Phyllis nodded. ‘The couple who lived next door to me found him there. They were my friends, so they didn’t call the cops. They called my parents.’ She shook her head. ‘That was worse.’
‘Why?’
Phyllis looked at Eden with a pained expression on her face. ‘No one knows about this,’ she said. ‘Not Lizzy. Not even Charlie. Just Flynn. I had to explain it to him. I owed that to him.’
‘What happened?’ Eden asked.
Phyllis sighed. ‘My father came to Miami and took Flynn home with him. He didn’t want a child to raise, but he was so disgusted with me that he took him. He told me that I was dead to Flynn and dead to them. And then he left.
‘I’m ashamed to admit that for a while, that was all right with me. I needed my fix and that was all I could think about. I lived that way for several years. Then, somewhere along the way, I decided to kick it. That’s a long story …’
‘I’m sure it is,’ said Eden, urging her to skip the details. The smell of gasoline was giving her a headache and her stomach was churning. She knew she needed to get them out of the house, but there was a part of her that felt paralyzed, unable to move until she knew the rest. ‘What happened with Flynn?’
‘They raised him. They told everyone that I was dead of an overdose. No one was surprised. My drug history was well known. To my father’s everlasting shame. He was a cop, after all. When I finally got my life together, I went to see them. Flynn was about … nine by then. I wanted to get him back. I had met Charlie, and my life was decent. I was sure that Charlie would welcome Flynn once I explained about him. So I went to my parents. But my father said that I was dead to Flynn, and I was going to stay dead. He kicked me out.’
‘And your mother agreed to that?’
Phyllis shrugged. ‘My mother never stood up to him. Maybe she didn’t want to. I don’t know. I’ll never know.’
‘But you had legal rights,’ said Eden.
Phyllis laughed, but the laugh was half a sob. ‘There is no fighting my father,’ she said. ‘You can’t win with him.’
Eden had grown up with a father who was kind and loving. All Phyllis knew was a father who was a tyrant. It made Eden feel a little bit of pity for the older woman. But more for Flynn.
‘But you both ended up here …’ Eden said.
‘Lizzy was talking about a new family that had entered Dr Tanaka’s program. The Darbys. Flynn Darby. Of course the minute I heard the name, I understood. Katz-Ellison is a genetic disease. We moved to be near the clinic because of Anthony. My son and his wife moved here because of Jeremy. Flynn and I were both carriers, you see.’
Eden winced. ‘Of course.’
Phyllis nodded. ‘I began to go around there, offering to babysit. Your mother was a lovely woman. She was glad for the help. I was just like a mother to her.’
You killed her, Eden thought. She forced herself not to say it.
‘After a while, I decided that I had to tell Flynn. I couldn’t keep it a secret from him. But when he found out, he didn’t want anyone to know.’
What a pitiful story, Eden thought. She shook herself, as if trying to awaken from a trance. She had to think. Pitiful or not, this woman had killed two people. And if Eden didn’t move quickly, Phyllis might end up killing her as well. There was no time for pity. No time for anything. Eden was going to need every ounce of sympathy she could feign in order to get Phyllis to cooperate. To get them out of this house. ‘Look, your parents were very cruel to you. Your father did something terrible to you. But now, you have a lot to live for. Your family loves you. They want you home. Why don’t we get out of here before something sets off an explosion in this house? Let me go get my phone, and we’ll get out of here and call for help, okay?’
Phyllis looked torn, but then she nodded docilely.
Eden stood up and reached out her hand. ‘Okay?’
Phyllis hesitated, and then nodded. She took Eden’s hand.
‘Let’s go this way,’ said Eden, indicating the hallway which led to the bedroom. She wanted to call for help and then escape from this potential inferno. Once they were safely out of here, Phyllis would have to face the consequences of her actions, Eden thought grimly. Eden had every intention of telling the police what Phyllis did to Tara and Jeremy. But she doesn’t have to know that now, Eden thought. The important thing was to get help and get out of there. Before some errant spark started a fatal blaze. The two began to shuffle down the hallway toward the bedroom.
When they reached the door to the bedroom, Eden saw her phone sitting on the nightstand. I should have carried it with me, she thought.
‘You know, when I left my parents’ house, without Flynn,’ Phyllis murmured, her hand still gripping Eden’s, ‘I was so angry. I wanted to make my father suffer. So I took the only thing he really cared about. Just to pay him back.’
‘What was that?’ Eden murmured absently, thinking she would grab her phone, take it outside and call from there.
Phyllis smiled with satisfaction at the memory. ‘I took his service revolver. His gun.’
The hair stood up on the back of Eden’s neck. She froze in the spot where she stood. ‘You took it?’ she whispered.
Phyllis nodded. ‘I knew he would never report that I had taken it. How could he? After all, he had convinced everyone that I was dead.’
Eden’s heart was hammering. She licked her lips. ‘That was clever of you,’ she said.
‘Well, it wasn’t enough, but it was something,’ said Phyllis.
‘Let me just get that phone now,’ said Eden. She tried to extricate her fingers from Phyllis’s grip, but the older woman tightened her hold.
‘Who are you going to call?’
Eden tried to edge into the bedroom, pulling Phyllis along with her. ‘Um. Probably the fire department. That makes the most sense. I mean, we’ve got a dangerous situation here. With the gas everywhere …’
‘I guess you’re right.’ Phyllis frowned at her. ‘What’s the matter with you?’
‘What?’ Eden asked, trying to appear impassive.
‘You became awfully nervous all of a sudden.’
‘No, I’m fine,’ said Eden, though her head was spinning.
‘You don’t seem fine,’ said Phyllis.
‘Phyllis, I’m just anxious to get out of here. And that smell of the gas. It’s making me nauseous.’
Phyllis peered at Eden’s face suspiciously.
‘I really don’t feel well,’ said Eden. ‘I feel like I’m going to be sick.’
‘I can see that,’ said Phyllis, suddenly turning solicitous. ‘I’ve nursed a lot of sick people in my time. Come in here. Come on.’
She began to tug Eden in the direction of the bathroom. Eden marveled at the older woman’s strength. ‘I think I just need fresh air,’ she insisted.
‘The way you look? You’re ready to throw up all over the carpet.’
At that moment, Eden realized that this was exactly what she was going to do. She bolted past Phyllis into the bathroom and barely made it to the toilet, where she gagged up the contents of her stomach.
Phyllis stood in the bathroom doorway, effectively blocking the exit. Eden scuttled away from the toilet and leaned her head back against the cool tile wall. Phyllis walked in and took a washrag from a holder on the door. She flushed the toilet, then went to the sink and ran cool water on the washrag and bent down, pressing it to Eden’s sweaty forehead. ‘There now,’ she said, as if Eden were her own little girl.
‘I feel better now,’ said Eden. ‘Let’s just get outside.’
‘I’ll open a window,’ said Phyllis. She stepped over Eden and reached for the crank on the casement window, turning it till the window opened. ‘There,’ she said. ‘That’s better. I’ll go get you a can of soda. You need something to settle your stomach. I’ll be back in a jiff …’
‘Phyllis, I don’t want …’
But Phyllis had rushed off on her mission.
Eden rested her forehead against her knee
s. She thought about Phyllis, taking it upon herself to end Tara and Jeremy’s lives. All for Flynn’s sake. And then, today, for some reason, she had used that gun that she had kept for years to shoot Flynn. Her own son.
‘Here, have this,’ said Phyllis, returning to the room.
Eden lifted her head and saw Phyllis holding out a can of ginger ale, beaded with moisture. Eden hesitated, and then reached for it gratefully. She took several swigs, and handed it back to Phyllis, who set it down on the vanity.
‘Why?’ Eden murmured.
‘Why what?’ Phyllis demanded, frowning at her.
‘I thought you loved Flynn. He was your son. You wanted him back. And then, today …’
‘Today what?’ Phyllis demanded.
‘Why did you try to kill him?’ Eden asked.
‘Who says I did?’ Phyllis cried, taken aback.
‘The police found the gun you used, Phyllis,’ Eden said wearily. ‘They know it belonged to your father.’
‘No. I threw it away,’ Phyllis insisted.
‘The police found it. But why did you do it? Why did you … go after Flynn? I thought you were glad to be reunited with him. You went to such great lengths to … help him.’
Phyllis’s eyes flashed. ‘Last night, DeShaun came over and told us what happened. That Lizzy had left him to be with Flynn. That she and Flynn were lovers. She told DeShaun that she could not resist Flynn. It was some kind of compulsion. They had to be together.’
‘But that’s not …’ Eden began to say. And then she stopped, suddenly struck by the devastating reality that Phyllis had been forced to confront. Her son. Her daughter. Flynn and Lizzy were siblings. But now they were also lovers. ‘Oh my God,’ said Eden. ‘I see. So …’
‘So, they’re brother and sister,’ Phyllis cried. ‘Why, of all the people in the world? Lizzy told DeShaun they couldn’t help themselves.’
Eden was tempted to scoff at Lizzy’s melodramatic version of events, but at the same time, it rang a bell. She had read some news story about siblings who met as adults and became madly infatuated with one another. ‘I’ve heard of that,’ she told Phyllis. ‘I think it’s some kind of psychological syndrome. Siblings who did not grow up together, who meet later in life.’
Phyllis turned on her furiously. ‘Are you agreeing that he couldn’t help himself? He knew she was his sister. She didn’t know it, but he did. He knew exactly, and he went ahead and he did it anyway.’ Phyllis wrung her hands, trembling from head to toe. ‘My Lizzy was the most perfect thing that ever happened to me. She did everything the way a mother can only dream. Her whole life was like the positive version of my life. No mistakes. No terrible regrets. Just success and goodness. Love and kindness. She was an angel.’
‘She is a lovely girl,’ Eden said soothingly.
‘And Flynn knew how I loved her. He knew exactly what he was doing. Dragging her down to the gutter. Committing incest. After all I did for him, Flynn went ahead anyway and just took her. Took her, like an animal carrying his prey off to his lair.’ Phyllis covered her face with her hands and moaned.
Eden hesitated, almost commiserating with the woman’s pain. But Phyllis had shot her own son. Eden recalled her earlier conversation with Flynn this evening. And suddenly she realized what he wasn’t saying to her. He knew it. He knew he’d been shot by his own mother. That’s what he wouldn’t say. Eden pushed herself up against the wall and rose unsteadily to her feet.
Phyllis wiped her eyes and looked at Eden accusingly. ‘What are you doing?’
‘Phyllis, I’m going to call for help. And then I’m getting out of this house. If you have any sense, you’ll come with me.’ She edged past the weeping woman and hurried to the bedroom. She picked up her phone, and dialed 911.
‘I need help,’ she cried. ‘I’m in a house that’s been doused with gasoline.’
‘Give me the address,’ said the dispatcher.
Eden reeled off the address.
‘Okay, we’re on our way. Now you need to get out of there. Don’t take anything with you. Just leave.’
‘I will,’ said Eden. She knew the dispatcher was talking about belongings. Not human beings. Still, she hesitated for a moment. And then she went back down the hallway to the bathroom.
Phyllis was seated on the closed toilet seat, her face ravaged by grief.
‘Phyllis,’ said Eden. ‘The fire department is on the way. We have to get out of here. Come on.’
Phyllis slowly stood up and stared at her face in the bathroom mirror. ‘I look horrible,’ she said.
‘It doesn’t matter how you look,’ said Eden. ‘We just have to get out of here now.’
Phyllis stared at the face in the mirror. ‘Will I be arrested?’
Eden didn’t know what to say. How convincing a liar could she be? ‘No. I’m sure not. You’ll get an attorney. Everything will work out. You’ll see. But you have to get out of here. Now.’
‘I smell like vomit,’ said Phyllis. She turned and glared at Eden. ‘That’s your fault.’
Eden rolled her eyes. All she could smell was gas. ‘I’m sorry about that. You can have a shower later. Right now, you have to come with me.’
‘You probably smell like vomit too,’ said Phyllis.
‘I don’t care,’ said Eden. ‘I’m leaving this house. Are you coming?’
‘After I wash up,’ said Phyllis.
Eden thought of grabbing her, and dragging her out. She reached out for Phyllis’s sleeve. Phyllis jerked away from her grasp and hissed, ‘Don’t touch me. I’m warning you …’
‘The firemen are going to be here any minute,’ said Eden. ‘They’re going to drag you out of here. You can come with me, or wait till they do it. They won’t give you any choice.’
‘Leave me,’ said Phyllis. ‘Please. Leave me alone.’ She picked up the bottle of liquid soap on the sink and squeezed it into her hand.
‘Fine, have it your way,’ said Eden. ‘I’m going. I won’t stay in this house another minute.’ She turned and left the bathroom. Still wearing socks on her feet, she padded down the hallway, clutching her phone with both hands like a good luck charm.
She dodged the boxes lining the hallway, and headed for the front door.
She thought she heard the sound of water running in the bathroom.
And then, just as she reached the front door, she heard a pop, and then crackling. She turned her head to look toward the living room, in the direction of the sound. She saw the leaping flames.
Jesus, she thought. What set it off? Whatever it was, it had begun. She hesitated to throw open the door, for fear the rush of air would cause the fire to intensify. But then, she could stumble outside. Be safe. Out of harm’s way.
And Phyllis would still be in the bathroom.
Leave her, she thought. It’s her own fault. You tried to convince her. Just go.
But it was no use. She couldn’t just leave a fellow human being to die in the flames. Not without at least trying to save her. Reluctantly, she let go of the door knob and ran back down the hall toward the bathroom.
‘Phyllis,’ she screamed. ‘The fire has started. You have to get out. Now.’
Phyllis emerged from the bathroom, wiping her face with a towel. The crackling at the other end of the house was becoming louder, turning into a faraway roar. She looked blankly at Eden. ‘I hear it,’ she said.
Smoke was beginning to filter into the hallway. ‘Come on,’ said Eden, starting to cough. ‘We’ll go out one of the bedroom windows.’
‘All right,’ said Phyllis. ‘I’m coming.’
Still coughing, Eden grabbed her wrist, and dragged her down the hall, away from the fire, to the last bedroom on the left. She could hear the sound of sirens in the distance. ‘Come on now,’ she said, pulling Phyllis into the bedroom which had once belonged to her mother and Flynn. She closed the door behind them and went over to the window. She tried to raise the sash on first one, and then another. She was able to raise each one a few inches, and then t
hey stuck. She jiggled them impatiently, but it was no use.
‘I’ll have to break it,’ she said.
‘With what?’ Phyllis cried.
Smoke was coming under the door. Eden opened the closet and looked inside. Shoes. Clothes. Hangers. Nothing that would break a window. She emerged from the closet, coughing, and looked frantically around the room. On the bureau she saw a lamp. Phyllis was huddled against the wall between the bureau and the corner of the room.
‘Phyllis, that lamp. Is it heavy?’
Phyllis turned to where Eden was pointing and lifted the base of the lamp up.
She turned to Eden and nodded. ‘It’s metal. Cast iron, I think.’
‘Great,’ Eden said. She crossed over to the bureau and picked up the lamp. It was weighty in her hand. Definitely heavy enough to break the window. ‘Here,’ she said to Phyllis. ‘Hold this.’ She handed the lamp to Phyllis and crouched down beside the bureau to unplug it from the wall. The plug was old and felt stiff in the outlet. She worked it loose and tugged it free. ‘There,’ she cried triumphantly, and then started coughing.
The cord suddenly grew taut in her hand. She looked up and saw Phyllis lifting the lamp base aloft with both hands. Phyllis was looking down at Eden. Her gaze was steely.
‘No,’ Eden cried. ‘Stop!’ She reached up to try to cover her head as Phyllis swung the lamp base down on her with all her might.
THIRTY
Eden lay on the floor, her head pounding, her cheek pressed to the carpet. She tried to open her eyes. The room was filled with smoke now, and there were flames licking at the door. Her eyes were tearing uncontrollably. Eden tried to think, to remember what had happened, how she had ended up here, but her brain was too muddled to deliver answers. She tried to move, but it was no use. Her muscles felt so weak that she could not even lift herself up. Through the window above her, flashing lights threw patterns on the wall. She could hear the commotion outside as people shouted inchoate orders to one another, and sirens continued to sound. Move, she told herself. Help is here. Get up. Get to your feet. But her body refused to obey her commands. ‘Help me,’ she whispered. ‘Someone help me.’
Don't Believe a Word Page 24