She wasn’t a strong spirit. To move it here, from wherever she’d hidden it in the house, would have taken a lot of energy. Maybe with the salt lines broken, she’d been able to suck some from the generator via the VCR?
She’d hidden a second tape somewhere, away from the first in case…what? If Montague discovered one, she at least wouldn’t get both?
Dr. Lawson had gone pale. With visible effort, she went to the table and picked up the tape. “Well. Let’s see what’s on it.”
CHAPTER
FIFTY
Darkness. Then Robin’s face, revealed by the video camera’s light. “I’m leaving this tape for you, Ruthie,” she says, her voice pitched low, as if she’s afraid of being overheard. “Just in case…well, just in case.”
She glances over her shoulder as if she’s heard something. After a long moment, she turns back to the camera and continues. “I know we said we’d wait for you to get back, but Patricia wants to try to move Gloria on tonight, so you won’t find out about the Pack. I’m going to put this tape somewhere safe. There’s a second tape, too, one we shot that night when we went to look for the t-treasure. I hid it elsewhere in the house.”
She blinks rapidly for a moment. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you what we found. I should have—I know I should. Please don’t be mad at me. Patricia talked me into keeping quiet, but I should’ve insisted we discuss it with you. She’s so worried about her precious family legacy. But you can see that on the other tape. I mean, hopefully I’ll tell you myself, but…I’m worried. No, that’s not right. I’m scared, baby. I wish you were here.”
She pauses to wipe her eyes. “Sorry, sorry. There was a diary—Patricia burned it, but she let me read it first, because I needed to know what we’re dealing with here. The Pack did terrible things. Noah Montague hired people no one would miss, offer them the chance to earn money here. Seven women and boys every summer. One for each of them. They…kept them, for a while. For ‘company.’” She shakes her head at the euphemism. “Then every Sunday, they would keep their twisted sacrament by forcing their captives to pull straws. The one who pulled the short straw was told that if they could hide on the island all night without being found, they’d be paid well for their silence and released. It was a lie, obviously, just a bit of cruel hope before the Pack took down their prey and feasted.”
A convulsive swallow distorts her throat briefly. “Then Gloria Ullman died, and I don’t know if her father did anything to her, or if he just saw her as his property, or if he really did love her. If he was capable of love. The Pack tried to summon her back. Every night, they sat in the seance room and concentrated on her. It didn’t work, not the way they intended. They didn’t raise her ghost. I think they made a tulpa. A thought-form that gained independence from its makers.
“I don’t know why it went so wrong, but she turned on them. I think…I think maybe the spirits of the murdered victims, or echoes of them, are still here. Maybe it’s just the remnants of their pain, I don’t know, but whatever the case, it shaped her. She started to torment the Pack, day and night, until cracks began to form. I’m pretty sure Ullman sabotaged their boat before killing himself. But the bodies are all still here, and no one knows what happened to them, and Gloria is so mad.”
A sob escapes her, and she puts a hand to her mouth. “We’ve hidden the truth, Patricia and I. So now we have to get rid of Gloria. She’s not a ghost, but she is a spirit, so the same things should work on her. I think. And that’s…that’s why I’m making this tape. In case I’m wrong. I hope I end up throwing this away, before either of you ever see it. But if something goes wrong, don’t trust her. Patricia, I mean. She’s ruthless and I don’t…I don’t think she loves either of us as much as we love her. I don’t think she can.”
Robin shakes her head again. “I don’t know. Maybe she does. I’m just—just worried, that’s all. And I need to stop rambling. Like I said, this tape is just in case.” She falls silent for a long moment. “But if ‘just in case’ happens…I love you, baby. I always will.”
CHAPTER
FIFTY-ONE
“Damn her,” Dr. Lawson said, and Nigel didn’t know if she meant Robin or Montague. Should he put a hand on her shoulder for comfort, or would she shake it off, cling to her anger?
Oscar’s chair creaked as he shifted his weight. “I doubt it will make you feel any better, but it seems pretty clear Ms. Montague was lying when she said Robin wanted to break up with you.”
“Of course.” Everything shifted for Nigel, like a Magic Eye picture snapping into focus. “During the seance, Robin concentrated on Montague because she’s the reason Robin is stuck here. She’s the one who talked Robin into keeping quiet. That’s why Robin has been trying to reach her—to get her to come clean, absolve the guilt they both share.”
The grief cleared from Dr. Lawson’s expression, replaced—at least for now—with anger. “And how best to distract me from asking questions than strike where Patricia knew I’d be vulnerable. She wanted me so busy questioning everything I thought I knew about our relationship that I wouldn’t keep pressing.” She rose to her feet. “I’m going to fucking kill her.”
“Er,” Nigel said, taken aback.
“I don’t think spending the rest of your life in jail will help anything.” Chris held out their hands as if to physically keep her from charging out of the room. “Let’s just think about things for a minute, okay?”
“I can’t believe I let myself fall for her again.” Lawson paced restlessly toward the shuttered windows, then back. “Damn it! And now we’re on this island, and maybe Patricia and I deserve to be blown all the way to Raleigh, but you kids don’t.”
Nigel cleared his throat. “We’re in our thirties.”
She waved a dismissive hand. “I remember when you were a wet-behind-the-ears undergrad, Taylor.”
“And you warned us,” he pressed on. “You warned me. But all I could see was the grant money and the chance to make things right at the Matthews house. And when nothing bad happened, I assumed your history had distorted your judgment. Which wasn’t fair of me, and I’m sorry.”
She turned on her heel to face him. “No, you were right. It did influence my judgment. I didn’t know about…about this.” A glance at the VCR to indicate what she wasn’t ready to address directly. “I always suspected she pushed Robin to try and tackle the ghosts while I was off visiting the Vanderwalls at their hotel and letting them know about our progress. Or lack thereof. But I didn’t have proof, just anger, and I let that guide me. And then, when I saw her again, face-to-face…I decided I’d been unjust. That I’d needed to blame someone for Robin’s death, and I took it out on her since I couldn’t take it out on the ghosts.” She tilted her head back and glared at the ceiling. “Fuck me.”
Tina stood up and went to her. “You’re human,” she said, and opened her arms.
To Nigel’s surprise, Dr. Lawson hugged her. “Being human isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be,” she muttered into Tina’s hair, then sniffled.
“We are pretty dumb sometimes,” Tina agreed.
“And selfish, and…and…”
