The Lisa Series (9 page)

I interrupted, “Maybe you should be talking to Mrs. Lindal?”

“No,” he said quickly, “Frank wanted me to call you. Frank already explained things to ah...ah...Mrs. Lindal a couple of days ago.”

That must have been the cause of Lisa’s quiet withdrawal. “What do you want with me then?”

“It’s really Frank’s idea. I mean about the place and all. Don’t get me wrong, Mr. Lindal, I mean I couldn’t have thought of a better...I mean, well, it’s the Holiday Inn, the one off route eighty-four, you know?”

“Yes, the new one.”

“Right! That’s it. Frank wants you to get a room there, a nice room with two double beds for tomorrow night.” He paused.

“Then what?” I could feel my body tighten and the familiar emptiness in the pit of my stomach.

“Frank, you know, he wants you to bring Mrs. Lindal. I mean, she knows about it. She agreed.”

“And after I bring her there?”

“She...she’s supposed to meet me in the bar around eight o’clock. Only Frank wants you to be there too, but not exactly with her, you know?”

“I’m to be in the bar but not with her?”

“Yeah, that’s right. She’s supposed to come in after you’re already there.” He waited a moment. When I didn’t respond, he went on. “I’d rather it was just me and her, but Frank wants you there. He says you’re used to it?” It was a question.

“It’s happened before,” I said.

“Well, like I told you, I’d rather be there with just her, but Frank makes the rules.”

“Yes, he does. Then what?”

“After a little while, you go back to the room and we follow.”

“Then the favor?”

“Yeah, in the room there. Mrs. Lindal is supposed to bring this little tape recorder...”

“I know about it.”

“Okay, I guess that’s all.” Carl sounded relieved. “Oh, I forgot, Frank said to tell you there might be a surprise. Okay?”

“Yes.”

“And you’ll get us a nice room?”

“I’ll call now.”

“Oh, one more thing,” the boy’s voice was more confident.

“Yes?”

“Ask your wife...I mean tell her to wear that dress she had on at Bruno’s. The one without a back, and them high heels, you know, no stockings and nothin under the dress.” I didn’t say anything. He took a deep breath. “You’ll tell her that Mr. Lindal?”

“Yes, Carl, I’ll tell her.”

As it turned out, it wasn’t necessary to inform her. She’d received complete instructions from Frank. I was to reserve the room, bring extra tapes for the recorder, shave her pussy, drive her there, and once again be a silent witness. Then, I was to bring her home. She reminded me of Frank’s rule that we were not to have sex together. “It’s the last week, Billy,” she pleaded. “I’m sure Frank’s looking for an excuse to add extra days. That’s why he’s making me do this. That’s the reason for the tape recorder. That’s why you have to watch. He thinks you’re ready to break.”

“What about you? Aren’t you ready to break?” As soon as I spoke, I realized it sounded like an accusation.

“I hate it, Billy. You know that. Frank keeps talking about a party at Ryan’s. He’s just looking for an excuse.” She turned away from me and began to cry. “Billy, I’m scared of Ryan’s. Frank keeps bringing it up. You were there. You know what they would do...” she turned back to me, her face streaked with tears. “And tomorrow it’s Carl, that creepy little pervert who got us in this trouble. He caused this horrible thing and in a few hours...”

I reached out to take her in my arms, but she ran down the hall and closed the bathroom door behind her. There had to be a way for us to break Frank’s control. There were times when it seemed as if Frank was succeeding in destroying all that was good between Lisa and me. If we went to the police and told them the whole story, how her son Richie had been tricked, the tapes Frank insisted on, the way he was blackmailing us, maybe they would let Richie off with a warning and put Frank behind bars.

But they’d ask why we didn’t come to them right away, why we accepted Frank’s proposition. We’d have to tell them about Ryan’s, and Silk, and now Carl. Of course, Frank would give them Lisa’s tapes and claim that she really wanted to do the things she had done. The tapes would indicate he was telling the truth. Besides, how could we be sure the police would be at all sympathetic. Frank was one of them, an ex-cop. We’d been through so much all ready. With Frank in possession of the recordings, we had no case at all. If Frank kept his word, in just one week from now this terrible ordeal would be over. I decided to say nothing to Lisa about going to the police.

The next afternoon, as I helped her prepare, I could tell she was still hurt and angry. As I shaved between her legs, she kept her eyes closed and didn’t speak. Once, I nicked her, but she didn’t even flinch. She was withdrawing, physically and emotionally. However, I couldn’t help but notice that her pussy was becoming wet. She hadn’t experienced an orgasm since last week with Silk. Up until then, Frank had been making her come several times a night. In her reports to me, she’d described having two or three orgasms each time she visited him. One night she had four.

In spite of her determination to shut down her senses, a week without sex coupled now with the scrape of the razor and the warm soapy water had begun to stimulate her.

When I finished, she relaxed for a long time in the tub. Before getting dressed, she perfumed and oiled her body. Then, with bright red polish, she painted her toenails and fingernails. These were the same meticulous preparations she’d made for Frank and Silk. The transformation was extremely provocative, but she remained detached...almost as if it were someone else’s body she perfumed, someone else’s nails she so carefully painted.

The thought of her with Frank, the sight of her with Silk, and the idea of her with the boy, Carl, almost drove me crazy. In my waking hours I would imagine her with them, and at night she was with them in my dreams. I wanted her so much. My own cock was painfully rigid most of the time. The fact that she had never prepared herself like this for me and had never said or done the kinds of things Frank required of her seemed only to make my desire for her stronger. Although I knew she loved me and hated Frank, there were times when I would have gladly traded places with him.

She’d bought new leather pumps, black like the old ones with what seemed to be an even higher, thinner heel. Usually she complained about Frank’s insisting she go out in mid-winter without stockings, but tonight she’s slid her pretty bare feet into the new shoes and said nothing.

I stood, unobserved, watching her from the hallway. Carefully she pulled the backless dress over her head and cinched the wide black belt tightly around her tiny waist. She certainly didn’t look like a married housewife. She looked theatrical; perhaps an actress, or model, or dancer. But, I thought, a very sad one.

We’d put a new tape and fresh batteries in the recorder, which she dropped into her purse. I watched her pack a small suitcase. Into it she placed a new white negligee and white high heeled shoes. She included her make-up and body oil and perfume, four white candles, two champagne glasses, and a corkscrew.

I went to the closet for her coat. As I held it for her, she reminded me once again that she would have to say and do certain things that Frank had told her to say and do or had hinted at. She mentioned again the need for me to remain silent.

Suddenly, she turned around and hugged me tight. Her tiny body shook violently as she struggled to keep from sobbing. “Billy...oh, Billy, it’s awful. I try not to think about it, and I try not to feel anything, but it’s impossible!” She looked up at me. “That boy...he’s only a few years older than Richie. He’s ignorant. He’ll be loud and crude. You saw how he was...how he looked at me that night in Bruno’s. The thought of him touching me...of...of what I have to...” The trembling stopped as quickly as it had begun. I could see the tears in her eyes, but she held them back. She took a deep breath, “Promise, Billy, that you will help me just like you did with Silk. The thirty days are almost over. Please, Billy?”

“Yes, Lisa, I promise.” For me, Silk had been the test. This didn’t seem nearly as bad.

On the way to the Holiday Inn, she had me stop and buy two bottles of champagne. “I can’t do it absolutely sober,” she said. I thought about the skyrocketing Visa bill. She’d used the card for her new nightgowns, shoes, perfume and cosmetics, and now the room reservations and champagne. In the past, we never charged things we couldn’t afford. In the past, she worried constantly about money; saving coupons, looking for bargains, making do with a limited and rather shabby wardrobe. But since the contract with Frank, she bought what he told her to buy without questioning and with no apparent concern about how we were going to pay.

We arrived at the motel at seven-thirty. She was to meet Carl in the bar at eight o’clock. “Do you know anything about a surprise?” I asked, remembering that Carl had mentioned it.

“No, not really. Frank said maybe later tonight there would be a phone call, and that I had to be agreeable. That’s probably why he wanted you to bring the extra tapes. He said that whatever happened, he wanted the tapes to keep running.”

“Silk again?” I asked. “Or maybe Frank himself?”

She was becoming upset. “Please, Billy, one thing at a time. I’m terrified he might have Ryan’s on his mind.” She took the suitcase into the bathroom and quickly closed the door. In a moment, she was back. “I’m sorry, honey,” she tried a little smile. “I’m uptight. It’s nerves. I don’t think there will be a phone call. Frank likes to put the pressure on me. He thinks it’s funny. I told him that I might not be able to do this thing with Carl. That’s when he mentioned Ryan’s again and brought up the stuff about a surprise.” She looked at her watch. “You better go out. I’ll follow in a couple of minutes. When...when it’s about time to come back here, I’ll give you a signal and you leave first. Don’t lock the door.” She looked around, then pointed to a dark corner of the room. “There’s a chair for you.”

“Lisa, Jesus, Lisa let’s...”

She shook her head. “We can’t. You know that. Only a few more days. Please, Billy.”

“I’m sorry, it’s just that...”

“I know, I know,” she said.

It was a large rectangular bar. Only a few people were there, businessmen and, except for Carl, no one I knew. Carl was wearing a plaid coat, a striped shirt, and red tie. He looked shorter and broader than I’d remembered. He watched me enter. His widely spaced eyes were set in a round, flat, boyish face. I started to pull up a stool as far away from him as possible, but he pointed to one a few feet from his own.

I saw that he was drinking plain ginger ale. There were four empty seats between us. Carl, satisfied that I was near enough, turned to a much older man seated next to him. “She’ll be along any minute now,” he said in a voice that carried throughout the room. “She’s a married woman,” he laughed, “but she don’t get enough action at home so she’s kind of lookin to get what she needs from me.” The man shook his head and grinned. “She’s even paying for the room,” Carl continued. He glanced toward the entrance. “I mean, wait till you see her. Jesus, she looks like a movie star!”

“Yeah, well maybe you’d be interested in sharing,” the older man leaned toward Carl. “If she’s anything like you say, I’d be willing.”

“Nah, no way. This one I keep all to myself,” Carl laughed again. “There she is now!” he said, standing up and pointing. Everyone turned to watch Lisa. Carl was right. She did look like a movie star. The dress molded her splendid body. It was obvious that she wore no bra, and the fact that her legs were bare suggested that underneath the dress she might not be wearing anything at all. Her short black hair shone and, even in the dim light, her wet lips glistened.

She ignored the men’s staring. She glanced quickly at me, then walked straight to Carl. Before she slid up on the stool next to him, I saw her reach into her bag to turn on the recorder. Carl, grinning like the village idiot, looked at her then around the bar at all of the successful men who would have given anything to be in his shoes.

“Hey, Mrs...I mean...uh...Lisa, I was just telling these guys,” he gestured around the room.

“Telling them what?” Lisa prompted, moving her handbag so that it rested on the bar between them. “What were you telling them, Carl?” Since entering the room her face had remained passive, unsmiling, her eyes empty. Now, her voice was low, and she sounded almost like a mother questioning her child. “What exactly what were you saying, Carl?”

“Well, I...I...” Carl began to stammer.

“Never mind,” Lisa said, and picked up the bar menu. The bartender had come over to take her order. Carl laughed nervously. The older man shook his head and smiled. Lisa ordered a small split of champagne and another ginger ale for Carl. The older man tapped Carl’s shoulder. “They shouldn’t send a boy to do a man’s work,” he said and everyone laughed.

Carl’s face became scarlet. I thought he would either start a fight, or leave. Instead, he turned to Lisa, “Maybe Mrs...Mrs. Lindal, maybe you and me ought to go on down to Ryan’s and check out the action?”

I could see Lisa’s back stiffen, and her hands gripped the edge of the bar. She took a deep breath and relaxed. She pressed her bare leg against Carl’s and, leaning toward him placed her hand on his knee. “Please, Carl,” she said, “it’s cold out and we have a nice room right here.”

“Yeah, but...”Carl began.

Lisa moved her hand along Carl’s thigh toward the obvious bulge in his pants. “And Carl,” she continued, “all afternoon I’ve been thinking about it...about you and me together.”

“Yeah, well Okay,” Carl said. “But it better be good.” He glanced around at the envious men. It was clear that he understood he had won. Frank had provided him with the magic word. Lisa was his. As if to confirm what the three of us now knew she said, “I’ll be good, Carl. I promise.”

Carl moved his barstool closer to hers and, just as he’d seen Frank do, he slid his hand across her bare back. Again, Lisa grew tense and started to pull away. The men had stopped drinking and were watching them closely. It was too much. I stood up. Lisa glanced at me, then quickly leaned against Carl and kissed him softly on the neck.