and it hung behind me like a tail.
I kept my bra on. Even though it felt wet and uncomfortable, it stopped my breasts from bouncing and swinging all over the place. I kept the skirt on, too. It was wet and clingy against my rump, but otherwise okay. Besides, I figured it would be easier to wear than to carry. I also kept my shoes on. You don’t want to go walking through dark woods barefoot.
With the blouse tucked behind me, I tried to focus my mind again on the problem of Elroy’s car.
There must be a way to get rid of it!
How about pushing it with my car? That might work. Push it backward out of the driveway. Once it’s on the street, tow it away.
Yes!
Of course, I’d have to do it at night to lower the chances of being seen.
Out on the street in front of the house, I could fasten my rear bumper to Elroy’s front bumper with some rope or electrical cord—or even pick up a chain at a store tomorrow, and save the job for tomorrow night. Tow Elroy’s car into Miller’s Woods. Leave it near the picnic area, maybe.
Fantastic!
It would mean a lot of work, and a whole new series of risks, but the plan should succeed fine if I didn’t get caught in the act.
I was glad to have a back-up plan. But it sure made me want to find Steve and get my hands on Elroy’s ignition key.
So where are you, Stevie boy?
I’d been walking for long enough to be fairly deep into the woods. I might even be somewhere near the camp.
Maybe fifty yards away from it.
Or half a mile.
Or a mile.
It might be dead ahead. Or somewhere to the left or the right.
For that matter, where was the creek? What about the picnic grounds? The parking area?
I’d be glad to find any familiar place. But even if I could get my bearings, I still might have trouble locating the campsite. I’d only stumbled onto it by accident, last night. With such a dim notion of where it might be, I probably had no chance at all of finding it again.
There’s always some chance, I told myself.
Fat chance.
Maybe if Steve has an enormous bonfire…
Or if Judy screams…
Or I scream?
Shaking my head, I muttered, “How nuts am I?”
Nuts enough, apparently.
I stopped walking, then took a deep breath and shouted, “HELLO! IT’S ME! I CHANGED MY MIND! DON’T GO AWAY WITHOUT ME! I’M COMING! CAN YOU HEAR ME? I WANT TO GO WITH YOU!”
In the quiet of the woods, my voice must’ve carried awfully far.
I listened for an answer.
After a minute or two, I realized that Steve wouldn’t call out, even if he’d heard me.
He might come for me, but he wouldn’t call out.
“WAIT FOR ME!” I shouted.
As I walked on, I was still worn out and sweaty and breathing hard, but now I had fear mixed in.
By yelling, I’d probably improved my chances of meeting up with Steve—but I’d lost any chance of taking him by surprise. From now on, the element of surprise would be on his side.
“Idiot,” I muttered.
Just keep quiet and maybe he won’t find me.
And I for damn sure won’t find him, either. Or Elroy’s key.
The key isn’t worth dying for.
So why am I doing this?
I realized that I could turn around right now and hurry silently away, find my way back to the house and not have to deal with Steve tonight—or maybe ever again. I could take a bath and go to bed. Tomorrow, clean the house. If I couldn’t get the blood off the carpet, I’d cut myself and make up a story for Serena and Charlie. They would probably believe whatever I decided to tell them. After dark, I’d tow away Elroy’s car with his body in the trunk and his head in the back seat and be done with all this.
I could do that.
But even as it went through my mind, I kept on walking deeper into the woods.
I’m not sure why.
Maybe it was something inside me that didn’t like to quit, that needed to see it through to the end, no matter what.
Something that needed to cut the last wires.
Not only did I keep walking, but I started shouting again. This time, I used his name.
“STEVE! HEY, STEVE! WHERE ARE YOU? CAN YOU HEAR ME? I DON’T KNOW WHERE YOU ARE! COME AND GET ME!”
Even if Steve wanted to keep clear of me, I figured he might be tempted to come looking—to