The May Day Murders (39 page)

Ann laid her clothes in a neat pile on
the floor and slipped into the suit. It fit perfectly. As she
looked in the mirror at her lily-white skin, she suddenly wished
she had known she was going to be wearing a bathing suit in October
and she would have paid a visit to the tanning salon. Oh well, she
thought. At least the suit did her body justice in the way it clung
perfectly. She marveled at Jerry’s taste in choosing the suit. Not
only was she fond of lavender, her favorite color, but the suit fit
as if it had been custom tailored for her.

Ann straightened up her hair a little
and started to leave but stopped herself, realizing that she was
going to feel a bit odd going back downstairs to face Jerry
practically naked. She grabbed a bath towel off the rack and draped
it over her shoulders.

On the way out of the bedroom,
something caught her eye and Ann froze in her tracks. There was a
small portion of clothing sticking out from between the sliding
closet doors that looked familiar. She went over, slid open the
door and saw the sleeve of the very same jacket Jerry had worn the
night before. It was hanging up along with an entire wardrobe of
clothing; a wardrobe that seemed just a little too extensive to be
stowed away at one’s weekend retreat. She quickly rifled though the
clothes and recognized two of the shirts she’d seen Jerry wear
since she’d first met him. Something now puzzled her: why had he
spent last night here instead of at his home in Dublin? The jacket
all but proved that he had.

She slid the door closed. Either Jerry
was merely leading her to believe that he spent little time in this
fully stocked, fully furnished country hideaway or he was flat out
lying to her. This place not only had that same lived in feeling
that any other full time residence emanated but no one in this
right mind would store their entire wardrobe at a location that was
over an hour and a half drive from where they lived and
worked.

Did Jerry Rankin even own a
home in Dublin?

She had never once driven by to see his
house in all this time – she had never felt any reason to…

A thought suddenly occurred to her and
she began feeling foolish. She had phoned Jerry twice and both
times he had answered the phone. The number she’d dialed had been
the local number he had listed on his business card. Placing a call
out here in God’s country would most certainly have been a long
distance call, if he even had a phone here. Ann couldn’t recall
seeing a phone during her grand tour.

A cellphone … That would explain
some of this—

She shrugged. Why was she suddenly
being so suspicious of Jerry Rankin? This is ridiculous! she
thought. And what difference did it make if he had spent the night
here last night? It wasn’t any of her business, anyway.

Ann turned and left the bedroom. When
she reached the first floor, she saw Jerry out in the solarium
kneeling down and fiddling with the controls for the hot tub. He
was wearing a pair of jockey-style bathing trunks. She slid the
door open and stepped out into the solarium.

Jerry glanced over at her expectantly.
“How do you like the suit? Let me see it!”

Ann smiled bashfully before removing
the bath towel from her shoulders.

“
It looks
wonderful!”
Jerry exclaimed, eying her from head to toe. “Lord, Ann, you sure
have one gorgeous body!”

Ann wasn’t sure why she blushed, but
she did.

“
Thanks,” she
replied.

She suddenly felt stark naked as she
noticed Jerry’s eyes scrutinizing her body—something he did without
reserve or hesitation. Ann felt the impulse to cover herself up but
managed to stifle it. Jerry shut the door panel and walked over to
her. When she saw how tanned and muscular Jerry looked in his brief
bathing suit, Ann began feeling a little less self conscious about
her own near nakedness but at the same time wished to Christ her
skin wasn’t so damn bone-white.

Jerry reached down and skimmed his hand
over the water.

“
Ah, just right! I brought
out our wine as well—just in case we get thirsty.”

Ann glanced over at the wine bottle and
decided that a little more wine might get her a little more in the
mood for this.

“
It’s a little chilly in
here,” she declared, pouring herself a glass.

Jerry followed suit. “Normally it isn’t
this cool in here during the day. But once that sun goes down, it
does get a bit nippy this time of year. The water is good and warm,
though!”

Ann smiled, took a sip and looked
around. It was dark as pitch outside now but the solarium was
bathed in a warm glow from the tiny track lights mounted
strategically along the perimeter of the structure. There was a
cozy, almost surreal atmosphere created by the dim lights, the
potted tropical plants and the steady low hum of the motor as it
churned the chlorinated water around in the tub. She took another
sip and soon felt her longing to soak in the hot tub
return.

She set her glass down resolutely and
eyed Jerry. “Let’s go in!”

Jerry nodded and made a gesture for Ann
to get in first, which she did. The water was just right as she
waded over to one of the seats and eased herself down into the hot,
swirling water.

“
It feels wonderful!” she
gushed.

Jerry plopped down beside her.
“Absolute heaven!”

“
This was a great idea,
Jerry,” Ann declared, leaning her head back and staring up at the
night sky through the glass ceiling.

“
I had a feeling you would
approve.”

Ann closed her eyes, feeling the warm
pulsating jets of water rushing against her body. She had always
enjoyed long baths for as long as she could remember—so soothing
and relaxing at times that she would sometimes actually allow
herself to drift off to sleep. She recalled a particular evening
while she was in high school that she had actually fallen asleep
for a full hour before a noise outside the bathroom window had
suddenly awoken her. She had been grateful for the “wake-up call”
because she’d had a final to take the following morning and hadn’t
yet begun studying for it.

She heard Jerry stand up and opened her
eyes. “I’m getting my wine—would you like yours?”

“
Yes, please,” she replied,
watching the rivulets of water rolling down Jerry’s shaved.
muscular chest.

He winked at her and stepped out. Ann
heard the clinking of glasses as he poured some more
wine.

“
Here,” he said, handing her
glass to her.

“
Thanks,” she said, taking a
sip.

Jerry suddenly placed his hands on her
shoulders and faced her. “Are you having a good time?”

She gazed into his smoldering green
eyes, which were staring at her imploringly from his handsomely
chiseled face.

“
Very nice,” she
replied.

He leaned down and pecked her on the
cheek. “I’m very happy to hear that.”

For a fleeting moment Ann thought that
he was going to embrace and kiss her again and she almost wished he
had. But instead, he removed his hands, smiled and eased himself
down into the tub. She looked on as he fully submerged himself
underwater for a moment, stood up and ran his hands through his
thick blonde hair and sat down beside her. Leaning back, he closed
his eyes for a moment and opened them again, staring pensively at
the ceiling. Ann could sense that he wanted to tell her something
but hadn’t yet gotten the nerve up to follow through with it. She
didn’t know why she had this feeling—maybe it was because of the
way he had looked at her a moment ago. He had seemed nervous,
tentative, as though he wanted to pour out his heart but had
decided that the moment wasn’t yet quite right.

The dread she had felt earlier during
their stroll of the grounds now returned and she reminded herself
not to do anything that might encourage him. Otherwise, she would
find herself in an embarrassing and awkward position. She didn’t
love Jerry Rankin and never would, in spite of her impulsive urge
to be held in his arms a moment ago. This was a physical thing, she
told herself, not an emotional one. Jerry wanted more than that—she
was almost certain of it now.

She leaned her head back and closed her
eyes, tuning in on the low hum of the motor and gushing jets of
water pulsating against her body. Perhaps, she thought, she was
making a mountain out of a molehill. Maybe Jerry wasn’t quite as
head over heels as she thought he was. Maybe she was reading more
into this than there actually was. Whatever the case, she decided
it would be best to tell Jerry it was time to head back soon; she
needed some time to think all of this through.

She suddenly felt his hands on her
shoulders, jerking her from her thoughts. She opened her eyes and
saw Jerry standing over her, his expression intense, almost
frightening. His eyes were fixed on hers.

“
You startled me,” she said
nervously.

Jerry smiled, but not in a friendly
manner. His lips were twisted in a sort of uncomfortable smirk,
conveying a forced self-confidence. His grip on her was a little
too firm.

“
Let’s do it, Ann,” he
declared.

“
Do what?” she replied
suspiciously.

“
Get naked.”

His voice seemed different somehow. Not
quite as articulate and with a slight hillbilly twang.

“
No, Jerry! What’s wrong
with you?” Ann sputtered, her heart racing in her chest.

The intensity in his face waned
somewhat. He blinked a couple of times as if to force himself to
maintain his composure.

“
There’s nothing wrong with
me, Ann. I just want to make love to you.”

Ann felt his grip on her tighten as he
spoke. “You’re hurting me, Jerry!”

She grasped his arms and tried to push
him away. He didn’t budge.

“
Let go of me!”
Ann
cried.

“
I can’t, Ann. Not
now.”

Ann was almost as angry as she was
terrified.

“
Jerry, I don’t know what
your problem is but I want you to let go of me and take me home
now! Do you hear me?”

He bent down and tried to kiss her. Ann
pulled away.

“
No!”

“
Please, Ann,” Jerry
pleaded. “Don’t turn me down—I don’t want to have to hurt
you.”

Ann gaped at him in utter shock. “Are
you threatening me, Jerry?”

His eyes were now as cold as steel.
“Let’s just say that I’m giving you an alternative. We either do it
by the book or we do it another way …”

Ann struggled to free herself but was
powerless against Jerry’s strength. The room suddenly seemed to be
closing in on her as the cold hard fact sunk in that Jerry Rankin
was going to rape her, right there and now. It was like a nightmare
but too real to be a nightmare. How in God’s name was this
happening?

Jerry wrapped his sinewy arms around
her and started unfastening her bikini top. His face wore a cool,
calculating reserve as he spoke.

“
Don’t fight it, Ann. You
will enjoy this.”

Ann squirmed and managed to slip
thorough his arms. Her head went underwater and in seconds she
surfaced on the other side of the hot tub. In a flash, Rankin waded
over in two strides and grabbed her by the ankle as she attempted
to climb out.

“
Please, Ann! Don’t try
anything like that again. Do you understand?” he snapped, his face
taut with rage.

Before Ann could respond, he said, “I
don’t understand you women. I’m especially disappointed in you,
Ann. Why are you fighting it? Take a look at me, Ann. Take a good
look! I’m not some ugly asshole with shit for brains, now am I? I’m
a hunk, for chrissakes! And a hunk with brains, no less! We are
supposed to be fucking right now and you’re going to fucking enjoy
it! And afterwards, you’re going to gaze lovingly into my eyes and
tell me that you want to spend the rest of your life with me
because I’m everything that you’ve ever dreamed of. The book, Ann!
You’re not following the goddamn script! Get with the program—we’ve
made it this far—don’t fucking let me down now!”

Ann was utterly speechless. Her head
was spinning wildly. She couldn’t feel anything for a moment—she
was absolutely numb and thunderstruck at the same time.

“
What are you talking about,
Jerry?” she finally managed to say.

He let out a laugh—a sinister guffaw.
“That stupid fucking romance novel you’ve been reading for the past
three weeks!
A Second Chance for Madeline.
I planted it in
your house. I knew that you’d read it of course—my only concern was
whether or not you would question where it came from and how it got
there. A calculated risk, you might say. But my hunch was right.
You assumed that it was Amy’s book and you never even asked her
about it. Another good hunch on my part. You can’t even communicate
with your own daughter because you’re afraid of upsetting the
spoiled brat! You’re just as stupid and naive as every other wench
in this world, Ann. Had me fooled, I can sure tell you that! And to
think of all I’ve done for you, just to win your heart and jump
your bones. Jesus, what does it take for a guy to get laid in this
life?”