The Prince Charming Hoax (39 page)

“
Next time, I
’
ll bring food with me. I should have called you back and asked you why you called, but I was in this neighborhood, so I thought I
’
d stop by. Considering what your doorman told me, I
’
m glad I did.
”

Roxie stepped aside and motioned him in.
“
John? What did he tell you?
”

“
About your visitor today. Isn
’
t that why you called?
”

“
Yes, but I can
’
t imagine why John would bring it up to you.
”

“
Possibly because he saw me pull up in a squad car?
”

“
I guess. But, he shouldn
’
t assume things like that and talk to my visitors. Never mind. Please, sit down and I
’
ll tell you why I called.
”
Just as they sat down in the living room, the doorbell rang.
“
This undoubtedly is my food now. I ordered extra drinks. Would you like a Diet Coke or water?
”

“
Water, please.
”

Roxie answered the door and brought in the delivery. She opened the bag, handed him a bottle of water, and offered half her sandwich.

“
No, thank you. Did you want to change your mind about pressing charges, Miss Stein?

“
Please call me Roxie. No, but I wanted to thank you for making me aware that I had grounds. I think just knowing I can open an investigation will keep Daryl Johnson out of my life for good now.
”

“
Your doorman seemed to think Mr. Johnson had violent intentions and was alarmed about your safety. Perhaps you should consider an injunction for protection.
”

“
What
’
s that?
’

“
A restraining order. If he violates the order, you can have him arrested. It
’
s a good precaution to take. Let me write down where you can go to get an immediate temporary order, which is good for fifteen days or until a hearing can be held.
”

He looked for a spot to put down the water bottle so he could write, but Roxie had her papers spread out all over the table.

“
Sorry, let me make room for you,
”
Roxie said as she quickly stacked the papers.
“
I
’
m starting a new business and until I get an office, this coffee table is my desk.
”

“
What kind of business are you starting?
”

Roxie told him about her recent dismissal and how she came upon the idea of helping women open their own businesses from home.

“
Roxie, you seem to be pretty good at handling situations and landing on your feet. While you were talking about your plans, I got this feeling that you might be a good person to work with teenage girls who need some direction.
”

“
Wouldn
’
t young girls have parents to help them?
”

“
I
’
m talking about girls who are in trouble or have the potential to get into trouble. Girls who have been arrested, or have some type of school or family problems. We call them
‘
at-risk.
’
But, this would be a volunteer position, and you probably don
’
t have time for anything like that.
”

“
I don
’
t know, Detective, it sounds kind of interesting.
”
Roxie surprised herself. This was not something she would normally spend even one minute considering.

“
Call me Mike. If you really think you
’
d like to do it, I
’
ll write down the name of the woman in charge of the girl
’
s program in the youth correctional division. You can give her a call.
”

He took out a note pad from his jacket pocket and wrote for several minutes.
“
Here
’
s the information about the restraining order and the at-risk girls program.
”
He put the paper on the table and stood up.
“
I really should be going.
”
He motioned to the papers on the table.
“
You have work to do.
”

Roxie got up to walk him out. She picked up the paper with his notes.
“
Thanks again, Mike. You
’
ve been a big help.
”

“
Any time, Ms. Stein. You have my number. Call me if you have any questions about the injunction or the volunteer program. I head up the boys program, so I can tell you a lot about it.
”

“
Please call me Roxie. I hope the next time we speak, I won
’
t be in some sort of crisis. But, I think the worst is behind me now.
”

“
Don
’
t be too sure. Call any time.
”

Roxie smiled.
“
I
’
ll be in touch,
”
she said and held out her hand as she opened the door.

When her hand touched his, Roxie felt a strong impulse to lean in and kiss him. She squeezed his hand and looked into his eyes, searching for a sign that he was feeling the same thing.

He held her hand tightly before releasing it.
“
Good,
”
he said.

She thought he lingered there, looking at her, a bit longer than necessary before leaving.

Chapter
34

Leah realized she had been home for hours and still hadn
’
t called Jonathan. She reached for her cell and started to speed dial, but for some reason she couldn
’
t remember his code. No problem, she thought, his number was stored in the phone book. But when she pressed the button to retrieve the stored contacts, the list was empty. Puzzled, she looked more closely at the phone. It wasn
’
t hers. It was much bigger and awkward to hold. When did she accidentally pick up someone else
’
s phone? And where was hers?

“
I
’
ll call my number and find out who has my phone,
”
she thought. But every time she tried to dial, the numbers came out in the wrong order on the call screen. She looked at the dial pad and discovered the numbers were mixed up in the wrong positions. What was going on? The phone began to ring.

“
Hello, who
’
s this?
”
she said. The phone kept ringing. She spoke louder.
“
Hello, hello!
”
Still the phone kept ringing. But the ringing came from her phone, with her special musical clip that she downloaded from the Internet. Where was her phone?

Leah sat up in bed, trying to figure out where the ringing was coming from. Her phone was on the nightstand. She grabbed it.
“
Hello.
”

“
Mom, did I wake you? It
’
s 8:30—late for you.
”

“
Ali?
”

“
The one and only.
”

“
Give me a minute. I was in a deep sleep. I guess I heard the phone ringing, but in my dream, I had someone else
’
s phone and—never mind. I
’
m fine now.
”

Ali was laughing.
“
You
’
re so funny, Mom.
”

“
That
’
s funny?
”

“
Yeah, I know when crazy things happen to me, it
’
s because I
’
m so much like you.
”

“
I know you
’
re saying that with love, so I won
’
t take offense. What
’
s going on?
”

“
When can I come home, Mommy?
”

Leah leaned back on the pillows and closed her eyes.
“
Soon, Sweetie. I just got back yesterday, but I
’
ve already gone through the paper and have a list of rentals I
’
m going to see today. I
’
ll know better later in the day.
”

“
I can help you, you know.

“
I know, Ali. But, truthfully, there
’
s not much to do besides finding the new place. Most of our things are in storage and we never unpacked anything of yours, other than what you put in that room. And, besides, when you come home, I want to spend time with you having fun before you leave, not moving.
”

“
I talked to Dana and Tori and we want to all get together one more time before everyone leaves to go away for school. Them, me, Amy, Jessica, and Brooke. We
’
re planning to go away for a weekend.
”

“
Where?
”

“
Dana
’
s parents said we could use their vacation house in Melbourne, near Orlando. It has like four bedrooms, and it
’
s right on the beach.
”

“
Are her parents going to be there?
”

“
Yeah. They said it could be a graduation–good-bye party for us. They
’
re really nice, Mom.
”

“
When is this?
”

“
Not this weekend, but the one after. Can I go?
”

“
I guess. But, I
’
m not looking at a calendar, Ali. How much time would you have afterward, before I drive you up to school?
”

“
About four days. But, if I come home next week, I
’
ll have plenty of time to do everything.
”

“
Sounds good. You certainly deserve some time to have fun with your friends. How
’
s Debbie doing?
”

“
Much better. She was so happy when all the babies seemed all excited to see her. She missed them, you know. And, Aunt Carol made some calls and has a list of mothers
’
support groups and information about a family center at the community college that has special mommy-and-me classes.
”

“
That sounds perfect. I moved to Florida right after you were born and I went to classes like that to meet other mothers. It helped a lot with the loneliness I felt when we first got here.
”

“
I told Debbie that she had to tell everyone she knows about your new children
’
s books and Roxie
’
s idea to help moms stay at home and have their own businesses, too.
”

Leah smiled.
“
Sweetie, you know I
’
ve never tried to influence you about a career, but you really ought consider majoring in marketing or communications. You
’
re a natural.
”

“
I think I
’
ll stay with art and drama. But I did go online and look up what kind of classes were offered in Women
’
s Studies. Did you take any courses like that when you went to college?
”

Leah burst out laughing.
“
Ali, when I went to college, we were living the events you are going to being reading about in your classes. At that time, the women
’
s movement was just getting into high gear. But it
’
s really important for you to take those classes. Young women today have it better than we did, but there
’
s still a long way to go.
”

“
Mom, I got to go. Debbie and Ronnie are hiring someone to come in and help her during the day. And they want me to be there when they do the interviews. Isn
’
t that cool? Anyway, the first woman is here to interview for the job—so I
’
ll call you later. Bye.
”

Leah leaned over to place the phone back on the nightstand. Mitzi was waiting at the side of the bed. When she saw Leah notice her, her tail began to wag furiously.

“
Good morning, Mitzi. Yes, I
’
ll take you out now. You poor thing, I
’
m not much of a doggie-watcher. But I am a damn good mother. My Ali is something else. Come on, I
’
ll get dressed and we
’
ll take a quick walk outside. I
’
ve got lots of ground to cover today, you know.
”

Mitzi trailed close to Leah
’
s heels as she got dressed and put up water for tea in the kitchen before getting in the elevator.
“
Don
’
t tell anyone,
”
she said to the dog as she grabbed her wallet, keys, and sunglasses from the hallway table,
“
but I
’
m going to miss you. You were the only reason I had to get up and get dressed for the first few weeks after I got here.
”

Mitzi started to turn circles with excitement as Leah picked up the leash and pushed the button for the elevator.
“
But, now even though I have so much to do and so much to look forward to, I can see I
’
ve grown attached to you, you little dust mop. Come on,
”
Leah hooked the leash to Mitzi
’
s collar,
“
let
’
s walk along the doggie run near the beach so I can get a newspaper on the boardwalk.
”

Although it was not quite nine o
’
clock, the summer sun was strong and hot. The breeze from the ocean was pleasant, though, cutting the discomfort of the ever-present humidity. Leah walked slowly, enjoying the sound and scent of the water. Her dark sunglasses were not enough to shield her eyes from the glare of the sun, so she held her hand over the tops of the frame and squinted as she looked out at the water.

I
’
m completely at ease when I
’
m on the beach, she thought. As much as I love the passion, excitement, and energy of New York, this is what fuels my soul.
Please let me find a place today,
she thought looking skyward.
A nice little cottage or villa near the water, where I can sit on my patio and write. That
’
s all I need.

She felt the pull of the leash as Mitzi finished her business and was ready to move on. Leah stopped again only briefly to get a newspaper and headed back to the penthouse. When the elevator doors opened into her apartment, the phone was ringing, but Leah was unable to answer before voicemail picked up. She dialed for her message.
“
Miss Gold, this is Melinda Vanderholt calling. It is imperative that I speak to you immediately. Call me when you get this message. You will find my international mobile phone number listed in our contact information inside the kitchen pantry cabinet door. We are in Sydney, which is fourteen hours ahead of you, so call at an appropriate time. Thank you.
”

Leah shuddered and walked into the kitchen. She wondered how Roxie worked with that woman for two years, while designing and decorating this place.
“
Well, Ms. Mitzi, your real mother called. Probably to give me the boot herself. But, I
’
m not calling her back until later or tomorrow, after I
’
ve found somewhere else to live. I want to tell her I
’
m leaving before she can kick me out,
”
she said as she filled Mitzi
’
s bowl with fresh water.

She checked the real estate listings for waterfront properties while she drank her tea, highlighting the ones she wanted to call in yellow. She set two additional appointments for the day and went to get ready.

Standing under the shower spray, enjoying the specially designed hydro-jets, Leah thought about her dream. Why was she thinking she had to call Jonathan? She spoke to him yesterday and would have seen him, but he got a last-minute rush assignment and couldn
’
t pick her up at the airport as he had planned. She had this funny feeling that she needed to tell him something, but what was it? She finished rinsing her hair and turned off the shower. As she dried off with the towel, she put the thought out of her head. She would probably remember tonight when she saw him for dinner. Right now she had to focus on getting a place to live.

Three hours and five appointments later, she sat in her car, pulled off to the side of A1A, between Hollywood and Dania. A sudden thunderstorm was passing, typical of the season. The torrential downpour made driving almost impossible, so Leah decided to wait it out. After almost twenty years of living in Florida, she knew it would let up enough for her to continue soon. She reviewed her list of possibilities, crossing off the first five addresses. Two left. She called for directions, more to pass time than anything else. But she couldn
’
t hear anything the man said. The thunder and roar of the rain on her car roof was too loud. She clicked off her phone, turned up the music, and tilted her car seat back so she could relax while waiting out the storm.

But relaxing was out of the question. She jumped as lightning flashed and the thunder crackled. Something told her to straighten up and move the car. She pulled out, crept up about twenty feet ahead on the road, and stopped at the light. A snap of lightning flared, illuminating the dark sky with an eerie bolt of light. Hearing a crash behind her, she looked in her rearview mirror. The lightning had hit a tree and a branch fell down, striking the ground where she had been parked.

Leah drove on with shaking hands through the flooded coastal roads. She tried several times to get west, away from the low ground, but was afraid to cross the huge puddles that washed out the roads. She cursed the trucks and giant SUVs that sped past her little BMW, creating a wake in the high waters. She made her way cautiously up to the overpass that curved around to Dania Beach Boulevard and out to Federal Highway. Heading north to Fort Lauderdale, she came within two blocks of Jonathan
’
s studio.