Thirteenth Child (4 page)

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,” she began, her voice ringing with assurance in the echoing courtroom. “You will notice that the defendant swore his oath on the Bible with his left hand? The defendant, ladies and gentlemen, is left-handed! This, as I will prove to you, is essential evidence against him!”

It wasn’t until she went to put the tops on the tubs that Kate realized she had drowned the worms.

Confessing to Mike the next day was embarrassing.

“You don’t have to pay me,” he told her.

“Of course I have to pay you. You brought the worms. It was me that drowned them.”

“But you’ll have to pay me out of your own money. Your dad, he won’t pay for dead worms.”

Kate’s temper flared again. Enough about her dad.

“I goofed. Okay? It’s my problem. Can you go back out tonight?” “Sure.”

The gasoline delivery truck pulled in with a massive rumble. Thank goodness her father was out there this afternoon and he could handle it.
Kate heard the driver call out a greeting, and Steve answer.

“By the way….”

Preoccupied with watching what was going on outside, Kate didn’t hear Mike at first. The odor of gasoline began to permeate the snack bar. The air conditioner didn’t do much about cooling the place, but it sure brought the smells in.

“Kate?”

She turned back to him. “What?”

“I was just thinking. This Saturday I have to take a boat over to those tourist cabins on the lake. Want to come with me?”

A date? This guy was asking her for a date?

As if reading her mind, he went on quickly. “Not a date or anything like that. Just for fun. It’s cooler on the lake. Be nice out there. Besides, you’d really be doing me a favor. If you come we can take two boats over, then ride back in one. If I go alone I’ll have to hitchhike back.”

Kate stared at him, her mind in a turmoil. She wasn’t going to go anywhere with him. She wasn’t that crazy. And yet. As she hesitated, he tossed his hair back out of his eyes and grinned that grin again. He didn’t look dangerous. He looked just like any other guy. In fact, grinning like that, he even looked sort of cute ….

Nevertheless. She brought her thoughts up short.

“I have to work here.”

“Can’t you get someone to take over for you just for once?”

“Dad wouldn’t let me.”

“Come on. Try. We could swim—maybe take a picnic?”

The thought of the lake was tempting. She lived practically right beside it and hardly ever had a chance to swim in it. She swatted at a fly and pushed her sweaty hair back off her face. She could imagine how cool the water would be. And out on a boat, with a breeze blowing…. It was tempting.

“Well?”

“I don’t know. I’d have to find someone to come in for me….”

“Great! Meet me down at Jed’s at around eight, okay?”

“I didn’t say for sure—” But it was too late. Mike had already slammed out.

The driver of the gasoline truck came in and walked up to the counter.

“Burger and fries, okay? And a coffee, large.”

“To go or for here?” Kate asked automatically, still staring after Mike.

“I’ve got time. I’ll take it here.”

She unwrapped a meat patty and slapped it on the griddle, pulled out a bun, split it, and laid it beside the hamburger, then dumped a basketful of fries into the hot oil. As she stood with the spatula ready to flip the patty, her mind raced. If she could find someone to take her place…. If she could catch her dad at a good moment…. That would be a miracle. She could wear her bathing suit under her shorts. At that thought she
grimaced. Her suit was old and really tacky, faded to a sick green, and so stretched it bagged around the bottom. Nothing she could do about that.

This is not a good idea, a small voice said inside her head. She didn’t want to hear it.

The next day at school she looked around and took stock. Who could she ask to take over for her? There were a few girls from her bus she said hello and goodbye to, but she didn’t know them well enough to ask them. Just then she was jostled in the crowded hallway, and an elbow prodded her in the ribs.

“What planet are you on now?” a voice asked.

Barney. He hadn’t made the bus that morning and she hadn’t even thought of him, but he’d do it, she was sure. All he’d been talking about lately was buying that motorcycle. If he was serious about it, he’d be glad of the extra money.

“Barney—you working at the supermarket on Saturday?”

“No….”

“Great. You want to fill in for me at the snack bar?”

Barney hesitated, then seemed to make up his mind. “Sure,” he said. The word came out with what seemed like unnecessary force.

Kate looked at him, puzzled for a moment, then shrugged. Whatever was bugging him was his problem. Probably no big deal. Just so long as he could take over for her and let her get away.

“Can you come early? Before eight?” “Okay.” It was done. And so easy, after all. Now to convince her dad.

When she got off the bus that afternoon Steve was on the pumps. He was gassing up a car and joking with the driver. A good sign. Kate approached him warily as the car pulled out. “Dad?” “Yeah?”

“Would it be okay if I took Saturday off? I’ve got a friend who’ll work for me. He’s really reliable.” She held her breath.

Steve cocked his head, considering. “Sure he’d be okay?”

“Yes, Dad. He’s really a good guy.”

“Boyfriend, eh? Didn’t know you had one.”

“No, Dad. Nothing like that. He’s just a friend.”

Her father winked. “Sure. I’ll bet.”

“Dad, if he was a boyfriend I’d be going out with him, wouldn’t I? He wouldn’t be taking over for me.”

“Where are you going, anyway?”

Darn. She didn’t want to get into that.

“Swimming. It’s so hot. Would it be all right, Dad? Please?” Kate held her breath, surprised herself at how important this was to her.

“I guess so. Fact is, I wouldn’t mind taking a break myself. He can do the pumps too. Might as well work for his money, this ‘not-a-boyfriend’ of yours.”

Relief flooded through her, followed by a quick pang of guilt. Barney sure would work for his money if he had to tend the snack bar and pump gas. She knew that from past experience. And on Saturdays Angie usually disappeared off to the mall; she wouldn’t be much help.

She felt guilty all over again on Saturday morning, but the excitement overrode it. Calm down, Kate, she told herself. It’s just a boat ride, for Pete’s sake. But she found herself humming as she dug a clean towel out of the laundry and started to throw together a few sandwiches. The air conditioner seemed to have given up entirely, and the temperature inside the snack bar was almost unbearable. Keeping the door open didn’t help at all. The heat shimmered outside; the air itself smelled hot—rubbery and thick. That lake was going to feel so good!

She was out of there as soon as Barney arrived and she had shown him what to do. Her father had come in late the night before in a foul mood. The pickup had needed some repairs and that had set him off again, although he didn’t need much excuse these days to go on a binge.

We’re short of money, so he goes out and throws away what we do have on booze, Kate thought in disgust. He was sleeping in now and she didn’t want to be around when he got up. He’d probably change his mind just out of bad temper and make her stay after all. She got her
bike out of the garage and pedaled off.

The motorcycle dealership was on the way to Jed’s. There weren’t any bikers around this early, so she pedaled in to see the bike in the window that Barney had been raving about. Looked pretty ordinary to her. Barney was a straight-A student, read more books than she did, and hated sports. Why in the world would he want that? But then, why would anybody want a motorcycle? If she had the money she’d buy a car. A sports car. A Mercedes, maybe….

A motorcycle roared in and pulled up beside her. It backfired as the rider cut the engine.

The image of a flaming red Mercedes convertible, Kate at the wheel, hair flying in the wind, shattered.

“Want something? Just about to open up.” The biker was an older man with long, surprisingly well-kept, shoulder-length hair. He was wearing a muscle shirt and no jacket. Kate could see a purple snake writhing across the biceps of his right arm. He grinned at her.

“No. Just passing by,” Kate stammered. She tore her eyes away from the snake with an effort, fumbled for the pedal, hit her instep on it, and rode off. In her hurry she almost overbalanced and the bike gave an alarming wobble. A laugh rang out behind her.

Any traces of leftover guilt dissolved completely as soon as Kate got out on the lake. In fact, she forgot Barney completely. She putted
along in her boat, following in the wake of Mike’s. The shore fell away behind them, the wind dried the streams of sweat that had made her shirt cling to her body. The snack bar, her father, her mother—they all disappeared as well. Free! For one day, anyway, she was free.

Too soon, as far as she was concerned, they reached their destination. They tied the boats up at the dock where the tourist cabins were, then went searching for the office. The cabins were run-down and shabby, but they seemed to be full up. There were kids all over the place, all of them screaming, people fishing off the dock, and more people splashing in the shallow water off the beach. A lifeguard, tanned deep mahogany, lounged on his lookout with eyes closed. He might have been asleep. As they walked away from the lake, toward the trees, mosquitoes divebombed them mercilessly. Kate began to scratch. She couldn’t wait to deliver the boat and get into the water herself.

They found a wooden arrow with “OFF CE” stenciled on it, the “I” so faded it was illegible, and followed along the direction it pointed, through a row of cottages strewn with bathing suits and towels hanging on veranda railings and lines strung between the trees. The cottages all had names: Moonglow, Snooz’In, Lazy Daze, Livin’ Ezy, C’mon Inn. The last one was more pretentious: Holiday Inn. Not quite, Kate thought with a grin. A sign on its door
proclaimed it to be the office, however, missing “i” and all.

Kate settled herself on a stump outside the door while Mike went in to settle up about the boat. The air here was fresh and redolent with the scent of pine trees. It was shady where she sat, and a breeze off the lake made the heat not only bearable, but almost comfortable. A young tabby cat poured itself out of a window beside her and rubbed up against her legs. She stroked it absent-mindedly. Its fur felt soft and sensuous against her bare skin. That’s what a mink coat must feel like, Kate thought.

Stephanie felt the rich fur against her bare arms. She couldn’t resist sinking her face into it, rubbing her cheek against it. Never had she ever imagined anything could feel so soft! Then she straightened and, majestically, threw the coat back at the tall figure in the doorway.

“It would take more than this to bribe me!” she proclaimed haughtily. “Take your filthy mink and be gone. Besides—killing animals for their fur is inhumane, you beast!”

“Another Thirteenth Child tale in the making?”

Kate shot up from the stump; the cat streaked out of sight into the trees.

“I was just resting—”

“You had that look on your face. That ‘million miles away’ look.”

What made him think he knew her that well? But Kate was in too good a mood to get mad.

“You want to take a swim now?”

“I sure do,” she answered. “But not here, it’s too crowded. Let’s take the boat farther down the lake. I know where there’s a good beach. There’ll probably be some people there—always are—but not nearly as many as here.”

They were in luck. There was only one family, picnicking down at the end of the beach. Mike and Kate tied up the boat and spread their towels on the sand. Kate pulled off her sweat-soaked shirt and her shorts and plunged into the lake. She gasped at the shock of the still-cold water, then struck out swimming. Mike stripped down to his cutoffs and dove in after her. When she was used to it and had got her breath back, Kate relaxed and let herself float, eyes closed, face up into the sun. The water felt cool and silken around her—she abandoned herself to it luxuriously. Mike surfaced beside her, treading water.

“What was it about?” he asked.

“What was what about?” Kate answered lazily.

“Your story. The one you were making up back there.”

Kate opened her eyes, let her feet sink down, and began to tread water as well. “Nothing.”

“You spend all your time making up stories?”

“No. Of course not.”

“What about friends? I never see any other kids hanging around.”

“I don’t know many kids at school yet.”

“No boyfriends?”

What was it with people and boyfriends, anyway?

“No,” she answered shortly. “I’ve got better things to do with my time.” The wake from a water-skiing boat farther out hit her and she swallowed a mouthful of water. She coughed and shook her head angrily.

She’d be sixteen in a couple of months. Sweet sixteen and never been kissed. Sounded like something out of the fifties.

“An escape. Isn’t that what they call it? When you can’t face real life and spend all your time making up things?”

Kate glared at him. “It’s not like that at all. Nothing like that.” Another wave caught her in the face and she choked down water. Her eyes were suddenly stinging. She ducked her head back in the water, shook her hair out of her face, then struck out for shore.

What gave him the right to criticize her anyway? Not everybody was obsessed with sex.

She’d never had a real date. None of the guys at school seemed to know she was alive. Not that she cared. She had her own things to do. And her stories weren’t an escape. Even if they were—so what? What was so great about real life?

By the time he followed her onto the beach she had dried herself off and brought out the sandwiches. Her face was carefully blank. She was feeling rather proud of her self-composure, in fact. If her heart was beating in heavy
thumping lurches, and there was a tight pain all around it, he’d never know.

Mike threw himself down beside her.

‘You’re not mad, are you? About what I said?”