“Sure.” Sue passed them over, wondering what he was up to.
Zeke backed the van out of the parking space, and pulled into traffic. Driving slowly, he watched the street signs closely, then made a right turn several blocks down. “There’s her house.” He pointed at a white cottage with small front porch. They drove on by. “She won’t get off work until five-thirty this evening, so we have plenty of time.”
Zeke pulled into the alley. They passed back yards, trashcans, sheds. At the end of the block was a small single-story apartment complex with a parking lot in back. Zeke parked there, grabbed the box of hair dye, and hopped from the vehicle.
Sue followed him. Cool sunlight filtered through the scraps of remaining fog, but did little to warm them as they walked. Once they reached Doris’s back yard, Zeke looked around and grabbed Sue’s hand, leading her toward the rear of the residence, trying for nonchalance. A trim lawn separated the house from the alleyway. Evergreen hedges lined either side of the uncluttered expanse. A narrow sidewalk led to an enclosed back porch.
Zeke searched the surroundings for a few minutes, turning over a couple of rocks and a garden gnome by the back step, but found no key. He jiggled the storm door handle and found it loose, but locked.
“Hold this.” He thrust the box of dye into Sue’s hand.
Bracing himself, he applied some pressure, to no avail. Finally, he attacked the dilemma with Big Ben and hurriedly worked it open, popping the tiny spring-loaded latch while leaving telltale marks of the knife’s blade on the frame. They stepped inside and Zeke pulled the storm door closed behind them.
The interior door opened easily, Doris trusting the outer entrance to keep away intruders. Sue and Zeke slipped into the house, and turned the lock.
“As long as we’re out of here before the fat hag gets off work, we should be okay.” Zeke pulled a lacy curtain aside to peer out, but saw no activity in the neighborhood.
The house was cluttered but clean; knickknacks and Americana decor crowded every surface. And books. Shelves and stacks and boxes of books, mostly romance novels, it seemed after a quick glance. “Looks like Doris is hurtin’ for some lovin’. Not likely to get any either.” Zeke smirked.
Sue looked around nervously and gave a small, hesitant laugh. “Yea. I guess.” She herself owned many of the same books, but she would never admit it.
“First things first.” Zeke ripped open the box of dye as he went in search of the bathroom. “Fix us something to eat while I’m doing this,” he called out.
Sue went to the refrigerator and removed a leftover ham, some potato salad, and Miracle Whip, and set it all on the counter. She found a knife and cut thick slices of ham, which she heated in the microwave for sandwiches. A couple of Cokes completed her preparations. The meal was on the table by the time Zeke entered the room. His hair was plastered with black dye and he wore a woman’s robe to protect his clothes. They sat in the kitchen and ate until they were full to bursting.
Afterward, Zeke found a supply of grocery sacks and calmly started to fill them with food from the cupboards and fridge. “Don’t just sit there, help me.”
They ended up taking quite a bit of food, some magazines and books, a couple of blankets, and some toiletries. While Zeke was in the shower, Sue went through the roll-top desk, looking for anything they could use. She actually found three credit cards but decided not to mention them, scared they would be caught the minute they tried to use them and worried Zeke would want to do just that. In what proved to be a junk drawer in the bedroom, Sue uncovered a stack of twenty-dollar bills. After counting, they came to the tidy sum of eight hundred and forty dollars. Sue almost put the money back, but then she remembered the way Zeke had acted on the phone when he had spoken to Doris. Even knowing he was faking, Sue decided to take the money. To hell with the fat cow, she thought with disdain, thinking she has a chance with my boyfriend. She also decided not to let Zeke know about the cash and slipped it deep inside her purse.
When it was Sue’s turn to shower, she luxuriated in the hot water flowing over her body. She thought this might be the first time she had really felt warm since leaving home. As she rinsed the lather from her hair, Zeke burst into the room.
“Looky what I found.” His voice was full of mirth. “Looks like Doris really is a lonely woman.”
Sue peered around the shower curtain. Zeke stood in the doorway, towel around his waist, and a large flesh-colored object in his hand.
“What is that?” Sue asked, unaccountably disturbed by the sight of the object.
“You really are precious.” He laughed as he approached her and flung the curtain aside, allowing water to spray everywhere. “And so naive. Now, be a good girl, bend over, and put your hands against the tile.”
“Why?” Sue’s voice barely carried over the sound of the running water as it dawned on her exactly what he was holding. He was right to make fun of her. She was stupid.
“Just do what I say.” An evil gleam danced in his eyes. He rifled through the medicine chest until he located a jar of Vaseline.
“Oh, no. I really don’t think I want to do this.” Sue clenched her muscles.
“Sshhh!” He popped the lid off the Vaseline.
“Can’t we just do it the normal way?” Sue begged, a hitch in her voice.
“We will.” Zeke was extremely aroused now. “After.”
Sue’s squeals of discomfort echoed off the hard tile walls.
Later, in bed, he held her tightly in his arms. The fresh soapy smell of his skin mingled with a darker, musky scent. Sue clung to him, catching her breath.
“You’re amazing.” Zeke gently brushed wet hair back from her face. “I’ve never felt anything like that before. I love you so much; you’re not like anyone else. I knew it when I first laid eyes on you. I even went home that night and told my mother I met this beautiful girl and she’s different. She’s something really special.”
“You told your mom about me?” Sue was unreasonably moved. “I didn’t know that.”
“Well, hell yeah I did,” Zeke declared. “I’m head over heels in love with you, Susie Q.”
“I love you, too,” she said hoarsely, hugging him tightly. Her doubts about Zeke fled and she was reassured her decision to leave with him had been the right one.
They lay curled around each other for a short time; Sue watched the cat clock over the dresser as it ticked. Its tail swung back and forth, punctuating her internal conflict. Even after professing unwavering devotion and love for him, she couldn’t help but hope the episode with Zeke in the bathroom was an isolated incident and would not become a regular part of their lovemaking. As a sexual experiment she supposed once was okay. But she’d hated it. She’d cried the entire time, not stopping until they’d moved into the bedroom where his skilled touch had turned the pain into a pleasure of sorts.
After a short rest, they got up and showered again. The vibrator lay like a drained weapon in the sink, silent now.
“Battery must be dead,” Zeke observed.
They dressed quickly. Zeke remembered the drugs in the medicine cabinet and picked through them. Sue held her purse open, catching the various-sized bottles as he tossed them to her.
“What kind of pills are these?” Sue asked, peeking in her purse.
“Just miscellaneous. You never know when something will come in handy.” They grabbed the rest of their goods and sneaked out the back door, leaving it wide open. Stashing their take in the van, they left Assaria in the rearview mirror.
Zeke drove in the direction of the abandoned school where they’d spent the night, but passed on by.
“I had some big plans for that school,” he said regretfully as they left the old building behind. “But now I think it’s best to move on. The cops just might check this place out when Doris makes a report. We’re criminals, Sue; we’re on the run, really going underground since we broke into a house and stole shit. Plus, you shoplifted that hair dye. Yes, sir. Now we have to watch out for the long
arm of the law.” He tossed his head back and laughed raucously.
I’m a criminal? Sue shook her head, resisting the thought. No, no. It was just harmless fun, a prank. Wasn’t it? A wave of regret washed over her as she thought about the cash in the bottom of her bag and everything else they’d taken. No, it wasn’t just hair dye. She wished she’d left the money behind. Doris was obviously saving it for something important. In fact; she wished she’d never laid eyes on the woman. But, wishes were just that. Sue hung her head in shame.
“We’ll come back here someday and check out that school better. I bet there’s lots of secrets hiding around that place,” he stated. “We’ll let a little time pass first. For now, we’ll just mosey on down the road.”
Sue squirmed uncomfortably in her seat, and worry nagged at her. She stared at the passing fields as the sun descended behind the hills in the distance, and wondered what kind of person she had become.
Unraveling the Mystery
Frank and Linda Cox sat across the desk from Will, looking as if they were waiting for the proverbial ax to fall. Will figured that was close to accurate as he prepared to give them the details of his report. He offered them coffee, but they declined. Sipping his own, he opened the folder in front of him.
“Okay,” he began. “I have a little information for you. I checked with her college instructors, a number of classmates, her best friend, her boss and co-workers, homes near where her car was discovered, and with merchants whose stores she recently patronized. Here’s what I found out.” He cleared his throat before continuing.
“No one at school noticed anything different about her.
“Her friend, Joyce, told me they hadn’t seen a lot of each other lately although she did talk to Sue last night. Sue said she’d met someone recently, but wouldn’t tell Joyce anything about him except that she had finally found the one. Sue told her that he was a secret lover; Joyce assumed Sue might have gotten involved with someone who already has a girlfriend or is possibly married. Joyce said Sue asked her to respect her privacy, and she had promised to do so; but, with you both so upset, she decided to tell me everything she knew. She herself was uncomfortable with Sue leaving. She said that all Sue would tell her about this new love is that she was leaving town with him, and that she had met him at work. In fact, she said he was the new guy at work.
“So I visited Sue’s workplace, and came up empty there as well. The manager of the nursing home said Sue didn’t give notice or ask for time off. She just simply didn’t show up for work. I asked the woman if she had tried to call, and she told me she left several messages on your daughter’s cell phone, none of which Sue answered. When I asked about the new young man they’d hired, I was told they hadn’t hired any male employees in over a year and had no young men on their staff. So, that part of Sue’s story to Joyce had to be fabricated.” Will paused, glancing at his notes and Mr. Cox slipped in a question.
“What about the phone signal, like you said? Can’t you track her with that?” Frank gripped the arms of the chair and leaned forward.
Will shook his head. “No luck there.”
Frank sank back into the chair, deflated.
Will met his eyes. “It was a long shot anyway.” He referred to the file again. “I interviewed all residents that live near the cemetery. None of them remembers seeing anything, other than the one who initially reported her car.
“I went over her cell phone bill. Lots of calls to and from a particular number. But that, too, was a dead end. The phone was a prepaid. So, that’s unhelpful.” He took another sip of coffee. “Based on some receipts I found in your daughter’s desk, I visited a used bookstore downtown. Re-Books. Here’s where we start getting lucky.”
The Coxes sat up straight and listened expectantly. Will held up a hand in a don’t-get-too-excited gesture.
“The owner told me one of his clerks hadn’t shown up the last two days. He also recognized your daughter from the picture I showed him. He said Sue hung around the store quite a bit. He never actually saw her talking to the clerk, but she might have. Though the owner spends a lot of time in the office doing paperwork, and doesn’t often come out front, he did remember your daughter asking about the young man one day this past summer. The boy had taken a few days off and your daughter wondered when he’d be back; seemed pretty nervous and asked the owner not to mention the conversation.”
Will glanced at Mr. and Mrs. Cox to see if they’d absorbed the importance of this information before continuing. “Anyway, he pulled the employment records for me, and I got a name. Ezekiel Kyle, Zeke for short. Ring a bell with either of you?”
Frank and Linda shook their heads in unison.
“Mr. Kyle is slender, has black hair, weighs about 165 pounds, and has blue eyes. That’s all the owner could tell me. This being a college town, he hires lots of young people; the turnover is high. He said he doesn’t have time to get to know each one and couldn’t give me any additional information about Zeke. He wasn’t sure about the vehicle the young man drove, but thinks maybe it was a dark-colored van.”
Will looked up at the couple. “Mr. and Mrs. Cox, I suspect your daughter is with this guy.”
During Will’s recounting of his progress, the couple had hung onto his every word, and onto each other’s hands. “Willingly?” Frank asked.
Will shrugged. “We can’t be positive, but from what Joyce said, we have to assume she went willingly.” He cleared his throat. “Okay. Now it gets a little strange. The address he gave on the job application is bogus. I called in some old favors and pulled some strings. The social security number matches the name, but it turns out Ezekiel Kyle died ten years ago in Boise, Idaho. This means our guy is not the real Mr. Kyle. After eliminating the known, the remaining set of fingerprints I got from Sue’s car have no matches on the database. This guy is a ghost.”
Will got up and went to the window. Outside, naked trees shivered in the cold wind against the backdrop of a leaden sky. Mr. and Mrs. Cox sat speechless.
Will found the weather as depressing as the case. He closed the blinds and turned to face his clients. “No Jane Does have shown up in any hospital in the state, and neither have any unidentified bodies that match Sue’s description. My guess is she has not been a victim of foul play. I tried to trace the vehicle without much to go on. There are no vans registered to any Ezekiel Kyle in this county, or the four surrounding ones; in fact, I found none under the last name of Kyle. It would take more time and manpower than we have available right now to run down every dark-colored van in the state. I don’t think it would be a good use of our time even if it could be done; it would probably be fruitless in the long run.” He paused, thinking. “What did you find out at the bank?”
Frank cleared his throat before answering. “She’s already taken out $4,000, but I did like you asked; I moved all but $500 to a different account. The bank promised to contact us if any activity occurs on the original account.”
“Great. Well, there is only so much I can accomplish if I continue working the case like I have been. I think it’s time we consider our next move.”
“I can’t believe this.” Linda produced a tissue from her purse and dabbed at her leaking eyes. “What can we do?”
“I’d like to take this investigation mobile,” Will stated. “We know they’re on the road and they’ve got a head start, but not that much of one and I’d like to give it a try. But, you need to know the cost will increase. I won’t charge you more than the flat rate I quoted you unless this stretches out for more than two weeks, but there’ll most likely be additional expenses. I don’t know what you can afford, or how far you’re willing to go. I need some guidance from you on this.” He realized the search would monopolize his time, leaving him unable to pursue other investigations. But this case had piqued his interest and he’d made a personal choice to proceed; that was the nice thing about being his own boss.
“We want you to continue,” Frank said, his wife nodding in agreement.
Will was not surprised. In fact, he’d have been shocked if they’d requested he stop. As he escorted the couple out of his office, he was already planning his strategy.
Zeke, the Stylist
They spent a few hours at a rest stop beneath a pile of blankets in the van, warm enough if they didn’t move. The slightest shift of their bodies would bring the cold surging back like a flood. Sue had wanted to get a motel room, but didn’t bother to voice the desire after Zeke’s lecture about money. Before dawn, they rose with stiff muscles. Zeke started the van to warm it while Sue ducked into the restroom. When she returned, Zeke took his turn. By the time he was finished, warm air streaming from the heater had removed most of the chill.
“Aren’t you hungry?” Sue asked.
“Not yet.” Zeke turned on the wipers.
He didn’t bother to ask if she was hungry. Sue gaped at him, her feelings inordinately hurt by his disregard for her. She heaved a sigh to express her indignation.
“What?” He shot her a look. “What’s wrong?”
“Maybe I’m hungry.” Sue sniffed.
“Oh for god’s sake! I keep forgetting how childish you are.” Zeke swiped his hair from his eyes. “Look, we can wait a bit before we eat. First, we need to put more distance between us and Assaria. Buck up, Sue, and stop acting like a five-year-old.”
Sue didn’t want to start an argument, but she needed something to take her mind off her appetite and his callous attitude. “Well, can we at least listen to some music?”
“Want me to turn on the radio?” Zeke’s voice was snide. “No problem, princess.” He twisted the knob and then searched until he found a local talk show. Flashing a quick, mocking grin in her direction, he turned up the volume. “Listen to that. Maybe you’ll learn something. Today’s music sucks anyway.” He focused his attention on the road ahead.
Voices filled the air with contradictory opinions on farm subsidies. Sue couldn’t have been less interested in the topic. She pretended to approve of his choice, hoping to diffuse the rising tension. Swallowing past the lump in her throat, she replied, “Fine with me.”
Zeke Page 11