Another Saturday Night and I Ain't Got No Body (A Page Turners Novel) (18 page)

“Could you see any of his hand or arm
?
Was his skin color white, black, tan, fair
?
Did you see any moles or freckles on his arm?” Jake asked this time.

“I couldn’t tell. It was a hand with a black glove and a black sleeve, so I couldn’t see any skin. It was a big hand, meaty, ya know
?
So, that’s why I’m sure it was a man.”

While Sunny had been talking, Beau had come to lie at her feet in front of the sofa.

“It all happened so fast. I don’t know if he would have run if Beau hadn’t flown at him, barking his head off. I’ve never seen him like that.”

“He was protecting you.” Jake ruffled the yellow fur around the dog’s big head. He pulled Beau’s head up to look in his eyes as he crooned, “Good dog, Beau. You were a good dog.”

“Do you have any idea who it could have been?” His gaze left the dog’s and looked questionably into hers.

“No,” Sunny said softly.

“How do we know it wasn’t you, Mr. Barefoot-Show-Up-to-the-Rescue-with-a-Gun?” Edna asked, scowling at Jake.

“Me?” he asked, shocked.

“Yes, you.” She pointed at his chest. “And how do we know you’re not responsible for these calls she’s been getting in the middle of the night, too?”

His eyes narrowed as he turned to Sunny. “What calls?”

“I’ve sorta been getting some weird heavy-breathing hang up calls,” Sunny admitted.

“On your home or your cell?”

“Both.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Why would she tell you?” Edna snapped. “You expect her to come over to some strange new Mr. Half-Dressed-Neighbor and knock on your door to tell you she’s getting prank calls?”

Jake and Sunny both just looked at her.

“I’m just saying…”

Jake turned back to Sunny. “When’s the last time you received one of these calls?”

“Right before I saw the hand at the window.”

“Great. Well, we’re calling the police. You need to have a report filed on the calls and the possible break in.”  He grabbed the phone from the side coffee table and held it out for her. “Call 911.”

Sunny did as instructed and was informed a police cruiser would be by shortly.

She went upstairs to pull on some pajama bottoms, a t-shirt, and a bra. She pushed her arms through the sleeves of a zippered sweatshirt. As she came down the stairs, she heard Edna and Jake talking
.

“Will you stay with her?” Jake asked Edna. “Make sure she tells the police everything about tonight and the phone calls, too.”

“Should we even tell them my suspicions of you?” Edna’s voice carried a hint of a challenge.

“Sure, tell them all about me.” His voice carried a hint of amusement.

“Wait. Where are you going?” Sunny asked, coming into the living room. Cold fingers of fear crept up her spine.

“I’ve got some stuff to check into at the house. Don’t worry. I’ll be right next door.”  He stood from the sofa and picked up the glass of water to return it to the kitchen.

Flashing red and blue lights pulsed through the front window as the police cruiser pulled into the driveway. Sunny heard the back door click shut as Jake slipped through it… just as the front doorbell rang.

Edna opened the front door and escorted two officers into the living room. They took in the dog, Edna and Sunny, and the black Taser gun resting on the coffee table.

“You ladies okay?” asked the younger of the two officers. He was tall, well-muscled, and had short dark hair. His teeth were white against his tanned skin and his dark eyes expressed concern as he held out his hand.

“Are you a real policeman?” Edna gave him the once over…then a second over. “You look more like one of those Chippen-Dale Strippers who dance at bachelorette parties. You sure you got the right address?”

“Edna!” Sunny admonished.

The young officer smiled at Edna. “Yes, ma’am. I can assure you that we are real policemen. I’m Officer Steve Royce and this is my partner, Officer McCarthy.” 

Officer McCarthy was all business as he nodded and took a small notebook from his pocket. “Nice to meet you. Can you tell us what happened?”  He looked to be in his mid-fifties and wore his hair shaved close to his head. His body was lean and also well-muscled.

“Well, seriously, look at the two of you. Haven’t you cops heard of donuts?” Edna muttered
.

She ushered the group into the living room, and the women sat on the love seat across from the policemen. Sunny repeated her story to the officers and answered their questions, which were remarkably similar to the ones Jake had asked. Edna’s earlier comment about Jake running around acting like the police crossed her mind, and Sunny wondered if Jake was possibly in law enforcement. That would explain why he had a gun. She would feel so much better about having a policeman’s lips on her breast than a criminal’s.

Edna told them about Hank’s repeated phone calls, and his obtuseness about Sunny not wanting to continue dating him
.

“Now, Edna. We don’t have any proof that it was Hank at my window.” Sunny hated to stick up for Hank, but also didn’t want to get a single dad in trouble if he was just enthusiastic in his dating technique. She shrugged at the policeman. “But, at this point, I think it’s a possibility and you should probably check him out.” Silently she wondered if she would rather her intruder be the over-zealous guy she did know or the scarier possibility of it being someone random who she didn’t know
.

Officer McCarthy continued to visit with the women while his partner followed Jake’s routine and checked both the interior and exterior of the house.

“One of the trash cans is knocked over next to the fence on the side of your house. It looks like the guy climbed the fence there to get to your roof. It wouldn’t be too hard to get up there,” Officer Royce said as he came back in through the front door. “There are a couple of good-sized shoeprints near the fence. They’re spaced evenly apart as if someone jumped from the fence. They look like a size eleven or twelve, definitely a man’s shoe.”

“Are you going to pour in some plaster and make a mold of the shoeprints? Because I could help,” Edna offered. “I watch every CSI, and I think I’m pretty current on the evidence- gathering techniques. Should we dust for some fingerprints on the fence?”

Officer McCarthy stood and smiled down at Edna. “Though we do appreciate the generous offer, ma’am, I think we’ve got this one covered. I’m sure Officer Royce photographed the shoe print, so I don’t think a plaster mold will be necessary this time. And we can’t really pull fingerprints off the wooden fence.”

“Oh, all right.” Edna sounded disappointed. “But you are going to talk to the suspects, right?”

“We’ll head over and speak to this…” he checked his notes, “Jake Landon now, and we’ll check in with this other gentleman, Hank, tomorrow. As of right now, it appears you ladies are safe for the evening.”

“Thank you so much for coming by.” Edna walked them to the door. She sounded as though they had stopped by for tea or a Sunday visit instead of being summoned to Sunny’s home due to an unwanted late night visitor.

“I’m sure you’re going to be fine. Probably just a peeping tom. We don’t really expect him to be back tonight, but call us if you need anything else, ma’am,” Officer Royce said and his eyes lingered on Sunny a moment longer than necessary.

Sunny blinked in surprise, then blushed as she realized this young, gorgeous officer was actually flirting with her. She was glad she had taken the time to put on some clothes, and a bra. Just thinking about answering their questions as she sat half-naked in her silk robe warmed her cheeks further.

“Thank you, I will,” Sunny said, smiling demurely. Or at least what she hoped was demurely.

“Take care, now.” He gave Sunny a wink and one more flash of his dazzling smile before he pulled the door shut behind him.

Edna crossed to the far wall and peeked through the curtains. “They’re going over to Walter’s house now. They’re knocking on the front door. Oh, there he is. Thank goodness he put a shirt on. Now he’s letting them in. Oh, they shut the door.”  Edna concluded her play by play.

“Well, that Officer Royce was sure a cute one,” Edna said, still watching Jake’s house through the curtain. “Maybe we could set you up on a date with him.”

“Oh, Edna,” Sunny scoffed. “He’s probably ten years younger than I am. I’m old enough to be his…well, his big sister or older cousin, at least.”

“Hog wash. He wasn’t that young, and besides, going out with a younger man could be fun.”  She wiggled her eyebrows and her hips at Sunny.

“I am not going out with him.” Sunny laughed, more as a release from the drama of the evening. It felt good to her to think of something normal and safe. “But, he was cute,” she added.

“Hey, here they come,” Edna said, her attention drawn back to the curtain. Sunny scurried to the window and peeked out with her.

Officer Royce looked toward the window and gave them a little wave before he got into the squad car.

“Dang. They didn’t arrest him.” Edna let the curtains fall as the cruiser backed out of the driveway.

“Who, Jake?”

“Of course, Mr. Myster
iously-Disappears-When-the-Cops-
Show-Up.”

“Okay, that was a little odd, but I really don’t think Jake was the one who tried to sneak into my window.” 

They both jumped as the phone rang. The shrill ring seemed extra loud in the still house.

“You want me to get it?” Edna asked. “I’ll tell that SOB what to do with his heavy breathing?”

This time Sunny checked the Caller ID. “No, it’s Walter’s number.” She pushed the talk button. “Hello, Jake?”

“Hey, Sunny. You doing okay?”

“I’m fine now. How did it go with the police?”

“Oh, fine. They just asked me some questions, and I told them everything I knew.”

The deep timbre of his voice sent warm tinglies to her special places. “Do you want me to come back over?” he asked softly. “I could just sleep on the couch, if you want?”

Yes
!
Yes
!
Yes
!
Wait, I mean, no, no, no
!
Urgh
!
What did I mean?

“Let him know I will be sleeping here tonight so we don’t really need him to come back over,” Edna said, loudly enough that Jake could also hear her.

Whew, saved by the old lady bell.

“It sounds like you’ve got
two
guard dogs with you now.” He chuckled. “I get the picture.”

“Thanks for the offer though.” Sunny turned her back to Edna and quietly said, “I’m really glad you were here tonight. Thank you for coming over.”

“You bet.”

“Well, good night.”

“Hey, Sunny?”

“Yeah?”

“I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Goosebumps ran up her arms. “Thanks, good night.”

“Good night, Sunny. Sleep well.”

Sunny put the receiver down and looked up to see Edna giving her that one-eyebrow-raised look that moms and grandmas are so good at. “Cut it out with those ga-ga eyes, girl. I’m telling you, there’s more to Mr. Suddenly-I’m- the-Hero guy than he lets on.”

“Yeah,” Sunny agreed, thoughtfully. “I think there just might be more to him than he is letting on.”

“Hrmph.” She made another one of those sounds that grandmothers are famous for. “Let’s go lock all the doors and go to bed. This crazy night has worn me out.”

They double-checked all the door locks, and Sunny got Edna settled into the guest room. Sunny finally fell into bed, but sleep eluded her as her eyes drifted to the bedroom window, now firmly closed and locked. She needed to get her mind off the terrifying part of her evening.

She called Beau up on to the bed and curled herself around his warm furry body. He sighed in doggy pleasure at being allowed to sleep on the bed. Sunny closed her eyes, and her thoughts filled with a different kind of pleasure as she relived the parts of the evening with Jake. She imagined the feel of his hands on her body and his warm lips against her throat. She snuggled deeper under the covers as a sigh of her own filled the room.

15

“I’ll have the Chicken Caesar Salad and a Diet Coke,” Cassie said.

“Make that two,” Maggie said, “except I’ll have the dressing on the side.”

“Make that three,” Sunny said, “except hold the salad, add a cheeseburger with ketchup and mayo, and I’ll have the fries ‘on the side’.”

“Do you still want the Diet Coke?” the waitress asked humorlessly.

Sunny nodded. “Oh, of course, just like the other girls.”

“Just like,” the waitress said. She turned and walked toward the kitchen, the popping of her gum in perfect time with the squeak of the white crepe soles of her shoes.

The girls were having lunch the next afternoon at
Happy Days Are Here Again,
their favorite downtown restaurant. It was a fifties-style diner based on the popular TV show. The waitresses wore white smocks over pink dresses and fifties memorabilia from the show adorned the walls. Gleaming black and white checkered linoleum floors led to shiny multicolored leather booths, which were color-coded to the various characters in the show. The red booth was the Richie Cunningham, the yellow was the Mrs. C, and the black was named for The Fonz. The girls sat in their favorite pink booth, the Pinkie Tuscadero, and
"
Rock Around the Clock
"
played softly on the jukebox.