The Lonely Lady by Harold Robbins Page B

figured something was wrong. That was when we went after her.”
    “What made you think that?” John asked Fred.
    “Walt and his friends were drinkin’ pretty good. I thought they were acting mean.”
    “Who is this boy Walt that you’re talking about?” Veronica asked. “I haven’t heard JeriLee mention him before.”
    “Walt Thornton,” Bernie said. “He lives out at the house on the Point.”
    “The writer’s son?” John asked.
    “Yes.”
    “What happened when you got there?”
    It was Fred who answered. “Walt was holding her on the ground, the other boy was doin’ things to her. She was screamin’ so loud we could hear her on the other side of the house.”
    John’s face was tight. He picked up the telephone.
    “What are you doing?” Veronica asked.
    “I’m calling the police,” he answered in a tight voice.
    “Wait a minute,” she said, taking the telephone from his hand and putting it down. “We don’t know if they did anything yet.”
    John stared at her. “You saw what they did. They were like animals. They tortured her. Isn’t that enough?”
    “Did you see them doing anything else?” she asked Fred in a calm voice.
    The black boy’s face was impassive. “I don’t know what you mean, ma’am.”
    She flushed. “Did you see them having intercourse with her?”
    “No, ma’am.” Fred’s voice was even. “I don’t think they got that far.”
    “You see?” she asked, turning back to her husband. “They didn’t do anything.”
    “They did enough,” John said angrily.
    “You call the police and everybody in town will know what’s happened,” she said. “I don’t think Mr. Carson would like that.”
    “I don’t give a damn what Mr. Carson would like.”
    “Besides, we don’t know what JeriLee might have done to provoke them.”
    “You don’t believe that?”
    “That’s the first thing people will think. I know this town and so do you.”
    John was silent for a moment. “Okay. I’ll wait until the doctor comes down. We’ll see what he has to say.” He turned back to the boys. “I don’t know how to thank you for what you’ve done. If it weren’t for you…” His voice trailed off.
    The boys stood looking awkward.
    “Would you like a cup of coffee or something?” Veronica asked.
    Fred shook his head. “No, thank you, ma’am. I have to be getting back to the club. They’ll be wonderin’ what happened to me. We’ll just wait a minute to hear what the doctor says.”
    “You don’t have to wait,” Veronica said quickly. Suddenly she wanted them out of the house. If anything more had happened to JeriLee she did not want them to know about it. “I’ll call you first thing in the morning.”
    Bernie hesitated. He glanced at Fred, then nodded.
    “Okay,” he said reluctantly. They started moving toward the door.
    Veronica cleared her throat. “I’d appreciate it if you would keep this to yourselves,” she said. “This is a small town. You know how people will talk even if there’s nothing to talk about.”
    Bernie nodded. “You don’t have to worry about us, Mrs. Randall. We won’t say anything.”
    The door closed behind them and John came back to his wife. “The doctor’s been up there a long time.”
    “It’s only fifteen minutes.” She glanced up the staircase, then back to him. “I don’t know how JeriLee could get herself into a position like that.”
    “You heard what the boys said,” John replied. “They were supposed to drop her off here.”
    “Do you believe that?” she said.
    He met her eyes. “Yes,” he said simply.
    “I don’t,” she said flatly. “I know JeriLee. She’s more like her father than I like to think. He never thought of consequences, neither does she. I think she knew exactly what she was doing.”
    “You’re not being fair to her,” he said angrily. “JeriLee’s a good girl.”
    How naïve he was, she thought. “We’ll see what the doctor has to say,” she said noncommittally. “I’ll put