Deception on All Accounts Page 9

  Sadie always thought that that particular activity had to be illegal, but she never openly questioned the bank's lending practices. When Adam had offered to put her name on the list for a car, she declined.

  She pulled her ten-year-old Chevy next to the curb a block and a half away and walked to the house. A string of paper lanterns hung from the trees and blinking lights outlined the curved walkway toward a gate at the side of the house. Sadie walked to the end of the path and stopped. She could hear the crowd talking and laughing around the corner and for a split second she thought about fleeing back to the refuge of her dirty-brown car. Looking at the display of vegetables on her grandmother's beautiful plate, she took a deep breath and continued. Donna stumbled toward Sadie, a pink drink in one hand and a red paper bow stuck to the top of her head.

  “Look, everybody,” Donna yelled back into the crowd. “It's our little Indian princess.”

  Sadie swallowed and waited for a moment while she reassessed her first inclination to run. Her face felt warm, partly from the angry blood rushing to her face and partly from the humidity that hung in the air. But, for some reason, she was determined to show she was stronger than her shallow-minded co-worker.

  “Here, let me take that,” said Donna, taking Sadie's platter of vegetables. “I'll show you where you can put your things.”

  People sat in clumps around tiny tables on a perfectly landscaped terrace between the pool and the patio. Individuals milled back and forth from outside into the house. A car race thundered across a big-screen TV set up at one end of the pool where most of the men stood drinking beer. Sadie followed Donna through a maze of people, through an open set of patio doors that led into the combined kitchen and dining area. The women had congregated in two locations—the den and the kitchen. A game of Trivial Pursuit was going on in the den. The kitchen was full of food. Sadie hated games so she opted for the food.

  A long table, decked in a white lace tablecloth, held an eclectic group of food concoctions placed precariously around a crystal bowl brimming with something pink. Donna's drink of choice, she presumed. Sadie plucked at fruit balls brimming out of a watermelon that had been hollowed out in the shape of a basket. Then she added miniature egg rolls and cocktail wieners to her red, white, and blue paper plate. She made her way completely around the long table, fetched a cream puff to balance on the corner of her sagging cardboard dish, and realized her vegetables were nowhere to be seen. There must not be enough room for all the food here, she thought, and made a mental note to check the other rooms for the rest of the food.

  The doorbell rang, announcing more arrivals at the front door, and Sadie wondered if she had mistakenly entered the party through the wrong door. One of the voices belonged to Adam, but she did not recognize the other. Sadie bit into a cream puff and white powdered sugar sifted onto the colorful stretchy material that lay on top of her shapely breasts.

  “Damn it,” she mumbled.

  Sadie put her plate down on the edge of the table and reached for a napkin. She leaned over and attempted to knock the powder onto the floor before it sank into the fabric.

  “Need some help?” Adam stood in the doorway holding two twelve-packs of imported beer. Sadie thought she could hear the old friendship they'd once had returning to his voice.

  “Oh, Adam,” she said. “I am such a klutz.” Sadie's face flushed as she continued to dab until she successfully dissipated the remaining powder.

  “Heard you were up for a new position, Sadie. You got my vote, you know.”

  “I bet.” Sadie didn't try to hide the sarcasm in her voice.

  Adam opened the refrigerator and began to rearrange wine bottles until he could cram in the last of his beer.

  “Be nice now,” he said. “By the way, do you remember my friend Jaycee?” Turning, Adam nodded toward the doorway. “Jaycee, Sadie's going to be the new security officer at the bank.”

  “Oh, really?” said Sadie to a confident Adam and then shifted her attention to his friend.

  Jaycee spoke first. “Actually, we already know each other.”

  “Really? I don't remember you,” Sadie lied and then smiled with electric blue eyes.

  “I remember you,” he teased. “You looked like you were overcome by the loss of your hair.” He threw his head back and ran his fingers through make-believe locks of hair.

  “Oh?”

  “Ever hear about Samson?” he asked.

  “Samson?”

  “He lost his strength when Delilah cut his hair.”

  “And you think that's going to happen to me?”

  “No, you're too pretty for that. And I must say it is a pleasure to see you again.”

  Jaycee took her hand and Sadie found herself unthinkingly staring at his fingertips. Adam dismissed the couple and retreated through the doors to the patio.

  “Anybody need a beer…” Adam's voice trailed off into the party.

  “It really is nice to see you again,” said Jaycee. He continued to hold her hand in both of his and stare directly into her face. His penetrating eyes reminded her of how handsome she thought he was the first time she saw him.

  “You'd better be careful.” Sadie pulled her hand free. “How do you know you can trust me not to blow your cover?”

  A frown covered his face. “What cover is that, may I ask?” The tone of his voice went flat.

  Continuing the tease, Sadie added, “I'll tell them where you have your nails done.”

  They both burst into laughter and Adam reappeared at the doorway. “Hey, man, are you going to jabber all night? You're going to miss all the fun.”

  “In a minute.” Jaycee waved Adam away. “I want to hear more about your ranch,” he said, returning his attention to Sadie. “You really live on a ranch?”

  “No,” she laughed. “I live in a farmhouse.” Then after a moment, she added, “With a dog in the yard and a horse in the barn.”

  “And a husband?”

  “No, not anymore, and you don't want to go there,” Sadie warned. Then seizing the opportunity to reciprocate, “What about you?” Her eyes had not detected any sign of a wedding ring earlier.

  “No, not me. I'm free as a bird,” he assured her. “Say, I'd love to see your ranch.”

  Adam stuck his head around the corner again, this time with a short stubby cigar dangling from the corner of his mouth. “Jaycee, you got to help me out here. They're ganging up on me in this poker game. Did you bring any money?”

  “Duty calls,” Jaycee said, making a slow retreat toward the door. “I may have to referee the betting out here. Maybe we can talk later?” And with that he was gone.

  Suddenly, the kitchen seemed cold and empty. Sadie strolled first outside and around the pool, then back inside to the kitchen. As usual, she appeared to be the only person with skin color there. She felt like a puppy who had wandered into a wolf den, realizing they all had four legs and fur but that the similarities ended there. Except for Jaycee, who would look up from the poker table from time to time and smile, her presence seemed to be totally unnoticed. That is, until she stepped on someone lying on the floor or tried to squeeze through the hallway en route to the sanctuary of the bathroom.

  Eyeing a quiet corner in the den, she staked claim to an easy chair and began to wonder why she was there. She knew she didn't fit in and figured she never would. She had run into Officer Lance Smith earlier in the week and he had invited her to a Memorial Day stomp dance. She had been flattered at the invitation, but having already committed to the party, she declined.

  Going to a stomp dance was kind of like going to church, Cherokee style. She had been raised in the Baptist church and her family rarely attended stomp dances. But she'd heard about the ceremony, held entirely in the Cherokee language, where the participants danced around the sacred fire. It had almost been lost after the Cherokees moved to Indian Territory but had been revived in an effort to preserve the old ways. Sadie's dad used to remind her to never forget where her people came from. Now, she wish
ed she had gone with Lance. But, she rationalized, that path would have caused her to miss seeing Jaycee.

  The men continued to play cards and channel-surf from one sports event to another, whooping and hollering until the night skies flickered and dumped a rainshower all over everything. In a matter of seconds, the party moved inside, big-screen TV and all.

  The night wore on and after several trips through the maze of the house, she decided she'd had enough fun for one night. The only friendly people were Adam and Jaycee, and they both seemed to be busy. Deciding an exit could be deemed reasonable, she looked around for Donna or Cindy to say goodnight. Suddenly, she remembered her grandmother's plate.

  “Donna, what did you do with the plate I brought?”

  “I don't know,” she said. “I gave it to Cindy.”

  Sadie looked down the hallway where she had last seen Cindy. The first door was closed, but she could hear a group sending up what sounded like cheers every few minutes. She opened the door and stood there unnoticed while her eyes adjusted to the darkness. A tall, slender girl in a fluorescent-green string bikini leaned over a mirror-topped coffee table. She held a dollar bill rolled in the shape of a short straw between her thumb and first finger. The girl grasped her long, straight blond hair and held it while she placed one end of the bill to her nose and the other end to the mirror. With a sucking noise, she drew the makeshift straw down a line of white powder, snorting the substance into her nose. Another cheer rose from the crowded room. The blond, still clutching the money straw in her hand, fell backward on the bed.

  Sadie cringed and fought a flood of nightmarish memories, expertly repressed but not yet evicted from her mind. “Damn,” she said.

  “Hey, close the door,” came a voice from the darkness.

  “Either get in or get out,” another faceless voice demanded.

  “Oh…sorry…just looking for Cindy,” she said, trying to crawfish, physically and mentally.

  “Try next door.”

  Sadie wasn't sure she wanted to try the next door, but she did. Sure enough, she found Cindy and Adam, working their way around the corner of the bed. Just as Cindy tossed her underwear toward the ceiling with her big toe, Sadie backed out and closed the door.

  “That's it,” she said in a loud voice as she walked back down the hall.

  The kitchen was empty. She thought about getting her plate later and then reconsidered. “No, I'm not going to leave Grandmother's plate,” she said aloud. She opened the refrigerator. Nothing there but wine and beer. The countertop was strewn with discarded paper plates, empty glasses, and wads of aluminum foil that hadn't quite made it to the trash. Suddenly, Jaycee appeared out of nowhere.

  “You're not leaving, are you?” he asked.

  “Yes, I need to go…but I brought a tray of vegetables and I can't seem to find my plate. Have you seen any lost broccoli lately?” Her voice reflected her irritation.

  “No, but I'll help you look.”

  Sadie's eyes moved down the counter and came to rest on two overflowing trash cans. Behind the first, the lid was tilted just enough on the second container for Sadie to see the edge of her grandmother's plate sticking out from under a broken wine bottle. The blood drained from her head and she almost stumbled as she ran across the floor.

  “Oh, no,” she whimpered. “Please don't let my plate be broken.” Sadie threw off the lid and picked at the top layer of trash, letting it fall where it may. Her beautiful plate of vegetables lay there with the plastic wrap still in place.

  “What?” asked Jaycee. “Someone threw it away? Plate and all? I can't believe it.”

  Sadie loosened the covering, allowing the entire contents of the plate to bounce across the floor. Her heart raced as she desperately touched the plate, searching for cracks.

  “Is it all right?” Jaycee seemed to be genuinely concerned.

  “I think so. I've got to go.”

  The screen door slammed behind her as she escaped out a side door. Cool, summer rain mixed with angry tears as she ran up the street to her car.

  Jaycee's instincts told him to follow Sadie and he reached for the door. He wanted to catch her, take her in his arms, hold her, and tell her everything would be all right. As he opened the door, he felt a set of sharp fingernails in his side.

  “You're not going anywhere, are you, honey?” The words came from behind him and were accompanied by a warm breath and nibble on his ear. “The party's just getting started.” Donna rubbed her breasts against his arm as she pushed the door closed.

  Chapter 10

  The windshield wipers flopped from side to side with an irritating squeak as Sadie drove on autopilot, taking an extra circle around the lake. Her mind churned and replayed the party. She wished she could hide her schoolgirl feelings about Jaycee. Then she began to think about her grandmother's plate. The fillings in her teeth ached and she realized her jaw was as tight as a vise. She tried to relax.

  What is wrong with those people?

  The scene of the cocaine gang resurfaced, propelling her thoughts to Michael. She lowered the window, hoping the fresh air would clear her head.

  As she turned up the lane toward the house, Sonny's eyes reflected in the headlights for a moment before the automatic sensor caught the movement of the car and flicked on the pole light. Sadie slipped off her new sandals and fumbled for an old pair of sneakers she kept under the car seat. With a second thought, she decided to go barefoot. After all, she was dressed for water. Holding her grandmother's plate next to her chest and her shoes in her hand, she dodged mud puddles all the way to the door.

  Once inside the safe haven of the enclosed back porch, Sadie squeezed the excess water from her hair, wiped her feet on an old rug, and stood dripping. Sonny stuck his head through his custom-made doggy door, pushing the rubber flap up with his nose. As if judging the situation under control, he slid through the opening. He looked at Sadie, then shook water from his entire body, starting at his nose and ending with the tip of his tail.

  “Nice rain, Sonny?” Sadie smiled and ran her hand up his long nose and over the top of his wet head as he nuzzled her fingers. Silently, he asked if he could come inside. “Oh, okay. Come on,” Sadie gave in and then rationalized, “I'll let you back out in a little while.”

  Inside the kitchen, she placed the rescued plate gingerly on the table and picked up a towel. Sonny stood perfectly still while she wiped his face, ears, and back, then raised one foot at a time so she could dry the bottom of his feet. Her mind continued to grind and she began to talk to Sonny as if he were a person. “Guess I'll think twice before I do something like that again,” she said. “I don't know what on earth I was thinking. I will never fit in with those people…and I don't know why in the world I try.”

  The antique clock above the living-room fireplace chimed one time. Simultaneously, the shriek of the phone in the quiet house caused Sadie to jump. Instantly, thoughts of bad news or an emergency swirled in her head. When she picked up the receiver, she noticed the tiny red light on the answering machine blinking erratically as if sending out Morse code.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello there.” Sadie's heart skipped a beat when she heard Jaycee's voice. “Sorry to bother you so late, but I left a message earlier and I was worried.”

  “Worried?”

  “Did you have trouble getting home in the storm?”

  “Storm?”

  “Isn't it raining at your house? It's a flood here.”

  “Where are you?” she asked.

  “Back at my place…about halfway between Sycamore Springs and Tulsa.”

  “Oh, you're already back there? No, we just have rain. Not enough for a flood I don't think.”

  “I was concerned about you when you left. You were so upset. I couldn't believe we found your plate in the trash. Are you all right?”

  Sadie touched the edge of the plate with her fingertips. “Yes, I'm okay. It's just that—”

  “How far from Sycamore Springs are you, anyway? I've
got to go to an estate sale near there in the morning and I thought you said you lived—”

  “Oh, the Burgess auction?”

  “And since I'm going to be up there, I thought maybe you could show me around that part of the country. That is, if you're not busy.”

  “I'd love to,” she gushed. “Actually, I had planned to stop by that auction myself. You know, always looking for a bargain.”

  “Good.” Jaycee sounded excited. “Then it's a date? I'll look for you. It's supposed to start at ten and I thought I'd get there a little early, say around nine-thirty if I can find the place. I hope it's not raining.”

  “Okay then, I'll look for you, too.”

  “The party got pretty boring after you left.”

  “Oh, really?” The conversation idled for a moment. Sadie had no plans to share her opinion of the party with Adam's friend. Not yet, anyway. “By the way, how did you get my number?”

  “I beat it out of Adam,” he laughed. “Say, can you give me directions? It says on this flyer six miles east…”

  Sadie gave him directions, pausing periodically while he slowly repeated her words as if he were taking notes.

  “Hey, thanks. I think I can find it now. If I get lost, I'll call you and you can send out a search party.”

  Sadie chuckled, wondering how he was going to call her. Telephone satellite signals had a tendency to bounce a lot between the valleys and ridges in northeastern Oklahoma causing the reception on most cell phone conversations to be short-lived. Knowing that, she had never invested in a wireless phone.

  “I'll talk to you in the morning then,” he said. “Sleep tight.”

  Sadie held the phone receiver against her chest for a moment before she replaced it gently on the hook. Wow, things are looking up…a date…with a hunk…I don't believe it. She pushed her shoulders back and smiled while she ran her fingers through her wet hair. Then she pushed the button on her answering machine and listened to the voice on the tape.