‘Yeah, well. Guess it was contagious.’
‘I’ll say. Shit. Helen sure caught it. I thought she’d fallen in love with that Frank guy. How can you be in love and drop your pants for a stranger?’
How, indeed? Abilene thought. I came damn close, myself.
‘Just lost control,’ she muttered.
‘If this sort of stuff’s gonna start happening, I’m not so sure we should keep on having our little adventures. Hell, maybe we oughta just go home.’
‘This is the first time things’ve really gotten out of hand,’ Vivian told her.
‘It’s once too often.’
‘We could’ve stopped it,’ Abilene said.
‘But we didn’t. That’s what worries me. We all went along with it. We let it happen. ’
‘I don’t think we should call it quits and go home, though,’ Abilene said. ‘Let’s just keep a tighter reign on things from now on.’
‘Keep Finley away from men,’ Vivian added.
‘Though, actually,’ Abilene said, and hesitated. From the front of the camper, she heard grunts and quiet laughter. ‘I know we really abused the kid…’
‘Raped him is more like it,’ Cora said.
‘But, honestly, I think he’s having the time of his life.’
‘He’ll be back first thing in the morning,’ Finley said when the others returned to the front of the camper. She seemed chipper as she stepped into her jeans. ‘I think he was disappointed you three woosed out. But tomorrow’s another day.’
Helen, her naked body draped by the towel, was sprawled on one of the cushions, gazing at the ceiling. She looked grim. ‘We shouldn’t have done it,’ she muttered.
‘Oh, lighten up. It was a blast. The guy thought he’d died and gone to heaven.’
The next morning, Rick didn’t show up.
‘Probably hung over,’ Finley said. ‘I’ll go find him.’
‘Don’t,’ Cora said. ‘Just leave him alone.’
Finley flapped a hand at her, then headed off into the fog and vanished.
The others caught up with her.
‘You’re not going after him alone,’ Vivian said.
‘And you’re not going to touch him,’ Abilene added.
‘Gimme a break.’
They wandered up the dirt road.
They found tire marks where his pick-up truck had been. They found a mat of drying vomit. But the pick-up was gone.
They didn’t quit and go home.
After the fog lifted that morning, they went to the shore. Abilene stood on the beach, watching while Cora experimented with her surfboard. Vivian sunbathed in her new bikini. Helen, stretched out beside Vivian, read a new William M. Carney paperback. Finley wandered off down the beach by herself. She climbed an outcropping that jutted into the ocean, and sat down on its summit. And stayed there.
Finally, Abilene climbed the rocks and stood beside her. ‘Mind some company?’ she asked.
‘Pull up a chair.’
She sat down. A crashing wave hurled up spray that showered the outcropping just below them.
‘It’s neat here,’ Abilene said.
Finley looked at her. The usual mischief was missing from her eyes. ‘Am I a real jerk?’ she asked.
‘Most of the time.’
‘You know what I mean.’
‘Yeah.’
‘I just couldn’t help it. You know? The minute I saw Rick, all I could think about was getting him to fuck me. Nothing else mattered. Just something about the guy. Now everybody’s pissed at me.’
‘I think we’re pissed at ourselves, too. Especially Helen.’
‘Shit, she wanted him as bad as I did.’
‘I have a feeling we all wanted him.’
‘Well, it’s not gonna happen again. No more guys for me. Not on this trip anyway.’
‘Not worth the guilt?’
The old, normal gleam appeared in Finley’s eyes. ‘You’ve gotta be kidding me. It was worth the guilt and then some. It was tremendous. But if I tried something like that again, you guys would probably trounce me.’
Abilene smiled. ‘Probably.’
‘I just don’t wanta get myself trounced. Especially not by my best friends.’
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Finley, shoulder deep in the small pool, glanced from Jim to Cora. ‘If we get enough booze into our friend here, we won’t have to worry about him running off. We might even be able to untie him for a while.’
‘Get him stumble-down drunk, you mean?’ Cora asked. ‘Exactly. Anaesthetize him.’
‘Forget it,’ Cora said. ‘I know what you’re thinking. It isn’t gonna happen.’
Finley’s face darkened. ‘What isn’t gonna happen?’
‘You know damn well.’
‘Oh, real nice. Real nice. Helen’s fuckin’ dead and you think I’ve got the hots for our friendly local hillbilly? For all we know, he’s the bastard that did it.’
‘It weren’t me,’ Jim muttered.
‘Sure, sure.’
‘I just wanta help ya.’
‘And he won’t be much help to us if we get him bombed,’ Vivian pointed out.
‘Why not? We’re just gonna use him for bait. He doesn’t have to be sober for that. Doesn’t even have to be alive.’
Jim raised his head slightly. He looked at Finley as if she’d just told him there wouldn’t be a Christmas this year.
‘That kind of talk isn’t necessary,’ Abilene said. ‘Jeez, Fin.’
‘We’re not going to do anything to you,’ Vivian assured Jim.
He tried to smile, but it was a miserable attempt. ‘She might,’ he said.
‘Dum tootin’,’ Finley said. ‘You just never know about the crazy Fin-man. Loses her head, she does. Maybe she’ll try to fuck you. Maybe she’ll kill you for kicks. You just never know.’ She bared her teeth like a lunatic grinning or ready to bite. ‘Neither do they. They all know I’m mad. No tellin’ what I might do.’
‘Cut it out,’ Abilene told her. ‘It’s not funny.’
‘Of course not,’ Finley said. ‘Madness is serious business. Deadly serious,’ she blurted. And bolted from her seat and charged through the water and reached up for Jim, yelling, ignoring the shouts of her friends.
Jim’s mouth fell open. His eyes bulged. He tried to drop away from her, but she sprang up in front of him and grabbed the rope at his chest and tugged. With a gasp, he jerked forward and plunged off the ledge. Finley disappeared beneath him as water exploded.
Abilene flung herself into the pool. Currents from the thrashing bodies buffeted her legs. Ducking below the surface, she saw Finley and Jim tumbling in a froth of bubbles. Finley, on top, shoved the kid toward the bottom by his rope suspender and the waistband of his cut-offs. He could do nothing but kick and squirm and shake his head. There was terror in his eyes.
Abilene grabbed Finley by the hair and pulled, dragging her head up.
Finley blew a spray of water from her lips. She blinked at Abilene. Her shirt had lost buttons in the struggle
