Chapter 13
They had slugged him neatly, if not hard, and whatever bruise showed would be no problem because it would fit in with the frame-up they had organized. She turned around finally and there he was, lying on the floor unconscious, his face looking suddenly so young and helpless that she felt that she ought to cry over what she had done. But it was done and there was no turning back now, no matter how she felt about it.
The bouncers dragged him out of the doorway and Earl come out with a bottle of whiskey. They forced open his mouth and poured it into him. Some of it went down, some of it spilled on his jacket and that was all right too.
"When he comes to, keep him quiet," Earl told the bouncers. "Make sure you get penty of juice into him. I want him all primed in about half an hour."
Earl grinned at her.
"Nice work, baby. We've got this punk right where we want him and inside of an hour we'll be through with him. Tomorrow the joint will be jumping. What a sap!"
Amy could not stop Earl. This part of the job had been bad enough, but she dreaded what was yet to come. She was a little numb now and found it difficult to feel anything.
They had really made him drunk Amy saw when it came time to wind up the performance. He looked the part they had set for him, his eyes bloodshot, his uniform awry and reeking of liquor. She came out of the back room with him, ostensibly with his arm around her, but actually holding him up so that he would not fall. He was still semi-conscious, but coming out of it quickly when she shoved him into a booth and got in beside him. After a few minutes his eyes came into partial focus, he shook his head and tried to speak. She knew his bewilderment, but she was beyond caring now.
Amy leaned toward him and when she was close to him she ripped her gown at the bodice where it covered the hollow between her breasts. As she did, she gave a loud scream and pretended to jump to her feet. Two bouncers came running over and one of the girls ran outside, shouting that the lieutenant had gone crazy and was attacking a girl.
By the time the MPs got inside the tableau was neatly formed. Clern lay on the floor at Amy's feet, with the two bouncers standing beside him. Amy, looking upset, was holding the torn pieces of her gown and Earl was just coming upon the scene from his office. To the MPs, the situation seemed to speak for itself.
"What's going on?" Earl demanded loudly.
"He got fresh with Amy," one of the bouncers said, pointing to Clem.
Earl seemed to notice Amy for the first time and put on a convincing show of being surprised.
"Got fresh! It looks like he tried to take her apart. That lousy punk of a lieutenant. This time he's gone too far. I'm gonna have his bars for this."
He turned to the sergeant who had come in.
"I want to make a complaint," he said loudly. "This bum has been trying to put me out of business and now he tried to attack one of my girls."
"Take it easy, Mister," the sergeant said. "You didn't even see what happened."
"See! I got eyes enough. Did I have to be in the room to know? I can tell what happened all right. What happened, Amy?"
"He followed me inside," she said in a low voice. He wanted me to go out with him and he started to drink and then he tried to grab me and when I tried to go away from him he tore my dress. That's when I screamed."
"That's enough for me," Earl said quickly. "Come on, kid, we're going over to the camp with the boys and we're going to make a complaint."
When Amy stood uncertainly, he said:
"Never mind about the dress, kid. I want them to see just what that louse did."
There was nothing left for the sergeant to do, but to take names and addresses and check the story. Then Clem was loaded into the jeep and Amy and Earl followed in Earl's car.
Amy sat beside Earl, holding the torn parts of her gown over her breasts and stared out into the darkness that enveloped the fields on either side of the road. It was a cruel revenge she had taken, but what was worse was the look she had seen in the sergeant's eye when he glanced first at Clem and then at her. There was such complete contempt in that glance that Amy had shrivelled under its impact. But she knew what he thought of her even if he had no idea that it was a frame-up.
They were a strange group parading into the base.
The officer on duty took one look at them and his face turned grave. He was one of the men who had been with Clem and Amy when she had been there to identify Bull and he recognized her at once. Earl started speaking at once, but the officer shut him up, turning to the sergeant. The sergeant told the story matter-of-factly and the officer glanced at Amy from time to time.
"You seem to be quite a femme fatale for our men, Miss Lovett," he remarked grimly.
"I'm sure it's not my fault," she said in a subdued voice.
His eyes raked her coldly.
"Are you making the charges?" he asked, "or do you want to let the Army handle the matter?" She looked confused.
"If you want to press a charge of attack against Lieutenant Erskine, you'll have to do it in civil court."
She shook her head.
"I don't want to press any charges," she said quickly. "I just want him to stop bothering me."
"He will," the officer said dryly. "I'm sure he will."
He turned to the sergeant.
"All right,, sergeant. Place Lieutenant Erskine under arrest and confine him to the guardhouse."
In the car going back to town Earl was gay.
"Honey, you did a job that was perfect," he told her. "You had them eating out of your hand."
"Shut up," she said savagely. "Just shut up." He stared at her. "What's the matter?"
"Shut up!"
When they reached Mrs. Cartison's, she pushed open the door and ran up the stairs to her room, threw herself down on the bed and wept. When she had cried herself out she got up and finished the job on the dress, tearing it from herself as if it were a contamination. Then she tore the rest of her clothing and stared at her nude body in the mirror, her eyes filled with horror and loathing.
But it was done and all her histronics now could not change it. She had protected herself. She had made sure that her income was unharmed, that this soldier would not play with her as had the first, that she would emerge from the encounter uncasthed. Yet, had she? The pain she felt now was evidence that she had not. She dared not think about what might happen to Clem.
Least of all dared she think about herself and Clem. She could not let her mind slip back to that day at the swimming place, yet she could not prevent it from doing so. She groaned aloud when she thought of it and wept afresh.
And the worst of it was that she was Earl's now, Earl's completely. She was tied to him now by a partnership that she could not break. And now that it had happened, she knew that it was something she would not be able to take for long, if at all. What she had felt for him in the car would not grow weaker, but stronger. She could not even pull out of it if she wanted to because of Earl's revenge. She remembered how vicious he had been when he thought she might be double-crossing him. He would not balk at anything, if she tried it now.
She crawled into bed, seeking sleep that would not come. For hours she tossed, a prisoner of remorse and anguish, hoping for release from the torture she was experiencing. It was not until shortly before dawn that she managed to drop off into a dream-harassed sleep.
When she woke close to midday, Amy was haggard and tense. She tried not to think of Clem. Instead she concentrated on herself, and how she had to pretend love with Earl Rommel. The more she tried to tell herself that he was a man, just like all the rest, the more she rebelled against it. There was no way out for her, she realized. Where she had managed to tolerate Earl before, pretending love in exchange for the things he gave her, now she knew that she hated him since he had framed Clem.
Yet she was afraid of him nevertheless. In fact, because of her hate she knew she had greater cause for fear. If Earl should guess her feeling he would act quickly and ruthlessly to protect himself and destroy her. And the blow would fall without warning, as it had on Clem.
She knew that tonight he would demand new proof of her loyalty to him, that he would expect her to celebrate with him the success of their stratagem. Yet before that she would have to go through a night at the tavern. It was too much for her to face and she decided to beg off. She called him and told him she was not feeling well and would not be in that night. She could tell he did not like it, even though he said nothing that would tend to show that.
To her surprise he showed up at Mrs. Cartison's that afternoon. If she had not know him so well she would have thought it was real concern for her, but she knew he was checking up on her. He brought flowers but she was not deceived by them. Even as he handed them to her his eyes searched her face for a clue about his suspicions.
Now, seeing that, Amy had a sickening moment of. intuition when she wondered how much Earl had guessed about Clem and herself. Everything was suddenly too pat. She stared at Earl with growing suspicion that he had managed things in such a way as to dispose of a suspected rival.
She got rid of him quickly, but by the time evening rolled around the thought of staying alone got her down and she decided that she would go to work after all. It would be better to keep busy than to brood about what had happened. They way her mind kept coming back to Clem frightened Amy.
By the time she dressed and reached the tavern it was later than usual and the place had come alive as a result of their coup of the preceding day. No jeep stood outside and no MPs were posted at the doors. Inside there were dozens of soldiers crowding the bar, their arms around the girls, talking, shouting, singing and drinking. As Earl had said, the place was jumping.
But a curious thing had happened to Amy. Whereas before she had moved among the soldiers with contempt and dislike, now her attitude had swiftly changed. That they should be fleeced, bilked and cheated in every possible way, made her pity them. She saw their youth and she could not help but recall how young Clem's face had seemed when he was lying on the floor the night before.
What she had done to Clem was over, but the idea of continuing along that road and pushing more soldiers along it was hard for her to accept. Somehow all the fine plans, all the wonderful things that were going to happen to her had lost their attractiveness. In acting to protect these things she had inexplicably lost the desire for them. She was gentle with the GIs this night and did not bother to steer them into the gambling room. When Earl complained, she explained it by saying that she still didn't feel well and had made a mistake in coming in.
He sent her home with one of the bouncers and Amy was glad to be out of the place. She had to decide what to do, but she felt trapped. She had never felt so alone in her life.