“You didn’t tell me this was an obstacle course,” she said at one point.
The last few yards were steep, and Jud looked back at Donna. Her face was determined. She backhanded a drop of sweat off the end of her nose. Wet hair clung to her forehead. “Almost there,” he said, and reached down a hand to her. He pulled her to the top of a dead trunk, then they both hopped down. “Made it.”
They walked easily along the level crest of the hill and came to a windy clearing.
Donna stretched, spreading her arms. “Ah, that breeze feels good.”
“You can wait here. I’ve got to pick up a few things down below.”
“So that’s your game!”
She accompanied Jud to the edge of the clearing, where he pointed down to the outcropping. “I left some equipment in those rocks,” he told her.
“That’s where you were last night?”
“That’s the place.”
“I’ll go with you, okay?”
Together, they climbed downhill. Then they made their way up the rocks to the top, where they looked down at the back of Beast House.
“I can’t imagine going in that place at night,” Donna said. “It’s bad enough in daylight.”
“I’ll climb down and get my gear,” Jud said.
“Fine. I’ll wait.”
As Donna sat on a ledge of rock, Jud worked his way down to the recess with its two small pines. His pack and rifle and Starlight seemed just as he had left them last night when he rushed downhill to stop the woman. He put the scope in its case and loaded it into the pack. He strapped the pack shut. Then he slung it onto his shoulders. He picked up the rifle case and climbed to the top.
“Let’s go up to the clearing again,” Donna said.
“Sure.”
“I don’t much like staring that house in the face.”
“That’s actually the back of its head,” Jud told her.
“Whatever.”
They climbed to the grassy clearing. Jud put down his rifle and pack. Donna, stepping close, placed her open hands against his chest and looked up at him. “Can we talk some more?” she asked.
“Sure.”
“About killing?”
“If you want.”
“What happened today…” She lowered her eyes. “What happened was, I found out my…sister…” Her voice broke. She turned away. With her back turned, she took a deep breath. Jud put his hands on her shoulders. “My sister was killed!” she blurted, and broke into tears.
Jud turned her around and held her tightly.
“I killed her, Jud. I killed her. I ran away. He wouldn’t have done it. He wouldn’t have had to. God! I didn’t know. I didn’t know! I killed them. I killed them both!” 2.
After a while, Donna settled down. She stopped talking, and only cried. Jud lowered her to the grass. Sitting against his pack, he held her. Her tears made the front of his shirt wet. Finally she stopped.
“We’d better get back,” she said. “Sandy. I don’t want to leave her alone too long.”
“We’ll leave when you tell me what’s going on. Who killed your sister, Donna?”
“My ex-husband. Roy Hayes.”
“Why?”
“Partly to get at me, I guess. Mostly, though, to make her tell where I am.”
“Why would he want to know that?”
“He’s been in prison. He…raped Sandy. She was just six, and he took her out riding on his dirt bike…and raped her. He’d done things to me, before. Vicious things.
“I knew they’d let him out, someday. I figured we’d drop everything, and take off. So that’s what we did Sunday morning when I found out he was loose.
“It never…it just didn’t occur to me he’d go to Karen. I don’t know what I thought. But I never…God, I never thought he’d go to Karen or anyone, and…he must’ve tortured her. God, and it was all because of me!
“We shouldn’t have run. We should have stayed. I should have got myself a gun, maybe, and just waited for him to come. But it never even occurred to me. I just thought we’d leave town, and maybe change our name, and everything would work out fine. But it didn’t happen that way. And now he knows where we are.”
“Where did your sister live?”
“In Santa Monica.”
“What’s that, ten or twelve hours from here?”
“I don’t know. Something like that, probably.”
“Do you know when your sister was killed?”
“Sometime last night.”
“Early, late?”
“I don’t know.”
“He could be in town right now.”
“I guess so.”
“What does he look like?”
“He’s thirty-five, about six-foot-two. Very strong, or he always used to be. He weighed about two-ten.”
“Have you got a picture of him?”
She shook her head. “I destroyed them all.”
“What color’s his hair?”
“Black. He always wore it short.”
“Anything else about him?”
She shrugged.
Jud got up and helped her to stand. “Are you convinced,” he asked, “that running away doesn’t work?”
“He convinced me.”
“Then let’s go back to the inn and wait for him.”
“What’ll we do?”
“If I have to, I’ll kill him.”
“I should be the one to handle him.”
“Not a chance. You’re stuck with me.”
“I don’t want you to kill anyone…not for me.”
“I wouldn’t be doing it for you. It’d be for myself. And for the voices.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN 1.
“Larry and I have to go out for a while,” Jud said as he walked Donna across the parking lot after lunch. “I want you and Sandy to stay in our cabin until we get back.”
“Okay.”
No arguments. No questions. Her complete trust gave Jud a good feeling.
He watched her turn to Sandy, who was lagging behind with Larry. Instead of making a rift, yesterday’s incident at the beach had created an intimacy between the girl and Larry. During lunch, they had talked like best friends. Jud found their closeness peculiar under the circumstances, but convenient.
“Sandy,” Donna said, “we’ll be spending a while in Jud and Larry’s room. Do you want to get your cards, or a book, or something to keep you busy?”
The girl nodded.
“We’ll be right out,” Donna said. They went into their cabin, leaving its door open.
Larry, in a quiet voice, said, “The poor child has been devastated.”
“It’s gotta be rough.”
“Rough indeed. She’ll be scarred all her life. That miserable brute ought to be shot.”
“He probably will be.”
“I certainly hope so.”
“Tonight, if we’re lucky.”
“Tonight?”
“There’s a good chance he’ll show up sometime today. If he does, I’m going to be there with a gun.”
“What about Beast House?”
“It can wait another day.”
“I suppose you’re right, though I would feel better if we were finished once and for all with…”
“I can’t let this guy get his hands on Donna and Sandy. He’s hurt them enough, already.”
“Certainly. I’m not suggesting we abandon them. Not at all.”
“Besides, going after the beast tonight would be premature.”
“How so?” Larry asked.
“I want to know more. That’s why we’re going to visit the Kutch place this afternoon.”
“Beast House?”
“No. The other one. The one without windows.” 2.
As soon as Jud was certain that Donna could handle his rifle without difficulty, he and Larry drove away. He turned right off Front Street, taking the narrow dirt road that led to the beach. In an area sheltered by trees, he parked.