2 Maid in the Shade (34 page)

“
We were confidantes once; I know how you feel about guns in the home.”

“But I’m quite a good shot.”

“I remember, we discussed it. You shoot skeet, I don’t think you do it from your balcony am I right?” He smiled, “I’ve made quite the study of you.”

“And Christopher
? Where does he fit in?”

“
He just thought I was hiding assignations with willing women. He was desperate to get that job so…even when things didn’t add up it wasn’t in his best interest to look at the numbers.”

I gave him a skeptical look.
“And do you really believe you can take me down with just that knife?”

“It’s all I’ve ever needed in the past
; despite what you’ve been told, you are not that special Gretchen.”

“I’m not drugged or drunk tonight either,” I smiled
, hiding the fact that my brain was exploding with ideas, worries and so many plans it felt like a vat of popping corn. I started to back slowly toward my room. Was the screen on the window? How fast could I open it and get him away from Mona?  Would that limb let me down?

As I backed away Hugh took one step forward.
I backed up another step. He paused when I did, enjoying the game of cat and mouse. But his arrogant form of entertainment bought me time to think. Once I got the screen off my window I just had to make the leap. I must survive that at a minimum. Because how miserable would that be, to have reporters trying to sell the story that I had committed suicide, leaving Hugh to destroy more young women’s lives? But the jump was not that far; it all depended on the landing. I was suddenly certain I would make it. If there is one thing I had learned in this free fall of a life of mine, it was how to land.

“I hope you plan to hide,
” Hugh saying, interrupting my thoughts with a tone of sheer delight. “Although you know me, I’ve done my due diligence. I did check out the house pretty well when I gave you my little bathtub warning. I knew you’d relax eventually, but this has been so sudden, from shacking up with a deputy to having an old lady snoring in a guestroom and all in a matter of days. That was always your Achilles heel, Gretchen; overconfidence. The old woman’s going to have to go of course, but plenty of time for that. Try not to worry about her; I’ll get no satisfaction from a necessity kill: Her death will be quick.”

“You mi
ght not need to kill her at all; she takes so many heavy medications at night she’s practically in a coma.”

“
Like I said, be a sport and I won’t do a thing about her.”

“So
,” I said, taking another step back, “you actually think you are going to rape me again then take my eyes? That’s not happening Hugh.”

“It’s fate. When you dropped that mug in Dallas’s office I knew it would click eventually and let’s be honest; you were meant to die violently. It was always going to end this way. You’re a victim, the ultimate victim. You proved that recently without any help from me.”

He
laughed ruefully, “I was almost jealous I couldn’t be involved in that recent brush you had with death. But then I got all the details I could, and realized everything that happened to you, all your fresh terror? It must have been so amplified from your experience with me.” He bowed lightly then made a moue of disappointment as I remained silent. “No applause from the peanut gallery?

I have
been a little more active lately,” he continued. “I chalk it up to frustration over you turning up too often downtown. That should be assuaged tonight. After a decent interval maybe I’ll transfer to our London branch. Fresh hunting grounds. Of course, my first stop will be to offer condolences to your stepmother.” Hugh grinned. “She won’t mourn you for long.”

I
grasped the railing, leaned forward and offered him a mischievous smile. “You’re baiting me. Wasting time. I’m curious; didn’t you have a goal here? You weren’t much but I do recall you being efficient.”

“
Oh, but the best part is the foreplay. I’ve been cheated of the whole gamut of personalities and stages that give me the real rush. There are the sycophants, beggars, bribers, negotiators. I missed that with us, I miss us.”

“
Oh, my God, that is so sweet. But couldn’t you have just said it with flowers?”

“You always made me laugh Gretchen. But I’ll concede that point. We should get on with things. I have a big day tomorrow.
”

“I guess rape doesn’t pay all that well,” I commiserated.

“No, but as far as start up costs go, there isn’t a cheaper hobby.”

“You could take up jogging, blog, cook for your family
.”

“Oh
, but where is the fear and horror in that?”

“Dunno, how bad of a cook are you
?”

A
s he started to chuckle I looked down and over his shoulder, gesturing with a barely subtle expression that I was conveying something to someone behind Hugh.

I
n the time it took for him to turn and check I had disappeared from the hallway. The creaking wood stairs gave away his methodical progress. I tried to block out the sound, concentrating on my next move. Everything depended on my not panicking. I backed up until I heard him take another step, then turned and ran to my room.

T
he window was open; I fumbled with the screen and pushed. It fell easily to the ground below. Climbing up was out of the question because of the tin roof. I heard Hugh’s footfalls behind me. The branch Jared had advised me to trim was spindly. Hugh laughed “Jump Gretchen, you always seem to make things easy for me in the end.”

I
felt him rushing towards me. I jumped. And missed. But since I hadn’t had much confidence in the closest limb I was aiming ultimately for the trunk. I was falling anyway, reaching and falling until it seemed there could be no tree left. My back hit a limb and I recognized my last chance for what it was.

I
t paused my descent just enough to slow the momentum and for me to roll and catch it for a second just as the branch broke.

I
was up again before I hit the ground, scrambling through fresh fallen leaves. I heard Hugh, already downstairs trying the back door which thankfully was locked and required a separate key, I froze for a second. If it had only been me I would have run like hell for Leslie’s house. I couldn’t leave Mona. With the back door locked, Hugh would come out the front. That was the way I needed to get in, but the last thing I wanted was to run smack into him—and his knife. Was he headed right or left? The smartest thing he could do would be to pull me back inside by taking Mona.

O
ver the sound of my panting I heard a tapping noise. I took my hands off my knees and raised my head. Mona stood at her bedroom window; she raised it carefully and motioned me in. I dove through fast and my head hit the floorboard. Mona shoved me towards the closet and dazed and confused I obeyed as she lowered the window so that it was almost closed. “Gimme that bag honey,” she said crawling back across bed and under the covers. I felt around the closet floor grabbed a pouch and tossed it out to her. I listened to her fumbling with something. There was no way in hell I could close the closet door like a present for Hugh to unwrap. Within seconds Mona was snoring again. “Dear God,” I thought, “please do not let those snores be real.”

H
ugh was back inside the house, I heard his steps hesitate for a moment then he headed purposely for the bedroom. He looked at Mona then at the window which she had left slightly open. He raised it up and stuck his head out. “Gretchen!” He yelled. “You cold bitch, I’m going to kill this old lady if you don’t show up in five seconds.” He must have heard something, a deer probably, and he leaned out a little further. As soon as he started to call out into the night once more I rushed at the old window and slammed it onto his back. Glass shattered and he went limp for just a second before he hunched his back to raise the window off of him and turned. I was in the closet again with no idea if he knew I was in there.

He
walked into the hallway “Fine,” he called, “the old woman gets it first.” He started whistling again, clearly for effect and it was working. I was almost paralyzed with fear. Almost. A big part of me just wanted to stop fighting, but I had given up easily once before and a lot of girls had fought and lost to Hugh since then. I owed them something. I owed Mona. I owed myself.

I
could see him through the crack between the closet door hinges as he walked over to the bed and looked under it. When he straightened up I heard a click, “Do not,” Mona said, “call me an old woman.”

I
stepped out of the closet as he backed away from Mona. “I apologize” he said feebly.

“Not accepted,” Mona replied, and fired.

Facebook Post: Me to unwelcome visitor: “What did the woman say to the cowardly asshole?” Him: “What?” Me: “Hang on, I’m still thinking.”

Chapter
26

M
ona thought we should have a cup of coffee before calling the authorities while Hugh screamed in misery. She had shot him in the groin, and made no bones about the fact the target hadn’t been a happy accident. I silently hoped they wouldn’t be able to patch him up very well.

“
You’re screaming like a little girl!” Mona yelled at him. She looked down at Hugh dispassionately and took a bite of an apple as he writhed on the floor. She chewed and swallowed before continuing. “It’s understandable, that’s pretty much all you are now. Wherever you end up I’m going to keep tabs on your bunkmates. Maybe make a little donation to the commissary accounts of the ones who show you the most unwelcome attention.”

She looked back at me and winked. “I got some friends in low places.”

“I have no doubt,” I said absently, fighting a surge of nausea as the sound of sirens began to scream their way to my house. I wondered if the SkyHaven board would call a special meeting to have me ousted as a nuisance. I really couldn’t blame them if they did. This peaceful wildlife sanctuary had been disturbed more than once by my presence here.

I called Harlan immediately after dialing 911 and he was already on his way personally
along with the Mecklenburg police, deputies from both counties and a couple of men in suits who Mona claimed were “G-men”. All the vehicles seemed to arrive at once except Jared’s. He was there in minutes and first through the door, taking the three wooden steps in one stride.

He hugged me hard until I finally had to break free
. I patted him on the shoulder. “We’re fine,” I said “everything is fine, but how did you get here so fast?”

His face reddened.
“I volunteered for neighborhood patrol tonight. I didn’t mention it because I figured you wouldn’t be happy about that.  I found a BMW parked in the woods over there at the second lake, I was just calling in the tag when I heard the dispatch call come through.”

Then he stepped into the guest room for a moment and closed the door behind him. Mona rushed over and pressed her ear to it and smiled with satisfaction. As soon as the emergency responders came through I gave the door a sharp rap and he emerged looking grim.

“Do I want to know what went on in there?” I asked Mona.

She cackled and shook her head.

J
ared made sure a deputy got Mona home once she gave her statement and she paused to grant an impromptu news interview. After I gave my own official statement I was told I would probably be called in to repeat it, and to various enforcement entities. Evidently there was a jurisdictional battle going on in my den but Harlan and Bud teamed up on the side of getting me out of “this bloody damn circus” as Harlan referred to it. I was hustled out the back and Jared took me to his place. Rod took Mosey out the front which distracted the reporters and onlookers as they waited for me to emerge.

“Rod and Lucy are keeping Mosey overnight,” Jared explained, “Lucy wanted custody of you too but I convinced her it would be too overwhelming for the kids. Besides, I can lock the gate to my driveway and it actually means something out here.”  

“I just washed those sheets,” he grumbled as he guided me under the covers. 

“
You’re beginning to sound like Betty complaining to Lucy,” I smiled, before slipping into a deep and dreamless sleep. 

W
hen I awoke I was in his room and it was late for me, just after ten in the morning. I stretched with a slight wince and yawned before I turned to see him watching me. He was lying on his side, his chin propped in one hand.

I
smiled, “Sorry, bad dreams again?”

He nodded, “Yep, a real case of night terrors.” 

“
I am so sorry,” I said, “but I have a feeling they might go away soon.”

“
Oh, you? You were fine. I’m the one who kept waking up from nightmares
about
you.”

I
arched my eyebrows. “You’re joking right? I had no nightmares?”

He
shook his head, “None with sound effects.”

“
But you had them?”

“Yep, different ones, about you being attacked, threatened and chased by criminals.”

“So basically you were just enjoying a walk down memory lane.”

“Yeah but I had a dream too;
that I was sleeping beside you. When I woke up you weren’t here and I panicked. I thought, “Damn, even when she’s safe this girl keeps me up at night. So I came and got you so I could get some peace. I moved your stuff into my bathroom.”

“Glad I could be of service,” I grinned, “only fair.”

“But then I still couldn’t sleep.”

“Was I stealing your covers? Snoring
? Mona has this special pillow for that.”

“
Oh, you mean her shotgun pillow.”

“You have got to be kidding me!”

“I’m not; it’s one of her many less successful inventions. She calls it the “Gun Cozy,” but she is quite proud of it, even plugged it on the news last night.”

I
covered my face with my pillow and groaned. “Do I even want to know what she had to say?"

“Oh,
that you diverted the killer from her by taunting him, leading him upstairs and jumping out the window, then she pulled you back inside, you disabled him when he came in her room by rushing out and slamming the window on him. You tossed her the bullets and she loaded the gun and when he came back she shot him.”

“Yep,
” I nodded, impressed that our night could be retold so succinctly when it seemed it had lasted forever. “But that makes us sound like a well-oiled machine. It was a hot mess. “Mona, wow, she saved my life,” I said in wonder.

“The way she tells it you saved each other, there was no way he could have caught you
if you’d kept going, but you came back for her.”

“Now that’s just silly.”
I said. “I was brought up take care of my houseguests.”

He
laughed, “I bet your mother meant “see they have blankets and towels and make them a nice breakfast. You are only capable of a couple of those things but I guess making sure they aren’t murdered in their beds kind of makes up for the rest.”

“Second worst compliment I’ve ever had.
”

“Well, unless you plan to give interviews,
Mona’s version is the way the story stands. Oh, there is also an earlier national headline “Victim calls reporter shameless.” That one is fun; for lack of anything better to do they interviewed Mike Kolder’s mom about his ambush at Bunburry’s. That came out probably about the time you were heading off to bed at your place. Mrs. Kolder said “I am usually proud of my son; today is not one of those days.”

By
the way, no one knows where you are,” he added darkly.

“That isn’t funny, next
time you’re seeing a woman who has been pursued by a killer you might work on your romantic gestures and compliments.”

“Yeah,
” he said, “it’s a learning curve; this is all virgin territory to me, pursuing a woman who is more hotly pursued than I am.”

“You are
so conceited.”

“
Wait; back up, so we’re seeing each other?”

I
drew off my top and flung it on the floor before I headed to his bathroom to brush my teeth; I left the door open.

“You see me now don’t you
?”

“Does this mean you’ve made a decision
?” He called from the bed.

“Nope, and I guess you are just going to have to make your peace with
that.” I turned on the shower and with my back to him I slipped out of my thong and stretched languorously before stepping in.

“Then my ultimatum stands,” he said
weakly.

“Wise decision!” I called back as I lathered up. “Just friends!”

The shower door opened and he stepped in. I flung my wet hair away from my face and gave him a smug look. 

“Friends support each other’s causes,” he shrugged,
“Lucy tells me you are all about water conservation.”

{END}