Alan Cook - Honeymoon for Three

As much as she wanted to close her eyes and make the present go away, she couldn’t do it. She had to escape; she had to get back to Gary. He must be out of his mind with fear and frustration. She couldn’t worry about her lost virtue. She would have a lifetime to do that. She got out of bed and pulled on her slacks and sweater, wishing she had some deodorant at least, to give herself a goat bath, as they called it in college. Well, she would dab some of the cold water from the camper’s tank under her arms. A comb would be nice, too. Then again, maybe she wouldn’t do these things. Why should she try to look and smell good for Alfred?

Gary made his decision. The layout of Bodega Bay helped him. Route 1 was the main street through town. It was narrow, with sharp turns. Traffic moved slowly. If Penny and Alfred had stopped somewhere for the night north of here on Route 1, they would come through this bottleneck.

He found a good location at a right-angle turn to the left. He could watch each vehicle as it approached, and see the driver and front-seat passenger. He would look at the driver first, since Alfred might have Penny stashed in the backseat.

He parked his car a hundred feet away where the road had a shoulder, so that he could retrieve it and give chase in a minimum amount of time. He had called the Highway Patrol. They hadn’t come up with any leads. Alfred hadn’t shown up in Lomita, although it was probably too early for that to happen, even if he had driven most of the night. He hadn’t been spotted anywhere else, either.

Gary couldn’t think of anything better to do than wait for Penny and Alfred to pass. If this didn’t work, he didn’t know what he would do next. He had to find Penny. His life would be meaningless without her.

He took up his position, leaning against a guardrail designed to keep a driver who tried to navigate the curve too fast from ending up on the rocks in the bay behind him. He practiced looking through the windshield of each car that came by. It would work as long as his concentration didn’t waiver. He had to stand, which was a good thing. He would never get too comfortable.

If he spotted Penny or Alfred, he would try to get the license plate number of the vehicle. If he turned and looked at the rear of the vehicle after it passed him it should be going slowly enough so that he could read the plate. He practiced doing this when traffic was light. He had a pad and pencil available to write the information down. He had a thermos of coffee to help keep him awake, but he would drink it sparingly, because he wouldn’t move from this spot, even if he had to go to the bathroom.

In contrast to her somber mood, Penny noticed that Alfred acted as if he were feeling very lighthearted this morning. He asked her how she had slept and solicitously examined the cut in her head. It became obvious to her as they ate breakfast that in her depravity she had done exactly what he wanted last night. She should use that to her advantage. Maybe she could get him to trust her more. She forced herself to smile at him and pretend to be happy. It was difficult, but it might help buy her freedom.

They repacked the stove and dishes in the camper and were ready to leave. Penny climbed into the passenger seat. When she saw Alfred pick up the roll of duct tape, she said, “Is that really necessary?” in her sweetest voice.

He hesitated, looking at her. She could almost see the wheels spinning in his brain. She held his eyes, trying to look her most seductive and most innocent at the same time. Promising bellybutton blow jobs and strict obedience. Finally he looked away and threw the tape into the storage cabinet.

Alfred sat in the driver’s seat, inserted the key into the ignition, and gave it a twist. There was no answering response from the starter. He tried again. Same result.

“The battery’s dead.” Alfred hit the steering wheel with his hand in frustration.

Penny didn’t know whether this was good news or bad news. The reason for it came to her.

“We left the dome light on last night.”

Alfred looked blank for a moment. He peered back at the offending light. He had obviously forgotten all about it. He got up and switched it off. He returned to his seat and tried the starter again. Nothing happened. He slumped over the steering wheel, at a loss as to what to do.

Penny knew what to do. She and Gary had been on one of their pre-honeymoon trips when they hadn’t been able to start the Beetle. They had both pushed it, and when its speed hit five miles per hour, Gary jumped into the driver’s seat with the ignition on and put it in gear. When he disengaged the clutch, it started. The camper had the same kind of transmission. The only problem was that it was a lot heavier, and they were parked on an uneven surface.

She debated whether to tell Alfred what to do. Was she better off with or without the camper? It was several miles to Route 1. She could certainly walk that distance-she had proved that-but would Alfred let her do it? She couldn’t outrun him. He might decide he couldn’t risk having her on foot and kill her here.

“It’s got a manual transmission. We can push-start it.”

“We can?”

Penny explained how she and Gary had started the Beetle. Then she and Alfred got out of the camper and surveyed the area. Even if they could move the camper with a push, it would be impossible for them to get it up to five miles-per-hour on the rough terrain. Penny saw that the only possibility was to push it back to the road, a distance of some thirty feet. The road sloped downhill toward the ocean.

Once the camper reached the road, it would roll of its own accord. One of them could jump into it and put it in gear. Then it would start easily. If she were the one to do that, she could just keep going and leave Alfred behind. She would be free. She was very tempted to try to talk him into it.

On the other hand, the person who jumped into the camper had a dangerous job. What if she didn’t make it and fell under the wheels? What if she didn’t gain control of the steering wheel soon enough and it hit a tree or went into the ditch that ran along one side of the road? It could easily roll over.

No, she would rather give Alfred that job. If he got hurt, she could make her escape. It sounded cold-blooded, but it was true. She had to remember that he had tried to kill her and Gary. He was the enemy. If the camper were wrecked, they would be no worse off than they were now.

An additional idea occurred to her. She explained to Alfred what had to be done. Then she said, “Before we do it, I need to go to the bathroom again.”

“You just went a little while ago.”

“I know, but it’s urgent. I need to get something to use for toilet paper.”

Not waiting for his acquiescence, Penny went into the camper and opened the storage cabinet. She extracted a pad of ruled paper she had seen there earlier, and the duct tape. She shoved the roll of tape underneath her sweater. The sweater’s bulk hid the bulge. She needed a pencil. She went forward and opened the glove compartment, keeping an eye on Alfred through the front windows. He was contemplating the logistics of what they were going to do and not looking at her.

She found a pencil, placed it in her pocket, and jumped out of the camper through the doorway with the sliding door. She headed toward the trees, flashing the pad at Alfred. That was her toilet paper. She went behind one of the big redwood trees. She was thankful for its bulk. He was watching and would see if she tried to escape, but he couldn’t see what she was doing.

She took the pencil out of her pocket and printed the words “Penny” and “Alfred” on the top sheet of paper of the pad in block letters. She held the pad in her hand as she wrote, and the letters came out very light. They wouldn’t be legible to somebody driving behind the camper. She had to find a way to darken them.