Tread Softly

'Fine, I guess.'

'What about Karen?'

'She's beat up some. She's unconscious.' With Benny standing there, Julie didn't want to mention the sexual assault. 'He messed her up pretty good.'

'Well, Nick messed him up pretty good. She'll be all right, won't she?'

'I guess so.'

'That's good to hear. How you holding up, Nicky?'

'Okay,' he muttered.

'I know it's not easy. I've put the nix on a couple of guys in my day. It's never easy. Nothing to worry about, though. A clear case of self-defense. What I think we'll do is get some snapshots of the body. We can't exactly pack it out with us. We'll wrap it up good and tight, and bury it here. Let the authorities come back for it.'

Julie watched him reach into his clear slicker and pull an Instamatic from the pocket of his jacket. 'You kids can wait here. No need for you to watch.'

He walked to the front of the tent where the man had struggled with Julie. The knife was still embedded in the muddy ground. He tugged it free, and went to the dark bundle. With the point of the knife, he swept the poncho aside.

Julie was ready to look away, but the ground where the corpse should have been sprawled was bare.

Benny groaned.

Julie felt a shiver crawl up her spine, squirm on the back of her neck.

Nick muttered, 'Holy shit,' and leaped to his feet. He ran toward his father, Julie and Benny following close behind.

Flash was walking slowly toward the shoreline. He stopped at the edge of the water. When they caught up to him, he was standing motionless, arms hanging at his sides, eyes staring out at the black ruffled surface of the lake.

'Dad?'

Flash shook his head. His voice came out in a whisper barely loud enough to hear over the sounds of the wind and rain. 'He was dead. I know he was dead.'

Chapter Twenty-three

With a sudden intake of air, Karen sat up straight. Scott put a hand on her shoulder. She flinched and looked at him with wide, pale eyes. 'It's all right,' he said. She raised a hand to her face, and moaned. Then she lunged forward, scurried out of her sleeping bag, thrust her head through the tent flap, and vomited.

Scott found her water bottle propped up between her boots. He took it to her. She was on her hands and knees, half outside the tent. She'd finished throwing up, and had raised her head. She was staring through the rain. Scott saw four dark figures with flashlights wandering among the rocks and trees to the right.

'What are they — ' Karen muttered.

'I don't know.' He gave the water bottle to her. As she washed out her mouth and took a long drink, Scott gazed at the place where the body had fallen. He saw a rumpled shape on the ground. Good, they'd covered it. He patted the wet back of Karen's sweatshirt. 'Let's get in where it's dry.'

She crawled backward and sat down on her sleeping bag. She pulled off her sweatshirt and used it as a towel to dry her hair. Then she lay down. Scott covered her. 'Come in with me?' she asked. Her voice was quiet, but pitched high, like that of a child about to cry.

Scott crawled in beside her. He closed the zipper. Rolling against her, he embraced her gently.

'Wh?? happened?' she asked in the same high voice.

Scott caressed her back. Her skin was damp and cool

near the shoulders, smooth and dry and warm lower down where the rain hadn't found her. 'You don't remember?' he asked.

'I remember waiting for you. I didn't know if you would come. Who did this to me, Scott?'

'I don't know. A stranger.'

She hugged him tightly. She burrowed her face against the side of his neck.

'You don't remember any of it?'

'No,' she murmured. 'I know what he did, though. I. ' She started weeping. Her tears moistened Scott's neck. She shook with small sobs. 'I can. feel what he did.'

'I'm sorry,' Scott whispered through the tightness in his throat. Tears burned in his own eyes. 'I'm so sorry, Karen.'

'Are they. looking for him? Outside?'

'No. I don't know what they're doing. He didn't get away.'

Karen stiffened. 'Where is he?'

'He's dead.'

She pressed herself against Scott.

'He attacked Julie, too.'

'Oh, no. Oh, no.'

'She's okay. She came in when the rain started, and found him with you. She screamed. I came running, and so did Nick. Nick got him with a hatchet.'

'Dear God,' she murmured.

'Yeah. I feel bad about that. Nick's just a kid. I feel bad that he killed the guy. It should've been me. I should've done it. Nick beat me to it, that's all.'

'Will he be in trouble?'

'Some, I guess. There'll be an inquest, I suppose. Nobody's gonna be arrested, though, not with something like this.'

'I guess it's self-defense.'

'Something like that. I just hate it that Nick's gonna have to live with killing a man.'

For a long time, they lay motionless, holding each other tightly and saying nothing. Scott listened to the patter of raindrops on the tent, to the quiet sounds of her breathing. He felt her warm breath on his skin. Sometimes, when she blinked, her eyelashes tickled his neck. He wished she would sleep and forget, at least for a time, what had happened to her. But her heart was pounding fast. He could feel it against his chest.

Then she whispered, 'He didn't come in me. I mean, that would've been worse.'

'Yeah.'

'I feel so filthy. It's like I can still feel where he. ' Her voice died. Later, she said, 'Will you still want me?'

'Of course. I love you.'

'But. will it make a difference?'

'I guess it already has. Knowing I could've lost you tonight. He had a knife. I thought I might find you… I don't know what I would've done.'

'Will you make love to me?'

He fondled her hair. He didn't answer.

'Please. Please, I need you. I can still feel him. I want it to be you I feel.'

'I might hurt you.'

'I don't care. You want me, don't you?'

'Of course I do.'

Pushing a hand inside her sweatpants, he stroked the warm smooth skin of her rump. He slid his hand up to the curve of her hip, down to her sleek thigh. She stiffened when he touched her pubic hair. 'Don't stop,' she said. He eased his hand lower, gently cupping her mound, fingers curling in, caressing. She raised a leg slightly, opening herself to him.