Deep Waters

integrity have to do with this?"
    "You're having an affair with him. Everyone knows it. I realized that if you were willing to sleep with him, he couldn't be the type to steal evidence and then blackmail someone with it."
    Charity's mouth opened and closed twice before she managed to say, "I see."
    "On the other hand," Jennifer continued, "blackmail was right up Rick Swinton's alley. Just his style. He was a fool to think I wouldn't know that he was the one behind the demand."
    "So you killed him."
    "I left the blackmail payment on the back porch of the old Rossiter cabin, just as I was instructed. I drove off, but I hid the car and doubled back to wait for Rick to show up. Which he did."
    "You confronted him?"
    Jennifer gave her a twisted smile. "He kept screaming at me that I'd be sorry, that he had taken measures to avenge himself if anything happened to him, but I didn't believe him."
    "You shot him and pushed his body over the bluff into the water."
    "I knew it would wash up in the cove, of course. That made it easy to frame Leighton for both deaths. But this morning I found out that Rick had meant it when he said that he had taken precautions. I got a sealed letter expressed from his lawyer in Seattle. In it Rick told me just what he had done. That bastard."
    Another shock of fear swept through Charity. "What do you mean? What kind of measures could Rick have taken?"
    A frantic expression passed over Jennifer's face. "He hid that damn tape somewhere here in Charms & Virtues. Said it was the perfect hiding place. He knew that if it was found, Winters would appear guilty of blackmail."
    "This has gone too far," Charity whispered. "Jennifer, listen to me."
    "I came here tonight to search for the tape." Jennifer glanced desperately around at the gloomy, cluttered interior of Charms & Virtues. "But I see now that it will be impossible to find it in this mess."
    "That's right. Impossible. Run, Jennifer. Run while you still can. Don't wait."
    "No. Everything's under control." Jennifer locked both hands around the gun. "I came prepared. I have a can of gasoline with me. I'm going to burn this damned shop to the ground and the whole pier with it. No one will ever find that tape."
    The terrible panic threatened to swamp Charity. Otis's claws were clenched so tightly around her arm that they threatened to puncture straight through the towel. She summoned her most authoritative CEO voice.
    "Jennifer, pay attention. If you leave now, you can escape. If you take time to set a fire, you'll never make it out of town."
    "Shut up. You have to die, you know. I really can't leave any witnesses, now can I?" Jennifer's hand tightened around the gun. Her eyes narrowed.
    Charity prepared to hurl herself to the side. She knew it was highly unlikely that she could dodge the shot, but it was the only option left for her.
    And then Otis screamed.
    It was a loud, terrible, piercing cry designed to be heard for vast distances in the jungles where his ancestors had lived.
    For the first time since Charity had known him, he uttered a clear, recognizable sentence.
    "It's payback time," Otis screeched in a voice that was chillingly reminiscent of Hayden Stone's.
    He launched himself from Charity's arm. Wings flapping wildly, fierce beak opened wide, he hurtled straight at Jennifer's horrified face.

19

    A clear reflection on the surface of the water holds a deep truth.

    —"On the Way of Water," from the journal of Hayden Stone

    Charity watched Jennifer do what any reasonable person would have done in the face of a ferocious attack by an animal possessed of a large beak and big claws. She yelled in panic, dropped the gun, and covered her eyes to protect her face. Twisting wildly, she reeled aside in an effort to avoid the bird.
    Otis's clipped wings prevented him from altering course to follow her. He went into a long glide that carried him straight past Jennifer. With grand majesty, he sailed on through the office doorway.
    Charity heard an ominous crash from inside the small room, but there was no time to check on Otis. She leaped for the fallen gun, which had hit the floor behind the counter.
    "No. No, damn you." Jennifer uncovered her face. She saw the gun and rushed madly forward to recover it.
    Charity realized that Jennifer was the one who was closest to the weapon. There was no time to make a dash for the door. She had to get to the gun before Jennifer did.
    Instead of circling the end of the counter, Charity planted both hands on