To My Senses The Nicci Beauvoir Series Book 1 (22 page)

Sammy had leaned over to me
as the other guests were milling around Colleen and Hattie. “I wish
it would have been you,” she whispered.

“
Eddie obviously had other
plans, Mrs. Fallon,” I said under my breath, not wanting to draw
attention.

“
You know as well as I do,
this stupid girl will never make my son happy. I’m afraid Eddie
will quickly grow bored with Colleen.”

“
What about the
baby?”

“
I have always wanted
grandchildren. I’ll see to it that the child is raised properly.
Colleen won’t know the first thing to do with a baby. She will
eventually want to go back to her friends and to school after the
baby is born. That is why I’ve insisted the couple will live with
me after the wedding, so I can take care of everything.” As she
smiled at me, her porcelain-capped teeth reminded me of fangs. “I
heard that you’ve been seeing a great deal of our Mr.
Alexander.”

My heart skipped a beat.
“Who told you that, Mrs. Fallon?”

“
My usual sources.” Her
fangs lingered hungrily in front of me. “I don’t blame you really.
Of all the sorry specimens we women have had to choose from in our
circles, he is a refreshing change.”

I carefully chose my next
words. “He is a very kind gentleman. We’ve become good
friends.”

“
How interesting. I thought
with a man like David, friendship was not an option.”

“
Excuse me, Mrs. Fallon,
but I would have thought you would disapprove of any woman having a
relationship with David.”

“
Now why should I
disapprove, honey? I think you two make a fine couple and I’m glad
everything worked out.” She looked down at her blue and white
flower print dress and ran her fingers lovingly over the silk
fabric. “I have to admit that at first, I was a bit jealous, but
when two people are as well suited as you and David, my jealousy
just seemed trivial.”

I warily tried to read her
face, not buying any of it. “I have to admit, I’m amazed and
somewhat baffled.”

“
Don’t read more into it
than there is, Nicci. David came to me and told me everything. He
said he wanted us to remain friends. I think he wanted me to help
him get a showing of his new pictures. He never would let me see
any of them. They are always so temperamental, these artistic
types.” She picked up her cup of tea from a table in front of us.
“He told me the other day that he had some friends from the Quarter
who were putting together an art show. Said he was going to try and
exhibit some of his new work.” She sipped her tea.

“
When was this?” I asked,
feeling my stomach tighten.

“
I thought you knew about
it. He mentioned some art gallery on Magazine Street. I think the
showing is this evening.” She put her teacup down and
frowned.

“
Are you going to go to
this showing?” I inquired, my voice wavering.

“
He called and invited me,
but I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to be seen at such
an event. It might give the wrong impression.” She gave me one last
malevolent grin, got up from her chair, and sashayed toward the
dessert table.

I sat there, feeling numb.
David had never mentioned the showing to me. We had been spending a
great deal of time together, and never once had he said a word. The
idea that Sammy knew about it angered me. I reached into my purse
to check the clock on my phone; it was just after five. I wondered
if I could find this gallery with such little information to go
on.

***

The gallery was actually on
the corner of Chestnut and Magazine. I found it pretty easily
because there was a huge sign outside of the gallery announcing a
showing with David’s name listed, along with other artists. I
pulled my car as close to the front of the gallery as
possible.

The showing room inside the
door was all lit up and I could only see a few people milling
about. They did not stay long and exited the gallery, eventually
making their way up the street. After a few minutes, I decided to
approach the building cautiously.

The gallery was much bigger than I expected.
Most of the artwork I could see through the street window was
unfamiliar to me. I decided to brave the inevitable and go inside
to have a closer look.

When I opened the door, I
heard the ring of a bell. I looked up to see the bell was attached
to the inside of the front door. I held my breath, hoping no one
had noticed. A wave of relief washed over me as the seconds ticked
away and no one entered the showroom. Quietly closing the door, I
tiptoed around the room quickly scanning each of the paintings. I
had nearly finished my survey when a portrait hanging quietly off
to the side caught my eye. It was the one David had painted the
night of Val’s party, but it was more than I had
remembered.

The figure on the sofa
seemed so lifelike, as if at any moment she would wake and return
to the party. I inspected every curve of the face on the canvas.
The likeness to me was more than coincidental. A thought hit me,
and I searched the other paintings on the walls. If that one was
here, there could be others. My stomach lurched at the notion of
the bathtub piece being exhibited. I examined the other portraits
but could find no others of David’s. Then I heard the muffled
laughter of a group of people approaching the gallery.

My heart was beating
quickly as the voices drew closer. I turned and faced David’s
painting, keeping my back to the advancing group. As they entered
the room, their voices went silent. Someone coughed and I
reluctantly turned around.

There were three men standing before me,
looking more than a little confused. David was not among them. I
felt my body sag with relief.

“
Can I help you?” A tall
man with gray hair and a beard moved forward to greet me. He had
warm brown eyes and walked with a limp.

“
I was wondering about this
portrait.” I pointed to my picture on the wall. “Is the artist
here?”

A shorter man with spiked
blond hair stepped forward and spoke. “He’s not here,” he answered
in a haughty manner. “But I’m sure we could set up a meeting, or
perhaps a showing of more of his work, if you are
interested.”

The tall, gray-haired man
standing in front of me kept looking curiously from me to the
portrait.

“
You’re Jenny,” he
affirmed.

I blushed and then nodded
my head.

“
He’s out back in the
service alley.” The tall man pointed to the pair of double doors
through which the group had just entered. “Go through those doors
and down the hall, past the kitchen.”

I did as instructed and
found an old glass door at the back of the kitchen. It made a loud
creaking noise when I opened it. The alley outside was dark and, at
first, I couldn’t see a thing. It took a few moments before my eyes
could make out a figure standing several feet away, leaning against
the building.

“
Well, George.” It was
David’s voice. “Can I go home now? I told you this was a stupid.”
He stepped out from the shadow of the building and faced me.
“Nicci? What are you doing here?” His voice was hard, almost
cruel

“
Why didn’t you tell
me?”

He shook his head. “How did
you find out?”

“
Sammy told me at the
shower,” I explained, as I slowly made my way to his
side.

“
That bitch.” He snorted
with contempt. “I bet she enjoyed doing that.” Then he sighed and
his voice changed. “I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t know how. I
also wasn’t sure if I wanted you around. In case it didn’t go
well.” He snickered. “Listen to me. Didn’t go well! Tonight, I was
a complete bomb as an artist. A washout. A failure.” He stumbled
forward. It was then I saw the bottle gripped in his right hand.
“Five people, Nicci. That’s all that came.” He took a long swig
from the bottle.

“
You’re drunk.” I didn’t
try to hide the disgust in my voice.

“
Not yet. So did you come
to revel in your success?”

“
What are you talking
about?”

“
You are just like the rest
of them. Another Sammy Fallon in the making. That’s you,
sweetheart! Break men with that rock you call a heart. Or did you
come to offer me a sizable fee to act as your escort for a few
evenings?” He took another swig from the bottle and staggered
toward me. “I don’t think I could stomach getting paid by you for
something that was better when it was free.”

Pain blossomed in my chest,
but I kept my voice firm. “I’ll ignore that last comment. David,
give me the bottle.” I tried to grab it from his hand, but he
turned, lost his balance, and fell.

As I tried to help him to
his feet, blood was running down the side of his face. Initially,
he resisted my assistance, but then he allowed me to haul him into
the small kitchen and prop him against the counter.

The blood was flowing
steadily from his right cheek where he had hit the pavement. On
closer inspection, it didn’t look that bad. I grabbed some paper
towels from above the sink and tried to blot the blood from his
cheek.

He waved my hand away. “Cut
that out.”

“
Stop it, David! Damn it,
just stop it!” I slammed my hand against his shoulder. “You
arrogant ass. Do you think it was easy for me to come here and see
you like this? Do you think I planned this?” I threw the paper
towels into the sink. “I thought you would want me here, but now I
don’t know why I came.” I turned to go and he reached out for my
hand.

“
I’m sorry. Don’t leave.
I’m just angry.” His started caressing my hand. “And
disappointed.”

The trickle of blood from
his cheek had slowed and I reached for more paper towels to clean
his face. I sighed and wiped away the comma of wavy hair that
always fell into his eyes.

“
There will be other
showings, David. I know one day you will be a famous
artist.”

“
You are too good for me.”
He shook his head. “I’m not angry about the showing. I guess I’m
just realizing what a fool I’ve been.” He pulled me closer to
him.

“
I don’t think you’re a
fool,” I disagreed, as I put my arms around him.

“
You have no idea what I’m
talking about.” He pushed me away.

“
David, you are not making
any sense. Let’s get you home. Did you drive here?” He sighed and
shook his head. “Well, my car is out front, come on.”

***

He slept most of the ride
home. When we arrived at his Lakeview cottage, he was still very
unsteady on his feet and I had to help him up the steps to his
door. Once he was settled on the sofa, I went into the kitchen and
started a pot of coffee. Under the sink I found some peroxide. I
took it, a towel, and a mug of coffee back to the sofa.

I poured some peroxide on the towel then I
dabbed the towel against his cheek.

“
That hurts!” he
yelped.

“
If I don’t clean it, the
cut will get infected and then your face will fall off.” I was
getting tired of having to dodge his hands.

“
Great bedside manner. They
teach you that in nursing school?” He winced as I reapplied the
towel to his face, but this time he sat still.

“
Among other
things.”

“
What other torture do you
have in mind for me?”

I handed him the mug of
coffee. “Drink this.”

He took a sip from the mug
and instantly made a face. “Oh, this is awful. Now what are you
trying to do, poison me?”

“
No, it’s just strong.
Drink it down,” I ordered.

He muttered under his
breath and slowly sipped from the mug.

I finished cleaning his
face and inspected the cut. It didn’t look like he needed stitches,
but his cheek was already beginning to bruise and swell. His eyes
watched my every move.

“
You’ll look like hell for
a few days, but you’ll live,” I diagnosed, as I left him on the
sofa.

Washing my hands in the kitchen, I steadied
myself for a moment against the counter. The events of the entire
day had suddenly gotten to me.

“
You okay?”

I turned to see him,
standing behind me. “David, you shouldn’t be walking around. You’ll
just fall down again.”

“
Nicci, I wasn’t that
drunk. Anyway, that cup of coffee would have revived a horse.” He
laughed, nervously. “Thank you.”

I shrugged. “No problem.
Part of the job.”

He inched closer to me.
“I’m sorry I said those things. I was disappointed and angry and
you were just within firing range.”

“
That’s all right. I’ve had
worse. I have to admit, finding out about your showing from Sammy
was a bit of a shock.”

“
Sammy had no right to do
that to you. I asked her not to say anything. I just told her
because I thought she could help me. Maybe send a few friends over,
but she didn’t. She never saw my Jennys. I couldn’t show them to
anyone or put them on display, either. I was afraid your reputation
would be ruined.”

“
Thank you for thinking of
me, but I’ve been dealing with Sammy and her cronies for years. My
reputation has survived through much worse, trust me.” I folded my
arms, trying to keep him from getting to me. “You know, Sammy gave
me the impression she was supportive of our
relationship.”