“Wait here, bunny.” Zeke retrieved her clothes. He held up a flashlight so she could see to put them on. As she pulled her skirt up, she noticed her knees were bloody, scraped from the rough floor. Putting on her skirt and blouse made her feel so much better, less vulnerable. She wiped off the bottoms of her feet before slipping on her socks and boots. And when she slid into her coat, she nearly wept from the warmth and cover it provided. She would never take clothes for granted again.
“Come on, let’s get out of here.” Zeke took her arm. He led her out to the van, ignoring the sounds around them, and tucked her into the passenger seat.
She stared out the window as he came around and got inside. The urge to run was almost unbearable, but she fought it. She knew he would catch her before she could put any distance between them.
“I feel like a Danish and some coffee. How about you?” He started the van and cranked up the heater, which blew cold air onto her legs. “Bet you could use a mocha cappuccino, huh?”
“No,” Sue stated, bluntly. “I hate them.” She kept her eyes on the pocket of his coat, in case he reached for Big Ben. If he did that, she would run screaming, no matter where they were. She might not make it far, but she’d try.
“Hate them? What are you talking about? You love them! I can’t count how many times I’ve watched you guzzle them down.”
“You’re wrong. I hate them,” Sue mumbled.
“Why are you acting this way?” Zeke looked at her. “You in some kind of mood or something?”
“Not only was I just raped but I’m also having cramps.”
“You weren’t raped,” Zeke scoffed, then paused to consider. “What kind of cramps are you talking about?”
“Seriously? Do I have to spell it out?” She stared unhappily at her lap.
“Oh great. Now I have to deal with that. Isn’t that just wonderful.”
Sue stared at him in amazement. “Why do you want to hurt me, Zeke? Why are you always so mean?” She kept her voice soft.
“Hurt you? That’s crazy. Look, Sue, we agreed we are both sexual adventurers,” he said with exaggerated patience.
“We did?”
“Sure, we did. We talked about it extensively. Don’t go wacko on me, Sue.”
“But you tied me up. And those men…”
“Oh come on! I set that up for you, for your enjoyment. I was trying to make up for getting mad at you, so I found you some men. It wasn’t that easy, you know.” The irritation was back in his voice. “I thought you’d like it, the chance to pretend the whole thing was against your will. That way you could get into it without feeling guilty. I was doing you a favor, and it sounds to me like you don’t appreciate it very much.”
“I didn’t want it, Zeke. I never wanted it. I was scared out of my mind.” Sue twisted the edge of her blouse in her hands.
“Oh, you wanted it and you know it.” Zeke laughed softly and relaxed back into his seat. “You like this stuff. You still just can’t admit it, can you? You’re so uptight.” He drove away from the dark tenement, heading for a well-lighted boulevard. Squinting, he gazed out the windshield as if trying to find a particular street, but Sue felt he was driving aimlessly.
“You’re different from when I first met you,” Sue said, taking a chance.
“Different? No, I’m not. It seems that way, maybe, but that’s how relationships work, Sue.” He chided her. “People always start out a certain way in the beginning and then things evolve. You get to know each other, let down your guard. You’ve done the same exact thing, you just don’t realize it. Romance novels probably did this to you. They give girls unrealistic notions.”
“My parents don’t treat each other this way, Zeke. Nobody I know acts this way.”
“They do a lot more than you think they do. They just don’t advertise it. Look, I’m trying to help you break free, help you enjoy life. I’m enjoying the hell out of it.” He reached over and patted her upper leg. “Just relax and go with the flow, Susie. Don’t provoke me.” He stopped at a red light and reached over to grasp her arm. “I hope you’re not thinking of leaving me.”
“No, no! Of course not.” Sue willed him to believe her lie. “I just miss my parents, is all.”
He grinned wickedly. “Speaking of parents! Bet your mom and dad would love to see the explicit photos I have of you whoring around. And don’t forget, you’re a criminal on top of everything else. That’d make your folks real proud.”
His words horrified Sue and she clamped her mouth shut. How could she have forgotten the pictures? There was no way she could take a chance on her parents ever seeing those. She was trapped.
“Well, anyway, can we please stop somewhere? I need a tampon.”
“Fine.” Zeke pulled into the nearest gas station. They stepped out and walked toward the restrooms located on the side of the establishment.
Suddenly, Sue stopped. “I need my bag. I haven’t seen it lately. Can I go look in the van?”
“Can I go look in the van?” Zeke mocked. “Hell no! But we can go look. You’re a pain in the ass, you know that?”
They returned to the van and Sue dug through their dirty laundry. She finally found her bag. Zeke snatched it and upended it onto the mattress, dumping nearly all the contents. “Hey,” Zeke exclaimed, and pounced on the stash they’d stolen from Doris. “I forgot all about these. Let’s see what we have.” He sorted through the bottles and found Xanax, Librium, and Valium. “Looks like Doris had a little drug problem going on.”
“Those are all for anxiety or depression,” Sue said, recognizing the names from her work in the nursing home.
“That’s right. And now they’re ours to use as we please.”
“I don’t want to take them,” Sue asserted.
“You might not want to, but you will.”
“What?”
“Like now. Take these now.” Zeke held out two Xanax tablets.
Sue shook her head. “I don’t want them.”
“Ah, but you see, I want you to have them. They’ll smooth out the rough edges, so you won’t be so pissy. Now do what I say before I make you do it.” He reached for the purse, but Sue grabbed it, hurriedly stuffing the spilled contents back on top of the cash she’d taken from Doris’s house.
“What’s your problem? You trying to hide something from me?” Zeke put his hand on the purse strap and tugged lightly.
Sue forced her voice to be calm. “What do you mean?”
“What else was in there?” Zeke asked. “It still felt like something was in the bottom.”
Sue hesitated only a second before lying. “It’s the cardboard they put between the two bottom layers. You know, to give it stability. You dumped everything out.”
Zeke stared into her eyes intently but finally accepted her words. “Okay. Well, let’s get this over with.”
Sue grabbed the pills and a tampon and headed for the restroom, relief filling her with hope. She had some cash now, if she could only find a way to get away from Zeke. Her mood lifted a little at the thought as she formulated a secret plan, a plan to escape, to get on a plane and fly home. She would forget about Zeke, never speak of their crimes, and keep their shameful sexual exploits to herself. Go back to college, catch up on her classes. Then, her life would return to normal and she could pretend the last few months had never happened.
Sue grabbed the door to the restroom and found it unlocked. Zeke followed, boldly entering the women’s bathroom with her. “The pills first.”
With a defiant glare, Sue popped them into her mouth, bent over the sink, filled her hands with water, and washed them down.
Grabbing her cheeks, Zeke forced her mouth open. “Lift your tongue.”
Sue complied.
Once Zeke was convinced she had swallowed the drugs, he leaned against the wall and looked at Sue questioningly. “I thought you needed to stuff a roll of cotton up your hole. You going do it, or what?”
“Can’t you wait outside?”
“You know
the answer to that so get with it.”
Self-consciously, Sue pulled her skirt up, reached between her legs, and slipped the tampon home. She stood and hurried to the sink, washed her hands quickly, and practically ran from the building with Zeke hot on her heels.
An elderly woman waiting outside gasped when she saw Zeke exit the ladies’ room.
Zeke covered his mouth in pretend shock. “Oh my heavens!” he said in a girlish squeal. “Isn’t this the men’s restroom? How could I make such a horrible mistake?”
Zeke laughed at the woman’s discomfiture as he caught up with Sue.
“Did you see the look that old bag gave me?” He guided Sue to the van. “Priceless. Maybe I ought to go back and give her the thrill of her life.” He rubbed the front of his jeans suggestively. “What do you think?”
Sue’s mind scrambled for a response, trying to outmaneuver Zeke’s bizarre thought process. Shrugging, she replied with a deliberately casual tone, “Sure. But she’s probably going in there to change her Depends or something. Old people can’t control their bowels very well.”
Zeke paused to stare at Sue. “That’s gross as hell.”
“I know. You should try cleaning up after them.”
Zeke opened the van door and pushed Sue inside. “Well, I think I’ll pass. I can’t believe you wanted me to hit on that. You’re a kinky girl, Sue.” He smiled. “But then, that’s one thing I like about you.”
Sue stared straight ahead and swallowed her disgust.
Calling All the Shots
“We have to get out of this city,” Zeke grumbled over coffee.
Sue took a sip of cola. She’d refused to drink mocha-flavored coffee and had been surprised when Zeke relented. She had finally determined by looking at store signs that they were somewhere in Nashville.
They had been sitting in this internet café for over an hour now, and he hadn’t been able to catch the eye of any of the other customers. They were all too intent on their screens. He was still in trolling mode, searching for lone girls that might be willing to spend time with him and Sue.
Sue descended into a protective numbness and clung to it like drowning cat to a piece of dead wood. The Xanax was taking effect and she found herself relaxing.
Zeke was increasingly agitated and morose. He bit her head off at the slightest provocation.
“We could get a motel room and leave first thing in the morning.” Sue indulged a surge of hope as she made the suggestion. As soon as he fell asleep, she’d run.
He stared at her malevolently, and she slumped lower into her seat.
“I call all the shots, Sue. I’d have thought you’d have that figured out by now.” He caressed his jacket pocket.
A small chill snaked up her back as the reality of her predicament slammed home.
“I should have left you when I had the chance.” Sue was dismayed at the tremble in her voice. She had wanted to sound strong, determined.
“Seriously? And when exactly was that?” He stared at her, his expression challenging. Their eyes locked.
“Lots of times. I didn’t have to stay with you.”
“So you think you just made the wrong choice. Is that it?”
Sue nodded. “I should have left.”
“Maybe you should have.” He was somber, thoughtful.
Suddenly he grinned. “I just can’t keep a straight face. I tried, but I can’t pull it off. Come here.” He leaned over the table as if about to reveal a secret. Sue bent close to listen. He lowered his voice to a whisper. “You really think you had a choice? Anywhere along the way? Do you really believe I’d let you go? You’re mine, Sue. Body and soul.”
He chuckled at Sue’s shocked expression.
Several customers glanced up at the sound of his mirth and then turned back to their screens. Sue considered screaming for help. Then she thought about the clerk at the counter calling the police and the natural progression of events after that. She’d go to jail, but it might not be so bad. At least, she’d be away from Zeke, the man she thought she knew, this lunatic who was disintegrating before her eyes. She only had to rise quickly from the chair, run to the counter, and ask someone to call 911. She didn’t know why she hesitated, but she sat as if paralyzed.
Zeke regarded her with a knowing look, as if he perceived her thoughts. “See the guy over there at that table?” he said softly, gesturing to a young man wearing a worn suit. “Probably got a wife at home, couple of little kids. If you make a scene, I’ll walk right over there and stab him in the throat. I swear I will, Sue. You want his death on your conscience?”
Sue’s heart thudded painfully. “No,” she whispered.
“I got Big Ben right here. Want to see?”
She shook her head, terrified.
“Lighten up.” His smile teased her; it held a trace of the old charm. “I’m just messing with you. We’ll get a room if we can find one that’ll take cash. Come on.”
He closed out the website he’d been scanning, got up, and slung his bag over his shoulder. Sue sat as if cemented to the chair.
“Come on, baby.” He put out his hand and she slowly took it and stood. Holding her fingers in a tight grip, Zeke led her from the establishment. She felt as if she were threading her way through a tangle of downed power lines and one false move would zap her from existence. Still, she put one foot ahead of the other and they passed into the night.
Planting Daisies
They drove for several hours after leaving the coffee shop, and Sue had spent most of that time huddled in back on the grubby mattress, getting out only to use the bathroom at a deserted rest area. Zeke had been darkly silent, giving no clue as to his thoughts. Sue did her best not to antagonize him. Her frazzled mind groped through her options, settling on and then discarding plan after plan. She finally decided to pretend that she believed he was only kidding. Of course, it may be too late for pretense. But Zeke was unhinged. He might believe her. It would buy her some time to find an opportunity to escape. She only wished it all were a joke, just one big, twisted, humorless joke. She dozed off and on, but her sleep was full of disturbing dreams.
By the time they got a motel, her uncertainty and fear had resolved into resignation. She once again had no idea what town they were in; she had lost track of what day it was. When they entered their room, Zeke locked the door and then turned to her, his expression relaxed.
“Well, this room’s not too bad.”
In Sue’s opinion, the room was seedy and not nearly as clean as the previous one, but their choices were limited without a credit card. Nevertheless, she nodded at Zeke’s comment but kept her assessment to herself.
He walked to the phone on the nightstand, unhooked the receiver from the cord, and stuffed it into his duffel bag before tossing it in the corner. Sue watched his actions without a word.
“Just making sure you don’t make any more reckless phone calls.”
“I wouldn’t. I’ve learned my lesson, Zeke.”
“Well, you know how impulsive you are.” Zeke tapped his head with a finger. “Short on brains.”
Sue absorbed this insult with no comment. The drugs had left her dizzy and she knew arguing with him was not only futile, but dangerous.
Taking his wallet from his back pocket, Zeke rifled through it, finally pulling out a folded piece of paper. Its edges were frayed and it looked as if it had been handled many times. He unfolded the sheet and pushed it toward Sue.
“Take a look.” His tone was conversational.
It was an old flyer with MISSING printed across the top. Below that was a grainy photo of a young girl with dark hair in barrettes and wide, innocent eyes. A single cross earring dangled from her left ear. Following the picture was the information: Daisy Swak, age seventeen. Beneath that, a hotline phone number.
“What is this?” Sue reached for the flyer and studied it. Coldness crept over her. “Someone you knew?”
“Oh, I knew her all right.” Zeke’s voice was low and strange. “I knew little
Miss Daisy real well.”
“Did they ever find her?” Sue asked, hoping this was just another of his games.
“Nope.” Zeke took the paper from Sue’s hand, folded it, and tucked it back inside his wallet.
“Was she a friend of yours?” Sue’s mouth was dry, and her brain clamored for the response she knew Zeke expected.
“You might say we were friendly.” Zeke’s mouth stretched into a small tight grin as he slid the wallet into his back pocket. “Yea, you might say that.”
“Do you know where she is?” Sue felt shaky inside, dreading his answer.
“I know where she is. And I’m going to show you, just as soon as it’s light outside.”
Sue’s heart slammed in her chest, and she sucked in her breath. Don’t let her be dead, don’t let her be dead. She automatically turned toward the door.
Zeke’s hand reached out and snagged her arm. He held her in a tight grip. “Going somewhere?” His gaze was penetrating.
She shook her head, her palms breaking out in a sweat. It seemed to her that whatever was wrong with Zeke was accelerating, spiraling. And there was definitely something wrong with him; she knew that now. But, she told herself he could be just playing games with her. She had been around him enough by this time to understand it was something he enjoyed. It was cruel, but basically harmless. Comforting herself with this inane assumption, she tried to appear calmer than she felt. She didn’t want to aggravate him.
“I only wanted to get a soda.” When he continued to stare, she said, “From the machine we passed on the way in. Do you want one?”
“What did you plan on buying a drink with? Your good looks? Well, let me tell you something, Susie. Your looks wouldn’t buy you a pile of shit.”
Sue’s face burned with humiliation. She stared at the floor.
“You look like a deer in headlights.” He loosened his grip on her arm. “You can’t ever seem to tell when I’m just fucking with you. Let’s go together to get the drinks. Then, why don’t you go take a shower? It’ll relax you.” He let go of her and opened the door. It only took a few minutes to make their purchase and reenter the room. Zeke started taking off his clothes.
Zeke Page 24
