Sue (10 page)

Dr. Camden waited until Sue’s
distress subsided and the girl had lifted her head. She pulled several tissues
from the box on her desk, and pushed them into Sue’s hands.

“Thanks,” Sue murmured. She wiped
her eyes, and blew her nose. Twisting in her seat, she tossed the ball of
crumpled tissues into the wastebasket. “I guess I needed a good cry, but it
really doesn’t change anything, does it?”

The doctor ignored her question.
“So, I’m curious, Sue. When you wanted to control Zeke, make him comply with
your wishes, how did you accomplish that?”

Sue looked at the doctor as if she
had lost her mind. “What?”

“How did you exert control over
Zeke?”

“I don’t understand what you’re
asking. I had absolutely no control over Zeke. He called all the shots. All of
them.” Sue’s expression changed from puzzlement to comprehension. “Oh, I get it
now. I think I can see what you’re doing.”

Dr. Camden raised a brow. “And what
is that?”

“You’re trying to make me admit
that it wasn’t my fault because I didn’t have the power to stop him.”

“That’s a good guess. Now let me
ask you something. Do you really want to take responsibility for the actions of
a criminal over whom you had no control?”

“I don’t want to, no.” Sue’s lip
trembled. “But what if I would’ve just refused to go along with his plan?
That’s what I should’ve done.”

“We’ll never know what might have happened.
But I’d venture a guess that Zeke would have had no problem at all putting you
out of commission and grabbing Brenda anyway.” She leaned forward, compelling
Sue to meet her steady gaze. “Individuals like Zeke are cowards. They stack the
deck in their favor, target vulnerable people. Brenda was vulnerable and so
were you.”

“Well, not anymore.” Sue’s
expression grew hard. She lowered her feet to the floor and straightened her
back. “In fact, I’m feeling stronger every day. I’m getting my head on right.”

“Good. I’m glad to hear it.”

As usual, Dr. Camden concluded
their appointment by shifting to a lighter topic and discussed a few entries
from Sue’s journal.

Chapter 15

After their first encounter, every time
Sue saw Mrs. Harrington at the club she grew distressed. Though the work itself
was going well, she was uncomfortable being anywhere
near
the woman. She also hated working evenings and imposing on Melvin to see her
safely to work and back home again. To top everything off, Martin had started
flirting with her. She knew it was only a matter of time before he’d ask her
out and she’d turn him down. Then their work relationship would be strained. He
wasn’t a bad-looking guy but she had no romantic interest in him.

Without saying anything to her
employer, Sue began submitting resumes every time she was online.

It was her day off and she was
taking a break from the computer when her cell phone rang. She didn’t recognize
the number.

“Hello.”

Silence.
No, not silence.
Breathing, but very
faint.
She gripped the phone. “Hello?”

“Is this Susie-Q?” a man’s voice
asked.

“Who is this?” Sue’s breath caught
in her throat. Zeke was the only one who had ever called her Susie-Q. “Who are
you? What do you want?”

“Chill out. I just want to see you,
is
all.
Be with you.”

“Oh my god.
Who
is
this?”

Without answering, the man
disconnected the call.

Sue’s heart pounded in her chest.
Zeke?
It didn’t sound like him but maybe he was
disguising his voice.
Fumbling with the phone, she brought up the last call
and started to press ‘send’. She paused as her finger hovered over the button.
What
if it is him and I spook him?
She stopped, pulled up
Google
on her phone, and did a reverse number look-up. Her hands shook so badly she
could barely type in the digits. The screen loaded with agonizing slowness.
Finally, the display gave her an answer. The call had come from a motel in
Jasper, a town twenty-five miles to the south. A town she and Zeke had passed
through on their road trip to hell.

Sue broke into goose bumps. Without
thinking, she grabbed her purse and keys, dashed to her car, and screeched out
of the driveway.
What will I say when I see him? What will he do? It’s too
soon for this! I’m not ready.
But, she drove anyway, careened onto the
highway, and sped toward Jasper like a soldier on a mission.

She barely looked over her shoulder
as she changed lanes, almost side-swiped a semi, and earned a loud blast from
the truck’s horn. Taking deep breaths, Sue forced herself to calm down and ease
off the gas.
It would have been better if I already had my gun and license.
This is crazy.

Memories flooded over her as she
traveled. Good ones.
Of breathless hours in Zeke’s arms, his
tender kisses, and magical touch.
Bad ones.
Of
Zeke’s trigger temper, his sexual perversions, and violence. She tried to
recall the voice on the phone. It hadn’t sounded like Zeke.
But I know it
was. I can feel it!

By the time she reached her
destination, she felt feverish, drenched in sweat. Locating the motel, she
pulled into the lot away from the office and watched. The area was dotted with
a few automobiles, but there was no burgundy van. She cursed herself. Of course
there was no van. The police had seized Zeke’s vehicle as evidence. He could be
driving any of these cars. He could be in any of these rooms. What would she do
when she saw him? Would she melt at the sight of his smile? Or would she shake
from terror like she had in their final moments together? Would he pull her
into his arms and tell her it had all been a horrible mistake, a sickness that
had gotten out of hand? Or would he pull a knife and plunge it deep into her
stomach? The scar on her side ached at the thought and she rubbed it
absentmindedly.

Sue got out of her car and treaded
lightly along the sidewalk in front of the units. She couldn’t just knock on
every door. How would she find him? Looking around the deserted parking lot,
she shivered. There wasn’t a soul in sight to come to her aid if anything
happened.

Realizing he could be watching her
from behind a curtain, she backed up, hurried to her car, locked the doors, and
started the engine. Hugging herself to keep from shaking, she stared through
the windshield at the long row of doors. Her hand went automatically to her
purse for her phone. It would take just seconds to dial 911. But she hesitated.
No, she wouldn’t, couldn’t, call the police.
They’d be
furious with her either way; angry if it wasn’t Zeke and she’d wasted their
time again, angrier that she’d driven down here alone to confront the situation.
She toyed with calling Melvin, or even Will, but changed her mind. She’d come
this far; she would see it through on her own.

Putting the car in gear, Sue pulled
up to the office. She grabbed her purse, got out of her car, and hurried
through the door of the building. Overhead a bell jangled, grating her nerves.
A small artificial Christmas tree that had seen better days leaned in one
corner of the lobby, decorated haphazardly with wads of tinsel and dull bulbs.
Behind the desk, a young woman looked up and smiled. “Can I help you?”

“I hope so.” Sue breathed slowly in
an attempt to remain calm. “I got a call from this number about an hour ago.
I’m trying to figure out who made the call.” She held the phone so the girl
could read the info.

“Well, I’m not sure. Let me check.”
The clerk turned away and made a few clicks on her keyboard. “Okay, I see that
a call went out from one of our rooms at that time.”

Sue clutched her purse tightly in
her hands. “Whose room is it?”

“I’m sorry, I can’t tell you that.”
She glanced behind her, through a doorway that led into the manager’s
residence. “I’m just watching the place while my uncle runs some errands. Let
me see if he’s back yet so he can talk to you.”

“No.” Sue made her tone reasonable.
“Look, I think it’s a friend of mine but I’m not sure. Can you tell me
anything
about the person in that room?”

“Well...I guess that would be okay.
He’s a tall guy, dark hair. Slender but well-built, you know?”

A cold chill traveled down Sue’s back.
“That sounds like my friend. Can you tell me what room he’s in?”

“I’m afraid not,” the girl hedged,
nervous now. Then she perked up. “But I can get him on the phone for you and
you can talk to him. Would that work?”

“That would be great. Thank you.” Sue’s
heartbeat sounded in her ears, but she tried to appear calm on the outside.

“I’ll get him on the line and then
transfer the call to the lobby phone. What’s your name?”

“Sue. Sue Cox.”

The clerk dialed a number. “Hello,
sir. This is the front desk clerk. There is a Sue Cox here in the lobby who
believes you tried to call her. She’d like to speak with you. Can I put her
on?”

She listened for a moment and then
said, “Please hold while I transfer you.” She pressed a button and the phone in
front of Sue rang. The girl nodded and Sue picked up the receiver.

“Hello.” Sue was in agony as she
waited to hear Zeke’s velvety voice, wondering how she would respond,
anticipating the visceral shock to her system.

“Hi, Sue. I can’t believe you came
down after the conversation we had.”

Sue deflated. The man who spoke was
not
Zeke. She could tell that for sure now. “Do I know you?”

At this, the girl behind the
counter gave Sue a strange look. Sue turned a bit, trying to carve out a small
bit of privacy.
The phone cord wrapped around her shoulder.

“Not yet. But we have a mutual
friend. He told me I should get in touch with you if I was ever in the area.
So, I thought, what the hell? I was just passing through and I figured I’d give
you a call.
Thought maybe we could hook up.”

“I need to talk to you.” Sue looked
out the picture window, past the motel sign, and spotted a crowded diner. “Meet
me at the cafe across the street. I’ll wait for you there.”

“Why don’t you just come to my
room?” he suggested. “It’s pretty cozy in here.”

“That’s not going to happen.” Then,
afraid he might back out, she added, “At least, not until I’ve met you.”

“Sounds
reasonable.
The cafe then.
How will I recognize
you?”

“I’m wearing a brown leather coat
and black jeans.”

“How about you just wait there in
the lobby and we can walk over together?”

“No!” Sue flushed, nerves snapping.
“We meet at the cafe or not at all.” Sue disconnected and ran from the
building, darting across the parking lot to her car. She didn’t want to give
the stranger a chance to catch her here.

Whipping across the street, Sue
parked and got out. She pushed through the outer cafe door only to find a
garland-festooned inner door. Ducking under a loose strand, she hurried to a
booth. Her emotions were in turmoil. Besides a strange disappointment, she
struggled with resentment, fear, and morbid curiosity. She fiddled with the
zipper of her coat, leaving it secured to the neck. Staring out the window, she
watched as a lean dark-haired man tugged at the lapels of a faded jean jacket
and looked both ways before crossing the street on long legs. She had no idea
who this guy was.

When the man slid into the seat
across from her, she studied him briefly. He was rough-looking, at least ten
years older than her, and not the most devout practitioner of hygiene. She
detected the stink of body odor mingled with stale tobacco smoke.

“Well, how do we get this thing
started?” he asked, a sly look on his face. He removed his jacket and laid it
on the seat beside him.

“What thing?”

A server with lighted Christmas
earrings dangling from each ear stopped by the table with pad and pencil in
hand, interrupting them. “Would you like to see menus?” she asked.

Sue was flustered. “I’ll have a
Pepsi, please.”

“Coffee for me,” said her
companion.

“Coming right
up.”
The waitress flipped her pad shut, jammed it into her apron pocket,
and spun on her heel.

Sue returned her gaze to the man.
“I want to know exactly how you got my number.” Up close, she could see the guy
had streaks of gray running through his hair and his jaw sported a growth of
short salt-and-pepper whiskers. Old-style indigo tattoos showed beneath the
cuffs and collar of his blue work shirt.

When he smiled, his grin revealed
the gap left by a missing eye-tooth. “Ian gave it to me. Said if I wanted a good
time, I should look you up. Thought we’d hit it off. And I have to say, you
are
a pretty little lady. Not what I was expecting at all. My name’s Harry, by the
way. Harry Reed.”

The server returned with their
drinks and left again.

Sue peeled away the paper and stuck
the straw in her glass. Her mind raced as she tried to decide which of her many
inquiries to address first. “Well, Harry, I have some questions.”

“Fire away.” He dumped sugar in his
cup and stirred. The spoon clinked against the glass side.

Sue stared at his fingers with
their scarred knuckles and the dark half-moons of grime wedged beneath his
nails. This was obviously some kind of mix-up. Forcing her gaze to his face,
she asked, “First of all, who is Ian?” She took a small drink of her soda.

“Guy I met in K.C.” He blew on his
coffee before taking a loud sip.
“Worked a few temporary jobs
with him unloading trucks.”

“What did he look like?”

“Well, let’s see.
Blond, ‘bout as tall as me, good-looking guy.”
He
scrutinized her, eyes narrowing. “But I’m starting to think he was pulling my
leg. You don’t come across as a party girl.”