35
‘Are you hungry?' Jack asked. ‘I picked up a couple of steaks in town this afternoon.’
‘Great. I’m starved.’
‘Okay. Why don’t you go on and get dressed, and I’ll start the barbecue?’
Marty felt her skin heat with embarrassment as she thought about the torn, filthy rags on the bedroom floor. ‘Won’t this do?’ she asked, glancing down at the white robe.
‘We don’t know each other well enough,’ he said.
Marty smiled. ‘Oh. I see.’
‘Go change,’ he said.
She went into the bedroom. On the bed lay two green shopping bags. Inside them she found a white blouse, a pale blue skirt, panties and a bra, and a shoe box containing a pair of white sneakers.
All brand new, the tags still on them.
Blushing, she called out, ‘Thank you, Jack! They’re great!’
‘You’re welcome,’ he called from somewhere beyond the shut door.
Marty took off the robe. She hung it in the closet, glimpsing the shotgun’s stock before she turned away. Then she removed the bandage from her back and made a new one. After that, she removed the tags from the clothes. She started to get dressed.
The bra was slightly too large.
‘Wishful thinking,’ she muttered. Laughing quietly, she put it on anyway.
Everything else fit well. Looking at herself in the brand new clothes, she felt clean and fresh and very safe.
The night with Willy seemed far away.
Until she saw her face in the mirror.
That brought it all back. Her stomach twisted. She crouched on the floor, shivering, hugging her belly. Then, like an icy wind, it passed. She hurried outside.
The afternoon sun was hot and calming.
She found Jack behind the cabin, standing at a red brick barbecue.
‘The clothes are wonderful,’ she said.
‘You look great.’
‘If you’re into battered, bruised and ugly.’
He laughed. ‘I must admit, I would be interested in seeing what you look like when you haven’t just been beaten to a pulp.’
‘Consider it done. It’s the least I can do for you.’
36
Willy came out of the shack. He was naked. He held his red bandanna in one hand, his leather belt in the other.
The girl raised her head and opened her eyes.
‘This is gonna hurt, sweetie. But don’t scream too loud, or I’ll have to gag you. You wouldn’t want that. My hanky’s got boogers in it.’
Her dry lips stuck together when she tried to open her mouth. Then they peeled apart. She licked them, and asked in a raspy whisper, ‘Why are you doing this to me?’
‘Because I can?’
He began to swing his belt.
37
When Jack drove her into the town of Wayside that evening, it looked different from the night before. Golden in the lowering sun. Busy, yet peaceful. And crowded. A dozen people stood in line at the movie theater.
‘Would you like to see a show?’ Jack asked.
‘Would you?’
‘Sure.’
Jack parked the car, and they walked to the theater. Inside, they found seats near the front. The lights faded out. And the previews started.
Marty could hardly believe that she was safe and watching a movie.
Only two nights ago, she’d been in a theater with Dan.
She’d spotted Willy…
For the next couple of hours, she stared at the enormous screen but noticed little that was on it. She dwelled on the screen in her mind, the one that played a horrible film about Willy.
In that film, she relived it all.
Again and again.
Marty was pulled out of it when the lights came up. She found that she was squeezing Jack’s hand.
On the way out of town, Jack asked if she would like some ice cream.
‘Sure,’ she said.
They stopped at the Wayside Motor Inn, and each had a hot fudge sundae at its all-night burger joint.
Then they were in the car again, rushing along the dark, twisting road.
‘Gives me the creeps,’ Marty said. She slid across the seat, close to Jack. He put an arm across her shoulders.
‘You don’t need to be afraid.’
‘He’s still out there,’ she said.
‘But he doesn’t have you. Not anymore. And tomorrow we’ll go to the police.’
‘Will you come with me?’
‘Of course.’
‘What if Willy comes for me tonight?’
‘He won’t.’
‘He might already be at your cabin waiting for us.’
Jack’s hand went to the back of her neck. Gently and firmly, he rubbed her there. ‘He won’t get you. Not tonight. Not while I’m around.’
38
‘You look good in stripes. Anyone ever tell you that?’ Laughing, Willy scraped the bottom of his chili can. Then he licked the spoon. ‘That was funny. Why aren’t you laughing?’
The girl, sitting on the mattress with her legs crossed, said nothing. She gazed sullenly down at the can of chili in her hand. ‘By the way, sweetie, what’s your name?’
She scooped a spoonful of chili into her mouth.
A flashlight lay on the table beside the big, battery powered lantern that lit the center of the room. Willy picked it up, turned it on, and threw its beam in her face.
She shut her puffy eyelids.
