I harrumphed. “I hate to break it to you, but I knew that yesterday.”
“But you came anyway.”
“Well, to be honest I wasn’t going to, but then I got your message.”
She feigned an innocent smile. “What message?”
“I think you know the message I mean,” I said, keeping my tone even and calm. “After all, you found it necessary to interrupt my lunch in order to deliver it.”
“Maybe you should eat faster.”
“I tried that once. It’s bad for my digestion.”
“Really. Perhaps you have an ulcer. You should probably have that checked.”
“Good advice. I’ll do that.”
She stared at me across the table, her expression blank. Rather than return the favor, I focused my gaze over her shoulder at a random point on the wall. After a long wait, I forced myself to yawn then stared back at her without saying a word.
“I still have no idea what message you are talking about,” she finally said.
“Really?”
“Why would I?”
“Because it came from you.”
“You really do need some rest, little man.”
“You’ll get no argument from me there. How about you? You’re looking a bit rough around the edges yourself.”
“I’m fine.”
“Don’t they let you look in the mirror around here? That body you’re wearing is in sad shape, lady. Annalise isn’t looking too well at all, and you know it.”
“That is because she is weak.”
“I guess that nap yesterday afternoon just wasn’t enough for her, was it?”
She simply stared back at me again, expressionless.
“I know what you’re doing, Miranda,” I told her. “They’ve found the body. But then, you already know that, don’t you?”
There was a flicker in her eye as she smiled, but other than that she remained silent.
I nodded. “Still no comment, I see. So, tell me…” I gestured at her. “Is this your grand plan for my wife? Ride her until nothing is left like you’ve done to Annalise. Then move on to the next horse? And then the next?”
She finally ended her purposeful reticence. “Felicity is different.”
“I can’t argue with you there. But even she wouldn’t be able to take the abuse you dish out forever. You would eventually burn her out too.”
“We will see.”
“No.” I shook my head. “No, we won’t.”
“I can make them stop, you know,” she said, stressing the sentence heavily.
The abruptness of the comment, as much as the words and tone, told me she was switching topics in an attempt to regain control.
“Make who stop?” I asked.
“Them,” she repeated. “The dead. I can make them leave you alone.”
“I doubt it.”
“Why, I made you understand them, did I not?”
In the wake of her question, a flash of memory played through my grey matter. To say it was familiar would have been the ultimate in understatements.
“Maybe…” I said. “But that’s not how it feels. It’s almost as if someone was translating for me.”
“Who?”
I sighed again. “That’s the problem. I have no idea. I feel like I should, but I just don’t…”
A line formed between a pair of the unrelated dots then continued on to another. Unfortunately, the picture that was starting to be revealed was far from pretty.
I nodded. “I guess I should have known it was you.”
“If I had wanted you to know it was me, you would have.”
I paused then picked up the bottle of water and drained it. Miranda watched me in silence.
Several heartbeats thudded inside my chest before I finally asked, “So, now you’re offering me a bribe?”
The corner of her mouth curled upward in a vile sneer. “I said that I could, little man. I never said that I would.”
“That’s right. You didn’t, did you…”
I looked over to the corrections officer in the corner and calmly said, “Okay. I’m done.”
He came forward and set about disconnecting the handcuffs from the table. I remained seated, watching the process unfold.
“You are not finished,” Miranda said. Her tone was flat.
“Yes, I am,” I replied.
“You still want to speak with Annalise,” she countered. There was no desperation or even urgency in her calm voice. It was simply a statement of fact.
“Yes. You’re right, I do. But you won’t let me, and I’m tired of playing your game.”
“You need me. You will be back.”
“No, Miranda, I don’t. And, I won’t.” I shook my head to punctuate the words. “Not this time.”
“Stand up,” the guard told her.
She complied but never took her eyes off of me. As the officer proceeded to connect the handcuffs to the belly chain around her waist, Miranda twisted her mouth into a wicked smile.
“Are you certain you want to do it this way?” she asked.
“You aren’t leaving me any choice, are you?”
“I suppose that is your perception,” she replied. “We will be seeing each other again soon, little man.” The comment was brimming over with innuendo, which she underscored with, “You know I will be coming for her.”
I nodded. “What I know is that you’ll try.”
“And I will succeed.”
“And why are you so sure of that?”
“Because, you no longer amuse me, and like you, I have tired of this game.”
“Meaning?”
“I will be coming to kill you first. Then, you cannot stop me.”
“I see. Well, that’s definitely what it’s going to take to get to her.” I shrugged. “Just out of curiosity, I don’t suppose you’d like to tell me who you’re going to be when you come to do this?”
“That would spoil the surprise, now would it not?”
“I suppose that is your perception,” I repeated her words back. “But, I thought you were tired of this game?”
“This is a new game.”
“So…how will I be able to play if I don’t know it’s you?”
“You will know,” she said. “But if it will help, I will wear something… or someone… special.”
Sunday, April 23
11:58 P.M.
Lambert Saint Louis International Airport
Baggage Carousel 3
Saint Louis, Missouri
CHAPTER 15
