Chapter 2
A telephone rang in the annex of a rambling old building fifty miles on the Mexican side of the California border. It was answered by a girl whose voice was alert, cool and professional. She listened for a moment then touched a button on her desk and spoke into the phone softly, discreetly. "I have Doctor Saxon on the line now, Mrs. Norden, you can go right ahead." She re-cradled her phone very gently.
Nadine's mother moistened her lips before she spoke.
"Doctor Saxon?" she waited, then when she spoke again, she made her voice low, calm and cool. Not frantically anxious and panicky like she actually felt. "This is Mrs. Norden, Angela Norden. A friend of mine mentioned your name to me-and-I thought-I wondered ... ?"
She stopped speaking, listened, then; "It was Mrs. Suzanne Summers of San Francisco. Yes, she's a friend. She said that her niece was at your place and ... "
Angela had been in the Star-Room Bar when Suzanne had told her. Told her about Rhoda, her sixteen-year-old niece.
"She got herself pregnant," Suzanne had said, "again!" Angela had watched as Suzanne drained her martini, then she had asked, "Who was it?"
"Rhoda said it was Bob, her sister Norma's husband." Suzanne had looked at her friend, then added, bitterly, "It probably was, too."
"Why, he must be-" Angela had began, but Suzanne cut in.
"He's two years older than Norma and Norma's ten years older than Rhoda!" She looked right at Angela as she added, "Why, Rhoda isn't much older than Nadine!"
"No," Angela had admitted, "she isn't."
Then she had thought to herself: But Nadine won't get pregnant with the things she does. Sweet little Nadine wouldn't let a nasty man get into her! Oh, no. She'd tried to stop her train of thought. She shouldn't think that way about her own daughter! Even if she was a ...
"The first time," Suzanne had gone on, "it was some young boy at school. Rhoda was about fourteen then and she stopped that one by falling off some vault horse in the gym."
The waiter had brought them fresh drinks, then Angela had asked, "And this time?"
"She went to some guy. Someone out of town, she said, who fixed her up!"
Angela had taken a deep breath.
"Rhoda said that Bob gave her the money to go." Suzanne looked into her glass. "Bob denied it, of course. Said that it wasn't him in the first place and that he didn't tell her to go anywhere in the second place and ... "
"And Norma?" Angela asked, "What did she say?"
"Oh, my God, Norma!" Suzanne lifted up her eyes. "She said that if they didn't send her bitch of a kid, blankety sister away, she'd ... !"
"It must have been pretty bad."
"You could say that," Suzanne gave a crazy laugh. "Norma said that Rhoda was making out with every boy in high school and ... "
"And Bob?" Angela put in, quietly.
"Yeah, Bob too. I believe that." Suzanne spoke slowly. "But I'd say that Rhoda got him into it. I remember once when I was at Norma's and Rhoda came in while Norma was talking to me," Suzanne sighed. "She told Bob that she'd strained herself and would he give her some liniment. Then they both went off to get it." Suzanne stopped talking and sipped at her drink.
"So?" Angela waited, then, "What's so bad about that?" She toyed with her glass.
"I'll tell you," Suzanne put her glass down hard, "When Norma was in the kitchen, I went to see what was going on, being a busy-bodying butter-inner and found that Bob was massaging Rhoda all right but he was using cold cream and the strain was right between dear little Rhoda's legs!" Suzanne looked at Angela, then added, "Rhoda was laughing her head off while Bob, he's such a conscientious guy, was so busy, busy, busy!"
"And Norma didn't know?"
Suzanne shrugged. "Not then I don't think."
"Well," Angela let her breath out. "And what're they going to do about Rhoda, if anything?"
"Oh, they've done something all right." Suzanne eyed her empty glass, waved to the waiter. "They've fixed little Rhoda up. They've sent her to the Saxon place."
Angela hadn't understood. "What is that? A home? A mental hospital?" Her eyes had been shocked.
"No," Suzanne reassured her, "it's a private place. Have you never heard of it?"
Angela shook her head.
"They take care of mixed-up adolescents. Doctor Saxon is a psychiatrist or psychologist, I think and there's a big staff. It's a beautiful place, like a holiday resort. They do what they want. Everyone there is a guest, so they say," Suzanne laughed. "I don't know if they could leave without permission, in fact I'm damn sure they couldn't. And the big thing is that they get them out of their parents' or relatives' hair."
Angela had never thought then that she would ever be personally interested in such a place, but now ...
"You see, Doctor," Angela Norden was saying on the phone, "it's my daughter. I-I don't know how to tell you this, but I have a maid, a young girl and my daughter makes her perform-perform a certain act ..."
Angela listened. Then, "Yes-yes, Doctor. It is a sex act. She makes the girl kiss-lick her on her-you know, Doctor. Between her legs-in her vagina. I don't like to use these words, but, she makes the maid suck her off! Wanda, the maid, has to suck her cunt until she comes, Doctor. I-I feel awful talking like this. I-oh, thank you, Doctor. I-I had to describe it. Yes, she has done it with other girls or made them do it to her. Really, she's very strong-willed, though she seems so sweet and she is sweet in a lot of ways, but I have to get rid of her for a while. I mean, I think it would be better for her to go away for a while and that's why I was calling. The reason? Did you say that there must be a reason? Yes, well there is a reason. You see, Doctor, I'm getting married again. I've been divorced from Nadine's father for eight years and-because the man that I am going to marry is-is twenty-five years old-and-and I am thirty-five!"
Angela felt her body trembling as she waited for the answer to her question, her plea-her cry of help!
"Don't worry, Mrs. Norden," said the smooth, reassuring voice on the phone, "we'll take your daughter as a guest. My associate, Marvin Hett, will call you in a few hours and-"
Angela cut in, relief and apprehension mixed in her words. "Thank you, Doctor, thank you so much. And Doctor, how much will it cost?"
"We'll let you know after your daughter is here with us, Mrs. Norden. Don't be alarmed, the fees are very reasonable. It depends upon the treatment and-and service that your daughter may require."
"I'm so relieved, Doctor." Angela was purring on the phone, "Shall I give my address and number to you?"
"Please, Mrs. Norden, give all the necessary details to my receptionist. Mr. Hett will call you very soon. Good-bye Mrs. Norden."
"Good-bye, Doctor and thank you," Angela purred on the phone as Doctor Saxon's receptionist came on the line to get the information.
It would be all right, Angela was whispering to herself, everything would be all right! Nadine would go to the Saxon place and everything would be all right ... !