“If Clyde’s done all this stuff, how come he’s still working here? Shouldn’t you fire him?”
“I’d love to. But he pretty much behaves himself on the job. He saves his big seductions for after hours. And he hasn’t broken any laws that I’m aware of. He just employs the standard, old-fashioned, tried and true methods of seduction. So far, at least. I’ve discussed the situation with Janice, but she won’t fire him.”
“Has he nailed her?”
Janice? Hey, bite your tongue. You’re talking about my dad’s wife, pal!” She stopped smiling. A moment later, she said, “I can’t imagine Clyde has gotten to Janice. For one thing, he’s probably afraid to try. I mean, she is the owner. If he nailed her and dumped her like he does everyone else, she’d can his ass in a heartbeat. Besides, even if he had the guts to make the try, I bet he’d strike out. Janice really loves my dad. There’s no way she’d let any other guy touch her. And she can be tough as nails. You know the stuff she’s gone through. She takes shit from no one.”
“So why won’t she fire him?”
“His job performance is excellent. If she fired him, she’d be setting herself up for a lawsuit. You can’t just go around firing people unless their job performance sucks or they commit a crime or something. Even then, they’ll sue you.”
“It’s a wonderful world.”
“Well, Clyde’s gonna screw up, one of these days. When he does, I’ll be there and make sure he goes down for it.” She took a drink of wine, then lowered her glass until its base seemed to rest on the bubbly white water. Smiling, she said, “Maybe you should go out with him. Maybe we’ll get lucky and he’ll assault you.”
“Oh, thanks for the suggestion. Real nice.”
Then you can file criminal charges against him, and...”
“Give me a break,” Dana said. “I don’t care what kind of an asshole he is, I’m not going to set him up. I want nothing to do with him.”
“Yeah, well...” Tuck shrugged and grinned. “I knew you wouldn’t go for it. You’re too much of a Girl Scout.”
“Dam right.”
“A goody-two-shoes.”
“Let’s not push it, babe.”
“Anyway,” Tuck said, “I wouldn’t let you do something like that. I was just kidding around. The best thing you can do is stay out of his way.Don’t even talk to him if you can help it.”
“I didn’t want to talk to him before I knew all this. He just rubbed me the wrong way.”
“He’ll rub you any way he can.”
“He won’t get the opportunity.”
“Let’s hope not.”
They both sat in silence for a while and sipped their wine.
Though the water’ no longer seemed terribly hot, Dana felt awfully warm inside and out. With her free hand, she wiped sweat off her face.
When her glass was empty, she reached around and set it on the concrete.
“Refill?” Tuck asked.
“Maybe later,” she said. Then she stood up.
“You aren’t leaving yet, are you?”
“Just need some fresh air.” She stepped onto the tile seat, then turned around and sat on the edge of the spa, her legs dangling into the hot water. The chill night air wrapped her wet body. It felt good after so much heat. Drops of water and sweat turned cold as they dribbled down her skin. She took a deep breath. “That’s better,” she said.
Tuck twisted sideways to look up at her. Then she spoke in a loud voice to be heard over the burbling and hissing sounds of the spa. “If you really want to be a glutton for punishment, hop into the pool.”
From up here, Dana had a fine view of the swimming pool.
Unlike the spa, it didn’t steam. The sparkling water trembled under the mild breeze and looked frigid.
“This is fine,” Dana said. “For now. So, tell me about Warren.”
“Ah. Okay.” Tuck climbed up and sat beside her. “What do you want to know?”
“What should I know?”
“Well...” Tuck drank the last of the wine from her glass. “I don’t know about you,” she said, “but I’m having a refill.”
“What is it, a long story?”
Tuck shrugged. “We’ve got to polish off the bottle. Red’s no good the next day.”
“If you say so.”
Their glasses full again, they each took a few sips. Then Tuck lowered her glass. Resting it on her thigh, she gazed out across the pool. “Well,” she said. “For starters, Warren...”
Her voice stopped.
“What?”
She whispered, “Shit.”
“What?” Dana asked.
Smiling at her, Tuck said, “Just act natural. Pretend nothing’s going on.”
“What is going on?”
“Someone’s over there.”
“Hub?”
“Across the pool. In the bushes.”
Chapter Twenty
THE LURKER
Trying not to show her alarm, Dana smiled and nodded. She kept her eyes on Tuck. “Where exactly?” she asked.
Tuck took a drink of wine. Then she lifted her eyes, slid them to the right, and looked.
And looked.
“What’s going on?”
“I don’t see him now.”
Turning her head, Dana studied the area along the far side of the pool. All she saw was a broken wall of trees and bushes. The foliage crowding the edge of the concrete was brushed with light, but there were gaps here and there along the whole length of the pool. Deep, empty spaces filled with darkness.
Dana didn’t see anyone.
But she suddenly realized how alone they were.
All by themselves in the spa. Tuck’s house deserted. Wooded hills all around them.
Nowhere to run for help.
Nobody to hear them scream.
“I don’t see him,” Dana said.
“Me neither. Not anymore.
“Maybe he left.”
“I don’t know. He could be anywhere.”
“Well...not anywhere.”
“Damn near,” Tuck said.
“Where was he?”
“Okay. Look straight across at the corner of the pool, then go to the right about fifteen feet.”
Dana followed the instructions.
“See what looks like a Christmas tree?”
“Yeah.”
“He was in that dark place just to the right of it.”
Dana found the dark place. She nodded. “Guess he isn’t there now.”
“Why don’t you go over and take a good look around?” Tuck suggested.
“Very funny. Maybe we’d better go inside.”
“Shit. Yeah. We’d better.”
“Let’s just put down our glasses and leave everything right here.”
They both set down their glasses.
“Now what?” Tuck asked.
“Run like hell for the back door.”
“Think so? Maybe we should just act like nothing’s wrong.”
“Why kid around?” Dana asked. “My second now, he might come after us. He might be sneaking closer even while we’re discussing this.”
Tuck grimaced slightly. Her eyes flicked toward Dana.
Dana saw fear in them.
It hurt to find fear in Tuck’s eyes, which usually showed wry humor and mischief and moxie. It made her want to hurt the person who had put it there.
“Don’t worry,” she said, and gave Tuck’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “I’ll be right beside you. Nothing’s going to happen.”
“Okay,” Tuck said. She nodded briskly. She still had the fear in her eyes.
“Ready?” Dana asked.
“You bet.”
“Let’s hit it.”
They scurried to their feet, whirled around and ran, water flying off their legs, their bare feet smacking the concrete. Dana dashed around one side of the table, Tuck around the other. They converged beyond it and raced for the sliding door.
Realizing they might both reach it at the
same moment, Dana slowed down. Tuck rushed ahead of her, jerked open the door and lunged out of the way to let Dana enter first.
Dana ran in.
Tuck lurched in behind her, pulling the door. It rolled shut with a heavy thud that seemed to shake the house. Tuck snapped down the locking lever.
Side by side, gasping for breath, they both stared out.
Except for the steam and the shifting, rippling surface of the pool, nothing moved.
“Well,” Tuck said. “Guess he’s not coming.”
“Doesn’t look like it. Are you okay?”
“Sure. Fine.”
“Did you see who it was?”
“Nah.”
“What’d he look like?”
“Just...I don’t know. I’m not sure what I saw. Part of an arm, maybe. I just caught a glimpse of it.”
“Are you sure it belonged to a person?”
Tuck turned her head and frowned at Dana. “No, it was Bigfoot.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
Suddenly tossing a smile at Dana, she said, “Nah, couldn’t have been Bigfoot. Wasn’t hairy. Might’ve been a beast, though.”
“Sure.”
“The skin looked awfully white.”
“It was a bare arm?”
“Yeah,” Tuck said. “Whoever he was, I don’t think he had a shirt on. I think his shoulder was bare. Hmm. Maybe he was naked.” She reached for the door handle. “I’ll ask him in.”
“Sure you will.”
Tuck let go of the handle.
For a while, they didn’t talk. They stood side by side, staring out.
Then Dana said, “Do you have any idea who it might’ve been?”
“Not a clue.”
“I guess we can’t go back out there.”
“You know what? Keep an eye on things. I’m calling the cops.”
Dana felt a sudden dropping sensation in her stomach.
Calling the cops.
Legs dripping, Tuck walked over to the lamp table at the far end of the couch.
She picked up the phone.
“You think it’s that serious?” Dana asked.
“Don’t you?”
“I guess so.”
Tuck tapped in three numbers.
“9-1-1?” Dana asked.
“You bet.”
“Jeez.”
This was like calling for an ambulance: an admission that the situation might be drastic.
Dana turned away to keep an eye on the pool area.
She saw nobody.
If he’s out there, he’s sure keeping out of sight.
“Hello?” Tuck said. After a brief pause, she said, “Yes, I guess it’s an emergency. We have a prowler behind the house. My friend and I were out by the pool, and I caught him spying on us from the bushes.” Pause. “Tucker. Lynn Tucker...Oh, hi, George. Didn’t recognize your voice...Yeah, we’re fine. We ran into the house and locked the door, but we’re afraid he might still be out there...No, he doesn’t seem to be coming after us. Not yet, anyway.” She listened for a moment, then gave the house address. After another pause, she said, “I don’t have any idea who it is. I didn’t see the face... White. And I think it’s a male, but I really didn’t get that good of a look...I don’t know. I guess I’d say he’s probably young. Not a kid, but not an old man...I only saw his arm and shoulder, George... Well, average size, I guess. No, cancel that. I don’t know. I guess he seemed to be fairly large. But like I said, I couldn’t see much. He might’ve seemed bigger than he really is...I don’t know, maybe six feet something...How should I know? Based on a glimpse of his arm?..Well, how about a hundred and eighty, two hundred? Do you have to put something down? I really haven’t got a clue. Can’t you just send someone over?...Wearing? Nothing that I could see...Well, I can’t say he was naked. All I saw was his arm, George. And it was bare, so I’m pretty sure he wasn’t wearing any shirt...Nothing more I can think of...I don’t know. At the moment, he isn’t trying to kick the door in...Isn’t...Okay, thanks. That’s great.... You, too, George. So long.”
She hung up.
Dana turned around. Tuck shook her head. “That was my old pal, George. He’s sending someone over.”
“Did he say how long it’d be?”
“Nope. He didn’t say who he’s sending, either. Wish I’d asked. I know everyone on the force. Their shifts change, though, so...” She shook her head. “Hope it doesn’t turn out to be Cochran. He’s such an asshole. Anyway, I don’t know about you, but I’m getting dressed. In case it is Cochran.”
“Why don’t you go first?” Dana suggested. “I’ll keep watch on things down here.”
“Okay. Yell if anything happens.”
With that, Tuck whirled around and ran for the stairway. She rushed up the stairs, taking them two at a time.
Dana turned to the glass door.
The pool area still appeared to be deserted. But someone might easily be hiding in the bushes and trees.
Watching me.
Anyone spying from the other side of the pool would have a bright, clear view of Dana standing at the glass door.
She suddenly felt exposed, as if she were on display in her thin, clinging swimsuit. It was clammy against her skin. Chilly water trickled down her legs. She realized that she was shivering slightly. Without looking down at herself, she knew her skin was rumpled with goosebumps, her nipples rigid and jutting out.
She was tempted to shut the drapes.
If I do that, I won’t be able to see out. He might sneak up to the door.
Let him look at me all be wants. So what?
At the sound of Tuck thumping down the stairs, she turned around. Tuck now wore a bulky gray sweatshirt and white shorts that reached down almost to her knees. She was barefoot. In her right hand, swinging low by her side, was a very large revolver.
“A gun?” Dana asked.
“Not just any gun,” Tuck said. Striding toward her, she raised the weapon and pointed it toward the ceiling. “This-here is your basic Smith & Wesson .44 magnum with an eight-inch bamel.” Squinting and snarling like Clint Eastwood, she said, “Thee most powerful handgun in the world.”
“Jesus,” Dana muttered.
“Nope. Dirty Harry. It’s my dad’s. And it’s loaded with hollow points.” She twirled the barrel. “Just in case our visitor makes a try for us before the cavalry arrives.”
“Don’t let ‘the cavalry’ see it. They might shoot you.”
“Yeah, I know. I’m not a dope. You can go on upstairs and get dressed now, if...”
The doorbell rang.
They both jumped.
“Too late,” Tuck said. “Go get the door and I’ll hide the cannon.”
Leaving Tuck behind, Dana hurried out of the room and down the short hallway to the foyer. At the door, she called, “Who is it?”
“Police.”
She opened the main door. A few steps back from the screen door stood a woman in uniform. She held a long, black flashlight down by her side, but it wasn’t turned on.
“Hello, officer,” Dana said.
The woman peered at her. “Having some trouble here? A prowler?”
“Right.” Dana swung open the screen door. “Come on in.”
The cop entered. She appeared to be older than Dana—maybe in her late twenties or early thirties. She was Dana’s size, had a similar figure, and was extremely attractive. Though her eyes were a striking, pale blue color, they had a tough, ironic look. Her pale blond hair was cut very short.
A man-style haircut.
Dana suddenly felt self-conscious in her revealing swimsuit. She blushed as the cop looked her over.
A name plate pinned above the uniform’s right breast pocket read, CHANEY.
“You must be the lifeguard around here,” officer Chaney said. Coming up with a lopsided smile, she held out her hand.
“Right. I’m Dana Lake.” They shook hands.
“I’m Eve...”
“Of Destruction!” Tuck called,
striding into the foyer without her revolver. “How’s it going, Eve?”
“Hey, Lynn.”
“You’ve met Dana?”
“Yep.”
“She’s my old friend from L.A.,” Tuck explained. “We’re holding down the fort while Dad and Janice are off on their cruise.” To Dana, she said, “This is Eve Chaney. We lucked out. She’s the best damn cop in Malcasa Point, maybe in the country.”
Eve smiled. “I’m not really the best,” she said. “Just the most dangerous.”
“That’s how come I call her Eve of Destruction,” Tuck explained. To Eve, she said, “If I’d known it was you, I wouldn’t have bothered hiding the forty-four. I was afraid it might be Cochran or some other jerk.”
“You lucked out. Cochran’s on the day watch. So, what’s going on? Trouble with a prowler?”
“Right. Out behind the pool.”
“Let’s go,” Eve said. She stepped between them and led the way.
Dana hurried after her, eyes on the officer’s back.
The pale blue blouse of Eve’s uniform had short sleeves. It was wrinkled, probably from being pressed against the seatback of the patrol car. The way the blouse lay against her back, Dana could see that she wasn’t wearing a protective vest.
Maybe cops don’t get shot in this neck of the woods.
Just occasionally get torn up by a monster.
A Kevlar vest seemed to be about the only equipment Eve lacked. Her black leather belt was loaded. As she walked through the house, hips shifting with each stride, leather creaked and squeaked, metal rattled. She sounded as if she were wearing a horse saddle.
“How long since you saw him?” she asked.
Tuck shrugged. “Ten minutes, maybe?”
“Something like that,” Dana agreed.
“And you don’t have any idea who it might’ve been?”
“All I saw was an arm.”
Stopping a few paces from the glass door, Eve asked, “Where was he?”
“Over there.” Tuck pointed. “The other side of the pool. In the trees. But I don’t think he’s there anymore.”
At the sliding door, Eve stopped and switched off the lock. “You two wait here. I’ll take a look around.” She rolled the door open. With a glance back, she said, “Go ahead and lock this after I’m out.”
“You’re going out there alone?” Dana asked.
“Sure.”