Chapter 5 chapter Five

The next few months were difficult for Ashley.The image of Jim Cleary's bloody, mutilated body haunted her.She thought about seeing Dr. Spiekman again, but she knew she wouldn't dare talk to anyone about it, and she felt guilty even at the thought that her father might have done something so terrible, and she put the thought to rest Pushing away, trying to focus on work.This is impossible.She looked helplessly at a company logo that had just been messed up by herself. Shane Miller was watching her concerned. "Are you all right, Ashley?" She forced a smile. "I'm fine."

"I'm really sorry for your friend." She told him about Jim. "I'll...I'll recover from this." "How about dinner tonight?" "Thanks, Shane. I... I'm not in the mood yet. Next week." "Okay. Seems like there's something I can do..." "Thank you. There's nothing anyone can do." ※※※ Toni said to Elliott, "Miss Prudence has a problem. Well, she can get fucked." "I feel sorry for her. She's distressed enough." "Fuck her. We all have our problems, don't we, honey?"

On Friday afternoon, just as Ashley was leaving the company for a holiday weekend, Dennis Tibble stopped her. "Hey honey. I need you to do me a favor." "I'm sorry, Dennis, I..." "Come on. Be happy!" He took Ashley's arm. "I need advice from a woman's perspective." "Dennis, I don't have this..." "I'm in love with someone and I want to marry her, but there are some problems. Can you help me?" Ashley hesitated.She didn't like Dennis Tibble, but she didn't see any harm in helping him. "Can you wait until tomorrow?"

"I want to talk to you now. It's really urgent." Ashley took a deep breath. "Ok." "Can we go to your apartment?" She shook her head. "No." If she really took him away, she would never be able to drive him away again. "Would you like to come to my place?" Ashley hesitated. "Fine." That way, I can leave whenever I want.If I could help him get the woman he fell in love with, maybe he wouldn't bother me. ※※※ Toni said to Elliott, "My God! Prudence is going to that goddamn apartment. Can you believe she's that stupid? Where's her goddamn brain?"

"She just wanted to help him. There's nothing wrong with that..." "Oh come on, Elliott. When are you going to grow up? That man wants to fuck her." "Stop it. Don't be so explicit." "I couldn't have said it better myself." Dennis Tibble's apartment is decorated like a nightmare.Posters of old horror movies hung on the walls, alongside portraits of beauties with nude models and beasts being fed.Some small erotic woodcuts are scattered on several tables. This is a madman's apartment, Ashley thought.She couldn't wait to get out of there.

"Hey, I'm glad you're here, honey. I really appreciate it. What if..." "I can't stay long, Dennis," Ashley warned him. "Tell me about this woman you fell in love with." "She's such a stunner." He handed over a cigarette, "Smoking?" "I don't smoke." She watched him light his cigarette. "Have a glass of wine?" "I don't drink." He grinned. "You don't smoke or drink. That's just one fun activity left, isn't it?" She said to him sternly: "Dennis, if you don't..."

"Just kidding." He went to the bar and poured some wine. "Drink a little wine. It won't hurt you." He handed her the glass. She took a sip of wine. "Tell me about the lady." Dennis Tibble sat down on the sofa next to Ashley. "I've never met anyone like her. She's as sexy as you are, and..." "Don't talk nonsense. Or I'm going." "Hey, that was really a compliment. Anyway, she's got a crush on me, but her mother and father are upper class, and they don't like me." Ashley made no comment. "So, if I insist, she will marry me, but she will be estranged from her family. She is really close to her family, but if I marry her, they will definitely disown her, and then one day, she will be very close." Might be blaming me. Do you see where the always is?"

Ashley took another sip of the wine. "yes, I……" Afterwards, time seemed to disappear into a mist. She came to herself slowly, knowing that something was terribly wrong.She felt as if she had been drugged.It took her a lot of effort just to open her eyes.Ashley looked around the room and began to panic.She was lying naked on a bed in a cheap hotel room.She couldn't sit up, and her head started throbbing.She had no idea where she was or how she got here.There was a room service order on the bedside table, and she reached over to fetch it. "Grand Loop Hotel Chicago".She read it again, dumbfounded.what am i doing in chicagoHow long have I been here?It was Friday to go to Dennis Tibble's apartment.What day of the week is it?The more she thought about it, the more worried she became, and she picked up the phone.

"Can I help you?" Ashley had difficulty speaking, "Today... what day is today?" "Today is number seventeen." "No. I mean what day of the week is it?" "Oh. It's Monday. Can I..." Ashley put the receiver back blankly.Monday.She had been lost for two days and two nights.She sat up on the edge of the bed, trying to remember.She went to Dennis Tibble's apartment. ... She drank a glass of sprinkles ... After that, everything was a blank. Something he'd put in that glass of wine of hers made her temporarily lose her memory.She had read several violent incidents in which people used narcotics like this.It's called the "date rape drug."That was the medicine he gave her.The claim to ask for her opinion was nothing more than a ruse.And I believed it like a fool.She had no memory of going to the airport with Tibble, flying to Chicago, and staying in this filthy hotel room.And what's worse, I don't remember anything about what happened in this room.

I have to get out of here, Ashley thought desperately.She felt dirty, as if every inch of her body had been stained.What did he do to her?To stop thinking about it, she got out of bed, walked into the tiny bathroom, and stepped into the shower.She let the hot water hit her body, trying to wash away whatever horrible, nasty things had happened to her?What if he got her pregnant?The thought of being pregnant with his child was disgusting.Ashley stepped out of the shower, dried herself, and walked to the closet.Her clothes are gone.The only items in the wardrobe were a black leather miniskirt, a cheap-looking barrel bustier, and a pair of stilettos.She was uncomfortable at the thought of wearing such clothes, but she had no choice.She dressed quickly and glanced in the mirror?She looks like a whore.

Ashley checked her purse.Only forty dollars: her checkbook and credit card are still there.Thank goodness! She left the room and walked into the hallway.The aisles were empty.She took the elevator down to the dingy-looking lobby and walked to the checkout counter, where she handed her credit card to the elderly teller. "Leaving now?" He gave her a sideways look. "Well, you had a good time, didn't you?" Ashley stared at him, wondering what he meant, and terrified of knowing the answer.She was tempted to ask him when Dennis Tibble checked out, but in the end she decided it would be better not to mention it. The teller was inserting her credit card into a machine.He frowned and pushed it in again.Finally, he said: "Sorry, this card cannot be used. You have exceeded your limit." Ashley gaped. "That's impossible! What's wrong?" The clerk shrugged. "Do you have another credit card?" "No. I... I don't. Do you accept personal checks?" He looked at her attire very disapprovingly. "I think so, if you have an ID card." "I need to make a call..." "The phone booth is in the corner." ※※※ "San Francisco Memorial Hospital..." "Pick up Dr. Steven Paterson, please." "Wait a moment..." "Dr. Paterson's office." "Sarah? This is Ashley. I need to speak to my father." "I'm sorry, Miss Paterson. He's in the operating room, and..." Ashley clutched the phone more tightly. "Do you know how long he's going to be there?" "Hard to say. I know he has another surgery scheduled for..." Ashley found herself struggling to control a hysterical fit. "I need to speak to him. It's an emergency. Can you send him a message? Tell him to call me as soon as he gets a chance." She saw the number in the booth and told it to her father's secretary. "I'm going to wait here until he calls." "I'll definitely tell him." For nearly an hour she sat in the lobby, expecting the phone to ring.People coming and going stare or wink at her, and she feels naked in her gaudy, cheap outfit.When the phone finally rang, it startled her. She hurried back to the phone booth. "Hey……" "Ashley?" It was her father's voice. "Oh, father, I..." "What happened?" "I'm in Chicago right now and..." "What are you doing in Chicago?" "I can't go into details now. I need a plane ticket to San Jusce. I don't have any money with me. Can you help me?" "Of course, don't hang up." Three minutes later, her father came back on the phone. "There's an American Airlines plane departing at O'Hare at 10:40 AM, flight 407, and a ticket will be waiting for you at the boarding gate. I'll pick you up at San Jose and then... " "No!" She couldn't let him see her like this, "I want...I want to go to my apartment to change." "Okay. I'll meet you at lunchtime. Then you tell me everything." "Thank you, father, thank you." ※※※ On the plane home, Ashley thought about the unforgivable thing Dennis Tibble had done to her.I'm going to have to go to the police, she made up her mind.I can't let him just let it go.I don't know how many other women have been done by him? ※※※ When Ashley returns to her apartment, she feels as if she has returned to a sanctuary.She couldn't wait to take off the tacky clothes.She peeled it off her body as quickly as possible.She felt that she needed to take another shower before meeting her father.She started walking towards the closet and stopped suddenly.In front of her, on top of the dresser, was a burnt cigarette butt. ※※※ They sat at a table in a corner of a restaurant in the Oak Building.Ashley's father was watching her carefully, worried. "What were you doing in Chicago?" "I... I don't know." He looked at her in bewilderment. "You do not know?" Ashley hesitated, wondering whether to tell him what had happened.Maybe he could give her some advice. She said cautiously, "Dennis Tibble asked me to come to his apartment and help him with a problem..." "Dennis Tibble? The scumbag?" Long ago, Ashley had introduced her colleague to her father. "How could you have anything to do with him?" Ashley immediately realized that she had made a mistake.Her father was always overreacting to the problems that came up with her.Especially when this question concerns a certain man. "If I ever see you here again, Cleary, I'll break every bone in your body." "It doesn't matter," Ashley said. "I want to hear it." Ashley sat motionless for a moment, filled with foreboding, "Uh, I had a drink at Dennis' apartment, and then..." As she narrated, she observed her father's face grow hideous.Something in his eyes startled her, and she tried to interrupt the narrative. "No," insisted her father, "I want to hear all the details..." ※※※ That night Ashley lay in bed, too exhausted to sleep, her thoughts jumbled.It would be a shame to let everyone know what Dennis did to me.Everyone in the company will know what happened.But I can't let him do that to someone else.I need to call the police. People had warned her that Dennis had a crush on her, but she didn't care.Looking back now, she could see all the signs: Dennis had never seen anyone else talk to her; At least I know who the stalker is, Ashley thought. ※※※ At 8:30 in the morning, just as Ashley was getting ready to leave for work, the phone rang.She picked up the phone. "Hello." "Ashley, this is Shane. Did you hear the news?" "What news?" "It's on TV. They just found Dennis Tibble's body." For a moment, the ground seemed to be shaking. "Oh my God! What happened?" "According to the sheriff's office, someone stabbed him to death and castrated him."