“Really, why?”
“She thinks you’re so smart. I mean, our girl never finished high school.”
I said, “True, that’s who she is. But, Andi is smart. I mean she’s very, what’s the word, intuitive. And, she has such a great ability to bond and be truly caring of others.”
Edie answered me, “Sure, she does. But, part of that are her insecurities showing. She got really desperate out here. I mean, she’s scared Stevie. She’s just turned 29 and that is right near the end of the line for models and she knows it. Plus, it’s near the top end for an actress to break in. I mean, this role with the real movie may help, but it’s a bimbo role right?”
I answered, “Yes, that’s true. She got it because she’s good looking and sexy.”
Edie said, “Exactly, my guess is that the director is having her wear just enough to make the PG13 rating, but not too much to hide that great body.”
“True, but it is a funny scene and she will get noticed.”
“I know, and I’m hopeful for her. But, where does she go from here?”
“I hear you, Edie.”
Edie continued, “Look, I’m in the same boat, just younger. Andi doesn’t have much time. I think that’s why she talks about going back east to Philadelphia.”
I blew air slowly out my mouth.
Edie said, “That’s a problem, isn’t it, Stevie?”
“Edie, I’m, I’m…well, I am dating someone else, who is…different…”
Edie interrupted my hesitant answer and put her hand on my knee. “Right, Stevie, I guessed that. At least this movie job will make this easier.”
“Will make what easier?”
“Your leaving... you won’t be staying here or taking her with you, will you?”
“No.”
“You’re like all the rest, in that way. Screw her and leave her.”
I was getting mad. “Wait a minute.”
Edie put her hand up, and said, “OK, I’m sorry; you’re not like the rest. You are different. You do care for her. I think you would completely fall in love with her if you didn’t have a job and a girl back in Philadelphia. Plus, you guys have the Goth model friend, right?”
I nodded.
Edie said, “Now, that you’ve slept together, I’m sure she thinks you’re the best guy she’s ever been with and it’s all been a dream week for her. Or, at least it was, before this sick stuff happened. I’m worried though. This craziness will really get her down. She’ll think she deserves to be punished for sleeping with that married guy, and starting all this.”
I said, “Yeah, she could. So, what should I do? What should we do?”
“Well, we’ll find her and then make sure she’s not hurt. I think we just show our love for her. I know you need to go, but stay in touch with us.”
I thought the word “us” was significant. Maybe I touched Edie too.
Edie continued, “Plus, she’ll get a thrill from the movie and I’ll keep her focused on getting ready for that.”
“Edie, thank you.”
Edie gave me her knowing smile. “I just have some perspective. Plus, I no longer have Andi’s arrow, dipped in her love potion, stuck in my behind, like you do.”
We both laughed at her comment.
I turned the conversation towards Edie. I asked, “So, how are you doing?”
“My dad’s a wreck! He’s been one since my mom got sick, maybe longer. Now, this…”
She stopped talking and looked out her side window. I let the moment pass.
Then, as she wiped more tears away, she said, “I’m so glad you’re here with me, Stevie. You understand.”
I nodded and took her hand. I didn’t say anything, but thought, “Another moment for Sir Stephen to help a damsel in distress.” I smiled and thought I would try my best.
A little while later I broke the silence. “Do you miss Sid?”
“Sure, he was so many things to me, like a dad, my lover, my friend, my agent. I don’t think I’ve processed it yet. But, I think it’s easier because I know Sid had other women in his life.”
I left that comment alone, for now, and asked, “Will you stay in L.A.?”
“Sure, I mean, I am an actress. I’m hoping to get a break. I’ve been doing some TV and some small roles in big movies. Who knows?”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Why didn’t you dye your hair and get breast implants like Bambi and Andi? It seemed Sid liked that and pushed Andi and Bambi and other women to do it.”
“Hell, Stevie, I’m not a bimbo! I don’t want to look like them! Plus, Sid couldn’t push me around.”
I had no response for that, and said, “OK”.
“You’re so cute, Stevie, you know that? You really don’t know girls, do you?”
I guessed not.
Edie continued, “Look, Stevie, I think you’re a great guy. I really do. Let’s keep in touch. Now, let’s just get Andi and my father and we’ll get her through this, OK?”
“OK.”
Edie said, “I need to sleep for a while. Wake me when we get to the Arizona line. I’ll take over driving then.”
spelunking
The remainder of the trip to Tucson was uneventful. Edie drove for a while. We stopped in Phoenix for gas, rest and a quick dinner of fast food and were back on the road in 15 minutes. I got behind the wheel for the third leg of our journey. We exited I-10 in the center of Tucson and Edie directed me on city streets to the northeast suburbs. That’s where we found the road that led to Mount Lemmon.
Mount Lemmon is the highest peak in the various mountain ranges that surround Tucson. I learned that Tucson was over 2,000 feet in elevation and that Mount Lemmon zoomed up to over 9,000 feet. It was 8:10 when we left the suburbs and began to climb the mountain road. The sun had set to our left and the sky was lit up with twilight color. Edie told me it would be over an hour’s ride and much cooler up in the mountains.
Soon we were in the foothills of the Catalina Mountains and Mt. Lemmon was the tallest peak. As we drove upwards over the next hour, we moved back and forth on the switchbacks of Mount Lemmon Highway. The temperature dropped from the 80’s to the mid-60’s. We quickly took in the scenery spread out below. The whole of Tucson and its suburbs lay at our feet. We saw a notable feature on the way up, a rock formation called Duck Head Rock. The vegetation changed several times, going from desert to evergreen, creating the feeling of entering a different land.
Our conversation ended as we both realized we were near the end of our driving adventure, and about to face new challenges.
Edie directed me to the turnoff to her cabin. It was located above the 7,000 foot level, a few miles down from the summit. We turned into an empty driveway. The dark cabin sat in an idyllic site, tucked at the edge of a grove of pine trees, fifty yards back from the mountain road. Not a light glowed in any of the cabin’s windows. The only car in the driveway was Edie’s old SUV. I parked the BMW as close as I could to the cabin. I could feel the concern growing in Edie; it likely matched my anxiety.
With our senses heightened, we quietly got out of the car and walked through the pebbled lot to the front walk. With Edie leading the way, we climbed the steps to the cabin. The front door was shut and locked. Edie pulled out her key, opened the door and turned on the outside and inside hall lights.
No one appeared to be home. Edie went to change into hiking clothes, while I began a slow search of the entire cabin.
Edie had understated the true nature of her mountain home. It was actually a three bedroom ranch house. A covered veranda ran all along the front of the house and offered incredible views of the valley far below. The cabin was rustic on the outside but very modern inside. Grandfather McCall had remodeled it a few years earlier. It had a beautiful kitchen, two large bathrooms and a big dining/living area in the middle of the house with a stone fireplace.
We were alone. There were signs of Rob, but none of Andi or Kathy. A half-drunk quart of vodka
and a small empty glass sat in the middle of the dining table. The phone was left off the hook. The electricity and water worked throughout the cabin. The smallest bedroom looked like Edie’s, with its pink walls and feminine decorations. Someone had slept on top of the queen-sized bed in the master bedroom.
Edie walked into the living room wearing jeans, hiking boots and a t-shirt, and I asked, “I wonder where your father went?”
Edie answered, “I don’t know, maybe to the airport. But, Kathy or whoever used that ticket should have arrived hours ago.”
“I agree.”
I wanted to move quickly because Andi was still missing and likely outside in some cavern, Edie called it Peppersauce Cave, somewhere on this mountain.
I said, “Let’s go look for Andi.”
“Yeah, let’s go, Stevie.”
Edie grabbed two flashlights from a cabinet in the kitchen. We left the outside lights on. Edie locked the door. We made our way to Edie’s old Chevy Suburban, parked further up the drive. On the way, I looked around and confirmed Rob’s car was missing.
Edie had me drive. She told me to turn right out of the driveway and continue up the mountain. On the way, I asked Edie about Andi’s location. She said Peppersauce Cave was on the other side of this mountain, past the summit town, Summerhaven. We would turn off the Catalina Highway for the final miles. She added that it was really hard to find, even in daylight. Great! I thought. She told me that Kathy would never find it. I hoped she was correct.
Edie told me that the final five miles to the cave are on a dirt road. We continued up to the top of the mountain and then started down the other side. Over the next fifteen minutes, the road curved and turned, with some switchbacks, until we passed the Arizona Trail Head parking area. That’s where we turned off the highway to the side road.
I said, “This is in the middle of nowhere. Are you sure you know where to go?”
“Yes, I know exactly where it is. I came here a lot with my grandfather and father when I was younger. It was one my favorite places to visit. I also loved the pools and waterfall at Romero Canyon.”
“OK.”
Edie told me to watch the odometer and let her know when we had traveled six miles from the camp ground. The ride was slow and uphill. The terrain was more desert like down at this elevation, with scrub bushes and some cactus. The road had turns and Edie had me slow way down a couple times to look around. She was looking for road side signs since the cave’s entrance was close to one.
Finally, she spotted a sign about thirty seconds after I told her we had gone six miles. We crossed a single-lane bridge over a shallow gully. A few seconds later, Edie said, “Pull over to the right, Stevie. This is it.”
We stepped out of the Suburban and grabbed both flashlights.
It was completely dark. The waxing gibbous moon had set, and the sky was filled with stars, more than I’d ever seen before. In fact, since we were on the other side of the mountain from Tucson, I could see the path of the Milky Way across the star field.
Edie turned on her flashlight and then headed to a rocky hill on the same side of the road as the parked SUV. She really must know the way because I could see no sign of a cave in the dark ahead. Edie walked a short distance up a dry wash, heading west, not more than 50 yards. On the right hand side of the wash, about 30 feet up, Edie scanned the hill for an outcropping. I saw nothing in the bright circle of light, but she did. She walked straight that way, and after a few seconds, found the hidden entrance to the cave.
“Stevie, we have to crawl into the cave. Once we go about ten feet, it will open up. There are a bunch of chambers inside. I’m hoping Andi is in the first opening.”
With that, Edie became a spelunker. I shined my flashlight and watched her pretty, lit rear-end disappear into the cave. Ten seconds later, I heard her echoing voice say, “Come on in, Stevie.”
I had to crawl. Seconds later, I was standing inside. The first cavern was only about thirty feet round and ten feet high. We scanned the area and Andi was not there. Spray-paint graffiti covered many places on the wall. The floor of the cave had some trash and beer cans and bottles.
Looking closely, Edie spotted a pair of black high heels at the center of the chamber. They were Andi’s. She wore them to work the day before - which seemed like a month earlier. That was the third best thing we could see; proof that Andi had been here. Now, if we could find proof of life, or even better, find that beautiful girl, herself.
Edie said she wanted to go to her favorite place; the underground pool called The Lake. She was sure her father would take Andi there.
Edie confidently continued her way through a few more chambers. We climbed down a rabbit hole, as she called it, a passage downward to another chamber. And, finally, after twenty minutes, we arrived at a ladder that led down to The Lake. Edie took a deep breath and had a determined look on her face. I turned, and hugged her.
She said, “Stevie, this is it. God, she’s got to be OK.”
Edie broke my embrace, stood at the edge of the drop and yelled out, “Andi! It’s Edie and Stevie.”
I called the same greeting. We waited. There was no reply. I repeated it three times.
I shined the flashlight around the perimeter of the small pond and saw no one. Finally, I shouted, “ANDI!”
Edie cursed. She looked down at the inky black pool below and said, “Something happened here. We need to go down there…
Then, a faint sound started. I wasn’t sure if it was an echo from our shouting and talking until I made out, “Oh, Stevie.”
***
Time went fast and slow and became blurred over the next few minutes. Looking into the darkness down below, it was hard to make out the image slowly moving towards me, to the bottom of the ladder. It was not a mirage, but our beautiful woman in a state not to be believed. She had suffered a terrible ordeal. She could barely walk. It was more of a stagger. We quickly climbed down the ladder and began to run through the rough, sandy and rocky ground. As I got closer I could see Andi wore a short black dress. She stopped and with effort, lifted her arms and waited for me to get to her.
Close up, I realized that her covering was no dress. It was a black plastic trash bag. Her feet were bare. Andi’s hair was a mess of syrup and feathers. Her left cheek was swollen and her left eye was partially blackened. Her lips were very dry and chapped. She looked parched.
We hugged tightly.
I said, “Oh, Andi.”
The first words she whispered to me were, “I knew you’d come save me, Stevie.”
I asked her, “Who did this?”
“Kathy Reese.”
Edie was at our side.
Andi looked at her and said, “Edie, your father saved my life.”
Edie said, “We know. Do you know where he went?”
“He told me he was going to the airport to meet Kathy, and tell her that he didn’t kill me. Then, he would turn himself into the police and have them arrest Kathy.”
Edie said, “Yeah, that’s what he told us.”
Andi looked thin, tired and shocked, but not in serious danger. Even still, I said, “God, we need to get you to a hospital.”
Andi pleaded, “No, please don’t. I’m OK, just dirty. Please, I don’t want anyone to see me. Please, just help me get cleaned up.”
I didn’t know what to say. I kept reassuring Andi that her ordeal was over.
Edie said, “Let’s get her out of here. Stevie, look, we need to get her back to the cabin. She can get cleaned up there. We’ll take her down to the Tucson police in the morning. We’re all exhausted.”
I said, “Good idea.”
Edie asked, “Andi, can you make it out of the cave?”
Andi answered, “Sure. Just help me.”
Andi’s long blonde hair was in a tight ponytail and was completely covered in syrup and feathers and sandy dirt. Her face, hands and feet were dirty, and her feet also had many small cuts and bruises from walking barefoot over the unforgiving ground. I put
my arm around Andi’s waist and she winced in pain.
“What’s wrong Andi? Are you hurt?”
She told us of Kathy’s punching and whipping and then, began to cry. I put a gentle hand around her waist.
Andi’s skin felt warm and clammy inside the plastic garbage bag. So, I said to Edie, “No one’s here. Let’s take this stupid thing off her. She’s so hot. We can slip on some of the clothes you brought when we get to the Suburban. Here, help me.”
I carefully held Andi up as Edie pulled the plastic bag up and off Andi’s body and over her head. Edie gasped first. Andi’s bare rear end had many long red horizontal marks that stretched the width of her two cheeks. Two of these marks had broken the skin and had bled in the last 24 hours. She had been whipped or severely spanked - my guess was 20 times - and her rear looked sore and painful. Also, spread all over her rear was residue of the syrup.
If her back side looked bad, the front of Andi’s body was even more disturbing. First, from her neck to her crotch the word TRAMP appeared in large letters written with black permanent marker ink. Her lower ribs and stomach were bruised. She had scraped her right knee and someone or something had scratched her bare pubic area. Both of her nipples looked swollen and sore from some abuse - I couldn’t tell what. Finally, her legs and back were covered in bug bites.
Edie said, “Look, Stevie, we should start out of here before our flashlight batteries are gone.”
“I agree, let’s go. You go up the ladder first, then, Andi, and I’ll follow. Shine your light down when you get to the top.”
She did and we slowly made our way up the ladder. The journey back through the cave went slowly.
Once outside, I lifted Andi, with my left arm under her knees and my right around her back. She grabbed me tight and winced with pain and began to cry. As we slowly walked to the SUV, Edie ran ahead and opened the Suburban’s right rear door. Edie got in the back, grabbed the bag of Andi’s possessions and pulled out a t-shirt and sweatpants.
When I reached the SUV, Edie said, “Slide her in here. I’ll sit in the back and hold her. Let’s slip these clothes on carefully.”
Modern Girls Page 23