Quicksand (24 page)

THE WATER WASN'T COLD, BUT
Laura Ann's teeth were chattering. It was dark and she couldn't see what was in the water with her. Alligators. Kistle had said the alligators would tear and hurt her. She wanted to be back on the island with the flashlight where she could see. Maybe she should have stayed there.

But if Kistle wanted her there, then it was the wrong place to be. Wrong for her and wrong for Eve. She could swim, she could climb. If she could get to one of those huge cypress trees growing out of the swamp water, then maybe she'd be able to climb up and hide. Monsters.

The waters are trembling.

Alligators.

The tears were pouring down her cheeks as she started to swim toward the trees a short distance away. She didn't have to hide them; she didn't have to be brave. He wasn't here. It didn't matter if she cried now.

MEGAN BENT DOUBLE AS THE
pain hit her. She couldn't stand it. But she had to stand it. She couldn't get away from the voices.

Don't hurt me. Don't hurt me. Don't hurt me.

I'll be good.

Let me see my Mama.

Shrieks.

Don't do it again.

Stop him.

I can't do it. Too late. Too late.

So many . . .

Nora Jean. Cambry. Paul. Letitia. Eric. Danielle. Monty. Natal
—

"Megan," Eve whispered. "What's happening?"

"Too strong," Megan sobbed. "Too many. I can't close them out. So much pain. Lonely. Hurting. Mama. They want their mothers. They want to go home. Why won't he stop? I can't
help
them."

"Them?" Eve asked. "Bonnie?"

"I don't know. There are too many voices. I can't . . . separate. Names, but not all. Not all."

"What the hell is happening?" Joe was looking back at Megan. "This isn't the time for playact—" He stopped as he saw her expression. "My God."

"Too many," Eve echoed. "Not just one grave?"

Megan shook her head. "Dozens. I don't know . . . Too many." She was shaking. "And I can't close them out. I don't want to close them out. They need— But it hurts. It hurts."

"Laura Ann?" Eve asked.

"I can't—I don't think so. I might not be able to tell the difference."
Mama!

Sobbing.

You shouldn't do that to me.

Please, can I go home? I'll be good.

Shock. Pain. Shock. Death.

"Megan." Eve's hand was gripping her own. "We need you. Where are the voices coming from?"

Where? They were surrounding Megan, filling the world. But Eve needed her. Laura Ann needed her. She might still be alive.

"Where?" Eve repeated.

Megan made an effort to pull herself together. She jerked away from Eve's grip and tried to get the voices to stop.

Let me alone. Just for a moment. I want to help you, but I can't do it. Help me. Help Laura
Ann
.

She drew a deep breath and pointed to the left. "There. There's an island behind all those trees and swamp shrubs."

Eve shook her head. "There's an island on the right. That's about where I saw the light." Megan shook her head. "On the left. They're all there . . . the children. Every one of them."

"You're sure the light was on the island on the right, Eve?" Joe asked. "That island looks like the same one that's in the photo."

He wasn't going to believe her, Megan thought in despair.

Eve nodded. "I'm certain I saw—"

"I don't care where you saw a light," Megan said fiercely. "That's not his island. That's not his damn burial ground. It's there, across the way, hidden somewhere in that mass of trees and foliage."

"There's no hint of any island there," Joe said. "It's just a bank of dense trees and plant life. We're supposed to trust you that it's there and try to find it?"

Screams
.

Help me, Mama
.

Hold on. Keep the voices at bay.

"His island is there," she said. "I hear him talking about it to one of the children. Danielle . . . He loves it. He says her blood is going to soak into—"

"Shut up." Joe's gaze was on Eve. "She shouldn't hear—"

"No one should hear it," Megan said. "But I do, and I didn't come here to suffer through this hell without it meaning something." She stared him in the eye and her voice was vibrating with passion. "You listen to me, Joe Quinn. I can only say this once because I don't know how long I'm going to be able to stand this. I can't hold them off. As God is my witness, there is an island that's a burial ground in those trees. If there was a light on the other island, it was a trap. You expected a trap, didn't you? Well, there it is." Her voice broke. "Now you go and find Kistle and those children so that we can get the hell out of here." He didn't speak for a moment. "Only one child, Megan. Laura Ann." She shook her head. "So many children. They all want to go home," she whispered. "Believe me, Joe, so many children."

"Joe," Eve said.

He was still searching Megan's expression. He slowly nodded. "The light could have been a trap." He was taking off his boots as he spoke. "If it was, Kistle had to have a vantage point to spring it. That island's pretty barren and there's no place to hide. So there's only one other thing I have to swallow as truth, and it's sticking in my throat." He handed Eve his rifle and his Magnum before fastening on the belt holding his machete and the waterproofed holster holding his .38. "But I'm going to force it down."

"What are you going to do?" Eve asked.

"I'm going to swim past that jungle of foliage and see if I can find an island." He smiled recklessly as he took off his shirt and threw it on the bottom of the boat. "And, if I do, I'm going to go hunting."

"And you expect me to stay here and let you go alone?" Eve asked. "No way. Tell me what to do to help."

"Not a damn thing until I see if there's an island there." He slipped out of the boat and into the water. "Other than that, stay out of Kistle's way so that he can't use you as a hostage against me." He started swimming in the direction of the bank of trees. "And take care of Megan. She looks as if she's—take care of her."

Eve muttered a curse beneath her breath as she turned to Megan. "He couldn't wait to go on his damn hunt. Why can't he see that I—" She stopped. "Good God. You look as if you've turned to stone. Can I do anything for you?"

Megan wished she was stone. Then she wouldn't be able to hear the voices that wouldn't be silenced. "You can kill the bastard," she said hoarsely. "Then you can get me away from here before I fall apart." She drew a long, shaky breath. "Just find Laura Ann and let's go back to the dock."

"To find Laura Ann I have to go after Joe," Eve said. "That means I'll have to row the boat to the island. Can you take it?"

The closer to the island, the louder and more persistent would be the voices. "I don't know." She closed her eyes. "I don't have a choice, do I?"

"I wish I could say that you do," Eve said. "You don't have to set foot on the island. You can stay in the boat. Will that help?"

"Probably not." Megan opened her eyes. "But I'm the one who decided to go with you to this hellhole. I have to go through with it. What's next?"

"I'll phone Montalvo and tell him to get here and help. Then I'll wait until I'm sure Joe isn't coming back, that there really is an island hidden in those shrubs. Then I'll go after him."

"The island is there." Megan could hear her words slurring as she tried to speak through the fog of voices. "How strange, that your Joe believed me and you're the one who's not certain." But maybe Eve didn't want to recognize the horror on that island. Not if Bonnie was a part of it.

Bonnie, are you there?

EVE'S PHONE RANG AS SHE
was dialing Montalvo.

"How did you know about my island, Eve?" Kistle asked. "I was planning to show it to you personally, but I'm afraid you're going to invade my space. I saw Quinn slip into the water and head this way. I was going to go down to the bank to meet him, but he's disappeared. Do you suppose an alligator got him? No, I'd bet on him over an alligator. That means he's managed to slip onshore. I wonder where he is . . ."

"Behind you every step of the way," Eve said. "I want to talk to Laura Ann."

"I'm afraid you can't do that. The game has commenced and she's no longer a viable pawn."

"Is she dead?"

"I'm not certain. Perhaps."

"You have to know, you bastard."

"I'm not lying. The little bitch spoiled my nice scenario and took off. She was supposed to lead you right under my rifle and she blew it. I gave her a flashlight and left her on that other island to wait for you. Now, what kid is going to leave dry land and a cozy light to run into a swamp? I even warned her about the alligators that are waiting to eat little girls on the north end of the island." His voice turned vicious. "I hope they've decided to have her for dinner." Eve felt a sinking sensation as she remembered the light that had disappeared from one moment to the next. She had been the one to tell Laura Ann to run if she got the chance. When she had realized she was bait for the trap, the little girl had evidently taken her opportunity to escape, even though she must have felt safe for the first time since her nightmare had begun. "I'd bet on her over an alligator too," she said unevenly. "She beat you, Kistle."

"Only temporarily. If the alligators didn't get her, then I'll be able to take my time finding her. When are you coming for your Bonnie, Eve? Quinn is going to try to put himself between us. Are you going to let that happen?"

"No."

"I didn't think you would. We've both been waiting too long. Come to me. I'll find you. Now I have to get on the move. Quinn will be on the hunt." He hung up.

Eve pressed the disconnect. "Joe reached the island. Kistle hasn't caught him yet." Megan didn't answer and Eve wasn't even sure she had heard her. She was enveloped in her own nightmare.

Eve dialed Montalvo. When he answered, she filled him in on what was happening.

"Stay where you are," Montalvo said. "I'm not five minutes away from your location. Wait for me."

"I can't wait," she said. "Find Laura Ann. She's alone out there somewhere." She hung up and picked up the paddle. Joe had been able to swim to the island, but how was she going to get through those palmettos in this boat?

Stop worrying and just do it.

LAURA ANN GRIPPED THE CYPRESS
desperately, but it did no good. She slipped back into the water with a splash.

Had Kistle heard it? Had he come back to get her? He had said he would.

She listened.

No sound. Only the birds.

And the slithering of a snake.

Snake can't hurt me. Snake can't hurt me.

She tried frantically to climb the tree again.

She slipped. The bark of the tree was slick with water, moss, and peat.

Her heart was beating so hard with panic she couldn't breathe.

Try again. Get out of the water.

She caught a glimpse of movement on the bank. Something low, something dark. Something big.

EVE JUMPED OUT OF THE BOAT
and tied it to a thin pine tree near the edge of the bank. She had found a cove where she could dock, but it offered little concealment. Joe had left his rifle and Magnum. Which weapon to take with her? The rifle. It had a night scope and she'd be moving in and out of the darkness of the trees. She grabbed it and said to Megan, "I know I said you wouldn't have to step onshore, but I'd feel better if you'd hide in the bushes until I come back. I don't like to leave you here alone."

"Not alone." Megan's voice was stilted. "Not alone. Get . . . him. Kill him. Don't let him ever .

. . do it again."

Eve felt a chill run through her. Megan could barely talk and her body language was tortured. What had Eve done to her by bringing her here?

And what was Kistle doing to all of them?

She had to ask one more question. "Do you know where those children are buried?"

"North."

"I'll be back as soon as I can."

Megan didn't answer as Eve moved into the palmetto shrubs.

Where was she going? She was no hunter.

Come to me. I'll find you
, Kistle had told her.

And Kistle was a hunter. He'd have no trouble tracking her, finding her. All she had to do was find a place to wait for him to do it.

Her gaze went to the north side of the island.

Oh, yes, and that's where I'm going to wait for you.

That's where we'll all be waiting for you, Kistle.

MIGUEL CUT THE MOTOR.
"There it is."

Montalvo nodded. This island obviously was the one in the photo. And to the left was the bank of trees and shrubs that Eve had said hid Kistle's island.

"We go after the child?" Miguel asked.

"You go after the child." He pulled off his boots and shirt, slipped his phone into his waterproof belt, and went into the water. "I go after Kistle."
NOGRAVES.

Eve stopped as she came out of the brush when she reached the north end of the island. A level mossy glade stretched before her and it gave an almost manicured appearance at odds with the wild chaos of the swamp.

No graves.

Unreasoning relief soared through her. Maybe Megan had been wrong. Maybe there was only one grave and it was on some other part of the island. What did Eve really know about Megan's ability or inability? It was all beyond understanding and belief anyway. She had just accepted because she wanted answers and she—

There was a large wooden box lying on the ground across the glade. It had been placed on a bed of branches in a place of visible prominence.

So that she would see it. So that she would know that he wanted her to look at it, touch it. Dread iced through her. She didn't want to go near it.

It didn't matter what she wanted. The box was drawing her like a magnet. She had to see what was inside; she had to lift the lid.

The moss was moist and resilient beneath her shoes as she slowly crossed the glade toward the box.