Passion In James County IV: Hell Hath No Fury
Chapter 8
"Do you have any idea why anyone would want to do this to you, Mr. Samuelson?" the police officer asked Bob and his wife.
Bob shook his head. "None whatsoever," he said.
"I don't, either," Joanna added. "Nobody hates us, at least not that I know of."
"Sir, are you having any problems at work?" the officer continued. "You know, maybe a disgruntled employee, that kinda thing?"
"I do very little hiring and firing," Bob replied. "Actually, my staff hasn't changed since I took my present position."
The policeman looked at Joanna. "What about you, ma'am?" he asked.
Joanna shook her head. "I work as a consultant," she replied. "I'm self-employed."
"How about a disgruntled client?" the officer asked.
She shook her head again. "I'm not aware there are any," she told him.
"Ah..." the officer reddened. "Uh...some of the stuff that was painted on your car, it was, you know, kinda sexual. Is there any reason why...?"
"Our marriage is solid," Bob told the officer. "There are no irate lovers or disgruntled husbands or wives out there that I'm aware of."
The officer looked at Joanna, his face getting even redder. "Ma'am?"
"You heard what my husband said," Joanna told him. "If you ask me, I think this was done by some madman."
The policeman nodded. "Could be, ma'am," he said. "Lord knows, there's enough nut cases loose out there." He put his pen back in his uniform shirt and closed his notebook. "Look, I'm going to file a report on this with the detectives. They'll review it, maybe they'll even come by here to ask some follow-up questions. But I gotta be honest with you. I wouldn't get my hopes up that whoever did this is gonna be caught any time soon."
"But...but what if it happens again?" Joanna asked.
"First of all, make sure you keep your doors locked from now on. Chances are, whoever did this picked your car because your door was unlocked. I mean, I know you say you don't have any enemies, but you work for the school system, Mr. Samuelson, so it could be kids, too. If it happens again, call us, we'll come back," the officer said. "But I wouldn't worry too much about that. I don't think that's gonna happen."
"What else can we do?" Bob asked.
"Like I said, I'd make sure my garage was locked from now on," the officer said. "Maybe you should keep a light on outside. If you want, I can have our crime prevention officer give you a call. She'll come out, look your place over, and make some suggestions about how you can make it more secure."
"I'd like that," Bob said. "What do you think, Joanna?"
"I think that's a good idea," his wife agreed.
The officer stood up. "OK," he said. "I'm gonna head back to the station and get this report done for the detectives. And I'll have Sergeant Dillon give you a call."
"Sergeant Dillon?" Bob asked.
"She's the crime prevention specialist I was telling you about," the officer said.
"Fine," Bob said. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," the officer said, putting his hat on. "You folks take care now. A lot of times after something like this happens, the night shift increases the level of patrol in the area. Don't be surprised if you see more police cars around for a week or so than you usually do."
"I certainly won't complain if that happens," Bob said.
"Me, either," Joanna said.
After the officer left, both Bob and Joanna left for their respective jobs. Bob insisted that his wife meet him at his office after work. "I don't want you coming home alone, not with that madman running loose," he said.
Milt Bingham sat down across the table from Heidi at lunch that day. "You look upset today, Heidi," he said. "Is something wrong?"
Heidi, who was so lost in thought she wasn't aware Milt was at the table, looked at him. "Oh, hello, Milt," she said. "What did you say?"
"I said you looked upset," he said. "Is something wrong?"
"I got an obscene phone call last night," she said. She shuddered. "It was awful."
"My word!" Milt exclaimed. "What did you do? I hope you called the police."
Heidi nodded. "I did," she said. "They took a report. So did the phone company. But both of them said it wasn't likely they'd be able to do anything unless it happened again."
"You'd think that the phone company would be able to do something, what with all the sophisticated computerized equipment they have now," the assistant principal said. "Heidi, is there anything I can do?"
Heidi shrugged. "I doubt it, Milt," she said, "although I think it's sweet that you asked. I mean, if the police and phone company can't do anything, what could you do?"
Milt nodded. "I guess you're right," he said. He stood up. "Well, I have to get back to the office. I have three students stewing in the waiting room. I guess they've waited long enough. Time to administer justice." He turned and walked away from her table.
"Milt really is sweet," Heidi thought. "It's too bad he isn't a better lover. Maybe, if he didn't drink so much..." She shrugged. "Oh, well, maybe I'm just not meant to have a relationship with him. I...I wonder if I'm meant to have a relationship with anyone."
She got up, deposited her tray at the opening near the cafeteria dishwasher, then returned to her office and spent the rest of the afternoon working on lesson plans for a new state-mandated sex education course she was going to start teaching. When the end of day bells rang, she headed home.
Heidi felt very nervous when she pulled into her driveway. What if the police were wrong? What if whoever made that awful call was in her house waiting for her? For a moment, she considered calling the police to see if they'd send an officer out to check her house. She looked it over. Everything seemed just like it had been when she left. "Heidi Tate!" she scolded herself, "You're being foolish. Everything is fine. Stop being such a baby!"
She shut her car off, got out, and went in the house. As it turned out, everything was fine. She changed into a sweatshirt and jeans, did a little cleaning and laundry, then she made herself dinner.
After dinner, she curled up on her sofa and turned on the TV. While the news shows played, she recalled the previous night and what had happened during her time with Bob Samuelson. "I...I should never have let that happen," she mused. "Even though it was wonderful, it was wrong." Why couldn't she find happiness the way normal people did? Why did it seem that she was doomed to turning to illicit relationships for satisfaction. She'd tried going out with Milt, an unattached man, but that turned into a disaster. Why was it the only satisfying relationships available to her, it seemed, were forbidden ones?
The news shows ended, game shows began and Heidi, not paying attention to them, continued to pondering the course her life had taken. "Why is it the people I shouldn't be sleeping with give me the most passion?" she wondered.
Her thoughts drifted to the affairs she'd had since her marriage ended. The first was Bobby Draper, a young man who proved to be a wonderful lover. Bobby awakened Heidi to sexuality she hadn't been aware she possessed.
Then Tim came into her life. Dear, sweet, wonderful Tim. He stopped at her house the night of the prom. He seemed very upset when she let him in...
**********
"Hi," he said. "I...I hope you don't mind my stopping by so late, Mrs. Tate. I...I need to talk to somebody about something when I saw your lights were on I..."
"Um...no...uh...it's all right, Tim" she stammered. This was a development she hadn't expected. She liked Tim. She knew he was painfully shy, and heard rumors that he'd been unable to get a date for the prom. She missed her senior prom, too, so she had a lot of empathy for the young man.
"Come in, Tim," she said. "We can't talk out here on the porch." She stepped back and held the door for the young man, who walked by her, into her living room. He looked around nervously, then he took a seat on the sofa.
She closed the front door, went to the living room, and sat down in a chair facing Tim. She carefully pulled her robe over her bare legs. Her mind was still awash with the strong emotions the memories of what happened with Bobby had evoked, so she felt a little off-balance. She wished she had something more substantial on under her robe than a skimpy teddy.
"Why did Tim have to pick tonight, of all nights, to stop and see me?" she wondered. Deep inside her, warmth glowed, and she desperately wished she could make it stop. She had lost control once before in a situation like this. She was taking a big risk in allowing herself to be alone with Tim.