“Sondra was in the water,” Nora said. “When I picked him up, I saw her floating in the water.”
I sagged back against the wall. My mother had fallen in before Nora arrived.
“I killed her.”
“You killed her!” I exclaimed, then softened my voice.
“Did you push her? I thought she was already in the water.”
“I didn’t get her out. Holly said I should have pulled her out.
Holly said I knew how to swim. I killed Sondra when I didn’t pull her out. But I was too afraid. I knew I should go in, but the water was dark and scary. I thought the river wanted me, too. I rang the bell.”
“Nora, listen to me. You didn’t kill my mother. It wasn’t your fault. You rang the bell. That was a good thing to do.”
Clutching her legs, pressing her forehead against her knees, Nora rocked herself. “Holly said she wouldn’t tell anyone I killed Sondra if I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone I saw her outside. It’s a secret, she said, don’t tell.”
I bit my lip, bit back my anger at Holly. She could be innocent, I argued with myself; she could have been nothing more than scared. She was only eleven at the time. Perhaps she had set up Nora in case she herself were falsely accused, guilty of nothing more than looking out for herself at the expense of someone else. But she had used Nora cruelly, and today she had hit her, left her, and lied to Aunt Jule and me — at least to me.
Nora began to cry. “Holly said you were coming back to Wisteria because you were angry about your mother’s death. She told me not to talk to you and said that you would hurt me if you knew.”
“She was wrong. I’m not going to hurt you, Nora.”
Nora sobbed loudly.
“And you must believe me — you didn’t kill my mother.”
The sobs grew uncontrollable.
“You didn’t. I swear to you!”
Were Frank and Holly working together? What about Nick? I shrank from the thought that he was involved, but he was Frank’s nephew and Holly’s boyfriend, the link between them.
“Nora, why would Frank lock me in here? Do you know?”
Her sobbing grew less as she thought. “To help me?” she guessed.
I doubted it. What puzzled me was the fact that Frank didn’t disguise his effort to trap me. No one would believe what crazy Nora might say, but why wouldn’t Frank worry about an accusation by me?
The answer stopped my breath, shrank my stomach into a cold, hard rock. He wouldn’t worry if I were dead. He planned to kill me.
He — or they — were setting up Nora, beginning to work on her mentally by trapping us together. My death would be hung around her neck. It wouldn’t be hard; she had shown herself confused enough to accept the guilt for my mother’s.
I pulled away slowly from Nora. “I have to get us out of here. I’m going to look for a tool.”
I walked all the way around the boathouse, feeling for something I could use to smash the hinges of the door. The place had been stripped clean.
“Okay, Nora, I’m on the other side now. Don’t get scared.
I’m going to scream for help.”
I shouted till I tasted blood in my throat. It was useless.
Who would come — Aunt Jule? She couldn’t hear from the house. Besides, she could be part of the plan.
She’d have to be if my inheritance were the goal, and that was the only motivation for murder that I could imagine.
Frank, as lawyer and executor of the estate, would be able to process the will as quickly as possible, using his local clout to pull strings if necessary. But Aunt Jule was the designated heir, so there would have to be some agreement between them. As for the tension between my godmother and Frank, partners can quarrel, especially when the stakes are high.
I heard movement outside. I screamed again. Nora started shrieking with me. I hurried around the walkway to her. There was barking.
“Rocky!” I shouted. “Rocky, get help.”
Rocky, get help? What did I think he would do — run off like a dog in a Disney movie and fetch the police? I started laughing and crying at the same time, getting hysterical.
I heard noises at the back wall of the building, Rocky barking, Frank telling him to keep quiet. The noise stopped.
I heard Frank leave, his voice fading as he called the dog.
I removed my shoes. “Nora, there’s only one way out of here, under the doors to the river. I’m going to swim under and go for help.”
I put my feet over the side of the walkway, then rolled on my stomach so I could slide into the black water.
“No,” Nora protested. “No, don’t!”
“I’ll be back.”
“She’s in there. She’ll get you.”
Nora pulled on my arms. I was stronger than she and slipped free of her grasp, then thrust myself back in the water. When I straightened my legs and pointed my toes, they barely brushed the silty bottom. I tread water, trying to keep my mouth above it. Its slimy surface coated my arms and neck. Its earthy, sulfurous odor filled my nose and seemed to seep through the pores of my skin.
I turned my head, sniffing something different from river and rot.
“Nora, do you smell smoke?”
I heard her taking in deep, soblike breaths. “Yes.”
For a moment I was so shocked I couldn’t think what to do. It was too horrible — I could not believe that Frank would set the building on fire with us inside.
“Nora, get in. You have to get in the water.”
I heard her pull back against the wall.
“The boathouse is going to burn down. We have to get out of here now. Now! There’s no time. You must come with me.”
“No!”
“I’ll help you. I’ll hold on to you.”
“No!” she shrieked.
It was useless to try to convince her. She wasn’t thinking fire, she was too afraid of water.
“Okay, never mind,” I said quickly, and grasped the edge of the walkway. “Help me get out.”
As soon as her arms were around me, I pulled her into the water. She screamed.
“I’m here. Float on your back. I’ll help you.”
But she was terrified. I fought to get her into a life-saving carry. She clawed at me and tried to climb up on my shoulders. Desperate to get herself above the water, she pushed me under.
I struggled to the surface. Her fingernails dug into my skin.
She was much stronger than I’d realized and pushed me down again. I dropped way down, pulling Nora with me, hoping she would panic and let go.
It worked. I swam three feet away from her, then came up for air.
The smell of smoke was strong, smoke and lighter fluid.
My eyes stung with it. Nora was treading water but was so frightened she kept gulping it down.
“Get on your back, Nora.”
Her arms flailed wildly toward me, and I propelled myself backward in the water, out of her reach. She went under.
I dived and searched frantically for her, then grabbed her and pulled her to the surface, wrestling her onto her back.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw a bright flame shoot up a corner on the land side of the boathouse. I heard the crackling. Another flame shot up the second corner, as if following a trail of lighter fluid. I thought I heard barking, but it was too late to hope Rocky would draw attention. Doused with an accelerant, the wood in this house
