The Woman Who Couldn't Scream

by Christina Dodd

  Kateri knew better. Lilith was one frightening woman and Kateri would never, repeat never, run afoul of her. Making Lilith angry was akin to poking a stick in the tiger’s cage in the belief that your reach was longer. Being wrong could leave you bleeding and possibly eviscerated.

  The fact Kateri had to take a fortifying breath to walk into her own office irritated her. So she fixed an artificial smile on her lips, took that fortifying breath and walked in. “Lilith, how good to see you after so many years.”

  Lilith didn’t get to her feet. She smiled with the same artifice Kateri had utilized—Kateri realized Lilith’s mother had taught them both that smile—and she looked her over from top to toe. “Darling Katherine, you really were battered by that big wave, weren’t you?” Which was Lilith’s less than subtle way of saying Kateri looked like hell.

  With her words, Kateri immediately felt every ache and pain. “The bullet four days ago didn’t help, either.” She headed around her desk for her chair and hoped she didn’t pitch forward in a faint. It wouldn’t do to show this woman any sign of weakness.

  “I heard the men out there saying that you’d hit a tree, too.”

  Another less than subtle suggestion that Kateri was a lousy driver. “Officer Moen hit a tree. I was the passenger.”

  “Ah.” Like the manipulative bitch she was, Lilith held out her arms. “Katherine, an embrace of sibling affection.”

  Kateri paused, halfway into a seated position. Damn. Really?

  Of course, really. Lilith had to establish her authority swiftly, and if she did not she would stretch out this whole wretched ordeal until she was satisfied she was dominant. With Lilith, it was simply easier to let her have her way.

  Kateri leaned on her stick and her desk to straighten herself, walked around the desk and met Lilith as she half-rose.

  Lilith offered her cheek.

  Kateri kissed it.

  There. Dominance established.

  Lilith’s nose wrinkled. “This place smells like dirty socks. You should command your staff to get in here and do some serious cleaning. Then get an interior decorator in to improve the décor.”

  Oh boy. People unclear on the concept. “The sheriff’s department gets its funding from the county council and the county council and the city council work in absolute opposition to each other until it comes to funding. At that point they agree that luxuries like excess janitorial staff and raises for public servants are unnecessary.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means I can’t afford an interior decorator.” Kateri retreated to her desk. “What can I do for you, Lilith?” For there was never a doubt she would be doing the favor.

  “Katherine, I bring bad tidings.” Lilith donned her sad face. “Our father, Neill Palmer … is dead.”

  “I know what his name is.” Kateri only wished she did not. “On the other hand, my name is Kateri. Not Katherine.”

  “Isn’t Kateri the Native American version of Katherine?”

  “Yes. They are as similar as Sean and John. One is not an acceptable substitute for the other.”

  Kateri might as well be finger-spelling for all the notice Lilith displayed. Lilith said, “Yes. About our father…”

  Kateri sighed. “Our father.” The man had twice ruined her mother’s life, once when he got her pregnant and abandoned her, and again when he had snatched his bastard daughter Kateri from the wilderness of Western Washington, took her to Baltimore and placed her in his bleak and glorious marble mansion. He cared nothing about Mary’s grief at losing her daughter. He had cared nothing about his wife and daughter’s horror at being saddled with a Native American savage. Most especially he had cared nothing for Kateri’s homesickness and unhappiness.

  Now he was dead.

  Kateri wished she could say she didn’t care. But every time she thought of her mother’s broken life, she burned with loathing. And to say she burned was not a metaphor; her hatred made her blood hot, her face flush, her stomach … burn.

  Rainbow had lectured her about carrying that kind of destructive baggage, and in theory, Kateri agreed. But although she had meditated, prayed and lectured herself, still the mention of her father’s name made her remember … and burn.

  Lilith said, “He departed this life as he had lived, a good man who fought a good fight—”

  Kateri gave herself extra points for not snorting.

  “—But in the end he could only succumb to the cancer that broke his body…” Lilith was watching Kateri all too closely. “You don’t seem surprised.”

  “I suspected.”

  “Why did you suspect, sister?”

  “He sent me a package. Since I hadn’t heard from him since I begged him to get me into the Coast Guard Academy, I figured something was up. Imminent death. Sudden insanity.” Perhaps that was a little cold.

  Lilith seemed not to notice. “What did the package contain?”

  “The raven.”

  “Edgar Allan Poe’s raven.”

  “That’s right.”

  “What else?”

  What else? A photo album filled with pictures of her father and her mother taken during that summer when he romanced the Indian maiden named Mary and Mary fell in love with a man who didn’t exist. “Nothing.”

  Lilith’s eyes narrowed. “Do you still have the raven and the box it came in?”

  Did Lilith not know about the album? “No.”

  Lilith leaned forward. “What do you mean, no?”

  “I mean I wanted to toss the whole thing into the ocean—”

  Lilith gasped in outrage. “That raven is of historical importance!”

  “—but my friend took it so I could not.” Probably Lilith didn’t know about the album. Even if she did, why would she care about photos of her father and one of his affairs? The answer was clear; she wouldn’t.

  “Your friend … your friend took it? The raven?” Lilith clutched the arms of the chair so tightly her stacked Tiffany rings lifted off her skinny fingers. “You allowed that?”

  For the first time, Kateri began to enjoy herself. “One does not allow Rainbow to do anything. She is a force of nature.”

  In that East Coast patrician accent that was for Kateri like nails on a chalkboard, Lilith said, “That raven is a precious artifact that belongs to the family as part of our noble inheritance. I would emphatically request of your friend that she give it back to you and you give it to the estate.”

  Yes. This was definitely enjoyable. “That’s not possible.”

  “Why not?”

  “Rainbow took the box and didn’t tell me where she put it. I don’t know where it is.”

  Enunciating clearly, Lilith said, “Go ask your friend where she put it.”

  “She’s in a coma.”

  “You’re joking.”

  Kateri’s wisp of enjoyment evaporated. “Would that I were. Rainbow was shot in the same incident that put a bullet through me. She’s in a coma. She’s not expected to live.”

  “Let’s search her house!”

  There was the sister Kateri knew and despised. No compassion, no interest in another’s welfare, no kindness, only a determination to get her way at any cost. “Rainbow is still alive and searching her house would constitute breaking and entering.”

  “Surely she has designated a guardian in case…”

  “In case she got shot? Unlikely.” Kateri was Rainbow’s emergency contact, but she felt no need to tell a sister who would view that as an open invitation. “Her parents are currently in Nepal. We’re unable to reach them.” That, at least, was the truth.

  “Unfortunate.” Lilith tapped her well-manicured nails on the arm of her chair. “Yet I don’t see what harm would come of searching her closets…”

  “The main harm would be that I’d have to arrest my own sister. I am the sheriff, you know.” It was amazing how the thought of putting handcuffs on Lilith revived Kateri.

  “Yes. I’m aware. Naturally, I wouldn’t do it.”

&n
bsp; Foolish Kateri, thinking Lilith would do physical labor. “Nor would I.”

  “I suppose not. You do have a staff.”

  “A staff.” Kateri glanced at the stick near at hand, then with a start comprehended Lilith’s meaning. “Ah. The Virtue Falls law enforcement team. They’re also opposed to breaking and entering. On principle.”

  “I suppose it’s required. They seemed unaware that you have a sister and a family in Baltimore.”

  “My sister always seemed surprised that she had a sister. And no, I don’t brag about my time in Baltimore with your family.”

  “Your family, too. I would have thought it would lend you credibility to have our family in your background.”

  Kateri’s hackles went up. “My family is here. On the reservation. In town. Up and down the coast. My family looks like me, not you.”

  “I don’t understand your attitude. You achieved your success in the Coast Guard due to our father’s influence.”

  Kateri’s hackles got hedgehog high. “I got into the Coast Guard Academy due to your … our … father’s influence. I succeeded because of my own efforts.”

  Lilith smiled that tight-ass smile that caused wrinkles in her upper lip. “Father liked you, you know.”

  Kateri blinked. Of all the things she expected to hear today, that was at the bottom of the list. “I can’t imagine that’s true. Especially after the tsunami when I was court-martialed and discharged from the Coast Guard. Being the town librarian seems nothing that would excite his admiration.”

  “At that point, he did stop unfavorably comparing me to you. That was a relief. I was tired of that.” Lilith stood. “Where is your home? The trip was exhausting and I need to rest.”

  Kateri’s jaw dropped. She knew it was unattractive and gave too much away. But … “You can’t stay with me. I’ve got a one-bedroom apartment. With a single bed.” No. She was not contaminating her house with this woman’s presence.

  “I had assumed you—”

  “No! Not unless you want to sleep on the couch.”

  “You could—”

  “I’m wounded.” Inspiration struck. “Also, yesterday there was a break-in.”

  “A break-in? Why? Surely you have nothing anyone would want.”

  True. Kateri had nothing anyone would want. “Maybe the raven?”

  “Yes. You do have that. Somewhere.”

  “We believe it’s the criminal who is currently at large and causing havoc in the county. You simply cannot stay at my house. It isn’t safe.”

  “Where should I go?”

  Kateri noted that it never occurred to Lilith to wonder if Kateri’s home was safe for Kateri. But not to cavil; at least she had easily abandoned her intention to freeload off Kateri. “It’s summer. This is a tourist town.” She experienced a flutter of panic. “You mean you showed up here without making reservations?”

  “I had hoped to finish our business and leave within the hour.”

  Of course you did. Kateri used a tissue to blot her suddenly hot forehead. “No reservations…”

  “Perhaps one of your friends…”

  My poor, unsuspecting friends. No. “A new bed-and-breakfast opened in town. Good Knight Manor Bed and Breakfast. Nice old mansion. I’ve heard their meals are superior. Maybe you can get a room there.”

  “A bed-and-breakfast?” Lilith made it sound like a brothel. “Is there no other hotel? A Four Seasons or a Hyatt?”

  “In Seattle.” Go!

  Lilith opened her Ferragamo purse, fished out a small leather notebook embossed with her initials, removed the affixed Tiffany’s pen and clicked it officiously. “What’s the name of the bed-and-breakfast again?”

  “The Good Knight Manor Bed and Breakfast.”

  Lilith pulled out the smallest cell phone on the market, found the number, called the proprietor, asked for a room and said that she needed it tonight, asked for a room and said that she needed it tonight, asked for a room and said that she needed it tonight … and somehow, through the process of sheer nagging, she got her way.

  Kateri reflected that she should feel guilty for siccing Lilith on the inexperienced and unsuspecting proprietress, and maybe she did. But not enough to share her apartment.

  Lilith held up her hand. “Don’t get up on my account. I can find my way out and around your little town.”

  “You do that. I need to do some paperwork.” Actually Kateri needed to think. She watched her sister leave, then leaned back in her chair and tapped her pencil on the desk. And waited.

  As expected, Bergen showed up. “Who was that?”

  “My sister.”

  In tones of doubt, Bergen admitted, “That’s what she said.”

  “Then it’s unanimous.”

  “I didn’t know that you … I thought you were … What does she…?” Kateri watched him struggle to think of an appropriate tactful response. He must have decided discretion was the better part of valor, for he sank down in the chair Lilith had just vacated. “No fingerprints for your apartment. Nothing unexpected. You. Rainbow. Stag. Someone came in and searched the place. Someone who was smart enough to wear gloves.”

  “John Terrance is smart enough.”

  “But why would he care? Seems as if he’d want us to know he’d been there.”

  She and Bergen had arrived at similar conclusions. Which meant there was a pretty good chance it was a solid conclusion. “I’ll tell you what. Today we’ll get someone in there to clean up my place and I’ll move back in.”

  “Not a good idea.”

  “I think it might be.”

  “Who do you think…?” He glanced out the door. “Your sister?”

  “It’s just a suspicion.”

  “Why?”

  Kateri tapped the pencil again. “Family heirloom.”

  “You’ve got a family heirloom? How did you get it?”

  “Our father sent it to me.”

  “Ooh. You share a father. Makes sense.” Bergen stared into Kateri’s face, trying to see a hint of Anglo-Saxon.

  “I’m tall,” she said. “I’ve got long arms. That’s what I got from him. My father. Neill Palmer. Hopefully that’s all I got from him.”

  “And the family heirloom,” Bergen said helpfully. “Miss Palmer doesn’t seem the type to go in for breaking and entering.”

  “She’s the type to believe she can get away with anything. And she’s usually right. I’ll go clean my stuff out of Rainbow’s house”—and look through the closets myself—“then let’s all keep an unofficial eye on Rainbow’s house and see if anything happens there in the way of unauthorized entry.”

  Bergen contemplated Kateri. “I have a sister with a sense of entitlement … she’s a pain in the keister. But my grandma always said to remember this one piece of wisdom—there are no functional families.”

  Kateri liked that. “Your grandmother sounds pretty smart.”

  “Scary smart. That’s why my grandfather killed her.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Since that moment when Merida woke in the hospital to discover she no longer had a nose and all the bones in her face were broken … she had not slept well. She used to lay in the bed next to Nauplius and listen to him snuffle and snore, get up to pee and grumble about his prostate, watch the dawn arrive and wish that she were dead. Or he were.

  He had finally obliged, toppling without warning into hell, and she was free, and although she was trying to regain the habit of slumber, she only achieved sleep in short bursts. In her periods of wakefulness the psychological cancers of the past gnawed at her, and so she had developed the habit of rising with the sun and going out for a run.

  After Merida’s arrival in Washington, she had discovered that in June, the sun rose very early, and by Tuesday, she had settled into a routine. As the sun began to lighten the sky, she slipped out of bed, dressed in yoga pants and a ragged T-shirt and quietly (very quietly) made her way out of the Good Knight Manor Bed and Breakfast. She ran along the sidewalk broken by tree
roots, past tall hedges and along the shadowy street.

  The years of living with Nauplius had changed her, kept her at all times on the lookout for treachery. Every day she varied her route … and yet somehow, she always found herself racing along toward the sea, where glorious eternity greeted her. With each step she felt as if she could fly into the wind. There on the shore, her restless fears blew away.

  Today she returned to the B and B—she had so far managed to avoiding meeting anyone other than Phoebe—and went to work. In the afternoon, she explored Virtue Falls and its small cache of restaurants and take-outs. She kept herself fed, she advanced her revenge and she avoided the difficulties of socializing with Phoebe’s other guests.

  Or, God forbid, the Cipres. She’d seen no sign of them, but then, she’d been careful not to. Still, her isolation gave her hope …

  Today she determined she would try a different adventure, and a trip to the grocery store with her new insulated grocery bag netted her a frozen dinner. Surely frozen dinners had improved since her college years …

  Merida parked in her spot beside the Good Knight Manor Bed and Breakfast carriage house; through the windows, she caught a glimpse of someone moving around inside.

  Phoebe’s newest guest must have arrived.

  Grocery bag in hand, Merida hurried past. When she opened the side door, a blast of rich, vibrant, appetizing scents rushed out.

  That’s right. It was Tuesday evening, that time when Phoebe served an international dinner with the intention of herding her guests toward conviviality.

  Not just no. Hell no.

  Intent on reaching her rooms unnoticed, Merida sneaked up the stairway to the second floor into the dim, empty corridor. She unlocked her bedroom door with both Phoebe’s old-fashioned key and her own electronic security code, then jumped when beside her, a timid voice said, “Miss Falcon?”