Ann couldn’t help but smile to herself as she caught Jerry glancing down at her legs yet again. A week ago this would have made her feel uncomfortable or perhaps even paranoid. But she realized now how absolutely puritanical it had been of her to get upset over something so trivial and she knew that Karen, as usual, had been right all along. Men are going to stare at you from time to time and it’s certainly nothing to get all up in arms over. Besides the fact that Jerry Rankin was a gentleman and someone she could trust, she’d also discovered that she actually enjoyed teasing him just a little bit. It was nice having a man admire her every once in awhile-it made her feel younger and more appreciated.
The white knit mini dress she was wearing could easily have fit into the fashion scene twenty years ago, in fact, she could recall having one much like it back when she was in high school. Jerry had gone bonkers when he had come by to pick her up and first saw her in it and she realized now that although jeans and a sweater may have been more appropriate for a drive though the country on a chilly fall day, she liked the way the dress made her feel almost like she was a schoolgirl again.
“Are you warm enough?” Jerry asked. “I can crank up the heat a bit if you’d like.”
Ann looked over at him. “No, I’m fine. The scenery sure is gorgeous, isn’t it?”
Jerry glanced out the driver’s side window and replied, “It certainly is. It starts getting much hillier the closer we get to Hocking County. It will be even more breathtaking there.”
“How much longer until then?”
“About twenty minutes or so.”
Ann stared out the window and sighed to herself. She hadn’t felt this content in a long while and she knew she had Jerry Rankin to thank for it. After the incident the night before with Larry Underwood, she’d since wondered how she would ever have handled it if Jerry hadn’t been there. If it weren’t for him, in fact, the Underwood boy would never have been caught in the first place and God only knew what else could have happened.
But her greatest relief was just knowing that she and Amy were safe now-no more worrying about strange noises out in the yard or obscene phone calls in the middle of the night. She had already convinced herself that Larry Underwood had also been the obscene phone caller even though he had denied it. After all, it was just a little too coincidental that the calls started at around the same time that she had thought she’d heard him prowling around in the backyard. She also felt that the calls had seemed to be directed at Amy and not herself, because whenever she had answered the phone, the caller had hung up on her once he realized it wasn’t Amy on the other end. With the exception of the night Jerry had been over when he had called, that is. And that, Ann believed, had been a fluke-most likely because Larry had mistaken her voice for her daughter’s.
What a scary young man, she thought to herself with a shiver.
She was very proud of Amy right now-she had managed somehow to still have a great time at the dance in spite of last night’s nightmarish incident. Plus, she had come home on time-well, only a half hour late-and it appeared that she had behaved herself as well. She had been intoxicated in a sense, but not from alcohol or drugs. Instead, she appeared to be on a natural emotional high from the apparent good time she’d had with Jason on her very first real date. As it turned out, Jason ended up being a very nice, responsible young man and Ann was certainly thankful for that.
It was amazing, she thought, how everything seemed to be turning around for the better ever since she’d met Jerry Rankin. He was always there for her, it seemed, when she really needed someone around. And he knew all the right buttons to push to make her feel appreciated and whole again. Jerry not only respected her but also seemed to know all the right things that made her tick-her likes and dislikes, her innermost feelings about certain things, even obscure little things. Like his suggestion that they go bowling last night. Although Ann hadn’t bowled in over twenty years, Jerry somehow seemed to know that she would enjoy it. It was almost as though he’d known her for years, and yet they’d only just met a few weeks ago!
But what really amazed Ann was the uncanny parallel between the story line of the romantic novel she had just finished reading and her relationship with Jerry. The heroine in the novel had been so much like herself-forty-ish, recently divorced with a teenage daughter to raise on her own. The heroine had moved to a new town to start over again and had just happened to run into a tall stranger and began dating him. The heroine had been hesitant at first in pursuing a new relationship, just as she had with Jerry, but things started happening quickly and before long she’d discovered that she was falling in love with him. In all that time, they had remained platonic until the heroine finally realized that she had put it off long enough.
And where, of all the places, had they finally ended up making love to each other? None other than the stranger’s country retreat!
Talk about coincidences!
This didn’t mean that she had any intentions whatsoever of going to bed with Jerry Rankin today-she was still a very long way from even considering sex with him at this stage of the game. But wasn’t it amazing how similar the book had been to her own experiences? She had been so fascinated by the outcome of the book that she was tempted to ask Jerry if he’d ever read it before. But Ann wisely elected not to. She would only have embarrassed him. After all, men don’t read romance novels!
“Look, Ann!” Jerry exclaimed, suddenly slowing down the car.
Ann looked at where he was pointing off to the side of the road. A deer and her two fawns were scuttling off though the woods.
“Wow, aren’t they beautiful?” Ann breathed. They sat and watched as the deer bounded out of sight.
“That’s the second time I’ve seen deer since we left. The other time was the one I saw lying dead in the road a few miles back,” Jerry said.
“That’s so sad.”
The car sped up again as Jerry floored the accelerator. “It’s a shame that the poor beasts are so ignorant. When they see a car coming at them, they panic and get quite confused. But if they had just an ounce of intelligence, they’d be able to quickly assess the situation and get the hell out of the way before they got plastered.”
“Jerry! What a horrible thing to say!”
He looked over at her and pouted like a child who had just been scolded. “I’m sorry Ann-I didn’t mean to upset you. I was just being truthful-wild animals basically are ignorant.”
“Well, I disagree. I think the problem is us-if we didn’t build these highways and cars that go so fast, the animals wouldn’t be in such danger. They’re only trying to survive and we’ve made it that much more difficult for them.”
Jerry shrugged. “Okay-I have to agree with you there. I’m actually sorry I ever said anything in the first place!”
Ann didn’t want the afternoon to be ruined over a petty argument. “I’m sorry too, Jerry. I shouldn’t have lashed out at you like that. I realize now what you were saying… I think.”
She forced a smile, turned and looked out the window again. She realized now that it wasn’t so much what Jerry had said but the way in which he said it that had irked her. Almost godlike. Something about that troubled her for some reason-it just didn’t seem like something Jerry Rankin would say…
She felt his hand touch her arm and she turned to face him.
“I truly am sorry, Ann. Will you forgive me?”
His eyes were pleading with her. Ann smiled and replied, “I forgive you Jerry. It’s no big deal!”
“Thanks. How about some music?”
Ann nodded and began skimming through the CD’s in the console. She saw a half-dozen titles-all ‘60s classics. She selected The Mamas and Papa’s Greatest Hits and handed it to Jerry.
“I really like them,” she said.
“Me, too,” Jerry said, inserting the disk into the player.
As California Dreaming oozed out of the speakers, Ann sat back and stared out the window, enjoying the autumnal scenery of southeastern Ohio. She noted that the terrain had become hillier and when they entered Hocking County, the highway wound up and down the foothills. The leaves on the trees were at their peak of color and it reminded her a lot of the hills surrounding Smithtown. Hocking county was in fact mid-distance between Columbus and Smithtown but further to the east and she wondered if perhaps these hills were part of the same range that made up the State forest in Smithtown.
Before long, Jerry pulled onto a blacktop road that entered the forest region. The scenery along the road was truly spectacular as they meandered through the foothills. The woods were thick with oak, maple and elm trees, their leaves strikingly rich in color as the slanting shafts of afternoon sun radiated through the branches here and there, showcasing their delicate beauty. Ann and Jerry spoke very little, both content to sit back and enjoy the serene majesty of the wilderness. They had been in the forest for nearly fifteen minutes when Jerry slowed down as they approached an unmarked dirt road that forked off to the left. He pulled onto the road and drove a little way until they came up on a heavy gate blocking the road. Jerry threw the gearshift into park and got out.
“Is this your driveway?” Ann asked.
He glanced over and smiled. “Guess you could say that. I own this road as well as much of the land beyond.”
But I thought that this was state property.”
“Not anymore. We just passed the forest boundary line a quarter mile or so back.”
Ann watched as Jerry stepped over to the gate, took a key from his pocked and unlocked the padlock. He swung the gate open and returned to the car.
“I’m impressed already!” Ann exclaimed as Jerry threw the car into gear and drove a few yards past the gate.
“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!” he grinned slyly before he got out again and locked the gate.
“How long have you owned this?”
“About six months. There are advantages to being in real estate-I got this place for a steal!”
They pulled away and drove along the road for a couple of minutes until they approached a clearing. When they emerged from the tree lined road, Ann gasped.
The first thing she saw was an enormous field of recently mowed grass. The field was flanked by lush stands of timber and near the center and to the right was a huge pond, complete with lily pads and a working fountain. Beyond the pond stood a good-sized A-frame house in the distance on top of a knoll.
“My Lord! This is wonderful, Jerry!”
“Thank you. I thought you’d be impressed.”
Ann stared out the window in awe as they drove toward the house, unable to believe the beauty and remoteness of Jerry Rankin’s country estate. When he had first mentioned it to her, he never let on that it was any way near as enchanting and expansive as this and Ann suddenly had the feeling he’d done this on purpose-just to ensure that she would be absolutely floored once she actually saw it. His ploy had worked like a charm.
Driving along the pond, Jerry said, “It’s fully stocked with bass, catfish and blue gill. I don’t suppose you like to fish, do you?”
Ann grinned. “I used to love fishing when I was a little girl! I sort of grew out of it though, I guess.”
“Maybe you’d like to try it again and see if you still enjoy it,” he suggested, eying her expectantly.
Ann flashed back to the times when she used to go fishing with her father as a child and a warm wave of nostalgia swept over her.
“I just may want to do that,” she replied with a smile.
In another minute they rounded a curve in the road and pulled up beside the house.
“Here we are,” he proclaimed.
Ann stepped out and stood for a moment, surveying the surroundings. The A-frame house looked even larger than she’d imagined it to be.
“I never dreamt it would be so gorgeous. You’ve created you own little island here!”
“I’m glad you like it. Well, let’s go inside and I’ll show you around.”
Ann followed him onto the deck and through the front door. The first thing that caught her eye was the sunken living room that nearly took up the entire east side of the first floor. Straight ahead from her was a large kitchen and to the right the dining area as well as sliding glass doors opening to a solarium, complete with a Jacuzzi. To her immediate right was raw space with the exception of a couple of oil paintings hanging on the wall and a spiral staircase leading upstairs. There wasn’t a single wall separating any of the interior rooms and that feature lent a light and airy atmosphere to the space.
‘Well, what do you think so far?” Jerry asked.
“Awesome,” was all Ann could say.
“C’mon,” he said, taking her by the hand and leading the way into the solarium. After showing her the hot tub, he led her to the staircase. Ann stopped and paused to look at the paintings, surprised to see that they were signed by Jerry Rankin.
“You didn’t tell me that you were an artist!” she exclaimed as she studied one of the paintings.
“I’ve dabbled a bit,” he replied modestly.
“Dabbled? These are really good, Jerry!”
“Thank you. I’m still trying to develop my own style-believe me it isn’t easy. My instructors all thought hat I was a little too fond of Picasso.”
“Who cares? How long have you been painting?”
“I took it up while I was in Europe. I used to sketch all the time when I was a kid and my parents were anything but encouraging-so I decided to take it more seriously and studied for a few years in Paris.”
He started moving toward the staircase and Ann followed behind.
“Let me show you the upstairs.”
Jerry waited until Ann reached the landing and said. “This used to be just like the first floor-void of any walls dividing up the rooms. But I decided to break it up into separate rooms to make it a bit more functional.”
Ann nodded and followed him down the hall to the first door on the left, which was the master bedroom. It was good sized, tastefully furnished and offered a nice panorama of the hills through the enormous plate glass window. Off to the side was a full bath that was shared with the adjacent room. Jerry led her through the bathroom into the next room, which was smaller and totally empty.
“One of the two spare bedrooms” he explained as they walked back out into the hallway.
They crossed the hall to another room. Jerry opened the door and Ann let out a gasp. Inside was a miniature equivalent to a fully equipped gym with every kind of exercise machine and weight lifting apparatus imaginable.
“I like to keep fit,” Jerry smiled.
“I’ll say,” Ann replied.
Jerry closed the door and led Ann to the last room. “This is my study, you might say,”
The room was every bit as large as the master bedroom and looked like it could be the control room for NASA, with numerous computers and peripherals arranged in clusters on the long counters running along the length of the walls. At the far end, against the window, sat another counter with what appeared to be a ham radio along with a vast array of sophisticated looking diagnostic equipment.
“Good God, Jerry! What is all of this?” Ann asked.
“Toys,” Jerry replied simply. “Just a bunch of toys that I like to tinker around with.”
Ann stood over to one of the computers and looked it over. Although she wasn’t very familiar with computer hardware, she could tell that this was serious, ultra-expensive equipment.
“What on earth do you use all of this for?”
Jerry came over and stood beside her. “I like to keep in touch with what’s going on in the world. It’s almost like having the entire world at your fingertips.”
“That’s pretty apparent. But why in a country retreat?”
He looked at her peculiarly. “Why not?”
Ann suddenly felt stupid for asking the question and smiled nervously. “Well, I’m certainly impressed. I didn’t realize you had so many hobbies, Jerry. I’m surprised you find the time to sell real estate!”
He said quickly, “It’s not as though I’m here that often, but it’s nice to come here whenever I can and get away from it all. Isn’t that what getting away is all about? Relax and do the things you most enjoy doing?”
He had a point and she had to agree. But she also wondered what was left to furnish his home in Dublin. Jerry Rankin’s “retreat” looked more like permanent residence than a place to just drop in from time to time.
When they returned to the hall, Jerry walked over to the staircase and pointed up to where it dead-ended into a hatch-like door set into the ceiling.
“My studio loft is up there. I’m in the process of renovating itI’m afraid I’ll have to show it to you some other time.”
“That’s a shame,” Ann said. “I’d love to see it.”
“Perhaps next time,” he said flatly before descending the stairs.
Ann glanced upward and wondered what renovations Jerry could possibly be doing to his studio that would prevent her from at least getting quick peek at it. Perhaps he was just sensitive of her seeing his paintings in progress? Possibly…
She began descending the stairs and was half way down when she realized to her horror that Jerry was standing at the bottom staring straight up her skirt! Her faced turned red and Jerry quickly turned away and began making his way to the kitchen. The incident made Ann very nervous and she wondered if he had been staring at her on purpose or if he’d done it inadvertently. Something told her that the former was the case but she hoped that she was wrong. Surely, she decided, Jerry wouldn’t purposely do something that childish When she joined him in the kitchen, Jerry smiled and said, “How about a little stroll through the grounds-if you’re not too tired, that is.”
Ann thought about it a moment. “Sure, why not?”
“Wonderful! And when we get back, I’ll prepare us some dinner. Do you by any chance like lobster?”
“Love it!” Ann said.
“I’m glad to hear that because I picked up a pair of fresh ones at the market yesterday along with a bottle of dry white wine. I toss a pretty mean salad, too.”
“Sounds scrumptious.”
Ann followed Jerry out the front door and zipped up her jacket when the chilly air greeted her. They began walking down the road toward the pond and by time they had reached it, Jerry had taken hold of her hand.
For the next half hour or so they sauntered leisurely around the grounds talking and taking in the quiet beauty of the autumn foliage. Jerry did most of the talking, telling Ann how much he loved it in the country and how he could just pack everything in and stay there forever. Ann could almost sense by his subtle hints that he was trying to sell her on the place, as if he wouldn’t mind it if she could someday join him and live happily ever after here in the middle of nowhere. She remained politely aloof, flattered by his little innuendoes and wondering at the same time how he could so easily forget that his wife had only recently passed away and how he could already be so fervent to start all over again with someone else.
By the time they headed back to this house, Ann found herself puzzled and a little taken aback by Jerry’s gradual change in demeanor. In the span of just thirty minutes, he had somehow become less a casual acquaintance and more like a man with a mission-a suitor trying to win her heart.
She wasn’t sure how to respond to all of this and she sensed that at some point Jerry Rankin was going to put her in a compromising position. He seemed to have suddenly forgotten their prior agreement-that she had no intentions of establishing a romantic relationship with him and that they were only seeing each other on a no-strings basis. Admittedly, she had come to like Jerry Rankin a great deal as a person and no doubt felt physically attracted to his suave good looks. But she didn’t love him and knew in the back of her mind that she never would. Jerry Rankin was simply a pleasant diversion from her otherwise unsettled life since breaking up with Sam, she now acknowledged, and she wondered how on earth she had let things go this far. How had she let herself go against her better judgment and encourage Jerry as she had?
Karen Whaley. She was one of the reasons. Karen had been Ms. Encouragement from day one, coercing her to get on with her life and have some fun. “Don’t let him slip through your fingers,” she had told her in her typical know-it-all tone of voice.
And then there was Shelley Hatcher. Wasn’t that really why she’d started going out with Jerry on a regular basis? Because Sam had started fooling around with Shelley again and she wanted to somehow get back at her ex-husband?
Just as they approached the house, another thought occurred to Ann: the romance novel that she had been reading. This was yet another reason why she had gone so far with this. She had let a silly romance story transform her into some kind of giddy schoolgirl! She quickly glanced down at her white mini skirt and funky Reeboks. Appropriate attire for a forty-year-old woman? Come on, Ann! She wanted to laugh out loud as she realized that she had not only let her waning youth get the best of her but she had been in a sense living vicariously thorough the heroine of that stupid romance novel all this time. Middle aged woman gets married, gives birth to child, gets divorced, moves away with child, meets tall, handsome stranger, has her doubts about “love on the rebound” but nevertheless gives it a shot, and eventually allows stranger to seduce her to his country retreat…
Jerry suddenly gave her hand a squeeze as they approached the porch. “Feeling hungry?” he asked.
“Famished,” she heard herself reply with a forced smile.
Ann felt a pang of guilt as they walked up to the door. Jerry was probably the most considerate man she had ever met and the last thing she wanted to do was to hurt him. He had done more for her in the relatively short period of time she had know him than she cared to admit to herself. Not only had he made her feel like a whole person again, but he had been there for her when she needed a man around the house and a shoulder to cry on. Plus he had helped to get her mind off of Marsha, if only for a little while at a time.
As Ann recalled her lifelong friend she felt a wave of sadness sweep throughout her entire body. She suddenly realized that Jerry had in a sense helped to fill that void left after Marsha’s death by merely entering her life and giving her something optimistic to look forward to. And, as selfish as it seemed, she’d found herself feeling much better after having learned that he too had recently lost a loved one-his wife. This discovery had all of a sudden made her feel less alone in the world and no doubt had helped establish a sort of common denominator between herself and Jerry.
Could Jerry Rankin have come along at a better time? she thought.
And had he not come along when he had, where would she be now? How could she have dealt with all of this turmoil without him?
She felt him let go of her hand as he opened the door and held it open for her. As she stepped inside, she realized that she owed Jerry a lot. And although she knew that she was going to have to end it between them soon before either of them got into this any deeper, she vowed to herself that she would let him down very gently and very gradually. It was the least she could do.
“Have a seat,” Jerry said when they entered the kitchen. “Would you like something to drink?”
Ann strode over and sat down on one of the stools at the mahogany bar that divided the kitchen from the dining area. “A glass of water, if you don’t mind.”
“Coming right up!” he replied jovially. Jerry went over to the one of the cabinets to get a glass, added ice and filled it with Evian. He handed it to Ann.
“Thanks,” she said.
They made small talk as Ann watched Jerry prepare a gourmet lobster dinner. An hour and two glasses of wine later, Ann caught herself staring at Jerry’s paintings on the wall again. There was something about them, the composition, the subjects themselves, something, that drew her curiosity. She knew that Jerry had noticed her staring over at them more than once but it was fairly evident that he didn’t wish to discuss them, or he would have said something. Ann wanted to ask him about two of the paintings in particular-although they were obviously abstract in nature, it appeared as though the women in both paintings were being observed by the viewer through an opening-a window in the first canvas and through a jagged hole of some kind in the second one. Both of these ‘objects’ constituted the foreground of the paintings creating the illusion that the women were in the distance beyond the respective openings. The impassive expression on their faces and the manner in which they were looking off to the side suggested that the women were totally unaware that the Observer was watching them-as though they were being peeped at. Voyeurism? Ann thought. Was that what Jerry was implying in the paintings?
“I have a surprise for you,” Jerry suddenly announced.
Ann flinched. She peered across the table at him.
“A surprise?”
He nodded. “But before I give it to you, you have to promise me that you’ll use it… tonight.”
Ann tried to imagine what it could be. What could he possibly give her that she could use tonight? she wondered.
“OK, I promise,” she said, playing along.
Jerry stood up, smiled at her peculiarly then went over to the kitchen pantry and opened the door. A moment later he was back, carrying a gift-wrapped box. Before he handed it to her, he said, “Remember, you promised me that you’d use it tonight.”
“I know,” Ann said. “But you really shouldn’t have, Jerry.”
He smiled and handed her the box. Ann felt a little embarrassed and uncomfortable as she removed the ribbon and tore off the gift-wrap. She cast him a sidelong glance when she opened the box and saw what was inside: a lavender bikini swimsuit.
“Jerry! You tricked me! How on earth can I possibly use this tonight?”
He cocked his head in the direction of the Jacuzzi. “Right out there.”
“But Jerry…” Ann protested.
“You promised, remember?”
“Yes, but, I never dreamed-”
He placed a hand on her shoulder as his expression became serious.
“Listen, Ann. You don’t have to if you don’t want to, of course. I’m not really trying to put you on the spot. I honestly thought that you may want to try out the tub tonight, so I bought you the swimsuit as sort of an afterthought.” He snickered. “I knew you wouldn’t do it if you had nothing to wear! Anyway, it’s up to you. I’d just like to add that you’re not going to believe how relaxing it is out there with that soothing hot water loosening up those taut muscles. It’s like heaven.”
Ann smiled. “You don’t have to give me the hard sell, Jerry. I’ve been in a hot tub before.”
“Then you know how absolutely marvelous it is!”
Ann began fidgeting with the swimsuit, still in the box. “I’d love to, Jerry, but it’s getting late. I told Amy that I’d be home by ten o’clock and she may need me to pick her up at her friend’s house if she doesn’t decide to spend the night there.”
Jerry glanced at the wall clock and said, “It’s only seven now. We can hit the tub and have plenty of time to get you home by ten.”
Ann thought it over a moment. “All right, you win.”
She took out the swimsuit and looked it over. “It’s lovely, Jerry. I hope it fits. Where can I change?”
Jerry smiled broadly. “Up in the bedroom if you’d like. You won’t regret this-I promise! I’ll just change down here and get the tub ready in the meantime.”
Ann couldn’t help but smile to herself at Jerry’s boyish enthusiasm. He was acting like a little kid who had just gotten that baseball glove he’d wanted so much for his birthday.
“Okay, I’ll be back in a few minutes,” she said, getting up from the table.
Once inside Jerry’s bedroom, Ann took the swimsuit into the master bath and began removing her clothes. She didn’t know if it was the two glasses of wine or her not wanting to disappoint Jerry that prompted her to agree to this rather odd idea. But the more she though about it, the more she realized that she was actually looking forward to it. It was all quite harmless, really, and besides, she had always been crazy about hot tubs. In fact, she and Sam had owned one and she used to literally spend hours soaking in it whenever she felt tense or just plain wanted to relax and read a good book. Ann suddenly realized just how much she had missed it in all this time since they had sold the house.
Ann laid her clothes in a neat pile on the floor and slipped into the suit. It fit perfectly. As she looked in the mirror at her lily-white skin, she suddenly wished she had known she was going to be wearing a bathing suit in October and she would have paid a visit to the tanning salon. Oh well, she thought. At least the suit did her body justice in the way it clung perfectly. She marveled at Jerry’s taste in choosing the suit. Not only was she fond of lavender, her favorite color, but the suit fit as if it had been custom tailored for her.
Ann straightened up her hair a little and started to leave but stopped herself, realizing that she was going to feel a bit odd going back downstairs to face Jerry practically naked. She grabbed a bath towel off the rack and draped it over her shoulders.
On the way out of the bedroom, something caught her eye and Ann froze in her tracks. There was a small portion of clothing sticking out from between the sliding closet doors that looked familiar. She went over, slid open the door and saw the sleeve of the very same jacket Jerry had worn the night before. It was hanging up along with an entire wardrobe of clothing; a wardrobe that seemed just a little too extensive to be stowed away at one’s weekend retreat. She quickly rifled though the clothes and recognized two of the shirts she’d seen Jerry wear since she’d first met him. Something now puzzled her: why had he spent last night here instead of at his home in Dublin? The jacket all but proved that he had.
She slid the door closed. Either Jerry was merely leading her to believe that he spent little time in this fully stocked, fully furnished country hideaway or he was flat out lying to her. This place not only had that same lived in feeling that any other full time residence emanated but no one in this right mind would store their entire wardrobe at a location that was over an hour and a half drive from where they lived and worked.
Did Jerry Rankin even own a home in Dublin?
She had never once driven by to see his house in all this time – she had never felt any reason to…
A thought suddenly occurred to her and she began feeling foolish. She had phoned Jerry twice and both times he had answered the phone. The number she’d dialed had been the local number he had listed on his business card. Placing a call out here in God’s country would most certainly have been a long distance call, if he even had a phone here. Ann couldn’t recall seeing a phone during her grand tour.
A cellphone… That would explain some of this She shrugged. Why was she suddenly being so suspicious of Jerry Rankin? This is ridiculous! she thought. And what difference did it make if he had spent the night here last night? It wasn’t any of her business, anyway.
Ann turned and left the bedroom. When she reached the first floor, she saw Jerry out in the solarium kneeling down and fiddling with the controls for the hot tub. He was wearing a pair of jockey-style bathing trunks. She slid the door open and stepped out into the solarium.
Jerry glanced over at her expectantly. “How do you like the suit? Let me see it!”
Ann smiled bashfully before removing the bath towel from her shoulders.
“It looks wonderful!” Jerry exclaimed, eying her from head to toe. “Lord, Ann, you sure have one gorgeous body!”
Ann wasn’t sure why she blushed, but she did.
“Thanks,” she replied.
She suddenly felt stark naked as she noticed Jerry’s eyes scrutinizing her body-something he did without reserve or hesitation. Ann felt the impulse to cover herself up but managed to stifle it. Jerry shut the door panel and walked over to her. When she saw how tanned and muscular Jerry looked in his brief bathing suit, Ann began feeling a little less self conscious about her own near nakedness but at the same time wished to Christ her skin wasn’t so damn bone-white.
Jerry reached down and skimmed his hand over the water.
“Ah, just right! I brought out our wine as well-just in case we get thirsty.”
Ann glanced over at the wine bottle and decided that a little more wine might get her a little more in the mood for this.
“It’s a little chilly in here,” she declared, pouring herself a glass.
Jerry followed suit. “Normally it isn’t this cool in here during the day. But once that sun goes down, it does get a bit nippy this time of year. The water is good and warm, though!”
Ann smiled, took a sip and looked around. It was dark as pitch outside now but the solarium was bathed in a warm glow from the tiny track lights mounted strategically along the perimeter of the structure. There was a cozy, almost surreal atmosphere created by the dim lights, the potted tropical plants and the steady low hum of the motor as it churned the chlorinated water around in the tub. She took another sip and soon felt her longing to soak in the hot tub return.
She set her glass down resolutely and eyed Jerry. “Let’s go in!”
Jerry nodded and made a gesture for Ann to get in first, which she did. The water was just right as she waded over to one of the seats and eased herself down into the hot, swirling water.
“It feels wonderful!” she gushed.
Jerry plopped down beside her. “Absolute heaven!”
“This was a great idea, Jerry,” Ann declared, leaning her head back and staring up at the night sky through the glass ceiling.
“I had a feeling you would approve.”
Ann closed her eyes, feeling the warm pulsating jets of water rushing against her body. She had always enjoyed long baths for as long as she could remember-so soothing and relaxing at times that she would sometimes actually allow herself to drift off to sleep. She recalled a particular evening while she was in high school that she had actually fallen asleep for a full hour before a noise outside the bathroom window had suddenly awoken her. She had been grateful for the “wake-up call” because she’d had a final to take the following morning and hadn’t yet begun studying for it.
She heard Jerry stand up and opened her eyes. “I’m getting my wine-would you like yours?”
“Yes, please,” she replied, watching the rivulets of water rolling down Jerry’s shaved. muscular chest.
He winked at her and stepped out. Ann heard the clinking of glasses as he poured some more wine.
“Here,” he said, handing her glass to her.
“Thanks,” she said, taking a sip.
Jerry suddenly placed his hands on her shoulders and faced her. “Are you having a good time?”
She gazed into his smoldering green eyes, which were staring at her imploringly from his handsomely chiseled face.
“Very nice,” she replied.
He leaned down and pecked her on the cheek. “I’m very happy to hear that.”
For a fleeting moment Ann thought that he was going to embrace and kiss her again and she almost wished he had. But instead, he removed his hands, smiled and eased himself down into the tub. She looked on as he fully submerged himself underwater for a moment, stood up and ran his hands through his thick blonde hair and sat down beside her. Leaning back, he closed his eyes for a moment and opened them again, staring pensively at the ceiling. Ann could sense that he wanted to tell her something but hadn’t yet gotten the nerve up to follow through with it. She didn’t know why she had this feeling-maybe it was because of the way he had looked at her a moment ago. He had seemed nervous, tentative, as though he wanted to pour out his heart but had decided that the moment wasn’t yet quite right.
The dread she had felt earlier during their stroll of the grounds now returned and she reminded herself not to do anything that might encourage him. Otherwise, she would find herself in an embarrassing and awkward position. She didn’t love Jerry Rankin and never would, in spite of her impulsive urge to be held in his arms a moment ago. This was a physical thing, she told herself, not an emotional one. Jerry wanted more than that-she was almost certain of it now.
She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, tuning in on the low hum of the motor and gushing jets of water pulsating against her body. Perhaps, she thought, she was making a mountain out of a molehill. Maybe Jerry wasn’t quite as head over heels as she thought he was. Maybe she was reading more into this than there actually was. Whatever the case, she decided it would be best to tell Jerry it was time to head back soon; she needed some time to think all of this through.
She suddenly felt his hands on her shoulders, jerking her from her thoughts. She opened her eyes and saw Jerry standing over her, his expression intense, almost frightening. His eyes were fixed on hers.
“You startled me,” she said nervously.
Jerry smiled, but not in a friendly manner. His lips were twisted in a sort of uncomfortable smirk, conveying a forced self-confidence. His grip on her was a little too firm.
“Let’s do it, Ann,” he declared.
“Do what?” she replied suspiciously.
“Get naked.”
His voice seemed different somehow. Not quite as articulate and with a slight hillbilly twang.
“No, Jerry! What’s wrong with you?” Ann sputtered, her heart racing in her chest.
The intensity in his face waned somewhat. He blinked a couple of times as if to force himself to maintain his composure.
“There’s nothing wrong with me, Ann. I just want to make love to you.”
Ann felt his grip on her tighten as he spoke. “You’re hurting me, Jerry!”
She grasped his arms and tried to push him away. He didn’t budge.
“ Let go of me!” Ann cried.
“I can’t, Ann. Not now.”
Ann was almost as angry as she was terrified.
“Jerry, I don’t know what your problem is but I want you to let go of me and take me home now! Do you hear me?”
He bent down and tried to kiss her. Ann pulled away.
“No!”
“Please, Ann,” Jerry pleaded. “Don’t turn me down-I don’t want to have to hurt you.”
Ann gaped at him in utter shock. “Are you threatening me, Jerry?”
His eyes were now as cold as steel. “Let’s just say that I’m giving you an alternative. We either do it by the book or we do it another way…”
Ann struggled to free herself but was powerless against Jerry’s strength. The room suddenly seemed to be closing in on her as the cold hard fact sunk in that Jerry Rankin was going to rape her, right there and now. It was like a nightmare but too real to be a nightmare. How in God’s name was this happening?
Jerry wrapped his sinewy arms around her and started unfastening her bikini top. His face wore a cool, calculating reserve as he spoke.
“Don’t fight it, Ann. You will enjoy this.”
Ann squirmed and managed to slip thorough his arms. Her head went underwater and in seconds she surfaced on the other side of the hot tub. In a flash, Rankin waded over in two strides and grabbed her by the ankle as she attempted to climb out.
“Please, Ann! Don’t try anything like that again. Do you understand?” he snapped, his face taut with rage.
Before Ann could respond, he said, “I don’t understand you women. I’m especially disappointed in you, Ann. Why are you fighting it? Take a look at me, Ann. Take a good look! I’m not some ugly asshole with shit for brains, now am I? I’m a hunk, for chrissakes! And a hunk with brains, no less! We are supposed to be fucking right now and you’re going to fucking enjoy it! And afterwards, you’re going to gaze lovingly into my eyes and tell me that you want to spend the rest of your life with me because I’m everything that you’ve ever dreamed of. The book, Ann! You’re not following the goddamn script! Get with the program-we’ve made it this far-don’t fucking let me down now!”
Ann was utterly speechless. Her head was spinning wildly. She couldn’t feel anything for a moment-she was absolutely numb and thunderstruck at the same time.
“What are you talking about, Jerry?” she finally managed to say.
He let out a laugh-a sinister guffaw. “That stupid fucking romance novel you’ve been reading for the past three weeks! A Second Chance for Madeline. I planted it in your house. I knew that you’d read it of course-my only concern was whether or not you would question where it came from and how it got there. A calculated risk, you might say. But my hunch was right. You assumed that it was Amy’s book and you never even asked her about it. Another good hunch on my part. You can’t even communicate with your own daughter because you’re afraid of upsetting the spoiled brat! You’re just as stupid and naive as every other wench in this world, Ann. Had me fooled, I can sure tell you that! And to think of all I’ve done for you, just to win your heart and jump your bones. Jesus, what does it take for a guy to get laid in this life?”
Ann’s heart was palpitating as she stood there facing him, her wrists being nearly crushed by his vise-like grip. Her body trembled in the chilly air of the solarium as she attempted to rationalize what Jerry Rankin was saying.
He had planted that book. She had assumed that it was Amy’s book. She had read the book and related so well with the character in the story and had been amazed at how similar the story line followed her relationship with Jerry Rankin…
He had planted that book, knowing somehow that she would read it… Then he had proceeded to play her like a fiddle-right into his trap!
But why? Just so he could rape her? But he hadn’t wanted to rape her at first. He had wanted to simply make love to her-to have her willingly and consensually make love to him. ‘By the book,’ as he’d put it.
Or, the alternative…
In fact, he had wanted everything to be “by the book.” and it had been just that, so far.
Until now.
Jesus! she thought in horror as it suddenly sunk in: Jerry Rankin had set her up from the very beginning! The ‘chance meeting’ at the supermarket hadn’t been a chance meeting at all. Instead, it had been carefully planned out and meticulously executed…
He’d left a six-pack of Coke at the checkout counter knowing full well that she was going to rush out into the parking lot to give it to him! Or, he had at least taken a ‘calculated hunch’ that she would.
“You know, I can read your mind, Ann,” he said, interrupting her thoughts. “Right now, you’re trying to sort out everything and you’re slowly but surely discovering that you’ve more or less been had. And right now, you’re no doubt probably wondering how I could possibly know so much about you. Like, how did I know that you would pick up that book and start reading it, for example? I’ll be modest and admit that I didn’t know for sure that you would. But had you not chosen to read that steamy little romance novel, I would have merely executed an alternate plan instead. You see, there’s always a back-up plan, Ann. It’s absolutely vital in this business. It can make the difference between life and death, in fact.
“The irony of all of this is that it didn’t have to end this way. We could have moved on to greener pastures by now instead of standing here freezing in this goddamn hot tub, which, by the way, I installed solely for your enjoyment. We could be submerged in this wonderful hot water right now humping away. But I’m no fool, Ann. I’ve finally come to grips with reality. You’ve already told yourself quite some time ago that you don’t want me. I wasn’t sure of it until today, though. You’ve eluded yourself into thinking that you’re too goddamn good for me, just as all the others have. I thought you’d understand me, Ann, but you don’t. You, like all the others, wouldn’t know a good thing if it bit you on the ass.”
He let go of Ann’s wrists and stood back from her, flexing his muscles and taking on a bodybuilding pose.
“Look at me, Ann. Check out this bod. Not an ounce of fat, just pure muscle of steel. It’s taken me fifteen years to get my body in this shape! Fifteen years of working out tirelessly, methodically, and sticking to a proper diet. What woman wouldn’t dream of being screwed by a man with a powerful body like mine? Not too many is my guess.”
Jerry stepped forward and brought his face a few inches from Ann’s. “And this mug, Ann. Check it out! A pretty damn handsome bloke, eh? Forty years old and hardly a wrinkle! A great head of hair, too. What bitch could possibly resist me, once they’ve examined the merchandise? What the fuck more could they want?
“But there you stand, plain as day, telling me that I’m not quite up to your specs. Are you trying to convince me that Sam Middleton is some kind of prize? Ha! That skinny twerp sure ain’t getting any offers from Chippendale’s, now is he? Yet you still want the son of a bitch, don’t you? You miss the motherfucker; I can tell by the way you talk to your buddy Karen on the phone all the time. Judas Priest, Ann, you’re fucking blind as a bat!”
The mention of Sam’s name made Ann tense up even more as something suddenly dawned on her.
“You’ve never even seen my ex-husband before-how do you know what Sam looks like? And how… How the hell do you know what I’ve spoken to Karen about?”
Rankin chuckled vacantly. “There’s a lot about me that you don’t know, Ann. I’m pretty amazing, though, aren’t I? Christ, I know more about you than you know about yourself! Makes me almost godlike, doesn’t it? Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider?”
Ann’s mind was a whirr as she thought back. Had she ever shown a picture of Sam to Jerry? No, she had not. The only photo she had was the family portrait in her bedroom. Had Jerry been up there? No, he most certainly had not.
And what about Karen? He had never met her-he doesn’t know her from the man in the moon. Yet…
“Think, Ann! Think! How could I know so much about you when I’ve only just met you a few weeks ago? Could it be that the man you’re seeing isn’t quite who he appears to be? Could it be that perhaps Jerry Rankin, real estate broker, is really somebody else? A master of surveillance-a master spy? And could it possibly be that he went into your house while you were away, gathering vital information and tapping your phone, listening in on your conversations? And spied on you through your windows while you were innocently going about your business? I mean, how else could I have known all the juicy things that you and your buddy Karen have chatted about? Including yours truly, of course. And how about that tart, Shelley Hatcher, whose been fucking your beloved Sam blind? You’d still choose him over me even after he’s been screwing around with someone else-even after he never learned his lesson the first time around. I just can’t figure you women out!”
Ann felt as though she was going to faint.
All of a sudden, Jerry grabbed her and began shaking her mercilessly, his face contorted in a maniacal fit of rage.
“I went to all of this time and trouble for you, you bitch! And what do I get in return? Another turndown! You’re a big fucking disappointment, Ann!”
Ann cried out in agony as she felt his hands digging into her flesh.
“Please, Jerry…”
“ Please fucking what? Please let go of me? Please take me home? Why, bitch? Why should I do anything else for you? What have you done for me to deserve any mercy? I’ve done everything for you-all of this-but you haven’t given me one goddamn thing in return!”
He ceased shaking her and looked away for a moment. Then he stared at Ann, his expression softer, feigning compassion. “I’m sorry, Ann. I really need to get a handle on this temper of mine. I get a bit irrational when I get angry and then I start making mistakes. That’s not acceptable. Especially in the spy gig. Do forgive me, please.”
Ann was trembling. She forgot the excruciating pain in her shoulders while she struggled to figure out how she was going to get away from this raging lunatic. She realized that she was totally at his mercy, no matter what, and that her only chance for survival, if only for a few minutes, was to keep silent and do whatever he demanded. She simply had no choice.
He brought his hands down and clasped onto hers, smiled like a lover getting ready to propose. “Why, you’re freezing cold, Ann. Let’s get in the water,” he said gently.
Ann forced a nod, lowered herself down into the steaming, churning water along with Jerry. The warmth seeped into her skin and had a graciously sobering effect.
“There now, that’s better,” he breathed softly. Gazing into her eyes, he said, “Do you know how many times I’ve longed for this moment, Ann? To be with you like this, holding your hands? Countless. It means a lot more to me than you could ever imagine. A long time ago, I dreamt of a moment just like this, to be with a beautiful woman, intimately, enjoying her beauty, the softness of her skin and knowing that she wanted me as much as I wanted her. Do you know what I mean?”
Ann nodded.
“But I never had much luck making that dream materialize. Women have never been able to understand me for some reason. But you, Ann, you seemed different ever since the first time I ever laid eyes on you. Yes, I admit it now. I lied about my once having a wife. I was trying to make you feel sorry for me. Do you forgive me?”
Ann nodded again.
“A guy gets lonely sometimes. He needs a release, a break from all of the frustration. That’s what this is all about, Ann. I need a release. A little female accompaniment that’s not forced-voluntary. I really don’t want to hurt you. I just want you to play along-to let me realize that dream. If only for just a few moments. Do you think you could do that for me, Ann?”
Although her head was reeling, Ann managed to appear relatively calm. What was her alternative, she thought, if she didn’t play along?
She stared into his eyes and pretended that Jerry Rankin was still the tall, dark stranger she had thought him to be.
“Yes, I can,” she replied.
His eyes lit up. He looked like an adolescent who had just gotten the go-ahead to kiss his first girl ever. He let go of her hands and reached around her back. Ann clenched her teeth as she felt him unfasten her top then watched hopelessly as it fell into the swirling water.
He smiled nervously again, like a schoolboy who had just scored his first adolescent victory. Ann was immediately reminded of the first and only awkward kiss he had given her on their date that Friday night.
He brought his hands around and gingerly cupped her breasts. Even in the weak light, Ann could see the tiny beads of sweat forming on his brow as he merely stood there for a full minute, fondling. Ann had the impulse to run but thought better of it. She would have to wait.
“God, they’re so soft! And firm!” he gasped, nearly choking on his own words. “Please stand up, Ann. I want to see them.”
It was difficult to compose herself as she stood up. Jerry removed his hands from her breasts and stared at them in utter fascination-as if he’d never seen a woman’s breasts before. Ann was so taken aback by his childish behavior that she nearly broke out laughing. He was just like a little kid in a candy shop.
Ann ever so subtly began inching her way slowly toward the other side of the tub, praying that he wouldn’t notice. He grasped her breasts again, brought his head down and kissed one of her nipples, as one would approach a spoonful of hot soup.
“I’m getting really excited here, Ann,” he murmured gutturally. “I never knew it could be this good.”
Ann took a gamble. “Are you ready to make love to me, Jerry?”
He paused and thought for a moment.
“God, I don’t know! I don’t know if I can wait any longer. It’s so different- you’re so different! I’m so used to women whining at me, ‘Don’t do that to me, please!’ And fighting me off. Jesus, Ann, I don’t know how much more of this I can take! I think I’m going to pop my fucking cork! We’re fucking made for each other, don’t you think?”
Jerry had grasped her breasts again and hadn’t noticed that Ann had ever so gradually led them to the other side of the tub. Ann stared down at him, in awe and contempt, Jerry Rankin’s eyes gaping at her boobs as if he were examining a rare archaeological find.
He suddenly whisked one of his hands away and crammed it down into his trunks. He was playing with himself! He glimpsed at Ann with a hideous, apologetic smirk just as Ann snatched up the wine glass and smacked it into his cheek with all the force she could muster.
For a split second, Jerry Rankin merely stared at her dumbfounded, not certain of what had just happened. Blood gushed out from a deep gash near his temple and streamed down his right cheek. Ann sprang up and out of the water. She instantly realized in horror that her only escape was back through the house-there were no exits to the outside.
“Come back here, you fucking bitch!” she heard him scream as she bounded across the solarium to the door and bolted into the house. She spotted the front door and made a beeline for it, the living room carpet feeling soft and warm beneath her bare feet. When she reached the door she turned the knob and pulled but the door wouldn’t budge. In a hysterical panic, she fumbled with the latch, unlocked it and pulled again. The door refused to move. Ann could hear Jerry cursing at her and the sound of splashing water as he climbed out of the tub just as she spotted the keyhole for the deadbolt. He had locked the door from the inside and taken the key!
She was trapped inside the house-there were no other doors!
Jerry bolted into the living room and sprinted toward her. Ann darted over to the spiral staircase and stubbed her toe as she scampered up the wrought iron stairs toward the second floor. She glanced down in terror as she eyed Rankin, racing up toward her holding a bloody towel against the side of his head.
Ann stood frozen on the landing, uncertain of what to do next. Rankin was halfway up the stairway by now, a sinister grin on his face and eyes that meant murder. Ann glanced further up the staircase at the hatch leading to the loft and knew she had no choice but to ascend the stairs further and pray she could get through the hatch before Jerry Rankin caught up with her.
Ann bounded up the stairs, taking two at a time. reached the top, pushed with all her might on the hatch door using both hands and her shoulder. The door was incredibly heavy but finally gave way with a creaking twang of springs. Ann suddenly felt a hand snatch her by the ankle. She glanced down at Rankin and saw that he had reached through the stairs and grabbed her. She screamed and jerked her ankle away from his clasped hand as a sudden jolt of adrenaline kicked in then managed to climb up the rest of the way into the loft It was pitch dark…
She grabbed the edge of the hatch door and slammed it shut just as Rankin reached the top. Ann could see the faint outline of the door where light shone through the edges and hopped onto it, praying that Rankin would be unable to force it open. As she felt the door pressing upward against her weight, Ann groped around in the darkness for a latch of some kind to secure the door.
“Open this fucking door, bitch!” Rankin screamed in rage.
His voice sounded different for some reason-so different that Ann actually wondered it were really Jerry Rankin on the other side of the door.
With her heart nearly bursting out of her chest, Ann scraped along the edge of the door with her fingers like a blind person who had just dropped his last penny on the floor. Suddenly she felt something cold and hard. She traced her fingers along it. A latch! She grasped the nub of the bolt and slid it home, tearing a pair of her fingernails in the process.
She was safe!
At least for the moment.
She heard Jerry’s muffled profanities through the thick door as he pounded on it repeatedly with his fists. Ann could smell the pungent odors of paint thinner and linseed oil as she stood up and looked around the dark room. Her eyes eventually adjusted to the weak light somewhat as she noticed several rectangular shapes silhouetted against a large window.
His paintings, she thought.
She could just make out the vaulted ceiling as she recalled seeing a small balcony jut out from the third floor of the A-frame during their tour. Maybe that could be her ticket to escape.
She felt totally disoriented in her panicked state in the darkness.
She needed some light.
Once she could see, she would head for the balcony and pray that she could get away from Jerry Rankin.
Ann realized she was trembling from head to toe as she began inching her way toward the window, her hands swatting in the darkness before her. She came upon an object and touched it gingerly. It was a huge canvas board mounted on an easel. She sidestepped the painting and continued. In another few steps she bumped into a heavy object-a table. She groped around on the tabletop and could feel tubes of oil paint, a tin can and the base of what felt like a table lamp. Jerry was screaming at her unintelligibly and still pounding on the door as she ran her hand up the lamp until she felt the gooseneck that terminated at a light fixture. She felt the bulb inside the housing and ran her finger along the housing until it hit home. With a grateful sigh she pressed the button.
The room became bathed in light. The first thing she saw was the table and all of the scattered paint tubes and brushes upon it.
The next thing she saw caused her to scream and made the hair on her neck stand on end An enormous oil painting on an easel.
And unlike the rest of Jerry Rankin’s paintings, this was no abstract study.
Instead, it was a traditional rendering of three nude women, lying side by side, flat on their backs in identical positions. All three were evidently dead and had “May Day” inscribed across their breasts in what appeared to be bright red lipstick. Ann gasped in horror when she spotted the vial of lipstick shoved up into the vagina of the middle woman’s spread eagle legs.
A woman who bore a stunning resemblance to Marsha Bradley!
Ann stood with her eyes transfixed and mouth agape, oblivious to the fact that Jerry Rankin was no longer screaming and beating on the door. She felt her stomach muscles tighten as she studied the image of the woman lying to the left of Marsha. Although she hadn’t seen her in over twenty years, Ann was almost certain that the woman was Sara Hunt. And when she looked at the woman on the right, Ann began to shiver. The woman bore an uncanny resemblance to herself, only with blonde hair!
And then she spotted something else, placed on the lip of the easel. Three Polaroid prints lined up in a row…
Shots of the nude bodies of Marsha Bradley, Sara Hunt and the blonde woman who resembled herself.
Jesus Christ! she thought as she felt the bile rise in her throat
…
Stanley Jenkins!
Jerry Rankin was Stanley Jenkins!
But how could he be? It was impossible!
Suddenly, she heard a whooshing noise coming from her left. Her eyes shot past the half dozen or so paintings to the sliding doors that led to the balcony just as Jerry Rankin was entering the loft.
“You’re going to die!” he hissed, springing toward her. Ann let out a shriek and ran for the hatch door. But Jerry Rankin was too quick. He caught her before she even had a chance to open the latch.
He was so enraged that he punched Ann hard in the face and forced her to the floor, jumping on top of her and pinning her down.
“I should kill you now,” he spat, his face only inches away from hers. “But not quite yet.”
Ann screamed hysterically and wrestled with him, but to no avail. He doubled up in laughter. “Don’t even try it, Ann. You’re no match for me!”
His voice had taken on the hillbilly twang again.
“Who are you?”
He glanced over at the painting then back at her and Ann could see his face clearly now. His left eye was green, but his right eye was brown.
Apparently, his other green contact lens had fallen out into the Jacuzzi when she’d slashed him with her wine glass.
Stanley Jenkins, she vaguely recalled, had brown eyes.
A hideous grin came to his face and instead of replying, he merely eyed her body for a moment and then stared at her expectantly, as if waiting for her to answer her own question.
Ann already knew the answer, despite the utter inconceivability of it. Her mind flashed back twenty years to the last time she could recall ever seeing or hearing Stanley Jenkins. She recalled his voice, a sort of whiney, nasal twang-just the sort of voice one would expect to hear from a nerdy egghead…
“Well, Ann? Who am I?”
Ann felt her heart bursting out of her rib cage. Stanley Jenkins had found her. Stanley Jenkins was going to kill her. Just as he had killed Marsha and the others…
She turned her head away from him.
“Stanley Jenkins?”
He grasped her chin in his free hand and jerked her head back around. He was leering at her as he said to her in a confidential tone of voice: “It didn’t have to end this way, Ann. I told you that this room was off limits. But you just had to come up here anyway, didn’t you? And now you’ve discovered my little secret.”
“Why did you kill my friend? And the others?”
“Your friend?” he retorted with a smirk. “Marsha wasn’t your friend, Ann! She deceived you! She went behind your back and played a trick on you. She and that deplorable Sara Hunt bitch!”
Ann’s eyes widened in absolute shock. “What in the world are you talking about?”
Stanley loosened his hold on her and shook his head. “You don’t get it, do you? You have absolutely no idea what happened, do you? I’m very disappointed, Ann. Hell, you’re every bit as naive as these other stupid women! Now you’re probably going to disappoint me even more and tell me that you don’t remember my asking you out to the Prom our senior year. Please, Ann! Don’t let me down. Tell me that you at least remember that; or was it so fucking insignificant that it has slipped your mind after all of these years?”
“I-I remember,” she stammered.
“I’m impressed! You were at a basketball game, cheering the team on in that cute little mini skirt that showed your ass so nicely. I was watching you from the bleachers, doing your splits and getting tossed in the air so high that I could see the crotch of your red panties as clear as day! I never got tired of watching you, Ann. You were so beautiful, so damn classy! I never failed to get excited whenever I watched you-it didn’t make any difference what you were doing-studying, watching television, taking a bath-it never failed to give me a hard-on! It didn’t take too long to realize that I wanted you more than anything else in the world. You became my only reason to exist for quite a while, in fact. I dreamt about you every night, after I went to bed, I dreamt of someday having you all for myself. To hold you and touch you and have wild, kinky sex with you. God, you were all I could ever think about! And I made a vow to myself that someday I would have you.”
Ann stared up at him as he spoke, as intrigued as she was mortified by these disturbing revelations. He paused just long enough to climb off of her and re-situate himself, kneeling on one knee as she remained lying flat on her back.
“I had it all figured out, Ann. My plan was to put you under surveillance and learn all I could about you without your ever knowing it. I started following you home from school and at night, hanging around your house and spying on you. Your house was perfect-lots of windows and neat places to hide without being seen by any of the neighbors. You lived alone with your mother and she went out a lot, too, which really helped. Anyway, I did this for practically our entire senior year, and in that time I’d discovered a lot of interesting things about you. Besides the obvious fact that you had the most luscious body I’d ever seen, that is.”
He winked and grinned impudently at her when he said this, sending a cold chill down Ann’s spine. She looked way from him and found that what he was telling her was simply too hard to believe.
“I never had much luck with girls at school, as you no doubt recall. They all thought that I was some kind of nerdy do-gooder and even I know they thought I was uglier than sin. I couldn’t change my looks any-mother wouldn’t let me-so I figured that if I could somehow attract you in a spiritual way, I might have a chance. My plan was to show you how well I knew you and that I understood what made you tick, Ann. I thought you’d be impressed and would go out with me, because you were different from the others. You had a heart. I snuck into your house once and read your diary. I discovered by reading it that you had compassion for others less fortunate than yourself. You felt sorry for your mother because your father had died when you were so young. You felt sorry for your friends for various reasons: one got knocked up by her boyfriend, another got jilted by hers, and so on and so on. But you never felt sorry for yourself. You cared for others more than you cared for yourself-you were a true “giver.” I thought that was so classy! I had myself convinced that if I played my cards right and approached you at just the right time to ask you out on a date that you’d do it. And you probably would have, if it hadn’t been for your so-called friend, Marsha Stillner.
“That bitch fucked me up at that basketball game, Ann. She and Sara Hunt were sitting together and called me over to them. I asked them what they wanted and your dear friend Marsha told me that you wanted me to ask you to the prom. I didn’t believe her at first, of course, but Marsha was such a great actress! She kept a straight face and insisted that she was telling the truth. Sara Hunt then gave an Oscar winning performance as best supporting actress. She looked at me right in the eye and said, ‘Ann knows that you have the hots for her, Stanley, and she thinks you’re really cute. She’s been waiting for months for you to ask her out, but she’s afraid you won’t have the nerve to do it.’
“I flipped out when she told me this. All of a sudden I started thinking that maybe you knew I’d been spying on you all this time and that you were letting me watch you through the window because you enjoyed entertaining me! Like, you were being coy with me. I got all excited, thinking that this was turning out even better than I’d dreamed it would and I thanked Marsha and Sara for the tip. I went down near the sideline and watched you a little longer, trying to get my nerve up. Then, just to be on the safe side, I quickly looked up at where Marsha and Sara were sitting, half expecting to see them doubled up in laughter over their little joke. But they weren’t laughing at all. In fact, they were watching the game and seemed oblivious to anything else.
“That convinced me that they were on the up-an-up. So, I mustered up all of my courage and walked over to you. Then I asked you out.
“The rest, as they say, is history.”
Stanley stood up walked over to the balcony door and examined the wound on his face in the reflection. Ann was frozen where she lay, overwhelmed by what he had just told her. She considered making a run for it but knew that it would be futile. She wanted to lash out at him, tell him that what Marsha had done over twenty years ago didn’t justify his murdering her. But she remained silent. Stanley Jenkins was clearly off his rocker, schizoid. There was no sense in trying to rationalize anything with him. He was also a cold-blooded killer, and she realized that it was just a matter of moments before he murdered her as well.
She was not in any hurry to die, though.
Stanley turned around and strode over to her, dabbing at his wound with a towel. He had tears in his eyes. He stood over her and forced a weak smile.
“You might as well have killed me that day, Ann. I was shattered by your refusal and really angry that I’d fallen for your friends’ little scheme. Now, maybe you can understand why I got great satisfaction killing them. They fucked me up royally and deserved to die.”
His tone of voice sharpened, his self-confidence returned. “I went into seclusion after that incident at the basketball game. I still wanted you in spite of what happened but I knew there was little I could do about it at the time. After graduation, my parents all but forced me to go away to college so I started taking courses that summer. In a way, I didn’t care-I just wanted to get away from Smithtown. I did drugs, a lot of drugs, and I didn’t give a flying fuck about my grades or my parents. I had hit the skids and just wanted to try to have fun for a change.
“Then I laid eyes on Cindy Fuller for the first time at a party one night. She reminded me so much of you! I started following her around and spying on her, all the time pretending that she was you. Then I made the same mistake yet again-I asked her out and she refused me. I got really angry and wanted to kill her. Sam has already told you all about the fire and all of that, so I won’t bore you with it.”
Ann flinched at the mention of Sam. If only she’d listened to him “While I was in the nut-house,” he continued, “I made a vow to myself. When I got out, I was going to change myself, make myself a better person. Not long after I finally got released, I received a rather tidy life insurance settlement, thanks to my recently departed father. I went to Vegas and studied the tables then figured out how to beat the system. I got fucking rich, all in the matter of a few months. I took all of my winnings to L.A. and began devising my master plan.”
Stanley paused a moment and stared thoughtfully at Ann. “You can get up, Ann. You’re uncomfortable. Don’t worry, I’m not going to harm you.”
Ann knew this was a lie but stood up nonetheless. He winked at her then strode over to a stool near the window and gestured toward it.
“Why don’t you sit here?” he said. It was more of a command than a suggestion.
She nodded and went over to the stool, sat down. The wood was cold and hard against her damp swimsuit as she tried futilely to quit shivering. It was becoming increasingly apparent that Stanley had a dual personality-a sort of Jeckyl and Hyde persona. And at the moment, he was assuming a sort of unsettling combination of both characters.
Jenkins sauntered over to the painting of the nude women and studied it for a moment, then turned around and faced Ann.
“I kept totally to myself while living in L.A. In fact, I was virtually incognito. I rented a beach side villa under a fictitious name and spent the next year there making dozens of overseas calls to Europe and fooling around with personal computers, which were just beginning to appear in the consumer market. I was absolutely fascinated by computers, so I started writing my own programs and finding ways of patching into, at that time, the relatively infantile internet as well as various data bases.
“My plan was simple, but time-consuming to execute. I had three objectives: One was to locate a plastic surgeon out of the country who was not only really good, but who could also be bribed. Secrecy is the key, Ann. As they say, ‘loose lips sink ships.’ It was my intention to have reconstructive surgery performed on my entire face. In other words, turn my ugly face into a handsome one. It was not my intention, though, for anyone to find out about it. Thus, who ever performed this transition was going to have to keep silent as well.
“My second objective was to assume an entirely new identify. Ironically, that was probably the easiest of all to execute-just a matter of checking out court records and locating the right name of the right person, then obtaining a birth certificate.
“My third objective, having gotten my new face and name, was to actually make myself become this new person. This was not easy, to say the least, but I was quite determined. I stayed in Europe after the surgery because I realized that the most effective way to dramatically change my speech, mannerisms and personality was to get saturated in a totally different environment other than the one I’d been accustomed to. Europe is so wonderful, Ann-so different from the States. The people there have a lot of class and impeccable manners for the most part, unlike we Americans. I assumed a sort of aristocratic demeanor, a rich American who knew how to live the good life. I traveled extensively around the continent, carefully observing the people and absorbing their more appealing qualities and making them my own. I got pretty good at it, as you already know.
“By now, you’re probably asking yourself why I did all of this. What was the purpose? The answer is simple. Besides the fact that I hated being Stanley Jenkins and wanted to eliminate him, I also wanted something else. Or more precisely, someone else. I still wanted you, Ann. I figured that if I change myself that you would accept me and that I could finally realize my dreams.”
Jenkins stared at Ann expectantly, studied her reaction. Ann squirmed on the stool and looked away.
“I had heard that you’d married Sam not long after graduation and I almost hated you for that. But I didn’t. I decided that I’d follow through with my plan and let fate take its course. I am a fatalist, you see. I came back to the States in January and did some surveillance, discovered that you were still with Sam Middleton and had a daughter. So I decided to buy this place and ride out the tide. Then fate entered the picture this spring. You and Sam got divorced. I sat around and waited to see what you were going to do, and to my surprise and delight you moved to Columbus. My course was suddenly set: I would eliminate everyone who had ever stood in my way of getting to you. Then, I’d make my ultimate move.”
Ann started sobbing hysterically. Jenkins walked over and gently placed his hand on her shoulder, causing her to flinch.
“Don’t cry, Ann. It’s only going to make things worse.”
He stroked her hair, still damp from the hot tub, and said,” I truly am sorry that it had to turn out this way, Ann. But I half suspected it would and as a result am going to have to resort to my backup plan. I should have known better than to think you were any different than the others anyway, and it only goes to show that I am not infallible. But all is not lost, by any means. I’ll be able to say goodbye to Stanley Jenkins for good after tonight. And believe me, that will be quite a weight off my shoulders.”
He stepped back and looked her over, then said, “I’m afraid I’m going to have to kill you, Ann. I’ll have a plane to catch in a few hours and I’ve already wasted enough time telling you my life story. But I felt you had a right to know what I’ve just told you, and besides that, I’ve not been particularly looking forward to putting an end to your existence. But life goes on, Ann. I have no choice in the matter. Unfortunately, I can’t let you live and still walk out of here a free man. I do hope you understand.”
His directness caught Ann off guard and sobered her thoughts. Suddenly, her will for survival superseded everything else.
She had to get away. At least stall him somehow for now. At least give him a goddamn fight!
“Please let me live, Stanley. I promise that…”
“The name is Jerry Rankin, Ann, remember? We’re through with Stanley now.”
“I beg you, Jerry,” Ann pleaded. “Please don’t kill me. I promise that I won’t tell a soul any of this. You can leave the country, or go wherever you’re going, and I’ll pretend that this never happened!”
He laughed heartily and Ann knew that she’d said the wrong thing. “It’s not going to work, Ann. You’re going to have to give me a better offer than that.”
Ann knew what he was implying. “I’ll do anything, Jerry! Please, just let me go-Amy needs me!”
He grinned, then replied, “You should have thought of that before, Ann. You had your chance but you blew it.”
He removed the bloodied towel and looked at it, tossed it to the floor and stared directly into Ann’ s eyes. “And look at what you did to me! Cut my fucking face with that wine glass! Yet here you are, standing there half naked and all blurry eyed, begging me to spare your fucking life. After you fucking cut me? Do you know how many goddamn stitches it’s going to take to fix my face? Christ, Ann-sorry to say it but you’re not in a very good negotiating position right now.”
Suddenly, Dr. Jeckyl turned into Mr. Hyde.
He grabbed her by the arm, flung her down on the floor and was on top of her in a flash. He started yanking down her swimsuit bottoms as Ann pummeled his chest with her fists, her legs thrashing wildly.
“No more time to negotiate, Ann. I’m going to fuck you, then I’m going to kill you.”
Ann fought back fiercely. She managed to rake her fingernails over the fresh wound on his face, causing him to let out a blood-curdling howl. He stopped dead for a second, stared at her with eyes that wanted to kill, and ripped off her bathing suit in one quick, effortless motion. Ann screamed in terror and struck him in the face again. He gaped at her maniacally, as though he couldn’t believe what had just happened, then brought back his hand to strike her They both heard the voices at the same time. They were coming from downstairs-muffled and unintelligible, but getting louder. A look of absolute horror came over Stanley’s face as he froze in his tracks and cocked his head, listening, covering Ann’s mouth in his hand. Ann could hear her heart beating wildly and watched as drops of blood ran down Stanley’s cheeks and plopped onto one of her breasts.
The loft floor vibrated from where the steel staircase was attached to it as someone climbed up and apparently stopped on the second floor.
Ann tried to scream but all that came out was a muffled whimper into Stanley Jenkin’s hand. His face was chalk white as he glanced first at the hatch, then over to the balcony door, apparently trying to decide what to do next. All of a sudden, the floor started vibrating again and they heard footsteps coming closer. Stanley flinched as his eyes darted all around the room. Total panic.
The footsteps ceased and they heard someone shove hard against the door. Stanley leered at Ann threateningly, tightening his grip over her mouth, daring her to utter a sound. Someone banged on the door a couple of times and tried to force it open.
There was a moment of silence, then the sound of more footsteps coming up the stairs.
“This is the sheriff’s department, Rankin. We know you’re in there-open this door immediately!” a muffled voice commanded.
Ann felt a huge wave of relief sweep over her. She tried to scream again but Stanley’s hand stifled her. He glared at her defiantly. Jenkins eyes darted over toward the balcony again and he made a gesture for Ann to stand up.
“We’re on to you, Stanley, so give yourself up,” another voice said. Ann immediately recognized that distinctive voice-it was Roger Hagstrom!
“We’ve got your entire house surrounded, so I suggest you open this door and let us do our job. We don’t want anyone to get hurt.” Roger said.
What little color Stanley’s face had drained away. He was kneeling now with one hand over Ann’s mouth and the other over his wound. His eyes frantically surveyed the room in a desperate effort to figure out his next move.
They both heard the sound of more footsteps scurrying up the staircase.
“Ann, are you in there?”
It was Sam!
On impulse, Ann grabbed Stanley’s wrist and wrenched his hand away from her mouth. “Sam!” she cried.
In a flash, Jenkins slapped her hard on the cheek and Ann slumped to the floor, reeling from the blow.
“Ann!” Sam shouted. “Are you alright?”
Jenkins suddenly snatched up a coil of picture hanging wire from the table and forced Ann up to a sitting position. He knelt behind her and wrapped a length of the wire around her neck.
“No!” she cried.
Ann felt the wire cut into her flesh and screamed hysterically.
“Your wife’s life is quite literally in my hands, Sam,” Jenkins shouted. “If you want her alive, then I suggest that you, your sidekick and the rest of this lynch mob back off now!”
There was an unintelligible mumbling of voices for a moment, then Ann heard Roger Hagstrom say, “Don’t harm her, Stanley. We’ll do whatever you say,”
Stanley chuckled nervously. “That’s very prudent of you, Roger. I’ll tell you my demands in a moment, but first I’ve got to know something. How in the fuck did you find me out? I purposely left a couple of little clues for you to ponder over but that was only to incriminate Stanley Jenkins, certainly not his alias.”
“The picture, Stanley,” Sam said. You took a Polaroid of my daughter and she sent it to me. Your prints were all over it.”
Stanley contemplated this for a moment, then said. “I’ll buy that Sam, but what prompted you to check out the prints in the first place?”
“You should have sprung for a new camera, Stanley. Your pinch rollers on that old relic are about shot. You might say that they left an incriminating trail.”
“ Fuck!” Jenkins gasped, realizing his folly. And with that, Stanley Jenkins snapped.
Ann felt the wire tighten around her neck and at the same time heard a rustling come from behind her. A shot rang out and Stanley immediately released his grip.
Ann spun around just as a young officer sprinted across the room from the balcony. He placed the barrel of his service revolver against Jenkin’s temple.
“Release her, Jenkins, or the next one is for you.”
Ann watched as Stanley shut his eyes. “Please don’t shoot me!” he whined. “I give up!”
“Stand up and put your hands behind your back,” the officer commanded.
After Jenkins complied, the officer handcuffed him.
“Got him, sir!” he hollered in the direction of the door. “Are you all right, Ma’m?” he asked Ann. The officer picked up a sheet draped over a chair and sheepishly handed it to Ann.
“Yes, thank-you,” Ann replied gratefully. She covered herself up with the sheet and got up onto her feet.
“Open the door, Griggs,” someone demanded from the other side of the door.
Keeping his pistol trained on Jenkins, Officer Griggs went over and opened the hatch door. Sam was the first man inside. He ran over and threw his arms around Ann as he glanced at Stanley Jenkins and did a double take when he saw the notorious Jerry Rankin for the first time.
“God Sam, I’m so glad to see you!” Ann cried as Sam held her tight.
“Me too, honey,” he replied.
Roger entered along with the officers from the Hocking County Sheriff’s department. Ann saw the astonished look on Roger’s face when he saw Stanley Jenkins, alias Jerry Rankin.
“Jesus Christ, Stanley! It looks like you got a bit more than just a little nip and tuck from your plastic surgeon!” he exclaimed.
Stanley frowned and looked away.
Roger stepped over to Ann and gave her a quick hug, winked at Sam and turned to face Jenkins.
“Stanley Jenkins, you are under arrest for the murder of Marsha Bradley. You have the right to remain silent…”