The Body on Ortega Highway (7 page)

Clarissa’s cell phone rings
and she jumps. Ron answers. It’s her boss who tells him that there
are officers called out to the house and they will be there round
the clock. “How’s Clarissa holding up?”

“Not good.”

“
Can I speak to
her?”

Ron hands the phone to her
and says, “It’s your boss.”

“
Hello,” Clarissa says in a
weak voice.

“Come on. Hang in there. We’ll
catch this bastard.”

“I hope so.”

“
I guarantee it. We’re
looking for him.
We’re getting close to
finding him. Hang in there.”

“Okay. Bye.”

They he
ar a knock at their door and Clarissa eyes get big. “It’s
okay, honey. I’ll go and see,” Ron says, grabbing his
gun.

He looks out the window and sees
that it’s a policeman and puts down his gun.

The cop asks, “Everything
alright in there?”

“Yes. We’re good. Thanks for
coming.”

“
Is Detective Santy okay?”
the cop asks, looking around for her.

“
Hi Bill,” she says. “Thanks
for coming.”

“
You bet! You have my cell
number, don’t you?”

“Yes. Thanks.”

“
Okay. I’ll be right outside
in my car.”

“Thanks.”

Ron goes into the kitchen and
empties two cans of Chicken Noodle soup into a saucepan. He gets
out a box of oyster crackers from the cupboard and pours a cup of
milk into her favorite mug. He sets the table and says, “Soup’s on,
Clarissa.”

She walks into the dining
room still holding Gumbo. “I’m not really hungry. My stomach’s all
messed up.”

“
I know. But this will go
down easy. You got to keep up your strength. Just sit down with me
and try to eat. Okay?”

“Okay. This is sweet of you. Thank
you.”

She eats dinner with Gumbo sitting
on her lap.

Chapter Twelve

The next morning, Ron reaches
over in bed for Clarissa, but finds that she’s already up. He
climbs out of bed to look for her and finds her sitting in a
rocking chair in the living room, holding Gumbo and
crying.

“Oh, honey. Did you get any sleep
at all last night?”

“No,” she says meekly.

“
Tell me what you’re
thinking? Why are you crying?” he asks. “Come sit next to me on the
sofa.”

She walks over and sits next
to him with Gumbo still
in her arms. “It’s
just everything is finally catching up with me.”

“I know. You’re always so brave and
in control.”

“
Not anymore...It’s just
everything.”

“Like what? Tell me.”

“
Like my cousin in Savannah
getting killed…Like trying to help my father readjust to life
outside of prison, then he turns around and breaks the law all over
again.”

“We both tried helping him.”

“I know. He’s probably better off
in prison. I hate to say that, but it’s true.”

“
It’s all he knows, really,”
Ron says, as he sees a photo album lying open on the coffee table.
“Were you looking at pictures last night?”

“Yes.”

“
Let’s look at them
together.”

“Okay.”

He
picks up the album and sees a picture of Clarissa as a little
girl. She’s about two years old and is wearing a bonnet that makes
her look like a little prairie girl. A handsome young man with a
mustache is wearing a leather hat and holding her. Ron says, “Is
this Steve?”

“
Yes. I wish I would have
known him better. My mother said that he really loved me--just as
much as he would if I were his biological daughter.”

“Is there a picture of your mother
in here?”

“Yes. Here she is. Isn’t she
beautiful?”

“She looks like one of those Gibson
Girls with her hair like that.”

“
I told you that she married
the District Attorney? The former one. Not your boss.”

“
Yes. Sometimes it really
gets to me that she abandoned you to Steve’s family for the first
18 years of your life. I’m very pissed at her for that,
Clarissa.”

“Me, too.”

“Good for you for admitting it.
Anger’s good sometimes. You keep everything bottled up.”

Clarissa starts crying, “I
would never have met her if I hadn’t tried to seek her out. Then,
when I finally did find her, she was dying.”

“
Life can be so cruel
sometimes.” He continues looking through the album and sees
Clarissa in her In-And-Out Burger uniform. “Look how cute you
look,” he says. “I wish I would have known you then. How old were
you?”

“I was 18.”

He sees a picture of her
wearing a black t-shirt, black mini-skirt and black boots. “This
must have been when you were in your ‘Goth’ period.”

“Yes. That was my other
uniform.”

He
continues looking through the album and sees a man who’s about
forty sitting in front of an airstream trailer. “So, this is my
competition, huh?”

“Yes. That’s Dick Santy, my
mentor.”

“Your husband.”

“Jealous?”

“Yes! I wanted to be the one to
deflower you.”

When she hears him say ‘deflower’,
she starts laughing.

“
That’s my girl,” he says.
“Come on. Let’s go get some Krispy Kreme donuts.”

“Yay!” Clarissa says. “Can we take
Gumbo?”

“
Of course,
honey.”

They drive to
“The Block”, a mall in Orange, to get the donuts.
As they are getting off the 22 Freeway, Clarissa says, “Look. Burke
Williams. I would love to be there now.”

“
You deserve a spa day. Why
don’t you call them right now and see if you can get in for a
facial. I’ll take Gumbo to the vet.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I think it would lift your
spirits.”

“What about my job?”

“
It’ll be there waiting for
you. I think your boss will understand after what happened last
night. Even detectives get sick sometimes.”

“
I think they’re going to
want to listen to his phone call last night.”

“
I’ll tell your boss all
about it. Don’t worry about it right now.”

“
I’ve got to find John before
he hurts anyone else.”

“
Me, too. But there isn’t
much more you can do in the next few hours but try to rest and
recuperate.”

“
Oh. Okay.”

“
Call Burke Williams right
now and see if you can get in this morning and I’ll drop you
off.”

She answers, “But I didn’t
bring my purse. I don’t have my wallet, phone, or any money. How am
I supposed to pay for my facial?”

“We’ll stop at an ATM first.”

“
Okay.
I feel so decadent.”

“You deserve a break today.”

“
At McDonalds?”

“We’ve watched way too many
commercials growing up, haven’t we?”

“Yes we have. Ron?”

“
Yes, honey?”

“
I feel like I died and went
to heaven when I met you.”

“
Me, too, sweetheart. Me,
too.” He hands his phone to Clarissa and tells her to call Burke
Williams for the earliest available appointment. They are able to
get her in for a 9:00 facial.

Chapter Thirteen

When
Clarissa opens the big door and steps into Burke Williams, she
feels like she’s been transported to heaven. A heaven that looks
like Tuscany. There is beautiful tile work and a roaring fire in
the fireplace. Big cushy sofas welcome her inside. She feels like
her blood pressure has dropped a few numbers. She takes a
refreshing breath and walks over to the clear pitcher which holds
water infused with cucumbers and lemon slices.

She goes to her locker and
puts on a downy soft bathrobe. The showers are wonderful and she
lingers
in her own private one, positioning
the water jets towards each of her favorite places. She makes sure
to take advantage of all of their products and liberally lathers
her hair with clean-smelling shampoo and conditioner.

She hasn’t brought her
bathing suit, but it’s no problem. She’s going to let it all hang
out today. To hell with modesty. She leaves the shower and steps
into the huge Jacuzzi. There’s a jet that hits the knot in her neck
and between her shoulder blades and she feels herself relaxing. She
takes a big breath in and slowly lets it out. She sits in there for
about 15 minutes before going to the misting room. She steps
inside, and feels the mist and drops of water cool her off from the
Jacuzzi.

‘This is the life!’ she tells
herself.

It’s so early in the morning
that she’s the only client there. It’s like she’s in her own
private palazzo. The only people she sees are attendants who give
her warm towels and offer her frozen lemonade balls.

She goes into the sauna and
lies down. She loves the way the cedar smells and imagines being in
a mountain cabin with Ron lying next to her. She uses this room for
about ten minutes and then realizes that it’s almost time for her
facial.

She leaves the
sauna and puts her bathrobe on. She walks over to
the “Quiet Room” and reclines in one of the pods. It is dark and
calming in here and she concentrates on her breathing. A lady opens
the door and whispers, “Clarissa?”

“
Yes. That’s me,” she says,
as she follows the aesthetician to the room for her facial. The
aesthetician shows her the massage table, which looks more like a
bed, complete with its own sheets and bedspread. She tells
Clarissa, “Leave your bathrobe on this hook and I’ll step outside
to let you climb into the bed and get nice and cozy.”

The aesthetician knocks on
the door after a few minutes, and then re-enters. She takes the
robe and puts it into a microwave-type appliance to keep it warm.
There is new-age type music playing, which, in other circumstances,
Clarissa might have laughed at; but being here, it is perfect. The
aesthetician adjusts a foam roll under Clarissa’s knees and asks
her if she feels comfortable. Then she gets in back of the bed and
tells Clarissa to move back towards her a little more. When she’s
all set, the facial begins. Fifty minutes of pure bliss.

Chapter Fourteen

Ron has cautioned her to not
leave Burke Williams and to call him when she’s ready to be picked
up. She feels rejuvenated after her facial: as if she has
inner-strength that she never knew she was capable of. She feels
like she can handle anything. ‘Bring it on’ she imagines telling
the universe.

She asks the receptionist at
Burke Williams if it’d be okay to borrow their phone. They kindly
offer it to her.
She calls Ron and he tells
her he’ll be there in fifteen minutes. She decides to stand outside
to wait for him. It’s still pretty deserted on this side of the
mall. There are mostly office buildings directly in front of her
and everyone is busy working at their desks. It’s not 10:00 yet, so
the stores in the mall haven’t opened. It’s a cold day for Southern
California and she shivers as she waits for her husband.

She sees a man approaching her and
by reflex reaches for her gun, then realizes that she’s unarmed.
“Oh my God,” she tells herself. “It’s him.”

He has gained quite a bit of
weight since high school and his black hair now has streaks of grey
in it. He is wearing a tie-dyed ‘suit’ consisting of pants and a
short sleeved shirt. She thinks, ‘Where in the world do they sell
such hideous outfits?’

“Hello, Clarice. Long time no
see.”

“My husband is on his way here and
you’d better start running.”

“
I thought we’d
have a little chat.”

Clarissa looks around and realizes
that he is the only person she sees.

“
What do you want from me?”
she asks him.

“I want you to come to my car with
me,” he says, pulling out a gun.

“No. You’d never shoot me.”

“Don’t be so sure of that.”

“You love me. You wouldn’t hurt me,
would you?”

“
I don’t want to live without
you, Clarissa. ‘There’s a place for us’, like the song
says.”

“We’re not characters in West Side
Story. This is reality.”

“I feel like we’re Romeo and
Juliet.”

“We’re not.”

“We are two doomed lovers.”

“No. We’re not.”

“Come away with me. Let me take us
to a better place.”

“I like it here.”

“I’ve always felt like I was fated
to be famous someday.”

“You’re ‘infamous’, not
famous.”

“The world will never forget
me.”

Clarissa is thinking, ‘Where the
hell is Ron?’

Smith points his gun at her
and says, “Let’s do this thing, Clarice.”

She practically shouts, “My name is
Clarissa!!”

“It’s like we’re characters in a
movie,” he says.

“No we are not!” Clarissa says,
accentuating every word.

“
Let’s go. Come on,” he says
grabbing her arm. “Finally I get to touch you again. It’s just like
old times. I’ve waited for this moment for so long. I’m dying to
make love to you.”

“
No. Never again!” Clarissa
says.