Max insisted on wheeling himself in when we arrived. We settled him in the bedroom and left Karen by his side.
“I’ll be right back.” I headed for my bedroom. Mrs. Sanchez kept notepads and pens in the nightstands, and the message I was going to send to Christian was for his eyes only.
Christian:
I accept. My life for Emma.
I smiled as I wrote the next line.
I have some conditions. It ends where it started—my grandmother’s house. We’ll meet you there one week from today at midnight. Bring Emma or call me at a quarter till and tell me where Max and Karen can pick her up. Once Max and Karen have Emma, Gabriel and I will join you in the house. I’m sure you know Gabriel is dying. He wants to die with me, and I want to die with him. No tricks, no cops. I want to end this.
Remembering how much he loved to quote Shakespeare, I added one of his favorite quotes.
“Cowards die many times before their deaths. The valiant never taste of death but once.” Shakespeare.
Are you a coward, Christian? Because I’m not. As Shakespeare said: “Death is a necessary end. It will come when it will come.”
Dakota
I placed the note inside an envelope and sealed it. If Christian accepted, we had a week to put everything in order. I had one more thing I needed to do. Mrs. Sanchez had removed all the mirrors in my room and the common rooms at my request, but Karen’s room still had one, and I didn’t think she would mind. I stood for a moment outside my door, facing the door across from me. I hadn’t seen my reflection in over a year.
“You okay?” Gabriel was close to the top of the stairs. “I was getting worried about you.”
“Trying to make myself face my last demon. I was going to look in the mirror.”
He climbed the last steps and came toward me. Taking my hand in his, he opened Karen’s door. “We’ll do it together. Close your eyes for a minute.”
I closed my eyes as he led me through the door.
He stepped behind me and placed his arms around my waist, his chin resting on my shoulder. “Open your eyes, Dakota.”
I homed in on his face in the mirror then slowly let my view widen. No monsters glared back at me. No dripping blood. “Thank you, Gabriel. I’m ready now.”
He turned me in his arms and pressed his lips softly to mine. “So am I.”
“I know where Wagner lives, but we’ll try the station first.” I started the van and backed out of the parking spot. “Are you feeling okay?”
“Just tired. I’ll be fine.” Gabriel leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes.
He wasn’t just tired. The pain was getting worse, and his breathing sounded more labored. Does it really matter what my mother did? It won’t change anything. “Maybe we should just forget about my mother and spend the next week resting and enjoying ourselves.”
“We need to know in case there’s anyone else involved. For Emma’s sake. We’re not leaving any nightmares for her to live with.”
“You’re right, of course. I just don’t want to overtax your strength.” I drove slowly, not in any rush to face Wagner. “I don’t just need you, Gabriel. I want you with me.”
He grinned and opened one eye. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“I ordered everything we need. It will be here tomorrow.” I parked in front of the station. “If Salyer accepts, the guy will be here Thursday night to install everything.”
Gabriel opened his door. “He’ll accept.”
The desk sergeant glanced up when the door opened and pressed a button. “What are you doing here, Dale?”
“We’re here to see Wagner.”
The door between the front and the back offices opened. “I ordered you out of town.” Wagner appeared to have aged in the last few hours. And he’d been drinking. I could smell the liquor twenty feet away.
“I need to talk to you before I go.”
He eyed Gabriel. “Him too?”
“Him too.” I held up the envelope so he could see Christian’s name on it. “Or we can do it here if you prefer.”
“Come on back.”
We followed him down the hall to his office.
“I have a message for you to deliver to Christian.” I dropped the envelope on his desk as he stumbled to his seat.
“What the hell makes you think I can get a message to that crazy bastard?” He poured a glass of whiskey with shaky hands.
“We’re way past the time for lies, Wagner. Too many women have died. He’s offered to trade my daughter for me. I’ve accepted.”
The glass slipped from his fingers. “Your daughter? I didn’t know you had a daughter. Jesus Christ.” He held his head in his hands. “What have I done?”
“I don’t really care what you’ve done. Deliver the message for me, then undo it. Write a confession and give it to Don Sampson.” I turned away from him. “Let’s go, Gabriel.”
“You okay?” Gabriel opened the outer door for me. “I’d love to go back in there and beat the hell out of him.”
I glanced over my shoulder. I’d loved that place—coming to work every morning, joking with my fellow officers, and meeting up for a beer when the day was over. “I think he’s doing his own beating right now.”
“Maybe he’ll kill Salyer for you.”
A shudder ran through me. “I’m more concerned Salyer will kill him. Let’s get this over with before it starts raining again.”
37
I stared at the mess left behind by Forensics. Paperwork was strewn through the bedrooms and the hallway. “Let’s grab everything we can and check closets or any place we think something might be hidden. I’ll start with the living room.”
Since I’d seen that room so often in my dreams, I knew exactly where to look. The credenza in the corner was stuffed with envelopes that had never been opened. The cubbyholes held notes and bits of paper. I stuffed it all into the garbage bag and looked for hidden compartments. Satisfied, I moved on to the kitchen. One drawer was stuffed with more unopened letters. “Living room clear. Kitchen clear. I’m moving to the dining room.”
“Both bedrooms clear,” Gabriel called back. “Is there an attic?”
“I don’t know.” I moved through the dining room. “Dining room clear.” Joining Gabriel in the hallway, I stared at the ceiling. “Don’t attics normally have a stairway or a pull-down ladder?”
Gabriel reentered the first bedroom and opened the closet. “All these old houses had attics at one time.” He pushed aside racks of dusty clothing. “Bingo.” Gabriel opened the door. “I’ll do a quick check.”
“Be careful. Those stairs don’t look too stable.”
He nodded, placing his feet carefully. “If there’s anything up here, we’ll come back in the daylight and check it out.”
I was getting a creepy feeling by the time he returned. “Anything?”
“Forensics did a crappy job. Two bodies up there. Both female from the clothing.” He brushed off spiderwebs and sighed. “I believe it’s your grandmother and your mother.”
“I’m ready to go.”
Gabriel closed the door to the attic, repositioned the clothing, and closed the closet door. “Suits me. I doubt we’d find anything useful in the basement.”