'His name's Norman Lipsy. He's a plastic surgeon.
He's a criminal. He gave that poor man your face, but you're the one who killed him. You're a filthy murderer, not just a wife beater. And a traitor to your country.'
'Why do you denounce me only for my more pedestrian deeds? I did one really good thing, something I'm quite proud of that you haven't mentioned.
'I put my darling daughter away for six months. I do believe that was my favorite project in the last few years. 'Putting you away. Having you under my control. Never having to see the contempt and hatred on your face when you happened to see me. God, how I enjoyed seeing you like a rag doll, your mouth gaping open, looking so stupid and vague that it wasn't even much fun watching that pathetic Holland take off your clothes and bathe you and then dress you again like you were his dolly.
'Toward the end there, I didn't even enjoy slapping you to get your attention. You didn't have any to get, and you got too thin. I told Doctor Beadermeyer to feed you more, but he said all he could do was keep you stabilized. Then you escaped by hiding the pills beneath your tongue. 'To see you in my house, in my study, just after I'd shot Jackie. It was a shock.'
He struck a pose she'd seen many times in her life. He propped his elbow up on his other arm and cupped his chin in his hand. It was his intellectual, thoughtful look, she supposed. All he needed was Scott's pipe and perhaps Sherlock Holmes's hat.
'There you were, leaning over poor Jackie-that greedy little bugger-then you turned and saw me, saw me as clear as day. I could see the recognition in your eyes. You picked up my gun. I'd put it down to get some papers from my desk. But then you picked it up, and I had no choice but to run. I hid outside and watched you shake your head, clearly disbelieving you'd seen me. I saw Noelle and Scott come running in. I heard her screarn and scream. I saw Scott nearly chew through that damned pipe of his.
'Then you ran, didn't you, Sally? You ran and you threw my prized pistol in the bushes. I couldn't get you then and I'll tell you the truth, I was scared. 1 had to get my gun first, though, and I did. But I'll tell you, I was worried, and I stayed worried for a long time. So what if you told the world you'd seen me, your father? If you did, even though you were certifiably crazy, they might have insisted that an autopsy be done, that dental records be compared, but you were so afraid, you just ran. You ran here, to The Cove, to Amabel.
'I didn't find out for a good four days that you'd blocked it all out. That you ran because you believed that either you'd killed me or dear Noelle had.'
She was trying to take it all in, to realize that she'd never been wrong, to at last understand what this man was. She said slowly, “Quinlan made me remember. That and re-creating the scene, I guess you'd say. I saw everything then, everything.'
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“I bet you want to know who the man was who looked like me. He was just a guy I discovered in Baltimore one day when I was meeting one of the Iraqi agents. He was broke, looked remarkably like me-same height, nearly the same weight-and then I knew when I saw him, just knew that he'd be the one to save me.'
Why, she wondered, was he talking so much? Why was he just standing there pouring all this out to her?
And she realized then that it pleased him to brag about his brilliance to her. To make her realize how truly great he was. After all, she'd been in the dark about everything. Oh, yes, he was enjoying himself. 'Jackie who?'
'You know, I really don't remember his last name. Who cares? He played his role and played it perfectly.' Amory St. John laughed. “I promised him a truckload of money if he could impersonate me. I wish you could have heard him practicing my voice tones, my accent. It was pathetic, but both Doctor Beadermeyer and I told him he had a great ear, that he had all my mannerisms, that he could play me to perfection. That's what he believed would happen. He believed he was going to take my place at a big conference. It was his chance to do something, his chance to make a big score. He was a credulous fool.'
'Now he's a dead fool.'
'Yes.'
She began to pull on the ropes ever so slightly as she said, 'Doctor Beadermeyer is down, but you already know all that. He'll spend the rest of his miserable life in prison. Holland told the FBI everything.
All those people-people like me-will be let out of that prison that you call a sanitarium, like it's a resort where people go to recuperate and rest.'
“Yes, but who cares about all those other people? They weren't my problem, just you. I only regret that the sanitarium will be closed down. It was such a perfect place for you. Out of the way for good. It all fell into place once I met Jackie. I already knew Doctor Beadermeyer and all about that little racket of his.
Nearly seven months ago, it all came together.
'I got you out of the way-with Scott's help, of course. He was such a miserable little fool, afraid he'd get caught, but I'll tell you, he sure liked the money he got from helping me. And, you see, I knew all about his lover. At least I made sure you didn't get AIDS. I threatened Scott that if he made love to you-if he could force himself to do the deed-then he had to use a condom. Doctor Beadermeyer checked your blood. Thanks to me, you're well. But Scott did play his part. Once he was free of you, he spent his money and dallied openly with his lover. He was a good pawn. Where was I? Oh, yes, then Jackie went under the knife, and I finalized my plans. But you had to butt in, didn't you, Sally? I had you all locked away and still you got out. Still you had to try to ruin my plans. Well, no more.'
'Do you hate me so much just because I tried to protect my mother from your fists?'
'Actually not. It was natural that I wouldn't like you very much.'
'It's because you believed that I'd learned about your illegal arms sales?'
'Did you?'
'No.'
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'My dealings with other governments had nothing to do with it. Scott was afraid you'd seen something, but I knew you would have acted in a flash if you had. No, that didn't concern me. Fact of the matter is, you're not my daughter. You're a fucking little bastard. And that, my dear Sally, is why Noelle never left me. She tried once, when
