Love Makes the Difference (Sully Point Book 1) (16 page)

"That'll be fine, ma'am," said one of the men.

Maelynne stared at Sam again. "Who'd believe it? A real
movie being planned in our town!"

Sam spoke up. "We aren't sure yet if it will take place
here in Sully Point or not. We're scouting locations; nothing's been decided."

"Still, it's an honor just to be considered. Wait till
everyone--"

"You aren't going to spread this around, are you
Maelynne?" Anna asked.

"Oh no, never think of it."

Sam relaxed. The story would be all over town by tomorrow. "We'll
leave some of the men here to settle in, while the rest of us get to work.
Thanks again for your hospitality."

She fluttered around them as they got back into the SUV. "No
problem at all, anything I can do to help, you just ask."

They waved at her from through the windows as they pulled
away from the motel. Sam said to the two men in the front, "You sure your
men can handle Maelynne?"

"They're trained for dangerous situations," the
driver said with a straight face.

"Ah, the funny man of the bunch. What's your name
again?"

The man in the passenger seat said, "I'm Leo and the
joker is Kevin."

"Good to meet you both. We're mainly going to be at the
loft or at the bakery each day."

"Bakery?" Kevin said. "Nobody said anything
about a bakery. There goes my waistline."

"Remember no eating while on duty," Leo reminded
him.

They continued to discuss what delights the bakery provided,
while Anna turned on her cell phone to pick up any messages. Sam saw the color
drain from her face as she listened and said abruptly, "Anna, what is it?
What's wrong?"

She handed the phone to him and said, "Press one to
replay the message."

Sam did so and heard Patrice's voice in a low, bitter tone
come spewing out, filled with hate as she threatened Anna. He handed the phone
to Leo who was looking at him with a hand held out.

"We expected this," he said. "It's Patrice,
right?"

"Yes," Sam said as he rubbed his hand up and down
Anna's arm. "It's going to be okay, love, it really is."

"You aren't getting it, Sam," she whispered. "She
says 'paintings can burn as easily as cars.' How does she know about my
paintings?"

The tension in the car ratcheted up a notch as they all
thought about that. Leo was the one who said, "She has to have followed
you there and broken in--they're in your loft, right?"

"Yes--but when? I saw nothing out of place there
yesterday."

"There's really no telling when. Here we are. I want
you guys to stay in the car with Kevin while I go up to check it out. Anna, can
I have the keys?"

She handed them over, and Sam noticed her hand was shaking
slightly. He saw that Kevin kept a close eye on the street, shifting his gaze
around regularly.

Leo came back quickly. "Everything seems to be in
order, no damage that I can see."

"Okay folks," Kevin said. "Let's get you
inside."

They unloaded the car and went up the stairs at Sam's
insistence. He didn't trust that elevator one bit. It seemed an eternity since
this morning when they'd left in a hurry, the bed still folded out of the
couch. Anna moved quickly to put it back to rights.

"You guys should know I'm having a bed and chair
delivered this week," she said. "The bed will come tomorrow, from a
local furniture store."

"I didn't realize you'd bought a chair too," Sam
said with interest. "What kind?"

"A big comfortable one for reading or just sitting and
thinking. Anyone want some coffee?" She headed to the kitchen and Sam
could tell she was calmer now that they were in the loft.

Everyone agreed coffee sounded like a good idea. Sam
followed her to the kitchen and sat on one of the barstools at the counter. "Should
we order in some food? We missed lunch you know."

Anna laughed. "Hate to break it to you but there's only
the one place in town to order in from before tourist season. We have pizza
delivery from Delucci's as you know, but it's only from six to ten in the
evening. And seeing as how it's five right now..."

"Ah, okay. Any food in the fridge?"

"I think I have some cheese and crackers. Do you think
she'll attack us?"

Sam wanted to wipe the worry off Anna's face, but he didn't
know how to reassure her when he felt certain Patrice wasn't done. "I
think it's possible, yes."

"Damn. I don't like this one bit."

"I'm so sorry,Anna. I never expected--"

"How could you? This is not your fault. It's all about
her. Don't you feel guilty about it. Help me with this coffee."

They distributed cups to Leo and Kevin, then the security
guys proceeded to tell them how things would be until Patrice was caught.
Basically they would be on duty all the time outside the loft at night, one at
the top of the stairs and one below on the street. During the day, one would be
inside the bakery, one outside, and if Sam was working in the loft they'd have
two people there as well. Sam was just glad they wouldn't be inside the loft at
night. That was something. Both men drank down their coffee and then headed out
to their posts.

Anna sat, or rather slumped, in the big old beat-up green
chair.

"You okay?" Sam asked as he finished eating a
cracker with cheese. "We're safe now."

"It's not just Patrice. The other message on my phone
was from your friend Stanley. He wants to set up a time. Should I wait until
the thing with Patrice is settled?"

Sam came to stand in front of the chair. "Here, get up
a minute."

She stood up and he moved behind her, sat down in the chair,
and then pulled her into his lap. She gave a little laugh, then a sigh, and curled
up against him. His arms rested around her body.

"Now I'll tell you what I think--I think you should go
for it. Stanley's interested and you were ready before. Don't let her stop you
from doing what you want. Every time we let her disrupt our lives, she wins.
Call him and set up a time."

"You're right, and I'll call in a bit. Right now I want
to sit here being close to you. You're very comfortable to be with."

He chuckled, and rubbed her back. "You feel pretty good
to me too sitting here." He thought for a moment. "So--a bed
tomorrow?"

"Yes," she said in a drowsy voice.

"That will be a good thing. Because I plan to spend
plenty of time in it with you, and that will be so much better than the fold-out
couch."

"Sam!" She gave him a weak punch on the chest. "I'm
so tired all of a sudden."

He kissed the top of her head. "Go on to sleep for a
bit, love. I'll be right here."

She relaxed against him and was asleep in minutes. The
feeling that went through him in that moment started in his heart and expanded
to fill him up. He felt protective, and turned on, but also as if he could sit
there forever, holding her in his arms. The sensation of her so relaxed and trusting
changed something inside him. He knew he'd do anything to make her life fulfilling
and content. He couldn't picture a future without her.

* * * *

Anna woke up to hear a rumbling vibrating under her ear.
Confused, she lifted her head and realized she was still sitting in Sam's lap. "Did
I fall asleep here?"

He gave her a hug. "Yes you did. Get some good sleep?"

She ran a hand through her hair. "Yes, I feel better.
And I'm starving. Was that your stomach I heard rumbling just now?"

He patted his abdomen as she got up. "I called the
pizza place. The guy should be here any minute."

"I'll just go freshen up then," Anna said and
headed into the bathroom. She couldn't believe she'd fallen asleep in his lap!
What if she'd drooled or something embarrassing like that? She looked into the
mirror--a nice big one since the bathroom renovation. Her hair definitely
needed brushing. Once she'd done that she stared intently at her reflection.
Nope, she didn't see what he saw in her, but she was grateful for whatever it was,
because she wanted to be near him. She'd felt so safe in his arms.
I've
never felt that way with anyone before. What does it mean? Am I truly in love
with him?
She wasn't sure, but she knew that she trusted him like no other
man she'd ever met.

She came out into the living area and discovered Sam opening
up a pizza box on the kitchen counter. She smelled pepperoni.

"What toppings did you get since I wasn't awake to ask?"

He grinned at her. "The pizza place told me what you
usually ordered."

"Oh, okay." Then she thought about what he'd said.
"Hold on--you told the pizza place you were staying here?"

"I told them I was visiting you and that you were
unavailable but had asked me to order pizza. And they said you like everything
on it except no anchovies or black olives. Man, this looks delicious. I'm
digging in."

Anna didn't know why she bothered to even think twice about
someone knowing Sam was here with her. Everything would be all over town soon
enough. They ate pizza and drank beer from the fridge, talking and laughing
between bites.

"You can't be serious! I won't believe you considered
calling Maurice 'Bob' at one point. That character needed a name like Maurice.
Different sounding. Bob would have been too plain. Did you study police or
detective work when you first started writing the books?"

"You could say that. My father was a homicide detective
in New York City when I was growing up. I've picked his brain more times than I
can count through the years. Of course, the setting for Maury is entirely different
than the city, but Dad and his friends have been a big help to me with the
nitty-gritty that occurs no matter how big your town."

"That's very cool. What about your mother?"

"She was a clothing designer. She designed a line for a
large department store."

"A designer? I'll never feel confident enough to meet
her," Anna said with a laugh that only partially disguised her trepidation
at the idea. She plucked a piece of pepperoni off the remains of the pizza in
the box. They'd pretty well demolished a large-sized one.

"Maybe you could come to our family get-together once
this novel is finished. That's still some months away."

Anna thought it was time to change the subject from that
scary idea. "Will you be able to work here, do you think?"

"Probably. Won't know until I try. Will you be able to
paint with me here?"

She shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know. I've always been
alone when I painted. But I remember my mother painting here, and being with
her. I had to have been about seven when she started to bring me here, about
two years before she died."

"Cody told me she left this loft to you--so she owned
it?"

"She left me the whole building actually. I've never
known what to do with the bottom floor."

"Hmm. Another floor. Can we go look at it? I'm curious."

"I guess so. I have the key right here." She got
the key and they opened the front door to the loft and were startled by Kevin
standing there.

"Wow, I forgot you guys were there," Anna said to
him.

"That's how it should be. I was going to tell you that
we'll be changing shifts here at nine. We'll knock and make sure you recognize
who will be on duty. Where are you all going now?"

Sam answered. "Just downstairs to see the first floor.
Will you come with us?"

"Yep, lead the way. Let me go in first. I didn't realize
you owned the bottom floor as well as the top."

Anna unlocked the door, which stuck for a moment until Kevin
shoved it with his shoulder. She and Sam waited outside in the foyer until
Kevin called them in.

"Folks, we have a problem." Kevin pointed to footsteps
in the dust, too small to be his. They were in a large open room, studded here
and there with columns. "There's a back door here  someone has broken into,
and look--" He pointed to a narrow staircase that went up to the second
floor. "Did you know this was here?"

Anna was stunned. "What on earth? How did that get
there? I mean, where does it come out upstairs?"

"Let's find out, shall we?"

Sam and Anna followed Kevin up the stairs. At the top he
pulled out a small flashlight to give them light. There was a fixture in the
ceiling that clearly had no light bulb. They were faced with a door that opened
after some work from Kevin. They could see that it had been forced open before
now. The lock on the door was broken. Kevin went forward into a dark space, the
flashlight glowing.

"There's a large...crate I think, a packing crate."

"That's mine! My paintings are in there. Oh my God, did
she damage any of them?"

"Come on up here," he called back to them.

They all three gathered outside the small room with the
packing crate inside it. They barely fit past the crate to go through the
doorway. The packing crate was so large that it had blocked the door that led
to the stairs.

"I've never noticed that door," Anna said,
bemused. "The crate was left here by my mother. I just started using it
there and never moved it."

"This looks like how she got in," Kevin said,
pulling out his radio and asking Leo to watch the downstairs. "You want to
check the paintings?"

"Yes. Sam let's get them out, just put them along the
walls." They worked on moving paintings while the two security men
conferred. In some ways Anna felt better to  find out how Patrice knew about
the paintings. On the other hand, it made her shudder to think of Patrice
actually in her place, among her paintings.

They finished and she examined each painting. "They
look okay. I don't think she hurt them," Anna said slowly, almost done
searching.

"Not so fast, love. Here, this one."

She reached out for the painting as Sam turned it to face
her. There was a slash that ran through the center of the painting. When they
were getting the paintings out of the crate she hadn't even noticed it.