***This work is original and may not be republished without permission.
MORRISON
In the fall Brian had gone to the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. It was only a couple hours away so he either came home for the weekend or Gwen went to visit him. She took a fast food job to earn money for the bus under the condition that she would work no weekends. It was better when she went to Lincoln because they could be by themselves virtually anytime. That was when Brian had created the webpage. She sat watching over his shoulder as he copied the pictures and downloaded the videos. There was no text so it was virtually impossible to hit on the site accidentally, but the potential of getting caught left her euphoric. She was standing naked in the road for anyone to come along and find her.
The next winter she worked for his father again and lived on the farm. Toward the end of that summer was when things began going downhill. It was the first week in August and sweltering. Brian would be heading back to school in less than two weeks. They had just finished supper and the evening chores. Both had showered to go "to the movies". Brian leaned on one of the stalls in the old barn watching Gwen do a striptease and dance in the nude. Her clothes were in a pile at his feet. As the song ended he approached her smiling and she came into his arms.
"I'm going to Clark's house."
"I'd go with you, but I imagine I won't be getting my clothes back quite so easily."
"You know me too well." He picked up her clothes and called out over his shoulder. "It won't take more than twenty-five minutes. Keep dancing."
Brian bought weed from Clark. They had used it half a dozen times that summer and she enjoyed it more now that she had gotten used to it.
She followed him out of the barn and walked partway down the drive to the road until she saw another car in the distance. The fields on either side of the drive were in corn. It was dusk and would be dark before he got back. She decided to take a walk first and wandered across the property enjoying the evening. A breeze kicked up and cooled her skin. She walked back to the road just after dark and paced back and forth retreating twenty-five yards each time a car drove by. She was dark as an Indian by then. It would be nearly impossible for anyone to notice her. The road was still busy though, so she returned to the barn and turned the music back on and lit the lantern. She knew it had been longer than twenty-five minutes, but Clark liked to talk. She knew Brian thought it was funny when she became worried that he might not come back. She began to dance and when she heard the truck pull in she decided to give him a show. She turned her back to the door and moved her hips back and forth to the music with her arms twining overhead. Every now and then she would turn far enough that he could glimpse a nipple, but not far enough to see him. She smiled knowing he was leaning against the doorway admiring her.
When the song ended he spoke, "Now that was one of the best shows I've seen, I do declare." It wasn't Brian's voice though, and Gwen turned quickly in shock. He laughed as she ran behind the wall of the new stall and peeked over the railing. It was the same deputy that had checked on them the night they had pulled the truck off the side of the road. Morrison. She cast in her mind, but the blanket they kept was in a box in the loft.
"Go away."
"I don't think so." He stepped just inside the door where he couldn't be seen from the vehicle.
She cringed, thinking about how she had danced in front of him. "I'm on private property. I'm not breaking any laws."
"Oh, but you were about to. And your boyfriend already has. That's how I knew how to find you. He's the one who told me where to look. Why don't you come on out from behind there so we can talk?"
Gwen shook her head.
"See I know most of your other haunts in the county. The river. The wayside. The walking bridge. But this one I didn't know about. I wonder if his daddy knows you come here. I wonder if your momma knows." Gwen gasped. "You sure you don't want to come out from behind there?"
"Where are my clothes?"
"Your clothes? Well, they're right where your boyfriend left them on the seat of his truck." Morrison gestured over his shoulder with his thumb. "It's about three miles up the road. But you like being out on the road naked in the dark, don't you? Maybe you'd like to start walking, or I could give you a ride."
"Where's Brian?"
"He's in the back of my unit in handcuffs. See, he was in a little bit of a hurry and so I stopped him for speeding. He was acting a little hinky though. You know what I mean? Anyway I saw your clothes and asked him whose they were. I already knew, but that's what a cop does... asks questions he knows the answer to. I asked him if he bought any weed off Clark Mason, but I knew the answer to that too. See, we busted Clark a couple weeks ago and let him go on the condition that he cooperate with us. In fact, I told Clark to call Brian and tell him he had some real good stuff if he was interested and then Clark called me to tell me Brian just left. That doesn't sound too fair now, does it?"
Gwen shook her head in disbelief. "I want to see him."
"Oh, you will. In fact, if you and Brian are willing to cooperate like Clark, then no one even has to know that I detained him for questioning."
"Cooperate?"
Morrison smiled, "You just do what you two planned to do tonight, not smoking the pot of course, and I'll have a front row seat. It won't be the first time I've seen you two at it, you know. That night you tied yourself up on the pedestrian bridge... that was something, but I was on the upside watching with binoculars..." She was silent for a moment remembering. Brian had the mag light that night.
"He can't have that much pot. Only a couple joints."
"Oh, but I think he said something about bringing some back for the guys at school. There was a whole Ziploc full of joints behind his seat. It's enough with Clark's testimony to put him away for a couple of years. That would really put a kink in his college plans now, wouldn't it?" He smiled at her. "Now why don't you come on out from behind that wall?"
Gwen heaved a sigh in resignation and slowly stepped out from behind the wall covering herself. She had never felt so humiliated and started to cry.
Morrison didn't care. He smiled in satisfaction. Put your hands down at your sides and let me see the flip side. I already got a great view of the backside.
Gwen moved her hands to cover her eyes and wipe away her tears and then put her hands down at her sides. Slowly Morrison approached her and walked a full circle around her. She had never felt so filthy. She brushed at her tears again.