Obsession (13 page)

Rosalie answered the door. Abe did his best to hide his dislike for his uncle's current live-in girlfriend, but he was sure she knew how he felt.

“Hello, Rosalie. How are you?”

The petite woman with the dyed red hair, the too-tight pants, and the stiletto heels smiled—a smile, Abe told himself, that was as phony as the rest of her. “I'm fine, Abe, thank you. Sol's in his office. Go on in. He's expecting you.”

I bet he is,
Abe thought grimly,
and I bet you know he's gunning for me, even if you don't know why. There's nothing you'd like better than for us to have a fight to help you separate him from the only real family he has left. Then you'd have him all to yourself. Well, it's not going to happen.
Aloud he simply said, “Thanks,” and headed for his uncle's office, which was just off the living room.

Even though Rosalie had said that Sol was expecting him, Abe knocked anyway. He had always shown respect to his uncle, and he wasn't about to stop now.

“Come in.” The command was gruff and clipped. Abe had guessed right. This was definitely something more important than his having neglected to visit. He opened the door and stepped inside.

Although Sol had always referred to this room as his office, it was really more of a den, a typical male lair filled with plaques and awards honoring Sol's law enforcement service, pictures commemorating his early days on the force, a big-screen TV that took up a large portion of one entire wall, a leather couch that still smelled new, and cigar smoke that always smelled stale. The only thing that validated the room's title of “office” was the mahogany desk in the corner, behind which sat a slightly overweight but still handsome fifty-three-year-old man, a few silver streaks in his dark, wavy hair and a half-chewed cigar clamped between his teeth. Sol Levitz was not smiling.

“Uncle Sol,” Abe said, trying to sound as positive as he could. “It's good to see you. How are you?”

His uncle did not get up. “What do you mean, it's good to see me,” Sol growled, the cigar scarcely moving as he talked. “It's been so long since you've been here, I'm surprised you recognize me. Sit down.” He motioned toward the chair that had been placed in front of his desk.
Not a good sign,
Abe thought. He sat down, but before he could say anything, Sol went on.

“So, you want to know how I am? Well, I'm glad you asked because that's just why I called you here—to tell you how I am.” His dark, heavy eyebrows came together in a scowl, and he leaned forward. The heavy smell of his uncle's cigar assailed Abe's nostrils. There were times that smell brought pleasant memories to Abe's mind, but this was not one of those times.

“I'm worried, boy, that's how I am. Worried. And you're the one I'm worried about.” Sol fixed his almost-black eyes on his nephew. Abe felt as if they were boring straight through to his brain, reading his thoughts. He wondered if his uncle could see that he didn't have a clue as to what it was that had Sol so worried. He wondered just how serious the offense might be that had caused the worry, and he wondered how this man, whom he loved almost as much as he had loved his own father, could be so unlike his two older sisters, Sophie, his aunt, and Rachel, Abe's late mother. The sisters, of course, had also been somewhat different from each other. Sophie was more outspoken than Rachel, who was two years younger, but both were kind and tenderhearted, generous to a fault. Sophie had remained faithful to her Jewish beliefs, while Rachel had given up practicing her religion after marrying her Gentile husband, Don, who claimed to be an agnostic. Sol, on the other hand, had not only stopped practicing his religion years earlier, he also claimed to have ceased to believe in God. Abe wasn't sure about that part. Was it really possible for anyone, regardless of how many heartaches and disappointments life dealt, to simply decide to stop believing in God? He doubted it. His mother used to say, “We may not go to temple, or sit
shivah,
or observe
Shabbat
like your grandparents and Aunt Sophie, but that doesn't mean there is no God. I believe he's probably out there—somewhere—but, like your father says, no one can know for sure, so we might as well just live our lives the best we can and see what happens.”

That had frightened Abe, even as a young boy. It made him feel that life was nothing more than a continual shooting in the dark, having no idea what the target was or whether or not you were even getting close. Secretly, he had always hoped Aunt Sophie was right, that there was a God and that the Jewish people were his chosen ones. At the same time, he knew that probably meant that only the faithful Jews were chosen, which certainly left him out. Maybe Sol had opted for the easiest way after all.

Besides
he reminded himself,
Uncle Sol has always been very good to me. Without his help, I never would have made it through college when Mom and Dad died, and I might not have become a detective. I've got to remember that this gruff exterior of his is just his way of hiding his pain over losing Patty and the baby, not to mention the injury and being forced to retire.… Life hasn't exactly been kind to him. It's up to me to get this situation
—
whatever it is
—
cleared up so we don't have anything between us.

“I'm sorry,” Abe said, his voice reflecting his respect and affection for the man sitting across the desk from him. “You're going to have to help me out here. I'm afraid I don't know what I've done to cause you so much concern.”

Continuing to eye him, Sol removed the cigar from his mouth and placed it in an ashtray, then slowly sat back in his chair. “Does the name Toni Matthews mean anything to you?”

Abe flinched. How did Uncle Sol know about Toni? And just how much did he know?

Sol raised his eyebrows. “Ah, I see the name rings a bell somewhere in that hard head of yours. Would you like to tell me about her?”

“I…” Abe's mind was running in several directions at once. If Uncle Sol knew he was involved with Toni, then he knew everything. He had been one of the best police detectives River View had ever seen, and once he sniffed something out, he didn't stop until he had learned all there was to know. There was no sense trying to buffalo him.

“I met her a few weeks ago, not long after her father's funeral, when I stopped by his agency to return a book. I ran into her again the next day at the station, and we got to talking and…” He took a deep breath. “Toni thinks there might be something more to her father's death than a heart attack, and I'm trying to help her find out if that's the case. There's no real evidence but—”

“Of course there's no evidence,” Sol interrupted, “real or otherwise. I didn't call you over here today to hear what this Toni Matthews woman thinks. I want to know what
you're
thinking, boy! Or maybe you aren't thinking at all, is that it? You see a pretty face and your brain flies right out the window. What's wrong with you, are you
meshugga?
Don't you know how much trouble you can get into, running around the countryside, looking for clues with the daughter of the man whose death you are supposedly investigating—especially when there's no official investigation? Not to mention the fact that it isn't even in your jurisdiction. You think I don't know what's going on in this town? I talk to people, you know. I get phone calls, especially from the station. I even checked the public record. Toni Matthews's father died of natural causes. It was certified by the coroner, and his own physician believes it was a heart attack. Nothing suspicious about that, nothing warranting any sort of investigation. If there were, don't you think the sheriff's office would be on it? But they're not, are they? What does that tell you?”

Sol relaxed in his chair, and his voice softened to that of the caring uncle Abe had known all his life. “What are you trying to do, boy, get yourself suspended? Ruin your career just when it's getting off the ground? After the good word I put in for you to help you get into the detectives division, now you're trying to sabotage your job? And for what? A woman—a woman who just happens to be engaged to someone else. What's the matter with you? There are a million women out there, good-looking ones too. So why this one? Why Toni Matthews?”

Abe's head was pounding almost as hard as his heart. He loved his uncle. He didn't like seeing him this upset; he knew it wasn't good for
him. He also knew that the man took his duties as surrogate father very seriously. Even though Sol seemed to be overreacting, Abe had to admit that what his uncle said had a lot of truth to it. If he weren't careful, he could be putting his job in jeopardy by continuing this investigation, even though it was informal and on his own time. Still, he couldn't stop seeing Toni, not as long as there was any chance at all….

“Uncle Sol, I'm sorry—”

“I don't want ‘sorry,’” Sol interrupted, the concern evident in his eyes. “I want to know why you'd do something so unprofessional as to spend your time running all over creation with this woman, tracking down clues that don't exist. This isn't like you, boy. I always thought you had a good head on your shoulders. So why the sudden turnaround? What's so special about Toni Matthews?”

Abe hesitated, but he knew his uncle well enough to know that the best way to talk to him was just to spit it out. “Everything,” he said, searching his heart for the answer and holding his gaze steady as he spoke to the man who had been his mentor and closest friend for slightly over ten years now. “Everything about her is special. I don't know how else to explain it. I know it doesn't make sense, and I know I'm walking a fine line here, trying to help answer her questions about her dad's death. But… I can't back off now. I have to see this thing through. I'm sure we'll get it cleared up soon and find out her dad's death was nothing more than a heart attack, just like you said. When I can convince Toni of that, that will be the end of it. It'll be over, I promise.”

Sol squinted as if he didn't believe him. “No more Toni Matthews after that? Is that what you're telling me?”

“No. That's not what I'm saying. I can promise you no more unofficial investigation once I convince Toni that her father's death was a heart attack and nothing more, but I have no intention of not seeing her after that. In fact, I'm… hoping to make her a permanent part of my life some day.”

The two men eyed each other for several seconds before Sol shook his head. “I had a feeling you were going to say that. It's written all over your face. All you have to do is hear her name and you go soft. You're a fool, boy, do you know that? A fool. Completely
meshugga.”

Abe wished he could deny it, that he could at least convince himself, if not his uncle, that he wasn't a fool. He wished he could assure the both of them that he knew without a doubt that Toni would someday give in to the feelings he was sure she had for him and break her engagement to Brad, but he didn't know that. He could only hope and continue to try to be involved in her life as much as possible. For now, it was all he had.

“You may be right,” he said, “but it's what I have to do. I'll promise you something else too. I'll be careful, and I won't take this investigation any further than I absolutely have to.”

Sol sighed, then nodded his head as if resigning himself to Abe's foolishness. When he said nothing further, Abe realized he had been dismissed. Slowly, he rose from his chair and walked out of the office and past Rosalie, who was sitting quietly on the sofa in the living room, undoubtedly having heard every loud word that made its way through the closed door. As he left his uncle's house and stepped out onto the porch, the first raindrops began to fall, splashing on his face as he made his way toward the car.

Brad's heart soared as he aimed the silver Lexus westward toward the rugged Washington coast. It had been a long time since he and Toni had been able to spend a full day together, and he didn't want to waste a minute of it. The faint smell of her perfume as she sat in the seat next to his teased his senses with every passing mile. He smiled as he remembered how radiant she had looked when he had met her at April Lippincott's hotel. Toni had gone to town early to have breakfast with April and had asked Brad to pick her up there so he could meet
the elderly lady from Colorado. Toni had been singing April's praises since she arrived in town the previous week, but this was the first opportunity Brad had found to break away and meet her, if only for a few minutes. He had to admit, Mrs. Lippincott had seemed quite charming and genuine. He only hoped she would go back to Colorado soon. Her presence seemed to fuel Toni's obsession with the Julie Greene case and her father's death.

Before driving to the hotel, Brad had first popped into his office for a few minutes to clear up a few details and then had headed out the door before ten, his appointments having been canceled or rescheduled the previous day, as soon as he was sure Toni would be free to accompany him.

“On a Wednesday?” she had asked when he had proposed the beach getaway. “Why not wait until Saturday when you're off?”

“For one thing, it wouldn't be as much fun as playing hooky from the office for a full day. For another, this weekend is the Fourth of July, remember? If we go now, in the middle of the week, we'll beat the crowds. Besides, they're predicting one day of sunshine tomorrow but more clouds and rain by Thursday or Friday. Let's go while the weather's good and we can walk on the beach, find some secluded place, just the two of us.…”