Laina Turner - Presley Thurman 09 - Romance & Revenge Read online

  “Cooper,” she said giving me a look. “I’m not going to stop bugging you until you contact him. You know it’s the right thing to do. You love him and want him in your life, so fix this.” You don’t want to play the ‘would of, could of, should of’ game the rest of your life.

  “What am I supposed to say? I know you’re back in the States and you haven’t called me. Why?” I said, walking around a small patch of ice on the sidewalk that could have been dangerous if I’d stepped in it with my black boots with the three inch heel.

  “Just call and tell him you miss him. It’s not that hard. You just need to open the dialogue.”

  “Easy for you to say. I’m just not sure I can handle the rejection. It’s hard enough knowing he went to Alkon and didn’t call. Doesn’t that say something?”

  “It says he’s as scared as you are. And with the way he was acting when I saw him, he misses you. He’s not going to reject you, and even if he does, at least you will know it’s over. Wouldn’t that be better than this wondering? I know it’s driving you crazy.”

  She had a point. I had been wondering what was going to happen ever since he told me six months ago we should take a break. It had been a lot more stressful than I wanted to admit. I kept wondering what was going to happen. Maybe I just needed to put myself out there and see what happened. I would either get lucky or be shot down, but then I would be put out of my misery of living in limbo. Even if it wasn’t what I wanted to hear, I would at least know and could try to move on. Sometimes chances were worth taking. I did love Cooper, very much, and wanted him in my life. Maybe Katy and Jared were right and I should try to fix this.

  “OK. Tonight. I will call him tonight,” I said, wanting to put it off just a little longer to work up my nerve.

  We walked along in silence for a few minutes and I could see Katy was thinking about something and I was about to ask her when my phone rang. I looked at the number. “I think its Peter. You know, Becky’s boyfriend,” I reminded Katy as she looked at me, not seeming to remember who Peter was and she finally nodded in recognition. Jared had made a few calls the night before and had not only got the name of Becky’s boyfriend but his phone number as well. I had called last night but had gotten his voicemail.

  “Hello?”

  “Is this Presley?”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Hi, this is Peter Sanders calling back. You left me a message last night.

  I felt bad listening to his voice. He sounded very tired and sad.

  “Peter, thank you so much for calling me back.”

  “Do I know you? Are you a friend of Becky’s,” he said and his voice broke a little.

  “Not exactly, but my friend Jared worked with her.”

  “Why are you calling me,” he said, this time some of the tiredness gone from his voice and replaced by anger instead. “If this is just some twisted way to get the gruesome details, you’re sick.”

  “Wait, that’s not how it is. Hello? Hello?” I looked at Katy. “I think he hung up on me. He thinks I’m a weirdo.”

  “Well you are. But not the kind he thinks. Call him back.”

  I hit re-dial and just hoped he didn’t send me directly to voicemail.

  “Listen you! Don’t you dare think …” he answered mad and ready for a fight.

  “Wait, please. It’s not what you think. Don’t hang up again, please!”

  “You have one minute to explain yourself.”

  I quickly went through my explanation of who I was and why I was interested in finding out what happened to Becky, hoping he would accept my explanation and not hang up again.

  “How do I know you’re not just making this up?” he demanded, but didn’t seem quite as angry as he had a few minutes ago.

  “I promise I’m not a reporter or a crazy person,” I thought I should add. “Would you be willing to meet me and at least hear me out?” I crossed my fingers, willing him to say yes.

  There was a long pause and I was almost afraid he had hung up again.

  “Peter?”

  “I will be at the Stargate from two to three this afternoon. If you want to talk to me be there,” he said and this time did hang up.

  “He said he would be a some place called the Stargate from two to three,” I relayed to Katy.

  “And where is that?”

  “No idea. That’s what I’m looking up right now… Interesting,” I said after a quick pause. “It’s a bar about twenty blocks from here. He must be drinking his sorrows away.”

  “That seems kind of close.”

  “Not close enough to walk, but it’s not that far. We’ve got time.”

  “So what should we do?”

  “I want to know what you were about to say when my phone rang.”

  “What if I told you he was here? Cooper. In Chicago,” she said hesitantly.

  I looked at her, confused. “What are you talking about?”

  “He told Dirt he was coming to Chicago for business and was staying through the first of the year. He’s here in town now. He’s staying at the W Hotel.”

  I stopped walking and looked at her. I didn’t know whether to be excited he was in town, or upset that he was not only in the country but in Chicago at his favorite hotel and hadn’t called. Was I in denial to think that not talking didn’t necessarily mean something bad? This changed things.

  “Don’t you think, Katy, if he wanted to see me, and he is in the same town I live in, that he would call? I think those actions right there show what his feelings are.” Saying that hurt and gave me a sick feeling in my stomach, but it was true. He obviously didn’t want to talk to me.

  “Presley, he’s probably thinking the same things you are and is afraid to call you. I mean, you’re the one who rejected him first.”

  “I didn’t reject him! Not on purpose anyway. And why are you on his side?”

  “I’m not on anyone’s side here. I love you both, but being objective, you rejected his marriage proposal and I know you didn’t mean to make him feel like you didn’t want him, but that’s how he took it. So you need to make the first move. Make him feel wanted.”

  I knew she was right but I really didn’t want to talk about this anymore right now. I was afraid I was about to cry. Something I did not want to do in the middle of the sidewalk around a bunch of people. Although in Chicago, people didn’t really pay attention. There were a lot of weird things that went on and people who lived here were immune and just walked on by.

  I felt like Katy and I just kept going in circles talking about the same things, so I decided to change the subject before I completely broke down.

  “Let’s head over to Silk. I haven’t been there in months. Maybe we can find something for New Year’s Eve. Only if it’s on sale of course, but we can at least kill time before meeting Peter.” I thought maybe some retail therapy might help me feel better. It certainly couldn’t hurt… Well except maybe my finances, but I could summon the willpower to look and not buy, couldn’t I?

  “Sure,” she said.

  Knowing what I was doing was trying to avoid the issue, but I was also sure she could tell how upset I was, so she dropped it. That was one thing about Katy. She wasn’t overly pushy, but I knew she would bring up the topic again when she felt the time was right. When she felt strongly about things, she didn’t give up.

  Silk was an upscale women’s clothing store I had managed for a while after leaving my corporate job in human resources. Amazing clothes, combined with a high level of exclusivity, equaled prices way above my pay grade, but the clothes were absolutely amazing. Even when I had worked there and received a substantial discount there were few things I could afford, but I loved just being around such great fashion, even if I couldn’t afford it. I was like a kid in a candy store here. Fashion was really my true love. No wonder human resources didn’t fulfill me. The two fields didn’t have much in common.

  I was disappointed when we walked in and saw all new faces. I had been hoping to see someone I had wo
rked with still here, but then again, it was retail and that was a high turnover industry. On top of that, James, the owner, wasn’t known for being the best guy to work for and most people he hired got fed up with the way he treated them fairly quickly.

  “You should try that on, Katy,” I said, as I saw her admiring a midnight blue, beaded cocktail dress.

  “Are you kidding me?” she whispered. “It costs more than my car. This dress is five thousand dollars and that’s the clearance price.”

  “It’s Vera Wang. Besides, I didn’t say buy it, just try it on. You will be amazed at how it feels on. Trust me, it’s worth its price tag for how it makes you look and feel.”

  She shook her head. “No thanks. I wouldn’t want something to happen to it and then have to pay for it. I’ll leave Haute Couture to people who can afford it.”

  I laughed and after a few more minutes of browsing we left. It had been fairly crowded with ladies shopping for that perfect dress to wear for New Year’s and neither one of us was in the mood to fight over dresses and these women could be ruthless. I had always chalked up their bad behavior to too much money and too much time on their hands.

  “My God, how do people justify spending thousands of dollars on a dress?” she said once we walked outside. “That’s crazy.”

  “It’s crazy, but people with money like to spend it. Hell, people without money like to spend it and then end up in debt. Like me.”

  “It seems ridiculous. The stuff is gorgeous, but so are less expensive things. I bet we could find the same thing at a consignment shop for a fraction of the price.” Katy had always been the frugal one.

  “You think that’s ridiculous, then we should check out this shoe store around the corner. Nothing below a grand even on clearance. I’ve never been able to buy anything there but it sure is fun to window shop and try things on. Pretend it’s within my price range.”

  Katy shook her head, as if still trying to figure out why. When I first started working at Silk, I tried to think about the why and realized the rich had a different set of standards. Everything was about perspective. We all had our way of looking at things and what was important. We continued down the block heading in the direction of the shoe store when I heard someone calling my name.

  “Presley! Presley, hey wait!”

  The voice sounded familiar. I looked around to see where the voice was coming from and Katy tapped my shoulder and pointed across the street. “Do you know him?”

  I looked across the street and squinted. I really needed to get my eyes checked so I could stop squinting and giving myself wrinkles.

  “Presley,” the man called again and started jay walking across the street. Not a very smart proposition. Chicago was one of those places where cops actually gave tickets for such things. But then I saw who it was and realized worrying about a jaywalking ticket wouldn’t matter to him because he was a cop.

  “Willie!” I said excitedly.

  “I’m so glad I ran into you,” he said, finally reaching our side of the street and giving me a big hug. “It’s been way too long.”

  “Katy, this is Willie Landon. I met him when he was the detective on the case when Solange was killed.” Solange had been my boss at Silk before she was murdered and her husband, James, took over the shop. Turning to Willie, I said, “Funny running into you. We just came from Silk.”

  “Nice to meet you, Katy.”

  “Likewise,” she said. They shook hands and then looked back at me. I tightened the belt on my coat nervously. Not really sure why. I just didn’t really know what to say.

  “So what have you been up to?” he asked me.

  “Nothing much. My life is pretty boring. Not exciting like yours,” I teased.

  “I tried to call you a few times, but your number’s been changed and you left Silk so I didn’t know where you worked or how to get ahold of you.”

  “I changed providers and I didn’t want to pay the fee to keep my number,” I said, thinking it was quite interesting that he had been trying to get ahold of me. I wouldn’t have thought that he would care to do that and I was curious as to why.

  He laughed. “Can I get your new one, then? I’m on my way to an appointment right now, but I would love to get together and catch up.”

  “Sure,” I said, giving it to him.

  He programmed it in his phone and said, “I’ll call you. Nice to meet you, Katy. Talk to you soon, Presley.” Then he hurried off.

  “Now that is a very attractive man,” Katy said as we watched him walk away. “How come I haven’t heard you mention him before?”

  “Nothing to mention. Like I said, he was the lead detective when my boss at Silk died. We just had a professional relationship.”

  “I would say he has more than just a professional interest in you, Presley,” she teased and I shook my head.

  “I doubt that. He’s just a really nice guy and if I remember right, he has a serious girlfriend.”

  “But that was a long time ago. A lot can change over time,” she said. “You heard him, he’s been trying to get ahold of you. There has to be a reason and if it’s not professional then …”

  “You’re nuts.”

  “I’m just saying.”

  I felt my phone buzz and looked to see a text from Jared.

  “Jared said Sally can meet us in a couple hours except now that will put us smack in the middle of our meeting with Peter. Maybe we can make it closer to five,” I said to Katy and texted Jared back.

  “Sure. Will that still leave us time for checking out the shoe store before meeting Peter?”

  “Yep, Ok. Jared said five was fine. So let’s go shoe shop.”

  Katy loved the shoe store as much as I did, but agreed that it was way too expensive for her budget. It was just fun to look. So fun, in fact, we lost track of time and ended up rushing to meet Peter.

  A few minutes after two we found the Stargate. It wasn’t at all what I had imagined and no wonder I hadn’t heard of it before. It was pretty much a dive bar of which there were quite a few in Chicago and some even had a following. Cool for being a dive, but this didn’t look like one of them. It was very run down on the outside and half the neon on the sign was burned out. We walked through the door and our eyes took a few minutes to adjust once we stepped inside. Once I could see again, I saw a group of men sitting at a table in the corner. Besides the bartender, they were the only ones in the place, so I assumed Peter must be sitting at the table and headed in that direction. Katy and I got to the table and they stopped talking and all looked at us.

  “I’m looking for Peter.”

  A man, late thirties I’d say, sandy brown hair and brown eyes said, “That’s me. You must be Presley?”

  I nodded and he stood up and motioned for us to follow him over to a booth a few feet away.

  “This is my friend Katy. I hope you don’t mind if she sits with us.”

  “Of course not. The more the merrier,” he replied and by his attitude and the pungent smell of liquor coming from his mouth when he talked, I was pretty sure he was drunk. But then who could blame him. His girlfriend just died. Everyone had their own way of handling things.

  “Can I get you ladies a drink?”

  “Sure,” I said, thinking he might feel more inclined to talk if we were also drinking.

  He waved the waitress over and said, ”I’ll have another scotch and whatever these ladies would like.”

  “House white. I’m not picky,” I said.

  “Make it two,” Katy added.

  When the waitress walked away I thought about how I should open the conversation but there was no need as Peter just bluntly laid it all out there.

  “So why do you care that my girlfriend was killed?”

  “We, uh, well … like I told you on the phone she worked with our friend Jared and he’s very upset by it, as are all the other people she worked with. We just wanted to know what happened. And if there was anything we could do.”

  His eyes filled with tear
s and it almost made me want to cry, I felt so bad for him.

  “I don’t know how this could happen,” he said finally. “We had dinner, I took her home, but didn’t stay long because we both had to be up early, and then the next morning the police called. And she was dead.”

  “Did the police give you any information?” I asked gently, not wanting to seem callous.

  “About how she died?”

  I nodded.

  “They didn’t really say much. They asked a lot of questions about where I had been all night. I got the feeling I’m a suspect. Luckily, I have a friend crashing at my place for a few weeks who can vouch for me. I was home all night.”

  “So they didn’t give you any indication of how Becky was killed,” I said, and could feel Katy kick me under the table. She probably thought I was being mean asking it so bluntly. But he didn’t seem that affected by it. Especially since the waitress had dropped off our drinks and he was almost done with his. Alcohol could be a great temporary pain killer.

  “Not really. They asked me if she had any enemies and who might have keys to her place. They did say there weren’t signs of a break-in. But other than that, not much. I know they cleaned out her medicine cabinet, because I had some migraine pills I had left at her house and they asked me about them.”

  “Did Becky have any enemies that you knew of?”

  “No. Everyone loved Becky. She was a bookkeeper for goodness sake. Not a cut throat job that would attract enemies. She was quiet and nice to everyone.”

  Apparently not to everyone, I couldn’t help but think.

  We chatted for a few more minutes but I was starting to think this was a waste of time in the sense he didn’t have any information. Katy and I finished our wine and made our way to leave.

  “I appreciate you talking to us, Peter, and I am really sorry for your loss.”

  “Thank you,” he said and we slid out of the booth. We started to walk away when Peter said, “Someone she used to work with contacted her a couple weeks ago and she seemed upset by it.”

  I turned around. “Who?”

  “I can’t remember her name, but someone who had retired a short time ago. Becky talked to her on the phone a few times and I overheard one conversation that got pretty heated. I asked Becky what it was about and she just said work stuff. She wasn’t one to bring work home so I didn’t ask anything else. Sorry. You don’t think that could have anything to do with her being killed, do you?”