Wicked Obsessions (33 page)

The mirror.
She thought of scribbling an S.O.S. in lipstick on it, but was afraid that even if she asked Selena to give her some privacy, the message would be visible when she opened the door again.

In an attempt to appear as though she was really trying to plan for an extended stay somewhere, while thinking of a way to leave a note behind, Teri checked every drawer and cabinet, then pulled the shower curtain aside to choose some things off the ledge of the bathtub. The curtain accidentally caught on a bottle and knocked it into the tub. The loud crash in the small room made Teri's heart leap in her chest, but she couldn't afford to fall apart quite yet.

Selena came up behind her to see what had happened, and Teri fought a silent battle not to recoil from her.

"Oh, too bad," Selena said with sincere sympathy. "And that was your favorite too."

Teri stared at the broken glass container and the sea of pink bath crystals, and an idea popped into her head. "I've got everything I need now, so I guess I'll get dressed." Selena stepped aside, but remained by the bathroom door as Teri got an outfit together. With her clothes and shoes in hand, she walked back to the bathroom. "If you'll give me a moment to wash up..." Selena frowned and Teri reworded her request. "I have to use the toilet. Look, there are no windows in here for me to climb out of. I'll just be a sec." After a moment's hesitation, Selena allowed Teri her privacy, but her distrustful expression remained unchanged.

Teri didn't dare lock the door for fear of alarming Selena, but the second the door clicked shut, she turned on the water in the sink and tore off her nightgown. Hastily, she dressed, then flushed the toilet. She needed every second she could to leave her message. Using the handle of a toothbrush, she carved letters into the spilled bath crystals on the floor of the tub.

SELENA KILLED

"Hurry up, Teri," Selena called from the other side of the door.

Quickly Teri began scraping out the destination Selena had named.

ULSTER C

Selena opened the bathroom door before Teri could complete the last word.

"What are you doing?" Selena asked, clearly suspicious.

Praying Selena would not come further into the room to investigate, Teri rose, drew the curtain closed, and turned around. "I... I was trying to clean up the mess I'd made, but I suppose it can wait until I come back." Selena's smirk convinced Teri that Selena never intended to let her come back to this house. Teri took a deep breath to conceal the shudder that rippled through her, shut off the water in the sink, and stepped out of the bathroom. She only exhaled after Selena followed her.

All thoughts of running when they got outside were wiped out when Selena grasped Teri's arm and ordered her to pull her luggage. Selena retained a tight hold on her throughout the time it took to load the suitcases in the Cadillac's trunk and go up to the studio. There, in spite of the gun she held, Selena reverted to her usual friendliness, as she told Teri to pick out whatever materials she'd like to take with her. Again Teri tried to get Selena to carry a few things to the car for her, hoping to get the girl's hands too full to manage the weapon also. But Selena refused to help or let Teri walk without her
assistance.

Teri furtively scanned her neighborhood as she loaded her supplies into the trunk. Anyone about or even looking out a window had sufficient light from the streetlamps to see Teri being led around at gunpoint. But there was no one to witness her abduction, and she could not be sure that a scream would be heard... though it would definitely anger her captor. In spite of Selena's insistence that she didn't want to hurt her, the throbbing in her shoulder from where she hit her dresser was proof that Selena had no qualms about causing her pain. Teri feared that the only thing screaming might gain her was another injury—or death.

Selena was clearly capable of shooting her without the least hesitation. It wouldn't do her any good to scream or fight if it only got her killed. No, Teri determined, she didn't want to die. Better to go along with Selena's plans until a fairly safe escape presented itself. Perhaps she could jump out of the car along the way...

"You drive," Selena ordered, breaking into Teri's thoughts and pushing her toward the passenger door. "Get in and scoot over." She opened the door and pushed Teri forward.

Teri winced at the increased pressure of Selena's fingers around her arm when she was too slow to respond. "But I'm so tired. Remember, you woke me up. I might fall asleep if I'm driving."

Selena paused for only a second before giving Teri another shove that got them both into the car. "I'll keep you awake. I would have let you sleep on the way, but you showed me that I can't trust you right now. If I drive, you might try to jump out of the car, and you could hurt yourself. I can't let you do that. Until I have time to help you understand, I'll have to keep a very close eye on you." She reached into her purse on the floor and handed Teri the car keys.

Just before Selena pulled the door shut and the overhead interior light went off, Teri saw the fresh stains. She told herself they could be from a paint spill... anything but what she instantly knew had caused them. Her hands hovered over the leather-covered steering wheel, but she gagged at the thought of placing them over the same spots where Selena's hands had been... spots stained with Drew's blood.
Dear God, help me!

Selena poked Teri's shoulder. "Drive."

Teri tried to put the keys in the ignition, but her hands were shaking too badly. "I... I can't..."

With a cluck of her tongue, Selena grabbed the keys away, inserted the proper one and turned on the engine. "Stop wasting time. Let's go."

Taking a ragged breath, Teri forced her fingers to close over the steering wheel and gearshift, and she obeyed. She felt her mind shutting down from the reality of what was happening to her and knew she couldn't afford that luxury any more than she could afford to get hysterical. Selena had prevented every escape attempt Teri had thought of, and because of her bungled attempts, Selena had no intention of letting down her guard for a while. The only thing Teri could do was hope to convince her that she
understood
Selena's good intentions as soon as possible. Then perhaps Selena would let her go without a struggle. Unfortunately, though Selena was obviously insane, she was also extremely intelligent, and Teri knew it would take more than a promise of good behavior to wipe out the fact that she had pulled a gun on her... or had broken other promises in the past.

Earlier, Selena had told her they were headed to Ulster County, but now she would reveal exact directions only as Teri needed to know them. In spite of what she told Selena, not only was Teri wide awake, but she was noting everything about the route they were taking so that she could relay it to the police later. Thus Teri made no attempt to converse with Selena, and as they were driving north on the Taconic State Parkway, Selena limited her comments to directions.

"Get off on Interstate 84 and take the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge across the Hudson River. From there you go north on the New York Thruway."

Teri nodded her comprehension, but out of the corner of her eye she saw Selena turn around and shake her head.

"I don't think so," Selena said looking behind them.

"What? Did I miss a turn?" Teri asked, lifting her foot off the gas.

"No. Keep going the way I said. I was talking to Juliette."

Juliette?
Teri remembered Selena referring to Juliette after she had awakened her. But there was no one else in the car.

"She wants to meet you, but I think introductions should wait until we get home."

Teri immediately assumed Juliette was some imaginary friend of Selena's, such as a child would have. It occurred to her that if she pretended to see Juliette, she might convince Selena she
understood
that much faster. "I'd like to meet Juliette now, Selena."

"All right, but don't miss the exit." Selena leaned over the seat and brought Juliette up to sit on her lap.

Teri glanced at the old doll and back to the road. It may have been a pretty plaything at one time, but that had to have been long, long ago. The blonde nylon curls still had a shine to them, but the painted porcelain face was faded and smudged. There was a jagged crack down one cheek, and the movable eyelid on that side hung at half-mast. Teri imagined the lacy evening gown was once quite lovely, but now it was stained, mended, and yellowed with age.

"You don't hear her, do you?" Selena asked in a sad tone. "I had hoped you would."

Teri thought of lying, but there was no way she could pretend to have a conversation with Juliette if Selena truly thought she could hear the doll speak. "I'm sorry. I suppose you'll have to tell me what she says. She's quite... beautiful."

Selena's smile lit up her previously sour face. "Yes, she is. Juliette's the most beautiful doll in the whole world. My mother told me that when she gave her to me on my fifth birthday. Mommy said Juliette would help me not to be so afraid."

Teri noted the changes in Selena's voice and posture as soon as she mentioned her mother. She even thought she saw Selena put her thumb in her mouth, but a second later Selena straightened up and put Juliette on the seat between them. Using the gun as a pointer, she made the formal introductions. "Juliette, this is Teri. Teri, Juliette. Juliette said to tell you you're beautiful too."

Teri tried to remember what Selena had said about Juliette before, but she had been too horrified by everything else Selena had said to recall.

"She's not mad at me anymore," Selena said, triggering Teri's memory. "She said everyone breaks the rules sometimes, and it all worked out okay anyway."

Teri clenched her jaws and squeezed the steering wheel to keep from doing or saying anything to alert Selena to her true reaction to her words. Two, possibly three men were dead by her hand, and she believed "it all worked out okay"?

"Juliette knows I've always listened to her before. I do everything exactly like she says and nothing ever goes wrong."

Teri's heart tightened in her chest as she analyzed Selena's words. Juliette—the doll—told Selena what to do and how to do it. She didn't need to be a psychiatrist to understand that Juliette was some evil part of Selena's personality. But she thought that kind of situation occurred only in horror movies or sensationalist tabloids. She wondered if it meant that eliminating Juliette would prevent Selena from hurting anyone else, herself included, or if it would cause Selena to lose completely whatever slight grip on reality she still had.

For the remainder of the trip, Teri had to pay close attention to Selena's instructions. Once they had left the thruway at Kingston and driven beyond that city, there were no more streetlights and the winding two-lane roads seemed narrower than they were because of all the trees along the sides. Teri noted each turn she made that took her further away from civilization, but it soon became obvious that Selena was guiding her by landmarks rather than street signs. As dark as it was, Teri realized Selena could be directing her in circles. She soon began to doubt whether she would be able to find her way back to Kingston.

Checking her watch, Teri noticed it had taken about an hour and a half to get to Kingston from White Plains, and they'd been driving about a half hour since. They were near water now. She caught glimpses between the trees of what looked like a lake, but which lake, she had no idea, as she had never been to Ulster County before. Occasionally she saw a house or a light through the trees that indicated a building off the road somewhere, but they were few and far between.

"Stop!" Selena ordered. "Back up slowly."

Teri did as she was told, but had no idea why. There had been nothing on either side of the road but pine trees and weeping willows for at least the last five minutes.

"There!" Selena said, pointing to Teri's left. "Turn up that drive."

Teri squinted at the overgrown dirt path that didn't resemble any of the driveways they had passed along the way, and there was no sign of any house beyond the woods, but she turned and eased the Cadillac up the hill, over the ruts and through the drooping tree branches. Another minute passed before the headlights illuminated a small, single-story redwood house.

"Pull around to the back of the house," Selena told Teri.

Selena took the keys from Teri as soon as she turned off the engine, but Teri watched her drop them in her purse and decided it would not be that hard to get hold of them again. She just had to stay awake longer than Selena, which shouldn't be too hard, since Teri had already had a little nap and was far too overwrought to fall asleep under the same roof as a murderess.

Though Selena kept the gun pointed at Teri as they walked around to the front of the house, she no longer bothered to hold onto her. They both knew Teri wouldn't get far if she tried to run.

"It's probably a little dusty," Selena said as she unlocked the door and held it open for Teri. "But I'll have it good as new in a few days, you'll see."

Teri walked inside and was surprised a second later when a light clicked on.

Selena switched on several more lamps around the room. "I never turned off the electricity. Tomorrow I'll go get groceries someplace where they won't know me. But for tonight I can at least offer you some tea."

Teri looked around the living room. The sofa and chairs had been covered by sheets, but the tables, lamps, and knickknacks were covered with dust and spider webs. She followed Selena to the kitchen and stood by as Selena tucked the gun into the waistband of her skirt, then removed the sheet that was covering the sofa.