Hazards on the Hardwood (Hazards and Hijinks) (8 page)

Rain was starting to pelt the taxi and was getting more intense as they traveled toward the Lincoln Tunnel. Traffic was the usual snarled mess. But eventually they reached the Jersey side and headed to Hoboken. She hadn’t ever been to Hoboken, but had always wanted to.

Ever since she watched “CAKE BOSS” she wanted to visit Carlo’s Bakery and Buddy and his crazy family. But unfortunately this wasn’t the time to drop by the bakery.

They pulled up to the building and she told the driver, “Please wait. I will return shortly. And by all means, keep the motor running.” She’d always wanted to say that. They said it in movies all the time.

She climbed out of the cab and headed toward the door. As she opened the glass door, a gentleman rather rudely slammed into her as he exited. He seemed to be in a real huff. Luckily he didn’t grab her cab. Instead, he climbed into a black SUV parked in front of the taxi. “Take me to 34th Street in Manhattan immediately. There’s a lot of money in it for you if you make it quick!” With that, the mysterious white-haired man climbed in the taxi and took off like a shot.

“I wonder what that was all about.” She thought as she stepped inside. There was a rather buxom receptionist chewing her gum and staring blindly at a monitor.

“May I help you?” she said in a thick New Jersey accent.

“Yes, I’m here to see a Mr. Max Levy.” Her hands started to sweat and she felt like she was going to faint on the spot. The receptionist looked at her suspiciously and got up from her chair and went to another door and punched in a code and the door opened.

After what seemed like ten minutes but was actually only a minute or so, the receptionist returned to her workspace acting nonchalant.

“Do you know about how long it will be before Mr. Levy is available?” Sparky asked.

“He’ll be out shortly. Help yourself to some coffee over there on that table. It shouldn’t be too long now.”

Just as she finished her coffee spiel, a short man walked through the door, looking agitated and quite nervous. Beads of perspiration dripped off his forehead and his glasses were a little tilted. Obviously something was upsetting his day. Sparky mused that it must be Edward. He had that effect on a lot of people.

“Mrs. Haversham a true pleasure to see you. Won’t you step into my office? “Marla please hold all my calls. And if my wife calls, tell her I’m out running errands. I don’t want to be disturbed under any circumstances!”

“Yes sir.” Marla went back to chewing her gum and staring at the screen. “What a cushy job this Marla had,” thought Sparky.

“Now Mrs. Haversham, I know you didn’t come here just to drink coffee and have a casual chat. Why don’t we get right down to the business at hand?”

“Yes, Mr. Levy. That’s fine with me. This is Edward’s doing. I have nothing to do with it.” She spoke firmly to this scoundrel. He was as guilty in this as Edward.

“I will be right back. I have to go to the warehouse.” He stumbled off towards the door marked, “Warehouse,” and left Sparky sitting there fidgeting.

A short time later, he walked back in with a white paper sack in his hand. There was a slight tremor in his hands. Sparky could see the anxiety in the man’s face.

“Here’s the compound. It’s just what Mr. Haversham ordered. Satisfaction guaranteed.” He snickered nervously as he handed the package to Sparky.

“Thank you. I presume that Edward has made payment previous to my picking this up?” She hoped there was no other currency to be exchanged. As that would just add more stress on her.

“Yes he already wired the money to my…uh…bank account.” His voice was shaky and he hesitated as he thought about his words.

“Thanks I will give this to Edward.” With that, she moved out of the chair, excused herself without further words or a handshake and exited through the office door back into the lobby.

This mission accomplished, she moved with haste through the glass doors to the taxi which still waited her arrival. “Back home please.”

All Sparky could think of was getting a lot of distance between that pharmacy’s mad scientist and her nervous self!

She sat back in the cab and pulled out her phone. She’d had it on vibrate so she hadn’t noticed a call had come through while she was in the building. The display said “unknown” and that always bothered her. “Probably a wrong number,” she thought.

She also noticed a voicemail had come through; thinking it might be important she pulled up the voicemail message and listened. “This is your worst nightmare. If you talk about any of what you’ve heard lately you’re dead! Hope I have made myself clear. A recorded voice came on and said, “End of message.” She hit save and put the phone back in her purse. She trembled as she played back the message in her mind. “Who could that have been? What do they want with me? What could I have possibly heard that would worth threatening my life?” She was in panic mode now. Sweating and shaking she could only hope that Edward wouldn’t be the cause of this hateful call. What was he in to? What had he planned that was so bad that people were threatening his wife?

Sparky would need to call Landon and tell him the latest. He would be shocked to know that his sister was in such a terrible spot. They hadn’t talked much but he was still loyal to her and protective of her, as well.

After Willie had made the threatening phone call to Sparky, he laughed. He had talked to Frank, one of his buddies and was told that the Havershams were looking for him. Frank and Willie went back a long way and always had each other’s backs when it came to sticky situations.

“Who was this Edward character anyway and what does he want with me?” Willie thought as he got ready to make another phone call. Frank had told him that Haversham was a lawyer who’d taken time off for other stuff. Some of the “stuff” involved evidently the “wrong side of the law.” Willie was a little shaky on the entire situation. There was something odd going on and he didn’t want to get himself in any hot water if it wasn’t necessary to do so right now. His main focus had to be on getting his daughter back.

Sparky was still shaking when she returned home. Should she tell Edward about the phone call? Would he care? He was always so preoccupied lately. She needed to calm down and later she would call Landon and tell him what had happened.

Pouring a cup of coffee and changing into her comfy clothes, she turned on the television for a little diversion. “Calm down, Sparky.” She told herself.

There was a loud noise at the front door. “Oh boy Edward’s home,” she thought to herself.

“Sparky where are you? I need to talk to you NOW!” His voice sounded very demanding; more so than usual.

“Get in here woman! Did you get what I sent you to get?” His voice was gruff and kind of shaky.

“Yes Edward. I did just what you said. I picked up the package and came right back here. No one followed me as far as I can tell.” Sparky wasn’t sure she was too convincing on the entire following thing but she did her best.

“Good now where is it? I need to see if that guy did what I told him. I paid a small fortune for that compound.” He was headed toward the living room and when he entered the room he had a deep furrow to his forehead.

“Sparky are you sure you weren’t followed? Did anything unusual happen? I need to know. I’m pretty sure someone is tailing both of us. You need to keep your ears and eyes open. This is serious business, Sparky.” He finally reached her side, gave her a peck on the cheek and she handed him the package.

“I have to make a call. Thanks Sparky. Sorry I’m not quite my jovial self, right now. Got bigger fish to fry. Just be careful!” With that he left the living room and went to his study.

17

The air had turned cool in New York City; brisk enough to bundle up. The chill in the air seemed to cause the people on the street to walk at a more rapid pace. They were coming and going quickly. There was the smell and feeling of an impending storm, possibly a snow storm coming in.

Sasha was on alert. She constantly kept watch over her sister and niece. Nothing bad was going to happen to them while she had them under her roof. That was her resolve and she wouldn’t waiver.

Willie was at his post watching the ladies through the brightly lit window. He knew he’d been spotted several times, but he didn’t care. He would make his move when his help arrived. These guys he’d called were tough and very persuasive. Sasha wouldn’t have time to “call in the cavalry.” He would see to that!

Zoe was on a soft fleece blanket, cooing on the floor. Her mother was sipping some hot tea and trying to relax by reading a magazine. The heat in the room made it a comfortable scene, at least for a while.

Sophie had that feeling of dread again. She didn’t want to look out the window. She was worried about Willie watching from out there. “Why doesn’t that evil man just disappear and leave us alone?” She thought to herself. “Hasn’t he caused enough trouble?” Once again, her thoughts turned to concern for her baby girl…her precious Zoe.

“Lord, I know I don’t talk to you often enough. Lately I’ve been preoccupied with this horrible scary situation. But if you could protect this family and keep us safe, I will try to be a better person and maybe even go back to church.” She was actually praying for the first time in a long while. She knew her problem wasn’t just going to go away, but God saw everything, right?

Sophie wanted to start a new life along with her baby girl and her sister; still not sure how she would make it happen. Sophie’s mind wouldn’t be quiet, feeling extremely unsettled. She realized that she needed to find a part time job as soon as she could so she could help out with the expenses. Living in New York City was terribly expensive. On top of the regular expenses there would be childcare involved for Zoe. A pretty pricey element for sure.

When Sophie was young, she and Sasha used to sew. There was a chance that a local fashion company might need a good seamstress and Sophie would be perfect. She had watched “Project Runway” since its beginning and was Facebook friends with several of the fashion designers. It was something she could do and do well!

After things settled down with her ex, maybe she could look up one of her designer contacts and find out if there were any jobs available. She became excited at the prospect of getting back to sewing and earning some money. She was tired of being poor. Maybe since Sasha was not working currently she could help out temporarily with Zoe’s childcare. She would talk to her and see if there was a remote possibility of this actually happening.

Sasha had not followed through with sewing while she was growing up. Her immigrant parents loved pubs and hope that Sasha would join up with the love of serving ale and good Irish food when she grew up. Her daddy, Collin O’Flaherty, was a pub owner back in Dublin before relocating to the United States. Typical crazy Irishman! He loved tippin’ a few but was always a good provider for his loved ones. Shannon, his wife and the girls’ “mum” was red-haired, fair skinned and had a lovely singing voice. They moved to New York and never ventured farther west. For them, they had found the “promised land.”

Sasha and Sophie hadn’t seen much of each other when they were grown, as their paths took different directions. They loved each other but just felt the need to follow their hearts and move in opposite circles.

Now that they were reunited they were happy to be together and held a common bond; that of protecting and caring for each other and Zoe.

Being poor was not a problem any longer for Sasha. Since the sale of the family-owned pub, Sasha was set for life. She knew she could do anything her heart desired. However, now that Sophie and Zoe had come to stay, her priorities had shifted and they were family and they would stick together.

Sasha thought of Raul and how he longed for a lady in his life. Sasha had tried to be “that lady” but it never seemed to work out. Raul was searching for the perfect woman and so far, his online dating sites hadn’t found him that special one yet. Raul was a good guy but a little misdirected. His life was not working out the way he’d planned.

She should give him a call and see about their practice sessions for the competition. That subject hadn’t been at the top of her list since Sophie arrived. And she was curious why Raul hadn’t contacted her as well. They had one session set up for the weekend, but she hadn’t heard anything from him. Did he still want to compete? Maybe he’d found his “Ms. Right” and was dancing off into the sunset with her. That would be ironic. Maybe his profile on the site paid off and he was basking in the joy of finding his one true love.

“That’s it! Raul has found himself a lady friend.” Sasha giggled at the prospect. She knew that Raul was a peacock kind of fellow. Full of conceit, he was very proud of his dancing skills. What lady wouldn’t want him? Again the thought of Raul made her snicker.

She picked up her phone and punched in Raul’s number. Curiosity had gotten the best of her. As a sleuth she wouldn’t do well. She was not the best at investigation. She didn’t have that kind of backstabbing sneaky demeanor that private investigators displayed. She would protect her sister, yes, she would do that, but collecting clues, photos and tailing people just wasn’t her forte.

“Hello Raul here.” He sounded preoccupied. Probably he was on the computer chatting with his lady friend.

“Raul it’s me, Sasha.” She didn’t have time for his craziness right now.

“Oh how are you my pet?”
Always trying to sound so suave. What a dork!

“Shut it Raul. I’m just calling to ask if you are still on track for practicing with me this weekend? You haven’t forgotten have you? Or do you have a hot date? Just level with me Raul. I don’t want to be left without a partner.” She was hopping mad now.

“Darling of course I want to dance with you. I have us set up at our usual practice location down on 34
th
. Meet you there Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Can you make it or should I reschedule?”

“Okay I will see you there at 1:00 and be on time!” She retorted and then ended the call. She’d had it with this prima donna of a partner.

She ran things through her mind, oh joy! She was going to have a practice session with Raul on Saturday, how very wonderful. Sasha always wondered how he could concentrate on his dance routine with so many mirrors around the room. He was always checking himself out to see how he looked. Talk about a cocky little rooster; that was Raul!

But she had to get things going now. She had made plans to help Sophie look for a job. Zoe would have to be tucked away safely somewhere. That still had to be worked out. Zoe was a good baby and all she required was a little tender love, an occasional feeding and a change. She rarely got fussy or restless. Once she looked at you with her beautiful blue eyes and you were hooked!

Sophie had mentioned that she would like to find work but was concerned about Willie showing up and causing trouble.

Sasha thought she could fix that situation by calling a lawyer today and getting a restraining order out on the jerk. Willie was definitely a light-weight compared to some of the people Sasha’s corporate lawyers had dealt with. Embezzlers, tax evaders, corporate snakes that implemented hostile takeovers of small businesses, she’d heard about all of them from her lawyer friends. Willie, a small town hoodlum didn’t have the “crime sheet” these big fish did!

Still, he could cause quite a bit of a stir if left to himself. She would definitely figure something out and soon!

Sasha got her phone and made a phone call to Benson Foley. He was her favorite lawyer. He was the one who nailed the deal for the sale of her pub. He made lots of commission off his corporate handling of the legal transfer of the property.

A voice came on the phone and said, “Foley, Branson, Trueblood and Miller.”

“How may I direct your call?” The voice was crisp and professional.

“This is Sasha O’Neill and I wish to talk to Mr. Benson Foley please.”

“One moment please. I’ll ring.” There was a hesitation and then she heard Benson’s voice.

“Foley here. Sasha? It’s been a long while since I’ve heard your voice. What can I do for you today?” His voice sounded as pleasant as always. Benson was a good guy. He had a wonderful personality and business sense, too.

“My family is in danger, Benson. Do you remember my sister, Sophie?”

“Sophie? Yes I do recall your sister. She was a bit younger than you right?”

“Yes. I’ll be brief Benson. She’s in trouble. No she hasn’t done anything illegal or immoral. She just made the wrong choice of husbands and this one is a no good scum bag that wants to take her baby away. He’s a gambler and doesn’t have steady income. He hangs out in Las Vegas with a bunch of other no good people. He’s been standing outside my apartment for days watching and waiting for the right opportunity to kidnap baby Zoe. He wouldn’t know the first thing about taking care of an infant. What can we do?” She was starting to panic. What if Benson couldn’t help her family?

“There are some problems here. I need to meet with you and your sister as soon as possible. There is no telling what this man might be capable of and with his gambling background and the kind of people he might have in his circle of friends, we need to move on this quickly. How soon can you be here in my office?” There was a sense of urgency in his tone of voice.

“Well, I will talk to Sophie and line up a sitter. My neighbor, Mrs. Garwin might be able to watch her for a few hours. I will call you as soon as I get things arranged. Thanks so much Benson. You don’t know how much I appreciate this.”

She ended the call and went to tell Sophie the plan. Sophie was feeding Zoe and Sasha figured she would need a cup of coffee before she gave her the news.

“Sophie I have some news.”

“Sasha did you call the lawyer? What did he say?” She was full of questions.

“I called Benson Foley and he wants to meet with us right way. I’m going to call Mrs. Garwin and ask her if she will watch Zoe for a few hours. Are you okay with that?”

“Will Zoe be safe with her?” Sophie didn’t trust anyone right now.

“Yes she’s a gem. We are good friends and I would trust her with anything or anyone.”

“Okay then. Make the call. I’ll finish feeding Zoe and get her ready.”

“Great. I’ll call her now.”

Sasha grabbed her phone and pulled up Mrs. Garwin’s number and called her.

“Hello?”

“Mrs. Garwin? This is Sasha. How are you?”

“Oh Sasha I was going to call you. I noticed you’ve had some houseguests lately and wanted to come and introduce myself. Is everything alright?”

“Yes Mrs. Garwin. I would like for you to come over for a minute. Do you have time?”

“Why I’d love to Sasha. I’ll be right over.” Mrs. Garwin had a definite twinkle in her eye and loved all things food-oriented, mainly a love of baking. She was a little round (most likely from her love of baked goods), gray-haired and had a special collection of miniature tea pots. Sasha couldn’t have wished for a more wonderful neighbor.

A few minutes later there was a soft knock at the door. Sasha went to answer and Sophie jumped up off the couch.

“Are you sure it’s your neighbor?” Sophie looked worried.

“Don’t worry Sophie, I will find out before I open the door.” Sasha peeped through the small hole in the door and saw that it was indeed Mrs. Garwin.

“Come on in. It’s so good to see you. Mrs. Garwin, this is my sister, Sophie and her baby girl, Zoe.”

“Oh my goodness, what a precious baby. So glad to make your acquaintance.” Mrs. Garwin’s eyes were big as saucers as she marched toward Sophie and the baby.

“Hello. Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Garwin.” Sophie seemed more at ease now that she’d seen her in person.

Sasha got some tea for the ladies and then they sat down and discussed the situation. Sasha explained about Willie and his shady background and his horrible plan to take Zoe away from Sophie. Mrs. Garwin listened intently and sipped her tea.

When the conversation ended, Mrs. Garwin sighed and said, “You girls go to that lawyer’s office and don’t worry about me and Miss Zoe! We’ll be just fine. We can go to my apartment and I’ll lock the dead bolt and have my phone next to me and dial 911 if I have to.”

“Thanks so much, Mrs. Garwin.” Sophie said with a slightly relieved smile.

“Well I guess we’d better get some things packed for Zoe and get ourselves ready and leave as soon as we can.” Sasha escorted Mrs. Garwin to the door and told her they’d see her in a few minutes.

“Let’s get going Sophie. I am anxious to get down to Benson’s office and see what our legal options are. I’ll spring for the fees so don’t you stress about it at all. Might as well use my money for something good anyway, if I didn’t spend it on this I’d just go on the Home Shopping Network and buy something I don’t need.” She said with a giggle.

Sasha and Sophie dropped off Zoe at Mrs. Garwin’s and discussed what the best action would be for exiting the building without being seen. It was a blustery day outside but no snow or rain yet. They decided to go out the back door and to the opposite street to call the taxi cab company.  The driver stopped by the curb and they hopped in.