Title:Among the Missing
Author(s): Richard Laymon
Publisher(s): Headline Book Publishing
Pages: 320
Year: 2000
Format: EPUB
Language: English
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The next day, she$prime;d told her parents that she wanted a place of her own. They agreed at once. They not only agreed, but they helped her find a pleasant, three-bedroom house a mile away from home and they loaned her enough money for the down payment. After several months living alone except for occasional overnight visits from Johnny, Bob, Stu or Herb, she advertised in the Sierra Evening News for a roommate. Of the six women responding, she chose a friendly blonde named Faye Everett.
Her choice of roommate had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Faye$prime;s steady boyfriend was a hunk named Bass Paxton.
Sure it didn$prime;t.
And her decision to leave work early on this particular Saturday afternoon had absolutely nothing to do with the possibility of catching Bass in a delicious position with Faye. A remote possibility, but it could happen.
They would probably be back from their canoe trip by now. After all, they$prime;d taken off early in the morning, and it wasn$prime;t that far down the lake.
If she knew Faye at all — and she knew her very well — Faye would return from such an excursion feeling filthy and exhausted. Her first order of business would be to take a shower. Maybe Bass would get into the shower with her. Maybe they would even make love there. Probably not, though. Faye would probably make him wait so they could do it comfortably on the bed.
Ina wouldn$prime;t be surprised at all to find them asleep in Faye$prime;s room.
That might be a very nice thing to find.
She imagined Bass sprawled naked on top of the sheets, his body lit by rays of sunlight from the window.
Her spirits fell when she drove up to her house.
Bass$prime;s red Pontiac was nowhere to be seen.
Still, what did that really prove? Maybe he$prime;d parked it in the garage, or something.
Hardly likely, Ina thought.
She parked in the driveway, eased her car door shut, then walked quickly but silently to the front door of her house. Carefully, she unlocked the door and opened it.
The living room was deserted.
She shut the door, stepped out of her shoes, and walked to the hallway. All three bedroom doors stood open.
Oh, let them be here. Please. Asleep in Faye$prime;s room.
And maybe let Bass wake up and see me and smile.
And come to me.
She walked slowly down the hall, heart thudding hard as she looked into each doorway.
Nobody.
Disappointment gave her a hollow ache.
It$prime;s all right, she told herself. I beat them home, that$prime;s all. They might show up any second.
She entered her bedroom. Leaving the door open, she took off her clothes. Naked, she hung up her skirt and blouse in her closet. Then she carried her panties and bra down the hallway.
They could show up right now.
And here I$prime;d be.
Bass$prime;d sure get himself an eyeful.
But the front door didn$prime;t open. She entered the bathroom and dropped her bra and panties into the clothes hamper.
Out in the hall again, she listened for the sound of the front door opening. She could almost hear it. But not quite.
She was excited. Awfully excited, and awfully nervous because she suddenly knew that she wasn$prime;t returning to her own room.
She walked into Faye$prime;s bedroom.
Its carpet was cool and soft under her bare feet, warm where a patch of sunlight lay across it. The closet door stood open. The bed was neatly made. She went to Faye$prime;s dresser.
In the mirror above it, she looked at herself. Her eyes seemed flat and blank, the way they often looked when she was aroused. Her lips were parted. She licked them. Then she lowered her eyes to the dresser top. To the polished-oak jewelry box. She opened its lid.
There were plenty of rings and earrings, a single brooch, a few necklaces. Ina didn$prime;t care about them. She lifted out a shelf loaded with earrings and found, in what Faye called her «not-so-secret compartment,» the silver and turquoise necklace that Bass had given her.
Ina picked it up. She held it to her chest. Its cold weight felt exciting against her skin. Had Faye ever modeled it for Bass naked?
Fastening the clasp behind her neck, she stepped back from the mirror for a longer view. Her fingertips touched the smooth stone, the intricate silverwork. Then they strayed over her breasts, brushing against her nipples.
If Faye and Bass walked in the front door right now, there probably wouldn$prime;t be enough time to take off the necklace and put it back where it belonged.
Not enough time to get out of Faye$prime;s bedroom.
Ina would be caught, humiliated.
The thought of it frightened her — and heated her desire.
She stepped close to the dresser. Without taking off the necklace, she began to open the drawers. She found Faye$prime;s panties, folded and neatly stacked. Brassieres. Panty hose. Not quite as many pairs as Ina might have expected, but enough. One drawer held several nightgowns. One held only sweaters. There were six drawers in all. She searched every one of them, being careful not to disturb the neat arrangement of the contents.
She didn$prime;t know what she hoped to find — something belonging to Bass, maybe. Something personal. Something intimate.
Her hands trembled as she searched, and continued to tremble as she went to the closet.
There was something wrong about the closet.
Ina was puzzled. Her arousal diminished. She flipped through the hangers, no longer searching for an object to link her with Bass but trying instead to discover what made her nervous about the closet.
On tiptoes, she scanned the length of the shelf above the clothes bar.
Crouching, she let her eyes roam the dozen pairs of shoes on the closet floor. The shoes were set up in a single neat row near the back wall, but there were three gaps in the row.
Three pairs of shoes were gone.
Abruptly, Ina stood up straight. The hangers! The hangers were wrong. Of course.
Flicking through the suspended clothes, she found nine empty hangers.
Proud of her systematic approach to life, Faye never kept spare hangers in her closet. «Extra ones only end up on the floor,» she$prime;d explained.
She$prime;d done her laundry and ironing after work yesterday.
How could there be nine empty hangers?
Ina rushed over to Faye$prime;s bed, dropped to her knees and lifted the edge of the bedspread. The dark space between the box springs and the carpet was empty.
Suitcases are gone.
She went somewhere.
Without telling me.
On her feet, Ina hurried over to the dresser. With trembling hands, she reached behind her neck and unfastened the clasp of the necklace.
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