Marshall drove all the way, with Jan Sleet in the passenger seat and Vicki in the back. The rain had started around noon, and it seemed to come down harder and harder as the afternoon progressed. It was a driving rain, with strong, unpredictable winds. At times, Marshall could see almost nothing except the little patch of highway right in front of the car, and an occasional pair of blurry headlights coming from the opposite direction. And, of course, the lightning.
He had tried the headlights on high beam a couple of times when no cars were coming, but the rain was so thick it just reflected the light back at them, making it even harder to see.
(why are Jan Sleet, Marshall and Vicki Wasserman going to visit Perry Nelson?)
"Isn't that the turnoff up ahead?" he asked. He slowed the car as his employer squinted into the darkness and rain. By the time she responded, they were nearly stopped.
"Yes," she said with some hesitation. "That's it."
Marshall turned off the highway and started along the bumpy dirt road. It was really just two tire tracks through the woods, and he had to drive very slowly. He hoped they wouldn't meet a car coming the other way. If they had, he would probably have had to drive in reverse all the way back to the highway.
Suddenly, there was a flash of lightning and a crash of thunder, and Jan Sleet yelled, "Stop the car!"
Marshall slammed on the brakes as a tree about ten feet ahead of them slowly started to tilt across the road. He had a brief, crazy idea of gunning the car to get past it before it blocked their way, but then he saw what it really was and instead he threw the car into reverse and backed up another twenty feet or so.
It wasn't a tree, it was a pole carrying electric and telephone wires, and with a mighty creak and crash it fell, completely blocking the road.
"Do you want me to move it?" Vicki asked.
He reached back and put his hand firmly on her arm. "Don't even think about it," he said, peering ahead through the rain. "I can't see where the wires are. They seem to have broken loose. And with this wind . . ." He turned to Jan Sleet. "If we walk from here, it's not that far, is it?"
She nodded, seeming more sure of herself. "It's just over this hill here," she said, gesturing to her left. "The road curves around."
"Well, come on," Marshall said, opening the car door.
Vicki climbed out also, squinting against the rain as she zipped up her leather jacket. Then they both helped Jan Sleet get out and on her feet.
Marshall stretched to get the kinks out of his back, and then opened the trunk to get Jan Sleet's briefcase, leaving the other luggage for the moment. When he closed it, he looked around. "Where is she?"
Vicki laughed, rain running down her face, and gestured up the hill. "Left us behind. She's probably toasting her toes and drinking hot chocolate already. Come on."
They blundered up the hill until they got to the top. By then Marshall's hair was soaking wet, his left foot squished as he walked (he had stepped into a deep puddle) and he was wondering how his employer had managed to move so quickly.
Coming down the far side of the hill, he nearly walked right into the side of the house.
"Is this it?" Vicki asked. "Doesn't seem to be anybody home."
"The power's probably out," he said, feeling his way along the shingled wall. Then they heard a knocking from around the corner of the house.
Sitting on the couch together in the dark, sipping
their tea, the storm still crashing around outside, Perry sighed.
Writer Molests Teen in Secluded
Cottage
"Needs More Lead in his Pencil,"
says Co-ed.
"Why are you here?" he asked.
"I wanted something that was totally different from what my life has been until now," she said quietly.
(When exactly had he taken her hand in his?)
"Do you realize I haven't had a drink since I got here?" she asked. "You don't know how wild that feels. It's like I've spent the last couple of years wrapped in cotton padding, and now I'm naked. It's very intense."
He felt her shift on the couch so she was facing him, taking his hand between hers. "I'm no groupie, Perry. I don't give a damn about you. You're just a travel agent to me, someone to get me where I'm going." He smelled her warm breath on his lips. "I don't want–"
There was a thump from outside the house, followed by a hard knock on the door, something harder than flesh on wood.
Nicky whispered, "We have to see who that is," and, squeezing his shoulders with strong fingers, she kissed him as they slowly stood up.
The rapping came again. Perry grabbed the flashlight and made his way to the door, Nicky right behind him. He handed her the flashlight and picked up the baseball bat that always leaned beside the door.
Outside the door was a tall skinny woman in a trench coat and a fedora hat. She was absolutely soaked, holding a large pair of horn-rimmed glasses in one hand and a cane in the other. She waved the cane, which she had been using to knock on the door, in a kind of salute. "Greetings, Perry," she said cheerily. "Sorry to intrude on your solitude, but we have something important to discuss."
They stood aside as she came in. Perry closed the door and she held out her hand. "The others are still wandering around outside somewhere. The power line was down across the road so we had to leave the car."
Perry looked a little disconcerted. "I'm pleased to see you, Jan, but why are you here? What do we have to discuss, and who are the 'others'?"
"My assistant Marshall, and my sister."
Perry gestured towards Nicky. "You–"
Jan Sleet squinted in the dim candle-light. "Oh, Hello, Nicky," she said. "Is Sarah here also?"
Before either Perry or Nicky could respond, the door crashed open again and a tiny black-clad figure burst in, shaking off water in all directions.
"I'm fuckin' soaked!" Vicki announced with feeling. "I– Aaaahhh!" she said as she caught sight of Nicky. Vicki took a step back and caught her foot on the edge of the rug. She windmilled her arms around but couldn't keep her balance and ended up sitting down on the floor, nearly crashing into Marshall as he stepped in behind her.
Nicky came forward and looked down. "Vicki?" she asked uncertainly. "What are you doing here?"
"What are you doing here?" Vicki demanded as she got to her feet.
"I live here," Nicky said serenely, causing Perry to drop the baseball bat on his foot.
Jan Sleet finished drying her glasses and put them back on. She looked at Nicky for a moment. "You're really SarahBeth Wasserman, aren't you?" she asked the blonde girl.
Nicky glared at each of them in turn, finishing with Jan Sleet. "Who the fuck are you?" she demanded.
"She's my sister," Vicki said, steering Jan Sleet forward.
"You haven't got a sister, Stick," SarahBeth said with disdain.
Vicki grabbed Jan Sleet's arm and held it out for SarahBeth to shake. "I do so have a sister, and here she is. She's a famous writer."
later that night, some things are explained
if you've read the novel U-town, more things are explained