Wrecking Crew

SIX

“Thank you. That was a delicious meal,” Stone said as he leaned forward with the wine bottle. “Can I top up your glass?”

“Mmm… Yes, please.”

When they had arrived at Stone’s house, like a cat scrutinizing its new home, Linda had boldly begun an intimate inspection of the property. Curious, Stone had watched silently as she moved from room to room, flicking through his books, examining photographs and scanning his CD collection. She even opened his draws and cupboards, and inspected the contents of his bathroom cabinet. Occasionally Linda would look at him over her shoulder, her eyes sparkling with mischief, openly daring him to challenge her right to invade his privacy. After fully ten minutes of this wordless intimate inspection, they returned to the kitchen. There Linda turned a full circle, with her arms outstretched, like a child enjoying cool rain on a hot day. Finally, she smiled and spoke.

“I like it! It’s perfect — very you.”

“Really?”

“Oh, yes… very you.”

“How so?”

“Did you know you can learn more about someone by looking around their house, than you can in six months of dates and dances?”

“Go on,” Stone said cautiously.

“Well… For example, looking at your mail on the hall table tells me that you are single. There was nothing addressed to a wife or housemate. From your photographs I can see that you have never been married or widowed and that, although you seem to have had some very pretty girlfriends, you do not appear to be attached at the moment.” She looked at him and cocked an eyebrow, inviting a response.

“Correct — carry on,” Stone said with renewed interest.

“The house is clean and tidy, and that tells me you have self-respect — or a cleaning lady, but after looking in your bathroom cabinet I suspect the former. Your due invoices are pinned to a corkboard, so I know you are orderly, but your CD’s are in a mess, proving that you are not anally retentive!”

“Ah! You got me!” Stone laughed, enjoying the game. Linda carried on enthusiastically.

“The file of paid invoices tells me that you are honest, and the fact that you have let me wonder around here freely, suggests that you are a trusting person — and that means you are also someone who can be trusted. The trophies tell me that you are a black belt karate champion, and the fact that they are hidden at the back of your closet suggests that you are self-confident, but without an excess of ego. I see no karate kit or training equipment, or even papers relating to employment, so I would guess that your kit is at a dojo, where you also have an office, because that is your business.”

She turned to face him, her green eyes blazing with challenge and excitement.

“How am I doing?”

“Wow! Spot on so far,” he said smiling, anything else?”

“You have lots of books, and they’re all well-thumbed, so you obviously like to read. There are some history books, the complete works of William Shakespeare, and several biographies, but happily none by vacuous celebrities. Mostly they are thrillers that feature a clear baddie and an avenging angel type of hero. No violent horror, or ‘Shades of Grey’, that tells me that although you enjoy escapism you also have a good moral compass.

“Your trophies are all for various styles of martial arts that focus on self-defense, so I suspect that you were the target of bullies as a child, or perhaps knew someone else that was. In either event, I think that you strongly dislike such injustice. Put that along with what you did for me the other day, and I can see someone who will take a righteous stand to defend the innocent. Of course, that is just a wild guess,” she added with heavy sarcasm.

Stone held up his hands in mock defeat.

“Guilty as charged, your Honor.”

Linda smiled and carried on.

“Clearly you live well and have sufficient money. Nevertheless, most of your books were purchased second-hand from charity stores and, along with your other possessions, that you treat them with respect. That suggests that you worked hard to achieve your success and value your money accordingly.”

Stone acknowledged her continuing accuracy with a slight tip of his head. Linda moved closer and put her hand gently on his arm.

“On a more serious point, although you’re wearing casual clothes, your shoes are formal and well-polished, probably to go with the black suit that is hanging in the rear of your car.” She spoke more softly, her eyes suddenly full of concern. “I think that you’ve just been to a funeral, and that you stopped at your dojo to change. Perhaps you went there to work out, and get rid of some frustration. However, you were so distracted that you forgot to take a change of shoes. You’re a vivid and happy person Eric Stone, but there’s a deep sadness in your eyes. I believe that you’ve just buried someone very close.”

She leaned forward, wrapped her arms around his waist, and hugged him hard.

“I am truly sorry for your loss.”

Linda was a few inches shorter than he was, with the top of her head barely reaching his chin. Stone willingly accepted her offer of comfort, linking his arms around her shoulders and resting his cheek on her head. Her soft blonde hair smelled of green apples and coconut. They stood molded together, unmoving for almost a minute, before Stone took a deep breath and gently broke the embrace.

“He was my best friend, he took his own life.”

Linda involuntarily covered her mouth with her hands.

“Oh my God! How awful! Suicide seems like such a wretched waste, such a desperate act. That poor man. Do you know what happened?”

“Apparently he had an inoperable brain cancer. He was a brave man, a war hero, but he didn’t want to endure the kind of death that was going to follow. So he went home last week, took out his shotgun and… ”

Linda shook her head sadly.

“I suppose it’s understandable, especially if he was terminal. I’m sure that a lot of people… wait a minute! Last week… was he that Democracy guy?”

“Yes,” Stone nodded gravely. “His name was Charles Rathbone. He was my friend.”

They stood in silence for a moment.

“Tell me about him, how did you two meet?”

“He walked into my dojo one day,” Stone smiled at the recollection, “or should I say limped? He had lost part of his leg in Afghanistan and he wanted my help to get back on his feet — so to speak. Someone had recommended me. I was skeptical at first, but he was so determined I eventually gave in.”

“And you became friends?”

“Charles was a really affable guy, but I was drawn to him because he was just so determined. He had this incredible tenacity; physically, emotionally and politically. Perhaps he was the most ‘true’ person I have ever met. You couldn’t help but like and respect someone like that. In the dojo, I have never seen anyone push themselves as hard as he did. He would work until his stump was bleeding. In the end I had to turn out the lights to make him stop!

“As a friend, he was the sort of person that you could phone for help at three in the morning, even if you hadn’t spoken for six months, and unquestionably he would be there for you. At first I was cross with him — you know, when I heard that he had killed himself, but then I found out the truth and just felt guilty that I was so sad for my own loss.”

He raised his hand in apology.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be dumping on you.”

“That’s OK, Eric. From what you’ve said and the things I’ve seen in the media, it seems to me like he was a wonderful person. I think I would have liked him.”

“I’m sure you would, and I know he would have liked you as well, as a person, and because he had an eye for a pretty girl!” Stone smiled.

“Thanks,” Linda smiled, accepting the compliment in the spirit it was intended. “Come on, let’s eat. I’m famished!”

Stone sat at the breakfast bar, silently watching as Linda prepared their meal. The radio was tuned to a station playing non-stop oldies. He smiled as she sang along. His smile widened as she swung her slim hips in time to the music. She cooked them a simple omelet, with peppers, mushrooms, and parmesan cheese. She added a side salad of wild rocket, watercress, tomato and thinly sliced apple, dressed in a mayonnaise and peppercorn mustard sauce.

After they had washed and stacked the dishes, they took the wine and their glasses and moved to the sitting room where they shared the settee. Linda kicked off her shoes and tucked her feet under her bottom. Stone stretched out at the other end of the couch, with his ankles crossed and his arm placed casually along the backrest. Although he was maintaining a respectful distance, he could feel an air of sexual tension as electric as an approaching thunderstorm. He hoped that it wasn’t just in his imagination, because it was taking all of his self-control to maintain a gentlemanly focus. The wine wasn’t helping the situation — and neither was Linda.

She had been wearing a baggy beige sweater, but when they moved into the warmth of the sitting room, she had casually pulled it over her head, before brushing her hair straight with her fingers. The sweater was a lose fitting knitted affair, but underneath she was wearing a white spandex top, so tight that it accentuated the shape of her petite breasts, and prominent nipples. Stone gave an involuntary gasp of delight, before he swiftly placed a pillow onto his lap, to cover his growing excitement. He noticed Linda was trying to conceal a sly smile behind her wine glass. She fixed Stone with a steady gaze. Her emerald green eyes twinkling devilishly as she provocatively twirled her blonde hair with her fingers. Ever the gentleman, Stone tried his best to remain aloof to her playful flirting, but privately he feared he was close to losing all control. With a huge effort, he managed to regain enough brain function to formulate a question.

“Well, it seems that you know just about everything about me, now it’s your turn. You said you were looking for a new place for your business, what is it that you do?”

“I teach yoga and a bit of keep-fit. Mostly, it’s for women. I have a studio in Sawbridgeworth, but I was looking to open another in Colchester or nearby.” She sat forward, enthusiastically talking about her business. “I think that a different location will give me access to a wider demographic. I do OK over in Sawbridgeworth, but with any luck, I can run classes over here three or four times a week. At least that’s my plan.”

“I think it could work,” Stone nodded, happy to defuse the sexual tension a little. “I don’t see many yoga classes advertised around Colchester, and there are certainly plenty of women around who would be interested. I know there are loads of mums, young girls, Army wives and the like. It’s a good area. I think you could do well.”

“Well, first I have to find a suitable venue. That seems to be harder than I expected. Over in Sawbridgeworth, I use a church hall on one day and a school gym on the other. They’re basic rooms, but cheap — so it works out,” she said with smile.

“Here’s a thought… You could use my dojo.”

“Really? You would do that for me? We just met.”

“Well, don’t worry about that for a moment. Imagine that you had walked into my dojo today and we were talking for the first time. As a businessman, I would seriously consider having you.”

“I bet you would!” Linda said, flashing a seductive smile.

“You know what I mean,” Stone chided, rolling his eyes dramatically but still enjoying her obvious flirting.

“And you know what I mean!” she countered jokingly, adding to the electricity. “Wouldn’t you like to ‘have me’ three times a week, Mr. Hero?”

“Definitely,” Stone replied with an open smile. “How would that work for you?”

“I think that I could fit you in,” Linda countered. Her voice husky, she stared directly into his eyes.

Stone looked away, his control suddenly almost broken. He coughed to cover his embarrassment and Linda smiled at the small victory. After a moment, he was able to continue in a more business-like tone of voice.

“Of course the timings would have to be right, but there are a lot of times at the dojo when we don’t currently run classes. Most mornings are free, some early afternoons and Sundays, so there’s plenty of scope. To tell the truth, I’ve been thinking about getting someone in to do ladies fitness classes for a while. It would be a good thing to attract more women to the dojo. I get a few ladies to the self-defense classes, but nowhere nearly enough. The karate classes are almost 80 % male. Just now, I only have one female instructor; I think having another one around would definitely help to improve the gender balance. You should come over to the dojo, have a look, and see. What do you think?”

“Deal, but no favoritism, just because you’ve fallen in love with me!” She batted her eyelids and giggled sweetly.

“Ok, we have a deal!” Stone said with mock seriousness. They shook hands formally.

“Now — tell me some more about Linda Smart. Married?”

“No.”

“Dating?”

“Not yet,” she challenged.

Stone smiled again. His face was starting to hurt from smiling so much, but he didn’t care. It felt good to smile again.

“Tell me about your family.”

“Not much to tell, really,” Linda shook her head and pulled a sour face. “My parents died when I was young. An Uncle looked after my sister and me until we finished school. He passed away a few years ago, left us a little money. I used mine to open my studio.”

“What about your sister? Is she as pretty as you — can I meet her?” Stone joked.

“No,” Linda said sharply. There was a sudden change to her posture. Stone thought he felt the air chill slightly.

“Actually we’re identical twins — which is odd, because most twins are almost inseparable. Usually, the similarities pull twins together. For us, it’s the differences that seem to keep us apart.”

“How so?”

“Well, for example, she always wears make up, but I hate to — it always makes me feel so dishonest. I love to run, but she never does. I’m a vegetarian, but she eats meat and even supports vivisection. My politics are middle of the road and hers are… well, I’m sure you can guess.”

Stone nodded but remained silent, allowing Linda the space to share her discomfort.

“We just… don’t get along. We never really did. She’s… ” Linda shrugged and twirled a finger at the side of her head, indicating a mental malaise, “she’s not right. It’s hard to describe, but we just don’t get along. Actually, that’s a massive understatement. We started to grow apart a few years ago, not long after our Uncle died, and now we can barely stand to be in the same room together.”

“That’s very sad.”

“Not really… ” Linda shrugged, “you don’t have to get along with your siblings, you know. It’s not a law or anything. From my point of view, we’re just two people who don’t get along. We manage to keep our distance. She works away a lot, so it works out fine.”

“What does she do?”

“She’s a freelance photographer, mostly news and hassling celebrities. I understand that she’s very good at it. She’s particularly adept at getting the sort of pictures that ruin careers, and sell for silly money to the tabloids and French magazines. Do you remember those awful pictures of the Princess’ deformed baby?”

“She took those?”

“Yep! Got almost £200,000! That poor woman was stricken with grief watching her baby hopelessly struggling for life. My sister dressed as a nurse and callously invaded her privacy at the worst possible moment. Sometimes it makes me feel sick to think that we’re related.”

“I’m so sorry.”

Stone reached over and took her hand. Although he was an only child, and could never fully appreciate her pain, he felt genuine sadness for Linda. He realized that she hadn’t once referred to her twin by name, and he wondered if the rift was even deeper than she was prepared to admit. Stone filed the thought away as a subject best avoided, unless Linda brought it up again.

They sat in welcome silence until Linda finished her wine and motioned for Stone to refill her glass.

“Let’s talk about something else,” Stone said. “What’s your favourite movie?”

“Oh ‘Jaws’ of course. I cry every time the shark dies!”

“Come o-o-o-n! Give a little… ” Stone chided.

“Ok then,” She closed her eyes as she thought. Suddenly she raised a finger. “‘Dances with Wolves’. It’s visually fantastic and a great story. If not the best, it’s one of my favorites. What about you — any Bruce Lee films on your list?”

“Ha! ‘Enter the Dragon’ was a classic! Actually, I love ‘The Shawshank Redemption’. Great acting, but I particularly love the twist at the end where the baddies get what’s coming to them.”

Linda smiled and pumped a fist dramatically.

“I love it when the bad guy gets what’s coming!”

“No argument here — as you will remember.”

Linda brought her hands to her chest and fluttered her eyelids dramatically.

“My hero!”

The discussion moved on to musical preferences before flowing naturally into favourite books. Soon they were embroiled in a good-natured argument about who was a better thriller writer, Lee Child or Robert Crais. As Stone watched Linda talking animatedly about how Joe Pike was a more believable character than Jack Reacher, ‘And anyway, if he was 6’5” tall and over 220 pounds, people wouldn’t keep picking fights with him’, he realized how comfortable he was in her company.

Although they had only been chatting for six hours or so, already he found that he could anticipate and empathize with her every thought. There was such congruence in their sentiments and opinions that listening to her talk felt like re-reading a favourite book, you knew the story, but you still wanted to savor every single word. At first, he had been physically attracted to her beautiful pixie face and athletically sensual figure, but now he was captivated by her intelligence and wit. He wondered if this was how married couples felt after twenty or thirty years together, contented in their familiarity, mutual respect, and love.

‘Whoa! Wait a minute!’ Stone thought to himself, ‘You’ve known this woman for less than half a day and already you’re thinking of love and marriage — get a grip man!’

At that moment, Linda gave a cat like stretch accompanied by a huge yawn. She checked her watch.

“Wow! It’s after eleven, I should be going.”

“You can’t go!” Stone blurted, almost in panic.

Linda patted his hand and smiled gently.

“Don’t worry Eric, I’ll call you tomorrow — I promise.”

Stone relaxed slightly, and then had a more serious thought.

“Actually I was thinking you shouldn’t drive. Between us, we’ve cleared almost two bottles of wine. You could stay here. I can make up the spare room.”

He was expecting her to decline demurely, but her response was a pleasant surprise.

“OK. Do you promise to be a gentleman?”

“You have my word.”

After they cleared away the wine glasses, Linda helped him to make up the spare bed. He gave her a fresh toothbrush from the bathroom along with one of his old sweatshirts to use as a nightdress. Stone stood in uncomfortable silence for a moment, before politely wishing her goodnight. She stretched up and kissed him firmly on the lips, quickly breaking away before he could respond.

“That was a lovely first date, Eric — the best ever! Goodnight.”

When he had finished using the bathroom Stone stripped off his clothes, dumped them into the wash basket and climbed into bed. It was only then, as he reflected on the day, that he realized that he hadn’t really thought about Charles Rathbone and the Wrecking Crew since the funeral. Although he had told Linda about Charles and his suicide, he didn’t feel sad or angry anymore. He wondered if she had somehow healed his heartbreak.

Alerted by the gentle creak of his bedroom door slowly opening, Eric’s eyes snapped open and he sat up. Linda stood in the open doorway, silhouetted by the light from the spare bedroom. Although his sweatshirt was old and baggy, barely reaching to the top of her slim legs, Stone thought he had never seen anyone looking sexier. Linda slowly walked to the foot of his bed and regarded him silently. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally spoke.

“Did you know that more people have sex after a funeral than they do after a wedding?”

Stone realized that he had been holding his breath.

“Actually… I did know that, I think I read it in—”

His words faded as Linda lifted the sweatshirt over her head in one smooth movement and dropped it to the floor. Stone studied her nakedness with open appreciation. Even in the half-light of the bedroom, her athletic curves were everything that he had imagined, and more. Suddenly, so much blood seemed to be rushing towards another part of his body and away from his brain that he could only manage to croak out a single word of appreciation.

“Wow!”

Linda stepped lightly to the side of the bed and slowly pulled the covers aside to reveal his nakedness. She smiled wickedly at his obvious excitement.

“Wow yourself,” she said and quickly smothered any further conversation with a passionate kiss.

Afterwards, they lay in a tender embrace chatting quietly. Stone was on his back with one hand behind his neck, the other was lightly caressing her shoulder. Linda’s head was resting on his chest. Her fingers were tracing lazy circles around the puckered edges of a scar in the center of Eric’s muscular stomach.

“How did this happen?” she asked.

“Someone shot me,” Stone answered in a casual, matter-of-fact tone.

“Really?” Linda sat up slightly so that she could look directly into his eyes. “Who? Why?”

Stone’s heart gave a little thump of joy as he looked at her beautiful face. Although he had kept the secret for some time, he felt an urge to share some of the detail from that dreadful day.

“A friend of mine is a private detective. He was hired to help recover the teenage son of a Saudi Prince who had been kidnapped. My friend asked me to come along as backup, in case there were any fisticuffs. As it turned out there were.”

Stone pointed towards the scar, attempting to make light of what had been a very dangerous situation. Linda didn’t respond. With a shrug, he carried on in a more serious tone.

“We were at the exchange with the money when suddenly everything went egg-shaped. It was dark and there was a lot of shooting and shouting — all very confusing. In the mess that followed, I was shot — well, not shot, more like nicked by a bullet really. It felt like someone had hit me with a hammer, bloody painful, but not too bad.”

“How did you get away?”

“I managed to convince the kidnappers of the error of their ways,” Stone said cryptically, “In the end we rescued the Prince’s son and recovered the money.”

“My hero!” Linda said patting his chest lightly. Then she sat up a little more. Even in the soft moonlight shining through the window, Stone could see the genuine concern in her face.

“Won’t these people want some revenge or something — aren’t they going to come after you?”

Stone considered his next words very carefully. Normally he was a very cautious person when it came to relationships, but for some reason he felt that Linda Smart was someone he could trust — someone he could really trust. In fact, he decided, she was someone that he wanted to trust.

“Don’t worry, Linda,” Stone pulled her into a tighter hug. “They won’t be coming after anyone — ever.”

Linda pushed back slightly and stared directly into his eyes. She stared unblinkingly, as if she were searching for something deeper within Stone’s soul, something to help her validate the implication of his cold proclamation. Perhaps she found something, perhaps she didn’t, but after a moment, she gave a short nod and laid her head back onto his chest. She lightly stroked his scar with her hand.

“Good,” she whispered sleepily, “that’s good.”

Stone gently stroked her hair until her breathing became deep and regular in slumber, as he closed his eyes he thought that, despite the death of his closest friend, he had never been happier.