Unforgettable (10 page)

Gloria was there first followed quickly
by Detective Silverman and two others. Silverman called for an
ambulance.

I pressed on Roger’s thigh as blood
pulsed out of his leg. He was getting more and more
pale.

“
He hit an artery,” I told
Gloria.

“
Yup.”

Gloria took off her belt and tied a
tourniquet around his leg. The bleeding lessened but Roger was
getting clammy. The paramedics arrived and rushed him
away.

“
You know who that was,
don’t you?” I asked Silverman.

“
Fairly certain. I think
he’s Eddie Welsh, Robert Welsh’s little brother,” Silverman
said.

I washed the blood off my arms and
hands. My clothes were soaked.

Gloria drove back to Jack’s with
Metallica blasting on the radio. When we got back Jack was sitting
on the front porch with a scotch and a cigar.

“
Gloria, Roger’s in surgery.
Did you want to go..?”

Gloria turned around and walked back to
the car.

“
You look like something out
of a horror movie.”

I sat down in a rocking chair next to
him and downed his large scotch.

“
I feel like getting
absolutely blitzed.”

I put the cold glass on my
forehead.

He laughed.

“
Okay. I suggest you might
want to get a shower first.”

“
Aren’t you worried about
Roger?”

“
Worried? No. Thankful to
him? Positively. Fritz is with him and will keep me posted. And I
am very grateful you are back in one piece.”

“
I’m going to get a
shower.”

“
Good. We need to
talk.”

I knew this was going to be about
David.

The liquor was hitting hard. I realized
on my way up the long staircase that once again I hadn’t
eaten.

The house was quiet. My blood soaked
clothes stuck to me. I dropped them into the trash. The shower was
hot and real. I sat on the floor and let the water run over me. I
finally got dressed and went downstairs.

I went into the office before heading
into the kitchen, pouring myself another scotch.

“
Food smells wonderful.” I
started eating shrimp wrapped in bacon.

“
I’d watch how much you’re
drinking. First day on the set tomorrow. They want us there at
seven. Bring a book. It gets very boring. Now, let’s discuss this
evening.”

“
David’s picking me up at
seven.”

“
No.”

“
Why?” I nibbled on half of
a grilled cheese sandwich.

“
Not safe.”

“
David said he was taking
care of that.”

“
He’s got some security
people of his lined up. And Roger was supposed to go but obviously
he’s a little tied up.”

“
Jack, you just don’t want
me to go.”

He glared at me.

“
Sam,…”

“
Thanks for the food but
David will be here soon and I’m not ready.”

He stopped me at the stairs.

“
You don’t know what you’re
dealing with with David.”

“
Oh?”

“
The man can seduce a stone
statue. He’s known for it.”

“
Should be interesting
then.”

“
Awfully flip
for…”

Now he’d crossed the line.

“
For what, Jack?”

“
Nothing.”

“
For someone who gets her
money…her room and board and her basic survival from you? I wasn’t
clear on the strings attached to that. Now I guess I
am.”

“
Sam, that’s not what I
meant.”

He took my hands and sat me on the
step.

“
I just…”

“
You don’t want him to
seduce me because you want that yourself.”

He paused. “You are extraordinarily
direct, aren’t you? But, you’re probably right. Yes.”

“
It’s complicated, Jack.
When I can I’ll tell you about it. But not now.”

“
Are you going to sleep with
him?”

“
Not tonight.”

Detective Hershall
Silverman walked through the suicide scene. Jameson stared at
him.

"Silverman."

"Jameson."

"Suicide."

"No, don't think so. Most
suicides don't beat themselves up before they throw themselves out
a window. Coroner called me."

Jameson stared. "Chief says
it's a suicide then it is."

Silverman stared back.
"I've been asked to look into it."

"Is that right?"

"Yeah by who?"

"Whom. The Mayor. And some
other interested parties."

Jameson nodded.

"Well whoopeefuckingdoo.
I'll let the Chief know."

"Great," Silverman
said."'Loved chatting. Maybe we can meet for an expresso later.
Ciao baby."

Jameson glared as Silverman
giggled and walked away.

I turned and walked up the
stairs.

At five before seven David arrived.
Jack was sitting on the porch.

It was awkward, like walking with your
shoes on backward.

“
Five-thirty,” Jack
announced.

“
Five-thirty?”

“
We leave. In the
morning.”

“
I’ll be back before
then.”

David was driving a black Maserati.
Behind him was a Jeep with three men in it.

He kissed me as he opened the car door
for me. The evil came out in him and he winked at Jack.

“
Little tension back there,”
he said.

I nodded.

He patted my leg.

“
He’ll be okay,
Sam.”

“Roger was stabbed today.”

“I heard.”

“
How?”

“
Jack called. Told me you
couldn’t go out and play tonight.”

“
What did you tell
him?”

“’
Bite me’ I think was the
phrase.”

He parked down a long, beach road in
front of a Cape Cod house. The foyer was decorated in warm, dark
woods, and incredible antiques. He showed me the dining room,
complete with a T-rex bursting down from the ceiling. She wore red
stiletto heels.

“
They make her ass look
great, don’t they?”

In his theater room he had
rows and rows of seats and a huge screen. On the walls were movie
posters, all from successful movies of recent years. I read two of
them and then the light went on.
David
Abernathy, Producer,
over and
over.

“
You’re not a big fish in a
little pond. You’re a really big fish. In more than this
pond.”

“
I’ve had a good
run.”

“
Take me back.”

“
Sam, what’s
wrong?”

He took me by the hand and walked me
outside on the deck. I could almost touch the ocean from where I
stood. I sat on a swing and he handed me a glass of
wine.

“
What’s wrong?”

“
I’m just…nobody, David. All
this. Wealth, fame, success…I don’t fit. Maybe I should just go
back to St Louis. Do you know where I bought this
dress?”

“’
Don’t care.”

“
I can’t do
this.”

“
All you have to do, sweet
Sam, is have dinner with me. That’s it.”

I noticed a table with candles on a low
deck by the beach. A man in a white coat waved to him.

“
Dinner is
ready.”

“
It’s so
beautiful.”

The man served us without saying a word
and then disappeared. I remembered my hamburger and watermelon
suppers.

We walked on the beach after dinner,
holding hands. The waves were loud, trying to tell me something
important. His security guys were following, watching.

“
Where do we start?” Every
cell in my body vibrated with fear.

He smiled.

“
In the bedroom. I spoke
with an acquaintance of mine. She’s a rape counselor. She’s given
me some guidance. This is going to be difficult but we’re going to
discover what you’re really afraid of. Or at least start to
discover.”

He took me to his bedroom. The walls
were dark blues and greens, with a fireplace and a Zen fountain on
the wall.

“
I love this room. So
peaceful.”

He nodded.

I stared at him. The fear was trying to
rip me apart.

“
On the bed,” he whispered,
not touching me. I pulled off my boots and climbed on the bed. He
lay down next to me.

“
Tell me about the night,”
his voice was hushed, gentle, in charge. “It’s so very dark, you
are tied…If you get scared you need to tell me. But I want you to
tell me exactly what happened.”

I shut my eyes, sinking into terror. My
chest hurt already.

“
I woke up. Dark. I heard a
sound in the hallway. Nylon rubbing. His coat. I heard it
again.

“
I stood up and screamed.
This dark image ran into my bedroom and knocked me over onto the
bed. It hurt.”

“
You’re just remembering.
You’re safe now.”

“
He punched me in the face.
Dragged me in the living room. Tied me. He had a knife. He cut my
clothes off. I couldn’t believe this was real.

“
He kissed me, biting me. I
tried to kick him. He put the knife into my vagina and made the
first cut. I felt insane.

“
He spoke words I didn’t
understand and put black cloths with black candles all around me.
He talked to Satan and kept calling me his Lilith.

“
He cut the first triangle.
I screamed. He licked the blood, he hung over me, blood dripping
from his face and mouth. I begged him to kill me.

“
He fucked me. The cut hurt
so bad. I passed out.

“
I woke with more cuts and
more cuts. He swirled the blood around, drawing on my face with it.
Licking the knife.” I was sobbing now, pushing on David, twisting
his shirt.

“
He cut more. Put the knife
in, twisted. I passed out.”

“
You’re here with me, it’s
just a memory, you’re safe.”

“
I woke. He was on top of
me…” my breathing was out of control. David held me
closer.

“
You’re just remembering
Sam. You’re safe.”

“
I woke up and he was on top
of me... I tried to will myself to die. He weighed thousands of
pounds. I couldn’t breathe. He kept going and going. I knew I was
dying. I pulled on the wires around my wrists and they cut into me.
Hurt so bad. I couldn’t make him stop!” I was screaming. I could no
longer feel David’s arms around me.

“
He took off his belt and
put it around my throat. I was relieved death was finally going to
come.

“
But I woke up. My neighbor,
Mr. Berg, was holding me, pressing towels on my stomach. He was
crying, talking about our gin game every Sunday. That I couldn’t
die. I was so embarrassed. An eighty-three year old man seeing me
naked. I wanted to die. I wanted to die.”

I cried until I thought I would break
in half.

He held me for a long time. I opened my
eyes expecting to see the blood. But we were transported back to
David’s cool, calm bedroom. My body slowly got heavier, relaxing,
sinking into the luxury of his arms.

He brought me brandy. His eyes were red
which surprised me.

Like magic he pushed a button and a
television came up from a beautiful cabinet. He turned it
on.

Finding Nemo
was playing. He wrapped me in a soft throw and we
cuddled, giggling. Not talking. I felt so warm, saved,
loved.

“
You did really well,
sweetheart.”

I turned and faced him. I didn’t think
I’d ever felt to so close to another human in my life. I pressed my
face into his giving him tiny kisses.

“
Safe.”

“
Always. Always safe with
me.”

“
David.”

“
Yes,
sweetheart.”

“
I love you.”

We kissed.

“
Marry me, Sam. Don’t answer
now. Wait until you’re through all of this. Then think about
it.”

I kissed him again, wishing I could
stay.

He drove me back. I was silent from
exhaustion. My face was swollen from crying.

“
Thought about what you’re
telling Jack when you get home?”

“
I don’t have a home,
David.”

“
Semantics.”

“
No, I have a
suitcase.”

“
Temporarily.”

“
Yes, I suppose so. And no,
I don’t have a clue what I’ll tell Jack. Or Fritz. Although Fritz
is much easier to deal with than Jack. I guess I’ll just tell him
it was fun, had a great time, loved your house and the beach
and…”