Without Any Warning (A Samantha Jamison Mystery Volume 2) (19 page)

Chapter 65

Shaken, Rattled & Rolled

The very next day, I was unexpectedly grabbed by two sets of hands the minute I walked in my front door. They practically dragged me up the stairs, while they both talked simultaneously. Thrown off balance by their surprise attack, I didn’t know which of their conversations to center in on first.

“Whoa! Ladies! Hold on! One at a time! Please!”

Hazel and Betty seemed quite shaken.

Not a good sign
.

I knew I didn’t want any more bad news, but then could have sworn I heard,
‘we’ve been rolled!’
As far as I could tell, they appeared physically okay, but you never knew with those two, even on a good day.

They were capable of anything, including overactive imaginations. Before this got out of hand, I had to attempt to try and calm them down to get to the bottom of what happened. I had a feeling it involved major damage control.

“Now, sit down. I’ll bring over some ice tea. It will give you both some time to collect your thoughts. I can’t make heads or tails from all your talking over one another.”

I made a hasty retreat and was back within minutes, carrying a tray with a pitcher of tea and glasses. I handed one to each of them. “Go ahead, but one at a time, please. Okay?”

Betty spoke in a hushed secretive tone. “We’ve stumbled onto something really big, Sam!”

I tried not to overreact. “Again?” I asked, already tensing up, afraid to hear what they were up to. I was still recovering from that last time in Highlands.

Hazel sniffed in indignation. “I saw you roll your eyes! Don’t be so judgmental, Samantha! It doesn’t suit you!”

“Sorry,” I offered, trying to look contrite. I looked from one to the other. “I guess I was jumping the gun.”

Betty wagged her finger at me. “Most certainly, young lady. Now, listen to this.”

Hazel leaned in conspiratorially. “Who do you think we caught talking to one another by the fountain down in your courtyard earlier? You will never guess!”

I sat there running possible match ups in my mind. To tell you the truth, there were
so many
to pick from it was hard to choose. “…Who?” I finally asked, trying to contain my composure.

Betty whispered, “That David fellow and our very own Martha! Can you believe it?”

“At first, we thought she was stretching it,” explained Hazel, “you know, flirting with a younger man like that, but as we edged around the far end of the building hoping to confront her, we caught words of a loud argument going on and stopped, quickly hiding out of sight to eavesdrop on what they were quarrelling over.”

“…What were they arguing about?”

“Martha was clearly disturbed,” replied Betty, “telling David that Joey was becoming dangerous, and she was obviously concerned.”

“Then David accused Martha of risking getting caught up in something she might regret,” added Hazel.

I had not expected that response. What had Martha been up to?
Known? Done? “Getting caught up in what?”

“We don’t know!” said Betty. “The she accused him of risking your safety, trying to catch who took the disc.”

How did she know about the disc?

I tried for neutral territory, while still maintaining a somewhat curious, but casual attitude. “What disc?”

“We were wondering too,” Hazel replied. “But suddenly it all turned south.”

“What happened?”

“Somebody must have let that Great Dane loose that lives next door to David, because, out of nowhere from behind the two of us, he raced past,” Betty said tersely, “and knocked us both down in the process. Why, I’m still rattled and sore I might add! We’re lucky we weren’t seriously injured, considering his weight and size! We heard later on that he was last seen racing down the boardwalk in a southerly direction, who knows where!”

“What happened to Martha and David? Didn’t they hear what happened? Didn’t they offer to help?”

“No,” said Hazel. “I guess when we landed around that corner of the building it was just far enough away from them to notice, what with all that yelling going on between those two. And, as you very well know with people our age, by the time we recovered, rolled over, got our bearings and got up, they were both long gone!”

Chapter 66

Abnormal, Atypical Absurdities

After all the setbacks, I still felt compelled to keep going because, as far as I was concerned, I had approached that point of no return. I was in too far. My book had unexpectedly become a major commitment at this point and I couldn’t backtrack and start over on something else. I was determined and maybe foolish, depending on how you wanted to look at it, to see this thing through to the end.

Surprisingly, there were not one, but two abnormal sightings of Martha in conversations with David next door. One was her being seen by Barbara going into David’s house and the other observed by Betty and Hazel having heated words in the courtyard with Martha.

Like the previous times, I was half-expecting the unexpected, but then again wasn’t, when it finally hit. What was I supposed to make of it? What did their encounters mean? As far as contacts with David went, Martha had met him at the casino, then again on the night Mona went deep sea diving under our club table on ladies’ night out, and also on the day of the break-in when I returned home from being with him at the Cape May Zoo.

The question here was, how did she get familiar enough with him between then and the present to already be having an argument with him? How did she know about the disc? I knew Mona wouldn’t have confided in her, and I certainly never let it slip to anyone, especially since I knew that by doing so would have been placing them in grave danger.

Why did David accuse Martha of risking getting caught? Getting caught at what? Why didn’t the two of them hear what was going on with Hazel and Betty on the other side of the courtyard?

Could it be that David and Martha were so caught up and distracted by their own words that they heard nothing? Maybe the large fountain they were standing in front of obscured noises at that distance. All of which were logical and explainable under the circumstances.

At first, the initial explanation of what Betty and Hazel saw and heard sounded absurd and questionable. And for that particular reason alone, after considering all the possibilities out there, I figured it was probably true!

Chapter 67

Bar, Bar, Bar, Bar, Barbara And… Who?

I had just finished saving the latest pages of my book when Barbara came barging in, all excited and dressed to go out. Much younger than the elderly Jack, she still turned heads, with her slim figure, striking chestnut brown hair, and impeccable sense of style. I was surprised she had come, while Jack stayed back in North Carolina, minding the store so to speak. Those two were like two peas in a pod; close as could be. But she was a free spirit. When she felt she had to see me, she picked herself up and did.

“Wow!” I commented, admiring her tailored navy slacks and white silk, body-hugging blouse. The strappy silver sandals were perfect. “Big occasion?”

Barbara started primping in front of my mirror, checking herself out and turning around. “Nothing special, just a dinner out. Bill should be here any minute.”

My mouth flew open. “You mean Bill the realtor?’

“Why, of course! Do you know of another one?”

“But he’s married, Barbara! You did know that, right? And, I might add, please don’t forget about your Jack.”

“Of course, Samantha! It’s only dinner. I’m surprised by your attitude. Don’t be so provincial!”

“I’m not. I feel sort of responsible for all of you. It’s been sort of crazy here lately. You know what I mean?”

She walked over and sat on the edge of the other chair opposite me, then leaned over and patted my hand. “Of course, I do. And I appreciate your concern. But after all I’ve been through in my life, I think I can handle a harmless little evening out, having fun at a club and a casino.”

A horn blared from the street below. “Oh! That must be Bill! I better get down there. We have reservations.”

I stared at her as she got up to leave. I swear, I almost offered myself as a chaperone for the evening, but hesitated in going that far. “…Can I ask you a question?”

She turned back to me. “Why of course, Samantha.”

“Does his wife at least know where you two are going? I mean …a night club and a casino in Atlantic City?”

 
“Well, I should hope so!” Barbara laughed. “She’s downstairs waiting in the car too!”

I heaved a sigh of relief and laughed at my foolishness. “Boy, you had me going there for a minute! I’ve always had you up there on this pedestal since I first met you, and just now, you were sort of teetering there for a bit. Sorry, I should have known better.”

“Don’t be sorry, Sam. I’m flattered by the compliment though. Trust me. I definitely have both feet on the ground and certainly not on some silly old pedestal. What you see, is what you get!”

 
“Well, don’t be too late!” I joked. “I wouldn’t want to stay up worrying about you.”

“Oh, please don’t worry. I’ll have plenty of company!” She said, smiling as she turned to leave. “David is joining us too!” And, just like that, she headed down the stairwell.

Bar…Bar…Bar…Bar…Barbara and…who?

What was going on?

Chapter 68

Clutching, Catching & Calming Down

M is for the infamous Martha, who always kept me on my toes. For a senior citizen, she was hard to pin down, but I was pushing to get some information from her before she dodged me again and ran out. Hearing her getting ready to make her exit, I planted myself at the bottom of the stairwell in the foyer and waited. As her rushed footsteps echoed on the stairs, I promptly revealed myself.

“Martha, hold on a minute!”

She clutched her hand to her chest. “God almighty, Sam! Give me some kind of warning, will you? It’s not time for a heart attack! I haven’t made out my will yet!”

“Sorry,” I offered unrepentantly, “but I need to speak to you before you leave. You always seem to be running off somewhere lately and are impossible to catch.”

She chuckled. “That’s not what Roland says!”

“What do you mean?” I asked, thrown off track.

“He said not only am I a good catch, but, unlike some fish he’s caught before, I don’t put up much of a fight. I practically jump right into his net.”

As usual, I was swallowed up into an entirely different conversation than the one I intended. “What…?”

She winked at me. “He said it sort of turns him on!”

My face reddened. I tried taking the lead. “Martha, this is not what I had in mind when I said I needed to talk!”

Martha stood there looking me up and down, tsk, tsking loudly, and then finally crossed her arms and tapped her foot. “Well, enough of the girl-talk then! I’m here now, and you have my full attention. Better make this quick. I got places to go and people to see!”

I hated being put on the spot like that. Over the last year, I have learned that when dealing with Martha, you had to be slow and deliberate, or the conversation wandered off to unknown territory like it just did, and I didn’t want to fall for it. Not again anyway.

Martha checked her watch. “Well? Time’s a-wastin’!”

“You’re telling me!” I replied. I cleared my throat to get the words out. “We need to have a talk regarding an incident that took place the other day involving you and David.”

She stood regarding me, and then said, “Now, I could ask you, which incident. You know, to be kind of humorous. Or I could act dumb and veer off the subject again, but I think you and I both know what incident you’re referring to, the courtyard episode. Am I right?”

I could not believe it! We were actually on the same page conversationally. This had to be an absolute first.

Well, for this book anyway.

“…Yes. The courtyard.”

“Well,” Martha offered, turning toward the steps. She started to walk back up. “We might as well head upstairs, because this might take some explaining. Besides, I can already tell by the look I’m getting that you might be better off sitting down for this one. Trouble is, even sitting down, you’re not going to like what I’m about to tell you. I know you too well to think otherwise. Just promise me you won’t overreact, okay?”

I reached for the stair railing and followed her up, mentally preparing for the worst. I should have been relieved to finally pin her down for something tangible to go on, but now I half-regretted what I had asked for. Maybe it was something I didn’t want to hear.