The Unwanted (37 page)

—downward.

She twisted deeper into the muck, and felt it close over her head and begin to ooze up into her nostrils.

She opened her mouth, but no scream emerged as the thick sludge filled her mouth, then her throat.

Even as her body revolted, retching against the vile invasion, she forced herself yet deeper, until she felt the mud and sand close over her.

It wasn’t right. She wasn’t supposed to die tonight. If anyone was supposed to die, it should have been Cassie. But she hadn’t even come out here to kill Cassie. Not really.

She was only going to burn the cabin.

That was all. Just bum the cabin down.

Then, as the oxygen slowly leeched out of her bloodstream, a strange euphoria began to overtake her.

In the final moments of her life, the fear and terror drained out of Lisa Chambers, and she felt a great calmness seize her spirit. Then the blackness overcame her, and the last thing she saw, its tail twitching as its eyes glowed a bright gold in the yellow beam of a headlight, was the cat—Cassie’s cat—watching. Watching, and remembering everything that happened.

It knew, Lisa thought. It knew what I was going to do.

Then it was over.

Gene Templeton stifled a yawn and tried to ignore the weariness that was slowly infusing his body. Twenty years ago he’d just be getting his second wind along about now. But not anymore. He was just too old. Still, a long night stretched ahead of him. He glanced at the notes he’d taken while Eric Cavanaugh repeated his story of what had happened on the beach an hour before, then shifted his attention to the boy himself. Eric’s eyes betrayed his nervousness, but he was much calmer than he’d been when Templeton arrived. He sat stiffly on the edge of the Victorian sofa in Charlotte Ambler’s living room, his mother beside him.

The bruises on Laura’s face were still clearly visible.

“Ed did that to you, didn’t he,” he stated, his voice flat.

Laura stiffened, then shook her head. “I—I fell,” she murmured.

Fell. Did she really expect him to believe her? She knew he’d just come from talking to Rosemary Winslow. She’d seen him there before he’d picked her up and brought her here. Well, he wasn’t going to argue with her right now. Sighing heavily, he turned back to Eric, whose expression clearly indicated that he wasn’t sure the police chief believed his story any more than he believed Laura’s. “You’re sure it was your dad?” Templeton asked once more.

Eric nodded his head obstinately. “I already told you. I saw him, and so did Lisa. It was Dad, all right.”

Templeton flipped his notebook closed and tucked it into
the inside pocket of his jacket. “Okay, I’ll go out to the beach and have a look around.” He turned to Charlotte Ambler, who had been sitting in silence, carefully listening to every word Eric had spoken. But so far she’d said nothing. “Can I use your phone? Before I start combing the beach I’d like to call Fred Chambers. Maybe Lisa’s already home.”

Charlotte rose to her feet. “In the kitchen,” she said, though there was a telephone sitting on the table at Templeton’s elbow. “It’s more private,” she added. She led the police chief into the kitchen and nodded to the wall phone next to the sink. But instead of leaving him alone to make his call, she stayed where she was, obviously thinking about something. But only after Templeton finished talking to Fred Chambers did she speak.

“She’s not home, is she?” she asked softly.

He turned to the high school principal and shook his head. “Something’s on your mind, Charlotte. If it has anything to do with this, you might as well tell me now.”

Charlotte Ambler took a deep breath. “I keep wondering what Cassie was doing all that time. I mean, I could hear Ed’s horn blaring. I didn’t think much about it—it happens all the time when the kids are out there. But if Cassie was in Miranda’s cabin, she must have heard it too. Wouldn’t she have come out to find out what was going on?”

“Same thing I’ve been thinking,” Templeton agreed. “And you can bet that that’s where I’m going first. If Lisa did go into the marsh, she’d probably have tried to get to the cabin. With any luck at all, that’s where she is right now.” He shook his head. “I wish to Christ Laura had filed charges against that son of a bitch years ago. Something like this was bound to happen sooner or later.”

“Laura should have left him,” Charlotte agreed. “She should have thrown him out.”

“Well, the fact is she didn’t, and it sure looks like he’s gone around the bend this time. I’ll let you know what I find out at the beach. If I find anything,” he added darkly.

A moment later he was gone, and a few minutes after that Laura and Eric left too.

“Are you sure you want to go home?” Charlotte asked them. “If Ed’s there—”

“I can take care of him,” Eric replied quietly. “I told him
this morning I was through with him pushing me around. That’s why he came after me with the truck. But he can’t bring the truck in the house. We’ll be all right.”

After they were gone, Charlotte Ambler sat silently in her living room, waiting.

While they’d been talking, a spring squall had gathered, and now she heard the patter of rain begin on the roof.

It struck her as an omen.

They’re coming for me
, Cassie thought.
They’re going to think I’m crazy, and take me away.…

She knew Lisa was dead, had known it as soon as Sumi came back and leaped into her arms.

She’d felt the familiar tingling sensation, and then the images had begun to form.

And she’d watched Lisa die.

She’d stayed in the cabin for a while, but then, when she saw the flashing light of the police car and watched it speed down Oak Street and pull up in front of one of the houses across from the park, she’d known what was going to happen.

What if they found her here, sitting all by herself in Miranda’s house, with Miranda’s cat curled up on her lap? What if they made her tell them what Sumi had shown her? They’d think she was crazy. They’d think she’d killed Lisa herself, and then they’d lock her up.

Panic began to build up in her, and she quickly closed the damper on the old cast-iron stove then put out the lamp. At last she left the cabin, pushing her way through the marsh as fast as she could.

If she got home soon enough—if they didn’t find her—she could say she’d left the cabin right after Eric did. She wouldn’t have to tell them what had happened, or what she’d seen through Sumi’s eyes.

It seemed to take forever, but finally she came to the edge of the marsh and slipped into the thicket of bushes on the fringe of the park. Unaware that she was retracing the route Lisa Chambers had used earlier, she forced herself through the lilacs, working her way toward Oak Street. When she got there, she paused for a moment, searching the street for cars. There were none. Taking a deep breath, she bolted out of the bushes, dashed across the street, and ran up
Cambridge to Alder. Only when she was within sight of the house did she pause to catch her breath. Then, as the rain started to fall, she dashed across the street and down the driveway to the back door.

Rosemary was sitting at the kitchen table, her face pale, a cup of tea clutched between her hands. When Cassie came into the kitchen, she gasped slightly, and rose to her feet. She took a step toward the girl, but Cassie shrank back.

In Cassie’s arms Sumi hissed softly.

Rosemary hesitated, but then everything that had happened that evening suddenly jelled into anger. “Where have you been?” she demanded. “You walked out of here wearing those—those
rags
—looking like you’d lost your mind or something, and then you’re gone most of the night! Do you really think you can just walk in and out of here like it’s some kind of hotel?”

Cassie gasped, and her eyes widened fearfully. “Eric and I—something happened at the dance, and we left early. So we went out to Miranda’s cabin.…”

Rosemary glared at the girl furiously.
Miranda’s cabin
, she thought dumbly. Everything I’ve been through, and she went for a walk in the marsh. All the things I imagined, all the things I was afraid of, and they were out
hiking!
The last vestige of her self-control dissolved. “How dare you? I don’t know if Diana put up with this kind of thing, but I can tell you that I won’t. I know you’ve been through a lot, and I know your father thinks I’m too hard on you! But let me tell you something, young lady—your father isn’t here now, and as long as you’re in my house, you will obey my rules!”

Cassie’s eyes glistened with tears. “I didn’t do anything—” she began, but Rosemary cut her off.

“Didn’t do anything? This afternoon you walked out of here against my wishes, and were rude to me as well. And tonight you promised to be home no later than eleven o’clock. You didn’t come back when you said you would, and you didn’t even bother to phone. Do you really think you can just walk back in and not expect anything to happen? I was about to call your father!”

Cassie felt a chill of fear. Rosemary was going to call her father just because she’d stayed out too late? But that didn’t make any sense. She must already know about Lisa. “You’re
going to call Dad?” she asked, her voice trembling slightly. “Wh-why?”

Rosemary glared at her, about to lash out again, but then checked her fury. It wasn’t Cassie’s fault—not all of it. For a moment she was tempted to tell Cassie what had happened with Ed Cavanaugh, then changed her mind. There wasn’t any point, and besides, it was all over now. “It doesn’t matter,” she said. “At least you’re home and you’re all right.”

But Cassie didn’t hear her, for the panic she’d felt in the cabin was flooding back over her now. “You’ve been talking about me, haven’t you?” she demanded.

Rosemary gasped in surprise at the accusation. “Cassie—”

“You have, haven’t you?” Cassie insisted. Who was it? What had they said? And why wouldn’t Rosemary tell her? “Was it that doctor? The one who thinks I’m crazy?”

“Cassie …” Rosemary said again. She took a step toward her, and Cassie backed away. Her eyes looked wild now, darting from one corner of the room to another, as if she were searching for something she expected to attack her at any moment.

“You’re just like Lisa, aren’t you?” she demanded, her voice breaking as she choked back a sob. “She hates me—she hates me, and she wanted to kill me tonight! But it wasn’t my fault! I didn’t do anything, but everybody hates me!” She spun around and fled from the room, and a moment later Rosemary could hear her feet pounding up the stairs.

Rosemary sat still for a moment, then forced her body to relax. What had happened? What on earth had gone wrong? She hadn’t accused Cassie of anything at all. She’d been angry, yes. But not that angry.

And yet—

Cassie’s words echoed in her mind.

I didn’t do anything, but everybody hates
me.…

But nobody hated her, not really. And to say that Lisa Chambers wanted to kill her … it sounded …

She hesitated, then let herself formulate the word in her mind.

It sounded paranoid.

Suddenly her fears—all of them—closed in on Rosemary once again, and once again she felt the urge to call Keith. He couldn’t get home tonight, but tomorrow …

No! she told herself. You’re upset, and you’re not thinking clearly, and you’re overreacting to everything. Stop it! Just stop it!

Doing her best to shut out everything that had happened that day, she began going through the habitual motions of closing up the house for the night. Not that there was any point to locking up, she thought ruefully.

Deep in her gut she knew that the day was not yet over, and that she would get no sleep tonight.

“We have to get rid of him, Mom,” Eric said.

His voice was emotionless, but the cold hatred in his eyes twisted at Laura’s heart.
Not him, too
, she prayed silently.
Don’t let him turn out like his father. Please!
“We can’t,” she whispered. “Please, Eric—don’t talk like that!”

“Why not!” Eric demanded. “He beat you up this morning, and he hit you again tonight! For God’s sake, Mom. What are we supposed to do? Just wait around until he actually kills one of us?”

Laura’s eyes widened, and her hand dropped away from the new bruise on her cheek. “Eric! He’s your father, and he loves you. You mustn’t talk like that.”

“Why not? And he doesn’t love me, any more than he loves you. For God’s sake, Mom, he tried to kill me tonight!”

“He was just angry,” Laura tried to explain, but the words sounded hollow even to herself. “You shouldn’t have gone off with Cassie like that. You know what he told you, and you deliberately disobeyed him.”

“So now it’s my fault that he beats us up?” Eric exploded. “You don’t expect me to buy that, do you? Now, are you going to tell me what happened or not?”

“He—he found me over at the Winslows’,” Laura whispered. “I thought you and Cassie might be there. And he found me there.”

“He hit you just because you went over to the neighbors?” Eric’s rage drove the last vestiges of fear out of his mind. “I’m gonna call Templeton again. Maybe you won’t tell him what happened, but I bet Mrs. Winslow will.” He reached for the phone, but Laura put out a hand and stopped him.

“He was here,” she whispered, her voice twisted with
the sobs she was struggling to control. “Rosemary called him after … after …”

“After what?” Eric said tightly. His jaw was working, and his voice was taut with fury. “Did he beat her up too?”

Laura shook her head, and buried her face in her hands. When she spoke, Eric could barely hear her. He had to ask her to repeat her words. Finally she dropped her hands from her face and stared at her son expressionlessly. When she spoke again, her voice was flat, as if the words no longer meant anything to her. “She says your father tried to rape her. And she says she’s going to press charges against him.”

Eric stared at his mother speechlessly, then sank into a chair. His mind was whirling, trying to sort it out. His father must have gone crazy. Finally, after it had sunk in, he looked at his mother with bleak eyes. “I hope she does,” he said softly. “And I hope they lock him up.”