Storm Season

“That must have been a scary realization.”

“A reality check. How he could be jealous of Steve and Gerry, I couldn’t figure. Steve is a terrific employee. Several years ago, when I was hospitalized with an emergency appendectomy and a post-op infection, Steve stepped in and wrote my column for six weeks. A nice guy, but he’s years younger than me and not particularly attractive. And Gerry’s obviously and flamboyantly gay. The fact that Simon was jealous of those two was a real wake-up call.”

This time her smile was sly. “I made my moves before he knew what hit him. Within twenty-four hours, I’d switched my investments to another firm, changed all the locks on my office and apartment doors, arranged for new, unlisted phone numbers and booked a flight to Tampa to look for a place to live.”

“And avoided the Starbucks around the corner?”

“Absolutely. I returned Simon’s ring by messenger. The only contact I had with him after that was outside my apartment when I was getting into the cab for the drive to the airport. Simon was waiting. He grabbed me, called me every name in the book and threatened to kill me if I didn’t marry him.”

“Did you call the police?”

Kimberly shook her head and smiled. “Didn’t have to. The cab driver was the size of a sumo wrestler. He told Simon if he didn’t back off his fare, he’d mop the street with him. Simon was enraged, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew he was no match for the cabbie.”

“And you never heard from Simon again?”

“I just added his threatening letters to the pile with those from other wackos.” She frowned. “What I’m telling you is confidential, you know?”

I crossed my heart. “Like attorney-client privilege. Our agency is discreet. But we should tell Detective Adler about Simon Anderson so he can check him out.”

Kimberly thought for a moment. “Okay, but I don’t think Simon shot Sister Mary Theresa.”

“Because he knew she wasn’t you?”

“Because if Simon is twisted enough to really want to hurt me, his type would want it up close and personal. Like any control freak, he feeds off fear. He’d want to see my terror, witness my suffering. Then he’d kill me. No, he wouldn’t take a shot from a distance.”

Sometimes knowing too much about what makes people tick could scare the daylights out of you. I attempted to lighten the conversation. “You called Simon a control freak. Is that a clinical diagnosis?”

She smiled. “It’s God’s honest truth.”

“With your permission, I’ll tell Adler.”

“It’s probably a waste of time. Simon’s moved on to another victim by now.”

Kimberly was already rattled, so I kept my theories about cold revenge to myself.

BEFORE EIGHT THE NEXT morning, I was headed back to my office. I’d called Abe Mackley from the penthouse the night before. Since Abe’s retirement, he’d been happy to supplement his pension by working occasional assignments for our agency. Today he’d agreed to guard Kimberly at the penthouse while I did some digging into the nun’s murder and Simon Anderson’s background.

When I entered the office, Roger greeted me with a howl of delight. It was nice to know that someone had missed me. I scooped him into my arms.

“Is Bill here?” I asked Darcy.

She shook her head. “You just missed him. He brought Roger for me to keep while he runs errands.”

“Was he alone?” As soon as I asked, I wished I could snatch the question back. I was acting like a jealous harpy. And with no reason. At least, I hoped I had no reason.

“He was by himself,” Darcy said with a puzzled look. “And he didn’t say where he was going.”

I tried to act nonchalant. “Anything else going on?”

She handed me a pink slip. “A Mr. Moore called a few minutes ago.”

I read the message written in Darcy’s neat script. J.D. was currently at the Lassiters. I checked my watch. I could stop by the sisters’ house on my way into Clearwater to talk to Adler, but confronting J.D. was a task I dreaded. I didn’t know what I’d do if he was mentally ill, as I feared. If he presented a definite threat to himself or the Lassiter women, I could arrange to have him committed under the Baker Act. But I’d need some kind of proof, and too often that evidence didn’t arise until a subject had hurt someone. Otherwise, as long as the Lassiters refused to file trespassing charges, my hands were tied. My only other recourse would be to track down J.D.’s family, as the Lassiters wished, and ask that a relative take charge and see that he received proper medical assessment and care.

I took Roger into my office, removed a bone marrow treat from the box I kept in my desk drawer and offered it as compensation for abandoning him, which I was about to do again.

I returned to reception and told Darcy my itinerary.

“Any message for Bill?” She was watching me closely as if aware of the tension I’d been trying to hide.

On days like these, I was almost tempted to give in and get a cell phone, but I have an aversion to technology, especially computers and cell phones. Darcy handled my computer work, which took care of one problem, but carrying a cell phone would create an intrusion into my life that I didn’t want. The only good thing about no longer being a cop was not being electronically connected to the world with a radio and beeper. So far, that disconnect hadn’t been a problem. I could usually find a landline if I needed one, and I checked in with the office often in case of emergencies. But sometimes, like today, I wished for that instant connection with Bill.

“When Bill comes back, give him Kimberly Ross’s phone number. He can reach me there after five o’clock. I’ll be pulling the night shift.”

With a pat for Roger, whose forlorn look nipped at my conscience, I headed out the door.

I FOUND J.D. in the front yard of the Lassiter house, trimming shrubbery. He wasn’t the wild-eyed, aging hippie with long oily hair pulled back in a ponytail, dirty ragged clothes and a body covered with bizarre tattoos that I’d expected. The man, who appeared only a handful of years older than Bill, had the gentle demeanor and clean-scrubbed look of an old-fashioned country doctor or a favorite parish priest.

His gray hair was neatly trimmed in a short, military cut, and his clothes were worn and mended but clean, except for the perspiration that soaked them from his exertion in the humid morning air. His smooth, tanned cheeks were testament to a recent shave and his brown eyes were clear and smiling.

“If you’re looking for Violet and Bessie,” he called when I got out of my car in their driveway, “they’ve gone for their walk.”

I gazed up and down the sidewalk but saw no sign of the elderly sisters.

“On the trail,” J.D. added. “They walk two miles every morning. That must be what keeps them young.”

I crossed the lawn, still wet with dew in the shade. “Actually, I came to see you.”

His friendly smile faded.

“The Lassiters asked me to,” I added quickly. “They’re concerned about you.”

He sighed, hunched one shoulder and wiped his perspiring face on his sleeve. “Are you a social worker?”

“I’m a private investigator. Violet and Bessie want me to find your family.”

J.D. turned his back on me and took a couple of angry whacks at the Turk’s Cap hedge beneath the front windows. “I don’t want to find my family,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Wouldn’t you like to know who you really are?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

J.D. dropped the loppers to his side and pivoted to face me. His eyes were pools of misery and fear. “Because I have dreams. If they’re from my former life, it’s better for everyone if that man stays dead and buried.”

CHAPTER 6

“What kind of dreams?” I asked J.D., thinking his sleeping visions might be a window into his state of mental health.