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When Caroline had mentioned her taking a swim, he'd automatically thought pool, which was right outside the back door off the terrace. But Berry could have gone swimming in the lake. In which case, it would be taking longer for them to get inside.
Caroline would have had to walk to the end of the pier. Maybe Berry had been far out. Maybe it had taken a while for her to notice Caroline signaling from the shore, then several minutes for her to swim in and for them to walk back to the house.
His phone rang. "Berry?"
"Me," Dodge said. "She didn't answer."
"Christ. I should have told Caroline to take the phone with her when she went to get Berry."
"She ain't stupid, Ski."
He was right. Caroline didn't need it spelled out for her. She would have immediately grasped the implications of Starks's being alive. She would have taken every precaution, and that would have included keeping a telephone in her hand.
Dodge's thoughts were running parallel. "The only reason she wouldn't call you back is if she couldn't."
Ski's stomach dropped. He started swearing, started praying, stamped the accelerator.
Oren forced the two women at gunpoint into the living area. He motioned toward the sofa and ordered Caroline to sit. Berry he kept standing in front of him, the pistol against her temple. "This is a lovely room," he said pleasantly, looking around.
"You've been here," Berry said. "When you took back the bracelet."
He laughed. "So you noticed it was missing? I wondered. I thought you might check for it when it was found on Sally. And I was right."
"You also came into the house this morning when we weren't here."
He laughed. "You discovered the bag in the guest room? I guess I can't blame you for switching rooms. Imagine my surprise when I saw my gifts on the kitchen table. I replaced them in the bag and even added some duplicate prints of the photos I took of you. The close-ups." He licked his lips obscenely.
Berry looked away in disgust, but he placed the pistol along her cheek and forced her to look at him. "It was Carl who came here last Friday night. I had laid the groundwork, showed him the photos, and drew him the layout of the house. I had told him a thousand times to wait until you and Ben were cozy in bed. He was to shoot you both and get out. No fuss, no muss. But, the best-laid plans..." He sighed.
With his free hand he picked up a picture frame from an end table and looked at the photograph. To Caroline he said, "You're very photogenic. Just like Berry."
She merely glared at him.
"You said Carl was in an institution," Berry said. "When did he get out?"
"Couple of years ago. The state declared him cured. He got dumped on me because of Mother's condition. He'd been the bane of my childhood, now I was responsible for him for the rest of his life. Wonderful. Fabulous.
"But then," he said, his inflection shifting, "when I started thinking about how I could get revenge on all you hateful people at Delray, I saw a way to put the head case to use. I began brainwashing him on how evil you were, how you must be killed, how it was up to him to do it if he wanted to go to heaven and live with Mother forever and ever." His giggle sent chills down Berry's spine. "It worked."
"It didn't work very well," Caroline remarked coolly.
Berry was surprised and grateful for her composure. Her mother had to be every bit as afraid as she was, yet she gave the impression of being calm. "Mother is right, Oren," Berry said. "Carl made mistakes. Ben survived. He panicked and couldn't shoot me. He--"
"Shut up!" Oren barked. "I know all about it."
"From Carl? You saw him after he left here on Friday night?"
"He's the idiot, Berry, not me. Of course I didn't see him. But I'd given him a cell phone, so we could stay in touch. He was to call me as soon as it was done. When he did call, he was blubbering, crying, telling me he'd failed, wailing because now he wouldn't go to heaven. I got the details from news reports. Oren Starks was a wanted man, so I had to get Carl out of sight. I told him to find a place to hide."
"The motel."
"It seemed like a good idea," he said defensively. "That goof-up was a--"
"It was a fatal shooting of an innocent boy."
Oren shrugged. "It was that kid's time to die."
"And Mr. Mittmayer's, too, I suppose."
