Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
W hen Maisey got home the next afternoon, there were four boxes on the front porch. There’s no way that I’m going to do all of these. There won’t be anything left of me , she told herself. Ten minutes later, she’d printed out a sign and put it on the storm door.
NOTICE: Any packages left here by private citizens will be removed and taken to the sheriff’s department. They can be picked up there. We are not responsible for boxes that are damaged or stolen.
She set about pulling herself together to go to dinner in Somerset. She’d only been home about ten minutes when she heard the front door open and close and a big voice called out, “Maisey?”
“Back here, babe.” Dress across her arm, she worked to see if she could find jewelry that would look good with it.
Aaron stopped in the bedroom doorway and stared at Maisey. “Love your sign. Those boxes were left out there today?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m glad you’re standing up for yourself. I’ll load them into my cruiser and take them to the office tomorrow. About ready for dinner?”
“Yeah. Cherilyn will be here any minute to pick up Murielle.”
An hour later, they were seated at a small table in the restaurant, and Maisey scanned her surroundings. Several people were shooting glances toward her, and she knew they recognized her from the TV coverage. “I’m sorry, Aaron. We’re drawing attention.”
He shrugged. “Nothing you can do about it. Ignore them. You don’t need to defend yourself against anything. You did nothing wrong.”
“I’m just sorry it’s affecting you.”
His smile was gentle. “No problem, angel. People are naturally curious, and there’s nothing we can do about that.”
All through dinner, Maisey tried to ignore the stares and whispers, but it was growing more and more difficult. Her food kept sticking in her throat, and it was getting harder and harder to swallow. Only half of her plate was clean when she could feel her eyes welling, and in no time hot tears were creeping down her cheeks. “Maise?” She couldn’t look up at Aaron. “Maise? Look at me, babe. Come on.” When she finally met his eyes, he was smiling, a gentle smile that warmed her heart. “I’ll take care of this.”
Before she could stop him, Aaron stood. Maisey had no idea what was about to happen, but she could already feel herself unraveling. He picked up his water glass and his butter knife. “Could I have everyone’s attention, please? Which shouldn’t be hard, because apparently we already do,” he called out, tapping his glass with the knife’s blade. When everyone turned to look, Aaron put down the glass and cut loose with that deep Texas drawl. “My name is Deputy SheriffAaron Friedman, and this is my wife, MaiseyFriedman. And yes―she’s exactly who you think she is. We’re having a very hard time enjoying our meal, which we paid for just like y’all are paying for yours, because you’re all staring and whispering. You’re making her very uncomfortable.” Maisey’s cheeks felt like they were on fire. “So here’s the deal―I love her, and I’d really like it if she could enjoy herself because she works hard helping to take care of kids who, frankly, none of you want to be bothered with. So thanks for your anticipated cooperation.” And he sat back down.
A shadow fell across the table, and Maisey shuddered. In a second, they’d be ejected from the restaurant, and her humiliation would be complete. “Mrs.Friedman?” a quiet male voice said.
When she looked up, the man standing there had on a white shirt and black slacks. Before she could answer, he smiled down at her. “We want our customers to have a positive experience here. Your meal is comped, and I hope you’ll come back another time. Please give us a call and we’ll find a private section for you to sit in so you won’t have to go through this again. And I’m so sorry this has happened. Please pick out a dessert too, and you’ll be welcome to carry it home if you like. We’ll gladly package it for you, and again, we’re really sorry.”
“Not your fault, sir,” Maisey whispered, trying hard to stop crying. “But I appreciate you coming over here to talk to us.”
“You’re very welcome, ma’am. And by the way, sir,” he said as he turned to Aaron, “every man in this room is terrified right now because they’re afraid they’re going to have to learn to be as loving to their wives as you are to yours. I think you should get the husband of the year award.”
Aaron chuckled. “Thanks. This lady is my whole world, and I’ll always defend her.”
“That’s how it should be. I’m happy for both of you. You just let us know if you need anything else. Have a great evening.”
“Thank you, sir,” Aaron said and nodded to the host before the man turned to walk away.
“Thank you,” Maisey whispered across the table to her husband.
“Baby, I love you more than life itself. I’ll always have your back. Now eat your dinner and know that I love you.”
“I know. I love you too.” Maisey tried to smile, but it was almost impossible. Aaron was suffering because of her, but she didn’t know what to do about it. It might’ve been easier to take if he was angry or upset, but he didn’t seem to mind.
They left with carryout boxes, one with cheesecake and the other with lava cake. She really expected that someone would follow them out and beg her to help them, but no one did, and for that she was thankful. The idea that Aaron would lose his job and she’d have to bail him out of county lockup for punching some insistent stranger would’ve really ruined the night.
And if anyone had tried to touch her, that was exactly where Aaron would’ve wound up.
Thank god for Saturday afternoons. Maisey, Cherilyn, and Carly got the kids together to play. Maisey thought it seemed a bit unfair to Carly, except that the two oldest girls, Maya and Candace, loved playing with the baby, so Carly actually got some adult time in. They’d decided to meet at the local park, and there was plenty for the kids to do. Murielle and Lara played in the splash park just a few hundred feet away with about eight other kids. Cherilyn had a cooler full of drinks, and about an hour after they got there, Maisey would order pizza for everybody. It was a pleasant way to spend an afternoon.
“What are you grinning about? You’ve been grinning like a Cheshire cat all afternoon,” Maisey asked Cherilyn.
“I’ve got something exciting to tell you guys.”
Carly perked up. “Yeah? What?”
The willowy blond clapped her hands together and beamed. “I’m getting a brand-new minivan!”
“Wow! That’s awesome!” Carly sang out. “Congratulations!”
“Yeah, and I’m paying for it myself!”
That was a curiosity to Maisey. “Did you get a job?”
“Yes and no. I’ve got a way to make money, so I’ve been working at it, and it’s paying off.”
Oh, shit, here it comes , Maisey told herself. There was little doubt in her mind that in the near future, she’d be having a “party” for makeup or pots and pans or some kind of cleaning solution she was supposed to sell to her friends and relatives to help Cherilyn out. “So what are you selling?”
“Shaw gave me five thousand dollars to get started. I get notices from all of the self-storage companies around here when they’re selling the contents of storage units for back rent, and I go to the sales. Every unit I buy is a gamble because I don’t know what’s in it, but I’ve sort of figured it out. Seems like the bigger the space, the more likely that it’ll have valuable stuff in it, so I try to hold out for the larger ones. I go to the sales and pick out the units that it seems no one is really interested in, and I’ve found some amazing stuff in some of them.”
“Define ‘amazing,’” Maisey demanded.
“One of them had four sets of Haviland china in it, complete sets, three regular and a holiday set. There were two sets of silverware in it too, and three sets of beautiful crystal. I sold that stuff for a small fortune. Plus it also had a couple of paintings, so I did some research and found out they were fairly valuable. One went for over six thousand dollars at an art auction in Memphis.”
“No shit?” Carly belted out. “That’s amazing!”
“Yeah! I was so excited! I mean, there are duds too. I got into one that had a bunch of boxes of old books, and they were mostly crap, but I went through them and found two that were signed first editions. They weren’t worth a lot, but they paid for the purchase, and there were more things I sold from it, so it was okay. And I’ve learned to go on days when it’s raining. There are people who’ll show up on sunny days but don’t bother on rainy days. I’ve bought some really great units on rainy days. I paid about seven hundred for one of them and made over eleven grand off it.”
“Eleven grand? Are you serious?” Carly shrieked, then shook her head. “I’m in the wrong damn business,” she muttered.
“Yeah, nobody was more surprised than me. That particular unit had two furs, a box of really, really old vinyl―”
“Vinyl?” Maisey asked.
“Yeah. Albums.” The other two women nodded. “Several vintage designer handbags. And a lockbox of jewelry. And it was real too. I got over three thousand for one of the rings, and that was to a pawn shop owner. No telling what he got for it when he sold it.”
“How long have you been doing this?” Maisey asked.
“Couple of months. I have to be careful. It’s kind of addictive, and it’s easy to get emotionally caught up in the bidding. But Shaw says I have a real talent for it, and he’s very proud of me.”
“I bet.” Maisey was stunned. There was money to be had in that? She knew about the reality shows that featured people doing that, but she’d believed they were total setups. Apparently they were closer to real than she’d thought. “I don’t want to do it―you know, buy and sell―but could I go sometime? I’d love to be there when you open one up and see what’s in it.”
“Sure! That would be fun! I’d love to have somebody there to see it with me. Shaw is always at the house with the kids, so he doesn’t get to come. It would be a lot more fun with a friend there.”
That sounded exciting to Maisey. “When are you going again?”
“Actually, I got a message that they’re having a sale on Monday afternoon if you’re game.”
“Yes! I’ll talk to Aaron, but I’m sure it’ll be fine with him.”
“Good. Sounds like a good time. Just let me know.”
The three women went back to chatting about everything under the sun, but Maisey wouldn’t forget. How exciting! She’d get to see a treasure just as the chest was being opened.
As compared to most of her days, it would be a lot of fun.
Maisey stood by and watched. As soon as they got there, Cherilyn went to the office and signed in. Because it wasn’t real estate, she didn’t have to have a bank letter, but she had a certified copy of her bank account showing what she could afford, and they gave her a paddle with a number on it. Maisey almost snickered. It was a paint stirrer from the local hardware store with a piece of posterboard stuck to it, but whatever. It still worked. And she was really surprised at the turnout. There were only six people there to bid. That would make Cherilyn’s job a lot easier.
“Which ones?” she asked as Cherilyn rejoined her.
“Okay, here’s the map with all of the units marked. Guthrie, the guy over there in the blue ball cap?”
“Yeah?”
“He’ll bid on all the small ones. He’s got a junk store, and whatever’s in them, he’ll take to his store and just put out. He’s not picky. Same goes for Walt, the guy in the red jacket. He gets the small ones and has yard sales.” Cherilyn studied the map for a minute. “These are the two I want to focus on,” she said as she pointed to two large units on opposite corners of one building. “They’ll be the ones with the most―” Her words were interrupted by a loud peal of thunder. “Aww, yeah. Mama’s in luck today. Nobody else will show up. It’ll be us. My biggest contender will be Astrid over there.” With a name like Astrid, Maisey didn’t have to ask. The middle-aged woman dressed in goth attire with dark purple hair and too much eye makeup had to be the aforementioned bidder. “She looks for weird stuff, and she’s good at it too. She likes the bigger units, but we’ll see what she does.” A flash of lightning lit the sky. “This just gets better and better.”
They started at the smaller units. As people purchased them, Maisey waited, but no one opened them. “Why aren’t they opening them?”
“We don’t get to open them until we’ve paid for them,” Cherilyn explained.
“Oh. Right. That makes sense.”
They walked along until they came to one of the bigger units. “Okay, here we go. Uh-oh.”
“What?” Maisey whispered.
“I don’t know her. She’s a wild card.” Cherilyn cut her eyes toward a woman who looked to be midtwenties and was very well-dressed.
“Guess you’ve got your work cut out for you.”
“Yep. That just might be.”
The auctioneer stopped in front of the unit. “Okay, this is a twelve by twenty unit. Payments haven’t been made on it since last August. It was first rented three years ago.” There was another peal of thunder and, to Maisey’s dismay, a pelting rain started. She was really glad Cherilyn had talked her into wearing a raincoat. “Okay,” the auctioneer yelled over the din, “we’ll start the bidding at one hundred.” No one said a word. “Folks, I’m not standing out here in the weather for my health. Let’s get it started.” To Maisey’s surprise, Cherilyn looked around like she was totally disinterested. “Anybody? Anybody? Come on! At least―”
“I’ll start with fifty dollars,” Cherilyn called out in a voice that relayed total disgust.
“Fifty dollars? For a twelve by twenty―”
“I can do twenty-five if you’d like,” Cherilyn answered.
“Okay. Fifty it is. Do I hear a hundred?”
“Seventy-five,” the young woman called out.
“I have seventy-five. Anybody give me one hundred?” No one said a word. “Oh, come on! It’s gotta be worth a hundred!”
“Fine. A hundred,” Cherilyn called back.
“Okay! That’s better! I’ve got a hundred. How ’bout one fifty?” The young woman nodded. “I’ve got one fifty. Anybody got two?”
He waited and it seemed he was about to say something else when Cherilyn said, “Okay, two.”
“Two. That’s great. Two fifty. Can I get two fifty?”
“Two fifty,” the young woman sang out.
At that moment, the sky opened up, and the rain was nothing short of astounding. Several of the others who’d bid on smaller units ran for cover, and Maisey backed up until she was against the unit behind them. At least that gave her a little shelter. To her surprise, Cherilyn stood her ground. “I’ve got two fifty!” the auctioneer bellowed above the noise of the rain. “Can I get three hundred?” Maisey glanced at the young woman. She didn’t have on a raincoat, and she was drenched to the skin and shaking. “Two fifty! Two fifty going once, two fifty going twice…”
“Three hundred,” Cherilyn belted out.
“I’ve got three hundred!” The auctioneer glanced at the young woman, and before he asked if she wanted to bid, she turned and darted away. “Three hundred once, three hundred going twice, sold for three hundred to paddle fourteen!” Before he turned, he glared at Cherilyn. “I’ll let you have the other big one for a total of five hundred for both.”
“Sold,” Cherilyn said and nodded to him. “Come on!” she barked at Maisey and they both took off at a run toward the office.
“What do we do now?” Maisey asked as soon as Cherilyn had paid.
“Let’s go grab a sandwich and see if we can wait out the rain. If we can, we’ll come back and look inside.”
“Sounds good.”
An hour later, they stood in front of the first large unit, and the auctioneer, whose name turned out to be Chris, unlocked the unit. “Here ya go.”
“Thanks, Chris,” Cherilyn said and reached out toward him. “If you’ll go down and unlock the other one, here’s my padlock for it.”
“Sure thing. I’m going home after that. Y’all knock yourselves out.” He seemed totally disgusted at the afternoon’s lost revenue, but when he stepped away, Maisey caught Cherilyn’s eyes, and she was almost giddy.
“Okay, here we go! Can’t wait!” Her friend slid the latch sideways and threw the roll-up door open. When Maisey looked in, she gasped. “Holy shit,” Cherilyn whispered.
“Oh my god.” Hanging from the ceiling of the unit were three of the most elaborate, enormous crystal chandeliers Maisey had ever seen. “Those damn things…”
“Yeah. Let’s see what else is in here.” They started moving boxes around. “Nice furniture. Chippendale,” Cherilyn said, admiring a dining table and eight chairs.
“Yeah, and this china cabinet is gorgeous.”
“Yeah. Look at these paintings. All pastoral scenes. I’ll have to check on the artists.” The women prowled, and Maisey was astonished. There were literally thousands of dollars’ worth of goods in the unit.
“This is amazing,” she whispered to Cherilyn.
“Yeah. It’ll take weeks for me to go through all of this, but it looks like the storm is doubling back. Let’s run down to the other building and see what’s in there.”
When that door was flung open, Maisey was disappointed. It was total disarray, and most of it seemed to be old stuffed toys and clothes. “What do you do with this stuff?”
“Vintage things, like bags and coats, go for a lot, but most somewhat current clothing isn’t worth much. I’ll go through it and donate it to a local charity. There’s some glassware that might be decent, but that’s about it.”
“So none of these clothes are really worth anything?”
“No.”
Maisey spotted something in one of the piles. “So if I were to find something―”
“Honey, you’re my friend. You just stood out in a monsoon with me. If you see something you want, by all means, take it. I’ll make a fortune off that first building. This stuff… negligible. Help yourself.”
Maisey wandered to the pile she’d noticed. There, on top, was the prettiest pair of western boots she’d ever seen. She looked inside the top of the shaft―yep, her size―so she held them up. “Are you sure…”
“You want them, they’re yours. Come on. Let’s go before the weather gets any worse.”
They headed back to Maisey and Aaron’s, the boots in Maisey’s lap. They were cute, and she could see herself wearing them with a little sundress and a sweater. Aaron would like them for sure.
She dropped her raincoat on the front porch swing and stepped inside. “Hey, babe!” Aaron called out and grabbed her as soon as he saw her, then planted a big hot kiss right on her lips. He pulled back and grinned. “Have a good time?”
“Yeah. It was fun, even in the rain.”
“Did she find some good stuff?”
“Babe, she bought a unit for three hundred dollars that’s got at least twenty thousand dollars’ worth of stuff in it. It’s amazing.”
“Those aren’t worth twenty thousand,” he said and pointed at the boots. “Pink western boots?”
“Yeah, I thought they were cute. They were in another unit she bought. Most of the stuff in it wasn’t worth anything, so she told me to take anything I saw that I wanted. I remembered how many times you’ve tried to get me to wear a pair of these, so I grabbed them.”
“They’re adorable. Wonder how they’d look with a fringed bra and thong?”
“Lawd, boy, you’ve got a one-track mind!”
“Yeah, and you know where that track leads.” He kissed her again and grinned. “Want something warm to drink?”
“Yes I do. It was chilly out there in the rain.”
An hour later, she was curled up in Aaron’s arms and drifting off to sleep. Just before she dipped, she cracked an eye open and peeked at those boots.
They sure were cute.
“I’ve got a surprise for you,” Maisey whispered as she dropped her hand onto Aaron’s wrist, then dragged it up his arm to the back of his neck and ran it up the back of his head. She fisted a handful of hair and pulled his head back so she could look down into his face as she stood there behind the sofa. “And I think you’re gonna like it.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. I’ll be back in a minute.” Murielle had been in bed for a couple of hours, so she was sleeping the sleep of the dead. On the way home from work, Maisey had stopped at the adult store and done a little shopping, and she couldn’t wait for Aaron to see what she’d bought.
She slipped into the bedroom and opened the package. There was a pink suede string bikini top―it wasn’t real suede, but it looked like it―with a slit in the front of each cup to expose her nipples. The thong was a string-tied thing as well, and from it and the bra hung suede fringe. There were rhinestones and beads too, and it glittered in the low light of the bedroom. She’d bought the matching western hat, and she knew he’d like that too.
It took her a minute to get the bra and thong on right, but when she had, she looked in the mirror. Nice. The hat was adorable with it. Maisey sat down on the edge of the bed and slipped on the left boot. It was a little loose, but that was okay. All it meant was that Aaron wouldn’t have any trouble getting it off of her, which was fine. She slid her other foot down into the right boot.
Instantly, a hand grabbed her throat and lifted her, then slammed her against a wall. “Stop!” she screamed, trying to make sense of what was happening. “What are you doing? Stop! You’re hurting me!”
“Hurting you? Bitch, you’re gonna be nothing but a memory in a few minutes, and it’ll be your fault. Where’s that paperwork?” The other hand joined the first one and the choking became a crushing. Maisey couldn’t speak or breathe, and she couldn’t swallow. She could feel her eyes bugging slightly, and she kicked with all her might, but her boots didn’t connect with anything, so she tried again. That time, she felt the right one loosen and drop from her foot.
The room stopped spinning and Maisey looked around. She was in their bedroom, lying on the floor, gasping for breath, but when she touched her neck, she could tell it was fine. The bedroom door burst open and Aaron stood over her. “Babe! What happened?”
“No. Oh, no. No, no, no. Not again.”
“What? What happened? I heard you screaming!”
Maisey sat up, threw her hands over her face, and started to cry. “Not again! Please, no!”
“What, babe? What did… Oh, no. Not the boots.” She nodded. “Oh, for the love of god. What the fuck? Is the universe seeking you out or something?”
Time stopped at his simple words. That was exactly what was happening. She wasn’t supposed to solve the crimes people sent to her. The crimes were supposed to find her . Maisey sat up slowly. “Yes. That’s precisely what’s happening. The universe is seeking me out, Aaron. I get it. That’s my job.”
“No, your job is to be a social worker.”
“Yes, but… I have to follow this. It’s my path. I understand that now.”
“So every fucking box that shows up on the porch is―”
“No, no! Don’t you get it? These things are looking for me . They’re seeking me out. Those are the only ones I’m supposed to get involved in.”
“Yeah, well, I wanted to get involved in that hot little number you’re wearing right now. Guess that’s not happening.”
“Uh, we can still―”
“No. And I apologize. That was really crass of me. Of course not. It had to be traumatic. What happened? What did you see?”
Maisey described the scene she’d experienced, and when she finished, she looked up at him. “Now what?”
“Now we find out who that storage unit was rented to. That’s where we start.”
Maisey’s heartbeat calmed. He said “we.” She wasn’t alone in it. And as long as she had Aaron as her backup, she’d be fine.
Always.