Terrified (19 page)
After sleeping at her apartment the first time, Glenn announced he couldn’t bear having his girlfriend live in a rundown, roach-ridden little studio. Within four days, he’d found her a beautiful one-bedroom in Evanston with lots of old-world charm and air-conditioning in every room. He’d hired movers, paid the first six months’ rent, and even bought a new sofa and TV for her.
Lisa’s girlfriend, Belinda, another teacher at the school, pointed out that Glenn was obviously “a major control freak,” to be taking over her life like this. But Lisa didn’t mind. He was making everything better for her—and Cliff.
The only thing that bothered her about the move was the man Glenn had sent to organize things. Despite a slightly pockmarked face and a bald head with only the shadow of brown stubble on the sides and back, he had a certain dangerous, sexy quality. On moving day, even though it was eighty-seven degrees, he wore a black leather jacket, a black T-shirt, and tight jeans. His name was Jimmy Jordan, and he claimed Glenn was his best friend. “I can see why Glenn’s so crazy about you,” he said, looking her up and down. He practically leered at her. And he was so wired and twitchy, she wondered if he was on cocaine or something. “I’ll get you out of this shithole in no time,” he promised.
When he removed the jacket, she noticed his sinewy build and the intricate tattoos covering his muscular arms. He mentioned Glenn had saved his life years ago when he’d been brought into the emergency ward after a bad car wreck. “Glenn’s my man,” he said.
He browbeat the poor movers: “Hey, fuckheads, do you think you could go any slower? You’re getting paid by the hour, so are you trying to stretch it out? Fat fucking chance! Did you just look at me? What was that look? Are you eyeballing me?”
She phoned Glenn in the middle of it, and told him she didn’t approve of his friend’s tactics. “I’d put a stop to it,” Lisa whispered into the phone, “but to tell you the truth, he scares the hell out of me.”
She heard Glenn chuckle on the other end. “Well, that’s JJ, but he gets the job done. Let him do his thing. The movers will be well paid, don’t you worry… .”
Jimmy Jordan had been right. He’d gotten her completely moved in no time. But Lisa didn’t like him. She remembered hearing his name months before, when Stacey had gone on about how Dr. Siler had been mugged:
Not that Glenn did the job on him. He would never get his knuckles bruised working over some
guy
. He gives that kind of work to his pal, JJ.
Not that Glenn did the job on him. He would never get his knuckles bruised working over some
guy
. He gives that kind of work to his pal, JJ.
Out of curiosity, shortly after Cliff had been readmitted to the hospital, Lisa had asked her nurse friend, Melissa, about Dr. Siler. Apparently, he’d never come back to work after the mugging. He’d transferred to a different hospital.
Lisa reminded herself that Stacey was a jerk. And she’d already questioned Glenn about Siler, and he’d had nothing to do with that mugging incident. It was easy to dismiss things she didn’t want to hear when she considered the source.
One night at the hospital, shortly after moving into her new place, Lisa spotted Travis at the end of the third-floor corridor. It wasn’t the first time she’d noticed him lurking around the hallway since his sister had been switched to a different wing.
“ ‘And they call it puppy love,’ ” Melissa had wryly remarked, after observing a sullen Travis skulking around the third floor a few days before. “But I call it borderline stalker behavior. I think he’s still hung up on you, honey.”
Lisa thought so, too. She finally decided to do something about it that night. She approached him at the end of the corridor. He wore cargo shorts, a Chicago Cubs T-shirt, and sandals. Glaring at her, he shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wall.
“Hi, Travis,” she said. “I’m sorry I’ve been—avoiding you. I feel bad about our last conversation, but you have to understand, some of the things you said about my brother were very hurtful. And he’s not going to die. He’s getting the best possible care. I’m very optimistic about his chances.”
“That’s good for you,” he muttered.
She nodded. “It is. I’ve been asking Melissa—you remember Melissa, she was Cassie’s nurse for a while, too—I’ve been asking her for updates about your sister. I’m sorry Cassie’s condition hasn’t improved.”
“Maybe you can say something to your doctor boyfriend,” Travis said, “get him to pull some strings.”
Lisa’s eyes wrestled with his. “I will, if you’d really like that.”
“Don’t bother,” he grunted. “He’s a son of a bitch. Take my word, you’ll be sorry you ever took up with him… .”
“Is that a threat?” she asked.
He shook his head. “It’s a fact. You may think Dr. Swann is pretty damn great right now, but just you wait. He’ll hurt you, Lisa.”
“You don’t even know him,” she argued.
Travis said nothing. His gaze shifted from her to something over her shoulder. She turned and spotted Glenn stepping off the elevator down the corridor. Lisa started to wave, but then she sensed Travis moving suddenly. She turned again to see him retreat into the stairwell.
With a sigh, she headed down the hallway to meet Glenn. She kissed him—a quick peck. Glenn didn’t believe in public displays of affection at his workplace. But he took hold of her hand and nodded toward the stairwell door. “What was that about?”
“A former secret admirer,” she replied, working up a smile. “He’s very jealous of you. He says you’re going to hurt me. You won’t hurt me, will you? Please, tell me you won’t break my heart.”
Three weeks later, they were married, a small ceremony in the hospital chapel. Cliff, in a wheelchair, was Glenn’s best man. Her friend, Belinda, was her maid of honor—under the provision that she’d shut up for a week about how this was really rushing things; how Glenn was a control freak who pushed all her other friends away; and how it was an awful waste of a six-month lease on that lovely apartment.
They didn’t have a honeymoon, but Glenn rather impulsively bought them a gorgeous three-bedroom, two-story Tudor in Winnetka. JJ handled the move for them. Lisa wasn’t around to see him berate the poor movers, because Cliff was finally having his bone marrow surgery that same day.
Two weeks later, they found out his cancer wasn’t in remission. That same night, she and Glenn were to attend a party at North Shore Country Club, hosted by two big contributors to the hospital, Thomas and Elizabeth Noll. Lisa had met them before, and they were a genuinely nice couple, but she was depressed and exhausted—and in no mood for socializing.
However, in the few weeks she and Glenn had been married, she’d discovered he expected her to fulfill her duty as the doctor’s graceful, charming spouse. Sometimes, he even told her what dresses to wear at these functions. On that particular night, Lisa just didn’t need to hear it.
In their tastefully furnished new bedroom, he was in his undershorts and she wore only her bra and panties, but her face and hair were done. He laid an outfit for her on the bed, and told her to hurry up, because they’d be late for the party.
“You’re the one who took forever in the shower,” she retorted, frowning at the J. Crew cocktail dress he’d chosen for her. “Lord, honey, it’s bad enough you’re forcing me to go to this thing, but do you have to dress me up like your little preppie doll, too?”
She turned toward him and suddenly something slammed against the side of her face. The force of his blow blindsided her. She reeled back, her body hurtling against the nightstand. The lamp crashed to the floor with her. For a moment, she couldn’t see anything except stark white. A piercing sound reverberated in her left ear. She couldn’t get her breath.
Laid out on the bedroom floor in her underwear with a broken lamp at her side, it took Lisa a moment to realize what had happened. Glenn hovered over her, apologizing. Was she all right? He hadn’t meant it. He hadn’t known what he was doing.
He made an ice pack for her face, and checked her left side to make sure she hadn’t cracked a rib when she’d hit the nightstand. He said it was just a bruise. He kept apologizing—and even started to cry. He phoned the Nolls and canceled.
Even though her face was still tender the next day and she had an ugly bruise on her rib cage, Lisa managed to forgive him. She told herself that Glenn worked long, hard hours at a stressful job. He didn’t ask for much, and he’d done
everything
for her and Cliff. Hell, he felt almost as bad as she did about Cliff’s setback. For hitting her, he’d apologized profusely. He said it would never happen again.
everything
for her and Cliff. Hell, he felt almost as bad as she did about Cliff’s setback. For hitting her, he’d apologized profusely. He said it would never happen again.
Glenn kept his word—for four months. Lisa forgot what she’d said to set him off, but it happened while she was cooking dinner in the kitchen. This time, she saw him haul back his fist, and she almost managed to dodge the blow. He grazed her ear. It stung and hurt like hell, but she was still on her feet. And this time, she hit him back, an angry slap across his face. “You son of a bitch!” she screamed. “That hurt, goddamn it! You said you’d never hit me again, and you—”
She didn’t finish. A blow to her left eye silenced her, and sent her crashing to the kitchen floor. The fall knocked the wind out of her, too. Their floor was hard—expensive tiles imported from Mexico.
Glenn didn’t apologize this time. She was still curled up on those cold tiles when he kicked her in the back. Then he grabbed a saucepan full of chicken stock that she’d been heating up to make gravy. He threw it at her. The pan hit the counter cupboard behind her. Lisa covered her face, but the hot liquid scalded her arms and the backs of her hands. The empty saucepan clattered against the tiled floor.
Glenn left her there and stormed out of the house.
Her left eye was already starting to swell shut by the time Lisa got up and looked in the bathroom mirror. She couldn’t drive with one eye shut. So she called her sister-in-law, Audrey, to take her to the hospital. She figured Glenn’s older sister should see what he was capable of. While Lisa waited, she splashed cold water on her arms. The burns weren’t too bad. The chicken stock hadn’t been boiling, thank God. She rubbed aloe on the reddened areas, and it felt better.
Lisa figured she didn’t need to go to the emergency room after all. What she needed were a couple of nights at a hotel, where Glenn couldn’t find her. Once there, she’d figure out what to do about him. She started packing an overnight case.
“You might as well stay here for the night,” Audrey advised, with a frown at Lisa’s overnight bag by the kitchen door.
She was a thin, sporty-looking brunette with short-cropped hair and deep wrinkles in her face—probably from too much sun. She wore jeans and an argyle sweater. She’d sat Lisa down at the breakfast table, and poured them each a glass of bourbon. Then she’d fetched a bag of peas from the freezer, and filled a large Baggie with ice. Audrey seemed to know exactly what to do—as if she’d been through this before with someone else.
Sitting at the breakfast table, smelling like chicken stock, Lisa obediently held the bag of peas against her eye. The ice pack was pinched between her back and the kitchen chair. She sipped the bourbon.
“Glenn won’t be back tonight,” Audrey said, sitting down beside her. She took a swig from her glass. “He’ll come in tomorrow after work, all apologies, maybe with a gift or some flowers. And he’ll mean it when he tells you he’s sorry. But if he comes back and finds you’ve flown the coop, he’ll go ballistic. You don’t want that.”
With her one good eye, Lisa gave her a wary look. “You sound like you talk from experience.”
Audrey nodded glumly. “Glenn’s used to having his own way. So don’t threaten to leave or give him any ultimatums. And for God’s sake, don’t let him find that suitcase out.”
“So—you’ve seen this happen before,” Lisa said.
Nodding again, Audrey took another belt of bourbon. “It’s happened with practically every woman he’s been involved with. You’d be surprised at how many of them stuck it out—despite the bruises and black eyes. Even when he dumped them, a few still didn’t want to go. Isn’t that crazy? But believe me, when Glenn wants a woman out of his life, she’s gone. He has JJ to make sure of that.”
Lisa remembered what Glenn had said about JJ, after he’d been so abusive to the movers:
Well, that’s JJ, he gets the job done.
She frowned at Audrey. “What exactly does JJ do to these castoffs?”
Well, that’s JJ, he gets the job done.
She frowned at Audrey. “What exactly does JJ do to these castoffs?”
“I don’t know, and I don’t want to know. But once Glenn puts JJ in charge, the girls have always quietly moved away or they’re just no longer a problem.” Audrey gulped down the rest of her bourbon, draining her glass. She got up and poured another. “I thought things would be different with you, Lisa. I truly did. I mean, my God, he married you. I had good reason to be optimistic.” She sat down again and sighed. “You wouldn’t believe how sorry I was to get your call tonight… .”
Lisa set aside the bag of frozen peas for a moment. She studied her. “If it’s been going on as long as you say, how can you just sit by and let this happen?”
“He’s my brother. What do you expect me to do?”
“For starters, maybe some sort of family intervention?” she suggested.
“Not our family,” Audrey replied. “We’re all supposed to be perfect. We stick together, but we don’t acknowledge or discuss any of our problems.” She raised her glass as if making a toast, and gulped down some more bourbon.
“Well, I’m not going to sit by and let it happen to me. I’ll run away if I have to.”
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