Richard Laymon - The Lake

Sitting cross-legged at the far end of the sofa, she smiled at Mom, took a deep breath, and said:

“Remember Nelson? He of beef Willington fame?”

Taking a sip of brandy, Mom nodded slowly…

In the kitchen, Deana gave Warren a cheeky grin. “Looks like we got ourselves a situation out there!” She paused, head tilted to one side, then said, “So, lover boy, you came over to deliver our books?”

“Right.”

“That sure is one lousy excuse! Admit it, Warren Hastings, you just couldn’t keep away!”

They smiled broadly, and their eyes met.

Suddenly, they weren’t laughing anymore. They were deadly serious.

“God, Deana. It’s been a helluva long time.” Warren’s voice was low, breathy. “Too long.” He held out his arms. “Wanta finish off our… unfinished business?”

“Mmmm. Don’t I just…”

Deana snugged into him, pressing close, her arms tight around him. Their lips met. His searching, impatient; hers puffy, bruised, and hurting like hell. She pressed into him some more, feeling him stir and rise against her belly. Moaning, she felt the teasing ache between her thighs.

Damn right, she thought. It’s been a long, long time…

Too long…

She trembled as his hand stole inside her blouse, shivering as he reached for her naked breast. He held it, squeezed it a little, his thumb stroking her taut nipple beneath the filmy cloth.

She moaned, squirming, wanting more—did a little exploring of her own. Easing in against him, she peeled down the zipper of his pants. Her hand closed around him, feeling his hard-on, strong and warm… They moved against each other in a steady rhythm.

Then, abruptly drawing away, she whispered, “Later, Warren. Later. Soon as Gran and Pops are gone, we can…”

“Promise?”

“Mmmmm,” she sighed, a surge of joy welling inside her.

“I’ll hold you to that,” he said, kissing the tip of her nose.

She smiled softly, and her arms tightened around him…

Everybody has a dream. Well, pretty much everybody I knew at Berkeley had one. Something to pin your hopes on, y’ know? Mine was to write the great American novel. Oh yeah? I know, I know… but seriously, that’s why I read American lit. And considering the stuff we’d been through that summer of ’99, I figured I’d enough material to write several novels. So that’s what I do.

Write novels, I mean.

Couldn’t have done it without Warren, though. Had his support all the way—once we decided to “finish what we started” the night we saw the last of Mommy Dearest.

We married soon after I graduated, and our first joint project was to coauthor a nonfiction work, Lore and Legend of Native America which later, would you believe, became a smash-hit TV series!

Since then, as well as running Eureka, Warren’s written a couple more books. Pretty serious stuff: Shakespeare and the Dark Lady , based on his theory that she was actually an illegitimate daughter of King Henry VIII of England.

Next up was The Secret Side of Edgar Allan Poe .

That went down really well in the U.K. We were so thrilled when it hit 3rd place in the Times nonfiction bestseller list. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for upcoming film rights, too—maybe starring Johnny Depp? He’s still my favorite actor, by the way.

Our second joint project, and most successful to date, were our triplets—yeah, triplets , how about that?

Spooky, eh?

We named them Jack, Warren Junior, and Helen. And get a loada this. At birth, Helen had a head of thick, black hair . The nurses swore they’d never seen anything like it before!

Jeez. I’m trying not to dwell too much on that. For now, she’s simply our darling little daughter…

Anyhow, six months after the Mace ordeal, Mom met up with her old pal, Ben Dornay. They married a couple of weeks later. Ben Junior came along ten months after that.

Then Mom opened three more restaurants along the Coast; phew, that woman is truly amazing—she has so much energy! Ben Senior realized his dream, also (everybody has one, right?), and founded the successful computer animation studio Megatron. The man is pure genius!

Right now, they’re enjoying the good life in Beverly Hills and, in the best movie tradition, are living happily ever after. Mom and Ben make a perfect couple. I’ve never seen Mom look so content—and that’s fine by me. She sure deserves it!

As for Mattie and Sheena—well, they got together shortly after the Mace affair and now live in San Diego. Mattie’s gotten her own personal security company, hiring herself out, and her team of bodyguards, to some pretty important people: Hollywood stars, government officials, heads of state…

Sheena opened up Movers & Shakers, a club in West L.A., a twenty-four-hour hangout for gays and other kindred spirits. The club attracts major celebs—incognito, of course—and I’m told it’s a huge success. As a legacy from her Pacey days, Sheena often stands on the door. Keeping her hand in, she calls it.

And yeah, Sheena and I get along fine—after all, we do have something in common, apart from Payne blood. Like die-hard sports! When she drops by our place in Mill Valley, she gives me kickboxing lessons—and I take her out on my “midnight runs.” With Warren, of course. He worries about the weird characters sneaking around at night. Men!

Oh, and Sabre comes, too—except when his hips act up. Then he stays home and takes it easy. He’s just reached his tenth birthday—and I’m told that’s pretty good for a German shepherd dog!

“I’ve always been a Laymon fan. He manages to raise serious gooseflesh.”

“Laymon is incapable of writing a disappointing book.”

“Laymon always takes it to the max. No one writes like him and you’re going to have a good time with anything he writes.”

“If you’ve missed Laymon, you’ve missed a treat.”

“A brilliant writer.”

“I’ve read every book of Laymon’s I could get my hands on. I’m absolutely a longtime fan.”

“One of horror’s rarest talents.”

“Laymon is, was, and always will be king of the hill.”

“Laymon is an American writer of the highest caliber.”

“Laymon is unique. A phenomenon. A genius of the grisly and the grotesque.”

“Laymon doesn’t pull any punches. Everything he writes keeps you on the edge of your seat.”

“One of the best, and most reliable, writers working today.”

INTO THE FIRE

COME OUT TONIGHT

RESURRECTION DREAMS

ENDLESS NIGHT

BODY RIDES

BLOOD GAMES

TO WAKE THE DEAD

NO SANCTUARY

DARKNESS, TELL US

NIGHT IN THE LONESOME OCTOBER

ISLAND

THE MUSEUM OF HORRORS(anthology)

IN THE DARK

THE TRAVELING VAMPIRE SHOW

AMONG THE MISSING