Then I noticed a gap about ten or twelve inches wide at the door’s edge.
It’s open!
I hadn’t done that! I might’ve misplaced the saber—though I doubted it—but no way on earth had I left the den door unlocked and open.
I hadn’t left the curtains open, either.
But they were open now. In spite of the reflections on the glass, I could make out a few vague images inside the den. Not much, but enough to tell me that someone had opened the curtains.
Elroy must’ve done it.
Maybe he’d decided to give the house an inspection—just to make sure there really wasn’t an intruder. Along the way, he might’ve opened some curtains, opened the den door…
It hardly seemed likely, though.
He wouldn’t go around looking for intruders or signs of a break-in. Not Elroy. He hadn’t even looked to see if there were any hooks above the fireplace.
I suddenly knew the answer.
He did it as part of his plan to freak me out.
The bastard sure holds a grudge.
Or maybe he’s just doing it to amuse himself. Doesn’t mean to really scare me. Sees it as nothing more than a fun diversion, like hide ’n seek. A game to help pass the time while the steaks are thawing.
I called out, “Very funny, Elroy. I know what you’re doing, and I’m not falling for it. Why don’t you stop screwing around and come out?”
No answer came.
Frankly, I didn’t expect one.
But I hoped.
“I know you’re in the den, watching me.”
I knew no such thing.
I only hoped.
Please, let it be a dumb game he’s playing.
It has to be.
“I tell you what, Elroy.” My voice was shaking. “I’ll count to three. If you come out before I reach three, I’ll take my bra off for you. Hell, I’ll throw it to you. But only if you come out by the time I count to three. One.”
Nothing.
I went ahead and reached behind my back, anyway, to show him I meant business.
“Two.”
Nothing.
“Time’s running out. This’ll be your only chance, Elroy. If you don’t pop your head out of that doorway in one second…”
It didn’t pop out.
It rolled.
46
REUNION
Unfortunately, the rest of Elroy wasn’t attached.
His head tumbled out of the den like a lopsided, mutant bowling ball, did a little hop over the door’s threshold, then dropped to the concrete outside. As it dropped, his tongue was sticking out. The concrete clipped him on the chin, and he bit his tongue nearly off. It hung by a string of flesh as his head rolled a crooked course toward the pool—toward me.
He seemed to glance at me each time his face came up.
The stump of his neck flung blood through the air.
His tongue came off.
He bounced and rolled all the way to the pool. By the time he reached its edge, his nose was flat and his front upper teeth were broken out. He gave me a quick, awful grin, then sailed off the edge and plopped into the water about a yard in front of me.
The water went pink around his sinking head.
I waded backward as fast as I could.
Elroy’s head seemed to pursue me.
But I stopped paying attention to it when the den door rumbled open.
Out stepped my midnight swimmer.
He held the saber in his right hand.
He wore nothing but shorts. From face to feet, he was spattered with blood. Except for his left arm, which was sleeved with it.
Somewhere in Serena and Charlie’s house, he must’ve made an awful mess.
If he kills me, I thought, at least I won’t have to worry about cleaning it up.
(You think odd stuff at times like that.)
He walked straight to the edge of the pool, then stopped and rested the point of the sword on the concrete beside his bare foot.
“Hello again,” he said. He seemed serious, but calm.
I didn’t say anything. I was having trouble breathing. Then I flinched as something brushed against the side of my right leg.
“You must’ve known I’d come back for you.”
I took a step backward to get away from Elroy’s head.
“Don’t. Don’t try to get away from me. You can’t get away from me. I’m way too fast for you. And today, I’m the one with the sword. I could kill you in the blink of an eye. Or slice off small parts of you here and there. You don’t want me to do that, do you?”
I shook my head.
“You be my good girl, then.”
I nodded.
“Don’t move,” he said, then raised the saber, stepped off the edge, and dropped into the pool. As water splashed up around him, I took a single step backward. He didn’t seem to notice. But he waded closer to me, and I didn’t dare move away from him again. “You’re very lucky to have a pool,” he said. “I wish I had one.”
Lowering his sword, he crouched down until the water covered his shoulders. Then he swished his left arm around, apparently trying to wash the blood off, and the water around it went pink.
“Your name is Alice, right?” he asked.
(Of course, he didn’t say Alice. He said my real name, which is my secret.)
“How do you know?” I asked.
“I’ve heard.” He dunked his head.
I thought about making a break.
Before I could decide, his head came up, hair matted flat, water running down his face. With his left hand, which wasn’t bloody anymore, he rubbed his face.
“I’m Steve,” he said.
“I’m charmed,” I said.
He smiled. “Glad to hear it.”
“That’s sarcasm, Stevie.”
His left hand smacked me hard across the face, burning my cheek and knocking my head sideways. My eyes filled with tears.
“That wasn’t very nice,” I said.
“Depends which side you’re on.”
“From this side, it sucked.”
“If you didn’t like it, you’d better learn how to behave.”
“Consider me taught,” I said.
He grabbed me through the front of my bra, squeezed my nipple and lifted. Both my hands were free. I didn’t try to fight him, though. Wincing, I went up on tiptoes and kept my hands down by my sides. Instead of begging him to stop, I hissed through my teeth and glared at him.
“Here’s what we’re going to do,” he said, keeping his grip. “We’re going to climb out of the pool, then have ourselves a nice party. Margaritas and barbecued steaks. You have my permission to marinate them. Say thank you.”
“Thank you,” I gasped.
“This could be a very pleasant experience for both of us.”
“I bet.”
He pinched me.
I flinched and tears ran down my face.
“You made me do that, Alice. And I enjoyed doing it. Did you enjoy it?”
“No.”
“Then why did you make me do it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Would you like me to do it again?”
“No.”
“I can even do worse. Much worse.”
“You don’t have to. I’ll be good. I promise.”
“You’ll be my good girl?”
“Yes.”
“My sweetheart?”
“Yes.”
“Cross your heart and hope to die?”
“Yes.”
He pinched me again. I jerked rigid with the pain, and cried out. He squeezed even harder. Writhing, I arched my spine and threw back my head. Tears spilled down my face.
And I felt his tongue.
Even as he kept pinching me, he licked the tears off my cheeks.