Approaching Menace

by June Shaw

  She rose to the challenge. “What do you mean thinks? I am funny.” She touched her fingers to his armpits.

  He giggled. “Stop it, Joseph.”

  “Do you call me Joseph?” She pretended she would really tickle him.

  “Andrew, stop her.”

  Playfully, Andrew grabbed Josie’s arms. “Got her.”

  Colin raised a thumb. His machine beeped. The red light came on.

  “Okay Fred, don’t be so bossy,” Josie said, making her tone light so that their mood would continue to be. But she knew each person in the room realized the machine positioned against the wall remained in full control of all of their futures.

  * * *

  Sunday was reserved for writing. Josie worked on the speech she would give to the Knights of Columbus group in a few days. Jitters fluttered through her stomach as the time approached for her first time to speak to a large group.

  Recalling the benefits, she felt her insides calm.

  By late morning she thought of attending a mass. Glancing at the clock, she considered all of the people who might be attending and their imagined stares at her after all these years, and the concept became more formidable than giving the speech.

  She rewrote her speech. Josie revised and revised what she planned to say until the words swirled through her head, not wanting to stick into sentences.

  She walked outside, pleased that Sylvie had taken Colin to a restaurant for lunch, and afterward they’d shop for clothes for him. The sun glittered. Josie sat on the swing, jotting notes.

  Annie came walking across the lawn. “Hey, Josie,” the little girl said, flipping her golden hair back over her shoulder.

  “Hi Annie. Are you looking for Colin?”

  “Uh uh. Misty. Did you see her?”

  “I’m afraid not. I’ve hardly ever seen your cat in our yard.” She scooted over and patted the seat. “Do you want to swing with me?”

  “No, Misty’s ready to have babies and I can’t find her. Misty! Here, kitty kitty kitty kitty,” Annie called, glancing toward their rear lawn and heading back toward their garage.

  Josie smiled at the nimble figure retreating. She heard a small sound. Mewing came from the side. “Annie, I think I hear her.”

  Annie scrambled near. “Misty,” she called and then listened.

  A loud meow answered from beyond the pampas grass.

  Annie darted there, and Josie rose to follow. “She’s in here!” Annie yelled. “Come see, Josie. In here.” The girl pointed to Maurice Exely’s closed garage. From the dark building came a cat’s hoarse cry.

  “That might not be Misty,” Josie said. “And I’m not sure if Mr. Maurice is home to let us check inside.”

  Creaking made her and Annie jump. The garage door was slowly lifting.

  Annie smiled when she saw her mother cat. Tiny gray and black kittens pushed their paws into Misty’s stomach while they nursed.

  Maurice stood on his stoop, holding a remote control device.

  “Annie’s cat came into your garage to have her kittens,” Josie said, grinning.

  His cold expression didn’t change.

  Annie plopped on the concrete garage floor and stroked Misty. The little heads struggled for a place to latch onto their mamma. “Come see the babies, Josie,” she said.

  Josie smiled at the picture. Until she realized what else was in there.

  Parked a few feet ahead of the litter was a late-model dark blue sedan.

  * * *

  “I didn’t know he had a car,” Josie told Andrew soon afterward on the phone.

  “We thought he didn’t drive,” he said.

  “That’s not the car his grandmother drove. This one is fairly new and shiny.”

  “He must polish it often and probably doesn’t use it much. Maybe not at all.”

  Josie couldn’t get that vehicle out of her mind. A dark sedan—the car that had followed her? Calming, she realized the sedan came where she did because it belonged to a person who lived next door.

  Relieved, she told Andrew about the kittens. They were adorable. Annie was ecstatic. When Josie had looked up to tell Maurice they would get the litter of kittens out of his garage, he was no longer outside.

  She had emptied a box from her garage and helped Annie gently set the little ones in it under Misty’s wide-eyed supervision. Together they carried the box to the Allen home, with Misty running alongside them, mewing and worriedly glancing up toward her charges. “Annie ran inside yelling about the kitties,” Josie said. “Her parents came out and thanked me. Then Mr. Allen took the box to their garage to fix up a home for the additions to their family.”

  “They didn’t want all those little ones sleeping and crying inside their house?” Andrew asked with a snicker.

  “I guess not.” They disconnected and Josie pondered. The kittens were cute, but that other discovery lingered. Maurice had a car. A dark blue sedan. She would be keeping an eye out to see whether he ever drove it.

  Her speech ran through her head the next day while she finished tailoring a gown and then hung other dresses that women tried on. Five groups of customers had come in during the day. Some gowns had been put back with the wrong sizes. Others were jammed into place.

  Walking her hands through the fabrics kept Josie from being idle while thoughts of what she would say to the K.C.’s conflicted with questions Andrew had asked.

  When would she commit to him?

  She loved him. He did have a gambling problem that was under control, but that was not the barrier.

  Josie moved one of her favorites, a celery-colored gown with beaded shoulder straps.

  Am I really staying home for Colin? Why can’t I make a decision?

  Her hand rested on the gown’s satin bodice. Colin surely was a reason to remain home awhile longer, but couldn’t he manage without her? He did have a parent here.

  A middle aged man exiting told her goodbye, making her notice for the first time that he’d been inside. Sauntering across the showroom, she saw Otis Babineaux in his office. Intently, he stroked his beard while reading something.

  She liked seeing his interest was not in her.

  Idly she moved toward Eve, thinking I love Andrew. But I thought I loved Samuel in Tennessee. And I still adore my father.

  “I’ve got to drop this off at the bank on my way home,” Eve said. She held the cash packet.

  “They can’t pay us without it,” Josie replied.

  Eve’s nostrils widened as she grinned. “And I wouldn’t be able to get the car I’ve been wanting.”

  “A new car,” Josie said, nodding at the idea.

  “How’s your car doing?”

  Josie smirked. “What day is it?”

  “Maybe our bosses will give us a raise. Then you could buy any car you’d want.” Eve gave a high-pitched chuckle that startled Otis Babineaux. He stared out at the two of them.

  Josie withheld a giggle. “I’m going to be leaving soon, too. I want to sew snaps on the back of this dress. Someone tried it on and the rear neckline doesn’t lie flat.”

  “That could wait. But of course, you want everything perfect.”

  “Not really. The car I have is just old and tired.”

  “Just like some of us are getting,” Eve said. She paused at the door to turn the sign hanging on it to Closed. The bell jangled when she went out.

  On the way to her alcove, Josie noticed the saffron cape of a gown had fallen. She bent to retrieve it and, before she stood, saw movement. Otis Babineaux stood at his office door, filling his eyes with her rear view.

  Josie glanced at the entrance. Eve was gone.

  Clutching the cape, Josie rose. She straightened her back toward her boss, and as she hung the dress on its hanger, heard sputtered deep laughter. She turned around to face him. With a broad smile, he slithered his gaze down, making it linger on other parts of her body.

  Suddenly cold, Josie grabbed her upper arms. Fear came to her face, she knew, and she gave her head a slight sh
ake, telling herself to stop it.

  She wanted to mention his name, to find something to say about work. This uncomfortable strange moment had to be broken. After all, he was her boss. And being a man, he might notice a woman’s figure.

  Determining how frozen she must look, she moved, but sideways, toward the front door. Words came to her throat—his name or a mention that she had to be going. But from inside this man came a mocking, evil laugh that sent chills from Josie’s scalp to her legs.

  Without looking back, she dashed out the front door.

  Josie didn’t stop running until she reached her car. Grateful to find pedestrians on the sidewalk, she yanked her door handle.

  Andrew had fixed the latch. It was locked. She had forgotten her purse.

  Taking a deep breath, she peered back. People were still out on the sidewalk. She strode back to Ye Bridal Shoppe. A glimpse in the door let her know Otis Babineaux had returned to his office. He hunched in his chair, angrily flipping through a folder.

  She inched the door open. The bell rang and he glanced up.

  Josie’s face remained stern and steady with her chin up while he watched her. Striding across the showroom to her cubicle, she grabbed her purse. Then she dashed outside.

  Jeering laughter followed through the doorway.

  Heartbeats drummed in Josie’s throat while she drove. A murky gloom had descended, coating the city with a mist, making her have to put on headlights and windshield wipers. She was halfway home when she recalled other stops she needed to make.

  She turned at the next corner and headed back to town.

  At Wood’s Cleaners she picked up a donation for her campaign. She stopped at Safety Alarm Systems for the same. The owner, Mr. Sam Hudson, went into a spiel about gun control and how everyone today needed a weapon. His ranting then turned to how everyone should donate their organs. “And you have?” Josie asked him.

  “Not yet.”

  He made himself a note to do that and tossed the sheet on a desk cluttered with papers, where she determined he would not find it again.

  She stopped at Windswept Bookstore and Hanley’s Diner. The owners at both establishments gave her checks, wished her luck, and hoped their contributions helped.

  The smell of potatoes frying and hamburgers sizzling in grease at the diner made her stomach grumble. Since Sylvie was taking Colin to another movie and they would eat out, Josie ordered a corned beef, Hanley’s specialty.

  Adding the collected money while she ate, Josie was pleased. More airtime could be purchased. She would write more commercials.

  Back at home, she opened a drawer for shorts. When she pulled the shorts out, a blue swatch of fabric fell. Josie stiffened. That sliver of material arriving in the mail had made her apprehensive. Just like her boss had. His laughter had followed even as she’d made all those stops. She had been with others, yet Babineaux’s derision stayed with her. Josie heard mocking jeers in her mind’s background while she had spoken to the other people. And even while she drove to those places, a vision of his gaze boring through her and the nylon rope hanging from his hands remained.

  She picked up the blue square.

  Sylvie’s scarf could be used to strangle.

  So could the white nylon rope.

  With a sudden sickening in her belly, Josie ran for the telephone.

  The number answered on the fifth ring. “Uhhum?”

  “Johan, I need Andrew.”

  “Oh hi, Josie.” The cheer in his voice did nothing to improve her mood. “I was taking a shower and didn’t see him go out. Maybe I can help you?”

  “Thanks, no. I need Andrew.”

  “I understand. But did you forget what day it is?”

  “Oh damn.”

  Johan chuckled. “I guess so. Weekends are much better.”

  Without explaining the rush, Josie hung up and punched in other numbers.

  * * *

  Andrew watched the wide screen beyond the bar. The field looked fuzzy.

  Leaving their huddle, the Dolphins seemed tired. They’d been shoved back so often, other teams that weren’t as good probably would have given up by now.

  The Monday night crowd roared encouragement. Then a hush dropped over the group.

  Pete Landers, the Dolphins’ quarterback, sank back deep in a pocket. Landers glanced left and found no one open. Swiveling to the right, he threw a spiral.

  The ball flew across the defensive line.

  Excitement coursed through Andrew’s veins when Duke Thomas caught the pigskin with the tips of his fingers. He tucked the ball against his chest, swerved left, found the inside linebacker ready for him, and twisted to the right. Like a young colt he scampered. Thomas picked up eight yards before an entourage of white shirts thudded against him.

  “If he would’ve pushed, he would have made it,” Andrew said.

  The other men at his table agreed.

  On television the white shirts took over at their own twenty-four yard line.

  “Hey Andrew,” the bartender called, holding the phone out. “For you. She said it’s important.”

  Andrew stood and took it.

  “I’m so glad I found you.”

  Even with the bar’s clatter, Andrew noted the strangeness in her voice. “What’s wrong, Josie?”

  She didn’t respond right away. “I didn’t want to tell you this before because I wasn’t sure.”

  Cheers erupted throughout the bar, blanking out anything else she said, and he unwillingly focused on the field. Players scrambled. Jerseys of both teams piled on top of the football. Offensive and defensive players pointed, indicating their team had recovery.

  Josie spoke while the referee was making his call. Florida ball. Whoops filled the barroom.

  “Please talk louder,” Andrew said. “Josie, what happened?”

  “It’s Mr. Babineaux. He’s the man they’ve been looking for.”

  Andrew cupped the phone. “Who?”

  “The police. I know it. I can feel it by the way he looks at me. And his laugh.” It sounded like she shivered. “He was holding a rope.”

  “Damn, they sacked our quarterback!” someone yelled.

  Andrew strained to hear Josie. “I don’t understand.”

  “Mr. Babineaux. He’s the killer.”

  “Josie, they already caught the killer.”

  She said nothing.

  “The man who did those things is your neighbor. Maurice Exely turned himself in to the police today.”

  Chapter 19

  All through the next morning, Josie felt drugged. For most of the night, her thoughts tossed. The man who’d been killing was in jail. Her neighbor.

  She and Annie had just gone into his garage, and he’d stood there. He could have easily gotten to them.

  And then what?

  Josie analyzed that his car had followed her to Colin’s school and afterward back home. He had been watching from his house and even coming up to Josie in her yard.

  She shivered. Otis Babineaux also made her feel threatened. She had exchanged few words with him and had never seen him carrying on a long conversation with anyone. His eyes seemed to see beneath her clothes, and she’d only heard his horrid laugh once. Maybe the burden of his wife’s alcoholism made life so sour he seldom felt happy.

  Relief eventually came to her churning mind. The killer had been apprehended.

  Still, when she arrived at work, she was pleased not to see Otis Babineaux. He had meetings, Eve mentioned, and Josie didn’t tell about her experience with him the afternoon before. Mrs. Banto was busy with customers.

  Josie sewed on a gown and then waited for Mrs. Banto to bring the next one, a sleek ecru scoop neck that a board-skinny thirtyish woman adored. It would need the bodice and waistline tightened.

  By early afternoon Josie had the gown trimmed down.

  “You look sluggish, Josie. Why don’t you go home?” Randal Allen suggested. “You’ve stayed late to finish work so often. But this afternoon there isn’t a
whole lot left for you to do. Why don’t you go and get some rest?”

  She welcomed the spare time.

  She would love to get home early. But this was one of the few workdays when she would have time to drive across to the other edge of town. She would surprise Andrew.

  City Bank and Trust sat on Fourth Avenue miles beyond the areas Josie normally traveled. She had only begun to use the bank after Andrew started working there. He had taken over her banking chores since she had been working and often needed to pick up Colin after practice. Andrew was always precise and brought her cards to sign and her deposit slips and withdrawals.

  Walking inside, she peered across the bank’s opulent décor, again marveling at its marbled walls, the plush yellow carpet and ferns spilling from huge granite urns.

  She peered across the room and spied Andrew.

  He was laughing, awarding his full attention to a gray-haired woman at his counter. The woman looked happy with his service. Two other people waited in line to reach him. Andrew was surely of benefit here with his spirited way with people.

  Starting toward him, Josie spotted LauraLee Allen. “Hi. How are the kittens?” she asked as LauraLee walked up to her.

  “Precious.” She offered a sly grin. “Would you like to have one of them?”

  “No thanks. I don’t have much time to take care of kittens.”

  “I’m sure Colin would love to have one. Just think about it. We won’t be giving them away for a few weeks.”

  Josie smiled. “I’ll have to come over and see them.”

  LauraLee Randall frowned. “That was such a shame about your neighbor. But we all knew he was a strange bird.”

  “I sure hope he gets help. I’ll talk to you soon,” Josie said and started away.

  “And did you know that hurricane’s headed here?”

  Josie froze in place. “Here?”

  “Well, probably Mobile. Tomorrow night.”

  Josie’s knees weakened. Mobile was not far enough away from their city.

  LauraLee shrugged. “At least it’ll stay small if it goes onshore soon. But we’d be in the northeast quadrant. Let’s hope we don’t get tornadoes.”

  Josie retreated to the counter where Andrew was waving. “I couldn’t believe it was you,” he said, his beaming face expressing how happy he was to see her.