The Burning Man (7 page)

"He's one of the most successful farmers in the county. Mancini wasn't divorced more than a month when he put a move on Donna Harmon, Jesse's daughter."

Geary drew on his cigarette and they walked on together in silence. Peter was not surprised that Geary was trashing Steve, especially after the way Mancini had shown him up in court. Geary never had a nice thing to say about anyone. Peter decided that Geary was just a sour old fart who, like his father, could not stand seeing a younger man succeed.

Peter's thoughts turned to Becky O'Shay. He wondered if she was seeing anyone. Peter had gone out with Rhonda Kates again. She was okay, but O'Shay was really interesting.

"The D.A. sure was bent out of shape when the judge swallowed Steve's argument," Peter said.

"Rebecca doesn't like to lose."

"How long has she been a prosecutor?"

Geary stopped in mid-stride and looked at Peter.

Then, he shook his head in disgust.

"I know exactly what you're thinking. Forget it."

"Forget what?" Peter asked innocently. Wearily, Geary shook his head again.

"That cute little thing has every young buck in three counties panting after her, but I'm going to give you some advice, which I assume you won't take. Stay.away from Rebecca O'Shay."

"What's wrong with her?"

"Did you see that Tom Cruise movie where he plays a vampire?"

"Interview with the Vampire?"

"That's the one."

"Sure. Great flick."

"Remember the little girl vampire?"

"Yes'

"Rebecca O'Shay was the model."

Chapter SIX.

His mouth was dry and he could barely breathe. She was so beautiful. He knew if he touched her she would be soft like a rabbit. He wanted to close his eyes and stop his ears to make time move faster, to bring her to the moment where she would take off her clothes, but he was afraid he would miss that moment if he shut his eyes.

He heard a sound on the path that went past the girls' dormitory. Instantly he was down, hidden by the bushes. Two girls passed, chatting about a boy one of them was dating. They giggled. When they were gone he rose up slowly, until his eyes were level with the sill.

Where was she? He could not see her. She was gone.

Please don't let her be gone, he prayed. Then the bathroom door opened and his heart stopped. Her jeans were off. She was holding them in her hand. Tossing them on the bed. Her legs were bare. He licked his lips and'undid his zipper. Please, please, he prayed.

She walked to the chest of drawers and took out a shorty nightgown. Suddenly, she remembered the window. She turned and only his quick reaction saved him from discovery. He heard the blinds go down. No, he screamed silently. It wasn't fair. He had been here so long, waiting forever, worshiping her while she studied.

Praying so hard to see her naked. And now this.

Suddenly, he noticed a wedge of light and adjusted his body. Praise God. There was a slit. A gap between the edge of the venetian blinds and the window ledge. He peeked into the room and was rewarded by a vision of a goddess with long blond hair.

She began unbuttoning her blouse slowly, as if she knew he was watching. Maybe she did know. Maybe this was for him. She would strip slowly, tantalizing him, then she would walk to the window, raise the blinds and ask him in.

He was hard now, working himself with his fingers as her blouse came off. Breasts, he thought. He could feel his body tensing as his excitement grew with each quickening stroke of his hand. The moment was now. She reached behind to unhook her bra. Now! He felt his body tremble. Now! His eyes shut tight, his teeth clenched in ecstasy as his back began to arch.

Then, a deep voice said, "Well, well. What have we got here?" and fear and shame engulfed him.

Rhonda Kates was dying to see the romantic comedy playing at the Whitaker Cinema, so she and Peter caught the early show then ate dinner at an Italian restaurant on Elm. Rhonda lived just on the other side of the campus near the hospital. It was a beautiful June evening and they walked the mile or so to the theater and back.

Rhonda had to get up early, so Peter only stayed for a while. Before he left, Peter promised to call, but he was not certain he would keep his promise. He liked Rhonda, but there was something about Becky O'Shay that fascinated him. In fact, Peter had called O'Shay ear that day, but she was in court and he lost his nerve her and called Rhonda instead. hat there was about Peter was starting to examine w Becky that attracted him when he heard a commotion.

A small crowd was watching two men struggle in the bushes under a window at the side of the women's dormitory. Peter pushed his way to the front of the crowd a ey Loudhawk, the campus se and s'w Jeffr curity guard who had testified at the preliminary hearing, wrestling with a man who was thrashing around and wailing incoi -pitched, keening sound from herently. The high the captive was eerie and unsettling. Then Loudhawk jerked the man around and Peter recognized Gary Harmon.

"What's going on?" Peter asked just as Gary made it halfway to his knees. Loudhawk was a large, muscular man, but it took all his strength to bring Gary back down to the ground.

"Gary, don't fight. You'll only get hurt," Peter said.

Gary turned his head toward Peter's voice as soon as he heard his name.

t'i'm Steve Mancini's friend, Peter Hale," Peter told Gary.

Gary stared at Peter, wide-eyed. He looked terrified.

"You know this guy?" Loudhawk gasped, grate U that Gary had stopped struggling.

"He's Gary Harmon. I met him through a friend.

What did he do?"

"I caught him peeping in a girl's room."

"Don't tell Mama," Gary pleaded, his voice rising.

"You're Jeffrey Loudhawk, right?" Peter asked.

"How'd you know my name?"

"I work with Amos Geary. I heard you testify at that prelim the other day.

The drug bust."

"Riglic, "I don't suppose you could cut Gary any slack? He's retarded. I'm sure he didn't mean anything by what he did.C'It's not my call. I radioed for backup before I orrested him. You'll have to work it out with the Whitaker Police."

"Could you wait to write this up until I talk to them?

Gary is working at the college. If you report him, it will proably cost him his job."

"It should," Loudhawk answered indignantly.

"Well, yeah. Normally. But he seemed real slow when I was with him. Like a kid. I mean, listen to him now.All during their conversation, Gary had been weeping and moaning. Loudhawk took a hard look at his prisoner. Then, he said, "Okay. I'll wait to see what the police say."

"Thanks. Thanks a lot."

Peter rushed home then drove to the police station while the police transported Gary. Peter knew he had to tell someone what had happened, but the way Gary was carrying on he knew he couldn't tell Gary's parents or his sister. It was almost twelve, so he decided not to call Steve Mancini right away. Peter figured he would wait at the station until he knew what was going to happen to Gary. If the police let him out, Peter would drive Gary home, then tell Steve what happened in the morning.

When Peter arrived at police headquarters, Gary was being interrogated. Peter told the officer at the desk that he was Gary's lawyer. A few minutes later, an officer escorted Peter to the back of the building. The door to the interrogation room was opened by Sergeant Dennis Downes, a jovial, thirty-four-year-old, who wore his hair in a crew cut. Downes, an avid outdoorsman, had moved to Oregon four years before for the hunting and fishing. He was roly-poly, which made some people believe he was soft, and he always smiled, which led some people to think he was dumb. Downes did not try to dispel either impression. As a policeman, he found it was an advantage to have people underestimate him.

The interrogation room was covered with white acoustic tile and the only furniture in it was a long wooden table and a few straight-backed chairs. A large, two-way mirror covered a section of one wall. Gary Harmon was seated at the table across from a uniformed officer. He had a Coke and a half-eaten hamburger in front of him, but he did not look hungry. Peter could not remember ever seeing anyone who looked so ashamed.

Downes dismissed the other officer. When the door closed! Downes asked, "Just what is your interest in this, Mr. Hale?"

I'm a friend of Steve Mancini. We went to law school together. Steve is engaged to Gary's sister. He introduced me to Donna and Gary. I just happened to be on campus when Gary was arrested and I recognized him."

"Well, Gary here is damn lucky he has you as a friend." Gary hung his head. "I should throw the book at him, but I'm gonna let him go."

"That's awfully nice of you, Sergeant."

"Gary's folks are well respected. I don't know 'em that well, but I sure don't want to embarrass them."

Downes turned his attention to Gary. "And you shouldn't either. You hear me?"

"Yes, sit, Sergeant Downes, I'm real sorry." Gary's eyes watered. "I'll never, never do that again," he said, wagging his head back and forth for emphasis. "I promise I'll be good."

"Your promise doesn't mean anything to me, Gary.

It's what you do that counts. Think of what this would do to your folks if they found out."

Gary looked alarmed. "You won't tell em, will you?"

C, if I should, but I won't. How would your mother feel she learned you were creeping around the girls' dorm like some sex pervert?"

Gary started to cry.

"That baby stuff won't solve anything."

Gary wiped his forearm across his eyes and sniffled.

Downes turned to Peter.

"You better -have a talk with this boy. If this happens again, he'll be seeing the inside of a cell."

The front door of Gary's tiny cottage opened into a small living room. To the left was a narrow kitchen. A yellow, Formica-topped table was next to the stove and served as a dining area. A short hall led off the living room to the rear of the house. The bathroom was on the left side of the hall and the bedroom was across from it on the right. The beauty of the house was that it was small enough for Gary to take care of and it was within walking distance of the college.

Gary opened the front door and turned on the living room lights. The room was neat. He cleaned it every day, just like it said on the "To Do" list his mother had taped to the refrigerator door.

"You want a Coke?" Gary asked, the way his mother had taught him.

"Sure," Peter answered as he surveyed the room. On the walls were a seascape and a farm scene Donna had picked out. There was a sofa against the wall that faced the front window, two armchairs, an end table by the sofa, a standing lamp and a television.

Peter heard the refrigerator door open. He wandered down the hall to Gary's bedroom. Pictures of Stallion players and Stallion banners and posters covered the walls. Gary smiled when he saw Peter looking at pictures of the football team.

"We're going all the way this year," Gary said as he handed Peter the soft drink.

Peter sat on the bed. This room was also neat. Peter found the "To Do" list taped to the closet door.

"Your mom write that up?" Peter asked, pointing to the list.

"Yeah. Mama didn't want me to forget nothing important."

Gary suddenly thought of something.

"Are you gonna tell my mom what I done?"

Gary seemed pretty contrite. It looked as though Downes had done a good job of scaring the hell out of him. Sometimes, with a kid, that's all you needed to set him straight, and Gary acted more like a little kid than an adult.

"I should tell your folks, but I'm not going to."

"Thank you."

Peter took a sip of his drink. Gary did the same.

"You sure fucked up tonight. What were you doing looking in that girl's window?"

Gary hung his head and mumbled, "I don't know."

"How would you feel if you found some guy peeping in your sister's window?"

Gary did not answer.

"You wouldn't want that, would you?"

"No."

"You have to think about things like that."

"I will, honest. I ain't never gonna do that bad thing again."

"You better not."

They sat in silence for a moment while Peter drank his Coke.

"Do you date?"

Gary shook his head sadly. "I can't get no girls to like me that way."

"Hey, don't run yourself down. You're a good-looking guy."

"I'm dumb. When the girls find out they don't want to be with me."

Now it was Peter's turn to be embarrassed. He felt sorry for Gary.

"Any girl that doesn't want to be with you because you're not smart isn't worth being with. And you shouldn't be ashamed of your intelligence. Being smart is just luck. And being smart doesn't mean you're nice.

"Now, stop feeling sorry for yourself. You'll find the right girl some day.

Meanwhile, you can't go around doing what you did tonight. Do you understand that? If Sergeant Downes wasn't such an okay guy, you'd be in jail and your picture would be all over the front page of the newspaper. The next time you get the urge to do something bad, think of how your folks and your sister would feel if everyone in Whitaker found out about it."

Peter stood up and put his empty can on Gary's dresser.

"I'm going now. We both have work in the morning and we need our sleep. Do I have your word that this won't happen again?"

"Never. I swear."

After Peter drove away, Gary carried the soda cans into the kitchen and put them in the garbage. He checked the "To Do" list and was pleased to see he had done everything he was supposed to. Then, he locked the doors and turned out all the lights.

Gary changed into his pajamas, said his prayers and went to bed. He thought he would fall asleep right away because he was exhausted from the night's excitement, but as soon as he closed his eyes he saw the blond girl from the dorm in her bra and panties.

Gary opened his eyes quickly. He didn't want to see that girl. That was bad. But sure enough, when he closed his eyes again, there she was. To make matters worse, his penis was getting hard. Gary opened his eyes again.