Sue (22 page)

His hair was blond now and he had a
scar on his cheek, but he was still beautiful.
In fact, more
striking than before.
The black hair had not done his complexion
justice, had given him a sallow cast. But now he was fair-haired, his skin was
golden, his eyes a deeper blue, indigo, penetrating. “Susie,” he
purred,
his voice deep and melodious as ever.
Mesmerizing.
“Come here, Bunny.”

She should kill him now, get it
over with. But she had to know if he still moved her. If so, she would have him
again. She longed to sink into that magical feeling, just one more time, to
pretend it was real. With a moan, she melted into his arms and he pulled her
into the room. She dropped her handbag to the floor as his lips claimed hers,
tender, seeking. Explosions of desire ignited under her skin, flooded her with
an agony of discordant emotions. She buried her fingers in his hair. It was
silky; not stiff like before. She succumbed to the familiar scent of his skin,
the heat of his body, the magnetism that radiated around him like an aura. His
tongue gently probed her lips and she drew it in. Drinking the taste and feel
of him left her breathless, intensely aware of his hands sliding beneath her
sweater.

She’d kill him later.
After.
“Zeke,” she moaned.
“Ah, god.
Zeke.
I’m so glad you finally called me.”

“I’m so glad you came. I wasn’t
sure if you would.” He lifted her easily into his arms and carried her to the
bed. “I’ve missed you so much. You’re mine, Sue, always and forever. In your
heart, you know it’s true.”

“Yes,” she whispered.
“Till death.”

Standing over her, he removed his
shirt and her eyes traveled his perfect chest, well-defined abdomen, and lower.
He undid his jeans, but didn’t remove them. Climbing into bed next to her, he
lifted her sweater. Ran kisses over her belly, sucked lightly at her skin,
sent
her senses reeling.

A sudden chill passed over her as
images from the past flew unbidden into her mind.
Zeke
forcing drugs on her.
Zeke angry, sarcastic, cruel.
Daisy’s cold grey head in its sad shallow grave.
Brenda’s mangled body. All desire evaporated and her head cleared. Bile rose in
her throat and she swallowed hard to keep from vomiting. Her pulse sped up,
thundering in her ears as fear replaced the insane bliss of the previous
moments. She’d come to her senses and was now in a terrible fix.

As Zeke worked his way down her
belly with his mouth, she looked over his head to her purse on the floor. With
his usual insight, he perceived the change in her mood, felt her attention
wander. He looked up at her with annoyance, brows drawn together. He followed
her gaze and then returned his eyes to her. Slowly, he stood to loom over her.
“Need something from your purse, Sue?” The ominous tone she so dreaded was back
in his voice.

Sue cowered on the bed, withering
under his hateful, challenging stare. Gone was her newfound courage, her
confidence, her training, her resolve. She clenched her fists and rolled
quickly from the bed, ready to make a stand. Hopefully she could reach her
purse and grab her weapon before he started hurting her. He...

The phone rang, interrupting her
fantasy. “Hello,” she croaked, then cleared her throat. “Hello?” She was sticky
with perspiration and flushed as if struck by fever. Her bedroom was dim, warm.

“Sue? Were you sleeping?” Melvin’s
cheery voice chased away the shadows in her mind.

“I was kind of drifting, not really
asleep. But that’s okay.” She sat and swept her hair off her damp forehead. “I
need to get up anyway.” Sue paused, trying to focus, attempting to throw off
the fantasy that seemed so real. “What’d you need?”

“Nothing.
I just wanted to talk.”

“Oh, okay.” She squinted at the
clock, surprised to see it was nearly
five p.m.
She’d have to hustle to get her daily research out of the way. She wanted to
see if any more women had gone missing. Then there was a show on television she
wanted to watch later. Sue propped the phone against her ear as she slipped on
her shoes and tied them.

“I got my term paper done and
finals will be over next week. I thought we might celebrate.”

“A celebration sounds good. What do
you have in mind?”

“Let’s go out to eat at Lobster
Bay and then dancing at Finney’s.
You do dance, don’t you?”

“Like a maniac.” Sue smiled. “You
might be embarrassed.”

“Because you’re so good or because
you’re so bad?”

She chuckled. “You’ll just have to
wait and see.”

“Well, that’s something more to
look forward to then. Next Friday okay?” They agreed on a time and then Melvin
asked, “What are you doing tonight? I thought I might drop by.”

“Don’t you have to study?”

“Yes, but I could do it at your
place.”

Sue hesitated. If Melvin came over,
it would interfere with her internet time; she couldn’t very well hang out on
the computer with him there. She was torn because a part of her wanted very
much to see him. But finding Zeke was her mission, and Melvin, without meaning
to, was beginning to diminish her drive in that regard. She could feel her
slavish devotion to the goal of vengeance slip a notch or two each time they were
together. Happiness had begun to sneak in here and there and she wasn’t
entirely ready for that yet.

“Sue? Are you still there? Do you
have plans for the night?”

“What? Oh, just watching TV. Come
on over, if you want.”

“Okay. I need to grab a bite to eat
first.” Melvin sounded unsure now.

She could put him off a little bit,
buy some time. “Let’s plan on seven, will that work?” That would give her time
to scan several sites before he arrived. If she didn’t do it every day, she
felt uneasy. She’d programmed herself to the point that the effort was
ingrained, almost on autopilot. Search every day. Search until your eyes blur.
Then search and search some more.

“That’s great. I’ll see you then.”

After they hung up, Sue fixed a sandwich,
opened a can of soda, and sat before her computer. She ate while she worked but
didn’t come up with any new reports of missing women. She and Melvin had
decided to wait until this semester was completely over to start exploring
abandoned buildings. Hopefully he remembered; she might have to remind him he’d
promised to do the research. They’d have plenty of time; he’d already told her
he didn’t plan to take any summer classes, other than a seminar or two, because
he wanted to be available for her. The memory of his words warmed her, almost
distracted her from her purpose.

Melvin arrived at exactly
seven o’clock
, as she knew he would. With a
flourish and a mock bow, he presented her with a sheaf of papers just inside
the front door.

“What’s this?” She skimmed the
first page.

“Abandoned
buildings and old houses.”
He smiled proudly. “Thought I’d forgotten,
didn’t you?”

Sue stared from the papers to
Melvin and back again. Talk about timing.

He took them from her hand and
walked to the coffee table where he spread them out. “Look here. I started with
the St. Louis area because we know
for sure Zeke was there. Then I worked my way east and north, all the way up to
Cyrus. Some of these I already had from when we were trying to find you.” He
shot her a look before continuing. “Anyway, we could start with the closest
places, say, explore a few each weekend, and then spread out, going a little
further each time.”

“Brilliant!” Her eyes sparkled with
excitement. She picked up one sheet after another and stared at the pictures,
read the descriptions. Then she came to one that made her hands tremble. “Oh! I
was at this place, Melvin.”

She handed him the sheet on a
school outside
Assaria
, a Vermont
town about six or seven hours away. “Zeke and I spent the first night there.
It’s a creepy place. We stayed in the van. He wanted to sleep in the building,
but it was too cold. The wind howled all night, sounded like a bunch of ghosts
wailing in the dark.” She shivered and her eyes took on a faraway look. “That
was the first time I noticed his blond roots and realized his hair was dyed
black. I commented on it and he didn’t take it well, got angry. But then he
said some crazy thing about wanting his inside to match his outside.
Because he was dark.”

Melvin looked at her with an
expression of mirth. “Wow, he was really into himself, wasn’t he?
A drama boy with a line of total crap.”

Sue’s face was stiff. “Hey.
I
fell for it,
okay?
I guess I that
makes
me
stupid.”

Melvin was immediately contrite.
“No, no. I’m didn’t mean to imply that. I’m sorry, Sue. I shouldn’t make light
of it; I know he’s a dangerous man. I guess I was just a little jealous.”

Her features softened. “You have
nothing to be jealous of, Melvin.”

“Sometimes I really resent the
guy.”

“I don’t blame you there; I resent
him too.” She patted Melvin’s arm and started to turn her attention back to the
coffee table and its contents.

“What are we doing here, Sue?” He
put a hand on her arm and looked into her eyes. “Do you really think we’ll find
him? And what if we do? Are we going to hold him down until the police get
there? Somehow I don’t think he’d just go along, wouldn’t just let that happen.
So, what’s really the deal?”

Doubt crept in.
He’s right. What
am I doing?
For a second or two she simply drew a blank. Then her head
cleared and her determination returned. “We’re just making sure he’s not
hanging out at any of the places, planning some kind of assault on me. I can’t
get rid of the feeling that he’s coming for me.”

“What makes you believe that?”
Melvin asked. “Have you received any more mail, or calls?”

Now would be the opportune time to
share her research, but Sue wasn’t ready to tell him her theory, that Zeke was
killing his way back to her. She shook her head.
“Probably
just paranoia.”

“Remember the old saying: just
because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you.” He chuckled
lightly. “You went through a lot. I guess it’s only normal under the
circumstances that you’d be freaked out. I can see that. But why do I get the
idea you’re holding out on me?” Melvin raised an eyebrow, only half kidding.

When Sue finally replied, she kept
her voice level. “Here’s the thing. If there is going to be a confrontation,
I’d like it to be on my terms. Not his. I’d rather be the one prepared for it
and initiating it instead of reacting to it…like a victim. I want the element
of surprise to be on my side.”

“I guess that makes sense.” He
touched her hand, gaining her full attention. “You know... Will’s still looking
for him. He checks on things in his spare time. He hasn’t given up just because
he’s off the case.”

“Really?”
Sue felt a wave of gratitude. “I had no idea. Has he come up with any leads?”

“Not that I’m aware of.”

“Have you told him about this?
About you and me looking for abandoned buildings?”

Melvin reached under his glasses,
rubbed his eyes, and looked away. “No. But I should.”

“Why? Can’t it just be something we
keep between us?”

“For now.
Sure.” He looked uncomfortable. “Anyway, we still on for next Friday?”

“Absolutely.
That is, if you ace your finals.”

“I won’t know by Friday whether I
passed. But if I don’t study, I darn sure won’t do well.”

“Then let’s put this aside for now
and you get cracking on those books.” She swept the papers into her hand and carried
them into the bedroom to her desk. When she returned, she picked up the remote.
“Now I want to watch a show. Will that distract you?”

“Not at all.”
He unzipped his backpack and pulled out a book. “I’ll just block it out.” He
tapped his head with a finger and grinned. “I have massive powers of
concentration, you know.”

His innocent gesture sparked a
flashback and she was jolted. In her mind, she felt the phantom of Zeke,
jabbing her head with a sharp finger while he criticized her intellect.
You
know how impulsive you are.
Not very bright.
Short on brains.
Think, Einstein!
His voice echoed in
her memory. Her spirits started to plummet but she sternly reined them in,
refusing to permit the lingering influence of Zeke to ruin a perfectly pleasant
evening.
How I hate him sometimes!

She managed to hide her moment of
distress well. Melvin never picked up on it as he leaned back, and began
reading. He looked up as Sue joined him, remote control in hand. “What about
you? Do you plan on going back to school?”

“Someday.
Maybe.”
Sue pushed the button and the TV came to life. An
annoying commercial popped up on the screen and she hit the mute button. “I’ll
probably go back. I’m just not ready yet.”

“Have you decided on a major?”

“Not really. I’ll figure it out later.”
She kept her eyes glued to the television.

Melvin took the hint, ready to drop
the subject. “Well, there’s plenty of time.”

“Yes.
Lots of
time.”
She relaxed and restored the volume.

Melvin turned back to his book.
They spoke little the rest of the night. He took his schoolwork seriously, and
Sue lost herself in the program. Sometime during the next few hours, she ended
up next to Melvin, his arm draped loosely around her shoulders.

When they kissed goodnight at the
door, he lingered over her willing lips. She almost invited him to stay the
night, but resisted the impulse. After he’d gone, she lay in her bed staring at
the ceiling for a long time, surfing the waves of emotional confusion. She
pulled out her journal and wrote for half an hour before turning off the light.
When she finally slept, it was a fitful slumber.