Quicksand (23 page)

Laura Ann tried to keep from sobbing. He always smiled when she cried. He liked it.

"You see how the water is moving, shivering? Some say that's the peat masses on the floor of the swamp trembling. But I know better. Even the water knows about the monsters." She wouldn't look at the water. She was afraid she'd see what he wanted her to see. She stared straight at him.

"I'm getting tired of you not talking to me. There's no one around now, so I'm going to take your gag off. If you scream, I'll throw you off the boat and let the monsters have you." He leaned forward and cut the ropes binding her wrists and then ripped the tape off her mouth.

"Did that hurt? An alligator's teeth can rip and hurt much more." Her mouth was swollen and stinging. Don't let him know. "Didn't hurt," she said defiantly.

"And I don't think there are any monsters in this swamp. You're a liar."

"Yes, I am," he said. "And you're very smart to realize it. I'd only throw you to the alligators as a last resort. Because I'm the only real monster in this place and I want to spend a long time ripping and tearing at you."

Don't cry. Don't cry. "The police will get you and burn you up in one of those electric chairs. Or that lady will come and help me."

"Eve. Yes, she'll come and try to help you." He took out his phone. "And it's about time I called her and told her how safe and happy you are. I'm sure she'll want to speak to you. But, little bitch that you are, you aren't going to reflect the mood I wanted to show her." He dialed quickly. "Here I am, Eve. I was just telling Laura Ann about the monsters that live here in the swamp. She thinks you're the knight who can come and slay them. I'm waiting for you to come and try." He listened for a moment and then handed the phone to Laura Ann. "Like you, she thinks I'm liar. Talk to her."

"Hello."

"Listen, baby, I know you're in a scary place, but try not to be afraid of it. He's the one you have to be afraid of," Eve said. "I don't know how long it's going to be before we find you, but we will do it."

"He says he wants to hurt me."

"And that means he needs time to do it. You'll be safe for a little while. But if you find any way, get away from him. He's worse than anything in that swamp, Laura Ann. We'll find you."

"He's a bad man," she said fiercely. "I wish I could push him off the boat and let the alligators eat him."

Kistle took the phone away from her. "Charming, isn't she? She's going to be a real pleasure. Now I have to take her to Bonnie's haven. I'm sure that your little girl is lonely, aren't you?" He hung up. "What a vicious little girl you are." He picked up the paddle again. "You've been a real disappointment to me, but I'm sure that will change."

Get away from him.

He's worse than the swamp.

He hadn't tied her up again. Maybe she'd get a chance soon.

But she could see a black alligator slide away from the island and into the water. Don't cry.

"SHE'S STILL ALIVE." EVE
hung up the phone. "But I think the only thing that's keeping him from killing her is that she's annoying him. He's not used to defiance and it's infuriating him. He wants to break her slowly."

"As he did Bobby Joe." Megan's lips tightened. "You were right, he's worse than anything else she'd face in that swamp."

"Except drowning, quicksand, snakes, and alligators," Miguel enumerated. "She's only a little girl, Eve."

"What was I supposed to tell her?" Eve asked fiercely. "If we corner him, he'll kill her. There's no question about that. Even if we get too close, he might do it. She's safer anywhere than with him."

"You did the right thing," Joe said. "Shut up, Miguel." He moved toward the boat. "Let's get moving. Eve, you and Megan come with me. Montalvo, you and Miguel take the other boat. I'll head north and you head south to the other spot Garfield indicated. Call if you see anything that looks like that island. Okay?"

"I'm glad you asked for assent," Montalvo said dryly. "I was beginning to get a little pissed at all those orders." He turned and headed for the other boat. "But it's intelligent to split up. If you get into trouble, call me."

Megan gave Phillip a quick hug. "I'll be back before you know it," she whispered. "It will be fine, Phillip."

"The hell it will. Take care of yourself." Phillip looked at Joe and said coldly, "And you take care of her. I don't give a damn if you believe her or not. She's risking more than any of you by going after Kistle. She deserves your support."

"She'll get it," Joe said curtly. "As long as she doesn't get in my way." He jumped in the boat.

"Let's get going. I want to make a little headway before we lose daylight entirely."
THEY WERE ONLY A FEW MILES
into the swamp when full darkness fell. The blackness was smothering. It was like being buried alive. No, even though she was blind, she could still use her other senses. The sounds and smell of the swamp were all around her. Night-bird calls, the rustling of snakes, the smell of decayed vegetation. Eve struggled for breath, her heart beating hard. "Should we turn on the flashlights?"

"Only if you want to be a target." Joe pitched them goggles. "Infrared night glasses. There's a full moon and we'll only need them while we're under this canopy of trees. Put them on. If you see something, tell me."

Eve handed a pair of goggles to Megan and put on a pair herself. "Are we almost there?"

"Close. Maybe a mile or two. Negotiating these waterways is slow going. In a few minutes I'm going to cut the motor and use the paddle."

Because it would be quieter, Eve thought, and Kistle would not hear them coming. "He'll probably have night glasses too, won't he?"

"Yes. He'll have all the equipment that will give him an advantage." Even with the glasses it was still dark, but she could see the creatures of the night as red phantom shadows. That was almost as frightening as the stygian blackness. She suddenly realized that Megan had not spoken for a long time and turned to look at her.

"How are you doing?"

"I've done better." Her voice was uneven. She tapped the glasses. "These help." Joe glanced back at her. "No psychic vibrations? I'm disappointed. I could use a little help right now."

"So could I." She gazed at him. "This isn't a good place. It reminds me of a cave near where I grew up. Too much has happened here. I'm having trouble keeping the voices away."

"Voices?" Eve whispered.

"Nothing to do with Kistle. At least, I don't think so." Megan looked down at the water. "A man drowned about a mile back. He had a heart attack and fell off the boat. His wife was with him and she jumped in after him and tried to revive him, but it was too late. His name was Ray Ebert. She kept screaming over and over. 'Ray Ebert, you breathe. Do you hear me? Ray, you come back to me.' " She looked back at Joe. "Of course, you probably think I had time this afternoon at the motel to research tragedies at the swamp."

"It's possible."

"Think what you like. I don't care." She shivered as an alligator slid down into the water from a sandbar they were passing. "I never thought much about alligators before tonight. A teenager lost his leg to one near here. His buddy dared him to go into the water and he did. The alligator was under the lily pads not five yards away."

"He didn't die?" Eve asked.

"Not here." Megan's lips tightened. "So maybe I will be able to hear Laura Ann if she's scared enough. God, I hope so."

Joe stared at her thoughtfully, but for once there was no sarcasm forthcoming. He turned off the motor and picked up a paddle. "So do we all."

"AH, HERE WE ARE, LAURA ANN."
Kistle moored the boat behind a pond cypress and jumped out onto firm ground. "Come along. We have places to go, people to see. Isn't that from Dr. Seuss? Children love him, don't they? Well, answer me. I don't like to be ignored."

"Dr. Seuss is for kids," Laura Ann said. "I gave all my Dr. Seuss books to my little cousin last year."

"How kind. But there are parts of his books that I enjoy. What about the one about the empty pants? Wouldn't that strike terror in a little child's heart?"

"No. It was silly."

"How brave you are." He knelt on the ground and pulled her down beside him. "Now look over there. Do you see all those trees and bushes that seem to be growing out of the water across the way?"

"Yes."

"Behind all those trees is an island like this one. No one can tell it's there. It's my own secret place. I can stand on the bank over there and see everything that happens on this island and no one can see me. Do you know why I'm telling you all this?"

"I don't care," she said defiantly.

"I think you'll care. Because on one of these islands you're going to die. You'll have to guess which one. Perhaps you're kneeling on it right now. It's hard for children to realize the horror of death. How can I bring it home to you . . .? Do you miss your mama? You'll never see her again."

Mama!

"I think that got through to you, bitch," he murmured. "Are you afraid at last?" She had always been afraid. "Someone will come and get me."

"I'm going to let them try." He got to his feet. "I'm leaving you here. You can scream if you like. It will just draw them to you."

Hope surged through her. "You're going away?"

"Only for a little while." He smiled. "I'll be back. I wouldn't miss playing with you. It may be the highlight of my year." He gave her a flashlight. "Here, a light to keep you company and show Eve the way to you. Be sure to keep it on." He headed back to the boat. "Don't move too close to the water. I've seen a few alligators basking in the sun on this bank. I wouldn't want to waste you."

Laura Ann watched him paddle away until he disappeared into the darkness. She was alone.

He was gone.

And Eve would be here soon to get her. She had promised. All she had to do was sit here and wait. She turned on the flashlight.

FOURTEEN

THE FLASHLIGHT BURNED BRIGHT
in the darkness.

Kistle could see Laura Ann huddled close to the light as if it were a fire to warm her and keep her safe.

He stroked the paddle through the water. Kistle Island was just across the water, as he'd told the child. It had no real name, so he had given it his own. He landed, hid the boat in the swamp shrubs, and unpacked his weapons. He felt exhilaration soar through him as he stepped onto the island.

They should be here soon, but he still had time to savor this homecoming. Sweet memories of power and total subjugation. He had been king here. He
was
king here. Life and death made him master, and that never changed.

He cast another glance at the light burning on the other island.

Bring them to you, Laura Ann.

Make them flutter like moths to your flame.

"IT'S NOT THE SAME." MONTALVO
glanced at the island and then down at the photo. He clicked off the flashlight. "This one is a wild-goose chase."

"So what do we do? Check out the rest of the area?" Miguel asked. Montalvo thought about it. They were already here and that would be the practical course to follow.

Yet every instinct was telling him to go north in the direction Quinn had taken. To hell with being practical.

THE BEAM FROM THE FLASHLIGHT
was like the nightlight in her bedroom at home, Laura Ann thought. They both made her feel safe. Only the one at home was Tinker Bell and there were no fairies here. No one to tell you to believe. Only scary trees and slithering sounds in the darkness.

And that man Kistle who had left her here to wait for Eve. Would Eve bring the police with her? She hoped she would and they would catch Kistle and put him in jail for a hundred years. But he had said he would come back and hurt her. So why would he give her the flashlight and leave her?

She didn't want to think about that. He had done it and she had the flashlight and soon Eve would come for her.

But if she had the flashlight it must be bad for her, bad for Eve, or Kistle would never have given it to her. He only wanted to do bad things.

Get away from him
.

But he wasn't here now. She was safe.

He'd be back.

Get away from him
.

No, she had her little pool of light here. There were bad creatures out there in the darkness. Maybe not monsters, but things that could hurt her.

She had to stay here in the light.

"WAIT." EVE SEARCHED THE
darkness ahead. "I thought I saw something."

"What?"

Joe asked.

"Light."

"Where? I don't see anything."

"It was just a glimpse through the trees. Up ahead and to the right. I'd swear it was . . . maybe I was wrong." She glanced at Megan. "Did you see a light?" Megan didn't answer. Her body was tense, strained. Her gaze was fixed straight ahead and her face gleamed pale in the darkness.

"What is it?" Eve couldn't look away from the horror she saw in Megan's expression.

"I don't know," Megan whispered. "Oh, God, I don't know."
THEY WERE COMING!

A surge of fierce joy tore through Kistle as he saw the boat in the distance. Three in the boat. Quinn, Eve, and who else? It didn't matter. First he'd take out Quinn, and then he'd be able to lure Eve. He positioned himself more comfortably on the high cypress branch that allowed him a clear vision of both the other island and the water leading to it. He sighted and drew a bead on Quinn's figure in the front of the boat. Too far yet for even a good shot. He could afford to wait. Laura Ann's light would draw them right into his line of fire. As soon as they got close enough, they'd use binoculars and see the little bitch hovering over that light, all alone and waiting to be rescued. Quinn wouldn't swallow that Kistle released her, but he'd still have to come and investigate. He gave a glance back at the other island. Quinn should be putting on speed because they'd be able to see—

No light.

What the shit? Where was the flashlight? Where was the little bitch?

He raised his binoculars. No light. No Laura Ann.

Dammit, not
now
. Quinn was on his way and he needed to keep him focused and distracted. Where the fuck was the kid?