The Ex Who Wouldn't Die (43 page)

Now they were getting somewhere. "How so? What did he do
to disappoint you
?"

Sunny smiled tightly. "Attorney-client confidentiality. Did you have any more questions about Frank?"

Whatever Charley had done to Sunny must have been a doozy if neither he nor Sunny would talk about it. Amanda realized she would have to let it go for the moment, but she wasn't giving up. "Frank Sturgess," she said, returning to the thief and stalker who'd turned out better than Charley, "is he having financial problems again?"

"No, he's fine. I'll talk to him and find out why he was at Irene and Herbert's place. I'm sure there's a good reason."

Yeah, because Kimball paid him to follow me, see if I'd lead him to that gun he thinks I have, maybe even
find the right time and place to
kill me.
She didn't say that, of course. No point in it. Sunny would think her as nuts as Detective Daggett did if she tried to tell the attorney her Kimball story.

"Thank you," Amanda said, and started to rise.

Sunny laid a restraining hand on her arm. "Amanda, I have a feeling you're in some kind of trouble, and that trouble may involve our mayor. Talk to me. You can trust me. I'll do
anything
I can to help you."

The woman seemed so sincere, Amanda had a fleeting urge to confide in her. She could use an ally other than Charley, a flesh and blood ally, a sane ally. But she didn't know Sunny, had only met her a couple of times, and the woman hadn't always acted totally rationally. Besides, there was the skeleton in the closet Sunny and Charley shared. "I appreciate the offer, but—" she stood and looked at the floor, unwilling to meet Sunny's eyes when she told an outrageous lie— "I'm not in trouble."

Sunny rose and stood beside her. "Let me get you a card with my phone number. I'll add my cell so you can call me at any hour."

"Thank you." In spite of what she might have done with Charley, Sunny Donovan really did seem to be a kind, caring person. She'd tried to save Charley and Frank Sturgess from a life of crime. It wasn't her fault they'd both been incorrigible. Undaunted, she was now offering to help Amanda, someone she didn't know, someone who didn't even live in this town. She might be a bleeding heart, but she was a sincere bleeding heart. She backed up her beliefs with action.

Sunny rummaged for several moments in a couple of desk drawers, finally producing a card. Amanda reflected that Sunny's desk must be as unorganized as her own if she had that much trouble finding a business card. Sunny scribbled something on the card and handed it to Amanda who looked at the scrawled writing and smiled.

"Is something wrong?" Sunny asked.

"No. It's just that your handwriting is as bad as mine. We should have been doctors."
Oh, that's great. Insult someone who's trying to be helpful.

But Sunny returned her smile. "That's why God created computers with word processing software."

The two shared a moment of bonding over bad handwriting, and Amanda decided she liked this strange woman in spite of her eccentricities. Or maybe because of them.

"So, next time I get caught trespassing, I'll call you."

"Or you could call me before you commit the act, and maybe we can figure out an alternative, legal way to accomplish your goal."

Lawyer talk again. A caring person one minute, a lawyer the next. Rather like her dad. It seemed to go with the occupation.

Sunny followed her outside to where her bike was parked.

"Nice," Sunny said. "I used to ride."

Yes, Amanda definitely liked her. "Really? What kind of bike?"

"Any kind I could afford when I was young. It was my only mode of transportation in high school and college."

"Even when it rained?"

Sunny ran a hand over the top edge of Amanda's windshield and grinned. "Even when it rained. And the smaller, cheaper bikes don't have a very big windshield. But the weather's usually good in this part of the country. A little rain, very little snow."

Amanda grimaced. "I don't like riding in the rain, and
I
can't even imagine riding in the snow. You said you
used to
ride. Not anymore?"

"No. Just when I could afford to get a nice bike, I had to give it up. This is a conservative town, and people expect an attorney, especially a female attorney, to act in a certain way. As you mentioned, everybody knows what everybody else is doing in a small town. So…no motorcycle." She shrugged and sighed, looking wistfully at Amanda's bike.

"That sucks."

"Yes
, it does."

"I have a motorcycle repair shop. Nobody expects any sort of decorum or propriety from a motorcycle repair person."

Sunny smiled and smoothed a hand over the leather seat. "I used to lust after Harleys, especially the Softail. Would you mind if I took a short ride?"

Amanda didn't hesitate. How could she refuse a fellow biker chick? "Sure." She handed over her helmet and gloves.

"Borrow the jacket, too? I think we're about the same size."

That request
bordered on being
creepy, but Amanda would never ride without protective gear, so perhaps it wasn't so strange. She relinquished her jacket, and Sunny put it on. "Nice," she said. "Perforations for cooling, but still armored for safety."

"Charley gave it to me. He probably stole it."

A guilty look flitted across Sunny's face. Because of what she and Charley had done? Or because Amanda would never have met and married Charley if Sunny had let him go to jail for his crime?

"I'll just take a quick spin around the block and be right back," she said.

"Don't let her take it!" Charley appeared at Amanda's elbow. She ignored him.

Sunny climbed on the bike, fired it up and roared away.

Amanda turned to Charley. "Why not? You think she's going to steal it? You are completely insane. Sunny Donovan tried to help you, and you repay her by badmouthing her?"

"Of course she's not going to steal it. Why would you think that?"

Amanda threw her arms in
the air in frustration. "Why would you tell me not to let her take it?"

Charley looked frantic as his mouth contorted but remained closed.

"What have you got against this woman who kept you out of jail and is now offering to help me?"

"I…I did some things to her that weren't very nice."

That confirmed what Sunny had said about Charley disappointing her.

She folded her arms and looked up at him. "You need to tell me what you did to her. It's going to come out sooner or later. Sunny almost told me today." Okay, that might be
a slight
exaggeration, but she wasn't the one who was constrained from lying. "If you don't tell me, she will."

Charley clenched his lips tightly shut as if the truth might come out of its own volition were he not careful.

Amanda threw her arms into the air in frustration. "What's the big deal, anyway? I know lots of horrible things you've done. What's one more?"

Charley remained obdurately silent.

The roar of the Harley's engine became louder, and Sunny rode up behind them. She stopped beside Amanda and took off the helmet, a wide grin on her face. "Thanks. That was fun."

Amanda accepted the proffered helmet from Sunny. She was more than ever intrigued about the secret this woman shared with Charley and d
ecided this would not
be their last visit. "So, you'll give me a call after you talk to Frank Sturgess?"

"Yes, I will." She surrendered the jacket and gloves to Amanda. "In the meantime, don't worry. I'm sure there's a logical explanation. Frank is a good man. You have nothing to fear from him."

Amanda nodded. "I really appreciate your doing that for me. I'd like to treat you to dinner one evening."

"No!" Charley screamed, grabbing at Amanda's arms. Cold chills passed through her as Charley's hands did the same.

Sunny climbed off the bike and stood on the curb. "Thank you, but that isn't necessary. Calling Frank will only take about five minutes."

"I insist. If not dinner, then how about lunch?"

Sunny smiled and shook her head, but Amanda thought she saw the same yearning in the older woman's eyes as when she'd looked at the motorcycle. Perhaps she wanted to socialize. Perhaps she'd felt the same possibility Amanda had of a developing friendship. Perhaps the secret between Charley and her was the only deterrent to that friendship.

"I'll bring the bike
,
and you can take it for another spin," Amanda coaxed. "Please. Otherwise, I'll feel guilty for taking up your time."

Sunny hesitated, then her face relaxed into a smile. "Okay. Let's go to lunch. You have my phone numbers."

Charley groaned and clutched his head in his hands. "Omigawd, Amanda. You don't understand. You can't do this. Please don't do this."

Charley said
please
? Wow. This must be some scary secret.

Suddenly Amanda wasn't sure she wanted to know. She liked Sunny, thought maybe they could be friends. After all, they had motorcycles and bad handwriting in common. But where had she seen Sunny Donovan before and what would she think of this woman when she finally discovered The Secret?

Chapter Twenty

When Amanda checked her bike on Monday morning, everything was still intact. Kimball had left her no further messages, and she hadn't seen anyone else spying on her. For the entire day on Sunday, she'd allowed herself to fall into the soothing routine of the Randolph family. Church in the morning, a relaxed evening with all the family at home.

Sunny called to assure her that she had spoken with Frank Sturgess, and there would be no more problems with him. To Amanda's dismay, Sunny said they had not discussed why he'd been following her, but Sunny was
absolutely
certain the man was no threat.

Amanda passed a peaceful night and beg
a
n to consider the possibility that, if she
went back to Dallas and
left Kimball alone, perhaps he would leave her alone. Maybe
if she forgot about him,
he'd forget about her. Maybe the cops didn't have enough evidence to arrest her. Maybe Charley would disappear on his own. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

Probably not, but it was nice to think like that for a little while after being
so
stressed for so long.

Amanda rose from the inspection of her bike
, dusted her hands and started back to the house.

Irene appeared on the front porch. "Amanda, you've got a phone call." She stood holding the screen door open, unsmiling.