Eye of the Storm

TWELVE



For a moment, Kirstie couldn’t move. It was as if she had to fight her way from beneath a hot tub of sand. She could almost convince herself the argument that dragged her back to reality was part of the blackout, but she knew better. Why were her girls fighting?

She blinked up at Megan and Lynley, surrounded by darkness, and then as suddenly, as if she had never gone to that other place of terror and darkness, she saw their faces clearly in the glow of the flashlight. She’d been thrust into the role of referee. How long had it been since she’d had to do that? Since they were eight?

“What are you girls fighting about?”

“Mom, where did you go?” Lynley asked. “Why were you so—”

Kirstie clasped Lynley’s hands and squeezed gently, kissed her daughter’s fingertips as she had when Megan and Lynley were little, and patted her face. “Sweetheart, nothing for you to worry about.”

“But Megan knows.”

“How can she? I don’t even know.”

Lynley pulled away from Kirstie’s touch. “That’s all I needed to hear.” She shot a look at Megan that was a few degrees colder than outer space, then pivoted away and strode down the dark hillside, her slender shoulders stiff.

Perhaps she meant for Megan and Kirstie to follow, but she would have to cool off on her own this time. “I’ve spoiled her, I’m afraid.”

Megan helped Kirstie sit back on the ground, then joined her. Immediately, they were surrounded by cats. “I don’t think that’s it. Let’s wait for Gerard. He can carry you down and save your pretty feet.”

“Thank you, my dear.” Kirstie patted Megan’s arm. “And thank the Lord I’ve at least got clothes on this time. I don’t think poor Elmer Batschelet will ever recover from that one night…” She sighed. This whole thing was so humiliating. “Anyway, my feet are killing me, and it seems my wounded child is feeling the pain.”

“She knows we’re keeping something from her.”

“I’m sure she does. In time I’ll tell her all about it, but not yet. If she knew I suspected poison it would no longer be a secret. She’d go off half-cocked, ready to shoot the first suspect—meaning her father—no questions asked. You know how she is. I’m just sorry it’s causing a rift between the two of you.”

“We’ve had plenty of rifts.”

“This one’s different, though, isn’t it?”

For a moment there was silence. “Yeah. It is.”

“Can you tell me how?”

“She’s never hated me before.”

Kirstie reached up and smoothed a curl of amber hair from Megan’s chin. “She doesn’t hate you now, sweetheart. I can assure you of that.”

Megan gave a watery sniff and then straightened her shoulders. “Have you remembered any more?”

“I think so, but it’s like a dream that goes away as soon as I wake up.” She rubbed her face, aggravated with herself. “The circle isn’t as big as I’d thought. Not big at all. And there’s more than just a circle, but I can’t quite make the memory come back. It’s like a clue. It’s something I can’t stop thinking about, but it’s fuzzy, you know?”

“Oh, Kirstie, this is so frustrating.”

“Were you and Gerard up there?” Kirstie nodded up the hill toward the building.

“No. I left Gerard at the cottage sleeping and walked back to the clinic to get my car. He was so tired he didn’t even eat before he was deep asleep. I didn’t have the heart to wake him.” Megan shook her head. “Alpha males and their god complexes. Think their bodies are immortal. No matter how much you try to tell them—”

“Megan.”

“Yes?”

“You’re telling me no one with a key has been up there?”

“I thought I saw a flicker of light up that way when Lynley and I were looking for you, so I thought it might be you. Don’t you have two sets of keys?”

“I don’t have them on me.”

“Are you sure? Maybe you left a set up there? We heard you shouting my name. Lynley freaked over it.”

Kirstie sighed. “Sorry about that. I never wanted to mess with your friendship with Lynley. When you two were little, if I showed you the tiniest bit more attention than I showed her, she let me know about it. I’d have thought she’d do the same to you.”

“I remember, but she’s grown now.”

“Old family dynamics are difficult to overcome. Isn’t that why you avoid visiting your family?”

“Probably.”

“We need to call Sheriff Moritz,” Kirstie said.

“Why?”

“He needs to check out the resort. We might have had vandals.”

Megan forced back a chill. “You were shouting pretty loudly. I’m sure if anyone was there, they got out in a hurry. Besides, Gerard’s on his way up to us now, and he needs to see the place anyway. Why don’t we wait until he gets here and then he and I can check it out after we get you back to the house?”

“No. Not you, Megan. If someone’s trespassing—”

“Then we can call the sheriff. Gerard can handle anything, believe me. Besides, I doubt you’d be able to talk him out of it once I mention it to him, which I will do if Lynley doesn’t beat me to it. You wanted us to protect you. This is part of the job.”

Kirstie didn’t want that. Not at all. But she’d been the one to drag poor Megan into this. “Fine. But I hate this.”

“Who doesn’t?”

“Nora called me this afternoon, and we had a long talk. She’s convinced me to eliminate Barry’s presence from the house completely. She’s been bugging me about it for weeks. She’s also begging me to move in with her for a while. She even wants to hire a housekeeper. Did she tell you that?”

“Yes.”

“You haven’t told her I suspect poisoning, have you?” Kirstie asked.

“I haven’t told anyone anything you wanted kept silent. She may have jumped to her own conclusions. If you suspected it, what’s to keep her from thinking the same? Why don’t you accept her invitation?”

“What, move?”

“At least for a while.”

“Look, I’ve agreed to redo the master suite, okay? I’m starting tomorrow. It’ll keep my mind occupied and get Barry’s presence out of the house.”

“You’re not supposed to drive right now. Is Nora taking you shopping?”

“Nope. Gerard.” He didn’t know it yet, of course, but since Kirstie had chosen him as her bodyguard, and since she trusted him, she was putting him to good use. “I’m going to have him drive me to town to buy paint and talk to a flooring company. I’m going to rip out the carpet in the master bedroom that Barry always loved so much and put in wood floors.”

“You always loved white pine.”

Kirstie grinned. Megan knew her well. “That’s right. And I’m going to paint the whole suite the colors of sand and seashells and surf. Maybe a sunset or two.”

“Why limit the change to the master suite? Why not change out the whole house? It’s yours, Kirstie. Make it what you want it to be.”

“I can’t focus long enough right now. I’ll start with the suite and work my way up to the tougher decisions.”

“Sounds good, but hire someone to do it. You don’t need paint fumes to add to anything else that could be affecting you.” Megan touched Kirstie’s arm. “While you’re at it, you also might consider Lynley’s health. I know you’re worried about her, but have you considered she may be affected by whatever’s poisoning you?”

At that calm statement, Kirstie felt as if she’d been slammed by a sledgehammer. “Why?”

“Can’t you tell Lynley isn’t behaving like herself? She’s a grown woman, and tonight she suddenly started behaving like a spoiled little girl. That’s not like her, even factoring in the old family dynamics.”

“But she’s been emotional lately. The divorce plus my illness have knocked her to her knees.”

“She nearly slapped me just before you woke up. She hasn’t done that since we were in first grade and I told the teacher on her for tricking the other kids into eating dirt.”

“Ah, yes, the special supplement she told everyone had all kinds of wholesome minerals in it.”

“Will you at least consider staying with Nora? If you and Lynley are being poisoned by something in the house, staying away for a few days would prove it.”

Kirstie put a hand out and grasped Megan’s wrist. “Tell me that shadow coming toward us is Gerard.”

“It is.”

“Good. I thought it was a tree walking up the hill. I’m not in the mood for another one of my episodes tonight.”

“You realize you can’t be left alone again.”

“I know. And you’re right. I have even more reason to find my killer now.”

Megan caught her breath audibly. “I wish you wouldn’t put it that way. You can’t have a killer unless you’re dead, and you aren’t. At least stay a few days with Nora, both you and Lynley.”

“If you and Gerard can get me safely back to the house, I’ll have a talk with Lynley and I’ll call Nora.” Kirstie hadn’t considered the possibility that her stubbornness could be placing her daughter in danger too.

Much as they both loved Nora, that dear woman could be intrusive and bossy if they allowed it, but what Megan said made sense. Staying with Nora would be a lot better than being locked up in an Alzheimer’s unit.





Lynley was seated on the carpeted staircase with her hands covering her face, hair tangled around her slumped shoulders. Megan walked in and held the door for Gerard to carry Kirstie inside. When Lynley looked up it was obvious she’d been crying.

“All’s well,” Megan said softly.

Gerard placed Kirstie on her feet, and she thanked him and gestured for him to follow her into the kitchen. “At least have something warm to drink before you head out again. Did you get to eat that delicious pizza?” She and Gerard left Megan and Lynley alone. Kirstie had always been thoughtful that way.

Lynley looked back down at her feet. “I can’t believe what happened up there a while ago.”

“What part?”

“The part about me almost hitting you. There’s no way to make up for what I said. I don’t know what came over me. It was like…you know…what I’ve always heard menopause is like.”

“PMS maybe?”

Lynley shook her head.

“I didn’t think so.” And it frightened Megan. Poison, maybe?

Kirstie and Gerard were chattering comfortably in the kitchen, so Megan went up the stairs and sank down on the step below Lynley. “Look, I know you’re in desperate need of some answers. So am I. Kirstie wants Gerard here to help take a load off your shoulders, and I’m here to help, not come between you and your mother.”

Lynley covered her face again. “That wasn’t me, Megan. Really. It was a feral hog pretending to be me. I’m so sorry.”

“No apologies, okay? I don’t have all the answers you want, but I can give you one answer if you’ll promise, promise not to tell anyone, especially Kirstie. Not now. Not until I tell you it’s okay. And it may never be okay.”

Lynley slowly raised her head. Her dark eyes held Megan’s. Was this the right thing to do? Would this be too much for her to handle?

But Lynley was strong, and Megan had begun to realize Gerard was right about sharing the emotional load. If she wanted to recover, she had to get some of this out of her system.

“I’ve been avoiding Gerard since I came back from Corpus Christi.”

Lynley raised her eyebrows as if to say, “Tell me a piece of information I don’t know.”

“I think you’ve been picking up on it, and I know we’ve always told each other everything, so you’ve felt left out.”

“It’s not my feelings I’m worried about right now.” Lynley’s hair fell back into her face, and in an impatient gesture she gathered it all up together and tied it into a knot in the back. “Spill.”

“You’ve had some pretty gnarly experiences in the E.R. We’ve compared notes.”

“And I’ve always won the contest for blood and gore.”

Megan felt a catch in her throat. “Not this time.”

Lynley’s eyes darkened. She leaned forward and put a gentle hand on Megan’s shoulder. “What happened, honey?”

“I had a pregnant patient who was living with her sister at the mission. Her name was Joni, and she was still in her teens, ready to go into labor any day. I was examining her in a curtained cubicle of the clinic when I heard the sound of ripping and looked up to find a knife slicing the curtain and the smiling face of a stinking man in his forties.”

Lynley’s hand tightened on Megan’s shoulder, and Megan placed her own hand over it, needing the human contact. “Before I could reach for the gun in my pocket, he’d plunged through the curtain and shoved his knife deeply into my patient’s heart.”

When Megan looked up, she saw that she had Lynley’s wide-eyed attention. The horror in her friend’s face was tangible. “I’m sorry. Maybe you don’t need to—”

“Stop that, Megan. What happened?”

“I shot him, but the damage was done. I’d been carrying a weapon since Gerard bought it for me for self-defense. I’d carried it when I accompanied his sister, Tess, on trips when she was being stalked last year.”

“You did mention your clinic in Corpus Christi wasn’t your dream job. What else did you do?”

“What I didn’t do was shoot him in time, and that will always haunt me. He fell over my patient’s body, and I had to shove him off her before Gerard got there and I could deliver the baby.”

Finally, Lynley’s face paled. “You had to perform a postmortem C-section.”

Megan didn’t realize tears were pouring down her face until she gave a watery sniff and Lynley pulled a tissue from her pocket and dabbed at Megan’s nose and cheeks, then handed her the tissue to do her own mopping.

“Gerard?” Lynley asked. Her own voice quivered.

“He worked right beside me. He was the first one to hold the little girl, Daria, and he was the one who found our patient’s sister and broke the news to her while I cleaned up. Tess and Sean, her fiancé, called the police and helped us with the fallout.”

Lynley sniffed. “Oh, honey, I wish you had told me. I wish I could’ve been there for you.”

Megan felt her whole body shake with sobs she’d never given way to. When Lynley’s arms opened for her, she laid her head against Lynley’s shoulder and wept.

“Yeah, I know,” Lynley whispered. “It was my worst nightmare for you.”

“How could you know?”

“You worked with the most damaged of souls. You brought them back to life over and over again. That girl who died? She probably didn’t even know the father of her baby.”

Megan shook her head. “She had an older sister who tried to do right by her, but how does a sister teach a younger sister how to behave in polite society when neither of them lived in polite society?”

“Who has little Daria now?”

“The older sister, Mamie. A family in one of the churches that supports the mission has taken them in.”

“So that’s why you wouldn’t stay here with us when you came to town. You were having nightmares and screaming.”

“How’d you know that?”

“Because you’ve always had nightmares. And you avoided Gerard because he reminded you too much of what happened.”

“He wants me to get counseling.”

“He’s right. But you’re obviously not avoiding him now.”

“How can I? We need him.”

“Yeah, I have to admit I’m more comfortable with him staying upstairs.”

“I always felt safe with him until Joni’s murder.”

Lynley patted Megan’s shoulder and handed her another tissue. “Mop up your face.”

Megan did as she was told. “We’re going up to the lodge tonight. I saw a light, and it wasn’t Kirstie. She saw it too.”

“Why don’t you stay here and let Gerard and Moritz check it out?”

“Because I need to do this.”

“You’re not a cop.”

“My job at the mission was to protect lives. I failed Joni. If someone’s up at the lodge, then I need to know why they’re there and if they have anything to do with what’s going on with Kirstie.”

Lynley gave her a half-smile. “I had a long talk with myself on my way back down the hill. I could have kicked myself. I’ve always been Mom’s only child, and she goes out of her way to protect me. You, though, are her hero. She always admired you and trusted you to keep me out of trouble when we were together. She’s still doing that, and so are you. That’s why there are still secrets. Am I right?”

“If I answered that, would there still be secrets?”

“I’ll get it out of you eventually, you know.”

“Everything will come out soon, I think. But first, a routine check of the lodge is in order.” Megan gave Lynley a hug and went in search of Gerard. They had work to do, and she needed to talk to him.