Advice of Counsel (The Samuel Collins Series Book 1) (36 page)

We walked through the grime and destruction in silence.  There
was a stream of blood where Landra had dragged me from the fireplace to the
edge of the pool.  This wasn’t my house; it was a crime scene.

“At least I have money to fix it up,” I said, trying to be
upbeat.

Maddie smiled.  “And it could have been a lot worse,” she said.

The truth was, I was lucky to be alive.   And that was more
than Drake Reeds could say.

“Let’s get out of here,” I said.

I moved aside to let Maddie go first and I followed her back
through the house.  We’d gotten to the fireplace room and I turned to look at
the hearth one more time.  I glanced around the room.  It was like a black and
white photograph, with everything in the room different shades of gray. 
Everything with the exception of a faint red glow, barely visible through all
the filth.  I walked over to my desk and ran my finger through the ash on my
answering machine, then I stood there for a second staring at the blinking
light.  I pushed the memo button.

“
You son-of-a-bitch!
” my voice said on the recorder.

“What’s wrong?” Maddie said, coming back into the room.  She
stopped short when she realized it was a tape.

It was Landra’s voice.  “That’s the button off my dress.  Where’d
you get it?”

“Where you left it.”

It was all there.  The whole conversation.  Maddie and I stood
there, fixed in place, just staring at the recorder as it played on.

“
And you’re a murderer,
” I was saying.  There was the
sound of a scuffle and then my voice again, “
You won’t get away with it.
”

“Sure I will.  I already have. Twice.  And when you’re out of
the picture, I’ll finish up with Sara.  By the way, she told me you were over
there tonight.  I understand you shared a glass of wine.”

The machine kept going until the tape ran out.

“Oh my God!” Maddie said.  “You got it on tape.”

“It wasn’t me.  It was the cat.  He jumped from up there,” I
point to the top of the armoire, “and knocked the lamp over.  He must have hit
the memo button when he landed.”

“How in the world did he get up there?” Maddie wondered.

“I haven’t figured that out yet.”

I flipped the tape out the machine and stuck it in my pocket. 
“Let’s get out of here,” I said.

*    *    *    *

We’d gone over to Maddie’s house and she was walking her mother
out to the car.  I was sitting at her dining room table eating enchiladas,
watching her out the front window.  She had the baby on her hip and he was
waving enthusiastically to his grandmother.  I wasn’t sure what Oliver was
doing, but it involved a very loud toy of some sort back in another part of the
house.  I was hoping the batteries would die.

I needed to get someone started on cleaning my house so I could
be back in as soon as possible.  It was such a hassle to have to stay somewhere
else. I liked my own bed and my own things and I dreaded staying anywhere else
even for one day.  It made me think that a month’s vacation might not be a good
idea after all.  Maybe I’d make it a week, two at the most.

Maddie had put Max down and she was chasing him back to the
house.  They were both laughing as they ran and when they came in, Maddie was
holding him upside down and he was giggling out loud.  She set Max down on his
feet and he held his hands up to her.

“Again,” he said.

“No more,” Maddie said laughing.  “Mommy needs to rest.”

She sat down across from me and when the baby followed her, she
shooed him towards me.  “Go bother Samuel,” she told him.

He gave me a six-tooth smile and came over and stood by my
chair.  “Up,” he said.

His hands were grimy, but the rest of him was okay.  “Come on
up,” I told him and I helped him up by the back of his pants.  “Can he have
some beans?” I asked Maddie.

“Sure.”

I loaded up my fork and aimed it at the kid’s mouth but he
grabbed onto it before I hit the target.  We struggled over control of the
utensil but the kid was bound and determined, until I finally gave in and let
him take over.  He was making a hell of a mess, but most of it was on himself
so I wasn’t too bothered.

I was aware of Maddie watching me and I wished that I could
stare at her just as openly, but I couldn’t do it without giving away my
feelings.

“How did you end up finding me last night?” I asked.

“Boy, you really were out of it.  Do you not remember
anything
we talked about last night?” she asked, and when I shook my head no, she went
into her story again.  “I was bringing you a bowl of spaghetti and I noticed
your cat going bananas in the front window.  I could smell the smoke, so when
you didn’t answer, I called 911.”

“I knew you’d bring me dinner,” I said.  “I thought it was you
when Landra knocked.”

“I know,” she smiled.  “You told me.”

This wasn’t good.  I couldn’t remember a thing past her finding
me by the pool. “What else did I tell you?” I asked skeptically.

She got a funny look on her face like she was trying not to
smile.  “That was pretty much it,” she said.

I narrowed my eyes and studied her face.  “You’re such a liar,”
I finally said.  “What did I do, spill my guts?  I told you it wasn’t a
syndrome, didn’t I?”

“Now
that
, you
didn’t
tell me,” she laughed.

“Well its not.  For your information.  There’s no such thing as
post traumatic crisis syndrome.”

“I never said there was.  I’ve never even
heard
of
that,” she said.

“That’s because I made it up!  I only
wanted
it to be a
syndrome because it would have made my life so much simpler.”

“You’re as nutty as your cat,” Maddie said.

“I am not.  Just hear me out.  You gave me a whole list of
reasons why you and I wouldn’t work.  Well, you’re not my client any more, and
I’m not your boss, and I definitely don’t have a girlfriend.  And it’s not a
syndrome – it never was.  That just leaves your kids, and they’re no big deal;
I can handle them.”

“So . . .” she said, leading the conversation.

“So I want to take you out on a date.” 
There
. 
The
cards were on the table.

“You want to take me out on a date?” Maddie said.

“Will you go out with me?”  It wasn’t exactly a whine, but it
was pretty damn close.

Maddie smiled.  “You’re so funny.  Of course I’ll go out with
you.  How about Friday night, to Niki’s party that you already invited me to as
your date?”

Say what
?  “That would be perfect,” I said.  “Is there
anything else I told you that I should know about?  I didn’t ask you to marry
me or anything, did I?”

Maddie laughed out loud.  “No.  I think that was pretty much
it.  But I’ll let you know as things come up.”

“I bet you will.”

It took two days for three cleaning crews and two construction
workers to get my house back to living condition.  They blocked off the
fortress from the rest of the house with plywood so that I could live in the
house while I renovated, and by Friday afternoon, I was moving back in.  I’d
spent the two nights at the Holiday Inn right by my house, which I found
preferable to staying with my parents. Maddie had offered her spare bedroom but
I felt like I needed to get some rest and I knew that her kids would be all
over me at the crack of dawn.

Earlier that morning, Niki had brought me the results of the
hair analysis performed on Mrs. Howard’s hair.  It confirmed that Landra had
been poisoning Mrs. Howard with Rohypnol, the same drug that was found in Drake
Reeds’ system in his autopsy.

“Landra would give it to her for a few weeks,” Niki said,
“probably in her wine every night, and then when Mrs. Howard was firmly addicted,
she’d cut her off cold-turkey and Mrs. Howard would go into withdrawals.  
Three or four days into it, she’d have a seizure and end up in the hospital,
but by then the drug would be out of her system.  Then Landra would start the
whole process over again.  It would have eventually killed her.  Landra had her
up to a huge dosage in the wine that you drank.  Mrs. Howard would have built
up a tolerance, but it must have kicked your butt,” he said.

“Slightly,” I said.  “I fought like a grandmother.”

“You have any idea where she went?” he asked.

“None whatsoever.”

It was extremely creepy thinking about the whole thing.  I
actually had nightmares for the first two nights after she’d tried to kill me. 
They were those chasing dreams where you never know what you’re running from –
you just know if you stop, you’re going to get your butt kicked.

I knew that I needed to talk to Mrs. Howard, but it took me
until Friday to get my nerve up.  I had no idea what to say to her, and I had
no idea what she would say to me, but it finally got to the point where I
couldn’t put it off any longer.  I knew the police had talked to her, so she
would already know the story, but somehow that just made things harder.  Like
if it had come from me in the beginning, I could have somehow softened the
blow.

I took a plant that someone had given me in the hospital as a
conversation starter, and I rang the bell.  It took Mrs. Howard all of two
seconds to answer the door and I had the distinct impression that she’d seen me
crossing the street.

“Hello, Mrs. Howard.”

“Sam.  I was just thinking about you.”

“Well, I’ve been thinking about you a lot.  I meant to come
over sooner, but with the house and everything . . . This is for you,” I said,
holding out the plant.

“It’s beautiful.  Will you come in?”

We went back to her kitchen and she placed the plant in the
center of the table.

“I was just going to make some coffee.  Would you like a cup?”

“Only if you let me make it.  The last time I drank your
coffee, it kept me awake for three days.”

Mrs. Howard laughed.  She sat down in the chair next to mine
and patted my arm.  “I’m so sorry, Sam.  I feel like such a fool.”

“You and me both.”

“I just can’t believe that she could do that.  I loved that
girl like she was my own flesh and blood.  And to think that I almost got you
killed over it . . . well, it’s too much to take.”

“Whoa – what do you mean you almost got me killed?  I hope
you’re not trying to take the blame for Landra.”

“I introduced the two of you.  And I encouraged Landra to see
you, and date you.”

“I made my own decisions where Landra was concerned.  No
offense Mrs. Howard, but no 80-year-old woman is going to call the shots for me
where my love life is concerned.  Landra conned me the same way she conned
you.  I’m just glad that she was exposed before she did any more damage.”

“She sure had me fooled.”

“I know.  Have you spoken to the Johnses?”

Mrs. Howard nodded.  “At first, they couldn’t believe it, but
once it sunk in, they just felt very stupid.”

“At least the three of you can use your age as an excuse. 
People will just think you’re senile.  With me, I just look like an idiot.”

She patted my hand again.  “I’m glad you came over.”

“Me too.  Do you have any muffins?”

I stayed with Mrs. Howard for over an hour and by the time I
left, we both felt a little better.  If misery loves company, that’s especially
true when you’ve been conned.  The fact that you weren’t the only one to fall
for the scam somehow makes it easier to swallow.

I left Mrs. Howard’s, but before I got across the street, Mrs.
Johns came out to meet me.  I changed course and met her in her yard.

“This is for you,” she said, and she handed me a homemade pecan
pie.  “We feel so awful about what happened to you.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Johns.  This looks delicious.”

“Well it’s the least I could do.  How are you getting along?”

“I’m doing okay.  I was just visiting with Mrs. Howard about
everything.  We need to change your will again.”

Mrs. Johns looked grim.  “Do you have any idea where Landra
went?”

“By now, I’d say she’s probably somewhere in Mexico.  But your guess is as good as mine.”

“You take care of yourself, Samuel,” Mrs. Johns said.

“You too.”

I had picked up my tux from the cleaners on my way home from
the Holiday Inn, and the Siamese was sitting on my bed watching me get
dressed.  I wasn’t at all in a festive mood and the cat seemed to pick up on
that. In fact, if I hadn’t been going to the party with Maddie, I wouldn’t have
been going at all.  Her company was the only thing I was looking forward to
about the night.

“See ya later, boy,” I told him, and I gave him a scratch
behind the ears.  He followed me to the front door and when I’d gone, he ran
over to the windowsill and watched me walk past.

I drove over to Maddie’s so she wouldn’t have to walk back to
my driveway and she was already outside on her porch.

“Wow,” she said.  She looked me up and down and I wondered why
girls could get away with that but guys couldn’t.  “You look so handsome!”

“So do you.”  I didn’t do the obvious head movement like she
had done, but I definitely checked her out.  She was wearing an ice blue
cashmere sweater and black velvet pants, and she looked like she’d just walked
off the cover of Vogue.  “You went shopping,” I said, and all of a sudden I was
very glad to be going out.

“I did!  You won’t believe how much it cost.”  She looked like
a little kid when she said it.  “You like it?”

“It’s worth whatever you paid for it.  It looks great on you,”
I said.  “Why were you waiting outside?”

“I was excited to show you my new outfit.”  She said it like
there should have been a
duh
in there.  “Plus, the house is so quiet. 
The boys are at my mom’s for the night.”  Her eyes lit up even more.  “I get to
sleep-in in the morning.”

“Good.  Then I can keep you out as late as I want.”  I was so
happy to be with her again that it was making me do a real stupid smile.  “You
ready to go?”

“Whale no, not quite.  Come in for a minute.”

She’d been standing outside waiting, but she wasn’t ready to go? 
Okay.  I followed her inside.  She was right – the place seemed like morgue. 
It was so lifeless without the kids.  In a previous life I would have mistaken
it as peaceful.  She went back in her room and came out 15 minutes later.  She
didn’t look anything different, but she said she was ready so we headed to the
party.

I’d been thinking about our date ever since I’d asked her out,
and I’d made a pledge to myself that I would keep my feelings in check for the
duration of the night.  No sense in scaring her off on our very first date. 
According to a survey I’d read in some sex magazine, 78% of women consider it
wormy for a guy to pour his heart out on the first date.  Not that I would ever
normally do that, but Maddie had a way of making me do things I wouldn’t normally
do.

I had also wondered what our relationship would be like now
that our employer-employee and attorney-client relationships no longer
existed.  But once I was with her, I realized that it had been a waste of time.
As much as I’d tried to analyze it and dissect it, the bottom line was, nothing
had changed at all.  She was just the fun, sweet, pretty girl that I’d grown so
comfortable with.  I was completely at ease with her whether we were talking
about my murdering ex-girlfriend, or my made-up syndrome.  I could tell her
anything and not have to worry about how she’d take it.  I figured I could even
tell her I loved her on our first date and she’d be okay with that too.  She
may not say it back, but it wouldn’t affect our relationship negatively in the
slightest.  Not that I’d ever do that, of course, but if I ever wanted to, I
could. 

I checked her out again when I stopped at a red light.  She
looked over at me and smiled. 
Don’t be a worm
.

*    *    *    *

The party was at a ranch just north of town and the place was
lit up like it was Christmas.  There were white lights wrapped around all the
trees lining the caliche road that led to the house and strung from the porch
along the paths and sidewalks that wound around the house and through the
gardens.  The place was immaculate.  There was a huge plantation style house
with enormous columns that reminded me of the mansions I’d seen in Louisiana.  It was as cool a party house as I’d ever been to.

Maddie was holding my hand when we walked through the entry. 
“Oh, Samuel.  It’s beautiful,” she said, looking around the room.

“It’s pretty awesome,” I agreed.

I looked for a familiar face and I spotted Niki and Stacy over
by the fireplace, which was big enough to picnic in.  We were headed in their
direction but were intercepted before we got there.

“Maddie,” someone said, and I knew without looking who it was.

Maddie turned around.  “Hi, Matt,” she said, cheerfully.

“You look great,” Matt said, and he kissed her on the cheek,
then he turned to me and offered his hand. “Sam.  How’re you doing?  You’ve had
a rough month.”

I let go of Maddie’s hand and shook his.  “Yeah, but it hasn’t
been all bad.  Things are definitely looking up.”

“I guess so.  You stole my date,” Matt said.

I looked at Maddie and she looked at Matt and smiled.  “Samuel
asked me first,” she told him, and she took my hand and wove her fingers
through mine.

“If I’d known I was going to be in town, I would have asked you
sooner,” Matt said in his own defense.

“Don’t even look at her.  She’s mine,” I told him, and I
extricated my fingers and put my arm around Maddie’s shoulder and pulled her to
me. “Excuse us.  We’re going to greet Barbie and Ken.”

Niki spotted us as we worked our way through the crowd.  I
hadn’t told him I was bringing Maddie with me, and I could tell by the look on
his face that he was very pleased.  Somehow, he would convince himself that he
was instrumental in getting Maddie and me together.  Like it was his idea from
the very beginning.  Which I guess, in a roundabout kind of way, it was, but I
knew he’d take full credit for anything that came from the relationship.

“You two are together?” he said with a big, gloating smile.  “I
thought you’d be coming with Matt,” he told Maddie.

“She’s with me,” I said possessively.

“Good.  Come say hi to Stacy.”  I knew he wasn’t going to leave
it at that.  He let Maddie pass to lead the way then he lowered his voice. 
“It’s about time you listened to me.  Look at all the shit you could have
avoided if you’d taken my advice in the first place.”

I didn’t even dignify it with a response.

Maddie had already introduced herself to Stacy by the time Niki
and I got there and they were yacking away like they were old friends.

“Hi, Samuel,” Stacy said.  She gave me a big hug and lowered
her voice. “Where did you find her?  She is adorable!”

“I know.  I guess I stole her from Matt.”

There was a look of recognition.  “That’s the girl Matt has
been ranting and raving about for the last month?” she laughed.  “Man, you’re
ruthless.”

“All’s fair . . .” I said.  “Besides, I knew her first.”

Other guests were trying to get close to Barbie and Ken, so
Maddie and I excused ourselves and went to explore the house.  She was leading
me by the hand from room to room and she had no lack of gumption in entering
different areas of the house that were void of party-goers.

“Look at this library!” she exclaimed.  “There must be 10,000
books in here.”

She was so cute when she was excited.  Actually, she was cute
all the time, but even more so when she was excited.  She walked over to one of
the shelves and pulled out a book.

“Oh my gosh!  Look at this, Samuel.  This is a first edition
Hemingway.”

I stood next to her and got a whiff of her perfume, and I
caught myself leaning in towards her neck trying to savor the scent.  She
looked so damn soft in that sweater.  Like a kitten.  I just wanted to hug her
and bury my face in her chest.  I was doing a lousy job of concentrating on the
book, but she didn’t seem to notice.  She replaced it on the shelf and looked
up at me and smiled.

“Where to?” she asked.

“Have you ever slept with Matt?” I asked.  It was a question
that had been bugging me since Stacy had made her remarks.

“No.  Matt’s just a friend,” she said, not the least bit
offended.  “He’s very sweet, but it’s just not there.”

“It is for him.”

“I know.  But I’ve been very honest with him about my
feelings.”

I needed to kiss her.  The feeling was as overwhelming as it
had been in the Tower and in the hospital and in her kitchen that morning when
I’d kissed her. 
Don’t be a worm
. 
Don’t be a worm
.  I thought
maybe if I said it like a mantra, I could ward it off, but it wasn’t working.

“You’re driving me crazy,” I finally said.

“Why?” she laughed.

“I don’t know,” I said, irritated with my total lack of
self-control. “It must be that sweater.”

“Yeah?”  She looked down at her chest and my eyes followed
hers.  “Whale I guess it’s worth every penny I paid for it,” she laughed.  She
looked back at me and held my stare.

“You’re doing this to me on purpose, aren’t you?” I said.

Maddie burst into a huge grin.  “God, you are adorable!” she
said, and she moved in close to me and pulled my face down to hers and kissed
me on the lips.

If she’d had any idea how in love with her I was, she never
would have done it, because once I started, I couldn’t stop.  I ran my hands
over her soft sweater, up her back and over her shoulders, then down again,
holding her close to me as I bore down with my lips on hers.  It was a long
drawn-out kiss, urgent and uninhibited, expressing all the pent-up feelings
that had been building for the last month of working so closely with her.

And to make matters worse, Maddie was every bit as assertive in
her return of my advances.  I’d counted on her to be the one to put a stop to
it, but she was making no effort whatsoever to bring the kiss to a conclusion. 
If anything, she was spurring it on.

“Whoops,” someone said from the doorway.  “Sorry.”  Two couples
were taking a tour of the house.

And just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped.  But not
without its consequences. I was hugely aroused, and there was no way to hide it. 
Maddie had been pressed up against me so she had to have felt it.

 “You need to stand in front of me,” I said.

Maddie pressed her body against mine.  “You mean because of
that?” she laughed.

“Yep.”  I put my arms around her and nuzzled her neck. “Probably
for the rest of the night.”

Maddie laughed out loud.  “Can we go home?”

We waited until my excitement died down enough for me to be
seen in public then we left the library.

“Don’t get close to me or touch me until we’re out of the
house,” I warned her.

*    *    *    *

We’d sneaked out of the party without so much as a goodbye, and
we were holding hands and laughing as we ran to the Suburban.  A cold front had
come in and the temperature had dropped 20 degrees since we’d gotten to the
party, and the wind must have been gusting to 30 miles an hour.

Maddie huddled herself under my arm and I wrapped my coat
around her, but every time the wind blew, she would squeal, “Oh my gosh!  It’s
freezing!”

We got in the car and Maddie blasted the heater and we took off
down the caliche road back towards the entrance.  She was sitting over there
intentionally chattering her teeth like a little kid, and she was so
irresistible that I finally couldn’t take it any more.  I stopped the car
abruptly and put it in park, then I climbed into her seat and kissed her.

Maddie was laughing, and she wrapped her arms around my neck
pulling me closer.  We got into a serious kissing session which I have no doubt
would have ended in sex, had car lights not been coming right towards us.  I
cut it short with one last kiss and got back in my seat, but for the rest of
the drive home, I couldn’t even look at her without practically laughing
because I was so happy to be with her.

She’d put the radio on an oldies station and she was singing at
the top of her lungs to the Bee Gees,
Stayin Alive,
in the same
high-pitched voice as the guy that sings it.

I was laughing, telling her to shut up, and every time I’d say
it she’d sing louder.  When the song was finally over, she rested her head back
against her seat and laughed out loud.  “I love the Bee Gees,” she said.

I pulled into my driveway and turned off the motor.  “I hope
so.  I’d hate to think you’d be singing like that to something you didn’t
like.”

“Sometimes I do,” she said.  “Let’s go to my house.”

I was going to open her door for her but by the time I got
around there, she was already out of the car.

“You in a hurry?” I teased.

“Maybe.”

“Me too,” I said, and we both took off running.

I was dragging her by her hand and we were both laughing so
hard we were practically falling over.  We started working to get each other’s
clothes off before we even got inside and by the time we got back to the
bedroom, there wasn’t much left to peel off.

And there she was.  Standing right in front me.

“Landra.”

Maddie screamed and I pushed her behind me.  She had her hands
on my back, and I could feel her soft sweater against me as she peered over my
shoulder.

“Well, you two didn’t waste any time,” Landra said.  She was
holding a revolver at her side, and her eyes were completely void of emotion.

Two things went through my mind.  Number one, there was no way
I was going to let Landra hurt Maddie.  And number two, this wasn’t like the
last time.  I had complete control of my senses and my motor skills, and there
was no way in hell that I was going to have my ass kicked by a woman again.  It
was going to take a lot more than a 38 to bring me down.

We were standing at the foot of Maddie’s bed, me in my
underwear and socks and Maddie in her underwear and sweater and Landra was only
five or six feet away.  I didn’t even have to think about what I needed to do. 
In one motion, I shoved Maddie to the ground, assuming she’d have the sense to
crawl out of the line of fire, and I lunged at Landra.  It was obvious that she
wasn’t familiar with her hardware or she wouldn’t have been holding the gun to
her side in the first place.  And in the time it took her to react to my
advance, I was already too close for her to get the gun high enough to shoot
anything but my foot or leg.