Riley's Reckoning

by Claire Britain

  Riley didn’t have any other choice than to come clean. “Yes, I went outside, but I just ran down the block and then I ran back. I thought I saw him, but then half the block had hooded sweatshirts on. I thought I smelled the same smell that I did in the park, fresh, like laundry. I was scared, okay? That’s why I came back to the gym and ran on the treadmill.”

  Riley could feel four sets of eyes boring into her; she could hear Joanna’s exaggerated breathing, as she studied her hands.

  “I think I better be going, I’ll let you know what we find. And Riley… I don’t know what to say other than this guy is dangerous, and it’s getting more and more likely that his plan is to find you. I need you to be smarter than you were today!”

  “Oh, it will be my mission, I assure you. Riley, see Detective Denton out,” Joanna almost whispered through gritted teeth.

  Riley said nothing, as she walked Alex to the front door and opened it for her. “Alex…”

  Alex turned around in the hallway. “I hope she beats the tar out of you! You deserve it!”

  Riley couldn’t say anything; she just closed the door and leaned up against it with her forehead, letting out a long breath.

  She slowly turned around and headed back to the living room.

  “You knew about this, is that why you were so upset with Riley?” Joanna asked Kate when Riley returned to the living room.

  “Yes, her trail shoes and long running pants kind of gave her away. I knew she didn’t just go for a run on the treadmill. Then I just got so angry, I didn’t mean to lash out like that, I’m sorry, Riley.”

  “I’m sorry too, Kate, I wasn’t thinking. I just wanted to get out of this apartment for a few minutes, that’s all. I didn’t mean to drag you into it,” Riley replied sadly.

  “You just had us all so worried and the timing of the flowers didn’t exactly help matters,” Kate told her friend.

  “Good, now that you two have kissed and made up, we have some business to take care of. Kate, you can go and find the paddle and wait for me in the bedroom across the hall,” Helen said very matter-of-factly with her hands on her hips, giving Joanna an expectant look.

  “But Helen, it was my fault, I…”

  “Not a word, Riley, I’d be worried about your own backside if I were you!” Helen said, as Kate gave Riley a sad look and headed for the door.

  “Riley, in the bedroom closet, behind the door on the rack, there’s a black leather belt. I need you to go and get it for me,” Joanna directed somberly.

  Riley saw Kate turn around after hearing Joanna’s words and a single tear rolled down her cheek as she stood compliantly to retrieve the belt.

  “Riley,” Joanna said in a softer voice, making Riley stop and look at her.

  Joanna reached out and grasped the smaller woman’s shoulders before bending down and depositing a small kiss to the top of her head.

  Riley’s lip began to tremble, so she turned and headed toward the bedroom. It didn’t take her long to find the belt Joanna had told her to retrieve. She took it off the hook and held it in both hands, running the supple leather that was about an inch and a half wide through her fingers. She wasn’t afraid; if anything, she was more than ready to accept whatever Joanna had in store for her, as she stared at the leather strap in her hands.

  “Bring it here, Riley,” she heard Joanna demand, bringing her out of her trance.

  Riley looked out from behind the closet door and saw her girlfriend sitting on the bed. She didn’t hesitate as she headed over to the bed to face Joanna. Joanna held out her hand and Riley threw the belt into her hands with a huff.

  “Riley, do you know why…”

  “Yes, I do, can we just get this over with?” Riley asked, not making eye contact with her lover as she hooked her thumbs in the waistband of her running pants and began to peel them down.

  “Stop! You seem to forget who’s in control here, young lady.”

  “Whatever, just do it already,” Riley replied, her running pants now at her knees as she began the same process with her panties.

  Before Riley could dispense with her underwear, Joanna reached up and grasped Riley by the ear and steered the younger woman down over her thighs. Riley felt her panties being pulled up tight, exposing her nether cheeks then Joanna began a flurry of crisp, fast spanks as her girlfriend lectured her.

  “You, young lady, will do as you are told, otherwise we are going to be here a very long time. Do you understand me?”

  Riley didn’t answer Joanna; even though her backside was starting to burn, she knew this was only a mild prequel to what was coming. Joanna had taught Riley about the warm-up ritual. She had explained about the importance of getting in the right headspace and learning to submit, and right now Riley was nowhere near either one. She made this abundantly clear to her dominant girlfriend by almost taunting her about the opening act she was delivering to her behind.

  Joanna stopped the spanking and gave a heavy sigh.

  “Get up, miss, you are going to spend some time thinking about this,” Joanna declared, righting Riley to her feet.

  Riley scowled and adjusted her panties that were uncomfortably wedged up between her stinging cheeks. She glared at Joanna and began to pull up her running pants. Her anxiety and frustration were manifesting in the form of anger.

  “Leave them, in fact take them off, naked from the waist down and in the corner now.”

  Riley’s raw emotions were taking over and her anger was growing by the second, but she also knew by Joanna’s tone and her already stinging backside, Joanna meant business. She hesitated for a couple of seconds, but the angry scowl on Joanna’s face compelled Riley to comply.

  “What the fuck?” Riley seethed as she kicked off her running shoes angrily, sending one of them careening into the dresser on the other side of the wall. She looked back at Joanna who was still scowling, but she was surprised to see her still sitting somewhat calmly, on the bed.

  “This is fucking bullshit!” Riley announced, peeling her socks off and throwing them down on the floor with her shoes. Her frustration was building along with the lump in her throat and she wanted to explode. She fought back the urge to cry, as Joanna just watched her from the bed. Her calm demeanor just angered Riley even more, as she peeled off her running pants clumsily, almost tripping over them, followed by her underwear before throwing them across the room to meet her socks before she headed for the corner.

  “There, I’m in the fucking corner, happy now?” Riley said furiously, as she stood in the vicinity of the corner, naked from the waist down with crossed arms glaring at her girlfriend.

  “Riley, I’m not sure what’s gotten into you, but go and pick up your clothes and fold them neatly on the dresser, and your shoes go in the closet,” Joanna instructed coolly.

  “What’s gotten into me, really? So now you just decide you’re gonna be there, is that it? Well, fuck you, Jo!” Riley fumed.

  At that, Joanna got up from the bed, approached Riley, and landed a resounding slap to the back of Riley’s thigh.

  “Don’t make this any worse than it already is, fold your clothes and get back in the corner like I asked, please.”

  Riley was almost shaking mad as she stormed across the room retrieving her clothes. She folded them somewhat haphazardly and dumped them on top of the dresser before returning to the corner, not saying a word as she passed Joanna. This time she turned away, fighting the tears that were ready to erupt.

  “Thank you,” Joanna said softly, as she returned to her seat on the bed. “Let me know when you’re ready to come out and talk, Riley.”

  When I’m ready? When I’m ready? What the fuck does that mean? Riley thought to herself. Riley could feel Joanna’s eyes on her from her vulnerable position. She was damned if she was going to give in now, but her trembling lips and chin were starting to betray her, and she was losing the battle with her attempt at stoicism. Riley tried not to blink but her welled eyes overflowed and the tears started to trickle freely from her
eyes. She didn’t want Joanna to know, but soon her whole upper body was racking from the silent sobs.

  * * *

  Joanna couldn’t stand seeing her girlfriend in such a state of torment any longer. “Riley?”

  Riley slowly turned and faced her lover. Joanna saw the wretchedness in her face as the tears spilled freely down Riley’s face.

  “Oh, baby!” Joanna exclaimed, as she opened her arms to Riley.

  Riley flew across the room into Joanna’s lap and buried her sobbing face in her chest as Joanna rocked her gently.

  “I’m sorry, Jo, I don’t…” Riley stuttered in her anguished state.

  “Shhh… I got you, honey, want to tell me what all this is about?”

  “I don’t know,” Riley managed, in between stuttered breaths and sobs. “I’m just so angry, I feel like nothing matters, whatever I do, it doesn’t make anything better, or worse.”

  Joanna listened as Riley unloaded. “And you don’t care… I mean you don’t, shit, I don’t know what I’m saying, I know you care but…”

  A light went on in Joanna’s head and she began to understand what Riley was trying to say. It was what Helen had been trying to tell her and now she realized Riley was missing her attention. Helen had been right, she had been treating Riley with kid gloves and now she was experiencing the repercussions.

  “I should have given you more credit, Riley. I was trying so hard to protect you, I didn’t give you what you needed. I’m sorry if I wasn’t there for you, Riley. That’s going to change right now, but I need you to tell me why.”

  Riley hung on to her lover tightly, as Joanna waited for her answer.

  “I’m an idiot, I shouldn’t have gone outside and made you all worry and made Helen so mad!”

  “Riley, that’s part of it, but what about putting yourself in danger, did you ever think of that?”

  “No, not really,” Riley shrugged.

  Joanna sighed. “Okay then, I’m going to remind you. Stand up, miss.”

  Riley complied and stood in front of Joanna.

  “Over you go,” Joanna coaxed, as she guided Riley down over her lap, her legs slightly sideways so Riley’s torso rested on the bed.

  Joanna felt Riley tense, as she rubbed her already pink cheeks. “Any reason why I shouldn’t do this, Riley?”

  “No, ma’am, I’m sorry,” Riley replied in an almost whisper.

  With that, Joanna began the spanking in earnest, alternating crisp hard smacks to Riley’s cheeks. Over and over again Joanna brought her palm down on Riley’s bottom that was growing a darker shade of red the longer the spanking continued. Riley began to squirm over her lap and Joanna could hear Riley suck in breath through her teeth and see her feet drum on the floor as she landed crisp, upward spanks to Riley’s sit spots. The fight slowly left Riley, as she gave herself to her lover and it didn’t take long before her tears were once again flowing freely.

  Joanna wasn’t holding back, and her own palm started to sting, as she continued the chastisement on Riley’s behind. She could sense the tension leaving Riley’s tired, slender body, as she surrendered to sobs.

  Joanna was torn as her younger girlfriend sobbed over her lap. She glanced over at the belt as she rubbed Riley’s hot cheeks, and even though the spanking she had delivered was hard and thorough, she knew she had to follow through with the belt for Riley’s sake.

  “C’mere, baby,” Joanna said, helping Riley back up into her lap, pulling her close into her chest as Riley sobbed.

  “We’re nearly done, up you get,” Joanna said, trying to sound authoritative, when inside, she was hurting just as much as Riley.

  Joanna pulled one of the pillows out from under the comforter and placed it at the foot of the bed as Riley looked on still sobbing.

  “Over you go, six with the belt then it will be over, okay?”

  Riley didn’t answer but placed herself compliantly over the pillow.

  “Good girl,” Joanna encouraged, as she took up the belt and doubled it over in her hand.

  “You ready, honey?” Joanna asked, giving a little rub to Riley’s bottom.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Riley said sadly as she looked back at Joanna.

  Joanna took a deep breath, then raised the belt high in the air, cracking it down on Riley’s bottom.

  Riley’s whole body tensed, her fists grabbed a handful of the comforter with white knuckles, and her bottom cheeks clenched from the sting of the leather. Joanna waited a few seconds then raised the belt high again, bringing it down with the same ferocity as the first.

  Riley began to emit little cries after the third stroke, but Joanna didn’t stop until all six had landed.

  Joanna threw the belt on the dresser and sat down next to Riley, who was sobbing gently over the pillow. Joanna rubbed her back for a few minutes, before helping her up and coaxing her back into her lap. She could feel Riley almost collapse on her chest as she held her. Riley’s whole body was limp and silent, apart from the small sobs she emitted into Joanna’s chest.

  “Oh, my love, you are exhausted, let’s get you into bed.”

  Riley didn’t argue, she got off of Joanna’s lap and crawled to the top of the bed as Joanna pulled back the covers for her. Joanna sat down next to her, letting Riley’s head rest in her lap. Within minutes Riley was sound asleep.

  Chapter Eleven

  The wind rustled the tree limbs above, and the canopy shifted, allowing the moonlight to illuminate the dead woman’s pale face next to her. But it wasn’t the usual face of the woman that had haunted Riley’s dreams over the past two weeks, it was her own! Her hazel eyes looked blankly up at the moon and her light brown hair cascaded around the fallen leaves, one of her pale hands rested on her chest holding the gold Saint Christopher medallion Joanna had given her for Christmas.

  Terror gripped her, as she stared at her own ghost and the figure of the man crouching over her. “Am I… am I dead?”

  The man in front of her gestured toward the motionless body, sweeping his hand gracefully over the corpse like he was presenting a work of art. “Don’t you see, Riley? You are beautiful!”

  As he turned his head, Riley was paralyzed by the pale gray eyes that bore through her. A slight grin appeared on his thin lips that exposed his bright teeth and accentuated his high cheekbones and square jaw. Riley noticed his clean-shaven face and observed a precise neatness about him, as she caught the aroma of fresh laundry. His clothes, although athletic, were clean and new and his gray hoodie bore an embroidered swoosh logo across the chest.

  The scalpel in his left hand intermittently blinded her, as the moonlight danced across the blade. He reached up and brushed his hand against her cheek, down over her mouth, so gently, barely making contact with her skin. Riley shivered, as she felt his soft fingers caress her mouth and cheek.

  “It’s time!” he said, as his hand slipped down over her throat, choking the air from her.

  Riley couldn’t move, she tried, but her body was lifeless, as she watched the man draw the blade up to her throat, his eyes were now wild with excitement and his grin had turned into a smile that seemed to stretch across the whole width of his face.

  She felt the steel of the blade at her throat. “Nooooooooooooo!”

  “Riley, Riley, are you alright? It’s just a dream, honey. You’re okay now,” Joanna said, trying to calm down Riley, who was sat upright in the bed, pale and shaking.

  “I… I saw him, I have to get my sketchbook, I know what he looks like,” Riley said desperately, getting up from the bed and looking around the room.

  “Who? Riley, you just had a nightmare.”

  “The killer, I know what the killer looks like!” Riley replied, pulling on a pair of sweats she’d retrieved from the dresser drawer.

  “Are you sure you’re not confusing him with your dream?”

  “Jo, it was him, okay? I remember, dammit, now where’s my fucking sketchbook? I have to draw it now, before I forget.”

  “Your sketchbook is in the
office, should I call Alex?”

  “Yes, I’m sorry, Jo, it shouldn’t take me long, but I have to do this now!”

  “I understand, go ahead, I’ll get Alex,” Joanna replied, watching Riley pull up her sweats gingerly and head for the office.

  “Alex, Joanna Armstrong. Look, Riley thinks she remembers the killer’s face. She is sketching it now. No, I don’t think you’ll need her, Riley’s quite an accomplished artist. Okay, we’ll see you then.”

  Riley was drawing intensely, with a determined look on her face, when Joanna came to find her in the office. She pulled up a chair beside Riley at the desk, and stared at the image that was evolving under Riley’s pencil. Joanna rubbed her back gently in encouragement and gave a small smile when Riley squirmed a little on her chair.

  “Alex will be here in an hour or so.”

  Riley didn’t answer, she just continued to draw and shade. Joanna watched, as she transformed the blank page into the killer’s face before her. Riley put down her pencil, tilting the sketchpad up toward her. She stared at the image she had created and shivered again, before burying her face into Joanna’s chest sobbing. Joanna lifted the smaller woman into her lap, hugging her tightly.

  “I have you, you’re safe, Riley,” Joanna said, tears forming in her own eyes at the sight of her distressed girlfriend in her arms. “This is too much, isn’t it? I think we should go back to LA, let the police deal with this now. Now, they will have his picture, there’s nothing more you can do here.”

  Riley lifted her head from Joanna’s chest. “I’d like to, but Alex said we’re safer here, she said she can’t protect us in LA.”

  * * *

  “This is good, Riley, now that we have his face it’s only a matter of time before someone comes forward with his identity. We’ve been questioning some of the tenants too. It seems a Mr.… wait a minute, I have it here,” Alex said, taking a notebook from her back pocket. “Yes, here it is. Mr. Clancy from the second floor was approached by a man wearing a baseball hat and dark glasses asking about a girl that runs. The man showed Clancy an iPod, told him he saw her drop it and wanted to return it to her. Clancy told him it was probably Kate’s, and to check with the concierge because she lived in the penthouse. We checked the footage from the cameras but looks like they were out of camera angle.”