Chapter 7
A new dimension was added to Phil and Rhoda's lovemaking; she had thrown herself into it with wild abandon, discovering that she could have multiple orgasms as she came sexually alive in Phil's arms. Afterward, as Phil had not yet reached his climax, she decided to show him her newly learned love-technique.
"Phil... let me show you how much I really love you."
"You have, already, honey," he said. "I'll be darned if I can figure you out. .. ! You've changed ..."
"Stop straining to cum, darling . . . Just pull that wonderful cock of yours out. . . lay back and relax . .. and let me take care of it.. . for you ..." Rhoda said, throatily.
He had not even known that she knew the word ... or that she would use it if she did; he had to admit that he was a little shocked. He pulled his rock-hard prick from her satiated cuntal passage into which he had been ramming his great cudgel, driving for ejaculation, frantically, and rolled to his back.
Rhoda crouched over him and took his cock in her hand, lowering her head to it and took just the tip of it in her ovaled lips, her tongue working inside her mouth; then, she began to bob her head in inexorable rhythm, sucking him to spewing climax within a very few minutes.
"Christ, Rhoda . . . your mouth is like honey!" he groaned in ecstasy.
"Was it really good for you, Phil?"
"I thought I'd never stop cumming . . . !" he exulted.
She crawled up to him, offering her lips for his kiss. He snaked his tongue into her mouth, and as she nibbled and sucked on it, he tasted his own pungent maleness in her mouth.
Wini called Phil on the inter-office telephone soon after he arrived at the plant the following morning.
"Phil. . . ?" she asked. "Phil.. . I've got to talk to you. . . ! Is there some place where ... we can talk, privately?"
"Yes . . . How about the cafeteria ... for coffee break . . . ?" "O.K." she said. "... And, Phil. . . It's terribly important!"
Something of the urgency in her voice was communicated to him, and he guessed that his substitution of research data he had given her for his own probably had something to do with her desire to talk with him . . . privately.
They met in the noisy din of the cafeteria over steaming plastic cups of coffee. Wini was pale and tired. She opened their conversation with an accusation.
"I should hate you .. . ! You damned near got me killed!" Phil was aghast. "Who . .. ? Taylor! Did Taylor try ... ?"
"He almost succeeded!" she broke in. "He didn't like your little joke .. . and took out his revenge on me! ... It-It was horrible! She was near tears, her eyes puddling becomingly.
"God! Wini. . . I-I never dreamed that you might be. .. put in a tough spot! I'm sorry ... terribly sorry ..." he said, contritely.
"I'll let you make it up to me . . . in bed. O.K.?"
"Gladly! That's an easy penance!"
"Now, let me tell you what happened! I-I've got to tell somebody ... or I'll pop my skull!"
He took one of her tiny hands in his and said, "You know I'm interested . . . especially since I've got this guilty feeling about getting you into it... " "I was just plain lucky!" Then she began to tell him, quickly, sketching in details where necessary, of what had happened. "I took that report to Taylor. He glanced at it and put it aside. He seemed sort of grim, but I thought he was just worried. His main interest, right then, seemed to be sex. We made love. He was awfully good in bed, you know . .. " Phil broke in, "Was. . . ?"
"He's dead, you know.. . but I'll get to that... in a minute. Oh, Phil... It was just horrible ... !"
"Taylor! Taylor Robbin's dead . . . ?"
"Yes," she said dully. "He was trying to ... to kill me!"
"D-Did you kill him ... ? The police . . . ?"
"No! It was an accident!" she said. "Let me tell you the rest.. . About ten o'clock - last night - he suggested we go for a sail... We drove to Bayside where he keeps his boat... It's about thirty feet long... a sloop rig. Anyway, we drove down there in my Jag. He said he keeps a room there at Bayside - in case he didn't feel like driving all the way home after a sail. He also said that it'd be easy for him to call for a car to get him.
"We had a few drinks . .. and about midnight we sailed out of Bayside toward Vancouver Island. It was beautiful... He wanted to make me, again . . . but he started getting mean .. . and wanted me to do all kinds of crazy things with him . .. you know. Well, I've been fucked every way possible .. . but I don't like to be knocked around ... by anybody. I do things for people .. . because I like them."
"Did you try to put him off..." Phil asked.
"Yes ... sort of ... I gave him head ..."
"Head . .. ?" he queried.
"A blow job!"
"Oh," he grunted, understanding, then.
"Well, he became angry, because I wouldn't go the anal route . . . just then. He went up on deck to check on something. Pretty soon he called me, 'Wini... get your ass up here'!
"I was naked, but I came up out of the cabin into the cockpit. . . And, he had a .45 in his hand pointing it at me. Taylor said, real nasty like, 'That stupid mistake of yours cost me a hell of a lot of money'!
"For the life of me ... I didn't know what he was talking about. .. then."
" 'What do you mean . . . '? I asked him.
" 'You and that smart-ass, Phil Grey, were trying to pull a fast one . .. switch papers on me . . . Well, when I saw my own report on pesticides, I knew you were trying to cheat me ...' "I was just flabbergasted! I said to him, 'Taylor ... I don't know anything about it... I just gave you what I got from Phil. ..'!
"He said, 'I'll take care of him . . . later. This is all for you'!
"Then he pulled the trigger! Somehow, the boat lurched or something ... He missed! I jumped up . . . and tried to grab his hand! I remembered my Karate... I tried to throw him . . . and the gun went off, again . . . and . . . and Taylor was dead . . . he-he died right away."
Memories of the horror flooded back to her; she dabbed at her eyes with a tissue.
"God!" Phil said. "I can't believe that Taylor would stoop ... to murder!"
"Believe me, Phil! I'm sure he planned it.. . that way. He was going to dump me overboard . . . !"
"The son-of-a-bitch!" Phil blurted. "Then what ...?M "I didn't know what to do! I threw the gun overboard . . . and then I-I pushed his body over the side . . . and he sank. Then I turned the boat around and headed back toward Bayside. When I was about a mile away I turned the boat around again . . . heading -it toward Vancouver . . . and I dived overboard and swam to shore."
"That was a mighty long swim!" Phil interjected.
"'I'm in pretty good condition . . . but I was awfully tired. It must have been about three o'clock in the morning when I came out of the water... I just laid there on the beach and rested. When I came to myself, enough ... I looked around and discovered I was at Whitehead! I was still naked . . . but it was dark. I swam across to Bayside . . . sneaked out to my car, found the spare key that I keep hidden up under the frame.. . and drove home ... Believe me, I was never so thankful in my life!"
All Phil could say was, "Fantastic!"
"Maybe you think so. . . but it's all too horribly true!"
Her little pixie face was a study in travail. She sniffed. After a moment she continued.
"And . . . here's the worst thing of all. .. It concerns you!"
Phil raised his eyebrows, questioningly, "Me . . .?"
"Yes ... I delivered some letters I'd typed to Mr. Proctor . . . you know him . . . He's the head of the security force for the plant. I heard your name mentioned . . . and I listened in! He was making an appointment with the president ... to talk about you ... as a security risk! So, I figured he must have been on to something. Phil... I just know that horrible man is going to try to get your fired . . . And, then you'll never get anything at all for all of your work ... on your special project..."
"I sure as hell can't afford to lose this job!" Phil said, grimly.
"Listen to me Phil! Your project must be really worth something. . . ! Taylor wanted to pay me a lot of money to get it. . . then, he was willing to kill me! And, he may have been planning to kill you . . . too! It is important . . . isn't it? " "Yes, it is!" Phil affirmed.
"Take it, Phil! Take it... it's yours! Take me with you... We can sell it some other place . . . for a lot of money! Look! There's a United Flight to New York at 5:30 this afternoon . . . Let me take your formula out of here . . . meet me at Seattle International.. . We'll leave together . . . Make a new life together!"
He was caught up in her argument. Against what he knew to be his better judgment he began to agree with her. Suddenly, he made a decision.
"All right! I'll do it!" he said.
"Right away ... in the next few minutes ... before they call you in . . . !" Her voice was urgent.
The cafeteria began to clear of people. There was more possibility of their being overheard. Phil lowered his voice and said, "O.K.! I'll bring you some stuff to be typed. . . It'll be in the middle. Can you get out of here with it .. . ?"
"Leave it to me! Remember 5:15, International . . . United!" she said in haste as they both rose to leave.
Phil was in a daze. Dully, he went back to his project office; he knew what he was doing was wrong, but the element of danger . .. adventure lured him. Wini was an exciting woman. The memory of making love to her was strong in him, and at this point in time, he was ready for anything... let come what may. He had decided to seize the opportunity, and act upon it!
Gathering all of his project notes together and putting them in a mislabeled folder as a cover, he made his way to the rackety din of the secretarial pool, making his way to Wini's desk. He gave her the folder.
"Miss Brent . . . please make two carbons for me ... " "Certainly . . . right away, Mr. Grey," Wini smiled.
Back in his office he had a call from the Vice-President for Personnel requesting him to come up, immediately, to that office. Phil went with heavy heart. True to Wini's prediction he was asked to resign ... in the best interests of all concerned. It had come to their attention that Phil had been approached by persons unknown concerning his project; that he had been offered a large sum of money .. . the whole bit.
Phil tried to give the straight story, but to no avail.
"We are sorry, Mr. Grey . .. Your employment with Northern Chemical and Research is ended as of now!"
That was the final word!
He had been allowed to go back to his working space to clear out any of his personal belongings he wanted to take with him. He did so under the watchful eyes of a smirking Don Proctor. "Well, I sure as hell nipped this little fiasco in the bud!" Don boasted.
"Yes," Phil agreed. "You sure as hell did! You did me right out of a job!"
After that little exchange there was no more conversation between the two men. Don escorted him to the lobby. Phil carried a paper bag of personal effects from his desk. The bouncy blonde at the reception desk gave him a fat envelope.
"Mr. Grey . . . Miss Brent asked me to be sure to give you this ..." she said.
He thanked her and stuffed it in a pocket. Later, as he sat in his car, in the parking lot of a bar not far from the plant, he ripped open the letter, addressed to him. It was from Wini. He almost expected it! He didn't expect the remaining contents. There were 50 one-thousand dollar notes wrapped separately in a packet. His eyes widened in disbelief.
"I'll be damned!" he said aloud. He read her letter.
Dear Phil, I just saw you go up to personnel, so my guess must be right about their letting you go.
What I told you about Taylor Robbins is all true. He really is dead! It happened just like I told you it did.
Wini Brent is dead, too! I just killed her! You understand, of course, that Wini never existed! I created her, and when I was through with her I just willed her to die. By the time you get this, I'll be gone! You'll never be able to locate me.
One last laugh I've had here in Seattle is that I operated right under Don Proctor's nose, and he never suspected that I'm known and wanted all over the country! I make a pretty good living doing this sort of thing. It's dangerous, but I love it. The danger is a sort of occupational hazard . . . like this scrape with Taylor.
Phil, I loved you while I was with you; that's all I can do! I am sorry that you'll be hurt, but believe me, it is temporary!
The money is yours. Use it to get some of the things you've always wanted. . . Take your little wife, Rhoda, and go to New York. That's where the action is!
All my love, C.S.
Again, Phil Grey said, "I'll be damned!"
He stuffed the envelope under the floormat, searched his wallet, found a twenty dollar bill and decided that he would use it.
I can hang one on with the twenty! That's exactly what I need. . . I need to forget. . . one hell of a lot of things!
Phil Grey walked into the bar and ordered scotch ... for the first time in his life!