Alarums

  'I was fine.'

  'We didn't know that. We were really worried, and the only reason we worried is because we love you. Nobody's against you. Well, maybe Joyce and Harrison.'

  Her mouth trembled into a smile. She pushed the pillow away from her face and drew it down beneath her head. With fingertips, she brushed the tears from her face. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. 'I didn't mean to cause you so much trouble.'

  'It's all right. Hey, it was kind of exciting.'

  'Did Pen really want to go in and get me herself?'

  'Yeah. I had to threaten her bodily harm to keep her in the car.'

  'I shouldn't have talked to her like that.'

  'I'm sure she understands. The past couple of days have been tough on all of us.'

  'Would you close the curtains for me?'

  Bodie got up. He found the draw cord and pulled, shutting out the late afternoon light.

  'I'll come out as soon as I feel better.'

  'I'll stay.'

  'No, go ahead and finish eating.'

  'Are you sure?'

  'Yeah. Just don't eat up the rest of my burger. I'll be but a little later.'

  Bodie bent over the bed. He kissed her gently on the lips. 'Sleep tight,' he whispered.

  Leaving the room, he started to pull the door shut. Then he realized that Melanie might get the wrong idea, so he left it wide open.

  He returned to the kitchen. Pen, still at the table, looked over her shoulder as he approached. 'How is she?'

  'Fine. She wants to take a nap.'

  'That's probably a good idea.'

  'She warned me not to polish off her dinner.'

  'I guess she is feeling better.'

  Bodie sat down across the table from Pen. He felt relieved to have Melanie out of the way, and guilty about the feeling. His bacon cheeseburger was no longer warm. It still tasted good. He washed down a mouthful with beer.

  'She doesn't seem very happy about going back tomorrow,' Pen said.

  'I'm not overjoyed by the prospect, myself.'

  'I'd think you might be glad to get out of this.'

  'I don't like the idea of leaving you holding the bag. Melanie made a real mess of things, and you'll be left with the consequences.'

  'I'll be okay. I wasn't involved in the hairy stuff. With you and Melanie gone, Harrison might figure he's won. He'll probably pretend the whole thing never happened. He's good at that.'

  'What do you mean?'

  Pen shook her head. 'He won't try anything with me.'

  'I hope you're right. But Melanie said he thinks you were behind all this today.'

  'Let him think what he wants.' Pen lifted a chip to her mouth. Some cheese clung to her upper lip. She chewed, then licked it off. 'Maybe you shouldn't tell Melanie at least not before you're gone - but I plan to visit the police tomorrow and tell them everything.'

  Bodie frowned. 'Do you think that's a good idea?'

  'It's self-preservation, for one thing. Once I've talked to the police and accused those two, I don't think they'd dare to come after me. It wouldn't look good if anything happened to me after that. Besides, I plan to make believers out of the cops. Maybe they'll turn up some evidence.'

  'Better them than us.'

  'That's for sure,' Pen agreed.

  'I don't know where we'd go from here, anyway.'

  'Melanie might have a few ideas about that.' She glanced around as if to make sure that her sister wasn't sneaking through the kitchen, then said, 'I suspect she might have one last move up her sleeve. It's a long time from now till morning.'

  'Yeah,' Bodie said. 'Yeah, I see what you mean. She takes a nap now, and sneaks out tonight after you and I are asleep. I wouldn't put it past her. We'll have to make sure she doesn't get the chance.'

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  When they finished eating, Pen and Bodie cleaned off the table. Pen wrapped the remains of Melanie's burger and put it in the refrigerator. She took out a can of coffee and began to prepare a pot.

  'Good idea,' Bodie said. 'It's going to be a long night.'

  'We could sleep in shifts,' Pen said.

  'I didn't bring one.'

  She laughed. 'You can borrow one of mine.'

  'A tempting offer,' Bodie said. He excused himself and headed for the hallway.

  While he was gone, apparently to use the toilet, Pen finished making the coffee. Then she carried a kitchen chair to the front door and tipped it backward, bracing its back under the knob. Just like Friday night, she thought, and remembered her terror the next morning when she saw an arm reaching in, trying to dislodge the chair. It had been Bodie, though, and she'd stabbed him.

  'I don't think that will keep Mel in,' Bodie said as he entered the living room.

  She smiled at him. 'Oh, darn.'

  'What's it for?'

  'Just in case.'

  'You afraid Harrison might try something?'

  'I doubt it. But you never know.'

  'You're about the most cautious person I've ever met.'

  'A streak of paranoia,' she said. 'I think it runs in the family.'

  Bodie sat near an end of the sofa. 'A broken clock has the right time twice a day, and even paranoids have enemies.'

  'Sometimes imaginary enemies. Look how I stabbed you yesterday.'

  'A mere nick.'

  'Fortunately. But it shows what can happen if you lose control.'

  'Hell, I was trying to force my way in. You didn't know who I was. I'd say the attack was justified.'

  'Justified, maybe, but a mistake. The coffee's probably ready.'

  She went into the kitchen, filled two mugs, and brought them out. She gave one to Bodie. 'Did you look in on Melanie?'

  'She's zonked out.'

  'Good. I need to get something.' Pen set her mug on the table and went to her bedroom. The closed curtains kept out the dim evening light. Melanie was a vague shape on the bed. Pen crept close to her. She heard the girl's long, slow breaths.

  Zonked, all right.

  With those Quaaludes in her, she wouldn't be waking up for a very, very long time.

  Pen thought of her father in a coma.

  I did this to Melanie.

  She'll come out of it, Dad won't.

  Yes, he will. He has to.

  Crouching, Pen slipped the shotgun out from under the bed. She carried it back into the living room. Bodie's eyes widened. 'What, me worry?' Pen asked.

  'Lordy lordy, I'd sure hate to get on your bad side.'

  'Damn right. I'm one bad dude.'

  'Can I see it?'

  'Sure. It's loaded, by the way.'

  'Wouldn't do much good otherwise.'

  She handed it to him, then picked up her coffee mug and sat at the other end of the sofa. She turned sideways to face him, bringing her knees up against the back cushion.

  'A beaut,' Bodie said. He shouldered the weapon, aimed it across the room, lowered it onto his lap and stroked its walnut stock. 'Real nice.'

  'I just bought it this morning.'

  'Twelve-gauge?'

  Pen nodded. 'With special magnum cartridges.'

  'Wicked. I guess Harrison better not mess with you.'

  'I didn't have him in mind,' she said, and took a drink of coffee as Bodie turned to look at her.

  'The caller?'

  'Yeah.'

  'I'd almost forgotten about him. All this other stuff going on.'

  'I wish I could forget about him,' she said, and drank more coffee. 'I'd better put that shotgun someplace.' She set her mug on the table.

  Bodie leaned sideways and passed the weapon to her. She stood up. 'I want to keep it handy in case.'

  'You don't want Melanie to spot it,' Bodie advised. 'You must be a mind reader.'

  She propped the shotgun against the wall between the front door and the end of the sofa, hidden behind the curtains. Then she pulled the draw cord. The curtains skidded shut. 'A symptom of paranoia,' she said. 'You don't want people looking in.'

  'An uncle of mine
was killed that way,' Bodie told her. 'He was in his living room one night with the lights on and the drapes open. Someone out on the street plinked him.'

  'My God, really?'

  'It was just one of those random things. I guess he made an irresistible target.'

  Pen shook her head. 'The things that happen in this world.'

  'Can't be too careful.'

  'My motto.' She turned on a lamp. 'More coffee?'

  'Sure.'

  She took the mugs into the kitchen, filled them and returned. She gave a mug to Bodie, then sat at her end of the sofa. 'It's all a little frightening,' she said.

  ' "We are here as on a darkling plain swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight…" '

  ' "Where ignorant armies clash by night," ' Pen said. Bodie grinned. 'Hey, how about letting me read one of your stories?'

  Pen's stomach did a little flip. 'Okay,' she said. 'If you're sure…'

  'Sure.'

  Nervously, she took another drink of coffee. Then she got up and went to the bookcase. She pulled down a copy of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and handed it to Bodie. 'Remember, William Faulkner I ain't.'

  'They paid you for this, right?'

  'Yep.'

  'Then, Faulkner or not, it's quite an accomplishment.'

  'Thanks,' she muttered. 'Page 93.'

  He opened the magazine and began to read.

  My story, Pen thought. She was pleased, but embarrassed. She didn't know what to do with herself while he read it, so she crouched over her suitcase and took out the paperback she had started reading Friday night in the tub.

  She sat on the sofa and opened it.

  Bodie turned a page.

  She wondered if he liked the story so far.

  It was pretty shallow, really.

  She tried to read the paperback, but her gaze kept straying from the page to Bodie at the other end of the sofa. His face looked solemn. He brushed a hank of light brown hair off his forehead, but it flopped down again.

  Pen forgot about the book on her lap and forgot to worry about Bodie's reaction to her short story. She stared at him - his hair glossy in the lamplight, his shirt rumpled in front from the way he was slouched, one foot propped on the other knee, the old running shoe half off and dangling from his toes, a disk of pink skin showing through a hole in the heel of his sock.

  She wanted to scoot over the sofa to his side.

  Ah, but you won't, she told herself.

  Melanie's out for the count.

  Don't even consider it.

  Bodie, eyes still on the story, shook his head and muttered, 'Oh, my God.' He closed the magazine. He looked at Pen and shook his head some more. He grinned. 'Man, I was worried sick about her and all the time she's the one hunting them.'

  'Does that mean you liked it?'

  'You reversed everything. The final line of the story, you turned it all upside-down. Yeah, I think it's terrific. Nice writing, too. I felt as if I were inside her, feeling everything she felt, going through it all. Really nice. If you turned this in to me as a student, I'd give it an A minus.'

  Pen, delighted, forced herself to scowl. 'Why the minus?'

  'To keep you from getting cocky.'

  She laughed. 'Thanks, anyway.'

  'Do you have some more I could read?'

  'That's the only published one.'

  'I don't care.'

  'Let's quit while I'm ahead.'

  'Come on,' he said. 'We've got all night.'

  And only tonight, Pen thought. I don't want to spend it all watching him read my stories.

  'Well, maybe one more.'

  She drank the rest of her coffee, then went into her office and turned on the light. She felt shaky and excited.

  She needed badly to use the bathroom - all that coffee. But she sat at her desk and slid open the deep bottom drawer. Each of the manila folders was labeled with a story title. She flipped through them with trembling fingers.

  Better pick one fast, she thought, before I burst.

  She pulled out the folder for The McDougal Stone' and opened it on her lap. On top of the paper-clipped manuscript were three rejection slips.

  Maybe he can tell me what's wrong with it.

  Hell, I thought it was good.

  She took out the manuscript and put the folder away.

  As she stood up, her eyes met the answering machine. The voice filled her head, tearing apart her good feelings, turning her insides cold and tight. She looked quickly at the window. Its curtains were shut.

  He can't see me.

  Maybe he saw the light come on. If he lives in the building…

  But he can't call and he knows I'm not alone. Nothing to worry about. Not tonight.

  He has my panties.

  She rushed out of the office and some of her fear eased when she entered the living room and saw Bodie in the lamplight, looking so calm and comfortable - and happy.

  'This one's been rejected a few times,' she said, handing the story to him.

  'Must really stink.'

  She laughed. 'Back in a minute,' she said, and hurried to the bathroom. Bodie had left the toilet seat down. Very considerate. She quickly opened her white shorts and pulled them down her legs. She hooked her thumbs under the sides of her panties, tugged them down, and sat.

  And stared at the skimpy lace panties drawn taut between her ankles.

  Bodie heard the toilet flush. Expecting Pen to return in a few seconds, he watched the dark entrance to the hallway. And waited.

  Apparently, she wasn't coming back right away.

  He read more of the story, and almost finished it before he heard a door open. Pen's footsteps were slow and quiet in the hallway. Then she stepped into the living room.

  She raised a hand in a hesitant greeting. A smile faltered on her face. Her nose was a little red and her eyes were red and puffy. 'More coffee?' she asked in a chipper voice.

  'No thanks. Are you all right?'

  Nodding, she sat at her end of the sofa. 'Finished the story yet?'

  'No. What's wrong? You've been crying.'

  'It's ridiculous.'

  'It can't be ridiculous if it upset you that much.' Leaning forward, he dropped the manuscript onto the coffee table. He turned toward Pen. She was bent forward, elbows on knees, her head drooping. Bodie, frowning, scooted closer and put his hand on her back. She didn't flinch or tell him to stop. He rubbed her gently between the shoulder blades, aware of her warm smoothness through the blouse.

  'Ever get the feeling that you've lost your grip?'

  'Slipped a few cogs?'

  She nodded. The hair hanging over her face shimmered in the lamplight.

  'Yeah,' Bodie said. 'Sometimes. What happened?'

  'It's that guy who called Friday night. Even with everything else, I haven't been able to get him off my mind.'

  'That's understandable.'

  'My God, he had me so rattled that I stabbed you. I mean, I blew everything out of proportion. I put that stupid trip-cord across my doorway and damn near cracked my head open, then I stabbed you, for Christ-sake.'

  'I'm not complaining.'

  'I was so messed up, I actually believed he would come here and try to rape me. I was certain of it.'

  'There was a real danger that he might,' Bodie said. 'I was worried, too.'

  'Then he left that message under my door. I was petrified. But I thought, I'm not going to let him run my life. I won't let him scare me away. So I went out this morning and bought the shotgun. I'll fix him, right? Just let him come. The shotgun's a magic wand - wave it and I'm safe. Only the thing is, I got back here and I was alone and I was still scared, damn it. But I wasn't going to let him get to me, right? So I go down to the laundry room and some creep puts moves on me and I'm so messed up I think he's the caller. I actually take a knife with me when I go back down. I probably would've stabbed him if he'd shown up again. That would've been real cute. Stab two innocent guys in two days. Maybe I could go down in the Guinness Book of World Rec
ords'

  'You shouldn't be so hard on yourself,' Bodie whispered.

  'Oh, you haven't heard the good one yet. Talk about paranoia. When I went to put away my laundry, something wasn't there. A pair of underpants. Neat, huh? My obscene caller snuck into the laundry room and stole my panties. That really freaked me out. He not only knows where I live, but he is here and spying on me, maybe even a tenant in the building, and he's got my goddamn panties. Only here's the thing.' Pen's voice quavered. She turned her head toward Bodie. Strands of hair hung across her face and her eyes were shiny. 'Here's the real corker.' Her chin trembled. 'I was wearing them the whole time. I had 'em on. Nobody stole them. I've been wearing them all day. I've got them on right now.' She made a choking sound that may have been an attempted laugh but came out as a sob. 'How's that for nuts, huh?'

  'Oh, Pen,' he whispered. He stroked her hair.

  Then she was turning, putting her arms around him, weeping with her face against his chest.

  'It's all right,' he said. 'It's all right.' He sank against the cushion, holding her gently. He stroked her hair, her back. She felt big in his arms, broader across the back than Melanie. A breast was pressing against him. He told himself to ignore it. Just holding her gave him a good, warm, comfortable feeling and he didn't want the extra guilt of growing aroused but he couldn't help it.

  'I have to tell you something,' he said, and eased her away.

  She nodded and sniffed, her face close to his, her hands on his sides.

  'This is all my fault,' Bodie said.

  Pen shook as she took a deep breath.

  'Partly my fault, anyway.'

  She had a confused look in her eyes.

  'That caller of yours… he never came here. He made the telephone calls, but he didn't come here. Remember how it took me so long to pick up the pizza last night? I didn't get lost. I stopped by a drugstore and bought a birthday card. I used its envelope. I'm the one who left that message under your door.'

  'No, you didn't. You're just trying to make me feel better.'

  'I'm sorry. It was a dumb trick.'

  'No, you…'

  'I really did it.'

  'Why?'

  'So you wouldn't stay here last night. I heard that guy's voice on the tape. I was afraid… afraid he might come over. I didn't want you to be here alone. And I knew you were frightened about staying and it was just Melanie forcing you into it.'