“They’re all on the way,” Cindy whispered hoarsely. “He hasn’t got a chance.”
“Oh my God, oh my God,” Cissy started sobbing. “My brother couldn’t help it. Give him a break. He was driven to it. My father wouldn’t let up. He kept saying she was a whore.”
“What break did he give Tiffany?” Mattheus barked, as he drove single mindedly, obsessed.
“She was sleeping with Frances,” said Cissy.
“Does that mean she deserved to die?” Cindy asked.
“Should I call my parents?” Cindy started sobbing again.
“Not yet,” said Cindy, putting her hand on Cissy’s arm.
“I bet this wasn’t the first time your brother killed,” Mattheus commented as he drove fiercely to the destination. “The murder was too carefully planned – no fingerprints or evidence of any kind.”
“What are you saying?” asked Cissy, trembling.
Mattheus stared her for a second and then turned right back to the road.
“I’m betting your brother killed before,” Mattheus was cornering her.
Cissy got stone silent.
“You keep something from us,” Mattheus was furious, “and you’re an accessory to the crime.”
“He killed little animals when he was little,” Cissy said in a tiny voice. “He and my dad would bury them in the backyard. My father said Tad had been hunting, but it made me nauseous. He killed people’s pets. I always begged him never to do it again.”
Cindy’s body trembled from head to foot.
“Your mother knew about it?” asked Cindy.
“Yes,” Cissy answered blankly. “She knew about everything but didn’t do a thing.”
“So, who’s the real killer here?” Cindy said, shaken. “It’s complicated, it’s complicated.”
“Not as complicated as you think,” muttered Mattheus. “I’m gonna get this guy if it’s the last thing I do.”
They were there a few feet now from the top of the mountain. The car slowed down, drove up and parked behind a cluster of trees.
“Okay,” Mattheus got out and yanked on Cissy’s arm.
“Show us exactly where your fantastic brother goes to hide.”
They walked a few feet up a hill which led to the top of the mountain. It had gotten a little cooler, with a small breeze that arose. Tad was there on the highest plateau, standing with his arms out in the air. The gendarmes and two other cops had gotten there already. Cindy was startled to see Hanuah among them. All of them were circling the mountain, and Tomas had a megaphone. There was no way Tad could ever escape.
Cindy, Mattheus and Cissy arrived and stood beside them. A few minutes after that, the Senator arrived with Rori.
“Alright, you’re cornered,” the megaphone shouted. “Come down peacefully, or we’ll shoot.”
“Don’t let them shoot, don’t let them shoot,” Cissy was clinging to Cindy.
“Come down now, or else,” the megaphone insisted.
Tad stood there, as if made of stone. He tossed his head back as they spoke, letting the breeze wash over him.
“Are you coming down?” the megaphone called mercilessly.
“Never!” Tad finally shrieked back.
“Help him, please,” Cissy begged.
“We’re coming up then,” the megaphone shouted.
Cindy walked over to the cops. “Give me a crack at this,” she said. “I know him. I can talk him down.”
Hanuah looked at her between half closed eyes, unable to meet her gaze. He must have been involved in my mugging, Cindy thought. I could have died like Tiffany. He’s no better than Tad.
“Give me the megaphone,” Cindy demanded, furious then. “I got him to this point, and I have a right to talk him down off the mountain.”
Tomas handed the megaphone over to Cindy.
She put it to her mouth immediately.
“Tad, this is Cindy. “Come down. You’ll be taken care of.”
“You lied to me,” he shrieked. “You lied! All of you bitches, bitches, roll a man over in bed and then throw him into the mud.”
“I never lied to you, Tad. You lied to me.”
“That’s all you bitches live for, throwing a guy into the mud.”
Cindy shook her head slowly. “I’ll make sure you’re taken care of Tad.”
She heard Cissy sobbing in the background.
“Your sister’s here too, she wants you to come down.”
“My sister’s a pig, like the rest of them,” Tad shrieked back. “You want me to come down? Alright, I will,” and in a suddenly flash, he raised his arms higher like a terrified bird and flung himself down off the mountain, spinning through the air and then crashing heartlessly onto the stone below.
When they got to him, he was face up, in a pool of blood, unmoving, staring mindlessly into the hot, empty summer sky.
CHAPTER 23