“What’s the matter with you?!” Kate screamed. “Why are you looking at me like that!”
“Don’t you understand,” Gideon murmured, and still he came, twisting the black softness in his hands, like smoke, like killing smoke…. “Don’t you see? If she can’t have her own life, then you can’t have yours. And I… can’t have mine.”
“Pearce!” Kate pleaded. “Pearce, help me!”
Gideon stopped. He swayed a little, one hand reaching for the wall. “Pearce can’t help you,” he said sadly. “Pearce is dead.”
“Oh, God—” Kate’s mind raced, her body inching sideways along the wall. She saw the huge vase on the table, and Gideon’s bewildered face as she grabbed the vase and held it above her head. She saw his eyes widen and the shape of his mouth, the silent “no” as she flung the vase at his skull. His body teetered only a second, then collapsed onto the floor.
Kate stood for a moment, looking down at him, fighting back a sudden wave of nausea. Oh, Gideon… Gideon… why…? It was so hot in here, so hot and cold at the same time, and that smell, that funny smell, like dead, dried flowers and something else… something bad and terrible… creeping through the hall….
Creeping down the stairs.
Slowly… in a numbness of sickening horror… Kate raised her eyes….
And saw Rowena looking down at her.
“It can’t be,” Kate mumbled, but no sound came out, no sound, no screaming, not even a breath of air. “No, it’s impossible.” And Rowena was close now, so very close, the strange odor all around her now, that unbearable sickness, closing off her throat, her lungs…. “Gideon, wake up,” but the plea was in her mind, only in her head. “Gideon, I’m so sorry—”
And she couldn’t look away, she couldn’t turn her face from that black veil and the faceless thing behind it, the horrible stench filling her nostrils as Rowena reached into the pocket of her long black skirt… the hideous thing lying in her black-gloved palm… its rotting fingers outstretched in silent agony….
William Drewe’s hand.
“No!” Kate shrieked. “NO!” And with one swipe, she knocked it to the floor, the splayed, decaying fingers clawing toward her, the hand reaching out for her, and Kate could see it was moving, pulling itself across the floor, trying to touch her, and my God, it’s on the back of my neck now, behind me, how could it be behind me? Oh, God, the back of my head—
In a dizzying panic, Kate realized that there was a hand on her head, around her neck, pressing itself over her nose and windpipe, and the great waves of suffocation plummeting her down a long, dark tunnel….
She saw Rowena’s huge, blank eyes….
And then they drew her in, and all was darkness.
Chapter 20
HELP ME, SOMEONE. DENZIL? Gideon? Anyone… please….
Kate was aware of her own consciousness drifting slowly around her, just beyond reach. From far away someone called her name… an empty, unearthly sound… as if it came from some soulless being….
Yes. I’m here, but something’s wrong. Help me… please….
The sound of her voice roused her, the words fading in her mind. She realized she hadn’t actually spoken at all, yet she was awake. She realized she was conscious again, yet she couldn’t see a thing.
Groggily Kate tried to move and felt pains in her arms and legs. Her head weighed a ton, and her muscles were twisted at unnatural angles. She moved her fingers and something dug into her wrists. Beneath the blindfold she was suddenly aware of lying spread-eagled upon a bed, her hands and feet securely bound to the bedposts. In a split second every nightmare came true, and she gave a cry as she tried to wrench free.
“I’m glad you’re awake,” said a voice, and it was very near her, so calm in the silence of the room. “I wouldn’t want you to miss a single thing.”
She recognized the hoarse, strained whisper. An icy dread pumped through her, and she lay still, trying to keep her face expressionless.
“We don’t have to hurry,” Rowena went on. “We have lots of time. There’s no one to bother us.”
Tears pressed behind Kate’s eyelids, and she fought them back.
“Please let me go. I haven’t done anything to you.”
From somewhere deep in Rowena’s throat came a laugh. “Kate, Kate, teacher’s pet, as frightened as can be… no matter how you run and hide… you can’t escape from me.”
“Please, Rowena… please—”
“And you’re wrong about not having done anything.”
Slow footsteps approached the bed… stopped a distance away.
“You’re so beautiful.” The voice sounded wistful and sad. “Like I used to be. With all the hope… the future… that I used to have….” Beneath the hoarseness, tears crept in. “Did you know that Pearce loved me once? We were going to be married… but who could live with a face like mine now?”
“He still loves you,” Kate whispered, “he never stopped loving you—”
“To look into my face,” Rowena murmured, “is to see a glimpse of hell.” The voice tightened. “So he fell in love with you.”
“No… no, he didn’t—”
“You had Gideon… but then you wanted Pearce, too—”
“No!”
“Do you think I could let you have them? Either of them? Who would love me? Who would take care of me?”
Kate’s mind raced desperately. She couldn’t hear Rowena anymore, couldn’t tell where she was, and Kate fought to keep from screaming out loud.
“Rowena,” Kate lifted her head, searching for the sound of footsteps… breathing…. “I’m leaving again in a few days—tomorrow, if you like—you’ll have both of them all to yourself—” Oh, God, you killed Pearce… Pearce is dead—
“Pearce took care of me, but William found out.” Rowena was rambling on again, pacing beside the bed. “I had to get rid of him. He found out, and he was going to send me away—”
“Rowena, listen to me, I’ll leave tonight if you like—I’ll never tell anybody I saw you—no one will ever know—”
“Yes,” she said. “Yes. You’re leaving, Kate. Tonight.”
The footsteps stopped. In the terrible silence, Kate lay motionless. The voice spoke again, leaving a trail of breath along one of Kate’s outstretched arms.
“Kate… Kate… don’t you cry…” The whisper hesitated… laughed… “Pretty Kate… it’s time to die….”
The voice faded.
A hand touched Kate’s forehead, and she whimpered in terror.
“Please… please don’t hurt me.”
“But I have to hurt you. I have to. I want you to know how it feels… to lose everything.”
Kate thrashed against the ropes, her scream echoing again and again through the silent house. Above her, Rowena laughed softly and caressed her cheek.
“Oh, God….” Kate was crying now, the blindfold soaked with tears. She went limp upon the bed, and felt Rowena’s fingers lightly stroking her face… her neck… running the length of her body.
“Will it help,” Rowena asked softly, “if you watch yourself die? Like I watched the flames coming closer and closer? If you know what’s coming, then perhaps you won’t be so frightened.”
Kate felt the blindfold tighten… grow loose… fall away.
It was so dark.
Blinking through tears and shadows, Kate saw that she was on the bed in Rowena’s room, the heavy black bedcurtains between her and one dim lamp in the far corner. She saw the black walls… the black ceiling… she saw Rowena’s arms reach out from the shadows to lift the bedcurtains aside. She saw the veil, rippling softly in and out with Rowena’s breath.
“Gideon,” Kate pleaded, her face covered with tears.
“Gideon can’t save you now,” Rowena said. “No one can.”
One black glove lifted… teasingly… and the veil fluttered as the fingers worked to free it.
“No,” Kate whispered, “please—”
With her other hand, Rowena grabb
ed Kate’s face and held it. “Have a look,” she hissed. “It’s the last thing you’ll see before you die.”
And as Kate fought to look away, Rowena’s veil slipped down to her shoulders… fluttered down to her feet… the twisted face leaning down, distorted in shadow—
“My God,” Kate gasped. “Pearce—”
“And since you love to be scared, you’ll enjoy this, Kate,” Rowena said, Rowena’s voice, Rowena’s laugh, only it was Pearce—Pearce—who leaned down at her, dressed in Rowena’s long, black clothes—“You’ll enjoy this, because you won’t die right away—”
“Pearce,” Kate sobbed, “please! Let me go!”
The cold eyes narrowed. “Pearce can’t help you! Pearce belongs to me!”
In one sudden movement, he crossed the room. Kate saw him grab something from the corner, heard the slosh of liquid, felt something wet and cold douse her body. She smelled the unmistakable fumes of gasoline, and in a macabre fury, Pearce twirled through the shadows, black clothes flying, the gasoline wetting down everything in his path.
“Stop it!” she was screaming, pleading, out of her mind with terror. “Don’t do this! If you kill me, they’ll take you away from here! Away from Pearce and Gideon!”
He froze in the middle of the room, eyes glaring, gasping for breath. As he stared at her he slowly lowered the can, arms going limp at his sides. The can rolled across the floor.
“They can’t separate us,” Rowena’s voice said numbly. “They can’t….”
“But they will! You’ll never see them again! Never!”
For a long moment his head hung down… and then he smiled, half of his face showing in the light. “I didn’t die that night, you know… in the fire? The fire that Pearce started…. He wanted to kill William, and I was going to help him… only William locked me in his room, and Pearce didn’t know.” The smile faltered, sad. “He didn’t know, you see… it wasn’t his fault. And I screamed… and screamed… but he didn’t come….”
“Don’t…” Kate’s lips moved, the room swimming through hopeless tears. “Don’t…”
Pearce pulled a matchbook from his pocket.
“I didn’t die that night. Pearce loves me. I would never leave him.”
He struck the match sharply against the cover.
He held up the flame, its pulsing light reflected in his hollow eyes.
“He can’t love you,” Pearce said softly in Rowena’s voice. “It’s me he loves.”
The flame descended, spreading behind his fingers as he held it out to the gasoline….
Behind him shadows flickered wildly as the bedroom door creaked slowly on its hinges.
“Put it out, Pearce,” the voice said. “Put it out now, or I swear I’ll kill Rowena.”
As Kate watched in stunned amazement, Gideon stepped into the room, moving Rowena in front of him—the real Rowena—dressed in black from head to toe, her bowed head draped with her long, black veil. Pearce froze and stared at them, the match burning dangerously close to his fingertips.
“Put it out,” Gideon said again. His voice had never sounded so calm… so dangerous. “You won’t be able to save her this time. This time she’ll die, and you’ll never see her again.”
Confusion blanched Pearce’s face. Like someone in a deep trance, he brought the match to his lips….
Even from where she lay, Kate could see the flame beginning to lick at his fingers. She saw his hand jerk back… heard his exclamation of pain—
The match fell onto his shoe and fizzled out.
She saw him reach into his pocket….
And pull out the matchbook once more.
“Don’t,” Gideon said. “I’m not bluffing. Rowena dies if you light that match.”
With a sudden movement, he jerked Rowena back against him, her body trapped in the circle of his arms.
“You can’t kill me,” Pearce mumbled, sounding like Rowena, and suddenly he seemed unsure… frightened… “Pearce won’t let you….”
“Oh, but you’re wrong. I’m doing it now. Just watch me.” His hands tightened around Rowena’s throat, and she slumped against him.
As a range of emotions struggled across his face, Pearce looked in dismay from Kate to Rowena and back again.
“No,” he mumbled, “no… I’m not… I’m…”
Gideon sprang at him, their bodies crashing to the floor. In the crazily throbbing shadows, they rolled back and forth through the gasoline. As Rowena fell against the door, someone began pounding and shouting from the other side, and through a haze of unbelieving terror, Kate saw Pearce jump up and throw Rowena aside as he jerked the door open and bolted through.
“Kate… are you all right?”
Gideon fumbled at the ropes around her wrists, and Kate could see stark fear etched upon every line of his face. As her bonds fell away, he grabbed her into his arms and held her as if he’d never let her go.
“Oh, Kate… oh, my dear Kate….”
“Rowena,” she could scarcely speak, “is… that Rowena? Is she really all right?”
“I’m all right,” the girl said, and to Kate’s astonishment Tawney stood up and pushed back the veil with a bewildered smile. “Oh, Kate, he could have killed you!”
“Kate! Kate!” As the door burst wide, Denzil raced in, braking to a stop as he saw Kate in Gideon’s arms.
With a cavalier grin, Gideon stood aside and nodded. “Please … be my guest. You’ve certainly earned it.”
Clutched tightly against Denzil’s chest, Kate clung to him and cried while Gideon herded them all from the room. Out in the hallway, she looked into Denzil’s eyes, trying to smile as he mopped at her face with his handkerchief.
“You’re all cut up,” she worried, reaching out gingerly to his forehead, to the blood trickling down his cheeks.
“It’s nothing,” Denzil brushed her off. “All in the line of duty.”
“But look at you—you’re really hurt.”
“Yeah, he landed a few good punches.” Denzil sighed, then fixed her with a lopsided grin. “But he’s no match for me.”
Over Denzil’s shoulder Kate saw Pearce’s body sprawled on the floor. Gideon examined it, then hoisted it over his shoulder and started down the stairs.
“Come on,” Gideon insisted, “we’ve got to get out of here.”
“Pearce,” Kate mumbled, “is he—?”
“Out cold,” Denzil said, looking particularly proud of himself. And then at Kate’s questioning look, he held out his broken hand. “Fastest fist in the west.”
“Denzil, you are so weird.”
“You’re right.”
“And”—she smiled, giving him a kiss—“so wonderful.”
“Right again.” He smiled back. “I thought you’d never notice.”
Chapter 21
“I CAN NEVER MAKE it up to you,” Gideon said. “Not after all the pain and disaster you’ve been through.”
“Don’t be silly.” Kate smiled. “It wasn’t your fault.” She glanced over at Denzil and the van, hardly able to believe everything was over. “And after all, I caused you some pain, too.”
“You did at that,” Gideon nodded, rubbing the swollen place on his head. “What a pitcher you’d make—your aim is superb.” He gave a wry grin. “And I should be very angry at you, anyway, suspecting me like you did, when all along…” His voice trailed away, the smile fading. “The doctors say it all began long ago, Pearce’s obsession with Rowena. And then… when I had to be away… William must have made terrible threats, done horrible things to torment them. When Pearce set the fire to get rid of William and killed Rowena by mistake… well… there was no hope then. Killing William was inevitable… only a matter of time.”
Kate shook her head. “So Pearce did confess. I’m so sorry, Gideon.” She reached for his hand, her voice hesitant. “Then… will you ever be able to find William?”
Gideon made a harsh sound in his throat. “We’ll probably never find all of him; Pearce—Rowena—scattered
him all over camp, and can only recall a few of the graves. One by the lake… one near your cabin. One in the dumpster behind the lodge… .” He looked down, not seeing Kate’s shudder.
“He’s Pearce now. Sitting down there, talking to the doctors, he’ll be Pearce for a while. He’s been telling them all about Rowena and how he needs to come home to care for her because I have other interests and can’t be depended upon when she needs someone. And he’s telling them how jealous Rowena is of you … and how she’d kill you if she could. Just like she killed Merriam.”
For a moment there was silence. Kate gently squeezed his fingers.
“She truly was brilliant, you know,” Gideon said softly. “And truly mad. My parents simply couldn’t face the truth of what she was… what she would always be. Yet they couldn’t bring themselves to abandon her to some institution… and so they hid her away from the world.” He nodded slightly, his face thoughtful. “So it really wasn’t her fault, you see. It really wasn’t….”
Kate’s fingertips brushed his cheek. “If you hadn’t shown up when you did, I would be dead now. I know Pearce would have killed me. You saved my life.”
“Your friend Tawney saved your life,” Gideon said modestly. “She ran back to find Denzil and suddenly realized you weren’t behind her like she thought.”
Kate chuckled. “It never occurred to me that she’d just leave.”
“Denzil found me in the hall and got me moving again. He’s the one who thought to go upstairs.”
“You acted so strange when I saw you—it really scared me. That’s why I thought—”
“That I was going to strangle you, wasn’t that it? Well, I’m sure I was rather frightening,” Gideon agreed. “Pearce had managed to drug my coffee with something he’d taken from the clinic. I don’t know how long I was out—obviously long enough for him, as Rowena, to set fire to your cabin. Rowena was feeling desperate at that point—Pearce had admitted on the way home that he was attracted to you, and Rowena couldn’t let that happen.”
“But what about his foot? It must have been excruciating to walk on.”
Teacher's Pet (Point Horror) Page 15