The Ex Who Wouldn't Die (42 page)

"He came to town a couple of years ago with his wife and two little babies," Irene continued.

The scum had a family?
That was doubly creepy.

"Bought the old Renfrow house. He went to work doing odd jobs, but about a year ago, he got in trouble. Tried to rob a convenience store. He admitted he
did
it when they brought him in. Didn't try to tap dance around it. Said he was desperate, needed the money to support his family. Anyway, Sunny took his case. Got him probation, then helped him get a decent job. Him and his wife joined the church, and they've been good members of the community ever since."

Except for stalking me.
"Do you know where he works?" She'd be willing to bet it was one of the Kimball family companies.

"Can't say as I do. You could ask Sunny."

"That's a good idea, a really good idea." Amanda had become so involved with staying alive and out of prison that Sunny Donovan had slipped to the back of her mind. This could be her chance to find out about her stalker as well as unravel the mystery that was Sunny Donovan.

"I'll give her a call." Irene rose from the table.

"It's Saturday," Amanda protested. "Does she work Saturdays?"

"Probably. If not, I'll phone her at home."

"Oh, don't bother her on her day off."

Irene looked surprised. "I'll be all right. It's not like this is business. I've known Sunny and her mother all my life."

Amanda recalled Charley's comment that his mother was friends with everybody in town. She could easily believe that.

Amanda heard Irene on the phone in the other room, talking and laughing. She returned shortly.

"She's in her office today. Said if you want to come over, she'd be pleased to talk to you."

Amanda thought of the lawyer's behavior when she'd been in her office a few days before, and suspected Irene might be putting a spin on how pleased Sunny would be to see her today.

"Thank you." She stood and gave Irene an impulsive hug, something she'd never done with her own mother. What insanity caused Charley to leave a family like this?

Irene returned the hug. "You want me to go with you?"

"Thanks, but I'll be fine. You get your grocery shopping done, and I'll meet you back here later so you can teach me how to make meat loaf."

"Sounds like a deal."

***

Amanda arrived at Sunny's office half an hour later. Not surprisingly, Charley had tried to talk her out of going, and that had made her all the more determined. He then refused to come with her,
saying he'd go into the dark and wait for her to return. She
did not see as a negative. However, she had an eerie sensation that he was following her
anyway
, just out of sight. Or maybe it was Frank Sturgess following her again.

For once, she would rather it was Charley.

She parked her bike at the curb and walked across the wooden porch of the old house. Following the example set by Irene when they'd been there previously, she knocked, then opened the door and entered. Sunlight streamed through the windows of the small room, resting on the file cabinets, desk and dark computer screen, but Martha wasn't there to announce her. 

"Miss Donovan?"

Sunny emerged from her office. Today she wore blue jeans and a white cotton shirt, and looked even more familiar than in her going-to-court clothes. She extended a hand. "Please, call me
, uh,
Sunny."

Amanda reached for the hand, expecting another stiff, perfunctory shake, but instead Sunny grasped her hand firmly though her smile was tentative.

"Sunny, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me today."

"My pleasure." She turned and led Amanda into her office. Her smile might be tentative, but she moved with a regal, self-assured grace.

This room was larger than the reception area, but not by much. A wooden desk holding a laptop computer, several files and papers occupied most of the area. A tall file cabinet sat in one corner within reach of the high-backed chair behind the desk.

Sunny did not take the chair behind the desk, the position of power, but sat in one of the teal blue upholstered client chairs. Amanda pulled off her leather jacket and settled in the chair beside Sunny. Cozy. Two people on an equal basis. This woman didn't seem so strange after all. She seemed to be, as Irene insisted, a really nice person. Even a
potential
friend.

"I understand you know a man named Frank Sturgess."

The blood drained from the older woman's face, her smile changed from tentativ
e to stilted
, and her green eyes went wide with an odd expression. Panic?

Oh, yeah. Sunny knew Frank Sturgess.

Did her reaction mean she knew he was an evil man, and she was concerned as to how Amanda knew him, what he might be doing to Amanda?

Sunny recovered almost immediately, a professional mask settling over her face. Too bad. Amanda had kind of liked the real woman who'd sat beside her so briefly, before she mentioned her stalker. "Frank Sturgess? Yes, I know him. He's a former client. Why do you ask?"

"He's been following me."

"How do you know that?"

S
he
decided to
tell part of the truth. Charley's role always had to be edited out. "I saw him following me last night. Then I found his car parked at the Randolphs' place and got his license plate number."

"I see. How did you get his name from the license plate? Have you spoken to the police about this?"

Amanda
didn't want to admit that the Dallas cops were ignoring her, so she opted to indulge her new habit and lie. "No.
T
hat information is available on the internet."

That
e
voked a wry grin. "Of course. Everything is out there on the internet. So you're a computer expert?"

Amanda laughed at that image. "Not really. I can do e-mail, Facebook, play a few games…the basics. That's the extent of my computer expertise."

"But you found Frank's name by using his license plate number."

"I had help. I have a friend who
is
a computer expert."

Sunny nodded and tented her fingers. "So you want to know about Frank Sturgess. He moved here when he
was
laid off from his assembly line job in Fort Worth. He couldn't find regular work, and he made a mistake, robbed the Fast Stop convenience store so he could buy
food
for his family. I got his sentence commuted to probation, helped him find a job, and he's walked the straight and narrow ever since." She hesitated. "Don't judge him too harshly. He's not a bad person."

Amanda grimaced. "Not a bad person? He stole money and now he's following me and spying on me, and you don't think he's a bad person?"

"He loves his kids. Parents will do anything for their kids, even things that are wrong."
Sunny's spoke with so much feeling, Amanda wondered if the woman had children of her own. Irene hadn't mentioned a husband or kids. Either Sunny had kids or she was a real b
leeding heart.

"Where does Sturgess work?"

"Your computer friend didn't tell you?"

"Not yet. He's working on it. I just thought I'd ask since I'm here."

Sunny laughed suddenly, an unexpected bright, tinkling sound. "Hedge your bets. Smart girl. Frank works as a warehouse manager for Silver Creek Financial."

"Is that one of the companies owned by the Kimball family?"

Sunny's eyes narrowed, her expression intent, interested. "Yes, it is. Why do you ask?"

Amanda shrugged. "Just curious."

"
Just curious,
" she repeated, her expression and her voice suddenly switching to
lawyer
mode.
"
Roland Kimball called the police a few nights ago because you were trespassing on his property. Now you think a man's following you, and you want to know if he works for the Kimball family. What's going on, Amanda?"

Amanda's jaw dropped. "Does everybody in this town know everybody else's business?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. No, not everybody is aware of your encounter with the police. I work closely with local law enforcement. No charges were filed against you, but the officers had to turn in a report. I saw that report."

"No wonder Charley left this town." Amanda didn't realize she'd spoken aloud until Sunny's face clouded.

"Charley, your husband."

"Ex-husband," Amanda corrected automatically.

"Oh? I thought you were still married when he died."

"We were. Legally, anyway. It's…complicated."

"Charley was a complicated man."

A few weeks ago, Amanda would have argued with her. Charley hadn't been complicated. He'd been a straight-forward lying, cheating con-man. But over the last few weeks,
complicated
didn't even come close to describing Charley. "Yes. He is…was complicated. How well did you know Charley?" Might as well plunge right in, ask what she wanted to know.

Sunny sat stiffly erect, her gaze focused out the window. "I represented him in court. He was caught with less than an ounce of marijuana. He had no previous record, so it was fairly simple to get probation for him."

"
Probation l
ike you
got
for Frank Sturgess."

"Yes, like I
got
for Frank Sturgess."

"Do you consider Charley a success story?"

Sunny studied her for a long moment. "Your marriage to Charley was not a happy one." It was a statement, not a question.

Amanda
folded her arms
. She'd intended to get information about Charley and Sunny's relationship, not give information about Charley and her. "We had some good times," she said. "At first."

Sunny nodded, her gaze again becoming distant. "Charley could be charming."

"Yes, he could. So, were you and Charley…um…friends outside of court?" She watched Sunny carefully to see what her reaction would be.

Sunny's gaze snapped back to her, and she looked horrified. "You think…Charley and me? Oh, no! No, I helped Charley. I thought he had a lot of promise, that he could straighten up his life, maybe even go back to school, become a contributing member of society." She drew in a deep breath. "I try to help people. Sometimes I do. Frank Sturgess proved that he deserved my help. Charley…disappointed me."