You got balls, girl !!!

The topper was that she knew who Bambi was, but she was keeping it to herself and using it to her advantage. On the face of it, this sounded like rank manipulation, but her goal was to endear herself to her potential mother-in-law, so she would hardly put herself in a position to be seen betraying a trust. No one who looked at that innocent and open face would ever think that Jolene could be capable of dissimulation or harboring an agenda.

"Does she remind you of anyone we know?" Neeka asked via brainwave.

"Of course, she reminds me of me. That's what impresses me so much. You remember she said I was her role model. You thought that was funny, but she's doing it. She's playing this perfectly. If there is a bad outcome on the horizon, I can't see it. If it were me, I would probably be taking a risk somewhere that might come back and bite me later."

"That's because you're an adrenalin-junkie. You like danger."

"You know me too well. But you're one too."

"I learned it from The Master. Do you still want to go to the park this afternoon?"

"Yes. It's a long-shot, but it's worth doing. The park is the center of activity. All the abductions happened in or near there. It's a good bet that all the victims who weren't taken in the park had been there shortly before. It may be where the kidnapper picks his prey."

All this took only a few seconds at the speed of thought. I was still smiling at Jolene's announcement and thinking of some way to congratulate her without tipping her hand.

"Yes, it's wonderful. She can probably do a better job of coaching you than I can, too. She has more experience and I can say with complete honesty that she has taught me a lot about lovemaking. You're a very lucky girl, Jolene." There, I did it. Jolene would understand, but the comment would go right under everyone else's radar.

Almost everyone. Bambi was looking at me funny, as if she suspected something. I just continued to smile, trying to mimic Jolene's natural innocence.

She stayed as long as she dared, but eventually Jolene had to go home, too. Bambi and Bud and I saw her to the front door and it was hugs and kisses all around before she opened the door and stepped out into the morning sun.

We had all got so used to it over the last several hours that it wasn't until I was closing the door behind her that an alarm bell went off in the back of my head. I pulled the door open again and stuck my head out to watch Jolene's cute behind as she skipped down the front steps to where she had parked her bicycle. Her cute naked behind.

"Jolene!" I called. She turned to see what I wanted. "Forget something?"

"I don't think so," she said. "I didn't bring anything..." She looked down at herself by reflex and it registered on her that skin might not be appropriate for her bike ride home. She blushed and looked around toward the street to see if anyone might have seen her. I stepped down to join her in case she became upset. It was a thin rationalization and I knew it. I just didn't want her to have all the fun.

The front yard was as beautifully landscaped as the rest of the lot, with lots of bushes and small trees to provide framing for the front of the house, as well as screening from the neighboring yards. However, since it was at the very end of the cul-de-sac and on a slight rise, our house had a view straight down the street for over a block and a half before some older trees and the lay of the land obscured it. I could see a few people out for walks and one man a few doors down was on his hands and knees working in a flower bed. The only one who was facing in our direction was a man out walking his dog at the end of our street. He was a little under 200 yards away and approaching at a slow walk. He looked like he might be coming all the way to the end and before looping back the way he came. He had on a brightly-colored Hawaiian shirt, a pair of cutoff jeans shorts and leather sandals. He was in his mid-thirties and had short blonde hair. The dog was a greyhound or a whippet. When it stopped to salute a fireplug, I could tell that it was a male.

As I continued to pick out more details about the man — he had a pair of sunglasses in his shirt pocket — Jolene tried to follow my gaze.

"What are you looking at?"

"The man with the dog."

"Where? Oh, I see him. Way down there on the left. What about him?"

"What color hair does he have?"

"I dunno. It's too far to see."

"What kind of shoes is he wearing?"

"I can't tell. Why? He can't possibly see how we're dressed from way out there, not unless he's got telescopic vision or something."

"Yeah. Telescopic vision." The man wasn't wearing any rings and I could see a palm tree logo embroidered over the breast pocket of his shirt. It looked like Bud hadn't been kidding after all. It was my eyes, not his, that were different. I could see things much further away and with greater clarity than I could before. It had happened so gradually that I hadn't noticed. Chalk up another enhanced ability.

"C'mon inside," I told her. "We'll find your nightshirt. I still don't believe you wore that all the way over here. You got balls, girl."

"Why thank you kindly! I think. I didn't let my folks get a good look at me when I left. It was fun riding along with the wind blowing up my shirt. I did get some looks from a few people. One guy pulled up next to me while I waited for a light and just stared and stared. I pretended not to notice him. When he drove off I found that my shirt had ridden up on my hips all the way to my waist."

"You enjoyed that."

"I surely did. It made me so hot that I could hardly ride my bike the rest of the way. I kept sliding around on the seat."

What could I say to her, 'don't'? 'Be careful'? I probably would have given the guy even more of a show. I had no moral authority here. What could I say?

"Good for you! Don't get caught." It sounded dumb, but it was the best I could do.

"Right. Thanks."

Neeka and Bambi had already found the missing nightshirt. It had been mixed in with the rest of the dirty laundry that wouldn't be washed until later.

"I found you something else to wear, honey." Bambi said. She gave Jolene a short Roman-style tunic with a simulated rope belt and helped her into it. It looked darling on her. The hem was almost as high on her thighs as the nightshirt had been, and it had side slits that would show her legs all the way to her hips when she was on the bike. The bodice draped lower on her than it was designed to, revealing a good bit of cleavage. It looked like a cross between a party costume and a designer dress. The label was a well-known New York fashion house.

"Wow!" Jolene said, as she fastened the belt around her narrow waist. "It's lovely. Thanks, Bambi. I'll bring it back soon. Don't worry."

"Oh, I'm not worried. Keep it. It looks good on you. Next time, I'll find something that fits better."

Jolene and Bambi shared a big hug and a passionate kiss. For a moment, I thought the dress might come off again as they pawed each other, but they recovered their composure in due course and Jolene took her leave for the second time.

She had just pedaled her bike down the drive and into the street when Bambi turned and gave me the same look she had earlier. The one that said, 'something is fishy here and I think you know all about it'. As before, I tried to impersonate Jolene — innocent as a babe. I must have been getting it down pat because she didn't question me; she just put an arm around me and hugged me tight while we walked back downstairs.

-------

Since we had eaten a big breakfast fairly late in the morning, lunch was very light, just a half a sandwich and some fruit. Afterwards, Bud and Jim went upstairs to study and Neeka and I had just started to go down to the workshop when the phone rang. I picked it up and said, "Reynolds residence."

A voice said, "Hi, can I talk to Sam, please."

"Hi, Joey! This is Sam. How are things with you?"

"Great! You said to call and let you know how I was doing."