Alarums

  For a long time, she stood leaning against the doorframe, gasping, arms folded across her breasts, legs tight together. She trembled badly. She knew that she should be feeling relief, even triumph.

  Instead, she felt sick.

  Knowing such a man was out there, even though she would get her number changed and he would be out of her life forever.

  Knowing what she had said to him.

  The foulness.

  And knowing, worst of all, that she had actually tried to lure him to her.

  To kill him with the shotgun.

  She felt soiled.

  Pushing herself away from the wall, she walked on shaky legs down the hallway toward the bathroom.

  ***

  Bodie woke up and groaned at the pain in his head. He felt as if his lids were all that held his eyes inside his sockets, that if he opened them, his eyes might burst out from the pressure behind them.

  He also felt ready to throw up.

  Must've really tied one on last night. He couldn't remember getting smashed, but…

  What the hell was he lying on? Not a bed.

  He rubbed the surface.

  Grass. Dewy grass.

  He opened his eyes. The pain and nausea swelled. He thrust himself to his hands and knees and vomited. The spasms wracked him, driving white-hot nails into the base of his skull. When he had finished, he knelt above the mess and clutched his head. The hand above his right ear pressed against an enormous lump.

  Not a hangover. I've been…

  He'd been driving, taking Melanie back to Phoenix.

  A crash? He must've crashed and been thrown clear of the van. Melanie!

  He turned his head, groaning at the new surge of pain. The van was nowhere in sight. Neither was a road. Bodie was on his knees behind a hedge. To his right was a field with playground equipment near the far corner. Turning some more, he saw a building - a school?

  Where the hell am I? What am I doing here?

  Bodie pushed himself carefully to his feet and stood motionless, waiting for a wave of dizziness to pass. He dragged a handkerchief from his pocket, blew his nose, and dropped the handkerchief to the grass. Then he walked slowly through an opening in the bushes.

  He found himself on a sidewalk. In front of him was a narrow street, homes on the other side. Cars were parked along the street, but not his van. To his left, about a block away, was a busy road with cars passing through its intersection. He walked toward it and tried to remember.

  I was at Pen's apartment. With her on the sofa. We kissed. Oh, we did kiss. It had been so… and then Melanie came in. She was supposed to be asleep but she hadn't taken the pills. Should've taken the damn pills. Acting very weird. Time to get her out of there, take her back to Phoenix . She was in the back of the van, wouldn't talk. I stopped for gas. Then what?

  He could remember signing his credit card slip, but nothing after that.

  But we didn't crash. If we crashed, where's the van?

  He gingerly fingered the bump on the side of his head.

  Melanie… could she have hit me with something? Must've. Knocked me out. While I was driving? Maybe I was stopped at a light. She could've knocked me out, shoved me over to the passenger seat and got behind the wheel.

  Wasn't ready to go back to Phoenix.

  Found the school yard, unloaded me, and dragged me behind the bushes.

  Strong enough to do that?

  They say crazy people…

  Crazy.

  She's gone after someone.

  Unfinished business.

  Pen?

  Bodie's head throbbed.

  She's gone after Pen.

  No, maybe not, maybe it's Harrison and Joyce. That's okay. Who gives a shit?

  But what if it's Pen? What'll Melanie do to her?

  Bodie stopped at the corner of the busy street. It was Robertson Boulevard, just as he'd suspected, and he could see the freeway overpass in the distance.

  He had to warn Pen.

  He raised his left hand to check his wristwatch.

  The watch was gone.

  No way to know how long he'd been unconscious in the field.

  If it was only a few minutes, he might still have time to warn her.

  He spotted pay phones across the road.

  He slapped the rear pocket of his pants. His wallet was gone. He shoved a hand into his front pocket. No change.

  No way to phone Pen. No way to warn her.

  He started to run.

  Bolts of pain shot through his head but he didn't slow down.

  I won't make it in time, he thought. It might already be too late.

  What'll Melanie do to her?

  All my fault.

  Oh shit oh shit oh shit!

  The pain!

  I've got to save her!

  Ahead of Bodie, a man came out of a burger joint with a bag of food, crossed the sidewalk, and stepped in front of a parked Cadillac.

  'Hey,' Bodie called, rushing toward him. 'Mister! Can you give me a ride? Please? It's really urgent.'

  'Are you nuts?'

  'Somebody's gonna get killed. All I need is a ride. It won't take long. Please!'

  The man chuckled, shook his head, and reached into his pocket for the keys. 'Does this look like a taxi, pal?'

  'I'm not kidding, mister. It's an emergency!'

  'Fuck off.' He turned toward the door of his car.

  Bodie grabbed his jacket, spun him around, and smashed a fist into his belly. He was fat and soft. His breath whooshed out. He doubled over and Bodie chopped the back of his neck. The man's knees hit the pavement. Bodie yanked him forward by the back of his jacket, and he flopped.

  'I'm sorry, mister. I'll make sure you get it back.'

  He tore the keys from the man's limp fingers, unlocked the driver's door, and jumped in. As he started the car, the man's face appeared in front of the bumper.

  Bodie shot the car backwards. The man crawled toward it, yelling.

  The road was clear.

  Bodie whipped the car around in a U-turn and floored the gas pedal.

  God Almighty, he thought, what have I done?

  Assault and battery, grand theft. Jesus!

  Just don't let the cops stop me.

  Though he ached to keep the accelerator floored, he lowered his speed to forty-five.

  He checked the rearview mirror.

  No cars on his tail.

  No one had seen him rip off the guy's Caddy and come after him. Lucky-lucky.

  A red traffic light.

  Damn!

  He didn't dare run it.

  He pounded his fist on the steering wheel while he waited for the green.

  'Come on, come on!'

  It changed. He rammed the car forward.

  I stole this thing.

  I beat that guy up and took his car.

  Oh, we got us a crime wave, folks.

  Top o' the world, Ma!

  God Almighty.

  Yesterday a mild-mannered student, today a felon.

  He felt a tickle in his throat. A giggle? It might come out a scream.

  Almost there.

  Let her be all right. Please, God, let her be all right.

  Bodie swung onto Pen's street.

  Almost there. Let her be all right.

  Dead on the floor, her body torn by knife wounds, blank eyes staring at the ceiling…

  No, no, no!

  He was on her block, darting his eyes from side to side, looking for his van. He jerked the car to a stop in front of her building. Still no sign of the van, but Melanie might've parked it around a corner.

  He leaped from the car, dashed across the street, threw open the iron gate and ran to the stairs. He charged up the stairs three at a time and raced along the balcony to her door. Light shone through the curtains of the picture window.

  He pounded on the door. 'Pen!' he called. 'Pen, it's Bodie!'

  Seconds passed.

  He pounded again.

  The door was opened.


  By Pen, wearing a blue velour bathrobe.

  She looked all right. She looked wonderful. She had a worried look in her eyes.

  'Is Melanie here?' Bodie asked.

  Pen shook her head.

  Bodie stepped inside. He swung the door shut, put his arms around Pen, and hugged her hard.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  It felt so good to see him, to have him back, to hold him. She squeezed him tightly. She didn't want to know why he was here, what had gone wrong. She wanted only to go on holding him.

  He was panting for air, and she could feel the beat of his heart against her chest.

  'Are you okay?' she whispered after a while.

  'I am now. Except for a splitting headache.'

  'I'll get you some aspirin.'

  'I'll go with you.'

  He followed her. 'What happened?' she asked.

  'I don't know for sure. I guess Melanie brained me.'

  Pen looked back at him, frowning. 'She hit you?'

  'I woke up in a school playground over near the freeway. The van was gone. I was afraid she'd come here.'

  'I haven't seen her.'

  In the bathroom, Pen opened the medicine cabinet. She took out the bottle of aspirin and swung the mirrored door shut.

  Bodie, behind her, slipped his arms around her waist. Pen watched him in the mirror. His face, above her right shoulder, looked pale and hurt.

  'I was so afraid she might have done something to you,' he said.

  'Oh, Bodie.'

  One of his hands slipped inside her robe. The hand was cool against her skin. It moved slowly upward and held her breast. Sighing, she leaned back against him. She hooked a thumb under the cloth belt of her robe and pulled. The belt fell open. Bodie parted the front of her robe. She saw him gazing at her in the mirror. His face, still pale, no longer looked tight with pain. His hands drifted lightly over her breasts, palms brushing her rigid nipples. He held her breasts. He squeezed them and Pen squirmed, moaning. As his hands curled beneath them, the sides of his thumbs rubbed across her nipples, making her breath catch.

  His hands roamed downward, caressing her belly, sliding over her hips and down her thighs. Then they began moving gently upward. Pen closed her eyes. The hands slipped away, returning to her hips.

  The aspirin bottle fell from Pen's fingers. She took Bodie's right hand and guided it between her legs. He moaned when he touched her there. Pen's legs went weak. His hand pressed her, and she writhed against it.

  I'm sorry, Melanie, she thought. I'm sorry, I don't care, we tried.

  She eased Bodie's hand away and turned around. The robe fell from her shoulders. Bodie's hands moved down her back, cupped her buttocks.

  With trembling fingers, she began to unbutton his shirt.

  'What about Melanie?' he whispered.

  'I don't care any more. She hurt you. She doesn't deserve you.'

  'She must've gone over to Harrison 's.'

  'No.' Pen didn't want to think about Melanie.

  'I don't like the idea of chasing after her, but I can't just let her…'

  'Let her what?'

  'I don't know. I have to go after her, though.'

  Pen leaned against Bodie's chest. He held her gently. 'I'll go with you,' she said.

  His hands slid up her back as she crouched to pick up her robe. They caressed her shoulders. She stood, turned away, and lifted the plastic aspirin bottle out of the sink where it had fallen. 'You'd better take some,' she said. She gave him the bottle, then waited at his side while he cupped water from the faucet and swallowed four of the tablets.

  She walked ahead of him to the bedroom. He stood in the doorway, watching as she hung her robe on the closet door.

  'Were you asleep?' he asked.

  'Earlier I was. Then I got a call. From him.'

  'Oh, no.'

  She opened a dresser drawer and lifted out a pair of blue panties. 'We talked,' she said, stepping into them. Balancing on one foot, then the other, she pulled on a pair of white socks. She looked at Bodie. He was gazing at her, his mouth open a little. 'It turns out the guy won't be coming over. He doesn't know where I live, or even who I am. I'll get a new phone number and that'll be the end of him.'

  'How'd he get your number?'

  'Just dialed it at random.'

  'My God.'

  'All that worry for nothing. There was never any way he could've… paid me a visit.'

  'That's great.'

  'Yeah,' Pen muttered. She squatted and opened the bottom drawer. She took out a pair of faded blue sweatpants and put them on. She tossed the matching sweatshirt onto her bed. Still naked from the waist up and feeling Bodie's gaze, she went to the closet. She took out her running shoes and carried them to the bed. There, she sat down. She put them on and tied the laces. Picking up her sweatshirt, she walked toward him.

  'Trying to rub it in?' he asked.

  'It's your idea to go after her. See what you're missing?'

  He smiled slightly, staring into Pen's eyes as he touched her breasts. 'Things have a funny way of working out.'

  'Real funny,' Pen said, arching her back as he caressed her.

  'If she hadn't whacked me, we'd be on our way to Phoenix.'

  'She'd be safe.'

  'I wouldn't… be here with you.'

  Her breath went ragged as he pressed her nipples. 'Oh God, Bodie.'

  'Worth a bump on the head.'

  'We'd… better go.'

  His hands lowered and held her sides. She pulled the sweatshirt down over her head.

  'I wish we could just forget about her,' he said.

  'We can't.'

  'I know.'

  'Do you really think she went to Harrison 's?'

  Bodie nodded.

  'What'll we do, go over there again?'

  'I guess so.'

  They walked down the hallway to the living room. Pen picked up her purse and slung its strap over her shoulder. At the end of the sofa, she swept the curtain aside and lifted her shotgun.

  'Are you kidding?'

  'Just in case.'

  'If we need that, we're really in deep shit.'

  'I know he's got a.38.'

  'Here, let me take it.'

  'I can handle it.'

  'If it comes to shooting, I'd better do it.'

  'What are you, some kind of a sexist?'

  'Right on, babe.' He held out his hands for the shotgun.

  Pen shook her head. 'We can't just walk around with this.' She slipped the barrel inside her baggy sweatpants. It was cold against the side of her leg. She raised her sweatshirt and pulled it down over the stock.

  'Can you walk with it there?'

  'I can try.' Holding it against her side, she stepped onto the balcony. Bodie shut the door. He went ahead of her, glancing back occasionally as she limped to the stairs and made her way slowly down them. She kept her right leg stiff.

  At the bottom, he took hold of her left arm.

  He opened the gate for her.

  She hobbled along beside him.

  When they reached her car, she eased the shotgun down her leg until its muzzle rested on the pavement.

  Clamping her arm to the stock, she took her keys out of her purse and opened the door. She looked around. Saw no one. Lifted her sweatshirt over the stock. Pulled the shotgun out of her pants and quickly swung it into the car.

  'I'll be in the Cadillac,' Bodie said, and nodded toward the street.

  Pen saw the big car parked on the other side. 'Where'd you get…?'

  'Tell you later. Follow me. Just a couple of blocks, then I'll ditch it and we'll be on our way.'

  Pen climbed into her car. When the headlights of the Cadillac came on, she backed onto the road. She followed the Caddy down the block, away from Pico.

  Where on earth did he get that thing? she wondered. He must have stolen it. No other possibility. He'd been stranded… worried about me. Actually stole a car in order to get to me.

  He could wind up in prison.


  Though frightened for him, Pen felt grateful. He'd put himself on the line for her, risked his freedom, his future.

  'Get out of there,' she whispered.

  He kept driving.

  'Come on, come on.' She checked her rearview, half expecting to see a police cruiser, but the street behind her was clear. 'Damn it, Bodie! Come on!'

  He turned right.

  Pen followed. And let out a long breath when he pulled over to a curb. But he didn't get out.

  'What're you doing?' she blurted. Driving slowly past the car, she glanced inside and saw him leaning across the seats. A light shone from the open glove compartment.

  Just beyond the Cadillac, she stopped. She killed her headlights to darken her license plates - in case someone should notice Bodie abandoning the stolen car and getting into hers.

  'Hurry, would you?' she muttered.

  Finally, he climbed out. Pen leaned across the passenger seat, shouldering over the shotgun, and unlatched the door. She grabbed the barrel in time to keep the gun from falling out as he opened the door. Straightening up, she pulled it with her. The interior light was on, but just for a moment. Then the door bumped shut and darkness came back.

  Pen drove away with her headlights off. 'I thought you were going to stay in there all night,' she said.

  'I had to find the registration. I'll try to call the owner when I get the chance, tell him where to find his car.' Then he told Pen how he had stolen it.

  Pen listened, stunned.

  'I didn't even think about it,' he said. 'All of a sudden, I was just doing it. The funny thing is, I don't even feel very guilty. I'm just glad I wasn't caught.'

  Pen turned the corner and put on her headlights. 'Me, too.'

  'I've never done anything like that before.' He sounded apologetic.

  Pen reached over and squeezed his hand. 'If you think I'm going to hold it against you… I feel badly that you hurt the man, but… hey, the gallant knight can't come to the rescue if he ain't got a charger.'

  'Only thing is,' he muttered, 'the damsel wasn't in distress.'›

  'You didn't know that.'

  'It's the thought that counts, right?'

  She glanced at him. Her throat felt tight. 'The thought counts plenty. You better believe it.'

  Bodie's fingers tightened around her hand.

  Pen stopped for a traffic light at Pico. 'I guess I'll go surface streets,' she said. 'Either way, it'll take a while to reach Harrison 's.'