Carol Higgins Clark Boxed Set - Volume 1: This eBook collection contains Zapped, Cursed, and Wrecked. (8 page)

B
y the time Rod dropped off Wally at his house in Edgewater, New Jersey, a couple of miles south of the George Washington Bridge, Wally was a wreck. The always cranky Frank had insisted on being dropped off first. Already plagued with guilt, Wally didn’t argue. His cell phone was on silent mode but he could see that Arthur had called him twenty-two times. He’s not calling with good news, Wally thought. Only people with bad news and stalkers call this often.

Rod’s parting words as Wally jumped out of the van left no doubt in Wally’s mind about the tone of Arthur’s messages.

“Wally, I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning to go back to Mrs. Spreckles’s house. Good thing she has a generator.” Rod laughed. “Good thing for the blackout. Regan Reilly was expecting us in the morning, and I was going to have to make up some excuse. Pray the blackout lasts till at least noontime tomorrow.”

“We were supposed to go back to the Reillys’ tomorrow?” Wally asked in a faint voice. “I thought we weren’t due back until Wednesday when they were home from vacation.”

“No big deal. She’ll get over it. The job with Mrs. Spreckles was too good to resist.” Rod tooted the horn and drove off.

Wally stood in his darkened driveway on his darkened street unable to move a muscle. His head was spinning. He forced himself to walk over to his front stoop and sit. He could hear the sounds of neighbors down the street laughing and talking. He could smell food cooking on an outdoor grill. It all felt surreal. He knew he had to check those messages. Steeling himself, he pulled out his cell phone. There was one screaming message after another from mild-mannered, placid Arthur. At least I was smart enough not to listen to these in Rod’s car, Wally congratulated himself.

“She walked in when I was there! I locked her out on the roof! Why did you get me involved in your contractor’s fantasy? Why?…”

As Wally was deleting the thirteenth message, a familiar car came roaring down the block. Uh-oh, Wally thought, as he jumped up and fumbled for the keys to his house.

Arthur’s car turned and came to a screeching halt in Wally’s driveway. He jumped out and came running toward him.
“You idiot!”

“Come inside,” Wally urged in a shaky voice. “We don’t want to attract the attention of the neighbors—”

“I don’t care about the neighbors!”

“You should! Some of them are very nosy!” Wally turned, unlocked the door, and scrambled into his darkened living room. “I can’t see a thing! I’ll get a flashlight or a candle.”

Panting, Arthur collapsed onto the couch. “I dropped my stun gun. It was either on the street or in their apartment. I’m pretty sure it was their apartment.”

“Stun gun?” Wally called from the kitchen. “What were you doing with a stun gun?”

“You know I like gadgets. They’re good for protection. I was buying one for my grandmother so I bought one for myself.”

“They’re illegal around here.”

“I know!”

Wally came back into the living room carrying a lit birthday candle. “Let’s make a plan,” he said as the wax dripped onto his fingers. “I can always say the stun gun was mine and I dropped it when I was working there.”

“That is ridiculous. The owners know someone broke into their apartment.”

“You’re right. It is ridiculous. I feel so bad for Rod.”

“You feel bad for Rod? What about me?”

“He’s worked so hard all these years. If this comes out it’ll be terrible for his business.”

“He won’t end up in jail, now will he?” Arthur growled. He wiped his forehead. “I’m sweating to death.”

“Okay, okay,” Wally said. “I’ve got an idea. Let’s take a ride back into the city—”

“I’m too upset to drive!”

“We’ll take my car, then. I suggest we retrace your steps between the building and where you parked your car. It’s very possible we’ll find the stun gun.”

“And if we don’t? We’re in a blackout! The streets are so dark it’s hard to see anything!”

“I don’t know. But I have the feeling that at least if we’re near the loft, we’ll figure things out. Maybe we can grab a bite somewhere.”

“Grab a bite? Are you crazy?”

“I can’t sit here, Arthur! My stomach is in knots. Let’s go. This candle is burning my fingers.”

“That woman might still be out on the roof,” Arthur said miserably.

“No way. She and her husband are as thick as thieves.”

“Thick as thieves? Like us?”

“You know what I meant. He has to have rescued her by now.” Wally blew out the remains of the candle and jumped up. “Come on, Arthur. Sitting here isn’t going to get that stun gun back.”

“I have the feeling that it’s too late anyway.”

“Never mind. Let’s go. But, Arthur—”

“Yes.”

“There’s no harm in getting the tools out of your car. You never know. We might get a second chance at that safe.”

“No way, you jerk! I am not bringing my tools!”

C
onrad Spreckles searched the guest room high and low. There was no sign of any cash that Lorraine might have squirreled away. But he was wildly irritated, when, upon close examination, he noticed the exorbitant price tags still attached to many of Lorraine’s handbags.

“I was so used,” he gasped. “Grandma Spreckles would be mortified at this waste! Lorraine bought just for the sake of buying. It’s disgusting. She is not getting these handbags back! I’m giving them all to Alexis. Any bag she doesn’t like I’ll donate to charity!”

In the master bedroom he rifled through Lorraine’s dresser. No cash there, either. Just expensive lingerie and scarfs and sweaters, half of them never worn.

Conrad sat down on the king-size bed, feeling defeated. This house has so many places she could have hidden money I could search forever and still not find it, he thought. She probably has a secret bank account where my money is gaining interest. And now she’s staying at the Treetops Hotel in New York City which I’ll have to pay for. This bleeding has got to stop! I’ll call my lawyer tomorrow and see if I can cancel her credit card. I have to limit her spending now or I’ll be broke by the time the divorce is final.

He picked up the remote control and flicked on the television. “I’m a glutton for punishment,” he said aloud. “With my luck she’ll be on the news again.”

The phone jangled on the night table. Conrad jumped. He glanced and saw it was his daughter, Alexis, calling. Tears stung his eyes. She’d been so upset and distant since he’d married Lorraine that she rarely called. He grabbed the receiver. “Alexis?”

“Hi, Daddy.”

“Hi, sweetheart. How are you?”

“I’m okay. I’m in New York City.”

“In the middle of the blackout? Your mother didn’t tell me that.”

“I’m with Dodie and some of my friends. I was supposed to sleep at Dodie’s parents’ house down here tonight but I don’t feel well.”

“What’s wrong, honey?”

“This heat is so gross. It’s like I can’t breathe or something. We’re out and have been having fun, but all of a sudden I feel really bad. I’d love to come up to your place tonight. I know you have the generator and I can sleep with air-conditioning, which I know would make me feel better.”

Conrad rolled his eyes. She’s calling because she wants something, he thought. But it’s better than not hearing from her. And until now she had always refused to sleep at this house.

“I’d never ask if I didn’t know you’d given Lorraine the boot and she was staying at the Treetops Hotel here in the City.”

“I gather you spoke with your mother,” Conrad said wryly.

“Yes. She suggested I call and see if there was any possible way you could come and pick me up. I really don’t feel well, and Dodie’s family’s apartment is going to be so hot and horrible. I feel short of breath.”

My little baby, Conrad thought. He knew she was just fine but was a creature of comfort who didn’t want to spend even one uncomfortable night sweating. Grandma Spreckles would spin in her grave with all the hours she’d spent over a hot stove stirring pots filled with chocolate. Too bad, Grandma, Conrad thought. “Where are you, darling? Of course I’ll come get you.”

“Thank you, Daddy! I’m at Lonnie’s, a bar on the Upper East Side.”

“You’re not twenty-one yet.”

“I will be in twelve days.”

“Never mind. Where is it?”

“On Eighty-eighth Street and Second Avenue, right across the street from Elaine’s. I know you ate there a lot with Lorraine. Don’t come in or anything. Just call when you get close. Take your time, Daddy. I don’t want you to rush or anything.”

“Of course, dear. I hope you don’t get any sicker before I get there.”

“I won’t. Love you! Bye!”

Conrad hung up the phone. I’m getting my daughter back, he thought happily. But that doesn’t stop me from wanting to get my revenge with Lorraine. He stood for a moment thinking about what he could do to make her life miserable. “Ahhh,” he finally grumbled, then headed for his closet. “I’ll brainstorm in the car.” He laughed heartily. If there was anyone on earth who could think up ways to make Lorraine’s life utterly miserable, it was Alexis.

E
mergency workers all over New York City were rescuing people from elevators, firefighters were battling fires started by overturned candles, police were patrolling the streets to maintain order, and Georgina and Chip were on the hunt for a bottle of champagne to share on a park bench.

They couldn’t find one anywhere.

They’d gone to Lexington Avenue and walked north several blocks, then south on Third. The liquor stores they passed were all closed, their gates pulled down and locked. One owner was sitting in the front of his store with several of his friends, guarding against looters. He was friendly but was not about to open up for them.

The bars they tried wouldn’t sell them liquor to go.

“What does it take to get a bottle of champagne in this town?” Georgina joked as they stood on the corner of Third Avenue and Fiftieth Street. Her anxiety was starting to build. Cute and boyish, Chip reminded her so much of Huck. He must be four or five years younger than me, Georgina thought. He’s being nice to me tonight, but he’d never be interested in pursuing a relationship. Her anxiety heightened, and she started to feel angry. He’d end up dumping me just like Huck did.

Chip put his arm around her shoulder. “I feel like we’re on a scavenger hunt.” He kissed the top of her head. “Your hair smells good.”

“Thanks.”

He reached down and started to push her bangs to the side.

“Don’t do that,” Georgina said quickly.

“Sorry. Why not?”

“I look better with bangs, that’s all.”

He started to laugh. “Rose, there are no lights out here. I can barely see your face.” He kept on laughing.

Georgina tried to laugh along with him, just like she did when Huck teased her. Huck, whom she met the first week of college and became the first person she’d felt close to since her grandmother died. They were always together that fall semester. She was so happy. Finally she felt loved again. And she loved him with all her heart. At a raucous party one night at Huck’s fraternity, a brother brought out a flaming hot wire in the shape of a Greek letter. “Initiation time for our new members,” he’d cried. “If you are truly committed to our brotherhood, you should proudly wear our symbol on your body for the rest of your lives. It’s a badge of honor!”

Huck, who’d been drinking heavily, was about to succumb to peer pressure, and allow himself to be branded. Fiercely protective, Georgina managed to whisk him away. The next day he told her he would be eternally grateful. The branding caused a major uproar at the school, and one of Huck’s branded fraternity brothers developed a serious infection.

Three weeks later, the day they were leaving for Christmas break, Huck did the unthinkable. He dumped her. Even worse, he did it over the phone.

“I need some space,” he told her. “I don’t want to be in a relationship right now.”

Georgina’s roommate, who claimed she was switching rooms after the break so she could live with a girlfriend who had the same major and they could study together, had tried to comfort a weeping Georgina as they both were packing their bags.

“He’s not worth it,” she insisted. “You’ll meet somebody else. You’re so pretty and so much fun.”

In a daze, Georgina took a campus cab to the bus terminal downtown. When her bus came, she couldn’t bring herself to board with the other happy passengers who were carrying gifts and chatting about their plans for the holidays. She just sat there for two hours, staring into space. She didn’t want to go home and have to face her mother. Finally she picked up her suitcase and hailed a cab back to her dorm. She’d decided to stay one more night.

When she opened the door to her room, Huck was lying on the bed, cuddling with her roommate. The memory filled Georgina with rage. For weeks, they’d been seeing each other behind Georgina’s back. Georgina dropped out of school, never to attend another college.

“…I mean,” Chip continued, “we’re in a blackout!”

Georgina pulled herself back to the present.

“I’m going to have to think up some blackout jokes,” he said. “Honey, do these shoes match my outfit?…What? Who’s going to notice?”

Chip was making fun of her.

He tapped her nose with his index finger. “Rose, you are a character.”

“Is that what you think I am?”

“I do.” He looked around. “Since we’re not having much luck with the champagne, why don’t we walk over to Fifth Avenue and find that park bench? We’ve already had a couple margaritas. We don’t need another drink, now do we?”

Of course we do, Georgina thought. How else am I going to drug you, you idiot. She knew the knockout drops usually took effect within thirty minutes. Leaning her head against his chest, she purred, “I think it would be fun to have just one more margarita. Then we can take that walk. Okay?”

“I told you, it’s your night. I know a couple of bars on the Upper East Side that make great margaritas. We can see who’s still serving.” He took her hand and they started heading uptown. “One of them is on Eighty-sixth Street.”

He’s doing this on purpose, Georgina thought. He should know that area of town is going to make me sad.

When he wakes up tomorrow he is going to be so sorry.

So very sorry.