‘Fine.’
‘Why don’t you stay down for a few minutes? I’ll go ahead and drop off the videos.’
‘What time is it?’
He glanced at the bright green numbers of the clock. ‘Twelve forty-five. Guess there’ll be a late charge.’
‘I’ll pay it.’
‘It’s no problem. Let’s just make sure nobody sees you.’
A couple of minutes later, he steered into Video City’s parking lot. Though brightly lighted, it was nearly deserted. A few cars remained on the lot, as if abandoned there. The store’s interior was dimly illuminated. Nobody seemed to be inside. Nor was anyone roaming the lot – or loitering near the entrance.
More often than not, a filthy vagrant could be found in front, standing sentry at the video return slot. All set to snatch the videos out of your hand, drop them into the slot, and demand a fee for the service.
Neal had wondered what to do about the guy.
He didn’t want to risk an encounter. Best to keep the videos and drive on by . . . return them tomorrow.
He was glad to find the post deserted.
‘Coast is clear,’ he said, and swung into the space in front of the return slot. ‘Stay down, though. This place is really well lighted.’
He climbed out of the car and walked casually toward the slot, swinging the two videos by his side and keeping his back to Venice Boulevard. It had a fair amount of traffic. He knew he could be seen by anyone in the passing cars.
The night was somewhat cool. After such a hot day, however, nobody was likely to find it peculiar that he didn’t wear a shirt. He hoped Venice was too far away for anyone to notice his injuries, filth and blood.
He dropped the videos through the slot, one at a time, then turned around.
A cluster of cars approached on Venice, still crowded together after being released by a nearby traffic signal.
Neal raised his forearm and rubbed it across his face as if wiping sweat away. He kept his face hidden until after he’d turned toward his car. Quickly, he pulled open the door and climbed in.
‘How’d it go?’ Elise asked from behind him.
‘No problem.’ He backed out of the space and steered toward one of the exits. ‘Where to?’ he asked.
‘Well, you said you’d take me home.’
‘To your place.’
‘That’d be perfect,’ she said. ‘Do you know how to get to Brentwood?’
‘You live in Brentwood?’
‘If it’s too far away . . .’
‘No, no. I’ll drive you anywhere you want. Hell, I’d drive you to San Francisco if that’s what you want.’
She made a soft, laughing sound. ‘Brentwood will do fine.’
‘Venice runs into Bundy, doesn’t it?’ he asked.
‘Centinela, I think. It turns into Bundy after a while.’
He made a right-hand turn out of the parking lot and onto Venice Boulevard. ‘Where did that guy get you?’ he asked.
‘At home.’
‘In Brentwood?’
‘Yeah.’
‘And he brought you all the way over here?’
‘It’s where we ended up.’
‘Weird. Maybe this was his home territory. That’d make sense, I guess. If he wanted to take you someplace familiar to him.’
‘I don’t know,’ she said.
‘Do you live in an apartment building?’
‘A house.’
‘A house in Brentwood?’ Smiling over his shoulder, he glimpsed Elise curled across the back seat. ‘You must be loaded.’
‘Pretty loaded.’
‘Great.’
‘You’re not going to suddenly hate me, are you? Just because I’m well off?’
‘Nah.’
He felt a certain disappointment, though.
‘Hope not,’ she said. ‘Some people act as if it’s a sin to have money.’
‘Not me,’ he said. ‘Do I look like a Commie?’
She laughed softly.
‘Do you live alone?’ he asked. ‘I mean, I’m just wondering why this jerk didn’t . . . uh . . . why not do everything to you right there in your own house?’
‘He wanted to get me screaming. Maybe that’s why he took me away. One good scream at my house, and the cops would’ve gotten hit by so many 911 calls they’d think the Martians had landed. It’s a very quiet neighborhood. And very nervous. All my neighbors know I live alone. And they know I’ve had some troubles with my ex-husband. I think they’re all expecting him to drop in on me some night with a knife.’
‘This wasn’t him, was it?’
‘No. No, no. This guy was a complete stranger.’
‘Sent by your ex-husband?’
She didn’t answer for a while. Then she said, ‘I doubt it. I think this guy just picked me at random. Maybe saw me out shopping today, or something, and followed me home. You know?’
‘Maybe. But if he was hired by your ex-husband this might not be the end of it.’
‘All right if I sit up, now?’ she asked.
‘It might look funny, the front seat empty and you in the back.’
‘Pull over and I’ll get in front. We’ll look like a couple on our way home.’
‘I don’t know. You’re not exactly wearing any pants.’
‘Pull over someplace dark.’
‘Well . . . All right.’ He wished she would stay in back, out of sight. He didn’t want to argue, though.
If I ever tell Marta about this, he thought, Elise is going to be dressed from head to toe.
Better not tell her anything.
I never left the apartment tonight.
Nice. Start lying to her.
He turned onto a narrow street with homes on both sides, found a blot of darkness and pulled over. He cut off his headlights. ‘Okay.’
Before Elise opened the passenger door, Neal picked up the bulb and light cover that he’d tossed onto the seat. He put them into the console.
Elise sat down and shut her door.
Neal made a U-turn. On the way back toward Venice Boulevard, he put his headlights on.
‘This is much better,’ Elise said. She fastened her seat belt. ‘I didn’t like it back there. It was like being a prisoner all over again.’
He turned onto the boulevard, and light filled the car. He kept his eyes on the road. ‘I’ve got maps in the glove compartment,’ he said.
‘I know the way.’
‘No, I figured . . . you might want to use one.’
‘I’m not lost.’
He looked at her. She was smiling, and Neal realized this was the first time he’d been able to see her in halfway decent light. She had dirt and blood on her face. And shadows still hid her eyes. But he saw, at once, that she was a beautiful woman.
Her beauty didn’t seem austere or threatening. There was something warm about it. Soft and appealing.
‘I thought you might want to take out a map and, uh . . . open it.’
‘Oh.’ She glanced down at herself. ‘Nothing shows, really.’
Neal lowered his eyes. The front tails of the big, loose shirt were drawn together and tucked between Elise’s legs. They formed a triangle that covered her groin but left her thighs almost entirely bare.
‘If it makes you uncomfortable . . .’
‘Doesn’t matter to me,’ Neal said, and returned his eyes to the road.
‘Well, there isn’t much of me you haven’t already seen.’
It was dark then, he thought. He decided not to say it.
‘That’s all right,’ he said. ‘What did the guy do with your clothes, anyway?’
‘Nothing. I didn’t have any on.’
‘When he got you?’
‘Right. I was in my pool.’
‘Ah.’
‘Actually, I was out of the pool when he grabbed me. I’d just climbed out, and was on my way over to the diving board. I used to be a diver. Guess I still am. I mean, I still do a lot of diving, but now it’s just for fun.’
/> ‘You used to compete?’ Neal asked.
‘Oh, yeah. Back in the Dark Ages. Anyway, he must’ve been hiding somewhere near the pool. I didn’t even hear him coming. I was just walking toward the board, and all of a sudden he grabbed me around the neck. I think it must’ve been one of those holds that cuts off your circulation and makes you pass out.’
‘And you woke up in his van?’
‘Yeah.’
‘You’d never seen the guy before?’
‘I don’t think so. But who knows what might’ve been under all that hair and beard?’
‘You’re sure it couldn’t have been your ex-husband?’
‘Vince? No. Not a chance.’
‘I just keep wondering if you were a random victim, or if maybe there was some other motive.’
‘I’d guess random victim. I think he was one of these nut-cases you hear about. The kind of guy who gets his kicks out of things like torturing and killing people.’ Looking at Neal, she ran her hands up and down her thighs a few times as if trying to rub away goosebumps. ‘He didn’t rape me, by the way. In case you’re wondering. I don’t think I’d be feeling quite so chipper . . . Why the hell do I feel so chipper? It’s not as if I exactly got off unscathed.’
‘Maybe you’re just glad to be alive.’
‘Something like that. Who knows? I got off light, that’s for sure. Thanks to you. My God, if you hadn’t come along with your trusty gun . . .’ She shook her head and rubbed her legs some more. ‘I’d probably still be tied to that tree. And screaming for mercy.’
‘I’m just glad things worked out the way they did.’
‘You and me both, Neal. Especially me.’ She laughed softly. ‘Have you ever saved anyone before?’
‘No. Not hardly.’
‘What do you suppose a customary reward might be for rescuing a person from . . . that sort of a situation?’
Neal blushed. He was sure Elise couldn’t see it, though. ‘I don’t want any reward,’ he said.
‘Whether you want it or not, you’re going to get it.’
He looked at her. She was smiling.
‘I’m not taking any money from you,’ he insisted.
‘Why not? Are you rich?’
‘Ha. That’ll be the day.’
‘What do you do?’ she asked.
‘I’m a substitute high-school teacher.’
‘And?’
‘And?’ he asked.
‘What else? You’re a sub and you live in Los Angeles. Therefore, you must be trying for a career in the movies. Not an actor, though. You’re not the type. Screenwriter?’
He shook his head. ‘That’s right.’
‘And you specialize in crime stories?’
‘You must be psychic.’
‘I just pay attention,’ she said.
‘What do you do?’ he asked.
‘When I’m not being abducted by psychos?’
‘Right.’
‘Mostly, I drift. Have you had any luck at all with your scripts?’
‘Nothing worth mentioning.’
‘And you sub. Are you sure you should go around turning down money?’
‘I’m not going to take money for saving you. No way. Not a chance.’
‘Okay,’ she said.
‘Good,’ he said.
‘That’s not what I’m planning to give you tonight.’
‘Good, because I wouldn’t take it.’
‘I’m going to give you something much more valuable than money.’
‘And what would that be?’
‘You’ll find out.’
Five
He stopped his car at the gate of Elise’s driveway. Through its wrought-iron bars, he saw that the driveway led to a garage with a closed door.
‘Wait here and I’ll open the gate,’ Elise said.
‘Okay.’
She climbed out and walked around the front of the car. Neal watched her in his headlights. The shirt tail over her buttocks shifted with each stride. Below it, her legs were long and slender. She still wore the shoes that she’d taken off the dead man. They looked huge on her, but she seemed to have no trouble walking in them.
At a post beside the gate, she tapped a few numbers on a keypad – her security code, Neal supposed.
She stepped through the gate as it swung open. Inside, she moved out of the way and waved Neal forward. He drove through. The moment he stopped the car, his passenger door opened and Elise leaned in.
‘Come on into the house,’ she said.
‘I really should be getting home,’ he told her.
The best way to avoid becoming more deeply involved with this woman, he’d already decided, was simply to drop her off and leave. If he went into her house, no telling what might happen.
At the very least, she was bound to bring up the business of a reward.
‘Just come in for a few minutes,’ Elise said. ‘I have something for you.’
‘I don’t want anything. Really.’
She smiled. ‘Shouldn’t you wait and see what it is?’
‘No, I don’t think so.’
‘Well, then, come in and have a drink with me.’
‘I’d better be getting home,’ he said.
‘Please?’
The way she said it, Neal realized she might be afraid to go into her house alone.
Should’ve known. After what she’s gone through tonight . . .
He suddenly felt like a jerk. He should’ve offered to go in with her, check around, make sure it was safe.
‘Okay,’ he said. ‘But just for a few minutes.’
‘Great. Thank you.’ She stepped away from the door and shut it.
Neal climbed out. They met in front of his car.
‘I don’t have my keys,’ she said. ‘We’ll have to go around to the back.’
She led the way, leaving the driveway and walking across the grass of the front lawn. Thick shrubbery and a brick wall stood between the narrow lawn and the road. But Neal glimpsed the road through a small, open gate.
‘Is that how he came in?’
‘I don’t know,’ Elise said. ‘He might’ve jumped a wall, or something. It’s probably the way he carried me out, though.’
Neal went to the gate and shut it. Reaching over it, he tried the knob. It turned in his hand. ‘You don’t keep this locked?’
‘Not all the time.’
‘Maybe you should.’
‘Vince was the nut about security,’ she said. ‘The way I see it, if they’re gonna get you, they’re gonna get you.’
‘Tonight, they got you.’
She turned to Neal. A corner of her mouth lifted. ‘Almost,’ she said.
From the gate, a walkway led to the front door. Above the door, a light was on.
‘Have you got an alarm system?’ Neal asked.
‘Yep.’
‘I hope you use it.’
She flashed another smile at him. ‘Sometimes.’ She resumed walking. Neal looked at the house as he followed her.
He was a little surprised to see how normal it appeared. He hadn’t exactly known what to expect. Something more impressive, he supposed. But this looked pretty much like a typical Los Angeles home – or an old Spanish mission. A low, sprawling structure of stucco, red tiles, and arches. It looked fairly large. Certainly not a mansion, though.
Just priced like one, more than likely.
If she can afford a house like this, he thought, she could probably throw a hundred thousand at me without even blinking.
I don’t want her money.
Besides, she probably got this place in her divorce settlement. She might not be . . . no, she admitted she was loaded.
Doesn’t matter, he told himself. I’m not taking a penny from her.
He followed her around the corner. There, a small grove of fruit trees stood between the side of the house and the brick wall at the edge of the property. No light came from the windows of the house. When they entered the grove, darkness surrounded them.
/>
Neal walked slowly, ducking beneath low limbs, keeping his eyes on Elise. She was a vague, moving blur.
At the rear of the house, they stepped out of the trees. No lights were on, but there were no trees to shade the area. It seemed bright after the walk through the grove.
Back here, the pool dominated everything. A large, rectangular swimming pool with two diving boards at the far end: a low board and a high dive. The pool was bordered by a broad, concrete apron. Neal could see a few places where the concrete appeared to be wet – probably where Elise had climbed out of the water earlier that night.
Just off the nearest corner of the pool was a hot spa. Close to the house were a couple of padded loungers. Farther off, but also near the house, Neal saw a barbecue grill, a table and a set of chairs.
As they walked past the loungers, Elise reached down and plucked a large towel off one of the pads. She flopped it over her shoulder.
‘Why aren’t there any lights on?’ Neal asked.
‘I didn’t have them on.’ Elise turned and headed for the sliding glass door.
‘You were diving in the dark?’
She glanced over her shoulder at him. ‘Makes it more interesting.’
‘I’ll bet’
She rolled open the sliding door. ‘Actually, you can see pretty well by the full moon.’
Neal followed her inside. A lamp came on. The brightness made his eyes ache. Squinting, he saw that he was standing in a large bedroom. It looked feminine, fresh and tidy.
Elise tossed her towel onto the king-sized bed.
Heading for a doorway at the corner of her room, she glanced over her shoulder and said, ‘Why don’t you come along? I’ll show you the guest restroom. You want to clean up, don’t you?’
‘It can wait till I get home.’
‘There’s no need for that. Just relax, all right?’
He followed her into a hallway.
After flicking on a light, she walked to the right. ‘If you’d like to take a shower,’ she said, ‘I’ll find you something clean to wear.’
‘No, really. I’m fine.’
She reached through a doorway and flipped a light switch, then turned toward him.
For the first time, he was able to get a look at her in good light. Her face was filthy, smudged with dirt and blood, and more beautiful than he had imagined. He had never seen such eyes. They were shocking. A rich, blue-green color unlike any eyes he had ever seen before.