 CHAPTER 7 (section 4) copyright © 2001, S. Y. Affolee Simone scrolled through the information she dug up on one Randy Sykes by searching in Ridgefield University’s personal directory. As she read the screen, she became aware that Adrian was not just looking over her shoulder to see the same information. She felt her cheeks warm and instinctively bent her head so her hair covered the incriminating blush. “What are you doing?” Her voice sounded a little harsh in her ears. “Reading about this Sykes character. Seems like he’s a student at the University.” “Uh huh,” she replied not convinced. “What exactly are you doing?” “Thinking.” “About what?” “You probably don’t want to know.” She finally looked up and found his face dangerously close to hers. The pupils in his gray eyes seemed larger than usual. “Why?” He only gave her a lazy smile. “Never mind,” she muttered. “I need a drink.” She put her laptop down and made to get up. “Why don’t you get me one too?” “Didn’t you just drive over here?” “Right. Water then.” She shuffled back toward the darkness of the kitchen constantly telling herself to not look back, no matter what. As she was busy muttering this litany to herself, she decided not to turn on the light as she knew her way around. The kitchen itself seemed a little chillier than usual, but she did not pay this any mind as she opened the fridge and rummaged the bottom shelf for champagne and bottled water. But before her fingers could touch the bottles, she felt someone in the room with her. She wanted to tell Adrian to go away, but before she could get up, something cold hard and persistant pressed itself to the back of her head. “Slowly stand up and close the fridge,” a man’s voice told her quietly, menacingly. “And don’t try to make any other moves or I’ll blow a hole through that pretty head of yours.” She did as the man commanded and stared out the kitchen doorway to the lighter living area, wishing that she could call out to Adrian to warn him of the mad man. “Although you’re nowhere near, you’re still to near for our comfort,” the man hissed, pressing the butt of the gun a little closer. “Getting far too near. They haven’t said so yet, but I figured if I finished the job here, now, it’ll be ahead of schedule and everyone would thank me for it.” Simone paid little attention to his ranting. She thought about grabbing for the phone, but it was too far away. She thought about her revolver and cursed herself for not bringing it with her. “I knew he would be here tonight to see you. Two for the price of one is always better, I’d say. I’ll just shoot both of you and make it look like a lover’s spat. Things like that do happen.” “But I’m not his lover...” He jabbed the gun harder at the back of her head. “Don’t you dare lie to me, bitch. I see how he looks at you.” Her mind suddenly whirled at the comment. The man had seen them before. Was it possible that they already knew the identity of the mad man? Then why couldn’t she put the voice to the face? It was possible that the adrenaline coursing through her veins was impairing her thinking. She tried to force herself to breathe deeper, to calm herself. The voice did sound a little familiar. “Although I don’t see what you see in him. Arrogant bastard. I’m better than he is, do you hear?” She heard, but she refused to say anything in reply. “You know,” his voice sounded close to her right ear. She could feel his breath rustling her hair. “You could have had it much better at the beginning.” She felt her robe belt loosening. A hand inched across her pajama top before tearing at a button. “I could have had you. I can have you. Right here without him knowing.” She closed her eyes tightly, wishing she could do something as she felt a cold hand touch her breast. If only she could call out. She heard a faint click coming from behind. “Drop the gun.” Adrian’s voice was steel. “And step away from her.” The cold hand and the pressure from the gun butt disappeared. She heard the clattering of the pistol as it hit the floor. She finally let out a small suppressed sob as she tucked her robe back on and lunged toward the phone to call the police. “Lie on the floor and put your hands behind your head,” Adrian ordered. “Simone, turn on the light so I can get a good look at this bastard.” She complied and suddenly felt weak, glad that she had already placed the call. It was Dargood, his brown hair mussed over his eyes and lips snarling. With one foot, Adrian applied a little pressure to his back, making the man gag. Simone’s revlover stayed aimed at his head, unwavering. “How did you get in here?” she finally managed to say. “I had a suspicion that something was going on. So I went downstairs and came around to the fire escape. I saw that the window had been cut open. Looks like he came prepared for some mischief.” “It looks like more than just a little mischief,” said Simone. “How right.” “Why you damned...” Adrian moved his foot to his neck, silencing him. “The police are coming, aren’t they?” “As fast as they can, I hope.” A few minutes later, the cops came and hulled the errant butler away and took their brief statements. When everyone was gone, Simone flopped back down on the couch after turning off her computer. She did not at all feel tired. In fact she felt a little jittery. Adrian was still around, packing up his things. “Are you all right?” “Yeah.” He stopped, tucking the bag under his arm. “You don’t look all right to me. You’re shaking.” “So what?” “So what?” he repeated in disbelief. “Are you hurt?” “No. But he...” She sighed then, reluctant to say anything else out loud. “It’s not safe for you here. Not at the moment anyway with that broken kitchen window. You can stay with me until you have all your windows fixed. You should have found some place without a fire escape.” “No fire escape, are you kidding? That’s like against the city fire code or something.” A faint smile crossed his lips. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.” “But your brother.” “He went back to Ridgefield this morning. He has his own house. The guest room’s free.” “You’re not going to let me get out of it are you?” She tried giving him a grin, but failed miserably. “Nope. Come on, I’ll help you pack. And I’ll give you the solemn oath that I’ll drive the speed limit to get there.” |