Unknown (14 page)

Considering carefully for a few seconds, Lisa took two steps towards the car. Bending down so that her face was on a level with the sneering face of the woman, she deftly plucked off the sunglasses, guessing that Charlene would feel more vulnerable without them.

'No, I don't think I'm smart,' she said, slowly, articulating each word carefully—gaining courage from seeing the alarmed eyes which had suddenly been stripped naked, 'but I know I'm smarter than you, Charlene. You're not very bright. If you were you'd know that Marcus Blair feels nothing for you other than a professional concern. You are mentally ill, in need of help.'

'Shut your mouth!' the woman snarled.

'No,' Lisa answered calmly, 'you shut yours. If you keep up this harassment you'll end up in prison again. If you threaten me, in any way, it will just happen sooner. Two came play at this game. You are being watched constantly. Did you know that?'

'What are you talking about?' the woman said derisively.

'A private detective is watching you,' Lisa said, gaining confidence, yet careful not to underestimate this woman in any way. Her kind were unpredictable, dangerous.

'Balls!' Charlene said, then laughed. It was an ugly sound.

'Dr Blair doesn't love you,' Lisa persisted. 'If you were to leave him alone you might find someone who does.'

'Don't give me advice. Don't patronize me. I know what I know.'

'Do you? Next time you do this you'll be arrested.'

'I'll kill anyone who stands in my way.'

Looking briefly sideways—not wishing to take her eyes off the deranged woman for more than a second—Lisa saw a car approaching them rapidly. It pulled up with a squeal of brakes right behind the car occupied by Charlene Damero, so close that the bumpers nudged.

'What the hell?' Charlene swivelled round and began to hurl verbal abuse at the driver of the other car, who was nonchalantly getting out onto the sidewalk. He was a big man, a very big man.

'That's the private detective I was telling you about,' Lisa said airily, not knowing whether he was or not.

'Liar!' the woman yelled.

A few curious bystanders were beginning to gather. If Lisa hadn't been so frightened she might have laughed hysterically. The absurdity of it seemed out of this world. Yet it was horribly, frighteningly real. Never for one moment should she forget that. It was people who forgot it who ended up dead.

The big man sauntered over, as though he had all the time in the world. He wore a formal, navy blue suit, topped by a trench coat, looking almost a caricature of a private detective. Lisa found herself praying that he was indeed who she hoped.

'Hi,' the man drawled, and bent down to look into the car, giving it the once-over in a very professional manner. Then he very casually put his right hand on his hip, pushing aside his trench coat and jacket to do so. Both women could see very clearly that he had a hand gun in a holster attached to the belt of his trousers.

'Charlene Damero, I believe? I've been watching you.'

Quickly the woman snatched the sunglasses from Lisa's inert hand. 'Leave me alone!' she yelled.

The engine of the car, which had been idling, roared into life as Miss Damero put her foot down on the accelerator. At the same time that the car shot forward the big man put an arm around Lisa and pulled her well clear of the edge of the sidewalk.

They both stood, watching, as the car roared down the street in a cloud of exhaust.

'Are you. . .?' Lisa swallowed. 'Are you who I hope you are?'

'Yeah, I guess I am,' the man confirmed. 'You must be Lisa Stanton. Dr Blair gave me a description of you.' He looked at her very pointedly from head to toe. 'He was sure right in his assessment.' There was an admiring note in his voice.

'You're almost making me laugh,' she said breathlessly, ruefully. 'Yes, I'm Lisa. I'm sure glad to see you!'

'I'll bet,' he agreed, letting his coat fall again to obscure the gun. 'My name's Ravi Davinsky, private investigator. Pleased to meet ya.' He held out a large hand and Lisa gratefully reciprocated.

'Thank you for what you did,' she managed to gasp out, now feeling the full extent of the fear that she had held more or less in check.

'Sorry I wasn't on the scene immediately. I lost sight of her at some traffic lights, but I figured she was heading for the hospital. I didn't want to blow my cover because I wanted to get as much evidence on her as possible,' he explained calmly. 'Evidence of harassment. As soon as we have that we can hand her over to the police. Enough to put her behind bars for a while.'

'I hope you succeed...soon.'

'I will,' he said, with an uncommon assurance, gazing up the street where the car had disappeared. Lisa believed him. 'Maybe it's just as well she knows I'm onto her. Let me show you my ID. And I'll tell you something, Lisa...' He paused to extract a wallet from his pocket. 'When a man tells you who he is check it out. It's safer, believe me. Especially when he's near a hospital emergency department. For that matter, check out any woman, too. You get all sorts going in there, some of 'em looking for drugs. They seem to think there are going to be drugs just lying about that they can take.'

Looking at his ID badge and photograph, she felt very sober.

'Also, don't mess with a woman like Charlene Damero,' he said. 'She's totally unpredictable. The only predictable thing about her is that she'll be unpredictable, if you'll pardon the lecture. She could dissolve into tears if you confront her, or she could shoot you. Manipulative, that's the word. She'd talk you out of your last dollar bill, if I know anything about psychopaths.. .if that's what we're dealing with here.'

'I see,' Lisa said weakly. Privately, she wasn't sorry she had stood up to the woman.

'Always trust your instincts with people, even if you only get the slightest twinge that something isn't quite right. That twinge could save your life—or at least save you a lot of aggro. Know what I mean?'

'Yes.' Lisa nodded.

'Sure you do! You couldn't be a nurse for very long without having a pretty good idea of what I'm talking about. Just be a bit more careful in this case, that's all.'

Again Lisa nodded. 'How long is this going to take?'

'Not long. I intend to get her,' Ravi Davinsky announced matter-of-factly. 'I've made good progress. If she utters threats, or actually does anything, we'll get her faster than you can say "knife". Then there's the question of her being a public nuisance. Now, Miss Stanton, let me drive you home.'

'What do you think she'll do?' Lisa asked as they got into his car. 'She just said she'd kill anyone who kept her away from Dr Blair.'

'Did she now?'

The private detective looked even bigger as he sat in the car, inspiring confidence. He had thick, black, curly hair that looked as though it was slicked down with oil. His brown eyes were humorous and very, very shrewd, Lisa thought as she observed him considering her question.

'My guess, and it's an educated guess,' he said seriously, 'is that if we hound her enough—and I intend to hound her—she'll suddenly give up. Eventually. These people don't like someone who plays the same game that they're playing themselves. They don't like being the victims. But before she gives up she could get rather ugly. Leave it to me, Miss Stanton.'

Lisa was lying in the bath when the telephone rang. She lay in the scented water with her eyes closed, feeling some of the tension draining away. It had been a trying day. The encounter with Charlene Damero had left her jumpy. At the earliest opportunity she would buy a call-display unit for her telephone.

Wrapping herself in a towel, she padded out to the sitting room and waited to let the answering machine take the call so that she would know who was at the other end.

'Hullo, Lisa,' a welcome voice said.

Quickly she snatched up the receiver, switching off the machine. 'Dr Blair?' she said.

'Yes. I've heard from Ravi Davinsky about the latest encounter. Look, I'm calling to say that I'm going to get you that call-display unit on my way home this evening. I've already ordered one for you. The sooner you get it connected up the better. How are you?'

'I'm all right, thanks,' she confirmed hurriedly, feeling her heart thudding against her ribs and a flush suffusing her skin as though he could actually see her wrapped in a towel. 'I actually stood up to her.. .said a few things that I've been wanting to say. Mr Davinsky told me that I probably shouldn't have done that, but the satisfaction was great, really great!'

'I'm sure it was,' he said. 'You just take care. Can I see you this evening, Lisa? Would your mother be willing to babysit? I'd like you to come to my house for dinner. We need to talk this over. I'll send a car for you. About seven?'

'I... I'd like that very much. Thank you.'

'Have you explained all this to your parents?'

'Yes, I have. All the details, including a description of the woman.'

'Good. See you later, then, Lisa.' Then he was gone, back to the hectic rush of the emergency department, leaving her with a warm feeling of expectation mixed with nervousness at the prospect of being alone with him— really alone with him—for the first time. When he had come to see her Emma had been there between them.

A little later, dressed in jeans and a loose top, she gently picked up her sleeping daughter, who was now quite heavy, and sat cuddling her on the sofa. The first priority in her life was to protect this little human being whom she loved so much. Emma stirred but didn't wake as Lisa nuzzled her cheek, breathing in the scent of soap and baby powder, and softly brushed the fine hair away from her forehead. So far she could see little of Richard in her daughter, nothing of his heavy, masculine features.

*

As promised, Marcus sent a car for her later.

It turned into a cul-de-sac containing large houses, widely spaced in their own grounds, then finally stopped in the curved driveway of a beautiful, sprawling red-brick house. It was in the downtown part of the city, not far from where she lived herself. Marcus came rapidly down the front steps to meet her. Seeing him, her heart began to pound with an almost fearful expectation, a wild hope.

The evening was still light, with a mellow orange glow from the setting sun.

Then she was being ushered quickly into a spacious hallway and the heavy front door was closed behind them. Surreptitiously she gave a quick look around. Marcus, darkly handsome, wore casual clothing of understated elegance, quality and perfect fit that could only be achieved by a man with a lot of money and impeccable taste to go with it.

'What did you think of Ravi Davinsky?' Marcus asked her, looking at her astutely as he took in her appearance. He seemed very relaxed.

'I was impressed,' she said. As I'm impressed with everything you do, she might have added.

'I think we have reason to be. Let me take your coat.' Marcus smiled at her, his hands oil her shoulders, easing the coat off.

At his touch Lisa felt her body stiffen involuntarily. After his remarks to her on the day of the big emergency she found that she was hypersensitive to his nearness.

'You're shivering.' He slipped off her coat. 'Are you cold? We'll get a fire going. We'd turned down the heating since the weather was so great this morning.'

'I. . .1 am a little cold,' she lied. In truth, she was shaking with nerves.

Seeing Marcus now in the setting of his very sophisticated home, her suspicion was confirmed that he was out of her league and that she should not assume that his interest in her was more than a gentlemanly one. This sober admission was depressing. He was primarily concerned for her safety, she reminded herself.. .even though he was, she sensed, drawn to her sexually. It was there in the veiled light of his glance and in the brooding way he watched her.

There was a reluctance in him. Lisa could sense that, too. He wasn't a man who would indulge his desires thoughtlessly. Not like Richard, who would seduce a woman on a whim. More than ever, she reminded herself, she must not been seen to presume, otherwise she could be mortified if he rejected her. Was she presuming? Sometimes she was so confused that she wasn't sure.

Not for the first time, she reminded herself that a man in his position, who would have a wide choice of women, would hardly be drawn to a woman who had another man's child. An odd longing took possession of her.

As he turned away to hang up her coat in a capacious closet by the front door Lisa almost expected a butler to appear in the panelled hall and offer her a drink on a silver tray. 'Come into the sitting room for a drink, Lisa,' Marcus offered, taking her arm to walk with her down the wide hall to a door on their left. 'Our dinner is more or less ready so we've just got time for a glass of sherry, or whatever you'd like. A cocktail, perhaps?'

'Sherry would be perfect,' she said, hoping she was hiding the fact that she was beginning to feel somewhat overwhelmed by the house—and by the man.

When they entered a beautiful sitting room with huge paintings on the walls and exquisite furniture and lamps, made welcoming by vases of fresh flowers and potted plants, Lisa was very glad that she had taken trouble with her appearance and had rejected her original plan of wearing jeans and a sweater.

She wore a soft chemise dress in a fine chocolate-coloured wool which had long sleeves and a cowl neck, with opaque tights and suede shoes to match the dress. Equally, she had been careful with her make-up, knowing that her subtle grey eyeshadow enhanced her large blue eyes and that a bronze lipstick added welcome colour to her pale face.

'Did you cook the dinner?' she ventured, as he poured the drinks.

'No.' He turned to give her an assessing look as she stood in the middle of the vast room, where her shoes sank into the pile of the oriental rug. 'I inherited a cook from my parents.'

His glance was undeniably masculine as he took in her appearance, his eyes roving unselfconsciously over her. Lisa felt the heat rising in her face as he handed her a glass of sherry and stood near her.

'I'm mindful that tomorrow is a working day for both of us,' he said, very much in command of the situation, 'so unfortunately we can't linger for very long, I know. But I wanted to see you—outside of work.' The way he said it set up a small hope in her that this was not just a duty invitation because he felt responsible for her. With telling insight she knew that she wanted and needed that.