Читать книгу M.O.E. - Linda Blum - Страница 5

“Help!” Hope bellowed over the phone.

“What’s wrong?” Judy asked in concern.

“Jonathan is here at the library.”

“How did he find out where you worked?”

“He probably asked around last night and one of my relatives told him,” Hope sighed.

“What are you going to do?”

“Hide.”

Judy laughed. “Do you want me to come over?”

“No, I guess I’ll be alright. I just panicked,” Hope said.

“Call if you need me.”

After Hope hung up with Judy, she planned to go out there and see what Jonathan wanted. Her courage soon plummeted when she opened the door to find him standing on the other side.

“Hi Hope,” Jonathan said as he entered her office.

“Jonathan what are you doing here?”

“I came to get some books,” he replied innocently.

“Really, so why are you standing by my office door?” she questioned.

“I decided to pay you a visit.”

“Well that was nice, but I’m really busy right now and don’t have time to talk.”

As Hope walked past him to leave, she felt a hand clamp down on her arm to stop her.

“Well I think you should make the time to talk,” Jonathan said as he closed the door.

Hope started to get nervous. He positioned himself in front of the door so she couldn’t leave. The thought of screaming came to mind, but he really hadn’t done anything yet to warrant such an action. Calming herself, she took a seat behind her desk and motioned for him to sit down.

“So what do you want to discuss?” Hope asked.

“Us.”

“There is no us,” Hope said sternly.

“Something was going on last night that would say otherwise,” he said strongly.

Hope shook her head. “I don’t know what happened last night, but all I can say is that wasn’t me.”

“Who was it, your evil twin?” Jonathan snickered.

“Not my evil twin, but your puppet on a string that you controlled.”

Jonathan groaned. “Not this again. You think I was manipulating you.”

“Yes I do.”

“I’ve been with a lot of women...”

“I’m sure you have,” Hope cut him off.

Jonathan ignored her and continued, “And I’ve never been accused of influencing someone.”

“Well I think you did just that.”

“That’s a good one,” Jonathan snorted. “I think you’re using this as an excuse to absolve you of your actions.”

“I am not!” Hope declared.

Jonathan stood up and came around her desk. He pulled her up and wrapped his arms around her. Hope struggled to get away.

“I think,” Jonathan said brushing his lips beside her ear. “You don’t want to admit you have feelings for me.”

“Oh please,” Hope said squirmed trying to get away.

“You can’t deny the way you responded to my kisses last night.”

Jonathan hands began roaming over her body. Hope struggled trying to resist his sensual assault. Her brain suddenly went fuzzy and her thinking became unclear as she looked into his eyes. The sensation made her feel like she was drunk or on drugs.

When his lips claimed hers, she immediately responded. Tongue met tongue and a wave of desire washed over her. Somewhere in the back of her brain, something was telling her to stop. Instantly she froze as she tried to tap into this message. Jonathan sensed he was losing her attention, so he kissed her senseless. She moaned with pleasure at his assault. Her brain sent another message warning her to end this or she would regret her actions later.

Hope abruptly pulled away from him in one swift movement. Jonathan was startled by her actions and advanced towards her in hopes to finish what he had started. Hope held out a hand to stop him.

“Don’t,” she warned.

Jonathan waved her hand away as he came up beside her. He sensed her resistance and was planning to change her mind.

“You want me and you know it,” he whispered in her ear.

“I do not!” she squealed.

Jonathan advanced on her. “Yes you do.” He insisted.

Jonathan was staring intently at her. When Hope looked into his eyes she felt a surge of energy take over her body and her mind. She knew she had to stay in control or he would take possession of her. She turned away and then headed for the door. When she opened it she found Judy standing there. Judy looked at her friend and noticed the dazed expression on her face.

“Hope,” Judy said hesitantly. “Are you all right?”

Hope shook her head and stared at her friend. It took her brain a few seconds to clue into who it was.

“I’m fine,” she said slightly breathless.

Jonathan suddenly walked up beside her.

“Hello again,” he said holding out his hand to Judy.

As Judy shook it, a weird energy washed over her. She studied the man before her, trying to tap into this feeling. Jonathan sensed her scrutiny and quickly removed his hand.

“I’m surprised to see you here,” Judy commented.

“I came to get some books and thought I’d stop by to see Hope,” Jonathan said easily.

“Wasn’t that nice,” Judy said in a sarcastic tone.

“Well I should be going,” Jonathan said.

Jonathan walked to the door, but before leaving he turned around and looked pointedly to Hope.

“It was nice seeing you again,” he said before he left.

Judy looked at her friend and noticed the troubled look on her face. Hope could tell Judy was sensing something and tried to divert her attention.

“What are you doing here?” Hope asked. “I thought you were going to meet with Rick?”

“He called and said he was going to be late. Judy answered. “Besides I sensed something was wrong. That’s why I’m here.”

“You didn’t have to come over.” Hope said.

“The hell I didn’t,” Judy implored. “What happened with Jonathan?”

Hope was shaken by her question. She really didn’t want to tell her what went on, as she was still trying to process it herself. Jonathan was doing some kind of magic on her she just knew it. The only problem was trying to tell someone that her intimate encounters with him were not of her doing, that she was a slave to Jonathan’s mind control. Yeah, like that sounded believable.

“Jonathan was hitting on me,” Hope opted to be somewhat truthful.

Judy gave her a knowing look. “I think there is more to that statement.”

Hope shook her head.

“Hope,” Judy started. “You looked like you were in some kind of trance when I walked on.”

“I was just upset,” she explained.

Judy still wasn’t buying this. “You didn’t even recognize me.”

“I did too!” Hope bellowed.

Judy raised her eyebrow. “Are you sure about that?”

Hope sighed. “Look, Jonathan was coming on pretty strong and wouldn’t take no for an answer. God, he’s worse than Rick.”

Judy laughed. “Now that’s bad.”

“No kidding,” Hope said. “When you walked in I was trying desperately to escape his advances.”

“And did you succeed?”

“Of course I did,” she replied sheepishly.

Judy gave her a doubtful look. “You aren’t interested in Jonathan are you?”

“No way!” Hope said strongly. “I love Rick.”

“Just checking, since you tend to swoon over bad guys,” Judy said.

“Believe me there was no swooning going on,” Hope said.

“Good, because I’d hate to see you lose Rick over this guy.”

So would Hope. They had been together for six months now, and she wasn’t planning to screw things up.

“Speaking of Rick, I don’t want him to know about Jonathan.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Judy warned.

“Please don’t say anything. I’m hoping Jonathan will go away and that will be the end of it.”

Judy shook her head. “My gut is telling me Jonathan’s just started and isn’t about to give up.”

“Well he’s going to have to because I am not interested in him.”

“If you let Rick know, maybe he can help with the Jonathan situation.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Hope sighed. “Rick may just beat the crap out of him which could jeopardize his job. I’m not going to let that happen.”

“I don’t think he would go to such lengths,” Judy said.

“I don’t want to find out.” Hope said. “That’s why I don’t want him to know about this.”

Judy hesitated. Something wasn’t right here, she could feel it, but didn’t have the time to question Hope about it. She had to get back to the restaurant.

“All right, I won’t say anything,” Judy said then added, “For now, but if Jonathan keeps coming around I may reconsider.”

“Thanks and don’t worry. I don’t think he’ll be back.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Judy said. “Plus, I got a strange feeling about him when I shook his hand. I was trying to figure out what I was sensing, but he quickly removed his hand from mine. I got the sense that he knew what I was doing. This makes me think he might be psychic.”

“Great,” Hope moaned.

“Just be careful.”

After Judy took off, Hope sank down in her chair in defeat. The last thing she needed was some psychic who was using his abilities to hit on her. She groaned just thinking about it. Thoughts of Jonathan were soon pushed away when the phone rang. Hope was glad for the reprieve, not wanting to have to think about him any longer.

Judy’s mind was on Hope when she entered the restaurant, so she didn’t notice one of her customers trying to get her attention. It wasn’t until Judy was right by her table that she succeeded.

“Earth to Judy,” the woman bellowed.

Judy spun around in the direction of the voice.

“Sorry Mary Jane, my mind was elsewhere.”

“Was it ever,” she remarked. “I hope it was on that hunk of a husband of yours.”

Judy laughed. “Unfortunately no, I was worried about a friend.”

“Hope?” Mary Jane questioned.

Judy nodded. “Yep.”

“Is she all right?” she asked in concern.

“I hope so.”

“What’s going on?”

“I can’t say.”

“Sounds intriguing, is it something sordid?”

“No,” Judy chuckled.

“Too bad, I like dishing the dirt.”

Mary Jane loved anything scandalous, which wasn’t surprising since she owned her own phone sex business. Men could call 1-800-PLEASURE and for a fee, she would talk dirty to them. Mary Jane had been doing this for years and had a lucrative business. Judy had met her a few months back when Mary Jane began frequenting the restaurant. They became fast friends. It never bothered Judy that she was in the business of sex, as Judy tried not to judge people. What did bother her was that her friend was hell bent on hiring Judy to run a psychic hotline, something she kept hounding her about.

“So have you given more thought about going into business with me?” Mary Jane asked.

“I don’t think so. I’m already busy enough with this restaurant.”

“You wouldn’t have to do it full time,” Mary Jane said. “A few times a week.”

“I’m really not interested in telling people their fortunes,” Judy said. “Besides, I’m not that confident in my abilities to do something like that.”

Mary Jane waved her comment away, “You don’t have to be confident. You can always fake it if you have to. I do all the time and the men keep coming back for more.”

“In your line of business faking is acceptable. For people looking to have their futures foretold, it’s not.”

“Honey, people calling 1-800 numbers really aren’t expecting much, so I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“I’m also worried that our lines of business might cross and I might end up with someone looking for sex instead of a reading. I don’t think I could handle that.”

“Sure you could,” Mary Jane said. “You could follow one of my scripts if that were to happen.”

“You have a sex script!” Judy implored.

“Sure do,” Mary Jane said. “I created a whole bunch of them. They come in handy when I’m training a new girl and she gets tongue-tied. All she has to do is pull one up on the computer and go from there.”

“I still wouldn’t feel comfortable doing that.” Judy shuddered.

“Then all you have to do is tell them to hold on while you change into something sexy and hand the phone to me.”

“Still, what happens if in the middle of telling them their fortune they start talking dirty to me?”

“Then play along.”

Judy rolled her eyes. “I can just see it now, I’m telling someone about their love life while describing what type of panties I am wearing.”

“You got the idea,” Mary Jane commended.

Judy cringed. “No thank you. I’m not interested in talking dirty.”

Mary Jane laughed. “It’s fun. You should try it sometime.”

“I do and only with my husband.”

“You go girl!” Mary Jane applauded.

“Look, I think I’ll pass on your offer,” Judy said.

Mary Jane shrugged. “That’s too bad. I think you would be good at it.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, but no.”

Just then Rick walked in. Judy could have hugged him for the interruption, as she didn’t want to discuss Mary Jane’s business proposition anymore.

“Good morning ladies.” Rick greeted.

“Good morning yourself,” Mary Jane swooned

Rick chuckled over her reaction. “Sorry to interrupt, but I need to speak with Judy.”

“I’m jealous,” Mary Jane pouted. “Judy has all these gorgeous men vying for her attention and I have none.”

“Oh please,” Rick said. “You have men calling you every day.”

“Yah, to get their rocks off over the phone,” Mary Jane sighed. “I want a real man. Someone I can share my life with, come home to after a busy day, have quickies with in the afternoon.”

Judy held up her hand. “Okay, we get the picture.”

“I’m sure you’ll find someone,” Rick assured.

“Not like you,” Mary Jane purred. “If Hope ever gets bored of you, give me a call.” Mary Jane winked at him.

Rick laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“God she’s hopeless,” Judy chuckled as they walked to her office. “You know how many of my customers she has hit on?”

“Does she get any dates?” Rick asked.

“All the time, but she says she never feels a spark with any of them so she doesn’t go out on a second date.”

“Spark is important,” Rick agreed. “Look at me and Hope.”

His comment made Judy think of Jonathan and the spark he was trying to get with Hope. Instantly she felt guilty. Rick needed to know about this guy, especially if he continued mulling around her friend.

Judy debated whether she should say anything to him about this, but opted not to. It was really up to Hope to mention this.

“So what do you have for me?” Judy asked once they stepped inside her office.

Rick closed the door. Reaching into his bag he pulled out two pairs of gloves. They both put them on before Rick pulled out a blood-stained shirt than handed it over to Judy. Judy’s stomach churned at the sight of it. Quickly she put an energy bubble around her to protect herself from any foul energy the shirt may possess, before doing her psychic investigation.

Grabbing the shirt, she closed her eyes and ran her hand over it. Instantly she was aware of a sharp pain at her throat and the feeling of blood trickling down the front of her body. She felt herself begin to sink to the ground as she gasped for breath. She looked up and saw a man standing over her with a knife in his hand. She tried to focus on the man’s features as well as the weapon he was using. The man grabbed her roughly as he dragged her to a room. She looked at her surroundings and noticed a wall of tools on the far side beside a parked car. The man opened up a door, shoved her inside then closed the door. She heard what sounded like a rush of cars in the background. Darkness surrounded her as she lay there bleeding, knowing that death was just around the corner. Judy came out of her trance before she felt the person slip away.

“Are you all right?” Rick asked noting her pale face.

Judy shook off the icky feeling before answering. “Fine.”

This was hard on Judy as she always took on the role of the victim when she was doing her psychic evaluation, so she felt everything that had happened to the person.

“Here sit down,” Rick led her to a chair. “So what did you see?”

“I saw a man, but didn’t get a good view of him. He was holding what looked like a butterfly knife in his hand. I felt a pain in the left side of my throat and blood running down the front of me, so I assume he stabbed the victim with it. Then he dragged this person to a closet and shoved them inside.”

“Do you know where they were?” Rick asked while writing.

“It looked like a garage where they fix vehicles, as I saw tools and a car. I also heard the sound of cars, like the building was by a highway or something.”

A smile formed on Rick’s face. “This is great Judy, thanks.”

“Glad I can be of help,” she said in a low voice, still reeling over the effects of what she saw.

Rick looked at her with concern. “Are you sure you are all right? You don’t look too good.”

“Feeling a person dying, especially after being brutally attacked, isn’t the most pleasant experience.”

“I guess not,” Rick concurred. “Do you want me to stay?” he asked.

Judy nodded. “If you don’t mind.”

“You know we’ve solved almost every case since you’ve been helping us.”

“I’m glad.”

“Were happy to be putting the bad guys behind bars so that the families get closure, that’s about all I can do as a cop. I can’t take away their hurt, pain or grief, but I can arrest the person who caused it and make sure they don’t hurt anyone again.”

Judy smiled. She was glad that she could be of assistance, even if it meant that sometimes she went through hell in the process. It was a small price to pay to stop the perpetrator.

“So tell me how it went last night at Hope’s family Christmas gathering?” Rick asked, changing the subject.

Judy became tongue-tied at his question. Her mind reverted back to Hope and Jonathan and the guilt returned.

“Did something happen?” Rick questioned.

Judy found her voice. “No, just the usual, petty fights, verbal assaults, and insults.”

“So the normal Christmas spirit in action,” Rick said in sarcasm.

“That’s right, ho, ho, ho, merry fucking Christmas,” Judy sang.

Rick laughed. “I think I just heard that song on the radio driving over here.”

“I think that should be Hope’s Christmas anthem,” Judy joked.

“She told me it wasn’t a pleasant evening.”

“You know, her family gatherings make mine look almost normal,” Judy remarked.

Rick laughed again. “I must admit your family functions are entertaining.”

Judy had to agree, there was never a dull moment when her family got together. They were a handful.

“I just can’t figure out how Hope turned out so positive with that bunch,” Judy commented.

“I credit her aunt Millie for her optimism,” Rick said.

“I love Aunt Millie. She’s a hoot.”

“You know what she gave me for my birthday?” Rick asked.

Judy shook her head.

“One of her creations.” He answered dryly.

“Oh, no,” Judy groaned. “What was it?”

Rick chuckled. “A naked woman who was very well endowed.”

Judy laughed. “Well at least it will match Hope’s well endowed man. Now you have his and her statues.”

Rick shook his head sadly. “I hate to see what she’s going to give us for Christmas.”

Judy was starting to feel better. Rick was still hesitant to leave, but Judy forced him to. He looked tired and she didn’t want to keep him any longer. As she watched him leave, she thought of how lucky Hope was to have him. He was a great guy. She just hoped that her friend wouldn’t let Jonathan screw that up.