Advice of Counsel (The Samuel Collins Series Book 1) (31 page)

“How are you feeling?” she asked.  If she was suspicious, she
didn’t let on.

“Other than the fact that my arm hurts like hell, my neck is
stiff and sore, and my face is black and blue, I’m fine,” I said.  I hugged her
and kissed her, trying to ignore the fact that I’d just done the same thing to
another woman.  “Maddie said Mrs. Howard is here.  Have you seen her?”

“Not yet.  I wanted to see you first.  This is an interesting
look,” Landra said pointing to the sweater and obviously amused.

“Yeah, you like that?  Maddie was horrified that I was going to
go out and expose my butt to everyone in the hall.”

I hadn’t realized that Niki had come in the room.  “She’s a
smart woman,” he said.

As soon as I saw him, I flashed back to a cartoon where one
character was forever indebted to the other one for saving his life, and I got
this sinking feeling.  There was no way I could ever even the score.

“Niki.” I let go of Landra and stepped towards him.  No one had
ever saved my life before.  I held my hand out and he shook it, then he pulled
me into a bear hug and squeezed me, crushing my arm against my chest in the
process.  It hurt like hell, but I wasn’t in a position to complain.  He let me
go and held me back to look at me.  “You look even worse than yesterday,” he
said.

“So I hear.”

I didn’t want to make a public spectacle of thanking the guy
for saving my life so I asked my mom and Landra to leave us for a minute.  When
they’d gone out in the hall I offered Niki the only seat in the room and I sat
down on the corner of the bed.

“I don’t know how to thank you,” I started, but Niki cut me
off.

“It’s not necessary.  I didn’t do anything that you wouldn’t
have done for me,” he said.

I shook my head.  “I can’t think of any situation where you’d
find me climbing on top of a 600-foot roof then slamming my body into a gunman
to save your life.  It would never happen,” I assured him.

Niki laughed and waved his hand in dismissal.  “It’s no big
deal.”

“No big deal?  Have you ever had anyone save your life?” I
asked him.  It was meant as a rhetorical question, but he answered it.

“Several times.”

“Oh.”  The answer surprised me and it threw my concentration. 
“Well, then you know how it feels.  So why don’t you just let me thank you
without arguing about whether thanks are warranted or not!” I said irritably.

“If it will make you feel better, fine.  Go ahead,” he said,
and he crossed his arms, waiting.

“Thank you for saving my life,” I said.

“You’re welcome.  So where’d he get you?” he said, motioning to
my gunshot wound.

“Right here,” I pointed.

Niki nodded.  “Mine was lower than that.  It hurts like hell,
doesn’t it?”

“Damn right.”  I lowered my head. “I kissed Maddie.”  It wasn’t
like me to kiss and tell, so I don’t know why I told him.  Maybe because he’d
been pushing me to get together with her for weeks.

“You kissed Maddie?” he repeated, and I nodded.  “And?”

“And nothing.  Landra and my mom walked in right afterwards.”

“You need to dump Landra,” Niki said.  “She’s bad news.  Maddie
is so much better in every way.”

“Why do you say that?”  Suddenly I felt very defensive of Landra.

“Look at the facts Collins.”  He held up his hand and started
ticking off a finger at time.  “She’s conned her way into not one, but two
people’s will; she was investigated for the murder of her husband; she’s been
arrested for the murder of Drake Reeds.  And now, correct me if I’m wrong, but
one of the old ladies whose will she’s in has turned up in the hospital.”

“She’s 80 years old.  She’s got breathing problems.”

“There was a reason why you had me investigate Landra in the
first place.  What’s it going to take to make you wake up and see her for who
she really is?”

“You really believe that?” I asked in disbelief.

“I really believe that,” he said, and I saw that he was dead
serious.

“Well, you’re wrong.”

Niki shook his head.  “If things are so great with Landra, then
why’d you kiss Maddie?”

“My kissing Maddie had nothing to do with Landra.  It just
happened.”

“It happened for a reason.  She’s the one you need to be with,
not Landra,” he asserted.

There was no point in arguing with him because no matter what I
said, he’d have a comeback.  He was one of those people who it was impossible
to win an argument with.  No matter how irrational or illogical his view, Niki
could always turn it around to make me look like I was wrong.  I was sorry I’d
ever mentioned kissing Maddie, and I chalked it up as a reminder to keep my big
mouth shut in the future.

I spent the majority of the day in the hospital, with visitors
coming and going the whole time.  It was late in the afternoon when the doctor
came in to release me and I hadn’t even gotten a chance to visit Mrs. Howard,
so after I’d signed all the paperwork, I made my way to the fourth floor.  She
was sharing a room with another patient, which seemed to be the biggest of her
problems.  Her coloring was good and if it weren’t for her messy hairdo, I
would have said that she looked quite normal.

“Sam!”  Her eyes lit up when she saw me.  “That man did a
number on you, didn’t he?  Landra told me you were in bad shape.”

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” I said, although in actual fact,
it was probably worse.  “How are you feeling?” I asked.

“Like an old lady.  These doctors don’t know what they’re
doing.  All they want to do is poke me with needles and take my blood.”

I stayed with Mrs. Howard for the next twenty minutes, but her
roommate kept eavesdropping and interrupting our conversation to express her
opinion about whatever we were talking about.  She was bitter and contentious
and she finally irritated me to the point where I got up and pulled the curtain
between the two beds.  Mrs. Howard looked at me big-eyed, like she couldn’t
believe I’d done it, but she patted my hand in approval when I stepped back
beside her.

“Have they said when they’re letting you go home?” I asked.

“Tomorrow is what they said.  They just want to get their hands
on my money, that’s why they’re making me spend the night.”

“You think they’ve got a conspiracy going?” I asked totally
straight-faced.

She looked at me for a second trying to figure out if I was
serious or not, then she smiled. “You’re sweet to humor me, Sam.  If I had a
son, I’d want him to be just like you.”

“You’ve told me that before.”

Mrs. Howard smiled.  “I know I have.  Several times,” she said.

So she wasn’t senile.  Sometimes I wondered whether she
remembered previous conversations we’d had, because every time she said that
line, she said it like she’d just thought it up.

“Well if you say it any more, I’m gonna start to believe it,” I
said.  “I’m going to make you adopt me and pay my mortgage.”

Mrs. Howard laughed and gave me her signature hand pat.  “Did
they release you?” she asked.

“I’m out-a-here!” I said.  I looked at the clock on the wall. 
“In fact, I better get going.  Landra’s meeting me outside to drive me home. 
So I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”  I leaned in close to her and lowered my
voice.  “Don’t let her give you a hard time,” I said, motioning towards the
curtain.

Mrs. Howard grinned and winked at me. “I think you took care of
her,” she said.

I nodded.  “You’ll let me know of any suspicious behavior on
the part of the medical staff?  Anything that could support our conspiracy
theory?”

“I’ll let you know,” she said.

I left Mrs. Howard with a smile on her face, and found Landra
waiting outside in her car.  It was great to be out of the hospital.  The place
was cold and depressing and I felt sorry for Mrs. Howard having to spend the
night there.  At least I was free.

I leaned across the console and kissed Landra but I thought of
Maddie and it immediately brought me down.  It was going to suck if Maddie popped
into me head every time I did something to Landra.  I leaned back in the seat
reveling in my misery and Landra mistook my silence for fatigue, which was
probably part of it.  If I hadn’t been in a weakened state, I never would have
let Maddie encroach on my relationship with Landra.  Landra was the best
girlfriend I’d ever had and damned if I was going to let thoughts of my
neighbor screw it up.  Maddie had two kids for God’s sake, one of which I’d
developed no affection for whatsoever.  Oliver was cool, I had to admit; but
the baby – hell, I didn’t even remember the kid’s name.  I’d been scarred for
life with that very first crib scene, and it was something from which I might
never recover.

I fell asleep in the car and when I woke up I was in my driveway. 
“Sam,” someone was calling from a faraway place.  I tried to open my eyes, but
in my drug-induced sleep, it was a huge effort.  “Sam, you’re home,” Landra was
saying.

I awoke with a start and the jolt sent a stabbing pain through
my shoulder.  I’d taken two pain killers just before I visited Mrs. Howard and
all they’d done was made me groggy as hell.

“Do you need some help?” Landra asked.

“I think I’m okay,” I said, trying to shake off the stupor.

She helped me out of the car anyway and she put her arm around
my waist as we walked up the path to my house.  The Siamese was sitting in the
window and I could see him meowing when he saw me.  He met us at the door and
wound himself in and out and around my legs wanting to be picked up, but there
was no way I could bend down.

“He missed you,” Landra said, picking him up and stroking his
head.  “You want him?” she offered.

“Yeah,” I said, and Landra placed him in my good arm and he
crawled up toward my head and nuzzled his head into my neck.  “Are you hungry
boy?”

He gave me a hearty “Meow!” but I realized that I was out of
cat food.  I’d planned on getting a bag on the way back from the Tower, which
now seemed like eons ago.  I opened the fridge, but I forgot what I was looking
for, then by the time I closed it again, I remembered.  Something for the
Siamese.  My memory was shot; I needed sleep.  I dumped some leftover tuna fish
in a bowl and set it on the counter because I couldn’t reach the floor, then I
went to my answering machine and left myself a voice memo to get cat food the
next day.  For some reason, it was a feature that I never thought of using
unless I was inebriated.   In the state I was in, I’d probably forget to listen
to the damn memo anyway.

Landra set the bowl on the ground and shooed the Siamese off of
the counter.  “Look, here’s a bag of cat food right here,” she said.

“Oh.” I scratched my day-old beard.  “I guess Maddie got it.” 
The medicine was making me itch.

Landra came over and put her arms around my waist.  “Can I tuck
you in?  You look so tired.”

I was well and truly high on my painkillers and when I looked
at Landra I wasn’t thinking of anyone but her. “Only if you stay with me,” I
said, and she led me back to my bedroom and curled up beside me.  I must have
fallen asleep immediately and when I woke up in the morning, Landra was gone,
and the Siamese had taken her place.

“Hey, boy.  How’re you doing?” I said, rubbing him behind his
ears.  He meowed and walked in circles on my chest.

I felt pretty good and there were a couple things I needed to
get done at the office, so I decided to head downtown even though it was only
7:00 o’clock.  I was the first one in the office and I was sitting at my desk
working on a brief when I heard someone unlocking the front door.  High heels
clicking on the floor . . . it had to be Maddie.  Any time I sat for more than
15 or 20 minutes, I was incredibly stiff when I got up, and I had to move
slowly to get started.  As it turned out, the timing was perfect.  I opened my
office door just as Maddie was passing by and she jumped and let out a
high-pitched scream that would curl your hair.

I laughed as she clutched her chest and slumped back against
the wall.  “You scared me to death!  I didn’t know you were here.  Oh my God .
. . my heart is beating so hard.”

“Sorry,” I said still laughing.

“Yeah, I can tell you’re real sorry,” she said sarcastically. 
“What are you doing here so early anyway?”

“I don’t know.  I woke up early.  Come on.  You can make some
coffee,” I said heading to the kitchen.

I let her pass and I watched her from behind.  There were
definitely still feelings there, but not nearly as out of control as they had
been in the elevator and at the hospital.  It must have been the kiss.  Before,
it had been an unknown factor.  Now that I’d done it, it was no longer a
mystery as to what it would be like.  I decided it was a good thing that I’d
gotten it out of my system.    Maddie could go back to being my neighbor and my
client and my secretary and my friend, instead of being an object of my
desire.   Thank goodness it was settled.

I watched her as she filled the carafe and counted out the
scoops of coffee into the filter.  She was in a talkative mood and was chatting
away like she often did in the morning, except there was something different
that I couldn’t put my finger on.

“Do you mind if I leave a little early today?” she asked.

“That’s fine,” I said, watching her wipe down the counter and
take two mugs down from the cabinet.  “You need to pick up Oliver?” I asked.

“No.  Actually, I’m having a drink with Matt,” she said
casually, without turning around.

And that was all it took.  Just like that, she had me hooked
again.  I was utterly and totally consumed with jealousy.  The thought of
another man putting his hands on her or kissing her was too much to bear.

“You don’t think you should be home with Oliver?  After
everything that’s happened, I mean.”

Maddie turned around and glared at me. “It’s just one drink.  I
think I’m entitled to 30 minutes of adult conversation and relaxation without
my kids,” she said, and she threw the sponge down on the counter. “It’s not
like you and Oliver are the only ones who went through anything up there in
that Tower, Samuel.  That son-of-a-bitch took my son from me at gunpoint.  Do
you have any idea how that felt?”

“I didn’t . . .”

“Do you have any idea what it felt like riding up in that
elevator, not knowing in what condition I was going to find my son?

“I didn’t mean . . .”

“You have no idea how it felt!”

She had gotten progressively more pissed off as she went along,
and every time I’d try to interrupt, she’d just get louder and speak over me,
until she was practically shouting.  I finally quit trying to say anything and
stood there with my mouth open in shock.

“Don’t you dare sit there and judge me!” she continued.  “You
have no idea what it’s like being a single parent – raising two little boys
without their father.  I didn’t ask for this situation, but I’m dealing with it
as best I can.   I work my ass off to support my family, with no monetary help
from anyone.  When you leave here for the day, your day is done.  When I leave
here, I go home to another full-time job!  And if I get the chance to go out
and have a drink after work now and then, I’ll be damned if I’m not going to
jump at the opportunity.  So you can just shove your snide little comments
about me needing to spend time with my kids.  Right now, I need time for me!”

I was afraid to say anything.  She’d gotten so worked up she
was short of breath.

“You’re absolutely right,” I finally said, when I was sure she was
finished.  “It was a stupid thing to say, and I apologize.  And you’re right. 
You went through a terrible ordeal up there, and I don’t think I even asked you
how you were.” As much as I prided myself on being a prick, it wasn’t something
that I wanted to apply to Maddie.

She turned her back to me without saying anything; not that I
deserved a response, but it made me feel awful.

“I’m sorry, Maddie.”

“It’s okay.”

She poured coffee into both mugs and brought them to the table
and sat down across from me, but she wouldn’t look at me.  She was staring into
her mug, stirring it slowly with one of those tiny straws, and she looked like
she was a million miles away.

To my surprise, she hadn’t shed a tear during her whole
outburst, and it somehow made me feel that much worse.  Like with tears, I
could have written it off to her just being emotional.  The fact that the scene
involved dry eyes freaked me out more than the actual outburst itself.  I got
the feeling that she considered the matter resolved, but I couldn’t drop it
that easily.

“Will you look at me, please?” I said.

She looked up from her coffee, but she didn’t say anything.

“I’m really sorry, Maddie,” I said.  “I was way out of line. 
It’s none of my business what you do or who you do it with.  You’re the best
mother I’ve ever known, and I had no right to make that comment.  I don’t know
why I said that . . . well, actually I do, but . . . I didn’t mean it and I
hope that you can forgive me.  It was stupid and it was immature and I swear it
will never happen again.”

“All right,” she said quietly, but it wasn’t all right.  She
was acting totally indifferent to me and I hated it.

Maddie got up and started to leave the room, but I intercepted
her and blocked her way.  She looked at me like I’d lost my marbles.

“Samuel, what is the matter with you?”

“I don’t want you to be mad at me,” I whined.

Maddie laughed.  “I told you everything was fine.  What more do
you want me to say?  You said you were sorry; I accepted your apology.  And as
far as I’m concerned, it’s over.  It’s not that big a deal.”

“It’s a big deal to me,” I said.  I was getting that terrible
feeling again, like I’d had at the hospital and in the elevator but there was
no way in hell that I was going to act on it again.  “I value your friendship, Maddie,
and to think that I may have damaged it really bothers me.”

She rolled her eyes and I knew she did it on purpose just to
annoy me.  “Are you high on your pain pills?” she asked. “Because you’re acting
like an idiot.  I’m sorry I blew up at you, but it doesn’t mean we’re not
friends any more.  Good grief!”

“So we’re really okay?” I said, relieved.

“Other than you being insanely jealous of me having a drink
with Matt, we’re great.”

There it was
.  We stood there staring at each other,
silently daring the other to look away first and I finally gave in.  “Damn it,
Maddie!” I said, banging my fist against the wall.  “What’s your baby’s name,
anyway?”