by Leslie Caine
glare, which he allowed to linger on the big man. "You've
been here a dozen times. You know where the loading
dock is. What's up, Lee?"
He grinned. "I'm just having a little fun, teasing your
new employee. That's all."
"She doesn't work here! She's a decorator!"
Designer, actually, but this wasn't a good time to quibble. I edged away, planning on running for all I was
worth.
"She sure acted like she was. When I got here, she was
standing behind your--"
"Hey, Matthew," a familiar voice called. I whirled
around, immensely relieved to see Sullivan heading
toward us. He waggled his thumb over his shoulder. "Did
you know that there's nobody inside, minding your
store?"
"Your clerk said he had an emergency and took off," I
explained. "So I answered your phone. And by the way, if
you can just deliver Burke's desk for us tomorrow, that'd
be great. You can send us the bill."
While I was talking, I grabbed Steve's arm and started
to head with him toward my van.
"I don't know what you think you found out just now,"
P o i s o n e d b y G i l t 257
Matthew called after me, "but it's all perfectly legal. I'm
simply buying some used copper."
"I'm sure," I called back lightly, my heart still pounding.
"What were you talking to her about?" I heard
Matthew ask Lee under his breath.
"Nothing," came the low reply.
We passed Lee's large, unmarked white van. I whispered to Sullivan, "Get that license plate."
Sullivan keyed the license plate number into his cell
phone. His van was parked right next to mine. He grumbled at me, "I am not even going to ask what the hell you
thought you were doing just now."
"Good, because I already know I made a stupid mistake, and we need to get out of here."
We'd barely pulled out of the parking lot in our separate vans before my cell phone rang. It was Sullivan. I
could see him on the phone in my mirror. "What were
you doing just now?" he asked in lieu of a greeting.
"First off, thank you for not shouting." This time I
probably deserved it. "But you said you weren't going to
ask me that."
"Changed my mind. Answer the question."
"Originally, I was just going to pay for the desk. That
big guy confused me with an employee, but that isn't important now. What matters is that I found out Matthew's
company is buying stolen goods this very minute, so we
should get the police over there pronto."
"That was a supplier you and Matthew were talking
to?"
"Yes, and he admitted he'd stripped the copper wiring
and pipes from a house."
"Jeez. I read someplace that World's Watchdogs was
258 L e s l i e C a i n e
trying to call people's attention to that very crime.
Copper is now five times more expensive than it was a
decade ago."
"At least copper is being recycled this way. Stolen, yes,
but recycled nevertheless."
"I'll call Officer Delgardio," Sullivan said. "Maybe I
should double back. Matthew might send that van owner
packing before he buys the stuff. He's got to figure you
were going to blow the whistle on him."
"No, Sullivan. If Linda wants your help making an arrest, she'll ask for it."
He let out a bark of laughter. "You're telling me something like that? To stay out of police business?"
"Because it's impossible to say what those guys will do
next. I caught them red-handed. Luckily, you arrived in
the nick of time."
"Yeah. I was there because we got our wires crossed. I
spoke to Matthew yesterday, and I thought I was going to
pay for the desk, not you. We seem to be on a different
page. Once again."
"Tell that to Jennifer Fairfax," I blurted out. "Miss
Hands-on."
There was a pause long enough for me to feel like my
heart was now in my throat. "What are you talking
about?" he asked finally.
I pulled into our small parking lot and into my space.
"I recognized her shade of lipstick this morning. Are you
going to tell me you're not seeing her?"
His phone clicked off, and he pulled into the space
beside me. I got out of my car, just as he was coming
around the side. "I know full well she's after you,
Sullivan. It couldn't be more obvious."
"That isn't my fault, Gilbert. Nothing's going to come
P o i s o n e d b y G i l t 259
of it because I told her I was in--" He broke off, looked
away, and said, "--a really bad place right now."
Stunned, as he'd obviously been on the verge of saying
something very different, I managed to mutter, "Oh.
Good." Had he been on the verge of using the "L" word?
Or was he merely going to say that he was involved with
me? Or interested in someone else?
"Give me Delgardio's number," he demanded irritably. He was avoiding my gaze. It wasn't his fault how
Jennifer behaved, after all. She did tend to kiss people's
cheeks when she greeted them. The lipstick on his collar
could have meant nothing.
I brought up Linda's work number on my phone and
held it out to him. He almost yanked the phone from my
grasp, then turned his back on me.
I tried to take stock of the situation. This morning, I'd
freaked out because of his collar, accusing him of not
showing me he cared and constantly yelling at me. Yet
two weeks ago he'd given me a rose carved from a grape.
That was both creative and endearing. Now I'd held him
accountable for someone else's flirtatious behavior, idiotically put myself in real physical danger, and backed him
into such a corner that he hadn't dared to even yell at
me--even though shouting was probably justified.
While I raked myself over the coals, Sullivan calmly
explained the situation at Matthew's store to Linda. If I
had to guess what he was thinking about me, it would be
that we should admit defeat and stop trying to date, once
and for all. It was probably high time one of us grabbed
the reins and admitted that was the wisest move for both
our sakes.
Sullivan said, "Okay, thanks," and snapped my phone
shut. He tossed me my phone. "She says to tell you hi,
260 L e s l i e C a i n e
and that if you go back to Matthew's store she'll never
speak to you again."
"Is it too late to tell her 'hi' back?"
Sullivan stared at the asphalt a foot or two ahead of
where I was standing. He sighed. "Erin, I really think--"
He broke off and finally sighed.
"What?" I prompted.
He searched my features, his eyes pleading.
Just say it, I silently urged. Say we need to stop dating
so that I don't have to. Because I can't.
"I really think I can handle the job at Suzanne's on my
own today. So you might as well go home and oversee the
demo work on Audrey's kitchen."
"Okay. Thanks."
I stepped aside and watched as he got back in his van
and drove away. He didn't look back at me even o
nce.
c h a p t e r 2 1
Later that afternoon, my first remodel-related task
in my own home turned out to be getting
Audrey out of the house. The exasperation etched on the
foreman's face, along with the limited progress his crew
had made with the demolition, had made my role abundantly clear. I convinced her to accompany me to the salvage yard to see if they had gotten in any useful items or
materials for the remodel. They hadn't, actually, but
Audrey was a shopaholic when it came to any and all
household items, so she cheerfully purchased a used
eight-by-ten red heavy-duty plastic mat for the garage
262 L e s l i e C a i n e
floor. She hoped to use it in her potting shed someday.
Provided she ever actually built one.
By the time we returned, the workmen had left for the
day. Audrey and I unloaded the mat, which linked together like a toddler's jigsaw puzzle. As we were stacking
the pieces in the back corner of the garage--it was going
to take me a few days to convince her that the practical
way to store a garage mat was to spread it across the
garage floor--I suggested that she guard herself against
micromanaging the workmen. She took my lecture reasonably well, though that usually meant my words went
in one ear and out the other.
We'd been home about twenty minutes when a motion outside the window caught my eye. I rose and looked
out.
"Is something the matter?" Audrey asked, looking up
from the newspaper to peer at me over the rim of her
reading glasses.
"No, I just--" I broke off. Was that a man trying to
hide behind the blue spruce in our side yard?
"What is it?" Audrey rushed to the window. She
gasped when, sure enough, a man peeked out and then
ducked back behind the tree. "Good Lord! A trespasser!
And he's wearing combat fatigues! I'm calling nine-oneone!" She dashed to the phone.
"It's Darren Campesio!" I cried.
Audrey froze with the receiver in her hand. "Darren?
From the contest? Are you sure?"
He was now darting toward another tree. I pointed
with my chin, and Audrey spotted him. "You're right."
She returned the phone to its cradle. "That is Darren!
My neighbors are going to think this is a drug bust or
something!"
P o i s o n e d b y G i l t 263
"Or that he's a burglar. And they'll call the police."
"Getting arrested would serve him right. Honestly!"
She threw open the door and marched outside.
"Darren Campesio! You come out from behind my evergreens this minute and explain yourself!" I snatched the
phone receiver and dashed onto the front walk to stand beside her, wishing the phone were Margot's pepper spray.
After a second or two, Darren rounded the tree. "I was
just trying to protect you by keeping an eye on the
house."
"Nonsense! We have an unlisted phone number--
how did you even know where we lived?"
"I found your address on the Internet. It's really very
simple, you know."
"Did you think you'd be able to learn whom I've chosen as the contest winner by spying on me?" Audrey
asked.
"No."
"Then why are you here?" I asked him.
He hemmed and hawed for a while, then finally said,
"The truth is, I was doing some . . . reconnaissance work
for personal reasons."
"Which are?" I asked.
"I'd really rather not say."
"Explain yourself or I'm going to report you for trespassing," Audrey demanded. I held up the phone to reinforce her words.
Darren looked from her to me, then sighed. "I was trying to keep track of when you come and go. And to make
sure nobody else was living here."
"Pardon?" Audrey said.
"I was . . . trying to get a look at your bedroom to see if
both sides of the bed were being used."
264 L e s l i e C a i n e
"Oh, for heaven's sake! This is your way of finding out
if I'm available? All you had to do was look at the 'Goings
On Around the Town' column in next Friday's Sentinel.
I'm allowing myself to be auctioned off for charity."
"You are? How much are you expecting to sell yourself
for?"
"A king's ransom. Although it's a single date with me
that's being auctioned." She turned to me. "Oh, and by
the way, Erin, I put your name down, too."
"You didn't!"
She shrugged. "It's for a good cause."
Darren was now grinning at us.
"We'll discuss this later," I snapped at Audrey. "This is
really not a good way of impressing a woman, Mr.
Campesio."
He donned a sheepish smile and turned to Audrey.
"Sorry about that, Ms. Munroe. But, now that you mention it, I am also curious to find out if the contest is over."
"Yes, Darren, I have made my decision, and you can
wait till tomorrow night for my announcement at the
Earth Love awards ceremony."
"Did Burke win?" he asked me in conspiratiorial
tones.
"I don't know who won, Darren."
He nodded and then turned hopeful eyes to Audrey.
"Do you have a date to the event, Ms. Munroe?"
"I just told you, I'm announcing the winner. I can't
very well turn that into a date with one of the three finalists, now, can I?"
"You don't think that would look good?"
"No, I do not. And next time you want to ask me on
a date or to glean some information, don't dress up like
P o i s o n e d b y G i l t 265
a duck hunter and stalk me." She stormed into the
house.
"Really, Darren," I said. "You've gone way too far."
He shrugged and kicked at a piece of ice on the
ground like a petulant little boy.
"I'll call the police if you ever stake out our house
again."
"Fine. I won't do it again."
I went back inside the house, leaving Darren in the
front yard, staring down at his combat boots. Audrey had
settled back into her wing chair with the newspaper. She
muttered, "This has been my first chance to read today's
paper, I've been so busy."
"Were you serious about putting my name in for the
auction?"
She lowered the newspaper. "It truly is a good cause,
Erin. And I truly meant to discuss it with you first. It
slipped my mind."
She was one of the least forgetful people I'd ever met.
"I'm sorry, Audrey, but I can't go along with you this
time. You've got to withdraw my name. Or I will."
"I'm sorry, Erin, but it's too late for that. I'm afraid
you're stuck."
Before I could come up with a reply, the doorbell
rang. Although she made a show of annoyance, Audrey
struck me as eager for an interruption. She went to the
door and swung it open. It was Darren, camouflage cap
in his hands. "Good afternoon, Ms. Munroe. I was wondering if you would please give me the pleasure of your
companionship, for dinner and a movie, sometime next
week or the following week."
"No, but thank you for asking."
"Next month?"
266 L e s l i e C a i n e
; "I don't think so. In all honesty, Mr. Campesio, the
two of us don't have a single thing in common."
"You'll just have to get together with me, so we can
find out if that's true. I'll be clipping that 'Around Town'
column, Ms. Munroe. And then I'll be seeing you at
this charity auction. If you won't agree to date me in
person, I'll just have to be the highest bidder. Good
evening, ladies." He nodded politely, then went on his
way.
Audrey held her composure until he was out of sight,
then grabbed my arm, squeezing way too tight, and said,
"How much money do you have in savings, Erin?"
"I don't know off the--"
"It doesn't matter. I'll pay you back. You have got to
promise me you'll outbid Darren Campesio!"
"Gee, Audrey. No offense, but you're really not my
type. And, I can't very well agree to bid on you while
you've forced me into being auctioned myself. So, I'm
afraid I'll only be able to bid--"
"Oh, fine! I'll get you out of it. Honestly, Erin! You're
acting like a big baby."
I chuckled, but Audrey was in such a foul mood that
she brushed past me without as much as a smile. "See if I
ever offer you access to my little black book again."
On Saturday morning, Sullivan called. He said he'd
just spoken to Burke, who wanted us both to meet him at
Asia's house around noon. Apparently he needed two witness signatures for his formal agreement to dismantle his
windmill in exchange for Asia's removing the gaudy
bazaar of items along their joint property line. He promised our visit shouldn't take more than ten minutes.
P o i s o n e d b y G i l t 267
Sullivan picked me up, and we made it there right on
time, at noon. There was no sign of Burke's car as we
pulled up near Asia's driveway. "I wonder why Burke
chose us for this strange task," I said as we waited.
"I asked him that. He didn't know anyone else who'd
met Asia McClure and could still tolerate her company."
"That's probably true. Although I doubt he looked all
that hard."
He shut off the engine. "We'll have to wait here. Burke
felt strongly that all three of us should arrive together."
Burke was fifteen minutes late, which was very unusual
for him. I'd been just about to call him on his cell phone
when he drove into Asia's driveway and waved. We
pulled in after him.
"Sorry I'm late," he said as we emerged from our vehicles. "Especially since this is a weekend. Let's get this
