Iris Johansen - Quicksand

She stood up. "I've already made my choice. It's Joe. And I'm an old-fashioned monogamist. Therefore, any reaching out would have to include him. I'll see you later, Montalvo."

"Don't run away." He stood up and threw some bills on the table. "If you're uncomfortable, I'll talk about anything you like. It's a long time until we have to go into that swamp. You don't want to be alone and neither do I." He took her elbow. "Let's go for a walk and see if we can find a souvenir store."

He had turned off that charismatic intimacy as if it had never existed. Relief surged through her. He was right. She wanted the time to pass like lightning, and company would help. "Why a souvenir store?"

"I want to buy a T-shirt with an alligator on it for Miguel. It may remind him to keep his hands out of that swamp water tonight."

THE SUN WAS GOING DOWNand casting a weird golden light over the swamp as Montalvo, Eve, Megan, and Phillip walked from their car down to the dock.

Megan shivered. "It looks like something from a macabre fantasy movie."

"Swamps can be beautiful," Montalvo said. "But, yes, they're always eerie."

"Dammit, I don't want to stay on this blasted dock," Phillip said. "I want to be in that boat with you, Megan. You might need me."

"I always need you," Megan said gently. "But I can't let you go, Phillip."

"It will be safer if I'm the one closest to you. You know that's true."

Eve frowned, puzzled. "What are you talking about?"

Megan didn't answer her. "No, Phillip, it will be okay. I've told them how it has to be." Megan smiled. "Now stay here and hold down the fort. Will you do that for me?"

"I seem to have no choice," Phillip said. "It's a mistake, Megan."

"I know. The whole thing is a mistake. None of us have a choice." She looked at Eve. "When is Kistle going to call you?"

"I don't know. It could be anytime now." She saw Joe and Miguel standing beside two motorboats near the end of the dock. Joe was looking down at a map and she could sense the intensity that radiated from him. "Let's hope Bubba was able to supply some information about that island."

Then Joe looked up and she unconsciously stiffened. Intensity? Oh, yes. She had thought she had seen his reckless intensity at Clayborne Forest, but this was even a cut above. He was in warrior mode.

"Did you find out anything?" she asked.

"Not much." Joe pointed to an area in the south. "Miguel's guide said that he vaguely remembers a water lily bed resembling that kind of T-shape near an island about here. But there's an island to the north that had a grove of cypresses that resembles the one in the photo. So we might as well flip a coin." He shrugged. "But the clue is probably bogus anyway. We all know he's leading us into a trap. It's just pointing us in the direction where he's waiting." He glanced at Megan. "So finding a grave where she might hear her voices isn't that important. He may not even be near there."

"And then he might," Eve said. "And if he's planning on killing Laura Ann, then he might take her to the same place where he took other kills. He's very careful, very thorough. Look at all the preparations he made for disposing of Bobby Joe. He's familiar with that particular area and he probably hasn't had time to scope out any other places in this godforsaken place. He's been moving fast since he left Clayborne Forest."

He shrugged. "I was just trying to eliminate a useless member of our little party."

"Thank you," Megan said sarcastically. "I appreciate your concern."

"And I'm probably more useless than Megan will be," Eve said. "Except I'm the bait and that may have value." She looked out over the tea-colored water at the trees that were wreathed now in a bloodred glow from the setting sun. He was in there somewhere. He was waiting. She could feel him.

Call me, bastard.

Let me know that little girl is alive.

"ARE YOU ENJOYING THE BOATride, Laura Ann?" Kistle asked as he dipped his oar into the water. "It's beginning to get dark. See all the shadows. That cypress tree looks like a monster, doesn't it? With its roots spreading like an octopus beneath the water." He felt the excitement building as he looked around him. It had been a long time since he'd been to this swamp. What pleasure he had experienced here. The fear, the blood, the power… "There are all kinds of monsters here. There's an alligator hiding near that island waiting to be fed. Perhaps I'll decide to feed you to him."

Laura Ann tried to keep from sobbing. He always smiled when she cried. He liked it.

"You see how the water is moving, shivering? Some say that's the peat masses on the floor of the swamp trembling. But I know better. Even the water knows about the monsters."

She wouldn't look at the water. She was afraid she'd see what he wanted her to see. She stared straight at him.

"I'm getting tired of you not talking to me. There's no one around now, so I'm going to take your gag off. If you scream, I'll throw you off the boat and let the monsters have you." He leaned forward and cut the ropes binding her wrists and then ripped the tape off her mouth. "Did that hurt? An alligator's teeth can rip and hurt much more."

Her mouth was swollen and stinging. Don't let him know. "Didn't hurt," she said defiantly. "And I don't think there are any monsters in this swamp. You're a liar."

"Yes, I am," he said. "And you're very smart to realize it. I'd only throw you to the alligators as a last resort. Because I'm the only real monster in this place and I want to spend a long time ripping and tearing at you."

Don't cry. Don't cry. "The police will get you and burn you up in one of those electric chairs. Or that lady will come and help me."

"Eve. Yes, she'll come and try to help you." He took out his phone. "And it's about time I called her and told her how safe and happy you are. I'm sure she'll want to speak to you. But, little bitch that you are, you aren't going to reflect the mood I wanted to show her." He dialed quickly. "Here I am, Eve. I was just telling Laura Ann about the monsters that live here in the swamp. She thinks you're the knight who can come and slay them. I'm waiting for you to come and try." He listened for a moment and then handed the phone to Laura Ann. "Like you, she thinks I'm liar. Talk to her."

"Hello."

"Listen, baby, I know you're in a scary place, but try not to be afraid of it. He's the one you have to be afraid of," Eve said. "I don't know how long it's going to be before we find you, but we will do it."

"He says he wants to hurt me."

"And that means he needs time to do it. You'll be safe for a little while. But if you find any way, get away from him. He's worse than anything in that swamp, Laura Ann. We'll find you."

"He's a bad man," she said fiercely. "I wish I could push him off the boat and let the alligators eat him."

Kistle took the phone away from her. "Charming, isn't she? She's going to be a real pleasure. Now I have to take her to Bonnie's haven. I'm sure that your little girl is lonely, aren't you?" He hung up. "What a vicious little girl you are." He picked up the paddle again. "You've been a real disappointment to me, but I'm sure that will change."

Get away from him.

He's worse than the swamp.

He hadn't tied her up again. Maybe she'd get a chance soon.

But she could see a black alligator slide away from the island and into the water.

Don't cry.

"SHE'S STILL ALIVE." EVEhung up the phone. "But I think the only thing that's keeping him from killing her is that she's annoying him. He's not used to defiance and it's infuriating him. He wants to break her slowly."

"As he did Bobby Joe." Megan's lips tightened. "You were right, he's worse than anything else she'd face in that swamp."