The Reservoir (27 page)

He laughed.  “You are the smart one, aren’t you?  So unlike your little brother—”

“What about my brother?” Holly said uneasily.

“You know what I mean.  The little guy is so easily led and manipulated.  A gift here, a gift there—such a compliant little fellow.”  He laughed, and this time it sounded almost maniacal.  “Like a lamb to the slaughter.”   

Holly gasped.  “Harry loves you, David,” she said, her mind a whirlwind of tumultuous thoughts. 

“Well, of course, he loves me,” he said agreeably, but his voice abruptly roughened.  “A little boy’s affection comes cheap.  But not yours!  You don’t love me.  There’s nothing I could ever do to make
you
love me.  I see the suspicion in your eyes every time you look at me.  It’s as if you look right through me.  I think you’ve always known…”

“I don’t …” Holly began, but he interrupted her with a dismissive wave.

“We’re getting off task here.  Like I said, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.  Imagine my surprise and delight to find that my ol’ Pop and I enjoyed the same, er, shall I say, extracurricular pursuits?”

Holly blanched.  A cold wave of fear washed over her and she felt her knees buckle.  It took a superhuman effort to remain upright.  She needed to keep her wits about her.  She knew that.  Instinct told her that her life hung in the balance.

“Would you like me to show you where Pop lived?” David asked, his lips set in a sneer.  Holly didn’t answer him, but he turned her toward the cabin and pointed. She felt his breath against her ear. “There.”

She felt a wave of nausea wash over her.  She wanted to run, but there was nowhere to go.

“As I was saying before, Pop and I had similar, er, interests.  Course, Pop liked ‘em about your age—you know, no longer a girl, but not quite a woman.”  He laughed.  “Like the song,” he said giddily, and glanced off and then back to her.  “I’m not quite so particular.  Girl, boy, younger, older…  Well, in truth, I prefer ‘em younger—you know,
like your little brother
…”

“My … brother?”  Suddenly, the implication of his words came crashing over her, followed by a cold rage.  Holly charged him, shoving him with all her might, and began beating at him with her fists.  He simply he took hold of her arms as if she were a small child.  To her horror, he brusquely shoved her back and this time, she launched into the water, barely missing a sheared tree stump.

She went under water, but immediately broke the surface, sputtering.  She had the presence of mind to begin swimming away from the dock and toward shore.  Unfortunately, she caught sight of him out of the corner of her eye when he jumped into the water, landing crisply in the waist-deep shallows.

Attempting to hurry toward shore, she knew it was no use when he simply angled toward her, taking long, purposeful steps to head her off.  She pulled back and headed for deeper water.  He noticed and stopped his approach.  “Exactly where do you think you’re going?  You’re going to drown, you know.”

“I can swim!” she called defiantly.

“No, no, you misunderstand me,” he said with a sinister laugh.  “
I’m
going to drown you.”  He smiled, his lips pulling back over his teeth like a rabid dog’s.  “‘Course, you and I might just have a little fun first.  As I told you, you’re not especially my type, but…”  He gave a neither-here-nor-there shrug.  “We can make it work.”

Holly gasped, her eyes widened with fear.  “They’ll know,” she said.  “They’ll figure out you killed me.”

He laughed delightedly and derisively.  “Oh, no, they won’t.  Have you missed the point of our conversation?  I’ve done this before, little girl.  Pop and I, tag team killers.  What a bonding experience!” he declared delightedly.  “Besides, my poor, poor stepdaughter, do you forget…?  I’m a deputy sheriff.  I’m
credible
!” he said in a sing-song voice.  “Oh, imagine my shock when I left the cabin and saw your lifeless body face down in the reservoir.  I knew immediately that the horror of discovering all those bodies had left you bereft—had left you emotionally broken and unable to go on…” 

“They
will
figure it out!” Holly said with fury in her voice.  “You’re not going to get away with
anything
.”  She glanced behind her, struggling to discern if anyone was boating nearby who might hear her call for help.  She saw no one.  Not a single boat on the lake.  “Cassie!” she screamed.  “Help me!  It’s him! 
It’s him
!”

David watched her, eyes widened in shock and mouth agape.  He glanced out over the reservoir.  “What the hell?  Who are you calling to?”

“
Cassie!  Help me!
”

David took a step toward her, but stopped, his brows furrowed in a frown.  “Are you calling to a
dead
girl?”  He shook his head and laughed menacingly.  “Your friend Daniel isn’t the only one whose sanity is in question here.”

“The only one whose sanity is in question is … you!”

He shook his head, laughed, and then began his approach again. 

“Did you kill Cassie?” Holly demanded loudly, as she propelled herself backward and toward deeper water. 

David stopped in chest deep water and considered the question.  “I suppose it won’t hurt to tell you that, yes, I killed her.  Well, Pop and I.  You see, we spotted her on the jet ski, heading toward the Siouxon.  Not a particularly bright move on her part with dusk fast approaching…”

“So you both followed her,” Holly said from between clenched teeth.  “Down the channel…?”

He shook his head.  “Well, no.  The girl didn’t actually go down the channel.  Leaving her jet ski near the waterfall was a ruse—a diversion, if you will.  Anyway, Pop and I were out fishing that evening and spotted her.  We followed.  She made it as far as the bridge, but stopped to turn back.  She must have hit a small log, since she went into the water.”

“And you pulled her out,” Holly said. 

“Put up a good fight too,” David said, cocking his head as if recalling a fond memory.

“Why didn’t you let her see your face?  I mean, you were going to kill her, right? 
Why not let her see your face
?”

“How the hell did you know she didn’t see my face?”

Holly could see she had unnerved him with her question.  “You’re too cowardly, that’s why,” she said, growing bolder by the second.  “Two men, attacking a girl.  Big, big man,” she mocked.  “If you’d been alone, my guess is Cassie would have taken you down.  Coward!” she spat.  “
Cassie
!  It’s
him
!”

David glowered at her, glancing around him uneasily.  “Stop doing that!” he insisted.  “Have you lost your friggin mind?” 

David lunged suddenly, but Holly pulled back again.  She stared into the water, praying Cassie would be there.  Unfortunately, she could no longer see the bottom of the lake, since it dropped off abruptly into deeper water.  If David got a hold of her now, she knew he could easily overpower her.  She glanced around her for something—a small log, stick, or other debris to fight him with.  She saw nothing.

Just as he lunged again, Holly spied a form virtually fly off the dock and hit the water with a splash.  It took a moment for her to register Zack powering through the water and toward David.  David turned just as Zack reached him.  He brought his hands up defensively, but a tenth of a second too slow, since Zack’s fist connected with his jaw.

Holly saw a spray of either water or saliva jutt out of David’s mouth, as his head veered sharply to the right. 

David shook off the punch, enraged, and came at Zack.  Fueled by fury, David fought Zack off, pummeling him repeatedly with both fists.  Zack pulled back, attempting to lure David toward the shallows and away from Holly.  He refused to budge, and instead, turned back to Holly.  She recognized his intent immediately.  He aimed to get a hold of her, as a means to gain control of Zack.  There was no way she was going to let that happen.

He lunged for her again, easily closing the distance between them.   Holly pulled back and brought her leg up and hit him hard, cracking him squarely in the chin with her knee.  She knew she’d landed a lucky blow, since pulling her leg up had felt like extracting it from molasses. 

David tipped his head back, worked his jaw, and when he brought his head down and refocused on her, she saw the brutal, savage fury in his eyes.  He made another attempt to grab her, but Zack had reached him and grabbed him instead.  Somehow, Zack had caught him unawares, and began hauling him toward the shoreline.

David floundered on his back, but finally managed to right himself, his shirt tearing under Zack’s grip.  He reared back to hit the teen, but Zack ducked in time, and countered with a throw to David’s jaw.  Even from a distance away, Holly heard the bone crunching blow.

Zack secured his stance in the muddy lake bottom, reared back for another punch, when suddenly, John, the Search and Rescue guy, jumped off the dock and into the water, landing only feet from the two men.  He lunged forward and took a hold of Zack’s fist mid-punch.  Stunned, Zack turned, lost his footing, and landed with a splash in the water.

Holly’s eyes widened in terror.  Was John going after Zack?

John grabbed a hold of David’s shirt.  It was like slow motion for Holly.  Was John involved in the murders?  Why had he prevented Zack from striking David again?  She wracked her brain, struggling to make sense of John’s intervention in the fight.  Was John David’s partner in the crimes, along with his father?  Is that why he’d sat so still in the boat the day before, unwilling to lend a hand in the recovery effort of the bodies?    

Holly’s mind reeled.  She glanced around.  Had Zack come alone?  And then, she spotted movement above the lake, near the cabin.  She saw Aaron running full-bore toward the water’s edge.  Both Zack and John glanced his way. 

Suddenly, David realized he had an opportunity to flee.  He wrenched himself away from John and began struggling through the water toward Holly.  Zack started after him, but John, who was actually bigger than Zack, forced him back, clutching his shoulders and saying something to him—something Holly could not hear.  Zack nodded and pulled back, as John turned and headed after David, reaching him in time to prevent him from going to deeper water.  He grabbed him by the shoulder and wheeled him around.

“How could you do it?” he demanded angrily.  “How could you harm those children?  All those children, you sorry son of a—?”

“John,” David cut in, attempting to sound calm and reasonable.  “I didn’t do anything.  You’re mistaken.  Look at me, John.  We’re friends.  You can trust me.”

John paused briefly, staring intently into the man’s eyes.  He shook his head, reared back, and brought a powerful fist against David’s cheek, adding insult to his already injured face.  David struggled to get away from him, attempting to sidestep John and head for the shallow water this time.

John stepped sideways simultaneously, and raised both hands and shoved David hard in the chest, toward deeper water.  David fell, went under water, and rose with a choke.  John thrust another powerful blow to his chest, propelling him toward deep water again. 

“Holly,” he said in measured tones when he spotted her just ahead, “swim around us.  Go. 
Go
!”

She did as she was told, swimming wide, and toward Zack.  He saw her and met her halfway, helping her to shallow water.  He pulled her into an embrace, plunging his hands into her hair and pulling her face against his heart.  He began uttering soothing words in her ear.  “I almost lost you,” he moaned softly.  “I shouldn’t have left you.”

“I’m all right,” she said tremulously.  “Thank God you came.”

Aaron joined them in the knee-deep water, and the threesome watched John moving toward David, his movements purposeful.  His anger was palpable and they could sense he was struggling to maintain some semblance of control.  “You’ll never harm another child, you sorry son of a—” he said, and then came to an abrupt stop.  He was silent for several long seconds, apparently watching something in the water. 

“What the—?” he murmured.  “What
is
… that?”

Suddenly, the kids spotted Cassie’s lithe form approach David.  She sliced through the water like a shark, her movements beautifully fluid, yet predatory.  David saw her and cried out in terror.  He spun around, toward the shore, his face rife with confusion.  John awaited him on one side, Cassie on the other.  He decided to take his chances with John, and began powering through the water, using his hands as rudders.  He didn’t get far.          

Cassie sluiced through the water, grabbed the back of his shirt, and yanked him hard beneath the surface.  They could see his arms flailing and his legs pumping furiously as he struggled to escape Cassie’s hold.  She pulled him toward deeper water, plunging downward so rapidly the kids knew he was swallowing water.  Was she taking him to the deepest part of the reservoir? Holly wondered.  Dropping his body like discarded garbage?  Would authorities ever find his remains in the murky waters?

Silently the group stood—Zack, Holly, and Aaron together—while John stood nearby, all as still as statures, seemingly transfixed by the now eerie quiet.  The serenity didn’t last long, as suddenly, Donner approached by Marine Patrol boat, speeding toward the dock.  He pulled up on the boat’s throttle, bringing it to an instant stop, and watching the group with unveiled curiosity. 

“What happened here?” he demanded.  “I got your message, John.  And some kid called…  What’s going on?”

John swallowed and then met his friend’s gaze.  “He’s … gone,” he said numbly.  “Something, er, someone … took him.”

Donner glanced at the kids.  “What just happened here?” he asked.

It was Holly who spoke.  “My … stepfather killed Cassie and … probably the little kids at the washout.  I … don’t know about the rest…”

Donner sought his friend’s gaze.  “John?”

He nodded in confirmation. 

Donner snatched his radio off his belt.  “Where is he?  We’ll have to put out an APB!”

John simply shook his head in response.  “He’s … out there,” he said, gesturing bemusedly toward the lake.

As if on cue, David’s lifeless body popped up like a cork, bouncing a few times on the surface, before coming to an uneasy rest a few feet from Donner’s boat.