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“I think we can all agree on that,” Ned said, standing up. “It’s almost nine. I’m going downstairs.”
Camille watched as he limped from the room.
“That man needs to go home. Tonight,” Maire said, walking over to Camille. “Every single close call was his fault. Think about it. He plays dirty. He cut my rope and almost drowned all of us.”
“The only way to make that happen is to make sure he doesn’t win the next challenge,” Samuel said, rubbing his eyes and heading toward the exit. “Fern said it wasn’t a physical game, thank God.”
“Yes, but simply beating him won’t be enough,” Maire insisted. “He has to be voted out. Ned is famous and popular. That’s a hard combination to beat. The audience rules in this game.”
“You don’t think the audience sees Ned for what he is?” Camille asked. “You don’t think they see how he plays dirty?”
“They either don’t see it or don’t care,” Maire said, with a rueful little laugh. “I don’t understand. But if I lose to that son of a bitch...” Maire got to her feet and slammed her coffee cup on a side table.
This was not going to end well. “Wait,” Camille said, getting to her feet. “Let’s just lay it all on the line. What did you do?”
Maire looked back at her blankly, but she thought she saw a spark of fear in Samuel’s eyes.
“Listen, I know her. I know Fern and she’s not who she says she is.”
Maire crossed her arms over her chest. “What do you mean? You said earlier you didn’t know who she was. You said you never met her.”
Camille held up a hand. “I know, but I wasn’t sure then. I am now. She was one of my patients.”
“A patient?” Samuel stared at her in disbelief. “None of this is making sense.”
“A woman came to my office wearing a baseball cap and big sunglasses. She said her name was Nan, but I think it was Fern. I saw Fern’s ID. Her full name is Fernanda.”
“You’re saying she wore a disguise?” Maire gave a chuckle of disbelief. “Like in some stupid movie? Come on, Camille, I may not be a doctor, but I’m not an idiot.” She turned to Samuel. “Do you see what she’s doing? She’s trying to fuck with us. She’s screwing with our heads so she can win the money.”
“I want to hear what she says,” Samuel said.
Camille saw the hard look Maire gave him. A warning.
“I want to hear,” he repeated more forcefully and sat back down.
“Fine,” Maire finally said, throwing up her hands in defeat. “Tell us about Nan.”
Camille knew this could be her last chance to make them see. Make them understand. “About nine months ago, out of the blue, a woman came to see me at my practice. She said her name was Nan and that she was struggling with her boss.”
Maire rolled her eyes, but Camille kept going. “Think about it. Why haven’t we met Fern’s boss? Why don’t we have any idea who the person behind the show is?”
“You’re losing me,” Samuel said.
“Nan... Fern said that her boss was ruthless, would do anything to get back at people who wronged her. Look at what happened to the senator.”
“And you think she created this reality show to get back at us?” Samuel rubbed his forehead. “I’m sorry, that, that...” He shook his head.
“Makes no sense,” Maire finished, but Camille could tell she had hit a nerve. “Who would want revenge against all of us?”
“I know,” Camille said, hearing how ridiculous it sounded said out loud. “But I’m sure it’s her. I think I recognize her tattoo.” Camille pointed to the inside of her wrist. “A dragonfly.”
“I didn’t see a tattoo,” Samuel said. “Camille, come on.”
“She covers it up with makeup for the show, I think.” Camille was losing them. “I know it’s hard to believe. But think about it. Think about the puzzles. Did yours relate specifically to you? To a certain time or event in your life?”
Samuel’s face turned stony, and Maire shook her head impatiently.
“My puzzle was of a painting in my office,” Camille confessed. “How would anyone know that unless they’ve been there? Fern was there. I know it.” When neither of them responded, Camille knew she had one more try. She thought of her Game Changer. She had two more statements to utter in front of the cameras and she was sure they related in some way to Maire and Samuel.
