Quicksand

SIXTEEN

PHILLIP BLAIR WAS WAITING when they arrived back at the dock.

His fists clenched when he saw Megan.

"My God," he said unsteadily. "What the hell have you done to her?" He held out his arms as Joe carried Megan from the boat. "Give her to me."

"Where's the ambulance?"

"It should be here any minute. Give her to me."

Joe transferred her to Phillip's embrace. "It's shock. She wasn't wounded."

"Maybe not physically. How do you know what you did to her? My wife spent years in an institution fighting those damn voices. And you made Megan go searching for them. I told you to take care of her."

"We didn't make her go," Joe said.

"Yes, we did." Eve got out of the boat. "No, I did. I didn't force her, but I used every way I could to persuade her. I wouldn't take no for an answer." She stood before Phillip. "So if you want to blame someone, blame me."

"I do blame you." He looked at the blood soaking her shoulder. "But Megan wouldn't blame you. She'd want to fix your damn arm." He turned away. "So you'd better come along to the hospital with us."

"HOW ARE YOU?" MONTALVO MET Eve as she was coming out of the emergency room. "Any problems?"

"No, they cleaned it, bandaged it, and sent me on my way. After telling me that I had to make a report to the police department because it was a gunshot wound. How is Laura Ann? They told me she was in a room down the hall."

"Bruises, scratches, and hungry. The bastard didn't feed her." He smiled. "But she felt much better after she talked to her mother on the phone. She's on the road now, driving down to pick up her daughter."

"That's good. After what Laura Ann has been through, she'll need her mother close for a while."

"Right now Miguel seems to be filling the maternal role. She won't let him out of her sight."

"How are his hands?"

"Bad. The stitches are torn out and he's having to have shots to fight infection from that swamp water. We'll have to start all over."

"That's too bad. But he did save that little girl. I don't think he could have made any other choice."

"No. And they seem to have formed a bond dangling in that tree over those alligators. He doesn't mind playing surrogate mom for a while and he'll be able to keep the media away from her. They're bound to get the news anytime now that she's been found. Where's Quinn?"

"He dropped me off and then went directly to the local police department to make a report on Kistle's death and what they're going to find on that island." She shuddered. "I don't even want to think about the scope of that burial ground." But she would think about it for the rest of her life. There would be no forgetting one minute of this night. "I asked him not to mention Megan Blair's part in this. She's been through enough and sure as hell doesn't need the kind of notoriety this would bring her. I don't even know what all this did to her. She's still unconscious and the doctors didn't like her condition when we brought her into the emergency room." She shook her head. "They couldn't understand why they couldn't bring her back. I could tell them why. But they wouldn't believe me." She moved down the hall. "I'm going to her room and stay with her until she regains consciousness." She made a face. "If Phillip Blair will let me near her. He wanted to take a hatchet to all of us when he saw what I did to Megan."

"You didn't do it," Montalvo said.

"Of course I did. I saw what happened to her with Bobby Joe and I went right on. I was willing to put her through that hell. Oh, granted, I didn't know that she wouldn't just be facing one death but all those others." She said unevenly, "But, God help me, I might still have done it. So what kind of ruthless bitch am I?"

"Driven, obsessed, desperate," Montalvo said gently. "And, yes, ruthless. It goes with the territory. But you're also very giving and have moments of being damn wonderful."

"Bullshit."

He smiled. "Go on and start your vigil with Megan. This isn't the time for me to talk to you. But my moment will have to come, Eve."

"No, it doesn't. I don't want to-" She broke off as she looked at him. He was still dirty and bruised and it reminded her of all he had gone through tonight for her and Laura Ann… and Bonnie. She nodded slowly as she moved down the hall toward Megan's hospital room. "We'll find a time to talk."

MEGAN'S FACE HAD NO COLOR and she looked very fragile in the white hospital bed. She was hooked up to an IV.

Phillip Blair was sitting in an upright visitor's chair beside her bed.

"How is she?" Eve asked.

Phillip shrugged. "I don't know. I don't think those doctors know either. We're all just waiting. Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Though I'm surprised you'd ask. You obviously have no kind feelings toward me." She grimaced. "And who could blame you? Certainly not me."

"No, it will take a long time for me to feel anything but resentment toward you. Megan is my family. We've been together since her mother died when she was fifteen." He gave her a cool glance. "I'm very protective of my family."

"And I respect you for it. But you don't have to protect Megan from me right now. All I want to do is stay with her until she wakes."

"Why?"

"Because I like her more than any woman I've met in a long time. Because I hurt her. Because I'm worried sick about her. Is that enough reason?"

He didn't speak for a moment. "Maybe." He nodded at the other visitor's chair. "Sit down."

She dropped down in the chair. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. I have an ulterior motive. Megan's going to want reassurance when and if she comes out of this. I have to have answers."

"Answers," Eve repeated. "What are you talking about?"

"She was probably very upset before she collapsed?"

"Of course. It was horrible for her."

"And did she touch any of you?"

Eve tried to remember. "I reached out and held her hand at one point. Just for a minute, and then she pulled it away."

Phillip muttered an oath. "Dammit, I knew it would happen. Anything else?"

She shook her head. "Joe held her on the way back from the island. She was unconscious and in shock."

He frowned. "I think that's probably all right. No emotional contact."

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

He glared at her. "You wouldn't have had to know anything if you hadn't persuaded Megan to go into that swamp."

"Look, she did go, and that's past history. There's nothing I can do about it. Now, why are you on edge about my touching Megan?"

He didn't answer.

"Phillip, I'm exhausted, I'm worried, my nerves are shot, and I've no intention of letting you say something like that and ignoring it. This weird phobia Megan has about touching people has been popping up since I met her. I've hurt her enough tonight. I'm going to know if I somehow managed to accidentally hurt her again."

He looked back at Megan. "She's the only one who has the right to talk about it."

"Tell me, dammit."

He wearily leaned back in his chair. "She wouldn't be the one hurt. It wouldn't matter so much to her if she was the one to take the hit. When she's under extreme emotional tension, it's sometimes dangerous for her to touch anyone."

"How?"

"Megan is not only a Listener. In the last few months she's discovered she has another psychic gift." He smiled sardonically. "Though she thinks of it more as a curse. She found out that she's a Pandora."

"Pandora?"

"Another term would be a facilitator. She can release the dormant psychic talents of those around her. She doesn't know exactly how it works, but she thinks it's triggered by extreme emotion and she has to touch them. That's why she isn't practicing medicine right now. She can't take the risk."

"Risk?"

"Some people can't accept the release. They can't handle it." He paused. "There have been… deaths."

She shook her head incredulously. "This is totally bizarre. I've never even heard of anything like that."

"Neither did Megan. Imagine how she feels."

"I have to imagine," she said flatly. "Because I can't believe it."

Phillip shrugged. "That's your privilege. You asked, I answered. But is it any more unbelievable than the fact that she's a Listener? You seem to have accepted that premise."

"That's… different."

"Because you've been a witness and gone through the experience with her. She was hoping you wouldn't even have to know she was a Pandora. But you touched her and that means we have to be on watch."

"You're saying I might die?"

"I'm saying that in two cases the subject went mad and that resulted in death. In another case there was no ill effect and he seems to be handling the gift." He made a face. "Though he'd rather go back to the way he was before."

"And that came just from touching one of these Pandoras?"

"She thinks that's the trigger. She can't be certain. As I said, this is new to Megan. She doesn't know any of the nuances. The releasing of the talent occurred after she touched the subjects during a moment of intense emotionalism. At first she wouldn't even accept that she was the one responsible."

"I wouldn't either."

The corner of Phillip's lips lifted in a half smile. "Because you may be very much alike. Megan has always been practical and levelheaded. Then her life was turned upside down and she's been trying to get it back on track. She loved being a doctor. It's killing her to not go back to medicine. It's the measure of how much she believes that she could hurt her patients that she refuses to take the chance."

"There has to be another explanation."

"And I hope we all find it. Until that happens, I'd just as soon you stay close so that I can keep an eye on you."

"To see that I don't go off my rocker?" she asked dryly. "And what great psychic gift am I supposed to develop?"

He shrugged. "Whatever talent is latent in you. Telepathy, mind reading, healing. I understand some psychics are supposed to be able to predict the future, communicate with the departed, and find lost objects."

"And you believe these things are possible?"

"I know some of them are possible. I've experienced the benefits of one of them."

"Which one?"

He shook his head. "I promised I wouldn't talk about it."

"How convenient." She gazed back at Megan's face. Dear God, she wished she'd regain consciousness. "And how long am I supposed to be under this surveillance?"

"I don't know. I understand sometimes the subject shows signs of the release of talent at once and then in others there's a delay. We don't know how long that delay might be. We just don't know enough about it. Megan has been planning on investigating any other possible Pandoras she can find to try to find out answers. You didn't give her the opportunity before you pulled her into that swamp."

"Pandora…" Eve thought about the name. "The mythological woman who opened the box and let out all troubles into the world?"

"It depends on what myth you read. Pandora kept hope in the box, why not other virtues?"

The lady with the box.

What had Bonnie said about the lady with the box?

Don't let her hurt you, Mama. Don't let her hurt me…

The lady with the box. Pandora.

"What are you thinking?" Phillip's eyes were narrowed on her face.

"Nothing important."

How could Megan have hurt Eve? She was the one who had damaged Megan.

Unless this bizarre story of Megan's being a facilitator had a small basis of truth.

"Don't be so worried," Phillip said gently. "Megan would be the first to tell you this talent is wildly erratic. She's worked with patients for years and there was no sign of any change in them. It's just that we have to be careful."

"And Joe wouldn't be affected by this craziness?"

He shook his head. "Extreme emotion is one of the necessary elements. Megan was unconscious. No, you're the one we have to watch."

Don't let her hurt you, Mama.

Poor Megan, Eve thought, she didn't want to hurt anyone and she was caught up in this tornado of guilt and pain. She reached forward and touched Megan's hand. "I think you've drawn a blank this time. I'm feeling perfectly normal," she whispered. "And I'm sure you'll be relieved to hear about it. So why don't you come back and we'll talk?"

Megan didn't stir.

Phillip pushed back his chair. "I'll go get us a cup of coffee. Sandwich?"

Eve shook her head. "Not now."

She settled back in the chair and waited for Megan to wake.

EVE WENT OUTSIDE THE HOSPITAL and called Joe on her cell phone six hours later. "Megan's still unconscious. I'm going to stay with her until she wakes up. What's happening?"

"Media all over the place. I've filled out the report on Kistle." He paused. "I said I'd shot him while attempting arrest."

"Then you'd better change it. I'm going to tell the truth."

"Hell, they'll give me a medal. There's no reason for you to be involved."

"Except the truth."

"We'll talk about it later. I called Jane and told her what had happened. She's pissed."

"Of course she is. We knew that would be a given."

"I'll be at the hospital as soon as I can. I have to take the police to the island and let them-" He stopped.

"Open those graves," she finished, and then went on with an effort, "Show them the memory box, Joe. It had names on most of his damn souvenirs. Are they going to let the media go with you?"

"No," he said curtly. "I've told them they can either have me to lead them to the island or the media. No one is going to be allowed on that island until every one of those bodies has been exhumed. I promise you, Eve."

"That's good. Those parents don't need a media circus going on while they're trying to cope. I just visited Laura Ann. Her mother was there with her in her room and she seemed fine. We don't know what the effect of that horror will be down the road, but she's tough. I think she'll make it." Laura Ann might have memories and nightmares all her childhood, but at least she was alive and would have a childhood. Not like those children on Kistle's island. "I've got to get back to Megan. Call me when you get through at the island, Joe."

"Right." He hung up.

She put her phone back in her pocket and went back inside the hospital. Joe wasn't finished with the island and he'd probably be hours out there with the police.

She wasn't finished either. She had been worried about Laura Ann's memories, but what about her own? There were still unanswered questions that had to be answered.

And the most important one might have to be answered by Megan Blair.

MEGAN WAS STILL UNCONSCIOUS when Eve reached her room.

Phillip looked up. "The doctor came by and checked her vital signs. He said he might have to call in a neural specialist if she doesn't respond. He says there could be some underlying problem. He doesn't know what else to do."

"She told me once that she thought those bouts of unconsciousness were sort of like hibernation so that her mind could heal."

He shook head. "This is so deep it's almost a coma."

"She had a lot of wounds to heal." Eve was saying words of comfort, but they were only words. She was as scared as Phillip. "Why don't you take a break? Go back to the hotel and shower and change. I'll stay with her until you come back."

He shook his head.

"Go on. I'll call you the minute she wakes up."

He hesitated and then stood. "I'll try to be back in an hour, but I might be longer. I'm going to call someone who might be able to help her. Grady's in Tanzania and I might have trouble getting through to him."

"Grady? Tanzania's half a world away. Are they close enough so that he'll drop everything and come to her?"

"There's nobody closer to Megan. In more ways than one." He headed for the door. "He'll be on the next flight home."

Eve watched the door close behind him. Even if this Grady flew to Megan's side, she didn't see how he could help. Well, Phillip thought Grady could do something, and they were clutching at straws. Heaven knows Eve couldn't think of anything to do for her.

MEGAN OPENED HER EYES a little over an hour later.

"Eve?"

"Thank God," Eve said.

Megan's gaze drifted around the room and then came back to Eve. "You again? This is getting to be a habit." Her voice was slurred. "And it's not one I want to get into."

"I don't blame you." Eve blinked back tears. "I'd avoid me like the plague from now on."

"It's a thought," Megan said. "Laura Ann?"

"Safe. She's here at the hospital and her mother is with her."

"That's good. Kistle?"

"Dead."

"That's even better. So much evil…"

"I'll be right with you." Eve pulled out her cell phone. "I promised to call Phillip and tell him if you woke." She dialed the number and when he picked up she said, "She came out of it two minutes ago. Her speech is a little slurred, but otherwise she seems okay."

"Thank God."

"That's what I said."

"I'll be right there."

Eve hung up. "He's on his way. I think he likes you a little."

"He's my family," Megan said simply.

"What about this Grady Phillip was trying to get to fly here from Tanzania? Phillip said you were close to him."

Her eyes widened. "Phillip called Grady? He shouldn't have done that."

"He was scared. I was scared. This didn't seem like the last time. Even the doctors here at the hospital were uneasy."

Megan was silent a moment. "No, it wasn't like the last time. This was different. It was as if I were breaking apart inside."

"I'm sorry." It wasn't enough, but Eve didn't know what else to say. "I'm very grateful."

"I didn't do it for you. I did it for Laura Ann," Megan said. "And for those kids that bastard murdered. He had to be stopped."

"But I brought you into it."

"Yes, you did." She sat up in bed. "I need to go and take a shower. Then I want to get out of here."

"They're not going to release you until a doctor signs off on you."

"Will you go tell someone I'm okay and set the wheels in motion?" She swung her legs to the floor and then had to wait a moment until she had strength to move. "I feel a little woozy."

"That's not surprising. Why don't you wait for-"

"I'll be okay." She carefully got to her feet. "If Phillip comes back before I get out of the shower, will you tell him that I'd love it if he could pick me up a hamburger and hot chocolate?"

"I'll call him back and tell him to bring it with him."

"Thank you." Megan was moving stiffly across the room. "It's not really for me. Phillip just feels better if he can give me comfort food. I imagine he was pretty upset."

"That's an understatement." She paused. "You're moving like someone who's been run over by a truck. Are you sore?"

"I feel as if I were thrown into a cement mixer and then spit out. They tore me apart."

Eve tried to restrain herself. Give her time. Don't ask the question.

She did it anyway. "I need to know if it was-"

"Not now, Eve." Megan opened the bathroom door. "I'll talk to you later. I know what you're going through."

And she should have been more patient, Eve thought, as the door closed behind Megan. She'd acted like a selfish bitch, when Megan was barely able to function. She owed the woman a debt and she needed to help, not interrogate, her.

She took out her phone and dialed Phillip Blair again.