Chapter 49
“That’s crazy,” Annie said when Vera told her that Sheila thought she saw the creepy man from the cruise. “Don’t you think?”
“Stranger things have happened,” Vera said. “But I do think it’s a stretch, even though the man seemed to be infatuated with Sheila for most of the cruise. I mean, he stared at her. Then all of a sudden he was with that Theresa, who was heckling Sheila. Then we never saw him again.”
“Maybe he wasn’t infatuated. Maybe he didn’t like her at all,” Annie said. “And we know Theresa doesn’t like her.”
“Well, whatever; Sheila noticed it and it made her uneasy even before she tripped over Allie,” Vera said.
“How is Sheila’s head?” Annie asked.
“Still bruised. But she said she was feeling better. I tell you, Annie, I’m so glad to be home. First the murder, then the storm, then the heckling.”
“But what about the rest of the cruise?”
“Eh,” Vera said. “The food was good. And so was the scrapbooking. I’ve been using doilies and making some great patterns on my pages. We also learned about gels, chalks, paints. It was fun. And it was awesome seeing Sheila get that award. She was glowing that night, you know? All these years of hard work . . .”
“I’m sorry I missed that. But you all took pictures, right?”
“Of course. By the way, Annie, happy Hanukkah.”
“Thanks. We’ve had some wonderful evenings. My Hanukkah scrapbook is filling up.”
“I can’t wait to see it. You are coming on Saturday?”
“Yep.”
“Mommy!” Ben cried. He had been sleeping and awoke suddenly.
“I gotta go,” Annie said, and turned to find her son walking toward her, drenched in sweat. He didn’t have strep, but the doctor thought it could be the flu and they were still waiting for the test results. He fell into her arms, burning with fever. She glanced at the clock—it was time for another round of ibuprofen.
“Sit down, sweetie,” Annie said. “I’ll get you some water and some medicine.”
He curled up on the couch. By the time she brought the water and pills to him, he was softly snoring. Poor boy. She gently shook him awake to take the pill, which he did before promptly falling back asleep. She grabbed the throw from the back of her couch and wrapped her boy up in it.
Her phone rang again. It was the school nurse. Sam had come down with the same thing, apparently. “I’ll try to get there soon. But I need to find someone to stay with Ben.”
“Understood. We’ll keep him in here on the cot until you come for him. He’s not going anywhere,” the nurse said.
Beatrice and Vera were out of the question. That afternoon was Elizabeth’s Christmas concert at her preschool. DeeAnn was working. She called Sheila, who said she’d be happy to come right over.
When Annie opened the door, she was surprised to see Sheila looking so pale—and the bump on her head was still there, quite visible.
“Thanks for coming, Sheila,” Annie said. “I shouldn’t be long. Your bump is still there?”
Sheila nodded. “It’s much smaller than it was, believe me.”
“I can’t wait to catch up,” Annie said. “But I’ve got to run.”
“I’ll be here,” Sheila said, and stepped forward into the foyer. “Don’t worry about us.”
“Okay.” Annie turned to leave and then shut the door. She heard the clicking of the lock. Odd. Sheila must still be a bit spooked.
But as she headed to her car, she spotted a man walking by her house and looking it over with some interest. Annie’s reporter instincts kicked in.
“Can I help you?” she said, her eyes locked on him. He looked up at her, surprised. He shook his head and shrugged.
She walked toward him. “Do you need some help? Directions?”
He kept walking. “I’m going for a walk, enjoying the day,” he said, and then moved quickly away.
Annie stood on her sidewalk and watched him disappear around the corner. Who the hell was that? Was that the man Sheila thought was her creepy guy from the cruise? He was creepy—soft looking, with watery brown shifty eyes, and wearing a ski hat, long black coat, and boots. This man did not belong in the neighborhood. Waves of fear rolled through her as her heart thumped against her chest.
She took a deep breath. In the meantime, she had to pick up Sam from school and get back home to tend her two sick boys. But if this was the man Sheila had witnessed wandering the streets earlier, Annie could see why she was freaked out.
Soon she had both of her sick, feverish sons home, each in his own bed with a bucket next to him. Please, God, don’t let them throw up again.
She walked out to her living room, where Sheila was perched, watching television and eating fresh rum cake that she had brought over with her. Annie told her about the man she’d observed.
Sheila’s jaw dropped. “I told them! I told all of them. He’s here! I know that’s him.”
“Just a minute, Sheila. Stop and think. Why would he be here, in Cumberland Creek?”
“I have no idea . . . unless he wants me . . . wants me for some perverse reason,” Sheila said, dropping her cake onto the plate.
“He came all the way from Florida so he could stalk you?” Annie said, trying to calm Sheila. But she knew stalkers had done worse and gone further for their victims. Annie sat back and lifted a cup of tea that Sheila had made to her lips. She was pleased that it was still warm.
Sheila’s shoulders dropped. “I suppose it does sound a little crazy. But if that’s not him, the guy really looks like him. I saw him for five days straight on the cruise. He was at the next crop table over. Almost every time I looked up, he was staring at me. It wasn’t like, I don’t know, a nice stare. It was full of hatred.”
“Why would the man hate you?” Annie asked.
“I’ve asked myself that question,” she said, and flung her arms up. “But people are crazy. Look at what happened to poor Allie. I don’t know why anybody would want to kill her.”
“But you didn’t know her that well, Sheila,” Annie pointed out. “Who knows what she was really like, what she was involved in, and so on?”
“Whatever it was, she certainly should not have been killed for it,” Sheila said. “I was shocked by the competitive nature of some of these big scrapbookers. But I really can’t see any of them as killers.”
Annie nodded in agreement, then said, “But come to think of it, if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years it’s that human nature is so complicated. I’m usually surprised to find out who killers actually are.”
“You know, that’s true,” Sheila said. “Sometimes it really is the boy or girl next door.”