I should never have listened to Bitsy. I was all comfortable in front of the fireplace with a glass of wine and immersed in the new John Grisham novel. When the phone rang. I almost let the machine pick it up, but I was never one to ignore a ringing telephone.
"Hello?"
"Rebecca, its Bitsy, I hope I am not calling too late, but you said that if I found any special art that I should contact you. I know this wonderful female artist and her work is stunningly erotic and I thought it would be perfect for your gallery. You simply must come see these pieces immediately," Bitsy said breathlessly.
"But Bitsy it is late and you know I rarely leave my home after dark. I mean after all this is New York. Can't this wait until tomorrow? I am sure the paintings will still be there in the morning."
"Danielle is leaving for Europe tomorrow and wont be back for a month and to be honest if you come buy these paintings, she wont leave and then I can convince her to move in with me. I love her and know that if you buy her paintings she won't leave me. Besides you owe me for setting you up with your last lover."
"Oh all right, she sighed. "Give me the address and I will be there as soon as I can."
A few minutes later, "Ok let me see if I have this right, once I get on the GW Bridge, I take the first exit and go right, go about 4 blocks to the deli and make a left. It's the third building on the left. "Is that correct?"
"Yes, that's right, should take you about 30 minutes or so. We will be waiting. See you soon."
Rebecca was hopelessly lost. She had been driving for an hour and a half now. Bitsy had said it was only 30 minutes. She followed the directions that she got on the phone, but couldn't find any deli or the streets that she was suppose to turn on. She had never been in this part of town before. Heck she did not even know this part of the city existed. So here she was in her BMW lost, confused and a little scared.
She tried looking out the window to get her bearings, but all she could see was strange men huddled in doorways. She thought she saw a mother and child, but couldn't be sure since it was so dark. There were no buildings with lights on, no other cars on the streets. No street signs. She picked up her cell phone, but didn't know whom to call, no one else would be crazy enough to be down here, much less come after her. She really didn't have friends. She had customers from her gallery. She had associates from the Country Club. She knew the old lady in the penthouse the floor below. She also had the occasional one-night stand with someone from the lesbian bar that she went to once a week. But nothing serious was ever going to come from one-night stands. But she had no real friends. Bitsy was a friend only when she wanted something. So since she didn't know who to call she dialed 911. When she put the phone to her ear she didn't hear a thing. She pressed 911 again and noticed that the phone was dead.
"Damn, she yelled aloud. What the hell do I do now? I can't drive all night."
She stopped at a red light and nervously lit up another cigarette. She thought she saw movement out of the corner of her eye and when she turned to look out the back window, the glass shattered and tiny shards were flying everywhere. She ducked down but not before a large piece hit her in the forehead. She felt a hand grab the collar of the jacket and pull her through the window. The glass ripped her clothing and cut her flesh. She felt the blood pouring from the cut, down her cheek and into her mouth.
When her body hit the ground, Rebecca saw a fist coming towards her face. She screamed.
"Shut up, rich bitch, I only want your car and your money." Huge rough hands were roaming over her body, feeling for anything in her pockets. Her coat was ripped from her. Her earrings were torn from her ears. Then the fist was coming for her again and that was the last thing she saw before blackness overcame her.
Some time had passed and Rebecca found herself lying on a sidewalk with blood coming from a cut above her eye. Her mouth was cut, and she thought her nose was broken. She tried opening her eyes but found the left one swollen shut. She searched her mind to try and figure out where she was and what she was doing here, but everything was blank. She couldn't even remember her name. "Oh God, she thought what am I going to do now."
A small group of men were walking down the street toward her direction and they were grimy, and wore tattered clothes. They spotted Rebecca and started moving towards her. Rebecca was a beautiful, rich, snobby woman. Any other time she would not have given them the time of day. She still stood out in the clothes that she had on and instinctively knew that she was in serious trouble. Five men surrounded her. They were making lewd remarks. Calling her names and ogling her breasts. One even ran his hand up the inside of her leg. She pulled up her legs to her chest and tried to sink into the doorway to hide. It was too much for her to bear so she started screaming.
All of the sudden, there was a wild cry from across the street. A woman was shrieking and shouting in some strange language Rebecca had never heard before (or at least she couldn't remember if she had).
" erhalten Sie weg von ihr Sie schmutzige Schweine, oder ich schneide Sie oben und ziehe Sie den L”wen am Zoo! " The men then shouted a few choice words and took off down the street.
The woman approached Rebecca cautiously and kneeled in front of her. Speaking softly she asked "Are you all right, did they hurt you?"
" I... I... think so, no they didn't hurt me just frightened me a little. Thank you, I am not sure what they would have done to me if you had not come along."
"What's your name sweetie and what are you doing down here?"
Rebecca searched her brain trying to remember anything she could about herself and said, "I don't remember my name or much of anything else. The only thing I know is waking up here." She shivered again more from the cold then anything else.
"Well it looks like you were beaten up. "Did your boyfriend or husband do this to you?"
"I really don't know how I got here. The last thing I remember is waking up here, bruised and bloody. Can you get me to a hospital or to a phone?"
"Well the hospital is about two miles away, and I don't have a car. The nearest phone is about 5 blocks away through some pretty rough neighborhoods. I don't go into them much during daylight much less at night. I could take you to my place beneath the subway."
"I... I... don't know, I know that you may have saved me from those men, but I don't know you. But for some reason, I think I can trust you and since I really don't have much of a choice, I guess I will go with you. But at daylight we get me to a hospital. Ok?"
"Ok that's fair. Even if you had not wanted to go to my place I would not have left you alone out here. Let's go before more trouble comes. Can you walk?"
