A Penny for Your Thoughts (23 page)

He strode back down the hallway to the stairs.

Why had she installed the deadbolt? Did she know he’d been in her apartment? He wracked his brain to think of any signs he might have left.

He reached his car and jumped in. So, she thought she could play with him, did she? Rage flamed through him, and he began to bang his hands on the steering wheel again and again, pounding harder and harder, wishing he could scream but having to settle for groundout words between teeth clenched so hard his jaw ached.

“One little deadbolt isn’t going to stop me, Miss High and Mighty Penny. I’ll get you...one way or another. You haven’t seen the last of me. We’re only just beginning, you and I.” He stared at the front of her building.

****

Penny awakened to the sound of the phone ringing...yet again. Matt? She reached for it in the dark.

“Hello?”

“Penny?” It wasn’t Matt. Penny pulled the phone away to look at the caller ID.

“Unknown number.”

She slammed the phone shut and tossed it away from her. Reaching for the lamp next to her bed, she gave it a twist, filling the bedroom with soft light.

The phone rang again, and she put her hands over her ears and began to hum. She could just turn it off. She should just turn it off. But what if Matt called? The sound of Calypso music made her nauseous.

The ringing stopped, and Penny grabbed the phone to turn it off. The sound of lilting island music startled her, and she stared at the caller ID again.

“Unknown number.”

She couldn’t take it anymore. Better to face her enemy.

“What!” she shrieked into the phone. “What do you want?”

“Penny?”

“What is it? You can’t scare me with these ridiculous calls.”

“Penny, it’s Cliff. Is everything all right? Did you get another call?”

“Cliff?” It took a moment for his words to register. Relief overwhelmed her, and she began to shake with reaction. “Cliff! I was scared to death. Your call shows up as an unknown number. I’m sorry. I just knew it was...him.”

“Oh, geez, Penny, I’m sorry. I don’t know why my phone would show up as an unknown number. I hadn’t heard that before.”

Penny waited for the shaking to subside.

“Penny?”

“I’m here. I’m just breathing.”

“Breathing, huh?” She thought she could see him smile over the phone.

“Well, the reason I called was to let you know that we haven’t found anything on the phone calls yet. And then I go and scare you to death.”

“That’s all right, Cliff. I appreciate that you’ve been looking into it.”

“I talked to your boss, Tim, on the phone as well. I think he was a little more forthcoming when I talked to him, but he really doesn’t think anyone at your counseling center is involved.” Cliff paused. “I told him I knew about...about Jerry, but I didn’t tell him who I was.”

Penny caught her breath. Tim already knew, but he wouldn’t have let Cliff know. “That must have been difficult, Cliff.”

“Well, I didn’t want to muddy the waters by throwing my relationship with Jerry into the mix, so I left it out.” A pause. “I’m not sure that was ethical, but...”

“I’m sure Tim would understand.” It seemed awkward to lie to him.

“Yeah, well, at any rate...he said he’d talked to group members, and while everyone still misses Jerry,” Cliff cleared his throat, “none of them overreacted or gave Tim any reason to think they were holding a grudge against the center...or you.”

Penny nodded with satisfaction.

“I didn’t think it was anyone there.”

Silence.

“Cliff?”

“Yeah, I’m here. I was thinking about earlier, Penny. You know...when I had my nervous breakdown on your shoulder?”

“Oh, Cliff! Not a nervous breakdown... Just a lot of pent-up emotion.”

“Yeah, well, it felt like a breakdown.” His snort held little mirth. “The thing is...I felt better after talking to you. I can see why Jerry went to see you.”

“Cliff! What a nice thing to say! I’m glad.”

“Yeah, well, I just wanted to tell you. Maybe I should start seeing someone...you know, just to talk.” He coughed. “So, listen, I heard that you got a new lock on your door. Smart move.”

Penny wanted to address the beginning of his comment, but she was too surprised by mention of the lock.

“Yes, it was installed today. How did you know?”

“Oh, Matt told me.”

“In the last thirty minutes?” She eyeballed her clock. Hadn’t she just gotten off the phone with Matt?

“Yeah.”

“Oh,” she replied nonplussed.

“Well, I’ve got to get off the phone,” Cliff said. “I’m getting in my car.”

“Oh, were you out?”

“Yeah. I had to run to the store.”

Penny cocked her head. Her first inclination was to say she had been there not too long ago, but then she remembered Matt and the blonde woman and decided to drop the subject.

“Okay, Cliff. Take care...and thanks for everything.”

“Well, I’m not sure I’ve done much, but you’re welcome. Good night. Oh, by the way, are you going to any of the Mardi Gras parades?”

“Yes, I think I’m going to the one in Orange Beach tomorrow night.”

“Well, you should. They’re usually a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I’ve got work to do, so I can’t make it to that one.”

“I’m sorry,” Penny murmured.

“I’ve seen plenty of them. Well, goodnight again, Penny.”

“Goodnight, Cliff...and thank you again.”

She closed her phone and turned it off, feeling somehow cut off from Matt by her action. What if he called? She looked at the clock. Ten p.m. Why would he call?    

Penny turned off the light and snuggled back under her covers, willing herself back to sleep. Cliff seemed to have warmed toward her, and she was grateful. He appeared to be coming to terms with Jerry’s loss, though she herself still struggled.

She bolted upright in bed. Keys! She flicked the lamp on again and hopped out of bed. Where was her purse? Why didn’t she just put that thing in the same place all the time, and then she’d know where it was?

The kitchen. It was still in the kitchen. She walked out into the darkened living room and grabbed her purse from the kitchen, carrying it with her back to the bedroom. She climbed back into bed and set it on her lap, zipping and unzipping the numerous pockets that she loved so much. A big black canvas thing, it held everything she might ever need.

She found what she was looking for in a small pocket hidden under a flap. Jerry’s keys. She pulled two small keys out and dangled them before her eyes, studying them with interest. Jerry always kept them attached to his belt by a loop. He didn’t drive, but always took the bus, so she assumed they didn’t belong to a vehicle. At any rate, they were small and in no way resembled any car keys she’d ever seen. One appeared to be a house key, and the other was smaller. She couldn’t imagine what it unlocked.

Penny closed her hand over the keys. She should have turned the keys over to whoever handled Jerry’s estate. She drew in a sharp breath. The keys bit into her hand as she gripped them tightly. Cliff would have cleared out Jerry’s belongings, wouldn’t he? He was the next of kin. 

She thought back to the funeral and tried to pick Cliff’s face out of the mourners, but she’d been in no shape to memorize faces. In fact, she hadn’t raised her eyes once. Shame and guilt kept her gaze riveted to the ground, and she’d escaped the funeral as soon as possible.

To think that Cliff had been there, eyeing her, quite possibly hating her brought a knot in her stomach. She opened her hand to look at the keys. She needed to give them to Cliff, though she had no idea how to explain why she’d kept them. Some sort of memorial to Jerry? A constant reminder, as penance, of his death?

Penny slipped the keys back into her purse and dropped it on the floor beside the bed. She turned out the light and buried herself under the covers, a knot of pain in her throat as she wondered about the relationship between Cliff and Jerry.

Sleep came, but vivid dreams of the jarring jangle of keys over a phone, followed by a hoarse voice followed her throughout the night.    

****

Sunlight streamed in through the windows, burning Penny’s eyelids, and she rolled over and buried her face in the pillow. More than anything in the world, she wanted to talk to someone who loved her...even before she got out of bed.

She found her phone and stared at it. It was off. With a shake of her fuzzy brain, she pushed a button to turn it on, and dialed her mother’s number.

“Hello?” Penny relished the sound of her mother’s warm voice.

“Hi, Mom. How are you?” Penny stretched, the day normalizing itself.

“Hi, honey. I’m fine. How are you?”

“Good. It’s Mardi Gras week here.”

“Oh, really? How fun! Lots of parades I’ll bet.”

“Yup. I think I’m going to one tonight. But I have to go by myself. I don’t really know anyone here. Don’t you think that’s weird, Mom? I’ve been here two months, and I don’t know anyone.”

“Well, honey, if I recall, you didn’t go down there on
vacation.
It’s perfectly understandable if you haven’t been out gallivanting and hitting the bars.”

“Hitting the bars?” Penny grinned. “Mom! What would you know about that?”

“Oh, please. As if I didn’t have my day.”

“No, Mom. No bar hopping.” Penny sighed. “And you’re right. I forgot. I didn’t come down here to meet people, did I?”

“Not that I heard. But I’m sorry you don’t have anyone to go to the parade with. Is it safe for you to go alone?” Worry made her mother’s voice rise.

“Oh, yeah. This is Orange Beach, Mom. Not too much crime going on around here.”

“What about the bank robbery, and the break in of your car, and the phone calls?”

Penny stiffened. “Well, now that you throw everything in one sentence, it does sound kind of rough down here. But they’re all separate from each other. I’m sure of that.”

“What about Matt? Can’t he go with you?”

“I think he’s working. I don’t know. I didn’t ask. I think all the police are working.”

“Oh!”

“There was this one guy who asked me, but I don’t think Matt would like it if I went with him.”

“Oh, so now we care what Matt thinks. It didn’t take you long to fall for him again, Penny.”

Penny smiled, surprised she didn’t feel the least bit defensive at her mother’s wry tone.

“No. I didn’t waste any time at all.”

“Well, take care of yourself, dear. I don’t want you getting hurt again.”

“I gave out my fair share of hurting, Mom.”

“Yes, I know you did.” Her mother paused. “Listen, Penny, I got my own strange phone call the other day. I said hello several times, but no one spoke. Then someone hung up.”

Penny stiffened. “What? Did you check caller ID?”

“Penelope Brown! Since when did I get
caller ID?
I’m not signing on for all that new-fangled stuff. There’s nothing wrong with a good old-fashioned answering machine. Anything else is just fluff.”

Penny snorted. She’d forgotten. Her mother was not a fan of computers or cell phones.

“Are you still hanging onto that yellow wall phone? Does that thing still work?”

“Of course it works. I love this phone. The cord extends all the way out from the kitchen to the living room. What’s not to like?”

“Mom,” Penny groaned.

“Listen, honey. I’ve got to get going. I promised to meet the girls at the gym this morning, and I’m already running late.”

“All right, Mom. Have a good workout.”

“I love you. Bye.”

Penny heard the click, and she closed her phone and dropped it on the covers. She rolled out of bed and dressed for the beach in shorts and a T-shirt.

A cup of coffee later, she grabbed her beach bag and headed down to her car to retrieve her chair out of the trunk. She kicked off her shoes as she stepped onto the sugary sand and found a nice spot on the beach to set up camp.

She had every intention of spending the day reading romance novels and eating chips and dip and sandwiches to her heart’s content. The sun reflected off the white sand, warming the beach and counteracting the cool breeze that blew in off the water. Seagulls flew happily about waiting for tidbits of food from other beachgoers, of whom there were more than usual. Visitors had come to town for Mardi Gras, and the beach hummed with activity. The day shone glorious, and Penny felt more relaxed than she had in weeks as she burrowed into her book.

Some time later, a shadow fell over her pages, and she looked up.

“Hi, Kevin,” she murmured, shading her eyes to look at him.

“Morning. How are you?” He remained standing. “I was just taking a walk and thought I’d stop by and say hi.”

“Well, that’s nice of you. How was breakfast?”

“What?” Kevin blinked. “Breakfast. With my grandparents! Yeah, it was great. What are you reading there?”