Kom took two more steps to the corner of the house, then suddenly found himself falling forward. He landed heavily, then felt a knee in his back and the hardness of metal pressing into his temple just in front of his ear.
"Don't move," Karen said. "Federal agent with a gun to your head."
"Karen, it's me. It's Stanley."
"Stanley? What are you doing sneaking around like that?"
"Can I get up?"
"Of course."
He stood slowly, checking himself out, brushing off his clothes. "What did you do to me?" he asked, half laughing.
Karen shrugged. "Just a takedown." She still gripped the pistol in both hands, holding it where her arms fell at groin level, the barrel pointing to the ground. Measured against the bare skin of her legs, the white T-shirt, the gun looked enormous. They could hear the phone ringing in the house.
"I never even saw you," Kom said.
"You weren't supposed to," she replied. "What were you doing, Stanley?
I thought you were a prowler."
"Sorry. I didn't know what else to do, where else to turn. I don't know who else to talk to…" He allowed his voice to trail off.
"What's wrong?"
"Tovah attacked me," he said.
"Attacked you?"
He hung his head. "I feel so ashamed."
"No," she said sympathetically. "No." The phone rang for the fourth time, then stopped as the answering machine took over.
"I didn't know what to do. I couldn't hit her back, I couldn't make myself do that… I just left. Like a child, like a baby. I just walked away. You mustn't tell anyone, please, Karen. I know how I would look, being beaten by a woman…"
"Of course..
"I tried to stop her, I held her arms, but she kicked me, I tried to hold her down, she bit me. And when I let her up she started to throw things at me… Karen, I don't know what to do, I just don't know what to do."
"Oh, Stanley."
"I can't control her.. He took a step toward her, his head still hanging, forcing her to embrace him. She put her arms around him awkwardly, aware for the first time of her skimpy clothing. When she pulled away Kom noticed her nipples standing erect against the cotton.
"Did I do the wrong thing coming here?" he asked dolefully.
"No, of course not," Karen said. "You just- Maybe you should have called first."
"I had to leave then, I mean right then… I shouldn't impose on you this way, I have no right..
"We're friends," Karen said.
"I know, but I've put you to so much trouble." He looked at the sky again. The clouds were solid now. The only light came from the house.
A large raindrop, startlingly cold, hit him on the chest. "I should go … somewhere," he said.
Karen said, "Come inside."
He lingered, reluctant, and Karen touched his hand to motion him forward. He gripped her hand and she led him into the house that way, leading him as she would a child.
Becker called Karen from the car as he sped back toward Clamden, then hung up when the machine's recorded message came on. When he called Tee, Marge answered, sounding harried.
"He's in the shower," she said. "Is it important?"
Becker hesitated. At best, Tee could get to his house ten minutes ahead of Becker. If he had to get out of the shower and dry off and dress, the advantage was all but gone. "No," he said. "I'll deal with it."
Marge hung up and turned to Tee, who lay naked in bed beside her.
"You make me shirk my coply duties," he said.
"You have other duties," she reminded him. Her hand had gripped his swollen penis throughout the phone call and it gently tugged him toward her now.
They giggled together in the dark, and for that moment at least, Tee thought only of his wife.
Karen returned their pistol to the dresser drawer and threw on a robe before returning to Kom, who waited in the living room. When she saw him clearly under the interior light she had to check herself to keep from starting. His eyes were so bloodshot they seemed to have turned fiery red and they were wild and darting in a way she had never seen before.
"Stanley, your eyes.. "I haven't slept for days," he said. "Nights with Tovah have been so bad, this storm has been building… I can't sleep."
"You're a doctor. Prescribe some pills."
He chuckled. "Tovah takes pills," he said contemptuously. "I have to be alert. The captain doesn't sleep."
Kom looked around the room expectantly. "Are you sure John won't mind my being here?"
"John's not here."
"You agents have terrible hours."
"I work behind a desk, mine are normal. John more or less makes his own."
"What's he working on now?" he asked, smiling.
"Johnny Appleseed… Tell me what happened, Stanley." Karen sat on the sofa next to him, trying not to look at his eyes, which were still wild and unsettling. "Tell me about Tovah."
Kom twisted his neck, groaning, and put his hand on it "She hit me with a plate. I think… I have to have it looked at. It feels like a tear."
He turned toward her, craning his neck, inviting Karen to look and touch. She placed a tentative hand on the spot.
"Oh God, that feels so good," he groaned. "Leave your hand there, leave it there. Oh God, you're ' so warm."
He moved closer on the sofa, making it easier for her to reach him, and leaned over at the waist so that his hands fell naturally onto her thighs for support.
"Don't stop, don't stop," he moaned. "Your fingers are magic. "
He shifted his weight, writhing slightly under her touch, and one of his thumbs came to rest on the bare skin of her leg where the robe had opened. He froze the thumb in place, not moving it until she was used to its touch.
"It's been so long since anyone touched me like that. Oh God, Karen, you have no idea. I think you could heal just with your hands alone. What a wonderful touch. Ohhh. Ohhh." Twisting his body slightly, as if to position her hand in the right place, he moved his own hand on her leg so that it slid smoothly along her skin.
Karen pulled back and closed her robe.
"Don't stop…"
"Stanley, this is a little dangerous."
"Is it?"
"I can talk to you, but we have to leave it at that."
His face took on the look of sweet sadness that she knew well, the look that made her want to cradle him and comfort him. She recognized it was a dangerous impulse indeed.
He nodded as if he understood everything without being told.
"You're right," he said. "You're right." He stood, cranking himself up by degrees and wincing at every stage. "Can I just use the bathroom?" he asked, moving toward the bedroom.
"What did she do to you?"
He took a step and stopped, clutching his hamstring, then continued, limping.
"I just need some water on my face," he said. "I feel a little dizzy."
Karen hurried to his side and held on to his arm to offer support. "What did she hit you with?"
"Whatever she could reach," he said. He put a hand on her shoulder and leaned some of his weight on her, "A kitchen chair, one time. I'll be all right, really. I just need to… Just a little dizzy."
"I'll call the paramedics," she said, leading him into the bedroom and to the door of the master bathroom.
"No, no. I need to talk more than I need medical help," he said.
"Please, Karen, just give me a few minutes and I'll be out of your hair."
"You're not in my hair… It's a little messy in there," she said, as he entered the bathroom. He kept his hand on her shoulder until he closed the door, looking at her with that brave and doleful smile.
Kom regarded himself in the mirror, smiling with approbation. Damn, he was good, he thought. He didn't have her yet, but he was making progress, he would get her, he knew it. He looked closely at his reflection, tilting his head from one side to the other with admiration.