Death Comes in Threes Read online

  It worked. Mother stopped crying and grinned. “I didn’t meet Stan until later, but I’ve heard most of the story. Stan will always be Stan, but in some ways he was very different back then. Sandi, you tell Felicity how you met him.”

  I nodded. “Stanley was one of our first clients. He called the office for an appointment, and all he told Pete was that he was being stalked. He was due in around ten o’clock the next morning.”

  ~ * ~

  Ten o’clock rolled around and Mr. Stanley Hawks fell through the door, literally, landing on his knees.

  “Sorry,” he apologized. “I must have tripped on…” His voice trailed off and he studied the floor, trying to find something to blame his fall on.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Pete took hold of his arm and helped him up, showing him to a chair.

  “I’m Stanley Hawks.” He took one last look at the floor near the doorway while he introduced himself. “I telephoned you yesterday with regard to a man following me.” He sounded distracted and kept brushing the knee of his pants with his hand. I noticed he had a slight tic in his right eye.

  Stanley was a relatively small man, about five foot five or six, and maybe in his early forties. He was thin and small-boned, slightly bent over, had dull brown hair and he was beginning to bald. With his light complexion and heavily framed glasses he looked like a bookworm. The thick lenses made his hazel eyes enormous. I noticed there was a small tear in his trousers, probably from the fall he’d just taken.

  “Nice to meet you, Mr. Hawks. I’m Sandi Webster, and this is Pete Goldberg. Tell us why you think you’re being followed.”

  He nodded at each of us. “I don’t think I’m being followed, I am being followed. And I want you to find out the who and the why of it.” His eye twitched a little faster.

  “Mr. Hawks, you’ll have to be more specific if you want us to help you. Tell us what’s going on.” Pete sounded impatient, but that was a guess because he’d only come to work for me a few days earlier.

  “Yes, yes. I’m sorry. This whole thing has unnerved me. It started about a week ago. I was leaving for work one morning, and by chance I noticed an automobile pull away from the curb at precisely the same moment I drove out of the parking lot.

  “I’d forgotten my lunch, and since I was early, I decided to drive back and pick it up. I pulled into the parking lot of my apartment building and saw the same automobile pull up to the curb. I still didn’t give it much thought until I tripped coming out of my apartment and heard the man in the car laugh. At least you didn’t laugh at me.” He glanced pointedly at Pete. “Anyway, that’s when I really began to take notice of him.”

  He studied his shoes. Taking a deep breath, he continued. “He followed me to work, and he followed me home that evening. He’s followed me to the store, and if I go for a walk he even follows me on foot. He’s always there, no matter where I go. I’ve decided I may quit walking, although I can’t stop driving. I do have a job, after all.” As he spoke the pitch of his voice rose, and the twitch became more pronounced.

  “I’m so worked up that I’m not getting any sleep, and I’m exhausted.” There were telltale dark circles under his eyes.

  “Would you like a cup of coffee, Mr. Hawks?” I thought maybe he needed a moment to collect himself.

  “I usually drink herbal tea, but yes, coffee would be nice, thank you. Black, please.”

  “What do you do for a living, Stanley?” Pete leaned forward.

  “I write.”

  “And what do you write?” I could see the curiosity in Pete’s expression.

  “Verses for greeting cards.”

  “It certainly doesn’t sound like this might have anything to do with your job.” I handed him a mug.

  He took a sip of coffee and sputtered. “Hot,” he said. “You’d be surprised how competitive the greeting card business is.” He began huffing and puffing, directing his puffs at the coffee.

  “Still, can you think of any reason why someone would be interested in you?” I asked.

  “No. I’ll be frank about myself. I’m a quiet man and I lead a quiet life. I don’t bother anyone, and until now no one has bothered me. My idea of entertainment is to read a good book. I don’t have many friends and I keep to myself. So unless the librarian has started sending out the Book Police because of overdue novels, I can’t think of a single thing that would call attention to me. Oh, I don’t really have any overdue books in my possession.”

  “What does this man look like?” I saw that he was about to spill his coffee and automatically reached out to steady his hand.

  “If you look out the front window, you may see him for yourself,” he whispered. “He was right behind me when I parked. He’s in an old brown Chevrolet.”

  Pete and I jumped up and hurried to the window. I glanced outside, but I didn’t see the car he’d described.

  I had my nose pressed up against the window, trying to see farther down the street, when Pete stepped outside. Trying to appear nonchalant, he stretched his arms and shoulders and rotated his head like he was trying to work out a kink. Continuing to stretch, he looked to his right and left. He turned to his left and strolled slowly down the street. I lost sight of him and returned to Mr. Hawks.

  “He must have seen something,” I said. “You were about to tell me what this man looks like.”

  “Ah, yes. This man is about six feet tall with dark hair and dark eyes. He has a slender build, acne scars on his face, and I noticed he has a perpetually grim look, even when he laughs. It’s that face that bothers me, his expression. I have to admit he frightens me.”

  Hawks’ twitch was going ninety miles an hour with no sign of relenting.

  “He has very thick eyebrows with hair growing in between them so it almost looks like one long eyebrow. His eyes are sunken and he has dark circles under them. Maybe he’s not sleeping either. I hope.”

  I didn’t move quickly enough, and he finally managed to spill coffee on his slacks.

  “Oh!”

  I jumped up and grabbed a paper towel, handing it to Mr. Hawks to mop up.

  “Anything else?” I continued to question him while he dabbed at his slacks. He seemed to be smearing the coffee instead of cleaning it. “Does the man have any distinguishing marks, scars or anything other than the acne scars?”

  “Only the eyes and eyebrows. They make him look quite sinister. His mouth is shaped so it looks like he has a permanent sneer on his face.”

  “You mentioned a grim look.”

  He nodded at me.

  I was beginning to wonder what might have happened to Pete when the door opened and he walked in.

  “He was out there, just like Hawks said, but when he saw me coming, he took off. I got his license number though.” Pete picked up a pad of paper and wrote down the information.

  We took care of a few formalities and Mr. Hawks left, tripping again on his way out the door. I heard him mumble to himself.

  “Poor little guy.” I smiled, believing I was going to like our new client.

  “Yeah. A real loser,” Pete said.

  “Not a loser, just a klutz, and he was nice.”

  “The guy in the Chevy looked like a cheap hood.”

  “I wonder what he might want with a quiet man who writes verses for greeting cards.”

  Pete looked thoughtful. “The guy’s face looked vaguely familiar. I’ve seen him somewhere.” He rubbed his chin and frowned.

  I turned to a file I’d started involving a missing college student.

  “See you later.” Pete startled me when he jumped up and ran out the door.

  “Wait! Where…?” But I was too late. He was already gone. Maybe he remembered where he’d seen our mysterious stranger with the almost one long eyebrow.

  ~ * ~

  “And that was our first encounter with Stanley.”

  “Tell her the rest.” Mother loved the Stanley story.

  “Later. I th
ink I heard him pull into the parking lot. I’m sorry, but I really want to get you started on your medication. Please don’t take offense.”

  “I’m not,” she replied. “I know how much better I’ll feel. And the best part is that they work so quickly. I should be back to myself by tomorrow.”

  Felicity sat on the edge of her seat. “I really do want to hear more about Stan and his stalker. And if I understood correctly, you met him around the same time you met David Smith. Is that right?”

  Chapter Six

  “I met Stanley and David within hours of each other. You couldn’t find two more different men,” I said. “David was a college professor; tall, blond and good looking. Initially I thought he was pretty shy, kind of like Stanley, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.”

  Stanley rushed into the office. “Here you are, Livvie. I sincerely hope this makes you feel better.” He shoved the bag into her hands and quickly stepped back.

  My mother studied him and I saw a small twitch in his right eye. “You know, Stan, you really have changed over the past few years.”

  “I have?”

  “You have. You’re more outgoing and you’ve changed your appearance. You’ve grown in so many ways.”

  Stanley beamed. “I’ll take that as a compliment. Thank you.” The twitch slowed down.

  “It was meant as a compliment, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t like the old you, too.” Mother reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze.

  Stanley looked embarrassed.

  I filled a glass with water and handed it to my mother so she could take her pill while I changed the subject. “So, here we are without Pete. It promises to be a quiet week.”

  “What are you and your mother going to do today?” Felicity asked.

  Mother answered her. “We’re going to the mall to look for a dress for me to wear to Sandi and Pete’s wedding. And then we’re going to a bridal shop so she can try on dresses. Why don’t you come with us?”

  “I’d love to. As a matter of fact, I just may try on a few wedding dresses while we’re there.” Felicity glanced at Stanley and grinned.

  “No kidding?” I asked. “He finally popped the question?”

  “He did. We’re going to talk about a date soon.”

  Mother stood up and gave Felicity a bone-crushing hug. “Oh, this is going to be so much fun. Will you let me act as a surrogate mother for you?”

  “I’d be honored.” Felicity had no idea who or where her real mother was. Her adoptive parents had passed on, so she was alone with no siblings, aunts or uncles. She hugged my mother back and closed her eyes for a moment, looking as happy as anyone I’d ever seen.

  “Oh, this is just too much.” Stanley stood and pulled out his car keys.

  “What’s wrong with you?” I asked.

  “Let me put this as I think Pete might say it. Too much girlie talk. I need a breath of fresh air.”

  “Oh, pumpkin, did I spill the beans?” Felicity looked crestfallen. “Don’t you want to get married? I thought we had this all settled.”

  “No. Oh, no, my precious little China doll. I want to be married as soon as possible. I just don’t want to be privy to all the planning you women are going to do.”

  Stanley was so fastidious about his life that he’d caught me off guard. “Why, Stan, I’m surprised. I would have thought you’d want to be involved.”

  “Like Pete, I’ll be involved on our wedding day.”

  “Ah, you’ve been listening to him too much. That’s what’s wrong with this picture.” I’d have to have a heart to heart talk with Pete. He was rubbing off on Stanley.

  Shortly after he left, I locked the office and the three of us headed for the mall. My mother found a lovely blue dress without any muss or fuss. She saw it, pulled it off the rack and tried it on, and she was sold. It was perfect for her – soft and silky.

  Felicity found a new dress for Pete’s and my wedding, too.

  Everyone was happy. We stopped for lunch before heading for the bridal shop. Pete and I were so involved with our jobs that we didn’t socialize a lot, so we’d decided on a relatively small wedding. I’d look for a wedding dress instead of a gown.

  Pete called on the cell phone shortly after we walked into the shop. He’d arrived in Arizona earlier than he’d anticipated. He and Frank were already on their way to Wolf Creek.

  “I’ll call you once more before we move out of cell phone range. Did your Mom get her pills?”

  “Yes.” I left it at the one word reply so my mother wouldn’t know what he’d asked. I looked at dresses while we talked.

  “Would you put your mother on the phone? Frank wants to talk to her.”

  I handed the phone to my mother and she spoke to Frank in quiet tones. I could tell she was apologizing for her moodiness, and from the look on her face I had a feeling he was telling her not to worry about it. Frank had known what he was getting into when he married my mother, and he was an easy-going man – a good combination.

  Felicity looked at dresses, too. Although she had a lot of connections in the modeling world, and with actors and actresses, she’d also decided on a small wedding. The sales woman carried several dresses to the dressing rooms for us.

  I tried on six white dresses. All but one were too big, too small, too long, too short or just too boring. I sighed, wondering if there was a special dress somewhere that I might actually like. None of them appealed to me enough to even consider alterations.

  I turned my hands palms up when the sales lady asked if I liked dress number six. “It’s just isn’t what I want for my wedding day.”

  “I’ll be right back,” she said, hurrying toward the storeroom.

  Felicity exited the dressing room and turned around in front of the mirror. “What do you think?” she asked. She was wearing a strapless white dress with a somewhat lacey bodice, and a deep blue cummerbund wrapped from the back around to the front and laced up under the bodice, making her tiny waist appear even smaller. It showed her shapely little figure to its full advantage.

  Mother walked through the doorway and took a deep breath. “Felicity! You look gorgeous. I could just cry. Oh, my.” She sat down on the chair and did just that. She cried. Once again.

  Felicity’s eyes sparkled. “What do you think, Sandi?”

  “I think my mother is right. Stanley’s probably going to faint from sheer ecstasy when he sees you in that dress. I sure wish I could find something like that for my wedding.”

  The sales woman returned with a few more dresses that hadn’t been on the sales floor, but I still didn’t have any luck. Felicity paid for her dress and we left the shop.

  “Don’t worry, honey, we’ll find something you like. There are plenty of other stores.” My mother patted my back just like she had when I was a child and I was frustrated. I smiled at her anyway.

  “I’ve had enough for one day,” I said. “Let’s head home. Felicity, why don’t you come over and have dinner with us?”

  “I’d like that. Stan and I don’t have plans for tonight. Yes, I’d enjoy spending time with you and your mother.”

  I drove Felicity back to the office so she could pick up her car and she followed us to my house.

  After I parked the car, Dolly walked over to greet us with Bubba in tow and a package under her arm.

  “Did you have a good day?” she asked. “I thought I’d walk Bubba home and let you know that this package came for you. Where did you go for lunch? Did you go shopping? Did you go look at wedding dresses?” My elderly little neighbor was wound up, but I reminded myself that she spent most days alone, with only Bubba and her cat, Miss Kitty, for company. No, that wasn’t right. She and the neighbor ladies visited and kept an eye on the neighborhood. Not much got past them.

  “We had a good day,” I said, smiling. “Wait until you see the wedding dress Felicity bought. It’s a good thing we’re not having a double wedding because nobody would even notice I was there.”

  “Wedding dress?” Dolly squ
ealed. My neighbor is in her eighties, and her squeal was a tad different than you’d expect. She has a squeaky voice to begin with, and her squeal is a show-stopper.

  Felicity had parked her car and walked over to join us. Bubba’s tail went crazy while he nuzzled her hand. Men and Bubba flocked to Felicity like lemmings. She and Pete had that in common. Women flocked to Pete like I was invisible. Neither one of them did anything to bring this on; it was simply something unexplainable, a special charisma.

  “Wedding dress,” Felicity repeated. “Stan and I are getting married, too.”

  Dolly threw her arms around Felicity, almost knocking her off her feet. It was interesting to watch the two women together because they were both so small. When my mother joined them and turned it into a group hug, I couldn’t help but laugh. It was like watching dolls come to life. They made me feel so big, and yet I was only five foot three.

  My cell phone rang and I answered it while I walked up the pathway to the front door. I got dead air and knew no one was on the other end. Could Pete already be close to Wolf Creek? I didn’t think so. It would take a few hours just to reach the general area of the old ghost town.

  I closed the phone and unlocked the front door, glad to be home. Bubba walked up behind me and nudged my rear end. I reached back and gave him a gentle shove. “Back off, Bubba.”

  He nudged me again. I turned around to find him standing there with a bone in his mouth.

  “Where’d you get that? Drop it. I don’t know where that came from.” Bubba had very strong jaws and I knew he could crush the bone without any trouble. I didn’t want to have to make an emergency run to the vet’s office because of him choking.

  He stood and watched me without dropping the bone.

  “I said drop it, Bubba.”

  He did – right on my foot.

  Dolly walked up with my mother and Felicity. “About that bone, Sandi. He was lying on your porch one minute and carrying that around the next. I couldn’t get him to give it to me.” She sounded fretful.

  “Don’t worry about it, Dolly. It worked out okay.”

  “I’m more worried about where he got it than anything else. I swear, Sandi, he never left the porch. I always check on him when he’s not in my house.”