealousy. Sam didn’t have a moustache then, and he looked so cute. There wasn’t a trace of that cynicism he had in his eyes, especially now that Maxine was back in his life.

  Then there was a wedding ring.

  Her heart felt funny, all tight and tingly. She picked up the plain gold band with the etched edges and put the cool metal to her lips. Sam’s wedding ring—she could feel it. She closed her eyes, trying to imagine how it would be to face Sam before a minister and have him slip this ring on her finger.

  “Maxine?”

  Her lovely vision shattered, and she turned to find Armand standing there. His gaze had dropped to the ring she held in her fingers. He took her hands and sank slowly to the carpeted floor, crossing his legs. She had no choice but to go down with him, though she slipped the ring into the palm of her hand where it was safe.

  “Maxine, what are you doing in here?”

  She wanted to continue the charade, to have reason to keep in contact with these people to discover the killer among them. But leading on Armand was too hard on both of them.

  “I was looking through my things,” she said. She opened her palm to show him the ring.

  “Maxine, let’s get married tomorrow. No prenuptial. I just want you to be my wife.”

  He wasn’t even looking at the ring in her hand, only pleading with his eyes. He was still holding the other hand, and she could feel his trembling. He was not behind the murder or the attempts. She suspected—and hoped—that what he felt was more like a profound loneliness and not a deep love for Maxine. He was an unusual man who had overlooked his suspicions about Maxine’s intentions and asked her to marry him anyway. Maxine had overlooked her feelings for Sam and agreed to marry Armand, because she wasn’t willing to give up money for love. Or maybe she knew Sam would never take her back.

  “I can’t marry you,” she said on a whisper.

  “Why?” he asked in a high-pitched voice.

  “Because I…I’m in love with Sam.” There, that wasn’t so bad.

  Armand squeezed his eyes shut. “I don’t believe this.”

  “But you’re the one who told me. Armand, please look at me.”

  “I don’t want to watch as you dump me.”

  “Armand.”

  He opened his eyes. “All right, go on then.”

  “You’re a nice guy.” Without a clue. “I shouldn’t marry you if I have feelings for someone else.”

  “Don’t tell me you want to be my friend. Just don’t.”

  “All right.” She didn’t. “I should get my things.”

  He didn’t let go of her hand. “Does he love you, Maxine?”

  She pulled her lower lip between her teeth. “I don’t know.”

  “If he doesn’t…will you come back to me?”

  “Armand, what I’ve done is unforgivable. How could you ever take me back?”

  He took a quick breath. “Because I’m lonely.”

  She felt a twist in her stomach. “That’s no reason to marry someone.” She thought of Sam, sitting two rooms away. “You marry someone because you love them; because you want to be with them, not because you need to be with them. It’s an entirely different thing.”

  “What can he give you? You said yourself he doesn’t make a lot of money, drives a rattle-trap, doesn’t appreciate the finer things in life.”

  She smiled. “Sam has qualities that go far beyond that. He’s warm and compassionate and has a sense of duty. And he’s a good friend.”

  Armand scratched his eyebrows again. “He’s also right, you know.”

  “Hm?”

  “We do have bugs in our eyebrows and our eyelashes. I can feel them crawling around. I looked it up. They’re awful creatures with claws and lots of legs.” He shivered.

  “Oh, Armand.” She tried to stifle the laugh about to erupt. “They’re too tiny to feel.” She gave his hand a squeeze before rising to her feet. Sam’s wedding ring was still in her other hand. She twisted off the rock and handed it to Armand. “Here is your ring.”

  “Keep it. You might change your mind.”

  She pushed it at him, and he finally took it. “I can’t do that.”

  She took the clothes she’d picked and the box and walked back out to the living room. Sally was still talking to Sam but turned around when she heard them walk in.

  “Are you ready to go?” Maxine asked him.

  He looked surprised. “If you want to spend some more time with Armand, don’t let me stop you.”

  “No, I’m ready to go.”

  Armand gave her a funny look, but she ignored it. Sam stood, stretching his shoulders. Sally was watching him with interest, though she finally dragged her gaze to her father.

  “Daddykins, you should talk to James, smooth his feathers.”

  Armand only nodded, watching Maxine slip into her coat as Sam held it.

  “Thank you for dinner,” she said to no one in particular. To Armand she said, “Thank you. Goodbye.”

  Walking out into the cold air had never felt so good. She hadn’t realized how warm and stuffy it had been in the house. The ring was still in her hand when she shoved her hands in the pockets of her coat. Maneuvering her fingers, she slipped in on her third finger.

  When they got into the car, Sam said, “Well, you two seemed to have patched things up.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Just that you were both in the bedroom for a while.”

  “We were in the closet, if you must know.” At Sam’s grin, she flushed at the insinuation. “I was getting my things. See?” She lifted her hand to show him she wasn’t wearing the engagement ring anymore. Then realized she was wearing Sam’s wedding ring. She quickly put her hand back in the pocket.

  “See what?”

  Plucking the ring off, she held her hand up again. Fat chance he hadn’t seen the ring. “I gave him his ring back.”

  “That’s what you were doing in the closet?”

  “I couldn’t keep stringing him on anymore.”

  He pulled to a stop at the end of the driveway. “What did I tell you about rash decisions?”

  “It’s the right thing to do.”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “So, what was that other ring you were wearing? The one you took off real quick-like?”

  “What ring?” She gave him a sweet innocent look, which he didn’t buy for a second.

  He lunged for her pocket, grabbing her and making her twist sideways as he tickled her. Her nose brushed his as they tu
ssled, and her thigh pushed against the hardness of his thigh.

  “You’re tickling me,” she said on a jerky laugh.

  He was relentless in his pursuit of that ring. His soft hair brushed her cheek, and his shoulder pressed her against the door. She tried to close the pocket, but he was already pulling the ring out. Her fingers wrapped around his wrist just before he lifted his hand out of her pocket.

  “Sam, don’t be mad,” she whispered as his face hovered above hers.

  He remained there for a moment, his breathing harder for their struggle. She wanted to kiss him, just lean right forward and plant her lips on his.

  “Don’t try to hide anything from me,” he said.

  Still, he remained there, the shadows hiding what was in his eyes. Even with the darkness around them, she felt his gaze on her, holding her in a state of suspension.

  “All right, Sam. Take it.”

  He leaned back in his seat again, taking an enormous amount of warmth with him. His eyes narrowed as he turned on the dome light and looked at the object in his fingers. Then he leveled a gaze at her. “This is the ring I gave you when we got married.”

  She hoped she wasn’t giving anything away with her expression. “I found it in one of my boxes.”

  “Why were you wearing it?”

  “I had taken it out when Armand came in.” She shrugged, trying to play it cool. “I kept it in my hand while we talked. Then I realized I still had it and so I slipped it on my finger when we walked out here. I didn’t want to lose it.”

  He handed it back to her and turned the car to the right. “Maybe you can melt it down and have something made out of it.”

  She sucked in an indignant breath. “I would never!”

  “Ah, don’t get sentimental on me, Maxine. It doesn’t suit you.”

  She hunkered down in her seat. He’d accused her of being stubborn. Even though her instincts wanted her to throw herself at his mercy and come clean about being in love with him, she knew that would only scare Sam off. Patience.

  “So, what were you and Sally talking about?” she asked.

  He smiled. “She was flirting with me.”

  “Oh, really?” A spike of jealousy shot through her. She was this close; she wasn’t about to let Sally lure him away.

  “Actually, she was trying to convince me that James had nothing to do with your two incidents.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him, though he was busy watching the road ahead. Was he trying to get her jealous?

  “Do you believe her?”

  “That is one bizarre bunch you have there.”

  “I don’t have them. Remember, I just severed ties.”

  “Okay, that’s one bizarre bunch you had. I can’t believe you were going to marry into that, even for the money.”

  “Me neither. I mean, it wasn’t the money. I can’t believe I was going to marry into it either. I…” She tilted her head, measuring what she said. “I thought I loved him, you know. He was different.” Sam sputtered a laugh, and she tried to keep her smile from showing. “Now I realize why I was attracted to him.”

  “You have a latent puppet fetish?”

  “No.” She gave him a nudge, which actually felt pretty good. “I was lonely. I was marrying him for the wrong reason.”

  “You were lonely? That’s hard to believe.”

  “Well, what about you? You never remarried.”

  “Once was enough.”

  She nudged him again. “Oh, come on. It wasn’t that bad, was it?” She hoped not.

  He was grinning. “No, you didn’t ruin me for all women. I just never found the right person.” His smile disappeared so suddenly, she thought someone had run in front of the car. He kept driving, staring ahead. “I thought I liked the solitary life. Nobody expects anything from you, there’s no one pissed because you come home late. I figured it suited me.”

  “But?” She held her breath waiting for his answer.

  His voice grew soft. “I realized I wasn’t so solitary after all. I had Jennie. I mean, we only worked together, had dinner once a week. I never realized she was a part of my life until she was gone.” His throat worked as he swallowed. “She never tried to tell me what to do, or what I should be. She believed in me when no one else did. And she made me laugh.”

  Jennie again. Her heart tumbled inside her. So he had cared about her, more than as an employee. The warmth of the heater vents washed over her face, making her feel too warm. She was glad he’d cared about her, she really was, but Jennie was dead.

  “Didn’t I make you laugh?” she asked in a low voice.

  He didn’t look at her, but he was shaking his head. “No. Well, maybe in the beginning, when we were young and silly. Not much after that. Don’t get me wrong. I probably didn’t make you laugh much either. Maxine, I never blamed you for the demise of our marriage. I don’t want it to sound like that. We just weren’t happy together, that’s all. Happens all the time.” He glanced over at her, touching her cheek. “Are you all right? I mean, with Armand and all?”

  He let his fingers drop from her cheek too soon. She waved away his question. “Yes, I’m fine with it. Never better.” Why did it bug her that he held Jennie in such reverence? She pushed the thought away. “Sam, why didn’t you tell them that you had talked to the guy hired to run me over?”

  “Sometimes it’s good to force action, like I did with the wheelchair guy this morning. Sometimes it’s dangerous. I’m not ready to play that card yet.”

  “You really shocked them with the first Mrs. Santini thing.”

  “Yeah, but they’re hard to read. James looked the most shook, but Sally went absolutely white. Whiter. Armand looked shaken, too.”

  “It’s not Armand. I’m sure of it.” At Sam’s skeptical look, she said, “Just take my word on it. The man is smitten with me. He’d never try to kill me.”

  Sam gave her a half smile. “Smitten, huh?”

  “To the core.” Too bad other people didn’t follow suit. “My money’s still on James. I don’t think Aida could get her hands on that kind of cash.”

  “Don’t underestimate anyone. Armand probably pays pretty well. Or she could be stealing it. And there’s Sally.”

  “Sally? Ah, I don’t know. What would she have to gain? She doesn’t seem that close to her father, and she’s not obsessive about the clubs like James is. He’s the one who’s been so hostile toward me since—well, since the beginning.”

  “Don’t trust anyone implicitly, all right?”

  She smiled at the protective tone in his voice. “All right.”

  Romeo’s low woofs greeted them when Sam put the key in his apartment door. The phone was ringing, but he didn’t hurry any to answer it. He helped her off with her coat and hung it on the coat rack by the door, then removed his coat. The answering machine picked up, and after the beep a woman’s voice set Maxine on edge.

  “Sam, darling. Are you there? You know better than to ignore your own mother.”

  She let out a breath of relief and chastised herself for feeling so threatened. Sam made a pained face and picked up the phone.

  “Hello, mother.” He leaned against the counter, flattening one hand on the surface. “I know it’s been a while. No, I’m not ignoring you, I’ve just been busy. I know that, but Ned’s a mama’s boy, and he lives closer. I don’t want to live out there, I like it here. They just instituted a neighborhood watch, so you don’t have to worry anymore.”

  He pulled the sweater loose from the waistband of his jeans and repositioned himself on the counter. His fingers were spread out on the granite surface. He had nice hands. She’d always admired his hands. They seemed capable of doing…well, they just seemed capable. Those hands had touched this body once. A warm flush washed over her at the thought, sending strange tingles throughout her body. This body had made love with Sam, too. For five years they had shared a bed, and probably much more.

  “Tomorrow night? I can’t; I’m on a case. Yes, that’s the case I’m on. H
ow did you find out? Oh, I should have figured. Well, I suppose I could bring her. I know, I know, don’t put the guilt trip on me.”

  Her gaze traveled down his body, from the soft waves of his hair, over his shoulders and arms, down legs that looked strong and lean. She had always appreciated Sam’s physical attributes, but she’d never let herself think about actually making love with him. Okay, maybe on one or two occasions when she’d let her guard down. Those fantasies soon turned to the grim reality of Sam having to lay her down on the bed, position her skinny legs…and then she’d have to explain that she couldn’t feel anything down there, though she wanted to so very badly. That’s where the fantasy fizzled. She knew she could never satisfy him the way other women could. Now she realized it was her own lack of self-esteem rather than a lack of ability or feeling.

  But she wasn’t paralyzed anymore. Fingers of warmth spread into her stomach, then lower still. Oh yes, she could definitely feel things.

  She had only started getting interested in guys before the accident. Her parents had let her go on group dates once or twice. Then everything had changed, taking her sexuality along with it. It was coming back awfully darn fast. What was she going to do with it? She’d only seen naked men in the movies, what little they showed of them. Once a friend had shown her a photograph of her ex-boyfriend posing in the buff. He’d had a long, lean body like Sam. What did Sam look like naked? The top half looked awfully nice.

  “Maxine, you’re going to give me a hard-on if you keep staring at me like that.”

  With an audible gasp, she realized Sam had hung up the phone and was watching her fantasize about his naked body. She ducked her head, feeling a flush overtake her own body.

  “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

  “Mm, I suspect you were thinking too much, and I don’t want to know exactly what about.”

  She continued to stare at the wooden floorboards, her face in flames. This was why she had been so restrained around Sam before. Gabby had talked about the games men and women play, the subtle glances, the come-on looks. All that was a whole new world for Maxine.

  “I’m going to take a shower,” he said, walking into the bathroom.