The May Day Murders (22 page)

“
Shut up, Sam!” Ann shouted.
There was a pause, and then she said in a calmer voice, “I am not
that petty, Sam, and you know it. I’m not going to tell Amy about
this, nor do I have any intentions of ever trying to turn her
against you. This is just between you and me. And while we’re on
the subject, I might as well tell you now that I’m seeing someone
too. Now what do you have to say about that?”

Sam was shocked but somehow managed to
sound calm. “I think it’s wonderful,” he lied. “Who’s the lucky
guy?”

“
His name is Jerry. And he’s
very nice—he respects me.”

“
And I don’t?”

“
Apparently not,” was Ann’s
reply.

Sam felt his blood pressure soaring.
“Oh, I see. And what else, may I ask, does ol’ Jer have that I
don’t?”

“
Well, let me see …
blonde hair, muscular build, oh, and he knows the difference
between a lady and a tramp.”

Sam refused to appease her. “Sounds
like quite a guy, Ann—a discriminating super-jock. Good going,
kiddo!”

“
Are we through now?” Ann
said, obviously piqued.

“
Not quite,” Sam said. “I’d
like to talk to someone who still loves me. Put Amy on.”

“
Amy’s not here. She’s at a
friend’s house.”

“
Oh,” Sam said,
disappointed. “Well, in that case, let me just say one more thing
before I let you go.”

“
Make it quick—I’ve got
things to do,” she said curtly.

“
This is serious, Ann, so
please listen.”

He waited a moment to switch gears,
then said, “Roger thinks he has a pretty good idea who may have
killed Marsha and Sara.”

“
Who?” Ann asked, her voice
suddenly solemn.

“
Do you remember Stanley
Jenkins from high school?”

“
The nerdy guy who always
got straight A’s?”

“
That’s the one. That’s who
they think may have done it.”

“
No way!” Ann
exclaimed.

“
My exact reaction, too. But
believe it or not, it’s starting to look like he’s the prime
suspect. Stanley apparently went off the deep end after high school
and has a police record—arson and attempted murder. Only trouble
is, nobody has seen him in fifteen years.”

“
I just can’t believe it! Do
they have any proof that he did it?” Ann asked.

“
No, but they’re working on
it. I’m having a hard time buying into this too; but if you knew
what all they’ve dug up on Stanley, it might make you a believer.
Anyway, I wanted to let you know.”

Ann’s tone of voice was nearly normal
when she said, “Thanks, Sam, I’m glad you did.”

“
I’ll keep you posted if
anything more develops.”

“
Okay … Well, I’d better
go,” Ann said, her voice returning to an icy edge.

“
Big date with Jerry?” Sam
quipped dryly, unable to resist the urge to get the last punch
in.

“
Maybe,” Ann sing-songed,
“And is the little slut still there with you?” She countered
viciously.

Sam realized he should leave well
enough alone but hadn’t yet recovered from the fact that Ann was
seeing another man. And now he resented the way Ann kept dragging
Shelley through the slime.

“
Yeah, Shelley’s still
here,” he declared.

“
Well, I hope you both have
a good fuck,” Ann spat before slamming down the phone in his
ear.

“
Touché,” he mumbled to the
dead line.

Sam sat there for a moment or two
before hanging up the phone. Finally, he stood up, went into the
kitchen to get a beer, then went out to the back porch to get some
fresh air and hopefully, some kind of perspective on where to go
from here.

CHAPTER 14

Ann’s blood was boiling when she hung
up on Sam.

The nerve of him!
she
thought.

It had been nagging her all day and as
hard as she’d tried to blot it out of her mind, she found that her
anger only intensified the more she thought about that little bitch
answering the phone like she was a permanent fixture at Sam’s
house. And now, he’d had the audacity to call her and try to smooth
everything over. Well, it didn’t work that time and sure as hell
wasn’t going to work this time either. She had enough problems
already without having to put up with this bullshit.

Her only saving grace had been the fact
that she’d told Sam abut Jerry, which she would have never dreamed
of doing otherwise. But the temptation to put Sam in his place at
the time had been too great, and now she was glad she’d done it. It
hurt him, she could tell, stung him like a bee, but he by God
deserved it.

Ann went over to the sink and resumed
washing the dishes, wishing that Amy would come down to earth once
in a while and do a few chores around the house for a change. But
she was so wrapped up in her social life that it seemed like there
was no one else in her little world besides herself and her
friends. Her mother was apparently only here for the purpose of
putting a roof over her head, feeding her, and provide whatever
other necessities might crop up along the way—like the new dress
she had just bought her for the school dance next week.

Ann was just about to drain the
dishwater when the telephone rang. Thinking that it might be Sam
calling again, she took her time drying her hands before finally
answering it.

“
Hello,” she spoke curtly
into the mouthpiece.

“
Ann, it’s me. Have I caught
you at a bad time? Karen asked.

“
Oh, hi, Karen. Sorry, I
thought you might be Sam.”

“
Sounds like you weren’t
exactly looking forward to his call.”

“
You wouldn’t believe how
mad I am at that man! I tried calling you earlier by the way—where
were you?” Ann asked.

“
Just running errands. So
tell me, what did your ex do to get you so angry? And how did the
date go last night?” her friend inquired.

Ann heaved a long sigh. “I guess I’d
better start at the beginning. The date went very well—I had a
great time. We went to Angelino’s for dinner then came here for a
drink. Jerry’s such a nice guy! I wouldn’t call it love or
anything, but I really did enjoy his company.”

“
That’s great! So are you
going to go out with him again?”

“
Yes, I am. In fact, I
invited him over for dinner tomorrow.”

“
Are you serious? What about
Amy?” Karen asked, obviously stunned by Ann’s apparent
turnaround.

“
Well, you’re probably going
to get mad at me for not following your advice but I told Amy about
Jerry this afternoon. Now before you tell me that I’ve made a big
mistake, let me explain. First of all, as I told you before, I
don’t like sneaking around behind Amy’s back. I want to be up front
with her all the time. Can you imagine how she’d react if she found
out about Jerry and I hadn’t told her about him? She’d never let me
live it down! That’s just the way Amy is. So last night I decided
that when Jerry called me today I was going to tell him that I only
want to be friends with him and nothing more; that I’m not ready to
start a relationship with anybody right now. I figured that if he
could agree to those terms, then I’d continue going out with him. I
think he really likes me, Karen, and I want everything out in the
open before this goes any further and somebody gets hurt. Do you
know what I mean?”

“
Yes, I understand and that
makes good sense. So how did Jerry react when you told him?” Karen
asked.

“
Well, he wasn’t very
thrilled, to tell you the truth. He didn’t act like he was
disappointed but I could tell he was. I think he was hurt, too,
which is all the more reason why it was a good idea to confront him
now instead of leading him on. Anyway, he agreed to keep it on a
friendly basis and that’s when I elected to ask him over for dinner
tomorrow. He’d told me last night that he would really like to meet
Amy some time so I told him that he could meet her when he came for
dinner, providing that Amy didn’t react negatively to the idea. It
was a bold move, I realize now. But it turned out even better than
I thought it would.”

“
What did Amy
say?”

“
I caught her at a good time
and I think that really helped the situation. She was asked to the
homecoming dance last night, so we went shopping for a dress this
afternoon. She was all excited about the dance so I took advantage
of her upbeat mood and casually mentioned that I had a male friend
that I was having over for dinner tomorrow and asked her if she
would mind joining us. She was a little put off at first of course,
but I think that had more to do with actually making a commitment
to dinner than the fact that I’d invited some guy over. Anyway,
surprise of surprises, she said it was okay with her as long as
she didn’t have to get dressed up for the occasion. Can you believe
it?”

“
I think that’s wonderful,
Ann! These kids today will fool you once in awhile, won’t
they?”

“
That’s for
sure.”

“
So now, tell me about Sam,”
Karen demanded.

Ann groaned. “Well, I decided to give
him a call this morning—I guess because I felt a little guilty
about going out with Jerry and all. You know how it is, even though
we’re divorced I still feel sort of attached to Sam—I guess out of
habit. Anyway, who do you suppose answered his phone when I called?
None other than the same bitch I had caught him fooling around with
before! Can you believe it? And I felt guilty?”

Karen hissed, “My Lord! I’ll bet you
were absolutely livid!”

“
I was! Then, to top it all
off, he just called me a few minutes ago to try and mellow
everything out. Well, I wasn’t very mellow to say the least. In
fact, after several un-pleasantries, I let him know that I just
happen to be seeing someone myself!”

“
How did he take
it?”

“
Not too well. He tried to
blow it off but I could tell he was upset. I’m not usually one to
play head games, but I just couldn’t resist. Had he been with
anybody else, I wouldn’t have gotten so down and out nasty with
him. But that slut? No way!”

“
Sounds like you really put
him in his place.”

“
I think I did. What angers
me so much, Karen, is that Sam’s been playing the “mourning role”
ever since we split up. Then all of a sudden he turns around and
pulls this crap. It’s like a slap in the face!” Ann
declared.

“
Well, I must admit I’m more
than a little surprised,” Karen said. “From what all you’ve told me
about Sam, this almost seems out of character for him.”

“
I’ve always thought he was
different, too. But now he’s shown his true colors—he’s just
another typical man like all the rest. Except for Jerry, that is.
He genuinely seems to be different; he’s a real gentleman and
doesn’t patronize women.”

“
Maybe this will go beyond
friendship.”

“
Hmm, I don’t know about
that. All I can say is that right now, I’m not interested in any
relationship. I used to think Sam was a gentleman, too. He sure has
had me fooled!”

“
Well, between you and me,
that’s exactly why I have never gotten married again. Things seem
to change once a man thinks he has a hold on you. I like to keep
Bill guessing—keeps him honest. Not to change the subject, but have
you had any more prank calls?”

“
Oh, I forgot to tell you! I
got one last night when Jerry was here. It was
horrifying!”

“
What happened?”

Ann told Karen about the call and
Jerry’s suggestion to get an unpublished number, which she intended
to do Monday.

“
That sounds like a good
idea, Ann,” Karen said.

“
Jerry is so sweet. He told
me if I ever needed him for anything to just call him, night or
day.”

“
He sounds like quite a
wonderful guy, Ann. My advice is to keep him around awhile, even if
it’s only a platonic relationship.”

“
I think I will.”

“
Well, I’d better go. Hey,
maybe we can double date sometime—go see a movie or go out to
dinner. What do you think?” Karen said.

“
Maybe,” was Ann’s reply.
“Let me see how everything goes tomorrow and we just may do that
sometime.”

“
Great! Give me a call
tomorrow and let me know how dinner went, okay?”

“
Okay.”

Ann hung up and returned to the kitchen
sink. Karen’s inquiry about the obscene phone calls had suddenly
reminded her of the opened window blinds she’d discovered in the
bathroom last night and that she had forgotten to ask Amy about it
earlier. She then made a mental note to be sure to ask her when she
got home later.

After finishing the dishes, Ann decided
to take a hot bath. While lying back in the tub, she started
thinking about the last phone conversation with Sam. When he had
told her that the police thought Stanley Jenkins was the man who
had murdered Marsha and Sara Hunt, she’d nearly broke out laughing.
It was impossible to imagine the shy national honor student with
the horn-rimmed glasses capable of harming a fly, much less raping
and murdering two women. It was preposterous!