“Who is this? This isn’t Judy?”
“HE’S A WHITE MALE, ABOUT TWENTY YEARS OLD, SIX FEET TALL, A HUNDRED AND EIGHTY POUNDS, WITH SHORT BLOND HAIR.”
“Is this for real? Do you really have a prowler?”
“YES! AND HE’S NAKED, AND HE’S TRYING TO GET IN! YOU’VE GOT TO SEND A SQUAD CAR RIGHT AWAY!”
“Holy shit,” Tony said.
“PLEASE HURRY!”
“Do you want me to hang up and call the police?”
Taking the phone away from my mouth, I yelled at the man, “THE COPS ARE ON THE WAY, YOU SICK BASTARD! THEY’LL BE HERE IN TWO MINUTES!”
I know he heard me, but he seemed to be lost in his own world of skin and glass and me.
Watching him, I saw myself. I looked like a ghost being molested by a mad, drooling mime. He writhed against me, caressed me, kissed me, then suddenly went rigid and started to jerk, shaking the door in its frame. For a moment, I thought he was having a seizure.
In a way, he was.
When I realized what was going on, I gasped and turned my head away.
My eyes met the light switch.
I shot my hand out and flipped it down. Darkness clamped down on the room.
The door stopped shaking.
I looked.
The stranger took a few steps backward, then whirled around. He ran to the edge of the pool, dived in, and swam for the other side.
While I watched him, I heard Tony’s tiny, faint voice coming from the phone’s earpiece down by my side.
The stranger boosted himself out of the pool, scurried over the concrete, swooped down and snatched up his shorts. He didn’t put them on. Clutching them in one hand, he dashed onto the lawn and ran toward the woods.
I lifted the phone.
Tony sounded frantic.“…okay? Hello? What’s happening?”
“I’m here,” I said.
“What happened? What’s going on?”
“I think it’s all right now. He just ran away.”
“You’d better call the cops.”
“He thinks I just did. That’s what scared him off.”
“Maybe you’d better call them for real.”
“I don’t know. He’s gone now.”
“How do you know he won’t come back?”
“Thanks a lot, Tony.”
“Sorry. Are you okay?”
“Just a little shook up. I’m all by myself, and he came sneaking out of the woods behind the house.”
“You said he was naked?”
“Yeah. Well, he took off his shorts and started swimming in the pool.”
“Weird. You don’t have any idea who he was?”
“Not a clue. Just some guy who came out of the woods.”
“Miller’s Woods?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s bad. A lot of real oddballs hang around in there.”
“This is the first time anyone ever came sneaking out to use the pool. That I know about, anyway.”
“You’re lucky that’s all he did.”
“Yeah,” I said. I thought about what he’d done on the door, but kept my mouth shut about it.
“You really should call the cops,” Tony told me.
“I know. You’re probably right.”
“They keep finding bodies in those woods.”
He wasn’t telling me anything new. “Now and then,” I said. “But most of them weren’t killed there. They were just dropped off, you know? It’s not like there’s necessarily a homicidal maniac hanging around in the woods.”
“I sure wouldn’t want to live near them.”
“Well, I don’t mind. I like it, normally. It’s nice and peaceful.”
“You live there alone?”
“I’m alone tonight.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t be. I know you don’t want to hear this, but you really can’t be sure he won’t come back.”
“I wish you’d stop saying that.”
“You sound like a nice person.”
“Thanks.”
“I’d hate to think you might end up…you know.”
“I won’t,” I told him.
“Do you have a name?” he asked.
“No, actually I’m one of those people who isn’t that lucky.”
He laughed a little, and I smiled.
“My name’s Alice,” I said. (That isn’t really what I told him. I told him my true name, which is a secret as far as this book is concerned…unless you’re smart enough to find my hidden message.)
“Hello, Alice,” he said.
“Hello, Tony.” (Tony isn’t his real name, either, by the way—in case you were daydreaming when you read the introduction. Tony, Serena, Charlie, Judy, etc.—all made up. The same goes for Miller’s Woods, and so on. Just thought I’d remind you.)
“I guess I dialed a wrong number,” Tony said.
“I guess you did.”
“I was trying to call this gal…”
“I know. Judy. She must’ve dumped you, huh?”
“Something like that.”
“You probably called her once too many times after midnight.”
“Think so?”
“It scares people. You shouldn’t do it.”
“Maybe not.”
“Besides which, it makes you sound desperate. If you want to get back on Judy’s good side, you don’t want her to think you’re desperate about it.”
“You’re probably right.”
“You bet I’m right.”
“Good thing I dialed the wrong number,” he said.
“I’m glad you did. My creepy visitor would probably still be here.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
“Nothing. Go to bed, I guess.”
“You shouldn’t stay there. Not by yourself.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Is there a neighbor you could stay with for the rest of the night?”
“Not exactly. Nobody nearby.”
“What about…?”
“Anyway, I’ll be fine. I really don’t think he’ll be coming back tonight. As far as he knows, the cops are on the way over.”
“I hope you’re right,” Tony said.
“So do I.”
“I’d hate to read about you in the paper.”
“Me, too.”
He laughed quietly. Then he said, “I’m serious about this, though. Is there a friend you can call? Someone who might be willing to come over? Maybe a relative?”
“None.”
“What about heading over to a motel?”
“At this hour?”
“Most of them over by the highway are open all night. You might have to ring a bell, or something, but…”
“I’m not going to any motel. Are you kidding? I’m probably ten times safer staying right here than if I try to drive over to one of those places at this hour. Anyway, haven’t you ever heard of Norman Bates?”
“You’ll be fine if you don’t take a shower.”
“I’ll just stay home and take one.”
Tony was silent for a few moments. It made me wonder what he was thinking about. Then he said, “Look. Why don’t I come over there? Just so you won’t be alone in case this guy decides to try something.”
His suggestion didn’t come as a huge surprise. Still, it made me feel uneasy.
“I don’t think so, Tony. Thanks for asking.”
“I realize we don’t know each other very well.”
“We don’t know each other period,” I pointed out. “You called the wrong number and we’ve been talking for about five minutes. Now you want to come over?”
“I’m worried about you.”
“Maybe you are and maybe you aren’t. Maybe this whole thing’s a set-up. It’s pretty convenient, you just happening to call here when you did.”
“I dialed the wrong number.”
“Maybe you did and maybe you didn’t.”
“Jeez,” he said.
For a few moments, he was silent.
Then he said, “Anyway, it’s getting pretty late. I’d better hit the sack. Good luck with your intruder, Alice. It was nice talking to you. Pretty much. Bye.”