Private Entrance (The Butterfly Trilogy) (32 page)

     So Jack just said good night, eager to get away from her spell, but wanting also to stay and be spellbound, and Abby watched him go, her emotions colliding as she thought of her growing desire for Jack, her wish to help him heal, thinking also of Ophelia who was her daughter, and of the flight she must take from The Grove in two days, and the frightening, unknown future that lay before her.

     After she closed the door, she remembered the mysterious envelope. Opening it, she found it contained an item clipped from a current newspaper. Abby frowned as she began to read:
"Darryl Jackson, who escaped from prison thirty-two years ago, was captured last week in Maryland, the California Department of Corrections said Monday."

     Her horror grew as the significance of the article dawned on her:
"Jackson, 62, was one of the longest-running fugitives from California, had served little more than five months of a fifteen year sentence..."
Abby's eyes skipped to the end of the article.
"There are only two California fugitives who have been on the run longer than Jackson. One escaped in 1965 and the other in 1966. State officials are still looking for 296 escapees."

     Abby's blood ran to ice when she saw at the bottom, scrawled across the newsprint in red ink:
"You're next."

Y
OU CAN TELL A LOT ABOUT A MAN BY THE WAY HE TREATS A
woman in bed. And I'm telling you, Coco, this one is a sicko!"

     She awoke suddenly, eyes snapping open in the darkness as she struggled to orient herself. Fumbling for the light beside her bed, Coco turned it on and looked at the time. Eight o'clock in the evening. Then she remembered: she had taken a nap to get rid of her headache. But the nap had only dredged up a bad memory, an incident long forgotten, her sister telling her about a man she was dating who had done terrible things to her in the bedroom. It made Coco feel queasy now, just remembering it.

     And then she thought:
Kenny doesn't have that luxury.

     As she went into the bathroom to run the shower, wondering where she should go for dinner, she couldn't get the photograph out of her mind, Kenny standing next to the cable car, three hundred and fifty pounds and unrecognizable as the Kenny she knew at The Grove.

     A tormented man, frightened of the world, and of his weakness. A man unable to run from hideous memories, unable to bury them as everyone else
could. It made Coco go cold with dread, the thought that she would remember every bad thing, every negative experience, every horrible event that happened in her life. It would make her insane. She wanted to take Kenny into her arms and tell him everything was going to be all right. She wanted to make slow and gentle love with him all through the night and the coming days, to kiss him and kiss him and never stop.

     But Kenny was never going to leave this place. What possible future was there for them?

     Beneath the invigorating spray, Coco made a decision. Tonight she was going to ignore the uncooperative crystal and go in search of Kenny. Buy him coffee and explain why she kept running away from him. Offer advice, urge him to go back out into the world, go to Switzerland and help discover a cure for Alzheimer's.

     Feeling better than she had in a long time—it was good to feel in control again—Coco toweled off, blow-dried her hair, dabbed a little make-up on, then selected stretch denim leggings and knit tank top under a beaded tunic.

     She was ready.

     Kenny was searching the crowded lobby for Coco, hoping she would come, when his eyes fell upon a couple on the other side of the indoor waterfall, in a tight embrace, kissing.

     
We wouldn't be on the other side of the water, we would be
under
it.

     The thought surprised him. Kenny usually tried not to fantasize because the fantasies sometimes became memories. But he couldn't help himself. He knew exactly how it would come about.

     
He's hiking through the redwoods outside San Francisco. Silence and purity all around him. He hears noises up ahead, rude laughter and gunned engines. Emerging through the trees, he sees in a clearing three tough bikers riding circles around a female hiker. She is swinging her walking staff at them, but it is only making them enjoy their taunting all the more.

     
Her sunhat has flown off, exposing a riot of burgundy curls. She is putting up a good fight but is no match for the bullies. Instantly unshouldering his backpack, Kenny charges at them. His black belt in karate comes in handy as he fights them off one by one, chopping, kicking, twirling to send them packing.
Then he turns to the woman, who is on her knees, nursing a scraped elbow.

     
"Let me help you," he says, and melts at the sight of her lush lips.

     
"How can I ever thank you?" she whispers as she holds onto him. She says her name is Coco and that she would have been dead if it hadn't been for his bravery.

     
They are both covered in dirt and leaves, and the day has grown hot. It is humid among the redwoods and ferns. Kenny knows of a place where they can wash off the grime.

     
The lagoon isn't far, but by the time they reach it, Coco is eager to get her clothes off and plunge into the water. She strips with no modesty and runs into the lagoon, her large breasts bouncing in a way that make him spring to attention. She turns and beckons, rosy nipples calling to him. Her waist is narrow, her hips wide and inviting. Earth mother. He likes how her eyes widen at the sight of his erection, how she keeps her eyes there as he walks toward her, slowly entering the water until he is in it waist-deep.

     
She holds out her arms, saying, "I have never before met such a strong, courageous man."

     
"It was nothing," he says as he pulls her to him, feels those luscious firm breasts against his bare chest. Under the water, his cock slides between her thighs and she responds with a wide-eyed grin.

     
"I've never seen such incredible martial arts moves," she says as she runs her hands over his muscular chest. She is breathing heavily. There is high color in her cheeks.

     
He slips his hands behind her, takes hold of her generous derriere, and yanks her to him. "I know a few other moves as well," he says.

     
She laughs and her kiss takes him by surprise, it is so hard and demanding, her tongue taking possession of his mouth. Her long red nails dig into his back, sharp and exciting. He feels like an animal, and she is fabulously wild in his arms.

     
She startles him by suddenly pulling free and plunging under the water, to take his erection into her mouth. It is a shock, to go from cold water to warm mouth, and maddeningly erotic. She comes up for air and he does some sucking himself. Her breasts are a feast and he could stay there all day.

     
But they swim to the waterfall where the icy droplets are stimulating on
their hot skin. Kenny gives her pleasure with his finger, and then slides himself in so that she pulls herself up and curls her legs around his thighs, buoyant in the water. She rides him in this wet world, screaming beneath the roaring falls, her breasts pillowing his face.

     "Hi there!"

     Kenny snapped himself back to the entrance of the Java Club, where he had just finished his act, and saw Coco coming toward him. "I was hoping you would come," he said, flustered and red-faced, hoping she wasn't psychic enough to pick up the fantasy he had just been enjoying. "I'm a little embarrassed at how we parted earlier, when those two young women interrupted us."

     "It's all right," she said, picking up interesting vibes from him, suddenly feeling inexplicably warm and tingly.

     "It's the stage," he said, clearing his throat and stepping back from her as if he needed air. "There's something about performing that makes a person special. Do an act on a stage and women throw themselves at you. But work as a plumber and they say, 'Did you see the beak on that guy?'"

     Coco laughed. But Kenny was wearing the tuxedo from his act and it made her think of her fantasy with the sequined costume so that her laughter was more to cover up her nervousness than from amusement. Could he tell by looking at her what she was thinking?

     He took her elbow. "Let me buy you a drink."

     They went to the bar in the lobby, opposite a pair of double doors with a sign that said WEDDING CHAPEL. When he saw how Coco stared, Kenny said, "If you arrange it in advance, they bring in a Justice of the Peace. There's a wedding going on right now, in fact."

     Coco ordered a large Mai Tai and thought of how to begin. She didn't want him to think that this was a date, that their relationship was going any farther than this. She had come to explain.

     "Kenny, do you
never
leave The Grove?" she asked, easing into the subject.

     "Do you want to hear something pathetic?" he said, looking at her hair, eyes roaming the wild curls as if he wished he could go for a walk among them. "Three years ago, when I first came here, I arrived in my own car. I
didn't leave for six months. By then I was losing weight and sticking to a program. I decided to take my day off in Palm Springs, take in a movie, do some shopping. Instead I went on a binge. Just like an alcoholic. I sat in my car and stuffed candy bars and donuts into my face. I was out of control. I came back and haven't been away since. My car sits there—I let other employees use it. Because I'm afraid of myself."

     "But you can save yourself. You can leave, go to Switzerland, do something noble with your gift."

     He laughed softly.

     "Kenny, are you wise?" she said abruptly.

     "What?"

     "Do you consider yourself to be a wise man?"

     "Why?"

     "Because that's what my soulmate is, a wise man. That's what the crystal told me."

     "Is this a joke?"

     "I wish it were! I care for you, Kenny, more than I have cared for a man in a long time. But we don't have a future. I would know if we did! Listen," she said, speaking quickly now that she had begun. "I lived with a man once. We were engaged. We had plans, the house picked out, even babies' names, we were that serious. He was getting ready for a business trip. London. I was consulting my crystal when I saw the plane go down in the ocean. I begged him not to go. It was an important meeting. It meant a big promotion. But I was so scared, so hysterical, that he believed me and cancelled the trip."

     Kenny waited. The chapel doors opened and music poured out.

     "The plane didn't go down," Coco said urgently, raising her voice above Mendelssohn's
Wedding March
, "it made it to London. My fiancé lost the promotion and we broke up. Not because of the missed promotion but because he said he couldn't live with someone who was going to predict the future everyday and run their lives according to a chunk of crystal. I couldn't blame him. It took me a long time to get over him and after that I swore no more close relationships."

     "So you're going to live alone for the rest of your life?" People started to come out of the chapel, carrying bags of confetti.

     Coco shook her head. "I'm going to let the crystal decide for me."

     "That crystal is a crutch, Coco, like sugar was for me."

     "No," she said, getting to her feet, stepping away from the bar. The sound of applause filled the lobby as the bridal couple came out. "Kenny, I really connect with you, you set my skin on fire when you touch me, but you aren't the one!"

     He jumped up. "Forget what the crystal says!"

     "I can't! The man I am looking for is destined to stay with me forever. With you and me it will end someday. I can't bear any more endings."

     "For God's sake, Coco, everything ends—relationships, life, even time itself. You can't stop living because of that!"

     She started to turn away, Kenny reached for her, and in the next instant they were engulfed by the crowd pouring from the wedding chapel, people cheering and shouting congratulations and throwing confetti.

     "Coco, please, let's talk about it."

     She reached for him but was swept away by the happy mob. Kenny pushed after her, stretching his arm toward her, while Coco was carried backwards, startled and laughing at the same time.

     When the crowd began to scatter, Coco freed herself, laughing breathlessly. Kenny reached her as the last of the revelers ran past. "I guess the happy couple," he started to say, and then a man brushed past Coco, knocking shoulders with her, hurrying on, and Coco snapped her head around, a shocked look on her face.

     "What is it?" Kenny said.

     "One of those people—That man—" She turned huge eyes to him. "That man is going to kill someone!"

     "What!" He searched the crowd that had now mostly vanished into the evening air. "Which man?"

     "I don't know. It happened so fast. But I
felt
it. I'm sure of it. He's planning a murder. Kenny, we have to tell someone!"