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Near dawn he came half awake and realized that Einstein was at the bedroo watch He murmured the retriever’s nauard, and Travis drifted off onceher encounter with Art Streck, Nora Devon went for a long walk, intending to explore parts of the city that she had never seen before She had taken short walks with Violet once a week Since the old woh less often, and she never ventured farther than six or eight blocks froojourney toward liberation and self-respect

Before setting out, she considered having a light lunch later at a restaurant chosen at rando the way But she had never been in a restaurant The prospect of dealing with a waiter and dining in the co Instead, she packed one apple, one orange, and two oat She would eat lunch alone, in a park somewhere Even that would be revolutionary One small step at a tireen spring growth, the trees looked fresh; they stirred in a breeze just strong enough to take the searing edge off the hot sunlight

As Nora strolled past the well-kept houses, the vast majority of which were in one style of Spanish architecture or another, she looked at doors and ith a new curiosity, wondering about the people who lived within Were they happy? Sad? In love? Whatvacations to exotic places, evenings at the theater, visits to nightclubs?

She had never wondered about them before because she had known their lives and hers would never cross Wondering about them would have been a waste of time and effort But now

When she encountered other walkers, she kept her head down and averted her face, as she had always done before, but after a while she found the Courage to look at some of them She was surprised when many smiled at her and said hello In time, she was even more surprised when she heard herself respond

At the county courthouse she paused to admire the yellow blossoainvillea that cliht-iron grille over one of the tall s

At the Santa Barbara Mission, built in 1815, she stood at the foot of the

front steps and studied the handsome façade of the old church She explored the courtyard with its Sacred Garden and clian to understand why, in some of the many books she had read, Santa Barbara had been called one of the most beautiful places on earth She had lived there nearly all her life, but because she had cowered in the Devon house with Violet and, on venturing out, had looked at littlethe town for the first time It both charmed and thrilled her

At one o’clock, in Alaht of the pond, she sat on a bench near three ancient andsore, but she did not intend to go hoan lunch with the yellow apple Never had anything tasted half as delicious Fa the pieces of peel into the bag, and she was starting on the first of the oatmeal cookies when Art Streck sat down beside her

"Hello, prettiness"

He earing only blue running shorts, running shoes, and thick white athletic socks However, he clearly hadn’t been running, for he wasn’t sweating He was ly masculine The whole purpose of his attire was to display his physique, so Nora at once averted her eyes

"Shy?" he asked

She could not speak because the bite she had taken from the oatmeal cookie was stuck in her mouth She couldn’t work up any saliva She was afraid she would choke if she tried to s the piece of cookie, but she couldn’t very well just spit it out

"My sweet, shy Nora," Streck said

Looking down, she sa badly her right hand was treers; bits of it dropped onto the paving between her feet

She had told herself that she would go for a daylong walk as a first step toward liberation, but now she had to ad out of the house She had been trying to avoid Streck’s attentions She was afraid to stay home, afraid that he’d call and call and call But now he had found her in the open, beyond the protection of her locked s and bolted doors, which orse than the telephone, infinitely worse

"Look at rating cookie fell froht hand

Streck took her left hand, and she tried to resist hiers, so she surrendered He put her hand palh His flesh was firm and hot

Her stomach twisted, and her heart thumped, and she did not knohich she would do first-puke or pass out

Moving her hand slowly up and down his bare thigh, he said, "I’m what you need, prettiness I can take care of you"

As if it were a wad of paste, the oatlued her mouth shut She kept her head down, but she raised her eyes to look out from under her brow She hoped to see someone nearby to who mothers with their small children, and even they were too far away to be of assistance

Lifting her hand fro it on his bare chest, Streck said, "Having a nice stroll today? Did you like the mission? Hmmm? And weren’t the yucca blossoms pretty at the courthouse?"

He ra her how she had liked other things she’d seen, and she realized he had been following her all , either in his car or on foot She hadn’t seen him, but there was no doubt he bad been there because he knew every htened and infuriated herhard and fast, yet she felt as if she could not get her breath Her ears were ringing, yet she could hear every word he said too clearly Though she thought she ht strike hie of striking but unable to strike, sie and ith fear She wanted to scream, not for help but in frustration

"Now," he said, "you’ve had a real nice stroll, a nice lunch in the park, and you’re in a relaxed mood So you knoould be nice now? You knoould make this a terrific day, prettiness? A really special day? What we’ll do is get in et in that four-poster bed-"

He’d been in her bedroom! He must have done it yesterday When he was supposed to have been in the living roo the TV, he h her h her belongings

"-that big old bed, and I’ to strip you down, honey, strip you down and fck you-"