he snatched the snake behind the head. He brought it close to Evangeline’s face, and when he poked the snout with his club, the mouth widened, revealing the cottony interior and the long, razorlike fangs.
The swampy stench of the snake filled her nostrils as a cold, black terror dropped over her. Was this what he had in store for J.D.?
Adrenaline surged through her veins as her hand scrabbled across the dirt, searching for the gun. Her fingers closed around a stick, and when he lifted the snake high over his head, mumbling words she could not understand, Evangeline reared up and drove the makeshift weapon into his eye with all the strength she could muster.
He screamed and dropped the snake.
The thick body fell hard against Evangeline’s chest, then sprang forward in a blur. The fangs sunk into the man’s neck and hung for the longest time as he fell backward to the ground, writhing in pain.
Evangeline grabbed the club and scrambled to her feet. Flinging the snake aside, the man, on hands and knees now, tried to get up, too, but Evangeline was ruthless now. She swung the club and connected with his temple, then the back of his neck. He fell face forward into the dirt and did not move again.
Dropping the club, Evangeline turned. Rebecca lay on the ground at the foot of the porch steps, blood gushing from a wound in her chest. Her sister was on her knees beside her.
“She’s been hit,” Lena said on a sob. She lifted Rebecca’s slim body in her arms and rocked her back and forth. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.” She looked up with shimmering eyes. “I never meant for this to happen.”
“I know.”
“She’s my baby sister. I’m supposed to take care of her, but I couldn’t help her. I couldn’t save her.”
Evangeline turned from the weeping woman and bolted up the steps. As she stepped inside the house, J.D.’s cries seemed to surround her and she knew where he was.
She opened the door to the whispering room, where she herself had once lay hidden.
A ray of sunshine fell on J.D., and for a moment, Evangeline’s breath caught in her throat as the light haloed his hair. The dark history of the house whispered through the silent rooms as she bent and gently picked him up, cradling him to her heart.
“It’s okay. Shush. It’s okay. I’m here now.”
Something in her voice must have reassured him because he calmed almost instantly. His little fist tangled in his mother’s hair and he held on for dear life.
“I’m here,” she whispered over and over. “I’m finally here.”
Outside, the woman who called herself Lena was still on her knees beside Rebecca, her face buried in her sister’s hair. There was nothing Evangeline could do for either of them now.
As she started down the steps, the weeping woman looked up. There wasn’t a tear in her eyes or on her face.
“I can’t let you leave here,” she said.
Evangeline’s heart began to pound as she clung to J.D. There wasn’t a trace of Lena Saunders on her face. She was Ruth now.
“Give me the baby, Evangeline. You know I have to do this. It’s the only way.”
“It was you.” Evangeline’s gaze went to Rebecca’s still form on the ground. “She was telling the truth. It’s always been you. You’re the one who visits Mary Alice at Pinehurst. You pretended to be Rebecca to give yourself cover. Everyone knows she’s been in and out of psychiatric hospitals for years. She wouldn’t be held responsible for her actions, but you would be. You—Lena Saunders—could face the death penalty for what you’ve done.”
“Give me the baby, Evangeline.”
“You were very clever, too. Oh, so concerned about your sister. You left all those cranes for me to find, the snakeskin in my house.You laid the ground-work, had it all planned out.” Evangeline glanced down at the scarred man’s prone body. “You even found someone to share in your delusions, didn’t you? Someone who didn’t mind doing your dirty work.”
“Give the baby to me!”
“Go to hell.”
“It’s the only way to save him. Let me do what I was meant to do.”
“Murder children?”
“You don’t understand. I’m guided by His hand. Just as our mother was. Rebecca wanted to be, but she was too weak. You’re strong like me, Evangeline. You’re my only sister now. My blood is your blood. Our father’s blood is his blood.” She nodded toward J.D. “You have to let me save him.”
“You’ll have to kill me first.”
Ruth’s blue eyes darkened. “Think what Johnny would have wanted.”
“Don’t you dare even speak his name,” Evangeline said furiously. “You used his memory to get to me. You never even met him, did you?”
“What does it matter? All that matters is this child. You know what he’ll grow up to be. Do you really want that for him? Think about it, Evangeline. How much do you love your son? Johnny’s son. How far are you willing to go to protect him, to save his immortal soul from eternal damnation?”
“I’ll go as far as I have to,” Evangeline said, backing across the porch. “Even if it means killing you.”
“You can’t run away from who we are. You told me that once, remember? You said Ruth was still inside me somewhere. Her story is my story. Her truth is my truth. And you were right, I am Ruth Lemay. And you’re my sister. The DNA, the blood… it’s a part of us. And now it’s a part of your son.”
Evangeline kept backing away from her. Ruth was still standing at the foot of the steps when the bullet caught her in the back. The punch drove her forward and she dropped to her knees, her gaze locking with Evangeline’s.
The gun slipped from Rebecca Lemay’s fingers as her sister’s body fell across hers.
Her hand cradling J.D.’s head, Evangeline stumbled down the steps. As she started across the yard, a car emerged from the trees and slammed to a halt. A man got out and ran toward her. It was Nash.
A squad car came out of the woods behind him. And then another. Evangeline paid no one any mind, even when someone called her name. She kept walking until the distance between her and Nash had vanished.
He stood looking down at her for the longest moment, and then his arms came around her and J.D. and he held them both close.
After two days, Lynette was taken out of intensive care and moved to a private hospital room. When Evangeline stopped by on her lunch break, her mother was sitting up in bed. She smiled when Evangeline walked through the door and started to reach out her arms for a hug, then thought better of it.
Evangeline sat down on the edge of the bed.
“How are you feeling?”
Lynette was still smiling, but her eyes brimmed with tears. “Much better. The doctor said I might be able to go home in the morning.”
“That’s great. Will you need a ride?” Evangeline hated that her voice sounded so stilted, but she couldn’t seem to help it. So much had happened. So many lies had been uncovered. It would take her a while to sort them all out.
“I don’t want to trouble you. Besides…” Lynette glanced away. “Your father said he’d come by and drive me home.”
Evangeline stared down at her in surprise. “That’s okay with you?”
Lynette shrugged. “It’s just a ride. It doesn’t mean anything.” But there was a hopeful note in her tone that she couldn’t quite suppress. Then her expression darkened and tears flooded back into her eyes.
“Evangeline…I’m so sorry. Your dad and I should have told you the truth a long time ago. What we did was wrong, but it was for the right reason. We wanted desperately to protect you. What that woman did to her children…we never wanted you to have that burden. And over time, it just became easier to pretend that you were
