"An accident." Arch shuddered and pushed the memory out of his mind.
"How- How did it happen?"
"It's a long story. And you'd never in a million years believe it."
"Does it hurt?"
"Not really. It's all healed now."
"It doesn't-? That is, it didn't-? The accident, I mean-did it do any lasting-?"
"No damage. I'm perfectly all right. Want me to prove it?"
"I don't think-"
"Don't think." Arch threw the shower curtains back. "Just come here and see for yourself."
As if hypnotized, Llona walked over to the tub. Arch took her hand in his and guided it over the surface under discussion. "See? All healed," he murmured. His free hand slipped around to the back of Llona's dress and located the zipper there.
"What-? What are you doing?" The fact that Llona didn't let go belied her interest in any answer to the question.
Realizing this, Arch pulled the zipper instead of answering. The top of her dress fell around her waist. He slipped one of her large, firm breasts free of the strapless bra she was wearing. Far from protesting, Llona merely tightened her grasp. Arch bent and kissed the ruby tip of the breast. It swelled and became even redder between his lips. Llona moaned. His hands slid down to her hips and pushed the dress free of them. It crumpled to the floor. Without relinquishing her grip, Llona stepped out of it. It had been so long! So long!
Arch undid the clasp of her bra and it followed the dress to the floor. Both hands slid down to her silken panties, and he slid them down over her thighs. Llona wriggled impatiently, and they too fell to her ankles. She kicked them aside, and her thighs stayed apart as Arch caressed the opening petals of her womanhood. Soon she was moving against his hand like one possessed, moaning aloud rhythmically, her own hand clutched lightly into a fist that moved over its prize in time to the rhythm. Aroused beyond herself now, she sank to her knees and her lips parted hungrily.
Arch strained backward with the initial caress. His spine stiffened, and he braced his legs. His eyes closed and he gave himself up to the sensation. He rose up on his toes and came down again. This last movement was the one that proved disastrous!
When he'd stepped backward, a small, half-used bar of soap had slipped under his foot" Now he came down on it. His feet went out from under him. He let out a yell which startled Llona. The yell, plus the sudden motion, caused her to clamp her teeth down hard. Arch's first scream was followed by a second one of sheer anguish. It was cut off abruptly when his head struck the side of the bathtub as he landed.
Llona opened her mouth immediately when she realized what had happened. But it was too, late. The damage had been done. Considering the state her initial reaction had left him in, it was probably fortunate that Arch was unconscious. If he hadn't been, the pain would have been excruciating.
Llona kept her head. She ran into the living room to telephone for help. There was a small book of phone listings on the table beside the telephone. Llona flicked through it quickly until she'd found the number of Arch's doctor. She called it, convinced the physician that it was an emergency, and elicited his promise to come right over. He arrived just as she'd finished putting on her clothes.
The doctor was in the bathroom with Arch for what seemed a long time. Finally he came out, supporting the still groggy victim, and helped him into the bedroom. A moment later he came out and Confronted Llona.
"He can't have any visitors," the doctor told her. "Particularly not any female visitors. You'd better go home, young lady."
"Yes. Of course. I was just leaving. I only wanted to wait to see if he was all right. He is all right, isn't he?"
"That depends on what you mean by 'all right.' He has a good deal of pain, but physically he'll recover. Whether he'll ever get over the psychological trauma, I couldn't say. I'm not a psychiatrist, but my advice to him is to stay far away from women for a long time. You see, nothing personal, but he seems to have a predilection for involving himself with the most vicious type. This is the second time he's suffered this particular sort of injury. I was so intrigued by his first misfortune that I've been writing it up for one of the medical journals. I wouldn't dare include this second misfortune in my account, though. It's so unbelievable that it would only lead to doubts as to my diagnostic competency. No!" The doctor held up his hand to keep Llona from interupting. "Don't explain it to me. I'm still having difficulty believing the circumstances of Mr. Phelps's first accident. Just leave now, and in the future watch your diet more carefully."
Chagrined and shamed, Llona quickly departed. She went straight home. As she. entered her own room, the telephone was ringing. "Hello." Her voice was dull and defeated as she answered it.
"Hello, Mrs. Rutherford." It was Sammy Spayed. "Just thought I'd check back and see how things worked out. Was Phelps the right man?"
"No."
"Oh. Sorry. Well, I'll get right back on the case tomorrow and-"
"No, you won't!" Llona said firmly.
"Beg pardon?"
"You won't get right back on the case, Mr. Spayed. And do you know why you won't?"
"No. Why?"
"Because you're fired, Mr. Spayed. That's why. You're fired!" Llona slammed the phone back on the receiver, threw herself on the bed, and started crying. Tears of frustration. Tears of disappointment. Tears of hopelessness.
Llona cried a long time.
Chapter Nine
Even sammy spayed's problems had problems. His wife, for instance, had the problem of her number-nine pregnancy, a problem which resulted in renewed and vigorous nagging of Sammy to give up a profession which just wasn't lucrative enough to feed eight problem kids. The problem kids had problems, too, ranging from new shoes for the baby to braces needed on the teeth of the eldest-all problems adding up to the need for money. And then there was Hannah-another problem with a problem.
Hannah had become very possessive since going out on a limb for Sammy. She seemed to feel he owed her something. It wasn't too long before she spelled out the amount of the debt. "You're just too much of a man, lover," she told him. "I never thought I'd have sympathies in common with your wife, but here it is. I'm pregnant!"
When Sammy came to, she outlined what she expected him to do about it. Hannah had a gallant streak. She was all for having the baby. She didn't want to cause Sammy any trouble. Unless- Unless he failed to come up with the moola to make her pregnancy and subsequent childbirth tolerable. If he failed in that, then she promised faithfully to make a beeline to his wife and tell her all. So Hannah's problem also added up to the need for cash on Sammy's part.
But his biggest problem of all was Mrs. Rutherford. First she'd fired him, and now she refused to pay him one red cent for his efforts in her behalf. "Not only didn't you get any results," Llona had told him, "but because of you I found myself in all sorts of messy situations. You ought to pay me damages!"
"It's not fair," Sammy had whined. "If you'd given me a chance, I'd have found your man for you."
"So find him."
"I would if you hadn't fired me."
"If you find him, you're not fired. But if you don't, I'm damned if I'll pay you one red cent."
"That's a very unfair attitude, Mrs. Rutherford. After all- Mrs. Rutherford? Mrs. Rutherford?" It was no use. Llona had hung up on him.
It was against all Sammy's ethics to work without a retainer, and Llona's had been used up long ago. But when he'd sat in the office for three days without any new work coming in, with the pressure at home and the pressure from Hannah increasing, Sammy decided his only hope was to renew his search for Archer. He had no choice but to accept Llona's statement that if he found Archer she'd pay him.