second-to-none disturbed me and i needed to find out more about him, i needed to speak with harry. who could this man be? and what were his connections with leroy? lissell had warned me of him when she was in intensive care, and again tonight. mean and dangerous. this made goosebumps all over my arms. i suddenly shivered.

"someone walk on your grave darling?" goodbody asked.

"maybe." i replied.

my car acted awful, it smoked, grunted and farted all the way to belkens. andy was sitting outside, alone. "where's nikki?" i asked.

"gone." he said.

"what do you mean gone?"

"we got into an argument carlee, a bad one. nikki called her mom and a cop came and picked her up. said he had orders to take her to indiana." andy was sad, and upset. it was easy to tell.

"what did you fight about andy?"

"gloria, mainly. it doesn't matter, she's gone and will probably never return."

"oh andy, i'm so sorry." i hugged him tightly.

"carlee, carlee, what have i done to deserve this?" i felt so sorry for him, there wasn't much i could do though. we went into the store and sat down on a couple of stools at the soda fountain. andy was coming around a little. belkens must have been over a hundred years old, they sold everything from soup to nuts. when it was functional, a soda jerk would whip up concoctions here that would drive weight-watchers crazy. lovers would spoon to music from the juke-box as they slurped chocolate sodas from individual straws in the same glass, their faces almost touching. i wanted to ask andy about that, and i also wanted to tell him about my visit with lissell. he was in no mood for either.

"i'll be ok honey, gloria's done this before." i felt that she couldn't be all bad, or andy wouldn't have married her in the first place, but i was madder than snot at her at this moment.

"why don't you lock up and go on home early?" i asked.

"home to what? could i come home with you?" i almost said yes, then i thought of carie.

"i'm sorry baby, i have company."

"male or female?" he asked sarcastically.

"does it matter andy?"

"no," he slowly said. "and i'm acting like an ass, you're a great friend carlee." i smiled.

"so are you andy. so are you."

i hated to leave him on such a sad note, but, that was the way i found him. when i opened my car door, there was a piece of notebook paper taped to my steering wheel. it was a crude picture of a rat, a knife was sticking out of its chest, its eyes were Xes. a note at the bottom read "and he did it all for you." this was scary, i thought of lissell's second-to-none. leroy was in jail, safely out of the way. was it this man who left the note? i decided against showing it to andy. my car didn't want to start, when it finally did, i couldn't get it in gear. i was about to panic when it slipped in. i got away quickly. when i got to third at render, a car pulled in behind me, his bright lights were on. i stopped for a red light, and he rammed my rear end, hard enough that it whipped my neck. i stared out my rear view mirror, couldn't make out the image at all. i started to get out, but i worried that it was "ratman" intent on killing me. when the light changed, i hit the gas, 50 mph down third, the car was right on my tail. i speeded up, so did he. i turned swiftly right on carlyle street, the car behind me did the same, but quickly braked and wound up on the side walk. i heard squealing tires behind me, my blood ran cold. it was no time until he was right behind me, then he pulled up along side of me and rammed my side of the car. this threw me over to the curb where i bounced and died. i trembled at the sight of the dark car along side of me. he sat there for a minute, the windows were tinted so that i couldn't see a thing. i waited for him to get out, approach me, stab me. some people came down the street, running. the big car spun out, i had to see the license plate. the people surrounded my car.

"please! please get the license," i cried. "he ran me down."

"he's going pretty fast sugar, looks like 405-32-stn, or 34," one said.

"no, 406," said another.

"are you all right lady?" a young man asked.

"shaken, but i'm alright."

"i saw everything," a lady interjected. "bastard pulled of the sidewalk at a hundred miles an hour, then ran you plum off the road."

"may i have your name and where you can be reached in case my insurance company wants that information?" i asked.

"honey, the police should be told about this."

"did any of you recognize the car?"

"dark blue lincoln, i think, don't know what year, old, i'd say."

i wrote down all their names, and the plate numbers, and thanked them. i had to call harry, my stomach was in knots and i needed a drink. my car started right up, maybe something good had become of this. i drove slowly, pulled up behind the big red rig, andy's babe was still awake. i got out, observed the left side of my car, god, it was awful. a fender bender would probably have totaled me out, this would for sure. i hugged my horse.

"i love you baby, do you believe that?" horse silence, but his eyes brightened. "do you have everything you need?" he looked cozy, plenty of horse food and water. he nuzzled my cheek, and i smiled. "if you need anything, just let me know."

carie was lying on my bed, completely nude, she looked like an angel. i touched her breast, then ran my hand down her thigh, she wasn't snoring, but was sound asleep. both of her hands were folded under her face, a thing of beauty. i ran my fingers through her hair, life ain't so bad. i made a strong scotch and water, then called lpd. carie left her water in the tub, it smelled nice.

"police department, crandell, may i help you?" a pleasant voice announced.

"i need to speak with detective zimmerman." i said.

"i'm sorry, zimmerman's off duty."

"do you have his home phone number?" i asked.

"are you a friend of his.?"

"yes sir, a good friend."

"well, you have a nice voice, i wouldn't mind being woken up to it." i looked at the clock, it was after 11 pm. i finished my drink and wrote down the number that crandell gave me.

"thanks, mr. crandell."

"no problem missy." what a nice guy.

harry was asleep, deep asleep. "zimmerman." he slowly answered.

"harry, this is carlee, a man tried to kill me tonight."

"what!"

"to kill me, he ran me off the road on carlyle street, at high speed too, tore the whole left side out of my car."

"carlee, did anyone witness this?"

"yes, some people were out walking, saw everything."

"get their names?"

"sure."

"do you know who the driver was?"

"no, his windows were deeply tinted, couldn't see a thing."

"do i need to come over?"

"no harry, not tonight, we can work on it tomorrow. it was a blue lincoln, late 80's maybe, license number 405 or 406 32 or 34 -stn. is that helpful?"

"it's a start angel, i'll go to work early. are you all right?"

"i'm ok, now that it's over, is that good enough?"

harry laughed. "it's as good as good can be dear. i'll have your street patroled tonight." that made me feel better.

"see you tomorrow." i said.

carie's water was luke cool, i turned on the hot. gosh, she was sleeping soundly. i wanted to snuggle up close to her, i didn't know how much i'd missed her.

i made another scotch and sat on the commode seat, waiting for the water to get hot. i had closed the ricepaper partition, and the bathroom was steaming up, it felt like a sauna. finally i jumped in. as difficult as i felt it to relax, i did well. the water was fantastic, i finished my drink and lay there in the silence, the craigs of mist emanating from my submerged body. my street would be patroled tonight, my beautiful friend lay naked in my bed, and i was coming down from a fitful day, it was alright, i would survive to see another sunrise. my eyes suddenly popped open.

stn, could that stand for second-to-none? surely not, just a coincidence. harry would have the answers tomorrow. i pulled the plug, and dried off. should i dare make another drink? hell, why not, got no job to go to, it was near the bewitching hour, shit, get bewitched.

i lay next to carie, covered us with a sheet. there was such a striking difference between her strong hip bone and her waist. i rubbed her as she snoozed. my feet touched hers, the world was all warm for a moment. i pushed tightly against her.

"if i turn over, will you love me carlee?"

"of course i will carie." i answered. her beautiful green eyes stared deeply into mine just before we kissed. her breasts stuck straight into mine, thighs to thighs, i melted. her hands roamed all over my body, as mine did hers. she grasped my shoulders and separated us. then she lay flat on her back, she then retracted her legs, bringing her feet up next to her butt. she placed her hands on my shoulders again, i slid my head inbetween her legs and touched her. god, she was wet. the sheets were soaked. her clit protruded far from its sheath, i gently licked it. carie inhaled deeply and put her hands in my hair, i licked harder. she moaned.

"please don't stop carlee." and i didn't, her body tightened as i pushed my tongue harder and harder. the seizure lasted close to a minute. when i thought it was almost over, i ran my tongue up her vagina and maneuvered my finger sideways against her clit. "my god!" she shouted. then she was still, silent, immobile, ecstatic. i knew it was good, and i was glad i did it. i could almost cum just looking at carie this away. i was suddenly very dry. i reached for my drink, it burned so nicely going down. carie put her hand between my legs and ran it all the way to my belly button. her wrist felt great. my clit was probably stiffer than hers was. she pulled back a little, and touched it. i was so close, she wouldn't have to do much, i closed my eyes tight and fondled my breasts as carie's hand rocked back and forth. i began to prespire, then i could feel the orgasm begin between my legs, then up my spine, a crescendo all over my body, i pinched my nipples until they almost hurt. "oh my god." was all that i could say. even my toes felt good. i had to look at carie. when i rolled over, her hand was very wet, her eyes, soft and wonderful. we held each other and kissed for a long time. maybe for an hour, or maybe a minute. i dozed, i heard her get up and go to the bathroom.