Deal Breaker

to head for the exit. Win kept close to Otto Burke, Larry Hanson, and Dean Gordon.

Jessica finally released her grip. 'Where were you?' she asked.

Myron swallowed. He nodded to Paul Duncan, shook hands with Edward and Christian, lightly kissed Carol on the cheek.

'I don't know how to say this,' Myron said.

'What's the matter?'

He looked her straight in the eye. 'I found Kathy. She's alive.'

The group went silent.

Jessica opened her mouth, closed it.

'I'm meeting her tonight,' Myron said.

Jessica finally found her voice. 'I don't understand.'

'It's a long story. But she's alive. I'll bring her home to you tonight.'

Jessica looked at Carol. Carol looked back. Everyone looked at everyone else.

'I'll go with you,' Jessica said.

'You can't.'

'Like hell I can't.'

'I promised her,' Myron said. 'Just me. Alone. She's scared.'

'Of what?'

'Of the person who tried to kill her.'

'Who?'

Myron shook his head. 'She wouldn't tell me. Not on the phone.' He took hold of Jessica's hand. It was cold and stiff. Like marble. 'I'll bring her right in to the house. I promise. We'll all talk then. But we can't risk scaring her off.'

Jessica shook her head. She looked lost. 'Where are you meeting her?'

'It's in the woods.'

'What woods?' Jessica pulled back a little. 'You're not making any sense.'

'I can't tell you, Jess. I promised her. Kathy said it's the spot where shewas left for dead. She wants to show me where it happened.'

More silence.

Paul Duncan said, 'Dear God.'

Carol practically fainted into his arms.

'Where has she been?' Jessica asked.

I only know bits and pieces from my investigation. She spent most of the time recovering from her injuries. She also spent some time in the Caribean.

An island called Curacao. I picked up her trail from an entry in St Mary Hospital's registry. On the night she vanished, she was found unconscious in the middle of a road. She gave her name as»Catherine Pierce.'

Carol gasped. 'Pierce? That's my maiden name.'

I don't know all the details yet. She was hit over the head.

The blow cracked her skull. The assailant thought she was dead. But

243

she wasn't. He buried her in the woods. She woke up and managed to dig herself out. It's a miracle she survived.'

Jessica's eyes filled with tears. 'She's alive?'

'Yes.'

'You're sure?'

'Yes.'

Jessica hugged her mother then. Edward joined in. Christian and Paul watched dumbfounded. Myron turned toward the door. Win was standing there. His nod was almost imperceptible.

244 48

Myron parked his car on the dirt road. He was alone. The car's clock read 8:30 p.m. He grabbed his flashlight and headed toward the meeting spot.

The brush was thick. Several branches whipped across his face. He listened for other sounds. Crickets hummed away. Nothing else. The The flashlight sliced through the heavy darkness, carving a path for him to (follow. Myron heard his feet crunch on twigs and leaves. His mouth felt bone-dry. It always felt that way at moments like this.

He was getting close now, no more than twenty or thirty yards away.

'Kathy?' he called out.

No answer.

'It's Myron, Kathy. I'm alone.'

No reply. But then Myron heard a shuffling from in front of him. Someone came into view. A head. A head of long blond hair.

'It's okay,' Myron said gently. 'I'm here alone.'

She stepped toward him tentatively. Her right hand shaded her eyes from the flashlight's harsh glare.

Myron pointed the beam away. 'It's all right,' he said.

She continued to move toward him, a dim silhouette. Her steps were slow, plodding, like a B-movie monster come to life.

'It's okay,' Myron said again. 'No one is going to hurt you.'

'I wish that were true.'

The voice had not come from her. It had come from behind him. Myron closed his eyes. His shoulders slumped. 'Hello, Christian.' (Don't move, Mr Bolitar. Put your hands up.'

Why bother?'

'What?'

'You're going to kill us. Just like you tried to kill Kathy. Just like you did her father and Nancy.'

I never meant to hurt anybody,' he said.

But you did.'

Christian cocked the gun. 'Hands up. Now.'

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Myron raised his hands slowly. 'Kathy opened up to you that night.; told you everything - every sordid detail of her past. She wanted to clean the slate.'

'She lied to me!' Christian shouted. 'All the time we were together - it was all a lie.'

'So you tried to kill her.'

'Kathy wanted me to still love her, Mr Bolitar. But don't you see? I never loved her. I loved a lie. She wanted me to stand beside that lie while she told her story to the world. She wanted me to sell out my teammates, toss away a chance at a national championship and Heisman trophy- all for the sake of a lying whore.'

'A lying whore,' Myron said, 'like your mother.'

He nodded. 'Mr Bolitar, tell her. Tell her what that game meant. In terms,, of money, fame, pride. You understand, Mr Bolitar. It helped get me a contract.'

'So you hit her over the head.'

'I didn't mean to. It just happened. I thought she was dead. I could not find a pulse.'