Whispers of Danger and Love (17 page)

Chapter 16

Limousine after limousine pulled up to the circular driveway discharging passengers. Jewels sparked on the women, and tuxedos wrapped around men who appeared stiff and uncomfortable. It must have been her imagination, but Cheryl thought she saw suspicious lumps in a couple of the men’s coats. How many were carrying guns? She tried to control her imagination and remembered that David and his friends were . . . what did they call it? The police were packing heat too.

She and Jane walked together up the concrete drive while Cheryl pointing out features in the newly planted garden. She was carrying a double order of lisianthus, the Echo variety in deep blue. One of the favorites of florist since it stayed fresh in the vase for so long. Not to mention how it resembled a partially open rose in an unbelievable deep blue.

“Dunno what it looked like before, but it’s beautiful now. You’re so talented, Cheryl. I envy you.” Jane walked over near the beginning of the garden and used her cell to take a quick snapshot.

“Stand over there, Cheryl,” Jane directed. “Let me get the designer with the garden in the background.”

Cheryl complied, thinking it might be useful for future jobs. She chuckled thinking a landscaper designer in a cocktail dress was hardly suitable advertisement.

“I enjoyed planning it,” Cheryl said, “and even more watching my ideas develop, but I confess I’m really glad the job is over. Anyway, my friend, Tom, and his crew did most of the work. Are you ready to make our appearance?”

“Sure. Didn’t you promise me lobster patties?”

They were laughing as they entered the house which was crowded with people, none that she recognized. She gave a sharp lookout for Tim Griever but hoped she wouldn’t see him. Where were David and his buddies? They had to be here somewhere. An arm grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into a closet. Her pulse jumped and she stiffened with fear.

“David, cut that out! You scared me to death. Where’s Jane?” She started laughing when she recognized the uniform of a plumber. No wonder he had managed to get inside. She immediately relaxed. “Are the rest of your team dressed the same? How many plumbing problems do you think you can pull off? Where is Jane?” she asked again.

“Shhhh. She seemed to be headed for the food table. Listen, honey, plans have changed. We’ve discovered that all the parties are present, and we’re about to make several arrests. You need to get out of here. Think you can grab Jane and go out the back door? We tried to call you, but you had already left. You need to share your cell phone number with me first thing tomorrow. Promise?”

“Okay. I won’t be sorry to leave, I assure you. David? Cut that out.”

He was planting a kiss on her lips, which had her heated beyond what the stuffy closet was causing.

“Sorry, sweets. You smelled so good. I’ll behave now. Grab Jane and slip out.”

He opened the door, and they both exited, Cheryl to head for the kitchen, David to move toward the den with a plumber’s toolkit in his hand. She smiled to see him in a coverall a size too tight for his wide shoulders.

Cheryl froze when she entered the kitchen and spotted Jane. A man was holding her with one arm wrapped around her waist. He also held a gun to her head. Jane’s face was frozen in fear, but she rolled her eyes wildly when she realized Cheryl had entered the room. Was she trying to send a message?

“Just keep quiet, and you won’t get hurt. Stand over there. No, over there.” He motioned with his gun toward the corner.

Cheryl walked slowly by the two of them, staring at Jane, who continued to roll her eyes. Now Cheryl realized it was in terror. She wished she could reassure her friend, but she was paralyzed with fear herself. These were not nice people. Hadn’t David told her that enough times? Why hadn’t she listened to him? Why did she need to be so very stubborn, insisting she knew everything?

David rounded the corner and stopped short when he spied Jane and the man whose picture Cheryl had seen in Detective Kevin Fowler’s office.

Griever motioned with his gun. “In the corner. Over there!”

David was still in disguise, and the man had no idea he was a policeman. He walked gingerly across the kitchen floor and nudged Cheryl, who was struggling with the fear which threatened to overwhelm her.

Francine entered the room and uttered a short scream when she spied the grouping in the kitchen.

Griever called her name.

“Francine! Honey. I’m sorry. Come over here, please.” Francine stood frozen in the doorway.

“What’s going on?” Sam Toledo stood behind Francine thrusting his head around her shoulders. He pushed her aside with a grim frown on his face.

“Griever, I told you to get lost. Now get out of here. You and Geer messed up. You don’t get back in after that. Understand? Now leave before I hafta get rough.” He ignored the gun which was still pointed solidly against Jane’s shaking head.

Cheryl felt David edging toward Jane and the man with the gun.

Suddenly, a tall man appeared behind Toledo, grabbed his arms, and handcuffed him. David simultaneously slammed his hand against Griever’s arm and pulled Jane away. He wrestled with the man over the gun which discharged into the floor. He reached underneath his shirt and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. After he was restrained, Griever collapsed against the kitchen counter. Another plainclothesman entered and dragged him out the door. Cheryl took a deep breath and held out her hands to Jane.

David wrapped both her and Jane tightly in his arms. Cheryl knew she was shaking and could see how upset Jane was as well.

“So sorry, girls. We didn’t expect that. Let me get you out of here.” He hustled them out the back door. “Do you think you can get home now? I’ll be over later to see you, okay?”

They both nodded yes, and he hurried back inside.

A black-and-white pulled up, and Malcolm, David’s friend from the police force, exited the car. He waved and beckoned to Jane, who turned back to stare at Cheryl.

Cheryl smiled shakily at her friend, who nodded and then joined the policeman at his cruiser. She entered the car with the Malcolm. As the car pulled close, Jane leaned out.

“David is going to be with you shortly, right? Malcolm is going to take me home and sit with me for a while if it’s okay with you. Will you be all right, Cheryl?”

She assured them she would be fine and gazed after them as they drove off. What about that? Malcolm seemed like a really nice fellow, and Jane deserved a nice man after the rotten one she’d just dumped. She hoped Malcolm intended to stay with Jane for a while, perhaps even spend the night. Jane had had the worst of it. How long did it take to recover from having a gun pointing at your head? Cheryl felt guilty for dragging her friend into the danger.

After she finally arrived home, Cheryl pulled the cocktail dress off and slid into a pair of sweatpants and an old sweatshirt. She intended to make herself a cold glass of tea and sit in her garden and do absolutely nothing. She needed to regroup after that excitement.

The sun was starting to set with the day turning into velvet twilight with moths, hummers, and butterflies still working the garden. Bumblebees buzzed by loaded with yellow pollen. She could hear the soft, mournful call of a dove somewhere close by.

Even though her time with the Toledo crowd was over, Cheryl still felt shaky. She padded barefoot out into the cool evening. The grass felt marvelous to her toes. She sat on the stone bench remembering an evening when she had been there with David as scenes of the two of them interacting flashed through her mind.

What if he moved away? Sold his grandma’s house? She didn’t think she could survive the loneliness. Protest all she liked, but she had come to rely on his company. It was comforting just to know he was close by and would come if she called. She found it no surprise that she was deeply in love with the most irritating, sexiest man on earth, Detective David Gillard Larkin, super cop extraordinaire.

The problem was not whether he loved her in return. She knew he did. They had loved each other for as long as either of them could remember. The problem was whether he was ready to be exclusive? To love only her. To love David was to court a broken heart, but she could fight against it no longer. She wondered if she would confess it to him tonight, or would he confess it to her first?

She heard a car drive up and expected the promised visit from David. Perhaps it was time for the two of them to have a serious talk. She couldn’t stay in this type of limbo any longer. It was becoming too painful, his kisses too intense. She didn’t turn around when she heard the rustle in the plants beside the sidewalk.

“Hi, you get everything cleaned up?”

She felt him squeeze her shoulder hard and turned around in surprise.

“Gordon! My God! Will you never understand that we are not together anymore? What will it take for you to understand?” She felt an unease creep into her consciousness. His face was grim and the grip on her shoulder tightened.

“You are hurting me, Gordon. Let me go.”

He only increased the pressure until she cried out.

“I’ve waited long enough for you to come to your senses, Cheryl,” he said between clenched teeth. “Now it’s time I took matters into my own hands. You are going to come with me.” He grabbed her arm with one hand, sliding his other arm around her shoulders.

When he dragged her up, she tripped and scraped her leg against the concrete bench, half-falling to her knees. She cried out, and he jerked on her arm painfully.

“Cut it out. You don’t want me to have to hurt you, do you?” He reached into his pocket and pulled out nylon handcuffs.

Panic clouded her senses but she fought him for all she was worth. He was no weakling, but she was full of adrenalin and strong from her outdoor work. She managed to kick him between his legs and when he doubled over, she ran into the house. He pushed the door open before she could get the lock engaged. He tried to slap her, but she twisted away and ran into the bathroom managing to lock the door. She screamed for all she was worth, trying to open the window so she could be heard. The nightmare continued with Gordon pounding on the door and threatening to punish her if she didn’t open up.

“Awk! Naughty boy!”

Cheryl could hear the parrot squawking loudly from the front room. The noise must be upsetting the bird. She looked around for some kind of weapon and could only find hair spray.

The door crashed open.

Gordon reached for her, his eyes bulging, his furious face red, almost purple.

She sprayed him full in the face and ducked underneath his arms when he yelped and rubbed his eyes. Then she ran for the backyard and straight into David the Hero’s arms.

“Honey! What a greeting. To what do I owe this pleasure?”

Cheryl wrapped her arms around his large bulk and burrowed her face into his chest.

David set her aside when Gordon came rushing out yelling for her to come back.

She backed up and watched as David grappled with Gordon, who eventually collapsed on the grass still muttering threats. Had he totally lost his mind?

Cheryl sat on David’s lap to the immense satisfaction of them both.

“We could chop down the hedge,” David said. “Or you could move in with me and we could make this house all shop?”

“David, my work means a lot to me. You do understand that, don’t you?” She had her head on his shoulder, and he kissed her cheek.

“Yep. I do. Perhaps if I hadn’t seen you at work I might have been a little dense about it. But I was privileged to see you turning that wasteland into a beautiful park. Too bad those folks won’t get to use it anymore. You’re very good, honey. You love what you do and I do understand that. I love my work too.”

“David, one more thing. I don’t share. If you aren’t ready to commit, we could just date occasionally, but once we decide to be together, I don’t share.”

“Ah, again we are in complete agreement. I don’t intend to share you with anyone either. I am fully committed, Cher. I know it’s taken me a long time to come to the point, but I’m here now. I love you.” Quiet reigned, except for a murmur or two while David sealed their bargain.

“Poor Gordon. He really lost it, didn’t he?” Cheryl said between kisses.

David held her firmly, both arms wrapped securely around her. Her comfort seemed to depend on those strong arms. What a night it had been!

“Well, I think I understand his problem. I might lose it too if I lost you. I love you, little girl from next door. I’ve loved you for at least half my life. After all, you’re the only one who knows my middle name.”

“But no more houses in the apple tree, okay?”

“Okay.”

The End, or perhaps a beginning.