CHAPTER TEN
Janet was more than a beautiful woman and a good model. She was whiteheat and surging womanhood all dolled up in a body like that of a Frenchmovie star. She was as wanton as a Polynesian dancer and as demanding asa nympho. Lying there beside her relaxed nakedness, Nick Danson feltlike another man - a tired one.
He laid his hand over the swelling rise of her breast and slid it downthe flat velvet of her stomach. She made a small sound in her throat andkissed him on the cheek with lips like branding irons.
"I'm glad you have amnesia," she cooed against his ear.
"Why, for God's sake?"
She snuggled the curling warmth of her body against him and chuckled."Because of this. You used to kiss me, but that was all. I wanted more,but not you."
He blinked at the ceiling at her words. She'd tricked him! It was a nicetrick, but still she'd cheated. All the time he'd figured that she wassome sort of mistress, or something - obviously that's what _she_ hadwanted, but in his other life he'd never given her a tumble. It wasfunny, in a way.
"You mean ... we never..."
"Nope." She chuckled again. "Aren't I a rat?"
"Vixen, is more like it."
"That's a good word. I like it. Janet Vixen. How would you like to kissJanet Vixen, Nick Danson?"
"Suppose I get another knock on the head," he suggested, "and I lose thememory of all this, too? Then what?"
"I won't embarrass you in front of company. C'mon, kiss me again,stranger!"
He rolled over and kissed her again and, tired or not, he could feel thedesire surging through him again. Her small hands moved over the musclesof his shoulders, digging into his flesh, her teeth nibbling at hisneck. Janet was one of those odd women who can't seem to take a darnedthing serious. No matter what the risks were involved, to her makingwild love was a hell of a lot of fun and that was that. He had the hunchthat if he tried to get serious with her - marriage serious - she'dbounce him fast. But hell, it was impossible to think of things likethat with her, besides he was having too much fun. If, he thought later,you can call it fun when you're so weak you can't move.
"I have to go, lover," she said finally. "Beth might come up, and Ithink she would be apt to get a little put out if she caught us in bed."
"That's putting it mildly," he grinned. "Besides, I have to start tryingto find out about myself."
"Do me a favor and don't." She pecked him lightly on the lips. "I likethe new Nick Danson a hell of a lot better. C'mon. Snap my bra."
They climbed out of bed and he helped her into her shorts and halter.She kissed him lightly again, said; "Good-by, lover," and bounced outinto the hall, leaving him standing there, naked in the bedroom.
What a world, he thought for the hundredth time and began to gather hisclothes. When he started to put his pants on, his wallet dropped fromthe hip pocket and flopped open on the floor. He picked it up, his eyesabsently noticing the card that was exposed in the clear, plasticwindow. It was a Selective Service Registration Certificate and someonehad written "small scar on right forearm" under the column for generalmarkings. Absently he glanced at his right forearm, then his eyeswidened in shock.
There was no scar!
A man cannot lose a scar, he told himself. He checked the card again. Itwas his, made out to Nicholas Howard Danson; but the scar was missing.He searched his arm and it wasn't there. The full realization of thewhole thing struck him suddenly like a punch in the mouth. He was _not_Nicholas Howard Danson!
Who was he? What the hell was going on? Had he killed the real Dansonbecause they were obviously look alikes, and stolen the guy's I.D. Why?Was he escaping from some kind of crime? Was he a criminal, and what didthe strange dreams have to do with it?
Numbly he climbed into the rest of his clothes and made damned sure the.44 magnum was loaded when he strapped it on. His hands shookuncontrollably and he felt trapped. It would only be a matter of timebefore those people at the wreck figured out the whole story and camehowling after him. He had to get out.
The screech of car brakes startled him and he leaped to the window. Apolice car was in the lane and a single, plainclothes cop was gettingout. It could only be Nolan. He watched as Brice pulled his PolicePositive from the speed rig and headed toward the house. Then Nickhauled out his magnum and slammed it into the window.
Brice dived behind a bush as the magnum threw a .44 slug that barelymissed the cop. The .38 barked back and Nick ducked the splinters as thebullet chipped the window frame.
"Come out, you fool," Brice roared.
"You go to hell," Nick yelled and fired again. "Who tipped you off,Nolan? Beth?"
"You left Danson's watch where your flying saucer cracked up!" Bricesnapped another shot at the window.
Flying saucer? Nick blinked. What the hell was that stupid cop talkingabout?
"What'd you do with Nick," Brice roared.
Nick let the magnum answer for him, not trusting his voice. In the fewseconds that followed Nick, in his nervous excitement, emptied therevolver at Brice, but never even grazed him. He cursed and beganthumbing cartridges into the Ruger. He was almost finished, when Nolancaught onto the maneuver and decided to come in closer. He stood up andbegan sprinting toward the house. Nick had just yanked the hammer of thegun back to fire as Brice came into the open but he never made it.
Suddenly, in the middle of the yard, Detective Lieutenant Nolan Bricedisappeared into thin air! Nick heard him yell for help, but he couldsee nothing. The yelling kept going straight up into the air until itgrew faint in the distance.
Nick stared dumbfoundedly at the area where the cop had suddenly fadedout of sight. What the hell was going on in this screwy place? Then heheard the shout below him and he twisted to stare at the borders of thesmall creek. It was the two men from Andy Hocum's gas station - theblond giant and the sandy haired guy. Panicky, Nick snapped off a shotand the blond dived for cover.
"The dumb bastard is shooting," the blond yelled to his companionseveral yards away. "Let's get the hell out of here, before he hitssomething!"
He got a brief glimpse of them as they took off through the brush andsnapped a shot at them to hurry them along, just as Beth's car rocked upthe rutty road and braked beside the police car. She leaped out yellingfor him and he went down the stairs to meet her, the gun still in hishand.
Her face was drained of color as she came into the house, the red of herlips looking even more red against the pale wash of her face. "Nick!Where's Nolan?"
"I..."
"Oh, my God, Nick! Have you killed him?"
"I couldn't hit him," Nick told her. "I emptied the magnum at him and hedisappeared into the air." His eyes had a wild look in them, "Right intothe air," he added inanely. Everything was so balled up. Everything wascrazy. He wasn't Nick Danson ... he didn't know his name ... Bricevanished into thin air ... the two guys were dogging his tracks ...women came out of the woodwork to make love to him. What the hell elsecould possibly happen?
Beth was staring at him. "You killed him," she breathed.
"No, no! He vanished. He vanished ... honest to God, I never even cameclose to hitting him. I might as well have thrown rocks."
"Men do not disappear into thin air," she said.
"Listen, forget that for a minute. How'd he know I was here?"
She sank wearily onto a chair and looked at him. "He found the watch Igave you a few years ago. It was lying at the crash site. He came to theoffice where I work and asked about you. I denied that I knew you wereback and he began to yell at me about my life being in danger and that Ishould stay away from you until he had a chance to put a bullet intoyou. My God, Nick! What have you done?"
"I dunno," he lied. Should he tell her that he was not her husband, thathe didn't have the foggiest notion of who he was? He decided against it."How'd he know where to find me?"
She sighed. "He helped you build the place. Now where is he?"
"Goddammit, Beth, I told you! How many times do I have to tell you thathe vanished!"
"Stop yelling at me!"
"Then believe me! It happened! I saw it happen, and I wasn't seeingthings! Go out and look. If you can find his body out there, I'll eatit."
She uttered a little cry and came into his arms, holding him tightly."Oh, darling, I want to believe you. I want very much to believe you;but men can't vanish."
"Brice did."
"All right. If you say he did. All right. Now what?"
"I don't know. I have to think. I have to try and remember what happenedto me. It's the only way that this crazy whirl will make sense, and ithas to make sense. It has to."
She nodded. "Let's go into the room. I want to be with you tonight. Letme have the gun, dear?"
He stared at her, his jaws knotted. "You think I'm nuts, don't you? Youthink I'm crazy."
"Darling, darling, of course not. But I wish you'd give me the gun."
Resignedly he unstrapped the gun and gave it to her. He shrugged. "Idon't blame you. Hell, I think I'm crazy too."
She didn't argue the point.
They both went into the front room and sat there staring into the ashesof the dead fireplace while dusk fell about the cabin. Finally Bethstarted the fire. When she had finished, she bent and kissed him.
"Why don't we get some sleep, honey," she said. "That may help."
"I'll be up later," he told her and she kissed him again. Then she wentto bed.
How long he sat there he had no way of knowing, but the fire wassteadily dying. The thoughts hammered in his head and he became lost inthem, trying mentally to find the key that would tear away the veil andgrant him a peek at his past. Bits and snatches had filtered through,garbled and incoherent, that had tried to shed light yet could not. And,while he leaned toward one conclusion, drawn from the dreams, he felt ittoo fantastic for belief.
He was so absorbed in his thinking that he never heard the door openslowly. When he did hear the soft tread behind him, it was too late! Ahandkerchief of chloroform was clamped strongly over his face! Hestruggled, trying to get away from the hands that held him, but he waspowerless! The chloroform got to him. He couldn't breathe...
He slept.