Chapter Sixteen
Mark pulled into Sam's driveway just as the sun was settling over the horizon. He came to a halt beside Robyn's car, glad to see that Sam's wasn't there. Not that he'd expected it to be. Robyn was the one he wanted to talk to, and delivering the box was as good an excuse as any.
He'd been pondering the situation off and on all day long. And he'd finally come to the conclusion that he simply couldn't sit back and wait for his friend to do something about his situation. If Sam was right, and someone had been lingering outside his office window for whatever nefarious purposes, things could be far worse than an unstable ex-wife.
On the other hand, unstable or not, Sandra was problematic. Sam had let her back into his life before. It was apparent to him that Sam felt as if he owed her some debt of loyalty despite the fact that she hadn't been loyal to him. Mark couldn't let her inch her way back into his friend's heart. He felt the need to save him from Sandra nearly as much as he did from any lurking bad guys. And he knew just the person who could help on both accounts. But first, he wanted to feel her out. See if he could get some sort of idea of how she felt about the other portion of the job that he had in mind.
Grabbing the box in question from the trunk, he headed up the walk to the front door, all the while trying to work out how we would play it. He didn't want to offend Robyn. And he'd certainly gotten the impression that she cared. But was that just professional concern or something more? He was a fly by the seat of his pants kind of guy; he would just play it by ear.
The front door opened unexpectedly, even before he had completely reached the front step. It threw him off guard. "Oh, hi, Robyn," he floundered, wondering where all of that fly by the seat of his pants intuition had escaped to. "I'll bet you're wondering why I'm here." He moved into the house as she gestured him in and closed the door.
"I wasn't actually." She eyed him oddly, but her tone was friendly. "But since you ask, does it have anything to do with the box?"
"Oh. . .uh, um, no," Mark shook his head and opened his mouth to speak further. He stopped, closed his mouth and looked her in the eyes. He needed her help, but only if she was willing. He offered a repentant grin. "Not really. This is just an excuse. I wanted to talk to you. In person."
"Hi Uncle Mark!" Beth poked her head from around the balcony at the top of the stairs, interrupting the conversation.
"Hey Squirt!" He yelled back, laughing when her head disappeared with a giggle. He turned back to Robyn awaiting her response.
"I'm glad you found an excuse," she surprised him by saying. "Because I have a few things I'd like to talk to you about, myself."
"Really?" Mark's curiosity was immediately piqued. He shifted the box to a hip and looked more intently at her. What could Robyn want to talk to him about? His mind immediately began sorting through the possibilities.
"Why don’t we put the box away first?" Robyn suggested. "It looks a bit heavy."
"It does get that way over time," Mark grimaced. "It's some stuff Sam had with him that night that he was mugged. I’m really not sure what it is. It just looked like old books and stuff. Where would you like it?"
"Uhm . . ." Robyn looked around then gestured him through the den. "How about the laundry room," she suggested. "There are some shelves that have some other cardboard boxes on them."
"Sounds good," Mark laughed. He knew what was in those boxes. That was where Sam kept old yearbooks and pictures and things from high school and college. They had gone through them all a couple years before, at which time Sam had declared that he was officially off women. Of course that declaration had been preceded by a series of horrendous dating experiences, and was heavily fueled by the mixed drink of the evening. It had been something of a rollicking journey down memory lane. Sam had kept his word, though. He had become very adept at avoiding romantic relationships with members of the opposite sex.
With the box settled in the laundry room they settled on the sofa in the den. "So, you go first," Mark suggested. "What is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"
"I'm just a little concerned," Robyn began, obviously choosing her words very carefully. "In my business, little things can be very important. And today, something a little strange happened and I'd like to understand it better."
"Go on," Mark prompted, letting her know that she had his undivided attention.
"Sam and I went to the school to notify them that I would be getting Beth after school. Things seemed fine on the way over. We talked. But then, once we reached the school, he had a sudden mood change. When we arrived back here, it was obvious that it had something to do with Beth. He wouldn't tell me what it was, and told me that it was none of my business. That it was personal.
"You're his friend. Is this type of behavior typical?"
Mark was torn between worry and elation. Sam was trying to push Robyn away, a sure sign that she was getting under his skin. But he also knew the type of stress his friend was undergoing. Sam tended to bottle things until they exploded. Apparently, a bit of that explosion had spilled over onto Robyn.
And the fact that she was concerned enough to want to discuss it with him seemed a positive sign as well.
"This ties right in with what I wanted to talk to you about," he said, giving her his best relieved smile. "Something happened last night. Sam got little to no sleep because of it. That's part of the reason he was probably very moody today. That and the fact that I think he's starting to worry, too."
"What happened?" Robyn frowned, immediately alerted by his words.
"Someone broke into R&R last night and trashed his office. The security company called and he had to go out there in the middle of the night. He brought Beth to my apartment and I took her to school this morning. I know she was worried when I left her, and he's probably just as worried about what to tell her. He tries so hard to protect her from things, but this time I don't think even he knows for sure what is going on."
"How can I help?" Robyn asked. "Does he need added security? I could talk to my father. He has quite a few connections."
Mark was thoughtful for several moments before he answered her questions. He wasn't sure as to how she would react to what he was going to say. He already knew how Sam would react, but he would cross that bridge when he came to it.
"How do you feel about staying here full time?"
Robyn froze. "What?"
"In Sam's spare bedroom. Just until things settle down. Someone has attacked him and his place of work. His ex-wife has come by the house. I'm not sure if the two are linked. But yesterday evening, he saw a man standing outside of his office window watching him. Then his office is broken into and ransacked. The way he described the office, it makes me wonder if someone wasn't looking for something. And I can't help but wonder if his home isn't the next target."
Robyn looked at him for a very long time before she spoke. "I'd do it," she nodded her head. "But if things are as bad as you're suggesting, I need to call my father in on this. He could check into a few things."
Mark blew out a breath that he hadn't realized that he was holding. "Thank you."
"But you have one problem," Robyn continued.
"What's that?" Mark asked.
"How are you going to get Sam to buy into this plan?"
Mark made a face. "I was really hoping you had some ideas."