“The Lodge? On a Monday? I thought the Lodge was always closed on Mondays.”
Vernon nodded. “Usually. It’s a special event. For the new members.” He added, casually, “You want to come?”
“Sure.”
“Ok. But you’ve got to do me a favor.”
Billy shrugged. “What do you need?”
“I need you to get Gwenda to invite Mary.”
Billy frowned. “Why?”
“I need a chance to talk to her. It’ll be the perfect opportunity.”
“I don’t know,” Billy said, uncertainly.
“Look,” Vernon said, making an effort to sound as sincere as he possibly could. “I’m not sure what Mary sees in Meyer. I just need a chance to convince her to go out with me. The club will be the perfect setting. I need you to do me this favor, ok?”
Billy thought about it for a moment. “Ok, I’ll ask Gwenda.”
“You mean you’ll tell Gwenda,” Vernon said. “To ask Mary,” he added.
“Right.”
Vernon lowered his chin and gave Billy a sober look. “It’s very important that Mary comes to the Lodge on Monday night. She’ll do it for Gwenda. Gwenda will do it for you. And you’ll do it for me. Right?”
“Right,” Billy said again.
#
On Monday evening, Jon wheeled his bike around the house and mounted it. His grandmother had been a little under the weather, and he was on his way to pick up some cough medicine. He wanted to get to the pharmacy before it closed.
He and Mary couldn’t be together this evening. Mary had explained to him that she’d be attending a party at the Lodge. She didn’t really want to go, but Gwenda had begged her to come, and the thought of refusing had made Mary feel bad. It was just as well, Jon reflected. He’d stay home and care for his grandmother. He and Mary would have the rest of the week to spend together. They were planning another trip to Ridley, and he was looking forward to it.
As Jon turned his bike onto Main Street, he noticed a couple walking in his direction on the other side. In the light spilling out from the large front windows of the diner, the couple was illuminated for a moment, and he was surprised to see that it was Gwenda and Billy. He was even more surprised when they turned at the door to the diner and walked in. They took a seat at one of the front tables.
That struck Jon as odd. Mary had said the party would start at seven o’clock. It was now just a few minutes before seven. Maybe, he thought, they were meeting Mary, and they all planned to go together. That had to be it. Mary would almost certainly be along shortly.
He had a few minutes to spare before the pharmacy closed. Anxious, as always, to catch a glimpse of Mary, he decided he would wait until she arrived. He pedaled his bike to a spot just across the street from the diner, braked, and put a foot down to steady himself.
Through the front window, Jon could see Gwenda and Billy clearly. Betty Langdon stopped in front of their table, took out her order pad and started writing. Why, Jon asked himself, would they be ordering if they’re going to a party in just a few minutes? As soon as he’d asked the question, however, the answer came to him. They’re just ordering Cokes to sip while they wait. That made perfect sense.
A few minutes went by, and there was no sign of Mary. Jon realized he would have to get going or he’d miss the chance to pick up his grandmother’s medicine. Disappointed, he put a foot on one of the pedals, prepared to leave. Then he froze. Betty had appeared with two plates of food in her hands, and she set them down on the table in front of Gwenda and Billy. She returned a moment later with a pair of drinks and set those down as well. Billy picked up a hamburger and took a bite.
That made no sense. Jon watched them eat for a moment, a nagging disquiet beginning to gnaw at him. He ran through different scenarios in his mind, but nothing clicked. Finally, putting off all thoughts of the pharmacy, he stepped down on the pedal and rode the short distance to the Dahlgren house.
The house was dark, no light appearing in any of the windows. He debated with himself for a moment. He didn’t want to do it, but his apprehension overrode concerns about what Mr. Dahlgren’s reaction might be if he suddenly appeared on the man’s front step. He walked to the door and knocked.
An anxious minute passed, and there was no response. He knocked again, this time a little louder. Still, no answer. Finally, he pounded on the door and called out, “Mary!”
The house sat quiet as a tomb. Something, Jon realized, was very wrong.
#
“Tell me again why the party was cancelled?” asked Gwenda.
Billy finished chewing the bite he’d taken and swallowed. “All I know is what Vernon told me. He said someone got sick, and they had to cancel.”
“Someone?” she repeated. “One person gets sick, and a whole party gets cancelled? That doesn’t make any sense.”
Billy shrugged. “I’m just telling you what he said.”
Gwenda thought about that. “And he said he told Mary?”
“Uh, huh,” Billy said, his mouth full again.
“Why would Vernon be talking to Mary? More importantly, why would Mary be talking to Vernon? She doesn’t even like him.”
“I don’t know why they would be talking.”
There was something in his tone that struck Gwenda as odd. It was almost as if Billy was being intentionally vague, evasive. A troubling thought occurred to her.
“Billy, you haven’t told anyone about,” and she lowered her voice to a whisper, “Mary and Jon?”
Billy shook his head adamantly. “No, I told you. I haven’t said a word. I promised you I wouldn’t. Don’t you trust me?”
Gwenda reached out and touched Billy’s arm. “Of course I do. I’m sorry. It’s just…” She stopped, her thoughts churning.
“It’s just what?”
After a long moment, Gwenda finally said, “I don’t know. It just feels like there’s something wrong.” She had a thought. “Hey, can we walk over to Mary’s house?”
“Can I finish my hamburger first?”
“Of course.”
When they were done eating, they took the short five-minute walk to the Dahlgren house. No one appeared to be at home, and there was no answer when they knocked. Gwenda saw that the car was gone. The concern that had descended on her in the diner deepened.
“I wonder where Mary is,” Gwenda said, half aloud.
“Maybe she’s with Sam.”
Gwenda shook her head. “No, Sam went with her mother to visit her grandparents in Valparaiso. She won’t be back for a couple of days.”
“So,” Billy said, “maybe she’s with Meyer.” He put his arms around her. “Come on, Gwenda. You’re worrying about nothing. Everything’s going to be fine.”
She leaned against him and nodded. Still, the sense of foreboding would not leave her.
#
Mary steered the Packard into the parking court at the Lodge. Normally, there would be an attendant to take the car and park it in the lot out of sight just beyond the thicket of woods that lined the approach to the club. But there were no attendants to be seen. She saw no people coming or going, and the place seemed unnaturally quiet. She knew it had to be just about seven o’clock. That’s when Gwenda had told her the party would start. Her foot on the brake and the engine idling, Mary leaned forward and looked out the windshield up at the main Lodge building. There were plenty of lights on, so it was obviously open. Uncertain what to do, she set the parking brake, turned off the engine and got out of the car.
Perhaps, she thought, she’d gotten the time wrong. She decided she would go in and ask. When she stepped inside, she did not hear any voices, and there was an air of desertion about the place. She could, however, hear music coming from upstairs.
“Hello,” she called out.
“The party’s up here,” a voice replied, immediately. It was a voice she didn’t recognize. It sounded muffled.
That was surprising. Mary had never been on the second floor of the Lodge. She knew there were
rooms for overnight guests up there, but she hadn’t realized there was an area that would accommodate a party. She climbed the stairs and paused at the top. The music was coming from down the corridor to her left. There was a door open near the end, and light from the room beyond illuminated a portion of the passageway.
She walked down the hall and stepped into the room, where she experienced a moment of confusion. This was no party room. It appeared to be a parlor or sitting room. There was a radio against the far wall, and that was obviously the source of the music. To her left, she could see another door, but it was closed. She stepped further into the room to peer to the right, and, as she did, the door she’d just passed through swung shut with a loud bang, causing her to jump.
She looked behind her at the door that had just slammed shut. Jeff Fletcher stood with his back to it, a grin on his face.
“Jeff? What’s going on?”
He didn’t immediately reply. There was something unsavory about the way he was looking at her.
“Hello, Mary,” came a voice from behind her. She whirled and saw Vernon standing in the doorway that had been closed a moment before. He was leaning casually against the frame, his arms crossed. “Nice of you to join us.”
#
Jon had never been to the Lodge, but he knew where it was. It was accessed by a road that branched off the highway about ten miles to the east of town, shortly before the highway crossed the river.
He was riding as fast as he could. Fortunately, there was almost a full moon, and he was just able to make out the road by the light filtering through the trees on both sides.
He knew there was a chance he was going to be extremely embarrassed, trespassing at a private club where he had no business. But it was a chance he was willing to take. His instinct told him Mary was in trouble, and the possibility of looking like a fool was not going to deter him.
He almost missed the turnoff. A small wooden sign bearing the words “The Lodge” sat at the point where the access road led off from the highway. It was illuminated by a shaft of moonlight, but he noticed it only as he passed. He braked quickly, turned around, and pointed his bike down the new road.
#
Mary and Vernon were in the bedroom. As soon as she had seen Vernon, Mary had turned and tried to reach for the door handle in an attempt to escape. But Jeff seized her by her arms and threw her bodily at Vernon, who caught her and dragged her into the bedroom, planting himself between her and the door.
Heart pounding and breath coming in quick gasps, Mary frantically looked about for anything she might use as a weapon. There was a small lamp on the dresser, but Vernon was closer to it than she was.
Vernon folded his arms again. He ran his eyes down her body and back up to her face.
“You know,” he said, “I gave you plenty of opportunity to be with me in a more,” he paused, “conventional way. But you didn’t take advantage of it. Your mistake.”
He took a step toward her. She tried to retreat, but her back struck the armoire, bringing her up short. He leaned in, and, as he did, she reached up and scratched him across the face as hard as she could. He jerked back, and two narrow lines of blood appeared on his cheek.
He slapped her hard, and she started to fall sideways. He reached one arm out quickly and grabbed a handful of her dress, stopping her fall. He yanked roughly, straightening her. There was a loud ripping sound, and the front of her dress tore open.
Her head was ringing from the blow, and she was dizzy. She knew her bra was exposed. Vernon licked his lips. Then he came at her again.
#
As Jon approached the Lodge, he could see lights glowing from windows on both the first and second floors. In the circular drive in front of the building sat the Packard.
He braked to a stop a few yards behind the car, jumped off the bike and raced up the front steps of the building. Inside the main door was a large foyer. To his right were stairs leading up to a short landing where they turned ninety degrees and continued up to a hallway that was open to the area below.
He stood, poised, listening. Suddenly, there was a scream from somewhere on the second floor. He took the stairs two at a time. At the top, he looked in both directions. To his left, he could see a narrow horizontal shaft of light beneath a door near the end of the hall.
He ran to the door, gripped the handle and threw it open. The first thing he saw was Jeff Fletcher. The boy was leaning against another door, this one also closed. He had his head turned sideways and an ear pressed against it.
It took Jeff a moment to realize he was no longer alone. When he did, he pushed himself away from the door and turned to face Jon. That was all the time Jon needed to reach him. Jon balled his fist, and, throwing his entire body behind it, he came over the top with the punch Ben called the Widowmaker. He caught Jeff flush on the jaw.
The taller boy’s head snapped back, his eyes rolled up, exposing the whites, and he crumpled to the floor. Jon grabbed the door knob, rotated it and pushed hard, flinging it open. He stepped over Jeff and into the room beyond.
In the span of about a second, he took in everything.
Vernon King had thrown Mary across one of the beds. She was on her back, and he was on top of her. The lower half of one of Mary’s arms was flailing wildly. The upper half of that arm and the rest of her body were pinned to the bed by the weight of the large boy. Vernon had one huge hand clamped over Mary’s mouth and the other was up her dress. Obviously hearing the door open, he’d turned his head toward the entrance.
“God damn it, Fletcher, wait your…” but when he saw who it was, he moved instantly. He pulled the hand out from under Mary’s dress, planted it on the bed and pushed himself upwards. As the hand covering Mary’s mouth loosened its grip, Mary leaned her head forward and bit it.
Vernon roared. He grabbed Mary by the hair and flung her away. She staggered backwards, unable to gain her footing, and fell, the back of her head striking the corner of the dresser with a sickening crunch. Her body dropped to the floor like a discarded rag doll, and she lay perfectly still.
Vernon was upright, in a crouch and alert before Jon had the chance to make any type of move. There was a lamp on the dresser. Jon grabbed it, yanked the cord out of the wall and flung it at Vernon, who ducked. The lamp sailed over his shoulder, striking the window and shattering both the window and the lamp.
Vernon, his face a malevolent mask, came around the bed, stepping over Mary’s lifeless body. He was almost a foot taller than Jon, and he outweighed the smaller boy by at least sixty pounds. Though a part of Jon’s mind was screaming for him to tend to Mary, he forced himself to focus on Vernon.
Vernon advanced with both arms outstretched. Jon waited until the bigger boy was just the right distance away. Then he stepped forward on his right foot and, with all the force he could muster, swung his left up in a kick. His toe struck Vernon solidly in the groin.
Vernon staggered, an initial expression of shock giving way to a grimace of pain. Still moving forward, Vernon’s hands dropped reflexively to the source of the pain, and Jon threw a hard left jab into Vernon’s solar plexus. There was a whoosh of escaping air, and Vernon bent forward. Jon followed with a right uppercut, catching Vernon under the chin. Jon put so much force into the blow that it straightened Vernon up completely for a moment.
Amazingly, Vernon did not go down. He did, however, stumble backwards between the two beds. The backs of his knees struck a small table, and he half sat on it, crushing the remaining lamp and plunging the room into semi-darkness.
By the light entering through the open doorway, Jon could see that, though Vernon was not out, he was certainly down for the count. Jon turned toward Mary and took a step.
A shadow filled the doorway, and a voice said, “Stop.”
He froze, and his head jerked around.
“Don’t move, or I’ll shoot.”
Jon couldn’t tell who it was. The man’s face was in full shadow. But there was no mistaking the weapon he held in his ha
nd. It was a large caliber revolver and it was pointed straight at Jon’s chest. The light from the other room glinted off the barrel. The hand that held it was steady.
Desperately, Jon pointed to the body of Mary. He started to speak, but the man’s thumb pulled back the hammer. It made an abnormally loud clicking sound. “The army taught me how to use this thing, and they taught me well. I won’t hesitate to shoot, and I’ll shoot to kill.”
From the other side of the room, Vernon was trying to speak. He wheezed several times. Finally, in a strained, unnatural voice, he exclaimed, “He was trying to rape her.”
#
At the bottom of the stairs, Vernon led Jeff into the darkened main hallway. Jeff was still woozy, and his knees wobbled slightly.
The doctor had arrived, and he’d ordered everyone out of the bedroom. Mr. Crandall, the Lodge caretaker, had made Jon sit in one of the chairs in the sitting room, and he still had his gun on him. Vernon had told Mr. Crandall that he and Jeff needed to use the bathroom and tend to their injuries. The old man had let them leave, but he’d told them not to go far, because the sheriff had been called, and they’d need to give statements.
When they were at a spot where Vernon was confident they couldn’t be overheard, he put a hand on Jeff’s chest and pushed him up against the wall. Not hard, but not easy either.
“Listen,” he said. “The sheriff is going to be here any minute now. We’ve got to get our stories straight.”
Jeff’s eyes began to close and his head drooped to one side. Vernon slapped him, and his eyes flew open again.
“Come on, now,” Vernon said. “Pay attention. All right?”
Jeff nodded.
“We were just finishing up our cleaning when Meyer arrived with Mary. Her father’s a big shot in the Lodge, so we didn’t think anything of it. Got it?”
Jeff nodded again.
“Then we heard a scream. We came into the room, and he had her on the bed. We told him to stop, and he went berserk. He kicked me in the balls, and, while I was down, the two of you started fighting. He knocked you out, so you don’t know what happened after that.”
Defiant Heart Page 19
