Final Appeal (21 page)

Toni was smiling as she went back to bed and crawled under the covers. She was getting sleepy again now. She slid over toward Mike's side of the bed, intending to cuddle up next to his warmth and drift back to sleep, but . . . Toni patted the blankets. He was gone! It was only four-thirty in the morning, and he'd already left her. Was she really that ugly when she woke up in the morning? No, that couldn't be the reason. Mike had never stayed around long enough to see what she looked like in the morning.

That did it. Now she was wide awake again. Toni switched on the light and slipped into a warm quilted robe that had belonged to her mother. It had once been royal blue, but it had been washed so many times over the years, that it had faded to the color of sun-bleached denim. She was really getting a complex about Mike's disappearances. She had a lover who refused to spend the whole night with her. Was she doing something wrong? Did she snore? Did she have dragon breath in the middle of the night? Or, God forbid, did she pass gas in her sleep? There was some reason Mike always left before morning rolled around and she wanted to know what it was.

Toni left her door wide open and walked down the hall in her fuzzy blue slippers to ring Mike's doorbell. She had to get this whole thing settled right now, before it really became a problem.

No answer. He'd probably gone back to sleep in his bed. She knocked very loudly, considering the hour, and rang the doorbell repeatedly. In spite of her persistence, she heard no one moving inside, no footsteps approaching to open the door. Was Mike home? And if he wasn't, where had he gone with no car? Had he given back her keys? Toni rushed to look, but they weren't on the hook where she usually kept them. She'd have to leave her door open while she checked the garage. Her door key was on the ring. Forget worrying about burglars. This was more important, and she'd only be gone a second or two.

Toni raced down the stairs and pushed open the garage. Her parking space was empty. There was probably a reason why Mike had taken her car in the middle of the night, but she couldn't think of what it could be.

Back up the stairs to her apartment. Toni did her best to remain calm and sensible. What should she do? If a stranger had taken her car, she'd call the police, but that didn't apply to this situation. She'd told Mike he could use her car anytime he wanted.

Then she spotted his wallet on the kitchen table and flipped it open. This was bad. He was driving her car and he'd forgotten to take his driver's license. She hoped he didn't get pulled over by the police.

A note. He might have left her a note. She hadn't even looked for one. Nothing in the kitchen. No note on the table beside the bed. Nothing next to her computer, or anywhere else she could think of to look. Of course, he'd probably figured she wouldn't wake up. She'd told him that she could sleep through anything.

Toni made herself a cup of cocoa that was spiked with a shot of brandy to settle her nerves. Mike would have an explanation when he came back. If he came back.

She had to stop thinking like this. It was much too early to start calling around looking for him, even if she'd known where to look. She'd give Mike until daybreak before she took any action. But where was he? And what was he doing? Did he have another girlfriend stashed away somewhere? She'd heard about men who divided their time between two women, but Mike didn't seem to be that type of man. Of course, the successful two-timers wouldn't appear to be two-timers, or they couldn't be successful.

Toni took another big swallow from her cup. The brandy didn't seem to be helping. If Mike was involved with another woman, how would he explain his absence to her? An extra night job, she supposed. That was a pretty good excuse as long as the other woman didn't try to reach him at work. Or maybe she did. He'd said that his regular nine o'clock call was from his brother, but it might be from her rival. What would she look like? Toni was willing to bet she was a blonde. They were always blondes. And she had huge breasts, much bigger and firmer than Toni's. Mike would go home to his other apartment . . . or maybe it was a house in the suburbs . . . and there she'd be, the Playboy Bunny blonde, waiting up for him. She'd pour him a drink and rub his back. Poor baby. He worked so hard. And he'd say she looked gorgeous in that peek-a-boo black negligee. If she promised to spend the extra money he earned on sexy clothes like that, he wouldn't mind taking on a third job. Come to think of it, maybe he wasn't as tired as he'd thought he was. And she'd laugh and kiss him, and then they'd . . . Cocoa sloshed out on the table, and Toni went to get a sponge to wipe it up. Her little scenario had been ridiculous. She was sure Mike wasn't with another woman. There had to be a good reason why he was gone, and if she used her brains, she'd be able to figure out what it was.

Perhaps Mike hadn't been able to sleep in the first place. He'd told her that he wasn't used to Szechwan cuisine, and he'd eaten a lot of fiery dishes. Those little peppers could really play havoc with the digestive system. He might have gotten up and looked in her bathroom medicine cabinet for some Alka Seltzer. And she knew there wasn't any because she never needed it. She'd always been able to eat anything she wanted with no side effects. But if Mike had been desperate for something to settle his stomach, he might have dashed out to one of those all-night convenience stores. She'd told him that there was one only a few blocks down, but he'd probably forgotten. So he'd taken her car and decided to drive around until he spotted one. That was it. She just knew that was it. She could picture him now, driving through the dark streets until he saw the sign. AM/PM Market or 7-Eleven. Now he was pulling into the parking lot, getting out of the car, and locking it behind him. He would lock it she was sure. Mike was a careful person.

The Alka Seltzer would be right there on the shelf behind the checkout counter. He'd only buy one envelope. There'd be no need for a whole package because he'd vow never to eat Szechwan again. And the old man behind the counter would say, “Stomach problems, fella?” And Mike would say, “Szechwan food. I guess I ate too much of it.” The man would nod and get him a cup of water so he could get instant relief right there in the store. And then he'd suggest that Mike pick up something else to settle his stomach for the rest of the night. Yogurt or ice cream. They always worked. Mike would remember that they'd finished the last of the ice cream two nights ago, and he was crazy about Rocky Road, so he'd buy more. And then he'd drive back and park in her parking spot and come up the stairs. And he'd come through the door carrying a carton of Rocky Road ice cream. Of course, he'd be happy that she was awake, so they'd sit down at the table and gorge themselves on big bowls of Rocky Road.

Toni sighed. Wrong scenario. Drinking a bromo and buying ice cream wouldn't take this long. It was after five-thirty in the morning, and Mike had been gone at least an hour and a half. What if he got into an accident on the way back to the apartment building? A drunk might have plowed straight into him, and he might be lying in a hospital right now, unconscious and needing her. Since his wallet was here, he wouldn't have any identification, and they'd never find out who he was.

Toni reached for the phone book. She'd waited long enough. At least, she could call the local hospitals to see if anyone of Mike's description had been admitted. She was just dialing the first number when she heard the key in the lock.

“Mike?” Toni threw down the phone and raced into his arms. “Thank God you're back! I was so sure you'd had an accident!”

He hugged her, and Toni hugged him back. She was so relieved.

Michael wasn't relieved; far from it. He sighed and held Toni a little tighter. He'd have to tell her. It was only fair. She'd obviously been worried sick about him.

“Toni? Sit down a minute. There's something I have to tell you, and it may take a while.”

“It's the blonde.” Toni sank into a chair. “I knew it. I just knew it.”

“What blonde?”

“The one in the black negligee. Your other woman.”

“What are you talking about, Toni? I don't have another woman. There's no one but you.”

Toni let out a deep, shuddering sigh. “Thank God! I didn't think you did, but I wasn't completely sure. Uh . . . Mike? Tell me the truth now. Do I do anything disgusting in my sleep? Like . . . uh . . . snore or whatever?”

“No, Toni. You're very sweet when you sleep. And you don't snore.”

“That's a relief! Then I guess you must have gone after the bromo and Rocky Road. And since you didn't bring the carton back with you, you must have eaten it all on the way home.”

“Rocky Road? No, Toni. I didn't go after ice cream.”

“The drunk hit you before you got to the store? Don't worry, Mike. I've got insurance. I've even got a rider for uninsured motorists. I'm just glad you're not hurt. Anyone can have an accident. And I'll bet it wasn't your fault in the first place.”

“Nobody hit me, Toni. The car's fine. I checked it over when I got back and there's no sign of an accident.

“You checked to see if someone hit you? I don't understand. If someone hit you, wouldn't you know it?”

“Not unless it woke me up.” Michael walked to the cupboard and took out two brandy snifters. He poured a generous portion into each of them. “I don't know who's going to need this more, Toni, you or me. Take a sip and don't ask any questions. I'll tell you everything. “

“But . . .” Toni opened her mouth, and then she thought better of it. She clamped it shut again and waited.

“I sleepwalk, Toni. That's why I'm never here when you wake up in the morning. Sometime during the night I get up and do whatever I do in my sleep. I don't know why I sleepwalk, but I can't seem to stop doing it. I've tried everything I can think of. And tonight I found out that I sleep-drive, too.”

“You drove in your sleep? Toni took another sip from her glass. “Isn't that . . . uh . . . dangerous?”

“It must be. It certainly sounds dangerous to me. But I did check your car, Toni. And there's not a scratch on it.”

“Where did you drive, Mike? Do you know?”

“Not really.” Michael shook his head. He had a hunch that he'd driven back to Gateway University, but that was only a guess. He'd been thinking about Professor Zimmer right before he'd gone to sleep. When he'd gone to the college in the afternoon, he'd found the professor's class had been canceled. There was a note to that effect on the classroom door. Michael had called the personnel department from a phone booth on campus, and this time he'd reached Miss Beemer. Yes, Professor Zimmer was on leave this week, but he was scheduled to return for his class on Monday. In a way, Michael had been relieved. If the Professor was out of town he'd be safe until Monday, and Michael would make sure he was right there on campus to warn him before his class.

“Mike? Are you all right?”

Michael realized that Toni had asked him a question. “What was that, Toni? I guess I was falling asleep. “

“I asked where you were when you woke up.”

“On the Santa Monica freeway, just before Lincoln. I had to get off and check the map to get back here. It's a good thing you had one, Toni. I was totally disoriented. “

Toni tried not to show how shocked she was, but she knew she wasn't pulling it off very well. Driving on a Los Angeles freeway while you were wide awake was bad enough. But driving while you were asleep at the wheel? It was amazing that Mike hadn't been killed.

“Mike? Do you know if you do other things in your sleep besides walk? And.... uh. . . . drive on busy freeways?”

Mike nodded. “I know I dress and undress. And once the towels in the bathroom were wet, so I must have taken a shower.”

“Oh.” Toni shivered a little. “How . . . interesting.”

“You meant to say how frightening, didn't you?” Toni nodded, and Michael took her hand. “It scares the hell out of me, too. I wake up in the morning and wonder what I've done and where I've gone. And I can't remember, Toni. There are hazy images once in a while, but I'm not sure whether I dreamed them or whether they've really happened.”

Toni swallowed hard, “When did you start sleepwalking, Mike? Do you remember?”

Michael shook his head. “I was too young to remember, Toni. I must have been about three or so. But I know it was right after I moved in with my Aunt Alice. She was so worried she took me to a doctor, but he said it was just a reaction to my new environment. It stopped after a couple of months when I got used to the house.”

“That makes sense.” Toni nodded. “Your apartment is a new environment. But don't you ever hurt yourself, Mike? I should think you'd bump into the furniture or fall down the stairs in your sleep.”

“My aunt used to worry about that, but I've never hurt myself. It's as if I'm on automatic pilot. My eyes are open, so I assume I see any objects in my way and avoid them.”

Toni really didn't know what to say. Of course, she'd heard stories about sleepwalking, but she'd never actually met anyone who did it. There should be something she could say to comfort Mike. He looked really down.

“Well . . . at least we've got something else in common, Mike. That thing you said about automatic pilot reminded me. Sometimes I get up in the morning and put on the coffee without waking up. And once I got halfway through the dishes before I woke up and realized I was washing them. That's not so different from your sleepwalking, is it?”

“Maybe not.” Michael frowned as he pushed her car keys across the table. “You'd better take these back, Toni. And I understand if you don't want me to spend the night anymore. My sleepwalking probably makes you nervous.”