Obsessed (9781617732393)

by Gibson, Jo

  “Judy? Can I see you for a minute?”

  Judy turned around to see Michael beckoning to her. She got up quickly and joined him at the deserted bar. “What is it, Michael?”

  “I need a favor. It’s kind of embarrassing, Jude. I hope you don’t think I’m a louse, but I need some help getting Mary Beth off my back.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We’re dark tomorrow night, and I have to go to U.C.L.A. to accompany someone at a student performance. Mary Beth just told me that her mother has to work, and I really don’t want to take her with me.”

  “Why not?” Judy was curious.

  “Look, Jude. I know I can trust you not to say anything, right?”

  Judy nodded. “I promise.”

  “Okay.” Michael looked very uncomfortable. “Mary Beth is getting a little too serious about me. Part of the problem is that we’re together every night, and last night . . . things got a little heavy, if you know what I mean. I’d really like to cool it off before Mary Beth gets the wrong idea.”

  Judy nodded. “I understand, but what can I do?”

  “Will you invite Mary Beth to your house to watch a movie or something? You wouldn’t have to take her home or anything. Her mother could pick her up.”

  Judy nodded. “I’ll ask her, but I don’t think she’ll go for it. Andy already offered to fill in for you if you couldn’t make it, and Mary Beth turned him down.”

  “She did?” Michael frowned slightly. “She’s not really afraid to stay alone, is she?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  Michael gave a sheepish grin. “You think I’ve been taken?”

  Judy nodded. “Yup.”

  “How about that! She actually set me up?”

  “I think so.”

  “Oh, hell!” Michael laughed. “Well . . . I’ll think of something. Thanks, Jude. You’re a real pal.”

  Judy frowned slightly as Michael walked over to the round table and took his usual place next to Mary Beth. He hadn’t seemed that upset when he’d found out that Mary Beth’s frightened little girl act was a scam. He’d seemed almost pleased that she’d cared enough to try to trap him. Perhaps those six nights with Mary Beth had worked. Michael might be beginning to care for her. And that meant Mary Beth had a good chance to win that stupid contest!

  Judy pulled up the circular driveway in the most exclusive part of Sherman Oaks, and got out of her car. The moon was almost full, and the large, two-story house looked beautiful in the dim light. The house always reminded her of the one they showed on The Brady Bunch, except her adoptive parents, the Lamperts, weren’t anything like the Bradys. And Judy wasn’t part of a bunch. She was their only child, and the only reason Buddy and Pamela Lampert had adopted her was to fulfill the terms of Buddy’s father’s will.

  She had been almost ten years old when she’d arrived at the Lamperts’ home, and Judy had heard plenty of rumors from Marta, their housekeeper. Grandfather Lampert had rewritten his will. If Buddy was married at the time of his death, and if he had a family, Buddy would inherit the corporation. It was Grandfather Lampert’s way of insuring that his son would settle down and become a family man. Of course, Buddy hadn’t settled down. He’d married Pamela Thornbull, his private secretary. She’d always wanted to be in the social register, and it was a marriage of convenience for both the bride and the groom. Of course their marriage wasn’t quite enough to fulfill the terms of Grandfather Lampert’s will, so Buddy and Pamela had rushed to the nearest orphanage and filed the papers to adopt Judy.

  The adoption couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. Six weeks after Judy had moved into the huge house in Sherman Oaks, Grandfather Lampert had died. Buddy and Pamela’s careful planning had paid off in spades. Pamela had wanted to be a society wife, and now she was. Buddy had wanted control of Lampert International, and he was now the president of the company and the chief stockholder. The only one who’d lost was Judy. She’d wanted a loving mother and father, and Pamela and Buddy were much too busy with their own lives to pay attention to her. Judy had been cared for by a series of nannies and maids. She’d had all the advantages that money could buy, but she would have traded it all for a normal family life.

  There was a light downstairs in Buddy’s office. He was up late, probably pouring over some corporate report. Pamela’s bedroom was dark. She’d taken her sleeping pill and she was already asleep. Marta had told Judy that Buddy was flying off to Tokyo in the morning for some corporate meeting. Pamela wasn’t going along. She was jetting to Paris for a summer fashion showing, and then she was spending a week as a guest of some countess at a villa in the south of France.

  As she let herself in, Judy tiptoed past the office door. Buddy didn’t like to be disturbed when he was working. She’d done that once, when she’d wanted to tell him that she’d won a school essay contest. Buddy had stared at her with a puzzled expression on his face as she’d told him, and then he’d congratulated her very nicely. But Judy was sure he’d forgotten all about the fact that he had a daughter until she’d appeared to remind him.

  Judy sighed. She didn’t really play a part in Buddy’s life, or Pamela’s, either. She’d never even called them Father or Mother. They’d told her that they preferred to be addressed as Buddy and Pamela, and Judy had never broken that rule.

  At first Judy had tried to get their attention, to prove that she could be a good daughter. She’d made the honor roll in school, she hadn’t caused a speck of trouble, and she’d kept her room immaculate. But Pamela and Buddy didn’t seem to care what she did—as long as she didn’t bother them. Her adoptive parents were strangers who just happened to be living at the same address, and growing up had been very lonely for Judy.

  Judy still remembered her thirteenth birthday. Marta had planned a party and all her friends had come, but Buddy had been in Europe on business, and Pamela had spent the entire week shopping in Paris. When Pamela had come home, she’d given Judy a lovely designer outfit, all gift wrapped for her birthday. Judy had been delighted until she’d tried it on and realized that Pamela hadn’t even known her correct size.

  Of course, there were a lot of advantages to living in luxury. Judy never had to cook or clean, and she always had plenty of money. Buddy and Pamela had enrolled her at Vassar, and she’d be going there right after high school. Judy wasn’t delighted about Vassar. Her grades were good, and she could have gone to any college of her choice. But Pamela had patiently explained that Lampert women always went to Vassar. It was the only place for a young woman of her standing to meet other people from suitably similar backgrounds.

  Judy walked down the carpeted hallway and peeked into the kitchen. It was dark. Marta was already in bed. She opened the refrigerator, took out a Diet Coke and carried it upstairs to her room. If Pamela had been awake, she would have insisted that Judy use a glass. Drinking out of a can wasn’t the sort of thing a Lampert did.

  As Judy flipped on the lights to her suite, she wondered what Pamela and Buddy would do if they knew she was working at Covers. Naturally, she hadn’t told them. And they hadn’t even noticed that she’d been gone every night until almost midnight. There were some advantages in having absentee parents. Of course, Marta knew. Judy had convinced her to sign the parental permission slip that Mr. Calloway had put in her personnel file. Marta hadn’t wanted to do it, but Judy had persuaded her by promising she wouldn’t mention the boyfriend that came to stay with her when Pamela and Buddy were gone.

  Judy walked into her living room and used the universal remote to switch on her large color television. Then she sat down in the swivel rocker and kicked off her shoes. Even though it was past midnight, she didn’t feel like sleeping in her king-sized canopied bed. She couldn’t see Michael’s house from her bedroom, but she could from here.

  A touch of the remote control dimmed the lights. Another button opened the floor-length drapes. Michael’s house was right next door, and his bedroom faced hers. She’d sat here almost every night last year, watc
hing him study at his desk, his head bent over his books. Every once in a while, a lock of hair would fall over his eyes and he’d brush it back with an impatient gesture. That gesture had always made Judy smile. Her hair did the same thing when she sat at her desk and studied.

  But Michael wasn’t home tonight. His room was dark. He was with Mary Beth. Judy tried to imagine what they were doing. Michael had said things had gotten heavy. Did that mean what she thought it meant? She’d been at Mary Beth’s house once, a small two-story place with an addition built over the garage that they used for a recreation room. Two white leather couches lined the room, and there was an entertainment center with a stereo and a color television. Were Michael and Mary Beth on one of the long leather couches right now, watching television? Or were they wrapped in each other’s arms, sharing passionate kisses, too interested in each other to even notice what was on the tube?

  Judy couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. What about her? Michael had told her that she was pretty. He seemed to like having her around, but he still treated her like a kid. Judy wished she could think of some way to make Michael realize that he had the perfect girl living right next door to him. She was tired of waiting, tired of being a pal and a buddy. Judy knew she could give Michael all the love he needed, if he’d only give her a chance.

  Eight

  It was Sunday night and Mary Beth was alone. She’d been as nervous as a cat all night, and she was beginning to wish she hadn’t decided to stay alone. She hadn’t been the least bit afraid when this whole thing had started—she’d just pretended to get Michael to stay with her. But she’d pretended to be frightened for a whole week now, and she was beginning to believe her own act. She had to calm down and stop being so jumpy. She was perfectly safe. No one could get inside the house without setting off the new security system her parents had installed.

  The phone rang, and Mary Beth sprinted across the room to answer it. It could be Michael, saying he was coming over early.

  “Hi, honey. Are you all right?”

  Mary Beth frowned in disappointment. “I’m fine, Mom. How’s work?”

  “Busy. There’s a couple of knife wounds coming in the door right now, so I’ve only got a minute.”

  “That’s okay, Mom.” Mary Beth crossed her fingers for luck. “Do you think you’ll be home on time?”

  “I doubt it, honey. It’s been a madhouse all night. We’ve got all twelve rooms in emergency filled, and we’re stacking them up in the hallway.”

  “But you’ll call before you leave?”

  “Sure, honey. I’ll try to get off by two, but it’ll probably be closer to three. Keep the security system on, and don’t let anyone in, okay?”

  Mary Beth nodded. “I won’t, unless it’s Michael. He promised to drop by later to check on me.”

  “You’re very lucky to have a friend like Michael. He’s a nice boy, much nicer than that awful—”

  “Oh, Mom!” Mary Beth interrupted what was sure to be a lecture about Kevin Mallory. “I know you don’t like Kevin. That’s the reason I broke up with him.”

  “That was a wise decision, honey. He was much too old for you. You might not realize that now, but when you look back on it, you’ll know you made the right choice.”

  “Yes, Mom.” Mary Beth nodded obediently, even though she knew her mother couldn’t see her.

  “They’re paging me—I’ve got to go now. I love you, honey, and I’ll see you about three.”

  Mary Beth winced as she hung up the phone. Her mother didn’t know it, but she was still seeing Kevin. She didn’t like sneaking around and lying to her parents, but she planned to keep on dating Kevin for as long as she could.

  Her mother definitely had a point. Mary Beth realized that. Kevin wasn’t as nice as Michael, but that didn’t seem to matter. A nice boyfriend like Michael wasn’t very exciting, and she was dying for some excitement in her life.

  There were lots of fun things that Michael wouldn’t do. He wouldn’t take her to a real nightclub like the Palace, and he’d never buy her a fake I.D. so that she could order drinks. He wouldn’t tear down the freeway at ninety miles an hour with the stereo blaring, and he’d never invite her to a wild party where everybody went skinny dipping. Michael wouldn’t suggest that she tell her parents she was staying with a girlfriend and spend the night with him, instead. Michael was trustworthy and reliable, the type of guy she wanted to end up marrying. But Mary Beth intended to have some wild and crazy times with Kevin first.

  There was a picture of Kevin in her wallet, and Mary Beth took it out. She loved his dangerous eyes with thick, black lashes that never quite opened up all the way. Kevin was older. He’d been out of high school for five years now, and he knew plenty about women. She could see it in his eyes. Kevin knew how to drive her wild when he kissed her, and he wasn’t the type to stop with just kisses. She’d fantasized about spending the night at Kevin’s apartment, and she’d imagined what it would be like to stretch out on his waterbed and feel satin sheets against her bare skin. Of course things hadn’t gone that far . . . yet.

  Mary Beth gave a little shiver of excitement. She was glad she’d hedged her bets. Michael had career plans, and he was very serious about school and work. Kevin lived every day as it came, and being with him was always fun. She didn’t want Kevin for life. She just wanted to borrow him for the summer and learn how to live on the edge. Then she’d settle down and go back to school and be Michael’s nice girlfriend and her parents’ good daughter again.

  There was nothing but news on the television, and Mary Beth clicked it off. It was ten o’clock and Michael had promised to try to make it by midnight. That meant she had another two hours to wait, and Mary Beth hated waiting. She was just thinking about finishing the lemon meringue pie her mother had baked when she heard a loud crash in the front yard. Was it a burglar? Their neighbors had been burglarized a month ago, and that was why her father had installed the expensive security system.

  Even though she was almost afraid to look, Mary Beth walked to the window and peeked out through the drapes. At first she didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but then she noticed that their garbage can was tipped over on its side. As she watched, she caught a glimpse of a big black dog running down the street. It was nothing to get worried about. Tomorrow was garbage day, and the neighborhood dogs had been in the trash again.

  The wind had picked up, and Mary Beth saw several sheets of newspaper fluttering down the sidewalk. Should she go out and pick up the trash before it was scattered all over the yard? Mary Beth thought about it for a moment, and then she shook her head. She didn’t want to go out alone at night. It would be stupid to leave the safety of the house when there was a killer on the loose.

  There was a loud rattle, and Mary Beth jumped. What was that? The sound seemed to be coming from the bathroom, and she remembered that the vent on the roof always flapped when it was windy. Maybe she should put on the stereo. Their house always made creaking and groaning sounds when the winds were blowing. It had never really bothered her before, but she was all alone tonight, and the noises seemed almost ominous.

  It was only five minutes after ten. Had the clock stopped? Mary Beth walked over to look, but the second hand was sweeping around in endless circles. Time passed so slowly when she was bored, and Mary Beth was definitely bored. Maybe she should have taken Andy up on his offer to stay with her. Andy was a nice kid, and she could have told him to leave the minute Michael arrived. She would have felt a lot safer with Andy here, but spending the evening with him would be even more boring than being here alone.

  Mary Beth thought about all the invitations she’d received for tonight, and that made her feel much better. The girls were definitely worried. Judy had suggested watching a movie at her house, Linda had asked her if she wanted to come over to spend the night, Nita and Berto had offered to take her out for pizza, Vera and Ingrid had said they’d come by to keep her company, and even Carla had called to say she’d be glad to drive over to ch
eck on her. Of course, Mary Beth had turned down every one of their suggestions. She knew exactly why the girls had seemed so concerned about her. It was their strategy. They were trying to keep Michael away from her because they didn’t want her to win the contest.

  But their strategy wasn’t going to work. Mary Beth was determined to win. Michael would be here at midnight, and that meant she’d have three hours alone with him. Tonight was almost like a final exam, and Mary Beth had spent hours preparing for it. She was going to do her new dance for Michael, and if that wouldn’t convince him to make her his girlfriend, nothing would!

  Mary Beth walked out of the rec room, and down the hallway to her bedroom. Her costume was hanging on a hangar behind her door, all ready for action. She’d blown two week’s salary on a sexy gold satin stripper’s outfit, complete with gloves and black lace lingerie. And that had been only the beginning.

  Her mother left for work at five-thirty every day, and Mary Beth didn’t need to be at Covers until seven. She’d spent every minute of that time rehearsing. She’d studied scenes from the movie about Gypsy Rose Lee, until she could practically do every move in her sleep. Of course she could never perform that kind of sexy striptease at Covers, but that didn’t matter in the least. She was going to do the dance for Michael, and she’d never perform it for anyone else . . . except maybe Kevin. And she’d only do it for Kevin if he bribed her with a bottle of champagne.

  Mary Beth grinned in anticipation. She was going to knock Michael out of his socks with her dance. There was no way he’d be able to resist her. The other girls might think they had a chance, but they didn’t. They were going to lose, and she would win the contest.

  It was only ten-fifteen, too early to get into her costume. Mary Beth went back into the rec room and checked the stereo to make sure she’d programmed her music correctly. Then she switched on the lamps she’d positioned around the room. They all had peach-white bulbs to give her skin a rosy glow.