Until I Die Again [On The Way To Heaven] (Soul Change Novel) Read online

  Before she got to the stairs leading up to the entrance, Joya appeared around the far corner of the house. After an air kiss, Joya said, “Hi, sweetie! Come on back with me so I can say bye to Stan.”

  Rap music pounded through the air, and Joya rolled her hips and shook her shoulders to the beat. The back yard was filled with huge, stately trees, flower beds and spongy green grass. Hallie followed her up to the white deck surrounding the pool. White statues were randomly situated throughout the yard. Joya was still several yards from the long back porch when she waved at the man who sat in a lounge chair.

  “He has to stay out of the sun since he’s had skin cancer.”

  Hallie waved to him, and Stan hesitantly waved back before returning to the newspaper he held. “Does he not like me?” she asked.

  She shrugged. “Ah, he doesn’t particularly like us hanging around together. Something about us getting into trouble. He’s not my father, and he doesn’t tell me who to hang around with. Besides, his friends are all old farts.”

  Hallie glanced back at him. “Well, he is a bit older, Joya.”

  She flipped her hand in his direction. “So? It’s all in the mind. You know what he’s listening to up there in those headphones? Classical music. Phooey.” Then she waved again. “Bye, pumpkinpuss! Be back in a while.”

  “Pumpkinpuss?” Hallie repeated, but Joya didn’t comment.

  When they walked to Hallie’s car, Joya pointed down toward the ocean. “See that string of palms down there? That’s where we’re going.”

  A few minutes later they pulled into the parking lot with the palm trees. The beige sand beach was huge, dotted with slick, shiny bodies. It curved around as it turned into cliffs. Hallie followed Joya down the sidewalk until they ran out of cement. She felt the soft sand between her toes, avoiding the clumps of seaweed washed ashore. Joya settled her chair into the sand, situated her towel and sat down with a flourish. Hallie flung her towel over the unsettled chair and flopped down.

  In a matter of seconds, Joya was covered in tanning oil and barely anything else. She tossed Hallie the bottle of coconut-smelling oil. “Whoo, this is great!” She turned and poured two glasses of yellow liquid from the large thermos into two cups and handed one to her. Hallie watched Joya lick some of the salt off the rim before taking a deep drink and followed suit.

  “I am so ready to go out dancing.” Joya’s chair was nearly tipping over with her movements. “Let’s go out Saturday. It’s been too long. Even when you flew here several weeks ago, you were too serious to go dancing. Let’s have some fun!”

  “Well, wasn’t I leaving my husband then? I would think such a decision would make one somber.”

  Joya shrugged to the beat of the music. “What’s to be somber about? Happens all the time.”

  Hallie looked up at the sky, wondering how she was ever going to extract one serious conversation out of this woman.

  Once oiled up and settled in her lounger, Hallie turned to Joya. “Tell me about Mick.”

  Her friend looked up suddenly, as if someone had splashed cold water on her. “You’re asking the wrong person if you’re thinking of getting back with that one.”

  “No, nothing like that. I want to know more about him. Remember when I told you that he snuck up on me in the yard? He also, well, I guess you couldn’t call it anything else but a threat. He threatened Jamie, saying that if he thought he could get me back he would end up in the hospital like the last guy.”

  When Joya nodded, chills went up Hallie’s spine. So he hadn’t been bluffing.

  “It wasn’t quite as bad as he made it sound. There was some guy at the health club that was sweet on you. You went out for a drink after a workout, and Mick caught you. The next night someone jumped him and broke his jaw. You can imagine who that someone was, although no one could prove it.” Joya laughed. “That guy didn’t come near you after that! I’m sure Mick had a few choice words for him.”

  “Joya, it’s not funny. Is this Mick some kind of maniac?”

  “I always thought so. He’s obsessed with you. That’s the best word I can think of. At first you loved it, being the attention hog that you are. After a while he wouldn’t even let you go out with me. It drove him nuts when you were with Jamie. Can you imagine? Your own husband, and Mick was insanely jealous. Last month you finally admitted you were afraid of him. I think you were always a little afraid of him; you just didn’t see it. You thought it was some dangerous allure thing. I couldn’t figure it out.”

  Even the former Hallie was drawn to the dark and dangerous type. “And I was leaving Jamie for him? And moving to France? That’s more than just allure.”

  Joya wrinkled her face. “That was kinda strange. You played around on Jamie, but you, well, you loved him. Several months ago you were worried that he was going to ask for a divorce. That’s when I knew you did love him. I think most of your problems were that you wanted to live here, near the action. He didn’t. So you got bored. You’d visit me and just explode. Then you met Mick, and everything changed. I don’t think you wanted to leave Jamie. I think Mick pressured you into the decision. Somehow.”

  Hallie picked up a dead leaf and began ripping it into shreds. “So you think he could be dangerous?”

  “Maybe. I say dump him now. You can stay with us here. Hell, we’ve got plenty of room. At least until you’re ready to get a place of your own and figure out what you want.”

  The margarita’s soothing effect made Hallie feel looser. She turned to Joya. “I already know what I want.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Jamie.” Joya’s surprised expression made Hallie smile. “You just said I still loved him.”

  “Well, yes, I know. But you asked the man for a divorce. And he conceded. I just figured it was over.”

  “I’m in love with him.” Saying the words aloud seemed strange, yet she knew they were true. Deep beyond his icy façade was a warm, passionate man. Heaven had sent her there for a reason.

  “Not that I can blame you, hon. He’s gorgeous.” She glanced surreptitiously back toward the direction of her house. “And he’s young, damn you. Sexy and rich, too. No, I can’t blame you at all.” For the first time, Joya looked self-piteous.

  “It’s not the money. Joya, why did Ha—I marry Jamie, anyway? Was it for the money?”

  Joya was fiddling with her gold anklet. “Yes. But it was everything, really. You fell in love with the whole package.” She lifted her big, brown eyes to Hallie’s. “I was so jealous of you. I always was, and then you married the most wonderful guy in the world. I tried to outdo you. And maybe Stanford has more money than Jamie, but that’s all he has, money.”

  “I’m sorry you’re not happy.”

  Joya looked at the sand. “We’ve been like sisters. But I let jealousy get in the way. Hallie, please don’t hate me.”

  “For what? Because you tried to outdo me? I don’t care about that.”

  “No, because I knew you missed going out and partying, and I used that to get you to go out and party with me. Because I was unhappy and bored, I wanted you to be, too. I helped convince you that you were.”

  Hallie didn’t quite know how to take Joya’s confession. If it weren’t for her interference, Hallie might have been in a happy marriage when Chris took over her body. Things would have been so much easier.

  Find his heart.

  Those words reminded her that if that were so, she may not have been given a second chance. Her second chance was Jamie’s second chance.

  She leaned over and took Joya’s hand in hers. “I forgive you. Maybe it worked out for the best anyway.”

  Joya looked unsure about Hallie’s forgiveness, but she leaned over and hugged her anyway. “Thank you. You’re too sweet. You know, I don’t think I would have admitted that to you if you had been, well, like you were before. But now you seem so different.”

  Hallie smiled. “I guess when you’re that close to Heaven, you come back different.”

  Joya pinched
her cheek. “You came back an angel.”

  As soon as Hallie dropped Joya back off at her mansion, her thoughts rotated back to that afternoon. She had a problem. Somewhere in her possession, or in a place that could be tied to her, sat a fifteen million dollar gem that belonged to Dave. Someone would eventually find that gem. Maybe Jamie, maybe Theresa or Solomon. Hallie would go to federal prison with women murderers and embezzlers.

  She’d heard how those prisons could be. The woman released from prison would be yet another Hallie, tortured and defeated. The real Hallie would be better off.

  She had to get the Manderlay back to Dave. First she had to find it. Dave had said it was the size of his thumb. It could be anywhere! Where would a woman like Hallie have hidden something so precious?

  Those tickets to France, Hallie and Mick’s getaway she presumed, were dated a week earlier. So when Hallie had left Jamie, it was to leave with Mick. That meant that the gem was either in the stuff she’d packed or hidden somewhere nearby. Maybe in Joya’s house, where Hallie had run to first? Maybe at Theresa’s house, where they had been staying when the gem was first stolen? She would start with the suitcases and the house.

  Back at the house, Hallie looked at the bedroom through detective’s eyes. Where would a woman like the former Hallie hide a gem?

  She dumped what was left in the suitcases out on the bed and examined each item. Then she went through the dresser drawers where she had put away the clothing in the suitcases. She searched through the makeup case and the leather bag of toiletries. The bag of jewelry was next, and she looked for a disguised gem set in a ring or pendant.

  She walked out onto the balcony and checked in and under the potted plants, even jabbing her fingers in the dirt. She walked back in the room and let out a long sigh. If she had to check the rest of the house, a daunting task, she’d have to do it at night with a flashlight. Then Joya’s house, and she didn’t look forward to trying to explain why she wanted to search her home. The former Hallie could have hidden that gem anywhere.

  She dropped down on the bed. Think like a thief instead of a detective. What was important to the former Hallie? The Porsche. She went down to the garage and looked in every space she could find, including the engine compartment. Next, she thought, heading back to the bedroom.

  Clothes. They were important to the materialistic woman. She pulled every piece of clothing out and laid them on the bed as she looked. On her hands and knees, she searched in the armoire, sticking her fingers in the far reaches of the dark, hoping not to find a dead bug. She was searching so desperately that the armoire was knocking against the wall.

  “What are you doing in there?” a male voice asked.

  Hallie jumped, but not as far as her heart did. She backed out of the closet and stood to face a bewildered Jamie. His gaze took in the clothes on the bed and the general disarray.

  “I knocked, and when no one answered, I thought you were out. Are you packing to leave?”

  She couldn’t find any emotion on his features to indicate whether the prospect made him happy or not. She wished she could just tell him yes and get him out of there, but that wasn’t right.

  “No, I’m just looking for something. It’s not a big deal. What did you want?”

  “What are you looking for?” He gestured toward the mess. “It must be pretty important.”

  “No, not really. It’s um, an earring. I can’t find the match.”

  “Let me see what the one you have looks like; maybe I’ve seen it around.”

  She froze. Why was he being so damn obliging? “I gave it to Joya so she could look for it over at her place. I’m sure I’ll find it in here. What did you need?”

  He looked at her for a minute before walking to the closet. “I just wanted to get my running shoes.” When he emerged a second later, he asked, “Have you checked in there yet? Maybe it came off while you were undressing?”

  “Good idea,” she said, walking toward the bedroom door. “I’ll check there next. See ya.”

  He gave her another odd look, obviously getting the hint that she wanted him out. She hated to do it, but it was necessary. Just as he stepped out into the hall, he turned around.

  “Oh, Hallie. Whatever perfume you wore to the opera, don’t wear it again. That stuff was awful.”

  She grabbed the bottle from the lineup. “This stuff? Well, the nozzle’s broken anyway.” She dropped it into the tiny trash can where it made a kerchink! sound.

  “That’s where it belongs. Well, good luck on your mission.”

  Her eyes widened. “My mission?”

  “Yeah, finding your earring. I hope you find it before you have this room turned completely upside down.”

  “I’m sure I will. Bye, Jamie.”

  When he finally closed the door, she started putting the clothing back in the armoire. The five remaining bottles of perfume caught her eye, looking strange with the gap between them where Sexual Infinity had been. She pushed them together.

  Why had the former Hallie brought six bottles of perfume with her? With all the money she was going to have, she could buy a million more authentic French perfumes. She must really like these, especially the one Jamie despised. After all, she had tried to fix the one in the trash can, actually taking the time to pry the top off…

  Her train of thought came to a screeching halt. She picked the blue perfume bottle out of the trash can. The scent was becoming stronger. The metal around the rim was wrinkled where it had been crimped back to the glass bottle, and drops of perfume leaked out—because the top had been removed.

  She shook the bottle. Kerchink! She walked over to the window and held it up to the light. The glass was dark, but very faintly she could see the outline of something not quite round inside. The Manderlay!

  She found some nail clippers in the bathroom and started prying at the metal. Within a few minutes she had the top off and the liquid down the drain. After a few shakes, the Manderlay dropped out on the towel she had laid out.

  She washed it off and studied the red gem. Just to make absolutely, positively sure, she walked outside. It turned green. Sitting in the palm of her hand was a fifteen million dollar stone. Her fingers closed over it. Now all she had to get it back to Dave. Yeah, right. No problem.

  “Hallie, I must admit I was quite surprised to hear from you yesterday. Especially when you asked me out for lunch.”

  She could tell by Dave’s body language across the table that he was still a little leery about her.

  “I thought lunch would be, well, neutral. I have to admit I have ulterior motives.”

  With his arms on the table, he leaned closer. “I care a great deal about Jamie and would never do anything to hurt him.”

  He thought she was going to come on to him! And no wonder, with Hallie’s reputation.

  “I care about Jamie, too, very much. I know that I’ve hurt him in the past, and I want to do everything possible to make that hurt go away. That’s why I asked you to keep our lunch a secret. I don’t want him to get the wrong idea about you and I.”

  “Neither do I. He and I have been friends for a long time, and I would never let anyone, especially a woman, destroy that.” Especially you, she could hear the unspoken words.

  “Good, we’re in agreement on that. Your friendship with him is actually why I wanted to talk to you. The only Jamie I know is the bitter, angry one. I realize that I am the one who made him that way. What I am trying to figure out is if there’s a chance… if he’s the type…” Dave was watching her struggle with a hint of amusement on his face. “Why are you smiling?”

  “You want him back, don’t you?”

  She sat back in her chair. “Is it that obvious?”

  “Clear as aan F diamond. Just watching you yesterday, the way you were looking at him, the way his words affected you. So what you’re asking me is, do I think there’s a chance he’ll forgive you? And go back to you?”

  “Yes, that’s what I was trying to ask you.”

  �
��Why me?”

  “Well, his mother wouldn’t give me a scrap of compassion if I was a begging poodle. I don’t know any other friends of his, and you seem like a good guy.”

  He took a sip of white wine. “Can I be honest with you?” She nodded. “I’m not sure I want you and Jamie to get back together.”

  She couldn’t keep the hurt from creeping into her features. “Because I hurt him.”

  “You were, and I emphasize were, a real… well, you weren’t a nice person. I’d hate to see him get emotionally mugged again.”

  She stared into her water glass. “I really made a mess of things for myself, didn’t I?”

  He reached over and touched her chin. “The important thing is you’re trying to make up for it.”

  “I want this to work. It sounds crazy, I know, after all this time.”

  “Jamie gives his all to the things, and people, he cares about. He expects that back. He’s stubborn, and that’s good sometimes. He won’t give up easily. But, when he does give up, it’s usually permanent. Forgiveness isn’t one of his strong suits.”

  “But he’s capable of it, isn’t he?”

  “Oh, I can remember a time or two. He’s capable, if he wants to forgive. You have to convince him that he does. Remember, you can’t replace what you’ve taken from him. You’ll have to work on building it back again, bit by bit.”

  She sat up straight in her chair. “I can be just as stubborn as he is. And I want this to work more than he doesn’t want it to work.”

  He laughed. “Well, if anything, it’ll make a great story.”

  Their lunch went from serious to lighthearted to outright fun. Dave told her about incidents from high school and college. He had her in gales of laughter on the telling of the swim meet when Jamie dove in and his bathing suit slid down his legs. He managed to get his suit up and finish in second place. His nickname for the rest of the season was “Buns” DiBarto.

  “I wish IdI’d known Jamie then. I think we would have gotten along great.” Back when she was plain old Chris with no ego hang-ups.