Chapter 11: A Scare

Tendrils of fear were slowly eating into his mind. It colored the world with a blackness that hid danger in every corner. Worried, he paced around the living room like a lion in a cage. There was a nervousness to his movements that infected the others in the room with him.

He stopped, arms hanging down at his sides, his head bowed, and his shoulders slumped. He said, "We have to call the police."

Cat, with a distrust for authorities driven into her since childhood, said, "What will you tell them? One of your concubines has gone missing and you're worried. They'll lock us all away."

"Concubine?" Amber asked with a look of surprise on her face.

"What else would you call us without getting into the whole adult video thing?" Cat asked.

"I never thought of myself as concubine," Amber mused.

"We're not. As you've pointed out to me so many times in the past, we're porn actresses living on a set," Cat said.

"I like the sound of concubine," Amber said. "It suggests something ... exotic. Con-cu-bine. It sounds a lot better than mistress."

Andrew shouted, "Would you shut up already? I'm worried about Bambi. She's been gone for more than twenty-four hours. She's not answering her phone. She could be in a hospital somewhere or injured."

Amber sulked. Cat crossed her arms and sat back in her chair. Andrew resumed pacing around the room trying to think of what he should do.

After a few minutes, Amber muttered, "Con-cu-bine. Maybe courtesan might be more accurate."

"No. A courtesan makes me think of women sitting around in some parlor somewhere chatting with men before being escorted away for the night in exchange for expensive gifts," Cat said.

"Oh. That's not what we're doing," Amber said.

Andrew shouted, "I need to think!"

Amber said, "Call Sue Ellen or Dave. Tell them she's missing. Ask them to stop by her apartment to see if she's there. If she's not there, they could check out the school."

"That's a good idea," Andrew said.

Rolling her eyes, Amber said, "I suggested it an hour ago."

"I guess I didn't hear you," Andrew said while pulling his cell phone out of his pocket.

Amber got up and left the room in a huff. It wasn't that she was actually that angry at Andrew, it was that she didn't want to admit that she was worried about Bambi. She hadn't slept well the previous night. Even though Bambi had maintained an emotional distance, Amber was worried about the young woman. Several times she had gotten up and called Bambi's cell phone only to have it go directly to voice mail. There were only three explanations – her battery was dead, she had turned off the cell phone, or she was trapped somewhere that a signal couldn't reach her.

Of the three women in the house, Amber felt that Bambi was the most responsible among them. Of course, she knew that any woman who engaged in sex for money was not a paragon of virtue or responsibility. Still, Bambi was level headed and used this job only as a means of accomplishing her real goal. If Amber had a role model, Bambi was about as close to one as she could name.

She sat on the edge of her bed and cried.

"I can't go in there without her permission or a good reason," the manager declared flatly.

Dave slipped the manager a hundred dollar bill. He said, "Think of a reason."

The manager put it into his pocket and said, "You know, the woman in the apartment below her might have complained about water dripping from the ceiling. My memory might be faulty, but I should probably see if there's a water leak."

"Good idea," Dave said.

Dave and Sue Ellen followed the manager up to Bambi's apartment. Dave had transitioned to using a cane most of the time. Today, he was using his crutches thinking that he'd be on his feet too much. The crutches made it difficult to climb the stairs to Bambi's apartment.

After knocking on the door a couple of times, the manager opened the door with his master key and stuck his head in.

He shouted, "Hello? Anyone in here?"

There was no answer.

"We've had a complaint about a water leak somewhere. I need to check the plumbing," he shouted.

Again, there was no answer.

Sue Ellen brushed past him and quickly walked through each room. She came out and said, "She's not here."

"What do you want to do?"

"You go to the school and I'll wait here," Sue Ellen said.

"Lady, you can't wait in here. If you're going to wait for your friend, then you'll have to wait outside," the manager said.

"That's fine," Sue Ellen said.

Dave led her outside while the manager locked up the apartment. There wasn't really a good place for her to wait. He took her over to the foot of the stairs. The manager walked past them, without even a glance in their direction, on his way to the office.

"You can wait here. At least it is shady," Dave said.

Bambi lived in a rather plain looking apartment complex. There had been no attempt to make the place look friendly. Landscaping and other enhancements cost money. Like a lot of businessmen, the management here was all about money.

Sue Ellen said, "I'll call you if she shows up."

"I'll let you know what I find out at the school," Dave said.

Gesturing at his crutches, Sue Ellen said, "Maybe I should go there. She could be anywhere on the campus."

Feeling that he was much more capable than Sue Ellen of rescuing Bambi if need be, Dave said, "I'll manage."

"You'll have to check the library, all of the labs, and class rooms. That's a lot of walking. I'm worried about your leg."

"I'll take it easy," Dave said.

His leg was in much better shape now although he hadn't regained much strength. Two thirds of his calf muscle was missing. He could stand and even walk around a little, but for him to walk more than ten steps or so was hard. He used his cane most of the time, but relied upon the crutches when he knew he was going to move around a lot.

Dave drove off with his hands tightly clutching the steering wheel of the car. As the official owner of the video company, he was worried that all of this was going to blow up in his face. He could just imagine what would happen if she were to turn up unconscious or dead. The press would have a field day with it. He could see the headlines – Pretty Coed Porn Star Dead and Which Pervert Killed Coed.

He hit the steering wheel with his fist and shouted, "God damn it, Susan. Where are you?"

Then he started thinking about what would happen to Amber and Cat. They'd get crucified in the press as whores. He and his wife would be torn apart as pimps or procurers. Andrew would probably be portrayed as the biggest villain of all time. They'd probably name some social disease or psychological disorder after him. Just the thoughts of what would happen angered him.

The drive to the campus was tense. His temper was short and he would honk his horn at any driver who irritated him. It didn't take much to irritate him. One driver was a little slow to leave the light and he laid on the horn like there was no tomorrow. Another driver was driving a couple miles an hour under the speed limit. He rode their ass for two miles until the car turned off onto a cross street. It wasn't until he had almost reached the campus that he realized that he was acting like a jerk. What made him feel even worse that there was no way to apologize to those he had harassed on the road.

He stopped the car and his head slumped once he turned into the main entrance of the college. It was a big campus and he had no idea where to even start looking for Bambi. He drove around the half dozen parking lots looking for a sign or something that would provide a map of the campus. Anyone following him would have thought he was an absolute idiot by how he was driving. Fortunately it was a Saturday and the campus was not nearly as active as it would be during the workweek.

He finally found a campus map and parked beside it. He got out and looked at it. All of the buildings were named after people, not function. Which building housed the biology department? Was it the John Smith, John Jones, or John Thomas building? There was no way to tell from the name. He stood, supported by his crutches, looking at the sign trying to figure out some way to find Bambi amongst the twenty or so buildings.

A young kid, who looked fifteen but was college age, jogged past. Seeing Dave on crutches, the kid stopped and turned around to see if he could help. He was wearing an Army sweatshirt.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for the building where the biology labs are located," Dave asked.

The kid said, "That would be the Darwin building. The parking lot over there," the kid pointed to a nearby parking lot, "is the closest one to it."

"Thanks," Dave said.

Noting the use of crutches, the kid glanced at the car and then said, "You've got a handicap sign on your car. You can park right next to the building."

"I'll do that. Thanks a lot," Dave said.

The kid asked, "What happened to your leg?"

Dave gave the short answer. "IED."

"Sorry to hear that. I'm ROTC. I'll probably be headed over that way after I graduate," the kid said and looked down at the ground.

"Maybe it will be over by then," Dave said.

He didn't know what else to say to the kid. Telling the kid to keep his head down wouldn't help when the roads blew up under your Humvee. He wanted to tell him not to go, but he knew that wouldn't be right.

"I doubt it," the kid said. "I'm forth generation Army. Somehow, none of my family has ever managed to serve during peace time. My family has fought in World War II, Vietnam, and Desert Storm. I'll probably get sent to Afghanistan."

Dave nodded his head understanding that there were families with long histories of military service. "I wish you luck."

"Do you have any advice?"

Dave thought about it for a moment. He answered, "Trust no one except for your fellow soldiers."

"That's the same advice my Granddad gave me. He served in Vietnam," the kid said.

"It's the best advice I can give you," Dave said wishing he could give some advice that was more insightful and helpful.

"Thanks," the kid said.

The kid turned and jogged away. Dave watched him go. He said a little prayer for him, "God. Watch over him. He's a good one. Let him come home alive and in one piece. Amen."

Dave studied the map and located the Darwin building. The building wasn't visible from where he stood, but the route to it was plain enough. There was a symbol for handicapped parking right next to the entrance of the building.

He returned to his car and headed towards the Darwin building. He passed the parking lot the kid had pointed out to him. He noticed Bambi's car parked in it. Seeing it brought a wave of relief. He found the building with relative ease and parked in the handicapped spot.

He got out of the car and headed towards the building. He found the ramp up to the entrance and took it instead of the stairs. There had been a time when he had thought that putting a ramp into every public building was stupid, but he'd come to appreciate them. It was funny what a small change in perspective did to how one viewed the world.

The inside of the building was nearly deserted. There were a few people walking around. He assumed they were graduate students who were working on their experiments or taking care of animals. He wondered for a moment if biologists still experimented on animals. That was something he would ask Bambi when he found her.

He stopped a student who was walking down the hallway. "I'm looking for Susan Bambas. You wouldn't happen to know where her lab is?"

"She doesn't have a lab. I saw her with Professor Clarkson yesterday. She might be in his lab."

"Where is that?"

"On the second floor. It's upstairs and the next hall over, but I don't know the room number."

"Thanks," Dave said.

He found an elevator and took it to the second floor. He wandered around looking into each open room hoping to find Bambi. The only rooms with open doors were class rooms and teaching labs. He was about to start knocking on each door when a woman stepped out of one of the rooms.

"I'm looking for Susan Bambas. I understand she might be in Dr. Clarkson's lab. Do you know where that is?" Dave said.

"It's room 212, right up the hallway there."

"Thank you," Dave said.

The woman started to walk away and then paused. She turned back to look at Dave and asked, "You wouldn't happen to know why Professor Clarkson and Susan are here on a Saturday, would you?"

"Sorry, I have no idea," Dave answered.

"It's just that I've never seen him here on a Saturday in all the years that I've been here," the woman said.

"Interesting," Dave said.

"Thanks anyway, I was just curious," the woman said and then walked off.

Dave hobbled down the hallway until he reached room 212. He tried the door knob, but found it locked. He knocked on the door. When no one answered, he knocked again.

The door opened and a man stuck his head out. "What?"

"I need to speak with Susan."

"You can't. She's busy."

In the flash of an eye, Dave's face turned hard. It was his war face. In a hard cold voice, he said, "I need to speak with Susan, right now."

The man stepped back and held up his arms as if to fend off an enemy. Dave pushed the door open with his crutch and went into the room. He spotted Susan at a desk with her head down. It looked like she was asleep. He headed over to her intending to check on her.

"Don't wake her. She just fell asleep thirty minutes ago. She's exhausted."

"What's going on here?" Dave asked.

"I'm Kyle Clarkson. I'm her adviser. She made a rather important observation and if the experiment she's been doing works out, she's liable to have earned her Doctorate."

"Really?" Dave asked looking over at her.

"If she finishes her courses this semester and the next semester and she writes up her results, she'll graduate with her Doctorate by the end of summer."

"She didn't tell us that she was that far along," Dave said.

Kyle said, "She wasn't until Friday afternoon. You could have knocked me over with a feather when she showed me what she had found."

Dave muttered, "It's a good thing you were lying down."

"What?"

"I just remembered something that someone told me once," Dave said.

"Well, I'm watching her experiment while she gets a little rest."

Dave asked, "When will she be done?"

"Probably tomorrow or Monday," Kyle answered.

"Let me call my wife and let her know that I found her. I'd like to stay until she wakes," Dave said.