"That's crazy talk. It was a prowler, more than likely."
Karyn took both of his hands in hers. "It was no prowler, darling. I know that, and I think in your heart you know it too. As long as I stay here, there is danger. Not only for me, but for you and Joey, too."
"What are you saying?"
"I have to go away, David."
"No!" he cried.
"I have no choice."
"But... where will you go? How long will you stay?"
"I'll stay until this thing is over, one way or another. And I think it's better if I don't say where I'm going right away."
"I can't agree to that."
"Please, David. I promise you I'll let you know as soon as I can. Meanwhile, the fewer people who know where I'm going, the harder it will be for anyone to follow me."
"I'll go with you," he said. "We'll fight this out together."
Karyn shook her head. "No, darling. Joey will need at least one of his parents with him. He'll need your strength."
"Karyn, I can't let you just... walk out this way."
"I have to," she said. "It would be too dangerous for you and for Joey if I stayed here. If you love me, David, don't try to stop me."
He put his arms around her and pulled her tight against him. "If I love you? My God, Karyn, I love you more than anything in the world."
Karyn let her head rest on her husband's chest. She heard a sound she had never heard before. David Richter was crying.
The next morning Karyn bought a ticket to Los Angeles at the Western Airlines counter in the Seattle-Tacoma Airport. She did not notice the old woman, bundled up in scarves, who sold paper flowers nearby. The old woman, however, paid close attention to Karyn.
CHAPTER
FIFTEEN
When her flight was announced, Karyn hurried to the loading gate, trying not to look at all the people saying affectionate goodbyes. She could still see the puzzled and hurt expression in Joey's eyes as she tried to explain that Mom had to go away for a while. She had hugged him very tight and promised to come back soon. It was a promise Karyn hoped she could keep.
She found her seat on the plane and sat looking out at the rain-slick runway as the jet rolled into position for takeoff. She wished she could be sure this was the right thing to do. Running away, she knew, was never a solution, yet if she stayed to fight she would surely lose. If it were only herself she might have tried, but there were Joey and David to think of. Karyn was sure now that the wolf had been after Joey, and that only Mrs. Jensen's courage and the arrival of the neighbors had saved the boy's life. As long as Karyn was there, the people she loved were in danger.
At last the Western Airline jet received clearance from the tower and thundered down the runway and into the air. In a little while the stewardess came down the aisle, passing out plastic sets of earphones. There was no movie on the short flight, but several channels of recorded stereo music were available. Karyn chose a program of light classics and settled back in the seat, hoping the music would push the troubled thoughts out of her mind, at least temporarily.
But it was no use. Every time Karyn closed her eyes she would see the elusive face of the woman with the white-streaked hair. Or Roy Beatty, who was supposed to be dead, watching her from above. Or the impersonal gray tarpaulin spread over the floor where Mrs. Jensen had died.
How had they found her, Karyn wondered, the wolves of Drago? She was certain now that it was vengeance that had brought the horrors from the past so explosively into her present. Vengeance for her part in the destruction of Drago and most of the unnatural creatures that lived there. Most of them. But not all. Roy had survived. Roy and at least one other.
Marcia!
Karyn jerked upright in the seat so suddenly that the earphones were pulled loose from her head. She saw it now - the woman in the coffee shop, and on the street, and in the taxi. Darken that streak in her hair, take away the sunglasses hiding the green eyes, and you have Marcia Lura. But how could that be? Karyn had fired the gun herself, and had seen the impact at close range as the silver bullet penetrated the skull of the black she-wolf. Never mind how. It was Marcia. Marcia and Roy. And they had come for her.
Karyn sat back in the seat once more, her mind racing. It helped, if only a little, to know what she was up against. Maybe now she could make plans. The stay with her parents could be only temporary. If Marcia and Roy had found her in Seattle, they would find her again. She would not risk endangering any more of her loved ones.
On the telephone to her mother and father, she had been evasive about her reasons for wanting to visit them. They had not pressed her for details. Karyn resolved to stay there only until she could decide on a course of action. What it might be, she had no idea now, but she had to come up with something. She could not live the rest of her life in fear.
The plane made a wide turn over the San Bernardino Mountains and began the long descent to Los Angeles International Airport. Karyn smiled, seeing her parents waiting for her at the Western Airlines passenger gate.
Frank Oliver was tall and straight with fine white hair that was always carefully combed. His wife Nancy had a round, pretty face with smile lines etched at the corners of her eyes. She ran forward to hug her daughter as Karyn came through the walkway from the plane. Frank Oliver came behind her, reserved and dignified, but with the love showing in his eyes.
As they walked out to the parking lot where the Olivers had left their Buick, they all acted as though this were just a normal visit of a daughter to her parents. They compared the weather in Seattle and Los Angeles; they discussed the health of David and Joey; they talked about Karyn's flight down.
During the drive to the Olivers' house in Brentwood, all three ran out of small talk at the same time, and an uncomfortable silence enveloped them.
Karyn's mother, sitting in the backseat while her daughter rode up front with Mr. Oliver, leaned forward and placed a hand gently on Karyn's shoulder.
"Are you all right, dear?" she said.
Karyn patted her mother's hand. She tried to keep her voice casual as she answered. "Of course, Mother. I'm fine."
"I mean really," Mrs. Oliver persisted.
Karyn started to say something bland and reassuring, but it caught in her throat. She said, "It's nothing too serious. My nerves acting up, the doctor says. I thought it would do me good to get away for a little while."
"Is it the dreams again?" her father asked. He took his eyes off the road briefly to glance over at her.
"Yes," Karyn admitted. "And other things. I'd rather not talk about it, though. Not right now."
"It's all right, dear," her mother said. "We understand. You stay with us as long as you like, and if there's anything at all we can do, you know we're ready to help."
Karyn turned in the seat to smile at her mother. "I know you are." She reached over to touch her father's arm. "You too, Daddy. You've both been wonderful when I needed you. I'm very lucky."
For the rest of the drive, the conversation returned to inconsequential things. They pulled up to the big, comfortable house on Altair Drive, and Karyn was pleased to see it had not changed at all.
She moved into her old room upstairs in the rear of the house. The room brought back mixed memories: There were her carefree high school days with photos of friends tucked into the frame of the mirror, and posters of the Beatles and Joe Namath on the walls; then there was the nightmarish period right after her breakdown. In the shadows of the room lurked reminders of that time when insanity seemed the easy way out.
Karyn set about unpacking the few things she had brought with her, and concentrated on keeping her thoughts positive.