Sunny Says by Jan Hudson

Sunny sighed.
    “Something wrong?” Kale asked. “You’ve
been very quiet tonight.”
    “I don’t know exactly. I feel
restless. Peculiar.”
    “Weather signals? Should we have
brought an umbrella?”
    She glanced up at him sharply,
searching for some sign of ridicule in his expression but finding instead that
his mien was pleasant and open. “No, the only thing unusual in the weather is a
tropical depression in the Gulf, but it will go inland near New Orleans without forming into a hurricane.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “Positive. During hurricane
season, people around here get very antsy when storms start heading into the
Gulf. This one will hit land Tuesday night.”
    He signed the check and took a
last sip of coffee. “How far ahead can you accurately predict the weather?”
    “I can be fairly certain about a
week before and positive for three days. Does this mean that you’re beginning
to believe me?”
    He smiled. “Let’s say I’ve
decided to keep an open mind. Especially since you’re the one responsible for
Foster and my signing up two big advertising accounts. Until George Withers and
Harvey Levine started raving about you this afternoon, I didn’t realize that
you’re such a local celebrity. You’re well respected in Corpus.”
    “Does that surprise you?” she
asked, mildly affronted.
    “Everything about you surprises
me, Sunny. Particularly the way I feel about you.”
    “Oh?” She widened her eyes,
waiting for him to elaborate.
    “We’ll discuss it later. In
detail.” He smiled. “Ready?”
    They walked outside into the
deepening shadows of the balmy evening. The restless feeling Sunny had felt
earlier had escalated to an uneasiness that was at variance with the quiet,
winding-down mood of their surroundings. Palm trees rustled in the bay breeze;
boats were being moored in their slips; thin traffic moved at a lazy pace. A
few sea gulls, crying overhead, were making their last passes of the day before
settling for the night.
    “I’m looking forward to the
movie,” Kale said, his hand at her back steering her toward the parking lot. “I
can’t remember when I’ve seen a film without having to read English subtitles.”
    He stopped and looked around, a
puzzled look on his face. “I could have sworn that this is where we parked the
car.”
    “Me too. Do you suppose it’s one
row over?”
    They searched the entire lot.
The white Cadillac was gone.
    “Damn!” Kale said, scowling and
raking his fingers through his hair. “I can’t believe we’ve been ripped off. “
He pulled out his phone. “I’m calling the cops.”
    Sunny was as angry and dismayed
as Kale was. He’d loved Ravinia’s sporty Cadillac, and it infuriated her to
think that some lowlife had swiped it while they ate.
    A few minutes later  a patrol
car arrived. The officer, a no-nonsense veteran, took down the information on
the car. “A vehicle like this,” he said, tapping his notebook with his pencil, “is
a big temptation for thieves, but it’s also very recognizable. I’ll put out a
report right away. Maybe we can locate it before any serious damage is done.”
    While the officer radioed in the
description of the car, Kale said, “I suppose we’ll have to take a taxi to the
movie.”
    Sunny bit her lip and rubbed her
arms. Her uneasiness had blossomed into anxiety. “Something is wrong. Very
wrong.”
    “Hell, yes, something is wrong.
Some sleaze just hot-wired the car and helped himself to it.”
    “No, something else. I’m going
to call Estella.”
    The phone rang. And rang. And
rang. She tried the land line at the house. It rang and rang. And rang.
    “Estella didn’t answer,” Sunny
told Kale, kneading her fingers together. “Kale, I need to check on her. Now.”
She felt as if a bucket of agitated bees had been loosed inside her.
    Kale hugged her against him. “Honey,
calm down. We’ll go check on her, but I’m sure she’s okay. Maybe she went out
to get some pickles and ice cream, or