“But why cut off his…?”
“Because he didn’t have the balls to stand up to my father. And since he never used his balls anyway, I decided to take them.”
“So it was Emmitt at the Willows?”
“And you’re right, he did search my car. And he left me a note, wanting to meet with me. Luckily, I found it before you did. And we did meet.”
“How did he know you were Laura?”
“He told me he had his suspicions when he heard someone had married Judge Robie and moved into the Willows. He said he watched me one day, recognized certain things about me that I guess even I didn’t know and thus couldn’t change. And then he went down to the courthouse and checked my signature on the paperwork for when Dan and I bought the Willows. It matched Laura’s handwriting, which he knew very well. I would have hardly given him the credit for having the brains,” she added wistfully.
“Why did he want to meet?”
“To reconcile, I think. I wasn’t really paying attention to that part, because I was preoccupied with pondering how I was going to murder him. Like you, I had no idea where he was. And then he just walked back into my life. But he also wanted me to assume care for Jane. He had a terminal illness of some kind, he told me. I’m sure his autopsy will show it.”
“Why was he caring for Jane?”
“Because I suppose my brother had some guilt. I didn’t. That’s why I left. I had no idea where she was until Emmitt told me.”
“You abandoned your daughter?”
“She wasn’t my daughter!” snarled Victoria. She continued more calmly, “She was my father’s daughter. I was just the violated vessel that got her here. That’s why we left Cantrell so quickly. I was pregnant. Dear old Daddy didn’t want the shame. But he wouldn’t let me abort either because, well, he was such a God-fearing man. It was immediately apparent that Jane would never be right in the head. Her blood was blue, you see, not red. That’s why they have laws against such things. But Daddy was a Barksdale and thus above it all. I wasn’t going to live with that, take care of that. But I’m sure you noticed the resemblance when you met her.”
“I thought it was you. But how can she look so much older if she’s your child?”
“Nasty genetics when father beds daughter. You just never know what you’re going to get.”
“ROH,” said Robie.
“Very good, Will. So you looked at the back of the photo?”
“And Leviticus eighteen?”
“Ironic that it doesn’t expressly prohibit father-daughter sex. Did you note the omission?”
Robie shook his head.
She smiled. “Most believe it’s because that particular act is so obviously heinous, so why even bother banning it?”
“And who is Calvin?”
“John Calvin. French philosopher. You see, I read up on the subject. He didn’t believe that Leviticus eighteen prohibited fathers from screwing their daughters. But he also believed it was immoral to do so. What an insight! Too bad my father wasn’t as enlightened.”
“But you killed Jane?”
“Emmitt told me what room she was in. I had convinced him that I really cared about her, wanted to assume responsibility for her. I killed him and then I killed her. That’s my idea of assuming responsibility.”
“Emmitt I can maybe understand. But why kill her?”
“What sort of life did she really have? She was permanently four years old. I tapped on her window. She came over to it, her little face all full of wonder and surprise. And I put a bullet right between her eyes.”
Robie just shook his head at this cruel comment. “She didn’t deserve to die. None of this was her fault.”
“And you think it was my fault, Will? Trust me, I had different plans for my life. Do you think I really wanted all this? I think I’ve handled it rather well, actually.”
“And Priscilla? What the hell did she ever do to you?”
“She told you that Ty slept with her a lot. At the Willows. And when we traveled. You saw me hear her tell you this, though you didn’t make the connection. But it was only a matter of time before you wondered enough to ask her if Ty was sleeping with her when we were in Biloxi. Because that was my only alibi for when Sherm was killed. And later that day I saw Priscilla looking at me suspiciously. It was clear that this thought had now occurred to her. Because she knew that Ty had slept with her that night in Biloxi. Which left me free to kill Sherm. Priscilla was sharp. It was only a matter of time before she went to the police.” She snapped her fingers. “So, poof, there goes Priscilla.”
Robie said slowly, “You need help. You’re sick.”
She smiled patronizingly. “Well, then you wanted this ‘sick’ lady really badly, Will. When we were sitting in my bedroom. I could feel the heat coming off you. You just wanted to take me.”
“I never felt that way,” said Robie. “Never. You just imagined it.”
But Victoria clearly wasn’t listening. “You wanted me because you’d already had me all those years ago when we were two horny teenagers. And you knew how awesome it was. Think about it. I had both father and son. And when I let your daddy screw my brains out after getting out of jail, the whole time I had my eyes closed and was imagining it was you, Will.” She looked at him coyly. “And given time I would have gotten you into my bed again, you know I would. Because you, like all men, are weak. Guided primarily by your prick.”
“Were you the source of the credible threats against my dad?”
“Of course. With him in prison I was free to move about and do what I needed to do.”
“And your father?”
“Dear old Daddy.” She tapped the floor with her foot. “He’s resting comfortably under the little shack where he brought all those poor kids to get screwed by Nelson Wendell.”
“So you knew about that?”
“After the fact, yes. Daddy was too refined to work for a living. So he made his money the old-fashioned way, by profiting off the misery of others.”
Robie glanced down. “He’s really buried here?”
“This seemed to be the proper place to put him for all of eternity, don’t you agree? A native Mississippian laid to rest in Mississippi soil. I hope all the manure laid in the surrounding fields leached down here. Shit should be with shit, after all.”
“Why did you want to live at the Willows? With all that happened to you there?”
“It’s about taking control of your life. I loved the Willows. I just didn’t love any of the people who lived there with me. Mother died from cancer. Lucky for her, because if she hadn’t, she would have died by my hand.”
“So she knew?”
“And as a proper Barksdale lady, she kept quiet. It would have ruined her reputation. She couldn’t have that. My welfare was a distant second on her priority list.”
“You didn’t kill my father, though. You just knocked him out.”
“It wasn’t for sentimental reasons, Will. I’m long past that. If he were dead he wouldn’t have to suffer through the loss of both his sons.”