Her lower lip quivered, then her eyes filled with moisture. Oh, God, no... not now. But the Almighty must have decided against saving her pride. Teri burst into tears.
Drew released her hands so that he could wrap his arms around her. He held her close as she sobbed against his chest. When her crying lessened to an occasional ragged breath, he stroked her back and hair and rocked her slowly from side to side as if she were a small child.
Teri had never felt such comfort at the hands of a man, and it took all her willpower to give it up so quickly. But the sharp reminder that she barely knew Drew gave her the strength to pull away.
"I am so sorry," she said, swiping at her cheeks with her fingers. "I guess it's been building up for so long now, and after this morning..." He released her and went over to her work station for a tissue. After she'd dried her face and blown her nose, her eyes widened at the huge wet spot on his shirt. Lifting the hem of her smock, she rubbed it frantically against his chest.
"Whoa," he said with a laugh and stilled her hand. "I'm okay. It's drip dry. But now you definitely owe me an explanation."
She frowned as he led her back to her stool and again sat next to her. She wondered if it was really written somewhere that if you let someone see you cry, you had to explain yourself. He didn't insist. Somehow, she knew he never would. And for that reason she told him why the police officer had come to see her.
He listened to what she said and guessed at what she kept to herself. "Did you tell him about the hood who threatened you?" When her eyes flew open in surprise, he knew that answer, too. "Teri, I was here. Remember? Pretending it didn't happen doesn't make it so. That guy promised violence because of something your husband owed someone. And I haven't forgotten that five o'clock today was the deadline for payback."
Taking a deep breath, she decided she needed advice, and Drew seemed willing and able to offer it. She told him about her husband's gambling and the cash she gave him for what was supposed to have been the last payoff.
"Are you certain he made it?" Drew asked, voicing her own doubts. When she shook her head no, he grabbed her hand and pulled her upright. "C'mon. Let's go."
Confusion caused her to dig in her heels. "Where?"
"The police, of course."
"But—"
"Teri, even from what little you just told me, it seems pretty obvious that foul play could be involved. Or worse, he could have taken off leaving you at the mercy of the bad guys. You might need protection."
She freed her hand to unbutton and remove her smock. "But couldn't there be some other explanation?"
"Sure. It doesn't sound like your marriage was going smoothly. Maybe he ran off with someone else, in the middle of a work day, without his car."
"No. That sounds crazy. Besides, he promised me an uncontested divorce in exchange for the money. He was the one that hadn't wanted to end our marriage."
"You had already asked for a divorce?" he asked with surprise.
"Yes, and he signed a settlement agreement so I could file it as uncontested, but—"
"No more buts." His look was one of total exasperation as he tugged on her hand and she pulled back again.
"Wait! What if these 'nasties', as Rico called them, come after me because I've accused them of something?"
Drew gripped her shoulders and gave her a small shake. "You have no choice. They may be coming after you anyway... at five-oh-one today. Now let's go."
* * *
Detective William F. Kidder tilted his head to the left so that his good right ear had a better chance of picking up everything being said by the woman across the desk. It didn't really bother him that his once flat stomach now protruded over his belt or that what little hair he had was snow white. His hearing was the defect the department was using to force him out of the job that was more important to him than life itself. True, he had never worked in the big city, but even in White Plains he had solved more than his share of homicides in the past thirty years.
In his mind, there was nothing that compared to the thrill of the hunt and, even though there was no body to confirm Rico Gambini's demise, Kidder's bloodhound nose detected the scent of a fresh kill.
When Mrs. Gambini and Mr. Marshall first came into the station, the desk sergeant took their report. However, when he had assimilated the words "threatened", "Irishman", and "missing gambler", he wisely asked Detective Kidder to sit in.
The first thing Kidder had done was ask Mrs. Gambini to tell him everything she had told the sergeant. That broad's nerves were on the outside of her skin and it wasn't only because she disliked having to repeat herself.
Kidder listened to Mrs. Gambini's facts and hypotheses, some of which her cowboy companion confirmed. Only one of her comments raised a red flag in his mind. "You said you and your husband were getting a divorce. When did you file?"
She shook her head. "I hadn't yet. But he did sign the settlement agreement my attorney drew up."
"And when was that, Mrs. Gambini?"
She glanced at the cowboy before answering. "Friday. When he came back to get the cash from me, I made him sign it in exchange."
"Let me get this straight. This past Friday, the last time you saw your husband, was also the day you had an attorney draw up a legal agreement—I assume that agreement has him giving you everything—and then you made him leave."
The woman's cheeks flushed. "Yes, but I had told him before... the only reason I finally took care of it on Friday was because of the animal that threatened me because of Rico's gambling."
Kidder nodded. "Yes, of course. I understand completely. Just wanted to make sure I had all the facts straight." He asked a few more standard questions and told them he'd be in touch as soon as he learned anything. He suggested Mrs. Gambini look through the rogue's gallery for her threatening visitor, but he didn't insist she do it today. There would be time for that later.
"I'll arrange for an officer to do hourly drive-by's to make sure everything stays quiet around your house tonight."
Kidder watched Mr. Marshall assist Mrs. Gambini out of her chair with the gentlest care, then rest his hand on the small of her back as he escorted her out of the office. When the couple left the area, Kidder turned to the desk sergeant, who had been scribbling notes ever since he'd joined them.
"You want to be a detective, don't you, Parkins?" The young man nodded. "Did you find anything strange about the timing of her getting that agreement signed?"
"Not really. But I guess if she killed her husband—which is what I gather you suspect—she'd want to have proof that she had no motive."
"Right. And did you make note of what you saw?" Parkins' freckled face and narrowed auburn brows betrayed his uncertainty. "I mean, the way those two looked at each other? The way he touched her?" He massaged his loose jowls as he let his conclusion sink in.
"I may be old-fashioned, but I consider it bad form for a woman to bring her lover to the police station to report her husband's disappearance."
* * *
Neither Teri nor Drew made an effort to cut the tense silence during the ten-minute drive to Teri's house. There, Drew insisted on going inside with her for a tour, but Teri saw through his flimsy excuse.
"Drew, honestly, I appreciate your support this morning, but this isn't necessary. I'm sure no one is lurking in my bathroom shower, waiting to spring out at me. However, I do think I at least owe you lunch, so have a seat and I'll make some sandwiches for us."
In spite of her confidence, he made her stay behind him as he took a look in every room and closet before agreeing to return to the kitchen.
"You're a regular knight in shining armor, aren't you?" Teri quipped, waving him toward a chair.
He flinched as if she had struck him. "Hmmph. I would have felt a lot better doin' that if you hadn't mentioned the shower. I'm afraid Psycho put a permanent dent in any armor I may have."
"Ooh! And you braved the shower monster to protect little old me?" She batted her eyelashes at him, then opened the re
frigerator door. "So, Sir Drew, do you prefer ham or turkey?"
Rather than sit down or answer, he walked over to her and pushed the door closed again. "You don't have to do this, Teri."
She cocked her head at him. "You're not hungry?"
"I'm not talking about lunch. I mean the smiles and little jokes. It's okay to be scared."
"It is?" she asked, letting her smile slip away. His eyes held a promise of secrecy concerning her weakness.
"Yes, it is. I'm an expert on the subject. Even knights in shining armor can be afraid of nonexistent things. But in your case, the danger is very real. So don't hesitate to accept a little protection."
With that, he opened his arms and she stepped into them without thinking. As he gave her the safe comfort of his embrace, she sighed. "I could get used to this, you know," she whispered. In response, he tightened his hold for a brief moment and rested his chin on the top of her head.
Beneath her cheek she felt the steady beating of his heart and wondered why it seemed so right when everything else about this was wrong. Her husband was missing, possibly even dead. Some maniac could arrive any minute to burn down her house or worse. And a virtual stranger was holding her in his arms for the second time that day.
Like she belonged there.
Only when she detected an increase in his heartbeat did she realize that his reaction to their embrace might be very different from her own. At her slightest movement, however, he stepped back.
"Are you gonna be okay?" he asked, lifting her chin with his finger and searching her face.
"Yes. Thank you again. I'm certainly fortunate to have crossed your path just when I needed a few good hugs."
He gave her a slow smile. "There's plenty more where they came from."
She smiled back but his words only compounded her concern that he might eventually be expecting to share more than a friendly hug. He was acting out of consideration now, but he was still a man. Not only was it extremely inappropriate to think about such a thing at the moment, she never intended to have another relationship built on lust.
"Oh, jeez!" Teri blurted out. "I forgot to check voice mail." A moment later she played back the one message left while they were gone. "Teri. It's Selena. Please call me as soon as you listen to this message. You know, you really ought to plug in your studio phone when you're alone. What if something important happened and someone was trying to reach you? Call me. 'Bye."
When she turned back to Drew, he was investigating the inside of her refrigerator. "It was only Selena," she said, nudging him out of the way.
"I thought she was supposed to be here today."
"I told her not to come up." She pulled out the sandwich fixings and again asked his preference.
"Turkey's fine. And I'll take some of that lettuce and tomato, on whole wheat bread. Have you got any thousand island dressing?" Again he dipped his head inside the fridge.
"Yes. Now please sit down and let me do something for you. Or are you one of those people who consider the contents of refrigerators vastly intriguing?"
He laughed aloud. "Guilty as charged." He sat quietly, appearing completely relaxed, while she turned a quick bite into a work of luncheon art with the aid of olives, pickles, and chips.
"Did Selena need something?" Drew said between mouthfuls.
"I doubt it. I'll call her back later. She's the poster girl for high maintenance. Needs to talk to me every day. Oh, that didn't sound very nice. I don't mean it in a bad way. Truly. She's just, well, in many ways she's like a lost little girl. She has more or less attached herself to me."
"I noticed. She's a one-woman Teri Carmichael fan club, from what I've seen so far."
Teri nodded. "I know. I'm not sure what I ever did to deserve such blind devotion, but my ego appreciates it. There are times though, when... oh, never mind."
"What?"
"Nothing. It's petty."
"Good. Say somethin' petty and mean. If only to assure me you're not a total saint and Selena has a flaw beneath that way-too-perfect exterior."
Teri was oddly pleased that his reference to Selena didn't sound as if he was captivated by her sensational appearance, as most men were. "It's just that there are times when she seems to want more from me than I'm willing or able to give."
Drew raised one eyebrow, but held his tongue.
"No, no. Not like that. I think I could tell if she, um, wanted something physical from me. No, it's more like she wants the lion's share of my time and attention. If I'm not mistaken, I think I'm her only friend and she wants me to be the same with her. As far as I can tell, she works for no one else. Most of the time I don't mind, but occasionally—"
"You feel smothered?"
Teri nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, I think that describes it. Could just be because I've had that same feeling from Rico for years."
"Like Brenda."
"Oh?" Teri didn't want to pry but he had never revealed any personal information beyond where he was from. She wanted to hear more. When he didn't expound, she could not resist prying a little. "Would you care to explain that?"
He hesitated for a moment then gave a dry laugh. "Brenda's my ex-wife, and, as a matter of fact, I came up with explanations for her behavior for about ten years. I gave it up the last three before the divorce and let her try to explain mine instead."
Teri quickly added up thirteen years of marriage, but that still didn't tell her how long ago they'd divorced, or why, or how old he was, nor could she follow the cryptic remarks he did make. She opted for what she thought was the least offensive inquiry. "Do you have children?" She saw the sadness she had noticed before and half expected him to say no, that like her, he'd never experienced that joy, but that wasn't the case.
"Yes. Two. Drew, Jr. and Jennifer. She's ten and his twelfth birthday is coming up soon. They live with Brenda in Fort Worth." He looked at his plate, at the clock on the wall, out the window, everywhere but at Teri.
"They're great kids, but we had them for the wrong reasons. Brenda was several years younger than me when we got married, so I figured she still needed some time to grow up. But she wasn't interested in growin' up. Instead, she grew more dependent on me. She didn't want to do anything on her own, not even a hobby. If she could have gone to work with me every day, that would have tickled her pink. I thought havin' kids would give her someone to dote on other than me. Dumb idea, huh?"
"Well, I suppose it made sense to you at the time. You're not the first person who thought children could heal an ailing marriage. I know."
"But you never tried that."
She smirked. "Oh, we tried. It just didn't produce results. I guess it turned out for the best after all."
Drew moved the conversation to more neutral ground, but Teri was pleased to have extracted at least a few personal tidbits from him. After lunch, at Drew's strong recommendation, they went back up to the studio to work. Teri returned Selena's call before she got involved in her painting again.
"Hi, Selena. It's Teri."
"Did you plug in your extension phone?"
Teri laughed. "Yes, but I'll never get to where I wanted to be today if I don't keep at it. Did you need something?" Teri listened to Selena take a breath before speaking.
"Actually, I can't explain it. I had this strong urge to talk to you and make sure you were okay. You know?"
Teri almost told her she was not okay, but that Drew was with her, except her intuition told her neither bit of information would please Selena.
"Yes, I know. But everything's fine. I really need to get back to work now."
"Well-l-l. All right. Promise you'll call if you need me... for anything."
"I promise. But while I have you on the phone, don't worry about getting here tomorrow. In fact, I'm not going to be ready to pick up our work again until next week. So if you have something else to do, you've got the rest of the week. Maybe you should get out of town, take a vacation. I'll just plan on seeing you Monday." As she hung up the phone, she thought she'd decide what
to tell Selena when she saw her.
By late afternoon, Teri and Drew had each finished their work without further interruptions, and he offered to take her out for an early dinner.
She made a face at him. "Are you saying you don't really want to be here at five o'clock?"
He shrugged. "Would you rather sit here and stare at the clock? A police officer will be keeping an eye on the house. And if something is about to happen, I'd rather we both be out of harm's way."
She justified her quick acceptance by agreeing with his reasoning. It wasn't like he had asked her out on a date. They were merely two friends sharing a meal. But to make sure there was no confusion, she chose a well-lit, family-style restaurant.
Throughout dinner, they each made an effort to keep the conversation light and the topics general and far away from ex-wives, children and missing husbands. Teri could not help but notice that, although she talked a lot about her work, Drew carefully avoided any mention of his former career. The more time she spent with him, the more curious she became about his life, but he didn't seem the least bit inclined to fill her in. On every impersonal subject, however, he was knowledgeable, expressive and often humorous.
And she wished she'd met him a lifetime ago.
Teri's conscience demanded she pick up the tab and, after a brief debate, Drew agreed to split it with her.
From the restaurant, he took her to a large discount store. "I hope you don't mind, but I thought of a dozen things I wished I had today..."
She smirked at him. "And this will burn up another hour, right?"
He just grinned.
Chapter 6
It was dark when they finally returned to Teri's house. From the outside, everything appeared to be normal. "I want to thank you again, Drew... for everything. You were right about working this afternoon and getting out of the house. It was a lot better than sitting around waiting for someone to come burn the house down around me."
"Good. A lot of people wouldn't be so rational in your situation. Now, let's go inspect everything to make sure there are no surprises."
He checked every door and window for possible tampering before they went inside the house, the garage and her studio. Nothing had been touched.
Wicked Obsessions Page 6
