Sandman (24 page)

Meagan gazed at him through long dark lashes. “I could use a good stiff drink.” She giggled.

“How about the Royal Hawaiian?”

“Perfect!” Thomas was rewarded by a broad smile.

“Good. I’ll go get changed.”

***

Meagan was sitting on the edge of the bed tying her boot when Thomas appeared in the doorway. She raised her eyes and stopped. He was wearing jeans and a navy sweater that strained across his broad shoulders. Deep blue eyes sparkled at her, and his normally tame hair was wild with curls.

Why the hell does he straighten it?

“Are you ready?” he asked.

She ducked her head and stared at her boot, her cheeks flamed.
Damn, he looks hot! Better make it two stiff drinks.

“Let me just grab my jacket in case it starts to rain again.” Meagan got up, forcing herself not to look at Thomas, and headed to the closet.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs leading to the garage, Thomas showed her how to work the burglar alarm and gave her the password.

Soon they were speeding north along PCH through the heart of Laguna Beach. Thomas’ BMW pulled into the parking lot, and the valet opened Meagan’s door. They were quiet as they strolled toward the restaurant. She eyed the windows of the shops along the way.

They passed by the hand-carved Tiki God that guarded the restaurant, then walked between the lighted Tiki torches on either side of the giant wooden door. The sound of Hawaiian music welcomed them as they entered.

Since it was Friday night, the place was packed, but they managed to grab seats at the bar while they waited for a table to open up.

The bar was intimate, lit only by the salt-water aquariums and a single candle on each table. The minute they sat down, a waitress appeared in a sarong and asked for their order. Thomas requested a beer, Meagan a Lapu Lapu. After the waitress disappeared, Thomas glanced at Meagan.

“You weren’t kidding when you said you wanted a
stiff
drink. I guess I’ll be carrying you out of here tonight.” He smiled.

She jutted her chin up. “I can hold my liquor. Don’t you worry.”

“I’m not worried, but if you rip off your top and start dancing on the tables, I
will
carry you out.” He laughed.

“If that happens, I give you permission to carry me out of here as quickly as possible.” She returned his laugh.

For the next hour they talked. Meagan had started her second drink. Thomas listened while she talked incessantly, obviously feeling the effects of the alcohol. It made her all the more endearing to him. He’d stopped after the first beer.

He couldn’t help but laugh and tease her while she regaled him with stories of her disastrous dating life and what it was like to be a single woman over thirty.

“Let me get this straight, you were twenty-eight and he was what… twenty-three? Hell, he was still a kid then. What were you thinking?” He shook his head.

“I went out with him on a whim. I never dreamed it would turn into a relationship,” she countered.

Thomas heard his name over the loudspeaker. He picked up Meagan’s drink, grabbed her hand, and followed the hostess to their table. They ordered, and he peppered her with more questions regarding this ex-fiancé of hers, Jay.

“Okay. You said you didn’t expect to get serious about this guy. What changed your mind?”

“Well, like I said, he was different from the men I’d been dating. They all came with so much baggage. Besides, I was having fun and wasn’t ready to end it. I never
dreamed
I would fall in love and cast all common sense aside.”

“When was it that you knew it was getting serious?”

“After about six months, we were always together so he moved in. He’d been talking marriage since practically the first date. I told him after my first marriage failed, I promised myself I wouldn’t marry again without living with that person first. I needed to see what happened after the honeymoon phase was over.”

“What
did
happen when the honeymoon phase was over?”

Meagan quieted when the waitress approached the table with their salads and another basket of bread.

Again they were silent while they ate. Thomas finished first and watched Meagan enjoy hers. He loved what a voracious eater she was. Most women ordered a large dinner, ate two bites, then announced they were full. Not Meagan. She would clean her plate, then start on his. He also loved how down to earth she was, nothing pretentious about her. She held nothing back.

When she was almost finished with her salad, she glanced up. “I’m making a pig out of myself again, aren’t I?”

“Nope. I was just thinking.” Before she could ask him about what, he continued. “So when did you know it wasn’t going to work out with this Romeo?”

“To tell you the truth, I think I always knew I was kidding myself. But I’d have to say it was probably after he was fired from his sixth job. After that, he decided he didn’t want to work anymore. He claimed he was looking for a job, but how would I know. I had to open up my schedule and work six days a week just to break even. Thank God the salon’s open Mondays.

“As far as I could tell he did nothing all day but eat. Then he’d leave the mess for
me
to clean up. He gained fifty pounds in six months, stopped shaving, and stayed up all night watching TV.

“He hadn’t allowed me to cut his hair in about eight months. I knew he couldn’t get a job looking the way he did. No way was he going on interviews. I was angry, constantly nagging. In short, I was a shrew. I didn’t like the person I’d become. The relationship was more like that of mother and son, than lovers. He became obsessed with pornography. He was renting adult movies from pay-per-view and I was paying for them! His laziness repulsed me.

“Then one evening I just snapped. I’d arrived home after ten, exhausted. He was lying on the couch, watching a porno movie and drunk on beer. The sink was full of dishes, the dust on the furniture was about an inch thick, and the floor needed to be vacuumed.” Meagan stopped talking the minute the waitress appeared.

She set their meals in front of them and disappeared taking their salad plates with her. Meagan took a big bite of her seared Ahi.

“Then what happened?” Thomas asked around a bite of steak.

Meagan swallowed. “I told him he was going to have to move in with his buddy. I wouldn’t put up with his crap anymore.” She took another bite.

“Good for you,” Thomas exclaimed. “So, did he go quietly?”

She finished chewing and swallowed. “Not exactly. He got all up in my face and blamed
me
for all his shortcomings. To top it off, he smashed all of my grandmother’s china. I’m still heartbroken over that. He left only after I picked up the phone to call the police. That night I packed up all his stuff and put it on the lawn, then called a locksmith. He came back the next day and picked up his things. I never heard from him again.”

“How long ago was that?”

“Well, let me see.” Meagan stared at the ceiling while she calculated it. “Just over five years now.”

“Wow, you really have dated some real winners.” He shook his head.

“Just lucky I guess.” She sucked on her straw and finished her drink.

Thomas was flummoxed. How could one woman attract so many lunatics? Then he thought about how his own behavior had changed since he’d met Meagan and had to wonder.

What is it about this woman that drives men insane?

Will the real Sandman please raise his hand?

THIRTY-NINE

When they got to the house, it was Meagan’s turn to disarm the alarm system.

“Do you remember the code?” Thomas asked.

“I think so. Are you sure you want me to do this? I mean, what if the alarm goes off?” She was afraid she’d make a fool out of herself.

“Better for that to happen when I’m here. Don’t you think?” He smiled.

Meagan nodded and stared at the keypad. She was so nervous, her hand shook. The second they entered the house, the stupid machine started beeping. It took her a couple tries, and in her haste, she kept hitting the wrong number. Finally, she entered the code correctly and the infernal noise stopped. She took a deep breath.

“In case you don’t get it in time, do you remember the password?” His voice was calm, patient.

“Skipper. Why Skipper? Do you have a boat?” She followed him into the kitchen.

He stopped in front of her and turned around. “Skipper was the name of our first dog when we were kids. Annie, the youngest, wanted to name him Ariel, after
The Little Mermaid
. We told her she couldn’t because he was a boy.” He tossed the mail on the counter.

“So, how did that turn into Skipper?” she asked.

“
Gilligan’s Island
. That was Wyatt’s favorite TV show growing up. He’s the oldest. Originally he was named Little Skipper, and it got shortened through the years.” He put his briefcase on the counter next to the mail.

“What kind of dog was it?”

“Dalmatian. My poor mother hated that dog. He was always chewing up something. He especially liked her shoes. She desperately wanted to get rid of him, but she was outvoted.” He laughed.

“You must have some old photos around here. I want to see you as a little kid.” Her curiosity was piqued. She couldn’t imagine this rugged man as a child.

Thomas shook his head. “Oh, no. I don’t need
that
humiliation. You just want to see me as a little buzzhead. I’d never hear the end of it.”

“I won’t tease you, I promise,” she pleaded.

He stared at her a moment, then relented. “Okay, I think they’re upstairs. Why don’t you go into the living room and get comfortable? I’ll see if I can find some for you.”

After he left the kitchen, Meagan searched the cupboards for a glass. She was in desperate need of a drink of water.

Meagan heard his heavy footfalls on the stairs. When he was about halfway up, the phone rang. “Shit,” he mumbled, then yelled. “Would you grab that and tell whoever it is I’ll be right there? I’ll get the extension in my room.” He ran up the remaining steps.

She picked up the phone. “Hello?” There was a few seconds of silence, then she heard the mechanical voice.

“Hel-lo Meag-an, you did-n’t thi-nk yo-uu coo-uld hi-de fro-m me did yo-uu?”

Thomas picked up the extension and was about to say something when he heard the caller. He stopped and listened.

“I-ee tho-ught yo-uu were dif-fer-ent.” The mechanical voice continued slowly. “Bu-ut now I se-ee yo-uu ar-e a who-ore just li-ike the re-est. Yo-ou to-oo must di-ie.” Then the phone went dead.

Thomas was next to her in an instant.

“Are you okay?” He grabbed her face with both hands, stared into her eyes.

“I…can’t…breathe,” she said in-between gasps.

“You’re hyperventilating.” He found a paper bag, then pulled her over to a kitchen chair and made her sit. “Here, put your head between your legs and breathe into this.” He squatted next to her, rubbed her back.

Once her head came up, he asked, “Better?”

“I think so. How did he find me?” Her voice shook.

He racked his brain. “He could be following you, but that doesn’t explain how he got my number. It’s unlisted. Did you notice anyone outside the house today? Someone familiar, maybe you couldn’t quite place him?”

She shook her head.

“Were there any cars parked on the street with someone just sitting in them? Think Meagan, this is important. You may have seen something, but don’t know what it was. You have to jog your memory.” He needed to get to the bottom of this. Fast.

“I don’t think so.”

“What did you do today?”

“Nothing. Read my book.” Her eyes implored him to come up with an answer.

He thought once more. “Did you call anyone?”

A shadow crossed her face, her head dipped down.

“What? Tell me, Meagan, what did you do?” He tried to keep the panic from his voice.

“I had to tell him
I was okay. I didn’t want him to worry,” her voice was just above a whisper.

“Who did you call, Meagan?” But deep down he knew. She couldn’t be that stupid, could she?

Thomas shook her by the shoulders. “Look at me.” He was letting his fear get the better of him.

“I called my answering machine to retrieve the messages. There were several from Katy, one from my mother, and…”

“And, Drew? Is that who you told?” Anger boiled up inside him.

“Well, you should have heard him, he was so worried. I had to call him!”

“Jesus Christ, what the hell were you thinking? Whether you’d like to believe it or not, he
is
a suspect. I told you that. What did you do, give him my number? Draw him a map? Shit!” Thomas ran his hands through his hair.

“No, nothing like that,” Meagan yelled back. “I just told him what happened at my house and that we had to leave. I didn’t even say what town I was in!” She glared at him.

He jumped up and started pacing in front of her. “You do
know
there are ways to get an address from a phone number, don’t you? It’s called a reverse directory. All you have to do is look up the number, and there’s the address plain as day. Hell, nowadays you can do it on the internet for free!” He scrubbed his hands down his face.

“But I didn’t give him the number.” She squirmed in her seat. “He didn’t ask.” She looked down, her lip quivered.

“He must have some kind of advanced caller ID,” he said more to himself. He glanced at Meagan and noticed she was about to cry. He dropped back in the chair next to her, drew her to him and held her face against his chest.

“I’m sorry,” Thomas said in a hushed tone. He stroked her hair and felt her relax against him. They came together like two pieces of a perfect puzzle.

After a couple of minutes she pulled away, her wet eyes gazed up at him. He wanted so much to kiss her that it hurt. Instead, he stood. “We can’t stay here. Go upstairs and pack. We’re going to a hotel. Do you still have his number?”

Meagan got up, walked over to her purse on the counter, and pulled out her wallet. After riffling through it a few seconds, she handed him a slip of paper.