Chapter 5
"Bob, the more I see of that man, the more convinced I become that he's insane."
"I think you're right, Jill, but don't ever try to tell that to the people of this town."
They had finished lunch in the town's best restaurant and were lingering over drinks. Jill had told him of Carl's attitude in the home, the strapping of Amanda and the implication that his wife too submitted her bared posterior for his avenging discipline.
"I suppose that shocked you, Jill, but anyone in town could have told you that. He boasts about how strict he is with his family and en courages other fathers to buy a razor strop."
"And yet they don't think he's crazy?"
"You're talking about the town's most admired and respected citizen, also the richest. A few times when Carl decided his whole family needed punishment, he brought the minister along to read the Bible while they undressed one at a time and had their butts laced with the strap."
"My God, Bob, are you sure of that?"
"The minister told me."
"But what did he think of it?"
"Well, let's put it this way. Amanda is a very well built young woman, Lucy isn't bad either. You guess what a man would think watching them strip naked, then bend over and kick their legs while the old man strapped them."
"Surely he didn't admit enjoying it."
"Of course not, that would be like admitting to sin. He spoke in glowing terms about what a fine, stern man Carl is. He said all the right churchy words, but he described the strappings in careful detail that made it obvious he remembered it very clearly. By the time he finished, he was getting short of breath and his eyes were gleaming. I've seen the same thing at stag parties when the entertainment was particularly strong."
"I'm afraid I don't think much of your minister."
"He's not my minister, thanks, I don't use one. What really counts though, is that Carl thinks a lot of him. If his attitude ever changes, we get a new minister. Carl's changed three in the five years I've been back in town on the paper."
"He has that kind of power?"
"And then some. He owns this town and the town does what he wants it to do; the mayor, the police chief, the minister, they're all the same to him. He makes and breaks them like toys. You have a tough job ahead of you, Jill."
"What you just said doesn't make it tougher. It can make the job a lot easier. A man who has climbed that far has a lot to lose, he can fall a long way. I'll get him."
"Son of a gun, I know it's crazy, but you almost have me convinced. It's like betting on David against Goliath."
"Just watch, David won once, it can happen again. For a starter, Bob, how about giving me those keys you found on the island. You did have copies made, didn't you?"
"I sure did, and I took the trouble of having the job done out of town, but I don't like the idea of you getting in too deep. You could get yourself killed and I wouldn't like that very much."
"Thanks, Bob. But you will give them to me won't you? You know how important they could be."
"The more important they are, Jill, the more likely it is to be dangerous." As he spoke, he pulled them from his pocket and dropped them to the table.
Jill opened her purse and dropped them in. As long as one of them would unlock the mysterious den, that was all she wanted. That room, she sensed, contained something important.
"Bob," she changed the subject, "tell me everything you know about Velma. Was she really the innocent flower the D.A. painted her, or was there more about her that didn't come out?"
"I don't really know that much. Her mother was Carl's sister. He didn't approve of her marriage, so he refused to help them when things were tough. Velma's father ekes out a living doing casual labor. Carl may toss the odd job his way but not much more. After Velma's mother died a few years ago, Carl tried to get her to live with his family. She refused, wanted to stay with her father."
"How did Carl take that?"
"I'm not sure. He still kept the girl in clothes and pocket money and she visited more often. I think there was a deal made with her father."
"What about her way of life, you know, virgin or tramp?"
"People wouldn't talk much after her death, but the picture I got was closer to virgin with a bit of tease thrown in. You know, very short shorts, a lot of bottom wiggling, all that."
"That's hardly consistent with Carl who won't even let his wife and daughter wear decent lingerie because he says they're sinful."
"Did I ever say he was consistent?" Bob gave her a wry smile.
"No, I guess you didn't at that. When I'm finished, Bob, we'll know a lot more about him. So will this whole damn town."
"I believe you." He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender.
"One more thing, how did Velma get along with Jackson and Amanda?"
"I don't know about that. The Cardwell family life is a closely guarded secret."
"That's understandable. I'll check it out with the kids."
"Careful, Jill." Bob's voice showed alarm. "You're fooling with trouble. If Carl ever catches you checking, I'm afraid to guess what he'll do."
"You underestimate me, Bob. I've been laying the groundwork as I go. Within three days those two will show more loyalty to me than to their father. I think I can bring Lucy into that position too."
"Did you ever think of becoming a private eye?"
"No, and I don't think I ever will. There are parts of the work which don't exactly appeal to me. This one job is all I want to do, then I'm going to go home and try to be mother and father to two kids."
In saying that, Jill was thinking of what she had done to Amanda and what she planned for Jackson and possibly Lucy."
As Bob drove her back to the Cardwell place, Jill's mind kept returning to her plans for Amanda and Jackson. Each time guilt tried to creep in, she rejected it. My husband paid with his life, my children have the right to vindication of their father's character. I am going to get that at any price.
Besides, Jill concentrated on holding back the smile that wanted to show, Amanda didn't seem to mind at all. That gal has been held on the leash too long and now that I showed her how to get off, there's going to be no stopping her. I wonder how Jackson, the boy virgin is going to take to the games I have planned for him.
Jill realized with a start that she had slipped too completely into her erotic reverie. She snapped herself out of it and tried to pick up the thread of their earlier conversation.
Waving her thanks to Bob for lunch and the ride, Jill hurried into the house wondering who she would find there.
To her dismay, she found Lucy in the kitchen. There was no sign of the kids.
Jill was surprised at the ease with which they fell into conversation. She was content to keep it light and general for now. Later, when she chose, she could steer their talk into specifics.
Much later, when Jill saw the woman look nervously toward the clock, she took her cue to bow out. She could well imagine that a late dinner would be considered a sin punishable by strapping.
"Can I give you a hand with anything, Lucy?"
"No thanks, Jill. I have everything under control. I did enjoy our chat."
"So did I. We must do it more often."