“Get away from him,” Norwalk said. “I have to see your face. But first put down that rifle.”
She gave Michael a kiss on the tip of his nose. “I think it’s time you took a swim to the other bank,” she whispered. “The cypress tree. On Go.” Then she got to her feet, put the rifle down, and turned around. Norwalk was standing on the bank over twenty feet away. He was dirty, his face pale and racked with pain. He was pointing a Magnum revolver at her with his left hand. His right hand was clumsily wrapped in some kind of cloth and bathed in blood. “Hello, Norwalk. You kept telling me what a mastermind you are, but you don’t seem to be doing so well tonight.”
His eyes were staring dazedly at her face. “I had to see that it was really you. I saw you drown. But you’re really here…”
She had no idea what he was talking about, but she might as well capitalize on this weakness. “Perhaps I’m a ghost. Or it could be that you’re going a little more crazy than you were already.” She took a step closer to him. She had a sudden idea, and her voice lowered to a hiss, “Or did I forget to tell you I’m a twin, too? That should make you feel very close to me.”
“You’re lying.”
“Am I?” She held his eyes as she took another step. “What other explanation is there? Twins rule your world, don’t they? I’m sure your brother, Sean, would say it’s fate. Why wouldn’t I be—Go, Michael!”
As she dove for Norwalk’s Magnum, she heard the sound of Michael’s splash behind her. A bullet whistled past her as Norwalk knocked her aside. But her attack caught him off balance, and he toppled backward into the water. She leapt back on the dock and grabbed the rifle she’d put down.
Another bullet whistled by her ear, and she whirled and shot blindly before he could fire again.
He screamed.
Blood was pouring from a wound in his throat, and he was trying to lift his gun again.
Another shot.
Blood blossomed on Norwalk’s chest.
Joe was walking down the hill, his gun aimed at Norwalk.
He shot him again.
Norwalk collapsed slowly back into the water, his eyes wide with horror as he saw Eve walking toward him.
“Is Sean waiting for you?” she asked him softly. “You’ll have to tell him you failed. But Sylvie didn’t fail, and neither did all those other children you killed. We’re all sending you straight to hell, Norwalk.”
“No!” It was more of a gurgle than a word because of the wound in his throat as he managed to turn in the water and started to frantically swim away toward the metal-wire barrier. For an instant, she was tempted to let him get beyond the fence, where the alligators waited. Death by alligator seemed fitting for a monster like Norwalk.
No, she thought regretfully, as she started to follow him down the bank. Michael was too close, and she wouldn’t want him to either see it or learn that particular lesson.
“Eve.” Joe was coming toward her. “I’ll do it.”
“No.” She didn’t glance away from Norwalk. “Mine.” She raised the rifle. “Norwalk!” she called. “Look at me. I want you to see my face.”
He looked over his shoulder, his eyes wide with panic. “Go away! This isn’t how it should be.”
“You’re wrong, it’s exactly how it should be.” She aimed carefully. “Sylvie!” She fired and took out his right eye. “Gwinnet Square!” She took out the left eye. He was starting to sink below the surface, but she had time to aim one last time at the very center of his forehead. “Michael!”
Norwalk’s skull shattered, and splinters flew as she blew his head off.
*
Michael was waiting at the cypress tree when Eve and Joe crossed over the bayou a few minutes later. He ran toward her, and his arms slid around her waist. “I’m still all wet, but I swam good, didn’t I? Why didn’t you come right away?”
“We had something to finish.” She paused. “How much did you see, Michael?”
“Nothing.” He tilted back his head and looked up at her with those wise, clear eyes. “You didn’t want me to see, did you, Mama?”
“No.” She bent down and brushed his forehead with her lips. “Not because I felt it was something to hide, but it’s hard to explain. Perhaps when you’re older.”
He nodded. “Whatever you say.” He looked at Joe. “Did you cause that big fire? It’s still burning. Are we going to have to put it out?”
“Not this time. We’ll get someone else to do it.” He reached for his phone. “Right now, I think I’ll call Jock and give him an update. He’ll be annoyed to know that we didn’t need his help. But I do have to ask him exactly what happened with Cara—”
“You can ask her yourself,” Jock said as he came out of the brush and jerked his head back toward the trees in the swamp behind him. “She’s right behind me. As usual, she didn’t do what I told her to do. And she had Darcy aiding and abetting.” He looked at the blaze. “Norwalk?”
“No.” Joe nodded at the bayou. “There. The explosion was a distraction.”
“And we’re not talking about it at the moment,” Eve said firmly, her hand on Michael’s shoulder. Her gaze was searching the trees behind Jock. “Cara’s okay, Jock?”
“As good as she can be considering what she’s been through.” His lips tightened as his gaze shifted to the blood on the water. “Joe is right. I’m disappointed.”
“So was he,” she said quietly.
Jock’s gaze narrowed on her face. “Really?”
She nodded jerkily. “Why the surprise? He was going to kill my son.” Then her chin lifted as she caught sight of Cara and Darcy coming out of the trees. “Look, Michael, there’s Cara. She looks very tired, doesn’t she? I bet she’d like it if you ran to meet her.”
“And Darcy!” Michael was already running through the brush toward her. “Cara, it’s all right now. We can go home!”
Eve smiled as she saw Cara kneel down as Michael rushed into her arms. “That’s the first thing he asked me,” she said. “It’s very important to Michael.” She looked at Joe. “There’s no way anything is going to be normal for him for a long time to come, maybe never. Once the media gets wind of what happened here, they’re never going to let it go. But we have to go home right away and start to try.”
Joe slipped his arm around her waist. “Then we’ll make it happen.”
“No, I’ll make it happen,” Jock’s lips twisted. “Have you forgotten how efficient I am at cleanup?” He turned to Joe. “The alligators will take care of Norwalk and friends, but the fire’s going to attract attention. And I’ll need information from you about any other aspects of the scene that are also going to arouse curiosity. No way do we want Michael to have the paparazzi asking him questions about what happened to him. He was never here.” He looked from Joe to Eve. “None of you were ever here.”
Joe nodded and turned to Eve. “Go take everyone back to the cove and get ready to go. I’ll be with you as soon as I’m through with Jock.”
She nodded as she turned to go. “Thanks, Jock.”
“No, we all have our parts to play. You just have to take care of her.” Jock’s gaze was on Cara and Michael. “She won’t let me do it. But just look at her, Eve.”
Eve was too busy looking at him at the moment. Cara was not the only one in pain. “I’ll take care of her.” She started toward Cara, Darcy, and Michael. So much pain to be healed. It was difficult to know where to begin.
Love.
Start with love.
She took Cara in her arms. “I’m so proud of you. I love you. We’re all going to get through this.”
“I know.” Cara’s arms tightened around her. “Otherwise, he’d win, wouldn’t he?” She drew a deep breath. “Even though Michael said that Norwalk went away and wouldn’t come back. Is that true?”
“Michael always tells the truth.” She released her and turned to Darcy and gave her a hug. “You look … different.” She took a strand of her hair and looked at it. “Red-brown? And the shape of your eyes…”
“Your eyes. Waterproof makeup.” She made a face. “And I had to practically glue that wig in place so that it wouldn’t come off in the water. But I had help from those old Esther Williams movies.”