"Back to Lilly," she said.

Jud watched her skim the pages. She was sitting shoulder to shoulder with him, the book propped against her upraised knees. The soft downy hair on her cheek looked golden in the lamplight. The closeness and smell of her excited Jud so he stopped caring much about Lilly Thorn.

"She doesn't get very specific, but I think she's well beyond the kissing stage, at this point. She's hardly writing about anything, now, except Glen."

"Mmmm." Jud put a hand on Donna's leg, feeling the heat of her thigh through the corduroy.

"Ah-ha! 'May 2. Last night, long after the children were abed, I stole outside at the appointed hour and met Glen in the gazebo. After many protestations of love, he asked for my hand in marriage. I accepted his offer without hesitation, and he joyously clutched me to his bosom. Through much of the night, we embraced and planned our future. At length, the chill became too great for us. We stole into the parlor. There, on the couch, we held one another tenderly, blessed by the fullness of the moment.' "

Donna shut the diary, keeping place with her forefinger. "You know," she said, "it makes me feel kind of...dirty, reading this. Like a peeping Tom, or something. It's so private."

"It might tell us who killed her family."

"It might. I'll go on with it. Only...I don't know." She lowered her head and began turning the pages. "They've set a date for the wedding. July 25."

Jud put his arm across her shoulders.

" 'May 8. We held another rendezvous in the gazebo, last night, meeting at the stroke of one. Glen had the presence of mind to bring a comforter. With the chill of night vanquished, our ardor burst upon us without restraint. We were caught as in a tide. Powerless to resist its pull, we allowed the tide to buoy us upon its bosom and sweep us into blissful delight such as I have never known.' I guess," Donna said, "that means they screwed."

"Christ, I thought their raft had capsized."

Laughing, Donna pounded his leg. "You're awful." She faced him, and he kissed her. "Awful," she said into his mouth.

He brushed his fingertips along the smooth skin of her cheek, traced the outline of her jaw and throat. She put the book down. Turning so a breast pushed against Jud's side, she plucked at his shirt, unbuttoning it. Then she slid her hand beneath it, stroking his belly and chest.

Jud pulled her down, away from the nightstand. Lying on his side, with the length of her pressed against him, he pulled her shirttail free and slipped his hand down the back of her corduroys, feeling the cool smooth curves of her buttocks. He moved his hand up her back to unhook her bra.

"Wait," she said.

"What's wrong?"

"The floor was last night," she said, pushing away from him. She stood up.

With her eyes fixed steadily on Jud and a slightly apprehensive look on her face, she unbuttoned her blouse. She tossed it onto the bed near the door. She shrugged off her bra, and tossed it. Sitting on the side of the bed, she pulled off her socks. She stood, tugged open her belt, and unfastened her pants. They dropped to her ankles. She stepped out of them. Now she wore only brief panties. The dark of her pubic thatch was visible through sheer blue nylon. She slipped the panties off.

"Stand up," she said. Jud noticed a tremor of fear or excitement in her voice.

He pulled off his shoes and socks. He set his Colt .45 beside the lamp. Then he stood, taking off his shirt. While he unbuttoned it, Donna unbelted his pants. She lowered them, kneeling. Then she slid the underpants down his legs. Her tongue licked and she took him in, sucking.

He moaned. As Donna stood, he brought her tightly against him. For a long time, he held her there between the beds, kissing her, exploring the slopes and crevices and orifices of her body, stroking and probing while she did the same with him.

Then they parted. Donna pulled back the covers, and they lay on the bed.

They didn't hurry.

Part of Jud's mind remained cautious, listening and alert like a guard standing watch. The rest of him joined Donna. He became part of her smoothness, her hair, the quiet sounds she made in her throat, her dry places and her slippery places, the many smells of her, the tastes. And finally the slick scabbard that took him, taunted him until he ached for release.

Arching his back, he thrust deeper, deeper than ever. Again. Crying out, Donna lurched up and grabbed him. He fell on her, ramming and ramming, and all the tight ache blasted out of him.

They lay together afterward for a long time. They talked softly; they said nothing. Donna fell asleep holding his hand. Finally, Jud got up. He dressed, and resumed his position on the floor between the beds, the .45 automatic next to his leg.

"Was I asleep long?" Donna asked.

"Half an hour, maybe."

She pulled herself to the edge of the bed and kissed Jud. "Want to get back to Lilly?" she asked.

"I've been waiting for you."

"I really conked out."

"Yeah."

She smiled. "All your fault." She reached down a bare arm for the book.

"Maybe you'd better get dressed."

"Mmmm." She sounded as if she didn't care much for the idea.

"If we have a visitor..."

"God, did you have to remind me?"

He stroked the side of her face. "You get dressed, and I'll look in on Sandy and Larry."

"Okay."

She covered herself with a sheet when Jud opened the door.

Sometime during their lovemaking, darkness had come. Light showed through the window of Cabin 12. Jud stood beside Donna's Maverick and searched the parking area. A woman with two children came out of Cabin 14. They got into a camper van. He waited for the van to leave, then he crossed to Cabin 12 and knocked lightly on the door. "It's Jud," he said.

"Just a sec."

A moment later, Larry opened the door. Jud looked in. He saw Sandy sitting cross-legged in front of the television, looking over her shoulder at him.

"Everything okay?"

"Until you frightened the heebie-jeebies out of me a second ago, everything was marvelous."

"Okay, I'll see you later."

He went back to Donna's cabin. She was sitting on the floor between the beds, dressed in her cords and blouse, the diary resting against her upthrust knees. He sat down beside her, and put his .45 next to his right leg. "They're fine," he said.

"Okay. Back to Lilly. If you remember, her boat has just capsized."

"Right. And she was drowned in waves of passion."

"Which gave you the idea of making waves of your own."

"Is that what happened?"

"I think so."

Jud kissed her quickly, and she smiled.

"None of that," she said. "Back to Lilly."

"Back to Lilly."

"Okay, after she made it with Glen that first night, they 'indulged their passion' on a regular basis. Almost every night, in fact. I don't suppose you want to hear about that."

"In my present condition, not especially."

"Okay, let's see what's next." She turned several pages as she skimmed them. " 'May 17. Today, I posted a letter to Ethel, requesting her attendance at the nuptials. I am hoping she will, at long last, journey down from Portland...'" Donna read the rest to herself and flipped the page. She remained silent. Looking up at her, Jud saw her eyes moving over the words. Her lips were pressed tightly together.

"What is it?" he asked.

Her eyes met Jud's. "Something's happened," she muttered.

" 'May 18. A most disturbing sight greeted me, this morning, when I went down to the cellar to fetch a jar of apples from among those I'd put up last autumn. In the light of my gas lamp, I saw that two of my canning jars lay broken on the floor. Another was open as nice as can be, and empty. My first inclination, naturally, was to blame the boys. However, the label of the empty jar told me it had contained beets, a vegetable abhorred by both boys. This discovery chilled me to the heart, for I knew that a stranger had trespassed within my house, and I knew not the nature of his intentions. Resisting my impulse to run upstairs and have done with it, I searched the confines of the cellar.

"'In a corner near the east wall, hidden from view behind half a dozen bushel baskets, I discovered a hole in the dirt floor-a hole large enough to permit the passage of a man or large animal. I quickly fetched my canned apples, and fled the cellar.

" 'May 19. I gave much thought to informing Glen of the stranger's visit to my cellar. At length, I decided to leave him in ignorance, for I know that his protective instincts would call upon him to destroy the visitor. I could hardly abide such a stern measure. The visitor, after all, has thus far harmed no one.

" 'I resolved to settle the matter myself, by covering the entrance hole. To accomplish this task, I fetched a spade from the tool shed. I went down cellar. Two more jars of preserves lay open and empty on the floor. This time, the visitor had indulged himself upon my peaches. Gazing down upon the empty jars, I felt a sudden warmth of compassion in my heart.

" 'The visitor, I realized, meant me no harm. His only wish was to stave off the ravages of hunger. Perhaps he was an unfortunate lad, one of society's outcasts. I have known the loneliness and the fear of it. My heart went out to the luckless, desperate soul who had dug into my cellar for a few mouthfuls of my preserves. I vowed to meet him, and help him if I can.

" 'May 30.' That's an eleven-day gap, Jud."

"Yeah."

" 'May 30. I hesitate, I tremble, at the thought of committing my deeds to paper. To whom can I confide, however? Reverend Walters? He would only confirm that which I know already, that my deeds are foul in the eyes of God and I have condemned my soul to everlasting flames. I surely cannot tell Dr. Ross. I know not what terrible vengeance he would certainly visit upon me and Xanadu.

" 'On May 19, I resolved to meet and attempt to help the visitor to my cellar. Glen came by, after the children were abed. He used me after his usual fashion.' What became of the surging tides?" Donna asked. She immediately continued reading. " 'When he was done with me, we chatted idly for a time. At length, he departed.

" 'I went to the pantry, and silently opened the cellar door. There in the darkness, I waited, listening. Not a sound issued from the cellar. I descended the stairs, feeling my way cautiously, though I carried an unlighted lamp.

" 'When I felt the dirt floor of the cellar under my bare feet, I sat down upon the lowest step and continued my wait.

" 'My patience, at length, was rewarded. A muffled sound of one breathing heavily with exertion rose from the vicinity of the hole. Soon came faint sounds such as a body might make dragging itself over hard earth. Then I saw a head appear above the bushel baskets.

" 'The darkness concealed its features. I could only discern the head's pale shape. Even that was far from distinct. I judged it from the paleness to be the head of a man foreign to the blissful rays of the sun.

"He rose to his full height, and I was filled with dread, for this was no man. Nor was he an ape.

" 'As he drew near, I resolved to discover his identity more fully, even at hazard to my safety. To this purpose, I struck a match. It flared, giving me a momentary view of his hideous countenance before he cowered away, snarling.

" 'While he was thus turned, I beheld his back and hindquarters. Whether he was one of God's exotic creatures, or an ill-made perversion vomited forth by the devil, I know not. His ghastly appearance and nudity shocked me. Yet I was drawn, by an irresistible force, to lay my hand upon his misshapen shoulder.

" 'I allowed the match to die. In the darkness, totally without sight, I felt the creature turn. His warm breath on my face smelled of the earth and wild, uninhabited forests. He lay his hands upon my shoulders. Claws bit into me. I stood before the creature, helpless with fear and wonder, as he split the fabric of my nightgown.

" 'When I was bare, he muzzled my body like a dog. He licked my breasts. He sniffed me, even my private areas, which he probed with his snout.

" 'He moved behind me. His claws pierced my back, forcing me to my knees. I felt the slippery warmth of his flesh press down on me, and I knew with certainty what he was about. The thought of it appalled me to the heart, and yet I was somehow thrilled by the touch of him, and strangely eager.

" 'He mounted me from behind, a manner as unusual for humans as it is customary among many lower animals. At the first touch of his organ, fear wrenched my vitals, not for the safety of my flesh but for my everlasting soul. And yet I allowed him to continue. I know, now, that no power of mine could have prevented him from having his will with me. I made no attempt to resist, however. On the contrary, I welcomed his entry. I hungered for it as if I somehow presaged its magnificence.

" 'Oh Lord, how he plundered me! How his claws tore my flesh! How his teeth bore into me! How his prodigious organ battered my tender womb. How brutal he was in his savagery, how gentle in his heart.

" 'I knew, as we lay spent on the earthen cellar floor, that no man-not even Glen-could ever stir my passion in such a way. I wept. The creature, disturbed by my outburst, slipped away into his hole and disappeared.' "

" 'The following night, when I descended the cellar stairs, I found him waiting for me. I disrobed immediately to save my gown from the ravishment of his claws. I embraced him, savoring the slick heat of his skin. Then I went to my hands and knees, and he took me with no less fervor than on the previous night. When the delirium was past, we lay about until I recovered.

" 'At length, I showed him my lamp. I indicated for him to turn around to protect his eyes. Then I lit the lamp, and covered it with an indigo hood I had devised during the day. The blue-shaded lamp was kind to his delicate eyes, while it provided sufficient light for my purpose.

" 'I saw, as I studied him, that he was a curiously shaped creature, indeed. Several of his odd features accounted, no doubt, for his magnificence as a lover. His lengthy, spearlike tongue was one of these. His sexual organ, without question, was the most singular and wondrous of his features, accounting as much for his ardor as for my own. Not only was it staggering in size and in its unusual contours and ridges, but also its orifice was unlike that of any creature known to me. The orifice, hinged like a jaw, possessed a tonguelike member with a two-inch extension.' "

"Bullshit," Jud said. "What the hell is she trying to hand us?"

"A penis with a mouth?" Donna suggested.

"It's not such a bad idea?" Jud said, and laughed tensely.

"As long as it hasn't got teeth," said Donna.

"Good Christ, how much of this is she making up?"

"What do you think?"

"I don't know. A lot of what she says-the claws and slippery skin, the reaction to light-they fit what I've seen."

"What about the penis?"

"I didn't notice. Of course, the house was dark. I could hardly see anything."

"I'll go on. 'This orifice and tongue, I am certain, enabled him not only to titillate me in the extreme, but also heighten his ardor by the taste of my juices.' "

"Good God!" Jud muttered, shaking his head.

" 'After I satisfied my curiosity regarding his body, he explored me with much the same intensity. We then surrendered to a new tide of passion.

" 'When we finished, I presented him with an assortment of food. He ate cheese with great delight. He nibbled the roll, and discarded it. He rejected the beef with barely a sniff. As I would later learn, only raw meat suited his palate, and this had been well cooked. He lapped water from a bowl, then sat down on his haunches, apparently satisfied.

" 'Lying upon my back, I opened myself to him. He appeared confused, for he was accustomed to having his way in the manner of lower creatures. I urged him down upon me, however, so that I could look upon the strange beauty of his face and feel his slick flesh against my breasts as he ravished me.

" 'When we were done, I watched him slide into the hole behind the bushel baskets. I crawled to the edge of the hole. I listened, hearing him deep inside. I called out quietly to him. I knew not what his name might be, so I called him Xanadu after the strange and exotic land described by Mr. Coleridge in his unfinished masterpiece. He was gone, but I knew he would return the following night.