Bonnie was sitting in the chair at the end of the table, her right leg tucked beneath her. Same Bugs Bunny T-shirt and jeans, same curly red hair, same beloved, radiant smile.
Oh, God, how Eve had missed that smile.
“And just where have I gone, baby?” she asked shakily.
“You’re still in the cottage, but the drug Doane gave you took you deep enough so that I could break through the barriers Kevin put up. I was able to reach you. I told you that was the only way I’d found to come to you.”
“I’m surprised you were able to get through. This was Kevin’s place, and it’s full of him. It’s as if he’s still here.” She grimaced. “Even that hideous graveyard of driftwood out front. It’s kind of fitting that Doane gave me a drug to knock me out. It’s like that sleeping-beauty tale, only instead of a garden of thorns keeping everyone out, there’s that graveyard of driftwood.”
“I had to work hard on it. This is a bad place.” She suddenly grinned impishly. “But I was even able to get rid of that nasty Kevin’s skull from your mind. I knew you’d be happier if he was gone. And Kevin was perfectly furious at both of us. Isn’t that wonderful?”
“Wonderful. But he’s still there?”
“Not as long as you’re asleep. Everything is fine as long as you’re deep under the influence of that narcotic. Doane did us a favor when he gave it to you.”
“I don’t believe that was how it was meant.” Her gaze was running hungrily over her daughter. “But I don’t care. May I say how glad I am to see you. It’s been too long, Bonnie.”
“I did the best I could. Kevin is very strong. But you know that, Mama, he makes you afraid.” She tilted her head. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you afraid.”
“Only for you, Bonnie.”
She nodded gravely. “I know that. Everything for me. That’s how it’s been since I came into your life.”
“That’s how all parents feel, baby. It goes with the territory.”
“But now you should think about yourself, Mama. Let me fight for myself.”
Eve went still. “And is it a fight with Kevin? Not some kind of spiritual suppression or—”
“Of course, it’s a fight,” Bonnie said bluntly. “Forget all those big, fancy religious or psychological ideas. There’s nothing but evil about Kevin. He’s … full of silences. I don’t know what a demon is like, but he may show us if he’s allowed to survive. He somehow managed to slip over the line, and now he won’t go back.” She paused. “He wants to cross another line.”
“I know,” Eve whispered.
Bonnie nodded. “I thought you did. So you have to fight him, too.” She added, “But we can beat him. We have to do it.”
She remembered something Bonnie had said. “Full of silences,” Eve repeated slowly. “What do you mean?”
“He … smothers … everything. I don’t know how he does it. Maybe it’s something he brought with him.” She bit down on her lower lip. “But it’s … bad. Terrible. Final.”
“Final … I don’t understand.”
“The soul goes on. Most of the time there’s a chance for redemption, a new start. But with Kevin, I sense only silence from his victims. Nothing beyond. No second chance.”
“Those children he killed?”
“Silence.”
“Dear God.”
“But if Kevin is destroyed, perhaps the silence would be lifted.” She shook her head. “I don’t know. We can only hope and pray. But we can’t let him silence anyone else. He mustn’t kill again. For him, silence is the ultimate power, far above the act of murder.”
Millions dead in a nuclear holocaust.
“We have to stop it.” Bonnie’s gaze was on her face, reading her thoughts. “Not only the deaths but what might come after.”
“You worry about the afterward. Saving lives is enough for me to be concerned about at the moment.”
Bonnie smiled. “You’ll worry about everything. Present, future, afterward. I know you, Mama.”
“One crisis at a time. Doane is my primary crisis.” She made a face. “Or maybe it’s Kevin. I get confused when I think about them these days.”
“It will get clearer,” Bonnie said soberly. “Because they’re getting closer to each other all the time. Can’t you feel that?”
“Yes.”
“Kevin hates you. He wants to silence you.”
“Silence.” Eve had never realized how chilling that word could be. The ultimate power, Bonnie had said. “I’m sure he has a similar desire where you’re concerned.”
“It’s different with me. He blames you. You’re standing in his way. You have to be very careful.”
Eve suddenly chuckled. “Bonnie, I’m tied up, captive of a homicidal maniac who’s threatening to blow me up along with half of Seattle. And you’re telling me to be careful?”
“Sorry.” Bonnie giggled. “Sometimes I forget the present when I get absorbed in what’s going to happen.” A smile was still lingering. “But I’m glad that I made you laugh. I love to hear you laugh, and you don’t do enough of it. I wish you were always smiling.”
“I’m not the type. The people who know me would think I was having a breakdown if I went around grinning.” Eve’s smile faded. “But you make me smile. You always did. From the moment you were born, you filled every day with love and laughter. When you were gone, I couldn’t find it again. I just like you to be here near me.”
“I’m always near you,” Bonnie said gently.
“I know, but I want to see you, dammit.” She shook her head. “It’s okay. I swore I wouldn’t complain. You’re busy saving the afterworld.” She grimaced. “That makes you sound like a superhero. Now that is funny when I look at you in that Bugs Bunny T-shirt.”
“You like me in this T-shirt. It makes you remember me the way I was before I left you.”
“Yes, it does.” Bonnie had told Eve that after she had passed over that she could not remain the child she had been. The way she spoke, the wisdom, the maturity, had at first shocked Eve. No longer. Bonnie’s soul was the same, and that was all that was important to her. She asked curiously, “Could you change how you look to me?”
“I don’t know. I think so. But it’s not important if you’re happy with me like this.” Her smile was loving. “It’s all about you, Mama.”
“No, it’s not. You just want to keep me from joining you too soon. I’m trying, Bonnie. I know that Joe would feel as lost as I did when you were taken. I don’t want him to hurt like that.” She added wearily, “But I’m so tired of being without you, baby. Sometimes I think I’d be forgiven if I just let it happen.”
“I know you do. That’s why Doane is so dangerous to you. You wouldn’t take your own life, you’d just not fight and let him strike you down.” She shook her head. “You can’t do that. The circle around you is widening all the time. Everyone you touch would feel the loss. All your friends, Zander…”