He clamped a hand over her mouth. “I want to tell you about your sister,” he told her. “She taught me about humility. That night, she cried at first, but then she looked at me clear-eyed. She gave in, understood there was a greater will at work, that I couldn’t be defeated. It gave me pause, because I knew what I was going to do, you see. But it was all planned. There was no stopping it. She gave me the gift of acceptance. And that’s the only thing I want from you, Kate. Acceptance.”
She heard a thumping sound and realized it was her wildly beating heart. She thought of Savannah in this man’s hands. He picked up the rope again, but before he could bind her hands together, she reached up and screwed her thumbs into his dead eyes. He cried out in pain and stumbled backwards, fighting the pitch of the slope. Kate leapt up and looked around for a weapon. Anything. She picked up a broken branch and flung it at him. It landed a heavy blow to his chest, and he groaned. He glared at her.
She picked up another branch and charged forward, swinging it hard at his face, the impact reverberating through her arms and chest. She could hear the bones of his nose crack as he dropped to his knees, dazed, eyes going in and out of focus. There was blood pouring out of a deep gash in his forehead. Now she had a shot.
Kate ran for the shovel a few yards away, a mad fury driving her. She grabbed it and went storming back to him, found her footing in the snow and braced herself. A monstrous energy came over her as she swung the shovel high overhead and brought it down hard on top of Palmer’s skull.
She heard a hollow sound as the impact knocked him forward, flat on his face in the snow. She watched with a total lack of emotion as he took a ragged breath and tried to crawl away on his hands and knees, pathetically inching his way down the incline toward the wreckage of the Jeep. Drops of blood splattering the snow. He stumbled to his feet and started veering right, as if he had no idea where he was. She’d injured him. Something wasn’t working in his brain.
She followed cautiously as he tried to regain to his bearings, stumbling and falling, then crawling the rest of the way toward the Jeep. He touched a dented door panel with bloody fingers. He looked around a confused instant, and then locked eyes with her.
She stood motionless, gripping the shovel. A horrifying feeling punched her in the gut as he got to his knees, reached out, and sputtered, “Kate.” Then he reeled backward and dropped like a dead weight, landing flat on his back, arms outstretched, gasoline dripping and pooling over his body.
A dull ache spread outward from her chest as she waited for him to wake up. He didn’t stir for the longest time.
“You’re lying,” she hissed. “You aren’t dead.”
She inched a little closer, ready to swing the shovel again. She felt a sick desire for his complete destruction.
Still, he didn’t move. Blood ran from his wounds, branching inkily into whiteness. She didn’t trust it. He’d lied to her before. He was probably lying now.
Very carefully, Kate crouched down next to the body. Was that him breathing? Had his eyelids flickered?
She waited. Gripping the shovel. Blinking the sweat out of her eyes.
What if he woke up and grabbed her? What if he made her his Julia? A Julia he could control?
She moved back, safely out of range.
He didn’t make a sound.
She glanced over her shoulder at the mountainside. A formation of wild geese winged by overhead. It was freezing cold. She would have to aim for the cairn and climb up the mountainside to safety. She spotted a bottled water in the snow, scooped it up and drank thirstily. Now was her chance. She looked around for her bag. There, over by the jumper cables. She rummaged around for her phone and tried calling 911 but she couldn’t get a signal. She noticed scarlet ribbons running down the front of her parka. She was covered in blood. She didn’t care. She found a first-aid kit and a couple of protein bars and shoved them in her bag. She picked up a flashlight, tested it, and tucked it in her pocket. She found her mother’s Zippo lighter at the bottom of her bag, lit it, and studied the flickering flame.
The first thing she would do when she got back home— she’d ask James to marry her. Then she’d help Maddie Ward become a normal teenage girl. She would make peace with herself.
A low groan.
Kate turned around. Oh God.
Palmer was stirring.
She pocketed the lighter and raised the shovel again.
He propped himself up and stared at her wild-eyed. He tried standing up.
“No,” she said loudly.
He stumbled to his knees. “Don’t!” she screamed. But he ignored her, and stood up to his full height.
“People pay for their actions,” he said.
The air reeked of gasoline—his jacket was soaked in it. Fear galvanized her. She took out the old Zippo and held it up threateningly. “Stay where you are! Don’t come any closer.”
He ignored her and took a step forward, while she took a staggering step back. With complete clarity she realized he wasn’t going to stop. And she’d run far enough. She lit the Zippo and threw it at him.
There was a loud whoosh, and his jacket went up in flames. A sulfurous smell filled her nostrils as she turned and ran, scrambling up the slope and crouching behind a boulder. It was a moment before she could bring herself to look back, to watch him thrashing around blindly, fueling the fire with more oxygen and collapsing next to the Jeep. He flung out his arms, his left hand hitting the leaking fuel tank, and there was a brief lull before the Jeep exploded—a sound so loud, it volleyed off the mountain in a thunderous roar as a fireball rose. Kate hugged the boulder as the shockwave rolled through her body, muscle and bone. Clods of dirt fell around her, and she shielded her head with her hands.
She waited what seemed like an eternity before she took a peek. The Jeep Renegade had flipped on its side and some of the nearby trees were on fire. Thick plumes of smoke rose from the wreckage in a steady roar. She spotted something black on the ground, flames lapping at the burnt and twisted limbs. He was dead. It was over.
She sank down into a snowdrift out of sheer exhaustion. She wondered how long it would take to freeze to death. The temptation to close her eyes was great. It would be so nice to fall asleep…
A strong wind stirred through the treetops, carrying the smoke in the opposite direction. She worried he might come crawling out of the ashes toward her. She felt her emotions unraveling. She inhaled the crisp bitter air and drew her coat collar tighter as a flock of birds passed by overhead, rushing toward the sky.
At first, she thought she was imagining the figure in the smoke. Then she realized she was looking at a girl, a girl wearing a summer dress the color of skim milk—the palest of curdled blues.
“Savannah?”
The girl walked out of the whiteness and stood before Kate. Her green eyes sparkled, and her hair fell around her shoulders in an exaggerated halo.
Kate’s head was spinning. Her skull throbbed. Grief and guilt threaded through her heart. It was time to say goodbye.
Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Savannah.
Savannah who?
See? You’ve forgotten me already.
Kate smiled. The air smelled chaotic, of balsam and dead flowers. “I’ll never forget you, little sister.” She looked around. Savannah was gone.
She wiped her tears away and made for the cairn on the side of the mountain, climbing the rugged trail past ancient evergreens, conifers, and Douglas firs. She would climb out of these woods.
EPILOGUE
Six months later