Chase of a Lifetime Read Online Free Page B

like to wait.”

Chapter Three
    ----
    When Jim went down to the driveway, it had
stopped raining and Len asked him to put the top down. Jim put on his seatbelt
but Len made no attempt to put on his. When they pulled out onto the main road,
Len lit up another cigarette without asking for permission and kept his head
straight. He focused on the road as if he were driving and didn’t say a word.
    By the time they turned down the long dark
road that led to Len’s large ranch a few miles away, Jim felt relieved that he
would soon be alone again. He parked in front of the house and put the car in
neutral. He waited for Len to get out, without switching off the motor. Len’s
house was even newer than Jim ’s father’s…a huge red brick Georgian Mac Mansion
with black shutters, a white portico, and bright white molding at the top of
each window.
    For a second, they remained silent beneath
the portico. Len finally said, “Could you come inside the house with me? I hate
to go into a dark empty house alone.”
    “Ah well. I really should get back to the
party.” He wasn’t planning to return right away. He’d planned to drive around
for a while and catch the tail end of the party.
    “I didn’t set the alarm before we left. Who
knows what’s lurking in that big empty house.”
    Jim switched off the engine and opened the
door. They climbed out at the same time and Jim followed Len to the front
entrance. When Len unlocked the front door and turned on the lights in the main
hall, he leaned back against the door frame and said, “You go in first. I’ll
follow.”
    This was turning into a strange experience. Jim
didn’t know what to say. “I really have to get back to the party now, Mr.
Mayfield. My mom will be looking for me.”
    “She’ll be fine,” Len said. “She’s probably
still reading off lists of accomplishments from that insufferable yearbook of
yours.”
    Jim almost smiled. Len had a point about his
mother and the yearbook. At one point, Jim felt like slamming her face into the
yearbook just to shut her up. But he would have felt disloyal if he’d agreed
with Len. Jim loved his mother; he was just so confused right now. So he walked
around Len and entered the house first. Len closed the front door and locked
it. He passed Jim in the main hallway and led him to the back of the house to
what they considered a huge family room off the kitchen.
    Len switched on the lights in the family room
and removed his dark suit jacket. He walked over to a glitzy mirrored wet bar
with a black granite counter and asked, “What can I get you? A martini?”
    “Ah well, Mr. Mayfield. I don’t like to
drink and drive. I’m fine, thank you.”
    Len removed his tie, opened his shirt to his
waist, and laughed. “One drink certainly won’t do any harm, Jim. It might even
help. You’re a man now, a college graduate.” He sent him a sideways glance.
“From what I can see, you’re all man.”
    Jim turned and said, “I really have to be
going. I’m sorry, Mr. Mayfield. I hope you understand. I’m going through a lot
of emotions right now and I’m not sure what I’m doing. It’s a rough time. I’m a
little confused.”
    Len smiled wider and said, “That’s even more
of a reason to have a drink. It’ll loosen you up.”
    Jim took a deep breath and started walking
toward the front hall. “I drove you home, I came inside, and now I have to
leave. You’ll be fine.”
    “I’ll make you a small martini,” Len said.
    Jim stopped and turned around. Len didn’t
seem to be getting the message. And there was something weird about this that Jim
couldn’t figure out.
    “I’m sorry, Jim,” Len said. “I just hate
being alone in an empty house. I’ve hated it since I was a child. Can’t you
just wait until my wife gets home?”
    “When is that?” Jim was getting anxious.
This was getting creepier by the moment and he had a sinking feeling in his
stomach. And this business about Len being afraid to be alone didn’t