Chapter 29

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Jake checked his email before the girls woke up. While he was waiting for them to stir, he replied to the message he had received from Donna on Sunday evening.

From: 23b7d5i@gmail.com

To: Donna.Glenn@morningjournal.com

Subject: re: Sometimes old bones need warm waters

Dear Donna,

The idea of enjoying the company of a pretty woman like yourself for an entire baseball game sounds wonderful. Sadly we can never meet. Or at least not before October 2015. That’s my projected release date according to the Department of Corrections. If instead, you want to discuss a marriage by proxy, that might be possible. My colleagues here do that surprisingly often.

But one serious matter. I know Tommy Cox well enough to tell that he will be incensed at some of the details in your story. Tell your editor that your source is concerned that Cox will retaliate. Because I am. I admire your courage, but now is the time for prudence.

23

“C’mon,” Nina said from the front passenger seat of the rental van. “We want to hear all the details.”

Jake, Emily, and Julie were sitting in the middle row. Jake had tried to get into the other van to ride with the servants but Leanne and Kara had insisted that he ride with the women.

“We didn’t have sex,” Emily said, embarrassed.

“Then what did you do all night?” Lizzie asked. She was riding in the back with Leanne and Kara.

“We went out for dinner,” Julie said, “and then back to our room. We talked for a while. Jake and I demonstrated some things.”

“Like what?” Nina asked.

You’re just going to get yourself worked up and then what are you going to do? Jake sent to her.

This is too much fun to miss out on, Nina sent. You’ll just have to find a way to get me some relief.

“We showed her different kinds of petting and then intercourse,” Julie said. “It was more like a sex-ed class than anything else. At least until the end.”

“What happened at the end?” Nina asked.

“You mean in the end,” Julie said, laughing.

Leanne’s head shot over to Jake.

Jake tried to look innocent, but then he broke into a smile.

The next time we’re alone, he sent her, I have something new for us to try.

Jake almost laughed when Leanne’s hand moved involuntarily to her bottom. Kara didn’t bother to keep her laughter to herself.

Why didn’t you have sex with her? Ellen sent to Jake from the driver’s seat while Julie continued telling Nina and Lizzie what had happened.

She wasn’t ready, Jake sent.

She seemed very eager, Kara said.

She wasn’t nearly so eager when Julie and I got her to the hotel room, Jake sent. She was kind of curious about sex, but what she was eager for was to be romanced. She didn’t understand that romance without sex was an option. I would guess that Emily’s still got a year before she’s interested in sex for its own sake.

Jake described how her sexual response was weak and how he had had to use his abilities to get her off.

I’m sure she’ll be ready for a rematch next year, Ellen sent.

“Thank you for not pushing her,” Lizzie said to Jake.

“She’s a lot more informed than she was this time yesterday. You may not thank me when Emily starts asking you frank questions.”

“Where are we going?” Emily asked, anxious to change the subject.

Jake looked ahead. They were following the other van. Boris was in the car behind them with Brian.

“We’re driving into Arkansas,” Ellen said.

“Why?” Emily asked.

“We’re spending a couple of days at some cabins on the Buffalo River,” Jake said. “We’ll go horseback riding this afternoon and canoeing down the river tomorrow.”

Jake had found some river guides on the Internet while the girls were still sleeping that morning. He had been able to get Boris on the cell phone and they had decided that spending a couple of days deeper in the Ozarks would keep Nina safe while Jake and Boris were away at the contempt hearing. Thankfully the outfitter had had cabins and guides available on short notice.

“Horses!” Emily said. “That’s so neat.”

Jake had to laugh. Emily was much more excited about riding horses than she had been about having sex with him.

The van went around a curve in the highway. Motion from behind caught Jake’s eye. Boris’s car slowed suddenly and turned onto a dirt road. His job was to ensure that no one was following them.

“I’m sorry Randy’s going to miss all the fun,” Lizzie said.

Randy had been tapped to drive the Broadmans’ car back to Iowa. Lizzie and Emily were going to stay with Jake and his family until Sunday. Jake would fly them home so that Lizzie could go back to work on Monday.

“If you knew Randy better, you’d know that he’s not a fun-loving kind of guy,” Jake said. “He’ll be happy to have a couple of days of solitude. You really don’t need to feel responsible for him.”

“I just can’t believe you’re doing all this for us.”

“It just makes sense,” Ellen said. “It’s no burden on us. In fact, having you and Emily with us on this vacation has made it just that much better.”

Jake noticed Boris pulling up close behind them. Brian was looking out the rear window with the binoculars Jake had bought that morning while they were waiting for the houseboat to dock.

Boris says there are no signs of followers, Ellen sent.

Jake rested his hands on the horse’s neck. His experience with animals was limited, his grandparents never having kept pets. He was fascinated by what he read in the mind of the horse. Its consciousness was not like a person’s. He could not detect thoughts per se. Perhaps the horse didn’t have any, or maybe Jake just couldn’t read the thoughts of another species.

What Jake could read seemed like it came from a petulant six-year-old. The horse resented having to exert itself. It wanted to eat. It was bored. Jake suspected that the outfitters sent every group of horseback riders down the same trail.

Since they had turned around and started back toward the stable, anticipation had been growing in his horse. The party entered a large meadow and the guide increased his speed. The rest of the horses matched him, speeding up to a trot and then a gallop.

Jake thrilled to the feel of the horse’s gait as it accelerated into the gallop. He felt the strength of the horse through his seat and thighs. The wind rushed pleasurably past his face. The rhythm and sensation of rising and falling were satisfying in themselves. He was reassured by the sure-footedness of the horse.

He felt its relief and excitement at being given its head. It delighted in the speed and in showing the other horses its power. The exertion was not a burden anymore but a source of joy.

Jake’s horse was faster than the others. He passed Julie and had come even with Emily when the lead rider slowed, forcing the other horses back to a trot. And then a walk.

Emily looked over at him, her smile broad, her eyes shining, her face flushed with excitement. She laughed out loud.

“Thank you for bringing me, Jake.”

No, she hadn’t shown anywhere near this much excitement the night before.

“I just wish we could have found something more fun for you than being stuck out in the boonies. I hope you’re not too bored.”

“No, I’ve never had so— Shut up, Jake. Stop teasing me. When we get back home, I’m going to talk my mom into letting me have a horse.”

“Are you going to give up your bedroom so that it has a place to sleep?” Lizzie said, looking back from her position further ahead.

“I guess it wouldn’t be practical, huh?” Emily said.

“Sorry, missy.”

Leanne trotted up beside Jake. She fixed him in a stare, raising an eyebrow. He smiled at her. This kind of thing had been happening more often lately. Jake would decide to do something and Leanne would let Jake know what she thought. She was giving him the eye, but he could feel her approval.

Hush, you Grinch, Jake sent her. If I do it right, Emily could have a horse and it wouldn’t cost Lizzie any money out of pocket.

Just make sure that you think about all the costs like transportation to and from the stable and incidental costs like clothing and tack. We looked into getting a horse for Kara when she was a girl. It turned out to be very expensive. If you weren’t turning into a gazillionaire, I’d advise you to forget it.

I think it’s sweet, Kara sent from near the back of the line. Just ignore the grumpy lady, Jake.

Nobody say anything, Jake sent. This is the kind of thing that would make a great surprise.

Just don’t surprise Lizzie, or she may never talk to us again, Ellen sent.

When the party reached the stables, the staff unsaddled the horses and enlisted the riders to brush them. The guide came over to watch Jake.

“Don’t get too close to her face with the brush,” he said. “It makes them nervous until they get to know you better.”

“Oh, sure,” Jake said and moved the brush down to the horse’s withers.

“You got a lot out of Blob today.”

“Blob?”

“Your horse. We call her that because she’s our laziest horse. We don’t give her to first-time riders if we can help it or to children at all. She’s too hard to control. She just wants to go back to the stable. But you and she did fine today.”

Jake sent the horse a wave of affection. Blob turned her long face toward him and nuzzled his chest. The guide’s eyes opened wide.

“I wonder why,” Jake said. “Beginner’s luck?”

“It doesn’t work that way with horses,” the guide said.

“Show off,” Julie whispered from behind him.

Jake showered and then checked his email. He found messages from Jan Harrison and Donna Glenn.

Jan gave Jake a report of her visit with Marsha Schaff. Marsha had had a rough week, but she had managed to finish writing the account of her ordeal. Her emotions were raw and her spirits were down. On the other hand, she had been able to go out in public without fear and was considering going back to school in the fall.

Jan had put her under hypnosis again and spent an hour looking at the processing flows from the limbic system to the sympathetic nervous system. She hoped that what she learned might help tone down Kate’s anger.

Jan had attached a scan of Marsha’s paper. Jake read it over in horror. What was it about his father that found pleasure in hurting people? Jake understood the appeal of control, but why use it to cause pain? Jake closed the file and deleted it. He turned to Donna’s email.

From: Donna.Glenn@morningjournal.com

To: 23b7d5i@gmail.com

Subject: re: Sometimes old bones need warm waters

My dear 23,

You make me laugh. That’s the most original excuse I’ve ever been given for being turned down on a date. Forgive me, but marriage by proxy sounds very unsatisfactory to me. If I’m going to take that step, I want to at least get a warm body out of it.

I mentioned your concerns to my editor, but we both agree that it is unlikely that there will be physical repercussions. This isn’t Russia. Still, I will be alert when I am out.

If, on the other hand, you were to volunteer to protect me from Cox, I think that I would suddenly see the need for caution and would accept your recommendation. Might I suggest that you protect me at a dinner and a movie? My treat.

Jake shook his head. Two murder attempts — one successful — in three days and she wasn’t worried?

After dinner — a barbecue arranged by the outfitter — Jake returned to his cabin and composed a reply.

From: 23b7d5i@gmail.com

To: Donna.Glenn@morningjournal.com

Subject: The scorpion can’t help its nature

Dear Donna,

My affection for you must remain unrequited. It is time for me to confess the truth. I am already married, four times. I am a Muslim, and under sharia, I am unable to take any more wives. I can never give you the honored position that you deserve. Besides, my wives and my seventeen children would insist on coming with us, and long experience has shown that we would never get everyone to agree on which movie to see.

I am concerned that you do not fear Cox as much as I do, especially considering what we have seen him do lately. I can’t prove he had Ryan Caldwell killed, but I have no doubt that he did. If that’s not enough to make you decide to be very cautious then let me give you one more example. This is not the only such incident I know about.

In October 2009, Cox wanted renovations done on Hilliard Terrace, an apartment complex that he owns. The bids were higher than he wanted to pay. It would have taken years before his project saw a profit. Being Tommy Cox, he looked for a way to reduce construction costs. One of the contractors who bid on the apartments, Terry Martin, wanted to be the general contractor for the new municipal building in Pecan Grove. Cox worked out a multi-way deal. On October 16th, he talked two of the Pecan Grove city council members into voting to give the contract to Martin in exchange for $15,000 each.

One of the members cooperated. The other, Tina James, had second thoughts. She returned his money on October 26th and voted against Terry Martin’s bid the following day. Her vote was decisive. On December 8th, Tina James was followed to her home, raped and beaten by Jimmie Holloway. Holloway had been convicted of sexual assault in 2001 and released from prison in 2007. He has attacked three women since his release that I know of, Tina James being the second. Cox paid Holloway $10,000 for each of the three assaults. Ryan Caldwell paid him in cash the day after the assault, drawing the money from their slush fund account.

In January 2010, Terry Martin got the contract for a different construction project, the new Pecan Grove library, and Cox got his apartments renovated by Martin that same month.

That is the kind of man Cox is. Tina James had the temerity to not stay bought. You are a different kind of provocation to him. In his mind, you are responsible for taking away his power, a much more serious offense.

Please, take care. Don’t make me regret involving you.

23