Uh-oh, Abilene thought.

'I really hate to ask, but...

'I'm sure there's a john here in the lobby you could use,' Cora said.

'Yeah. Probably so. Okay, I'll...'

'For Godsake! ' Helen blurted. Scowling at Cora, she grabbed Wayne's arm and pulled him toward an elevator. 'Of course you can use our john. Come on.'

'I don't want to impose.'

'You're not imposing.' She pulled him into the elevator.

The others stepped aboard.

Helen jabbed a button for the twenty-fourth floor.

The doors slid silently shut and the elevator began to rise.

'I really do appreciate this,' Wayne said. He was leaning back against the rear wall.

Cora turned to face him. 'I'm sorry, but you'll have to use the toilet in the lobby.'

He frowned.

'Cora!'

'I mean it, Helen. Wayne's been very nice to us and helpful and everything, but he's not coming into our rooms. That's final.'

'It's not fair! '

'I only want to use your toilet,' Wayne said. 'It'll only take a minute, then I'll be gone.'

'I'm sorry.'

'We could at least vote on it,' Helen said.

'We aren't taking any Goddamn vote,' Abilene snapped, stepping close to Cora's side. 'We've gotta be sensible, and it's stupid to let a stranger into our rooms.' Looking Wayne in the eyes, she said in a softer tone, 'I'm sorry.'

'What do you think I'm going to do, attack you all or something?'

'We just don't want to take any chances,' Vivian told him.

'Sorry,' Finley added.

As the elevator stopped, Wayne shook his head. 'You gals are sure something.'

The doors rolled open. Cora glanced over her shoulder and punched the button for the lobby. 'Just stay here. We don't want any trouble.'

'This is the thanks I get, huh?'

Cora, backing away, pressed her shoulder against the side of the doorway to keep the doors open. Abilene, Vivian and Finley stepped out. Helen stayed at the rear of the elevator. She folded her arms across her chest. She shook her head. 'It isn't right,' she said.

'Damn it, Helen.'

'I'm not budging.'

'Come on.'

Wayne turned his eyes to Helen. He slipped his arm across her shoulders, and she looked at him. 'I'm afraid your friends aren't going to give in on this. You'd better go with them, now. But thanks for trusting me.' He squeezed her shoulder, then withdrew his arm.

Helen, nodding, walked toward the opening. 'I think it stinks,' she muttered. As she approached, Cora moved out of the way. The doors slowly began to roll shut. Helen stepped out of the elevator. She looked back at Wayne.

'So long,' he said.

And she leaped through the gap between the doors.

'No! ' Abilene gasped.

Cora rushed forward, but she wasn't quick enough. 'Shit!'

Abilene punched a finger against the call button. The plastic disk lit up, but the doors remained shut.

The lights above the elevator blinked from 23 to 22 to 21, marking the descent of Helen and Wayne. Below the twentieth floor, the elevator was an express to the lobby.

Abilene felt as if her stomach were dropping along with it.

'What're we gonna doT Vivian asked.

'She'll be all right,' Finley said. From the look on her face, she didn't believe it.

'We should've let him use the john,' Abilene muttered.

'Don't be ridiculous,' Cora said. 'If we'd let him into the rooms, there's no telling what he might have done.'

'Maybe we ought to go down to the lobby,' Vivian suggested. As she spoke, an elevator arrived. Its doors opened for those who had called it to this floor.

They all glanced over at it.

'We wouldn't get there in time,' Cora said, returning her gaze to the numbers above Helen's elevator. 'Whatever he's doing to her, he'll be finished by the time they reach the lobby.'

Abilene groaned.

'She wouldn't leave the hotel with him, would she?' Vivian asked.

'She's not that stupid,' Cora said.

Above the doors, the letter L lit up.

'What if he forces her to go with him?' Vivian asked.

'No way,' Cora said. 'All she'd have to do is yell, security'd take care of him.'

'I sure hope you're right,' Abilene said.

The L remained bright.

'What the hell's...?'

It went dark.

They waited. They didn't talk.

Please, Abilene thought. Please, Helen's gotta be on it. She's gotta be all right. Please.

Finally, 20 blinked on and off, followed by 21, 22, 23. Then the 24 lit up.

The doors slid apart.

Helen, crouched in a corner, looked at them with tears in her eyes. Her face was red and wet. Her hands were clutching her upraised knees. The back of her skirt shrouded the floor, baring the undersides of her thick, pale thighs.

Cora blocked the doors open and the others rushed inside.

Though they asked if she was okay, asked what Wayne had done to her, Helen only shook her head and sobbed. They lifted her, and she staggered with them out of the elevator.

'Let's get her to the rooms,' Cora said, leading the way. 'I'll call security.'

'No,' Helen gasped. 'Don't.'

'Do you need a doctor?' Abilene asked, hugging Helen against her side as they rushed her along.

'No. No!'

'Did he rape you?' Finley asked.

'Jesus, you people'.'

'What the hell did he do to you?' Cora demanded.

'He... he kissed me,' Helen choked out through her sobs. 'He kissed me. He was so sweet and... and you were all so mean to him.'

CHAPTER THIRTY.

Lashing the anchor rope to an upright of the raft's ladder, Abilene shouted, 'The gun!'

Cora let go of the oars. They were lifted out of their locks and carried away on the waves as she knelt in the sinking boat. She dragged the shotgun out of the water and swung it by the barrels.

Abilene caught hold of the shoulder stock. Clamping it against her side, she scooted on her rump to the highest corner of the platform. She grabbed the edge and braced herself with her feet flat against the slippery boards.

Cora came up the ladder. On hands and knees, she scurried over the lurching raft and flopped beside Abilene. She hooked an arm over the side to hold herself in place.

Moments later, Vivian sprawled beside her.

Finley climbed the ladder. Smiling, she called out, 'No sweat!' She sat down, her back to the others, and wrapped her legs around one of the uprights.

Abilene slumped forward against her knees.

We made it! Thank God. We're all safe. Not quite ashore, but not in any real danger.

Peering through the heavy shroud of rain, she could make out the end of the dock.

Nice to be there instead of here.

But the span of lake separating them from the dock was a gray, flinging turmoil.

Better not to risk it if we don't have to.

No risk, no fun. She wondered if any of them would ever express that notion again.

That's the idea that got us into this mess. We could've all drowned.

And she remembered, suddenly, that Helen was dead.

Still in the shower room.

And she felt guilty when grief didn't overwhelm her. She supposed that she must be just too thankful that the rest of them were still alive. If she'd been any less quick to grab Batty's arm, Finley might be dead now, a knife in her back. If the boat had capsized in the middle of the lake...

It didn't. We're okay.

Shouldn't have gone back to Batty's.

But it turned out all right. And we got the gun.

She swung the shotgun out from under her arm and lowered it in front of her. As she wedged it into the space between her belly and thighs, the rain stopped pouring down.

'Hey!' Finley called. Twisting around, she turned an open hand toward the sky.

Vivian and Cora rolled over, sat up.

A few more drops fell as the wind dwindled. Soon, the raft settled to a gentle, rocking motion.

As the clouds scooted away, the sun came down so bright that Abilene had to squint. She watched the dark thunderheads fly over the tree tops beyond the shore. Though she could see rain falling into the forest, it no longer rushed down in a torrent. She saw no lightning, heard no thunder.