Jack, standing beside her, fed cartridges into the magazine of his .45.
“Do you have a gun for me?” Gorman asked.
“Sorry.”
Tyler wrapped her arms around Abe and held him tightly.
“I wonder if we might make a quick detour to Captain Frank’s bus,” Gorman said. “It’s along the way. He has quite an arsenal, and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind letting me use one of his guns.”
“No time,” Jack said.
Abe kissed Tyler hard on the lips. “We’ll be back before you know it.”
“That’s what you said the last time.” Her voice sounded tight and shaky as if she might cry.
“And I did come back.”
“Took your time about it.”
“I’ll be quick.” He patted her rump through the soft folds of her skirt. “Get in there and take care of Janice.”
“Yes, sir.” Her chin trembled. She turned and rushed away.
“Let’s haul ass,” Abe said.
Tyler shut the door and leaned back against it. Tears rolled down her face. Through her sobbing gasps, she heard the car speed off.
Damn it, how could he go and leave her again?
Because he’s a man.
Because of his pride.
Because it’s in his nature to help out even if it means putting himself on the line.
If he weren’t that way, he wouldn’t be Abe and maybe he would lack whatever it was that made her love him so desperately.
Damn it.
She wiped her face with a sleeve of her sweater. Then she pushed herself away from the door and walked across the deserted room.
From the bathroom came the steady rushing sound of the shower. She opened the door and stepped inside. Nora and Janice were dim shapes through the plastic curtain.
With a handful of toilet paper, she cleaned the blood off the seat. She flushed the paper.
“How’s it going?” she asked, and skidded open the shower curtain enough to see inside.
Nora shook her head. Her lower lip was clamped between her teeth. She was sobbing as she gently slid a bar of soap over Janice’s back.
Janice stood under the nozzle, her hands flat against the wall, her forehead resting on the tiles. With the blood and grime washed away, her tan lines were visible—a pale strip across her back, a pale triangle on her buttocks. The sight of them made the girl seem more real, more vulnerable than before—a teenager who sunbathes and likes the beach and somehow got caught up in the horror.
The bruises and scrapes would fade away, in time. Tyler hoped the bite marks and claw scratches would leave no permanent scars. A shame on a girl so beautiful. But they looked shallow, as if the beast had been struggling with her, maybe trying to hold her still, not kill her. If she was lucky, they might go away, too.
Crouching, Nora soaped Janice’s legs.
“I’ve got a first-aid kit,” Tyler said. “Abe thinks we might take you to a hospital when he gets back.”
Nora looked up. “Where’d he go?”
“Back to the house. The Kutch place.”
Janice turned her head sharply and stared over her shoulder at Tyler.
“Jack and Hardy went with him. They’re planning to meet the police there.”
“Oh shit,” Nora said.
Janice frowned. Her eyes looked alert. “Police? They’re going in?”
“I guess so.”
The girl pushed herself away from the wall. She squinted as the spray struck her face, and turned around. Dropping the soap, Nora stood up. “What…?”
“I’m going.” She bent over and rubbed the backs of her legs to get the suds off.
“I think you’d better stay with us,” Nora told her. “You’re in no shape to…”
“I’ve gotta be there.”
Tyler grabbed a wet arm as Janice climbed over the side of the tub.
“I’m all right.”
The girl seemed steady on her feet. Tyler let go, pulled a towel off a nearby rack, and gave it to her. Janice started rubbing her hair furiously.
“The police will take care of it,” Nora said. “You ought to lie down in bed and wait.”
She shook her head. “It’s my parents. It’s
Nora shut off the water. “You haven’t got any clothes.”
She dried her face. She winced, her face going tight with pain as she blotted water from a torn shoulder. “I’ve got clothes. In my room.”
“Or a car,” Nora said, climbing from the tub. “The cops impounded your parents’ car.”
“I’ll drive her,” Tyler said.
“Oh shit,” Nora said.
“You guys get dry. I’ll get Janice some clothes.”
She rushed from the bathroom. She grabbed her handbag off Abe’s bed and ran out the door. The cool breeze felt good as she raced across the courtyard.
This time, she thought, there won’t be any waiting, any stewing as she wondered if Abe was all right. In ten minutes, she would be with him. If he’d already gone into the house, she would go in, too. She would be at his side and know.
She shoved her key into the lock, twisted it, opened the door and swept a hand along the wall until she found the light switch. The lamp between the beds came on.
Her bed was still unmade from her afternoon with Abe, its coverlet on the floor where they’d kicked it down, the sheets rumpled. On the other bed was her open suitcase. Bending over it, she snatched out a neatly folded pair of blue jeans, the yellow blouse she’d worn on the tour, a pair of fresh pink panties and her sneakers. A bra? The straps might hurt Janice.
She considered changing herself. Not enough time. Clutching the clothes to her chest, she dashed from the room. The door smashed shut as she leapt off the stoop.
Except for Hardy’s Mercedes and her own Omni, the courtyard was vacant. She saw no one wandering about. The windows of the other bungalows were dark.
Stopping at her car, she pulled open the driver’s door. A shoe fell as she reached inside to flip up the lock button. She opened the back door, flung the clothes onto the back seat, and tossed the shoe in after them.
Then she rushed to Abe’s bungalow. She twisted the knob.
Locked. Of course.
She pounded the door.
Nora opened it. Her hair looked dark and matted as if she hadn’t taken time to dry it enough, but she was dressed except for her blouse. “I thought you were getting Janice some…”
“They’re in the car. She can dress on the way. Let’s go.”
Holding the blouse to her breasts, Nora leaned out the doorway and glanced around.
“It’s all right. Come on.”
Nora turned away. “Come on,” she called into the room.
Janice didn’t pause to question her. Nora stepped aside and let her pass. “This car?” she asked, nodding toward the Omni. She fingered scratches at her side, but made no attempt to cover herself as if unaware of her nakedness.
“I tossed some clothes in the backseat for you.”
With a nod, Janice started for the car. She moved stiffly, wincing as she climbed down the stairs, limping a bit
