Fiends SSC (3 page)

    ‘Damn right.’

    ‘Keep driving, or you can just let me out and I’ll take my chances walking home.’

    He made a snorty sound, then muttered, ‘I just hope your friend isn’t armed.’

    

    

    Two hundred yards farther, he swung the car sharply onto the narrow road leading to Wilson Lake.

    ‘What are we going to do?’

    ‘I’ve got a little plan.’

    ‘Dan?’

    ‘Nothing to worry about.’ He looked at her and grinned. ‘Dan’s plans never fail. What does this guy look like?’

    ‘Let’s go to the police.’

    ‘I can take care of it He slowed down and peered into the rearview mirror until the other car turned. ‘He’s following us, okay.’

    ‘Dan!’

    ‘Don’t worry, everything’s fine. How about getting me a flashlight?’ He pointed to the glove compartment. Marty opened it, took out the flashlight and snapped the compartment shut.

    The flashlight had a ribbed metal casing.

    Near the shore, the road widened into a parking lot. Dan steered onto its hard dirt. As he cruised past several dark cars with couples inside, he kicked off his sneakers, reached down and pulled off his socks.

    ‘Going for a swim?’ Marty asked.

    ‘You never know.’ He stopped beside a pickup truck and cut the engine. ‘Place is sure crowded tonight.’ He slipped his bare feet back into his sneakers and stuffed one of his socks into his pants pocket. ‘Okay, lets go.’

    ‘Go where?’

    ‘Out there. For a walk. Too many people around here, even if they
are
too busy to see anything. Hand me the light, honey.’

    She gave it to him, shouldered open her door, and stepped onto the dirt of the lot. The ground felt nice and cool under her feet. But she put her sandals on, anyway, feeling too vulnerable without them. For a moment, she even considered putting her sweater back on, though the night was balmy and her clothes were sticking to her back and buttocks.

    ‘Shall we take a stroll along the shore?’ Dan asked.

    ‘Are you kidding?’

    ‘No.’ He looked over his shoulder. Following his glance, Marty saw the dark car turn slowly onto the parking lot. ‘Let’s go,’ Dan whispered, and pulled her hand. ‘Don’t look back. We don’t want your friend to know we’re onto him.’

    At the edge of the lake, Dan turned on the flashlight.

    ‘What’s that for?’

    ‘To see where we’re going.’

    ‘There’s plenty of moonlight.’

    ‘Your friend has to see where we’re going, too.’

    ‘Could you stop calling him that. My friend? He isn’t my friend.’

    ‘If you say so.’

    She pulled her hand away. It was wet. She wiped it on her skirt. ‘What if he’s got a knife?’ she asked.

    ‘That’ll be his tough luck.’

    ‘I like your confidence.’

    ‘No, you don’t.’ He led her onto a path. To their left, down a steep grassy slope, the water lapped against the shore. The woods pressed close on their side, forcing them to walk single file. They had to duck under low branches.

    ‘Couldn’t ask for a better place,’ Dan said.

    ‘To hide?’

    Dan chuckled, then swung the flashlight so its beam swept across the water. ‘Think he saw that?’

    ‘How could he miss it?’

    Dan turned off the flashlight and began to unscrew its base. ‘What’re you doing?’

    ‘Taking it apart.’

    ‘Nice,’ she muttered.

    ‘Here, let’s get into these bushes.’ He dropped two batteries into his palm and pushed Marty. ‘You get over there behind that tree.’

    ‘Where’ll you be?’

    ‘Right here.’

    ‘Dan-'

    ‘I’ll just have a chat with this guy. What’d you say his name is?’

    ‘Willy. You aren’t going to do something stupid, are you?’

    ‘Me?’ He laughed and patted her back. ‘Get over there and hide, and don’t make a sound. If things get out of hand, try and sneak back to the car. I left the keys under the front seat.’

    ‘Whatever you have in mind… ’

    ‘Over there. Hurry.’

    Marty hesitated. Dan took a quick step toward her, so she turned away. She stepped through the underbrush, feeling its damp leaves cling to her legs, until she came to a birch tree. She crouched behind it to wait, but couldn’t see Dan. So she stood up and leaned against the trunk to watch.

    Dan was busy doing something with the flashlight and sock. Dropping the batteries into the sock. Knotting it.

    Suddenly, he stopped.

    Marty heard nothing but the usual summer sounds of crickets and frogs.

    Without a sound, Dan stepped into the path. His right hand, down at his side, swung upward. The flashlight glinted moon like the broad blade of a knife as it plunged upward into the man’s belly.

    

    

    Something shiny swept up out of the darkness. Willy slashed at it with his knife, but missed. A cold, numbing force crushed his breath. His arms dropped. His knees hit the shoreline path. Dirt and gravel scraped his hands. He tried to gasp, ‘Shit!’ but couldn’t. No air.

    No fucking air at all.

    

    

    From behind the tree, Marty saw Dan kick one of the arms. It collapsed, and Willy fell face down.

    ‘Roll over,’ Dan said, barely loud enough for Marty to hear. After giving the command, he waited a second. Willy didn’t move except to squirm on the ground. ‘I said to roll over.’

    The gasping shape still didn’t do it.

    Dan swung the sock with the batteries in its toe. He whipped it against Willy’s shoulder. It made a dull thump, and Willy cried out. ‘Now, roll over.’

    This time, Willy obeyed.

    ‘Why were you following us?’

    Willy gasped something that Marty couldn’t make out.

    ‘Flattery won’t get you anywhere,’ Dan said. He walked around to Willy’s side and knelt down to look him in the face. ‘God, you’re an ugly asshole. Why were you following us?’

    Willy raised his head, but only for a moment because Dan pushed it back down with the bottom edge of the flashlight. ‘Don’t move.’

    ‘You’re gonna…’

    ‘I’m gonna what?’

    Marty couldn’t quite hear the answer.

    ‘Is that so?’ Dan smashed the head of the flashlight against Willy’s face.

    ‘I’m gonna cut off your…’

    Dan stuck the bottom edge of the flashlight under Willy’s nose. ‘Sharp, isn’t it? If I ever run into you again, I’ll put your nose where the batteries go.’ From the squeal of pain, Marty thought he was already doing it. ‘You understand?’

    Willy muttered something.

    Then shrieked.

    Then, sobbing, said, ‘I understand.’

    ‘Good. Very good.’ Dan stood up, wiping the edge of the flashlight on his pants. ‘Just remember, okay?’ He whirled the sock until the weighted toe picked up momentum, then crashed it against Willy’s head. ‘Good night, now,’ he said. Willy looked unconscious. ‘Come on, Marty. Time to go.’

    She stepped out from behind the tree, shaking.

    ‘That should give Willy some second thoughts,’ Dan said.

    ‘You bastard,’ Marty said. ‘You didn’t have to… torture him!’

    ‘I wanted him to get the message.’

    ‘God, Dan…’

    ‘You think I liked doing that?’

    She gazed at his face. It was pale in the moonlight. Reaching up, she brushed his messy hair away from his eyes. His forehead was hot and damp under her fingertips. ‘Yes,’ she whispered. ‘I think you liked it. A lot.’

    Dan made a sound that was almost like a laugh.

    A nasty laugh.

    Then he untied the knot from his sock and dumped the batteries into his hand. He slipped them into the metal cylinder and screwed the bottom into place over them. With his thumb, he flicked the switch. Nothing happened. ‘Look at that,’ he muttered. ‘The fucker broke my flashlight.’

    Marty walked behind Dan, staring at the ground to keep from stumbling even though her mind paid no attention to the dips and turns and sudden rises of the trail. She didn’t hear the water caressing the shore, or the summer night sounds of small animals. She didn’t see the lightning bugs that drifted among the bushes, silently glowing and fading. She knew they were there; they always had been. But now she didn’t care.

    When Dan opened the car door for her, she muttered, ‘Thanks’ and climbed in.

    ‘Amazing,’ Dan said, sliding into the driver’s seat. ‘A person could get murdered here and nobody would even notice.’

    ‘They’re busy,’ Marty muttered.

    Dan pushed the key into the ignition, but he didn’t turn it. Instead, he stared at the dashboard. Marty wondered what he was waiting for. She said nothing, though. She felt as if he’d turned into a stranger.

    Letting go of the key, Dan moved toward the middle of the seat and put his arm across her shoulders. When she faced him to protest, he kissed her.

    She pushed him away. ‘Cut it out.’

    ‘What the hell’s wrong with you?’

    ‘Wrong? You just beat a man senseless.’

    ‘So?’

    ‘And you enjoyed it.’

    ‘Yeah?’

    ‘Yeah!’

    ‘I didn’t
exactly
enjoy it. More like, it gave me a nice feeling of accomplishment. You know? Like throwing a touchdown pass.’

    ‘This isn’t football.’

    ‘That’s right. Maybe I’d better go back and finish him off.’

    ‘Great. Wonderful. Why don’t you just do that?’

    ‘He wouldn’t ever scare the hell out of you at the movies again.’

    ‘That’s a great reason for killing a guy.’

    ‘What did he do to you?’

    She said nothing.

    ‘How did he make you so afraid of him?’

    ‘None of your business.’

    ‘I just beat the crap out of the guy for you. Don’t I deserve to know why?’

    ‘I didn’t ask you to do that. You did it because you wanted to.’

    ‘Crap.That’s crap. And don’t go around trying to read my mind. This character did something to you. I don’t know what he did, but you’re my girl and I’m not about to let some asshole go around intimidating you. Clear?’

    ‘Yes,’ she said quietly, rubbing her face. ‘It’s clear. But Dan, don’t you see that it’s wrong? You can’t go around
hurting
people.’

    ‘You can try.’

    She turned away from him. ‘Take me home. Please.’

    

    

    ‘This stuff really hits the spot,' Tina said.

    ‘That’s what it’s for.’ Brad refilled both glasses with champagne. He set down the bottle, clamping it between his bare feet to keep it from following the roll of the deck, and put his free arm around Tina.

    Fiends

    ‘You sure know how to throw parties,’ she said.

    ‘Better than your parents?’

    ‘Better than the one they threw
me,
that’s for sure. Which was no party at all, if you wanta know the truth.’

    ‘I’m sorry.’

    ‘That’s okay. I haven’t had a party since I was eight. Till now.’

    ‘Ready for your present?’ Brad asked.

    ‘Sure.’

    He took the package off the seat and handed it to her. ‘Happy birthday, Tina.’

    She set down her glass and began working on the ribbon. She slipped it off, then unfastened the tape at each end of the package and removed the paper without tearing it.

    ‘Going to save the wrapping?’

    ‘Sure.’

    ‘So you can re-use it sometime?’

    ‘No! I wouldn’t re-use it. I’ll save it for a keepsake.’

    ‘Oh,’ Brad said, and felt a tightness come to his throat.

    Tina held the flat, rectangular box by its lid and shook it until the bottom fell onto her lap. Then she folded back the tissue paper inside. ‘Brad! Oh, it’s beautiful!’

    ‘The saleswoman called it paisley. That’s the pattern, I guess. Real colorful and everything, but you can’t see it much in this light.’ The dress unfolded as Tina lifted it from the box. She stretched her arms upward, holding it under the moonlight. ‘It’s just gorgeous! Look how it shines! Oh, thank you. It’s wonderful!’

    She hugged him tightly, awkwardly, squeezing his neck. But the hug only lasted a moment. Then Tina put the box and wrappings on Brad’s lap. ‘I’ll be back in a jiffy,’ she said, and hurried across the deck, the dress in front of her like a wispy dancing partner. Once, she made a dizzy sidestep and almost fell. Brad jumped up to help, but she stayed on her feet and vanished below.

    He sat at the stern, waiting.

    Finally, the cabin door opened, then latched shut. Brad watched Tina’s dark form rise and step into the moonlight.

    ‘What do you think?’ she asked.

    ‘Very nice.’

    ‘It’s absolutely beautiful in the light. All gold and red and blue. I guess you know that, though.’

    ‘Does it fit all right?’

    ‘Does it?’ She posed for him.

    ‘Looks great to me. Is it supposed to cling like that?’

    ‘Sure.’ She walked toward him, keeping a hand on the gunwale to steady herself.

    The fabric, glossy in the moonlight, sheathed all the rises and hollows of her body until it stopped partway down her thighs.

    ‘It makes me feel naked,’ she said. ‘Naked and covered with something like baby oil so I’m all slick and shiny.’ She rubbed a hand over her ribs. ‘Feel,’ she said, and stepped into Brad’s arms.

    Her back was a curving sleekness under the cloth’s lubrication.