over. She backed up and tried to will her heart to slow down so she could think.
Gary rolled away from the edge and laboriously got to his knees, wincing in pain. Penny knew how difficult it was to accomplish that with his hands taped behind his back. He stayed in a kneeling position. She hoped he could stand. She had to distract Alfred.
“Alfred,” she said in a high-pitched voice that sounded as if she had been inhaling helium, “we know you’re not really a killer.”
Alfred backed away from Gary a few steps so that he could more easily watch both of them. That was a positive. He even looked a little shaken that Gary had almost gone over. Maybe he had a heart after all
“Let’s go back to the camper and talk about this.” Penny tried to sound matter-of-fact, as if this were the reasonable thing to do. “You both must be getting hungry. I’ll make sandwiches for lunch.”
She half-turned, willing Alfred to follow her. He looked undecided. She fixed her eyes on his. He wouldn’t look at her. She glanced at Gary, hoping he would be quiet, but he didn’t appear to be very talkative. The seconds ticked by, and the silence became painful. Penny had an urge to say something, perhaps repeat what she had just said. The pressure was on Alfred, so she forced herself to keep her mouth closed.
The engines of the cars on Route 1 hummed behind her, far away, in a different world. A safe world, without guns and maniacs. Could she ever return to that world?
Alfred raised his eyes and looked from one of them to the other. His gun was pointed down, not at Gary. Gary didn’t pose an immediate threat to him. Maybe the situation could be defused.
Alfred mumbled, “It’s too late.”
“What did you say?” Penny pretended she hadn’t heard him.
“It’s too late. We have to get on with it.”
“You know if you kill Gary, I will never be yours.”
Alfred looked at her again, hesitating for another few seconds. Then he started walking toward Gary, saying “On your feet. It’s time to get the show on the road.” He lifted the gun and pointed it at Gary.
Her comment had backfired. The gun gave him false confidence. Penny felt the horror of what was about to happen well up inside her.
“Wait!”
Alfred stopped and turned his eyes to her. She backed away a few steps. By the way he handled the gun, she guessed that he was a neophyte and probably couldn’t hit her at this distance. She also thought she could beat him back to the cars, shoeless though she was.
“If you kill Gary, I’m going to the police. I’ll also tell them you killed the clerk in the market. That will make two people. How do you think you’ll like the gas chamber at San Quentin?”
That had an effect on Alfred. He hesitated. Behind his back, Gary stuck out three fingers. It took a second for her to understand his meaning.
“Three people.” The words spilled out. “That would make three people you’ve killed. You killed Emily. I see it now. Did you follow her the way you followed me? She was getting married, which meant that she was rejecting you, so you strangled her. Then you took off her bracelet and put it in Darren’s apartment to frame him. He never locked his door. You knew that. You said it was a wonder his bicycle wasn’t stolen.”
Penny stopped for breath, trembling. She had an overwhelming desire to attack Alfred. There was complete silence. Penny wondered whether she had said too much. Had she sealed Gary’s fate? If Alfred took one step toward him, she was prepared to charge.
“Emily made fun of my bellybutton,” Alfred said.
“She made fun of your bellybutton two days before she was going to be married?”
Alfred frowned. “She shouldn’t have gotten married. She was…”
He stopped talking. He had confirmed her thoughts. Emily was her best friend from high school. She and Emily had gone around together. They had similar views of the world. They were almost the only two girls who were nice to Alfred. Penny left Fenwick and went to California. Emily stayed in Fenwick.
“I never disrespected your bellybutton.” In fact, Penny hadn’t known he had an outie bellybutton until last night, or if she had she’d forgotten it.
Alfred admitted that she had paid the proper respect to his bellybutton with a slight nod.
“So why do you want to kill me?”
“I don’t want to kill you.”
He had a funny way of showing it. “Why do you want to kill Gary? He’s never done anything to you.”
“Because he’s trying to take you away from me.”
Penny couldn’t believe the arrogance of that statement. She and Gary were married. Of course, Gary might not want her after what she had done. Penny looked at Gary, who had been following this discussion from a kneeling position. She was sure he could get up, but the way he held his body and the expression on his face suggested that he was in pain. He might not be much good in a fight. She had to be the one to save him, and if possible, herself as well.
Penny took another step away from Alfred and said, “Let Gary walk away. If you do, we won’t say anything to the police about this. Or about Emily.” She almost choked when she said that. “But if you do anything to Gary…”
“You think I don’t know what you’re doing,” Alfred said. “You think you can twist me around your little finger. You pretty girls are all alike.” He raised his gun and pointed it at Gary.
Penny said, loudly, “You want me to be yours, don’t you?”
Alfred turned to look at her, again. At least she had some control over him. Behind him, Gary motioned urgently for Penny to get away. She couldn’t do that.
“It’s very simple. If you want me, then all you have to do is take me like a man is supposed to take a woman.”
Penny crossed her hands at the bottom of her sweater and in a single fluid motion pulled it up and over her head. She dropped it on the rocks. Her eyes held Alfred’s and wouldn’t let them go. She didn’t dare look at Gary or she wouldn’t be able to do this. She unbuttoned and unzipped her slacks and let them drop to her feet. She stepped out of them, something she wouldn’t have been able to do if she were wearing shoes. Her eyes were still locked on Alfred’s.
“We’re going to do this right. Everything comes off, the way it’s supposed to.”
Penny unhooked her bra, slid the straps off her arms, and let it fall on her other clothes. She had Alfred’s full attention. He didn’t look at Gary. Perhaps he had forgotten about Gary. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Gary had started to stand up. She slid her panties down and stepped out of them. Only her socks remained.
“Now you see me the way I am in your picture.”
Penny put her hands on her hips, giving him a good look. Then she took a step toward him. He didn’t move. She hoped Gary wouldn’t say anything and break the spell. She took several more steps. Alfred held the gun loosely, pointing down, as if he had forgotten about it. If she could just get it away from him.
She advanced slowly, keeping her eyes locked on Alfred’s, willing him to stay focused on her. With her peripheral vision she saw Gary get to his feet and take a step toward Alfred from behind. She was almost to Alfred, herself. She thought she saw him tremble. She didn’t dare go for the gun and break the spell. At least not yet.
Two more steps and she carefully put her arms around Alfred’s neck. She whispered, “Take me like a man. Then she kissed him on the mouth. At first he didn’t respond. Then he did. He was kissing her. She opened her mouth and put her tongue into his mouth. His arms went around her. She could feel the cold metal of the gun touching her back.
Penny opened one eye and saw that Gary was approaching Alfred from behind. What could he do with his hands taped behind his back? She needed to get Alfred on the ground where Gary could kick him-perhaps kick the gun away. She pulled downward on Alfred’s shoulders with her arms, trying to give him the idea. But he kept his body rigid. He hadn’t given in to her completely.
She had to take the next step. She slowly slid down to her knees, making sure she didn’t spook him. She lifted his shirt, exposing his potbelly-and his bellybutton. It didn’t look that bad. She put her mouth on it. A few flicks of her tongue, and he started to relax.
With her face in Alfred’s stomach, she couldn’t see what Gary was doing. She hoped he was being careful. Alfred’s stomach was moving a little in rhythm with her own motion. Maybe he wasn’t paying attention, and Gary could get the gun away from him somehow. Alfred’s hands were resting on her shoulders. She couldn’t feel the gun,
