Murders & Romance, page 19
Sidney felt for the woman. She motioned again for her to sit down, and then she took her seat and picked up the legal pad from her desk.
“Ann, I’m going to ask you again. Are you sure you’re ready to do this? Because you’re going to have to cut off all contact with everyone you know. All of your family, your friends.”
“Well, I can contact them once the kids and I are settled somewhere.”
“No! You can’t. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. When you run, you have to leave your current life behind you, for good. Otherwise there’s no point.”
All the color drained from Ann’s cheeks, and Sidney was certain she was about to faint.
“I don’t understand. Why can’t I just let them know that we’re settled somewhere?”
“Let me explain. Let’s say you run across the country and settle in someplace, like Portland for instance. Then you contact someone here and let them know that you and the kids are safe in Portland. A month later, Donald gets drunk and decides he wants his family back. So he pays a visit to whomever it is that you called, and he threatens them. Or he flat out beats the shit out of them until they give him the information he’s after. What do you think happens next?”
Sidney didn’t think Ann could get any paler, but she did.
Then her chin trembled.
“Then I won’t tell them where we are. They can’t give him any information if I don’t tell them where we are.”
“No, they can’t. But do you think that will stop Donald from trying to beat it out of them anyway? The point is, when Donald realizes you and the kids are gone, he may be the type to say, ‘oh well, good riddance,’ and let it go. But he might be the type to stop at nothing to track you down and drag you back home. Or do something worse than drag you back. Which type do you think Donald is?”
Ann licked her lips and wiped a stray tear from her cheek.
“My mom is elderly. She was so happy when I told her that the kids and I had come here. She made me promise never to go back to Donald again. I couldn’t talk to her again? Ever?”
“There are ways you can get a message to a loved one. But it can’t be through conventional means. Nothing that Donald could monitor and trace back to you. Think of it as being in the witness protection program. The idea is to keep you and your kids alive and safe from the criminal who wants to kill you.”
That explanation seemed to settle Ann, and she nodded and took a deep breath. Sidney could see the woman running everything through her mind.
“Ann?”
When Ann finally met her gaze, Sidney leaned in and placed a comforting hand on her arm.
“Are you sure you still want to do this?”
The woman bit her lip, and more tears began to swim in her eyes. But Sidney saw something else bloom there too. Determination and resolve.
“I have no choice. After our last fight, he told me that I had no power. I had begged him not to hit me in front of the children anymore. To at least send them to their rooms first. He said that he would kill the children to punish me if I tried to tell him what to do again. They were sitting right there; they heard every word. And we all knew that he meant it.”
Sidney’s stomach lurched, and she closed her eyes.
“When he went to work the next morning, I got myself together and I called Dr. Lyman. She’d treated me once in the ER and told me about this place. She said she could get me and my kids in here, and to call her if I ever changed my mind. So that’s what I did. I got my babies out of that house and away from him. And now I have to keep them safe. I’ll do anything.”
Sidney nodded and gave her arm a squeeze.
“Okay. Then I will do all I can to help you. Are you still gathering money?”
“Yes. My friend, Sheila, gave me a few thousand dollars. And I have some jewelry I can take to the pawn shop to sell.”
“Good. Set aside all the money you can, you’re going to need it. Now, your next assignment is to pick two places. One to run to, and one to say you’re from when others ask. And they will ask, so learn all you can about your fake hometown.”
Ann nodded, staring at her with intensity.
“Okay.”
“The next move is mine. I have some things to put in place before we do this. But that’ll also give you time to study your fake hometown, gather money, maybe visit your mom.”
Ann nodded again, and Sidney wasn’t certain she was processing everything.
“I’ve thrown a lot at you. Do you have any questions?”
“No, I’ve got it. Pick two places and learn all I can about one of them. I understand. It makes so much sense, I never would’ve thought of these things on my own. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. We’ve got a long way to go.”
A knock sounded at the door, and Zoe stuck her head in.
“Everything all right in here?”
Sidney smiled at her and then glanced back at Ann.
“Yes. Everything’s good.”
Ann stood. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to kick you out of your office. I just wanted to ask Sidney’s advice.”
“No, it’s perfectly all right. I hope I gave you enough time to talk.”
“Yes, just enough. Thanks. And thank you, Sidney. For everything.”
“You’re more than welcome, Ann. I’m sure everything will work out the way it’s supposed to.”
They watched her leave the office and then Zoe turned to her with a curious expression.
“What was that all about?”
Sidney hesitated. “She just wanted to talk about her issues with Donald. She feels really bad about what happened. I think the bruise on my face makes her feel guilty every time she sees it.”
“Well, that’s understandable.”
“I keep telling her that what happened wasn’t her fault, but she feels responsible.”
“The poor thing. It’s good of you to spend some time easing her mind.” Zoe went back to her desk and got to work.
Sidney turned back to the checklists on her desk and thought again about everything they were planning. She needed to know where to get her hands on believable fake IDs and other papers, because Ann was going to need them.
It was the most important piece of this puzzle, and Sidney was determined to figure it out.
Her mind stayed focused on it the rest of the day as she went about her normal routine and made time to sit down with Beth’s daughter, Kylee, to work on the child’s math skills.
By the time her day came to an end, she was tired and not much in the mood for dinner with friends. But she’d promised Jada, so there was no way she was going to back out.
She straightened her desk and gathered her things.
“Well, I’m out of here.”
Zoe looked at her from across the room.
“Oh, that’s right. You have dinner plans to get ready for tonight.”
“Yes. So I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Have a good evening!”
“You, too.”
Sidney left the office and headed out, saying goodbye to a couple of the residents she passed on her way to the front door.
Outside she pulled her keys from her purse and headed for her car, parked on the street. As she neared it, something about its appearance was off somehow. It wasn’t until she got right next to it that she understood why.
Both tires on the passenger side were flat.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said out loud to no one.
Had she run over some nails on the way to work?
She had no idea how to change one tire, let alone two of them. She walked around to the driver’s side to put her things in the car and stopped short.
All four of her tires were flat.
“Son of a bitch!”
It was an aggravated groan, but the second the words floated out of her mouth, fear barreled down on her like a charging bull, the sharp horns of it stabbing at her stomach.
The tire she was looking at had a long gash.
Her tires weren’t just flat, they had been slashed.
Someone had done this deliberately.
She glanced up and down the street and her heart began to race.
Retracing her steps, she walked back to the sidewalk and pulled out her cellphone to call the one person she always reached for when she needed to feel safe and loved.
“Hey, Sid, I didn’t forget. Pete wouldn’t let me. So I’ll be leaving the station in ten minutes.”
She could hear the playfulness in his tone. It was comforting.
“Isaac…”
It was the only word she could push past the tight grip fear had on her throat. But somehow, he heard the distress in her voice.
“Sidney what’s wrong?”
“My car. My tires have been slashed.”
“What?”
“All four of them.”
“They’re flat?”
“Yes, but someone did this! I can see the cut marks.”
“You’re at the shelter?”
“Yes.”
“All right, stay put. I’m sending a tow truck to take the car to a repair shop, and I will swing by and pick you up. I’ll be right there.”
“Okay.”
She ended the call and stood there staring at her tires. She glanced up and down the street once more, and then she checked out the tires on Zoe’s car, as well as a few others that were parked on the street. None of the other cars had been targeted, just hers.
She walked back up to the house and took a seat in the chair on the porch. Who could’ve done this? And why?
That question brought two people immediately to her mind. Ann’s husband, Donald. And Dr. Lance Tobey.
Donald could be pissed that she’d pulled a gun on him. Not to mention the fact that she’d knocked him on his ass in front of his wife. Yeah, he could be angry enough to slash her tires.
Lance Tobey, on the other hand, was probably not that vindictive. Slashing someone’s tires wasn’t usually the kind of thing someone did after they’d been jilted, was it?
She lost track of time as she sat there mulling it all over, and was slightly startled when Zoe stepped out onto the porch.
“I thought I saw you through the window. What are you still doing here?”
“Waiting for Ike and a tow truck. My tires were slashed.”
“What? Are you sure?”
“Oh, I’m sure.”
“But who would’ve done such a thing?”
“I don’t know.”
“Oh, Sidney. You don’t think it could’ve been Ann’s husband, do you?”
Zoe glanced back at the door to make sure no one was around.
“He did cross my mind, but I just don’t know.”
She stood up when she spotted Isaac’s metallic dark blue Mustang GT coming down the street.
“Ike is sending a tow truck to get the car, so if you see one out here, you know why.”
“All right. Please be careful. I don’t like the turn things have taken around here.”
Sidney nodded. “I don’t really care for them myself. Have a good evening, Zoe.”
She left the porch and joined Isaac in the street, where he had knelt down to examine her tires.
“Hi, baby.”
“Hey, darlin’.” He stood and wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, kissing her forehead. “You okay?”
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little rattled. But I’m fine. What do you think?” She gestured to the car.
“Well, you’re right. They’ve definitely been slashed. All four of them. I’m going to walk around a bit and look at the other cars on this street. See if any others were hit.”
“I checked Zoe’s and a couple of others, but I didn’t see any damage.”
“Well, let me have a look. Why don’t you go on and get settled in my car? I’ll be right back.”
He took off, walking down the street, and Sidney watched him scrutinizing each of the cars that were parked on the road. By the time she’d gotten into his car, he’d gone down quite a ways. She watched him cross to the other side and start back up the street, checking out the cars on that side as he made his way back to his car.
He opened the door and slid in beside her.
“Well?”
“Nope. No other cars have slashed tires, or fresh damage of any kind.”
“So my car was targeted on purpose?”
Isaac’s head bobbed from side to side.
“We still don’t know that for sure. I mean it could be that some kids came down the street and picked a car at random to vandalize. Long shot, but it happens. I mean, do you know of any enemies who might want to give you a hard time?”
There was a certain amount of levity to his voice and she knew that he was only trying to make her feel better. But she couldn’t shake the feeling of impending doom.
“Only Ann’s husband, Donald.”
“The asshole who put his hands on you a few nights ago and marred that pretty face of yours.”
She silently nodded.
“Yeah, I thought of him too.”
There was something in his voice when he said the words that gave Sidney an uneasy feeling.
“But I got a call from Officer Hamilton informing me that they’d picked up Donald Mowbray this afternoon and charged him with assault and battery, among other things. He’s in a jail cell downtown, so unless he did this right after you got to work this morning, — which I suppose is entirely possible — it wasn’t him.”
Fear and dread ran over Sidney like tires leaving skid marks.
Isaac started the car and pulled onto the street, heading for home.
“Don’t we have to wait for the tow truck?”
“No. I’ve already given them all the information. They’ll pick it up and get it to the repair shop, then they’ll deliver it to the house once the tires have been replaced.”
“Wow. That’s some service.”
Isaac smiled and flashed those dimples at her.
“It’s a garage owned by the same company that maintains the police cruisers. They like to keep the cops’ business, so they add a few perks and a discount if you have a badge. It’s still not going to be cheap to have all four of those tires replaced though.”
“I was afraid of that.”
He reached over and took her hand, then brought it to his lips and kissed it.
“Don’t worry about it. You’ll have your car back by tomorrow, and it’ll be fine.”
She slumped back against the seat and held tight to his hand all the way home.
15
“Ah!”
Pete flinched from the hot steam and dropped the dutch oven lid to the counter with a loud clang. He gave the Picadillo a good stir and replaced the lid.
He was a nervous wreck.
He glanced across the kitchen where Julieta was setting the table for seven. She wore an amused expression that he knew she was trying to hide.
“Te estas riendo de me, mamá?”
“No, mijo, I’m not laughing at you. But it is fun to see you this way.”
“What way?”
“Nervous. Anxious. Excited. Maybe a little scared.”
“Oh, you like that I’m scared! My fear amuses you?”
Now she did laugh out loud, and Pete smiled at the sound. He wanted this night to go well, but he also wanted his mother to be at ease and happy. He wanted her to love Jada and Charlie as much as he did. And he really wanted Mateo to love them too.
Mateo.
Where was that kid?
“Mamá, have you seen Mateo? He still hasn’t come down yet.”
“He was getting dressed. I think he’s just as anxious about tonight as you are.”
“Really? Why?”
Pete lifted the lids on two other pots, checking that everything was ready.
“Why do you think? He wants to please you, Pedro.”
Pete shook his head and looked at her.
“You know, sometimes I feel like you and I are talking about two very different people when it comes to that kid. You make it sound like he wants nothing more than to be with me, but…”
“And you make him sound like he’s the enemy that you must conquer and tame.”
Her words rendered him speechless, like he’d been punched in the gut.
That wasn’t how he felt about Mateo.
“Is that how I make him feel, mamá? Because that’s not how I feel about him. I love that kid. I don’t want him to feel like he doesn’t matter to me.”
“So tell him that sometime. Mijo, you have to remember that Mateo has had nothing but disappointment in his young life. He’s never known his father. His mother loved her drugs more than she loved him, and now she’s in prison. Mateo will be a grown man by the time Paulina is up for parole. He knows that I won’t be around forever. You are all he has in this world.”
“I hate it when you talk like that. You are going to be here for a long, long time, mamá.”
“From your lips, to God’s ears. But don’t change the subject. Mateo just needs to know that you will always be there for him. That there is one person in his life who won’t leave him.”
The sliver of an idea ran through his system like a river. A notion he’d thought about more than once lately. But now was not the time to discuss it. Not when they were expecting company at any minute.
“I’m starving.” Mateo said as he entered the kitchen and headed for the stove. He lifted the tin foil on a batch of tostones. The crispy fried plantain slices were the kid’s favorite.
“You touch one of those tostones and you’re in big trouble.” Pete pointed at him.
“But Uncle Pete…”
“Not one! We will wait for our guests. You are not going to starve to death in the next ten minutes. Out of the kitchen.”
He pointed again, this time to the door.
“But…”
“Out!”
Mateo stomped out of the room, and Pete did one last check on his waiting meal. He’d made a big batch of easy and delicious Picadillo — a ground beef dish made with bell peppers, tomato sauce, and the finest Puerto Rican spices — to be served with rice, black beans and the tostones. There was even a pineapple rum cake for dessert, but Julieta had made that.
