“The woman who cheated you?” he asked.
“Yeah. She pulled in right after you left, which makes me wonder if she wasn’t waiting for you to leave.”
“I’m on my way,” he said. “Man, have I got a thing or two to say to her.”
“And you’ll be too late,” she said. “This woman planned it very carefully.”
“That’s all right,” he said. “I’m already in the truck, heading your way.”
“Well, as you can hear, she’s still screaming. I told her that I would call the cops, but she didn’t believe me and said I was just a nobody around here.”
He laughed. “Well, you might have arrived as a nobody, but you’ve sure made yourself known in a hurry.” And, with that, he hung up.
Doreen stuck her head against the living room window. “You better get out of here,” she said. “I’ve called the cops.”
Robin looked at her uncertainly; then she shrugged and said, “That’s hardly becoming behavior.”
“You’re a bit of a shrew, aren’t you?” Doreen said. “I suppose my ex found that out already and is dumping you.”
“No, he is dumping me because of your damn lawyer.”
“Oh my, that’s too funny,” she said and started to laugh. And, once she started, she just couldn’t stop. The irate lawyer outside her door gave one last agonizing scream of rage, then raced down the steps.
Doreen stepped outside and looked just in time to see her backing out of the driveway, whipping around the cul-de-sac, then disappearing around the corner at a high speed.
And, sure enough, just thirty seconds behind her, Mack came barreling up the driveway and parked. He hopped out and glared at her. “Where is she?” he roared.
Doreen pointed the direction she left in. “She’s driving a dark-green Jaguar.” Nodding, he jumped back into his truck and took off. As she stood here, wondering at this latest turn of events, she started to giggle. It was too funny that her ex had already dropped this woman like a hot potato as a result of the pressure that Nick had applied. And all of it had happened so fast. But her ex was not somebody who wanted anybody causing a fuss and dragging his name through the mud.
As she thought about that, she wondered, for the first time, Why? Was there really some criminal activity he was trying to keep under the table? She was pretty sure there was, but it just wasn’t a world she walked in. Even though she had lived it and breathed it, everything was done without her knowledge, and that just made her even sadder.
As she walked back into the living room and on into the kitchen, waiting for Mack to return—if he did—she put on the teakettle and sat out on the deck in her one chair. As soon as she’d gotten settled with a hot cup of tea, her phone rang. Thinking it was Mack, she immediately asked, “Hey, did you catch her?” There was silence on the other end for a moment; then she heard Nan’s cheerful voice.
“Catch who? What have you gotten into now?” she asked in excitement. “Did you get a new case?”
Immediately Doreen groaned, kicking herself. “No,” she said. “Sorry, Nan. I thought you were Mack. No, there’s no new case.”
“Tell me more. Tell me more,” she said. “Life was so boring before you came.”
Doreen groaned again. “You know what? It can go right back to being boring too.”
“No, no, that won’t do. This is so much more interesting,” she said. “So, who are we after now?”
Shaking her head, Doreen just laughed and said, “The lady divorce lawyer who screwed me over,” she muttered. “She came here, pounding on the door, wanting me to call off Nick.”
“Nick, Nick, Nick,” Nan said, as if ruminating on where she’d heard the name before.
“Mack’s brother, the lawyer. Remember?”
“Oh, of course,” she cried out. “And she wants you to call off the dogs, huh? Well, that’s good news, indeed. Nick must be barking up the right tree, … so to speak.”
“Good one, Nan. Apparently my ex has turned her out because of something that Nick did.”
Nan started to laugh and laugh, clapping her hands and giggling. “Oh, I love it,” she said. “The mighty one has fallen off her throne.”
“Well, I don’t know that she has fallen, but she’s definitely pissy and angry at the moment.”
“Oh dear,” Nan said, very businesslike all of a sudden. “I’m not sure you should be alone right now, dear. A scorned and angry female lawyer could be nothing to laugh at. Add in the fact that you’ve interrupted what was a pretty cushy and lucrative scenario for her, and I see potential danger at every turn.”
“Well, she was here, yelling and screaming, and then tore off just ahead of Mack, so he is chasing her down, as we speak,” she said, with a level of smugness that was probably just wrong. But what the heck? At times in life, when one could take a moment and appreciate what was happening, she would darn well enjoy seeing that woman turned out on her butt. At that, she started to giggle. “I’m actually pretty happy to hear that he turned her out, I must say.”
“My yes,” Nan said. “That man was insufferable, but to think that, after compromising her very career to save him some of his precious money, only to have him give her the boot, just makes it all so much more delightful. Did she threaten you?”
“Nope, not at all,” Doreen said. “Well, not directly at least.”
“Do you think that she will do anything stupid?”
“Well, she already has. She came here and pounded on the door, ranting and screaming. Mack heard her over the phone, and I even recorded some of it. So I should probably listen to that before I hand it over. But I don’t think she is a serious threat.”
“No, well, I hope not,” Nan said. “What we don’t want is for her to bring your ex down on you. That man is three shades of crazy.”
“At least three shades,” she replied, with feeling. “But I don’t think we need to worry about that,” she said, not wanting Nan to worry. “He’s probably already washed his hands of her in the same way he washed them of me. I’m sure he’s got the next little chickie in his sights already.”
“Good for him,” Nan said. “They’re all poisonous, and one of these snakes will turn around one day, and he’ll be the one who gets bit.”
“I can’t wait,” Doreen said cheerfully. And, with that, she hung up from the call and sat here to enjoy her tea, a smug smile on her face.
Then the doorbell rang, with yet another unexpected visitor.
Chapter 26
Doreen groaned but got up and walked to the front door. Instead of opening it, she waited. This time Mugs barked like crazy at the door, and Goliath was upset as well. Mugs’s barking held just enough menace in its tone that she decided to peer around the curtain instead. And she saw the man who had been in Mack’s photo. Snoz.
The one who the kid had identified as having put the rocks at her back door. The one she had identified as having worked for her ex. She hesitated and then let the curtain fall quietly back in place. Quickly she texted Mack. She knew he wouldn’t read the text right away, depending on what he’d gotten into while chasing the woman in the Jaguar, but this guy scared her. She put her phone on Silent, as she watched what he did. He rang the doorbell again and again. Then there was silence, except for the animals’ response, but he didn’t move.