Hidden Riches

crack that amazingly hard head of yours.”
    “Well, why didn’t you go after him?” She tried to shift, noticed she was wrapped in a crocheted afghan like a moth in a cocoon.
    “I guess I could have left you there, unconscious, freezing, bleeding—”
    “Bleeding?” Gingerly, she checked her head again. “Am I bleeding?”
    “You didn’t lose much.” But he began to shift into his professional mode. “You want to tell me what that was about? I don’t suppose it was another of your dates gone wrong.”
    She stared at him, then looked away. “Should we call the cops?”
    “I did. Brent’s on his way.”
    “Oh.” She glanced around the apartment. “He did have a gun, before. I don’t know what happened to it.”
    “It was under the table. I’ve got it.”
    Her smile was weak and didn’t last. “You’ve been busy.”
    “You took your sweet time coming around. Another couple of minutes and I’d have called an ambulance.”
    “Lucky me.”
    “Enough stalling.” He sat beside her, took her hand again, too gently for her to refuse the contact. “Tell me what happened. Exactly what happened.”
    “I guess you were right about somebody breaking in here yesterday. It seems he was in here, too. I really didn’t notice anything moved or taken, but he said he’d seen me undressing.” She hesitated. “And since he described my style of underwear, I have to believe him.”
    He recognized the signs, humiliation rushing through the fear, shame jockeying with anger. “Dora, I can have Brent call in a woman officer if it would be easier for you.”
    “No.” She took a deep breath. “He must have been hiding in here somewhere—the bedroom again maybe. I went right into the kitchen, to make tea . . . I left the water on.”
    “I took care of it.”
    “Oh, good. I’m fond of that kettle.” She began to toy with the fringe of the afghan. “Anyway, when I came back in here, the tree was off. I’d just turned it on, so I figured the plug had come out of the socket or something. I started to go over and fix it, and the light in the kitchen went off. He grabbed me from behind.”
    Her voice had started to shake. Dora cleared her throat. “I would have fought back. I like to think I’d have fought back, but he put the gun under my sweater and started to, um, started to rub it over me.” She gave a weak laugh. “I guess some guys really do look at a gun as a phallic symbol.”
    “Come here.” He gathered her close, easing her throbbinghead onto his shoulder. While his own rage ate through him he stroked her hair. “It’s all right now.”
    “I knew he was going to rape me.” She closed her eyes and burrowed in. “A bunch of us took this self-defense course last year, but I couldn’t remember a thing. It was like this sheet of ice slipped over my brain and I couldn’t get through it. He kept saying what a good time we were going to have, and I got so angry. He was slobbering on my neck and telling me I just had to be good, I just had to cooperate. I got so mad because he thought I wasn’t going to do anything to protect myself. I guess you could say I broke through the ice, because I rammed my elbow into his stomach, and I ran. That’s where you came in.”
    “Okay.” He didn’t want to think of what might have happened if he hadn’t come in. “Did you know him?”
    “I don’t think so. I didn’t recognize his voice. It was too dark in here to see, and he was behind me. I think I got a pretty good look at him outside, but he didn’t seem familiar.” She let out a cleansing breath. “Your brand-new banister’s busted.”
    “I guess I’ll have to fix it again. Got some aspirin?”
    “Bathroom medicine chest.” She smiled when she felt his lips brush against her temple. That helped, too. “Bring me a couple dozen, will you?” Calmer, she leaned back when he stood up. The crumpled towel on the coffee table caught her eye. It was her satin-edged, hand-embroidered fingertip towel. And it was dotted with blood.
    “Damn, Skimmerhorn, did you have to use the good linen?” Disgusted, she leaned forward to pluck it up. “And it’s wet, too! Do you know what wet cloth does when it’s left on wood?”
    “I wasn’t thinking about the furniture.” He rattled around in the medicine chest. “I can’t find any aspirin.”
    “Let me.” She’d been rather pleased to be able to stand and walk on her own, until she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirrored cabinet