Sue (32 page)

“
Ow
, Zeke.”
She tried to pry his fingers loose.
“Please. I was just scratching my leg.”

“Don’t get any ideas about jumping
out of the car.”

“I wasn’t. I’m trying to make you
understand I
want
to be here with you.”

He released her thigh and gave her
a knowing look. “It’s pretty damn funny listening to you
lie
your ass off. Almost makes me want to laugh. Somehow I never spotted your great
sense of humor in all the time we spent together.”

“I’m not lying,” Sue said, now
afraid to try for her gun.

Zeke suddenly jerked the wheel,
turned into a drive, and bumped over ruts, banging the undercarriage against
the ground as he pulled up to the old abandoned farmhouse where they’d spent
many a passionate hour the previous year. “Home sweet home,” he said with
satisfaction as he parked her car around back, out of sight of the road.

He cuffed her in the head again for
good measure before he got out of the car and strode around to her side. His knuckle
caught her eye and her vision swam. She fumbled to pull the door handle and
free her purse, but he was too quick. He opened the door, yanked her out, and
dragged her, stumbling and falling, through the weeds to the front of the
derelict structure. They thumped over the old boards of the porch and into the
dim interior. It took a few seconds for Sue’s eyes to adjust.

Surprising her, Zeke snatched her
bag and tossed it onto the floor, away from them. It landed with a thud. “What
the hell do you women put in those things anyway?
Rocks?”
He shoved her toward an old quilt spread across the floor.

Laid out carefully against one wall
were assorted implements, the sight of which bathed Sue in a cold sweat.
Flashlights.
Candles.
Hammer and
nails.
A hacksaw.
A blowtorch.
A camera.
He watched the panic spread over her face.

He grinned. “As you can see, I’ve
got all kinds of excitement planned. And I’m going to take my time, enjoy every
bit.” His smile faded and a hard glint shone in his eyes. “Take off your clothes,
Sue.”

“No!” She backed up, wishing
desperately she could reach her purse, which lay at least four feet away. But
Zeke blocked her access. There was no way she would be able to get to it
without him stopping her. And he’d probably get suspicious and open it if she
kept trying for it. Fighting dizziness, she turned and stumbled toward the door
instead.

She heard the sound of his boots on
the floor before he grabbed her from behind. Her self defense training kicked
in. Without thinking, she stepped hard on his foot, threw her head backward at
the same time, and heard a satisfying crunch. He yelled and loosened his hold
on her. She thrust her elbow with all the force she could muster into his
abdomen, then turned and grabbed his shoulders for leverage, pulling him toward
her before burying her knee in his groin.

He crumpled, but retained enough
sense to grab her foot as she scrambled across the floor. As she dragged
herself, splinters buried themselves in her skin. Zeke got a grip on her
ankles, then calves, as he crawled up on her.

“You broke my fucking nose, you
bitch!” he growled. “Come back here!”

She kicked at him, freeing herself
from one of his hands, and pulled herself closer to her purse and the gun
inside. Reaching out, stretching with all her might, she snagged the strap with
a finger and jerked it toward her. Zeke regained his hold on her legs and
climbed upward.

She groped for the zipper of her
bag, slid it back. Zeke flipped her over and pounced on top of her. The bag
fell from her hands. She screamed, writhed beneath him, his enraged face
hanging over her. Blood ran from his nose and his eyes burned with fury. His
hands circled her neck and began to squeeze.

“I’d choke the life out of you
right now,” he snarled, “but that would spoil our fun.”

He rose up above her, lifted her by
the neck, and banged her head against the floor, cursing her. Her consciousness
tried to steal away, but she fought against blacking out and slapped her hands
around beside her. Her fingers found what they sought. As the darkness gathered
across her field of vision, she pulled her bag closer, slid her hand inside,
and her finger onto the trigger of her gun.

Faintly, Sue thought she heard
the sound of a car engine. It grew closer and Zeke paused, still holding her by
the throat.
“Sounds like we’ve got company.”

Outside, tires crunched to a
stop and the motor ceased. Someone was definitely there. Sue gasped and tried
to scream for help, but her voice was raspy and barely audible. Whoever was out
there had no idea what they were about to walk into. But maybe it would be
enough of a distraction that she could gain control of the situation.

Sue tried to lift her purse,
turn it so the barrel of the gun would be pointing at Zeke. Her arm shook
uncontrollably.

Zeke jerked around and scooted
back against a wall. Using it for leverage he stood, lifting Sue with him and
shielding his body with hers. Her hand slipped from the gun but she clutched
the lining of the bag, bringing it with her as Zeke pulled her up. He kept one
arm across her arms and chest, and pinned her tightly against the front of his
body; the blood from his nose smeared the back of her hair. The knife was
suddenly in his other hand and he held it to her neck.

Melvin and Will had separated
when they pulled up, moving around the house quickly, peering into windows,
trying to locate Sue and evaluate the situation. After a whispered
consultation, they both burst through the front door, weapons drawn.

Melvin’s heart raced as he saw
a man with a knife to Sue’s throat. “Get the hell away from her!” he shouted
and started to dash forward, but Will’s arm shot out and stopped him.

Zeke stared at the two intruders
and barked a humorless laugh as he recognized Will. “I’ll be damned. Just like
old times. Still playing Superman, you redheaded bastard? Who’s your sidekick?”
Zeke’s broken nose and blood-clogged sinus robbed his voice of its melodious
tone, giving it a nasal quality. “Remember St. Louie? You royally fucked me
over there.
Ruined everything.
Made
me lose all my stuff.
My wheels, my laptop.
I’d
love to have five minutes alone in a room with you.
Just you
and me.”

“Yeah?
I’d
like that too. Let’s do it. Send these two outside and we’ll throw down. I’ll
even make it fair; I’ll lose the gun.” Will’s grin was dark, mirthless.

“Wrong time,
wrong place.
But
it’s
gonna
happen someday, buddy. I promise you that.”

Zeke gripped Sue harder, moved
the knife from her neck, and laid the blade against her cheek, pointing toward
her right eye.

“Melvin,” she
whimpered,
voice husky with fear.

Melvin pointed his gun but
couldn’t take the shot. Sweat broke out on his forehead. “Sue! Don’t move,
honey. Just hold real still.”

Zeke’s eyes traveled over
Melvin’s anguished face. “Oh, I see how it is now. Got yourself a new man, did
you, Susie?” He pressed a kiss to her hair, keeping his eyes on Melvin and
Will. Sneering toward Melvin, Zeke mocked, “Just remember, loser, I had her
first.
Mmm-mmm
, did
I
ever.
And not just me.
I could tell you stories.”

“Shut your filthy mouth,” Will
said calmly, working his way slowly to the other side of the room. “No one
wants to hear the trash that comes out; I can guarantee you that.”

Melvin's jaw was rigid. He
moved the opposite direction as Will, looking for a side shot that wouldn't put
Sue in the direct line of fire.

“Stop right where you are,
both of you. I know what you're trying to do and it won't work.” Zeke dug the
knife tip into Sue's cheek, drawing a bead of blood. “Remember, Red, last time
I stuck her good. This time I'll twist the blade. There'll be no recovery from
this one.”

Sue still fumbled inside her
purse, fingertips grazing the gun. Melvin's gaze flicked to her bag and quickly
away. He must have realized it held her gun, but he gave no sign. Sue tried to
send him a message with her eyes as her hand closed once again around the
handle of her weapon. She flipped off the safety and slipped her finger onto
the trigger, raising the purse, ready to shoot.

Zeke began dragging Sue toward
the doorway. “This time I'm taking her with me. Nobody's
gonna
swoop in and rescue little Susie today.”

The sound of the shot split the air
and Zeke slumped against Sue, knocking her to the dirty floor. He fell on top
of her, blood and gore bursting from a hole in his head. His arm slipped from
around her and she heard the death rattle deep inside his body, gurgling its
way out of his lungs. Sue twisted her head to the side, trying to avoid the
slimy touch of his wet cheek. She panted to breathe.

“Sue! Are you okay?” Will kept his
gun aimed at Zeke until he verified the man was indeed dead,
then
slid his weapon into his shoulder holster.

“Help me! Get him off me!” Sue
begged, hysterical.

Melvin rushed to her side, rolled
Zeke’s body away, and gathered her into his arms. “I don’t remember pulling the
trigger,” she sobbed into his shoulder.

Melvin stroked her hair, kissed her
forehead. “You didn’t.
Will shot him.”

Epilogue

Melvin finished arranging his books
on the shelf and carried the last empty box to the kitchen, broke it down, and
added it to the pile. He slipped into his jacket. Sue was putting away his mugs
and the few other dishes he’d brought with him. “All done?” she asked.

“That’s the last of it. I’ll be
right back; I’m going to take these out to the trash.” He ducked outside with
the cardboard and returned a few minutes later. “The car will still be warm, if
we leave pretty soon. I’m ready to go anytime you are.”

“Got the lighter fluid and
matches?”

“In the trunk.”

“I’ll get my journals and files.”
Sue retrieved her notebooks and folders from the bedroom and put on her coat.
“Where do you think we should do this?”

“Either out by
the lake or in the park.
Both places have charcoal grills and I doubt
there’ll be any people at either one on a day like this.” He opened the front
door and gazed out at the falling snow, pulling on his gloves. “Hard to believe
it’s almost Thanksgiving already.”

“Hard to believe I’ve waited this
long to do this.” Sue slung her purse over a shoulder and cradled the journals
and files in her arms.

“Hasn’t been all
that long.”
Melvin escorted her outside and turned to lock the door.
“Just little over a month ago.
And there’s been a lot of
chaos since then.”

He walked her to the car and opened
the door for her. She settled in the seat and sat calmly as Melvin walked
around, quickly cleared the windshield with his gloved hands, and got in the
driver’s side. He started the engine and turned to look at Sue. “Are you sure
you want to do this? I mean, these are your writings.”

“I’m absolutely positive. These
pages are filled with agony, with confusion, and with heartache. And the files
need destroyed as well. I’ll be glad to be rid of them. It will symbolize a
fresh start.
Not only for me, but for us.”
Her last
moments with Zeke had cleared up any residual confusion she’d had. She wanted
nothing more than to destroy her misguided ramblings on the subject; they now
embarrassed her.

The streets were lightly dusted
with white and snow was beginning to accumulate at the curb and on the trees.
Gray clouds hung low in the sky.

The soft swish of the wiper blades
was a comforting sound and the heater filled the car with warm air. Melvin
drove carefully toward the city park. “I talked to Will today. The
investigation is still ongoing, but authorities remain clueless as to Zeke’s
real identity. They’re considering putting a sketch of his face on the national
news, hoping someone will come forward with information on him.”

“He probably murdered his family,”
Sue said bitterly.

“Hard telling
with that guy.
He was certainly capable of it.” Melvin signaled to turn.
“Maybe his family made him the way he was.”

“I’ve thought about that.
A lot.
At one time, I wanted to find an excuse for his
cruelty.” Sue gazed out at the passing cars. “But, I’ve pretty much come to the
conclusion he was a bad seed.

“Born without a conscience? Like
that?” Melvin braked at a stoplight.

“Yes.” Sue shivered at the thought.
“I’ll be glad when this is finished.”

Melvin reached over and squeezed
her knee, keeping one eye on the road.

The park was deserted, as expected.
Melvin stopped the car near a picnic area. As they walked toward a grill, Sue
turned her face toward the sky, let the snowflakes fall onto her cheeks and
melt there. Melvin took her elbow to guide her.

“Okay, baby. Here we are.” He set
the lighter fluid on the edge of the brick cooker and pulled a book of matches
from his jeans pocket.

Sue took off her gloves and handed
them to Melvin. She put the file folders onto the grill and doused them liberally
with fluid. Melvin tossed a lit match on top and flames burst forth, causing
them both to step back.

Sue flipped idly through the
journal pages one last time. “It’s almost like these were written by a
stranger. That’s how much I’ve changed in the last year.” Then opening the
notebooks, she laid them on top of the blaze.