Honeymoon for Three

CHAPTER 32

As soon as the door closed, Penny set to work. She got up on her knees, shaking free of the blanket. She took a look at the tape on her wrists. She had managed to unwind much of the tape in the dark. She had been afraid Alfred would discover this when he uncovered her but, fortunately, he uncovered only her head. And she had had time to retape her mouth.

Now that she was able to see, she could go much faster. She untaped her mouth again, and used a combination of her teeth and her fingers, tearing and pulling at the tape like a lion tearing meat from its prey. She applied herself to the task with feverish fervor, but she progressed much too slowly.

She had to save Gary. It was her fault that Alfred had been able to take him captive. She should have been able to stop it. She hadn’t known about the gun, but even so… She was a bad person. First she had catered to Alfred’s bizarre sexual proclivities and now this. If she could, she would sacrifice herself for Gary. He deserved to live.

She had reacted too slowly when Alfred produced the gun. If she had yelled, Gary could have gotten away. But he wouldn’t have run as long as he thought she was in danger. So it was probably just as well that she hadn’t yelled and revealed the looseness of her gag. It would have brought Alfred’s attention to her, and he would have found out that she was in the process of freeing herself.

At least Gary hadn’t deserted her. She hoped he understood the words of the song she had hummed. Wait. Stall. She would get to him. She ripped off the last vestige of tape from her wrists and shook them in relief, feeling her skin tingle. Now for her legs. They were much easier to free because she had both hands to work with. She was running out of time. It wasn’t far to the edge of the cliff. Gary and Alfred would be there by now.

She finished the job and flexed her toes. She had feeling in them; she could walk. Where were her shoes? Not in the storage cabinet. She didn’t have time to look for them. She opened the camper and jumped to the ground in her sock feet. She started for the cliff.

A rock wall, green with plant life, hid Gary and Alfred from her sight. The uneven, rocky surface cut her feet, slowing her down. She tried to ignore the pain. She trotted with a sort of hobbling gait. Once she slipped and stopped her fall with her hands. Ouch. Then she saw them. Standing close to the edge of the cliff, facing each other. Alfred was holding the gun on Gary. He gestured toward the cliff and she felt sick.

“Alfred,” she called.

That distracted him. They both turned and saw her. She continued to approach. She was within thirty feet of them.

“Don’t come any closer,” Gary said. “Get away. The keys are in the car. Go get the police.”

“I’ve got a deal for Alfred.”

When Alfred heard Penny call his name, he was surprised. And angry. Was this the way she repaid him for being lenient with her? The bitch. He hadn’t taped her arms and legs together. He had even taped her hands in front of her instead of behind her. Now she had escaped.

She must have been working on the tape while they were driving. He had watched her in the mirror and seen her moving around under the blanket, but he hadn’t guessed that she would actually try to take the tape off. She had betrayed him.

He was ready to shoot her. Except that he didn’t know whether he could hit her at this range. If he aimed the gun at her, he knew Gary would attack him. He had to deal with Gary first.

“A deal,” he said with the sneer he had used on Gary. “You and your…husband must read the same book. He just offered me a deal.”

“Let us go,” Penny said, “and we’ll let bygones be bygones. We won’t go to the police. Live and let live. We can coexist.”

Her voice had a note of desperation in it. He didn’t like that. It sounded like she was still in love with Gary.

“Amazing. That’s almost identical to the deal Gary offered me. Unfortunately, I can’t accept. Even if I trusted you, I couldn’t accept. For you see, you belong to me now. Last night proved it.”

Last night? What had happened last night? What had Alfred done to her? He looked so smug. Of course, when you had the gun you could afford to be smug. Gary had an urge to smash his body into Alfred’s regardless of the consequences. If only Alfred were closer to the cliff, Gary could knock him over, but Alfred was being very careful about keeping Gary between him and the edge.

Alfred was focusing some of his attention on Penny. He couldn’t look at both of them at the same time. Gary took a couple of steps away from the cliff, intent on getting behind Alfred.

“Stop right there.”

Alfred glared at Gary. He walked over to him and gave him a shove toward the cliff. Gary stumbled backward, fear gripping his stomach like a constricting vise. With his hands behind his back, he couldn’t get his balance. He was going over.

Penny closed her eyes for an instant, but she couldn’t not look. She screamed as Gary fell hard on the rocky surface. The terror stayed with her, even after it was apparent that he had managed to stop himself from going over the cliff, at least for the moment. He was hurt perhaps, but at least he was alive.

She found that she had taken a couple of steps toward Alfred, ready to rush him-ready to try to push him over. She backed up and tried to will her heart to slow down so she could think.

Gary rolled away from the edge and laboriously got to his knees, wincing in pain. Penny knew how difficult it was to accomplish that with his hands taped behind his back. He stayed in a kneeling position. She hoped he could stand. She had to distract Alfred.

“Alfred,” she said in a high-pitched voice that sounded as if she had been inhaling helium, “we know you’re not really a killer.”

Alfred backed away from Gary a few steps so that he could more easily watch both of them. That was a positive. He even looked a little shaken that Gary had almost gone over. Maybe he had a heart after all

“Let’s go back to the camper and talk about this.” Penny tried to sound matter-of-fact, as if this were the reasonable thing to do. “You both must be getting hungry. I’ll make sandwiches for lunch.”

She half-turned, willing Alfred to follow her. He looked undecided. She fixed her eyes on his. He wouldn’t look at her. She glanced at Gary, hoping he would be quiet, but he didn’t appear to be very talkative. The seconds ticked by, and the silence became painful. Penny had an urge to say something, perhaps repeat what she had just said. The pressure was on Alfred, so she forced herself to keep her mouth closed.

The engines of the cars on Route 1 hummed behind her, far away, in a different world. A safe world, without guns and maniacs. Could she ever return to that world?

Alfred raised his eyes and looked from one of them to the other. His gun was pointed down, not at Gary. Gary didn’t pose an immediate threat to him. Maybe the situation could be defused.

Alfred mumbled, “It’s too late.”

“What did you say?” Penny pretended she hadn’t heard him.

“It’s too late. We have to get on with it.”

“You know if you kill Gary, I will never be yours.”

Alfred looked at her again, hesitating for another few seconds. Then he started walking toward Gary, saying “On your feet. It’s time to get the show on the road.” He lifted the gun and pointed it at Gary.

Her comment had backfired. The gun gave him false confidence. Penny felt the horror of what was about to happen well up inside her.

“Wait!”

Alfred stopped and turned his eyes to her. She backed away a few steps. By the way he handled the gun, she guessed that he was a neophyte and probably couldn’t hit her at this distance. She also thought she could beat him back to the cars, shoeless though she was.

“If you kill Gary, I’m going to the police. I’ll also tell them you killed the clerk in the market. That will make two people. How do you think you’ll like the gas chamber at San Quentin?”

That had an effect on Alfred. He hesitated. Behind his back, Gary stuck out three fingers. It took a second for her to understand his meaning.

“Three people.” The words spilled out. “That would make three people you’ve killed. You killed Emily. I see it now. Did you follow her the way you followed me? She was getting married, which meant that she was rejecting you, so you strangled her. Then you took off her bracelet and put it in Darren’s apartment to frame him. He never locked his door. You knew that. You said it was a wonder his bicycle wasn’t stolen.”

Penny stopped for breath, trembling. She had an overwhelming desire to attack Alfred. There was complete silence. Penny wondered whether she had said too much. Had she sealed Gary’s fate? If Alfred took one step toward him, she was prepared to charge.

“Emily made fun of my bellybutton,” Alfred said.

“She made fun of your bellybutton two days before she was going to be married?”

Alfred frowned. “She shouldn’t have gotten married. She was…”

He stopped talking. He had confirmed her thoughts. Emily was her best friend from high school. She and Emily had gone around together. They had similar views of the world. They were almost the only two girls who were nice to Alfred. Penny left Fenwick and went to California. Emily stayed in Fenwick.

“I never disrespected your bellybutton.” In fact, Penny hadn’t known he had an outie bellybutton until last night, or if she had she’d forgotten it.

Alfred admitted that she had paid the proper respect to his bellybutton with a slight nod.

“So why do you want to kill me?”

“I don’t want to kill you.”

He had a funny way of showing it. “Why do you want to kill Gary? He’s never done anything to you.”

“Because he’s trying to take you away from me.”

Penny couldn’t believe the arrogance of that statement. She and Gary were married. Of course, Gary might not want her after what she had done. Penny looked at Gary, who had been following this discussion from a kneeling position. She was sure he could get up, but the way he held his body and the expression on his face suggested that he was in pain. He might not be much good in a fight. She had to be the one to save him, and if possible, herself as well.

Penny took another step away from Alfred and said, “Let Gary walk away. If you do, we won’t say anything to the police about this. Or about Emily.” She almost choked when she said that. “But if you do anything to Gary…”

“You think I don’t know what you’re doing,” Alfred said. “You think you can twist me around your little finger. You pretty girls are all alike.” He raised his gun and pointed it at Gary.

Penny said, loudly, “You want me to be yours, don’t you?”

Alfred turned to look at her, again. At least she had some control over him. Behind him, Gary motioned urgently for Penny to get away. She couldn’t do that.

“It’s very simple. If you want me, then all you have to do is take me like a man is supposed to take a woman.”

Penny crossed her hands at the bottom of her sweater and in a single fluid motion pulled it up and over her head. She dropped it on the rocks. Her eyes held Alfred’s and wouldn’t let them go. She didn’t dare look at Gary or she wouldn’t be able to do this. She unbuttoned and unzipped her slacks and let them drop to her feet. She stepped out of them, something she wouldn’t have been able to do if she were wearing shoes. Her eyes were still locked on Alfred’s.

“We’re going to do this right. Everything comes off, the way it’s supposed to.”

Penny unhooked her bra, slid the straps off her arms, and let it fall on her other clothes. She had Alfred’s full attention. He didn’t look at Gary. Perhaps he had forgotten about Gary. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Gary had started to stand up. She slid her panties down and stepped out of them. Only her socks remained.

“Now you see me the way I am in your picture.”

Penny put her hands on her hips, giving him a good look. Then she took a step toward him. He didn’t move. She hoped Gary wouldn’t say anything and break the spell. She took several more steps. Alfred held the gun loosely, pointing down, as if he had forgotten about it. If she could just get it away from him.

She advanced slowly, keeping her eyes locked on Alfred’s, willing him to stay focused on her. With her peripheral vision she saw Gary get to his feet and take a step toward Alfred from behind. She was almost to Alfred, herself. She thought she saw him tremble. She didn’t dare go for the gun and break the spell. At least not yet.

Two more steps and she carefully put her arms around Alfred’s neck. She whispered, “Take me like a man. Then she kissed him on the mouth. At first he didn’t respond. Then he did. He was kissing her. She opened her mouth and put her tongue into his mouth. His arms went around her. She could feel the cold metal of the gun touching her back.

Penny opened one eye and saw that Gary was approaching Alfred from behind. What could he do with his hands taped behind his back? She needed to get Alfred on the ground where Gary could kick him-perhaps kick the gun away. She pulled downward on Alfred’s shoulders with her arms, trying to give him the idea. But he kept his body rigid. He hadn’t given in to her completely.

She had to take the next step. She slowly slid down to her knees, making sure she didn’t spook him. She lifted his shirt, exposing his potbelly-and his bellybutton. It didn’t look that bad. She put her mouth on it. A few flicks of her tongue, and he started to relax.

With her face in Alfred’s stomach, she couldn’t see what Gary was doing. She hoped he was being careful. Alfred’s stomach was moving a little in rhythm with her own motion. Maybe he wasn’t paying attention, and Gary could get the gun away from him somehow. Alfred’s hands were resting on her shoulders. She couldn’t feel the gun, but she knew it was there.

Suddenly Alfred jerked his arms up. The gun exploded in Penny’s ear, deafening her. She turned her head and saw Gary yell and disappear behind a rock. She didn’t know whether he had been hit. Alfred tried to go toward the rock, but she wrapped her arms around his legs like a football player and hung on. Gary’s life depended on it.

He hit her on the head several times with his hand, but she continued to cling to his legs. She expected him to hit her with the gun, but he would have to shoot her to make her let go. He momentarily stopped struggling. She risked letting go of his legs with one hand, and before he could react, she grabbed the zipper of his fly and tried to pull it down. It stuck.

Before she could try again, Alfred hit her hand.

“Let’s do this right.” Penny grabbed the zipper again.

“No!” Alfred yelled, pushing her hand away.

“I want you, Alfred. Take me like a man.” Penny got a fresh grip on the zipper. This time she succeeded in unzipping his pants.

He hit her hand with the gun. Hard. Then he gave a cry like a banshee, broke free from her grasp, and ran toward the cliff. As Penny watched, aghast, he jumped off the cliff and disappeared from view. She could hear the wail continue for several seconds, descending in pitch, and then-just the lapping of the waves on the rocks below.