Ann’s blood was boiling when she hung up on Sam.
The nerve of him! she thought.
It had been nagging her all day and as hard as she’d tried to blot it out of her mind, she found that her anger only intensified the more she thought about that little bitch answering the phone like she was a permanent fixture at Sam’s house. And now, he’d had the audacity to call her and try to smooth everything over. Well, it didn’t work that time and sure as hell wasn’t going to work this time either. She had enough problems already without having to put up with this bullshit.
Her only saving grace had been the fact that she’d told Sam abut Jerry, which she would have never dreamed of doing otherwise. But the temptation to put Sam in his place at the time had been too great, and now she was glad she’d done it. It hurt him, she could tell, stung him like a bee, but he by God deserved it.
Ann went over to the sink and resumed washing the dishes, wishing that Amy would come down to earth once in a while and do a few chores around the house for a change. But she was so wrapped up in her social life that it seemed like there was no one else in her little world besides herself and her friends. Her mother was apparently only here for the purpose of putting a roof over her head, feeding her, and provide whatever other necessities might crop up along the way-like the new dress she had just bought her for the school dance next week.
Ann was just about to drain the dishwater when the telephone rang. Thinking that it might be Sam calling again, she took her time drying her hands before finally answering it.
“Hello,” she spoke curtly into the mouthpiece.
“Ann, it’s me. Have I caught you at a bad time? Karen asked.
“Oh, hi, Karen. Sorry, I thought you might be Sam.”
“Sounds like you weren’t exactly looking forward to his call.”
“You wouldn’t believe how mad I am at that man! I tried calling you earlier by the way-where were you?” Ann asked.
“Just running errands. So tell me, what did your ex do to get you so angry? And how did the date go last night?” her friend inquired.
Ann heaved a long sigh. “I guess I’d better start at the beginning. The date went very well-I had a great time. We went to Angelino’s for dinner then came here for a drink. Jerry’s such a nice guy! I wouldn’t call it love or anything, but I really did enjoy his company.”
“That’s great! So are you going to go out with him again?”
“Yes, I am. In fact, I invited him over for dinner tomorrow.”
“Are you serious? What about Amy?” Karen asked, obviously stunned by Ann’s apparent turnaround.
“Well, you’re probably going to get mad at me for not following your advice but I told Amy about Jerry this afternoon. Now before you tell me that I’ve made a big mistake, let me explain. First of all, as I told you before, I don’t like sneaking around behind Amy’s back. I want to be up front with her all the time. Can you imagine how she’d react if she found out about Jerry and I hadn’t told her about him? She’d never let me live it down! That’s just the way Amy is. So last night I decided that when Jerry called me today I was going to tell him that I only want to be friends with him and nothing more; that I’m not ready to start a relationship with anybody right now. I figured that if he could agree to those terms, then I’d continue going out with him. I think he really likes me, Karen, and I want everything out in the open before this goes any further and somebody gets hurt. Do you know what I mean?”
“Yes, I understand and that makes good sense. So how did Jerry react when you told him?” Karen asked.
“Well, he wasn’t very thrilled, to tell you the truth. He didn’t act like he was disappointed but I could tell he was. I think he was hurt, too, which is all the more reason why it was a good idea to confront him now instead of leading him on. Anyway, he agreed to keep it on a friendly basis and that’s when I elected to ask him over for dinner tomorrow. He’d told me last night that he would really like to meet Amy some time so I told him that he could meet her when he came for dinner, providing that Amy didn’t react negatively to the idea. It was a bold move, I realize now. But it turned out even better than I thought it would.”
“What did Amy say?”
“I caught her at a good time and I think that really helped the situation. She was asked to the homecoming dance last night, so we went shopping for a dress this afternoon. She was all excited about the dance so I took advantage of her upbeat mood and casually mentioned that I had a male friend that I was having over for dinner tomorrow and asked her if she would mind joining us. She was a little put off at first of course, but I think that had more to do with actually making a commitment to dinner than the fact that I’d invited some guy over. Anyway, surprise of surprises, she said it was okay with her as long as she didn’t have to get dressed up for the occasion. Can you believe it?”
“I think that’s wonderful, Ann! These kids today will fool you once in awhile, won’t they?”
“That’s for sure.”
“So now, tell me about Sam,” Karen demanded.
Ann groaned. “Well, I decided to give him a call this morning-I guess because I felt a little guilty about going out with Jerry and all. You know how it is, even though we’re divorced I still feel sort of attached to Sam-I guess out of habit. Anyway, who do you suppose answered his phone when I called? None other than the same bitch I had caught him fooling around with before! Can you believe it? And I felt guilty?”
Karen hissed, “My Lord! I’ll bet you were absolutely livid!”
“I was! Then, to top it all off, he just called me a few minutes ago to try and mellow everything out. Well, I wasn’t very mellow to say the least. In fact, after several un-pleasantries, I let him know that I just happen to be seeing someone myself!”
“How did he take it?”
“Not too well. He tried to blow it off but I could tell he was upset. I’m not usually one to play head games, but I just couldn’t resist. Had he been with anybody else, I wouldn’t have gotten so down and out nasty with him. But that slut? No way!”
“Sounds like you really put him in his place.”
“I think I did. What angers me so much, Karen, is that Sam’s been playing the “mourning role” ever since we split up. Then all of a sudden he turns around and pulls this crap. It’s like a slap in the face!” Ann declared.
“Well, I must admit I’m more than a little surprised,” Karen said. “From what all you’ve told me about Sam, this almost seems out of character for him.”
“I’ve always thought he was different, too. But now he’s shown his true colors-he’s just another typical man like all the rest. Except for Jerry, that is. He genuinely seems to be different; he’s a real gentleman and doesn’t patronize women.”
“Maybe this will go beyond friendship.”
“Hmm, I don’t know about that. All I can say is that right now, I’m not interested in any relationship. I used to think Sam was a gentleman, too. He sure has had me fooled!”
“Well, between you and me, that’s exactly why I have never gotten married again. Things seem to change once a man thinks he has a hold on you. I like to keep Bill guessing-keeps him honest. Not to change the subject, but have you had any more prank calls?”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you! I got one last night when Jerry was here. It was horrifying!”
“What happened?”
Ann told Karen about the call and Jerry’s suggestion to get an unpublished number, which she intended to do Monday.
“That sounds like a good idea, Ann,” Karen said.
“Jerry is so sweet. He told me if I ever needed him for anything to just call him, night or day.”
“He sounds like quite a wonderful guy, Ann. My advice is to keep him around awhile, even if it’s only a platonic relationship.”
“I think I will.”
“Well, I’d better go. Hey, maybe we can double date sometime-go see a movie or go out to dinner. What do you think?” Karen said.
“Maybe,” was Ann’s reply. “Let me see how everything goes tomorrow and we just may do that sometime.”
“Great! Give me a call tomorrow and let me know how dinner went, okay?”
“Okay.”
Ann hung up and returned to the kitchen sink. Karen’s inquiry about the obscene phone calls had suddenly reminded her of the opened window blinds she’d discovered in the bathroom last night and that she had forgotten to ask Amy about it earlier. She then made a mental note to be sure to ask her when she got home later.
After finishing the dishes, Ann decided to take a hot bath. While lying back in the tub, she started thinking about the last phone conversation with Sam. When he had told her that the police thought Stanley Jenkins was the man who had murdered Marsha and Sara Hunt, she’d nearly broke out laughing. It was impossible to imagine the shy national honor student with the horn-rimmed glasses capable of harming a fly, much less raping and murdering two women. It was preposterous!
Granted, she had hardly known the guy back at school-in fact the only time she could recall ever speaking to Stanley at all had been the time he had asked her to Senior Prom. She could still remember the incident quite well; only because of the total shock she’d felt that Stanley Jenkins had actually had the nerve to do it in the first place. Surely, she had thought at the time, he simply had to have known that she would turn him down. Not so much because of the obvious fact that he was a certified nerd and an absolute zero in the popularity column at school (although that certainly should have been enough) but because everyone who was anyone at Smithtown High School had known that she was going steady with John Flinders at the time and that she most certainly would be going to prom with him…
Yet, Stanley Jenkins had nevertheless asked her to prom anyway-the hapless loser.
Ann had been at the state basketball finals the fateful day Stanley had made his ridiculous plunge into no-man’s-land. She had been on the sidelines with the other cheerleaders as they witnessed their beloved Trojans being totally smeared by the Upper Arlington Golden Bears. Just after the Golden Bears’ point guard had sunk yet another three-pointer, poor old Stanley Jenkins suddenly appeared from out of nowhere. He had taken Ann aside, sweat pouring out of his zit-laden face so bad that his glasses were actually steaming up. Out of the clear blue, Stanley had cleared his throat and abruptly made his pitch: “You want to go to the prom with me?”
Ann was speechless at first. Besides the fact that Senior Prom was the last thing on her mind at that particular moment (the Trojans were definitely out of the running now), Prom was still light years away! And now here was Stanley Jenkins, nerd of the year, who she barely even knew, and never ever socialized with, asking her for a date!
It had been nearly impossible keeping a straight face but she had somehow managed to as she thanked Stanley for asking then informed him that she going to the prom with John Flinders. (We are going steady, Stanley; even you should know that!) It was more than obvious that he was quite hurt and embarrassed. Stanley’s face had turned beet red but he didn’t utter a single word. He simply turned around and sauntered off into the bleachers with his shoulders slumped, like he had just lost his last friend in the world.
Ann had felt really sorry for him and when one of the other cheerleaders asked her what Stanley had wanted, she had fibbed that he had asked about an assignment that their English class was working on. Yes, she had actually felt that bad for poor Stanley.
Leave it to that crazy Roger Hagstrom and the Smithtown P.D. to come up with something as far-fetched as this, Ann thought. She tried to imagine what they might have dug up on Stanley that could possibly point the finger at him of all people. Even Sam had admitted they had no evidence, which didn’t surprise her in the least. Her hunch was that they were beginning to grab at straws now because they were too damn inept to find who the true murderer was.
Christ! she thought. Was she ever glad she was out of that stupid, narrow-minded town! You can have it, Sam, with my blessing. And may you and Shelley-the-slut-Hatcher live happily ever after!
Her thoughts suddenly turned to Jerry Rankin. She didn’t want to admit it to herself but she already missed him and it had been only twenty-four hours. In a way, she wished that she hadn’t come on so strong with the “friendship” rap to him. She realized now that she could have put a swift end to everything had Jerry not been so understanding. Any other guy would have backed off under similar circumstances, not wanting to continue pursuing someone who had just basically confessed having no intentions whatsoever of sleeping with them-which is what it all really boiled down to. But Jerry Rankin was different-he could see beyond the sexual aspect and respected her enough both as a woman and a person to accept her terms.
If he could be here, right this very moment, she just might have let him have his way with her. She knew she wouldn’t feel that way tomorrow or the next day, but at this very moment, yes. She could just picture Sam and the whore together, rolling around in bed, and that image made her want to somehow get even with him. She would allow Jerry to join her in the tub and she would enjoy every wonderful second of it. The mere thought of his trim, muscular body pressed hard against hers made her skin suddenly tingle all over…
But Jerry wasn’t here. He was meeting with one of his clients. He had offered to call her when he was done, but she had told him not to bother-that she was going to turn in early. She hadn’t slept very well the night before and she needed to catch up so she wouldn’t be too tired to cook tomorrow.
Ann reached for the soap, lathered her hands and began washing herself. If Jerry were here, right this moment, he could be doing this for her, she thought.
When was the last time she had made love? she wondered. She thought back. It had been in April, with Sam of course. It had been the night before she had caught him with Shelley Hatcher, in fact. It had been wonderful…
Damn you, Sam!