Freaky Deaky

It was strange, when she thought of Woody Ricks now as Mr. Woody, this pathetic creature, it changed the way she remembered being sexually assaulted by him: being thrown on the bed and flipped over with her heinie in the air. Was that funny? Maybe it was from certain angles, or how you might look at it a long time from now. She could still act indignant, easy, and say he wasn't just sort of there, he was there, because she was there too, underneath the fat slob. What she couldn't say was that he had actually done it to her. When Sergeant Maureen Downey visited her in the hospital, Maureen asked if there had been penetration and she told Maureen, Sort of. Maureen said he'd either put his penis in her or he hadn't. And she told Maureen, truthfully, because of the state she was in at the time she wasn't sure. Maureen said it didn't matter, it was still criminal sexual conduct of one degree or another.

"If we can prove it."

Greta said to Chris last night, "He must know what he did." Chris said, Well, the man had been told, if he didn't remember. She said,

"Then maybe he's making the offer because his conscience bothers him."

When Chris said the man didn't have one, Mr. Woody ceased being pathetic and turned cold and mean and Greta got mad. She said, "Then he's adding insult to injury, treating me like I'm some kind of dinky legal matter he can settle out of court."

This morning, lying in Chris's dad's bed, looking at Woody's offer through a dull, semi-hangover headache, she began to think, Hell, even the anrtmnt was an insult. A stack of bills no more than three or four inches high. s was on the phone when Greta came in the kitchen and walked past the table without looking at him, going to the range. She heard him say,

"Just a second, Maureen." And then, "Oh, my goodness," before saying,

"The coffee's right there."

Greta said, "I see it," standing with her back to him in a blue T-shirt that covered her rear end and stopped.

"There's coffee cake in the oven. There's juice. I'll fix you an egg, if you want."

"I'm fine," Greta said, pouring herself a mug of coffee.

"You sure are." Then heard him say, "Okay, Maureen, what's that address again?"

Greta bent from the waist to open the oven and gave Chris a shot of her plain white panties.

"Five-fifty?… I'm sorry. Yeah, I got it. Five-fifteen Canfield."

Greta came over to the table with her coffee and coffee cake.

"Maureen, I'm sorry. Hold it again, will you?"

They smiled at each other. Greta could feel hers and knew his was real. Look at his eyes.

"Will you sit down?"

"I don't want to bother you."

"You already have."

She said, "Okay," and sat down across from him and began listening to his conversation as she glanced at the front page of the morning Free Press on the table. They were talking about Robin. Her name was Robin Abbott.

Chris said, "Maybe she's at work." He said, "Well, you have to find out. Go there and talk to somebody." He said, "I'd be glad to. You're kidding, but I'm not. I'd go in a minute." He said, "Call Huron Valley, see if she had a job lined up." He said, "Oh, I thought she just got out…

Yeah, if somebody had been killed she could still be in. I remember Mark, but I don't remember a Robin Abbott.

What was the guy's name, Emerson?" Greta watched him write Emerson Gibbs on the newspaper.

"Give me the mother's name… She's got dough, huh? Live out there."

He underlined the names and then drew boxes around them. Greta watched him look up and smile and then look down at the names again as he said,

"I'd sure like to go with you." He said, "I know, but you're gonna find that out.

Have you talked to Wendell yet?" Greta watched him glance at the wall clock. It was eight thirty-five. He said, "You want to talk to Robin you're gonna have to hurry.

Once Wendell gets on her…" He listened and said, "Yeah, but she's not gonna be in a very cooperative frame of mind if she's a suspect.

Hey, you know what you could do? Wendell goes with you like he's with Sex Crimes and then sneaks up on her with Mark. What a tragedy, Jesus Christ, the guy steps out for a can of peanuts… You know what I'm thinking? Since Wendell's gonna talk to her anyway. Take me with you … I mean it." He said, "That's 17? beside the point. They're not gonna send a guy from the Bomb Squad, but that's who you need. I could look around there while you're talking to her…" He said, "Yeah, I'll wait."