Two for Flinching (5 page)

“So you cold called it and got me.” That
explained why he had sounded so strange on the phone.

“Her husband suspects she was having an
affair.”

I didn’t hear a question so I didn’t
answer.

“Was it you?”

“How can I help you?”

Coleman said, “You can answer the fucking
question.”

I leaned back in the chair, thinking fast. I
didn’t know where Amber was, nor did I fear for her safety. She had
said she was leaving Steven. I hadn’t believed her at the time, but
I did now. If I tried to lie, it wasn’t going to look good later.
We hadn’t broken any laws. Of course, that’s a long way from saying
we had not been doing something wrong.

“I’m not sure
affair
is the proper
word.”

“Why don’t you tell us about it,” Coleman
said, “and we’ll come up with the
proper
word.”

I sighed. There was no way I was getting out
of this. “We were occasional sexual partners.”

“How occasional?”

“Once a month or so.”

Coleman said, “Sounds like an affair to
me.”

Once again, I ignored him.

Randy was crestfallen. “Beason,” he said
sadly.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “I know.”

“After everything that happened with
Stella.”

“I said I know.”

Coleman said, “When was the last time you saw
her?”

“Sunday night. At the Holiday Inn. I left her
a little after midnight. She was asleep.”

“Nice,” Coleman said. “Real nice.”

“I assume you didn’t check in together.”

“No.”

“Anybody else see her?”

I shrugged.

“Anything out of the ordinary?”

“Her husband showed up.”

Randy sat up straight in his chair. “He
caught you?”

I shook my head. “He was drunk, raising hell
across the hall.”

“Why would he do that?”

“I took a picture of it and sent it to her.
It was like our little code. That was the view from our peephole.
He must have seen it.”

“Nice,” Coleman repeated. “Real nice.”

“When Steven realized she wasn’t there, he
went off the deep end—even punched the door.”

“I saw the cast. Those hotel doors don’t give
much.”

“No, they don’t. He wrecked her car on his
way out.”

Randy said, “He called us the next morning to
report her missing. We waited the forty-eight hours and began
looking, starting with the neighbors.”

Coleman said, “How long has this been going
on?”

“What difference does that make?”

He held out his hands. “You know how these
things go.”

“Yeah.”
Ask all the questions you can
think of and see what shakes out.
“A few months.”

“How many?”

“I’m not sure. I didn’t mark it down on my
calendar. Late summer.”

“How did it start?”

***

Midday, I was working in the yard, the sun
beating down on my bare back. I didn’t have the best looking yard
in the subdivision, nor did I have the worst. It was exactly what I
was looking for. Somewhere in the middle. There was something
satisfying about it, instant results from your hard work—a rarity
in today’s age. After a day’s labor, it felt good to sit on that
back deck, drink in hand and appreciate what you had done. I will
say this, though; I enjoyed it much less in late August than I did
in early May.

Loud noises had long been a companion of
mine, so I took the proper precautions when I could. Weedeater in
hand, plugs in ears, I was working the fence I shared with the
Noble’s. Steven had put a privacy fence on the back and the other
side, but evidently he figured he didn’t need one between us. Big
mistake.

Amber was sunning herself poolside, in a
lounge chair, lying on her stomach. I could tell she was topless,
to keep those telltale white lines from her back. I had that
separated feeling you get from having ear protection in, as if I
was invisible or something, above it all. Amber was blond, long and
lean, her tone body already dark from the sun. That fence line got
a lot of attention that day.

Eventually, Amber rolled over. She adjusted
the incline on her chair so she was more or less faced in my
direction. She had to know I was there, from the racket and all,
yet she gave no indication that she was not alone. Her stomach was
flat and her breasts were full. She was wearing dark glasses so I
couldn’t tell exactly where she was looking. There was no doubt
about where I was looking.

A smile played on her lips.

***

“She invited me over for a dip in her
pool.”

“Let me guess,” Coleman said, “you didn’t
have a suit handy.”

“Something like that.”

Randy said, “And it wasn’t a onetime
thing.”

I shook my head. “I already told you we got
together about once a month.”

“And Steven found out about it.”

“I guess.”

“Where do you think she is, Beason?”

“Her mother’s? Maybe staying with a
girlfriend. She said she was leaving him. Wrecking her car was the
last straw.”

Coleman said, “So she could be with you.”

“We never talked about it.”

“Then it was purely a physical
relationship?”

“Mostly. Have you talked to her parents?”

“Yeah. They haven’t heard from her,” Randy
said. “According to them, this is completely out of character for
her. They swear she would have called.”

“I don’t know what to tell you. I think she
just wants some time to figure out what to do.”

“Without her purse?” Coleman demanded.
“Without calling her mother?”

“Beats me.”

“Okay.” Randy made some notes on a legal pad.
“We don’t really have any reason to think foul play is involved. We
have to look. You understand?”

“Sure.”

“If you hear from her, have her contact
us.”

“You bet.”

I went back down the stairs and through the
lobby. Bo didn’t bother to look up from his paper. Back in the
Jeep, I called Amber’s cell. It went straight to voicemail.

“It’s me,” I said, still unwilling to leave
my name. “Give me a call and let me know you’re safe. Or send me a
text. I know you need some space and I’ll leave you alone if you
want. Or I’m more than happy to talk. Steven went to the police, so
you need to call them and let them know everything is okay.” I left
Randy’s office number and cell, knowing he had probably already
done the same.

I sat in the parking lot, thinking. Amber was
a grown woman and if she wanted to disappear—for however long—that
was her right. Her marriage had torpedoed and I knew how that felt.
The world she had known had imploded and walking away was her
choice. I could completely understand. She didn’t have any kids to
worry about, only the asshole husband and an upside down mortgage.
I was worried about her mental state, but not her physical
safety.

Not yet.

Chapter Six

“Hello?”

“Beason?”

“Yeah.”

“This is Eric Hendricks. Have you got
anything on Jenks yet?”

“Sure do. I was about to call you with an
update. I got pictures of him and his secretary checking into the
Chickasaw Falls Inn.”

“Oh goodie.”

“It gets better. I found his profile on a
dating site. We’re meeting tonight for drinks.”

“Don’t tell me he is queer. It might help the
case, but it would destroy Cynthia.”

“No. I’m a good looking blond.”

“Since when?”

“How do you want me to handle it?”

Silence.

“Selfishly speaking, it would serve my
interest to have a long, drawn out trial. You know, pump up the
billable hours.”

“Uh huh.”

“But since you know I’m not a greedy prick,
push him to settle. I expect Mrs. Jenks will reward me handsomely
for my effort.”

“What about me?”

“Greedy prick.”

“That’s me.”

“She seems to be a generous woman.”

“I’m on it.”

***

“Camp Investigations. We detect more before
nine a.m. than most people do all day.”

“Hello, Beason.” A woman’s voice, a smoker’s
voice, but not the sexy kind. The kind that sounded as if she was
about to spit something up.

I shuddered. “Hello, mom.”

A snort. “I was wondering if you were ever
going to let me see my granddaughter again.”

I took a deep breath. Guilt trips irritated
me more than mimes. Of course, she knew that. “What did you have in
mind?”

“Why don’t you bring her by the house
tonight?”

“Tonight?”

“Yes. Is that a problem?”

“As a matter of fact, it is.”

“Why?”

“If you want to see her, you can come by my
house.”

She coughed. I had no way of knowing if
anything came up or not, but I had my suspicions. I am a detective.
“You never let me see
my
granddaughter.”

“This is me letting you see
my
daughter. I need to call Erin first.”

“You have to clear it with your niece before
I can see Sarah?”

“Yes. I’m working tonight and Erin is
watching the princess.”

Another snort. “Working.”

“Uh huh. You see, I have to work to put a
roof over her head and fruit loops in her bowl.”

“You could let her spend the night with
us.”

“No,” I said. “I couldn’t.”

“Fine. Call your niece and let me know.”

I rolled back in my chair, a sick feeling
spreading through my bowels. Talking to Felicia always made me
nauseous. Some people are never happy.
Lessons learned the hard
way.

A car door slammed in the sock factory lot. I
rose from my desk and looked out the window, still on edge after
running into my new friends. Steven Noble was walking my way.
How much damn drama could one day hold?

Chapter Seven

He had on a long coat over a black button
down and black pants. His maitre de outfit. A smug, satisfied look
was on his face. He held his arm carefully at his side.

“I talked to the police.”

“That’s what they’re there for.”

“You want to deny fucking my wife again?”

“I didn’t deny it before.”

“You didn’t admit it, either.”

“No,” I agreed. “I didn’t.”

Steven paced around my office. I didn’t know
what he was looking for since the walls were bare of plaques or
award. The .45 was in my drawer. I knew I wouldn’t need it.

“You here for your pound of flesh?’

He held up his cast. “Not today. I don’t
doubt that I could take you, but a
hero
like you, I might
need both hands.
Might.
” He stopped at the desk, picking up
the only decoration I had. “Pretty girl.”

“She’s lived next door to you for almost five
years.”

He looked at it for a moment longer before
sitting the picture frame back. “I’ve enjoyed watching her grow
up.”

“So have I. What do you want, Steven?’

Anger flared in his eyes. “You shall not
covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s
wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor
his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

“Trust me on this,” I said, “I have zero
interest in your ox.”

He clenched and unclenched his good hand, his
jaw muscles bunching. “You shall not commit adultery.”

“Did you come here to give me a sermon?” That
sick feeling from Felicia was nothing compared to this. “If so, I
deserve it.”

“You deserve much worse than a sermon.”

I nodded. “Can’t argue with that.”

“Is that all you have to say?”

“I’m sorry, Steven. Is that what you want to
hear?”

“Sorry? You take another man’s wife and
you’re
sorry
?”

“I know how lame that sounds, but it’s
true.”

“You’re only sorry you got caught.”

“No.” I shook my head. “I felt like shit
every moment we were together. Every time I talked to her on the
phone, every time we schemed behind your back, I felt lower than
roadkill.”

“You didn’t feel bad enough to stop.”

“No.”
Not even noon and I needed a
drink.
“Amber is special. There is…something about her.
Something I can’t let go of.”

Steven was silent for a while. When he spoke,
his voice was barely a whisper. “I know.”

I sat still, waiting out the moment. His eyes
watered. It was a long moment.

“You owe me.”

“Yes,” I said. “I do.”

“You’re going to find her for me.”

“No, Steven, I’m not. If she wants to go,
that’s her choice.”

“It is. I’m worried about her.”

“I’m not.”

“When your wife disappears without a trace,
shouldn’t a husband worry?”

Zing!

“I just want to know she is safe.”

“So if I find her, you won’t try to stop her
from leaving?”

“I didn’t say that. I love her and I want her
back. But if I can’t convince her, she is free to go.”

“If she doesn’t want to talk, I can’t make
her.”

“Fine. As long as she calls to let me know
nothing bad has happened to her, that she left of her own free
will, I’ll have to take it.”

I crossed my legs, bouncing my booted foot on
my knee. I said, “Okay.”

“Beason? One more thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Fuck you.”

And to that, I said, “Okay.”

***

“You’re not going to believe this.”

“What?”

“Steven Noble wants me to find his wife.”

“You’re right,” Randy said. “I don’t believe
it.”

“I told you.”

“He actually hired his wife’s lover to find
her?”

“
Hired
may be too strong a word.”

“You and your words.”

“What do you got?”

“Nothing more than we told you this
morning.”