Convictions: Kelly and Stephen (16 page)

“Is this a joke?” she asked.

“No Kelly, it’s no joke.  Stephen doesn’t deserve a woman like you, he never did.  But I do.  And now with Stephen out of the way, probably going to jail for life thanks to you, I’m claiming you for myself.”

“Ok Marv, you can untie me now.  I don’t understand what’s going on here but it’s not funny.”

She had regained consciousness and her head was pounding.  She tried to shield her eyes from the sun light but found that she couldn’t move her arms.  Taking in the room she found that she was lying in a full sized bed, her bound hands were tied to the headboard railing above her head, and her feet were bound together with what looked to be duct tape.  She had been looking around the room for a way out when she spotted Marv, standing at the end of the bed, watching her intently.

“Kelly, I’m deadly serious.  If you just give it a chance you’ll come to love me, or at least accept me.  That’s all I ask.  I can make you happy.   But you really don’t have a choice.”

“Marv, that’s not going to happen, now let me go immediately.  You won’t get away with this.”

“You’re not going anywhere, Kelly.  But I’ll give you a bit more time alone to contemplate your new living arrangements.  When you finally conclude that there’s no other way you will come around.  It will be easier for you if you don’t fight me.  But if you do then that’s ok too.” his smile was leering “I’m a lot stronger than I look.”  He stepped out of the room, closing the bedroom door behind him. 

Kelly struggled at the bindings for a while but soon realized that they were secure.  She must be in a bad dream and willed herself to wake up.  How was this possible?  Stephen had warned her but she hadn’t taken him seriously.  She was a strong young woman and Marv was a weak old man, or at least she had thought he was weak.  What could this old man possibly do to her?  The answers that immediately populated her brain were too unimaginable so she quickly dismissed them.

She lay there for what seemed like a very long time contemplating her situation, and her options.  With Stephen gone, and possibly in jail, there was no one to find her missing, no one to call the police or start a search.  Whatever she was going to do to get out of this, she was going to have to do on her own which meant that she would have to use her head, be smart.  She might end up having to do things that were repulsive but whatever it took to escape she would do.  

He returned to the room startling her out of her planning.  She summoned all of her inner will power and said “oh good, you came back.  I was hoping you would.  I was getting lonely.”

He stood by the bed and stared down at her.  She couldn’t help but notice that he somehow looked different, younger than she remembered.  His hair was less gray and he was standing straighter, he appeared taller.  She hoped that her mind wasn’t playing tricks on her.  She would need all of her faculties if she were going to get out of this mess. 

He smiled “I know what you’re thinking.  It’s remarkable isn’t it?  I’m not really the old geezer you thought I was but it helped to play the part for you.  It made it easier for you to ignore Stephen’s warnings about me if you found me to be harmless, old and weak.”

“Actually,” she said while studying his face “I bet you were even better looking than Stephen when you were younger.”

She watched him, trying to anticipate his next move.  He continued to stare down at her, flashing her with that awkward smile, as if he were trying to determine whether or not she was serious. 

His eyes ran the length of her body, appraising her “You sure are a pretty little thing, petite like Amanda.” As he said the words he ran a finger down the inside of one of her calves.  Kelly tried hard not to gag.  “Not as pretty as Amanda mind you, she was exquisite.  That’s why I had picked her out for myself.  She was just a little thing, about nine or ten when I made up my mind to marry her one day.”

At the look on Kelly’s face he laughed and continued “oh no, I’m not a pedophile or anything like that.  I like young women for sure but they have to be of age and consensual, or at least eventually consensual.  No, I was willing to wait, and I did wait, until she was a proper adult.  And what a beautiful young woman she grew into.  He breasts were perfectly proportioned to her body, and her ass was exquisite.  I could barely contain myself waiting for the day when I could grab that ass and thrust myself into her.” 

His face suddenly went dark “but then that spoiled rotten nephew of mine figured that just because he and Amanda had grown up together, been best friends since kindergarten, that she should belong to him instead.”

Kelly tried not to vomit as his fingers continue tracing circles on her leg.  She prayed that it would go no further.  For now he seemed content on reliving his story.

“When Amanda was twenty-two I finally declared my intentions for her.  She was polite.  That’s just the kind of girl she was, polite.  She was raised right and she was a good girl.  She had good manners so she would never have laughed in my face, but I could tell she wasn’t agreeable to the idea.”

His eyes were fixed on some distant spot in the room as he continued “she politely told me that she had already declared to Stephen her love for him, and he for her.  Just as nice as could be she explained that as soon as she and Stephen had finished their education, and secured jobs, they would be announcing their plans to marry.  I felt sorry for the girl.  After all, if Stephen really loved her why would he make her wait?  But I wasn’t going to push the issue then.  I did not want to scare her off.  Sometimes you catch more bees with honey, and that’s just what I intended to do with Amanda.  I knew that I was the better match for her.  She would find that out all in good time.  What could Stephen possibly do for her; he was just a kid.  There are things I know, things I can do to bring real pleasure to a woman.  She would learn that all in good time.” 

He stopped for a moment, looked down at Kelly and licked his lips.  Horrified, she thought that she detected a slight erection.  “You’ll soon find that out for yourself my dear.” 

But the need to explain his side of the story ran deep.  Who knew when, if ever, he had told anyone about what happened to Amanda.  Kelly guessed that if he ever had told anyone the truth, whoever he told was most likely no longer alive.

“But I’m a patient man.  I would win her over the old fashioned way, with grace and time.  And in the meantime I fulfilled my needs through the pleasures of other young women.  There were plenty of willing and able bodies back then.”  He paused for a moment, as if remembering the experiences.

When he continued, his voice was less whimsical than it had been, taking on a deadly serious tone.  “One day, many months later, Stephen got his job offer.  The next week they had the grand engagement announcement in the paper.  By then I knew she was just going through the motions; it was just for show.  I could tell by the way she ignored me at family get-togethers that I was the man she really preferred but the poor thing was too embarrassed to admit it to Stephen, or even to herself.  But I knew that she knew that she had made a mistake. 

And then of course there was her mother and father.  Like any good parents they wanted their daughter to make a good match.  Because of my age they didn’t find me suitable but I know that they would have eventually come around.  Especially when the saw how happy I could make her. 

I called her house several times to see her.  She never answered, it was always one of her parents telling me that she wasn’t home, or was busy.  I bided my time.  One day I was parked on the street, watching their driveway and I saw her putting her climbing gear in the trunk of her car.  She loved to climb and hike.  It was her only true passion.  She rarely went with anyone else, preferring instead the isolation.  I followed her to the park.  I knew just where she would go.  When she set off down the trail I hurried to catch up with her.  

She was polite, at first.  And then she was rude.  All that good grace she was raised with fell away.  I begged her to call off her wedding, to marry me instead.  She called me a crazy old man.  She told me that she wouldn’t marry me if I was the last man on earth.  She told me I was nuts and that she found me repulsive.  And then she told me that she couldn’t marry me because she was pregnant with Stephen’s child.”  His voice had been low and angry as he forced the last four words out.

Kelly was stunned by this news.  The detective in Springfield had never mentioned this.  Stephen had never mentioned it but then they had not yet talked about Amanda.  Maybe he didn’t even know about her pregnancy.  One thought crossed her mind, if Stephen had known, and if he had heard this story the way Marv was telling it to her, he would have surely killed him with bare hands.  And no jury on earth would have convicted him for it.

“I was enraged.  She was supposed to be pure, saving herself only for me.  Had I known that she would let my nephew defile her, take her innocence, well, to be sure I would have taken my pleasure of her a long time before.  She was just a slut after all and I would have used her as one. 

She was standing there yelling at me, cursing me out with her back to the ledge overlooking Magee’s point.  I no longer had any use for her.  There was only one thing left for me to do, one way to fix everything; I pushed her with all the pent up anger I had.  And when she didn’t immediately fall, I pushed her again.  She cried out for me to stop but the second time I pushed her she lost her balance and disappeared over the edge.”  For a few more moments he continued staring at the distant point, seemingly reliving the moment that she fell.

When Marv glanced down at Kelly, this time that faraway look was gone.  He was back in the moment.  “And now that is all water under bridge.  Amanda is gone but you are here and we, you and I, are about to start a new chapter together.  You might not be as young as the girls I normally spend time with, but you will make a fine addition to my home anyway.”  His hand moved higher, now caressing her thigh.  Kelly tried to hold back the bile that was forcing its way up her throat.

“I can’t wait for you Marv but first tell me please about Stephen’s dad.  Why did you kill him?”

Marv smiled and studying that far away point again, said “Oh that?  Well, he found out about me and Amanda.   It was completely my fault but I couldn’t let him live to tell Stephen.  Stephen was already suspicious but he didn’t have any proof.  You see, Stephen Sr. pulled in my driveway with a flat.  He asked if he could borrow the tire iron from my trunk to change his tire.  I said yes, of course and told him to help himself and I went back into my house.  I screwed up because I forgot that I had stashed Amanda’s windbreaker in the trunk.  When she had left her house in the morning that I killed her she was wearing a yellow windbreaker.  He parents must have told the police that.  But it warmed up and when we were walking the trail she took it off.  After I pushed her over the edge, I grabbed the jacket and took it with me.  It was something that smelled like her, something of hers I could hang onto.  I stashed it in the trunk of my car.  But taking it was a mistake because when the police found her body she wasn’t wearing it.  They searched her car and the park but could find no trace of it.  I had decided to burn it out back that night, but Stephen’s father found it first.  He called Stephen right away.  I overheard him tell Stephen that he had found some evidence linking me to Amanda’s death but he didn’t want to talk about it over the phone.  That he’d be right over.  He didn’t know I had come back outside and could hear him.

It was my mistake but I took care of it, and him.  I hid in the bushes just before the curve on highway nine.  I knew exactly which way he would go.  Stephen Sr. was a creature of habit, never altered his routines for any reason.  He would always take the scenic, slower way.  I waited for him to drive by and then shot out his front tire.  The car went airborne, and flipped twice before crashing into the telephone poll off the street near the curve.  I made sure he was dead alright, I lit a flame near the gas that was leaking out of his car.  It exploded and he and the jacket with it.  And then I went home, packed up, and left town.  Never to be seen in Springfield again.  It took me several years to finally land here in Hanlon.  I had to find just the right place, where a person who didn’t want to be found could comfortably live.”

It was a moment before he pulled his mind away from the images only he was seeing.  Kelly couldn’t believe that so much evil could exist in one heart.

“Now, where were we?  Enough distractions; I promise that after I am done you will be begging for more so please, no more questions.”

“I’m begging already” she said as his hands reached for her jeans, unbuttoning top button.  When he located the zipper she asked “wouldn’t this be more enjoyable if my legs were untied?”

He smiled at her “it would very much be but how do I know if I can trust you yet?  Besides it can be exciting for you being tied up.  My sweet little Jackie loved it when I tied her up.  She was such a quiet little thing but when you got her in a bedroom she’d unleash her inner demons.”

“Jackie?”  Kelly asked, unbelieving of what she was hearing.

“Yes, the Jensen girl, the blond.  No one but me ever knew what she was really like.  We had some great times together her and me.  Turns out she preferred older, shall we say more experienced men, over those groping young men in Hanlon.  She’d let me do things to her that most women hated.  Not Jackie, she took it all and more.  It’s just a shame she had to go and get herself pregnant.  Can you imagine what her family would have said if they had found out about her and me?  No, it was better to take care of that little mess.  No one’s the wiser.  She always had such a forlorn look about her that I didn’t think anyone would think twice about a suicide.