Reluctant Witness (42 page)

“It sounds like you thought of just about
everything.”

“I try,” he grinned. “What do you say, boy?
When in Florida, do as the Floridians do?”

In one hand, he held a stuffed pink flamingo,
in the other, a stuffed alligator. He shook them both at Cooper,
who immediately decided to snatch one of the flamingo’s dangling
legs in his tiny mouth. “It looks like he’s a bird dog.”

“It seems so,” I told Jeff, laughing. Cooper
proudly trotted beside us with his prize, tags dangling.

We spent another twenty minutes loading up
the shopping cart and then we checked out. The drive back to the
resort passed quickly in pleasant conversation. We pulled into a
parking space in front of the condo. Cooper wore his new red
harness, with the dog bone name tag we engraved for him.

“Come on. Let’s get everything upstairs.”

We made two trips to the first floor
vestibule, carrying bags of dog paraphernalia, and when we had
everything all together, we loaded it into the elevator for the
trip to the top floor. There was no one in the condo when we
arrived.

“Maybe they went to the beach,” Jeff
guessed.

“At this time of day? More like the pool,” I
laughed. It turned out we were both wrong.

“Hello, hello!” Nancy called to us, coming
through the door. “Are you two decent?”

Jeff shook his head at that. “Typical
chop-busting female cop. You can tell she’s worked with guys for
too long, can’t you? She just loves to poke the bear, just for the
fun of seeing him get grizzly.”

“Yes, but she grows on you, doesn’t she?” I
laughed. “And if something happened, I wouldn’t worry about her
being able to handle it.”

“Handle what?” Nancy wanted to know. “Did you
kids get everything you need for the little guy?”

“We did. What were you guys doing while we
were gone?”

“We moved Tom to the condo on the fifth
floor, so you and Rocky can have the one down the hall, Jeff.”

“Good idea,” he replied.

“So....” Nancy sat herself down on the sofa
like the proverbial cat watching a pair of canaries.

“What are we doing for lunch?” Jeff wanted to
know.

“I’ve got chicken salad for sandwiches in the
fridge,” I informed him, “and fruit salad.”

“You don’t really want to play chef, do you?
We could go out or call for takeout.”

“I don’t mind.” I stood up. “It won’t take me
long.”

“Can I give you a word of advice, Jeff? Let
her do her thing in the kitchen. The woman can cook!”

Half an hour later, we sat around the dining
table on the covered balcony, swapping stories and watching the
beachgoers below. Cooper was familiarizing himself with his new
home, examining every corner, every nook he found. When he was
done, he came back to Jeff and pawed his leg, wanting to be picked
up. I saw Jeff start to reach down, but then he stopped himself,
gazing up in my direction.

“It’s fine if you pick him up,” I laughed. “I
don’t mind.”

“We sort of bonded while he was staying with
me,” the embarrassed man tried to explain as he settled the dog on
his lap. “Yes, I can see you’re happy, boy.”

“How would you like a little sweet treat?” I
offered the guests. “It won’t take me a moment.”

I grabbed the empty plates and headed into
the kitchen. After loading the dishwasher, I chopped a couple of
papayas, tossed the chunks into the blender with some vanilla ice
cream and a little crème de cassis in the blender, and whirled it
around until it was smooth. I poured the mixture into martini
glasses and carried them out to the group on the balcony.

“Mmm...yummy,” Nancy announced, sipping hers.
“I told you she was a good chef. It’s every bit as good as my
mama’s cooking.”

“This is refreshing.” Tom tipped his glass in
my direction.

“Just don’t work her too hard,” Jeff jovially
admonished the others. “She’s supposed to be having fun.”

“Oh, I am,” I grinned, delighted. “It’s nice
to be appreciated.”

“You are, believe me,” Terry laughed,
finishing the last of the papaya shake in his glass.

Tom and Terry took Jeff and Rocky off for a
meeting down the hall shortly after that. Nancy and I got the
kitchen cleaned up and then went back out to the covered patio.

She read the files Tom had gotten from one of
his sources earlier in the day, looking for some new needle in the
haystack. I worked on the plans for Jeff’s condo. Cooper snoozed in
his new dog bed in a quiet corner.

About an hour later, Cooper came over to me
as I sat at the table, working on my laptop. I reached my hand down
and rubbed his ear.

“Who’s a good boy?” I asked. Nancy put down a
blue folder and stretched. The little dog trotted over to her,
curious about the odd noise.

“What do you think about a walk, Cooper? We
can take the nice lady with us,” she asked.

“I assume you mean me,” I laughed, shutting
down my laptop before pushing out my chair.

“I do.”

We drove to the parking lot of the Herschel
King Park and walked the shaded trail by the Intracoastal Waterway.
The minute I set him down on the ground, the Yorkie got busy,
exploring every bush, tree, and rock he came upon on the
journey.

Cooper turned out to be a good hiking dog. I
attributed that to many hours of walking with his previous owner.
He was fairly confident as people came and went, but I noticed he
tended to shy away from other dogs; I was prepared for it when he
took exception to a rather hefty, overly friendly bulldog, steering
him away from the very determined canine, whose owner was too busy
chatting on her phone to reel in his leash.

“You just have to remember that some dogs are
going to charge a little guy like this, Marigold,” Nancy told me.
“Yorkies and other small breeds have a history of being attacked by
aggressive dogs, so just be mindful of that when you walk him.”

“Oh dear, I hadn’t thought of that,” I
sighed, feeling apprehensive.

“You don’t have to worry when I’m with you.
I’ve got no problem tackling a wayward dog.”

“Good to know. But surely no dog will want to
attack Cooper. It’s not like he’s snippy or yappy.”

“Sometimes that kind of timidity brings out
the dominator in another dog, just like it does in people. Some
dogs are just born to be bullies, as a breed trait. Others are
trained to be that way. They can feel territorial and they think
they’re protecting their master or their property when they charge
intruders. In the end, it doesn’t really matter why they do it. It
just matters that you pay attention and look out for Cooper.”

We walked on and I thought about that. I was
so used to being the one in danger, and suddenly the tables were
turned. I had a job to do for a six-pound fur baby. “For the first
time in my adult life, I’m the protector, instead of the protected.
It’s a big change for me not to be the constant victim.”

“It is indeed, and it’s a good one at that.
It’s healthy for you to have another living, breathing creature to
look out for, Marigold; you’ll find it’s a very grounding, rather
humbling experience to realize that someone else’s survival depends
on you.”

When we got back to Cinnamon Beach, I put the
exhausted dog into his new crate for a well-deserved nap in my
bedroom. Nancy and I got our suits on and joined the men down at
the beach.

The first sign of trouble was when Jeff
didn’t make eye contact when I greeted the group. It was as if he
was a different man. Had I somehow inadvertently offended him? Even
as I wondered what was going on, the conversation continued around
me.

“How was the walk?” Terry asked his wife as
she spread her beach towel on the sand. I followed suit, choosing
the next patch of sand.

“Good. Coop’s a nice little dog. I think he
likes Florida.”

“What’s not to like?” Rocky asked, adjusting
his Atlanta Braves cap on his head. He leaned back in his beach
chair, stretching out his legs. “Turquoise waters, blue skies, and
all the golf you can play.”

“This place is great,” Tom said. “How did you
ever find it, Jeff?”

“My mother needed a place to escape the
Catskill winter and she knew the golf would appeal to my dad. She
asked me if I was interested in investing in a couple of units with
her. I was, so we formed a little real estate trust. We use them a
couple of times a year for family reunions, and the rest of the
time, we rent them out or offer them to wounded warriors and their
families.”

“You own the condos we’re staying in?” I was
surprised.

“Yes. Why?” His response was gruff.

“I guess I just figured you as vacationing in
more exotic locales. Tahiti, Monaco, Paris....”

“Living the rock star life?” he shot back
brusquely. As I looked at him, I saw his eyes narrow slightly.

“From what I’ve read about you in the press,”
Nancy added mischievously, “I expect you to be surrounded by a bevy
of beauties in bikinis at the pool by day, hitting all the hot
nightclubs when the sun goes down.”

“Yes, yes. A life befitting Atlanta’s most
eligible bachelor,” Terry teased, giving him a sly grin. That was
rewarded by a good-natured shrug. I took my turn.

“I can imagine you sipping Prosecco on the
terrace of a villa on Lake Como with some Italian countess who
can’t resist you, or hanging out in Malibu, with some Hollywood
version of Barbie.”

One moment the group was laughing; the next,
we were silenced by the brooding look on Jeff’s face. What had come
over him?

“You act like I’m not like you. I’ve got news
for you, Marigold. I’m an old-fashioned guy. I actually enjoy
hanging out with my family and friends, doing normal things.”

“Oh? I just meant you’re a man of the world,”
I countered lamely. “It’s not like we’re a wild and crazy
bunch.”

Gone was the sunny smile, and in its place,
storm clouds seemed to gather; his dark eyes flashed with fury.

“What is it with you?” he shook his head in
disgust, directing his comment at me. “Why do you think I’m some
kind of superficial guy who likes to party all the time and sleep
with every nubile female on the planet?”

“Because....” I started to say something
about the first time I met Rocky, but when I saw the security man’s
stricken face, I stopped myself and quickly changed gears. Turning
back to Jeff, I replied, “Because a handsome man like you probably
has women throwing themselves at him day and night. How can a girl
like me ever hope to compete with that?”

“You might be surprised to know how easy it
would be,” he answered curtly. Standing up, he brushed the sand
from his swim trunks. “I’m going for a swim. Anyone else want to
join me?”

No one else said a word, but all eyes were on
me. Finally Nancy spoke up.

“Why don’t you go, Marigold? We’re just going
to talk shop for a few minutes.”

“Right,” Rocky agreed. “We’ve got to discuss
some business.”

“We definitely do.” Tom sat back in his beach
chair, his dark sunglasses obscuring his eyes. “It’s important
stuff.”

“You kids run along now,” Terry grinned
impishly. “Try not to get in over your heads.”

Jeff strode down to the water, not bothering
to wait for me. I took advantage of his absence and turned back to
the group.

“Did I do something wrong?”

Nancy started to laugh. “I think your heinous
crime is that you made the big guy weak at the knees. He likes to
be in charge.”

“Ignore the ugly puss. He’ll get over it,”
Terry advised me, an amused smile on his face. Tom and Rocky were
uncharacteristically quiet. That didn’t bode well for me, I
decided.

Jeff was neck-deep in water when I swam out
to him. Bobbing along, I was content to point my toes skyward and
drift, as the waves rocked me gently.

“Tell me something, Marigold. Why do you
think I’m incapable of having a serious relationship with a woman?”
He scowled at me.

“I never said that!”

“But you’ve thought it!”

“I...I just assumed that you....”

“It’s because of the money? Do you think the
only thing that matters to me is the money I make as an author and
producer? If anyone is superficial, it’s you. I thought you were
smarter than that. I’m very disappointed in you as a woman.”

For a moment, I thought he was joking. But
when I looked into his eyes, I realized he meant every word he said
to me. Stunned, I struggled to find words.

“Jeff, I don’t know what’s happened here,
but....”

“Save it. It doesn’t matter. I got your
point. You’re too good for a jerk like me.”

“I’m what?”

“Sure, it’s all fine and good when I’m happy
to foot the bill for your security, but when it comes to earning
your respect, you don’t think I’m up to snuff!”

“Wait a minute!” I tried to stand up in the
water, but I truly was in over my head. Forced to tread water, I
had trouble keeping up with the argument. “What are you talking
about?”

“Oh, come off it! Don’t tell me you don’t
know what this is about!”

“I don’t!” I cried.

“You think I’m only good enough for bimbos
who are looking for a sugar daddy. Well, I’ve got news for you,
lady. I’m nobody’s sugar daddy, especially not yours!”

Stung by his words and the unexpected anger
behind them, I felt tears coming on. I whirled away from him and
put my head under the water, desperate to swim away. I struggled to
reach the shore, weighted down by a heavy heart. How could Jeff
think that about me? Had I somehow inadvertently led him to believe
that I was unappreciative of all the things he had done for me?

I deliberately came out of the water some
hundred yards from where the group was gathered on the beach.
Beating a hasty retreat, I followed the wooden walkway up to the
gate for the complex. What could I do? I had no money, nothing of
my own, other than Cooper. Could I find a job down here? Surely
someone with my skills could find something. I didn’t have
references. I knew that would be a drawback. Nor did I have a place
to live. The odds really did seem to be against me.