Chapter 7
Nick's voice came from the doorway. "Okay you two, I'm back." Evan dragged himself off the girl's limp body and stood up.
"Oh, man, this kid is good!" he said fervently.
Nick frowned and watched Dana struggle to get up. Her face was flushed with the excitement of what had happened, and her eyes showed her pleasure clearly. He guessed it was okay then, but when he'd left he hadn't meant for Evan to continue the sex marathon. But no harm done. He really should have known better than to expect anything else of the other man. Fucking was his main occupation and' leisure time activity. He looked at him now, then at Dana.
She was amazed to discover that Nick held her suitcase in his hand. He held it out toward her. "I found your purse downstairs and took the keys. I got the car started. It just needed oil. I thought you might want this."
She took the suitcase gratefully and tried to smile her thanks. She didn't trust her voice yet. She was still in a state of shock from the thing that had happened.
"Why don't you go in and get yourself dressed, kid? It's almost morning, and I guess you'll be wanting to get over to the school pretty quick." Evan watched Nick through narrowed eyes but said nothing. Dana was surprised by the complete turnabout of attitude, but she took the suitcase and started for the bathroom. Evan reached out as she passed and squeezed one breast suggestively. She felt a flush rise along her neck. just as she got to the bathroom door, Nick spoke again.
"Dana?"
She turned.
"Look, we're really sorry about what happened. You understand how we made the mistake. Evan explained?"
She nodded.
"And we're all still friends?"
She couldn't answer. The confusion and shame in her tied her tongue and muddled her brain. Friends. How could she be friends with such degraded, evil people? Yet how could she not? She forced the thought away and stared at him.
"When I was downstairs, I saw Orville."
She looked puzzled.
"He's the guy who let you in."
A new shame reddened her face as she recalled the incident in the room downstairs and how horrified she'd been. Now, it seemed like a long time ago. Little had she known then what the evening would bring. She felt a quiver in her belly.
Nick frowned and pursed his lips. "He's still pretty drunk, and he's mad."
She was startled. "Oh?"
He nodded. "He didn't like what you did to him. He gets mean when he drinks. But just to be on the safe side, I think it would be better if you steer clear of him. I'll try to get him out of the way but he's in no condition to drive and he's not about to quit partying either."
Dana agreed. All she wanted now was to get away from here. Maybe she could erase the horrible night from her memory, even though her body would never forget it. She could begin again with the job at the school, make new friends. Would the evil show on her face, or would she be able to mask it from the world? She hurried into the bathroom and gratefully closed the door behind her.
For a moment, the two men were quiet. A twisted smile marred Evan's face. "What the hell was that all about?" he asked in a low voice.
"Sh!" Nick motioned toward the closed door. "It's our insurance policy. just get dressed and I'll tell you about it downstairs." He went to the bathroom door and rapped lightly. "Dana?"
Frightened by the noise, Dana clutched the towel to her nudity. "Yes?"
"Come downstairs as soon as you're ready. We'll have some breakfast and then you can take off, okay? You might as well stay here until the rest of the world wakes up. No need to barge in on the folks at the school before dawn. Okay?"
She hesitated. She wanted to get away quickly now that she had the chance, but what Nick said made sense. She had already caused enough trouble and worry by not showing up on schedule. It would be foolish to rouse the school people this early. "All right," she said.
"Good. We'll see you downstairs then. Kitchen's in back, to the left of the stairs."
Silence. She stood very still and listened but no sounds came from the room beyond. Quickly she finished washing and then dressed in fresh garments from the suitcase. She thought about the tattered blue dress, one of her best. Her wardrobe would be very skimpy without it. Would she be able to get by?
It wasn't fair, she thought briefly. The sisters at the school had sacrificed so much to buy the clothes for her, and these men destroyed them so casually.
She inspected herself in the mirror. She looked like the Dana Mitchell she knew now. The white blouse and beige linen skirt were neat and modest. They covered the sins of her body completely. Only her sparkling eyes and flushed cheeks gave away any clue to the change. She found the extra comb she had put in her suitcase and pulled it through her tangled blonde hair. It was snarled and matted from the long night's play, but she finally managed to coax it flat along the sides of her face. She dropped the comb into the case and closed the snaps. She hesitated again before she finally opened the door and peered into the bedroom. She still had trouble believing it. But the room was empty. Both Evan and Nick were gone, Evan's clothes gone from the chair where he'd tossed them. It was true. They were going to let her go. The nightmare was over.
She glanced around the room and paused to retrieve her shoes near the bed. She put them in the bag and then went to the hall door and opened it.
Again, silence met her. The house seemed very still and empty. Maybe she should leave immediately, not chance stopping for breakfast. She could eat someplace else, in the town.
But she realized then that she did not have her purse. Nick had not given it to her. It was here in the house somewhere, because Nick had gotten her car keys from it. But where? She tried to think at what point she had lost track of it. Probably in the room downstairs where that man, Orville, had taken her.
She recalled Nick's warning. That settled it. She had no choice but to find Nick and ask him for the purse and keys. He would insist on her staying to have breakfast. She resigned herself to it, but vowed she would leave immediately afterwards.
The upstairs hall was hushed and seemed unfamiliar to her. She had fled along it in such haste earlier, she had not noticed the thick white carpet, the tastefully papered walls in silver and white, the rich gleam of the mahogany railings. She started down the wide curved stairway.
She saw him. He wove drunkenly from side to side, staggering up the steps toward her. He'd seen her, been waiting for her. Now his scowling face and dark eyes leered at her. He mumbled something, but the words were not clear. Dana froze with panic. In the few seconds it took her to grasp the truth, Orville reached her. He lunged forward and grabbed her ankle. She clutched the rail so as not to pitch down the steps.
"Oh!" She tried to pull away from him but his fingers were tight bands on her flesh. Slowly, he pulled himself up the few steps that separated them, using her leg as holding post. The touch of his flesh against her made her shudder. She tried to pull away again but his fingers dug into the nylons.
"Oh!" she whimpered again. He was going to ruin her stockings, maybe even her dress again! He couldn't! She swung at him with the suitcase in her hand.
It caught his head with a sickening thud but it did no damage. Instead, he pulled her arm and forced her down to his level sitting on the step.
"Leave me alone! Let go!" She pummeled him with her fist.
"Little bitch! Who the hell d'ya thing y'ar! " He twisted her arm and pressed his face close to her mouth. "Got unfinished business!" His whiskey breath steamed at her nostrils. She tried to resist, to get away from the wet lips, but he pinned her back against the step and pressed his mouth to hers. His horrible, wet slimy tongue forced itself between her lips and searched the tight dam of her clenched teeth. His head was at her breast now, mauling and mashing. Terror filled Dana.
It couldn't happen again! The nightmare had to end! She was going mad!
When Orville finally let go of her mouth to grin evilly at her, Dana thought quickly. He was almost on top of her, his long lean body sprawled across four stairs. Her back was curved against a riser and she was arched over the carpet. The man's hand dove for the hem of her skirt.
"Run away from me!" he muttered. His ugly tongue ran over his lips greedily, distorting his features and making him look like some kind of a monster. His dark eyebrows pulled together to the center of his forehead and his nostrils flared. "Gonna fuck you right here!" His hand was at the top of her stocking now and he leaned forward to look at the exposed thigh.
Dana moved without conscious thought. The vision of what was about to happen was a consuming horror. She shoved at his half-turned body, catching him off guard. His hand felt the warm flesh above her stocking for a brief flurry, then let go instantly. He tottered, somehow got to his feet. Dana lifted the suitcase and swung as she too got her legs under her and stood up. The weight of the case and the force of the blow toppled the man. like a film in slow motion, he tumbled head over heels, rolling and bouncing down the steps. He hardly made a sound as the thick carpet silenced the battering blows. Then, with a last final effort, his body arced through the air from the last step and hurled against the stone floor of the hall. He lay very still.
Dana stood with her arm still twisted around her body from the force of the blow she'd dealt. In horror, she saw the man's limp form on the stone below. She gasped and moved up one step, then back quickly. She didn't know which way to go, what to do. Would he get up and come after her again? Fear filled her.
She heard the running footsteps. Nick appeared at the foot of the stairs.
"What happened?" He looked from the man on the floor to the woman on the steps.
Dana tried to speak but no words would come. She pressed her hand against her mouth and watched as Nick bent over Orville and examined him. After what seemed like a very long time, he got up and looked at her.
"He's dead."
She heard the words but her mind refused them. She frowned and shook her head.
Nick bounded up the steps to her. "What the devil happened?" He took her arm and shook it slightly.
"What happened!" He shook her harder.
"He came after me. I didn't mean to do that. I only wanted him to leave me alone!" A huge sob choked off her words and tears brimmed from her eyes.
He stared at her. "You pushed him?"
She nodded. "I didn't mean to-" Even now she couldn't admit his death. She clung to Nick desperately. "He was going to rape me, right here on the steps."
Nick rubbed the back of his hand across his mouth. "Damn it, I never thought he was that drunk." He looked down at the unmoving form below them.
Dana avoided looking down and stared at Nick. "Are you sure he's-"
Nick bobbed his head. "Yeah, I wish to hell I weren't."
"What are we going to do?" Dana whispered.
Nick chewed his lip. "Evan will have a fit. Nothing like this has ever happened before. He doesn't like trouble."
Dana wiped away the tears. "But it was an accident, it was! I never meant to hurt him. I only wanted to get away. I was coming down to get my keys and leave! Oh, please, please, help me! " She closed her eyes and swayed against the banister. Nick caught her and put his arms around her.
"Take it easy, kid. Take it easy. I'll think of something. Come on," he said. "Let's go get you some coffee. You need it."
He led her down the stairs. In the hall, he made a wide circle around the lifeless body of Orville. He led her down a short hall and into a kitchen. Evan was sitting at the table. He looked at them.
"What's the matter? What was the noise, Nick?"
Nick settled Dana in a chair and poured a cup of coffee for her before he answered. "There's been an accident, Ev."
"What kind of an accident?" Evan demanded. He looked shocked and angry. He turned his hard stare on Dana. "What did you do?" he asked harshly. She wept harder.
"Take it easy on her, Evan. She's scared and upset." Nick poured himself some coffee and sat between them.
"About what?" He sounded really angry now.
Dana sobbed. "I didn't mean it, I didn't mean it!"
Evan banged the table with his fist. "What did you do?" he demanded again.
The girl shuddered. Nick laid a hand on Evan's arm. "Calm down. Calm down." When Evan settled back in his chair, Nick continued. In a soft, quiet tone, he related the incident as Dana had told it to him in bits and pieces. Evan's eyes widened with shock and disbelief. He stared at Nick, then at Dana.
"Orv is dead?"
Nick nodded.
"My God! Dead?" He glared at Dana. "How could you do such a thing? You-"
"Evan, take it easy. You're not helping matters by flying off like that. We can't undo what's already done."
Evan turned quickly to face him. "I won't have the police here!"
The statement shocked Dana into silence. The police!
Nick looked at him. "We could tell them it was an accident."
"It was an accident," Dana whispered.
The two men looked at her. "You pushed him. The police might call it murder!" Evan snarled.
She gaped at him. He had to be fooling, kidding her. It had to be a joke. But no one laughed. No one even smiled. "Oh, no!" The words escaped like a wind against a summer screen, rasping softly.
"I'm afraid he's right," Nick said.
"I won't have cops in here!" Evan said again.
"Okay, okay. Let me think!" Nick was upset. He chewed at his lip for several minutes while the others watched and waited. Finally, he looked at them. "Okay. We get rid of the body."
Dana couldn't believe her ears. Even peered at the other man intently.
"Orv does a lot of moving around. No one's going to miss him for weeks. We dump him down one of the ravines out back, and it may be summer again before anyone finds him. It may be never. If they find him, we know nothing. He must have wandered off during the party and fallen. Who knows why he went back there? Knowing Orv, no one is going to argue."
Dana held her breath. The suggestion was preposterous, horrible. Yet she found herself hoping Evan would agree to it. She wanted only to get away from this terrible place, to hide, to forget. She hadn't meant to hurt the man, only to keep him from his purpose. It was an accident! It was!
Evan thought a long time. Abruptly, he nodded. "Okay. It's better than having the police here. I don't like a lot of snooping and questions. I like my privacy." He glared at Dana, pinning the blame on her. "I wish I'd never laid eyes on you! None of this would have happened!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Dana's voice was barely a whisper.
"All the good that does!" Evan said petulantly.
"Cut it out!" Nick ordered. He looked at Dana. "Look, honey, I think you'd better get out of here. I can take care of everything. You stop some place in town and have something to eat and think up a good story to satisfy the people at the school about why you're late. I'll take care of things here. Just forget you ever stopped here and it'll be okay."
Dana wanted desperately to believe him. She agreed and set down the coffee cup and rose. He walked with her to the front door, retrieving her suitcase from the foot of the stairs when he'd put it. Then he picked up her purse and keys from a small table and led her to the door. She carefully avoided looking at the sprawled body on the stone floor of the hallway.
Outside, Nick opened the car door for her and helped her in. The sky was barely light, the sun still well hidden behind the horizon of thick green trees. He bent into the open doorway.
"Look, Dana. It'll be okay if you keep your mouth shut. Evan doesn't want trouble, and if you say anything to anyone, he's apt to swear you clobbered Orv deliberately with malice aforethought. You may have guessed by now that Evan isn't all there when it comes to things not going his way. He's harmless, and a good guy, but don't cross him. He'd throw you to the wolves quicker than look at you."
Dana nodded mutely. She was terrified, quivering inside and visibly shaking. She knew what he was planning was wrong, and she should not agree to it so readily. But she was driven by fear, the fear that the unknown specter of the police and a charge of murder might bring. She wanted only to escape! She needed time to think. She had been sucked into a whirlpool of evil and madness from the moment she knocked on this front door. Was it only last night? It seemed a lifetime ago. A lifetime of nightmare.
"Okay," Nick said. "Make sure you remember that. Now get going and don't worry. If anything comes up, I'll get in touch with you. But let's hope I won't have to."
"Yes." The word was a pained breath.
Quickly, he gave her instructions on how to reach Bladfield and the school where she was expected. He cautioned her about the road and told her where there was a diner that would be open. Finally, he slammed the car door and stepped back.
Dana inserted the key and turned the ignition. The car responded immediately and the soft hum of the motor gave her a ray of hope. Quickly, she took off the brake and put the car in gear. As the car moved slowly down the winding drive, her last glimpse was of Nick standing before the house watching the car vanish. The screen of evergreens shut him from view, and Dana felt very much alone all at once.
And the feeling frightened her.