He smiled, and for a moment, he looked natural, sane, like the brother I could have had. “That must be nice to have someone like that in your life.”
“You were lucky. You had a brother.”
“So you know about Joshua?” He wiped his lips on the napkin. “He hates you as much as Mother did.”
“Why? How can he hate me when he doesn’t even know me? How could she hate me? I was five years old when she left.”
Christian pushed his plate away. “I can’t give you the answers you want. Your grandmother was crazy. Mom killed her the day she came down to the basement and found out what was going on. She made me take the body to the attic. She said it was your fault.” His eyes met mine. “I wanted to hate you.”
“Did you kill Mother?”
He nodded. “I’d seen you, knew who you were. I thought as long as I kept bringing her and Joshua women who looked like you, it would satisfy her. I didn’t know she’d called you until it was too late. Joshua was on his way, so I killed her, and when you showed up, I took you to the basement and put you in the cage. I told Joshua you killed her. I convinced him I could make you pay for that. I would break you.” He poured another glass of wine.
I forced myself to meet his gaze. “You didn’t hate me, and you don’t hate Emma, either. Help me save her. If Joshua hates me that much, he’ll never let her live.” I bit my lip to keep from asking again where she was. He didn’t want me to beg.
“I’ll accept your terms for Friday night. Max can come with you. I’ll have Emma brought there and give you a few minutes with her. I’ve told her about you. She knows you’re her mother. She carries your picture, and I show her videos sometimes.”
My eyes misted. “Thank you.”
“When Max drives away with Emma, you and Gabriel will enter the house.” His eyes hardened. “Joshua will be there. You will die, Dakota. I won’t be able to save you this time.” He lifted his wine glass and drained it. “He plans on killing me too. He has to. Otherwise, in a moment of sanity, I might reveal who he really is.”
“Emma is the only thing that matters. Tell me who he is.”
He pushed away his plate. “You should leave.” His eyes were beginning to glaze. “Now!”
The chair toppled as I leapt to my feet and ran. His laughter rang out behind me. My hands were shaking as I got into the van, and I dropped the keys. “Damn it.” I felt around my feet until I found them. Inserting the key, I pumped the gas, realizing too late I had probably flooded the van. “Start, please start.” I ground the key in the ignition and jerked on the wheel to turn around.
The road ahead looked long and dark, and I held my breath until I reached the main road. Hysterical laughter bubbled up in my chest as sobs shook my shoulders. I pulled to the side of the road, parked, and screamed.
My throat was raw when my cell phone ringing jerked me from the hell I’d drifted to. Karen’s ID popped up. I grabbed the phone and hit the answer key. “I’m okay. I’m on my way back.”
“What the hell did you think you were doing?” Max was furious.
My hands were still shaking as Karen placed a warm cup in them. “Shush, Max. Give her some time.” She took the chair beside me.
I glanced at the end of the table, where Gabriel was seated. His smile was weak, but his eyes told me he understood. “Did it work?” he asked.
“Joshua will be there Friday night.”
Gabriel rose, using the edge of the table to push himself up. “Max, care to drive me to the pharmacy? I need a new bottle of pain pills.”
Karen was on her feet in an instant. “Max and I can go. You should rest, Gabriel.”
“I think you and Dakota need some time to talk.” Gabriel stood up straight. “Besides, I’m not giving in to this crap. Not yet.”
We watched them leave, and Karen refilled my cup. “He should be in a hospital.”
“No, he needs to finish this.”
“Do you want to talk about your meeting with Salyer? I think I lost ten years of my life waiting for nine o’clock.” She took her seat and fiddled with the table centerpiece.
“I think he told the truth. He was fine until the end when he told me to leave.” My cup rocked, and coffee sloshed on the table. “He has moments of sanity, but the killer isn’t too far below the surface.”
“Did he tell you anything about Joshua?”
I shook my head. “Only that he hates me as much as my mother did. I asked him how he could hate me when he didn’t even know me. He told me he tried to hate me. That was when he changed and told me to leave.” It wasn’t the entire truth, but sharing the parts about my mother wouldn’t help anything, and the pain was still a raw wound.
“I’m glad you listened to him.” She pushed the centerpiece away.
“Karen, do you think Emma will be okay?” I hated asking the question, but my family tree wasn’t looking great.
“What do you mean, ‘okay’?”
“My grandmother was crazy, my mother was crazy, and both my brothers are insane.” I turned to face her, wanting to see the truth in her eyes. “We both know my mind is damaged. Do you think Emma will be okay?”
“Tell me about the damage to your mind. We’ve never talked about that. You’ve overcome the DID. What else is bothering you?”
“The nightmares. In them, I’m torturing people, killing people. I like it, and there’s always this river of crimson flowing by me—the blood of my victims. Christian called it the color of his rage. That’s what I feel in my dreams—an overpowering rage I can’t control.” Karen’s face had paled, and I knew what I was revealing was terrifying to her. “The first day I met you, I wanted to cut your throat.”
Her laugh was shaky. “I’m sure I’ve had that effect on others.”
“So is Emma going to be okay?”
“I can only give you statistics. Most of the time, if an abused child is rescued before the age of four or five and raised in a loving home, they turn out great. Emma is less than two. From what you’ve told me about Christian, I don’t think she’s been abused or exposed to the things you were exposed to.” Karen placed a hand on mine. “You were raised by a loving father, and you turned out fine until you were kidnapped, tortured, and driven insane. Even then, you fought your way back to save your child. Emma is going to be fine.”
It might only be statistics, but it gave me hope. “We only have two days left. I want to plan some fun things for Gabriel. Something that won’t tire him out too much.”
“What happens Friday night?”
“Once Emma is safe, we end it.”
“How? When Max and I drive away, you know they’re going to kill the two of you.”
“Max will tell you.” I rose and walked toward the stairs. “It’s going to be okay, Karen. You’ll see.”
40
Gabriel and I spent Wednesday with lawyers, getting our final paperwork in order. I changed my will again to give Max the ability to sell the property, with the exception of the cemetery, if he decided he didn’t want to live there. Gabriel left everything to Max and Karen to do whatever they wanted to with it. We’d also talked with Don Sampson about the body at the cabin. With his promise to take care of it, I finally felt at peace. Soon, another grieving mother would have the answers about her daughter.
“Where to now?” I asked. “We could go back to the bed-and-breakfast and catch a quick nap.”
“I’ve got a better idea.” Gabriel had a twinkle in his eyes. “Let’s go pick out birthday cards for Emma until she turns twenty-one. We can also get some stationery, and you can spend tomorrow writing letters for special events like her first day at school, her first date, and graduation.”