“I don’t believe that.”
He looked into her eyes and bit his lip. Abruptly he stood. “Let’s get out of here.”
Without protest, Nicole put down her sandwich and stood.
Connor threw some money on the table and they started out the door.
“Something wrong, Mr. Cottingham?” the owner asked.
“No, Mr. Johnson. We’ve had an emergency.”
“Don’t you want me to box up the lunch?”
“No time,” Connor said and kept walking.
The proprietor nodded.
Instead of going back to the office, Connor unlocked his car and ushered Nicole into the passenger seat. He climbed into the driver’s side, but said nothing.
She didn’t dare speak. She knew he was struggling with something and thought it best to leave him alone until he came to a decision about what to say or do.
Soon they were riding down a street in a nice residential section of town. He pulled to a curb in front of a two-story house with a wide front porch and a well-manicured lawn. “This is where I lived with Sue Ann and the kids.”
Nicole saw tears in his eyes. Impulse made her reach over and touch his arm. “It’s a lovely home and I’m sure you and your family were happy here.” Her voice was soft too. She wanted so badly to comfort him.
He put his hand on hers and squeezed it. “We were very happy.” He removed his hand and pulled from the curb. Again they rode in silence.
They headed into the country toward Lizella. Turning off the main road they kept going for a few minutes then came to a crossroads. He stopped. “Here’s where they died. All four of them.” He shook his head. “I’ve asked a million times why I didn’t die with them.”
“It wasn’t your time, Connor,” she whispered. “Nobody dies before their time.”
He looked at her and his eyes were full of sorrow. He didn’t speak, but started the car and they went back into town. Instinctively, Nicole knew he wasn’t ready to talk so she sat quietly and waited.
Eventually he pulled into a fashionable condo complex and parked the car in front of a villa. “I want to show you something,” he said. His voice was flat with no emotion.
Nicole got out of the car and he led her to the front door. He unlocked it and they went inside.
It was sparsely furnished. The living room had a comfortable brown leather sofa and a couple of matching pull-up chairs. Also a couple of end tables, though other than lamps and a stack of coasters, they were bare. A few sports magazines and a couple of mystery books littered the cocktail table in front of the sofa.
“I live here alone now. Probably always will,” he blurted. He motioned for her to sit down.
She dropped to the sofa, but still didn’t speak.
He moved to the well-stocked bookcase and picked up a picture frame which had been turned backward. He handed it to her. “This was my family.”
A beautiful auburn-haired woman sat beside Connor. The children, two girls and a boy were like stair steps in front of them. “It’s a lovely family, Connor.”
“Was a lovely family, Nicole. They are no more.” He took the picture and sat it back on the shelf facing backward. “I can’t stand to look at it all the time so I turn it this way. When I try to remember their faces and they elude me, I pick it up and look at them again so I can remember.”
He turned to sit in a chair, but she held her hand out to him. He took it and joined her on the sofa.
“Sue Ann and I had a big fight the night they died. It still bothers me. We were getting ready to go to a party. We dropped the kids off at her mother’s house. When we arrived at the party I was still mad. I began drinking as soon as we went in the door, and I was drunk by the time we left. I shouldn’t have been driving, but I was. Like most drunks, I thought I could handle it. I didn’t even see the damn truck coming and I pulled out in front of it. In an instant my family was gone and it was all my fault.” Tears began to roll down his cheeks. “I didn’t even get to bury them. When I came out of the coma three weeks later it was all over.” By now he was sobbing.
Nicole couldn’t help herself. She put her arms around him and pulled his head to her breast. She didn’t say a word. She just held him and let him cry.
Chapter 17
“Connor, where the hell are you and Nicole?” Paul’s voice barked through the cell phone. “I’m swamped up here. You two took one hell of a time to walk out of the office.”
“I’m sorry, brother, I’ve been having a therapy session with Nicole. She’s a good listener.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was finally able to let some of my repressed feelings about Sue Ann and the children out. Nicole has been wonderful.”
“Do you mean you told Nicole about the accident?”
“Yes. I told her everything. About the drinking. About missing the funeral. About the fight I had with Sue Ann. I told her everything and she still wants to be my friend.”
Conner could almost feel Paul’s whole mood change. “Well, in that case, forget I called. Take the rest of the afternoon off and tell Nicole I love her for this. Anyone able to help you unburden yourself is top notch with me and I know Mom and Dad are going to be thrilled. It’s something you’ve needed to do for a long time.”
“She’s a great person, Paul.” He grinned and added, “I didn’t know what a gem I was getting when I gave her a job at our company.”
“Whoa. I think my brother is finally on the road to recovery.” Paul laughed. “I’ll explain to Elsie why you’re not taking her to dinner.”
“Was I supposed to?”
“She thought so, but like Friday night and all the others, I’m sure you knew nothing about it. Keep doing whatever you’re doing and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Connor flipped the phone closed and turned the breakfast bar stool so he could see Nicole in the kitchen. “Find anything you want to cook?”
She looked around the refrigerator at him. “You don’t have many groceries. So far I’ve found a couple of eggs, three bottles of beer, and a bottle of ketchup.” She closed the door and opened the one to the freezer. “Let’s see if I have better luck here.”
“I told you I’d take you out to eat.”
“No. I said I’d cook and I will. I’m creative. I’ll come up with something.” She moved a few things around in the freezer. “I found some ice cream. At least we have dessert. Aha! Here’s a package of ground meat. I bet I can do something with that.” She set it on the counter. “Where are your canned goods?”
He nodded toward a cabinet and she opened it. “Aha,” she said again. She took out a box of spaghetti and plopped it on the counter before him. “This is what we’ll have.”
“I hate to tell you this, Nicole, but I don’t like spaghetti with plain ground meat on it.” He grinned at her.
“Neither do I, smarty. That’s why you’re going to the store.”
“I am?”
“Yes. I’m going to make you a list.” She looked at him. “There is a store around here somewhere, isn’t there?”
“Of course.”
“Okay. Where’s a scratch pad?”
* * * *
He pointed toward a drawer and Nicole got out a pen and some paper. She made the list and in a few minutes she found herself alone in the kitchen. She searched until she found the pots and decided he needed to buy more cooking utensils. Then she realized he probably did very little cooking. She found an appropriate pan and put the ground meat on to brown. It was three-forty-five.
She picked up the phone and called Lita to explain she wouldn’t be home for dinner. Lita told her that would work out well because she was going with some friends to play bridge at a little bed and breakfast in Georgia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. She even said she might spend the night since her boarder wasn’t coming home to eat. Nicole encouraged her to go and have a good time. She assured Lita she would be fine alone when she got home. She promised she’d lock up tight.
“You be sur
e and do that, Nicole. After what happened to Dora I don’t want anyone taking chances.”
“I promise you I’ll be very careful.”
Lita then told Nicole about the visit from the police officers.
Nicole shivered as she hung up the phone. Why were they still coming around asking questions about her? Why was anyone asking questions? She remembered what Connor had said about Janice’s call.
Then she thought how useless it was to worry about something she couldn’t change. Grandma always said—Grandma again. For a fleeting instant a picture of a chubby little woman with tightly curled white hair flashed across her mind. It disappeared almost as soon as it appeared. But it was there. Nicole tried her best to conjure it up again, but it was no use. The picture wouldn’t come back.
She didn’t have long to dwell on it because Connor came through the door with two bags of groceries.
She shook the thoughts away and laughed. “I believe you got more than what I put on the list.”
“I did.” He grinned at her and sat the groceries on the counter. “I didn’t realize how much good stuff they have in a supermarket. I usually just run in and grab a few things and come right out.” He started to take items from the bags. “Close your eyes,” he said.
“Why?”
“Please. Just close them. I brought you a surprise.”
Nicole did as he asked. In a few seconds, she felt something fuzzy in her hand. Her eyes popped open and she was looking at a small white bear with a red heart between his paws. Across the heart was the word ‘Friend’ in gold letters. “Oh, Connor. How sweet.” She leaned up and kissed his chin. “Thank you.”
He turned red and moved back to the cabinet. “I got us something else too.”
“What?”
He held out a bunch of mixed fresh flowers. “I thought since it was our first meal here together we needed flowers.”
“They’re beautiful, but where did you have them hidden?”
“Behind one of the grocery bags. That’s why they’re a little mashed.”
She laughed. “Where do you keep your vases?” He looked at her blankly and she added, “Never mind. I’ll find something.”
* * * *
“What do you mean he’s not taking me to dinner?” Elsie’s eyes blazed as she stood in the living room staring at her brother-in-law. “He brushed me off Friday night. Last night I couldn’t catch up with him and now you say he’s not going to take me out tonight. Why is he doing this to me?”
“How much plainer can I be, Elsie? He has other plans.” Paul stared back at her. He laid his briefcase down on an end table and looked at his wife.
“I called him this morning and told him I wanted him to take me to dinner tonight. It’s already Tuesday and the week is going to be gone. How dare he not do what I wanted?”
“Elsie, when are you going to learn you don’t always get everything you want?” Her twin sister asked, backing up her husband.
“That’s not true. I always get what I want, and I intend to keep getting what I want. I won’t have it any other way.”
“I’m afraid this time you’re going to fail if you keep pursuing Connor.” Paul glanced at his wife, and she nodded. “He’s not interested in you, Elsie.”
“That’s ridiculous. Any man I want I can make interested in me and right now I want Connor.”
“Listen to Paul, Elsie. He knows his brother and he says Connor doesn’t want to be with you. That should be enough to make you back off pursuing the man.”
“You two can go to hell!” She grabbed the phone. “I’m calling his cell and I bet in thirty minutes he’ll pull into this driveway and pick me up.” There was a pause then Elsie threw the phone to the sofa. “He’s not answering. It went to voice mail.”
“I don’t like hurting your feelings Elsie, but Paul told me Connor was interested in someone else. I’m afraid you’re too late.”
“No woman on earth would dare compete with me!”
Erline threw up her hands. “I give up, Paul. I can’t reason with her. I’m going to finish dinner.”
“Don’t leave me alone, honey.” Paul took his wife’s hand. After a deep breath, he said, “Elsie, you can keep going after Connor if you want to, but let me assure you, he’s not going to become your fourth husband. He’s told me as much. In fact, he is definitely interested in someone else.”
“Who?”
“He hasn’t said,” Paul said quickly. “And I haven’t asked.”
“Humph. I bet it’s that secretary of yours. Is she the one?”
“I told you he hasn’t said.”
“You didn’t say it wasn’t her.”
“Elsie, I don’t know who it is. I probably haven’t even met the woman. Connor keeps things to himself. Everyone knows that.”
“It’s probably not the secretary. She’s only been there a few weeks. You’ve been after Connor longer than that.” Erline looked at her sister. “Besides, I don’t think he’d be going out with the hired help. If the lady in Connor’s life works, I’m sure she has a classier job than secretary.”
Paul shot his wife a look and dropped her hand. She lowered her head.
“Well, whoever she is, I’m telling you right now, she doesn’t stand a chance. If I want Connor, I’ll have him and that’s that.” She grabbed her purse and stalked out the door.
Chapter 18
Nicole lay close to Connor with her head on his shoulder. She slowly ran the fingers of her right hand through the brown curly hairs on his chest and made circles with her fingertips on his nipples. He pulled her closer to him.
“Nicole, I...”
“Shhh. Don’t talk.”
“But we need to talk.”
“We’ll talk later.” She continued to rub his chest.
“But I want you to know...”
“I know, Connor.”
“You don’t know what I was going to say.”
“I can guess. You want to apologize for what happened between us. You want to assure me it’ll never happen again. You want to know if I’m going to be alright with it.” She smiled. “Am I getting close?”
“Pretty close.”
“Connor, you didn’t force me into anything. It happened so gently and so naturally that I came into your bed willingly. I know you needed to be with a woman tonight.” She kissed his shoulder. “I want you to know I needed you too.”
“It was special to me, Nicole. Very special. I never thought I’d be able to make love to another woman again. The accident left me.... Well, you know.”
She smiled. “It was special to me, too. There are times in our lives when we need someone. I’m glad we were here for each other.”
“I’m glad, too, but I don’t really understand why you needed me. You seem to have it all together.”
Nicole wanted to tell him why it was important to her to belong to someone, even if it was only for one night. She wanted to tell him she was lost and she found comfort in his arms and in his nearness. But she could tell him none of these things.
She whispered, “I’m running away from a terrible incident, and I had the good fortune to land in your office. You’ve been my saving grace ever since the day you put me behind the desk and let me answer the phone. You’re special to me, and I’ll always feel close to you because of that.”
He folded his other arm around her and pulled her even closer. “What are you running away from, Nicole?”
She reached up and touched his cheek. “Maybe I’ll tell you sometime.” She giggled. “You don’t have to worry. I’m not a serial killer or anything like that.”
He chuckled. “Of all the things in the world, I would’ve never suspected you of being a serial killer.”
“Well, you never know. All kinds of people kill.”
“That’s true. Look at me.”
“Oh, Connor, don’t say that. You had an accident. A horrific accident, but you had no intention of killing your family. It just happened. Nobody blames you.”
&nbs
p; “I blame me, Nicole. I wish I could get past it, but...” He kissed the top of her head and changed the subject. “Since you have run away from something or someone, I assume that explains why your closet was so bare.”
“My closet?”
“Yes. I’ve wondered why you had so little to wear ever since you sent me to get the blouse for the cops. Remember doing that?”
“Oh.”
“Did you think I wouldn’t notice how bare it was? Most women have closets running over. Yours looked like you were there for the weekend, if that long.”
She shook her head. “I just wanted to get rid of the police; I didn’t even think about you noticing how sparse it was.” She took a long breath. “When I came here, I had the clothes on my back and a few dollars in my pocket. Lita was good enough to rent me the room on credit. I intend to pay her with my first check.”
“And I’ll write you that check first thing in the morning.” He shifted his position and his hairy leg rested against her soft smooth one.
It made her feel good inside, but she didn’t say anything.
He went on, “I wish you’d told me you needed money. I would’ve given you some.”
“I don’t want you to feel obligated to help me financially, Connor. I’m doing fine. I don’t need a lot of money. I only want to pay Lita and maybe spend a little on a couple of skirts or something. I’m sure you’re getting tired of seeing me wear the same things over and over.”
“I don’t care what you wear. I think you always look great.”
“You’re sweet.”
“I’ve been called a lot of things, but sweet wasn’t high on anyone’s list.”
“Well, you are sweet. Very sweet, and don’t be surprised if I call you that again.”
There was a moment of silence then he asked, “Nicole, how’s it going to be between us at work tomorrow? Will you act differently? Will I look at you and feel guilty? Will you hate me for this night?”
She took his face in her hands. “Listen, Connor. You’re the best friend I have in Macon, Georgia. I’m not about to let what happened in this bed tonight come between my friend and me. We’ll get to work in the morning and I’ll say ‘good morning, Connor,’ and you’ll say ‘good morning, Nicole’ and we’ll smile a knowing little smile at each other and get to work. That’s how it will be and nobody will ever be the wiser. Tonight will always be just between us.”
Murder in Georgia Page 11
