IMPOSTER - PART SEVENTEEN

PREVIOUSLY

The car phone in the Lamborghini rang insistently against the hollow stillness of its luxurious interior...an interior that no longer had any occupants.

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The unearthly glow of the moon's light overhead spilled over into the shadowy vista of the countryside as two people walked hand in hand through the grass. The taller figure moved somewhat ahead as if leading the other figure somewhere. When they approached a small clump of trees set apart from the rolling landscape, they stopped for a moment -- each looking around. They both turned toward each other and remained motionless.
Todd Manning had always been a man of decision. When he knew what he wanted, he had never failed to act, but this was a decision unlike any other he had ever made. It occurred to him that he was about to change his life in a way that would have a far-reaching impact on everything he would do for the rest of his life. This woman standing beside him had started a chain of events, which had led him into a relationship that was stronger than any other he had had -- except for that with his daughter. Not even a raging alter had been able to keep him from her, and he knew deep down in his gut that she had always been his salvation from a life devoid of light and love.
"Is this...okay?" he asked her hesitantly as she looked over at the small glade of trees providing a private setting against the open landscape.
She looked up at him almost shyly and nodded wordlessly. He led her over to the wooded enclosure and gently placed a blanket he had retrieved from the trunk of the Lamborghini on the fresh, scented ground. In spite of himself, he looked around and noticed that all of his senses had heightened to a point that he was aware of the incredible beauty of this chosen spot. He could smell the sweet, woody scent of the trees and the aromatic mixture of the wild flowers scattered all around them. Overhead the sky was a deep, cobalt blue and crystal clear with pinpoints of stars reflecting down on them. It's not the Bayberry Inn, Delgado, but I think it's perfect.
Tea stood transfixed as he placed the blanket on the ground. Her eyes shone with a girlish excitement and she felt the pounding of her heart inside her as she thought of what was about to happen. Darting her eyes around, her level of happiness rose again as she took in the loveliness of this small, natural setting. Oh, Todd, I couldn't have asked for anything better than this. It's the most romantic little spot in the entire world to me!
The simple sweetness of the place which he had chosen abruptly hit her and her sentimentality welled up inside her causing her eyes to fill up and blur with tears. She wrapped her arms around her waist in an effort to control the tide of emotions sweeping through her.
"Tea?" he spoke with concern as he moved toward her. He had seen her face transform from one of blissfulness to one of apparent sadness. Through her tears she saw him approaching her cautiously -- his soft eyes seeking to find out what was wrong. "Tea...what is it? He moved in toward her and waited for her to answer. Looking at him with a kind of lost look in her eyes, she shook her head silently -- unable to speak what she was thinking out loud.
His long arm reached out to her and the tip of his finger lifted her chin as he peered into her eyes and searched her soul for the answer to his question.
"Are you happy...or sad?" he asked her seeming to know that she was having difficulty in expressing what she was feeling.
"Hap...py," she stumbled over the word and couldn't believe how affected she was by what was happening. Her body began to tremble involuntarily as he touched her. She forced herself to speak to him again. "I'm...I'm afraid, Todd."
The smooth, scarred face of Todd Manning reflected an understanding beyond what she had expected. A hint of a smile appeared in his eyes as his warm, rich voice spoke again. "You're trembling, aren't you?" he said as his fingers touched her skin and he saw the almost imperceptible shaking of her body. He took one of her delicate hands into his own and brought it up to his face -- stroking his scarred cheek across the palm of her hand.
"I'm shaking, too, Tea."
Tea closed her eyes with his caressing touch and taking a much needed breath, released her hand from his. As if making a big decision, she brought her hands up to remove the light jacket she was wearing. Before she could do so, his arms moved up to her shoulders quickly to stop her.
"Don't...I would like...to do that."
She froze as his hands slowly lowered the jacket down -- sliding it down her shoulders in a kind of slow motion and removing it from her body. He gingerly dropped the jacket near the edge of the blanket while his hazel eyes narrowed and lowered -- focusing on her blouse. His long fingers touched the top button and lanquidly began to unbutton each button while he continued to look at her -- his hooded eyes lingering over her as if hypnotized by what he was seeing.
Her large, brown eyes widened as she felt his fingers touching her blouse and his hands slipping through the silky material. Is this happening? Am I dreaming? I'm going to wake up and all this will have faded away. This is Todd Manning undressing me here and now -- a man whose sexual needs had been so repressed by his strange, conflicted life.

Viki's face screwed up in a perplexed frown as she continued to listen to the ringing tone in the receiver of her car phone. Why wasn't he answering? Where were they? Had they stopped somewhere -- perhaps a reststop or to get some food? Why else wouldn't he answer? He might think it was the police. Unless...unless...
Sam saw the subtle change in her face take place as she was thinking to herself. She went completely white and her eyes dulled with an unspoken thought.
"Viki! They're not answering? What's going on?"
She put the car phone back down slowly and saw the tremor in her hand as she did it. "Sam, I don't know why. I don't want to think it, but..." her voice trailed off as she tried to reason with her common sense as to what might have happened.
The same stark, awful idea as Viki's popped into Sam's head as he weighed what she had just said. A man like Pete was capable of anything to cover his tracks. If he wanted to do harm to her, he would make sure that there was never any direct, circumstantial evidence to link him to his crime. They were in a remote country area. It was something that happened every day -- the disappearance of a victim.
Both of them knew instinctively that they were on the same wavelength. Something had to be done and they both knew it. Sam's crusty face set determinedly as he picked up the car phone and put it to his ear.
"I'm calling Sykes!"
Viki didn't stop him this time because they both realized soberly that it had to be done. They could try to call him again, but there was no time to waste now. Dear God, I hope I haven't waited too long, but I wanted to give you a fighting chance, Todd. It can't be about you anymore. I have to think of Tea now, and what you would want me to do to help her.

A lone call of a nightbird sounded in the quiet hush of the treed enclosure -- a private setting in which a man and a woman were about to experience the deepest mystery of all. A warm, gentle breeze blew through the glade and softly brushed the tops of the grasses and wildflowers. The night air was hypnotic in its stillness as the two figures stood facing each other under the full moonlight.
As he very deliberately unbuttoned the last button, his warm hands came to rest inside the folds of her blouse and remained there for several seconds as if he were luxuriating in the feel of her skin against his own. His eyes moved up toward her face waiting for her response to what he was doing, and he found what he was seeking. Tea's eyes met his directly -- this time with no fear but with feverish intensity as his hands touching her body made her dissolve into a pool of desire. With an instinctual knowledge of what she would want him to do, his fingers glided through the loose, pastel fabric and inch by inch pushed it up to her shoulders and began guiding it down her back.
The soft touch of the smooth material moving down against her skin and the thrill of his hands moving along her back, woke up every nerve in her body. This is real. This is happening. Oh, querido, no man's touch has ever made me surrender so completely in my mind and spirit.
Around Tea's long, graceful neck a flicker of light shone from the necklace she was wearing. Todd's hand reached up to it, and his eyes smiled with recognition at the necklace which drove him to dive into the cold, murky waters of the Llantano river -- for her. He held it for a moment as he fingered the locket at the end of the chain thoughtfully -- remembering that night when she had cried so openly in front of him after he had emerged from the river soaking wet and half drowned. He hadn't known why she was so upset with him then. Her words came back to him about how her life had passed before her and she had seen to the other side and into a bleak reality. You thought you had lost me, didn't you, Delgado? I know what that feels like now. I thought I had lost you to Pete...but here we are...there are no rivers or alters to separate us.

Sykes knit his brows together as he listened to the labored explanation of Sam Rappaport concerning one Todd Manning, Llanview's most wanted fugitive. The Chicago lawyer was telling him that he believed Todd Manning still had Tea Manning as his prisoner out somewhere in a rural section in the same general vicinity as a cabin retreat belonging to Viki Carpenter.
He remained silent on his cell phone as Sam related the details. "...and Mrs. Carpenter believes that her brother may have originally gone to her cabin since he had a key to the place."
So you and Mrs. Carpenter have been doing a bit of sleuthing on your own! Well, both of you hotshots will have to answer to me in your duplicity in this matter, but for now, all I care about is finding that "menace to society" and making sure that there is enough evidence to keep him off the streets for good.
"Okay, Rappaport. Now that you've finally decided to divulge what you know, the police and the FBI will take over from here. I want you and Mrs. Carpenter to go back to your homes and stay there!" He hung up and said to himself with a self-satisfied smile, "I've got you now, Todd Manning!"

With his eyes still riveted to the chain, Todd said almost casually, "Let me...take this off." She didn't try to stop him as his hands moved toward her shoulders again and gently turned her around. Her bare back seemed to glisten in the darkness and he lifted her long, chestnut brown hair and moved it to one side. His fingers deftly undid the clasp of the chain, and he reached around to grasp it in his hand. Before she could turn around again, his lips lowered to her exposed neck and pressed into her flesh with fervent tenderness. There are so many beautiful parts to you, Tea, and I'm going to find out more about each and every one.
Tea heard her low moan as his lips brushed across her skin. Seconds later she experienced another great shock to her senses as she felt his lips move from one point to the next -- lower and lower down her back. This is just the beginning and I'm losing my mind! Don't stop...please...don't stop!
The next few minutes were like a swirling daydream as she felt his fingers unclasp the last article of clothing left on her upper body. As if held in a trance, she was dimly aware of his hands slowly moving over her and directing her down to the soft blanket matted against the fresh earth -- his long, silky hair brushing lightly against her chest. His full, soft mouth parted in a deep breath as he looked down at her, and a pure, white light shone through his dark eyes as he said with deep, unashamed emotion, "I love you, Tea."

~ TO BE CONTINUED ~