“With one of the beasts on her tail,” Jack added.
“One of the beasts?” Gorman asked.
“She said there’s supposed to be a second one.”
“Incredible,” Gorman said.
“She’s pretty beat up,” Abe told him. “Mostly superficial scratches and bites apparently. Tyler and Nora are cleaning her up, checking her over.”
“Will she be all right?”
“Considering what she’s been through, she seems to be in pretty good shape.”
The girl sat on the toilet seat, back resting against the tank, arms hanging at her sides, eyes staring ahead as if she were in a trance.
Tyler crouched in front of her, held her knees gently. “It’s all right, Janice. It’s all right, now.”
Janice shook her head.
Nora turned on the shower.
“We’ll help you get cleaned up now,” Tyler said. She spread the blanket open and moaned at the sight of Janice’s torn, bruised skin—the blood and the filth.
“Jesus,” Nora muttered.
Tyler slipped the blanket off the girl’s shoulders. “Can you stand?”
Janice leaned forward. Nora and Tyler, on each side, helped her up. As Nora held the girl steady, Tyler stepped behind her. The girl’s stringy hair was clotted with flecks of raw flesh. Bits of bloody matter clung to her back. Tyler gagged, eyes going wet. She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes. Both Janice’s shoulders were raked and punctured. Lower down, her back was striped with claw marks. Her buttocks looked rubbed raw, as if she’d skinned them in a fall.
“The shower is going to hurt,” Tyler said.
“I’ve got it lukewarm.” Nora glanced at Janice’s back and cringed. “God Almighty.”
“One of us better get in with her.”
“Right.”
Nora quickly stripped while Tyler hung onto Janice’s arm. When she was naked, she pushed aside the shower curtain and stepped into the tub. Together, they helped the girl climb over the side. Janice’s mouth sprang open and she cried out as the spray struck her back. The water sliding toward the drain turned pink. Pieces of flesh floated in it. Tyler turned away. The toilet seat was smeared with blood. She shut her eyes and breathed deeply, trying not to vomit. Through the hiss of the shower, she heard the faint ring of a telephone.
“Abe Clanton.”
“Yes. This is Wallace Purcell from the police.”
“Thank you for calling. I’m the one who talked to you this morning about Beast House. My friend had been…”
“Oh yes. What seems to be the trouble?”
“We were out at the beach tonight,” Abe lied. “On our way back, we spotted a young lady who looked like she’d been in some trouble. She was over near the front of Beast House, just outside the fence. She was naked and pretty beat up. We drove over to give her aid. It’s Janice Crogan.”
“You found her?” Purcell sounded amazed.
“She had just escaped from the Kutch house. She said they took her there last night. Brian Blake and both her parents are dead. Their bodies are in Kutch’s cellar.”
Purcell said nothing.
“The girl’s with us. We’re here at the Welcome Inn.”
“May I speak to her?”
“She’s in the bathroom.”
“Did she describe her assailant?”
“Her assailant was the beast.”
“The beast?”
“It does exist. It apparently lives in the Kutch house. Maggie and the others keep it as a pet, or something.”
“And Janice claims this beast attacked her and killed her parents and Blake?”
“That’s it. One more thing. Janice says she wasn’t the only prisoner at the Kutch place. A woman is being kept there against her will, and she has an infant.”
Abe heard a sigh. “Okay, Mr Clanton. Thank you for the information. We’ll take care of the situation, and be in touch with you later.”
“Are you going out there?”
“You bet.”
“Okay. Very good. Be careful.”
“I always am. Later.” He hung up.
“What’s the story?” Jack asked.
“The cavalry is going in.”
“Without us?” Jack asked.
“We weren’t invited.”
“Let’s invite ourselves.”
“I plan to.” Abe rushed past Gorman and knocked on the bathroom door.
Tyler opened it. Her face looked chalky.
“How’s the girl?”
“A mess. But there doesn’t seem to be much bleeding.” She glanced at Gorman. Looking back at Abe, she stepped out of the bathroom and shut the door. “What’s going on?”
“I just talked to the police. They’re on the way to Kutch’s. Jack and I are going to meet them there.”
Her mouth twisted. “Don’t go in.”
“We’ll see if they need us.”
“Oh God, Abe.”
“I want you and Nora to stay here and look after the girl. Come out to the car with us. I’ve got a first-aid kit out there. Patch her up the best you can. When we get back, we’ll see about getting her to a doctor or hospital.” He took Tyler’s hand and led her to the door.
Jack and Gorman followed them out. “Are you coming along?” Jack asked the man.
“Certainly. This may well be the climax of my story.” He slipped the camera strap over his head.
Abe opened the passenger door. Kneeling on the seat, he opened his glove compartment and took out a plastic box. He gave it to Tyler.
“Be careful,” she said.
“Don’t worry.”
Jack, standing beside her, fed cartridges into the magazine of his .45.
“Do you have a gun for me?” Gorman asked.
“Sorry.”
Tyler wrapped her arms around Abe and held him tightly.
“I wonder if we might make a quick detour to Captain Frank’s bus,” Gorman said. “It’s along the way. He has quite an arsenal, and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind letting me use one of his guns.”
“No time,” Jack said.
Abe kissed Tyler hard on the lips. “We’ll be back before you know it.”
“That’s what you said the last time.” Her voice sounded tight and shaky as if she might cry.
“And I did come back.”
“Took your time about it.”
“I’ll be quick.” He patted her rump through the soft folds of her skirt. “Get in there and take care of Janice.”
“Yes, sir.” Her chin trembled. She turned and rushed away.
“Let’s haul ass,” Abe said.
Tyler shut the door and leaned back against it. Tears rolled down her face. Through her sobbing gasps, she heard the car speed off.
Damn it, how could he go and leave her again?
Because he’s a man.
Because of his pride.
Because it’s in his nature to help out even if it means putting himself on the line.
If he weren’t that way, he wouldn’t be Abe and maybe he would lack whatever it was that made her love him so desperately.
Damn it.
She wiped her face with a sleeve of her sweater. Then she pushed herself away from the door and walked across the deserted room.
From the bathroom came the steady rushing sound of the shower. She opened the door and stepped inside. Nora and Janice were dim shapes through the plastic curtain.
With a handful of toilet paper, she cleaned the blood off the seat. She flushed the paper.
“How’s it going?” she asked, and skidded open the shower curtain enough to see inside.
Nora shook her head. Her lower lip was clamped between her teeth. She was sobbing as she gently slid a bar of soap over Janice’s back.
Janice stood under the nozzle, her hands flat against the wall, her forehead resting on the tiles. With the blood and grime washed away, her tan lines were visible—a pale strip across her back, a pale triangle on her buttocks. The sight of them made the girl seem more real, more vulnerable than before—a teenager who sunbathes and likes the beach and somehow got caught up in the horror.