Free No Sanctuary by Richard Laymon Page A

not bad news. Shit, there’s nobody to get bad news about.
    Maybe a neighbor, someone from across the street who saw me come in. Maybe just a wrong number.
    At her apartment it was almost always a wrong number when it rang late at night.
    Why doesn’t it stop!
    Gillian gritted her teeth.
    Maybe an obscene caller, she thought. Maybe a burglar checking to find out if anyone’s home before dropping by.
    Maybe Fredrick Holden, calling in to ask what the hell I’m doing in his house. A pretty thought.
    Gillian realized that a few seconds had gone by since the last ring. She sat motionless in the tub, her back rigid, her heart thudding, and listened. There was silence except for the slow drip of water near her feet.
    Okay, she thought, he finally quit.
    Or someone picked up the phone.
    Charming idea.
    Absurd.
    She strained to hear a voice.
    Your damned imagination is running haywire tonight. What are you, going paranoid? The house is empty, empty. Nobody home but me. The caller hung up, that’s all.
    Shit.
    Gillian thrust herself up and climbed out of the tub. She rushed to the bathroom door, jerked it open, then ran dripping through the dark hall.
    This is great. If someone is ...
    Even before she reached the kitchen, she could see the pale shape of a wall phone just beyond its entrance. Nobody there. Of course.
    But the house had phones in the den and bedroom.
    She reached for the handset. Stopped.
    Drips of water trickled down her legs.
    What if you pick it up and hear voices?
    That’s easy. You beat it the fuck out of here.
    Or drop dead of cardiac arrest.
    She snatched up the phone. A dial tone buzzed in her ear.
    Of course.
    Still shaking, Gillian returned to the bathroom. She locked the door, then stepped into the tub and sat down. She took a few swallows of wine.
    Now just relax, she told herself. Nothing’s wrong.
    She set aside the glass and lay back. The water washed over her, covering her to the neck, its warm caress soothing, but not enough to make the gooseflesh go away. She rubbed her thighs. The skin felt tender and achy at first, then better. She rubbed one arm, then the other. She massaged the back of her neck. She covered her breasts until the tightness faded and the flesh was smooth again. Letting her arms sink into the heat, she closed her eyes. She took a deep breath.
    As the fear seeped away, a heavy weariness settled into Gillian.
    She moved her arms and legs, sending gentle currents rolling against her body. Her mind seemed vague. She could almost fall asleep. The water bed would be nice.
     
    She was back in her own apartment, lying on the sofa.
    Feeling pleasantly warm, her limbs all lazy and limp. Suddenly, she was flotsam; drifting, floating beneath clear sparkling water. She felt so-ooo peaceful ... Sunlight glittered like diamonds through the rippling waves above. Below, a mass of dark swirling weeds undulated in the current. Reaching up, but not quite touching her.
    With a gasp of fear, she swam up toward the sunlight.
    She was back on the sofa, the TV on, the sound turned low. Shadowy images flickered across her vision. Her eyelids closed ...
    And snapped open again.
    In one limp hand she held a glass of wine. The wine was red and dark. Staring into its ruby depths she saw ...
    But the glass slipped from her grasp and fell to the floor. Rising up on an arm, she looked down at it. Watched the stem snap away ...
    Click.
    Smoothly. Neatly.
    Like a slender neck, broken by a strong, practiced band.
    She stared at it for what seemed like an age. Then her eyes slid beyond the glass to the patch of spilt wine spreading around it.
    Blood.
    Whose?
    Her face felt taut, expressionless. As if her skull was hard, molded wax. She glanced down at her arms, turning them over, this way and that. Studied her hands.
    No blood there.
    Her arms fell, heavily, and her eyes strayed down the length of her body. It came as no surprise to see that she was naked. Naked and glistening with sweat. It was so hot.
    I need