Chapter 9
As Penny sat staring into space after Russ had gone, she felt drawn to him in a way no man had ever affected her before. His face seemed hard, but she sensed a warmth in his brown eyes and his curly hair really sent her. Yes, she wouldn't have the slightest objection to getting fucked by someone like Russ. She could see him kissing the ruby nipples of her lush white breasts, feel his tongue hardening them with its caress. She pictured her thighs beneath his slim powerful loins and felt an actual surge of exciting desire building within her as she imagined his cock parting her cuntlips ... Her reverie was broken by the ringing of the phone. It was just a routine business call and she was immersed in her problem again.
She wanted to see the murderer come to justice, but now she was becoming afraid of her own shadow.
And behind it all she was aware of another force-the urge to run, to leave, to leave her mother, to leave Jack Brooks and all he stood for. To be free. To live a life of her
own. To find fulfillment as a woman.
She sat there, her mind a raging storm that was tapped within the iceberg of her body. She couldn't make up her mind.
That man - Russ - he would hurt her if he had to. He was tough and determined. And the man who had sent him would kill her if he got the chance. Penny had no doubt about that.
Call the sheriff's office or run. Those were the only choices she had. Put herself in the hands of the law or seek her own safety somewhere else.
What would the law do? Would it guard her? Could she be sure.
Would Kim Navell and those two detectives be able to find the wavy-haired man and make him talk?
Would they be able to find the murderer before he found her?
Lots of people in town knew that she had a birthmark. All the killer would have to do would be to ask around. If the man called Russ was put in jail, that wouldn't stop the killer from sending someone else, or from coming to Lynbrook himself.
How safe would she be? How safe could she possibly be if she stayed in that town?
There were too many questions. And her life depended on the right answers to all of them.
There was too great a risk.
She removed her hand from the telephone but remained seated exactly as she was.
She didn't have much money. She couldn't leave Lynbrook now. It was out of the question. There was her mother to think of. If Penny were to take what money she had and leave suddenly, her mother would be lost. She might do something desperate. She had severe spells of depression, as it was. Something might happen which Penny would carry on her conscience for the rest of her life!
"Oh, God!"
The man called Russ didn't seem to be bluffing.
Penny knew he wasn't bluffing. He wanted money, and he would get it one way or the other.
One way meant her possible death.
The other way...
Penny thought about the idea about the idea of blackmail.
She'd never thought about it before, really. She'd heard about it, as everyone has. She'd read about such cases in the newspapers and she'd seen the subject fictionalized in movies and on TV. But she'd never considered it in relation to herself.
Blackmail.
The idea was abhorrent.
Suddenly she thought, what was the matter with her? There was only one thing to do and that was to call Jim Navell right away. She would have to put her safety in his hands. This was the right way, the lawful way.
She picked up the telephone again.
Thousands of dollars, the man had said. He'd sounded as if he knew what he was talking about. He'd seemed so sure of himself.
Very gently she put the telephone down.
It rang-harsh and shrill while her hand was still on it. She jumped, shocked out of her state of concentration. Fear leaped in her like a cold flame.
She picked the phone up. "Mr. Higdon's office." To her own ears, her voice sounded peculiar.
"Penny?" The word was spoken tentatively ... hopefully, It was Jack.
Penny cleared her throat. "Yes."
"Penny honey ... look... "I'm sorry about last night. I mean..."
"I don't want to talk about it," she said tonelessly, holding back the flood-tide of angry emotion which raged within her.
"But we have to talk about it, honey. I was wrong. I want to tell you that right now. I was upset and ..." "Jack please!" Her voice broke.
"Penny?" He sounded uncertain ... questioning.
She couldn't talk with him any longer. She put the phone down on its cradle.
He wanted to make up, but she didn't want to. She never wanted to see him again. She never wanted to hear his voice. She wanted to get away.
Russ had returned to his motel, thrown his things together, and checked out. He had begun to drive.
In spite of the confidence he'd shown when he was talking with the girl, he wasn't sure what she would do.
He had probably acted too fast, he thought now. He had said too much too quickly. He'd been over-anxious. A game like this was strange to him and he'd acted like an amateur. Perhaps the girl had called the sheriff; that was why he was on his way out to town.
He wondered if the girl had watched him get into his car after he'd left her office. If so, had she noted his license number? Well, there was nothing he could do about that now.
As he'd told her, though, the sheriff couldn't prove anything against him. All Russ would have to do would be to keep his mouth shut. He had no criminal record. There was nothing at all to link him to the man in New York. He was carrying the man's money, but money was anonymous, and the sum in his wallet wasn't large enough to give cause for suspicion. Anyone could be carrying three hundred and seventy dollars-that was about what he had left-and who would think a thing about it?
Still, he didn't want to have a run-in with the cops. He had decided to drive to Hempstead and to phone the girl later from there. He'd use a booth, in case her office lines was tapped. He'd talk fast, get her answer, then hang up and be on his way.
What if she told him yes? How would he know the cops hadn't put her up to it and that they'd be on hand to pick him up when he drove back to Lynbrook to meet her?
That was a problem. He hadn't decided as yet just bow to work it out.
As far as the girl's answer was concerned, he still thought there was a good chance that it would be yes. He'd seen the fear in her eyes. That's what had encouraged him to be bold. And he'd gotten another felling about her, too. She wasn't happy. He would have bet that she'd been thinking of leaving that small town and finding a better kind of life. Maybe he'd shown her the way, huh?
She sure as hell was a luscious piece of ass! He wouldn't have minded giving her a little hump just any old day!
A girl like that ... she was wasting herself in a small town. He would have bet she knew it. The city was where she belonged. Money could take her there and keep her for a while.
He thought his chances were good.
But still he had to protect himself.
He considered what he might do if, when he called, she said she wanted to talk with him further. How could he get together with her and still protect himself?
As he mulled the problem over, his Chevy ate up the sun-baked road.
At three minutes after four o'clock in the afternoon, Russ placed the call. He used an outdoor phone booth on the lot. of a service station. Standing in direct sunlight, the booth was like an oven, so Russ kept the door open. He waited as the telephone in Alfred Higdon's office rang once ... twice ...
When the girl answered, Russ recognized her voice.
"This is Russ," he said. "How about it?"
Her reply was soft and excited-almost breathless. "Yes. All right. Where can I meet you?"
He felt a surge of satisfaction. "Drive to the outskirts of Hempstead tonight," he told her. "Register at the Royal Crown Motel. Got that?"
"Yes. But I don't see ... " "Just do as I say. The Royal Crown Motel. It's on Route 25A. I'll come to see you. What kind of car do you drive?"
"A 1967 Mercury," she said hesitantly. "Light blue."
"I'll look for it in the motel court. Be sure to park right in front of your room."
"But why do I have to drive all the way to Hempstead?"
"Never mind. Just do as I tell you. You'll be safe. If I'd wanted to harm you, I could have done it this morning. We were alone at your office."
He gave her a chance to respond but she remained silent.
"The important thing is not to say anything to anyone about this. You can get away this evening, can't you?"
"I suppose so."
"Good. Try to be at the motel by seven or so. 1*11 drop around."
"This is dangerous," she told him.
"It won't be," he said, "if you follow instructions. Just leave everything to me, baby-now and from here on. Understand?"
"Yes," she murmured.
"Tonight, then. The Royal Crown Motel on Route 25A." Russ hung up the phone.
Stepping out of the booth, he proceeded to his car and drove away. Two blocks down, he made a left turn. He drove about a mile on Route 2SA until he came to the Royal Crown Motel.
Russ Bates had once heard someone say that everything in life was a matter of calculated risks. In other words, you picked your choice and made your bets. Well, he'd just bet on Penny, a girl he'd only spoken to for a few minutes. She could, of course, have called the Sheriff the minute he left and they could stake him out for a jail cell at the Royal Motel tonight But he was taking his chances that Penny would go along with him. He had a sixth sense about women, and it told him that he'd gotten to this gorgeously built piece of ass.
He grinned to himself. With her physique after they got business details out of the way, it would be a rare pleasure to investigate her birthmark more closely. Maybe he could even discover a few more during the course of what promised to be a very interesting evening.