The Handsome Stranger

Not my mom's earrings!

   "Twenty-five dollars!" The greasy-haired pawnbroker said, "Take it or leave it!"
   "But they're worth more than that. They were my mothers!" I stepped back as his foul breath assailed my nose.
   "Not to me, I've got tons of this junk!" He pointed to the rows of jewelery arranged in the glass counter. 
   I was at Al's in the seedy part of Dallas.  And how dare he handle my precious earrings like they were junk! "Is that all I can get?"  I asked as I reached over ready to snatch them back.
   The man's attitude was indifferent as he stood with hands in his pockets and said, "Lady, I'm doing my best!"
   Resigned, I shook my head. "Okay," I said, "but promise me you won't sell them, I'll be back!"
   "You got thirty days."  He barked.
   I clasped the money in my hand and left, feeling really empty now without my precious earrings. The money Archie, my new boss had loaned me paid for my room at the nearby motel for the week. Now I had twenty five dollars for clothes and make-up.  And, I would have to go without food each day until I got to work.
   I stood on the street corner and looked around.  Boarded up store-fronts and still thriving strip bars stood forelornly in the harsh sunshine. Music throbbed through the morning dampness from a place called Josies,  and the smell of stale whiskey and cigarette smoke spiraled out from under the doors. I hailed a passing taxi and hurried into the back seat.
   "Is there a thrift shop around here?" I asked the driver.  
   The Spanish man looked at me in the rear-view mirror and said, "You're in luck lady, right around the corner."
   "Really? Let me out then, I can walk!"
    The combination of moth-balls and potpurri totally sickened me as I walked into the shop. I needed several dresses, some shoes and a purse and after finding some adequate pieces, I bargained for the price and left. The same taxi driver came around the block and stopped for me.
   After getting back to the motel, I threw my purchases on an easy chair and lay back down in my crumpled bed.  I put a hand on my head and massaged my aching temple.  It had been months since my house fire, and the worry and then the exhilaration when I got that check from the insuranc company.  Now it seemed like it had been years!  A shattering sob shook my body then and echoed in the shabby motel room.  My last thought before falling asleep was maybe I'd wake up tomorrow and all this would have been just a bad dream.
   But promptly at four-thirty, I walked back across the steaming hot parking lot wearing my second-hand clothes and into Tonys and punched the time-clock!



   

Back to the grind!

   I argued with myself, why the hell had I taken all my money out of the bank when I left Minneapolis?  But what else could I have done?  J.T. was trying to steal it and Reed wanted it back!  With a stab of guillt, I remembered our love making just a few days ago, could it have meant there might have been a future together with Reed? But to be honest with myself, it just wasn't enough!  I had fought too hard for this fortune! 
   I took a sip of the brandy as my mind wondered.  Well, maybe it was against the law to burn your house down for the insurance monay, but honest to God, I needed it to find that happiness again; away from all the old memories in that place.  
   I blew out an anguished breath.  Well, here I was thousands of miles away from home and my plan had exploded in my face. I sat in deep misery.
   "Would you like to dance?" I heard a southern voice drawl.
   Not being in the mood, I snapped, "No!"
   "Whoa, pardon me!" A man remarked and stepped away, but another brandy manhatten appeared on the bar for me.
    The restaurant hummed with business as I looked around, and after sipping the second drink I made up my mind. I didn't have a choice, I would call Reed for help! It would mean jail, but maybe he'd still help me.
   Hadn't he loved me once? But then again, as the liquer swirled around in my brain, I had some new insights. If I could figure out a way to stay here in Dallas for awhile, maybe I could find the asshole who had stolen everything I owned!  Damn it, I had to make a plan!
   I smoothed my denin outfit and asked the bartender, "Could I see the manager please?" He eyed me curiously as he picked up the phone.  Minutes later a man with a limp came over, his face harried.
   "I'm Archie, the manager here, can I help you with something?" he asked.
   I fluffed my hair. "I'm new in town and looking for a job," I managed to say as steadily as I could manage.
I could feel his eyes slide over my face and body with apparent interest.  He asked my name.
   "Well Lindy," he said then, "do you know anything about the restaurant business?"  I saw him glance anxiously to a crowd of people standing impatiently at the dining room door.  He ran a hand over his forehead and muttered, "Oh shit!"
   "Yes, I do," I replied casually, "I was with the Royal chain for seventeen years!"
   "You were!  Well, come with me Miss Lewis, if you know how to take care of this mess I have here, the job is yours!
   And I slid off the bar stool and followed, my head in a whirl.  And, he threw his hands in the air and walked away and left me facing the angry crowd.
   What the hell was I doing? Here I was just going to stop for dinner and then go to a chic hotel.  Now here I was, penniless, hungry and asking for a job!  Inside of minutes I had gone from rich and independent to a pauper. 
    However, a short time later, I had things under control and a comfortable hum lulled the busy place as Tammy Wyneth told the ladies to "Stand By Their Man." Western hats and boots mingled with diamonds and designer clothes.
   Finally closing time loomed, and by now my sandaled feet ached, my back felt like it was broken and my head throbbed.  I fell into a chair and pulled a blistered foot out of my shoe.
   Archie came over and said, "Hey Lindy, you took care of that like a pro, you got the job!  I pay five hundred cash a week!" 
   Lordy, I didn't want to go back to that grind again!  But what choice did I have?
  
  


       

Dallas,Texas!

   I made one quick stop in Minneapolis and now, days later I had finally reached my destination. My mouth had watered for a good meal when the signs along the way had said, "Visit Tony's Steakhouse for a Taste of Splendor!" Now finally I was here. And lordy, I got out of the car and leisurely stretched. And, just then  gloved hands grabbed me, and shoved me stumbling away from the car. Within minutes a man was behind the wheel of my BMW and speeding away, and I lay in the dust in the parking lot of Tony's restaurant in Dallas, Texas.
   A scream started in my throat and my lips formed the word, "help!" But then I stopped, I couldn't call the police. By now there more then likely was a nation-wide alert out for my arrest. Nausea swept up my throat as I slumped to the hardpacked dirt and gasped for air. Stunned, in the shade of a tree I put my head in my hands and huddled, hopeless and alone. All my planning had been for nothing. I finally had had what I wanted and now in seconds my fortune and my beautiful black BMW was gone!
   I wiped my eyes and thought hopefully, maybe the thief would come back!  Oh sure, and won't he be pleasantly surprised when he finds my money too! Anger shot through me at the thought that someone else had all my money, and my car!
   It was 8:30 on a Saturday night in Dallas. The sky was velvety black and the stars were so bright they looked like I could reach up and touch them, and the warm humid autumn air was laced with the exhaust from the charcoal-broiled steaks. I got up and brushed myself off and on shaky legs walked over to the restaurant.
   "The Biggest Bar in Texas," the sign on the door proclaimed. My stomach ached, both from hunger and fear as I stood uncertainly for a minute and wondered, should I call Reed for help?  If I told him what had just happened would he come and get me?  Oh Lord, what in the world was I thinking?  
   I straightened my sweater and denin skirt and wiped the dust of my high-heeled sandals, then felt to make sure my ruby and diamond earrings were still safely clipped on.
  "They always bring me good luck,"  I remembered my mom saying. Now they were the only things I had left of any value. I squared my shouders and walked into the place and found a stool at the horseshoe shaped bar. Mirrors magnified the crowded room that opened into a dining area with white linen covered tables set with wine glasses.  Linda Ronsteds's voice whispered about lost loves over the sound system.
   "What'll you have?" the bartender asked me. The air in the large room was cool and heavenly as I sat at the bar without a cent in my pocket. I didn't even have a purse but I said, "I'll have a brandy manhatten please! and I'll need you to put it on a tab!" Then I needed both hands to lift the glass to my mouth.
    By God I vowed, I will find the man who so silently and expertly stole everything I owned.  I took another sip of the drink and felt the warmth give me strength! 

  

   Maybe it was too late and I was caught, but I still protested, "It was an accident!"
   "Lindy," Reed said patiently then,"my company wants their million dollars back, and you've been charged with fraud!"
   I sat stunned and stared in unbelief.  For God's sake, not now after all I'd been through. Then I realized he was still talking. "Now, we know he is John Thomas and the same man who calls himself J.T.. Lindy, he killed Sierra Ames, Tanner's girlfriend, and I just found out, now he's killed Tanner!"
   I sat frozen, but forced myself to think. I remembered being haunted by J.T. brown eyes.  Reminding me somewhat of being the same as those of the man who delivered the check for the million dollars to me at the hotel. But I soon forgot about it.
   I repeated, "J.T. killed Tanner?"
   I saw pain deepen the lines on Reed's face. "Yes," he murmured, "I haven't had time yet--," and he looked away and was silent.
   "My god, I've been involved with a murderer?" I managed to ask.
   "Afraid so, but the asshole will get prison for life!"
   I clutched the coffee cup in my shaking hands and started to cry.  Reed stood up and put a hand on my shoulder, then pulled me into his arms. Then what started as a comforting embrace soon developed into a kiss, bringing to the surface all the same feelings we had shared years ago. I clung to him feeling the safety in his arms again.
   The next morning Reed said to me, "Lindy, you know you've got to return the money!"
   "I will," I promised solemnly as we sat in his living room on the burgundy leather couch drinking coffee and enjoying the warmth of the fireplace after the night of love-making. The skies were gray with the feel of an early frost in the air.
   "And after we get things straightened out with the police and my company, we've got to talk!" He continued as he ran a hand over my bare leg.  
   I shivered at his touch. I had thought of nothing else during the wakeful hours of the night, and I smiled at him.
   He took me in his arms then and said, "Lindy, I've got to go to the memorial serivce for Tanner this morning, but I'll be back shortly. Be ready and we'll take off for Minneapolis then to take care of everything."
   The next morning the sun cast a rosy glow over the still lake and a call from a loon echoed in the stillness as I walked with him to his corvette. I leaned in through the window and kissed him, then stepped back and waved.
   "I'll see you in a couple of hours," he said.  I smiled and waved again.
   A few minutes later, the peace in the north was shattered as I roared off in my BMW. 



     


  
  

Maybe it was too late--

   "There's more to this story isn't there," I asked Reed as I rolled up the sleeves of the shirt I'd borrowed from his closet. We were sitting at the table in his kitchen later that day after everything had settled down and J.T. was on his way to jail. It had been four days since I'd left the hotel in Minneapolis. A breeze billowed the curtains out over the window sill and fresh coffee bubbled in the pot on the stove.
   "Lindy, you didn't know what you were getting yourself into when you got tangled up with that man," Reed said shaking his head. "I recognized the man you knew as J.T. at the casino too. And, I've been following him for the last few days. That's why I'm late getting here now.
   "You knew J.T.?" I asked gaping at him.
   "Yes Lindy," he said. "I've been working on this case for some time now!"  He got up and poured two cups of coffee for us and settled in again at the table. 
   "Let me start at the beginning," he went on, "You rememberTanner Burke, my best friend don't you?  He put a man named John Thomas in prison for a bank robbery, then he represented Thomas's wife, Reka Holms when she divorced him. Sometime later Tanner's secretary, Sierra Ames was killed in a mysterious car accident. We got together many times to work on the case but all we had was that it involved a red car. It went unsolved, but Tanner would not let it go. You may as well know Lindy, I work for the same insurance company that insured you!  And sometime after your claim had been paid out, new evidence was unexpectedly found and I was put on the case to investigate."
   "You knew about my fire?"  I exclaimed and waited for his reply.
   "Yes," he said and shifted his glance away from my stare as I raised my voice and yelled, "Well, why the hell didn't you tell me when we were at the casino!"
   "I'm sorry Lindy, but it just wasn't the right time. But now I have to ask: did you set that fire?
  

Its been years--

   "Are you still drinking those rum drinks," Reed asked as we sat in the lounge a few minutes later. 
   I clasped my shaking hands together under the table, willing myself to relax and tried to smile.
   Older now, his reddish hair had turned to a sandy color and was mixed with gray. Lines were scattered around his blue eyes. Wearing a brown sport coat, a soft yellow shirt opened low to a broad chest.
   "Lindy, where have you been?" He asked.
   "I live in Minnespolis. You know Reed I got married a while back, but now its been almost a year since my husband died." 
   He reached for my hand and exclaimed, "I'm so sorry."  My mind raced as I wondered, did he still care?  Would he help me now?
   "What about you Reed, are you still living on your ranch?'' I asked.
   He sat back and put his arm over the top of the booth.  "Nope, I pulled up stakes and sold out!"
   "You did, I can't believe it, what about your law practice?"
   "I gave most of that up," he laughed. "Midlife crisis I guess. Although I do still work part-time as an insurance investigator."
  Oh Lordy, my breath caught, did he know about my house fire?  No not likely, I consoled myself, it would be too much of a coincidence; there were hundreds of insurance companies.  Then I got an idea and asked him innocently, "Reed do you still have your cabin at the lake?"
   He smiled. "Yup, I sure do, that's where I live now."
   Just then, I happened to glance up at a mirror that reflected the entrance into the lounge and I saw J.T. walk by.  He was here, in the casino!
   I willed my nerves to be still, I had to do something and get out of there!  And then I got an idea and asked, "Reed, just for old times sake, would you consider letting me stay a day two at your place?  I was on my way up to see my family and I had to stop here because I suddenly got this awful migraine." I ran a hand over my forehead and grimaced.
   "Well sure Lindy," he said.  "You know the way, the key is under the red flower pot on the deck." 
   I leaned over in thanks and kissed him on his cheek.
   "I'm working on something so I'll probably be hung up for a day or two, but wait for me, will you?"
   Within thirty minutes I was there. I would wait until I dared go back to Minneapolis to get my money and then leave town for good
   Several days passed and he did not come, and I had already stayed longer than I'd planned. As much as I hated to, I had to leave in the morning. California beckoned. 
   It was a lovely warm fall day as I sat out on the dock enjoying the scenery, when suddenly footsteps echoed on the boards. I looked up and then froze as I saw two men coming towards me.  Horrified, I recognized J.T. accompanied by an African- American man. 
   I scrambled to my feet ready to run for my life, then realized I was trapped out on the dock, over the deep swirling water.  And I couldn't swim!
   "Bitch," J.T. raged and as he came towards me, he slid his belt off.
   I stared at it in horror as it snaked through the air making a cutting sound. I looked at the other man and he held a gun, and it was pointed right at me.
   As a scream began deep in my throat, a shot rang out freezing the moment into a frame of stillness.  No one moved! The belt in J.T.'s hand stopped in mid-air and the gunman swung around franticly looking for the new target. Gravel flew through the air then as police cars screeched to a stop in the driveway and Reed Conners voice cut throught the silence as he shouted, "okay assholes, don't even breath!"