Chapter 14
"I'm enjoying the ride," Penny smiled leaning against Russ as he speeded up the Thru way. "But I don't know if I'm going to like what we find at the end of it."
"Don't worry, babe," Russ said grimly as he took the Peekskill exit. "I can take care of this slob with one hand tied behind my back. He knows better than to try and pull anything."
They drove on in silence for awhile as the road narrowed, and began to wind up and down the mountainous area.
"Take it easy," Russ advised her.
"Where is he going to meet us, anyway?" Penny said. 'This road's so narrow and there's a sheer drop at the side. We haven't seen any other cars since we turned off."
"Well be around this peak in a minute and probably into a little valley again. There ought to be a place to turn off there."
"Do you think he'll have the money with him, Russ?" Penny asked anxiously.
"I told you, baby, we've got nothing to worry about. He's gonna pay. He knows we can ruin him if he don't."
"This might be some kind of trick," Penny thought out loud.
Russ patted her again. "Just keep your pants on."
She giggled in spite of the nervousness she felt.
"Don't you remember? I'm not wearing any. You ought to know. You watched me get dressed."
"Yeah, that's right," he said. "You surprised me. I didn't figure you were the kind of gal who would go around that way."
"I'm not the girl I used to be, Russ. I've changed a lot since you and I met."
"Yeah?" He cuddled her. "How else have you changed baby?"
"Most of all, I've fallen in love with you. But you know that. I'm afraid I've gotten a little loose too. That bothers me some, Russ."
Russ kept watching the road, both hands back on the wheel as the Chevy negotiated a sharp curve. "Loose? How do you mean?"
"You know, sexually. But it's all right, I guess, because we love one another. And we're going to be married," she paused. When Russ said nothing, she added, "We are, aren't we Russ?"
"Sure, honey. Just as soon as we have the chance. I'm crazy about you, cupcake."
That made Penny feel better. The way he'd said it left no room for doubt in her mind. He did love her as strongly as she loved him. That was all she had to know.
"Hey! There he is!"
Penny saw the car at the same instant Russ spoke. They were in a pocket formed by a couple of slopes and the Chrysler was parked on a little dirt trail that seemed to head up one of the hillsides and get lost from sight among the tall trees.
Bull Zelman was seated behind the steering wheel but with his legs turned to the side and the front door of the car standing open. When he saw them, he motioned for them to follow. Then he turned on the seat and slammed the door closed. The Chrysler started up the steep road.
"Where in the world is he taking us?" Penny wanted to know.
"He said he has a cabin up here. I told you that. Now, take it easy, will you? If you act scared when we start talking with him, he may think he can bluff us."
"All right, darling," Penny murmured.
But she remained frightened, just the same. It was almost as if she had a premonition. This wasn't going to work out right, she thought. Suddenly she wondered why she was there-why she had let Russ talk her into doing this thing. The money wasn't worth it, she decided.
"Russ," she blurted, "let's go back!"
He gave her a quick look. He could take his eyes off the dusty torturous road for only a moment. "Go back! Are you nuts? We've got that fifty thousand bucks right in our hands."
"I don't think so, Russ. I don't think he's going to pay us. He's going to try something awful."
"Well, I can handle him, baby. Don't you worry about that!"
Russ, however, was mildly concerned, also. He decided that as soon as the other man stopped his car he would hop right out of the Chevy and get to the boy before he could try any funny stuff. If he had a gun, Russ would get hold of it before it could be used.
Just then they topped a bump where the dirt road curved behind some boulders. Ahead of them was the cabin-a rough structure which probably contained only a single room. The Chrysler had come to a stop a short distance from it and the man had already gotten out. He was walking toward them now.
Russ braked the Chevy quickly. "You stay here," he told Penny as he jumped out.
Russ half expected the other man to pull a gun on him. But he didn't do it. He only said, "What's the matter?"
"Stick your hands in the air," Russ told him. "I want to be sure about something before we go any further."
"What the hell is this?" Bull Zelman demanded. But he complied.
Russ moved up to him and felt up and down the outside of his clothes. "You're clean, I guess." Bull laughed. "You thought I was gonna gun you down or something, huh?"
"I just believe in being careful," Russ replied tightly.
"So do I, Eddie. So do I. That's why I wanted to meet up here." He was squinting in the direction of Russ' car. "Is that her?"
"That's her," Russ told him.
"Get her out. I want to see what she looks like. I also wanna see that birthmark on her leg. That's the only way I can identify her."
"Okay," Russ said and motioned for Penny to get out of the car.
She complied, moving slowly, her face reflecting the worry that she felt at that moment. She moved up to the two men.
Bull looked her over carefully. "So you're the one, huh, baby?"
Penny didn't say anything, but moved closer to Russ' side. The fat man's eyes gave her a chill. She remembered him, all right. There couldn't be the slightest doubt.
"Lift your skirt up," Bull said to her. "I've gotta be sure."
Penny hesitated, looking up at Russ. "He wants to see the birthmark," Russ told her. "It's all right."
Slowly Penny lifted her skirt. She hated to have to do it. The thick-set man's eyes were creepy.
Bull watched her legs gradually come into view as her skirt and slip rose higher and higher. He saw the tops of her stockings where her garters pulled against them. Then there was bare flesh, pleasantly tanned. Finally ...
He saw the birthmark. She was the girl.
"Okay, baby," he said. "You can drop it now." He looked at Russ. "Let's go into the cabin."
"Where's the money?" Russ demanded. "It's in the car," Bull replied. "I wanta have a little talk first. I wanta make sure you two are gonna play straight with me in this deal."
The man struck out ahead of them, passing between the trees and toward the rude structure. Penny clutched Russ' arm as they walked side-by-side.
"I'm afraid," she said. "Can't I go back to the car and wait for you?"
"It's better if we stay together," Russ told her.
They had passed the Chrysler, which the fat man had parked off to the side, and were nearing the cabin now.
Penny turned her head and gasped.
The man behind Russ was tall and gaunt. He had full lips which didn't seem to go with his thinness, and there was a scared look in his eyes. Several strands of his dark hair fluttered in the breeze as he stood grim-faced, head slightly bowed.
Russ' first impulse was to rush him. But he didn't do it. In the first place, the other man was holding a gun. It had been the pressure of the gun against Russ' back that had stopped him a few moments before. Also, the fear revealed by the gaunt man's eyes was the sort that led to acts of desperation. Russ had seen that look before.
"So you had to play wise," Russ said, ignoring the man with die gun and facing Bull, who had turned his back on the cabin and was walking toward them, a satisfied smile smeared across his face.
"Your timing was good, Vince," Bull said. "I was a little afraid you'd chicken out."
"I wouldn't do that, Mr. Zelman," Vince Nordland declared. "You been too good to me."
Russ still stared at the fat man. "Zelman, huh?"
"Sure. Bull Zelman. That's my name. I don't mind if you know it, 'cause it won't do either one of you any good."
At her first sight of the man with the gun, Penny had almost fainted. Though she had managed to cling to consciousness by a thread, terror had immobilized her completely.
Russ was hard-faced, intense. "This is crazy, Zelman. It would be better to pay us than to do this. Nobody can get away with three murders. And this time you're not alone, don't forget." He looked pointedly at the man who hulked beside him, holding the ugly black revolver high and very tightly in a bony hand. Vince's knuckles were beginning to show white.
At Russ' reference to "three murders," Penny had released a sharp sound.
Bull turned pale eyes on her. They were utterly cold. "Shut up! You holler, it's gonna go worse for you, understand?"
She stared at him, her eyes full of fright. But she was now silent.
Vince Nordland had been looking at her, lust replacing fear in his eyes. "This one's a real beauty," he said to the man.
"Yeah," Bull replied through an evil grin. "I think I'll let you enjoy her a little bit, Vince. How'd you like that, huh?"
Vince licked his thick lips.
Russ spoke up tensely: "You have no reason to kill me. I can't testify against you on that Lynbrook thing. Let me go and you'll never hear from me again."
"Russ!" Penny cried. Her voice had a desperate strangling quality. Bull laughed. "No dice, Eddie. By the way, what's your real name?"
"Russ Bates."
"Well, Russ Bates, I can't let you go because you could finger me for killing the broad here."
Penny gasped again. Then she shrieked Russ' name a second time.
"Shut her up!" Bull snapped at Vince.
The tall man moved behind Penny and encircled her with his long left arm. He pulled her back against him, then slipped his hand upward to clamp it over her mouth. He held the gun high in his hand keeping his eyes on Russ all the time.
Penny squirmed but Vince had the strength of a lean and hungry panther. All her resistence succeeded in accomplishing was to cause her back to move against him, creating considerable intimacy since she was wearing only a thin slip beneath her skirt. The man with the gun was enjoying himself, his cock was getting a free frigging.
"Shall we take 'em in the cabin, Mr. Zelman?" Vince asked.
"Might as well," Bull said and he began to turn in that direction. Then he stopped. "No. Wait. Kill the guy out here, then drag him off in the weeds. You can bury him later."
Russ tensed. Zelman meant to go through with it. There was no doubt about that.
Russ decided he would have to jump the gunman. He had better do it now, he thought, while the guy had one arm around Penny.
Vince's hand was covering Penny's mouth and Penny was trying to scream against it, but no sound came out. Fear was about to overcome her. She was growing light-headed.
"I ain't never killed anyone before," Vince said somewhat helplessly.
"But you've done other things almost as bad," Bull pointed out in a slyly sinister tone. "Don't forget, I know you Vince. I know things about you that the cops don't. And I've always treated you good. You just said so yourself."
"Yeah. Sure, Mr. Zelman."
"Then you'll do this for me, won't you, Vince?"
"I guess so," he conceded.
"Awright. That's enough talk. Take care of the guy right now."
In a climactic burst of energy that was bora of desperation, Penny tore herself free of the tall man's grip and spun away to the side. Vince lowered his gun hand for just a moment as his gaze swung from Russ to the girl.
This, Russ judged quickly, was his only chance. He rushed forward.
"Get him, Vince!" Bull yelled as Penny, off balance, stumbled and fell.
Vince jerked his gun back in Russ' direction, squeezing the trigger at the same time. The bullet missed, nipping the ground twenty feet away. Dust spewed into the air.
The two men crashed together, grappling, Russ trying desperately to get hold of the gun. The weapon was now between their bodies.
Once more a shot exploded.
The last thing Penny saw as she lay with her cheek against the dirt was Russ buckling forward, his face horrible and gasping, his hands groping at mid-air as Vince quickly backed out of reach.
She woke up on a cot in the cabin. The cot was covered with a sleazy foul-smelling blanket.
The gaunt man was kneeling beside her. He had lifted her dress and slip to her waist. "Hey she ain't wearin' pants!" he was saying, as he licked his lips while eyeing her exposed cuntlips.
Bull stood a few feet away, in the center of the crude room. He was leering. "Go ahead Vince. Fuck her. She's comin' out of it now. That'll make it even better for you."
"It's too bad to have to kill her, Mr. Zelman." Vince said running his fingers gently along her legs, "She sure is a nice piece of ass."
"I'll do that, Vince, if you don't have the stomach. You took good care of the guy out there. I really appreciate it. You'll see," "Russ ... Russ ..." Penny moaned. She was half-paralyzed with horror. Her mind could not fully grasp what had happened... what was still happening.
"Mmm she's purty," Vince said almost reverently as he stroked her knees.
Penny was aware that she still had her shoes and stockings on, and her garter-belt, in addition to her outer clothes. She moaned once more.
The tall skinny man was pressing her legs, hard.
Bull ordered. "Let's get this over with."
But Vince's hands were moving on her body, on top of her clothes. "I wanta see her titties first," he husked tensely. "I gotta see them, Mr. Zelman."
"Okay. Go ahead. But make it snappy." Bull was staring down at the spectacle before him, biting the shaft of a long green-skinned cigar.
Vince pulled at Penny's clothes.
Suddenly coming out of her near-paralytic state, the girl began to fight with savage desperation. She raised a stockinged leg against the man's middle and, at the same time, clawed at his face.
"Hey take it easy!" Vince protested stupidly, bobbing to try to protect himself. But he continued to press her down firmly against the bed and he still had a hold on the top of her dress, bony fingers inside her neckline.
Bull was laughing.
Penny squirmed frantically, beating at the man, trying to tear his flesh.
She heard her dress rip. It was open to her waist. Then the man was pulling at her brassiere.
"You little bitch," Vince said as he struggled and puffed against her face.
Painfully Penny felt her bra break open. The man was pawing at it. Now his hands were rubbing across her naked tossing tits.
"Hey, look at those knockers!" he grated and then he was pressing his face down against her breasts. Penny felt his thick lips.
She tore at his back. She dug her knees at him.
Nothing seemed to help. He was simply too big. She knew she must be hurting him with her nails, but he acted as if he didn't feel a thing. He was too intent on his slobbering attempt to rape her to think about anything else.
Now he had raised his head and he was moving at her.
Oh, God! she thought.
Vince pressed his huge erect prick at her. One of his sinewy hands forced her flailing legs aside and Penny screamed as he thrust his stiff dick into her cunt. She struggled for a moment and then went limp. She let Vince have his fuck, figuring that if she didn't fight him it would be over sooner. Vince made animal-like noises while he fucked lustily in and out of her twat with his big dong. He gave a loud groan as he shot a load of hot sperm into her unwilling vagina.
"I come real good baby, real good!" he muttered.
Bull Zelman had been watching the whole hump scene, grinning. But big tits were his weakness, and when he saw Penny's gorgeous breasts jiggling and fluttering under Voice's frigging body, his eyes popped.
"I'm taking a helping of those knockers!" Bull told Vince as he rolled off the cot.
Bull pinned Penny's shoulders down on the cot as she tried to rise. He put his grubby hands on her breasts and began to caress them. He pinched her jutting crimson nipples and laughed as she drew back in pain. Penny decided to let Bull Zelman get his fuck over with as fast as possible too. Zelman rammed his thick cock into her cunt savagely, playing with her big tits all the time. He moaned a little as he reached his orgasm, shot his hot semen into her twat too, laughed and said, "thanks for the ride baby," as he lifted himself off the cot.