Tentyrian Legacy (3 page)

As Howard lounged in the chair, Ari knew she
needed to be polite. If she was rude, her mother would find out,
and those expectations would become even further from being
met.

“Do you have other lessons to give today,
Howard?” Ari asked conversationally, hoping he would get the hint
and leave. She hated how he asked her to call him Howard, instead
of Professor Watkins.

“Hmm, nope. You’re my only one,” he answered
with a smile. “You must get lonely . . . A beautiful girl like you
should have friends or a boyfriend to keep her company, especially
on a Saturday.” Gross. He was coming on to her.

“I need to go take my afternoon pills before
I forget. I’ll walk you out,” she said quickly.

Howard grabbed her slim wrist and yanked Ari
down to the chair so that she was sitting sideways on his lap.
“Ari, I can make sure you aren’t lonely,” he said. Ari
instinctively slapped Howard across the face with an open palm. She
had seen it done on General Hospital and was surprised she actually
did it. However, Howard hardly looked discouraged. He looked
excited. One of his arms circled firmly around her bare waist.

“Howard, you have the wrong idea. I’m still
in high school. You’re my teacher.” Ari tried to stand up, but his
arm held her in place.

“You aren’t in high school. You are a
homeschooled mental case,” he sneered.

“I think you should leave. Irena will be here
any minute,” Ari said while struggling to stand.

“You should be grateful I’ve even taken an
interest in you, Ari,” Howard taunted as he held her. “For someone
so smart, you are incredibly inexperienced. I bet you’ve never been
kissed. It’s a shame. You have an amazing body.” Howard’s free hand
grazed her neck and moved down to her left shoulder blade. She
couldn’t believe this was happening. His fingers suddenly pulled
the bow of her halter bikini. She grabbed it immediately to keep it
from falling off.

“Whoops. My fingers slipped,” Howard teased.
She had enough. She may have been sheltered, but she’d seen enough
Lifetime TV to imagine where this situation could take her. Howard
maneuvered her in his lap so that her back was to him. Ari knew she
could scream, but she wasn’t sure if Irena or the maids would hear
her in time, as they were at the opposite side of the house.
Instead, Ari whipped her head back and heard a sickening crunch as
the back of her head connected with his nose.

“What the fuck!” screamed Howard, blood
gushing from his nose. “You bitch.” Howard’s excitement was gone.
Beau had been sitting patiently, waiting for Ari to get up and
throw the ball. But as soon as Ari delivered her blow, Beau’s
patient pant turned into a growl. The affable Lab’s protective
instincts kicked in, and he lunged for Howard’s leg. Beau clamped
down on his right calf.

Howard yelled, “Get him off! Get him off!”
With his left leg, Howard kicked Beau. The impact was so hard, Ari
was sure he’d broken some of Beau’s ribs. Without thinking twice,
Ari kicked Howard in the groin with all the force she could muster
and punched him under the chin. His jaw clacked together, and he
crumpled onto the flagstone floor. Beau, meanwhile, held tight to
Howard’s calf.

“Don’t you ever hurt my dog, you bastard!
I’ll kill you!” Ari straddled Howard, punching him repeatedly. She
was seeing red—Howard hurt the one thing that loved her
unconditionally. By this point, Irena had come to the pool to
investigate the commotion and was shocked to find Ari delivering
punches like a hoodlum in a street alley.

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Arianna Elizabeth,
get off of him right now! Oh my God, he is unconscious. Carla!”
shrilled Irena. “Call 911!” Irena yanked Ari off of Howard. “What
have you done, young lady?” Ari had no response. All she could
think was how pathetic Howard looked in his bloody Beatles T-shirt
and puke-colored blazer.

One of the maids, Carla, soon appeared.
Flabbergasted, she looked from Ari to Irena, confused as to what
she should do. Irena’s bark at her to get moving interrupted her
bewilderment, and she ran for the phone. Ari called to Beau and at
the sound of her command, he released his grip. Her poor pup, he
needed medical attention before that bastard Howard. It was then
that Ari realized her bathing suit top was undone. Embarrassed, she
quickly tied it. She would not cry, she resolved.

The paramedics and police arrived on the
scene. Howard was taken away on a stretcher with a brace around his
neck. Ari was told her mother was on her way home. At Ari’s
insistence, Roger the driver took Beau to the veterinary clinic
downtown for X-rays. Unfortunately, Ari had to remain for
questioning. The paramedics tried to get her to go to the hospital,
but she adamantly refused. Ari assured them there was no need for a
rape kit and that she wasn’t injured.

After the EMT examined Ari and it was clear
all she had were some bruised knuckles, she was turned over to
Officer Lefkowitz. Wrapped in her towel, Ari sat patiently in a
rocker by the pool while the middle-aged officer took out his
notepad and recorded the basic details about the incident—names,
ages, and such. She focused on the notepad, silently counting her
exhales. All the activity around her caused her head to spin.
Although Officer Lefkowitz didn’t notice, she was struggling to
focus her mind.

“So, Arianna, how did this happen?” asked the
paunchy officer. He had a kind enough face, she thought. Ari took a
deep breath.

She said calmly, “I was here at the pool when
Howard showed up. It was after our lesson. He said he forgot to
give me some homework. Next thing I knew, he pulled me onto his lap
and tried to take off my bathing suit. I told him to leave, but he
didn’t listen. So I hit him and my dog bit him.”

“And has Mr. Watkins ever acted like this
before? Made any advances previously?” asked the officer.

“No, but he always kind of . . . weirded me
out,” she replied hesitantly.

“I know this may make you feel uncomfortable,
but I have to ask. Other than undoing your top, did he touch you at
all anywhere else?”

“Gross. No. He is a creep, but no. He’s never
touched me other than what he tried to do today.”

“Okay, good. Now how often do you see Mr.
Watkins?”

“He teaches me physics every Tuesday and
Saturday.”

“So you don’t go to school?”

“No, I’m homeschooled.”

“And do you enjoy it?”

“It’s okay. I can’t go to school because of
my illness.”

Before he could ask her to explain, she
quickly interjected, “I just get headaches . . . a lot.” Ari left
out the schizophrenia part. She knew as soon as she told him, he’d
think she was crazy. Everyone did.

“Well this is an unfortunate incident,” said
Lefkowitz. “But the important thing is that you are safe. Now that
we have your statement, my partner will speak with Mr. Watkins. We
just heard back from the EMTs and he likely has a concussion and a
broken jaw and nose. He’ll need a few stitches for his leg and a
rabies . . .” But before he could finish his sentence, a
high-pitched trill interrupted him.

“Oh my God! Where is Arianna! Irena! There is
blood on this floor! Is my daughter all right?” The hysterical
voice, followed by the fast click of heels, could only belong to
one person—her mother.

Officer Lefkowitz stood to brief Gloria
Parker, a thin woman who was a good five inches taller than his
modest stature of five foot four. Lefkowitz didn’t get a word out
before the strikingly beautiful woman’s own interrogation
began.

“Irena, what happened? Why are there
policemen in this house and why is there blood on my floor? What
happened? Someone tell me now!” Gloria’s impatient hands gestured
wildly. Meanwhile, her auburn hair remained perfectly in place
within its elegant chignon.

Irena, who had been directing the various
officers about the house and ordering the maids back to work,
stopped what she was doing and turned her full attention to Gloria.
“Mrs. Parker, there was an incident with Arianna and her physics
teacher. She has not been hurt. Mr. Watkins is at the hospital
now.”

“What kind of incident? Did he slip and fall?
I just don’t understand

. . . Did Arianna take her medication this
afternoon?” asked Gloria, with more than a hint of suspicion
creeping into her voice.

“She was scheduled to take her afternoon
pills right around the time this happened,” answered Irena as she
gestured obviously to the blood on the floor and Ari.

“Arianna Elizabeth, did you hurt Howard?”
asked her mother accusingly.

“No! He attacked me. I was just playing with
Beau and he tried to take my clothes off!” Ari exclaimed
defensively.

Ari wrapped her arms tighter around herself
and continued to count her breathing. She was white as a sheet.
Gloria’s arms crossed over her mink coat while her Roman nose
remained held high. Lefkowitz was confused by the mother-daughter
exchange. Any other mother would have embraced her daughter,
telling her it was going to be all right. Any other mother would
have demanded the arrest of the man who attacked her child. Not
this mother. There were no tears. No hugs.

“Officer, what’s your name? Have you spoken
with Howard yet? How seriously injured is he?” asked Gloria
impatiently.

“It’s Officer Lefkowitz, ma’am. And my
partner is talking to him right now. He has some serious injuries,
but he is lucid and able to provide a statement.”

“This whole situation is unseemly,” said
Gloria, exasperated. “Undoubtedly it will be in the Advertiser
tomorrow. How embarrassing.” Of course, she would be concerned over
what their neighbors and friends would think if they saw this in
the town paper, thought Ari.

“Mrs. Parker, it does seem that based on your
daughter’s account, her teacher tried to molest her,” said
Lefkowitz.

With a sniff and raised chin, her mother
said, “Indeed. Officer Lefkowitz, please let me know what your
partner finds out. You may speak with me in my office afterwards.
Irena, please make sure that Arianna takes her medication, gets
cleaned up, and goes to bed. She looks like she is going to pass
out.”

“I need to wait to see if Beau is all right,
Mother,” said Ari.

“No excuses,” Gloria replied coldly. “Irena
will bring dinner to you in your room. When Beau returns, I’ll have
Roger bring him up to you. You’re lucky I even let you keep that
dog. Irena, show Officer Lefkowitz to my office when he is done
here.” Gloria then turned on her heel and flounced away. Lefkowitz
looked at the teenage girl, who rose slowly from the chair. She did
look like she was going to faint, but her facial expression was not
one of fragility; it was of anger. She left the pool without a word
as the housekeeper followed behind.

An hour later, Lefkowitz was sitting in an
uncomfortable antique chair that probably cost as much as six
months of his salary. He surveyed Gloria’s office with a mixture of
curiosity and reverence. Decorated in a combination of English
traditional and chic contemporary, the room was a testament to fine
taste. Unfortunately, he left a boot print on the Oriental rug. He
hoped she wouldn’t notice. The fire was lit in the fireplace that
Gloria had started with a click of a manicured finger.

Now that she had a few minutes to compose
herself, Gloria appeared calm and as sweet as honey. She sat
demurely behind her Lucite desk, her lips freshly appliquéd with a
soft rose color. Gloria offered Lefkowitz a nonfat soy latte, but
he declined. Dunkin’ Donuts regular coffee was more his speed.

“Officer Lefkowitz, I first want to
apologize,” said Gloria warmly. “I know the New Canaan police have
much better things to do than come out here on a weekend.”
Actually, they didn’t. Aside from the occasional speeding ticket
and illicit teenage party, New Canaan was a sleepy little town.
Crime was practically unheard of.