Gracie's Game: Sudden Anger, Accidentally on Purpose Read online

  "I've got plenty of time," Charles said with a smile; he was in a good mood. It was Tuesday, his big day. "The morning's light, anyway. Think I'll go pat a couple of clients on the back, remind them what a good job I've done for them so they'll be sure to renew. I'll drop by the office for awhile just to put in an appearance. Then it's on to the Big Presentation!"

  "I'm just thinking of you," she said silkily. "I mean, you know how you get to talking and lose track of time. I know how important this is to you, I wouldn't want you to feel, like, rushed." Jennifer was in the process of fixing herself a bowl of cereal as she spoke, gathering box, milk, and dishes.

  "I'll be fine," he assured her. "Figure it'll take me about an hour at Bixby's, then I'll have to take the paperwork back to the office. But, hey! Then I can come home early, and we'll go out to celebrate." He leered suggestively at her.

  "Sounds like you've got a lot of stuff to do," she said. "So don't you think you should, you know, get started?" Jennifer never paid much attention to her husband's schedule, she didn't really care what he did during the day. Though she did wish he'd hurry up and leave as she had plans herself.

  "Um, do you, like, want some breakfast before you go?" she asked.

  "Not if 'breakfast' is that garbage you're eating!" Charles said in disgust. "Looks like you scraped it off the bottom of a birdcage."

  "It's granola, Charles. It's good for you, you know, helps you keep your weight down. Want me to fix you some?" she asked sweetly. She didn't point out that he could stand to lose a few pounds, but she hoped the threat would get him to go. She put the milk back in the fridge and took her bowl to the small table at the other end of the kitchen.

  "Ugh, no!" he said disgustedly. "I'll catch something on the way in. Well, guess you're right, I should get out the door. Go buy yourself a pretty new dress Baby - I'll see you tonight!" Charles gave her a big smooch, then picked up his keys and whistled cheerfully as he headed for the garage.

  * * * *

  "Hey, there you are. It's nearly 11:00 - I was afraid you weren't coming," Cindy said.

  "I'm sorry, Love," Jennifer said. "I had a couple things, you know, to take care of. You know I'd, like, call if I couldn't make it." She dropped her purse on the couch and held out her arms. "Come gimme a hug, I missed you!"

  The two women fell into each other's arms and hugged intensely. After a minute they moved apart just far enough to be able to kiss deeply.

  Cindy laid her head on Jennifer's shoulder and declared, "I love you!"

  Jennifer stroked her hair gently and said, "Yes, and I love you! I'm sorry I'm late, had to go buy a new dress. Hubby wants to celebrate his big sale tonight, and I've gotta, like, keep him interested. I can always return it tomorrow for cash."

  They stepped apart and Cindy said, "Ooh, show me?" She smiled mischievously. "You know how much I like to slowly peel you out of a fancy dress…"

  Jennifer looked a little wistful. "Maybe in a little bit. Besides, it makes me feel a little, you know, creepy knowing he'll want to do the same thing tonight." Her face took on a thoughtful look. "But if he orders champagne…I can dump mine in the centerpiece or something, and maybe he'll drink so much he won't be interested by the time we get home."

  "I wish you didn't have to live that way," Cindy said sadly. "I wish you could live here, with me. You could get a job too, we could get by."

  "I know, Love," Jennifer said, trying to comfort her. "But I don't know how to do anything else that pays. Men have always been willing to take care of me so I never had to work. And I don't want you to live in a dump. Think of this like it's my job - and you gotta admit, it pays well!"

  "I know it does," Cindy replied. "I just wish I could see you more often. I mean see you, not like at the party." That seemed to remind her of something. "Hey, did Chucky really mean it about retiring like he said? That would be awful, he'd be home all the time and we'd never get to really see each other."

  Jennifer laughed. "God, don't let him hear you calling him 'Chucky'!" she said. She thought about Cindy's question for a minute. "I don't think it would, like, make much difference. He'd just spend even more time at the country club playing golf - or at least drinking at the bar. He could pick up more women, too. No, I don't think it will matter."

  "What if he wants to travel?" Cindy asked. "Take a slow boat to China and tour the temples or something."

  "A plane to Cancun's more his style," she replied. "Somewhere he can drink and play around and tell everybody, you know, how rich he is. Maybe you could go too! We'll just have to play along for a few more years, until, you know, my escalator clause isn't a problem."

  "You mean 'escalation'," Cindy corrected her. "Then you can divorce him and we'll have enough to live on."

  "Speaking of money," Jennifer said briskly. She turned to pick up her purse, opened it and pulled out several $20 bills which she handed to Cindy. "Here, I put some cash on the card when I got groceries yesterday."

  Cindy took the money and put it her pocket. "Thanks, electric bill's due."

  Jennifer took Cindy's hand and led her to the couch. "There's a little problem I need to tell you about."

  They sat down and Cindy waited for her to speak.

  "You know I've been swiping money from his desk, right?" Jennifer asked.

  "Yeah, sure. You've got as much right to it as he does," Cindy said.

  "Well, maybe that twit Justin has been too. Charles seems to think so, anyway."

  "So what's the problem?" Cindy asked. "Just agree with him and let the kid take the rap. He's probably buying dope with it, if you ask me."

  "That's what Charles said!" Jennifer replied. "The problem is, Charles has set a trap and wants to catch him at it. If he does, there'll be, like, a really bad scene. Justin might be smart enough to stop."

  "Well, but Charles would just blame Justin again if you keep taking the money." She paused to think a moment. "Oh, do you mean you know there's a trap but you don't know what it is?"

  "I know what it is, all right," Jennifer said assuredly. "He put a paper clip in a special spot on top of the cash so he'll know if it's been moved. It's easy enough, you know, to get around. I just don't know if it's the only one."

  "You think he suspects you and made up the story about thinking it was Justin to scare you off?" Cindy asked. She too was worried now.

  "Oh, I'm sure the kid's stealing. I suggested it might be Zack, just to throw him off, but I don't think so. Zack's got a little more on the ball." Jennifer looked at her shrewdly. "But if he set two traps - and only told me about one - then he'd know it was me."

  "Oh, I get it!" Cindy said. "If the other trap is sprung, then it's Justin. But if the paper clip's in place and something else is wrong then he knows it's you."

  "Exactly," Jennifer said decisively. "I think maybe I should quit for awhile and see what happens. Or, maybe I could check it after Justin leaves the house. If the clip's been moved it ought to be safe for me to take some, and the kid'll get the blame!"

  When the bell rang signaling the end of class Justin was first out the door. He had the 11:15 early lunch break this year and was ready to get out. Justin was always ready to get out of class, but he had special plans today. He raced through the halls to his locker to find Zack waiting for him.

  "Hey Man," he said by way of greeting. "You ready to go?"

  "Uh, hey. Change of plans, no can do," Zack replied.

  Justin opened his locker and shoved his books inside. "Whadda ya mean?" he asked. "You promised you'd take me home at lunch today."

  Zack responded with a big grin, clearly pleased about something. "Got a hot lunch date!" he announced. "You'll never guess who, either."

  Justin frowned for a moment and finally said, "You're joking. You couldn't get a date, who'd go out with you?"

  "You know that hot girl in third hour? I heard her telling her friends she didn't like what the cafeteria's serving today, so I said I'd take her to the Sonic."

  "No way Man!" Justin exclaimed. "You mean
Carrie? She's no fun, and she's a prick-tease, too."

  "Oh, like you'd know!" Zack retorted. "I've heard she's lots of fun."

  "Yeah, if all you want to do is suck face," Justin said in a superior tone. "I've heard she gets all 'Oh, I don't want to do that, we might get in trouble' if you try to cop a feel or light up a joint. Speaking of which, I really need you to take me home so I can get the money, we're supposed to meet that guy after school so we can score."

  "Yeah, well, I'd rather be suckin' face with Carrie than driving your ass somewhere," Zack told him. "I pick you up and take you home as it is since you wrecked your car. You can get the money later, or walk home, it's not that far. You're just jealous. I've gotta go meet Carrie, see ya later."

  Zack walked off and Justin aimed a vicious kick at his locker.

  Gracie had the later lunch hour, she didn't get out until noon. She put her books in her locker and met a couple of friends. They were on their way to the cafeteria when she saw her brother talking to Tina, which was a little surprising.

  Tina Reynolds was pretty in a sleazy way but had the reputation of being a slut; she'd do anything for either money or drugs. Gracie had once overheard Justin and Zack talking about her; she remembered because she was surprised that they'd figured out Tina was only interested in what she could get from them.

  "C'mon, Tina. Please," Justin was saying in his best persuasive voice.

  Tina's face said she wasn't interested. "What's in it for me?" she asked.

  Gracie and her friends walked on, out of earshot, and didn't hear his answer.

  Cheryl said, "I thought your brother was smarter than that, Gracie. He must be desperate to ask her out!"

  "No kidding!" Gracie replied. "Wonder why he's not hanging out with Zack?"

  "Maybe Zack got a date and Justin wants to make it a double!" Shawna said, giggling wildly.

  "Ewwww!" they all said together.

  Clarissa left work at noon and drove to the country club. All the other ladies had met earlier in the club restaurant; the tournament was a valid fund-raiser for the charity, but it was also a good excuse to socialize. Clarissa arrived in time to order a sandwich and chat a bit with friends she hadn't seen in awhile.

  "Clarissa, Dear!" Amy exclaimed. "I didn't expect to see you here, thought you'd be at work." She made it sound like a dirty word.

  "I've been working too hard," Clarissa replied. "I needed a break and this was the perfect excuse."

  "It's good to see you, it's been awhile and we've missed you at our meetings," Theresa said.

  "Thanks," Clarissa replied. "Wish I could come more often, but something has to give when you're trying to make a new life for yourself."

  "You're looking good, something about your new lifestyle must be agreeing with you," Liz remarked.

  "Or some one!" Susan taunted.

  "So, when are we going to meet the boyfriend?" Theresa asked. "I hear he's really easy on the eyes."

  Clarissa grinned. "Yes, he is! But more importantly he treats me right. It's nearly summer, there will be lots of parties - I'm sure we'll both make it to some of them."

  "I'm glad you're happy," Liz said. "After twenty years with that jerk, you certainly deserve it. I don't know how you stood it that long, all the cheating."

  Murmurs of agreement ran around the table. Clarissa said, "Well, it left scars I'm sure. But I'm free of it now and just want to get on with my life."

  "You should've demanded more money," Amy said. "Think how mad it would make him to know you're spending his money on another man!"

  "But I don't care about making him mad, Amy," Clarissa said. Then she grinned a little wickedly. "Tweak his nose a little, maybe. Make it obvious to him that I'm glad I left him and show him how well I'm doing. But I spent my anger during the divorce, I'm over it now. I want to make a positive life for myself and the kids."

  With no more dirt to be dug, Amy changed the topic. Not long afterwards the women all trooped out to the course to begin the tournament.

  Bill spent his lunch hour in his office at the college, eating a sandwich while grading test papers. He kept a jar of sun-tea on the window ledge so he didn't even have to buy a soda, just swipe a couple of ice-cubes from the department fridge. Lunchmeat wasn't very exciting, he reflected, but he could stand it for a couple of weeks.

  He finished up a little before 1:00 PM, tidied up the office and walked over to the lab. On the way he stopped to check with the department secretary.

  "Hey, Rita," Bill said. "What's going on?"

  "Oh, hi Bill," she replied. "Nothing much. Phone hasn't even been ringing today. Hey, you look nice - didja get some new clothes?" Rita Kowalski was a petite but slightly chubby brunette with soft brown eyes and a perpetually sunny disposition.

  "Thanks. Yeah, I did. No messages then?" he asked. "Must be pretty boring sitting here with nothing to do."

  "No messages," she replied. "At least I'm not running six different directions at once. And Masterson says he'll have some grades to enter this afternoon so that'll keep me busy. You off to the lab?"

  "Yep. Gonna go lock myself in and discover a miraculous formula which I'll sell for zillions of dollars so I can quit this job." Bill grinned, it was the standard joke; the researchers all thought they were just one step away from making a fortune.

  "Well, good luck in there," Rita responded. She watched Bill go into the lab and muttered to herself, "Think he's a little paranoid locking the doors, but they're all afraid someone will steal their work." She heard the lock click as he engaged it from inside.

  Jerry Wilkins had been glad when Charles finally left the office just after 1:00 PM. Jerry was in his sixties, a tall well-dressed man who had been very successful selling insurance. When he'd opened his own agency 20 years ago he'd hired Charles as a salesman. Charles had been a young go-getter who certainly brought in the big contracts, but his methods left something to be desired in Jerry's opinion. Like the Bixby contract; Jerry would be glad if his company got it, but he was thoroughly sick of hearing Charles natter on about it.

  Jerry stood up from his desk and stretched, walked out of his office to the communal coffee pot. Suddenly Charles burst through the front door, screaming something about his car.

  "Whoa Cowboy," Jerry said in a slightly strained voice. "Simmer down. I can't understand what you're saying. Is something wrong with your car?"

  "Damn right," Charles said, a little calmer but still obviously angry. "The whole back window's busted out! The alarm was blaring, couldn't figure out how to turn it off for a couple minutes. There's glass all over the back seat."

  "What happened?" Jerry asked. He set his coffee cup on the table in order to give Charles his full attention.

  "I don't know!" Charles' voice was getting louder again. "It was just sitting there in the parking garage with the window broken."

  "Is the car OK other than that? Is anything missing? Obviously it wasn't stolen." Jerry was trying to calm him down by using logic.

  "I don't know," Charles said again, a little less distressed this time. "Uh, lessee. I sat down in it to get my briefcase out from under the passenger seat. I'd have noticed if the stereo had been yanked out; no, I remember now, I checked and it's still there. So was my briefcase! I'm not sure if anything else is gone, and I don't have time to deal with it right now."

  "Do you think someone was trying to steal it and the alarm scared 'em away?" Jerry asked.

  "By breaking the back window?" Charles asked.

  "Maybe another car kicked up a rock that hit it just right. Or maybe it had a crack already and it was just time for it to shatter." Jerry had to admit it didn't make a lot of sense.

  "That sounds like some of the hokey excuses our clients come up with," Charles retorted. "What the hell could've happened?"

  "Calm down Charles. You were wound pretty tight when you came in while ago and this isn't helping. It's just a car, it'll be OK. Have you called the police?"

  "Don't have time," Charles replied shortly. "Gotta g
et out to Bixby's, don't want to be late, I'll call 'em when I get back. I'll have to take your car."

  Jerry fought to control a frown; he didn't like loaning his car to anyone. But Charles always kept his own car spotlessly clean so it wouldn't come back trashed up, and the man did need to make that meeting. He dug in his pocket and handed the keys to Charles.

  "Thanks, Boss," Charles said. He tossed the keys into the air and caught them again, his mood clearly improved. "What a day! Well, I'll get going - and next time you see me we'll both be richer!"

  Gracie was standing at her locker pulling out books for her last class when a couple of friends called out to her.

  "Hey, Gracie! 'Zoo Time' strikes again," yelled Chris.

  "You brother's a dork," Kelly added.

  Gracie rolled her eyes and asked, "What did they do this time?" She wasn't sure she really wanted to know.

  "They were talking in class last hour, arguing about something," Chris explained. "Miss Sullivan threw 'em out for disrupting class."

  "Yeah, they're in trouble again," Kelly said. "She sent 'em to the principal's office."

  Gracie shut the locker door and started walking with them. "And you think I care, why?" she asked.

  Jennifer pulled into her driveway at 2:45. She was thinking of all the things she needed to do to get ready for the evening's celebration, and she wasn't exactly looking forward to it. Cindy was right, this was no way to live. She took her new dress out of the back seat, carefully shook any wrinkles out, and draped it over her arm. She walked up the steps and started to unlock the front door, but something was wrong. The door was standing ajar, and there was a big gouge mark in the wood beside the lock.

  CHAPTER 6

  Jennifer pushed the door open and ran into the house. It never occurred to her that she should be cautious; she was angry that someone had done this to her. She dropped her purse on the table in the entryway and let the dress slither off her arm on top of it. She didn't notice that the dress fell to the floor as she ran down the hall and into the den.