“Bart and Hildy are coming with us in my car,” Kendall announced to Jillian.
“Fine. Let’s go, then, shall we?”
“Isn’t Shauna coming?” George asked.
“No, she was exhausted. Today was such a big day. Bart, you ought to have known all the excitement wouldn’t be good for her. She’s utterly done in. I gave her a couple of extra-strength Tylenol and an ice pack and sent her to bed.”
“Well, let’s go, then,” Kendall said.
“Aren’t Nick and Lorry coming?” Jillian asked.
“Lorry didn’t want to come, so Nick offered to stay with her.”
“Oh, he did, did he?”
“Yeah. I expect he’ll find the evening pretty dull. She’ll likely want to talk about religion. That’ll serve him right.”
“Yes,” Jillian agreed, “it’s exactly what he deserves.”
A few minutes after the two cars had driven off, Peter, now wearing swim trunks and an open shirt, entered the games room to find Lorry and Nick in the middle of a game of eight-ball. After watching for a few minutes, and commenting in surprise when Lorry won, he said, “Lorry, I wonder if you would mind going upstairs and asking Shauna to join us. She’s in her room.”
Lorry moved to hang up her cue. “I thought she went with the others.”
She left and the two men wandered out to the pool, where Peter slipped into the water. Nick, hands in pockets, sat on a deck chair and stared into space.
Lorry knocked before entering the bedroom, and heard a muffled, “Leave me alone!” in reply. Unsure what to do, Lorry decided to enter. After all, it was her room, too.
Shauna, wearing only her undergarments, was lying on the bed, face down. The new dress was in a heap on the floor.
Lorry picked it up to hang it in the closet and involuntarily dropped it in horror. The front of the dress had been ripped from the neck down to the top of the slit. No one would wear that dress again. “Shauna, what happened?”
“Go away.”
“But, Shauna, your dress—?”
“I hate it! Go away. Leave me alone!”
“I—we wondered if you’d like to join us downstairs. Peter and Nick and me.”
“No!” came the muffled reply.
“Are you all right?”
“Leave me alone!”
“Are you sure, Shauna? If there’s anything I can do to help…”
There were more muffled sobs. In between them, Shauna said, “No. Just go away. Leave me alone. Why can’t everyone just leave me alone! I never wanted to come in the first place! I knew something would go wrong. It always does.”
Instead of leaving, Lorry sat on the edge of Shauna’s bed and put her arm around the girl’s back.
“I’m not leaving you alone, Shauna. Just a few moments ago, you came in looking on top of the world. What’s happened?”
“Go away!”
“No. Shauna, look at me.”
There was another outbreak of tears. “No!”
“I’ll have to go and get Peter.”
“No, don’t!”
“Then sit up and tell me what’s wrong.”
Slowly, the older girl raised herself onto her left elbow and swung up so she was sitting. But she kept her right arm across her face.
“Shauna, look at me. What’s happened?”
“I’m fine. Just leave me alone.”
“I don’t think you are fine.” Lorry gently took Shauna’s arm and pulled it away from her face. Shauna fought, but Lorry had already caught a glimpse of the bruising around her eye. She had seen, also, the scratches on her shoulder. “Shauna, who did this? Was it Bart?”
SIX
Horrified, Shauna cried out, “No!
“Not—surely not Jillian?”
Shauna’s lips trembled as she stared down at her clenched hands.
“Why, Shauna?”
“She didn’t like the way I looked. She said I shouldn’t have done it. She said I looked like a call girl. She was very angry.”
“Are you all right? I mean, are you hurt anywhere else?”
“No, I’m okay. I’m just so—so embarrassed. I feel like a complete fool.”
“Well, I don’t know much about call girls, but I don’t think you looked like one. I thought you looked terrific. And your sister has no right to hit you, Shauna. You mustn’t let her get away with it.”
“She’s always had a temper. Ever since she was little. She doesn’t realize what she’s doing. She didn’t really mean to hurt me. And I’m okay. Besides, it was my fault for listening to Bart and going behind her back.”
“Why don’t we see if we can find something to put on those scratches. And maybe we can put some makeup on the bruises. Peter and Nick are downstairs. You should come down with us.”
“Is everyone else gone?”
“Yes.”
“All the others? Bart, too?”
“Everyone went except the three of us. We were just going to sit by the pool. It’s hot, though. I thought I’d put shorts on before going back down.”
“That’s a good idea.” Shauna got up. “My glasses got broken when she hit me, but I have prescription sunglasses I can wear. But you mustn’t say anything. Jillian never meant to hurt me. Promise you won’t tell anyone? Just say my glasses got broken.”
Twenty minutes later, Lorry and Shauna, both now in shorts, joined Nick. Shauna’s face, partially hidden by dark glasses, looked puffy and red despite the makeup. But Nick didn’t comment on it.
“Working in a library, you must read a lot of books,” Lorry said. “What kind do you prefer?”
On safe ground, Shauna became quite voluble.
From books, they drifted to television, movies, the upcoming election, and recycling, with Nick throwing in a comment every so often.
After a while Peter joined them. “I don’t think I’ve ever known anybody who’s gone to a Bible college, except perhaps a few ministers I met at my weddings. Why would a bright, attractive young woman want to waste her time learning about something as out of date and stuffy as the Bible?”
“I guess,” Lorry began, “because I don’t find it out of date or stuffy. Even though it was written long ago, it’s ageless. And because God himself speaks through it, it’s always relevant. I learn something new every time I read it.”
“You mean the ten commandments and that sort of thing?” Peter leaned forward. “Do good to others and all?”
“Yes,” Lorry said, “but not only those. There are lots of stories about people who faced challenges just like I do. And there are other principles to live by. And of course, the whole story about Jesus is there.”
“So do you try to obey all the commandments and rules?”
Lorry smiled. “I try, but I don’t always succeed. I don’t think anyone can obey them all.”
Peter laughed and settled back in his chair. “You see? What’s the use of wasting time on something you’ve just admitted is impossible to follow?”
“But that’s why there are two parts to the Bible,” Lorry replied. “The first part is about how God created people so he could have relationships with them, but how people often mess up. But the second part is the story of God’s Son, Jesus, who was sinless, and who died for us. Jesus taught us that we can’t earn God’s love by obeying rules because he already loves us more than we can ever understand.”
“That sounds awfully grim coming from a pretty young girl. You should be thinking about boyfriends and having fun! Not stuff like that. How old are you? Twenty-two at the most?” Lorry nodded and Peter shook his head.
But Lorry countered, “Ever known someone who died when he was twenty-two? Or fifteen? Or talked to an older person who’s wasted his life on things that really didn’t matter? I don’t have to worry about the future, or try to grab happiness from pleasures that only last a short time. Because of my relationship with God, I’m content with who I am and what I have. How many people do you know who are content?”
Peter chuckled, “Little lady, i
f I were content as I am, I’d be a pretty poor lawyer. You have to keep striving to get better, or you might just as well give up.”
Lorry smiled, but didn’t argue with him.
Peter took that as permission to go into a detailed explanation of his success and plans. Lorry continued to listen and answer his questions. A little apart, Shauna sat listening intently.
Nick quietly got up and walked away. When he reached the tennis court, he stopped. Spotting a racquet someone had left out, he picked it up, clenched his jaw, and tried to snap the racquet in two. When the aluminum failed to yield, he flung it as far as he could and strode off toward the gate at the back of the yard.
At the same time, in the powder room of the Wily Fox, a night club with middle-of-the-road music and a passable bar, Anne had been giving Ellen a sample of her dislike for Jillian. “I don’t know why he can’t see through her, but I’ll save him from her. I’ll stop her somehow, no matter what I have to do!”
“Anne, you’ve been drinking too much tonight. Just think,” Ellen said in exasperation, “even if she is tired of Peter, she’d hardly try to get his business partner. Especially a married man with two kids. No one would be that crazy.”
Hildy came out of a cubicle and the two women stopped talking. They had believed they were alone. Hildy began to wash her hands. “For your information,” she said slowly and thoughtfully, “Jillian is neither crazy nor stupid.” Hildy dried her hands on a paper towel before she went on. “She is cruel and malicious. She enjoys hurting people.” Hildy walked out of the room.
Anne and Ellen stared at one another.
After coming to the nightclub with Kendall, Jillian had left him to entertain Hildy while she spent most of the evening dancing with Bart.
“You dance extremely well,” Bart told her after a while.
“Thank you, kind sir,” Jillian said. “You don’t do such a bad job yourself.”
“Is that why you chose to honor me by being my partner?”
“Of course. George only knows how to do a two-step, Douglass has no sense of rhythm, and Kendall prefers to jerk around to fast music. You were the obvious choice.”
“Oh? How would you describe me?”
“Smooth, charming, demanding, and dangerous.”
“In short, a good match for yourself.”
“Perhaps. But I think you’re also a romantic. So you’ll always come out on the losing end.”
“You’re not a romantic, I take it?”
“Not in the slightest.”
“Tough for Peter.”
“Peter has everything he wants.”
“In that case, you must be a pretty good actress.”
Eyebrows arched, she replied dryly, “Of course.”
“Isn’t there anyone you’ve ever cared for?”
“You mean besides myself?” Her eyes laughed at him.
“Naturally.”
“Once, when I was much younger, I almost did something foolish. But I stopped just in time. It wouldn’t have worked.”
“Speaking of doing something foolish, how did you like Shauna’s new look?”
“About as much as you expected me to.”
“You mean you didn’t like it?”
“That’s the only reason you did it, isn’t it? To annoy me.”
“Shauna enjoyed herself.”
“Did she indeed?”
“What’s the matter? Are you so insecure you’re afraid she’ll attract more men than you?”
She swore at him, but he only laughed.
She would have turned and walked away, but his left arm tightened around her waist and his right arm gripped her wrist.
“Face it,” he whispered into her ear. “I’m exactly what you’ve been looking for. A man you can’t wrap around your little finger. Somebody who knows exactly what you’re like and doesn’t care. Think what we could do together.”
“You have a high opinion of yourself.”
“Tell me you dislike meeting the one man who could master you.”
“What makes you think I’d ever want a man who could, as you say, ‘master me’?”
“All women like to know there exists a man stronger than them. Particularly if that man can give them everything they need.”
“And what do I need?”
“My intellect, my charm, and my passion for you.”
“You’re wrong. I don’t need anything from you.” But her eyes met his and he could see the smoldering fire in them.
“There’s only one problem,” he said.
“Perhaps the fact that I’m married?”
“Not in the slightest.”
“What then?”
The music ended, as if on cue, and he released her. “The fact that your sister is worth ten of you.”
She slapped him with all the strength she possessed. The sound reverberated through the momentary vacuum of the dance floor, and people looked over to see what had happened. Jillian walked away, leaving Bart alone on the floor with one hand to his reddening cheek.
Douglass and Ellen, and George and Anne, were on the dance floor. Kendall and Hildy were seated at the table. She’d been telling him a story about an elderly recluse who’d left an estate worth millions to her parakeet. All of them heard the slap.
As the music began again, Jillian came striding up to the table.
“Kendall, I want to dance.” She stamped one delicately shod foot. “Now.”
Kendall’s eyes met Hildy’s; he shrugged philosophically and got up.
Once on the dance floor, Kendall asked quietly, “So what did my cousin the creep say to annoy you?”
“I intend to dance. If you prefer to talk, I can always get another partner!”
When Bart joined Hildy at the table, she was surprised to see that he was laughing to himself, though there was little laughter in his eyes. The red mark on his face was quite pronounced, but he ignored it, ordered a drink, and began talking with Hildy about her job and her young son. He was surprised to learn that Peter had seen his son only once since his marriage to Jillian, and that Jillian had never even met him.
“Not that I’d want to see her with any child, whether someone else’s or her own,” said Hildy with a good deal of venom.
Looking out at the dance floor, Bart nodded. “You’re lucky the kid hasn’t spent any time with her.”
“Yes, that’s why I—”
“Why what?”
“Nothing important. Perhaps being married to Peter will help her grow up.”
“Maybe. But somebody sure needs to teach her a few things.”
Hildy glanced into his face, but there was no expression.
His eyes met hers and he smiled. “But why waste time talking about her when I’m sitting beside someone as attractive as you?”
Sunday morning came in hot and humid. There was little movement, except for Lorry, who had mentioned to Ellen the day before that she would like to go to church if it wasn’t inconvenient. Ellen had readily found her a map and offered her a car, and by 9:30, she was gone.
It was almost 11:00 before, one by one, the Brodies and their other guests ventured downstairs and gathered on the patio.
Except for Lorry, who hadn’t yet returned, Jillian and Shauna were the last. Today Jillian wore an apricot sundress with gold peep toe heels. As usual, every hair was in place and her skin glowed.
Shauna was in a Spanish-style bright orange blouse and full skirt, but she looked deathly pale beneath large sunglasses. All that remained of the stranger from the night before was the short hair.
Bart saw her and swore audibly.
Nick asked Ellen about Lorry.
“Oh, she’s been up for hours. She went off early to church. Said she’d be back by one at the latest.”
Thoughtfully, he went back to his table.
Jillian pecked at a fruit salad for a while and then sat looking at Shauna, who was across the table, eyes down, moving her scrambled eggs around the plate.
Between them, Peter
dug ravenously into the mountain of pancakes with butter and syrup and bacon on his plate.
Jillian’s face took on a look of disgust as she watched him.
He caught her gaze and smiled.
She pushed away her dish of fruit and walked into the house. In a few minutes, she returned with a magazine and sat reading on a lounge chair a short distance from the tables.
The others ignored Jillian and finished eating, except for Shauna, who went over to sit beside her. They spoke, with low voices.
Bart, who was sitting at the closest table with Nick, Hildy, and Kendall, caught parts of the conversation. Several times he heard Shauna say, “I’m sorry.”
“Well, you should be.” Jillian’s voice raised slightly. “He’s no more than a two-bit con-man. His pockets are as empty as his brain. But of course,” she added scornfully, “if you prefer his advice to mine…”
Shauna hadn’t moved. Her head was down, eyes fastened on the empty glass she still held. “No, of course not. I’m sorry, Jillian. I won’t listen to him again. It’s just that he said I was dowdy.”
Jillian’s eyes narrowed. “I suppose he would prefer you to look the way you did last night. Like a stripper.”
“I’m sorry,” Shauna whispered, her eyes downcast.
“Stay away from him.” Jillian gracefully stood up, and sauntered over to where Anne and Ellen were sitting together at one of the tables.
The conversation abruptly came to a halt and Anne, pleading a headache, hurried into the house. Jillian raised her eyebrows, but didn’t comment. She calmly asked Ellen about getting season tickets to a theater she had mentioned.
Shauna hadn’t moved. Her head was bent, eyes fastened on the empty glass she still held in her trembling hand. A man’s hand reached down and pulled her chin up. She recoiled as Bart said harshly, “Wimp! Do you enjoy being the mat she wipes her feet on? Or do you let everyone walk all over you? You know, they outlawed slavery a long time ago, Rip van Winkle!”
Without replying, Shauna pushed his hand away and scrambled to her feet. The forgotten glass slipped from her fingers and splintered against the cement patio.
Bart watched her disappear inside the patio doors. He turned and saw Jillian laughing, presumably at something Ellen had said. But her eyes were on Bart. He strode away angrily in the direction of the garage.
Shaded Light: The Case of the Tactless Trophy Wife: A Paul Manziuk and Jacquie Ryan Mystery (The Manziuk and Ryan Mysteries Book 1) Page 11
