Catalyst (7 page)

"Lem's gone to have a shave," Courtney said. "I
wonder why." She fixed Renee with her blue eyes and swished a piece
of blonde hair off her face. "Did you enjoy the big fuck last
night?"

"What?" Renee replied. Courtney's frank manner was
disconcerting.

"Don't try that big innocent talk with me. I know you
were screwing the hell out of each other for over an hour."

"Not that long," Renee said as blood flooded her
cheeks.

"Shit, you did it. I was only joking."

"Hush up, Courtney. There are some things I don't
wish to discuss."

"Did he rape you?" Courtney's voice became strangely
hushed.

Renee was about to take the comment as a joke but
hesitated. Something about the girl's demeanor made her frown.

"No," she said in a serious voice. "We made love. It
just happened but I wanted it that way. Do you know what I
mean?"

"No," Courtney growled. "Men don't love. They fuck
and damn the consequences."

"Have you had a bad experience with men, Courtney?"
Renee chose her words carefully. She knew if she was flippant or
sounded inquisitive, the girl would retreat into herself.

"Men," Courtney answered. "It's really the reason I
decided to cut my last ties with my old life and head out
here."

"Go on, I'm interested."

"Well, as I told you, I cleared out from home. What I
didn't add was that Kathleen came with me. We thought we'd travel
south to Florida. You know, no winter, beaches, surf and jobs
everywhere." She laughed sarcastically. "It didn't work out that
way."

****

"I'm sick of it all," Kathleen said as she glared at
Courtney over the old stained table in
The Shaky Skeleton
, a
bar where the manager didn't care that the girls were underage.

Courtney sipped her beer and screwed up her nose. It
tasted awful but she was not about to admit this to Kathleen. Ever
since the accident, these places made her nervous.

Kathleen stared at her half empty glass and muttered,
"I'm being sent to another boarding school next term. I told Mom I
wasn't damn going and all hell broke loose. The old man backed her
up, too. I've never seen him so angry since I was a kid." She
gulped down the remainder of her drink. "Want another one?"

"No thanks."

"Suit yourself," the other girl retorted and wandered
through the crowded room for a refill. She returned with two
drinks. "Just in case you change your mind." She grinned, plunked
herself down and glared at her friend. "What was I saying?"

"You had a row at home. At least you still have your
own father. Mine's gone."

"Yeah, I heard about your mom's boyfriend and his
little slut of a daughter you have to put up with. My God, I'd
wring her damn neck if it was me."

"So what do I do?" Courtney said.

"I'm leaving," Kathleen replied in a hushed voice.
"Wanna come?"

****

"I thought it was a joke but Kathleen had it all
worked out," Courtney said to Renee." She had a new Toyota to
replace the wrecked car. One Saturday morning in early June we
headed a thousand miles south down I-75 and ended up in
Florida."

"Didn't your parents realize what had happened?"

Courtney shrugged. "I'm not sure. Kathleen didn't
seem to worry and I was so screwed up I didn't think about it." She
sighed and gazed at the glowworms. "We intended to keep going to
the Florida Keys but went across to Jacksonville instead. It was
too big, so we went south to a town called Saint Augustine. The
beach has white sand that goes for on for a hundred miles, I'd say.
It's a beautiful area but was crowded with the summer influx by the
time we arrived. Do you know the area?"

"No. I've been to New York and Niagara Falls but
nowhere else in the east."

"Anyhow, that's when we got tired of driving. In
Saint Augustine we found a campground that rented RVs as mobile
homes. They were a bit tatty but the rent was reasonable and we
were allowed to stay as long as we liked. Most campgrounds have a
three-week restriction over the summer."

"So what did you do?"

"Went job hunting," Courtney growled. "I soon found
out how the other half live."

****

Much to Courtney's relief, the manager of the
White Sails Restaurant
gave the girls' resumes a cursory
glance and seemed more interested in their physical attributes than
any academic qualifications they may have had. Perhaps this was
just as well for the documents were faked.

"You're lucky," he said without a smile. "We're short
staffed so we can take you on."

He took out a document and pointed to the main
clauses. "You get fourteen dollars and twenty cents an hour with
ten percent deducted from your tips to distribute to the kitchen
staff. Watch the British tourists. They aren't used to tipping and
may need a polite reminder."

Courtney shuddered. This cold man was not her idea of
a good employer. However, after a spending the week searching,
their optimism had disappeared. Dozens of inquiries, a lesser
number of interviews and one embarrassing moment when a woman
called to confirm their high school record, made them ready to take
anything available.

"Your hours start at 6:00 p.m. and include cleaning
up after the restaurant closes. After 2:00 a.m. there's a small
overtime allowance." The manager appeared grim. "This rarely
happens. The uniform you wear is provided but can be worn only on
the premises, so you change when you arrive. Jake Cadasso is the
kitchen manager and your immediate superior. You can start this
evening."

****

"We need to find cheaper accommodations," Courtney
muttered to Kathleen three weeks later. "By the time taxes are
deducted, our income barely covers the cost of hiring the RV and
food. There's nothing, not a cent left over. I've had to dig into
my savings to pay my share of the car expenses."

"I know, but where can we go? The other workers are
no better off. Sylvia lives in a truck parked in the service
entrance of the restaurant and Marianne shares a pokey apartment
with eight others."

"Eight?"

"Yeah. One of those extended Hispanic families.
Compared with them, we're well off."

"Only because we had a bit of capital when we
arrived," Courtney grumbled. "My three thousand is down to one. In
a month there will be nothing left. To be frank, what we earn does
not cover living expenses. It's stupid."

"So what do we do? I'm not going home."

"Ask Jake for a raise. There's that clause in our
contract about us being entitled to an extra supplementary benefit
over the holiday season because of higher living costs. It won't be
much, I know but every bit counts."

"You can," Kathleen replied. "That man gives me the
creeps. Oh, I know he's friendly enough but I don't trust him more
than our slimy manager."

"I will," Courtney retorted. "And I'll do it
tomorrow."

****

Courtney stopped and took a sip from a bottle of
water before glancing at Renee. "Through Jake we got the raise. I
thought he was a nice guy and I was flattered by the attention he
paid me. Every night after old Hrabowski left, that's the manager,
the staff had a few drinks together before we went home. One perk
of the job allowed us to finish opened bottles. It was relaxing and
nothing serious happened until that night."

"Did he come on to you?" Renee asked
sympathetically.

"The bastard did more than that," Courtney replied
and burst into tears.

"I see," Renee added and placed an arm around the
youngster. "Would you like to talk about it?"

She expected a rebuff but Courtney sat back, took out
a handkerchief and wiped the tears away. "Yes, Renee, I would."

Renee faced the tent flap over Courtney's shoulders
when Lem appeared. She caught his eye and nodded towards the
troubled girl. He slipped silently away.

"Jake asked if I'd like to go to a nightclub for an
hour or so and reckoned nobody would care I was under age, so I
accepted," Courtney began.

****

It was the early hours of the morning when Jake and
Courtney headed back to his car after a breathtaking round of three
nightclubs. Though apprehensive, she was never challenged to show
proof of her age but this could have been because Jake slipped some
bills into the bouncer's hands at two places. It was a hot, steamy
night and Courtney was relaxed and slightly under the influence of
wine.

"I've got a few friends at my apartment," Jake said.
"How'd you like to drop in for a coffee, then I'll run you back to
the RV park?"

"Sure," mumbled Courtney.

A few moments later Jake pulled up outside a high
gabled house, one of dozens that lined the street. He led her up a
flight of stairs to the apartment. The inside was old but
relatively tidy.

"The others will be along in a moment," the man
commented casually. "Go on in." He held the door open.

Inside, Jake's attitude changed. An expectant look
came into his eyes. As the teenager walked up the tiny corridor, he
grabbed her shoulders, swung her around and kissed her passionately
on the lips. Courtney was surprised but responded and didn't object
when he led her to the couch in the sitting room. His hands went up
her arms and pulled the blouse to her shoulders before plying
fingers reached into the gap between her breasts.

Very quietly she took his wandering hand and removed
it. "Stop it," she whispered in a frightened voice. "I think you'd
better stop. I don't want to go all the way."

Jake said nothing but stood up, walked back and
locked the door. He returned and grinned. "Take your bra off."

Courtney stared at the man in horror as she realized
what he insinuated. "I don't want it." She quivered and attempted
to maintain control. "Take me home, please, Jake."

He laughed and moved forward with steely eyes looking
directly at her. "You owe me, kid."

Without warning he lunged out, grabbed her in a vice
like grip and none too gently paralyzed any defense movements.
Courtney screamed but was ignored and the rest became a blur of
sheer terror. The man had a hand over her mouth, swore when she bit
him and moved it down to her throat.

She could smell his stinky breath, all alcohol and
cigarettes and gulped for air. The grip on her throat relaxed but
by now she was on the floor. Courtney shrieked as the man exposed
himself and moved in.

"You bastard." She wept as he ignored her pleas to
stop and completed his foul deed. Hot tears of terror and
humiliation poured down her cheeks, the long sobbing tears of one
physically and emotionally violated.

****

"I ran to the bathroom and by the time I gained
enough courage peep out, Jake had gone," Courtney muttered. "I
found a cab at the corner and returned to the RV."

"Oh, my God." Renee gasped. "I'm so sorry,
Courtney."

"Kathleen just laughed and said it was something that
everyone did and if I wasn't such a prude I'd realize that,"
Courtney added in a whisper. "We had a frightful row. I called her
a little slut, packed up my bags and walked out. I guess I partly
blamed her for everything that had happened."

"From what you told me about Kathleen, I'd say you're
better off without her." Renee said softly. "What happened
next?"

"That afternoon, after wandering around in a sort of
daze, I found one of those free clinics. They couldn't have been
nicer. I was given this course of morning after pills, some
injections to prevent VD and sent on my way.

I took a bus to Jacksonville and drifted west through
youth hostels and campgrounds until my money was gone. I was too
ashamed to contact home and ended up here in Wyoming where I got my
job at the motel. The pay's nothing much but the manager is a
decent guy and I have a free cabin. I've been here almost a
month."

Renee nodded.

"Damn baby, aren't I?" Courtney continued as tears
rolled down her cheeks. "Thanks for the shoulder to cry on."

"More like a friend wanting to talk things over."
Renee gazed at the downcast ones opposite her. "But a good friend.
Understand?"

"I think so."

"Look, when we get out of here, why don't you come
back with me to Seattle? I reckon we could find you a job in the
district."

Courtney looked up and whispered, "I'd like that."
She reached forward, hugged Renee and gave her a kiss on the cheek
"You and Lem deserve each other. Don't let him get away after we're
rescued."

****

CHAPTER
7

The diner adjacent to the campground where Renee's
Dad had hired a cabin was crowded with hordes of tourists on summer
vacation and the curious attracted by the plight of those in the
cave.

Jack loved a full cooked breakfast and had piled his
plate high with fried eggs, tomatoes, frankfurters and fries, as
well as toast and coffee. He did, however, have trouble carrying
the tray from the counter to the one vacant table near the rear of
the room. With his usual determination he hitched his walking stick
beneath an armpit and used his good hand to hold the tray against
his stomach. All went well until he arrived at the table. It now
required a balancing act to set the food down. He let the stick go.
It clattered to the floor but Jack's good hand was strong and he
held the tray securely.

All he had to do now was lower it to the tabletop.
This he accomplished and thinking how Renee would have complimented
him, turned to recover the walking stick.

"You did well," a stranger's voice said, "but can I
recover your stick for you?"

Jack looked down at a chubby woman with short gray
hair. "I would appreciate the help, thank you, Madam," he said. "I
never realized how much my daughter does for me until she's not
around."

"Oh, call me Amy," the woman replied. "Amy Ryburn."
She rested her own tray on the table, stooped, picked up Jack's
stick and placed it by the wall before glancing around the crowded
room. "We were both making for the same table."