Illusion of Luck (22 page)

Rebecca tried to hide her
smile. “No…not unless you
mean
it.”

“
Well, of course I mean
it.”

“
Great. Then how about
picking me up Friday night at 7:00?”

“
Fine.”

“
Well, alright then. I’m
glad that’s settled.”

“
Me too, ‘cause I’m sick of
talking about it.”

“
Not as sick as
I
am.”

They looked at each other with stern faces
for one second, and then started laughing.

**********

Even though Crow and Chaucey had been up
until 1:00 AM talking, he woke up at 7:00. The couch had not been
nearly as comfortable as his bed. But he’d been happy to give it up
for his sweet Chaucey.

She had left the bedroom door open, so he
peeked in to check on her, and saw that she was still sleeping. He
tiptoed in to get a closer look.

She is such a beautiful woman, he thought,
as he stood next to the bed. He wanted to protect her, as though he
was the father and she was the young daughter.

He leaned over and studied her lovely face
and her long, dark, silky hair. As he explored every smooth curve
of her face, each eyelash, and her full lips, he was overwhelmed
with the desire to kiss her. But he knew it would be improper, so
he restrained himself.

He quietly turned and walked out of the
room.

She heard him leave, but still didn’t open
her eyes. She was in the middle of some serious soul searching.

Chaucey had always been critical of
beautiful women who would only date men of equal or greater
attractiveness. In high school, all the best-looking guys asked her
out. But she soon learned to turn them down. She didn’t appreciate
them showing her off like a new car.

Not that average-looking boys didn’t
sometimes do the same thing. For the most part, though, those guys
were afraid to even talk to her. The way they saw it, she was not
just out of their league, she was a completely different
species.

So, she started being the initiator. The
first time she tried was the most memorable. She walked up to a
classmate who was getting books out of his locker. “Hey,
Johnny.”

When he turned around and saw who was
talking to him, he dropped three of his books. One of them landed
on his big toe, causing him to hop for a couple of seconds.
“Oh…hi.”

“
I’m Chaucey Reed and I sit
across from you in Algebra class.”

“
Uh, yeah.”

“
Well, I was just wondering
if you’d like to take me to the movies on Friday night.”

Judging by his reaction, she was pretty sure
he had just squirted a little pee in his briefs.

“
Uh…”

“
Great. Pick me up at 6:00.”
As she walked away, she spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear,
“Can’t wait ‘til Friday night, Johnny.”

The date had been okay, but nothing special.
Nevertheless, by Monday Johnny was bragging like crazy, even though
there was nothing to brag about.

At one point, she decided to try some
brainiacs. Again, the results were not at all satisfying.

She knew the other girls
looked at her with envy. ‘She can have any boy she wants,’ they
probably said. And that might have been true. The problem was she
couldn’t find a boy she
wanted
.

Maybe if she had been less attractive the
boys wouldn’t have freaked out and acted so weird. Then she might
have actually liked them. It was a cruel irony that her teenage
dating life had been ruin by her beauty.

Now she realized her recent
actions had been even more ridiculous than that of those high
school boys—all because she thought a certain man’s
brain
was beautiful.
Her risky behavior had nearly gotten her raped or killed. And for
what? Sure, the guy was smart, and his writing was eloquent. But
his heart was as black as tar.

She had known for a long time that Crow was
in love with her. Yet she had not allowed herself to consider
whether she had feelings for him. Why? Was it because his IQ was
lower than hers? Or because he was a grocer? Or maybe it was the
fact that he lived across the hall. That was just too
convenient.

Perhaps it was time for her to quit limiting
her feelings. She had never pictured herself settling down with
somebody like Crow. But he was the best friend she’d ever had. And
he was very much in love with her. Why did she keep fighting it?
She should just let the feelings flow, for a change, and see what
happens. Maybe she didn’t love him anyway.

But maybe she did.

Chapter
29

Sandy waited in his car while Rebecca went
in to pay for the repairs on her Lincoln. When she walked out, he
rolled down his window.

“
Okay. I’m good to go.” She
turned and started to walk away, but then turned back to him. “Now
remember: Friday night, seven sharp. Don’t be late.”

“
I’ll make it a point to be
early,” said Sandy.

“
Oh, I get it. You’ll come
early hoping to catch me before I’m dressed.”

“
No, no. I didn’t
mean—“

“—
well, if you get
there
too
early, Buddy, you’ll just have to wait in the car for a
while.”

“
Okay. I will ring your
doorbell at
exactly
seven
o’clock.”

“
That’s more like
it.”

She leaned in close and said, “Seriously,
thanks. It’s been an adventure.” She surprised him with a kiss on
the lips, and walked away before he could think clearly enough to
say anything.

Wow, he thought. Thanks, Greg and
Cynthia.

Rebecca had missed talking
to her dad for the past couple of days. Then she realized it had
only been one
day
. But when you’re awake almost around the clock it seems like
more.

Soon after his death, she developed a habit
of talking to her dad while she drove. His old car had been the
place they had spent much of their time together—especially when
she worked with him.

“
I wish you could meet him,
Dad. He’s really a nice guy—but not
too
nice. He’s kinda rough
around the edges. Sort of like you. And I really believe I can
trust him. I know—I’ve said that before and been wrong. But I’m
smarter now. I know what to look for. But I’ll be careful, so don’t
worry.”

She picked up her cell phone and called her
office.

“
Hello?”

“
Hey, Wendy. Good
morning.”

“
Morning,
Rebecca.”

“
Listen, I’ve had a crazy
weekend. And I’m way behind on sleep. So, I need you to reschedule
all my appointments for today.”

“
Okay. No problem. But we
got a scary voice mail this morning.”

“
Some husband who’s mad
because I shot pictures of him doing his girlfriend,
huh?”

“
I guess so. But this one’s
weird. It rhymes.”

Rebecca was afraid she knew what that meant.
But how and why?

“
I wrote it down. I’ll read
it to you.”

You spoiled my plans for her, you know;
You had to save the day.
So, now my body is sinking low,
Halfway down to the grave.

But be assured I’ll find my rest
In peaceful revenge sublime
Just to know in my heart, your body
Will be buried under mine.

If there had been any doubt as to the
author, that last line clinched it for Rebecca:

Your body will be buried under mine.

Barry Undermine.

Rebecca felt a cold chill creeping up her
spine, but couldn’t stop it. The shivers spread across her
shoulders and up the back of her neck.

She wondered how he even knew her name. Then
it hit her: he had Melanie’s business card. And the card had
Rebecca’s name on it too. He might have heard Greg or Sandy call
her by name. He probably figured that was how Greg tracked him
down—with the help of Melanie’s partner.

“
Don’t erase that message,
Wendy. I might want to let the police hear it.”

“
Okay.”

Rebecca could not think straight. She was
upset by the message, but too tired to deal with it. If she slept
until the next morning, that was fine with her. She wouldn’t even
bother to set the alarm clock.

She didn’t really think Larry wouldn’t try
to slip in during the night and stab her to death. But, at the very
least, he’d give her nightmares.

**********

Sandy made it to the campus just in time for
his 9:00 AM music theory class.

“
New look, Mr. Vockelman?”
said the smart aleck on the back row.

It was Sandy’s second day
without shaving and his third day in the same clothes. If his
students thought he
looked
bad, they certainly
wouldn’t want to
smell
him.

He opened his grade book and picked up a
pencil. “So, I take it you’d like a big fat ‘F’ for today, Mr.
Kelley?”

“
Uh, no Sir. I was just
kidding…Sir.”

“
Well, Mr. Kelley, I am
impressed. That’s the most ‘sirs’ I’ve heard from you all
year.”

The class laughed.

The students might have thought Sandy would
be in a bad mood, judging by his appearance. But they didn’t know
about Rebecca.

“
Alright. Time for a little
melodic dictation.”

They got their staff paper and pencils ready
to go.

Melodic dictation is an exercise wherein the
teacher plays a melody on the piano while students listen and
attempt to write it down.

Normally, Sandy played from a book of
melodies. Today he was making it up as he went along. Would he be
able to remember what he had played so he could grade their papers?
Hopefully. But he was so lost in his newfound joy that he just
didn’t care. Everybody would get an ‘A’ today.

**********

Larry’s perfect plan to win
Cynthia had failed miserably. But he saw it as only a temporary
setback. He might not ever win her
heart
, but he
would
win her
body
. If she didn’t
give it up willingly, he would just take it.

What bothered him most was the thought that
Cynthia might be somehow immune to his powers of luck. Ever since
high school, ever since the big game, Lucky Larry had always seen
things work out well for him.

When he had decided to drop out of college
after just one year, his parents were very upset with him. But he
tried to make amends by taking over the yard work and promising to
get a job. He had even helped his dad work on his car.

It had been unfortunate that Larry had not
fully tightened the brake lines though. His father had been unable
to navigate the curve in the road and had rammed into a telephone
pole at 65 mph. The police said he might have survived the crash if
his seat belt had been functioning properly.

Then there was dear old Mom. Larry had been
talking with her at the top of the stairs when she lost her
balance. It was the broken neck that had killed her. He had made a
heroic effort to catch her when she started to fall. He could still
remember the look in her eyes as her fingers slipped through his,
just before she tumbled down the long staircase. She seemed to be
saying: ‘Don’t worry, Larry, you will inherit a small fortune. We
planned ahead. We thought of you.’

He sat down in the chair and took off his
shoes and socks. He needed a good nap before making the long drive.
Taking a plane was out of the question. The authorities might
already be watching for him.

Greg and Cynthia would be arriving at Walt
Disney World soon. They would check in to the Grand Floridian
Resort. And then, no doubt, she and Greg would consummate the
marriage. The thought of it made him sick. So, he tried not to
dwell on it.

The perfect couple would enjoy a blessed
night of bliss. And the next day, he might even let them have some
fun with Mickey for a while. But soon he would intervene. He would
find an opportunity to snatch Cynthia away again—just when they
thought they were safe.

He stood up, took off his shirt and pants,
and laid them across the chair. Then he picked up the yearbook and
studied the picture. She was so much prettier than the other
cheerleaders. No surprise that she had been elected captain.

He took off his underwear and threw it on
top of his other clothes and admired his naked body in the
full-length mirror. He checked himself out from several angles. In
his mind, he was muscular and well-toned.

He slipped between the
sheets and turned off the lamp. The drapes blocked out most of the
sunlight. For the first time since the start of puberty, he would
skip his bedtime self-gratification ritual. Because he knew his
dreams would be vivid. And that when he woke up, the sheets would
be wet from virtual lovemaking. No matter how exhausted he was, he
knew these would be the most sex-filled dreams ever. How could
they
not
be?
He was sleeping in her bed.

Chapter
30

Larry stepped into the cloud
of steam and shut the door. He closed his eyes and stood still for
a few moments, inhaling the mist of Cynthia’s shower. His hand
tingled when he picked up her half-used bar of Dove. This is
her
soap, he
thought. He pictured her rubbing it on her arms, her breasts, and
her legs as he lathered himself to immense pleasure.