Koontz, Dean - Children of the Storm
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Transcript of Koontz, Dean - Children of the Storm
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Dean Koontz (Deanna Dwyer) Children of the storm
[Version 2.0 by BuddyDk august 3 2003]
[Easy read, easy print]
[Completely new scan]
[Some spelling errors has been left as is (This is an old book)]
NO HAVEN . . .
As she and the children stood by the windows, watching the sea whichglittered madly with reflected moonlight, Sonya felt more at peace than shehad for a long time. The solidity of Seawatch made her feel as if she were in afortress, sealed away from harm . . .
Alex destroyed that mood in a moment. Are you worried? he asked.Sonya did not look away from the sea. hy should ! be worried?"e won#t hurt you.She looked at Alex. "is eyes were $ery dark, almost too dark to see in the
meager light. ho won#t?"e scuffed his small feet on the carpet and looked back at the rolling sea.
The man.hat man?%ou know, said Tina. The man who says he is going to kill me and Alex .
. .
PUT PLEASURE IN YOUR READINGLarger type makes the diere!"e
This &AS% &%& &dition is set in large, clear type'at least () percent largerthan usual. !t is printed on scientifically tinted non*glare paper for better con*trast and less eyestrain.
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%ou won#t want to miss these three no$els of gothic suspense by +eanna +wyer'alta$ailable in ancer &asy*&ye editions-
#$%&'()* DE+ON ,HILD
#$%&'%-* LEGA,Y O TERROR
#$%&/(0* DAN,E 1ITH THE DEVIL
ationally distributed by /urtis /irculation /o. !f not a$ailable from your local newsstand, you may orderdirect from ancer 0ooks, !nc., 123) 0roadway, ew %ork, .%. 1))(3. 4lease enclose 526 for each title,plus 1)6 per copy extra for postage and handling. A postcard re7uest will bring you a copy of our latestcatalog of the best in new and famous paperbacks.
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/"!+8& 9: T"& ST98;Dea!!a D2yer
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A A/&8 099irst+ imagine yo8d li.e to meet the rest of
the staff/:
6#f *orse+: ,onya said/
60his way+ then/:
68ll tag along+: "ill ?eterson whispered to her/
68d appre*iate it+: she said+ smiling than.flly at him/ ,he hoped the rest of the staff was more
li.e "ill than li.e &enry/
0hey followed the red'*arpeted *orridor to the rear of the hose+ went throgh a white+ swinging
door and into the .it*hen+ whi*h was flly twenty'fi!e'feet on a side and eAipped with all the latest
gadgets and *on!enien*es/ ll the applian*es were new+ white and *hrome+ the pots and pans all
*opper'plated/ n the middle of the room+ at a hea!y+ bilt'in table that *ontained a doble sin.+ awoman &enry8s age was grating a blo*. of swiss *heese into a large por*elain bowl/
,he loo.ed p+ her *hbby fa*e slightly red+ her dar. eyes ali!e and yong+ pt down the blo*.
of *heese and said+ 6Bho ha!e we here:
6,onya Carter+: &enry said/ 60he woman who8ll be ta.ing *are of the *hildren/: &e loo.ed at
,onya and said+ 60his is &elga+ the *oo./:
6lad to meet yo+: ,onya said/
6,ame here+ same here+: &elga said/ ,he had stood p+ from her tall stool+ as if this were a for'
mal meeting+ and ,onya *old see that the *hbbiness etended beyond her fa*e/ ,he appeared to be
the sort of *oo. who *onstantly sampled her own preparations/
60here8s not a *oo. in the islands *ompares to &elga+: "ill ?eterson said/ 60han. od for the
sea and the boat and all the other things to do arond here/ f there weren8t a lot of ways to eer*ise+
we8d all be as stot as &elga herself/:
0he *oo. blshed prodly and sat down again+ pi*.ed p the *heese and loo.ed at ,onya nder
her eyebrows/ 6$othing really that spe*ial+: she said+ shyly/
6&elga8s also too modest for her own good+: ?eterson said/
,he blshed e!en more and retrned to grating her *heese/
t that moment+ the ba*. door opened+ and a small+ tidy woman in her mid'fifties *ame in from
otside+ brshing her small hands together more as if to satisfy herself that some *hore was
*ompleted than to a*tally *lean them/ ,he appeared to be the sort of woman who wold ne!er ha!e
to wash her hands+ simply be*ase she was also the type of woman who wold ne!er get them dirty
in the first pla*e/ &er hair was nearly all white+ drawn ba*. from arond her sharp fa*e and tied in abn at the ba*. of her head/ ,he wore no lipsti*. or ma.ep+ bt had a flawless *ompleion for a
woman her age/ ,he wore a simple+ light ble dress that !agely resembled a niform+ and she
mo!ed with a sprightliness that ,onya had often seen in *areer nrses who en3oyed their 3obs and
were li.e new girls in the hospital after e!en thirty years of ser!i*e/
6y wife+: &enry eplained to ,onya/ nd the girl thoght that+ for a moment+ some of the old
man8s !inegar seeped away+ as if this woman *old sweeten him merely by her presen*e/ 0o his
wife+ he said+ 6"ess+ this is ,onya Carter+ the .ids8 tea*her/:
"ess *rossed the .it*hen and too. ,onya8s hands+ loo.ed p at her li.e some *on*erned mother
assessing her son8s fian*e/ ,he grinned+ glan*ed past ,onya at "ill ?eterson+ then ba*. at the girl+
and she said+ 6Bell+ 8m sre "ill *oldn8t be more pleased/: 0here was a tone of mis*hief in her
!oi*e/ 6fter all+ ntil now+ he8s had to ta.e the boat to adelope and e!en farther to loo. at
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pretty girls/ &e8ll be sa!ing himself the trip+ now/:
,onya felt herself blshing+ as &elga had blshed earlier+ and she wished she had a blo*. of
*heese to grate+ something to hide herself in/
"t if "ess were mis*hie!os+ she was also *onsiderate+ and she relie!ed ,onya8s
embarrassment as easily as she had *ased it+ by as.ing Aestions abot the trip down from the,tates/ >or se!eral mintes+ they stood there in the .it*hen+ tal.ing+ as if they had .nown ea*h other
for years and were only *at*hing p on things after a short separation/ &enry *ontined to soften
noti*eably arond his wife+ and ,onya felt *ertain that the *enter of the Dogherty hosehold was
probably not r/ Dogherty or rs/ Dogherty or either of their *hildren-bt was "ess/
6Bell+: &enry said after a few mintes+ 6she oght to meet the others/ nd then 8d gess she
wants to freshen p and rest after that trip/:
65eroy8s otside+ pat*hing the *on*rete at the pa!ilion+: "ess said/ 6 was 3st tal.ing to him/:
&enry lead ,onya and ?eterson otside+ onto the mat of togh tropi*al grass that *o!ered the
lawn li.e a flawless *arpet+ too. them down a winding flagstone wal.way toward an open'air pa'
!ilion down near the easterly bea*h/ 0he bilding was perhaps forty feet long and twenty wide+ with
pi*ni* tables and ben*hes arranged arond its waist'high rail walls/ 0he roof was shingled tightlybt la*ed o!er with palm fronds to gi!e the illsion of primiti!e *onstr*tion+ and the final effe*t
was e*eedingly pleasant/
6rs/ Dogherty li.es to sit here in the morning+ when its *ool and when the inse*ts are not ot/
,he reads a lot+: &enry informed them/
5eroy ills+ the handyman who was wor.ing on the pa!ilion floor+ stood o!er his most re*ent
pie*e of pat*hwor.+ wat*hing their approa*h+ smiling n*ertainly/ &e appeared to be in his mid dle
thirties+ small and dar.+ with an oli!e *ompleion that indi*ated talian or ?erto @i*an blood/ &e
was thin+ bt with a stringy toghness that made it *lear he was not a wea. man at all/
&enry made the introd*tions in a *lipped fashion and finished with+ 65eroy li!ed in "oston for
a time/:
6@eally: ,onya as.ed/ 6 went to s*hool there/:
5eroy nodded/ 60oo *old in "oston+ for me/:
6e+ too+: she said/ 6Bhat part of "oston are yo from:
6 part don8t li.e to remember+: 5eroy said+ still smiling neasily/ 6 ha!en8t li!ed there for
Aite a while now/ was r/ Dogherty8s handyman in $ew =ersey+ before we mo!ed here/:
6o were a handyman8 in "oston+ too: she as.ed+ trying to ma.e some pleasant *on!ersation/
0hogh he seemed ni*e enogh+ 5eroy ills was not parti*larly easy to engage in *on!ersation/
6es+ there too/:
68m a fmble fingers myself+: she said/ 6 admire someone who *an fi things/:
6f yo need something repaired+ almost anything+ 3st *all for me+: he said/ &e loo.ed at the
wet *on*rete at his feet/ 6$ow+ if yo8ll e*se me+ 8!e got to get ba*. to wor./:0heir *on!ersation had been a most mndane one+ yet it st*. with ,onya all the way ba*. to
the hose/ ills had been so n*ommni*ati!e+ e!en thogh &enry+ by mentioning "oston+ had
pro!ided them with a simple ta.e'off point for an e*hange of greetings/ #f *orse+ ills might
only be shy+ as &elga so ob!iosly was/ nd+ when all was said and done+ did she really .now
anything more abot the others than she did abot the handyman &elga was too shy to say m*h/
"ill ?eterson was tal.ati!e and open bt had not said m*h abot himself4 li.ewise+ "ess/ nd
&enry+ of *orse+ had said little be*ase+ as ?eterson had eplained+ he was ha!ing a bad day/ et / /
/ ills8 n*ommni*ati!e natre seemed different-as if he were being prposeflly se*reti!e/ ,he
had as.ed where he li!ed in "oston4 he had a!oided saying/ ,he had as.ed what he did there4 he
had s.ipped that sb3e*t too/ ,he realized+ now+ that he had been *ompletely *ir*itos in his
responses+ as if she had been Aestioning him rather than ma.ing polite *on!ersation/
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t the hose again+ she shrgged off the in*ident/ ,he was bilding pro!erbial montains ot of
molehills-all be*ase of the story ?eterson had told her on the way o!er from Pointe-a-Pitre.
Child mobsters+ threatening telephone *alls+ poison pen letters+ madmen'on'the'loose-none of
these things made for pea*e of mind+ and all of them ser!ed to set the imagination wor.ing o!er'
time/n the front foyer again+ "ill ?eterson said+ 6Bell+ 8ll lea!e yo to yor rest for now and see yo
at dinner/ o8ll meet the Doghertys then+ too/:
60hey eat meals with s: she as.ed+ srprised/
?eterson laghed/ 6t8s a demo*rati* hosehold+ all the way/ =oe Dogherty is in no way a snob+
and he rns a li!ely dinner table/ 5eroy+ yo and will eat e!ening meals with the family4 the
.it*hen staff+ whi*h has to be *oo.ing and ser!ing+ will eat separately+ of *orse/:
6,ee yo at dinner+ then/:
,he followed &enry p the wide *entral stair*ase to the se*ond floor+ along that main *orridor to
the far end where her room lay at the sotheast *orner of the great hose/
0he *hamber was painted a restfl shade of beige+ with an inlaid tea. *eiling/ Dar. ble *arpet+
the *olor of *lean seawater+ ga!e deli*iosly beneath her feet/ 0he frnitre was all hand'*ar!ed red*edar+ as &enry eplained/ t was in a ?olynesian mode+ with god fa*es hewn into most of the open
srfa*es and with holy symbols-fish+ sns+ moons+ stars+ lea!es-*t in between the fa*es/ t was
all hea!y and ri*h+ not in the least bit feminine bt ,onya li.ed it/ ,he had ne!er really been one for
frills+ la*es and satins+ bt preferred things that were different, niAe/ nd this was *ertainly as
different as she *old ha!e as.ed for/ fll bath+ in dar. bles and greens+ lay off her main room
and in*lded shower and sn.en tb/ &er *loset was nearly as large as a whole bedroom itself/
6ay help yo npa*.: &enry as.ed+ after bringing the last of her bags/
6$o than.s+: she said/ 68ll feel more at home if set things p myself/:
6Dinner at eight o8*lo*.+ then+: &enry said/ 6o8ll find the family in the front dining room/:
6>ine+: she said/ 60han. yo+ &enry/:
&e nodded+ and he left withot ma.ing a sond+ *losing the hea!y wooden door as softly as a
professional brglar stealing away from the s*ene of his *rime/
,onya went first to the single window in her room+ a large+ many'paned sheet of glass that ga!e
!iew of the ba*. lawn+ the flagstone path+ most of the pa!ilion at the foot of the hill and+ beyond
that+ the white bea*h and the endless ble'green sea/ t was a beatifl !iew+ and she .new she
wold ma.e it her first stop e!ery morning when she got ot of bed+ a Ai*. glan*e at those mar!el'
os s.ies+ at the palms and sand and the brea.ers rolling relentlessly in toward shore/ t was all so
*lean+ so ali!e+ so free of death/ #r it seemed to be/
,he remembered the man who had threatened to .ill the Dogherty *hildren+ and she wondered /
/ /
$et+ she went to her dresser and eamined her refle*tion in the o!ersized o!al mirror/ &er long+yellow hair had already been blea*hed a shade or two lighter by the tropi* sn+ and it wold be
nearly pre white in a few wee.s/ &er fa*e was pale+ bt that *old be *hanged in a few days/ >or
the most part she loo.ed fine+ e*ept for the weariness of all her re*ent tra!els+ whi*h showed in an
ndefinable film+ a thin mas. of ehastion/
brptly+ she realized that she had been loo.ing at herself only to dis*o!er what .ind of a
pi*tre she had presented to "ill ?eterson+ and she blshed anew+ thogh there was no one to see
her this time/ ,he felt li.e a silly yong girl str*. by a 3!enile infatation+ rather than li.e a
matre yong woman+ and she loo.ed away from her refle*tion+ afraid that she wold a**identally
*at*h her own eyes+ meet her own gaze and end p laghing at herself/
nstead+ she stdied the frame of the large mirror+ whi*h was also of red *edar+ *ar!ed to form
two long slim alligators/ 0heir s*aly tails to*hed at the base of the mirror+ hiding the strdy bra*es
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that atta*hed the pie*e to the top of the dresser+ while their wide and toothy moths met snot'to'
snot at the top of the mirror/ t was a beatifl pie*e+ of e*ellent *raftsmanship-bt it was also
somewhat sinister/
,he trned away from the mirror altogether and opened her first sit*ase+ plled ot the
*areflly folded *lothes and began to fill p the hangers in the enormos wal.'in *loset/ ,he wasnearly half finished with her npa*.ing when the .no*. *ame at her door+ lod and rapid and
insistent/ ,he finished slipping a dress onto another hanger and pt that away in the *loset before
she went to see who .no*.ed/
Bhen she opened the door+ she stepped ba*. slightly+ s*.ing in her breath+ wondering whether
she oght to slam the door sht again/ 0he man on the other side was positi!ely mena*ing better
than si feet tall+ so broad at the sholders that- had he been wearing a 3a*.et instead of a light'
weight white shirt-she might ha!e thoght he was wearing padding/ &is *hest was hge+ stoma*h
flat+ arms li.e those of a serios'minded weight'lifter-all *orded with ms*le+ thi*. and sinewy/
&is fa*e was broad+ his featres *rde enogh to be the preliminary wor. of a s*lptor ha*.ing at a
new pie*e of granite/ &is eyes were intensely ble and wat*hfl+ his nose twisted and gristly from
ha!ing on*e been bro.en and badly repaired/ &is lips were thin+ almost *rel+ and were not now*rled into either a smile or a frown+ bt held tight and bloodless and straight+ as if he were 3st
barely able to hold down his fry/ ,he *old not imagine what he *old be frios with her for/
6iss Carter:
&is !oi*e was hard+ raspy+ and-if a !oi*e *old be des*ribed by more than sond-*old
enogh to *hill her/
6es:
&er own !oi*e sonded small+ wea. and miserable by *omparison+ and she wondered if he *old
sense her n*ertainty and her fear/
6y name8s @dolph ,aine/:
6?leased to meet yo+: she said+ thogh she was not parti*larly pleased at all/
&e said+ 68m the *hildrens8 bodygard/:
6 hadn8t heard they had one+: she said/
&e nodded/ 60hat8s nderstandable/ 0he other members of the staff don8t .now me that well yet+
and sin*e they8!e all been together for years+ sort of fade ot of their minds/ only *ame on with
r/ Dogherty when he had to mo!e down here/ nd most of my time is spent with the .ids+ away
from the others/:
6Bell+ r/ ,aine+: she said+ 6 imagine yo and will be seeing Aite a lot of ea*h other/: 0he
prospe*t didn8t please her+ bt she tried to smile for him/
6es+: he said/ &e loo.ed at her *areflly+ as if s*rtinizing a possibly dangeros inse*t+ appar'
ently de*ided she had no sting/ 68d li.e to tal. with yo abot the *hidrens8 safety-some Do8s and
Don8ts+ if yo want to *all them that/: &e had mo!ed his lips+ bt he had still a!oided smiling orfrowning+ almost as if those epressions were *ompletely beyond him/ ,onya fond him too sober
and serios to be at ease with/
68m 3st npa*.ing-: she began/
6 won8t ta.e long/:
6Bell-:
6 want to get some things straight+ between s+ right from the !ery start/:
,he hesitated a moment more+ then stepped ba*.+ holding the door+ and said+ 6Come in/:
@dolph ,aine sat in the largest of the two easy *hairs in the room and nearly filled it to
o!erflowing/ &e gripped the *edar arms in his hands+ as if he were afraid the thing might start to fly
at any moment-or as if he thoght he might ha!e to get p in a great rsh and lan*h himself at
some enemy or other/
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,onya *hose the edge of the mammoth ?olynesian bed and said+ 6$ow+ r/ ,aine+ what shold
.now:
&e said+ 6o mst ne!er ta.e the .ids anywhere withot *alling me first/ %!ery time yo
!entre away from the hose+ yo mst be *ertain that am with yo/:
6,onds simple enogh/:6%!en if yo8re only ta.ing them ot to the pa!ilion+: he elaborated+ 6 want to go along/:
68ll remember that/:
6 feel they8re safe within the hose itself+ dring the daylight hors anyway+ bt ne!er feel
*omfortable when they8re otside/:
6 *an nderstand that/:
6%!en when they8re in the hose+: ,aine went on+ 68m right there with them abot half the time
-or 8m within sight of them+ or within earshot if they shold *all for me/:
,onya spposed ,aine8s diligen*e was admirable+ bt she wished that he woldn8t go on abot it
so+ for it only ser!ed to remind her what "ill ?eterson had told her on the boat+ earlier/ ,he was
trying to thin. abot the !itality of the Caribbean+ the bright ftre she had+ the good times that
awaited her/ ,he did not want to fa*e the fa*t that death might ha!e followed her from the north intothis snny land/
,he said+ 6@est assred+ 8ll not ta.e them anywhere withot yo/:
&is thin lips seemed to grow e!en thinner/ &e said+ 6 sleep net to their room+ and sally re'
main awa.e ntil for in the morning+ for it8s between two and for that most people *hoose to
brea. into a hose/ sleep from for ntil ele!en+ and 8m p and ready for dty by noon/ 8d appre'
*iate it if yo *old limit yor e*rsions+ away from the hose+ to the afternoons or e!enings/:
6$o troble+: ,onya said/
60han. yo/:
6nything else: she as.ed+ getting p+ trying to imply by her mo!ement that she wasn8t
anios to hear anything else+ e!en if he were not finished/
6#ne thing/:
60hat is:
&e hesitated+ loo.ed away from her for the first time and+ then+ gaming resoltion from some
sor*e she *old not gess+ loo.ed ba*. again and said+ 6#**asionally+ iss Carter+ yo might
thin. that it isn8t ne*essary to *all for me-so long as another member of the staff is with yo and
the *hildren/ want yo to nderstand that no one else *an ta.e my pla*e in this respe*t/ o mst
always *all for me+ no matter who on the staff offers to a**ompany yo in my pla*e/ nd if+ for
some reason+ am not a!ailable-shold it be my day off+ or shold be on the mainland for some
other reason+ yo mst *an*el yor plans and remain with the *hildren in the hose/:
,he felt that *hill along her ba*.bone again+ li.e a fingernail of i*e sli*ing her flesh/
6Do yo nderstand: he as.ed/6es/:
6 wold appre*iate it if yo didn8t tell the rest of the staff what ha!e 3st told yo/:
Hietly+ her !oi*e nearly a whisper+ thogh she had not meant for it to be so low+ ,onya said+
60hen yo don8t trst them:
6$o/:
6$one of them:
6$one/:
60hen yo thin. that those threats might ha!e been made by someone within the hosehold:
,aine stood p with flid gra*e+ li.e an n*rling *at despite all his ms*les/ &e towered o!er
her+ and he loo.ed *apable of handling anyone who might try to harm the *hildren/
&e said+ 6?erhaps/:
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,he said+ 6s there anyone yo sspe*t espe*ially:
6%!eryone/:
6%!en me:
6o too/:
,he said+ 6"t didn8t e!en .now the Doghertys when they were ha!ing all this troble/:&e said nothing/
,he was determined to press the isse/ 6Bell &ow *an yo thin. might be the gilty one:
6 did not say *old show how all the sspe*ts *ame to be sspe*ts in my mind/ y personal
form of 3dgment does not operate a**ording to the normal standards of law+ iss Carter/ n my
personal+ pri!ate+ mental *ort+ e!eryone is gilty ntil pro!en inno*ent/:
6 see/:
&e went to the door+ opened it+ trned and loo.ed at her with those pier*ingly ble+ ble eyes/
6,in*e yo will be nearly as responsible for the *hildren as me+ iss Carter+ sggest that yo
adopt my own pessimism/ 0rst no one bt yorself/:
6$ot e!en yo:
6$ot e!en me+: he said/&e stepped into the *orridor+ *losed the door and wal.ed Aietly away+ the deep'pile *arpet
soa.ing p his footsteps/
,onya had lost her enthsiasm for npa*.ing/
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0&@%%
0he front dining room was flly forty feet long and twenty wide+ *ontaining an enormos *hina
*loset+ the longest dining table that ,onya e!er had seen+ and a liberal sprin.ling of obets d'art-
paintings+ metal s*lptres+ glass and marble figrines in both eAisite miniatres and larger sizes+
elaborately hand'*ar!ed *andlesti*. holders in !arios dar. woods-whi*h somehow made the
pla*e seem *ozier and less formal than its heroi* dimensions might otherwise ha!e made it/ 0he
table was set with epensi!e wedgewood *hina and de*orated with fresh floral *enterpie*es-min'
iatre pompoms+ blood roses+ *hrysanthemms- all against a royal ble linen table*loth that ga!e
the pla*e settings a *ool+ relaed feeling/
%ight diners+ well'spa*ed from one another+ sat arond the large table+ for members of the staff
and for of the family/ "ill ?eterson+ @dolph ,aine+ 5eroy ills and ,onya sat along both sides ofthe table+ in *ompany with le and 0ina Dogherty+ the two *hildren/ =oe Dogherty and his wife+
&elen+ sat at opposite ends of the table+ for an effe*t+ ,onya thoght+ that was almost baronial+
despite the friendly atmosphere and all that was done to ma.e her feel at ease/
=oe Dogherty was a tall+ lan.y+ easy'going man+ with a deep !oi*e that wold ha!e made him a
natral for the !oi*e'o!er in almost any tele!ision *ommer*ial/ &e had sandy'red hair that was fll
o!er his ears and *rling at his *ollar+ a splash of fre*.les a*ross his nose and *hee.s/ &is smile had
made her feel wel*ome immediately/
0he fa*t that ,onya had ne!er e!en met her new employer before a**epting the position and
ma.ing arrangements for the 3orney to the Doghertys8 pri!ate island was the single thing that
5ynda ,palding+ her roommate+ had fond the most ir.some/ 6&ow *an yo go that far to wor. for
people yo8!e ne!er e!en seen+ ne!er e!en talked to on the telephone+ ne!er written to &ow in theworld do yo .now if yo8re going to li.e them o probably won't li.e them/ nd e!en if yo
find that yo *an endre them+ how do yo .now they won8t ta.e an immediate disli.e to yo
,ppose+ after a *ople of days+ they de*ide that yo8re 3st not right for them or for their .ids+ or
something+ and they let yo go ll that time yo8ll ha!e wasted+ all that money for airplane fares+
ship fares;:
?atiently+ trying not to show her anger+ ,onya had said+ 6r/ Dogherty8s paying all my tra!el
epenses/:
6es+ bt that wasted time if they-:
68m sre+ if for some strange reason+ we don8t hit it off well+ r/ Dogherty won8t Aibble abot
paying my retrn fares and gi!ing me a handsome *he*. for se!eren*e pay/ o .eep forgetting+
5ynda+ that he8s a millionaire/:6 still thin. this is a mista.e/:
f ,onya had wanted to be trthfl with the ,palding girl+ she wold ha!e had to agree that the
whole sitation was 3st a bit nsal/ &owe!er+ she .new that a single agreement+ on e!en a matter
that was basi*ally in*onseAential+ wold only gi!e 5ynda more *onfiden*e+ more fel to *arry on
her pessimisti* tirades+ her heated role as a dobting 0homas/ nd ,onya had had Aite enogh of
these one'sided *on!ersations+ for they showed her more abot 5ynda ,palding than she really
wanted to .now/ ,o she worried in pri!ate/
=oseph Dogherty was an almns+ one of the most distingished almni+ of ,onya8s own
ni!ersity/ @eglarly+ he donated rather large sms of money to the s*hool to help in the
*onstr*tion of this s*ien*e lab+ or that stdents8 longe+ or this s*lptre garden/ / / / $atrally+
when he reAired a ttor for his two *hildren+ he preferred to hire someone who was also a gradate
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of his alma mater+ and he trned the sele*tion of that someone o!er to Dr/ Balter 0oomey+ the Dean
of ,tdent ?ersonnel and a personal end of the Dogherty family/
Bhen she had been *alled to Dean 0oomey8s offi*e+ at the end of gst-she had been a fll'
year stdent+ finishing for years of wor. in only three years+ and she had ths been *ompleting her
ed*ation in gst-she had not .nown what to epe*t-bt she had *ertainly ne!er anti*ipatedthat the *onferen*e in!ol!ed an offer of employment from a millionaire;
68!e ta.en the liberty+: Dr/ 0oomey eplained+ on*e he had gi!en her the general otline of the
3ob and her potential employers+ 6of sending r/ Dogherty yor re*ords from the ni!ersity/ &e
has seen them+ gi!en his final appro!al/ f yo want the 3ob+ it8s yors/:
6"t he8s ne!er e!en met me;: she8d said+ in*redlos/
6r/ Dogherty8s a !ery bsy man+: 0oomey had eplained/ 6&e doesn8t ha!e time to inter!iew
potential employees/ nd he trsts my 3dgment+ for we8!e been friends for a good many years
now/:
6"t with all the people yo *old ha!e *hosen+ why *hoose me: ,onya as.ed+ beginning to be
e*ited+ bt still wary/
6Come+ iss Carter+: Dean 0oomey said+ smiling gently+ 6yo8re being far too modest/:6$o+ really+ -:
6>or one thing+ yo8!e got the highest grade a!erage in yor field+ in yor gradating *lass/ >or
another+ dring yor three years here+ yo8!e been *onstantly in!ol!ed in etra'*rri*lar a*ti!ities
drama *lb+ the *amps pea*e mo!ement+ the yearboo. staff+ the newspaper / / / o8re .nown as a
doer+ someone who a**omplishes things+ and yo8re also .nown as an optimisti*+ immensely
pleasant yong woman/:
,onya was flshed bright red+ and she did not ma.e any *omments/
6>rthermore+: 0oomey said+ 6o8!e got a degree in nrsing+ an e*ellent spare talent for a
go!ernness and ttor who will be spending m*h time with a*ti!e yong *hildren/:
,he had seen the logi* of that+ bt still she worried abot meeting her employers/ ,he needn8t
ha!e worried+ for they were Aite personable people+ the Doghertys/
$ow+ on Distingue, the roast had been ser!ed+ *omplete with si different !egetables+ all rather
eoti*+ and =oe Dogherty was Aestioning her abot her trip from "oston+ pn*tating her remar.s
with amsing ane*dotes abot his own eperien*es with airlines-lost baggage+ a martini that was
a**identally made *ompletely with !ermoth and no gin/
&elen Dogherty was more Aiet than her hsband+ thogh she was in no way aloof or snobbish/
,he was an e*eptionally lo!ely woman+ with high+ aristo*rati* *hee.bones+ a pert nose+ thin bt
somehow friendly lips+ a ri*h fall of abrn hair framing her deli*ate fa*e/ ,he was a slim woman+
one *learly born to position4 she mo!ed with a flid gra*e+ whether wal.ing to the table or merely
salting her potatoes+ that mst ha!e *ome+ in part at least+ from ha!ing been raised in the !ery best
pri!ate s*hools where a third of the *lassroom hors were spent in the establishment of goodmanners and habits of gra*ios elegan*e/
0he *hildren-nine'year'old le and se!en'year'old 0ina-sat side'by'side near their mother8s
end of the table+ on *shion'raised *hairs+ both dar.'haired+ dar.'eyed and beatifl/ 0hey were
dressed pretty m*h ali.e in simple+ ser!i*eable 3eans and lightweight tee'shirts+ *lean bt *ertainly
not formal/ #**asionally giggling+ offering their own obser!ations+ bt mostly Aiet+ they *omple'
mented the air of *asal formality-if there *old be s*h a thing+ a mitre of easiness and dis'
tan*e/ ?erhaps the distan*e+ the lingering note of formality was all in ,onya8s own mind4 after all+
she had ne!er been this *lose to a millionaire and his family+ and she *old not bring herself to thin.
of them as 3st a!erage fol.s/
6 hope "ill didn8t s*are yo too badly on the way o!er from Pointe-a-Pitre, =oe Dogherty
said/ 6,ometimes+ he thin.s theLady Jane is a ra*ing boat+ and he pts her throgh her pa*es/:
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6t .eeps the engines in good *ondition to open her p now and again+: "ill said/ 6o8re 3st
too land'bond to appre*iate a good fast *abin *riser/:
=oe Dogherty grinned+ win.ed at ,onya/ 6 don8t thin. it8s my landlbber leanings that trn me
against speed boating/ $o+ instead+ thin. it8s 3st a *ombination of good *ommon sense and-:
6"ad digestion: "ill ?eterson sggested+ good'natredly/6$o+: Dogherty *h*.led/ 6ood *ommon sense and-a good strong fear;:
&elen laghed/ 60hat sms it p for me+ too/:
Cat*hing the spirit of nderlying hmor that eisted between the Doghertys and their help+
,onya said+ 6Bell+ he *ame ot here at top speed from adelope+ bt didn8t mind at all/:
6o see;: ?eterson *ried+ trimphant/
6 3st stood there by the wheel+ at the safety railing+ and didn8t faint on*e/ f yo don8t belie!e
me+ yo *an go loo. at the railing-and yo8ll see where my fingers bent it/:
6"etrayed+: ?eterson said gloomily/
6Did "ill ta.e yo on a tor arond the island+ before do*.ing: &elen as.ed/
6$o+: ,onya said/ 6 was anios to get here+ get to wor./:
60omorrow+ then+: &elen said/6y pleasre+: "ill said/
6 still *an8t get sed to the fa*t yo own a whole island+: ,onya said+ sha.ing her head/
>or the first time+ =oe Dogherty8s fa*e *loded+ and he loo.ed less than perfe*tly happy/ 6Be
don8t+ ea*tly+: he said/
6"t thoght-: she began/
6Be own most of it+: &elen eplained/ 6"t the "lenwell family has the *o!e at the far end of
Distingue, and they own the &aw. &ose whi*h o!erloo.s the *o!e/:
6 offered them an e*ellent pri*e+: Dogherty eplained/ 6>ar too e*ellent for people their age
to trn down/: &e laid down his for.+ wiped his moth with a ble linen nap.in/ 65ydia and Balter
"lenwell are in their se!enties+ far too old to li!e half an hor from the nearest amblan*e ser!i*e
and an hor or more from the nearest hospital/ 0heir *hildren li!e in =amai*a+ and p arond iami+
bt they steadfastly refse to lea!e &aw. &ose/:
6nd that8s the falt of Ken "lenwell+: "ill ?eterson said/ &e sonded as if he did not m*h li.e
Ken "lenwell/
6o8re right+ of *orse+: Dogherty said/ &e eplained 65ydia and Balter ha!e raised one of
their grand*hildren sin*e he was two years old/ 0he boy8s father was .illed at the otbrea. of the
Korean war+ and his mother+ not a "lenwell girl+ ne!er was !ery stable/ ,he had to be instittional'
ized when the *hild was two+ and she died at her own hand while in the-the home/:
adhouse, ,onya thoght/ ,he didn8t .now why Dogherty8s ephemism+ when spea.ing abot
a neighbor+ was so frightening/
6nd her son+ he8s in his mid'twenties by now+ Balter and 5ydia8s grand*hild+ has ta.en it in hishead to own &aw. &ose when they8re gone/ &e persades them to hold ot/ &ell+ he e!en per'
saded old Balter to *ome to me and try to by ot or three'Aarters of Distingue. ,eems Kenneth
wants to own the whole shebang some day/:
6Be don8t intend to sell+ of *orse+: &elen Dogherty said/
6#f *orse+: her hsband agreed/
,he said+ 6Be lo!e this hose-its old name was ,eawat*h+ whi*h is rather fitting when yo
*onsider it *ommands a !iew of the sea from three of its for sides-and we lo!e the island too/ t8s
s*h a Aiet pla*e+ so beatifl and *lean and fresh/ t8s li.e a mon.8s retreat+ in a way+ a pla*e to es'
*ape from-from the e!eryday *ares that plage the rest of the world/:
"t ,onya saw+ as the woman hesitated in the middle of her last senten*e+ that &elen Dogherty
did not *onsider ,eawat*h an es*ape from ordinary day'to'day *ares / / / $o+ more li.ely+ this
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lo!ely+ wealthy woman saw it as an es*ape from the madman who had threatened the li!es of her
*hildren/ %!en as she spo.e+ she trned her head e!er'so'slightly to loo. pon her two *hildren+ as
if she wished to be *ertain that they were still beside her+ still *lose at hand+ still safe and not
snat*hed p and *arted away while her attention had been elsewhere/
,onya loo.ed at "ill ?eterson to see if he had noti*ed &elen8s in!olntary moment of fear/&e had/
&e win.ed at ,onya+ smiled+ as if he were trying to restore the mood of good'hmored ribbing
whi*h had dominated at the table ntil only a few moments ago/
,he did not win. ba*./
,he loo.ed at 5eroy ills+ his eyes on his plate+ Aiet and withdrawn+ shy-or giltily a!oiding
&elen Dogherty/ Bhi*h was it
,onya loo.ed away from 5eroy ills+ feeling *hilled and m*h too helpless in the fa*e of s*h
brooding e!il that she sensed all abot her+ and she loo.ed a*ross the table at the bodygard+ @'
dolph ,aine+ whom she was startled to see staring ba*. at her/ ,he blin.ed in *onfsion+ bt he did
not/ &e stared nwa!eringly+ nblin.ingly+ his broad forehead slightly frrowed as if he were
*on*entrating on some pzzle or other+ his intensely ble eyes+ li.e *hips of wet+ bright glassfloating in water+ lo*.ed on her own eyes+ held/
,he smiled at him+ e!en thogh her smile did not *ome natrally or e!en easily/
&e did not smile ba*./
,he loo.ed away from him+ flstered+ bt fond herself snea.ing another glan*e in his dire*tion
to as*ertain whether or not he was still so terribly interested in her/
&e was/
&e had not loo.ed away/
,he trned Ai*.ly toward &elen Dogherty+ then loo.ed at the woman8s hsband+ hoping
someone wold say something+ anything+ to brea. this sdden+ inepli*able+ male!olent spell whi*h
had des*ended on the entire *ompany li.e the tension in the air 3st before a ma3or smmer thn'
derstorm/
60hen+: =oe Dogherty said+ li.e a hea!en'sent breath of fresh air+ 6tomorrow yo8ll rela+ tor
the island+ get a little sn+ refresh yorself/ Bednesday8s soon enogh to begin the .ids8 lessons/:
,onya loo.ed at the *hildren+ and fond them loo.ing shyly at her+ loo.ing p nder the eye'
brows+ heads tilted+ tentati!e smiles on their small+ *herbi* fa*es/ s all *hildren did when fa*ed
with a new tea*her+ they wold be wondering what she was li.e+ whether she wold be stern or
friendly+ whether she wold li.e them or be indifferent/
6Bell+: she said to Dogherty/ 6 really had wanted to get started as soon as possible+ sir/:
6y name8s =oe+: he *orre*ted her+ ami*ably enogh/ 6Be go by first names arond here/ y
father and mother were stffy+ position'*ons*ios nou"eau ri#he, and won8t rn a hose where e!'
eryone goes arond in star*hed *ollars/:6=oe+ then+: she said+ smiling/ 68!e stdied the reAisites listed by the island go!ernment/ 8!e
seen the tests-or samples of them-the *hildren will ha!e to pass net spring in order to be
offi*ially raised in grade le!el/ 8m really !ery anios to begin/:
&e wa!ed her into silen*e+ not imperiosly+ bt good'hmoredly/ 60hese s*amps ha!e had an
etended !a*ation+ and it8s time they were made to wor./:
6hhh+: both .ids said+ in nison/
6Hiet in the peant gallery+: Dogherty said/ 0o ,onya+ he said+ 6&owe!er+ one etra day of
freedom will not set them ba*. any frther than they already are+ and 8m absoltely insistent that
yo settle into the rotine here onDistingue in a manner befitting the traditional leisrely ways of
the tropi*s/:
&appily+ ,onya said+ 6Bhate!er yo say+ =oe/:
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0he *hildren *heered her/
6$atral'born goldbri*.ers+: Dogherty said+ affe*tionately/
,onya loo.ed p at ,aine again+ fond that he was still s*rtinizing her+ wat*hing her rea*tions
to e!erything that went on at the dinner table+ and+ in some mysterios way+ forming an opinion of
her+ ma.ing 3dgments+ de*iding 3st how far she *old be trsted/,he felt as if she were on trial+ and she realized that+ in ,aine8s mind+ she was/ ,he remembered
what he8d said abot not trsting anyone at all+ and she retrned his stare this time+ e!alating him
in the same way that he was smming her p/ n a moment+ he realized that the tables had trned
and that she was 3dging him/ &e smiled at her and retrned to his e*ellent food/
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>#F@
fter spper+ le and 0ina+ at their father8s sggestion+ too. ,onya on a tor of ,eawat*h+ be'
ginning with the rest of the grond floor/ ,he learned that+ be*ase the sea lay so near beneath the
srfa*e of the island+ the hose had no basement4 s*h a sbterranean *hamber wold ha!e always
been filled with bra*.ish salt water/ Fnwillingly+ ,onya thoght of 5ynda ,palding8s many
warnings abot the power of the sea dring a hrri*ane / / /
,he had already seen the front dining room where they had 3st eaten+ and the ltra'modern
.it*hen where+ earlier+ &elga had been so determinedly grating that blo*. of *heese/ "t there was
more+ m*h more+ still to see/
*ross from the front dining room was a *ombination longe and drawing room+ with hea!y oa.
frnitre in a ,panish motif+ the biAitos red *arpet+ bla*. !el!et drapes+ a *ool and *alminggloom that warm+ indire*t lighting only partially dispelled/
6Bhen we ha!e gests+: le said+ ta.ing his role as gide Aite seriosly+ 6they sally *ome
in here/:
0ina+ his sister+ who was on the far side of le+ peered arond him and loo.ed shyly at ,onya/
6o8re not 3st a gest+ are yo:
6$o+: ,onya said/
6,he8s or new tea*her+: le eplained+ patiently/
6ood+: 0ina said/ ,he shoo. her head positi!ely+ her dar. hair bon*ing/ 6 thin. 8ll li.e yo/:
,onya *h*.led/ 6Bell+ 0ina+ 8ll do my best to ma.e yo absoltely sre of that/:
0hey went from the drawing room into the hobby room+ where there were wor.ben*hes littered
with all manner of *ameras+ *amera parts+ pro3e*tors+ tools+ s*raps of film and of white leader tape+editing eAipment and sta*.s of film *ans/
6Dad8s hobby is mo!ies+: le eplained/
0ina giggled/ 6&e ma.es some fnny ones/:
6nd mom8s a-still-photographer+: he said+ pronon*ing ea*h syllable of the last word with
the tmost *are+ as if he were reading it from a prepared inde *ard/ &e pointed to a door at the far
end of the room and said+ 60hat8s the dar.room+ where they de!elop the film/ t really is awfl dar.
-e*ept for these prple lights they ha!e/:
6Be8re not allowed in there+: 0ina said+ solemnly/
6o shold .now+: her brother said/
,he sighed/ 0o ,onya+ she said+ 6 went in on*e/ got span.ed/:
6Dad had a reel of film on the drying ra*.s/ t was spoiled+: the boy eplained/ 60hat8s the firstand last span.ing we e!er got/:
6"t we8re allowed ot here+: 0ina said+ pointing to a table flan.ed by two high stools/ 6le
ma.es his airplane models there+ and pt my pzzles together/:
$et+ they *ame into a small dining room+ less than half the size of the one in whi*h they had
earlier ta.en their spper4 here for or fi!e people *old dine *omfortably+ a !ery *ozy noo. not
meant to hold large dinner parties/ ost li.ely+ this was the brea.fast and ln*h room+ for meals
that might be eaten by two or three members of the hosehold+ at all different hors/
0he grond floor also *ontained a game room+ with a reglation size pool table+ a ping pong
table+ *olor tele!ision set+ shel!es of games and a lot of *omfortable+ beaten p old bla*. !inyl arm
*hairs/ Conne*ting with the game room was a library flly as large as the drawing room or the front
dining room+ all for walls bilt p with shel!es from floor to *eiling and at least ten or fifteen
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thosand !olmes shel!ed neatly arond s*attered pie*es of s*lptre/ 0heroom also *ontained a
large+ dar. pine des. and a mat*hing *aptain8s *hair+ se!eral hea!ily'padded easy *hairs arranged
beside tall+ hea!y'loo.ing ltra'modern steel floor lamps/
#n the se*ond floor+ the stairwell di!ided the li!ing spa*e into two distin*t *lsters of rooms+ in
two long hallways/ 0he family8s bedrooms were to the left+ the staff8s to the right (e*ept for ,aine8sbedroom+ whi*h was in the family se*tion)/
0hey went p to the third floor+ whi*h was only half'sized+ dire*tly abo!e the family8s portion of
the se*ond le!el/
60his is father8s stdy+: le said/
6Be *an *ome p here+: 0ina eplained/ 6"t only when it8s absoltely ne*essary/: s le had
stmbled o!er the word 6photographer+: the little girl spo.e her pie*e as if Aoting her father/
=oe Dogherty8s stdy was *ertainly an impressi!e room as large as the drawing room down'
stairs+ airy and yet homey+ well'frnished+ *ontaining yet another two thosand boo.s of all types+
with a beamed *eiling and two long windows toward the front of the hose+ whi*h loo.ed ot on
palm trees+ white bea*h+ and the sea that *rled toward the land with *ontless+ white'edged tonges
of water/ #ne had the feeling that great de*isions had been made within the walls of this room+ thatenormos finan*ial isses were *onsidered and *areflly dealt with/ t the gadget'stdded des.+
Dogherty had added and sbtra*ted figres that ,onya .new she wold find meaningless be*ase
of their enormity/ t these windows+ perhaps+ he had stared at other #*ean+ gaining serenity and
perspe*ti!e with whi*h to o!er*ome his .nottier problems/
nd now as she and the *hildren stood by those same windows+ wat*hing the sea whi*h glittered
madly with refle*ted moonlight+ ,onya felt more at pea*e than she had for Aite a long time/ &er
parents had been dead for many years/ nd+ already+ it seemed that her grandmother had been dead
for as long+ for years instead of months/ nd what "ill ?eterson and @dolph ,aine had told her
abot the madman who8d threatened the Dogherty *hildren-all of that was li.e something she had
on*e read in a story+ not li.e something she had eperien*ed+ something that *old be real/ 0he
solidity of ,eawat*h made her feel as if she were in a fortress+ sealed away from harm+ in a great
bbble of safety passing throgh the riotos flow of time withot sffering any damage/
le destroyed that mood in a moment/
6re yo worried: he as.ed/
,onya did not loo. away from the sea/
,he said+ 6Bhy shold be worried:
6&e won8t hrt yo/:
,he loo.ed at le/
&is eyes were !ery dar.+ almost too dar. to see in the meager light of the des. lamp that was
*lear a*ross the room/
,he said+ 6Bho won8t:&e s*ffed his small feet on the *arpet+ and he loo.ed away from her as if he were embarrassed/
&e loo.ed ba*. at the rolling sea+ and he said+ 60he man/:
6an:
6es/:
6Bhat man:
0ina said+ 6o .now/ 0he man he says is going to .ill s+ me and le/:
6Bho says that:
0ina said+ 60he man/ &e says it himself/:
6$o one is going to .ill yo+: ,onya said+ firmly+ softly/ "t she didn8t really .now how she
*old be so sre of that/
0he pea*eflness of the night+ the sea and the palms had swiftly disappeared+ to be repla*ed by a
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brooding male!olen*e+ li.e a large 3ngle *at waiting to spring on its prey/
6&e promised that he wold+: le said/
6Bell-:
6&e promised+ se!eral times+ that he8d get the both of s+ me and 0ina/: Criosly enogh+ the
boy did not sond frightened so m*h as intriged by the possibility of death/ ,he .new that yong*hildren were not as frightened by s*h things as adlts+ and that they e!en en3oyed !i*arios !io'
len*e in a way adlts had lost the taste for (witness their lo!e of gory fairy tales+ of %dgar llan ?oe
and similar ma*abre literatre)/ "t this seemed *ooly sinister+ this *asal a**eptan*e of their own
mortality/
6Bho told yo abot this: ,onya as.ed/ ,he had imagined that the worst of the sitation had+
!ery properly+ been hidden from the *hildren/
6$o one parti*lar+: le said/
6Be 3st listened arond+: 0ina piped p/
6Be heard things+: le said/
6Bhen no one .new we were listening+: 0ina added/ ,he sonded Aite pleased with their
stealth+6o shold both be pri!ate dete*ti!es-or spies+: ,onya told them+ trying to lighten the mood
again/
6nyway+: le said+ 6don8t worry abot him/ &e8s not interested in yo+ 3st in s/:
6Bell+ yo8re 3st as safe as am+: ,onya said/ 6r/ ,aine sees to that/:
6&e goes with s e!erywhere+: 0ina said/
6%a*tly/:
le shrgged/ 6@dolph *an8t do m*h if the man is really after s/ f he really wants s+ bad+
what *an @dolph do:
6 belie!e r/ ,aine *old handle anyone+: ,onya said/ 6nyone at all/: ,he smiled at them and
hoped her smile did not appear as phony as it really was/
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>E%
0he man stood nder the la*y palm trees+ down near the that*h'roofed pa!ilion where &elen
Dogherty li.ed to go e!ery morning to sit and read while the sea mrmred gently behind her/ &e
was dressed in dar. *lothes+ and he was all bt in!isible in the deep prple shadows of the trees+
li.e a spirit+ a spe*ter/ 0he moonlight to*hed the lawn+ to*hed the top of the palm fronds abo!e
him+ bt did not to*h him+ as if it were afraid of him+ as if it were prposeflly a!oiding *onta*t
with him/
&e wat*hed the hose/
%spe*ially the *hildren8s windows/
5ight shone there/
&e hoped to get a glimpse of them *rossing the room+ a Ai*. flash of a small shadow / / / &efelt powerfl+ good and deadly when he wat*hed them withot their .nowledge/ ,*h *landestine
obser!ation made him feel that he really was in!isible+ that he *old mo!e against them whene!er
he felt li.e it/
,ome night+ not now bt soon+ when the room was dar. and the .ids were asleep+ when ,aine
was espe*ially la+ when e!eryone had all bt forgotten abot the threats / / /
/ / / then he wold stri.e;
&e wold be Ai*./
&e wold be *alm/
nd silent/
Hi*.+ *alm+ silent+ deadly/
&e wold ha!e to forget abot tortring them+ of *orse+ thogh that had been s*h an importantpart of his original plan+ before this+ before the family had mo!ed here to the island/ $ow+ in s*h
*lose Aarters+ the *hildren wold be able to smmon help rather Ai*.ly/ f he tortred them+ they8d
s*ream and s*ream and s*ream / / / nd they8d be heard+ and he8d be apprehended before he *old
es*ape/
,aine was not that la+ e!er/
#ne swift+ *lean *t+ from ear to ear+ opening their tender yong throats li.e ripe frits/
&e wold .ill the boy first+ withot wa.ing the little girl/ 0hen he wold *reep+ silently as wind+
to her bed+ where he wold open her throat as he had her brother8s+ swiftly+ *almly+ Aietly/ 0hen+
when there was absoltely no danger of their *rying ot for help+ he wold leisrely wor. on them
with the .nife / / /
$ow+ wat*hing their lighted room+ standing by the palms near the pa!ilion+ the man too. the.nife from his po*.et and opened it/
&e held it in front of him+ so that moonlight str*. his hand and glinted wi*.edly on the se!en'
in*h blade/
t was Aite sharp/
&e spent a good deal of time honing it/
&e ran a finger along the blade/
5o!ely/
t wold do the 3ob/
Bhen the time *ame/
,oon/
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,I
60here it is-&aw. &ose;:
"ill ?eterson shoted o!er the roar of the Lady Jane's engines+ pointing with one hand while+
with the other+ he broght them rapidly arond the point ofDistingue, ot of the *almer waters in
the lee of the land and into the *hoppy wa!elets that ponded in toward the sheltered *o!e and were
bro.en p on the hoo.ing arms of bea*h/
,onya shielded her eyes from the glaring afternoon sn and stared at the old+ dar. hose that
loomed+ almost mena*ingly+ on the hill abo!e the *o!e/ ts windows were li.e bla*.+ blinded eyes+
its por*hes and bal*onies li.e nhealthy growths sproting from its weathered walls/ t was m*h
li.e ,eawat*h+ really4 bt where ,eawat*h loo.ed wel*oming and warm+ &aw. &ose seemed fore'
boding and *old/?eterson *t the engines ba*.+ bringing a *omparati!e Aietde to the open waters/
&e said+ 6r/ Dogherty wold li.e to own it/ &e8d remodel it and se it as a gest hose-
maybe as a retreat for friends and bsiness asso*iates/:
6re we going in to shore: ,onya as.ed/
6Bhat for:
&e seemed srprised that she had as.ed/
,he said+ 6 thoght we *old meet the neighbors/:
&is epression *hanged+ in the instant+ *loded+ his eyes narrowing to slits+ and he said+ 6o
woldn8t want to meet them/:
6re they really so bad as all that:
60hey8d gi!e yo a re*eption abot as *old and rde as yo8d be able to sr!i!e/ *on!ersationwith the "lenwells always lea!es me with i*i*les hanging from my earlobes and the end of my
nose/:
,onya laghed/
6@eally+: he said+ still somewhat serios/ 60he Doghertys and their people are not parti*larly
wel*ome at &aw. &ose/:
s they rea*hed the entran*e to the narrow *o!e and mo!ed a*ross its moth+ ,onya spotted a
tall+ !ery deeply tanned+ dar.'haired yong man+ perhaps ?eterson8s age+ standing on a small pier at
the throat of the *o!e+ wearing white sla*.s and a white tee'shirt/ &e appeared to be there for no
other prpose than to wat*h them as they ronded the tip of the island/
6Bho8s that: she as.ed/
6Bhere:,he pointed/
,he thoght ?eterson stiffened when he *aght sight of the dar. figre who stood so motionless+
bt she *old not be sre/
6t8s Kenneth "lenwell+: he said/
60he grandson:
6es/:
t that moment+ almost as if he had been listening to their *on!ersation despite the two hndred
yards of open water that separated them+ and despite the persistent growl of Lady Jane's engines+
Kenneth "lenwell *asally raised a pair of dar.+ hea!y bino*lars+ to get a better loo. at them/
0he sn glinted off the bino*lar lenses/
,onya+ embarrassed+ loo.ed swiftly away/
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6"astard+: ?eterson snapped+ with feeling+ as if he thoght "lenwell #ould hear/
6*tally+: ,onya said+ 6we8re the ones who8re snooping/ sppose he has a perfe*tly legal right
to *ome ot on the pier and *he*. s ot/:
6&e already .nows who we are+: ?eterson said/
6&e doesn8t .now me/:60hen he does now/:
?eterson a**elerated+ broght the small*abin *riser p toward its top speed+ ar*hing slightly
ot toward the more open water+ bt hemmed in by sandbars+ he was nable to pll *ompletely
away as he might ha!e li.ed to/
s they rea*hed the far arm of white'white bea*h that formed half the little *o!e+ as land rose
p+ and palm trees+ to *on*eal them from "lenwell+ ,onya stole one Ai*.+ last loo. ba*.ward at
their mysterios neighbor/
&e appeared+ from a distan*e+ to ha!e the glasses trained dire*tly on ,onya8s eyes/ s a reslt+
she felt as if they were only in*hes apart+ as if they were on the pier together/ 0heir eyes had lo*.ed
in some inepli*able+ hypnoti* gaze+ and they *old not brea. free of ea*h other/
rising hillo*.+ and the thi*.ening stand of pines+ *t ,onya off from Kenneth "lenwell8ssteady gaze+ and she snapped awa.e li.e a girl *oming ot of a nap+ startled and ill'at'ease+ won'
dering what had *ome o!er her/
6Basn8t it his mother+: she as.ed ?eterson+ 6who was sent away to the-madhose:
6es/ nd if yo as. me+ thin. the madness was passed on from the mother to the son/:
6Bhy do yo say that:
?eterson frowned+ loo.ing at the *hoppy ble sea on the windward side of Distingue,bt it was
not the slightly angry waters whi*h had generated the frown/ &e said+ 6t8s hard to pin down/ "t if
yo e!er meet him+ yo8ll nderstand why said that/ &e8s-*old+ withdrawn+ !ery sober/ &e gi!es
yo the feeling- don8t .now how-that he8s only the form of a man+ that inside he8s *ompletely
hollow/:
6 see/:
,he trned to the lo!ely s*enery and didn8t as. any more Aestions/ ,he didn8t want to ha!e to
listen to any more answers/
5ater that afternoon+ when they went swimming off the point from ,eawat*h+ se!eral hndred
yards ot in the Caribbean+ sing the Lady Jane as their base+ ,onya eperien*ed the etremes of
rea*tion to her new *ir*mstan*e optimisti* en3oyment-and fearfl anti*ipation of disaster/
0he 3oy *ame from the simple a*t of floating and frolli*.ing on the brilliantly ble'green waters
of the Caribbean+ the sn beating down hot and steady+ the s.y high and wide and nbelie!ably
ble+ glls *ir*ling high o!erhead li.e monitors of their pleasre/ ?eterson had broght the Lady
Jane throgh the wide moth of a sbmerged *oral reef shaped li.e a semi*ir*le with its open fa*etowards shore/ 0his natral *res*ent formed a brea.water that *t the roiling wa!es and left only a
gentle in and ot swell that ,onya ga!e herself o!er to/ ,he lay on her ba*.+ gently mo!ing her
hands to .eep herself afloat+ sin.ing and rising+ bobbing at the di*tates of the gentle sea/ "ill floated
beside her+ bronze already bt growing e!en more tan+ an etremely handsome man+ !ery gay and
!ery !ital+ the perfe*t sort of man to be with on a day li.e this in a pla*e s*h as this/
0hen *ame the fear/
,omething brshed ,onya8s feet+ startling her into a sdden+ lod yelp+ so that she san.+
thrashed+ gained the srfa*e again/
6Bhat8s the matter: ?eterson as.ed/
6 fish+ gess+: she said/ 6t to*hed me+ and wasn8t epe*ting anything li.e that/: ,he
laghed+ bt stopped laghing when she saw that the in*ident did not amse him at all/
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&e was staring intently at the water arond them+ as if he *old see down throgh the glaring
srfa*e/
6,har.s;: he snapped/
6Bhat:
"t she had heard/,he had heard too *learly/
6,wim for the boat+: he ad!ised/ 6a.e as m*h noise as yo *an/ >orget abot being a good
swimmer4 3st thrash the water to a boil/ $oise s*ares them off/:
n a minte or so+ they were both standing on the de*. of the Lady Jane, dripping saltwater on
the polished boards+ safe/
6 always thoght the reef formed a barrier against them+: ?eterson said4 wiping his fa*e with a
towel/ 6"t they mst ha!e *ome in from the landward side+ throgh the open end/:
,onya was shi!ering so badly that her teeth *hattered together li.e *lamshells/ 6Bold they
ha!e hrt s:
60hey might ha!e/:
6re they still there:&e pointed/
6 don8t see-:
nd then she did see the hard+ bla*. fin+ thrsting ot of the water li.e a .nife+ *ir*ling+ mo!ing
rapidly+ now lost in the glare+ now !isible again/
6&ow many: she as.ed/
6 saw two+: he said/
s she wat*hed the shar. *ir*le and *ir*le+ as if waiting for them to *ome ba*. into the water+
her 3oy e!aporated altogether/ t seemed+ to her+ that the shar. was a portent of things to *ome+ a
sign to beware-to be *atios/
0he sea no longer appeared to be as beatifl as it was only mintes ago / / /
0he s.y was far too bright/
0he sn+ instead of warming and tanning her+ seemed fier*ely+ nmer*iflly hot and she
realized+ belatedly+ that she might as easily brn as tan/
65et8s go in+: she said/
&e started the engines/
Dinner was e!en better Bednesday e!ening than it had been the e!ening before lobster tails
with sweet btter+ s*alloped potatoes+ pepper slaw+ se!eral !egetables+ fresh strawberries and *ream
for dessert/ Con!ersation at the table remained li!ely-a*tally+ now that e!eryone had grown a*'
*stomed to the new addition to the table+ it was li!elier than it had been the night before/
Fnfortnately none of it *old erase ,onya8s feeling of impending disaster/
,he retired to her room at nine'thirty+ *losed and lo*.ed her door+ and made ready for bed/ twas too early for sleep+ and her ner!es were too m*h on edge to permit her to trn ot the lights
3st yet/ ,he had broght se!eral paperba*. no!els with her+ and she propped herself p on pillows+
in the *enter of the ?olynesian bed+ and she began the best of the lot+ trying to get *aght p in the
story/
0wo hors later+ when she had read slightly more than half of the boo.+ she felt sleep steal in
behind her eyes and begin to tg insistently at her hea!y lids m*h li.e a *hild might tg at his
mother8s s.irts/
,he got ot of bed and trned off the lights+ stood for a moment in the *ool dar.ness+ listening
for something bt not .nowing what/
"efore getting nder the *o!ers+ she went to the window and loo.ed ot at the night sea and the
swaying palms / / / s before+ she was ta.en by the beaty of the s*ene+ and she might ha!e stood
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there admiring it for a long while+ might ha!e seen nothing at all ot of the ordinary if the man
standing beneath the palms+ some distan*e from the hose+ had not *hosen that moment to stret*h
his legs/ &e leaned away from the bole of one of the largest palms and stepped ba*. and forth a few
times+ on a short path+ before ta.ing p his !igil again/
@dolph ,aine&e did not seem big enogh to be the bodygard+ thogh he was not a small man/ #r she didn8t
thin. he was/ n the deeps of the shadows+ howe!er+ little abot him was re*ognizable/
,he stood there+ for long mintes+ waiting for him to re!eal himself on*e more/ ,he was *onfi'
dent that he wold not see her+ for the room was dar. behind her/ 0hen+ with a start+ he stepped
from the tree and seemed to gaze p at her+ thogh his fa*e was in shadows+ and she *old only sp'
pose it was she who had attra*ted his sdden interest/ ,he realized that+ in the light of the large
moon+ her white pa3amas mst ha!e shown p li.e a signal flag/
0he stranger-if he was a stranger-trned away from her and abrptly wal.ed off into the
sentinel pines/
n an instant+ he was lost to sight/
,he stepped ba*. from her window+ as if what she had seen was part of an illsion and that+ ifshe trned away from the s*reen on whi*h it had been played-her window-it wold *ease to be
tre and real/ ,he wondered+ briefly+ ifshe shold report this to @dolph ,aine+ bt she de*ided that
she really had nothing to report+ nothing that meant anything/ ,he had seen a man standing in the
shadows of the palms+ near the hose+ wat*hing the hose at night/ nd he had gone away/ Bhat
good wold that information do anyone
$here had he gone?
Bho .new
$ho was he?
,he *oldn8t say/
$hat did she think he was doing there?
,he didn8t want to thin. what he might ha!e been doing there/ ,he had *ome here to get away
from gly thoghts+ old fears+ tension+ aniety/ ,he didn8t want to ha!e to fa*e anything li.e that/
nd sin*e she *old not answer any of the Aestions @dolph ,aine was most li.ely to as.+ she
*old see no sense in dredging p the mess/ ,he wold appear to be nothing more than a slightly
hysteri*al yong woman+ still pset o!er her en*onter with two shar.s dring the afternoon+
sleepy+ seeing things in the night+ illsions+ de*eptions of shadows/ ,he *old do no good what'
soe!er by *rying wolf at e!ery little in*ident that distrbed her+ for then+ if the real troble *ame+
she wold find them slow to rea*t to her *ries for help/
0hat was logi*al+ wise/
@efsing to *onsider the import of her obser!ation+ refsing to dwell on the memory any longer
at all+ ha!ing *on!in*ed herself that she was right to .eep her silen*e+ she went to the large bed andgot beneath the sheets+ snggled down and bried her bright+ blonde head in the flffy pillows/ ,he
wold sleep / / / sleep / / / 0hen e!erything wold be fine/ n the morning+ all of this sense of
onrshing troble+ this fearfl anti*ipation wold be gone/ n the morning/ t wold all be fine+ then/
=st fine/ ,he slept / / /
n the morning+ of *orse+ nothing had impro!ed/
t the ni!ersity+ a year earlier+ a boy named Daryl ?attersen+ whom she had dated for a while
bt abot whom she had ne!er been serios+ told her that he li.ed her so m*h *hiefly be*ase of
her ability to ignore all of the npleasant things in life/ 6 mean+: he told her+ 6yo don8t 3st grin
and bear it when troble stri.es/ o a*tally ignore it; o seem to forget abot the disaster two
mintes after it8s happened/ Bhen yo get a bad test grade+ 8!e seen yo toss the paper away and go
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abot yor bsiness as if yo8d 3st gotten an /:
$atrally+ 5ynda ,palding+ ,onya8s roommate+ a pessimist from the word 6go+: did not loo.
pon this personality Air. as an attribte+ as Daryl did+ bt she saw it as a falt+ a wea.ness+ a
dangeros inadeAa*y that had to be wat*hed *areflly/ 65ife isn8t all roses+ ,onya+ as yo shold
.now by now/ o try too hard to be happy+ and yo wor. too hard to forget the things that8!emade yo nhappy/:
6y own pri!ate psy*hiatrist+: ,onya had said+ slapping her forehead with an open palm/
6,ee+ yo .now 8m telling yo the trth/ o8re trying to trn what say into a 3o.e+ so yo
won8t ha!e to thin. abot it/: 5ater+ she said+ 6o srrond yorself with friends who8re always
3o!ial and in a good mood4 sometimes+ yo ma.e friends with the biggest phonies on *amps+ 3st
be*ase they8re always smiling/:
6 li.e people that smile+: ,onya had said/
6"t no one shold be smiling all the time;:
0his morning+ onDistingue, ,onya had forgotten all of those e*hanges with 5ynda ,palding/
f she remembered anything+ it was Daryl8s sweet and *harming remar.s/
,till+ the air was filled with epe*tan*y+ tense+ waiting/n the net few days+ there was no lessening of that tension/ ,he began ea*h wor.day at ten+
with the *hildren+ going o!er their reading s.ills and seeing what she might do to impro!e them/
>ortnately+ both le and 0ina were e*eptionally bright stdents+ and they needed no en'
*oragement to do their wor.+ for they were as *rios as they were intelligent/ "y noon+ when they
too. a ln*h brea.+ the .ids were sally a good many pages ahead of the lesson whi*h she had
planned for them+ li.e two intelle*tal sponges soa.ing p all that she *old por before them/ fter
ln*h+ arond two o8*lo*.+ they began wor. on arithmeti* and spelling+ some geography and history
for le and some s.ill'games for 0ina/
>riday afternoon+ when they were stdying the map of the Fnited ,tates dring the geography
lesson+ le pointed to the eastern seaboard+ tra*ed the otlines of one state in parti*lar/ 60hat8s
$ew =ersey+: he said/
6es+ it is/:
6Bhere we sed to li!e/:
,onya frowned/ 6es/ o see how far away yo are from there:
6@eal far+: he said/
,he fond adelope for him and+ thogh Distingue was not on the map+ indi*ated their gen'
eral position in relationship to the larger island/
68m glad they s*ared s ot of $ew =ersey+: le said/
6#h:
6eah/ t8s prettier down here/:
65ots prettier+: 0ina added/68d hate to be .illed in $ew =ersey+: le said/ 6Down here+ it wold be better/:
,onya *hose not to Aestion this rather ma*abre statement+ bt went Ai*.ly on with the lesson+
drawing the boy8s attention to the Best Coast+ as far away from $ew =ersey as she *old lead him/
"y for'thirty ea*h afternoon+ finished with lessons+ they were ready for a swim+ a game of tag+
a wal. abot the island-always with @dolph ,aine in tow+ his brly arms+ li.e the arms of a go'
rilla+ swinging loosely at his sides+ his s*owl permanently in pla*e+ his broad fa*e *reased li.e ptty
that had been s*ored with a s*lptor8s blade/
&e *arried a holstered re!ol!er nder his left armpit/
,onya pretended not to noti*e/
nd still+ nothing ntoward happened/
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onday afternoon+ when she had been onDistingue for nearly a wee.+ ,onya was gi!en the last
half of the day off+ for =oe Dogherty wanted to ta.e his .ids to adelope for a *ople of mo!ies
and-he told her+ shddering as if the prospe*t tterly repelled him-spper at their fa!orite greasy
hambrger emporim/ 6 thin. we set the best possible table here at ,eawat*h+: he told ,onya/ ,heagreed/ 6"t+: he said+ 6the .ids tell me that or food 8stin.s8 in *omparison to the hambrgers and
>ren*h fries on adelope/:
6"etter not let &elga hear them say that/:
6$e!er;: he !owed/ 68d rather lose my fortne than lose &elga and her *oo.ing;:
"e*ase "ill ?eterson was to ta.e the Doghertys to the main island+ and be*ase he wold wait
there for them+ ,onya was left to entertain herself for the remainder of the day/ "ill as.ed her to
*ome along and promised her a thorogh tor of Pointe-a-Pitre, bt she said she preferred this
*han*e to get familiar withDistingue.
t two o8*lo*. in the afternoon+ when she wold ordinarily ha!e been *oaing the *hildren into
getting settled for their se*ond stdy period+ ,onya set ot from ,eawat*h to wal. the length of the
island and then home again/ ,he wore white shorts and a lightweight yellow blose+ sandals that*onsisted of little more than a sole and a strap to hold them to her feet/ Despite the giant+ orange sn
and the *lodless hea!ens+ she felt *ool and happy+ loo.ing forward to the epedition/
,he lifted her long+ yellow hair and t*.ed it behind her ears+ to .eep it from blowing arond her
fa*e in the gentle breeze that *ame in from the open sea/ ,he felt fresh+ *lean and !ery ali!e/
,e!eral hndred yards from the hose+ she stopped at a trn in the bea*h to wat*h a be!y of sand
*rabs at play/ Bhen they saw her+ or sensed her+ they bolted p onto their tall+ mlti'fleed rnning
legs and+ loo.ing !ery silly+ s.ittered for *o!er+ dropping onto the sand and+ in an instant+
disappearing from sight/
,he stdied se!eral parrots that flitted from palm to palm+ birds =oe Dogherty had imported and
norished to gi!e the island a sense of *olor and life/
,he also stdied the arrangement of *o*onts at the *rown of a nmber of frit'bearing trees+
wondering if there was any *han*e of her *limbing the bowed bole and retrie!ing one of them/ ,he
de*ided against s*h a re*.less foray+ so long as she was on her own/
,he had gone almost two thirds of the island8s length when+ so sddenly that she let ot a ter'
rified sAeal+ someone stepped ot of the palms along the bea*h and said+ 6&ello+ there;:
6Bho-:
&e was tall+ abot "ill ?eterson8s age and size+ thogh his hair was dar.+ as were his eyes+ and
he was more thoroghly+ ri*hly tanned than "ill+ as if he had been born and raised in the open air+
nder *lear s.ies/ &e was not so handsome as "ill+ bt more rgged+ earthier in a way that made
him loo. somewhat older than he really was/
6Ken "lenwell+: he said+ stepping in front of her and grinning broadly/,he remembered the man whom she had seen when they too. a boat tor arond the island+ the
man standing on the "lenwell pier and wat*hing theLady Jane with field glasses/ ,o this was what
he loo.ed li.e *lose p/
6Do yo ha!e a name: he as.ed+ still grinning/
6#h+ of *orse;: she said+ embarrassed by her lapse/ 6o startled me so+ that sort of lost
tra*./:
6,orry abot that/:
68m ,onya Carter/:
6Bhat a lo!ely name;: he said/
60han. yo/:
6Bere yo *oming to see s:
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&is teeth were e*eptionally white+ strong and broad+ li.e the teeth of a healthy animal/
6Fs:
6y grandparents and me+: he said/ 60he "lenwells Down at &aw. &ose:
6#h+: she said+ 6no/ $o+ was 3st ot for a wal., getting to .now the island/ m *lose to
&aw. &ose+ then:6Hite *lose+ yes/:
6 was en3oying myself so m*h+: she said+ 6that didn8t realize how far 8d *ome/:
&e stood before her+ his bare feet planted wide apart in the warm sand+ almost as if he were
there to stop her from pro*eeding any farther/ &e said+ 6Bell+ this ma.es two disappointments in
less than a wee./:
6#h:
6Bhen yo *ame arond the point inLady Jane, with ?eterson+ thoght yo were *oming to
pay s a !isit then/ "t yo went right on by+ lea!ing me disappointed/: &is grin no longer seemed
as pleasant as it first had4 it seemed positi!ely threatening/ #r was that her imagination es+ it
mst be that imagination+ eaggeration/ &e was still smiling4 he seemed personable and *harming/
60hat was yo on the pier+ with the bino*lars: she as.ed/6o .now it was/:
6 sppose do+ yes/:
6Bill yo a**ept my in!itation to !isit s: he as.ed+ loo.ing down on her/ &e was Aite tall/
68d li.e that/:
6$ow:
,he hesitated+ then said+ 6 don8t see why not/:
6Bonderfl;:
&e stepped ot of her way+ wal.ed p beside her and too. her arm+ as if he thoght she might
trn and rn nless he had a good hold on her/ &is grip was firm4 he appeared inordinately strong/
0hey wal.ed along the bea*h together/ >rom a distan*e+ they might ha!e loo.ed li.e any happy'
go'l*.y *ople/ Fp *lose+ the obser!er wold ha!e seen the lines of tension arond the girl8s eyes+
wold ha!e seen something-something not Aite identifiable+ bt nsettling+ in the big man8s dar.
fa*e/
6o li.e the island: he as.ed/
6t8s beatifl+: she said/
6t is that/ ,omeday+ hope to own it/:
6#h:
6Fnless+ of *orse+ yor employer+ Dogherty+ refses to sell his portion/ "t 8m *onfident that+
gi!en time+ he8ll *ome arond to my offer/ t8s more than adeAate/ &e *old trn a neat profit with
what 8m willing to go for it/:
6"t dobt he needs the money+: she said/ ,he didn8t .now why she felt li.e needling the man+bt she *oldn8t resist the *han*e/
6%!eryone needs the money-or thin.s he does/ illionaires are no different4 Dogherty is no
different/: s the bea*h trned and &aw. &ose *ame into !iew+ he let go her arm/ 6Bhat stri.es
yo most abotDistingue?
60oo many things to *hoose one+: she said/ 60he bea*hes are so pre white/:
60hat8s be*ase they8re white "ol#ani#bea*hes/ 0he sand was formed at the most terrifi* heat-
oh+ ten or twenty thosand years ago+ and maybe longer/ ,rely+ longer/:
6nd the palm trees+: she said+ motioning to the lo!ely green giants to their left where they
*losed in on &aw. &ose/ 6 wanted to *limb one of the *o*ont palms for some frit+ bt was
afraid that 8d fall and *oldn8t *all for help/:
6Be8ll get some *o*onts later+ together+: he said/
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6 li.e the parrots+ too+: ,onya said/ Bhen she tal.ed+ she felt more at ease/ 60hey8re so pretty
and bright/ nd when they ma.e that *awing+ trilling noise+ they ma.e me thin. 8m in some old
mo!ie abot fri*a or ,oth meri*a/:
&e said+ 6 hate the parrots/:
6>or hea!en8s sa.e+ why: she as.ed/60he noise they ma.e is ra*os+ bothersome+: he said/
,he loo.ed at him+ saw that he was serios/ &is 3aw was set tight+ almost as if he were gritting
his teeth/
6"t-:
&e interrpted her 68d eterminate them if owned the island myself/:
60hey8re so pretty+: she insisted/
6"t they don8t belong+: he said/ 60hey8re not a natral lifeform to Distingue. Doghtery
imported them for his own amsement/:
6,o:
60hey simply don8t belong+: he repeated+ gi!ing ea*h word the same+ harsh for*e/
6"y that reasoning+: ,onya said+ 6yo *old arge for the etermination of the %eo%le onDisingue. Be aren8t indigenos to the island either/
Be don8t belong+ natrally spea.ing/ Bhy not eterminate s too:
6aybe yo ha!e something there+: he said/ &e grinned at her+ bt she *old not be *ertain if
the grin were genine/
6&ere we are+: he said+ ta.ing her arm again/ 6Bat*h yor step/:
&e lead her onto the front por*h of &aw. &ose+ opened the door+ and lead her into a gloomy
entran*e hall that smelled of frnitre polish and old la*e *rtains/
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,%E%$
Kenneth "lenwell es*orted ,onya along the dimly lighted main hall to a set of sliding doors+
plled these open in one smooth mo!ement and shered her into a drawing room where the only
light was that whi*h somehow managed to brea. throgh the drawn hal!es of the hea!y+ ble !el!et
drapes-and that eerie ble light whi*h a bla*.'and'white tele!ision set pts forth/ 0he only signs
of life in that room+ at first+ were those glimpsed from the non'life on the tele!ision s*reen the
mo!ement of the a*tors+ *amera *hanges+ the tinny !oi*es and the melodramati* ba*.grond msi*
that rose and fell li.e the sea/
6randmother+ randfather+ 8!e broght *ompany/:
0he !olme on the tele!ision went down+ thogh not off altogether+ as someone with a remote
*ontrol de!i*e rea*ted to Kenneth8s statement/60his is ,onya Carter+: Kenneth said/
6 lo!ely name/: 0he !oi*e had been that of a woman+ bt thin and wea.+ almost a whisper/
60han. yo+: ,onya replied/
"y now+ she had lo*ated the old *ople/ 0hey sat in two ridi*losly o!erstffed *hairs+ abot
ten feet from the tele!ision set+ their feet propped p on ottomans+ tility tables beside them+ *o*.'
tails set ot on the tables/ rotesAely+ it seemed as if they were rooted to the spot+ that they had not
mo!ed in years/ 0hey wold remain there+ e!en as *orpses+ ntil they had rotted and trned to dst/
6"ring her *loser;: Balter "lenwell snapped/ 0he old man8s !oi*e was as brittle as his wife8s
was soft/ 65et8s see what manner of yong lady yo8!e got here;: 0hogh it seemed bo be meant
.indly+ ea*h thing he said sonded li.e an imperios *ommand made by a hmorless potentate/
6&ello+ r/ "lenwell+: ,onya said+ stepping into the light thrown by the tele!ision set/6Bell+ a pretty lady+: Balter said/
60han. yo/:
"oth the old man and the old woman were in their se!enties+ somewhat ema*iated+ their fa*es
lined so hea!ily that they reminded her of pie*es of tablet paper *rmpled in the fist and then *lm'
sily straightened ot again/ 0he ble light from the tele!ision did nothing at all to ma.e them loo.
yonger4 the nnatral *olor ga!e them the appearan*e of frozen bodies+ to*hed by a *oat of frost+
eyes glittering i*ily/
Kenneth had broght two *hairs+ one of whi*h ,onya too.+ grateflly/ Bith the tele!ision light
framing her+ almost silhoetting her+ she felt as if she were on display/
60ell Binnie that we8d li.e new refreshments+: 5ydia "lenwell said/
6Bill do+: Kenneth said/&e departed+ lea!ing ,onya alone with the old people/
6@efreshments will be simple+: 5ydia said/ 6$either of s is p to real entertaining any more/:
6,pea. for yorself+: Balter snapped/ 6 belie!e *old still en3oy a good dan*e or two+ a real
formal ball/:
6es+ yo might go to the ball in a *arriage+: 5ydia told him+ leaning forward in her *hair+ smil'
ing+ 6bt yo8d ha!e to *ome home in an amblan*e/:
Balter snorted/
,onya thoght the old *ople were merely amsing ea*h other+ and that the 3ibes were not meant
seriosly+ bt she *old not be *ertain+ and she felt ot of pla*e/
6&ow do yo happen to .now Kenneth: 5ydia as.ed/
,he had on*e been a !ery pretty lady+ ,onya *old see+ bt now her eyes loo.ed gray+ flat and
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dll+ her hair wiry and n.empt/ &er fa*e was *riss'*rossed with wrin.les+ and these were espe'
*ially *on*entrated arond the eyes and moth+ an nfortnate *ondition whi*h ga!e her the loo. of
a *nning weasel and the prsed lips of an habital gossiper/ t one time+ her Aestion wold ha!e
seemed li.e only a polite *on!ersational initiati!e+ bt now it sonded half'Aarrelsome+ nosey/
6 met him on the bea*h+: ,onya said/6adelope:
6Bell+ not ea*tly+: ,onya said/
Kenneth had *ome into the room again and ta.en his seat net to ,onya/ &e said+ 6Be met
otside+ a *ople of hndred yards from the hose+ 3st a half an hor ago/:
6Bhat do yo mean: 5ydia as.ed+ not *omprehending+ her prsed moth in a tight little bow/
6,he8s wor.ing for the Doghertys+: Kenneth eplained/
60hose people;: Balter snapped/
68m ttoring their *hildren+: ,onya said/
6&ow do yo stand to wor. for him: 5ydia as.ed/
6r/ Dogherty+ yo mean:
6#f *orse+ him/:6&e treats his people well/:
Balter snorted derisi!ely/ 6Be ha!en8t m*h in *ommon with the Dogherty family/:
6o might e!en say that we8re-at odds with them+: 5ydia added/
60he yong lady *an8t help abot that+: Kenneth said/ 6Be *an hardly blame her for what the
Doghertys ha!e done/:
$either of the old people said anything to that/
,onya felt distin*tly n*omfortable in that dar.ened room+ as if the walls were drawing *loser
and the air+ despite its *oolness+ was pressing down on her li.e a sentient being4 she imagined that
she *old feel walls and air hard against her ba*.+ on her sholders+ weighting down on her s*alp+
*rshing/ Bhy on earth had Kenneth "lenwell insisted on her *oming to the hose when he mst
ha!e .nown she wold not be m*h appre*iated by his grandparents
t that moment+ a woman in her sities+ dressed in a wrin.led maid8s niform+ pshed a ser!ing
*art into the drawing room/ Cps and sa*ers rattled on it/
0he maid-a rather dmpy woman with a wonded loo.+ wheeled the *art into the *enter of the
gathering+ trndling it a*ross one of ,onya8s feet and nearly *at*hing the other as well+ offering no
apology and gi!ing no sign that the in*ident had e!en transpired/
,he said+ 6rs/ "lenwell+ ain8t sed to ha!in8 gests at this hor of the day+ people to ma.e
ready for and what all/:
6Be8re not sed to ha!ing gests at any hor of the day+ are we+ &attie: Balter "lenwell
*a*.led/
6=st the same-: the maid began/6&ere we go+ &attie+: Kenneth said+ rising and ta.ing hold of the *art/ 68ll *arry on from this
point/:
Bithot a word+ bt with a Ai*. and nfriendly glan*e at ,onya+ the woman trned away from
the *art+ dsted her hands on her n*lean dress+ and waddled ot of the room/
Kenneth pored the brandy in the for snifters+ then the steaming *offee+ ser!ed e!eryone in
relati!ely short order/ 0hogh the rital had not ta.en more than three or for mintes+ ,onya felt as
if the maid had left the room hors ago/
6ny more threats o!er there: Balter as.ed+ after a terribly protra*ted silen*e while e!eryone
sipped alternately at their brandy and *offee/
6ny what: ,onya as.ed/ ,he had not been epe*ting him to spea. to her again+ and she hadn8t
been listening/
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6Come on+ girl+ yo .now what mean; 0hreats; &a!e there been more threats against the
*hildren:
,he *leared her throat and said+ 6$o+ not any more/:
6o do .now abot the threats:
6#h+ yes+: she assred the old man/ 6 .now abot them/:60errible thing+: 5ydia said/
6es/:
6nd it8s most terrible+: Kenneth said+ 6be*ase it broght them here toDistingue months ahead
of s*hedle-and it8s .eeping them here for a lot longer than they sally stay/:
&e did not seem to realize or *are that his thoghtlessly antagonisti* *omments abot the
Doghertys pt ,onya on the spot/ ,he *old hardly+ after all+ 3oin in a *on!ersation denon*ing her
employer/
60hreatened to *t their throats+ didn8t he:
6 sppose+: ,onya said/
6&e did+: Balter said/ 6&e threatened to *t their throats from ear to ear/ "t there was more
than that/:68ll say there was;: 5ydia wheezed/
,he was leaning forward+ as if the tal. of blood had gi!en her more energy than she8d .nown at
one time in years/
60ortre and mtilate+: Balter said+ sha.ing his grisly old head+ his white hair bled by the tele'
!ision/ 60hreatened to tortre and mtilate them as well as .ill them/:
,onya swallowed all of her brandy+ trying to still her ner!es+ whi*h were as 3ittery as a *ongre'
gation of frogs/
6Bhat .ind of a man+ do yo sppose+ wold e!en #onsider doing something as nspea.able as
that: 5ydia as.ed ,onya/ >rom the old woman8s prsed lips and anios epression+ ,onya *old
only srmise that she was eager as a s*hoolgirl to meet this mar!elosly daring sol+ whoe!er-or
whate!er-he was/
6 don8t .now+: ,onya said/ 6 monster of some sort+ a-madman/: ,he too. a sip of her *offee/
6ore brandy+ ,onya: Kenneth inAired/
6$o/ $o+ than. yo/:
6 belie!e the man also threatened to disembowel them+: Balter said/ 6Didn8t he+ Kenneth: 0he
old man held his *offee *p in both sha.y hands/
6&e was not so *i!ilized as to word it that ni*ely+: Kenneth said/ 6&e promised+ instead+ 8to open
the .ids8 gts+8 Aite a more for*efl way of ptting it/:
0he walls drew nearer/
Despite the air'*onditioning+ ,onya was perspiring/
,he pt her *p down/6Borse than that+ thogh+: Balter said/ 60he man promised worse than that/:
60he eyes+: 5ydia added/ 6&e promised to do something with their eyes/ don8t remember 3st
what/:
"efore any of them *old tell her 3st what the man had threatened to do with the Dogherty
*hildren8s eyes+ ,onya said+ 6&ow did yo learn all of this:
6Ken told s+: 5ydia said/
6nd how did yo hear all this: ,onya as.ed the grandson/
&e smiled/ 6@dolph told me/:
6r/ ,aine:
6&e8s the only @dolph .now arond here/:
,onya was sho*.ed+ for ,aine did not stri.e her as the sort of man who wold go rnning to the
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neighbors+ blabbing the latest gossip-espe*ially to neighbors li.e the "lenwells+ when he .new
they did not li.e or asso*iate with the Doghertys+ his employers/ nd that meant that she had badly
mis3dged the brly bodygard-or it meant that Kenneth "lenwell was lying+ and that he .new
abot the natre of the threats throgh some other sor*e / / /
6o .now @dolph+ then: she as.ed/6Be8re friends/:
6>riends:
6Bhy sond so in*redlos: Ken as.ed her/ 6s there a law against it thin. he8s a !ery *apa'
ble+ admirable man/:
5ydia leaned far forward in her seat and said+ 6 .now what it was now;:
6Bhat are yo tal.ing abot: Balter snapped/
6Bhat that terrible man promised to do with their *hildren-he was going to *t ot their eyes+
he said/ 0a.e them right ot of their heads/ Basn8t that it+ Kenneth:
6es+ thin. so+: he agreed/
,onya stood so abrptly that she *aght the ser!ing *art with her hip and 3arred all the tensils
on it+ almost .no*.ing o!er the *t glass brandy de*anter whi*h the yongest "lenwell barely man'aged to *at*h before it tipped to the floor/
68m sorry+: she said+ somewhat breathlessly/ ,he wished that she *old *ontrol the tone of her
!oi*e+ for she .new that it *ontained a note of ob!ios pani*/ 6"t really mst go now/ 8!e things
to do ba*. at ,eawat*h and-:
68m sorry if we8!e frightened yo+: Kenneth said/
6$o+ no+ yo ha!en8t-:
,he trned+ aware that she was being rde+ bt really not *aring m*h after ha!ing endred the
past half hor with them+ and she made for the open door and the hallway where there was at least a
bit more light/
Bhen she opened the front door of &aw. &ose+ Kenneth was right behind her/
&e said+ 6o8re being silly+ yo .now/:
,he trned+ loo.ed p at him+ sAinting in the strong snlight/ 6#h &ow so:
6%!en if someone does intend to .ill the Dogherty .ids+ yo8re safe/ $o one has threatened yo
yet/:
,he nodded and went down the steps/
68ll wal. yo ba*.+: he said/
60hat8s not ne*essary/:
6$o troble/:
,he smmoned p all of her wits+ thin.ing fast+ and she said+ in as le!el and for*efl a !oi*e as
she *old manage 3st then+ 6$o+ r/ "lenwell+ really now/ ?lease don8t bother/ wold m*h
prefer to wal. home alone/ set ot+ alone+ to eplore Distingue. want to see it at my own speed+in my own fashion+ in order to get some emotional feel abot the pla*e/ 8m sre yo8ll agree that
that sort of thing is best done by oneself/:
&e grinned/
gain+ loo.ing p at him+ *aght by his dar. eyes+ she *old not be *ertain whether that grin
was prod*ed by high spirits+ or whether he was mo*.ing her/
6,it yorself+: he said/
60han. yo for the *offee and brandy+: she said/
6t was nothing/:
68m sorry if pset &attie8s s*hedle/:
&e *ontined to grin/ 6$ot at all/:
,he trned away from him and felt relie!ed when she *old no longer see his grin or his eyes/
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,he set off toward the bea*h+ went down the stone steps in the ban. at the end of the lawn+ too.
off her sandals and let the sand *reep between her toes/ Bhen she rea*hed the edge of the lapping
sea+ she trned toward ,eawat*h and wal.ed away from &aw. &ose at a Ai*. bt not abnormal
pa*e/
6Come again;: he