Chapter 36: Saturday, August 21, 2010

Saturday, August 21, 2010

“So you’ve decided to spare the Coxes’ lives?”

Jake shrieked like a little girl. The last thing he had expected was to hear someone’s voice. He lurched around to find Kara standing above him.

“Crap! You scared me,” he said and let himself collapse against the side of the hole, making himself even filthier than he already was.

“Jake, you are not going to kill yourself and leave my baby an orphan,” Kara said, handing him down a bottle of Gatorade.

He opened it and drank half of it in one long draft. God, he needed that. He had been working for three hours and the heat was about to do him in. At its lowest point, the hole was not quite five feet deep. He staggered to the shallow end, climbed out, and lay on the ground. He breathed deeply, looking up at an exasperated Kara.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“I came to save your life. What do you think you’re doing? Hard labor like this on one of the hottest days of the year is the next best thing to suicide.”

“But how did you know I was here?”

“Your father called. He was worried about you.”

Jake jerked his head in the direction of the farmhouse. It was 50 yards away from the thicket of trees in which he was digging the Coxes’ grave.

“Fuck, that’s trouble. I thought he couldn’t call anyone but me.”

“Forget your father. Tell me why you are determined to kill yourself?”

Jake sat up. She was right. He was overdoing it. He took another drink of Gatorade. He doubted that she would understand even if she went digging through his mind. Hell, he wasn’t sure that he did himself. It just felt right.

“I just hope that our daughter isn’t born an idiot like her father,” Kara said with exasperation. She reached down to help him to his feet. “Let’s get you into the house.”

“I’m not done yet.”

“You think this big hole is going to go somewhere? Come on, Jake. Don’t make me have to throw my weight around.”

He gave in and followed her, leaving his shovel and pruning saw behind. A break wouldn’t hurt. He tried to brush the dirt off of his arms, but he was so sweaty that the dirt had turned to mud and was caked to him. It was the same with his torso and his legs. Christ, he was a mess.

Kara stopped him at the front door of the farmhouse and made him take off his clothes. Then she had him jump into the shower and rinse off. When he was done, he had to air dry, but it felt gloriously cool standing by the open door as the breeze moved through the house.

Kara had another bottle of Gatorade waiting for him on the kitchen table. She and Harris were sitting there waiting for him. Jake sat down and drank some more. His head hurt.

“It shows that he had no father figure growing up,” Harris said to Kara. “Apparently no one ever told him to pace himself when he was working in this kind of heat.”

“Why did you call her?” Jake asked him. “For that matter, how did you call? Your orders were to call no one else but me.”

“It took some careful rationalization before I could do it,” Harris said. “But when you gave me that order, I knew that the reason behind it was security. When I saw you out there I decided your health was at risk and that on balance your interests were better served by getting you some help. I may have violated the letter of your order but not the spirit.”

“But why is he doing it?” Kara asked Harris. “Obviously he has decided to go ahead and execute the Coxes, but why dig the grave himself, and in heat like this? Why not have Greenlee or somebody else he’s mad at do it? Or even Tommy himself?”

“You really don’t know? It’s obvious if you think about it.”

“It’s not even obvious to him why he’s doing it, or I would have just read it from him.”

“Yes, I suppose you have a point there. What our young friend hasn’t been able to get his head around is the fact that even though he doesn’t think he has any choice, he still doesn’t want to kill them. In the part of his brain that does what passes for reasoning, he has decided he has to punish himself before he can punish them. Not being burdened by a conscience, I don’t really follow the logic, but it is in character for him.”

Kara considered that for a few moments, and then nodded.

“When are you going to kill them?” she asked Jake.

“As long as Dad needs them, they can live.”

“Why are you going to kill them if you don’t want to?”

“Because it’s kinder than the alternative.”

“And what’s the alternative?”

“Letting them go.”

“Kinder how?”

“I would have to disable their minds. They can’t be permitted to return to society knowing what they do.”

“You couldn’t just blot out those things?”

“I could do it intuitively, but it would fade. To do it permanently, I would have to block or uproot months of memories. I doubt it’s possible even if I were willing to spend all the time it would take.”

“You could leave things as they are.”

“No, it’s already too risky. It would only take one unexpected visit by the wrong person here to the farmhouse and the authorities would be on us. Besides, there is the matter of justice.”

“What about justice?”

“We know that the Coxes are both guilty many times over of crimes that are capital offenses in the regular justice system. I may not want to be their executioner, but by holding them here, I have prevented them from meeting the guy who would have been. I have a duty to their victims.”

Kara stood up had put her hand out to Jake.

“Let’s go home,” she said. “We’ll throw your clothes in the trunk and you can dress when we get home. Maybe I’ll even drive carefully so that I don’t get pulled over by the police.” She turned to Harris. “Thank you. You did the right thing.”

At the end of the dirt road, while waiting for traffic to pass, she leered at Jake. “I have to say that I like getting you naked.”

“You don’t have to strip me and lock my clothes away. I’d get naked for you any time.”

She pulled out onto the farm-to-market road. “I noticed that you and your father didn’t say anything about what’s going to happen to him. Are you going to kill him when you kill the Coxes?”

“No, I’m going to let him live.”

“When did you decide that?”

“I realized I couldn’t do it after I make him loyal. I don’t have to worry about protecting Ellen or myself from him anymore. Also, he’s an asset that is too valuable to waste.”

“And what about the Coxes? You could make them loyal, too.”

“I could but I haven’t. I won’t. They are a security risk just being alive.”

Jake walked naked from the garage to his bedroom. As he went through the kitchen, he had to endure hoots, whistles, and rude comments from Jan, Shannon, Nina, Christine, and Leanne. He just smiled as he walked past.

Jan followed him to his room. He got a couple of aspirin from his bathroom and then went to his chest of drawers to get fresh clothing. Jan sat on the bed and watched him. When Jake set the clothes on the bed and started to dress, she grabbed his arm and pulled him down onto the bed. She crawled between his legs and began to run her hands over his chest.

“Do you think you can just walk through the kitchen naked with this smooth, sexy chest and no one’s going to molest you?”

“So that’s all I have to do to get you in bed with me?”

Jan slid down his body and took his cock into her mouth. She pulled down her shorts and her panties as she sucked him to an erection. Then she climbed onto his hips, seated him in her opening, and settled slowly onto him.

“When the circumstances are right,” she said with a sigh.

“And what makes these circumstances right?”

“I have something to talk to you about. I told the other women that was why I was coming back to see you.”

“I’m sure you’ve fooled them. They’ll never guess what we’re up to. What do you want to talk about?”

He reached under her shirt and put his hands on her bra. He began to tweak her nipples. She made a moaning sound.

You said you’re interested in a tutor.

“Uh-huh.”

I followed up on some rumors I heard in the teacher’s lounge. There’s a former teacher you should check out. She may fit the bill for you.

Jake pulled Jan’s shirt off and lifted her bra above her breasts. Those perfect breasts bounced delightfully.

“Who?”

Her name is Anne Bybee. She was a biology and math teacher at the high school until this year.

“Why her?”

She’s a good teacher, and she’s available.

Jan started to cry out as she moved up and down.

“Why is she available?”

The school didn’t renew her contract. That’s how they fire you in this school district. But it wasn’t her fault.

“Whose fault was it?”

“Oh, fuck!” she cried out at the top of her voice. Jake goosed her feedback circuit, pushing her hard. Finally, when she was about to collapse, he released her, and she sagged down on him, sweaty and exhausted. He gave her a few minutes to recover.

“After that, the women aren’t going to believe that you came back here to talk about tutors.”

Jan smiled up at him. I never said that was all I was going to do, she sent him.

“Whose fault was it?”

Whose fault was what?

“You said your teacher friend got fired, but it wasn’t her fault. Whose fault was it?”

Oh, yeah. It was her husband’s. He got arrested for selling drugs to high-school-aged kids. She got tarnished along with him, although I don’t think she had anything to do with it.

“Why doesn’t she find herself another teaching job?”

She would normally, but she’s pregnant. It’s to the point that it’s obvious. Nobody will hire her knowing that in a month or so she’s going to go on extended maternity leave.

“Doesn’t the same thing kind of apply to me?”

You don’t have to give her three months off like the public schools do. She could be back to work for you within a week or two. You’d be able to make do for that long. Besides, I’m not thinking about just you. She’s suddenly out of a job and a husband. And she’s about to have a baby to support.

“If she needs money, maybe I can help.”

I’m not asking for charity. I’m saying take a look at her. By all accounts, she’s a great teacher and you would benefit from her biology background. She can take you further than I can.

“Should I give her a call?”

No, it would be better to make her be the supplicant. Let me make contact with her. I’ll let her know what you need and have her call you. She snuggled against him. But not right now. For now, I want to lie here, close to you.

Lizzie snapped her cell phone closed.

“All is well?” Jake asked.

“Emily, Julie, and Carol are about to go into the movie. Emily assures me that Andy is watching over them and will be waiting for them when the movie is done.”

“If you really wanted Emily to be safe,” Jake said, “you shouldn’t let her hang out with Julie and Carol.”

“Jake!” Leanne snapped. “I know exactly what those two are up to and the only thing that worries me is you.”

Jake gave her a smile. “Of course you do. I’m sorry about teasing you.”

He took a sip of his Coke. Suddenly he felt Lizzie’s hand on his arm. His mind must have wandered off again. He put his drink down and turned to her. He tried to come up with something to talk about, but she spoke first.

“Jake, you’ve been off your feed all evening. What’s going on?”

“I’m sorry I’m being a stick in the mud,” he said.

“He can’t help it if he’s a momma’s boy,” Brian said.

Leanne slapped her hand on the tabletop.

“Brian DeRizzo, if that’s the full extent of your compassion, I’d appreciate it if you would just stop talking,” she said. “If I were sick, I’d hope that you were at least half as concerned about me as Jake is about Ellen.”

“It’s okay, Leanne,” Jake said. “He’s just trying to get under my skin. He and I both know that I don’t care what he thinks.”

“Tell me what’s wrong, Jake,” Lizzie said, laying her hand on his arm.

“Actually, Brian’s right,” he said, sighing. “It’s Ellen. She’s been doing better every day since her incident, until today. She seems to have plateaued.”

“You have to give her time to heal,” Leanne said. “Besides, I think she is better today. It’s just not as dramatic as the last few days.”

Jake looked down at the remains of his burger.

“But what if the trend continues? What if every day there is less and less progress?” Son of a bitch, he thought, as he felt his eyes start to burn. Without a submissive around to bolster his dominant streak, it was much harder to hold his emotions in check. “What if this is as good as she’s going to get?”

Leanne put her hand on his. “Jacob, you’re still a young man. When you’ve seen more of life, you’ll find that this is one of many times when the fate of something important to you is uncertain. Hold on to your hope. Ellen will be okay, even if she doesn’t recover fully.

His breath caught in his throat. “But if she doesn’t, it’ll be my fault.” His voice started to get thick.

“Mary and Joseph,” Brian said with disgust. “He’s going to start blubbering right here in front of the whole goddamned restaurant.”

Leanne glared at Brian but Jake saw that she, too, was worried that he was about to make a scene. Leanne leaned across the booth toward Lizzie who was watching Jake’s incipient meltdown with wide eyes.

“Jake doesn’t have control of his emotions yet, Lizzie. Maybe it would be better if you took your date out to the car until he’s feeling better.”

Lizzie nodded. Jake’s tears were starting to flow freely. She stood up, grabbed Jake by the arm, pulled him out of the booth, and steered him out the door of the restaurant and toward his car.

He managed to get one of the back doors open before he lost control completely. Lizzie slid into the backseat and pulled him through the doorway and onto the seat next to her. She leaned over him and pulled the door closed. By then his face was in his hands, and he was crying hard. Lizzie pulled him close. He buried his face in her bosom. She stroked the back of his head and made comforting noises as she rocked him.

When his tears had finally run their course, he remained lying there, his head on her breasts and his arms around her.

“You must think I’m the biggest baby,” he said. “I know I do.”

“I think nothing of the kind. Do you think I haven’t cried myself to sleep more times than I want to admit?”

“If you don’t mind me saying so, I’m glad you’re here, Lizzie,” Jake said, wiping his nose on his sleeve.

“Stop that, Jake,” she said and pulled a tissue out of her purse and handed it to him. He wiped his eyes and blew his nose.

“Sorry. That was kind of gross,” he said with an embarrassed smile.

Lizzie pulled his head back down to her generous breasts and held him. Jake took a quick glance at Leanne’s thoughts. She and Brian could just barely see him from the restaurant. Their view was hindered by several rows of parked cars. Leanne felt bad for him and wished she were in the car with him.

“What do you cry about when you cry yourself to sleep?” Jake asked, settling his cheek back against her bosom.

“My jerk of a husband mostly. He left me struggling with a child to take care of. But there’s also guilt about my part in ruining the marriage.”

“Do you still cry about it?”

“On bad days.”

“I wish I could do for you what you’ve done for me tonight. I think crying alone is for the birds.”

“You’re a sweet young man,” Lizzie said. She kissed the top of his head.

Jake lifted his head and stared into Lizzie’s eyes. He pushed away his guilt and sadness, ignored his stuffy head, and focused completely on her.

He didn’t bother to read her. After all, Lizzie didn’t know what she thought, much less what she wanted. Everything she’d ever been told about right and wrong, about what was legal and decent, required her to shun him. If he had looked in her mind, if she were even thinking at all, it would reveal only tumultuous thoughts and conflicting emotions pushing and pulling at her without resolution.

Instead, Jake kept his gaze constant, searching her face, her eyes, for a clue about how to connect with her. Even as he held her gaze, he suspected that the only thing that he could do was show Lizzie his longing for her.

She looked back at him, poised between desire and reluctance, unsure what to do. Jake moved his face toward her a fraction of an inch. That was all it took to break the impasse. She brought her face down and allowed her lips to meet his. He kissed her gently, softly, slowly. She moaned quietly and pulled back, her eyes closed and a slight smile on her face.

Jake put his hand behind her head and pulled her down to him again. This time his kiss was more aggressive. He let his tongue trail along her lower lip and gently probe her mouth. He let it touch hers, tentatively. Only an offer, not a demand.

She pulled back momentarily and Jake worried that propriety had won out, but then she returned his kiss, her tongue invading his mouth, urgent and needy. Only then did Jake read her, looking for clues of how to make their encounter better. She wasn’t being driven by lust. She was getting excited, but she had been intimate with Boris the night before. She was not acting from pent up desires.

Her kisses picked up intensity. Jake thought he saw the reason for her change of heart. She had always been drawn to him because he understood her and accepted her. She was also very aware of his generosity toward her. She had interpreted those gestures as him wanting to take care of her. But she was a grown woman. Having a 14 year-old caring for her offended her pride.

This evening, for the first time, it was Jake who was needy. And he had let her help him. At that moment, she wasn’t some broke, lonely, pitiful woman with a screwed-up life. She had something to offer this remarkable boy, something worthwhile, something he could not get elsewhere. She very badly needed to be needed.

Jake slipped his hands under her shirt and started to move them lightly up and down Lizzie’s back. She moaned. She grabbed Jake’s right wrist and moved his hand to her breast. Her nipple was hard. Jake felt it through her bra. He pinched it lightly.

“Oh, God,” Lizzie sighed. Her hand flew to cover his, pressing it hard against her breast.

Jake slipped his other hand under her bra and pinched the other nipple. He did it a little harder, and then harder again until he found the amount of pressure that stimulated her the most. It was not nearly as hard as Ellen liked it, but she really wanted to feel it. The tingling went straight to her pussy.

“Lizzie, you’re so beautiful,” Jake said. “I need you so much.”

“Yes, Jake,” she panted. “I’m here for you. Use me. Let me help you.”

“You make me feel so much better,” he said.

He pulled her bra up. Her breasts were gorgeous, large and rounded. Her nipples were hard and stuck out like the tips of his index fingers. He gave the right one a gentle bite.

“That’s it, baby,” her voice rising. She reached behind her back and unhooked her bra. “Do that more. It feels so good.”

Jake slid his hand between her legs. He rubbed her crotch through her slacks. Her hips bucked against his hand.

“More, baby,” she cried. “More.”

Suddenly, the driver’s door flew open. Lizzie instinctively pulled her shirt down over her breasts.

“Give me your keys, Jake,” Leanne said, sliding behind the wheel. He fished them out of his slacks and handed them to her. “What, in God’s name, do you two think you’re doing?”

Brian opened the passenger door and slid in beside Leanne, taking a keen interest in Lizzie’s tits. Jake looked around. There were three men, three teen-aged boys, and a couple standing in front of the car avidly watching him and Lizzie. With the windows tinted on every side but the windshield, it was dim inside the car, but not so dark that it wasn’t obvious what was happening.

“Oh, God,” Lizzie said.

“You two have to be sensible,” Leanne said. “Lizzie could get in a lot of trouble from this kind of recklessness.”

Jake scanned their audience quickly. Only the woman standing with the man was irritated. Jake didn’t think that any of them would report Jake and Lizzie. To be on the safe side, he made the woman indifferent.

“Man, you sure are loud,” Brian said over his shoulder to Lizzie.

“Brian, behave,” Leanne said.

“Well, she was.”

“That’s not the point.”