‘Come on,’ he pleaded. ‘You can’t leave me here.’
‘You know,’ Helen said, ‘he’s gonna start yelling the minute we’re gone.’
‘We can’t gag him,’ Abilene said. ‘He might suffocate.’
‘Wouldn’t that be just too bad,’ Vivian said.
‘Besides, we’d have to take off the pillow case.’
‘I know how to keep him quiet,’ Cora said. She yanked down his shorts and jockstrap.
‘No! Please!’
She jerked them out from under his feet. He started to fall backward, but the rope stopped him. He cried out as it dug into his armpits. Then he found his balance and stood there. He sniffed. ‘Please.’ His voice was high, quivering. He was crying.
Cora smiled at Abilene, waved the shorts and jockstrap in front of her, and said, ‘Souvenirs. We’ll take them home with us.’
‘Don’t leave me. Please. Please!’
They left him.
***
‘Do you think he’ll be all right?’ Abilene asked as they walked home.
‘Sure,’ Cora said. ‘I bet he won’t be there an hour before somebody finds him.’
‘Foul play is suspected in the disappearance of Belmore University senior, Andrew Wilde, a varsity wrestler who vanished Friday morning. A neighbor observed the young man leaving his Oak Street apartment at approximately seven o’clock.
‘Uh-oh,’ Finley said.
The announcer was Candi Delmar, anchorwoman of the six o’clock news.
It was Sunday evening.
‘Holy shit,’ Cora said.
They went ahead and ate dinner. Then they trooped to a pay phone three blocks away. Cora tapped in 911. In a rough, husky voice, she said, ‘Andrew Wilde? You’ll find him under the Shady Lane Bridge.’
According to Candi Delmar on the eleven o’clock news, ‘Andrew Wilde, the Belmore University student missing since Friday, was found earlier this evening when an anonymous tip led the police to the Shady Lane Bridge in Benedict Park. Though suffering from dehydration, exposure and various superficial injuries, the young man was listed in satisfactory condition upon admittance to Queen of Angels hospital.’
‘Oh my God, they hospitalized him,’ Abilene said.
‘Ain’t that a shame?’ said Finley.
‘According to police officials, Wilde was abducted early Friday morning while jogging in the park. His assailants were said to be five males, possibly teens, who knocked him unconscious and stole his wallet before leaving him handcuffed beneath the bridge.’
CHAPTER TWELVE
It was after dark when they returned to the Wagoneer with the boxes, ice chest and stove.
‘We might as well take out whatever we’ll need for the night,’ Cora said.
‘What’re we planning to do?’ Abilene asked.
‘That’s Helen’s department,’ Cora said.
‘So what’s on the schedule?’ Finley asked.
‘I suppose pigging out on nacho chips isn’t in the cards?’
Abilene was glad to hear Helen joking about her deprivation.
it’ll be easier on you,’ Cora said, ‘if you don’t talk about food.’
‘Okay if I think about it?’
‘Try not to.’
‘Why don’t we go down to the hot spring?’ Abilene suggested, handing the ice chest to Cora, who slid it into the rear of the car. it’s cooler now. The pool’ll feel good.’
‘Sounds fine to me,’ Helen said.
‘This time,’ Vivian said, ‘we can take our suits and towels.’
‘Does that mean you want your suitcase?’ Cora asked from inside the car.
‘Yes.’
‘Let’s take all the suitcases,’ Cora said. ‘And the sleeping bags. This running back and forth to the car is gonna get old real quick.’
The others agreed, so she unloaded the luggage and bedrolls. ‘Is that everything?’ she asked.
‘Aren’t we taking any food at all?’ Helen asked.
‘We’ll eat in the morning,’ Cora said.
‘Great,’ Helen muttered. ‘Anyway, what about the water? Or is that forbidden, too?’
Cora crawled backward, dragging a two-gallon plastic bottle out of the car. She slammed the tail gate shut. ‘I wonder if the spring water’s okay to drink?’
‘You’d think so,’ Abilene said. ‘But I wouldn’t want to drink it.’
‘It’s hot,’ Helen pointed out.
‘It’s had our butts in it,’ Finley warned.
‘I’m not gonna drink that stuff,’ Vivian said.
They picked up their things and began trudging up the steep driveway.
‘There’s supposed to be a lake not far from here,’ Helen said.
‘I’m not about to drink lake water, either,’ Vivian told her.
‘We’ve got this,’ Cora said, and shook the bottle. ‘Plus two more in the car.’
‘That should be plenty.’
‘We only agreed on one night, people.’
‘I’m sure there must be a stream, too,’ Helen said.
‘We’ll have to do some exploring tomorrow,’ Cora said. ‘I’d like to see that lake.’
‘Maybe it’s got a Boy Scout camp,’ Finley said.
‘You’ve reformed, remember?’
‘Maybe that kid was a scout,’ Abilene said as she climbed the front porch stairs.
Vivian groaned. ‘Did you have to mention him?’
‘Probably with the Beaver Patrol,’ Finley said.
Helen giggled.
‘All right!’ Finley blurted. ‘Starving hasn’t dimmed your sense of humor.’
Nudging open the front door, Abilene was greeted by the glare of the Coleman lantern atop the registration desk. She squinted against its brightness, then turned away and watched the others come in.
‘Where’ll we want to sleep?’ she asked.
‘How about a Holiday Inn?’ Vivian suggested.
‘We can worry about that later,’ Cora said, letting her sleeping bag drop out from under her right arm. She set down her suitcase and the water bottle.
‘Just leave our things here?’ Abilene asked.
‘Might as well. I don’t think we’ll be sacking out downstairs, do you?’
i’m certainly not going to sleep down there,’ Vivian said.
‘Too hot and damp,’ Abilene said.
There in the lobby, they opened their suitcases. Abilene took out her towel. She didn’t much want to wear her swimsuit in the pool, but she saw that Vivian and Helen had theirs, so she found her bikini before shutting the
