Another Man's Treasure (10 page)

“Ross…need info ASAP.  Let’s dig deep…there are more
              ghosts other than those here in Willow.” ~Jude

After hitting send, Jude walked over to the fireplace, poured himself another glass of champagne and took a sip.

“Tomorrow, Mandy…tomorrow we start the week off with the truth and put this bullshit story your brother fed you behind us.”

***********

Miranda pulled into her driveway, shut the car off and walked into her house.
As she leaned against her kitchen door, a smile crossed her lips.

“Fan-fuckin-tastic!” she squealed, ditching her shoes and running toward the stairs, planning a long hot shower. Feeling as giddy as a schoolgirl, Miranda wondered how she was ever going to sleep tonight. Jude J. Delan
ey, the love from her past, was back in her present. Her feelings from the past came flooding in…love, passion, insecurity. 
I wonder if he feels the same way.

.  

Generally speaking, Miranda was not accustomed to sleeping late; no matter what time she went to bed. She rolled over and looked the alarm clock. It was already 10:00 am. 

“Shit, I have way too much to do to be a lazy ass in bed.”

Miranda stumbled her way to the bathroom and washed up. She knew it was going to take several cups of coffee to motivate her to do more unpacking and getting the rest of the house functional. She grabbed a bowl of fruit salad from the refrigerator and ate while reading the newspaper online. A ‘blip’ popped up notifying her to check her email.

“Junk, junk and more junk,” she mumbled as she deleted them quickly until one caught her attention.

             
Good morning baby…lying here thinking of you.

             
Wish you were here… How about dinner tonight? ~Jude

Wow…he sent this 4 hours ago. Miranda smiled and replied.

Good morning Jude…I just woke up and I’m having breakfast. Going to unpack and settle in…how about my place around 7?  I’ll cook.  ~Mandy

Her cell phone rang a second later.

“Well hello, sleepyhead. You decided to get up?”

“It’s your fault, you know. You wore me out,” Miranda teased. “By the way, how did you get my email addy and phone number?”

“Phone numbers are easy…411 is quite helpful.  Email addy…that was a bit more research…I have a connection or two,” Jude told her, using his best ‘mad scientist’ voice and laugh. 

“Ahhh…so secretive, evil one.  How does Caesar salad and lasagna sound?”

“Perfect baby…I’ll bring a bottle of wine, maybe two.”

“Fine, just no champagne…that shit goes straight to my head.”

“Hmmm, really? Champagne it is then!” Jude said with another evil laugh.

“Mr. Delaney
, you are pure evil. See you at 7.”

Something gripped her stomach, hard. Jude said he had connections? That was the same word David used when describing the ‘kind of guy’ Jude was many years ago. Miranda pushed the fruit salad away and sipped her coffee as she walked into the living roo van>. e ‘kind m. She sat on the couch, drew her knees up and thought back to the conversation she and her brother had years ago.

“Mandy, he’s no good!  You gotta get out of Willow and forget the bum! He has connections to some unsavory people,” David said as he roughly shook her shoulders.

“But, Davey, I love him…I told him so! How do I take that back and just leave?” Sobbing, Miranda could barely choke out the words. 

“You don’t love him, Mandy. He is just the guy who took your virginity. You are lucky I didn’t kill the son of a bitch when I found out! Go to California to live with Aunt Sadie. She will take care of you until you find your way. Get a job, Mandy. Go to college, do whatever you want to do. Just live and experience life. I will pay for everything,” David pleaded with Miranda. 

Miranda sighed. “Ok, Davey. I will go because it means so much to you. But promise me, if it doesn’t work out, you will bring me home.”

              “Deal, Mandy…you got a deal,” David exhaled.

Ten years later, Miranda was back in her childhood
home because she owned it and the 10 acres of land. Davey was gone now.  So many times she asked to come home after college. She enjoyed the real estate business, but missed her true home.  David had always replied, “Not yet. Wait a while.”  After a couple of years, she stopped pleading with him and their phone calls dwindled down to once a month, and sometimes not even that often.

Aunt Sadie died and left her property to Mandy, which she promptly sold and bought a condo closer to the city.  If she was going to live here, she was going to
enjoy what it had to offer.  She adored the restaurants, gyms, indoor tracks where she could run…and the nightlife was fantastic. There were night clubs all over LA, but the one she frequented the most was Singles. 

It was kind of a meat market, but the music was loud and the drinks cheap. That’s where she met Hank. Hank Castile. 

One fateful night, after a few drinks, dancing and a lot of sweet talk, Miranda was hooked on the blonde Adonis named Hank. She had been young and impressionable, but Hank had been charming and cute until a horrible dark side reared its ugly head.  By the time Hank showed her his true nature, a control freak and dominant, she was in too deep.

Three years later, after the death of her brother, she risked it all to run away from him.  Hank threatened Miranda the night before she left. Little did he know, she had the tapes and she was in control for the first time in their relationship. Never again was a man going to do that to her…never! 

She packed all that she had at his apartment, left him a well written note and called a cab. She had purchased the Lexus the week before and had it in storage along with the other belongings from her condo. The sale of her condo had gone through just a couple of days ago and the proceeds were safely in her account.  From the backseat of the cab, she called the office and quit her job.  Arriving at the storage uni {e shert, she got out of the cab and threw the driver a hundred dollar bill.

She unlocked the storage doors. There sat the Lexus with all her belongings packed in the trunk and back seat. Roaring the engine to life, she pulled out and headed for the highway. Out of town, out of Cali and out of Hank’s life forever. 

Miranda’s cell phone rang.

“You’ll never get free from me, Mandy. You’ll never be able to shake me,” Hank’s sinister voice oozed through the phone. 

“The fuck I won’t, Hank. You son of a bitch, I have the tapes. You lose, motherfucker,” she said in a calm and controlled voice.  Hearing Hank gasp and start to scream obscenities, Miranda threw the cell phone out the window onto the busy highway and laughed out loud.

“I win, Hank…I WIN!”

***********

Thinking about the past brought mixed emotions.  She was glad to be away from Hank but deep down, she feared he would show up in Willow…or send one of his goons. 

Shaking the distraction from her mind, Miranda got up and went to the kitchen to start preparing tonight’s dinner with Jude. She cooked fairly well and lasagna was her specialty. This was going to be a good night and Jude had a surprise or two coming.

She already knew which box she was going to unpack while dinner was cooking…the one with the fishnet stockings and her 6” red heels.

After hanging up with Miranda, Jude leaned back and put his feet up on his desk. Lost in thought, his phone rang and brought him back to the present.

“Hello? Hey Ross
! About time. Shut the fuck up and tell me what you found out.” Jude’s tone of voice changed.

“Yeah…yeah…ok…holy fuck, are you serious? What the fuck, Ross! That fuck of a brother did what? Yeah, ok. You got this all on paper? Good. Email me all the info; I want a written report of this convo and all of the documents when you get them verified.  Great. I gotta run to town, so have it ready and to me in an hour. Dude, just do it! Yes, Ross, email your fees too. Jesus, Ross!  Rates go up or what? Ye ~e sheun ah, yeah…you’re worth it. Tell that to my checkbook! Follow up with me in a couple days.”

Jude hung up the phone not believing what Ross just told him…

David…you rotten motherfucker. Sacrificing your own sister to hide your dirty secrets.

Jude picked up his coffee mug and threw it against the wall. It exploded, sending glass shards flying everywhere. Jude got up and pushed the chair away. He strode out of the house, jumped into the SUV and roared it to life. Tearing out of his driveway, he slammed down on the accelerator. He headed to town via the back roads, avoiding Miranda’s house.   He drove down the road at a rate of speed far exceeding the posted limits.

Jude reached the cemetery.  He slammed the truck door and walked over to David’s grave. Staring at the headstone, Jude screamed.

“You rotten son of a bitch! As if she didn’t have enough to deal with, you do this?  I will do exactly what I told you I would do 10 years ago…I will take care of Mandy. Believe me, you scum…I will do a better job than you ever thought of, you fucking sorry excuse of a man.”

Jude walked a few feet and stopped in front of two more headstones. He knelt down and straightened the flowers resting there.

“Mr. and Mrs. Jones…I want you to know I will take care of this mess and your daughter. You see, I have loved Miranda from the first day I saw her. No matter what David told you about me and my past, it isn’t true. I will take care of your little girl, even if it costs me my life. I just pray she believes me when I tell her that the last 10 years of her life were all a lie.”