Eddie climbed out of the car. He made it to his truck in half an hour, keeping well out of sight of the roads. It was now time to sleep and prepare. And then to act on the information he'd obtained tonight.

His shortcut to determine the ident.i.ty of the person who'd killed his father had worked to perfection. He just hoped the "execution" on the other end would be as flawless.

"It washis knife," Williams told King and Mich.e.l.le at the Battles' house. "His prints were on it. Eddie's not trying to hide that he did it. h.e.l.l, he's probably proud of it." knife," Williams told King and Mich.e.l.le at the Battles' house. "His prints were on it. Eddie's not trying to hide that he did it. h.e.l.l, he's probably proud of it."

Chip Bailey's body had been found the following morning by one of his men. The death of the veteran FBI agent had staggered everyone.

"Pretty d.a.m.n b.a.l.l.sy for Eddie to come out of hiding to take out Chip like that," said King.

"I'm not sure that's the only reason he came out," replied the police chief. "You two better come with me."

He drove them to theGazette building and pointed out the word on the wall that Eddie had written there. building and pointed out the word on the wall that Eddie had written there.

TEAT.

King looked at the word and then glanced at Williams. "Teat? What, like a cow's teat? You're sure this was Eddie's doing and not some kid's prank?"

"No, I'm not sure. It looks like just that, in fact. But theGazette isn't that far from the motel where Chip was killed." isn't that far from the motel where Chip was killed."

King looked around the room. "What would he want from here?"

Mich.e.l.le pointed to the numerous microfiche files. "Maybe he was looking for something in there."

"That's a lot to look at when you don't know what you're looking for," said King. He turned to Williams with a concerned expression. "You better watch your back, Todd."

"I'm not looking to get a knife in my chest. I've got twenty-four/ seven protection on me. I wish Chip had done the same."

"Maybe he thought it could never happen to him," said Mich.e.l.le. "Or maybe he was too proud."

"Or maybe he really believed Eddie was his friend," commented Williams.

"Some friend," remarked King. "How's the search coming?"

"Way too many back roads and woods. And apparently, everybody within a four-state area has called in and said they saw Eddie. He's ten feet tall with claws and has body parts dangling out of his blood-encrusted mouth. I swear to holy Jesus I don't know how anybody gets convicted in this country, I really don't."

"It only takes one good lead," Mich.e.l.le reminded him.

"I might die of old age before that happens," Williams shot back.

Mich.e.l.le looked at her partner. "What do you think, Sean?"

He shook his head wearily. "I think after all this, Eddie's in the driver's seat and we're back at square one."

CHAPTER 93.

KING AND SYLVIA HAD JUST FINISHEDdinner at her home. King had taken leave of the armed camp at Casa Battle. However, there was a deputy at the end of Sylvia's driveway just to make sure their private meal wouldn't be interrupted.

Sylvia played with the bracelet on her left wrist. "Where do you think he is?"

King shrugged. "Either a thousand miles away or ten feet, it's hard to say."

"He crushed Jean Robinson's skull, you know. And the windpipe of that police officer at the courthouse too. And he stabbed Chip Bailey so hard the knife blade hit the man's spinal cord! Not to mention what he did to Sally Wainwright and all those other peopleand almost killing you." almost killing you."

"And yet he didn't kill Tommy Robinson."

"You think that excuses what he's done?" she said sharply.

He looked at her over the rim of his winegla.s.s. "No." He rose and picked up the bottle of wine he'd brought. "This vintage is best drunk outside." He was tired of talking about Eddie. He was sick of it actually.

They walked down the steps to Sylvia's small dock.

"When did you put up the gazebo?" he asked.

"Last year. I like to sit and just look."

"You've got a nice spot to do it, although you ought to think about putting in a boat slip."

"I get seasick. And I'm not that good a swimmer."

"I'd be proud to teach you."

They sat and drank the wine.

"I'll get you out on my boat. It's actually a very safe lake," King said after a while.

"You're sure about that?"

"Absolutely."

The man alternated between swimming just below the surface for fifty feet and then coming up shallow, only his face out of the water, and taking a breath before heading back under. He came up one last time, treading water and looking around. It was just as he'd thought: they hadn't secured the dock. Why would they think of that? They were only the police.

Eddie swam the short distance to the dock with methodical strokes. In his black wet suit he was pretty much invisible. He reached the swim ladder, eased himself out of the water and then stopped, listening. He made a detailed sweep of the surrounding area before continuing up and onto the dock, then pulling up the watertight pouch that was tied to his foot. He took his gun out of the pouch and checked his watch. He'd have to move fast. It wasn't like he could make a quiet exit, although there were rumbles of thunder in the distance. He'd heard on his radio that a major storm was heading in: high winds, rain and lots of lightning and thunder. He couldn't have asked for a better night. The natural elements were always his friend, it seemed. That was good, because he didn't have any others.

He went to the storage shed, worked the combo on the lock, opened the door and went in. He grabbed the gear he'd need, hit the switch on the electric lift and hurried back out, the lift remote in hand.

The Formula FasTech was lowering into the water. Before he'd been caught, he'd had the foresight to make sure it was completely ready to roll. The dealer who'd sold it to his father had said it was one of the fastest boats-if notthe fastest-on the lake. Well, depending on how things went, he might just need every knot it could produce. fastest-on the lake. Well, depending on how things went, he might just need every knot it could produce.

He climbed into the c.o.c.kpit. When the boat was fully in the water, he hit the stop b.u.t.ton on the lift remote. All became silent again. He wouldn't turn on his running lights until he was well out onto the water, if even then. It was fortunate for him that no one else in his family was really much of a boater. There'd be no one coming down to the dock at this hour of the night. Lucky for them. He was in a killing mood, family or not. He couldn't seem to help himself now.

He waited, waited. There it was, the enormous crack of thunder as the storm began its barrage. He fired the twin Mercs almost simultaneously, and a thousand horsepower instantly lit up under him. He hit the captain's switch, which sent most of the engines' noise under the water. He eased back on the throttle, and the boat edged out of its slip. He turned the bow to the cove's opening, nudged the throttle forward and did about ten knots heading away from the house. He felt the hull trembling a bit under him, as though the Mercs were angry he wasn't pushing them harder, getting up on plane, blasting all comers away. He patted the dash.That will come later, I promise.

Once he hit an open channel, he went to half-speed and the FasTech immediately leaped to thirty-five knots, the Mercs still not entirely happy but getting there. He eyed the colorful GPS screen in the center of his dash and made his heading to the southeast at 150 degrees. There were no other boats on the water, and he knew the lake intimately. The channels were well marked with lighted buoys: red buoys blinking even numbers upriver and green buoys blinking odd numbers downriver. Shoals were marked in startling white light. He knew where they all were anyway. The only trouble one could get into was in the coves where low spots weren't always marked and the land jutted out randomly. However, his father had purchased a radar add-on for the FasTech, so he wasn't worried about running aground, even in the coves.Thanks, Dad, I owe you, you son of a b.i.t.c.h.

He kept his running lights off and upped his speed to fifty knots. He alternated between looking over the bow and glancing at the GPS. The Mercs were now fairly content; at least the hull had stopped trembling. He was up on plane and running smooth, though the storm was really blowing in now. He turned on his VHF radio and listened to the weather report. All small craft were being ordered off the water. People were being told to batten down the hatches. It was going to be a d.a.m.n fine corker of a storm.

Thank you, Jesus.He'd have the whole show to himself. He changed course when he hit the main channel and pointed his bow to the southwest now, 220 degrees on the compa.s.s. It was not all that far by water really. It was far longer by car, which was why he'd taken the boat. And anyway, the cops were watching all the roads. However, there was only one police boat on the water, and it only worked weekends when the lake was most crowded. There'd be no one out here to give him trouble tonight.

He stood at the wheel and let the wind whip across his face and lift his hair. As the breeze kicked up, so did the chop; edges of frothing white outlined the tops of the dark waves now. However, the FasTech ate through the two-footers and kept right on plowing. Eddie looked at the ominous sky. He'd always loved the outdoors. Riding horses, playing soldier, camping under the wide, wide sky, painting breathtaking sunrises, hunting and fishing, coming to understand how one thing worked with another, fed off each other.

It was all coming to an end, though. He understood quite clearly that this would be his last ride. Surprising how fast it had come. He was very strong and healthy, and yet his life expectancy had topped out at age forty. Yet when it was done, he would have accomplished everything he'd set out to do. How many people could claim that? He'd lived his life exactly on his terms, not his father's or his mother's or anyone else's. His alone.

It was a lie he told himself every day.

He opened the cooler and pulled out the single beer he'd put in there before he'd been arrested. He hadn't known then that he'd need the boat, only that he might.

The beer was warm, of course, all the ice long since melted. But it tasted so good. He held up the metal against his face and rammed the throttle to full forward. The Mercs woke up from their wimpy cruising speed, and the boat screamed to seventy nautical miles per hour and then beyond. The hills that rose up from the man-made lake flew past him; the thousands of trees dotting their skin were silent sentinels to his last hurrah.The Charge of Eddie Lee Battle and His Trusty Light Brigade.G.o.d, was he in his element.

"Into the breach once more," he screamed to the dark, flashing skies as the rain started to pour. He licked the drops off his face. "A man's greatest virtue is the courage of one against all. When it seems darkest, then there shall be light, if only from the pulse of one beating heart," he proclaimed, quoting the purple prose of some long-dead Civil War-era writer who'd probably never shouldered a musket in his life. As if on cue the sky was suddenly lit by a billion-candlepower stab of lightning and the thunder roared as the storm began to unleash itself.

The scream of the Mercs matched Mother Nature decibel for decibel. The wake behind him was enormous, but the ride was smooth, so d.a.m.n smooth, high up on plane as he was. Almost three-quarters of the thirty-five-foot boat was out of the water, blowing right through three-footers now. He was a frigging jet. n.o.body could catch him.

n.o.body!

CHAPTER 94.

MICh.e.l.lE PACED IN HER ROOMat Casa Battle like a caged beast looking for any possible opening to squeeze through to freedom. King had gone to Sylvia's for dinner. Why that bothered her she wasn't sure. Well, maybe she was sure. She hadn't been invited. And why exactly did that surprise her?

She finally bolted from her room, took the main stairs two at a time and went into the family room. She hadn't seen Remmy all day. Dorothea was probably asleep. She slept a lot. Who could blame her? She was ruined financially, had a drug problem, was still suspected of murdering Kyle Montgomery, and her husband had turned out to be a deranged killer and was on the loose. If it were Mich.e.l.le, she'd probably sleep for the rest of her life.

She stopped when she saw Savannah coming down the hall. The young woman was no longer dressing like her mother. Perhaps the invincibility of Remmy Battle was wearing thin. She had on low-slung jeans that showed the top edge of her black thong panties, a short off-the-shoulder blouse and no shoes on her feet, the toenails painted a candy-apple red.

She looked up in surprise when she saw Mich.e.l.le there, as though she wasn't even aware the woman had been staying with them all this time.

"How's it going, Savannah?"

Savannah's face clouded over. "Oh, just great. Father dead, sister-in-law a vegetable, mother whacked out, brother a serial killer. How's it going with you?"

"Sorry, poor choice of words."

"Forget it. It's not like you've had it easy either."

"Compared to your family, I think everyone on earth has had it easy." She paused, wondering whether to simply go back to her room and sulk. Rejecting that option, she said, "I was going to make some coffee. You interested?"

Savannah hesitated before answering, "Sure, it's not like I've got any plans."

The two women sat on a couch in the family room with their cups of coffee.

Mich.e.l.le looked toward the window where the rain was starting to ping against the panes. "Sounds like a storm is really blowing in," she said. "I hope Sean gets back soon."

"He's at Sylvia's?"

"That's right. He just went for dinner."

"Are you two sleeping together?"

Mich.e.l.le flinched at this blunt question. "Who, me and Sylvia?" she joked.

"You know who I mean."

"No, we're not. Not that it's any of your business."

"If I worked with Sean, I'd sleep with him."

"Good for you. But not really good for a stellar working relationship."

"You like him, don't you?"

"Yes, and I respect him. And I'm glad we're business partners."

"But that's all?"

"Why are you so interested in this?"

"Probably because I don't think I'll ever have anything like that. I mean someone in my life."

"What, are you crazy? You're young, beautiful and rich. You'll have your pick of any man you want. That's just the way the world works."

Savannah stared at her pointedly. "No, I won't."

"Of course you will. Why wouldn't you?"

Savannah started biting her nails.

Mich.e.l.le reached over and s.n.a.t.c.hed the hand out of Savannah's mouth. "Little kids bite their nails, Savannah. And while we're asking each other blunt questions, why don't you get your name taken off your a.s.s? That might help your marriage prospects, if you're so worried about it."

"That wouldn't help."

Mich.e.l.le eyed her warily. "Why the poor-little-me routine?"

Savannah suddenly exploded. "Because what if I'm as crazy as the rest of my family? My father was totally screwed up. My brother's a killer. Now I found out my other brother had syphilis. My mother is a freak unto herself. Even my sister-in-law is a total mess. It's a disease. You come into contact with the Battles, you're doomed. So what the h.e.l.l chance do I have? I've got no chance. None!" She dropped her cup of coffee on the floor, pulled herself into a ball and started sobbing.

Mich.e.l.le stared at her for a long moment, wondering if she even wanted to get involved in this. Finally, she reached over and hugged the woman tightly, said soothing words to her without really knowing their source. As the thunder boomed outside, Savannah's sobs started to recede, but the young woman still clung to Mich.e.l.le as though she were the only friend she'd ever had or ever would have.

All Mich.e.l.le really wanted to do was get out of this place as fast as she could. She would even tackle the homicidal Eddie head-on, so long as it was away from Casa Battle. And yet she stayed right there and embraced the sobbing woman and whispered comforting things into her ear. Mich.e.l.le held her like she was her own flesh and blood, silently thanking G.o.d she wasn't. For who knew, Savannah could well be right about everything she'd just said. Maybe the Battles were cursed.