If she manages to wriggle free, there might not be another living soul nearby to help her, but there will be plenty of places to hide out here in the wilderness.

A person can get lost for days, weeks, months, even. Just wandering around in the middle of nowhere, unableno,unwilling to be found.

Right.

That cant be allowed to happen now.

Ive found her, and Im not letting her go. All I have to do is drag her a little closer, suppress those hands of hers, and get a good angle on her throat Happy Birthday, dear Caaaa Arms pinned but legs still flailing, she lands a well-placed kick.

But, unlike Matilda Harrington, she fails to succeed in freeing herself. No, she succeeds only in interrupting the song. But just for an instant.

ssie Happy Birthday to yoooouuuu.

There.

The singing has been completed.

Check.

Next task: incapacitate the birthday girl so that the party can go on uninterrupted.

Not easily accomplished with all this violent writhing, but not impossible, either.

All you need to do is get hold of her hair with your left hand There. Grab a fistful of cornrows, tug as hard as you can Ca.s.sandra Ashfords head is abruptly jerked backward; her long, graceful neck arches tantalizingly near.

Now, raise the knife with your right hand, steady, steady, good Oh, this is good.

No time, however, to relish the sight of the blade glinting in the candlelight, or the sound of a strangled scream that strains to escape her about-to-be-severed vocal chords.

Just do it.

Now.

The knife descends methodically as if of its own accord, splitting a thin layer of supple mocha-colored skin, slicing into flesh.

Blood begins to spurt; Ca.s.sie thrashes, gurgles.

The knife rises, strikes again, hacking vocal cords, windpipe, hitting bone Ah. Good. The birthday girl has been swiftly silenced, has gone limp in the arms that hold her. Warm, sticky blood drenches the hands that still clutch her hair and the knife, pouring over everything, draining from her lifeless body.

There. That wasnt so bad, was it?

A soft chuckle disturbs the morbid silence inside the cabin as a chorus of crickets go on chirping, uninterrupted, beyond its walls.

Ca.s.sandra Ashford is dragged over to the seat of honor and propped there. It isnt an easy task; she keeps toppling forward, nearly hitting the beautiful cake.

Then again, it isnt so beautiful anymore. An army of bugs has already invaded the white frosting and the message, first in icing, done by the bakery: Happy Birthdaythen in blood, painstakingly accomplished back at home: DEAR Ca.s.sIE.

In no time, the bugs will undoubtedly make their way from the sugary cake to feed on the corpse beside it. Theres no telling when Ca.s.sies body will be discovered And thats good.

The longer she stays hidden away up here, the better.

Fiona and Brynn will have no inkling that another of their sisters has paid for the sin they committed together But they must sense, even now, that their own days are numbered.

And if by chance they dont Ill be sure to let them know.

CHAPTER 17.

Morning, Daddy. Brynn bends low over the kitchen table to kiss her fathers stubbly cheek. In the process, she is a.s.sailed by an overpowering whiff of the contents of the full plate before him.

Scrambled eggs fried in b.u.t.ter and onions His favorite breakfast.

Brynn, whose stomach was emptied in an early-morning bout with nausea, finds herself swallowing a tide of saliva.

Eggs b.u.t.ter onions Bleh.

She looks away, battling queasiness, and catches Sue watching her from the sink, where shes washing out the frying pan.

How about some toast, Brynn? Sue offers knowingly. Its all made.

She wants to say no thanks, but if she doesnt get something bland into her stomach, shes going to find herself dry-heaving over the toilet.

She sits across from her father and nibbles a piece of toast, willing the nausea to abate.

I was thinking we could ride over to Chatham today to visit your brother and show the boys some lighthouses, he suggests around a mouthful of egg.

Joe, dont talk with your mouth full. Sue slides into the chair beside him, clasping a fresh cup of coffee.

Hes always talked with his mouth full,Brynn wants to shout at her. My mother gave up on trying to get him to stop. She used to laugh about it. So leave him alone!

Instead, ignoring Sueas does her fathershe says, That sounds great, but we cant go to Chatham today, Daddy. We have to get back home.

Not until later.

No, its a holiday. Theres going to be a ton of traffic leaving the Cape. I dont want to sit in it.

But you havent even seen your brother yet.

Hes talking about Joey Jr., the oldest of the Costello boys, who lives just north of Chatham with his wife and three kids. He couldnt make the Sat.u.r.day-night dinner, unlike her other two brothers, Charlie and Al, who live right here in town.

Well be back in a few weeks for Thanksgiving, she reminds her father. Ill get to see Joey then.

Thats more than a few weeks. Its the end of November.

Joe, cut it out. Shes got a long drive alone with two little kids. Let her go early if she wants to. More toast, Brynn?

She shakes her head at Sues question, forcing down the sodden wad in her mouth.

Whats the big rush? her father persists. What time is the Professor coming home from that fancy meeting?

The Professor.Her father gets a kick out of calling Garth that. Never out of respect, and never to his face.

Fancy meeting?

Yeah, Garth would love to hear his academic symposium thus described. Brynn finds herself already dreading the return visit for Thanksgiving.

Hes landing late this afternoon.

So stay here with me awhile longer, baby girl. Her father reaches out to lightly pinch her cheek. I dont get to see you enough anymore.

Well, you could come visit us, Brynn suggests, noticing that theres more gray than black in her fathers hair now. Wed love it if you would.

He brushes her off, as always. I dont know. Its a long drive. Well get there when we can.

Brynn can feel Sues sympathetic eyes on her, but she refuses to meet her gaze.

I wish she didnt know,Brynn finds herself thinking.Of all the people in my life, why does she have to be the one who knows about the baby?

Its not that shes afraid Sue will tell.

No, it just bothers Brynn that the one person with whom theres no love lost now knows the one thing she doesnt want anyone to know.

No,she immediately amends,not the onething .

Far better thatthis secret has been spilled than the other one.

After all, her pregnancy will eventually have to be shared anyway.

Eventually, Garth will get used to the idea. He loves her; h.e.l.l love the baby.

But if he found out that shes been keeping this information about Rachel from himfrom Rachels family, from the authoritiesfor all these years Well, chances are, he wouldnt be so understanding.

Fiona is right,Brynn realizes with sudden clarity, imagining how her life would come tumbling down around her if they went to the authorities now.

I cant get caught up in something like that Detectives, lawyers, reporters. A public scandal, an investigation, a trial? Prison?

She has two children to raise and another on the way. What would Garth do if she was found guilty of a crime and had to serve time? Hed be left alone with the kids, not to mention that his reputation on campus might be severely damagedguilt by a.s.sociation. He might lose his job.

Would he possibly stand by her? Forgive her?

Is he capable of that kind of unconditional love?

Unconditional lovethats what you get from a mother. Not necessarily from your spouse.

Brynn no longer has that person in her life. Someone who would staunchly support her if the whole world was against her. Someone who would step into her shoes and care for her children if she couldnt.

Yes, Fee is right. Why didnt I realize it before? We cant tell. No matter what.

This isnt easy for me. Isaac forces himself to look directly at Kylah, seated beside him on the couch.

She shrugs, still wearing the carefully noncombatant expression she had donned when he woke her a few minutes ago and told her they have to talk.

Now? she asked, trying to burrow into her pillow.

Now, he said.

He just spent a sleepless night thinking about his upcoming meeting with that detective, and hes well aware that his past might be on the verge of exploding into the present. Hed better prepare Kylah.

I know you think Im involved with someone else, he begins awkwardly.

She doesnt respond, verbally or physically.

And I understand why you might think that.

Because you are?

No. Im not. Im not cheating on you. Thats not why Ive been He cant bring himself to say it.

She, however, can: Lying to me?

Isaac winces, wants to protest, but how can he? Thats precisely what hes been doing.

Im sorry.

You keep saying that. But you never say anything else.

I know, and He bites back anotherIm sorry .

He cant delay this any longer.

I had a younger sister, he tells her abruptly.

Surprise alights in Kylahs widened eyes. She knows only about his older sister, Carolyn, who lives near his mother in North Carolina.

She was a stepsister, he clarifies. I never told you about her, because Well, its really hard for me. He takes a deep breath, lets it out shakily.

Kylah is silent. Waiting.

Her name was Rachel.

Was.

She died?