Without Any Warning (A Samantha Jamison Mystery Volume 2) (12 page)

Chapter 36

Drinking Wine, Making Time & Whining

Friday night arrived with unusually warm temperatures. My female buddies were antsy to walk the boards after our spontaneous get-together. Having consumed enough wine to mellow us all out, they were in a playful mood.

Crystal joined us for dinner too, because her husband pulled another night shift. After that club incident, and when they all mentioned the boardwalk, I was mentally prepared for just about anything.

It wasn’t full season yet, but the warm temperatures had brought everyone out. Many savvy vendors latched onto the opportunity for early sales and were open for the weekend, which made for a carnival-like atmosphere. It had been a rough winter, so everyone seemed ready to play when twilight set in and the boardwalk lights automatically turned on.

After locking up and checking my front door twice, I caught up with the others as they casually strolled up the ramp to the boardwalk. By the time I reached them, they were already arguing animatedly.

“What did I miss?” I asked, annoyed with myself for taking so long with my security paranoia. I double-checked everything now because of my midnight beach intruder.

Mona turned to me, laughing. “Crystal whistled at some young guys walking by and won’t own up.”

“Excuse me? I certainly did not!” protested Crystal. “I’ll have you know, they usually whistle at me!”

“Who are you trying to kid?” chided Mona. “They were kind of on the young side though, don’t you think?”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Crystal bragged. “Listen, when I whistle, you’ll know it, honey, regardless of their age.”

“Well, if you didn’t do it, and I didn’t, then who did?” accused Mona.

“I did!” All eyes turned to look over at Martha. She smiled. “I appreciate a good piece of real estate too, you know!”

Crystal started to laugh, edging over toward Martha. “Hey, I’m walking with her tonight!”

Mona turned to me. “Maybe, she drank too much wine, Sam. She is somewhat older, you know.”

I looked over at Martha. “Do you want stay behind?” I offered. “I’ll go back with you if you want.”

Martha gave me a dirty look. “What? Are you nuts? And miss all the action on the boardwalk?”

Crystal turned back to me. “Is she for real? What kind of vitamins does that woman take?”

“At my age,” lectured Martha, “time is of the essence! Now, let’s all get a move on, girls! Time’s a-wastin!”

Mona hustled over to catch up with Martha. “Hey, aren’t you going to wait for me?”

Martha shook her head. “If you didn’t have that second dessert, we might be making better time with an earlier start!”

Mona huffed, trying to keep up with her. “I totally resent that crack!”

Crystal kicked off quickly, maneuvering over to the other side of Martha, but directed her comments to Mona. “I saw you pour that extra glass of wine, too.”

I brought up the rear, watching the three of them bickering and swaggering down the boardwalk, heads swiveling back and forth so they wouldn’t miss a thing as they argued away, each jockeying for position, as people darted in and around them.

I finally caught up, easing in beside Mona. “I didn’t see you take that extra dessert. Which one was it?”

“Oh, brother!” whined Mona. “You too? Somebody, give me a break!”

Chapter 37

Walking On The Boardwalk, Watching Those Guys Go By

I stopped mid-stride, and stared straight ahead. The others stopped too, wondering why. “Uh-oh,” I said.

Headed straight for us were the two men I had seen enter and leave Mona’s motel room. They were dressed casually this time, but I still recognized them by their faces. With no coats and hats, more detail came into view. One had brown hair, toned body, and was good-looking. The other was more bookish, with black hair and wore thick glasses. Both were plowing a path in our direction.

I saw Mona go completely still, inhaling sharply. She turned slightly in my direction, whispering, “Sam, play along.” She then turned back, fixing a grin on her face.

“Hi, Phil!”

That Phil? From that cryptic phone call I overheard?

He stopped in place, looking around at the rest of us, as though trying to memorize every detail his eyes were registering.

“Well, look who’s here!” Phil said, feigning surprise. “And who might these good looking babes be?” he added, still checking us all out from head to toe.

My personal parameters felt violated.
Babes?
This guy was so full of himself. “Lame” quickly flashed across my mind. Involuntarily, I looked down, expecting to see him wearing white socks with sandals. Who were these two? What was their connection to Mona? Why was she talking on the phone and meeting with them? My mind buzzed with speculation. Some good. Some bad. This time, I was definitely hanging around to find out.

Mona gestured toward each of us, as she made the introductions, “Phil, this is Samantha, Crystal and Martha; my friends. I strongly suggest you watch it. They are nobody’s babes.”

“Well, this is quite a surprise, Mona, finding you out here, especially well after dark,” cracked Phil, nudging four-eyes, his cohort, and laughing.

There was something about them I didn’t like, plain and simple. “Why is that?” I asked, sharply. “Is she only allowed out during daylight hours?”

Exactly who were these two idiots?

Phil latched his attention onto me, like a laser. “You don’t get it yet, do you?” he asked, throwing me a nasty look and clenching his fists tightly.

That word
‘yet’
hung out there.
Was it a warning?

“Then what exactly did you mean?” I asked, annoyed, edging closer to him, while noticing his hands twitch at his sides.

Mona’s head swiveled in my direction. She seemed surprised by my tough attitude and my overtly protective stance. Breaking into a grin, she turned back to them, emboldened. “And why wouldn’t I be out on such a beautiful night? You don’t own me in the slightest.” She leaned in. “Nobody does! Got that?”

Phil stared hard at her. “I’m just advising that it might not be too safe out here. You never know who you might run into.” He turned to the other guy. “Right, Tony?”

This Tony had remained silent, but his eyes betrayed him. He missed nothing, as he slowly and meticulously scanned all of us. The words “cold and calculating” came to my mind as I stood watching, not sure what would happen next.

“Well, macho man, Tony,” Martha’s voice challenged. “What do you have to say for yourself?” I could feel her breathing hard behind me. “All you’ve done is stare. Didn’t your momma ever tell you it’s impolite to stare like that?”

We turned in her direction. None of us girls spoke. We just smiled instead.

Martha smiled too, still glaring at the guy wearing those thick glasses. “Are you his personal chaperone?” she cracked. “Or are you here for the caramel popcorn at Johnson’s?”

Tony turned towards Martha, slowly adjusting his glasses. “I’ve got nothing to say to you, old lady,” he spat angrily, clearing his throat.

Before Martha could reply, Crystal pushed forward, coming right up on Tony, nose to nose. “Oh, yeah? Now, why is that? Phil here didn’t give you permission?” She turned back to Phil, her eyes climbing up and down him, and then focused back on Tony. “Why he ain’t got nothing on you, honey.”

 
Tony was trying real hard not to stare at Crystal’s traveling tattoos. It was obvious he was losing the struggle. His face turned crimson from the neck up, as he started cursing and back-peddling away from her, saying, “Phil, let’s ditch these broads. We’ve got work to do.”

Crystal got right up in his face once again. “Oh honey, don’t leave me now. I’m just starting to think there’s some kind of chemistry going on here between the two of us.”

I heard a snicker behind me. Martha was covering her mouth with her hand, trying to stop from laughing.

Phil stepped between Crystal and Tony. “Yeah, I think you’re right. Let’s get out of here.” He nodded to all of us. “Ladies, it was interesting. Mona, I’ll be seeing you,” he said. They turned and strode away.

Abruptly, we all burst out laughing, staring down that boardwalk watching those guys go bye-bye.

Chapter 38

Sugar Coating The Truth

We were still standing there on the boards, as a sea of people parted around us on their way down the boardwalk. None of us seemed to take notice; we were too busy focusing on Mona, who was suddenly looking everywhere, but back in our direction.

Finally, she gave in, sighed and turned around. “What?”

Crystal inched closer. “Okay, what’s with those two?”

“What do you mean?” Mona asked innocently.

Martha laughed heartily. “You know something? You are one strange broad!”

We all turned towards Martha, and then turned back again to regard Mona.

I finally took the lead, trying to get some kind of handle on all this. “What is with those two?” I asked. I didn’t want to let on I knew where I had seen the three of them meet. For the moment, their motel rendezvous was conversationally off-limits. But Mona had to say something. She was cornered.

“…It’s a long story,” Mona finally replied. “Believe me, none of you want to know right now, and I certainly don’t want to let any of you get involved.”

I tried to gauge her words. “What do you mean get involved?”

“Look, I got caught up in something that I thought was nothing, and unfortunately, it has turned out to be something.”

Martha coughed pointedly. “What did you just say?” Then she looked at Crystal and me. “Sounds like a bunch of gibberish, if you ask me. We may need an interpreter for this one.”

Crystal edged closer to Mona, making direct eye contact with her. “Listen, I’m sure we’ve all been there, just different circumstances. If you’d rather not confide, we totally understand. When you’re ready, you’ll tell us. Right girls?” She turned to Martha and me for agreement.

Reluctantly, Martha and I both nodded. I personally was looking forward to some kind of explanation to all of Mona’s crazy behavior these past weeks and wanted to press her on it, but then thought maybe, I better not. She probably didn’t want to reveal anything to the others that might compromise whatever was really going on.

Maybe she might divulge what was up when we were alone at the house. Mona was into something more complicated than I had anticipated because it was making her act very strange. If I played my cards right, I might have a better shot of her speaking more freely when the timing was right and she wasn’t so wound up.

Mona took a deep breath. “Look, I just don’t feel confident saying much now, but, just so you all know, I’ve got everything safely under control.” She eyed us each individually. “We probably all have a past we wish we could sweep under the rug. Well, I’m no different from all of you.”

Martha laughed. “Ain’t that the truth! Boy, could I make your toes curl!”

I laughed too, thinking of my own past history. Mona had hit the mark with that one. “I agree with Crystal,” I added. “When the time is right, you’ll tell us. Until then, I suggest we all go and get a Kohr’s ice cream.”

“Now, you’re talking!” laughed Crystal. She hesitated a moment, looking Mona up and down. “Well, I guess under these special circumstances, we could make an exception for you just this one time.”

Mona held up her hands in defeat. “I know, I know, I’ll pass. I’ve already had enough dessert, and I shouldn’t risk my health.”

“Trust me,” said Martha laughing. “I know from past experience, eating ice cream won’t kill you, but the truth just might!”

I nodded, smiling.
How true! How true!

Chapter 39

Testing Each Other’s Patience

I was troubled about Martha. Earlier in the morning, I breezed passed her in my sprint out the door to keep my eye on Mona, but right after lunch I made a concerted effort to corner her to ask why she was acting so strange.

Maybe she wasn’t feeling well. Even though she was spry for her age, I still kept one eye on her just in case. I spotted her taking an iced tea out to the upper deck and sitting down. So, I poured one for myself and joined her.

“Hey, there,” I said, setting my glass down on the table. “Are you feeling okay today?”

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I be?” she asked, quizzically.

Had I previously imagined her odd behavior? Even though still somewhat concerned, I started doubting what I had noticed. “Martha, when I saw you earlier this morning you appeared a little pale and I was worried. That’s all.”

Martha hesitated, and then laughed. “Oh that!” Then she shook her head and stared. “Nearly gave me a heart attack!”

I stiffened, preparing for the worst. “…What did?”

“The phone call I received this morning.” She started snickering and leaned back in her chair, trying to hold back.

My curiosity kicked in. “Out with it!” I swiveled to face her, giving her my full attention. I had learned in the past that this woman was always full of surprises. I
never,
never
underestimated her on what she might say or do!

“We were…” She tried, but couldn’t continue and began laughing once again.

“Come on!” I prodded. “Let me in on it!”

Finally, she said, “Well, you know that Roland and I have been seeing each other for weeks now. Right?”

“Yes. So?”

“Well, we thought we might take it to the next level,” she explained, trying real hard not to laugh.

I stared at her. Now, I knew what that meant for me, but maybe she meant it another way. I just didn’t quite know how to put it out there and yet still be respectful.

Martha looked at me for some kind of acknowledgment.

“…And what level was that?” I finally asked.

She glared at me, frustrated. “Now, what kind of stupid question was that? I swear, Sam, sometimes you really push my patience! You know that?”

“…Well, it’s nice to see you are both interested in a long-term relationship.” I finally said, carefully working my way through this bizarre conversation.

“Exactly my point!” replied Martha. “Where was I? Oh yeah. Well, I decided that we both should get tested.”

I leaned back. Seniors probably had concerns too, but what were they? I took a stab at vague. “You know, I understand why you might be apprehensive.”

“You see? I knew, you of all people, would understand because you’re never judgmental about anyone. I’ll tell you, I’m not looking forward to the blood work though. I hate needles.”

My initial hesitation fell to the wayside when it finally hit me; what she might be referring to. Just in case, I tried for some decorum. Maybe, I had it all wrong. “Why, if you’re only interested in being companions?”

Martha did a double take and started laughing again. “Heck, Samantha. If I wanted a companion, I’d get a dog!”

That stopped me. I leaned in a little closer. “Martha, wait a minute. Tested? …For what? …Where?”

“We registered anonymously at a clinic to be tested for STDs; sexually transmitted diseases.”

“…Why nameless?” I asked, thinking to myself,
you know, maybe I should be taking some notes here
.

“Well, I heard that the health insurance companies keep records when you get tested for STDs, so that’s why we did it anonymously.”

I couldn’t believe she was worried about premium rates at her age, and I was having this kind of discussion with a senior citizen. Obviously, I had much to learn. “…Go on.”

“So, I had the blood work done and they said they would call me back if I tested positive for anything within two weeks. Well, this morning, I get a voice mail on my cell phone, instructing me to call the clinic as soon as possible.

“I called back and this woman verifies my info and then tells me that she is so sorry to inform me that I tested positive for syphilis. I yelled, ‘Are you joking?’ She said she definitely was not, and for me to come in to discuss the results and all the treatments currently available.”

I sat there. “Syphilis? That’s terrible! What did you do?”

“I hung up the phone and immediately started sweating, thinking, my God, what in the world do I tell Roland? We have a date with destiny tonight!”

I swear, I tried to speak, but no words came out!

“Then,” Martha continued, “I quickly googled syphilis, because I wasn’t quite sure exactly what it was! I found out that it eventually affects your brain and makes you go crazy at the very end! I just about fainted right there on the spot! And to think that after all these years, I was actually worried I’d end up getting Alzheimer’s!”

I choked on her last words and my iced tea went everywhere. All this time, I thought old age might be boring. I gulped, gasped, and waved off her concern, anxious for her to finish. “No. I’m fine. …Please continue,” I finally choked out.

“Later, after that initial phone call, I got another call from the same person I had spoken to earlier at the clinic. She apologized all over the place, saying that evidently, she read the form wrong and although the first test was positive; the confirmatory and final test definitely was not.

“She explained there are many false positives with the first test and that’s why they test it a second time with a more accurate analysis to confirm. She had never bothered to read the whole page. Now, I ask you. Was that woman an idiot, or what?”

I sat there unsure how to counter that statement without sounding like one myself. “And, are you okay now?”

“Although shaken and traumatized earlier, I’m sort of laughing and seeing the humor in it, now. I’m telling you this whole nerve-wracking incident better be worth it!” She stood. “I’ve got to get myself done up. See you later.”

I stared after her as she walked back into the house. You know, now that I really thought about it, Martha not only tested my patience and imagination, but she suddenly had me questioning my own sexual karma.