Анна Керн - Deadly Diamond

“Have you heard from David since you put your relationship on hold?” Maggie asked.

“Yes, he called and asked me to meet him for lunch. I said no at first, and then talking to him made me realize how well he filled a void I didn’t know existed until recently.”

“So did you meet him?” Maggie kept prodding.

“I did and I’m not sure I should have. It complicates things even more.”

“Sometimes emotions overtake logic and, let’s face it; relationships can get difficult.”

“We had lunch at The Pier, on the south edge of Beachside. It’s been a while since I was in that area and with a new subdivision going up––a strip shopping center and a business park––I almost didn’t find the restaurant. It was small, intimate and dark with only two other couples seated. I wanted to leave, hesitated, and then it was too late. My eyes adjusted to the dark and I saw David, thankful that he wasn’t sitting in a booth. He waited for me to approach, pulled out my chair, and took a seat across the table. He said he wanted one more chance at convincing me not to stop seeing him.”

“And?”

Alyx looked away, and when she spoke, it sounded as if she was talking to herself. “This feeling has been there from the beginning and has grown over the months we’ve known each other. What are the chances it will happen again? Except … I don’t want to share him; I want him completely free––no attachments, all or nothing.”

“Okay, so what are you saying? Have you changed your mind about seeing him?” Maggie was trying to help Alyx make up her obviously conflicted mind.

“I told him I’d consider it,” she snapped. “I know your feelings on the subject, so you needn’t tell me again.”

“I wasn’t going to do that. You’re a big girl and more than capable of messing up your own life.” Maggie yanked her purse from the desk, said she had an errand to run and didn’t know when she’d be back.

Bernice came in a few minutes later with a message from Maggie.

“Maggie said she forgot to tell you that Annie Kron called about the chair that was delivered today and you need to call her back.”

“Did she say anything else?”

“She said to be sure to tell you she’s not mad at you for snapping at her and she’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Cats are connoisseurs of comfort .”

––James Herriot, James Herriot’s Cat Stories

CHAPTER TWENTY: Who Is Harassing Alyx?

Alyx stomped into the workroom with a scowl on her face. Maggie raised her head, put her pencil down, and leaned back in her chair.

“What happened this time?”

“Let’s make a business decision right now to never accept a job based solely on the profit margin.”

“If I remember correctly, and I do; it was your decision to take her as a client,” Maggie countered.

Alyx set aside her design board and briefcase. “I need a cup of coffee. Want some?”

Maggie lifted her cup for a refill. Alyx topped it off and filled her mug with the rest, took a sip of the hot, dark liquid and sat at the worktable, stretching her legs out in front.

“She didn’t like anything we put together.”

“What …? We gave her exactly what she wanted.”

“You know what she said? We’re the designers; we shouldn’t have listened to her.”

Maggie––blonde hair, blue eyes, and the same age as Alyx––smiled broadly and between sips of coffee, said, “So, our plan worked.”

“I resent having to play these silly games, and today I let her disrespectful attitude get to me. You and I have accomplished a lot on our own. It’s difficult when a woman like her, someone who’s never worked a day in her life, someone who’s had everything handed to her and lives in a million-dollar home, someone with extremely bad taste…” and they burst into laughter.

They quieted down when George walked in, greeted Alyx and gave Maggie a quick kiss on the cheek. Then Alyx proceeded to tell him why they were laughing.

“Just so you don’t get it wrong, I don’t often do that, but in this case our reputation was at stake. Sometimes I really miss the days when it was all about the hunt, picking through old discarded things and finding that one item of value that would be sold in our store.”

“Sad to say, we don’t do much of that anymore,” added Maggie.

“You don’t have to do that anymore with so many people bringing their stuff to you,” he answered. “However, if you ladies want to get back to the real thing, take a look out the window at the treasures I found at a house they’re tearing down.”

“No doubt to make room for another condominium,” Maggie said.

“Right you are, sweetie,” he said, draping his arm around her shoulders, “and these start at only five hundred thousand.”

“Those cheap ones must be the ones facing the road rather than the ocean,” she answered, shaking her head in disbelief.

The three of them trooped to the front of the store. George grinned at their gleeful reaction to the truckload of architectural items, along with a bathtub and a pedestal sink in pristine condition.

“George, this is perfect for the house Ethan is buying,” said Alyx.

“Thank you, honey,” said Maggie.

“Of course, I intent to make a small profit on this,” he said, winking at Maggie.

“Fair enough, George,” replied Alyx. “Wait until I tell Ethan; I know he’ll be positively thrilled!”

“Do you think he’d be interested in some wood flooring? Most of it’s rotted away, but there’s probably just enough to salvage for a couple of rooms,” said George.

“I’m sure he’ll want it,” said Alyx.

“If he does want it, tell him we need to get it real soon. I’ll help, but we could use one more man.”

“Okay, George,” said Alyx, “I’ll have him call you, and––thank you for thinking of him.”

It was only seven o’clock when we left the store, but it was pitch-dark outside. Alyx closed all the blinds and checked all the locks on the doors again. When we got home, she prepared her tea, and while the tea steeped, she changed into an oversized t-shirt. In my opinion, it was too early to call it a night; conversely, it was not time to go out or start anything new.

Alyx called her brother Tom, told him about the items that George had picked up for Ethan, and how excited Ethan was to start the renovation process on his house.

“I’ve already told Ethan not to hesitate to call me for help if a job gets to be more than he can handle,” said Tom. “I know contractors who will quote him a fair price.”

“Thanks, Tom. I’ll see you and Susan for dinner on Wednesday.”

“Was there something else, Alyx?”

“Well …no, nothing that can’t wait. Good night, Tom.”

She disconnected without mentioning to her brother that someone had followed us home and had almost sideswiped her car when she turned in the driveway. At first, I thought maybe Alyx had made someone mad because she was driving too slowly. However, I started to doubt that that was the case when the phone rang three different times during the night, and there was no one talking on the other end.

Trying to sleep with the phone ringing at all hours of the night was an exercise in futility. I figured someone was obviously harassing Alyx. That sideswipe was a near miss. Who could be stalking Alyx? Was it Althea’s killer or was it someone else? I remembered Alyx’s conversation with David about his ex-wife and considered the probability that she was the culprit.

Someone wanted to scare Alyx––at least, this time. Maybe next time, it would be worse. Either way, Pooky and Misty needed to know. When I told them, they looked at each other in alarm and then back at me. Pooky hoped her presence wasn’t required at Antiques & Designs. I understood her reluctance to go. She’d learned that for superstitious reasons some humans don’t like black cats; some people visibly cringed when they saw her. There wasn’t much I could say about that. Malevolence wasn’t new to her; she’d had some experience with that before. She plopped down with obvious relief when I told her that Misty and I could handle things for the time being.