talking to you, Miss Chandler.”
“Doctor Chandler,” she said.
“Be that as it may. You have some respect and listen to me.”
She turned to him, frowning.
“You been away, so you’re likely not on top of the local situation, and besides which, it’s been kept pretty quiet. Nobody wants to get folks stirred up. Thing is, there’s been half a dozen young women in this county vanish without so much as a trace being found of them. That’s just in the past eight or ten months. And that’s just the ones that got reported missing. Might be plenty more we don’t even know about. So you’d best keep that in mind and think twice before you go off gallivanting at all hours in your underwear.”
“Thanks,” she said. “I’ll be extra careful. May I go now?”
“Do what you want.”
She pushed herself away from the wall and walked away, forcing herself not to hurry. As she reached the lobby, she glanced back. Dexter had stepped into the corridor. He was facing her.
She pulled open the glass door and stepped outside. The summer morning was warm, but she was trembling.
Thanks a real lot, pal, she thought.
His news about the disappearances was a little disturbing, but not much. She’d never kidded herself into thinking that Ellsworth was completely safe. No place was safe, especially for women.
What she found upsetting was Dexter ambushing her that way.
Had he been waiting for her? How did he know she’d come by?
Creep.
She liked to do her warm-up exercises on the broad stoop of the apartment building. But Dexter might just wander into the lobby and watch her through the glass, so she trotted down the stairs and started along the sidewalk.
She wondered if he would make a habit of waiting for her.
There was no way to leave the apartment without passing his door. The only other exit, conveniently located at her end of the corridor, would trigger an alarm if she tried to use it.
She came to the corner, and looked back. At least Dexter hadn’t followed her. The sidewalk, gray in the glow of the streetlights, was deserted except for a cat sitting near the end of the block, rubbing a paw across its face.
Before starting to warm up, Vicki turned completely around and scanned every direction.
I always check, she told herself. Nothing to do with Dexter’s warning.
Satisfied that no one was lurking nearby, she began bending at the waist and touching her toes.
I’m not going to put up with him, she thought. I’ll just have to find a new place. Such a pain, though, moving.
Even with Ace’s help, it had taken hours to unload the U-Haul and carry all her stuff into the apartment. And both of them with hangovers. Torture. She wasn’t eager to repeat the process.
She sat down. The concrete felt cool through her shorts. She straightened out her legs, bent forward and grabbed the toes of her running shoes.
Give it some time, she told herself. Maybe Dexter won’t make a habit of bugging me. He had his say. And I went out in spite of it.
But Vicki suspected that his “say” was nothing more than an excuse to stop her, ogle her, and test his powers of intimidation.
Acts as if he’s still the police chief.
He’d always been a jerk. Most of the kids in town used to despise him. He didn’t just make them toe the line, he seemed to enjoy giving them grief. He probably picked on kids because he was such a coward when it came to adults.
The stories had it that he’d let his partner, Joey Milbourne, get beaten half to death by a couple of lumberjacks from the Bay who got drunk in the Riverfront Bar. He ran off and locked himself in his patrol car instead of giving Joey a hand.
But he sure was the tough guy, a regular Dirty Harry, when it came to a teenager snowballing a car or knocking a baseball through somebody’s window or parking by the river to neck.
He even gave Ace a bad time the night of the senior dance, which made Vicki especially glad they hadn’t double-dated. According to Ace, she was
“Doctor Chandler,” she said.
“Be that as it may. You have some respect and listen to me.”
She turned to him, frowning.
“You been away, so you’re likely not on top of the local situation, and besides which, it’s been kept pretty quiet. Nobody wants to get folks stirred up. Thing is, there’s been half a dozen young women in this county vanish without so much as a trace being found of them. That’s just in the past eight or ten months. And that’s just the ones that got reported missing. Might be plenty more we don’t even know about. So you’d best keep that in mind and think twice before you go off gallivanting at all hours in your underwear.”
“Thanks,” she said. “I’ll be extra careful. May I go now?”
“Do what you want.”
She pushed herself away from the wall and walked away, forcing herself not to hurry. As she reached the lobby, she glanced back. Dexter had stepped into the corridor. He was facing her.
She pulled open the glass door and stepped outside. The summer morning was warm, but she was trembling.
Thanks a real lot, pal, she thought.
His news about the disappearances was a little disturbing, but not much. She’d never kidded herself into thinking that Ellsworth was completely safe. No place was safe, especially for women.
What she found upsetting was Dexter ambushing her that way.
Had he been waiting for her? How did he know she’d come by?
Creep.
She liked to do her warm-up exercises on the broad stoop of the apartment building. But Dexter might just wander into the lobby and watch her through the glass, so she trotted down the stairs and started along the sidewalk.
She wondered if he would make a habit of waiting for her.
There was no way to leave the apartment without passing his door. The only other exit, conveniently located at her end of the corridor, would trigger an alarm if she tried to use it.
She came to the corner, and looked back. At least Dexter hadn’t followed her. The sidewalk, gray in the glow of the streetlights, was deserted except for a cat sitting near the end of the block, rubbing a paw across its face.
Before starting to warm up, Vicki turned completely around and scanned every direction.
I always check, she told herself. Nothing to do with Dexter’s warning.
Satisfied that no one was lurking nearby, she began bending at the waist and touching her toes.
I’m not going to put up with him, she thought. I’ll just have to find a new place. Such a pain, though, moving.
Even with Ace’s help, it had taken hours to unload the U-Haul and carry all her stuff into the apartment. And both of them with hangovers. Torture. She wasn’t eager to repeat the process.
She sat down. The concrete felt cool through her shorts. She straightened out her legs, bent forward and grabbed the toes of her running shoes.
Give it some time, she told herself. Maybe Dexter won’t make a habit of bugging me. He had his say. And I went out in spite of it.
But Vicki suspected that his “say” was nothing more than an excuse to stop her, ogle her, and test his powers of intimidation.
Acts as if he’s still the police chief.
He’d always been a jerk. Most of the kids in town used to despise him. He didn’t just make them toe the line, he seemed to enjoy giving them grief. He probably picked on kids because he was such a coward when it came to adults.
The stories had it that he’d let his partner, Joey Milbourne, get beaten half to death by a couple of lumberjacks from the Bay who got drunk in the Riverfront Bar. He ran off and locked himself in his patrol car instead of giving Joey a hand.
But he sure was the tough guy, a regular Dirty Harry, when it came to a teenager snowballing a car or knocking a baseball through somebody’s window or parking by the river to neck.
He even gave Ace a bad time the night of the senior dance, which made Vicki especially glad they hadn’t double-dated. According to Ace, she was
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