Groping clumsily, he raised her to a comfortable position. With the plate in her lap, she ate voraciously.
“So, what would you like to drink? I’ve got beer, Pepsi, orange jui—”
“Water … will be fine.”
Moments later he returned with two tall glasses clinking with ice cubes. Carefully he leaned her glass against her hip to avoid spillage. She quickly downed half its contents. Between bites of hamburger, she stopped to pull the blanket, which kept slipping down to reveal the cleavage of her breasts, tightly around her neck. Wayne diverted his attention and swallowed hard. She was so beautiful, and he was so bashful, that it was difficult to find the right words.
“I’ve never seen you around here. What’s your name?” he asked.
Her face was hard as stone, her eyes unblinking.
“Nancy … Barnett.”
It was then that Wayne noticed her wedding band. Funny, he thought, how he had missed it till now.
“You’re married, I see. Where do you live?”
Nancy’s eyes sprang open.
“Where’s Charlie? What have you done to him?”
Wayne sat speechless. Oh, my God—she wasn’t alone. And she suspects me of doing harm to her family. It’s worse than I thought.
“You were in an accident—don’t you remember?”
She lifted her right hand and ran her fingertips across the knot on her forehead. Now that he mentioned it ? she vaguely remembered the car jolting against something cold. But that was all.
It had been a difficult trip. Charlie had been unusually irritable, she recalled, and … she had felt apprehension, because his temper could always change so quickly. He was driving too carelessly. She was scared, and sat nervously at his side. The next thing she recalled, she was lying nude on a sofa. And this strange man was hovering over her privates. God, it was horrible!
Her calm disappeared, as trembling, and with renewed tears, she brought both hands to her mouth.
“Where’s Charlie? Where am I?”
“Don’t get upset—please don’t get upset!” Wayne begged. The situation was slipping out of control. “You were in an accident. I pulled you from the creek. You would’ve drowned—but I didn’t see anyone else.” He looked worried. “Were there any … children?” he added.
Her face brightened.
“He’ll come for me,” she said. “Charlie will find me. And you’ll be sorry—”
“Hold on,” Wayne interrupted. “You’re not in any danger. I brought you here for your own protection. You’re free to go anytime.”
Wayne watched her closely, the fear in her eyes haunting him with guilt. Should he admit wrongdoing in examining her body? Maybe if he could be up-front with her, she would be more likely to believe him. But to confess such a thing for a timid person like himself was unthinkable. A lump swelled in his throat. He wanted to say the right words, but couldn’t.
“Please believe me,” he mumbled. “I wouldn’t hurt you for anything. I risked my own life for you.”
Nancy gazed at him questioningly. Did he take her for a fool? Why was she here rather than a hospital or at Liz’s house? Why was she naked? And why had he taken those pictures of her?
“Look … please let me go,” she said between sobs. “I promise I won’t go to the police. Honest. Just tell me … you haven’t … hurt Charlie.”
He was getting nowhere. How could he get through to her?
“I haven’t hurt anybody,” he groaned. “I only want to get you to a doctor, if you’ll just let me explain.” He stopped and took a drink of water. How should he say it? No matter how it was phrased, if she couldn’t remember, his story would sound outrageous. But he had to try. “The roads were icy after I pulled you from the water. The heater in my car was broke and there was nothing else I could do. I had to bring you here.”
“Sure!” she snapped, with an angry nod toward the table where the photos had been. “It was awfully convenient for the pictures.”
Wayne blushed and shifted uneasily.
“I’m awfully sorry about that,” he confessed tearily. “I don’t know what came over me. You were so … so … But I hardly touched you—honest!”
She glanced at her knotted clothing on the floor that she’d been bound with. Wayne was quick to notice.
“I was afraid,” he defended himself. “Don’t you see? At that time you didn’t know the truth. I couldn’t let anyone see you until after we’d talked.”
Nancy regarded him carefully. He appeared meek and harmless, but often murderers were the boy-next-door type. He was probably mentally ill.
She would have to be careful.
Nancy closed her eyes, slowly shook her head, then looked him in the face. To be safe, she’d play along and take him up on his offer to release her.
“I appreciate what you’ve done for me,” she said half-heartedly.
“Oh, thank God,” Wayne moaned. “You don’t know how relieved I am to hear that! And I was happy to help you. Really, I was.”
Nancy forced a smile. Could his story be true? It was difficult to be objective, sitting nude beneath a blanket before a strange man. “Can I have my clothes, please?”
“Of course,” he smiled. “I hope we can get to know each other better.” Then Wayne cringed with embarrassment. I hope she didn’t take that the wrong way, he thought. She still seemed awfully suspicious and, of course, she had a right to be.
Wayne retrieved her clothing from the floor where it lay scattered. Bundling it at her side, he retreated and smiled again.
“I’ll wait in the next room while you dress. And please, try not to hold this against me. I’ll take you to a hospital and soon this will all be over.”
Nancy fumbled with her bra. It was damp … and discolored with mud. Dropping the blanket to the floor, she examined her body. Splotches of dried mud covered her skin atop a series of minor cuts and scratches. Undoubtedly, there had been an accident. Could this man have forced their car off the road? Perhaps she and Charlie had unknowingly been followed. She remembered feeling as if she were being watched at the Opelika ?astee-Freeze. He could have stalked their car, waiting for an opportunity to strike. But whatever the case, this man Wayne, if that was his real name, couldn’t be trusted. She remembered all too clearly how he had bound and gagged her. His raging voice replayed endlessly in her mind. No, his actions implied guilt. How could she afford to believe otherwise? Her only hope was to call his bluff and await a chance to escape.
Nancy inspected herself further. Her left arm and shoulder were badly bruised and swollen, as was her right leg above the knee. There was a large bump on her forehead, and she ached all over. Never had the simple act of dressing been so difficult. Slowly, carefully, she slipped into her clothing, feeling a renewed sense of security once she was dressed.
Finally, harboring the faintest of hope that he might be true to his word, she called to him. If nothing else, what happened now would be a test of his credibility. Her muscles ached, her mind reeled. What could possibly happen next?
When Wayne entered the room, she was running a hand through her tangled hair.
“My hair is a mess,” she said. “Have you seen my purse?”
“Nooo,” he drawled. “It was probably lost in the accident.”
He watched her fumble nervously with her tangled hair. Wayne reached for his back pocket and stepped toward her. “I have a comb you can—”
“Don’t worry about it,” she interrupted, avoiding his eyes. “Can we go now?”
“Of course,” he answered, turning to the television set for his keys. It was a subconscious habit—every time he walked through the front door, he automatically tossed his keychain on the top of the tv set. But now they were gone. “Have you seen my keys?” he asked.
I should’ve guessed, she thought. Missing keys. Her heart sank at the disappointment.
He looked on the floor around and behind the television stand. No keys. Then he rechecked his pockets in the jacket he wore last
night. Still no keys. Maybe in all the confusion, I left them in the ignition. Pivoting toward the door, Wayne twisted the doorknob and stepped halfway outside before realizing that he had needed the keys to unlock the door. They had to be inside.
Nancy watched the door attentively. Here was possibly one last chance to draw attention to herself, though she knew she hadn’t the strength to fight him off again. But she had to try. Quickly she lunged for the door, knocking Wayne off-balance to the ground outside.
“Somebody help me,” she screeched. “Pleeeaase!”
Panicking, Wayne lunged on top of her. Fear and anger boosted his adrenaline, and his heart was pounding against his chest.
“No!” he growled. “You’ve got to believe me!” He shook her harder and harder, oblivious to the pain he was inflicting.
Nancy closed her eyes in silent prayer. God, please send someone for me soon—or let me die quickly.
Dragging operations continued into the night, the infrequent flashlight and lantern beams of the searchers bouncing along both shores of Kelley Creek. Deputy Jesse Granger had been given the unpopular assignment of guarding the accident site until completion of the investigation. In an out-of-the-way clearing he built a small fire and warmed his hands, welcoming conversation with any volunteers who passed his way. Deputy Granger truly detested this part of his job, for strangely enough, the mood on the site was more depressing than when he had worked on his only homicide earlier in his brief career.
The hoot of an owl startled the lawman, as did the sporadic movement of wildlife in the nearby brush. When would this nightmare be over? He remembered a boating accident in south Alabama a few years back when dragging operations had continued for well over a month before finally disbanding. Of course, this would likely be the only night requiring guard duty, but he still dreaded the imminent demands on his time. This was a sensitive case, and would remain on the minds of the region’s citizens for weeks, taking him away from the duties he enjoyed most—like sniffing out moonshiners in the backcountry. Deputy Granger stretched and yawned, then stepped over to his patrol car. The annoying squawk of police calls was a necessary nuisance he tried in vain to ignore. Beneath the front seat he found a transistor radio that he rarely used during working hours, but tonight it would provide a vital distraction from the eerie presence of death.
Twisting the radio dial, the deputy tuned past the fading signals of the Birmingham stations. Operating at reduced power after dark, Birmingham radio could hardly be heard outside the metropolitan area. As usual, he opted for WGN from Chicago whose signal was always loud and clear. “She’s About a Mover,” a favorite from a few months earlier, was blasting away, followed by The Byrds’ “Turn, Turn, Turn.” Thank God for music, he thought, but it also reminded him of the local skating rink, one of his favorite stops on Saturday nights—it was an ideal spot to watch the area’s full-breasted teenagers.
Settling by the fire, Granger gazed at the millions of stars overhead and watched his own frozen breath dissolve into the darkness. Twenty-four hours ago those Georgia folks were just beginning their journey, he thought.
The sounds of night creatures clashed with the music.
It would likely be a long night.
Channel 13's evening newscast featured film clips of local traffic ensnarled by the preceding night’s freak ice storm. And complementing the story of the unusual freeze was the weather-related accident in Shelby County.
ANCHORMAN: A young Georgia couple lost their lives in a tragic automobile accident near the Shelby County community of Selton late last night. Randy Kanes has this report.
Film clips showing the retrieval of the sunken vehicle now flashed onto the screen.
KANES: To local residents, the new bridge over Kelley Creek is a welcomed improvement. But to Charles and Nancy Barnett of Columbus, Georgia, this Shelby County highway construction project meant sudden death. Hindered by last night’s foul weather and a lack of sufficient warning, their car plunged into the swift waters of Kelley Creek. According to Shelby County Sheriff Chester Arnold, the re-routed section of old County Road 19 was inadequately barricaded—only a simple sawhorse barrier served to detour traffic from the previously closed and dismantled bridge.
SHERIFF ARNOLD: This appears to be a case of gross negligence on the part of the contractor, complicated in all probability by a related act of vandalism.
KANES: Representatives of Arbor Construction Company have refused to comment.
The body of 27-year-old Charles Barnett was recovered from the sunken vehicle earlier today. Dragging operations continue around the clock for Nancy Barnett, presumed dead.
Local residents turned out in force to assist in the search for the deceased woman. After lending assistance himself, Roger Albritton, Mayor of Selton, had this to say:
ALBRITTON: On behalf of the people of Shelby County and the State of Alabama, I would like to express my deepest sympathy to the family of Charles and Nancy Barnett. This apparent oversight of safety regulations on Alabama highways is deplorable, and I pledge my support to Shelby County District Attorney Albert Reynolds in his investigation and prosecution of the responsible parties.
KANES: Governor George Wallace announced late this afternoon that representatives of the Department of Public Safety will personally inspect other construction sites across the state for assurance that proper safety precautions are being observed.
This is Randy Kanes, WAPI News.
Nancy was devastated by the news.
She sat upright on the sofa in a near daze, her leg resting on a chair before her. Wayne watched the evening newscast from the floor. As a sportscaster hawked the Crimson Tide’s gridiron conquest of South Carolina and the upcoming Orange Bowl, Wayne stood and clicked off the set. His face was flushed. They had reached a standstill, with Nancy stubbornly refusing to listen to him. He knew that this latest bad news would only worsen matters.
“I’m sorry about your husband,” he said in a soft, consoling tone.
“Don’t talk to me!” Nancy screeched, her head shaking with rage. Her tears again flowed freely, this time not only renewed from fear but for the loss of her husband. Charlie was dead. In her disoriented condition, it was something she hadn’t even considered. Charlie was so big and husky … At any moment she expected to hear his gruff voice outside, his fists pounding on the door as he came to her rescue. Not now. Not ever. He was gone.
Though their marriage had been a failure, with tender moments few and far between, she had once loved him dearly. And despite his many faults, Charlie had been an excellent provider. Perhaps, following a divorce, they might have worked out their differences and remained friends.
Nancy’s eyes were red and swollen with grief and exhaustion, her aching joints also contributing to her misery. And seated on the floor before her was the mysterious young man who had brought her to his home. Undressed her. Taken photographs of her nude body. Forcibly restrained her. Would it not also be possible that he had murdered her husband? Had he cunningly staged the deaths of the Barnetts as a cover-up? Was he sitting there silently gloating over his sinister success?
Night had fallen again. Her abductor appeared nervous and frightened, it was true. But what did he have in mind for her? Perhaps screaming this last time had been a mistake. It had accomplished nothing, instead eliciting a temporary rage from her captor. He had all but withdrawn from her, fidgeting around the small mobile home in a vain attempt to avoid the mounting problem. True, he had found his keys hanging from the aluminum window crank on the wall. He claimed they must have been knocked from the TV set and lodged there during their last scuffle. But even if she hadn’t screamed, even if he had taken her away in his car, what would have kept him from driving deep into the countryside, down a long-neglected logging road, where her screams would go unnoticed? Buried within an abandoned mine shaft, her corpse might never be found.
Waves of nausea swept over Nancy. She wished she were dead. With Charlie.
And oddly enough, she w
as already dead, at least to the rest of the world. No one could possibly suspect that she was anywhere other than the bottom of Kelley Creek. No one would come looking for her. Now a widow, she felt alone and defenseless, barely managing to hang on to the last threads of sanity.
Wayne’s thoughts were equally disturbing. There now appeared no way for him to avoid trouble with the law. And he had to admit that perhaps it was justified. Looking back, he couldn’t believe his own stupidity. If only this morning he had rushed her to the hospital, the outcome would have been vastly different. But he had been scared. Never having been in trouble before, he had found the prospect too threatening. His own fear and respect of the law had pushed him into this. And Nancy. She had pushed him, too. He had held her too long against her will, and his guilt was now apparent. He was facing a kidnapping charge and whether he detained her a matter of minutes, hours or days, the law was the same. He and Nancy had reached a stalemate. Who could outlast the other? It seemed cruel to keep an injured woman from the funeral of her husband. Yet a lifetime prison term for himself seemed equally unfair. As long as the slightest chance remained that she would reverse her stand, he would keep her here.
As for medical attention, he needed it as much as she did, he thought, tenderly fingering the bulging knot on his forehead.
He glanced at his beautiful adversary on the sofa. She was staring ahead unblinking, as if in a trance, her passive femininity in marked contrast to the violence she had shown earlier. But who could blame her? How ironic that two innocent, well-meaning individuals who had met through a sheer twist of fate could ruin each other’s lives, Wayne reflected. Who would ever have believed such a thing could happen?
Now he was forced into the role dictated by this woman. She was not to be trusted, and would have to be physically restrained. The burden would shift to her to prove her belief in him, to demonstrate beyond a doubt that she was worthy of release. Till then, she would remain under his control.
Tonight he would sleep.
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