The Ex Who Saw a Ghost (Charley's Ghost Book 4) (11 page)

Amanda straddled her bike. “I know more than I want to know. Let’s get out of here. Now.”

“Good idea.” Teresa got on behind her.

Amanda lifted her helmet above her head...and Lila came around the corner with a man in tow.

Lila’s eyes widened in recognition.

Busted!

Amanda slammed on her helmet, started the bike and roared away.

Damn all the one way streets! She rarely went downtown and made several wrong turns before she finally got back on the freeway.

Okay, so Lila had seen her. What was she going to do? Amanda had no intention of turning her in to the cops for using drugs or for solicitation. She wasn’t a threat to Lila.

Nevertheless, she was perspiring by the time they pulled into Teresa’s parking lot.

“She saw Amanda,” Charley said.

“Lila?” Teresa asked.

“She was probably so wasted, she won’t remember.” Amanda hoped she was so wasted she wouldn’t remember.

Teresa looked at the empty space beside her. “I’m sorry, Parker, but I don’t know what we can do.” She listened for a minute then pulled off the bicycle helmet, shook out her hair and turned to Amanda. “He wants us to try to help her. He says she’s suffered enough and underneath it all, she’s a good person, someone who can be redeemed.”

Amanda wasn’t feeling a lot of sympathy for Lila. “Short of kidnapping her and hiding her in a cave in the middle of Big Bend National Park, I don’t know how we’re going to stop her from doing whatever she wants to do.”

Teresa nodded. “Go home. I’ll talk to Parker.”

Home.
What a beautiful word after their crazy day.

“You ought to call your sister,” Charley said. “She’ll be worried. She’s probably already called the cops, the FBI, the CIA and your mother to report you missing.”

The beautiful image of home evaporated.

Even so, it was better than spying on a meth head prostitute in an alley in downtown Dallas.

Amanda checked her watch. A little after eleven. “Jenny’ll be in bed by now. I don’t want to wake her.”

“Chicken,” Charley accused.

“If I call her now, we’ll be on the phone for an extra hour. Get on the back. We’re leaving.” She groaned. “What am I saying? You can’t get on the back. You’re just a...”

Charley settled on the passenger seat. “There’s no need for name calling.”

“Good night, Teresa.” Amanda flipped down her faceplate.

The ride home was familiar and only a few miles. She usually enjoyed riding at night, but now the inky darkness hid unknown terrors, transformed benign trees, street signs, and toys left on lawns into strange creatures. She couldn’t decide if this onset of panicked delusions was caused by their visit to the underbelly of society or by the thought of dealing with her sister for another night.

When she turned into her parking lot a few minutes later, her sister’s Mercedes was still there.

“Guess she hasn’t gone home to Davey,” Charley said. “If she waits much longer, that baby’s going to come and you can learn how to change diapers.”

Amanda pulled her bike into the shop, yanked the key from the ignition and slid off. “Shut up.” She closed the shop door behind her and tromped upstairs.

“Amanda’s going to be an auntie!” Charley sing-songed. “A hands-on auntie! Ah, the sound of little feet pitter-pattering across the floor and the smell of spit-up.”

Amanda jerked open the door of her apartment.

Jenny struggled upright from the sofa and yawned. “Hi, Amanda. I must have fallen asleep waiting. I’m so glad you’re home!” She waddled toward Amanda, arms extended for a hug. “I was getting worried about you. You keep really strange hours. Well, I guess you always had that tendency. I remember when mother caught you trying to break into the house at two o’clock in the morning.”

Amanda returned the hug in spite of a vivid memory of that occasion. Jenny had deliberately locked the window she’d gone out of and expected to return through.

“Did you see Davey?” Amanda asked. “He’s very worried about you.”

Jenny’s hand moved to the diamond necklace that sparkled at her throat and a smile started on her lips, but she pursed them and looked stern. “Yes, he came by and we talked.”

“I see he speaks her language,” Charley said.

“And?” Amanda encouraged. “Did you work things out?”

Jenny turned away and crossed the living room. “We’re going to meet for lunch tomorrow and discuss things.”

Charley groaned. “
Discuss things
? What does that mean? More jewelry?”

“Lunch tomorrow.” That meant another night on the sofa, but maybe only one more. Her tone when she talked about him didn’t sound quite as hostile as before.

“Did he tell you Steven Anderson’s body was found?” Surely the thought of being involved in the pomp and ceremony of a funeral would send her flying homeward.

Jenny assumed her sad expression. “He did. That’s so awful. Davey said he’d take care of sending flowers and our expressions of sympathy. He doesn’t want me to get involved in all that since I’m pregnant.’” She sighed. “Just another thing I can’t do because I’m pregnant.”

“Maybe he doesn’t want her to come home,” Charley said. “You’d think he’d know her well enough to use the funeral as bait.”

Though Amanda had been thinking sort of the same thing…in a nicer way, of course…she frowned at Charley.

“I have something to show you.” Jenny’s expression changed to a smile and she waved a hand toward the bedroom door. “I wanted to do something to thank you for taking me in and being there when I needed you, so I redecorated your bedroom.”

Charley darted into the bedroom then out again, his expression horror-stricken. “Don’t go in there, Amanda.”

Gone was the faded patchwork quilt that had rested quietly and unobtrusively on her bed for the last three years. Also gone were the two happily mismatched garage sale lamps on her mismatched night stands. A purple patterned comforter lay across the bed. Silk scarves covered the nightstands and blended with purple shades on small matching lamps. The purple theme continued in various hues throughout the room...on the dresser, the chest of drawers, throw rugs and new drapes that covered the antique blinds.

“I know how much you like purple.” Jenny stood beside her in the doorway. “What do you think?”

Charley burst into gales of laughter. “I wish you could see the look on your face! If you puke right now, it’ll be purple.”

Amanda turned to look at her sister and made a concerted effort to twist the corners of her mouth upward. “It’s...uh...thank you for...uh...doing all this work. You shouldn’t have.”
You really shouldn’t have.
Amanda tried to think of something gracious to say about the room.
It’s lovely. This is so nice.
She couldn’t bring herself to tell such outrageous lies. “How did you do all this when you can barely walk?”

“Why, I paid the decorators at the store to do it, of course. But I picked out everything myself.”

It’s the thought that counts.
“That must have been a lot of work. Uh, where did you put my quilt?”

“Oh, it’s in the closet. It seemed clean enough and I thought you might need the extra cover this winter. I don’t think you have very good insulation in these walls.”

It’s the thought that counts. It’s the thought that counts.
“What about my lamps? They generate heat. Be good this winter in this drafty old place.” Amanda could hear the sarcasm dripping from her voice. Thoughts counted, but so did actions.

Jenny giggled. “You’re so funny, Amanda. I had to throw those awful lamps away. The wiring looked dangerous. I’m surprised you haven’t burned the place down already.”

“I found them at garage sale and rewired them myself.”

“Garage sale? Well, no wonder. These lamps are new and the wiring is UL approved. You can sleep soundly tonight and won’t have to worry about a fire.” Jenny pulled back the spread and revealed lavender sheets. “Thousand thread count. Your old ones were very scratchy. Tonight you can snuggle in, relax, and get a good night’s sleep.” She smiled and spread both hands toward the bed.

Amanda took a step backward. “I can’t sleep in that bed! I mean, you can’t sleep on the sofa in your condition. No, you have to sleep here tonight. I’ll sleep on the sofa again.” Jenny hadn’t invaded the living room. Yet.

She waved a hand dismissively. “I bought an air mattress that the salesman guarantees is as comfortable as any regular mattress. All I have to do is lay it out on the floor, plug it in, and it fills itself. It’s the same height as a regular bed. I may have to get you to bend over to plug it in and put on the sheets.” She looked down at her protruding abdomen. “I’m so clumsy now. Do you remember how I used to dance?” She lifted her arms as if planning to do a pirouette, then sighed and dropped them back to her sides. “I can’t dance anymore. I can barely walk. Now I understand why the grocery stores have special parking spots for pregnant women. We should have handicapped stickers for our cars. Of course, Davey usually takes me places and lets me out just in front of the door.”

Amanda’s spirits rose in spite of the damage to her bedroom. Jenny sounded a little wistful when she talked about Davey. They were meeting for lunch tomorrow. One more night. If she could get through one more night.

A rapid knocking on the front door interrupted her fantasy. “Maybe that’s Davey!”
Please be Davey, come to take Jenny home!

She started toward the door, but Jenny laid a restraining hand on her arm. “Of course it’s not Davey. It’s after ten. Davey would never knock on somebody’s door at this hour. I don’t believe I know anybody who’d come to call so late.”

“I have an idea,” Amanda said. “Let’s open the door and see who it is.”

Jenny’s hold on her arm tightened. “It’s dark out there and you live in such a bad part of town. I don’t think you should open that door.”

The knocking sounded again, this time in a faster rhythm as if the caller was growing impatient.

“I’ll go see,” Charley said. He darted through the door then back. “It’s Lila.”

“Lila?” Amanda repeated, her heart rate accelerating. “What’s she doing here?”

“Lila?” Jenny echoed.

“Uh, yeah, Lila.”

“How can you tell before you open the door?”

“I recognize her knock,” Amanda improvised. “We don’t want to talk to her. Don’t answer.”

“I should say not. How rude to arrive at this hour.”

“You better open this door!” Lila called. “I know you’re in there. Why were you following me?”

Jenny’s eyes widened. “You were following her? Who is this woman?”

Amanda shrugged as if the incident were of no importance. “Just...a friend of the brother of a friend. She’s delusional.” All true.

“I think we need to call 911.” Jenny released Amanda’s arm and moved toward the coffee table, toward her purse.

Amanda stepped between her and her goal. “No, let’s don’t do that.” She was pretty sure she hadn’t broken any laws by following Lila but she didn’t want to explain the situation to the cops, especially not to Jake and Ross.

“Go away!” Charley shouted.

Amanda wanted to shout the same thing. Instead she crossed the room and stood next to the door. “What do you want?”

“I saw you!”

“Yeah, well, I saw you too. So what?”

“You don’t know what you’re getting into.” Lila was no longer shouting. Her words were soft and her voice trembled.

“Amanda, what’s she talking about?” Jenny stood next to the coffee table, one hand clutching the side of her face and the other rubbing her stomach. “What’s happening?”

Amanda’s eyes widened. Was Jenny going into labor? “What do you mean, what’s happening?”

“She’s having the baby! Lila’s scared her into labor!” Charley cowered against the door next to Amanda.

She gaped at him in horror. What did he expect her to do?

“Amanda,” Jenny said, “I think—”

“No!” Amanda held out a hand, stopping the words as if she could stop the action. She whirled around and opened the door far enough to confront Lila. If Jenny was having the baby, they didn’t need a crazy woman blocking their way to the hospital. “Go away!”

Lila weaved slightly on her red stiletto heels. Her eyes were bloodshot, her pupils dilated. Drugs. She clutched a red bag in one hand and pointed a long red fingernail at Amanda with the other. She leaned so close Amanda could smell her stale cigarette breath and something else, something acrid and chemical. “Stay out of this. Stay away from me and keep your mouth shut about whatever you think you saw tonight.”

In spite of the woman’s bad breath, Amanda leaned toward her, adopting an aggressive posture she didn’t really feel. “I don’t care how much meth you take or how many men you sell your body to! My sister’s having a baby! Get off my property now!”

“I’m calling the police!” Jenny shouted from inside the room.

“No!” Lila opened the red bag, fumbled inside, and withdrew a small revolver.

Amanda froze.

“Gun!” Charley shouted and dove for cover somewhere behind Amanda.

“You don’t call the police and you don’t come around me again!” Lila fumbled with the gun and managed to get one finger inside the trigger guard. Her hand shook so badly, even if she fired, she might miss her target...or she might not.

Amanda slammed the door in Lila’s face. “Get down!” She lunged across the room and grabbed Jenny who shrieked as Amanda tugged her out of the line of fire and onto the sofa.

“What’s going on?” Jenny demanded, struggling to sit upright. “Why did you grab me like that? Who is that woman? I knew you shouldn’t have moved to this neighborhood. Mother said you weren’t safe. Daddy owns some rental properties in a nice area up in Richardson. You could move into one of those.”

Jenny rambled on as Amanda watched the door. No bullets ripped through the flimsy wood. Lila was no longer shouting threats. Jenny was babbling but said nothing about a gun. Thank goodness she hadn’t seen that part.

“I’ll get rid of her.” Charley darted through the door.

Jenny tried to rise but Amanda held her back. “Just a minute. Let’s wait for...” She couldn’t say,
Let’s wait for Charley to report back
. “For just a minute. To be sure she’s gone.”

Charley returned. “She’s leaving. She brought that man in her car, the one from the alley. He’s totally wasted. He was staggering around your parking lot when she went down, but she shoved him into the car and drove away.”

Amanda released Jenny’s shoulder and stood. Great. Lila had not only brought her gun, she’d brought her john along for the late night visit.

Jenny pushed to her feet and tugged on Amanda’s arm. “Are you listening to me?”

For a minute she’d forgotten about her sister. “Yes...no...Jenny, are you in labor? Is the baby coming now?”

Jenny shook her head. “No. Why would you ask that? Of course, having that crazy woman at the door was enough to cause a miscarriage. I was so scared! We need to call the police. She might come back. Do you have people like that coming to your door often? Have you talked to that detective who came home with you the other night? I’m sure he’s not happy about the kind of neighborhood you live in.”

“Jenny, can you be quiet for just a minute?”

Jenny dropped Amanda’s arm and crossed hers over her protruding abdomen. “I guess I can. Excuse me for worrying about my big sister. It’s not like you make good decisions. You married that awful man and now you live in this awful place.”

“You married an awful man? Were you married to somebody before me?” Charley asked.

Amanda pressed her hands to the sides of her head. “I need everybody to stop talking and let me think!”

Jenny backed away. “Everybody? Amanda, there’s nobody here but me. Are you saying I’m talking enough for two people? I was just trying to help. I didn’t mean to get you all upset. But, really, all I’ve been saying is for your own good.”

Amanda sucked in a deep breath and lifted her hands in a placating gesture. “I’m sorry. It’s been a long day. I’m really tired. I think we should go to bed now.”

Jenny’s eyes rounded in astonishment. “You want to go to bed after what just happened? How can you possibly sleep after that?” She lifted a hand to her chest. “My heart is pounding. Does this sort of thing happen so often you get used to it?”

Getting Jenny to go to sleep was the only way she could think of to shut her up. Putting a gag in her mouth wasn’t really an option. Maybe, if she wasn’t pregnant...

But she was.

“Yes,” Amanda said firmly. “I’m exhausted. I would like nothing better than to go to bed.” She collapsed onto the sofa and turned her face to the back.

“But...what about your new bedroom? Don’t you want to sleep in there tonight? I can blow up the air mattress and sleep in here. You’ll be more comfortable in your own bed, though your mattress doesn’t have a lot of support. You really...”

Amanda emitted a loud, phony snore.

“Oh my. I guess she really was tired. I don’t think I’ll sleep a wink after everything that’s happened. But of course she can sleep. She’s not pregnant.” A long sigh trailed away as Jenny’s footsteps left the room. “It feels like I’ve been pregnant all my life. I don’t even remember what it’s like not to be pregnant.”

The bedroom door closed.

“She’s talking to the sheets,” Charley reported. “Telling them how smooth they are.”

Amanda ceased the faux snoring, rolled over and sat up. She couldn’t put Charley to sleep.

“What do you think was going on with Lila?” he asked. “I wonder how she found you. I mean, sure, Ross introduced you this morning and she saw you tonight on your motorcycle, but she doesn’t seem smart enough to track you down.”

“Well, she did,” Amanda whispered. “I own a business. I’m not hard to find. The real question is why?”

Charley shrugged. “You came to her house with a cop, and you saw her tonight committing a crime. You freaked her out.”

“Then we’re even. She freaked me out. But when she said I didn’t know what I’m getting into, she sounded more scared than threatening.”

“Sure she’s scared, scared of going back to jail. It’s not a fun place to be. That gun she had sure looked threatening.”

Amanda shook her head. “She didn’t know what to do with it.”

“She managed to get her finger on the trigger. From there, it’s pretty easy to do something with it.”

“I guess.” She sat for a moment staring into the darkness. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“Of course it doesn’t. She’s a nutso junkie.”

“I agree with that part. But she’s lost her supply of money. She’s forced to go back to work, whatever form that may take. So why did she share her drugs with that man in the alley? He didn’t look like he could afford her services, however cheap those services may be. And then she loaded him into her car and brought him along with her when she dropped by to threaten me in the middle of the night. I don’t get it.”