The Sound of Broken Ribs(64)

“Thanks for calling your home away from home—this is Pam, how can I help you?”

“Hi, Pam, this is Lei Duncan. How’re you doing today?”

“This is… This is who?”

Lei knew that tone of voice anywhere. Pamela here knew who Lei was. She had the telltale excitement in her voice of a number-one fan.

“Lei Duncan, Pam.”

“Oh my God!”

“Calm down, Pam. I’m human just like you.” The canned response was more forced than usual.

“Huge fan, Mrs. Duncan.” Pam even got the misses right. Good for her. “I’ve read all your work and am dying to read your new book. Is it still called… Gosh, what was—The Ebony One!” Pam shrieked and both women in the car cringed.

“That’s right, Pam. Look here—”

“I started reading you after my mother checked you out a few years back. I read an article that said you were here filming a movie for Tumbler. Great movie, by the way. Nice to see Clooney finally play a bad guy.”

“Pam?”

“Yes, Mrs. Duncan?”

“I need a cabin, Pam.”

“Oh. Yeah. Sure. Today?” Four separate words.

“Yep. Can that be arranged?”

“Oh, yes. I see you’re already here.”

Lei glanced to the main cabin and saw an obese redhead standing in the window to the left of the front door, waving at her. The face was flat and round, moon-like. The cheeks were so pudgy that Pam’s eyes were reduced to slits when she smiled. The second chin jiggled and swayed with every wave of her hand.

“Be in in a minute,” Lei said and hung up. “Wasn’t expecting anyone to actually be here.”

“What are you going to do with me?” Belinda asked.

Lei looked over the other woman. “I can’t take you inside. You’re a mess. But it’s not like you can run. You don’t have anywhere to go and the police are looking for you. And, whether you believe it or not, if you make yourself known while I’m in here, I will kill you and Pam. I don’t really care.”

Do you actually mean that? I think you do…

“I doubt you’ll do any of that,” Belinda said.

“Did you expect me to break your fucking nose?”

Belinda didn’t answer.

Lei continued, “The way I see it, you have one of two options. You stay and see what happens. Or you run. It’s really that simple. If Pam finds out about you, you’re going to jail. So you’d have to face the wild until you come across a road and a car. You saw how many cars we passed on the way up here. How long do you think you’ll last in the snow?”

Belinda just stared at her. But, even though the other woman’s face was blank, Lei thought she saw a subtle resignation hidden behind the emotionless facade.

“And if you choose to bring Pam into this, I cannot say how I’ll react. We’ll just have to see what happens.”

“Go.”

“Sorry. What?”

“Go on. Get our cabin. Whatever you’re planning—let’s get this shit over with.”

Lei shoved the Glock into her purse, threw her purse over her shoulder, popped open the door, and stepped out. She took the steps two at a time. She heard the snick-snack of bolts being thrown and chains coming undone.

Pam opened the door, revealing the largest pair of breasts Lei had ever seen. If they’d been weighed, Lei thought that, together, they would come in heavier than the entirety of her. She hadn’t noticed from the car because the massive boobs dangled lower than the window sill Pam had been standing behind. What Lei had taken for a wide upper body was mostly just the woman’s chest. The rest of her was just as large and round. But even when considering her obesity, Pam’s breasts were huge and out of proportion. How the woman stood upright was beyond Lei’s ability to fathom.

“My God, this is a dream come true. Can I hug you? Can I?” Pam threw her arms wide and Lei grimaced against the expectation of body odor. She hoped she had flipped the grimace into a grin before Pam had seen the flicker of disgust pass over her face. “Sure thing.”

Lei stepped into Pam’s embrace and was pleasantly surprised to find that Pam smelled lovely—vanilla sugar cookies. She could nearly feel the heat of the oven in which the cookies were baking. More than likely, the warmth Lei felt was coming from Pam’s body heat. Took quite a bit of coal to run a steam engine of that size.

Pam stepped back, her eyes again closed to slits by her broad grin. “Let’s get you signed in.” The big lady tittered. It was such a joyous, musical sound that Lei couldn’t help but smile.

“Yes. Please.”

“Just—just right over here. Nobody’s gonna believe me when I tell them I met you. Lucky for me, I have cameras.” Pam pointed to the black dome set into the corner above Lei’s head and then across the room to the opposite corner where another black dome silently watched the duo’s interactions. “No worries, though. There are no cameras in the cabins.”

Lei’s laugh was broken by nerves. “Why would I be worried?”

“Oh. Just the look on your face, is all. I can only imagine how private you are. Especially after that crazy person hit you with their car. Jaysus. They never did catch them, did they.” This last part was not a question, but Lei answered anyway.