Deadly Greetings (Book 2 in the Cardmaking Mysteries) (9 page)

“
No, I’m staying in
tonight,” she admitted as she stifled a yawn.

“
Don’t worry. We won’t be
long,” I said as I grabbed several of the heavier bags.

Sybil took the rest, then held the door for
me. It was drizzling slightly outside, but I’d double-bagged her
purchases, so they would be safe from the weather. By the time we
got to her car, my arms were ready to fall off. She opened the
trunk and I gratefully put the bags inside. That’s when I had the
chance to look more closely at her transportation. It was a shiny
black Mercedes, a big one at that, and all doubts about Sybil being
able to afford my bill vanished. “That’s a lovely car you’ve got,”
I said.

“
I’d rather drive something
a little more austere, but Lee has to have his symbols.” She turned
to me and said, “Jennifer, I’ve had the best afternoon in I don’t
know how long. Thank you.”

“
You’re most welcome,” I
said. “Now don’t be a stranger.”

“
Oh, I won’t,” she said. “I
can’t wait to get home and get started.”

I watched her drive away, and wondered what
the scene at her house would be tonight when her husband came home.
Sybil could handle it; I had no doubt about that.

I was still smiling about the thought as I
walked back to the shop, and I was nearly at my front door when I
heard a familiar voice calling to me.

“
Jennifer, wait up. I need
to talk to you.”

It was Greg Langston, my ex-fiancé times
two. I thought about ignoring the summons, then I remembered that
card he’d sent me so long ago and I stopped.

“
Hi, Greg, how are
you?”

From his expression, it was pretty obvious
he wasn’t expecting a cordial greeting, and I really couldn’t blame
him. I hadn’t been at my nicest with Greg lately, something I
really needed to remedy. Truly, all he’d done was express concern
over my welfare, and no matter how aggravating I found it when
people tried to protect me, I knew he acted like he did because he
still cared.

“
I’m fine,” he said.
“Listen, there’s something I’d like to ask you.”

“
Fire away, but you’ll have
to make it quick. It’s closing time, and Lillian’s in a hurry to
get home.”

Greg wasn’t classically handsome, but I
never could resist him. He had a boyish charm that melted my heart,
and a pair of deep brown eyes that lit up everywhere else. “Well,
what I’ve been meaning to do, what I wanted to ask—blast it all,
this shouldn’t be this hard. Jennifer, would you like to have
dinner with me tomorrow night?”

He’d asked me out on a dozen times since
we’d broken our engagement the last time, and I’d never failed to
turn him down. Before I could overanalyze the ramifications of my
answer like I always did, I said, “That sounds like fun. Where did
you have in mind?”

I don’t know who was more surprised by my
answer. “I’m not sure yet—I didn’t think . . . I’ll let you know
later. Thanks. I’ll pick you up tomorrow at seven. Bye.” He hurried
away, no doubt before I could change my mind. Now what was I
thinking? Greg Langston was the one man in all of Rebel Forge I
shouldn’t be having dinner with. For some odd reason, to me he was
like catnip was to my roommates; I found it extremely difficult to
say no to him, including the times he’d asked me to marry him. I
was having some serious second and third thoughts when Lillian
walked out the door. “I’ve turned off all the lights, so we’re
ready to lock up and go home.” She stared after Greg’s fleeing form
and asked, “What did he want?”

“
Greg asked me out to dinner
tomorrow night.”

Lillian frowned. “No wonder he bolted away
so quickly. Jennifer, you can’t keep saying no to him forever.”

“
Evidently not,” I admitted.
“I just agreed to go out with him again.”

Lillian’s face lit up. “Why how delightful.
I’m so pleased.” Then she studied my face. “Aren’t you?”

“
I’m not sure yet. Ask me in
a few days.”

Lillian hugged me. “You’ll have a delightful
time, I’m sure of it.”

“
That’s what I’m afraid of,”
I said, wondering what I’d gotten myself into this time.

“
Well, if you’ll excuse me,
dear, I need to go,” Lillian said.

“
You didn’t change your mind
about staying in, did you? Please don’t tell me you’re going out
again,” I said, not able to believe that my aunt had more energy
than I did.

“
Child, I’m driving straight
home, where I plan to enjoy a hot bath, then go straight to sleep.
If you need me, don’t call, as I’ll have the ringer turned off. We
can brainstorm about Maggie’s demise tomorrow.”

“
Good night,” I said as I
locked the front door and walked to my car. I’d been ready to leave
the shop, and I was exhausted myself, though I hadn’t done anything
exceptional all day. The thought of going back to my new place
wasn’t as appealing as it should have been, and if it hadn’t been
for Oggie and Nash, I probably would have delayed returning even
longer, but my roommates hadn’t asked to move, and I wasn’t going
to abandon them just because I was starting to get a little jittery
about my new domicile. I picked up a pizza on the way home, an
extra large that would probably end up being breakfast, too. I
didn’t care if it wasn’t the best dietary choice. That was one of
the joys of living alone; I didn’t have to worry about what anyone
else thought about what I did or didn’t eat.

The commute to my new home was a lot quicker
than to my old place, even with the stop for pizza, so I was there
before I wanted to be. I walked upstairs and was trying to fit my
key in the lock while balancing the pizza when I heard someone tear
up the steps behind me.

When I turned, I nearly dropped the pizza.
It was Deputy Wayne Davidson, my brother’s employee and my own
worst nightmare.

“
Go away, Wayne,” I said as
I fumbled with the key. Why wouldn’t it go in the lock, especially
when I was in such a hurry?

“
Now Jennifer, is that any
way to act?” I could smell his breath, and it didn’t take a
sobriety test to tell me he was drunk.

“
Go home and sober up,” I
snapped. Why wasn’t the blasted key working?

“
Why can’t you be friendlier
to me? You like me; I know you do.”

He was close enough that I could feel the
heat coming off him now. I was going to have to throw the pizza in
his face and run downstairs, since I couldn’t get my key to
work.

“
Jennifer, you’re late,”
another voice said from below. There was no way there was room for
three of us on that tiny landing, but I didn’t care. My new
neighbor Barrett was climbing the steps at a good clip. “We’re
eating in my apartment tonight; did you forget?”

Wayne said, “Sorry, she’s already got plans,
bub.”

“
You’re right, and they’re
with me.” He reached past Wayne, plucked the pizza out of my hands
and said, “We don’t want this to get cold. I’ve got the wine all
ready, and I picked up a movie on the way home.”

As I slid past Wayne, Barrett said, “Sorry,
my friend, but there’s just enough for two. Have a good
evening.”

I followed Barrett into his apartment,
waiting for Wayne to protest, but when I glanced back as the door
was closing, I saw him frowning at us but apparently unable to come
up with a reason to stop us. With the door locked, I said,
“Barrett, you’re a life-saver. How did you know I needed help?”

My new building mate shrugged. “He wasn’t
exactly keeping his voice down, and in all honesty, I was just
going out to grab a bite myself when I heard him.”

“
Your timing couldn’t have
been better. After I make a quick telephone call, you’re more than
welcome to share my pizza.”

He laughed. “Jennifer, you’re certainly
under no obligation to share your food with me. I didn’t do all
that much.”

He’d done more than he’d ever know.
“Considering the fact that I was about ready to slam the box into
his face and run, I disagree. What do you say?”

“
I’d be delighted,” he said.
“Let me open a bottle of wine and we’ll eat.”

“
What, no movie?” I asked,
joking.

“
I have a healthy selection
of DVDs to choose from. I’m sure we can find something we both
like.”

I took my jacket off, then said, “You’ve got
a deal. Let me call my brother and then we can eat.”

He looked at me carefully. “Do you have to
get permission before dating strange men? He’s awfully protective
of you, isn’t he?”

I shook my head. “He’s that, all right, but
he’s also the sheriff, and that man outside my door is one of his
deputies.”

Barrett just nodded, then said, “I’ll get
the wine.”

I dialed Bradford’s cell phone and he picked
up on he third ring. “Shane here.”

“
Bradford, Wayne Davidson
just accosted me on my doorstep, and he’s been drinking again. He
was close enough for me to smell it on his breath.”

My brother isn’t prone to foul language, but
he ripped a few choice words off at that news. “I’ll take are of
it. Are you okay?”

“
One of my neighbors stepped
in before I had to defend myself, but just barely. He’s a real
menace. Bradford, you can’t keep covering for him.”

There was a long pause, then my brother
said, “Okay, you’re right. I’ve had a blind spot about him for a
while. We had a talk today, and I told him if he came within a half
mile of you, I was going to fire him.”

“
So are you?” I asked. “Or
do I have to go over our head and make a formal complaint to the
state police?”

“
He’s gone, Jennifer, as
soon as I can find him. You might not want to go back to your
apartment just yet. Why don’t you wait there and I’ll send Jim
over?”

Barrett glanced over at me, and I held up
one finger. “That’s not necessary. I’m having pizza with my new
neighbor. Find him before he hurts someone, Bradford.”

“
I will,” he said, then hung
up.

Barrett asked, “Is everything all
right?”

“
It will be, thanks. Are you
ready to eat?”

“
Absolutely,” he said. As
Barrett led me into his dining area, I got my first good look at
his apartment. It was furnished beautifully, with elegant Queen
Anne furniture and lush rugs throughout. The art on the walls was
magnificent as well. I’d felt that my apartment was well furnished,
but compared to his place, it suddenly felt like the attic it
was.

“
How much of this is your
taste, and how much of it is the owner’s?” I asked a little more
abruptly than I probably should have as we ate.

“
It’s more Mrs. Thomas’s
than it is mine. To be honest with you, I prefer your apartment.
I’m more into simple lines than all this ornamentation.”

“
So you’ve been to my
place?” I asked as I served us both more pizza.

He topped off our wineglasses, then said,
“Frances and I were friends, not just neighbors.”

So he’d known the former tenant. “What was
she like, or is it too painful to talk about?”

Barrett took a sip of wine, then said, “She
was comfortable, you know? Like a pair of slippers you’ve worn for
years, or a ratty old bathrobe. No, that’s not fair to her. You
must think I’m awful speaking of the dead so callously.”

I felt myself gazing into his eyes.
“Barrett, I think that’s a wonderful way to describe a friend. I
just lost one myself, and I’m having a hard time with it.”

He stared at me a moment, then said, “Did
you know Maggie Blake too?”

I nearly dropped my wineglass. “She was in
my card-crafting club at Custom Card Creations.”

He nodded. “So you’re a card maker too?”

“
It’s my shop,” I said. “But
I never realized Maggie knew Frances.”

“
Oh yes. They were great
friends,” he said, “And I got to know her in passing. Jennifer,
take care of yourself, would you promise me that? I don’t have many
people I like left in this world, and I’m hoping we can get closer
as time goes on.”

I suddenly realized that there was more to
his body language and the tone of his voice than the words coming
out of his mouth. Was he actually making a pass at me over pizza?
And more importantly, how did I feel about it? I’d agreed to have
dinner with Greg tomorrow night, but was that really going anywhere
again?

Barrett leaned in toward me, and I could
swear he was going to try to kiss me. It normally took me a lot
longer to warm up to a man, but there was something it about him,
some kind of charm, that held me in place.

At the last second I pulled back, and all I
could manage was to smile as cryptically as I could. I was
struggling to come up with something to say when there was a
pounding on his front door. Was it Bradford coming to check on me,
or had Wayne decided to invite himself to dinner anyway?

Either way, I didn’t want Barrett to answer
the door.

Chapter 6

I heard a woman’s voice call out, “Barrett,
I know you’re in there. I saw your car. Let me in. We need to
talk.”

He looked at me like someone had just
slapped him. Grimly, he said, “We can try to ignore her, but I know
from experience that Penny’s not going away. It’s better if I just
deal with her right now.”

“
Go ahead and talk to her,”
I said. “It’s fine with me.

Barrett clamped his jaw so tightly that for
a moment I was afraid he was going to break a tooth; then he opened
the door. Standing there was a petite blonde in her mid-twenties.
If she hadn’t been scowling so hard, I was willing to bet she’d
have been one of the prettiest women I’d ever seen. She was exactly
the type of woman who had always intimidated me. I’m brunette, tall
and a little overweight, and while I’m not unattractive, no one had
ever told me I was beautiful, at least not believably enough for
me.