CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHTThe Gift“I found a body in the water this morning,” Bryony said to Police Detective Ian Bridger.He was young, and he tried to seem hard, but somehow he wasn’t able to pull it off. He was a sweet man underneath, the kind that called his mama and worked on the neighbors’ cars without expecting payment. This was maybe why the girls was able to talk to him so freely when her tongue had frozen up with his partner. His partner had looked right through her, looked at the body as though it was nothing except an annoyance. It wasn’t an annoyance; it was a woman. At least it had been. Once.“Why were you at the lake?” the detective asked her. He spoke softly, afraid that if he raised his voice he would spook this young woman, this poor shuddering girl who had seen such a terrible sight. Her eyes had faded, the irises dimmed from whatever color they had been, to a pale gray. Her pupils seemed to be shaped like stars. Those eyes kept roving to a small cactus sprung up ne
CHAPTER TWENTY NINEA Question that is Never AskedEddie blew everybody away down at the station, just as he hoped. He was a little upset that Bryony wasn’t there like she promised, but he figured she had a good reason. And she did, because when he was nervously strumming the first few words of his new song, she was sobbing into the detective’s shoulder, thinking of the life she would never get to live with Eddie.Too soon. Too soon. It was coming.The body floating in Lake Washington had been a particularly young and pretty girl whose name is not important. It would have been to her family if they had been aware of her death, but they hadn’t been in contact with her for years, ever since she left to run away with a man named Mike. Every girl has dated a Mike in her life, and very few of them have turned out to be a good decision, but it happens. This Mike turned out to be a typical Mike situation, and as soon as the girl told him that she was having a baby, he left her. Now this t
CHAPTER THIRTYChild of the SkyDetective Bridger sat at his desk with several grisly pictures spread out in front of him. Lovely young women without heads, without hands, without eyes. Women with their heads shaved and women with their bodies disassembled. There didn’t seem to be anything in particular linking them together, but the sheer number of victims caught his attention, and the sadness around their tender mouths kept it.How many mothers will pick up the phone to call their daughters, and then suddenly sink into a chair when they remember nobody will answer? How many little girls will grow up without somebody’s gentle hands braiding their hair? What the good detective didn’t want to admit to anybody, especially himself, was that whenever he closed his eyes he saw Bryony Adams’ face staring up at him from each portrait.Bryony devoid of skin and clothing and emotion. Bryony imperceptibly shaking her head and saying, “Why didn’t you help me, Detective Bridger? Why did you le
CHAPTER THIRTY ONEThe Desert is WaitingSyrina and Rikki-Tikki were, of course, thrilled with the news that Bryony and Eddie were getting married. Syrina immediately dumped her coffee can of spare change out on the bed, but it wasn’t nearly enough to buy a plane ticket. She pouted briefly but was quickly caught up again in the splendid rush of excitement.“When?” Syrina asked, helping Bryony throw her meager belongings in a pleasingly large suitcase. “When is the wedding?”“Hopefully tonight,” Bryony said, “although it is more likely that we’ll get married tomorrow. I have to be realistic, you know.”“Yes, indeed you do,” Syrina agreed. “That’s my girl. How I wish we could come. But here, wear this dress and think of me at least once during the ceremony. It will look stunning!”They discussed the big party they would throw when Eddie and Bryony came back, and what kind of delicious treats they should have, and how Bryony should wear her hair for the wedding. Up, it was decided.
CHAPTER THIRTY TWOThe Horror of Love“Daddy, this is Eddie. I love him, and he loves me, and he is strong enough to handle anything that needs handling, and you’d better listen carefully because now I’m going to be Mrs. Warshouski. That’s W-a-r-s-h-o-u-s-k-i. Warshouski. Now let’s get everybody together because we really would like to get married soon, please.”Bryony threw herself onto her aging father, who cried happy tears for his little girl. And Eddie reached out to shake his hand, but he was drawn into the hug, as well, and Stop kept saying: “Bless you, my boy.”Eyes were wet and smiles were genuine and Eddie looked around the house and deemed Bryony’s childhood home to be absolutely lovely and worthy of her.Then he turned and looked out of the windowtowardthedesert.“It has always been this way,” Bryony offered by way of explanation, and Eddie had to go and sit down for a minute because his heart threatened to stop and his legs tried to give out.“How can you live
CHAPTER THIRTY THREEAre You Alive? Here Are Some MuffinsDetective Bridger stood outside the door for a second before knocking. He felt rather silly holding a basket of warm muffins, but his wife had insisted. The detective cleared his throat and tried to look extra official.Rikki-Tikki answered the door. “Yes?”The detective’s eyes narrowed. “What are you doing here?”“Good to see you again, Detective Bridger. How’s our homicidal home invader?”Detective Bridger smiled slightly. “I think that particular man is scared straight for a good long while. He didn’t want to confess to any of the other crimes until we threatened to put him in a locked room with Syrina. Suddenly he had a lot to say.”“She’ll be pleased to hear that. What can I do for you, detective?”Detective Bridger straightened. “I was looking for Miss Adams. I was going to . . . my wife . . . these muffins,” he said awkwardly, and held them out to Rikki-Tikki.“She isn’t home right now.”“When will she be back?”
CHAPTER THIRTY FOURPain and PeaceToday was a beautiful day as far as Mrs. Warshouski was concerned. Her darling Eddie was getting married, and what could possibly be better than that? Why, nothing. Nothing. Soon their house would be full of tiny Edwards and . . . what was her name again? A poisonous flower. Oleander? Baneberry? Goodness, that can’t be it. No mother in her right mind would ever name her daughter Baneberry.Mrs. Warshouski could just see it now . . .“Why, hello, new mother. I am your nurse. You have a tiny baby girl.”“Oh, do I? How utterly delightful. I am ever so happy.”“As am I. What a pleasure to assist in the labor and delivery. And what, pray tell, are you going to name your little bundle of goodness and light?”“I shall call her Baneberry.”“ . . . Shall you? Oh my.”“Yes. I wish to give my daughter a rather conflicting name, you see, and I felt that being called after a poisonous flower would do just that. First I thought of Elephant Ear, but you can
CHAPTER THIRTY FIVEIf You Had Never Met MeThe phone was ringing back at Stop’s home. It rang for several minutes, silenced itself long enough to take a breath, and then rang again. Stop hobbled into the house, cheeks still glowing from the wedding. Bryony and Eddie were close behind.“Hello?” Stop said into the phone. His voice was merry and young, and it reminded Bryony of when she was a child. Stop used to rollerskate with her. He taught her how to climb trees. “Yes, he’s right here. Hold on a second.”He handed the phone to Eddie. Eddie grinned at him.“Yeah?” he said.He didn’t speak for a long time after that, just listened. His face went paler and paler until he rivaled Bryony herself. She pulled a chair over to him and he sat down.That’s when she knew.Stop must have realized it, too, because he put his arms around his daughter, smoothing her hair. “It’s not your fault, sweetheart. It’s not your fault.” His newfound youthfulness was a lie, a dreadful deceit, for he wa