The May Day Murders (32 page)

CHAPTER 19

As Ann slipped on her shoes, she could
still hear Sam‘s self-righteous remark:
“I think your newfound
independence is going to your head. The world isn’t by any means
any safer that it used to be but you seem to think it
is.”

She tried to ignore it, but it wouldn’t
go away. Who the hell did he think he was anyway—implying that she
had suddenly became some sort of irresponsible, wild woman and
didn’t know how to look out for herself? And he was pissed off
because it was finally beginning to sink in that he’s not around
anymore to call the shots and that was a big blow to his male ego.
Not to mention the fact that she was seeing another man. She could
already sense that Sam was insanely jealous of Jerry Rankin and
wished he didn’t exist in her life.

That’s the breaks Sam, she thought to
herself with a smug grin. You should have thought about all this
before you started fooling around with Shelley The Slut. I have no
sympathy for you whatsoever—you’ve brought this all upon
yourself.

Ann went over to the mirror to look
herself over again. For once, her hair was doing what it was
supposed to do. Her makeup didn’t look half bad, either. She eyed
her outfit and wondered if perhaps she had gone a little too
overboard. She’d boldly chosen to go with the olive green skin
tight knit top that she’d purchased at the mall on her way home
from the office along with a pair of faded Lee jeans that clung to
her legs and hips as if they were painted on. A little too casual
for Jerry’s tastes? she wondered. She noticed how the shape of her
ample breasts were clearly visible beneath the thin fabric and
debated whether or not to put on a bra then promptly decided
against it. What the hell, she thought. Even Karen had once told
her,
if you’ve got it, flaunt it,
and she was in just the
right kind of mood tonight to do just that.

She was not sure why she felt so lousy
all of a sudden, but she did. Maybe it was because Amy was going
out of her first real date with a boy tonight and it seemed like
only yesterday that she was reading her bedtime stories until she
drifted off to sleep. Or maybe it was the fact that Sam was now
going out with a woman half his age and it bothered her now just as
much as it had the first time she’d caught him red handed screwing
around with the bitch. Whatever the case, the feeling was there and
the cold reality of her age was beginning to catch up with her.
Here she was, nearly 40 years old, divorced, and getting older and
less attractive by the day. It wouldn’t be long before she’d lose
her figure and no longer be desirable to men. She had never really
given it much thought until now, and the reason for that was
simple. Until now she had been married and hadn’t had to give a big
shit about how she looked to other men.

Ann looked herself over again decided
that Jerry would most likely approve of her attire. In fact, his
eyes would probably pop out of their sockets when he saw her, she
mused. And the funny thing was that she didn’t care if he gawked at
her tonight—she was tired of dressing conservatively all of the
time just because she was afraid Jerry might get all worked up and
start putting the moves on her. Karen was right—she really was
being sort of a prude. She had the post divorce jitters and the
more she thought about it, the more she realized that Karen had
probably been right about something else. If she kept stalling and
putting things off for too long, she might well let Jerry Rankin
slip right through her fingers.

His suggestion to go bowling tonight
had thrown Ann for a loop but she had to admit she was looking
forward to it. She still fell a little apprehensive about his being
here to see Amy and her date off to the dance, though. When she had
informed Amy that Jerry would be here at the house before her date
arrived, the expression on her face had told Ann that her daughter
wasn’t too crazy about the idea at all. But surprise of
surprises—she hadn’t objected. Ann realized that this was probably
because Amy was excited about the dance and hadn’t wanted to put a
damper on anything by getting into an argument with her
mother.

Ann checked the time—it was almost
6:30. Jerry would be here any minute. She knew that Amy was still
in the bathroom and wondered if she realized how late it was
getting. She decided to go downstairs to let her know.

Just as Ann turned around and started
for the door, she heard a scuffle and voices out in the backyard.
She ran over to the bedroom window and peered down. It was too dark
to see anything because she hadn’t yet turned on the backyard
lights. Then she realized that she had indeed turned on the lights.
She had done it just after getting off the phone from Sam. So why
were they off now?

She heard voices again. It sounded like
two men arguing, and one of the voices sounded like Jerry’s.In an
instant, she ran out of the bedroom and fled down the stairs. She
stopped and glanced out of the living room window and saw Jerry’s
car parked in the driveway, She ran through the kitchen and laundry
room to the back door. There was a knock at the front door just as
she started to open the back door.

Ann ran back into the living room and
peaked through the curtains. She saw Jerry Rankin and another man
standing on the porch. The other man’s back was to her. Ann
couldn’t see very clearly, but it looked as though Jerry was
holding the other man’s arm—as if to keep him from escaping. Ann
opened the door and let out a gasp.

There stood Jerry Rankin gripping the
arm of a young man who looked to be around the same age as Amy. The
boy had a welt over his right eye and there was a trickle of blood
oozing out from a cut on his lower lip.

“
Jerry! What happened?” Ann
exclaimed.

Jerry’s expression was a mixture of
concern and rage. “I caught this little bastard peeping through
your bathroom window!”

Amy! Ann thought. She’s been taking a
shower! Ann’s blood pressure shot up.

Jerry shoved the boy forward through
the doorway pinning his arm behind his back as he did so. He stood
just inside the doorway and explained. “When I pulled into the
driveway, I noticed that the light in the backyard suddenly went
off. I thought it was peculiar so I ran back to the fence to be
sure that everything was all right. I spotted this little twerp
peaking in the bathroom window so I jumped the fence and headed
toward him. He saw me and started running the other way, but I
caught him. Then he resisted and tried to get away from me, so I
slapped him around a couple of times.”

Ann watched Jerry as he forced the boy
over to the center of the living room and glared at him
reproachfully. Ann was practically in hysterics at the moment and
wasn’t sure what to do or say. She could see the boy more clearly
now and she looked him over. He appeared to be about fifteen or
sixteen with a peach fuzz baby face and short brown hair. His
expression was absolutely forlorn as he stared down at the floor.
In spite of the allegation against him, Ann felt the slightest pang
of pity for him for some odd reason and it was more than obvious
that he was absolutely terrified of Jerry Rankin.

“
His lip is bleeding—I’ll go
get a damp cloth,“ Ann suddenly said.

Jerry shot her a scornful look. “You
should let him bleed to death!”

Ann ignored his remark and went into
the kitchen. Her hands were trembling as she held a dishcloth under
the tap and struggled to compose herself. It wasn’t until she was
half way back to the living room that it finally hit her: the boy
she was feeling sorry for only a moment ago was not only a peeping
Tom that had trespassed on her property but most likely the same
pervert who had been making those obscene phone calls! Ann clenched
her teeth with great determination as she returned to the living
room and handed the dishtowel to the boy.

“
What’s your name?” she
demanded.

The boy brought the towel to his
injured lip and replied slowly. “Larry Underwood.”

“
And what exactly were you
doing in my backyard, Larry?”

The boy blinked his eyes a couple of
times and turned away from Ann. “Looking into the
window.”

“
Why, may I ask?”

Larry Underwood continued looking away
from her. “I was trying to see Amy.”

Ann got right up in his face. “So you
know my daughter—is that correct?”

The boy nodded slowly.

“
And do you attend Woodcrest
High?”

Larry nodded again.

“
And is this the first time
you’ve snooped around my house or have you done it
before?”

“
The first time—I
swear!”

“
Tell Mrs. Middleton the
truth, you little pervert!” Jerry glared. “That’s not what you told
me outside.”

Larry Underwood’s eyes went from Jerry
Rankin to the floor. “Maybe a couple of times before.”

Ann then said, “And have you been
making obscene phone calls to this house?”

The boy faced Ann and replied,” No! I
haven’t done that and I’m really telling you the truth
now!”

Ann looked over at Jerry, who had the
boy in an arm lock. “He denied making the calls to me, too. I don’t
know whether to believe him or not.”

“
I swear, Mrs. Middleton. I
have never called your house. I’ll admit that I’ve snooped around a
couple of times, but that’s all—you gotta believe me!” he
pleaded.

“
What’s going
on?”

All three turned at the same time and
saw Amy standing in the hallway. She was wearing her bathrobe and
her expression went from bewildered to absolute shock when she
recognized Larry Underwood.

“
What are you doing here,
Larry? What happened?”

No one answered right away, so Jerry
Rankin took over. “Go ahead Larry. Tell Amy what you’re doing
here.”

Larry gave Ann a pained look of
desperation as if to say “please don’t make me tell her.” Ann
decided to remain silent to see if Larry Underwood would have the
guts to confess his crimes. Amy, in the meantime, was staring at
her mother for a clue as to what was going on.

Finally, when it became apparent that
Larry wasn’t going to speak, Ann said, “Larry was peaking in the
bathroom window at you, honey.”

Amy’s face turned beet red. Her eyes
went from her mother to Larry to Rankin before she turned around
bolted up the stairs to her bedroom, sobbing as she ran.

Ann ran after Amy. When she reached the
upstairs landing, she saw that her daughter’s bedroom door was
closed. She knocked on it softly.

“
Can I come in,
sweetie?”

Moments later, Amy replied, “I don’t
care.”

Ann entered the room and found Amy
lying in the bed crying. She sat down on the bed and began stroking
Amy’s damp hair comfortingly.

“
I’m sorry, honey. I know
how you must feel right now. Has this Larry boy been bothering you
at school?”

Amy sat up and determinedly struggled
to get herself under control. “I hardly know the jerk,” she
replied, wiping the tears from her eyes. Her expression suddenly
changed when she glanced over at the clock and saw the
time.

“
Jason will be here in half
an hour, Mom! You have to get Larry out of here!”

“
But we have to call police,
honey. He was trespassing and—”

“
The police! No, Mom,
please! Just let him go—I don’t want him arrested. It’ll be all
over school!”

“
But—”

Amy grabbed Ann’s arm and stared at her
pleadingly. “Please, Mom, listen. Jason is picking me up in a few
minutes, I’m not even dressed yet, and if you call the police it’s
going to ruin everything! Please just let Larry go—I’m sure he has
already learned his lesson by the looks of his face. Did Mr. Rankin
do that to him?”

“
Yes, he did,” Ann replied
hesitantly.

“
That’s just great! Now
everybody is going to be talking about how my mother’s boyfriend
beat up a minor. Jesus, I can’t believe this! My life is
ruined!”

Ann was speechless. She couldn’t
believe Amy was obviously more worried about her social standing at
school than the fact that a prowler had just watched her while she
was taking a shower.

“
But the boy needs to be
punished, Amy! I can’t just let him get away with this like it
never happened. He’s dangerous! And for all we know, he’s the same
person who’s been making all of those obscene phone
calls!”

Amy appeared to be unfazed by
this.

“
I really doubt that, Mom.
Larry may be a little strange but I don’t think he’d go that
far—he’s too much of a nerd! Please just let him go. If Jason sees
him here, he’ll probably want to kick the shit out of him. Is that
what you want to happen?”

Ann seriously doubted Amy’s last
statement and realized that she most likely was making it up just
to drive her point home.

She thought for a moment and then said,
“All right, Amy, you win. But I’m going to call his parents. Then
they can decide how to punish their son.”

Amy shrugged. “Whatever. But hurry,
Mom, before Jason gets here. I have to get dressed!”