Without Any Warning (A Samantha Jamison Mystery Volume 2) (11 page)

Chapter 32

Truth Be Told?

They finally left us, had a quick drink at the bar and then departed for their show. The three of us started talking simultaneously as we bent down, scrambling to get Mona out from under the table. Strange looks were thrown our way from across the room as Mona, once again, sat among us, quickly brushing herself off and breathing heavily. “I hate dark places,” she spat angrily.

“What in the world was all that craziness about?” asked Martha. “Have you gone off your rocker? What in the world would possess you to jump under the table like that? You know, that’s not normal.”

“I don’t know what is going on,” said Crystal, “and I really don’t care! I haven’t had so much fun in I don’t know when. To think I thought this might turn out to be a boring night. Was I off base on that one! You girls are an absolute riot! Now, for the record, would someone please tell me what’s going on here?”

Mona was still mentally and physically shaking off the fear from her, oh so close encounter. I had a slight advantage, already knowing she did not want to be seen by Pat for some particular reason. It was clear she knew her, but something had happened in the past and I wanted to know what it was. Without giving away my previous knowledge of the supermarket incident, I wanted to hear how she was going to talk her way out of her bizarre behavior and her reaction.

All eyes were on Mona.

“What?” Mona asked all of us. “Haven’t any of you seen anybody trying to avoid being seen by someone else before?”

“Not quite in that fashion,” remarked Martha. “That was the icing on my cake, that’s for sure.”

 
We all waited, sipping our drinks, still looking at her. Mona was gulping hers. She finally leaned back against the club booth we sat in, exhaling with a loud sigh. I could hear her mind working, trying to think of some way out of this without explaining too much. She finally half smiled. “What the hell. Why not?” she mumbled to no one in particular.

“Well?” asked Martha impatiently. “We’re waiting!”

“Hey, you even have my attention now,” said Crystal. “Do you know this David guy? Did he jilt you or something?”

Mona turned to Crystal. “…No.”

“So it’s about Pat?” she asked.

I noticed her squirming in her seat, so I added more pressure. “Yeah, what about Pat?”

“…Well, we knew each other a few years ago and were interested in the same guy,” Mona finally admitted. “It appeared I won. What happened didn’t exactly set well with her, and I didn’t feel like having a confrontation with her right now. That’s all.”

“Does she know you’re in town?’ asked Crystal.

“…Maybe.” Mona replied carefully.

“What do you mean, maybe?” asked Martha.

“I think she spotted me in the grocery store the other day. I took off before she could corner me. I was hoping she would eventually think it was simply mistaken identity.”

“Really?” I asked with a sarcastic edge.

Who was she kidding?

Mona turned to face me, clearly not enjoying our interrogation one bit. “…Well no, not really. She apparently got a good look at me. I barely made it out of there in my car. That crazy woman chased me clear across the parking lot! On foot, too! But I got away just in time.”

“What happened to the guy in between?” asked Crystal.

“Truth be told? He cut out on both of us, taking not only her car, but her money too. It happened a while back.”

Chapter 33

It’s A New Day & A New Dawn

I was sipping my coffee out on the deck, wearing my fleece jacket, and watching the first flecks of sun, as a new day slowly rose over the horizon. I was also mulling over what took place at the bar the previous night and wondering when it would finally dawn on Mona that eventually she was going to have to cough up the truth.

“Mind if I join you?” asked Mona, hesitantly from behind me.

Evidently, Martha, the up-at-dawn, early bird riser, was sleeping in, I noted, after glancing at my watch. “No, go right ahead and help yourself,” I said, as I shoved a chair out from under the table with my foot.

I had my feet propped up on another chair and was leaning back, trying to catch the first rays of morning sunshine. It felt really good. Apparently, Mona, by the looks of her, did not.

She appeared extremely uncomfortable after sitting down with her mug of coffee. “…I’m sorry,” she offered.

“That’s it?” I shot back, as I turned towards her. “Certainly you, of all people, can do better than that!”

“I should have been more forthcoming. You took me in without a second thought and this was how I thanked you, blindsiding you with secrecy and evasion.”

“It was always that way with you, wasn’t it?” I leaned back and closed my eyes.

She laughed nervously. “And you were the only one who tolerated me and all my baggage.”

“Yes. Well, I think we all have emotional baggage. It’s just that some of us have more than others, that all.”

“You see?” Mona pointed out, finally smiling. “That’s what’s so great about you. You are never judgmental or morally superior about people and their problems. You just accept and adapt.”

“Well, I’ve had a lot of practice trying to accept my past and adapt to my future,” I replied, smiling.

“I know,” said Mona. “But right now it’s a game of life or death and if I’m not careful, Sam, I won’t have a future, and that’s no joke. In due time, I promise I will explain.”

We both sipped our coffee in silence, Mona with shaky hands holding her mug and worry lines creasing her forehead, and me frustrated yet again, but thinking about the prospect of waiting for a new day and a new dawn of explanations in the near future, while this strange and foreboding feeling just sat there like a rock in the pit of my stomach. My patience was slowly running out.

What was next?

Chapter 34

Predicaments & Plausible Possibilities

I sat at my laptop, considering. Our conversation had meandered without Mona being more forthcoming about her predicament.
Not helpful, but expected.

After much pleading from her, I relented, and said I was willing to look the other way for a little while longer, but then she had better come up with a good explanation for, what Martha referred to as, all this craziness going on.

What I didn’t want to do was push too hard and scare her away. No Mona. No rest of the story for my book. Period! Besides, how would I ever find out the answers to all the questions I had about those years cast in doubt?

Once hooked, I was like a dog with a bone. I continually surprised myself and never underestimated my resourcefulness. There were other ways to get around this. All I had to do was come up with one that worked.

My phone rang. I hesitated, as I looked for the caller ID. Let me tell you, old habits die hard. Past history had taught me, time and again, to be very cautious.

Oh!
“Hi David,” I said, casually considering plausible reasons for his phone call.

Okay, so I was really interested in why he was calling.

Besides, I wanted to find out how and why he was out on the town that night with that hot momma, Pat. Somehow, I never would have connected the two of them as potential dating material.

Of course, after seeing her dressed to kill, he would be crazy not to consider all his options. After all, he was free, single, and good-looking. I was pleased to see him out and about after our lunch and his unexpected, revealing conversation on his deck.

“Hi there,” he greeted cheerfully. “Have you got some free time? I was hoping you weren’t planning anything because I thought we might go for a ride together.”

Chapter 35

Make It Who For The Road?

After my acceptance, David explained that he would be waiting in the courtyard for our so called,
road trip?
Grabbing my purse and jacket, I hustled down the staircase. I set the alarm, locked the door, hustled down the walkway and then swung open the courtyard walk-in gate, but abruptly came to a screeching halt.
Uh, oh!

There he stood, casually leaning against a creamy white and overwhelmingly magnificent Harley Davison motorcycle. He smiled at my reaction. “Ready?”

My eyes were riveted. “Uh… Where’d you get that?”

“I brought it down last week when you were out for the day. It would have spoiled my little surprise today if I started it, so I pushed it across the courtyard from my garage.”

“But I thought we were going out for a ride, David.” I stared at the huge, gorgeous bike, trying not to show complete panic.

“We are. On my Harley Soft Tail.”

Failing miserably, I was quickly descending into full terror mode. “…But I thought it was in your car!”

“Samantha, it’s just too beautiful out. You don’t think I’m not going to take advantage of seventy five degrees, do you?”

I brightened when I suddenly thought of something. “Hey, I don’t have a helmet! Remember, this is New Jersey!” I felt somewhat relieved by my quick defensive thinking.

He moved off the bike, revealing another helmet swinging from the other handle bar. “No problem,” he replied, gesturing toward it. Then he gave me a puzzled look.

I guess I was looking sort of pale at that point
.

“You have ridden on a motorcycle before, haven’t you?” he asked, suddenly having second thoughts on our venture.

I waved off his concern. “Of course!” I replied, while trying not to hyperventilate. “Don’t be ridiculous!”

He visibly relaxed. “Great! Then there’s no problem. Here, let me help you with your helmet.”

After stowing my purse in the saddlebag, closing the gates and exiting the courtyard, we finally took off. I hung on for dear life with my eyes squeezed shut for the first few minutes, but as the warm breeze blew past me, I slowly opened them, one at a time, simply out of curiosity.

Within minutes, we came to a stop sign. David turned back to me. “Samantha, try and relax a little. Trust me. You’ll be fine.” He was trying not to laugh.

I hadn’t realized I had him in such a death grip. “Oh! Sorry!”

We set off once again. Concentrating really hard, I tried to lean into the ride, as he instructed, and gradually I began to enjoy myself.

“Wow!” I exclaimed, as we left the island, riding smoothly over the Ninth Street bridge. The water glistened like tiny crystals from the reflection of the sun. Some boats dipped slightly in the water while they passed through the no-wake zone below. It felt as though we were flying.

David turned slightly so I could hear him. “I thought I would share with you why I picked this place. Between the bicycles, boardwalk, beaches and water, it’s great, don’t you think?”

“Especially on a day like this!” I replied, captivated and totally into the ride, as we turned down a narrow side road.

After thirty minutes of skirting around sights, he pulled into a restaurant on the bay.

“I reserved a table by a window for our lunch.”

The sunlight was still bobbing and weaving on the water’s jewel-like surface as we quickly made ourselves comfortable and ordered food. “This is perfect,” I said, amazed by the view. “And the ride was great!”

David smiled, relieved. “Good. I was a little concerned back there in the courtyard. One look at you, and I thought my spontaneous idea was toast.”

“I almost backed out,” I confessed, “but I didn’t want to sound like a wimp.”

“I’m glad you hung in there, Sam. To some people, riding a motorcycle is very intimidating.”

“I hate to admit it, but I’ve never ridden on one before.”

“I realize that now. My ribs still have your imprints.”

“Sorry. I thought I might fall off.”

He smiled. “I’d never let you fall by the wayside.”

I was pleased and a bit embarrassed and changed the subject. “I noticed you’re into the nightlife scene. I was glad to see that.”

He eyed me curiously, and then finally understood. “Oh, you mean Pat, the other night at the casino.”

“I was surprised you knew her,” I said.

“I didn’t at first. Bill arranged it. He thought Pat might show me around town because he was too busy. She said she didn’t mind, and so we made arrangements to meet.”

I sat there, shaking my head. “Now, I’ve heard of full service agents, but where’s my counterpart? I leased too, but ended up seeing the local sights with Miss Geriatric Ward, Miss Harley Biker and Miss Construed! I might have a discrimination case here with that agency. I think I got the raw end of this deal.”

David laughed. “You know, if you want, I could always arrange for you to go out on the town with Bill.”

“I don’t think his wife would be too comfortable with that suggestion,” I replied. “I heard that Atlantic City is a vice town in more ways than gambling.”

He suddenly froze, staring at me, as though he was filtering my response for something more.

What was that all about?

Was I reading too much into people’s responses lately? Or were there subtle vibes I was gradually picking up on?

Now, who’s the one on guard about someone they weren’t so sure of?

David shifted his eyes and stared out at the water for a moment, and then turned back to face me. “So Sam, what’s the final verdict? Was the ride and lunch worth the risk?”

“Sure. Two things surprised me on the road today. I found out I definitely like Harleys, and you, David, are one very intriguing person who, so far, is full of surprises.”