Killing Season

by Faye Kellerman

  “Now you’re getting personal. Either let me drive home or I’m leaving.”

  Ro’s lip quivered. “How could he cheat on me?”

  “Because he’s a prick. You should have known that from the beginning.”

  “What’s wrong with the guys in this school?”

  “It’s not the school, Ro, it’s guys. God knows how I might have been had Ellen not died. I told you, before it happened I was an asshole. Sometimes I’m still an asshole. Now kindly move your butt so we can get going.”

  “Are you really besotted with me?”

  “Totally. Can we go now?”

  Her eyes misted. “I don’t know if I’m ready for a new boyfriend.”

  “That’s okay. You don’t have to be my girlfriend.” For the first time in a long time, he felt a genuine smile coming on. “But at least you’re not someone else’s girlfriend.”

  “Vicks, you have to be honest with me. No more keeping secrets. No more holding back. Is there anything else you want to tell me?”

  “No. Now how about if I drive home, put on some dry clothes, and think about your question without freezing my ass off?”

  “Will you go to the winter dance with me?”

  Ben groaned out loud. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

  “If you really were besotted, you’d do it for me.”

  “I can’t. You know that. I’ll be in San Francisco. I’ve already booked my ticket and it’s not refundable.”

  “You’d rather go on some wild-goose chase where you don’t belong, hunting down some lost cause rather than take me to the winter dance?”

  “You want me to be honest with you, right? The answer is yes. And it’s not a wild-goose chase and you know it.” Her face was dejected. He said, “I went to homecoming for you.”

  “But not with me.”

  “Because you had another date.” He hit his forehead in frustration. “I’m crazy about you, Ro, but I am not going to the winter dance. I have to go to San Francisco and I’m leaving on Christmas. I only have a short time to talk to the family and get them on board.”

  “Why don’t you let Shanks handle it? He said he’d call up the detective after he was prepared. Why do you have to be involved?”

  “Committed,” he muttered. “I don’t know. I tilt at windmills. I’m going, okay.”

  “You’ll be doing this forever until you find him.”

  “Probably.”

  “Give me the keys. I can drive now.” When he hesitated, she said, “Give me the keys.”

  “I promise I’ll take you to prom if we’re still okay with each other.” She didn’t answer. Ben said, “At least your dress won’t go to waste.”

  “I’ll have to get a totally different dress for prom, so it will go to waste.”

  “Well . . . then I’m sorry.”

  “You won’t take me to the winter dance?”

  “Okay already!” Ben was shouting. “Okay, I’ll take you. I’ll change my ticket and everything. I’m totally whipped, okay. But going to the dance is a mistake. JD is going to make my life miserable, but that’s okay. I’ve known the guy forever and I’m used to his shit. But he’s going to make your life a misery. But if you want to go, I’ll transfer my ticket and take you.”

  “Forget it,” Ro said. “You’re right. I am being ridiculous.” A pause. “It’s nice of you to offer. Sometimes it’s just the thought that counts.” She held out her palm and he gave her the keys.

  Five minutes later she pulled up in front of Ben’s house. He said, “Do you want to come in?”

  “Yeah, why not?”

  He bounded out in the rain to open the car door for her. They ran to the front portal. Once they were inside, he could finally relax. No one was home and the house was warm and felt as comforting as a flannel blanket.

  “Can I get you anything?” He rubbed his arms. “Hot chocolate, maybe?”

  “What are you? Twelve?”

  “Beer? Vodka?”

  “You’re getting warmer.”

  “Just let me change, okay. I’ll be right out.”

  He was about to close the door to his room when she charged in, throwing her arms around his neck and pressing her lips against his, holding him in a tight embrace while her fingers raked through his hair. Within moments, they were kissing hard and passionately. Ben felt dizzy and woozy. He was cold and shivering and burning with desire.

  The front door slammed. “Anyone home? Ben?”

  “Oh God, it’s Haley.” He broke away, grabbed some dry clothes, and locked himself in the bathroom, breathing hard, trying to put the brakes on his arousal. He could hear Haley in his bedroom.

  “Oh, hi, Ro. Where’s Ben?”

  He couldn’t hear what she said. He changed quickly, getting himself reasonably under control. It took a few minutes. When he went back out, he had a smile on his face. Haley and Lilly were staring at him with weird expressions. He said, “Where’s Ro?”

  Haley said, “She left.”

  “She left?”

  “Yeah.” Haley looked at him. “Did you guys have a fight or something?”

  “No . . . maybe.” He was panicked and confused. “I need privacy. Like right now!”

  “Well, excuse me!”

  Ben locked the door and called Ro’s cell. When she didn’t answer, he called again. And again. She picked up on the fourth try. He said, “Why’d you leave?”

  “Why do you think?”

  “Honestly, I have no idea.”

  “Vicks, I’m sorry I attacked you—”

  “Oh please, please, please don’t apologize for kissing me. It was the best thing that ever happened to me in my entire life! Come back!” She was silent. “Hello?”

  “I’m still here.”

  “Come back, Ro. Please?”

  “Ben, you pushed me away!”

  “I didn’t push you away. My sister came home. It would have been impolitic for her to see me in my obviously aroused state.” He heard her break into laughter over the phone. “Where are you?”

  “I just pulled up into my driveway.”

  “Come back.”

  “I don’t want to. It’s pouring outside and I don’t want to drive.”

  “Okay. I’ll come to your house.”

  “Do you have a car?”

  “I have a poncho and a bike.”

  “It’s pouring outside, Vicks. Don’t be ridiculous. Besides, I don’t want to see you right now.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I need to think, okay?”

  “Ro, come back. If you don’t, I really will bike out to see you.”

  “I don’t want to see you, Ben. I don’t want to see anyone right now, okay? I want to be by myself. I need space. I mean, you need space all the time. So how about giving me the same consideration that I give you?” When he didn’t answer, she said, “It’s not that easy, is it?”

  “Okay. You need space.” He was pacing the floor. “When can I see you?”

  “I’ll call you. And don’t come here or I’ll get really mad. Respect my wishes like I respect your wishes.” She hung up and Ben threw the phone across the room and onto his bed. “Shit! Shit, shit, shit!” There was a knock on the door. He swung it open and glared at Lilly.

  She swallowed hard. “We’re baking chocolate chip cookies. Wanna help?”

  “You need my help in baking? Seriously?” When Lilly was silent, he said, “I’ll be out in a minute. Do you know where my mom is, by any chance?”

  “I think she said something about a board meeting.”

  “That’s right.” Meaning he’d be without a car for at least the next two hours. “Give me a minute, okay?”

  “Take your time, Ben.” She closed the door gently.

  He leaned against the wall. Life was sincerely fucked, but it made no sense to take it out on the girls.

  Go bake cookies. Distraction was the name of the game.

  Chapter 27

  When he came out, the girls were wearing oversize
d flowered aprons. Haley was reading the back of the chocolate chip package and Lilly had a bowl and a wooden spoon. The house was a typical open floor plan. The kitchen looked out to the living space and was separated from it by a breakfast bar. He pulled up a stool on the living room side. “Hey.”

  Haley was mixing something yellow and gooey in a bowl. “Why is Ro upset?”

  “She broke up with JD.”

  “What?” both girls whispered. Haley said, “What happened?”

  “He cheated on her.”

  “Oh my God!” Haley said. “What an asshole.”

  “Seems to be the general consensus.”

  The doorbell rang. Ben looked at the entry hall and grew hopeful. Maybe Ro had changed her mind.

  It was JD.

  “She’s not here.” He tried to close the door in his face, but JD stepped forward and caught the edge with his hand. “Where is she?”

  “Home.”

  Outside, it was raining sheets of water. Lightning strikes were illuminating JD as if he were Thor himself. He said, “Could I talk to you?”

  Ben waited.

  “Can I come inside? Little cold out here.”

  Ben paused and then stepped aside. JD took off his muddy boots. When he took off his jacket, Ben said, “Give it to me.”

  “It’s soaked.”

  “I’ll hang it up in the shower. Come in.”

  Haley and Lilly were looking at JD with their mouths open. He said, “Hi, girls.”

  “Hi,” Lilly whispered. Haley waved and JD winked at her. Ben caught it, but it didn’t bother him. There was something uniquely smarmy about Weekly. But JD was just being JD. He had changed from his wifebeater into a long-sleeved black polo shirt that was stretching across his chest. He said, “Girls, could you hold off on the baking for a little bit?”

  Lilly took Haley’s hand. “Let’s go play Angry Birds.”

  “Could you hang this up for me?” Ben gave Haley JD’s sodden jacket. When he heard the door close, he said, “What do you want?”

  JD looked around the house as if it were foreign territory. Ben didn’t know why. Nothing had changed since he had last been here. He said, “Vicks, I got no problem with you.”

  “Why would you have a problem with me?”

  “True enough. I haven’t spoken more than ten words to you in the last three years. I’m just curious. Did you tell her?”

  “No. But once you opened your big mouth, I told her what I saw and who with.”

  “Then she really didn’t know until . . .”

  “No, of course she didn’t know. Do you really think I’d rat you out?”

  “Fuck!” JD punched the wall.

  “Easy there, Conor McGregor,” Ben said. “You’re beating on someone else’s house.”

  “I’m a fucking idiot!” He looked at Ben. “You gotta help me get her back, dude.”

  “Are you on something? I’ve been waiting an entire semester for her to toss your sorry ass over the cliff. Why on earth would I throw you a rope?”

  “Can I sit down?”

  “Go ahead.”

  JD was quiet. “Okay, Vicks, this is the deal. You’re gone all next semester. If Ro and I break up, who do you think is going to suffer? Her status comes from me. With her knocked out of the top position, I go back to Shannon. So Weekly’s out his girl and that’s gonna piss him off. And if he takes it out on anyone, it’s gonna be Ro. And even if I decided not to torture her, which I really need to do because she dumped me, Shannon will do it for me. Shannon is real jealous of her. She hates her.”

  “How do you know that Shannon hates Ro?” When JD averted his eyes, Ben got it. “You’re banging Shannon?”

  “We just kinda never stopped.”

  “She’s your best friend’s girl!”

  “She was my girlfriend first.”

  “That’s why she’s called an ex-girlfriend. What do you do? Booty-call her when you’re not banging Lisa?”

  “I’m a dog.” He drummed his fingers along the breakfast bar. “What does it matter? In six months I’m at Duke, Ro’s back east, and you’re still here, doing what you’re doing. We’re talking like five months, Vicks. Can you picture Ro sitting by herself, getting tormented by Shannon and Chelsea? She’s going to wither.”

  Ben didn’t say anything.

  “You know I’m right about this,” JD said. “Listen, dude. I know Ro likes you better than she likes me. I can live with that. But I still want her because she’s hot. Why should I take second best?”

  “Maybe she wants a boyfriend who doesn’t cheat on her.”

  “You just don’t understand.” He shook his head. “It’s not your fault. You’re in arrested development because of what happened—”

  “JD, I’m this close to kicking your ass out of here.”

  “Once you’ve had it, you can’t go back.” He stood up and began to pace. “You really can’t. That’s just the way pussy works.”

  “Keep your voice down!” Ben pointed to Haley’s room.

  “Sorry.” JD sat back down. “I’ve got a proposition for you.”

  Ben threw up his hands. “What?”

  “You are going to UNM in Albuquerque next semester, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you’re going to be working at Circuitchip, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s good stuff, Vicks. Congratulations.”

  “Thank you for your kind words. Can you get on with it?”

  “Okay. That means you’re not in school anymore—”

  “I’ll be at school on Mondays.”

  “But basically, you’re gone, right?” JD said. “Just listen before you say no. This is the proposition. I’ll take Ro from Monday through Friday night and you can have her on the weekends when you’re here in River Remez.”

  Ben let out a forced laugh. “Are you out of your fucking mind?”

  “I want her for arm candy, okay. I want her so I don’t have to go back to Shannon. I don’t want to be Shannon’s boyfriend. I like banging her, but she’s dumb and she talks too much.”

  “JD, what is wrong with you?”

  “You know what I want, dude?” JD said. “I want to be a college student. I want to play football, get drunk, bang women, and as an aside, get into law school. So I can be a lawyer and get drunk and bang women and look at old football tapes of my glory days.”

  Ben couldn’t help it. He stifled a smile.

  JD began pacing. “Vicks, I need Ro to keep Shannon and Lisa off my back. I don’t need Ro for sex. I would take Ro for sex. If I was banging her, I probably wouldn’t be banging Shannon or Lisa. But she ain’t gonna give me play, so what’s the point? You can have her. She’s more your speed anyway. I’m a practical man.”

  Ben shook his head. “I really don’t know what to say to you.”

  “You can say that I’m right. You know that Ro’s going to shrivel up unless she’s the center of the universe. Do you really want her to be miserable for the next five months when I’ve hit upon a really easy solution?”

  In a very strange way, JD was making sense. “You know, even if I were to agree to something so crack-ass, she’d never agree to it.”

  “One day without my protection and with you gone, she’ll agree to it. Dude, if you know her like I know her, you know I’m right. Besides, you hate all that school shit. I’ll take her to the winter dance—”

  “Not the after party. You are not going to a motel with her.”

  “I won’t take her to the after party. We can say that . . .” He snapped his fingers. “I’ll tell everyone we’re working it out. That’ll get her out of the after party. I’ll take Lisa to the after party. She’ll be thrilled and it’ll make Shannon jealous.” When he saw Ben staring at him, he said, “It’s like football, Vicks. You plan several moves in advance. I’ll take Ro to the winter dance. Seriously, you don’t want to go to the winter dance.”

  “Seriously.”

  JD gave him a knowing grin. “It’
s the perfect solution. I’ll take her to the winter dance, I’ll take her to the spring fling, I’ll take her to prom—”

  “No, I’m taking her to prom.”

  “You want to go to prom?”

  “I promised her. I’m taking her.”

  “Vicks, I have to take her to prom. If I lose out to you on that, it’ll ruin my rep.”

  “I don’t give a rat’s ass about your rep. I’m taking her to prom. And if that’s a deal breaker, then we are done talking.”

  The doorbell rang.

  “Jeez, what now!” Ben got up and looked through the peephole. It was Ro. When he opened the door, she said, “We can talk now.”

  Ben raised his eyebrows. “JD’s here.”

  She took a step backward. “You let him in your house?”

  “Come in.”

  “I’m not coming in with that asshole here. Get rid of him.”

  “Come in, Ro. He wants to apologize.”

  “I’m sorry,” JD shouted from inside.

  Ro stormed into the house, pushing Ben out of the way. “You’re a real asshole,” she said to JD.

  “I never denied it.”

  “How could you do that to me?” She was teary-eyed again. “Why did you do that to me?”

  “Rosers, I truly think you are the most beautiful girl in the world—”

  “Answer the damn question!”

  “I am answering the damn question. I want you, but I also want sex. I’m a dog.”

  “You’re a dog and an asshole. I’m never speaking to you again. Get out of here!”

  “You never really liked me, okay?” JD snapped back. “I mean, you liked who I was and what I could bring to the table, but you never really liked me!”

  Ro was quiet.

  Ben broke the silence. “Anyone want coffee?” When they both glared at him, he said, “You two can continue on with your evil-eye staring contest. I need caffeine.”

  Ro said, “I liked you. I don’t like you now, but I did like you.”

  “And my sisters like me too,” JD said. “But I don’t want a sister for a girlfriend.”

  Silence again. Ben got out the coffee and poured the water into the machine. They all listened to Mr. Coffee burble.

  JD said, “I’m sorry I cheated on you. You like to hang with Vicks, hang with him. He’s a good guy. I don’t see what you see in him when you can have me, but there’s no accounting for bad taste.”