Waist Deep

54

“Kris…” I started to say.

“Put your gun away,” she ordered, her voice wavering.

“No.”

“Do it,” she said, “or I’ll cut my throat.”

She was less than seven feet from me, the thin knife pressed against her throat. I could rush her, but there’s no way I could get there before she hurt herself.

I kept my gun trained on LeMond.

“I’m not kidding,” she said, staring at me.

“I believe you,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm and soothing.“But if I put this gun down, he will kill me with it.”

“No, I won’t,” LeMond said softly, but without any real conviction.

“Sure he will,” I said to Kris.“Because he knows I’m going to tell everyone about this operation. Not only will his cash disappear, but he’ll be headed for prison.He has to kill me.”

Kris’s eyes flashed to LeMond and then back to me, looking like a rabbit caught in her own trap.

“Mexican standoff,” LeMond said, and I was reminded of RogerJackson.

I watched Kris.She’d let up on the knife’s pressure against her neck.I focused on the blade of the knife, watching LeMond out of my peripheral vision.My mind was whirring, searching for options.

“Maybe we can all walk away from this,” I said.

“Make everyone happy?” LeMond’s voice was filled with sarcasm.

“No,” I said.“Nobody’s leaving this situation happy.But we can all three walk away alive.”

Neither one of them answered, so I forged on.

“Let’s start with this,” I said, meeting Kris’s eye.“You are going home to your parents.”

She shook her head.“No.”

“Yes,” I said.“I didn’t come this far to let anything else happen.”

“I won’t stay,” she said.“If you take me there,I’ll just run away again or take some pills or something. I won’t stay.”

I tipped my head toward LeMond.“Why are you with him, Kris?He’s just using you.Can’t you see that?”

“I love him,” she said and shot a glance of pure adolescent idolatry at him.“And he’s going to make me a star.Bigger than Adrianna Apple to start, big as Audrey Hepburn before we’re through.”

“Audrey Hepburn didn’t-” I started to say, then stopped.I had meant to say that she never starred in any porn movies.But I didn’t want to push her further away. Instead, I finished, “Audrey Hepburn had class.”

“So does my Star,” LeMond said.“One hundred percent.”

Kris flashed him a smile, her eyes glistening with tears.“I love you,” she whispered.

“Do you plan on visiting him in prison?” I asked her.“Because that’s where he’s headed, after I blow the top off this operation.”

Her eyes snapped back to me at the word “prison” and narrowed.“He won’t go to prison.That’s bullshit.”

I shook my head.“Rape of a child. Third degree.”

“He never raped me,” she protested, her confident voice betraying a hint of a petulant whine.“Besides, I know the law.We looked it up.Gary even showed it to me.”

I raised my eyebrows and said nothing. The knife remained pressed to her throat.

“I’m sixteen,” she continued. “I’m old enough to decide who to have sex with.”

“That’s true,” I said. “Except when that person has a position of trust and authority over you.”

She cast a confused look toward LeMond. “What?”

“Like a teacher,” I added.

Kris’s gaze returned to me. “You’re a liar,” she said, but her voice wavered.

“No, I’m not. That’s the law. You’re under eighteen and he’s your teacher, so it’s rape whether you gave your consent or not.”I waited a beat, then said, “So you see, he is headed for prison. Unless we make a deal.”

Her eyes became narrow and suspicious.“What kind of deal?”

“Simple,” I said.“You put down the knife and come with me.I take you back home to your parents.You stay there, finish high school and be the perfect daughter.You want to go make skin flicks on the Internet when you turn eighteen and move out, that’s your business.But until then, you stay there.”

“No,” Kris said, but LeMond piped in.“Hear him out, baby doll.”

A twist of anger shot through my chest when he called her that, but I fought it down.“In exchange for that, I don’t tell anyone about you and LeMond having a relationship.Or about these movies you’ve been making.None of it.I don’t send him to prison.”

Kris chewed her lip and glanced at LeMond.

I followed her gaze.“Same deal to you,” I said.“You shut down the operation and I keep my mouth shut.And you move away.Find a different place to teach.”

“No!” Kris said.“I don’t want him to leave.”

LeMond and I remained silent, staring at each other across the barrel of my gun.Finally, he nodded.“Okay.Yeah.It’s a deal.”

“No!” Kris cried out.“I don’t want to-”

“It’s all right, baby doll,” LeMond said.“I’ll let the school know where I go.You can follow when you graduate.We’ll be together eventually.It’ll work out.”

“But I love you!”

“And I love you,” LeMond said, his voice smooth.“And we’ll pick up right where we left off, once we’re free of all of society’s bullshit.All right?”

We both looked at Kris.She swallowed hard, her eyes flitting back and forth between our faces.I was nodding slowly, urging her to agree.LeMond was murmuring lovey-dovey words to her that turned my stomach, but I let him continue in order to get her to comply.

After a moment, she lowered the knife.“Okay,” she said, looking at LeMond.“If you think it’s what’s best.”

“I do, baby doll,” LeMond cooed.“I do.”

“Toss the knife back into the bedroom,” I told her gently. She did it.

“Stand by the door,” I said.

“What about my stuff?”

“Leave it.Leave it all behind.”

She frowned, then pouted. For the first time, she actually looked like a sixteen year old to me. I felt a rush of relief in my chest.Maybe that little girl was still there, somewhere inside.Maybe she hadn’t been completely snuffed out.

I motioned for LeMondto stand up.Once he was on his feet, I limped toward him.“I don’t want you following us,” I said.

“I won’t.”

“I know.I want you to wait in that bedroom until we’re long gone.”I pointed over his shoulder. When he turned to look, I clobbered him with the barrel of my.45.And damned if it didn’t work just fine this time.

Kris yelped and LeMond hit the floor like a bag of pus.

“Let’s go,” I said, and took her arm.