Double Doublecross (8 page)

Here she was, in a stranger's house waiting for the call. Sara liked Carl but was weary of his promises of the big times to come. On the other hand, he might come through with something in the near future. He always gave her enough money to live on, but that was about it.

Her real ambition was to be independent, having enough money of her own without having to rely on anyone else. This was her primary goal.

Now Phil Speed was a different entity altogether. He worked from time to time with Carl, laundering money for the narcotics dealers. The first time she saw Phil Speed she thought he was the type of person she really wanted to spend
the rest of her life with. The only problem with him was a degree of uncertainty as to his stability. He also lacked the vision Carl had of the extravagant life he was going to lead one day.

She felt a certain affection and tenderness about Phil Speed, but she could see a cruel and barbarous ruthlessness lurking within him in a quiet way. He obviously tolerated Carl when they worked together, but the bottom line was he would double-cross him at the drop of a hat.

When Carl was away, Sara saw Phil Speed two or three times a week, depending on his schedule. Phil lived in a two bedroom apartment in Oakland just a few miles across the bay from San Francisco. Usually he spent at least two days a week in Seattle and the remainder of his time in Oakland.

Now that she was temporarily staying with Rick, it was going to be more difficult to see Phil other than at lunchtime. Obviously she was going to have to come up with some creative reasoning to get away and meet him.

The dinner at Stan and Helen's was arranged for the following weekend. Helen was going to cook one of her gourmet chicken and artichoke dishes with an orange cream cake for dessert. They had also invited Pat and Jake James to make up the party, knowing that Pat would keep any discussion moving along if the evening fell flat.

As usual, Pat and Jake arrived early, stopping by the kitchen to say hello to Helen who was working feverishly on her gastronomic feast.

“Have a seat somewhere—and what'll you have to drink?” said Stan.

“For heaven's sake, Stan, I can't do two things at once. You should know that by now,” Pat said. “Okay, I'll have a
sherry—but just a small one … for now,” she added with a laugh.

“What about you, Jake? Anything a bit stronger?”

“I'll have a beer, if that's okay with you.”

“No sweat. One beer and a sherry coming up.”

Stan served the drinks as the door chimes sounded.

“Must be Rick and Sandy,” Stan said.

Pat looked up “No, Stan! It's
Sara
. Sandy was another one. This Sara seems to be lasting a lot longer than usual. Maybe he's getting serious at last.”

Stan opened the door, greeted Sara and Rick and then introduced Sara to Helen, Pat and Jake.

During the main course Pat did most of the talking. The conversation topics were mainly the economy, politics and general local gossip. During the latter part of the main course, Pat became strangely quiet and Stan noticed she was staring hard at Sara. He said nothing and decided to tackle her about it when the coffee was served in the family room.

“That was a delicious dinner, Helen. I'm sure we all thank you for such a wonderful meal,” Rick said. He had always felt a soft spot for Helen and at times felt envious of Stan, wishing he could settle down with a woman like her.

Everyone agreed with Rick, and Helen smiled, inviting her guests into the other room for coffee. As they moved toward the family room, Stan caught hold of Pat's arm and said, “You were quiet all of a sudden. Anything wrong?”

“No, not really. It's just that I can't help feeling I've seen Sara during the last few days, and I can't for the love of Mike remember where. Maybe I'll ask her in a minute or two. I hate it when this happens, don't you?”

“Okay, fine. Don't let it preoccupy you this evening,” he said with a smile.

Coffee was served and the conversation sputtered on and off into general subjects and small talk.

It was nearing time to call it an evening, and everyone made their way to the door exchanging pleasantries, when Pat approached Sara.

“Sara, I've seen you lately, but I can't for the life of me remember where or when it was. I've seen you in our office once before, but this was in the last three or four days. Maybe it was in the supermarket or in the mall.”

Sara hesitated fractionally and finally said, “No, I don't think so. Not in the supermarket. Perhaps it was the mall.”

“Oh, forget it. It's not important. It's just things bug me when I can't remember. One of the joys of getting to middle age, I guess. Well, goodnight all. We'll see you again soon.”

With that she grabbed Jake's arm and hastened him to the car. She got in the car, and shutting the door, she turned to Jake.

“I remember now when I saw her, Jake. It was at the ladies' lunch I go to every month. It was the day before yesterday in the Golden Butterfly—you know, the Chinese restaurant on Main Street. She was at a table with a tall, blonde, good-looking man about thirty or so I would say. Looked a lot like her but not the same, if you know what I mean. Very well dressed, not wearing the casual outfits that you see these days. He could have been a business man.”

Jake looked at her, “Does it really matter? It could be her brother, uncle or long lost cousin for all you know,” Jake said casually.

“It's not like that, Jake. He was definitely not her brother, I can tell you for certain. More like a boyfriend if you ask me.”

“Give it a rest,” said Jake. “It's none of our business, is it?”

“What about Rick? Does he know? He's fond of her, and I'd hate to see him get hurt. He may be a bit of a fly by night, but he's a great guy and we've known him for years. I think I should tell him about it, in a nice way, of course.”

“Okay, but don't go poking your nose into something that doesn't concern you.”

The following morning Rick rolled out of bed, showered, shaved and dressed for the office. He made a pot of coffee, grabbed a Danish pastry from the bread bin and made his way to the connecting door of the garage. Disturbing Sara did not seem like a good idea, and he left the coffeepot warming for her.

Getting in his car, he backed out of the garage. It was a damp, cold morning with a veil of fog hugging the ground and shrouding the shrubs in a shimmering shower of crystal-like beads. He looked at his watch. It was just coming up to thirty minutes past eight.

He rounded the circular drive and cautiously made his way into the street pausing to allow a tall blonde man to pass his driveway like a ghost in the gray, damp fog that hung in the air. ‘Strange to see someone on foot in this weather,' thought Rick. ‘People prefer to run around in their cars particularly on a day like this.' Within ten minutes Rick was in the office parking lot and ready for the day ahead.

Sara watched Rick pull out of the drive narrowly missing Phil Speed who was walking in the road close to the house. She waited until Rick had cleared the house, stripped off her nightdress and slipped on a bathrobe.

Opening the front door, she crooked her finger at the shadowy figure of Phil Speed half hidden by the mist. Leaving
the door slightly ajar, she waited for him. She met him as he entered the hallway and they kissed passionately, Sara letting her robe fall to the floor exposing her beautiful body. Phil Speed picked her up and carried her into the bedroom where they made fiery and eager love.

Eventually, breathless and spent they laid back and rested. Nestling in each other's arms, they began discussing the current situation between themselves, Rick and Carl Regis.

“There's no romance between Rick and me, darling. He might believe there's something but he's mistaken. I'll just make use of him until it's time for us to leave together. Carl has something big going on, and we might be able to profit by it. He said something about striking it rich. He's always saying that, but this time he seemed more self-assured than usual, so let's wait and see what he's up to,” she said.

“I don't like this one bit, sweetheart,” Phil said irritably. “I haven't seen or heard from Carl for about a week now. He's too quiet. As a rule, we regularly have some work to do together, but he hasn't contacted me, and that's not like him at all.”

Phil Speed did not elaborate on the type of work he and Carl had to do, and Sara didn't want to know. It was now approaching eleven o'clock and Sara suggested Phil should leave as Rick might come home early for lunch and to see if everything was okay. They walked to the front door and stopped to kiss passionately once again.

“When will I see you again?” Phil inquired.

“I'm not sure but I'll contact you as soon as I get some news from Carl. Maybe we can get together before Christmas. It's just a few days from now.”

Phil moved swiftly down the drive, turning to wave as he disappeared into the road. He was not in a happy frame of
mind. He did not like Sara staying at Rick's house and he was unsure of the situation with Carl Regis. Carl was customarily full of nervous energy and eager to do some work. Moving money to be laundered was generally a constant assignment and it was not usual to have a break period like this.

Nevertheless, he knew he had to be patient and wait for Carl to call him. If Carl had something in the pipeline then he wanted part of it and he wanted Sara as well, but there was nothing he could do except wait for a signal from Carl or Sara.

Meanwhile, Sara had showered and dressed. She decided to call Rick. Maybe he would like to join her for lunch. Rick had just ended a caravan tour of homes with a number of realtors and thought a lunch with Sara was just what he needed. Touring properties for sale in the current flat economic environment was a tedious business, and this offered a well-deserved break from the routine of work.

They visited a local restaurant. Sara ordered a chicken salad and coffee, while Rick had the usual hamburger with fries and a glass of iced tea.

“What did you do with yourself this morning?” Rick asked. “Any modeling or acting parts on the horizon?”

“Oh, I just loafed around, taking it easy. There's not much work this time of year for me. I don't fancy acting anymore. The lines are difficult to remember, and I can't stand the makeup they plaster all over your face. Doesn't do the complexion any good … blocks up the pores.”

Rick smiled and said, “I guess you're right. You certainly were well made up when I saw you in
The Mikado
. I spoke to the makeup artist and he said he could change your appearance at the drop of a hat. Is that true?”

“Sure,” she laughed. “But I still don't like it. It makes my face feel stiff, and when you look in the mirror, you wonder who's looking back at you.”

Rick decided to go back to his place with her before returning to the office. They drove up to the house in separate cars and entered through the front door. As he stood in the hallway, Rick looked around with a puzzled look on his face as if he was trying to figure something out.

“Smells like cologne in here. I know the bouquet,” he said lightly. “I've tried this cologne before, but I can't place it for the moment. I know it's nothing I use now.”

Sara's mind worked furiously. She felt her face burning and her stomach started fluttering. Of course, it had to be Phil's cologne. Now she had to find an explanation. She was in a state of panic and had to think fast.

“I know what it is,” she said hastily. “I went to the mall this morning and tried some of the colognes and perfume spray samples. Thought I might buy something different. Some of the men's colognes have a fragrance superior to perfumes.”

Rick laughed. “Isn't that the truth? These days you have to smell good. It's part of the male wardrobe.”

Sara decided she had to change the subject quickly. “Christmas is just around the corner, so what goes on around here for celebration?”

“Usually I get invited to Stan and Helen's place for a dinner and drinks. Helen really puts herself out with her wonderful cooking. Stan's a very lucky man in that department. Sometimes Pat and Jake join us. I guess you'll be invited with me, so leave the day open.”

“It sounds great. My Christmas is usually pretty dull and I like your friends. When you're single, holidays are a bit of a drag.”

“Good. It's settled then. I'll let Stan and Helen know this afternoon. Now, I'd better get back to the office before Stan sends out a search party. I'll see you about six,” Rick said jocularly. ‘Things are looking up,' he thought.

“Okay, I'll see you later,” Sara said.

Rick climbed into the Lincoln and started to drive back to the office. His thoughts switched to the fact Sara had said she was loafing around all morning, and had
not
mentioned her trip to the mall. The fragrance of the cologne was not mixed with female perfume. Was she lying once again? In fact, she was not wearing perfume herself, so where had the whiff of cologne come from?

These thoughts were puzzling him, and he was thinking about them when he arrived at the office. Pushing open the office door, the first person he saw was Pat at her desk but no sign of Stan. He took off his jacket and sat in a visitor's chair next to Pat James.

“Where's Stan? Out with a client?”

Pat looked up, “He won't be long, Rick. As you can see, things are a bit slow. You know, I saw Sara the other day driving out of a parking lot with a guy with fair hair. Was he a buddy of yours?” she ventured, knowing Jake would have disapproved of her inquiry. Pat was curious but posed the question in an offhanded manner so as not to sound inquisitive.

“She's never mentioned it. Probably one of her acting friends or an agent,” Rick said quietly.

He went to his office, sat down and thought about Pat's observation. He remembered the time he thought he saw Sara in a car with a fair complexioned man. Was there any connection to Pat's observation? There was always something bothering him about Sara. She had lied to him about the
apartment lease, the false trip to the mall—and what about the cologne smell?