The Babysitter Murders - By Janet Ruth Young Page 0,68

but she dreads the thoughts she’ll have when she’s in the same room with him. Be strong, she tells herself. The only way out is through.

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“Have you called Mrs. Alex?” Dani asks her mom at breakfast the next morning. “Are we meeting her at three?”

“I’ll call her as soon as I get to the office,” Beth says. She grabs her phone and keys and heads to her morning appointments.

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“You don’t want to run along the water?” Gordy says after he hugs Dani for a long time.

“I don’t want to be recognized,” Dani says.

“I like your hair like that, by the way. You look sort of French.”

They start on a different inland route, past the town green and the colonial cemetery.

“You know,” Gordy continues, “nobody’s going to bother you if you’re with me. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

Dani smiles. Gordy wants to protect her. But what does he really know about people wanting to hurt one another? She doesn’t tell him about the Audi guy because he would be too upset.

She remembers reading about women who have been raped and how they never wanted to have sex with their husbands again. Some husbands didn’t understand, and they ended up divorcing their wives and finding someone else. After what she’s been through, she and Gordy might be like those people. What can they do to keep from drifting apart?

Her thoughts wander to this afternoon and what it will be like to see Alex after all this time. She’s nervous about seeing him, but she’s afraid to see Mrs. Alex. Of all the people in town, she dreads Mrs. Alex the most.

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Beth Solomon looks at her phone. It’s one o’clock already and she still hasn’t made the call. She didn’t lie to Dani about calling; she fully intended to see Alex and Mrs. Alex. However, she just can’t bring herself to call Mrs. Alex. She has called plenty of people in her life.

She’s made many calls that took a lot of guts. She’s given people bad news of all kinds, in business and otherwise. But this has to be the hardest call she’s ever been required to make.

The fact is that she’s ashamed to call Mrs. Alex. When Dr.

Mandel suggested it she cringed, and ever since they left Boston the necessity of the call has hung over her head like a punishment. Every aspect of this phone call makes her run from it. As a mother, she has to call another mother whose child has been threatened. She has to suggest that this mother put her child in jeopardy again. And even if Dani is no danger to anyone, her problems all must point to Beth in some way. She has not seen or spoken to Cynthia since the incident, and she knows what Cynthia must think of her. But Beth has never had to find out in person. Maybe Dani is getting better, and will continue to get better. But the bottom line is that Beth feels utterly ashamed, and she is unable to look Mrs. Alex in the eye.

She needs to call Dani, and Dr. Mandel if necessary, and ask for more time.

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Dani and Gordy stop in a weird little mom-and-pop store for an ice cream soda.

“Geez,” Dani says, “this is like the store that time forgot. Who comes in here?”

“Just people looking for cigarettes and porn,” Gordy says. “I’m sorry, that was crude.”

They sit at the counter on two sticky stools. “It isn’t Icey’s,”

Gordy says, “but it is ice cream.”

“I’ve never had bad ice cream, have you?” Dani asks.

“There’s no such thing,” Gordy agrees. “You’ll be back at Icey’s soon. You’ll be back everywhere soon, when people realize you’re still the kind, beautiful, sensitive, awesome girl they always thought you were. And I’m going to buy you the biggest ice cream at Icey’s to celebrate.”

“The Kitchen Sink Sundae?”

“Yep. It’s got like twenty-eight scoops of ice cream in it.”

“And it costs about fifty bucks.”

“So what? We’ll each have one.” He gives her a cold peck on the cheek. “I’m just glad to have you back.”

Dani grabs his arm and looks at his watch. “My God, it’s two thirty already. I’ve gotta go. I’ve got an appointment.”

“Not with your other boyfriend, I hope?”

T H E B A B Y S I T T E R M U R D E R S

Gordy’s playfulness is annoying. He has no idea about the kind of attention she’s gotten from men since the newspaper article. Not just that Audi driver. Lately her MyFace account