He said, “It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you, now would it?”
She shook her head. She said, “You are the most amazing man.”
“Hurry up and get dressed and call me when you’re ready. Just call me—don’t come to the door. I’ll bring the surprise through the door.”
Sarah threw the covers back and put her feet over the edge of the bed as he stood up. She said, “Well, you certainly have me curious.”
“It’s probably the last thing in the world that you ever expected to be surprised with.” He turned around and walked back into his room. Harding was standing in exactly the same spot that Longarm had left him in. Longarm didn’t think he had suddenly become obedient or any less defiant. He knew that the man had plenty of fight left in him, which was as he had hoped. Longarm wanted to watch it drain away under the hands of someone he himself had tortured and almost ruined.
Five minutes passed before Longarm heard the summons from the next room. He took Harding by the arm and turned him toward the connecting door. He was carrying the hard india rubber cane in his right hand. Harding asked, “Was that a woman’s voice?”
“Not to you it ain’t,” Longarm said.
Harding said, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’ll see.”
They got to the doorway of the well-lit room and Longarm put his hand in the middle of Harding’s back and shoved him forward. He heard a frightened shriek.
Chapter 12
He hustled around Harding, hurrying to reassure Sarah. She was dressed in a heavy quilted robe, but she was backed up against the end of her bed, her hands covering her face, her eyes fright-filled. Longarm went over to her. He said, “No, no, no, honey. You don’t have to fear him anymore. He’s yours now. The shoe’s on the other foot.” She said in a trembling voice, “My God, it’s Richard.”
Harding walked a few steps into the room and asked, “What’s she doing here?” He said it viciously, tearing off each word.
Longarm reached him in two steps, grabbed him by the arms, turned him and slammed him face forward toward the wall. He said, “Get over there and stay there and don’t open that damned mouth again or I’ll let some air into you.”
Then he turned back to Sarah. He said, “Here’s the man who tried to ruin your life. Here’s the man who turned you into a hostage wife. Now, I’m going to give you the chance to give him some back.” He held out the india rubber cane. “Have at him.”
She looked at the cane and then she looked up at Longarm. She said slowly, shaking her head, “I couldn’t. I couldn’t.”
Longarm said, “Hell, Sarah. He beat the living daylights out of you. What do you mean you can’t? Of course you can.”
Sarah shook her head. Her hands were down at her sides now but there was still horror and fear in her eyes. She said, “Oh, I couldn’t. I couldn’t.”
From across the room, Harding laughed. “What’s the matter, Longarm? Surprised? When I train them, I train them good.”
“Listen to that! The damned fool is still shaming you. Take this cane and stripe his back good.”
Sarah started, walking toward the front of the room where the little table stood with the water pitcher and the glasses on it. She poured herself a small glass of water and gulped it down. Longarm’s bottle of whiskey was standing there. She said, “Can I have a drink?”
“Yes, by all means. Have a big one and then go beat the hell out of that son of a bitch,” Longarm said.
She poured a tiny amount of whiskey in her glass and then added three times as much water. She drained it in one swallow and, after a moment, seemed to look calmer. She looked up at Longarm. She said, “I know you think you’re doing me good, but it’s not. I’m not that kind of person, Custis.”
Longarm said, “All right, you can’t hit him. That’s fine. But I’ve seen the scars on your back and your breasts where he burnt you with a cigar.” He fumbled in his pocket and got out a cigarillo and struck a match with the thick nail of his thumb, lit it and got it drawing good. He said, “Now there. Go plant a few of those burns on his back.”
She looked at the glowing cigarillo and then she looked back up into Longarm’s face. She said, “I can’t do it, Custis. I can’t do it.”
Longarm said, “You have to hate that son of a bitch like nobody else in the world. Here’s your chance to get back at him. Think of all the things he did to you. I saw you when you were whipped down like a dog.”
“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “I can’t be like him.”
Longarm had his back to Harding. He heard the man laugh cruelly.
Harding said, “Ain’t working out like you’d planned, is it, Longarm? I could have told you that. Little Miss Sarah ain’t got the backbone of a turnip. She’s too sweet, she’s too nice. I had a lot of fun, playing with her. She never did learn how to fuck though, Longarm. I don’t guess you found that out being the gentleman that you are. She didn’t know how.”
Longarm said savagely, “Shut your damn mouth, Harding.” He looked back around at Sarah. She had blushed scarlet. He said, “Doesn’t that make you want to give him a little of what he gave you? Doesn’t that make you want to help him out? Give him a thrill or two?”
Sarah just shook her head again. “I couldn’t, Custis. I couldn’t hurt someone just to be hurting them. I don’t ever want to be like him. I know that I should, but I can’t.”
