Authors: Stella White
''Ah. Pity, I could have visited you.''
''Listen, Brian, it's very kind of you, but I just want to be left alone, okay.''
His eyes narrowed as he looked across at her. ''I was only trying to be friendly, that's all.'' He swept his hand over his long ginger hair and spat out of the open window. ''I didn't mean anything by it.''
Jess was relieved when she finally saw a house and then another. They drove into the village which appeared to
be built
a single road. She
saw
a cafe, a grocery, and
a hairdressers
before Brian pulled into a yard littered with wrecked cars. ''This is it,'' he said enthusiastically.
When Jess jumped out of the truck, she saw a huge Doberman bouncing towards her. ''Brian.....'' she shouted.
''Bonsai, leave,'' he told the dog. Jess let out a long slow breath when the dog obeyed and decided to cock its leg on the truck instead.
''Where's the Motel?'' she asked, impatient to get out of his way.
''Half a mile that way,'' he pointed.
''I just need some things from the
car, and then
I'll leave you to it and come back tomorrow.''
''I'll have the car
off
the truck
in
a moment. What do you need from it?''
''Just overnight things.''
He looked at her and stroked his beard. ''Clean underwear,'' he said, a hint of smut in his voice.
''Just get the car down,'' she said impatiently. When he did, she grabbed a bag and a bottle of
water
and headed out of the yard. The village
came
to an end before Jess saw a motel. Half a mile he'd said. She decided to walk a bit further as the road ahead bent off to the right. Maybe it's round the corner, she thought.
It
was
and when Jess saw it, her heart sank. There was nothing pleasant about it at all. Built in the fifties, it consisted of a square building, with a row of rooms to the left and right. A few of them were boarded up. Who stays here, she wondered? She saw herself
waking
in the middle of the night covered in bites from whatever bugs were sure to be in the rooms. ''Jesus,'' she said when she realized that she had no choice.
''Room for one,'' the old man said, beads of sweat covering his forehead. The reception room had a flat roof and inside it was like an oven. It also smelled of dogs.
''Er.....yes, thanks. Why are some of the rooms boarded up?
she
asked.
''Old crime scenes,'' he replied.
''Excuse me, but what does that mean?''
''It means that at some point in the past, something untoward has happened in one of the rooms, and the police needed to investigate.''
''But surely, you would reopen them?''
''You don't know the local cops,'' He said flicking his hand
across his
forehead. ''When they search a room, they trash everything. I can't afford the repairs.''
''What kind of untoward events have happened here?'' she asked.
''Someone
was murdered
in one of the rooms and in another, they caught a drug dealer.''
Jess looked at the man and decided she would rather sleep rough in the woods than in his motel. ''It's okay, thanks,'' she said when he handed her a key. ''I've changed my mind.'' He nodded as if she wasn't the first guest to have changed their mind. She would walk back into the village and ask at the grocery store. There was bound to be a
bed
and breakfast not far away. When she walked out of the
Motel,
she saw a sign on the road she hadn't noticed before. ''Coombe Hill - 2 Miles. Uncle Jimmy, she thought.
''Dad,'' she shouted into her cellphone. It was a poor reception.
''Honey. What's up?''
''I've broken down.'' She realized she hadn't spoken to her father for a
while,
and he had no idea where she was.
''Where are you?''
''I rented a cabin for a few
days,
and I was on my way there, but the radiator in the car
broke,
and
I'm stranded
near a place called Coombe Hill. Doesn't Uncle Jimmy have a cabin there?''
''Near Coombe Hill? Yes, he does. You went there once when you were little.''
''There's a motel here, it's awful. Do you think Uncle Jimmy would mind if I stayed in his cabin for a
night
until the car
is fixed
?''
''I'll call him and ask, but I'm sure it will be okay.''
Jess put her bag on the grass verge and sat on it. After a few minutes, her father called back.
''I can't reach Jimmy. But take it from me, it'll be fine.''
''Great. How do I get in?''
''There's always a key under the watering
can
to the left of the front door. Listen, get a cab and tell the driver you want to go to the cabin at Water Creek, Coombe Hill. I hope you'll be okay.''
Jess looked down the road and saw Brian's truck coming towards her. ''I'll be fine dad. Thanks. I'll call you when I get there, okay?''
''Sure, honey,'' he hung up.
Brian stopped the truck and leaned out of the window. ''Don't like the motel?'' he asked.
''It's not very inviting. I've found somewhere else.''
''Need a ride? There aren't any taxis around here.''
Brian reminded her of the sort of man that plays hilly-billy
bad
men, in cheap movies. He would be perfectly cast as a rapist or a serial killer. ''Do you know where Water Creek is?'' she asked, concluding that she had little choice.
''Sure do.''
As he drove away, she felt him looking at her again. Not just a lustful glance, the kind of look she was used to from men, but a lurid, languid stare that invaded her.
''How far is it?'' she asked.
''Five minutes,'' he said. She was happy it was not longer.
He slowed down and turned the truck into a lane to the left of the highway. It was
dry,
and she closed the window as the dust kicked up. After a few hundred yards the road entered
a wood
and began to descend towards a lake. Jess could see the lake at the bottom of the
road,
and she could see a cabin next to it.
''Why are you stopping?'' she asked as he slowed.
He
didn't reply. When he switched the engine off, Jess decided it was time to run. She didn't trust him, and she didn't like the way he was looking at her.
She
threw the truck door open and jumped out, but she forgot her bag and had to
climb up
to reach it. When she felt his hands on her hips, pulling her from the truck, she screamed. A few birds flew from the trees and somewhere a fox called out.
''Come on Jess, you're so pretty, you know you want it,'' he said nuzzling his hairy, sweat covered face, into her neck.
She stamped on his
foot,
but he was wearing steel toe
caps,
and it hurt her more. Jess was young and fit, but he had a massive weight
advantage,
and he was able to manhandle her with ease. When he threw her against the front of the truck, he almost knocked her unconscious. Just as
he
was about to put his oil-stained hands onto her breasts, somebody shouted.
''Leave her alone or I'll blow your dumb ass brains out,'' he said as he let off the safety catch on his rifle. Brian looked at the man, backed away, and put his hands up.
''Are you okay, Miss?'' he asked.
''Yes, just a bit breathless.''
''Get in your truck and go and if I ever see you again, I'll shoot you. Is that
clear
?'' Brian nodded as he pulled his
huge
frame into the truck.
''Uncle Jimmy?'' Jess had been studying his face. Her father hadn't been able to reach
him,
and she hadn't thought he would be at the cabin.
''Jess? Jess,'' he hugged her. Now he knew it was his best friends
daughter;
he wanted to put a bullet between Brian's eyes, but
he
decided he would deal with him later. ''My God, I haven't seen you for years,'' he tried to think when the last time had been. ''It must have been ten years. What are you doing here? In the middle of nowhere.''
''Make me a cup of tea and I'll tell you,'' she said.
As they walked down the hill, he put his arm around her
shoulder,
and she put her arm around his waist. ''He would have raped me if you hadn't been there,'' she concluded.
''Perhaps, I'll sort him out later. We still have to get your car back. Don't you worry about him anymore.''
They arrived at the
cabin,
and it was just as Jess had remembered it. It
was built
of pine logs and had a veranda around it. It had a slate roof and a chimney made of local stone. She remembered the view over the
lake,
and she remembered the small wooden jetty that they had use to dive off when they'd swum.
''Come in,'' Jimmy said opening the glazed door.
''Oh it's beautiful,'' she gasped, looking around the interior.
''Well, I do my best to keep it nice.'' It was open plan and consisted of a kitchen, dining and lounge areas. On the floor, there was a large red rug and the walls were decorated with pictures Jimmy had taken of wildlife in the area. ''Sit down,'' he pointed to a leather sofa. Jess slumped onto it and sighed. ''So what brings you here?'' he asked, lighting the stove.
''I rented a cabin about sixty miles from here and I was on my way there for a short vacation, but my car broke down and left me stranded in Marshall's Cave.'' She watched a goose land on the lake. ''I remembered you had a cabin
here,
and I called dad to see if I could
spend
a night here. I'm
really
sorry I didn't know you were here. I didn't mean to intrude.''
Jimmy popped his head around the corner. ''Intrude? You’re the daughter of the best friend I've ever had. Why do you think you would be intruding?''
''I don't know. He told me where the key
was,
I thought you might be angry. It feels like I'm using you.'' He came from the kitchen and put two chunky mugs on the table in front of the sofa.
''Nonsense. Now let's have a look at you.'' He stood back and looked at her. When he did, he regretted it. That was the kind of thing one said to a young
kid
or your mother after you hadn't seen them for a long time. It wasn't the kind of thing you said to a buxom young woman who oozed sex appeal. He remembered her platted hair, her round glasses and the awful iron braces she'd had to wear. Now all he saw was the most beautiful face imaginable, a vest hardly able to conceal its
luscious
contents, and a pair of short shorts from which two long shapely legs protruded. He dropped his eyes, embarrassed to look at her anymore.
''Uncle Jimmy, you look great,'' she said.
''Let's drop the uncle, shall we? You don't have to call me that, now you're an adult. I mean, I'm not your uncle.''
''Okay. But do you know, you look great. Why haven't you got a wife? You could get anyone you wanted.''
''Ah,'' he sighed. ''Missed opportunities, shyness, lack of self-belief.''
''You? Shy? I don't believe it.''
He went to get the tea. ''Men can be shy, you know,'' he shouted as he took the kettle
from
the stove. Another goose landed on the water, irritating the one that had landed there a few moments ago.
''Sure they can. But you? I always thought you were a man for the ladies. A man without fear.''
''Well, last time you saw me you were just a kid. Perhaps your knowledge of men wasn't that good then.'' They both laughed.
''Maybe not. It's not that good now,'' she said.
He sensed a moment of sadness as he came with a teapot and a plate of cookies. ''Why do you
say
that?''
''Because I was with a guy for years and I trusted him. I thought we would get married.''
''And?''
''I found out he was cheating on me, with a college tutor.''
''Well then, he's plainly an asshole. I mean who could refuse a woman like you?'' He said it to lift her spirits but realized he was doing something he shouldn't be.
Flirting with her.
''Uncle Jimmy,'' she said in mock surprise. He was tall and
muscular;
he'd always been like that. He still had a full head of dark hair, now with a hint of gray. His eyes were still vivid
blue,
and his faded jeans made his legs look long and slender. Maybe he had a few more lines on his forehead, but his face was still
lean
and attractive. ''Are you lonely?'' she asked, taking a cookie.