The Stares of Strangers (3 page)

Marcy snorted a contemptuous chuckle. “Trent is depressed, not a creeper. He'd never do something like that.”

“
I tend to agree with you.” I gave Marcy a few seconds to simmer down. “So, it sounds like you're not a big fan of Penny.”

Marcy rolled her eyes. “Penny's biggest fan is herself. That girl is so self-absorbed it makes me sick. She's also a cock-tease.”

Surprised by her choice of words, I didn't know what to say. Had I detected some jealously? Or was she simply being a protective friend to Trent?

Marcy handed me a mug and sat herself down at the table. While sipping on scalding hot coffee, I took the opportunity to observe her features. She was a cute girl with a pudgy face, but the poor thing suffered from bad acne: which is probably why she'd grown her bangs so long they almost covered her eyes. “So it sounds like you and Trent are pretty tight.”

She gave a slight shrug. “We hang out sometimes. Just as friends. Nothing more.”

“
And how many times have you met Penny?”

“
A few times. Just briefly. She and her roommates had a Halloween party and Trent invited me to tag along. Trent got all shitfaced and I had to drive him home early. We caught Penny kissing some older dude at the party and he went berserk.”

“
Jeesh,” I said. “Sounds like Penny really dragged him through the coals.”

“
I told you she was a piece of work.” Marcy shook her head. “Trent also found out that Penny and Caleb slept together. Can you believe she'd screw her best friend's boyfriend? I mean, you can't get much sleazier than that.”

My brain almost exploded. “Hold on, back up. Did you say Penny slept with Caleb?”

“
That's what Trent told me. I guess Caleb got plastered one night and started bragging about it. He's a real scumbag, too.”

No wonder Trent had tried to
off
himself. He couldn't catch a break. “If Penny was such a cock-tease, like you put it, then why would Trent even want to be with her? Why not just move on?”

Marcy gave me that look, like I'd just asked the most stupid question in the world. “Because guys are idiots, especially around hot women and, I'll admit, Penny is hot. Heck, if I were a dude, I'd probably do her. I know some guys are into Asian women. It's like a fetish, or something.”

I downed the last few sips of coffee and grabbed my purse. I had to go back to Penny's house and tell her what happened. “Marcy, I have to go, but I want to say I think Trent is lucky to have a friend like you. I'm sure he'll appreciate that you're taking care of Ralph.” I reached into my purse and handed her a card. “Here's my number, in case you know anyone who needs my services.”

“
Sure, I'll do that.” Marcy went and placed it on her fridge under a magnet.

Chapter 4

Twenty minutes later, I was back at Penny’s house. All three cars were still parked in the driveway so I knew her housemates must be around.

When Penny opened her door and saw me standing there empty handed, her brows furrowed. She tossed her long hair over her shoulder, irritably. “I guess Trent didn't want to return my things.”

“
The situation has changed,” I said. “Mind if I come in for a few minutes?”

“
Of course, come on in.” Her expression turned grim. “Did something bad happen?”

“
Trent is at Mercy hospital right now. When I showed up at his apartment a few hours ago, I found him on the bathroom floor. His medication bottles were empty.”

Penny’s jaw dropped and within seconds, her eyes filled with tears. “He … tried to kill himself?”

“
It appears so.”

Penny clearly needed a moment to process this information as she went to sit down on the sofa. “Did he leave a note?”

“
I couldn't find one, nor could I find your underwear.”

Penny shook her head, wiping her eyes, trying to compose herself. “Forget about the underwear. I just want to know if he's going to be okay.”

“
I don’t know. I'm sure the doctors are doing everything they can for him.”

Penny stood up, a frantic look in her eyes. “I have to go tell Caleb.”

“
Look,” I said. “I know this is upsetting but, just keep in mind, Trent probably had nothing to do with the theft that occurred this morning. Which means there's someone else who got into this house and took your belongings.”

“
Yeah, yeah,” Penny said, shaking it off. “I can't think about that right now. I really need to talk to Caleb.”

I got the hint that she wanted me to leave, so I headed for the door. 

* * *

When I got home around six, I had just enough time to jump in the shower and make myself presentable. At the tender age of 44, maintaining a beauty regimen had become a challenge. So much to fret about; gray hairs, wrinkles, muffin top and the list goes on. Even though I’m an avid runner, pounding the pavement doesn’t keep the pounds off like it used to. Now, I’m relegated to counting calories which, for me, is a fate worse than death considering my legendary sweet tooth.

Being that I’m a terrible cook, my meals usually consist of frozen pizza or take out. The fancy French cookware hanging in my kitchen is strictly for looks. I purchased the overpriced collection after my divorce two years ago, a house warming gift to myself. They are still in perfect condition. I figure I could always sell them on Ebay if I needed the money.

By seven, I heard the key in the front door and knew it must be Carter. I had given him a key to my apartment last week, an important step in our relationship. 

He waltzed inside with that calm confidence, dressed in his usual faded jeans and… oh, those blue eyes ...  It wasn’t often I got to see him wearing a neatly pressed, black button down shirt without the tattered leather jacket.

He joined me in the kitchen and set a brown paper bag on the table. “You look good enough to eat,” I said.

Carter is one of those older men who defies age. Sure, he might be a bit weathered, but it only adds to his charm. His body is in perfect condition but not from running or weightlifting. He swears by the old school routine of pushups and sit ups every single morning. 

“
You look pretty amazing yourself,” he said, placing one hand on my waist and pulling me toward him. He planted a firm kiss on my lips.

“
So what did you bring us for dinner?” I asked, peeking inside the bag. “Smells like Thai?”

“
Your favorite, right?”

“
You know me so well.” I began to set the table. “Would you like beer or wine?”

“
Whatever you’re having is fine. Can’t wait to hear about your day.”

I poured two glasses of red wine and we got busy loading our plates with pad Thai noodles and fried spring rolls. “You won’t believe what happened.”

“
Try me.”

“
Well, after meeting with Penny, she convinced me to go talk to her ex-boyfriend.”

Carter raised an eyebrow. “Oh, you mean the
The Panty Thief
?”

“
Yeah. I showed up at his apartment just in time to find him near death on his bathroom floor. An overdose from prescription pills.”

“
Attempted suicide?”

“
Possibly.”

Carter looked away and sighed. I could only imagine he was thinking of his only daughter, who had died of an overdose when she was a teenager. It's something he's never been able to forgive himself for, even though he has no reason to accept the blame.

“
You called 911?” he said.

 “
Yeah, and guess who showed up?”

“
Who?”

“
Officer Bouchard.”

Carter squinted as if trying to remember. “Is he the short guy with the crew cut?”

“
That's him. Anyway, he let me do a quick search of the apartment but I found nothing.”

Carter nodded solemnly, then took a deep breath. He loaded more food onto his plate. “Well, I got a promising lead on a job today. Might be a fun challenge.”

I perked up. Finally, a job that might actually pay good money. It'd been a while since we'd had a nice, meaty case to sink our teeth into. “Great. Who’s the client?”

“
Her name is Gina Carr. We spoke on the phone and she sounds like a nice elderly lady. She wants to hire us for surveillance work.”

“
Let me guess: she thinks her husband is cheating?”

“
Not exactly.” Carter paused for effect while he munched on a spring roll. “She’s absolutely convinced that aliens are having sex with her every night while she's asleep in bed.”

I threw a napkin at him. “Stop it. You can’t be serious.”

With a straight face, he said, “Sarah, I couldn’t make this stuff up.”

“
Well, what does she want us to do about it? Stop the aliens from raping her?”

“
Oh, no,” Carter shook his head, a serious expression on his face. “She just wants to know what planet they’re from.”

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. I quickly covered my mouth and felt horrible. “That is so sad. She must be senile.”

“
I don't know, but when I told her we didn’t specialize in extra-terrestrial espionage, she called me a liar and hung up on me.”

“
You should've taken the job,” I teased. “You could tell her the aliens are from Mars. How could she disprove it?”

He smiled. “Believe me, the thought had crossed my mind.”

“
If we don’t get another decent job pretty soon, I might have to dust off my massage table and put an ad in the paper.”

Carter made a face. “Why? Are your finances tight?”

“
Not yet. But this dry spell has me a little worried.”

He took a sip of wine and said, “You know, I’ve been thinking, why don’t you get rid of this apartment and move in with me? My house is too big for one person anyway.”

His kind offer rendered me speechless for a few seconds. “That's sweet of you, really, but I'm fine.”

“
Come on. You can have the spare bedroom, do whatever you want with it. We spend most nights together, anyway.”

Carter and I had worked together for two years but our budding romance was a relatively new thing. We were still in the process of figuring it all out. “My lease is up in March, so let’s see what happens, okay? I really appreciate the offer, though.”

He put up a hand. “No worries, Sarah. You don’t have to make a decision right now. If you decide it's not a good idea, no problem.”

I analyzed his tone, to see if I could detect any bitterness. I didn’t. Maybe he knew I wouldn’t take him up on the offer, so he wasn’t surprised by my reaction.

I adored Carter, had the utmost respect for him, and trusted him with my life, but I didn’t want to ruin things by moving too fast. I’d seen my friends make that mistake. Sometimes it works out, usually it doesn't.

“
Are you ready for dessert and a movie?” I asked, eager to change the subject. “Why don't you go pick out a movie on Netflix while I do the dishes?”

Carter ignored me and began stacking the dirty dishes himself. “Tell you what, why don’t
you
go relax on the sofa and I'll do the dishes. Your day was more hectic than mine.”

“
If you insist,” I said.

As I meandered into the living room, my cell phone chirped. It's my new rule to take no calls after seven-thirty at night, unless I'm working a case, but I recognized the number. It was Officer Bouchard.

“
Good evening, Officer,” I said. “Is everything okay?”

“
Sarah, I hope I'm not disturbing.”

“
Not at all. What's up?”

A short pause while he cleared his throat. “Trent Olson passed away this evening around seven o’clock.”

It took a second for his words to sink in. “They couldn't save him?”

“
I've spoken with his family and friends and they all admit he was deeply depressed. We're ruling this a suicide.”

“
Well, thanks for calling,” I said. “I'm really sorry it turned out this way.”

“
Me, too.”

When Carter finished with the dishes, he came to sit next to me on the couch. “Who was that on the phone? You seem upset.”

“
Officer Bouchard called to tell me that Trent died this evening.”

He held my hand and squeezed it gently. “I'm sorry, but you know you did everything you could, right?”

I closed my eyes. “It's such a shame. Maybe if I had gone into the apartment sooner, he'd still be alive.”

“
I know this sucks, Sarah, but there's no point in trying to rewrite the past or second guess your decisions.”

I smiled weakly. “You're right. There's no point.”

Carter rubbed the back of my neck. “Do you still feel like watching a movie? Might be a good distraction to take your mind off of this for a while.”

“
Sure, as long as it's an upbeat comedy to make me laugh. I could use a little levity right now.”

Carter grabbed the remote. “Let's see what we can find.”