Kitten with a whip (8 page)

"Better think it over," Sid advised him. "An evening out is probably just what you need."

Helen glanced from David to the bottle of bourbon standing so flagrantly on the coffee table. She raised her pencilled eyebrows and said something about, "same home remedy as Sid's."

"Thanks," said Sid caustically. "Going to start in on him now?"

Helen gazed coolly at David. "He's always this kind and gentle."

Their small flare-up came as an inspiration to David. The headache excuse had sounded so hollow, and they —Helen, at least—were ready to think the worst of him. Jody was certainly right so far. He plumped down on the arm of his easy chair and grinned at Aem—he hoped, fooHshly. He made his voice a Httle thicker. "Virginia called. Coining down Monday at five-ten in the mom-

ing. Actually, I'd just gotten up from a nap when you people came along."

"What'd you have for lunch, Dave?'* Helen asked suddenly. He shrugged. "Well, let me at least fix you some black coSee." She headed for the kitchen.

"Nol" David said. "No, really I don t want anything." She could not be allowed in the kitchen where all of Tody's hair preparations were sitting out. Perhaps she had already detected some faint remnant of their acrid odor in the air. To his deep relief, Helen turned back, her expression puzzled.

Tm feeling fine, really." He walked over to the coflEee table, his gait a trifle imbalanced, and picked up the bottle. "Since I've loused up your evening, let me at least go fix us aU a drink."

Sid nanded down his verdict in the conventional coded sentence. "Say, I'm sorry you're not feehng well, Dave" He added. "Sure, III join you in one."

Helen shook her head. "Thanks, no. It's bad enough driving home with Sid after he's had a few. Darned if I'm going to drive down there with him already in a glow."

Sid grumbled, "You siure make me sound like a lush."

"That's a heck of a thing," David said. "Can't even pay oflF with a drink. I'm sure sorry I had to butch up the whole arrangement."

Helen came up to him and patted his shoulder. "Cheer up. I've had a premonition all day this wouldn't work out. When we came up on yoin: porch tonight and I thought I heard voices, I was sure you had company.*"

"Must've been the television. I had it on." He met her eyes and they seemed probing and insistent. He gave her a slack smile. "A voice in the house, you've heard of that."

"Uh-huh. Nothing worse than being left alone."

Sid looked at his watch. "Well, simshine, we'd better be oflF and let this man take his shower."

*Tm sorry as heU," David said.

"Just one of those things. Some other time. You figuring on playing handball Monday as usual?"

"I don't know. It'll be Virginia and Katie's first evening home and—I'll let you know." God knew where he might be by Monday. In jail?

Helen said, *1 wonder if I could use your bathroom while I m here, Dave? I feel in need of a httle touching up.^

He tried to think of something to say in a hurry. He couldn't, and prayed the panic didn't contort his face the way he felt it squeezing his insides. No, the bathroom's out of order, the drains are stopped up, he was very sorry—but the flimsiness of such a he would be so obvious since he'd claimed he was taking a shower when they arrived. Or had he said anything about having actually turned on the water yet? He couldn't remember, couldnt keep his hes straight.

Not that Helen was waiting for his permission. She had already sauntered into the hall.

Sid said sourly, "Why do they have to try out every bathroom they come to, anyway?"

David scarcely heard him. He watched Helen open the bathroom door and enter. She turned on the hght and the door cUcked shut behind her. And he waited, sick and frightened, for the uproar to begin. He didn't even try to compose an explanation. None was possible.

Nothing happened.

A full thudcung minute passed and David, straining his ears, heard no squeal, no shriek, no scream. Sid continued to talk, about what, David had no idea. He nodded now and then as if Ustening. Then, with a sensation of rescue that made his legs tremble, he saw Helen emerge from the bathroom. She was prosaically putting her comb away in her pmrse.

"Now can we go?" Sid asked her. "Now do you think you can last until we get to the nearest service station, dear?"

She ignored him. "Thanks a lot, Dave. I borrowed a touch of Virginia's cologne. It was sitting out. I hope she won't mind."

"No, of course not." Was Helen inquiring pohtely what the cologne was doing out in Virginia's absence? Evidently, Jody had left it on the pullman. For a second, he was tempted to explain it awa}^ then thought better of it. Better just let it pass. "Well, you two have a good time."

"I don't know," Helen said. "I don't feel much like going now."

"Oh, for Christ sokes 1'' Sid exploded. "Come on. You got me all dressed up on the hottest night of the year and I m not going to let it go to waste. See you Monday night, Dav^, I hope.''

David opened the door for them. On the porch steps, Helen lingered to say, "Have Virginia call me when sne gets back. Well all get together."

"Sure." After they reached their car, he closed the door. He leaned against it limply until he heard them drive off. He tried to decide if Helen had suspected anything. He'd never been quite able to fathom the woman anyway, but he'd never before had anything to hide. Tonight every word she spoke, every scrutinizing glance, seemed to hold some secret significance. Just my nerves, he told himself tiredly. After all, she had gone into the bathroom and . . . Where was Jody?

He ran to the bathroom and looked in. The place was empty. He went over and tried the window screen. It was still fastened from the inside. Then he heard her dehghted giggle behind him. She was peeking out from around the opaque door of the shower stall.

"Oh, so that's it," he said unnecessarily.

"That was fun, now what'U we playl" She came out whirling, flushed with exhilaration, making the filmy nylon float on all sides of her.

"Why'd you have to hide in the bathroom, anyway? Why didn't you go into one of the bedrooms where it'd have been safe?"

"What an attitude!" She patted his cheek. "We won, didn't we? We fooled them. You're getting to be almost as good as I am, David. With the weepy stories, like? I was listening to you."

"Yeah, great fun. I like to he to my friends, stand them up, humiliate myselE by pretending I've been hitting the bottle all day." He made a disgusted noise and stalked out into the living room.

A moment later, Jody came trotting after him, bearing her glass and the ashtray and her pack of cigarettes. She arranged the coffee table as before and sat down, beaming at him. "Now you're not going to start brooding all over again, are you?"

"Why not? Well, I wasn't lying about one thing. I do have a headache."

Jody laughed. "That woman was sure nosy. I could sort of see her through the glass and she was looking in the medicine cabinet and in all the drawers.*

Surprised, David asked, "What for?^

"I don't think anything in particular. Some people just Hke to look." She put her arms up over her head, stretching luxuriously. "I mean, no use stinking up your life with other people's problems. Your own are always plenty to handle." res," was all he replied.

Chapter Seven

David finally took his shower, a long hot soaking with the bathroom door prudently locked. He had expected that the pelting water, the confined Httle world of steam, would make him feel better. It didn't help much. It cleansed his hide of the day's perspiration, the hot sweat of his labor, the cold sweat or the close calls with Jody, but it didn't relax his muscles or unfray his nerves. The headache he had manufactured was now a shooting reahty and he was pinned down by the claws of a depression that he didn't even feel Kke struggling against. This was a nightmare from which he wasn't going to awaken, ever.

He dressed in fresh clothes, tropical slacks and sport shirt again. At one point he had decided to put on his pajamas and robe and to hell with appearances. That tired flare of anger didn't last long. He wanted to turn in early and forget his troubles in sleep, but no use dressing for it. It might give Jody ideas. So he garbed himself properly and took tihlree aspirin and went to face the prison of his Hving room.

Jody was quieter than he'd ever seen her. She had turned out the hghts, and the twin decorative candlesticks from the diningroom table were burning on the hearth. There were two fresh drinks ready on the hearth, too, and his brass-bound ice bucket. But instead of the matter-of-fact whisky bottle, there was the cut-glass decanter that Virginia had given him on some birthday or the other. Jody lay stretched out on her stomach on the carpet, the white negligee spread in a great circle around her. Her cat-eyes intently regarded Uie play of candlehght on the intricate surface of the decanter.

He said harshly from the doorway, "You've been kind of nosing arouna yourself, haven't you."

Jody rolled over and looked at him with a hurt expres-

sion. *1 was feeling good. You re just trying to make me feel bad.'*

"You re a fine one to talk."

"I was even hoping you d shave. I was only trying to make everything nice."

"For whatr

"Well, since we're going to be stuck here with each other, I thought you might at least try to like me."

"Good God," he said softly. "Look, you can't have it coming and going both. You can't threaten me and blackmail me ana still expect Tm going to think you*re a swell Idd. Now blow out those candles. They're meant for decoration only and my wife*s going to come home and give me hell for lighting them."

Jody cocked her head. "Is that the kind of married life you got?"

"Look—" But the girl looked so yearning to understand, this morning's wistful child again, that he didn't tell her it was none of her business. He said, with no edges on his voice, "I was stretching it, just a common exaggeration. Virginia*!! come home and notice and say something about not liking it, that's all. And she does things that I speak to her about. That*s known as Uving together happily because down underneath there's this basic thing that we want to be kind to each other. See?"

Jody whistled. "Hev, that characters really got you brainwashed, hasn*t sne?"

"No;" David snapped. "We want to be kind to each other, understand? It's what we both want."

"Okay, okay then." She nodded agreeably with an earnest frown, but he knew perfectiy weU she hadn't caught on. "I know I've been olowing you a bad time. Bet you don't think I even know how to go sweet. But I do, David. 111 show you."

"No thanks. I'm going to bed shortly."

"Okay, but just one &nk first. I don't like sitting up alone."

He hesitated, but took the drink she handed up to him. He wanted to be sure he got a sound iiight*s sleep if he had to get sodden to do it.

"Now sit down," she coaxed, "and we*U Hsten to the music."

He hadn't even realized that she had loaded and started the record player, the music was so famihar. Both he and Virginia had the same tastes, soothing unobtrusive background music, comfortable stu£E. He whirled around to check his hi-fi turntable, to make sure Tody had matched the right needle to the record

jed.. He had to snap on hS cigarette Hght to see.

She had it running right.

Jody said, "Do mat again. The lighter bit."

He snapped the Hghter again and she studied the decanter, pointing finally to a certain facet. 'There it isl It comes on like diamondsl"

David came over to the hearth and looked down on her as she played with the cut-glass bottle. There she crouched, the soft covering of flesh giving no hint of the vulgar violent creature who Hved inside. . . . and when that Creature came out to play. Everybody ran away . . . He couldn't recall what snatch of nursery rhyme or old song had cropped up in his memory.

Jody glanced up at him. "Okay, I know you're thinking about me. So you'd like to kick my tail off. What's stopping you?"

He said, in a kindlier voice than he intended, "I'm surprised that you'd bother with that sort of music, that's what I was thinking. Isn't it a Httle dull for such a tempestuous spirit as yours?"

"Oh," she said suspiciouslv. Judging from her expression, he was willing to bet that sne didn't know what "tempestuous" meant. But she didn't ask, "Well, it's flying too low to dance to but it's aU right to lay around with, I guess." She sighed. "Funny, it puts me in mind of a restaurant I was in once. They had music playing like this. Not a band or a combo or anything, just the music coming in."

He squinted at her. "You're kidding."

"No, I'm not," she insisted. "I'm not talking about juke-boxes, David. Music playing steady, like this. In this restaurant."

"But, Jody—all the big restaurants have piped-in music like—" He stopped as he saw the hardening of her face and realized that he had accidentally made a fool of her. In her own estimation, at least.

"So I don't get around," she muttered. She got to her

feet and crossed tlie room to the light switch. The room exploded with glare, a sudden brightness that made every detail leap toward the eye. The two proud canalesticks on the hearth were reduced to a feeble paUid worthlessness. Jody picked tliem up and blew them out. "What's the use? Nothing worth being nice about." She replaced the candlesticks on the dining-room table.

Without warning, she ran to him and clasped her arms around his waist. Her face buried against his chest, she made whimpering sounds. David flinched at her embrace, expecting some sexual tricks, but she tried none. For the moment she was simply a sad little girl, wanting some scrap of sympathy. Her shaky voice said, "Why does it all have to blow so miserable? David, tomorrow's going to be my eighteenth birdidayl"

"Okay, let go." He wished he sounded sterner, more implacable. He detached her from his body and looked into her tearless but unhappy face. "You must think I'm a sucker for sentiment."

"But it's true!"

"You'll have a better act as soon as you learn to cry on schedule."

"I can't help it," she said sullenly, "I don't cry very often but when I do I still don't make any tears. I never have."