Sue, page 16
“Fine. But you’ve got a lot of questions to answer, buddy.”
“Okay, dude, whatever you say.” Eric climbed to his feet, using the house to steady himself. He stumbled to the porch and sat heavily on the edge.
The smell of something burning wafted from inside and Sue exclaimed, “The food!” She rushed inside and yanked the tray of garlic bread from the oven. She returned to find Eric massaging his torso.
“I hope my ribs aren’t broken.” He gave Melvin an annoyed look.
“I didn’t hit you that hard,” Melvin replied, unsympathetic. “Now talk. Who gave you Sue’s address?”
Slowly the story came out. Eric had met a guy named Ian in an internet cafe when he was working a job in Nashville. “I walked by and noticed some pretty intriguing pictures on his screen.”
Ice water flowed through Sue’s veins. “What kind of pictures?”
He glanced up at Sue, a grimace on his face. “Old buildings. Derelicts. Really stunning ones. So I stopped and asked him about them. Turns out he’s obsessed with abandoned structures, just like I am. I explore them every chance I get.”
“What’s that got to do with Sue?” Melvin’s face was stony, his fists clenched.
“We got to talking. When he found out I was from Maine, he told me if I ever got up to Cyrus, I should look you up, introduce myself. Now don’t hit me again...” He held up his palms to Melvin. “I’m just telling you what he said. These are his words. He told me you love to put out, that you are very open-minded and adventurous. He said you’re a free spirit, always looking for a party. Told me he thought we’d really have a good time together. And he gave me this address.”
Sue looked at Melvin, eyes wide with shock. “It was Zeke for sure.”
“Nah, this guy’s name was Ian. I don’t know any Zeke.” Eric ’s tone signaled he was now feeling more at ease. He stood.
“Shut up.” Melvin shot him a baleful look and Eric sat back down.
“Should we call the police?” Sue asked.
Eric shot to his feet. “The police?” he squeaked. “What the hell for? Your boyfriend beat me up, not the other way around. Way I see it, this is a simple misunderstanding, nothing more. I didn’t do anything wrong. I just showed up ready to be friendly.”
“You have a problem with the cops?” Melvin asked.
“No. And I don’t want any. Come on, dude. Can’t we just forget this whole thing? I’ll leave and you’ll never see me again.”
Melvin turned to Sue. “Sue?”
“If he answers all our questions, I’m fine with letting him go. I don’t believe he can help the police anyway.”
Relief spread across Eric’s face and he eagerly told them everything he knew. “I don’t even really know the guy that gave me your address. I just met him a couple of weeks ago.”
“What did he look like?” Sue found it hard to breathe as she listened.
“I guess he was good-looking, you know, for a guy. He had blond hair, looked like he worked out, and had these intense blue eyes. He was real easy to talk to, though.”
“Did he say where he’d come from, or where he was going?” Melvin asked.
“Nah, he didn’t say anything about that.”
“What was he driving?”
“Hell, I don’t know. We were inside that cafe, not out on the road.”
“Do you remember anything else?”
“Well, there was a girl that kind of hung back while we talked, like maybe she was waiting for him to notice her or like she knew him or something. I don’t know. She never came up to us or spoke. Just watched us.”
Sue latched onto this information. “What did she look like?”
“Young. Maybe late teens, early twenties. I’m not good at guessing age. Red hair, fake looking, not natural. Looked like it had been hacked off, not cut nice or anything. She was kind of cute, but timid acting.” Eric shrugged. “Anyway, I don’t even know if they were together. It’s just a feeling I got at the time, is all. I could be wrong about it.”
After they obtained every detail, Melvin dismissed the guy. “Really,” he said with a grim look on his face. “You don’t want to ever come back here. Take my word for it.”
“You got that right,” Eric said as he shambled to a battered white pickup truck parked down the street and climbed inside. Setting the truck in motion, he thrust an arm out the window and flipped Sue and Melvin off.
Sue hurried to the edge of her yard and watched him pull away, memorizing his license plate. Just in case.
She pushed past Melvin and darted into her room to write it down before she forgot it. “Just recording the tag number in the event we need it someday,” she called over her shoulder. “Come on back inside.”
Melvin stood on the porch until the truck disappeared from sight. Only then did he reenter the apartment, close and lock the door behind him.
“We should tell Will and Roxie about this,” Melvin said. “It could be important.”
“I don’t see how, but tell them if you want to. I just don’t want my folks knowing about it.”
“I doubt Will would tell your parents; he’s not working for them anymore. But, Sue, we could run that tag number and find out who this guy is.”
“Do you think he lied about his name?”
“Maybe. I don’t know.” Melvin frowned.
“Go ahead, but I don’t think it’s going to lead to Zeke. Sounds to me like they just met in passing.”
Melvin looked determined. “Well, I’m going to check him out anyway.”
After about twenty minutes of discussion, Sue finally returned to the kitchen and finished preparing their meal. The food was good, in spite of the disturbance, and they ate companionably. But any thought of romance fled with the man in the white truck.
Chapter 30
Saturday rolled in with a gentle breeze. The air was redolent with the sweet delicate scent of daffodils. Sue called Melvin. “Hey, do you have plans for the day?”
“I need to study for an exam but that can wait until later; what did you have in mind? Want to go do some shooting or go to the gym?”
“Not today. I thought maybe we could go for a drive. It’s so pretty out.”
“Sure. Want to take a picnic lunch along?”
Sue’s mind flashed back to the day she and Zeke first made love. They’d had a picnic that day. She shuddered, not wanting to remember how wonderful she’d felt; how much she’d enjoyed the things Zeke had done to her; the things she’d done. Almost angrily, she shoved these thoughts aside. “Why don’t we just plan to stop and eat out? Would that be okay?”
Melvin was quiet a moment and Sue hoped she hadn’t hurt his feelings, but then he agreed. “That’s probably a lot easier anyway. What time do you want to go?”
“How about in an hour? You want to take my car or yours?”
“I’ll come for you.”
Melvin arrived sporting jeans and a short-sleeved t-shirt that said this is the shirt I wear when I don’t care.”
Sue smiled. “Cute shirt.”
“Cute?” Melvin looked down at himself. “Cute? I don’t wear cute clothes. I’m no girl.”
“Okay, sorry. It’s not cute. It’s, uhm, different.”
“Different I will accept.” Melvin smiled. “You look nice.”
Sue blushed. She had slipped on a pair of faded jeans and a light green button-up blouse. Her hair was just long enough that she’d been able to work it into a French braid. She’d even applied a coating of light pink lipstick. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Melvin smiled shyly.
Sue cleared her throat. “All right then. Ready to hit the road?”
”Ready and willing,” he said as he stepped out onto the porch. Sue turned to lock the door and they walked out to the car together. Melvin slipped into the driver’s seat and Sue slid into the passenger side. He looked at Sue. “Where to?”
“I don’t know. Let’s just drive around in the country. Get on the highway and head out by the Christmas wreath factory, north of town. I’ll pick a road and we’ll take it.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Sue gave Melvin directions, which eventually led them to an old farmhouse, long abandoned. “Why don’t you pull in here? We can check the place out.”
Melvin drove up an overgrown drive and parked in a bare patch beside the house. He turned off the ignition and turned in his seat to face Sue. “Want to tell me what’s going on? This wasn’t some random drive. You had this house as a goal the whole time, didn’t you?”
Head hanging, Sue whispered, “Yes.”
“Want to tell me why?”
Staring at her lap, Sue swallowed. “Zeke and I use to come here sometimes. To be alone.” She could feel the heat in her cheeks and kept her face averted.
Melvin stared at the house, his displeasure obvious. “Well, now we’re here.”
“Melvin.” Sue raised her head. “Please look at me.”
Melvin turned and met her eyes.
“It’s not what you think. I don’t want to reminisce about being here with him. This isn’t some kind of pleasure trip down memory lane for me. I just wanted to see if he’s been staying here. I’m so scared all the time. I just want him found.”
Melvin’s eyes, which had been hard as ice, melted at her words. “Okay. I understand. In fact, it makes perfect sense. Let’s take a look.” He reached under his seat and pulled out the case that held his gun.
Sue stared.
Melvin raised his eyebrows defensively. “If he’s here, I want to be prepared.”
“You can’t just shoot him!”
“What?” Melvin frowned. “I’m not going in with the intention of shooting him. I’m not a vigilante, Sue. But if he attacks first, or tries to run, then you’re damn right I’ll bring him down.”
“You’re right. I wasn’t thinking.” She dug to the bottom of her bag and brought out her own gun. If anyone brings down the bastard, it’s going to be me. “Ready?”
“Ready.”
They flipped off their safeties and walked the perimeter of the house, saw no signs of habitation, and went through the front entrance. The door hung open, useless and warped on rusting hinges. No footprints, other than their own, disturbed the dust-covered floors.
“No one’s here,” Melvin stated the obvious. Relaxing their trigger fingers, they moved from room to room, separating, Melvin going to the kitchen and dining room and Sue to the bedrooms.
Visions leaped at Sue as she entered the room she and Zeke always used. She recalled the red paisley comforter that they laid on the floor. Pictured Zeke lying back, smoking a cigarette, after they were both satisfied. She could hear his words, telling her how sexy she was, how hot. Melvin broke into her memories, ripping her back to the real world as he hollered from another room. “What?” she called, voice shaky. She replaced her weapon in her purse.
“Did you find something or are you ready to go?”
“No, no, I didn’t find anything. Let’s get out of here.”
Back at the car, Melvin replaced his weapon and slid the keys into the ignition. He paused, staring out the windshield at the greening fields around them. Sue slid into her seat, pulled her door shut, and waited.
Melvin tapped the top of the steering wheel lightly with his fingers but didn’t look at Sue. “You hate the guy, right?”
“Of course! Why would you even ask that?” She put her hand on his arm.
“I just needed to know.” He started the car and began to ease over the bumpy lane back to the road.
“Now you do. But being out here again is weird. Brings back bad memories.”
Melvin seemed to sense her mood and stayed quiet as they began the trip back toward town. At last he broke his silence. “If you want to look for Zeke around here maybe we should research some other abandoned buildings. Like Will had me do when we were trying to find you.”
Sue knew all about the searches. “That’s a great idea.” She smiled and saw the tension slide from Melvin’s shoulders. “Do you want to do it since you already have an idea what to look for?”
“No problem.” Melvin gestured toward a small diner up ahead. “Want to eat there?”
Sue’s mind went blank, then she remembered their plans included lunch. “That’d be great.”
Lunch passed quickly as they each tried to think of local places Zeke might hide out. They pretty much drew a blank but Melvin promised to do some research. Again, Sue almost told him about her own searches, the ones for missing women. But at the last minute she held back. She wasn’t quite sure that he wouldn’t tell Will and she didn’t want her plans thwarted.
Eventually, Melvin dropped her off at home and Sue spent the afternoon napping and reading.
Chapter 31
The next week was particularly busy at work, but otherwise uneventful. Sue saw Melvin for at least a moment or two each night. One evening they moved the coffee table out of the way and he helped her practice her self-defense moves. They moved around each other like wary dancers. Melvin tried several approaches, as a mugger might, and she deflected him at every turn. Before long, they were both breathless. They laughed at themselves. The setting of her cozy living room as an attack site seemed ludicrous.
Sometime during their exertions, a strand of her hair slipped from her ponytail and lay strung across her face. Melvin reached out with his fingertips and tucked it behind her ear. His touch was so tender. Sue experienced a rush of sensation, startling her with its intensity. She looked up at him, eyes wide, still a little breathless. He smiled down at her, creating a small burst of elation within. The moment stretched.
Sue yearned silently, her need drawing him in like an invisible net. He surrendered to the impulse and softly touched his lips to hers, then pulled away. Their eyes linked. Wordless feelings passed between them. Melvin lowered his head for another kiss and Sue wrapped her arms around his back, pressed her palms into his shoulders, pulled him closer. When the kiss ended, they continued to embrace and Sue laid her head against his chest, listening to his heart beating, inhaling his scent. Passion raced through her body, confused her, heated her blood. She hadn’t expected to ever feel this type of arousal again, at least not with someone as ordinary as Melvin. A picture of Zeke entered her mind and with that, a reminder of the sordid activities in her recent past. She resisted, but her thoughts were insistent and her conscience prodded her like an annoying child demanding attention. Reluctantly, she disengaged from Melvin’s arms and stepped back.
He allowed his arms to drop to his sides and stared at her with concern. She knew he worried that he’d made the wrong move, knew he waited for her rejection.
“Melvin, I have to tell you some things. They won’t be easy to hear, but I owe it to you to be honest.” She twisted the bottom of her t-shirt in her hands.
“You’re going to say I shouldn’t have kissed you. That you don’t have those kinds of feelings for me. Aren’t you?”
She looked at him in surprise. “No. Not at all. But you might think what I say is worse.”
He reached out and gently extricated her shirt from her hand, then squeezed her fingers lightly. His eyes shone with obvious affection, and something else. Apprehension? “Go on.”
“You don’t know the things I’ve done.” Sue was flooded with shame but forced herself to meet his gaze. “Who I’ve been with. How I’ve acted. There’ve been men and I...”
“Stop.” He raised her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers. “I don’t need to know. In fact, I don’t even want to know.”
“You don’t?”
“It’s the past, Sue. It doesn’t matter. What matters is what we do from this point forward.” He led her to the sofa and pulled her down beside him. “Let me tell you a true story, okay?”
She nodded and leaned back nervously. He propped an elbow on the back of the couch and looked down at her. “When your folks first hired Will, I saw a photograph of you. There was something about the expression on your face in that picture, a quality I couldn’t put my finger on; it reached out to me. I wanted so badly for you to be found unharmed. I felt a pull toward you. It’s hard to explain. I can’t even find the right words.”
“I think I know what you mean. You felt a connection?”
“Yes. And when you were rescued, I celebrated right along with Will and Roxie. It was such a huge relief to know you were going to be okay. By that time, I was emotionally invested in your survival, way more than was probably usual for an investigation. I don’t know because I’ve never been involved in this kind of case before, so it’s kind of hard to judge.”
“I can understand that.”
“When Will told me I’d be working as your escort, I was pretty happy about it, even though it didn’t seem to go so well at first.”
She blushed, remembering how rude she’d been.
He continued, “And then, I got to know you.” He traced her cheek with his fingertip.
“But?”
“There is no but. I like you, Sue. I like you so much. And I admire you, too.”
“Admire me? What on earth for?”
“Your strength, your determination, your fighting spirit. The way you just march bravely ahead, and how you’ve picked up the pieces and created a new life for yourself. You decided to determine your own destiny and I respect that more than you can know.” He couldn’t stop himself now; the words he’d held back so long rushed out. “Plus, the way you talk and look and move, the little mannerisms you have, the way your mind works, in fact, everything about you...you just captivate me.”
Sue looked down, suffused in a radiant glow and struggling with uncertain feelings. “Oh, Melvin. That’s really beautiful. But the timing...” she broke off, paused. How could she have even considered taking him to bed just to satisfy some transient physical urge? He wasn’t the sort to be toyed with; he cared, really cared. His feelings were tender; he could be so easily hurt. She hated herself in advance for her next words. “I don’t know any other way to say this, but it’s Zeke. He’s still there.”
