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  I shrugged, looking away, but no matter where I turned, I saw half-naked women. As promised, Sabrina had stripped to her silken panties and bra. They were pink and transparent, somehow sexier than if she had been totally naked. When she dipped into the water and stood back up, the wet silk clung to her body, and there wasn't a woman there who didn't take notice. Somehow I didn't think my cotton briefs would have the same effect.

  I pulled off my clothes, carefully concealing my gun in my shirt, which wasn't easy to do. Holly was watching me, a thin smile crossing her lips. I think she thought I was overly shy about disrobing in front of them. I lay my bundle on a flat rock and dove into the water. It wasn't that I didn't like skinny-dipping, I thought. I just didn't usually do it with strangers.

  Despite my misgivings, the water felt wonderful. Allison had said the water was about eighty degrees, and maybe it was. Every now and then I crossed a spot that felt closer to ninety, only to cross one that couldn't have been warmer than sixty. It resulted in a pleasant succession of goosebumps followed by marvelous warmth.

  "Here. You can share my raft," Allison said. Her head and elbows rested on the lime-green raft, while her legs bicycled beneath. I took the side of the raft opposite her and we bicycled together.

  "I think Lacy's safe," I murmured, knowing that voices carry over water.

  She sighed. "Well, that's two down, five to go."

  Reeva, Karen, Sabrina, Fay and Holly. I let their images swirl in my head, hoping one of them would suddenly become illuminated, little arrows pointing at her, saying, "This is the one!" Unfortunately, nothing happened. Allison touched my foot with her toe, but I was too deep in thought to look up. She let her foot slide up my calf, trying to get my attention. I knew she was doing it, but I needed to concentrate. There was something about one of the women I wasn't remembering. When I felt her toes brush against my thigh, I jerked. She was grinning wickedly, and I realized my face had gone crimson.

  "Jeez, I thought I lost you there."

  "I was trying to think," I said, humiliated at the fluttering in my stomach.

  "You've got great powers of concentration, I see." She had obviously noticed my blushing and wasn't going to let it slide.

  "I'm going for a swim," I said. I pushed myself off the raft and dove under the water, heading for the rocky edge of the cove. I pumped hard, pushing myself, slicing through the water, letting the tension out with each stroke. I kept my eyes open to avoid the many women I passed. What was it that had slipped my mind? Something significant, I was almost sure. But the thought of Allison's foot against my calf erased any chance I had of regaining my focus. When I reached the rocky cliff, I turned toward the buoys that ringed the outer edge of the cove and pushed myself harder.

  I was almost to the outer edges, breathing hard, when something bumped against my leg. I felt a sharp sting but didn't stop. I'd probably nicked myself on one of the protruding rocks. Angry at myself for the way my body kept responding to Allison's advances, I welcomed the pain. In fact, it was the thought of Allison's advances that kept me from worrying about the pain.

  I was panting by the time I reached the white buoys bobbing on the surface near the demarcation of the cove. The water along the cliff face was dark and cloudy with mud. I grabbed onto the rope and rested against the rocky edge, catching my breath.

  Suddenly, the stinging sensation in my leg spread upward. My whole left side started to tingle and my left foot became completely numb. I looked around but no one in the water seemed to be looking in my direction. I started to call out, but my mouth had somehow lost its ability to form sounds. Panicking, I managed a pathetic moan.

  I'm in trouble, here, I thought, as I grappled for some explanation. Think! I berated myself. You have to get out of the water! I tried to scream, but the sounds came out as unrecognizable grunts. Slowly, I dragged myself up onto the rocky outcropping.

  The black rock was both slippery and jagged as I struggled to pull myself up onto the ledge. I felt skin tearing but didn't care. As long as I could rest with my head out of the water, I'd be okay. I hoped. I wasn't really sure. I just knew I needed to get out of the lake.

  When I found a crack in the rock and dug my fingers into it, I used every ounce of strength I had to position myself. With a great heaving sob, I draped myself across the uneven slab, my feet still dangling in the water. I lay there listening to my heart pound in my head. My mouth was dry, my tongue thick. I tried to look at my leg to see the wound, but my vision blurred as quickly as my ability to speak. Had I been stung by something poisonous? A fresh-water jellyfish? Was there such a thing? I couldn't make my mind work clearly.

  Suddenly, something pierced through the numbness in my ankle. It felt like someone tickling me with barbed wire. I wanted to turn my head to see what was causing this new sensation, but my neck wouldn't budge. My eyes were open, but I could only see what was right in front of me, and even that was fuzzy. My fingers dug into the rock, frantically clinging for safety, but with a terror I hadn't felt before, I realized I was being pulled back down into the water.

  My eyes were open, seeing the safety of dry land slip away. I wanted to reach out, to save myself, but my grip was useless; my voice box emitted weak mewling sounds instead of the screams I intended. I felt the rock cut into my cheek, gouging the side of my head as I was dragged across the jagged rock. I smelled blood even as my ears filled with water and I sank below the murky surface. My arms and legs were dead weight, dormant limbs weighing me down. As foggy as my mind was, I knew with utter despair that it was the only part of me still functional.

  So this was it. The thing had finally come to get me. I struggled to see through the muddy water but couldn't. I opened my mouth to scream as it dragged me under but something stopped me from letting the water in. Even so, the thing was sucking the air right out of my lungs. It was just like the dream — dark and sinister. It needed to be stopped. But with my arms and legs practically paralyzed, how was I supposed to defeat this thing? When I tried to lash out, it was as if the thing were laughing. My head pounded, my ears buzzed and a sob built up in my chest. My arms and legs belonged to someone else.

  I tried to clear my head. This was not a dream, I told myself. Was it? I hoped it was. No, it wasn't. I strained to see the thing pulling me downward. It was too murky. I realized that it wasn't just the water that was clouded, it was my vision. And then I started not to care.

  This is how it's supposed to happen, I thought. Why else the dream, over and over? This thing was my destiny. And then I thought of Maggie. She would care. She would not want me to give into this thing.

  Something inside me, deep down, further down than I'd ever gone, snapped. It was angry. Livid. It lifted my right arm, made me reach out through the water and grab onto the only thing I could. My fingers became claws, and the claws connected. As I was drowning, I had the absurd satisfaction of knowing that at least my killer would be badly marked, branded for what she was.

  Suddenly, inexplicably, the thing let go. Almost unconscious, I floated upward, some other force propelling me to the surface. My mouth opened, gulping air. The light was blinding, the pain in my head unbearable. And then darkness, sweet, peaceful darkness, engulfed me.

  I didn't know how much time had passed. It could have been seconds or days. Or a lifetime. All I know is that, when I heard the words, "She's come to!" I knew I was still alive.

  "Help me roll her over. One, two, three. Easy now. There you go. Good girl." Allison's voice was calm, soothing, but a million miles away. One of us was in a tunnel.

  "Doesn't anyone have something we can stop this blood with?"

  "Sabrina's underwear," the person holding me said. It sounded like they were speaking from outer space. There was more dialogue, but I drifted back down, thinking that if I kept my eyes open underwater I might be able to see the thing's face. I tried to tell myself I was no longer underwater, but I wasn't sure.

  Allison's voice interrupted the dream. "Can you hear me, Cass?" She held som
ething soft against my cheek. As disoriented as I was, some cognizant part of me understood that she was dabbing blood off of my face with Sabrina's underwear. I managed a weak smile.

  "I know this hurts, honey. I'm sorry." Apparently my smile had come off more like a grimace.

  "Wha' hap —" I tried. My tongue was as thick as cotton batting. I was vaguely aware of bare breasts against my back. Whoever held me in her arms was naked. It was nice, and I started to drift back down.

  "Did you see who it was?" Allison whispered into my ear. I tried to shake my head. Big mistake. I was treated to a dazzling light display. Suddenly, I felt nauseous.

  "Don't move around so much," Allison said.

  "Gon' be sick," I managed. She understood. Cradling my head with her hands, she helped me roll over so that I didn't vomit on myself. I sensed the others watching, but I was too sick to care. After what seemed an eternity, Allison helped me sit up. The person who'd been holding me finally moved away. I looked up and nearly choked. Reeva smiled shyly.

  "Better?" Allison asked. Carefully, I nodded. In truth, I felt quite a bit better. My vision was starting to clear, and the ringing in my ears was down to a mild roar. The numbness on the left side of my body had retreated, leaving a pin-prickling sensation behind. I could feel my foot again. Things were definitely looking up.

  "We've got to get you out of this cold air," Allison said. For the first time, I realized that I was stark naked, and that more than half a dozen women, some of whom I didn't recognize, had been standing over me for who knew how long. I had a sudden and intense desire to cover myself, but looking around, I realized that almost everyone else was nearly as naked as I was. Except, of course, Holly. Where had she been when they needed something to soak up the blood with, I wondered. Not that her bikini would have done much more good than Sabrina's underpants. Still. . .

  "Do you know what happened?" Reeva asked.

  "Got stung with something," I said. My mouth was starting to work again. "Right here." I indicated my leg. "I lost consciousness. I think someone pulled me into the water."

  "Someone tried to drown you, is more like it," Reeva said. "Did a pretty good job of it too. I heard a scream, and when I looked up, you were being dragged under. I wasn't that far away, but by the time I got there, you were damn near drowned. I only wish I could've seen who it was, but the water was just too muddy. By the time I reached you, they were already gone. As it is, you're lucky to be alive with all that bleeding."

  It was true. The side of my head was slick with my own blood, and it had pooled in my ear. Sabrina's panties were already soaked through.

  "Will she need stitches?" Billie asked.

  "Just a few," Allison said. "Head wounds bleed a lot. It looks worse than it is."

  "I'll be fine," I said. Since I'd thrown up, I was feeling amazingly well. The cut on my head wasn't nearly as bad as my reaction to whatever had stung me. I told Allison this and she examined my leg.

  "It doesn't look like a bite mark. More like you got stuck with something, although there is a second mark. Like whatever got you here, went out right here." When she touched the spot, my leg involuntarily jerked. "You say you lost consciousness before you were dragged under?"

  I nodded. I was pretty sure that was the sequence of events, but my mind was still foggy. I was having trouble separating what had happened from the dream. Then for the first time, I noticed four jagged welts running down Reeva's cheek, still oozing blood. I stared at them, clenching my right fist against my stomach, wondering. It was so hard to separate the dream from reality. The thing had been there, and I'd reached out and clawed something. There must be skin under my nails to prove it. And later, Reeva had cradled me in her arms. Had she been my protector? Or had she been the one to drag me under? No doubt if I asked, she'd say I scratched her as she pulled me to safety.

  "You ready to travel?" Allison asked. I nodded and let them help me to my feet. Standing up brought on a whole new wave of nausea, but it passed relatively quickly. They eased me into the water and guided me across the cove. By the time my feet hit dry sand, I was shivering.

  "Here are your clothes, Cassidy," Lacy said, running down to meet us. When she handed me the bundle, my thirty-eight dropped to the ground. Everyone stopped dead and looked from the gun to me.

  "Thanks, Lacy." It took me forever, but I was never more glad to get dressed. I slipped the gun into my waistband and pulled my shirt over it, trying to appear nonchalant, but my body still trembled and my coordination was off. The other women were throwing on their clothes as well and no one was talking.

  It was Reeva who finally broke the awkward silence. "I think we need to talk," she said, staring intently at Allison. "Obviously, there's something going on and I think everyone has a right to know what's happening."

  "I agree," Allison said. "It's time to bring things out in the open. But right now, I need to get Cassidy over to the first-aid station where I can stitch her up. We'll set up a time to talk, I promise."

  On wobbly legs, still holding Sabrina's panties to my head, I walked between Allison and Billie all the way to the lodge. I let them support me when I stumbled, thinking it was nice, in a strange way, to be cared for. Sometimes you have to come close to death, I thought, to really appreciate the simple pleasure of being alive.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Seeing Allison in her role as a doctor gave me new insight into her. She was decisive and focused, without ever losing her patience. Her touch was gentle, yet deft. She used soothing tones but there was no doubt about who was in charge. Most impressive were her eyes. I'd seen them as sexy and kind. I'd seen them filled with humor and with fear. But I'd never once seen the intensity they held while she was stitching my head. Over the years I'd heard about athletes entering what they called the "zone," a certain level of intensity in which, no matter what they did, they couldn't miss. Pitchers in the midst of throwing a no-hitter sometimes had that look. Allison had it now. It reminded me of what Billie said about Allison making love.

  "I don't think you got stung," she said when she'd finished cleaning me up.

  "Me neither," I said. "What do you think?"

  "The second mark on your leg looks like an exit wound. The size of both is consistent with that of a hypodermic needle. My guess is that someone tried to jab your leg, but because of your movement they weren't able to get a clean shot. The needle entered here, then exited right here. Whatever they were shooting you with was potent enough to knock you nearly unconscious, despite the fact that most of it never got into your system. Had they managed to hit a vein, I imagine the dosage would've been enough to kill you."

  "That's a cheery thought," I said.

  Allison shuddered. "It's not a joking matter, Cassidy. You're as much a target now as I am."

  "What do you think it could be? I mean, what causes these symptoms?" I described them for her as best I could.

  She shook her head smiling. "The possibilities are endless. There are drugs, including over-the-counter, prescription and illegal, that could bring on these symptoms. There are plenty of poisons, including industrial, household and natural materials that could have similar effects. The venom from certain spiders and snakes is also a possibility. Not to mention deadly plants like foxglove and certain mushrooms. If you know what you're doing, it wouldn't be hard to concoct a lethal solution."

  I thought of Holly's book on mushrooms and wondered. But she wasn't the only one who knew about poisonous mushrooms. After I'd told Reeva's friend, Harriet, the truth about what she'd thought were morels, a lot of people knew, including Reeva. And something that had been bothering me about Karen for a long time came to me so suddenly I blinked.

  The day before, when I'd searched Karen's wallet, I'd been so focused on the fact that Allison had been cut out of the picture that I hadn't given the other pictures their due. One of them had been of Karen in the classroom with two students standing in front of a chalkboard. On the board had been a chart of the periodic tables, indicating that sh
e was standing in a science lab. Karen said she was a EE. teacher, but that didn't mean it was the only subject she taught. Suddenly I was curious about the range of Karen's areas of expertise. Science teachers tend to know quite a bit about mixing chemical substances and about how they might affect the human system.

  I tried to picture Karen dropping a bee box through Allison's window, and the image fit. I could see her lacing Allison's milk and doctoring her pate. She was friends with Reeva, so maybe she knew enough about cars to cut the brake lines too. She probably wouldn't have too much trouble filling a hypodermic needle and jabbing it into my leg. But why hadn't I found the needle when I searched the room? And why would she have one in the first place? I ran these thoughts by Allison and she listened patiently.

  "I have needles in my bag," she said. "In fact, even among the meager supplies I brought along, there are no doubt a few things that, used the right way, could kill someone. I suppose someone could've broken in and helped herself." She started searching through her bag, her brows furrowed. "I can't be sure, but it's possible I'm missing a needle. I don't see anything else that jumps out at me. I guess I should've left the bag in my room instead of here, but I wanted to be able to get to it quickly in case of an emergency. How's that feel?"

  She held up a small rectangular mirror for me to examine the stitches on the side of my head. She'd shaved a tiny patch of hair, which didn't do much for my looks, but other than that I felt pretty good. The cut along my cheek was superficial, and after cleaning it thoroughly, she'd covered it with a small bandage. I looked worse than I felt. The effects from whatever I'd been stuck with seemed to have worn off almost completely.

  "I guess I'm going to have to talk to your whole staff," I said. "We certainly succeeded in flushing out the stalker by making everyone think I knew who she was, but by now they all have to know that I don't have a clue."

  "Can't we set a trap or something?" She was still standing above me, her reddish gold hair catching the light through the window. It was nearly dusk, and the setting sun threw an orangish glow across her features. She was lovely, I thought. I was in no hurry to leave.