Autumn Dreams

by Gayle Roper

  The guy leaned into the backseat and lifted out a pane of glass, which he proceeded to mount where the broken kitchen window had been. The blonde and Sherri watched for a minute. Then the blonde pointed to the window and made little back-and-forth motions with her hand. Sherri nodded and disappeared inside. She reappeared in a few minutes with a big bottle of blue liquid and a roll of paper towels.

  The big guy climbed down from the stepladder he’d been using, and Sherri scrambled up. She began washing the window.

  Washing the window? Sherri? Suddenly he began to laugh, and he couldn’t stop. She was the help, not a guest.

  Tuck had rarely been so surprised in his life. Sherri Best, Miss Apple of Hank’s Eye, was working as a chambermaid or housekeeper or something like that. She who never had to work a day in her life, she who had grades in school that would more than set her up for a good position in Best Electronics—she was doing grunt work.

  What was wrong with her?

  Not that he cared. She had to go regardless. At least he now knew why she hadn’t come outside last night. She wasn’t staying there. So where did she live? He’d have to keep watch for when she finished work and follow her home. This new development made only a slight ripple in his plan. He’d scope her place out and act tonight, maybe even with the same plan as last night. In the meantime, he’d better contact his alter ego staying at the Marriott Suites in Hawaii.

  He dialed the number, let it ring twice, hung up, then dialed again immediately. He waited impatiently for Lonnie to answer.

  The phone was picked up on the fifth ring. “Tucker Best here.”

  That was supposed to sound like him? It’s a good thing he’d told the creep not to answer the phone unless it was his special ring.

  “Lonnie, it’s Tuck. How’s it going?”

  “Let me tell you, Tuck, I love this place.”

  Tuck could practically hear the guy smiling as he looked out over the Pacific paradise. He’d done right in picking this poor schlep for the job.

  Lonnie continued to rhapsodize. “I love this hotel, you know? They got room service like you wouldn’t believe! I’m running you up a bill, man.”

  “Don’t worry about the money. Just enjoy yourself.” He might as well. It’d be one of his last undertakings, if not the last. “You’re not letting them see you, are you? You’re staying in the room like I told you to?”

  “Yep. But I gotta ask you. What’s the good of being in Hawaii if you can’t go to the beach and watch the girls in their bikinis?”

  “Just a day or two longer, Lonnie. Then you get paid, and you can get your own room anywhere you want.”

  “Cool!”

  Like he’d live that long. Even a dumb jock like Lonnie would figure things out when Sherri’s murder made the papers. “Don’t forget to order the dirty movies at night so they know you’re there.” Tuck laughed. “So they know I’m there.”

  “I did it just like you said the last two nights. I gotta tell you, being you is way cool. All I want to know is, what’s her name that you’re sneaking off to see, and why don’t Hank like her?”

  Tuck laughed. Wouldn’t Lonnie just blow a gasket if he did know her name? “Uh-uh, Lonnie. No lady’s name. I’m too much of a gentleman.”

  Lonnie snickered, and Tuck shook his head. The guy was an idiot, a gen-u-wine brass-plated idiot. As he hung up, Tuck felt a familiar rush of power slide through him. There was nothing in the world like being the most clever. Nothing.

  Except maybe some clean sea air to blow away all the beasties and crawlies that he no doubt had clinging to him after a day in this hole. He grabbed his jacket and left.

  Twenty-Six

  WHEN DERRICK WALKED up to her as she dumped her books in her locker just before lunch on Tuesday, Jenn was delighted. Gone was Monday’s chill left over from Saturday night’s debacle. Instead, he smiled that devastating grin that always made her stomach flutter.

  “Guess what happened last night?” She was eager to tell him of the smoke bomb adventures.

  “Want to go for a ride with me?” he asked.

  “I’d like that.” She wished she could be cool, but she could feel the flush of pleasure that stained her face.

  He held out a hand. “Let’s go.”

  She blinked. “Right now?” Leave school in the middle of the day? The clock on the wall read 11:05. She couldn’t imagine such a thing.

  “Sure, right now.” He leaned in and kissed her nose. “Why not?”

  She was flustered and confused. She felt all warm and cherished from his kiss, but his invitation made her feel odd, almost like she was on trial or something. “But school—we can’t leave school.”

  “Sure we can. We just walk out the door.”

  She stared, both appalled and impressed with his daring.

  “Just a little drive around the block over lunch.”

  “But we’re not supposed to go off campus.”

  He raised that awful eyebrow at her. “Are you scared of bending the rules, Jenn?”

  Yes. Yes, she was. When you left school, you got in trouble. Big trouble.

  His grin faded, and he stared at her in disappointed disbelief. “I thought you liked me.”

  “I do,” she hastened to say. “I really do.” But her chest hurt, and her heart pounded.

  He grinned, happy again. “Then come with me. You won’t get in trouble. They’ll never know you’re gone.”

  “Can’t we go for a ride after school?” Her voice was breathy, pleading.

  He dropped her hand. “If you don’t want to come with me now, I’ll find someone who does.”

  She thought of all the girls who wanted to be with him, and her stomach cramped even more. “I-I want to go with you,” she managed, “but—”

  Derrick shrugged. “But nothing. You’ll be back before anyone notices.” He smiled that wonderful smile again, rested one hand on her waist, and leaned in close. “Come on, sweetheart,” he whispered in her ear, making goose bumps rise all over her arms and neck. “Do you think I’d let you get in trouble? Now do you?”

  Not trusting her voice, she just shook her head. If she liked him, she had to trust him, didn’t she?

  He gave her a little squeeze. “Grab your coat and let’s go.”

  Jenn glanced up and down the hall and found it empty. All the kids were either at lunch or in their next class. More important, all the teachers were busy elsewhere too. Before she knew it, she was running down the hall, her hand in his. As they raced outside, she kept waiting for someone to yell, “Get back here!” No one did.

  He led her to his car, opened her door for her, and shut her firmly inside. Feeling brazen, excited, and conscience-stricken all at the same time, she watched him climb in his seat and turn the key in the ignition. Her hands gripped each other in her lap.

  Derrick Smith was taking her for a ride in broad daylight on a school day. Wow!

  She forced a wobbly smile and thought she’d be sick to her stomach with nerves.

  If her father ever found out, he’d ground her until she was thirty—not that he’d ever know. When he and Mom deserted her, she became free to make her own choices. Derrick grinned over at her, and she smiled back. He was her choice.

  He fingered the fall of hair that rested on her shoulder. “You are so beautiful. We’re going to have a wonderful time together.”

  She settled into her seat, enchanted that he said such things to her. Her smile faltered a bit as he reached behind the seat and pulled out a bottle filled with clear liquid. His hand covered the label.

  “What are you drinking?”

  “Water,” he said, taking a swallow.

  “Really?” The bottle wasn’t like any water bottle she’d ever seen.

  He pointed a finger at her. “You are too suspicious.” Again that charming smile. “You need to trust me, Jenn. Trust me.”

  She nodded, but a little piece of her remained skeptical. She tried to brush it aside. She’d been listening to Jared too much.
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br />   They drove south on the island into the area of town that was largely summer homes. The streets were quiet and empty. When Derrick pulled into an alley, she thought nothing of it until he pulled into the parking space beneath a home one block back from the beach.

  “What are we stopping for?” she asked as Derrick took another drink. He held the bottle out to her, and she shook her head.

  As he took another swallow, two other cars pulled into the parking area. Several kids she knew vaguely from school climbed out. She watched them, frowning slightly. They weren’t kids she would have normally picked to be with.

  She looked at Derrick. “I thought we were going for a ride, just you and me.”

  “Disappointed?” He leaned over and kissed the tip of her nose again. His lips were wet from his drink, and she had to stop herself from wiping the kiss away.

  She shrugged. “I thought maybe we’d finally have some time alone.” At his suggestively raised eyebrow she hastily added, “To talk, you know?”

  The others surged past their car, several banging on the windows as they passed. The girls waved at Derrick with a tad more friendliness than Jenn thought appropriate with her sitting beside him. She wanted to stick a huge Hands Off sign on him.

  “It’s Mark’s house,” Derrick said, pointing to one of the guys. “We’re just stopping here for a minute.” He climbed out, taking his bottle with him. “Come on.”

  Jenn followed because she didn’t know what else to do.

  The crowd gave a small cheer when the door opened. They climbed the stairs behind Mark and poured inside. Derrick took Jenn by the hand and pulled her inside too.

  “Hey, look!” Mark pointed to a cabinet against the living room wall. Through a small window on either door of the cabinet a row of bottles showed. “Booze!”

  Jenn watched the kids cheer and head for the cabinet, her eyes wide and distressed. “Derrick, I think we should go,” she whispered.

  “Not now, sweetcakes. The fun’s just starting.”

  “But you said a ride around the block.”

  He shrugged. “So we drove a bit farther.”

  She tried to tug Derrick toward the door. “If we stay, we’re going to get in trouble!”

  He took another swallow, set his bottle on an end table, and smiled. “Trouble? Nah. Nobody knows we’re here.”

  “Then they’ll miss us at school.” Jenn had never felt so desperate.

  “Hey, Mark,” Derrick called. “They gonna miss you at school today?”

  Mark made a face. “You kidding? I’m home sick in bed. I got the flu.”

  “I got a terrible cold.”

  “I’m going to a funeral.”

  “I have a college interview.”

  “I got terrible cramps.”

  “Hey, Mark, I’ve got the flu, too,” Derrick said. “Whaddya know about that? I bet I caught it from you.”

  Everybody except Jenn laughed as person after person called out their excuse for not being at school. Jenn turned cold all over. She was the only one who was going to get in trouble because she had been at school.

  Derrick, still pulling Jenn by the hand, called, “Who’s got a knife?”

  Three penknives were immediately thrust into his palm. He grabbed the biggest and pulled the blade out with his teeth.

  “Watch this, darlin’,” he said to Jenn, pulling her right up to the liquor cabinet.

  “Derrick, don’t!”

  He grinned at her distress. “Relax, beautiful. Trust me.”

  To do what? she wanted to ask but didn’t. She turned to Mark. “This isn’t your house, is it?”

  He looked bewildered. “Whatever gave you that idea?”

  Jenn spun back to Derrick in time to see him insert the knife blade into the lock on the cupboard. The lock held, but the wood splintered, and the doors swung open. Everyone but Jenn cheered as they surged forward and grabbed the bottles. She fought the nausea rising in her throat. She tried to pull free of Derrick’s grip, but he merely squeezed her hand tightly enough to hurt.

  Derrick grabbed one of the bottles from the cabinet and held it out to Mark. “Open it.”

  Mark complied, and Derrick grabbed it back. He turned to Jenn and smiled. This time there was no charm in the grin, but a strange combination of challenge and mockery. “Have a drink, Jenn.”

  She shook her head desperately. “No, Derrick. Please, no. I want to go.”

  Around her people started chanting her name: “Jenn, Jenn, Jenn.” Their eyes were all avid with an unhealthy need for her to become like them. Jenn shuddered.

  “Drink, Jenn.” It was an order. Derrick put the bottle to her lips and tilted it. “Drink, or it will pour all down your sweater. What will you tell your precious aunt when you come home smelling like a brewery?”

  Jenn kept her lips pressed together.

  Derrick jerked her arm, and she gasped in astonishment and pain. Liquid poured into her mouth. She swallowed the large mouthful automatically and immediately began to cough as the liquor burned its way to her stomach. She clapped her free hand over her mouth, afraid she’d retch. That would be the ultimate humiliation.

  “Water,” she managed as everyone laughed at her. She felt herself go from frightened pale to embarrassed red. “I need water.”

  Derrick released her hand and gave her a push. “The kitchen’s that way. But hurry back.”

  She ran to the kitchen, threw open cupboards until she found glasses, and filled one. She swallowed the water, trying to cut the taste in her mouth and the pool of fire in her stomach. Maybe it wouldn’t feel so weird if she’d had some food in her, but she didn’t. What had she swallowed? Whiskey? Scotch? She didn’t know much about alcohol since her parents didn’t drink. Neither did Aunt Cassandra.

  Tears burned her eyes. God, what am I going to do? I’ve got to get out of here! Help me! But no great plan of action occurred to her.

  With a strong sense of mortification she realized that Jared, Aunt Cassandra, Dan, and even Paulie had been right about Derrick all along. How could I have been so dumb? She shivered and filled the glass again. She had seen only what she wanted to see. Stupid, stupid girl!

  She set the glass on the counter and turned toward the living room. She had to talk Derrick into taking her back to school. She had to. She paused just inside the kitchen door to calm herself.

  “The fun’s just begun,” she heard Derrick say. He laughed, and the sound made her flesh crawl. “Look here.”

  “What are they?” Mark asked.

  “Roofies.”

  “You’re kidding!” There was respect and excitement in Mark’s voice.

  “I drop one in her Coke, and she’ll never know what hit her.” He gave the nasty laugh again. “Magic pills. No odor, no taste.”

  Jenn pressed herself against the refrigerator because she wasn’t sure her legs would hold her up anymore. Roofies! She knew what they were.

  And she thought she’d been afraid before!

  She blinked, trying to take in the magnitude of Derrick’s betrayal. He planned to give her Rohypnol, the date rape drug.

  God, I’ve got to get out of here! she prayed.

  Derrick appeared in the doorway. “Look what I found, Jenn. Coke.” He held out a filled glass and a can. “If you don’t want to drink, you don’t have to.” He smiled that utterly charming smile, the one that used to override any of his nastiness by its sheer appeal.

  Jenn stared at the glass as he walked to her and placed it in her hand.

  “Hey,” he said, concern in his voice. “You’re trembling.”

  If she hadn’t just heard him talking with Mark, she’d believe his worry for her was real.

  “I don’t feel so good,” she managed, an understatement if ever there was one. She held a hand in front of her mouth like she might become sick and wrapped the other around her waist. “I’m not used to drinking, and I swallowed that awful stuff on an empty stomach.” She made a gagging sound. “I need to go to the bathroom.”


  She pushed the Coke back into his hand. “I’ll get this when I come back. It’ll probably help settle my stomach.”

  Anger flared in Derrick’s eyes, but she didn’t care whether she upset him or not. Not anymore. She made a little urping sound and hurried down the hall until she found the bathroom. She shut the door behind her and turned the lock, her hands shaking so badly that she could barely make the little button move.

  She put the toilet lid down and sat. She wiped wildly at the tears that now flowed.

  Oh, God, I’m sorry! I should have listened. I should have been nicer. I should have asked You what You thought. Please, just get me out of here!

  She took a deep breath and tried to think. Get out. Door. She looked at the door and knew who waited on the other side. Get out. Window. She stood and looked out the lone window, located between the toilet and the vanity.

  Her stomach rolled worse than it had when the liquor hit it. The ground was so far away. The house was built so that the first level was merely pilings, and the house really began on the second floor. She’d never realized before just how far from the ground a second floor was.

  A roar of laughter came from the other side of the door. Jenn thought about the people out there and the plans they had for her. Suddenly the drop to the ground didn’t look so bad after all. And if she broke something and lay there in the drive, certainly Derrick wouldn’t come out and attack her in broad daylight.

  Anything was better than Roofies.

  A knock sounded on the door. “You okay in there, sweetcakes?” Derrick.

  Jenn jumped and stifled a scream. “Sure.” She made a gagging sound. “I-I just need a minute more.” She gagged again.

  “Take you time, Jenn. Take your time.” She could almost see him stepping back, his face full of distaste.

  “Thanks,” she called, trying to sound wobbly and weak. It wasn’t hard, since that was exactly how she felt, though for a different reason than he suspected.

  When she heard him walk away, she went to the window and lifted the lower sash. A screen blocked her, and she pinched together the tabs on the bottom and lifted, listening for the catch, not wanting it to fall on her or her hands as she climbed out. A crisp breeze blew in her face, and she shivered. She was leaving her coat, but she didn’t have a choice. Hopefully Aunt Cassandra wouldn’t notice that she was suddenly wearing her old one everywhere.