Nora Roberts - Carnal Innocence

Her mind was so full of what was to come, she paid little attention to the voices. It wasn't until she heard the fury in them that she stopped, wondering how she could avoid walking in on an argument.

When she saw Josie and Dwayne standing in the front drive beside Josie's car, Caroline automatically stepped back, thinking she could hurry around the side terrace. She hesitated just long enough to see the knife Dwayne held.

She froze where she was, beside the end column on the graceful front porch, watching, stunned, as brother and sister faced each other over the blade. Across the lawn, beyond the cotton field, revelers waited impatiently for full dark and celebration. Here, where the crickets were just beginning their chorus in the grass and a whippoorwill perched in a magnolia and called for a mate, the two were unaware of being observed.

"You just can't do it. You just can't," Josie said furiously. "You have to see that, Dwayne."

"I see the knife. Jesus, Josie." He turned it in his hand, staring at the dull glint as if hypnotized.

"Give it to me." She struggled to keep her voice calm and even. "Just give it to me, and I'll take care of everything."

"I can't. Name of God, Josie, you have to see that I can't. It's gone too far now. Sweet Jesus, Arnette… Francie. I can see them. I can see them, Josie. It's like some sort of awful dream. But it isn't a dream."

"Stop it." Leaning her face close to his, she closed her fingers around the wrist of his knife hand. "You stop it right now. What you're talking about doing is crazy, just crazy. I'm not going to allow it."

"I have to-"

"You have to listen to me. And that's goddamn all you have to do. Look at me, Dwayne. I want you to look at me." When his gaze locked on hers, she spoke quietly again. "We're family, Dwayne. That means we stick together."

His sweaty fingers loosened on the hasp of the knife. "I'd do anything for you, Josie. You know that. But this is-"

"That's good." Smiling a little, she eased the knife away. From her stance by the column, Caroline nearly groaned with relief. "Here's what you're going to do for me now. You're going to trust me to take care of things."

Shaking his head, Dwayne covered his face. "How can you?"

"Just leave it to me. You trust Josie, Dwayne. You go on back down to the field and watch those fireworks. Put this all right out of your mind. That's important. You just put it aside, and I'll take care of the knife."

He let his hands drop. Uncovered, his face was gray and stricken. "I'd never hurt you, Josie. You know I wouldn't. But I'm scared. If it happens again-"

"It won't." After dropping the knife into her voluminous purse she looked back at him. "It's not going to happen again." Gently, she laid her hands on his shoulders. "We're going to put it all behind us."

"I want to believe that. Maybe we should tell Tucker, and he-"

"No." Impatient, Josie gave him a quick shake. "I don't want him to know, and telling him isn't going to clean your conscience, Dwayne, so leave it be. Just leave it be," she repeated. "Go on back down, and I'll do what needs to be done."

He pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes, as if trying to block out the horror. "I can't think. I just can't think straight."

"Then don't think. Just do what I say. Go on. I'll be along soon as I can."

He took two steps away before turning, then stopped, his head down, his shoulders bowed. "Josie, why did it happen?"

She reached out, but her fingers stopped short of touching him. "We'll talk about it, Dwayne. Don't worry anymore."

He didn't see Caroline as he walked away, but she could see the devastation and torment on his face. The shadows swallowed him.

For another moment she stood still as a statue, her heart throbbing hard and slow in her throat, the scent of roses and fear swimming in her head.

Dwayne was responsible for the brutal deaths of five women. The brother of the man she loved was a murderer. A brother, Caroline knew, whom Tucker was deeply devoted to.

And she ached for them, ached for them all. For the pain that was already felt, and the pain yet to come. With all of her heart she wished she could turn and walk away, pretend she had never heard, never seen. Never knew.

But Josie was wrong. Tucker had to be told. No matter how deep and strong the family ties, this was not something to be handled by a loving sister. Tucker had to be told, and prepared for what must happen next. Josie needed to be there. They would all need to be there.

Quietly, Caroline moved to the porch and up, through the door and into the house. The silence was already oppressive as she climbed the stairs to the second floor. No matter how she tried, she couldn't find the right words. She stopped at Josie's doorway and looked in.

The chaos of the room was in marked opposition to the stillness of the woman who stood at the open french doors. The cheerful clash of scents and mixed colors was overpowered by the encroaching dark and the sense of gloom.

"Josie." Though Caroline spoke softly, she saw Josie stiffen before she turned. In the shadows, her face was pale as a ghost's.

"They'll be shooting off those fireworks in a minute, Caroline. You don't want to miss them."

"I'm sorry." When she realized she was still carrying her violin case, she set it aside and gestured helplessly with her hands. "Josie, I'm so sorry. I don't know if I can help, but I'll do what I can."

"What are you sorry about, Caroline?"

"I heard. You and Dwayne. Alter one shuddering breath, she stepped into the room. "I heard you. I saw him with the knife, Josie."

"Oh, God." On a moan of despair, Josie sunk into a chair to cover her face with her hands. "Oh, God, why?"

"I'm sorry." Caroline crossed the room to crouch at Josie's feet. "I can't even imagine how you must be feeling, but I do want to help."

"Just stay out of it." Voice edgy, Josie dropped her hands to her lap. Though her eyes were wet, the heat behind them would dry tears quickly. "If you want to help, stay out of it."

"You know I can't. Not just because of Tucker and the way I feel about him."

"That's just why you should stay out of it." Josie grabbed her hands, the slim, tense fingers wrapping like wires around Caroline's. "I know you care about him, you don't want him hurt. You've got to leave this to me."

"If I did, what then?"

"Then it'll be done with. It'll be forgotten."

"Josie, those women are dead. No matter how ill Dwayne is, that can't be ignored. It can't be forgotten."

"Bringing it all out, tearing the family apart, isn't going to make them any less dead."

"It's a matter of right, Josie. And of helping Dwayne."

"Help?" Her voice rose as she pushed herself out of the chair. "Going to prison won't help."

"His mind isn't right." Wearily, Caroline rose. It was growing too dark to see. She turned on Josie's bedside lamp and chased away some of the shadows with a rosy glow. "Loving him's a start, but he's going to need professional help. Not only to find out why, but to prevent him from doing it again."

"Maybe they deserved to die." As she paced, Josie rubbed hard at her pounding temples. "People do, and it isn't cold to say so. You didn't know any of them the way I did, so who are you to judge?"

"I'm not judging, but I don't think you believe anyone deserved to die that way. If something isn't done, someone else might die. You can't stop it, Josie."

"I think you're right about that." She passed her hand over her eyes. "I'd hoped, with Dwayne so miserable-but I guess I knew all along. It's blood," she murmured, lifting her head to stare at her own face in the mirror. "Like a wild dog, once you've tasted it, there's no going back. There's just no going back, Caro."

Caroline moved over to her so that their eyes met in the glass. "We'll find good doctors for him. I know one who'll help."