Chapter 47
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
Oscar and Nigel stood to either side while Dr. Lawson viewed both the original tape and the footage Chris had shot that very day. By the time they were done, her skin color matched the foam on the waves outside. If Oscar had any doubts she knew about the mass grave, they were gone.
She sat very still for a long moment when they were done. They’d broken down as much equipment as possible, leaving out Tina’s laptop only because Nigel wanted to give Lawson the chance to view the footage before they evacuated. And the TV and VCR, for the same reason.
“I’m…I’m sorry.” Nigel awkwardly patted Dr. Lawson’s shoulder. “This has to come as a shock.”
Her throat worked as she swallowed. Then, as if prompted by his attempt to comfort her, she straightened her shoulders. “I knew better. God damn me, I knew better.”
Oscar wished there was something he could do. “You can’t blame yourself.”
“Fuck that, Fox.” She glared at him. “I warned Taylor—warned all of you!—against her. But seeing her again at the asylum…” She shook her head. “She’s played me like a fiddle. But no more.”
Dr. Lawson stood up. Oscar exchanged a worried glance with Nigel. They needed to get the hell off the island as soon as possible.
“Maybe we should wait,” he started, but Lawson held a hand out to him.
“This is my fight, Fox.”
“I understand, but the storm—”
“Oh, there’s a storm coming, all right.”
She stomped out, and they followed. Chris and Tina were on the porch and looked up as they passed. “Is every—”
“Nope,” Oscar said, and beckoned them after.
Dr. Lawson hurled open the trailer door so hard it impacted the wall. “There you are,” Montague said. “It’s about time—”
“How dare you?” Lawson yelled at the top of her lungs.
Montague froze. Ethan, at her side as always, stiffened and glanced at his employer, as if seeking guidance.
“I’m not sure what Dr. Taylor told you,” Montague began.
“I’ve seen the tape with you and Robin.” Lawson advanced on her, fists clenched at her sides. “And a video taken just today. The Pack were hunting people for sport and eating them! And you knew.”
Of course. The mounted trophies, the paintings of blood and violence. The very name of their little gang of seven. When you were rich enough to travel around the world massacring any animal you wished, why not turn that wanton destruction on humans, too?
Montague’s expression darkened. She folded her hands carefully atop her silver-headed cane and took a deep breath. “I knew you’d react this way. I convinced Robin not to tell you for this very reason.”
Lawson was practically vibrating. “Why. Just tell me. Why?”
“Why do you think?” Montague met her eyes frankly. “Because we couldn’t trust you.”
“No.” Oscar had heard enough. “Because you knew she’d do the right thing. And you somehow convinced Robin to go along with you.”
Her cold gray eyes moved to him. “Stay out of this, Mr. Fox.”
“Why should he? You’ve endangered everyone by keeping this from them,” Lawson spat. “Just as you endangered Robin by insisting we take on the original investigation.”
Montague’s head jerked slightly, as if she’d been slapped.
“My father sold this house—I couldn’t have the Vanderwalls dragging our name through the mud.
People would assume he knew, that he’d kept it secret for a reason.
And,” she went on, when it seemed as though Lawson would interject, “if things had gone differently, this would have been just what your career needed. Robin came here for both of us.”
“I thought she wanted to break up with Dr. Lawson,” Chris said from near the door.
Montague shot them a hard look. “I will not have an audience for this spat, Ruthie. As we were discussing before Dr. Taylor interrupted us, the storm is moving faster than was originally predicted. Rough sea warnings have been issued. As much as I hate it, we should prepare to leave the island.”
Oscar couldn’t argue with that. “We’ve already packed up everything but the laptop.”
Lawson shook her head. “We’re going to tell everyone You can’t keep this a secret.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” Montague’s words were aimed at Lawson, but her gaze took in the entire group. “Everyone here signed an NDA. If you so much as breathe a word about what you found, I’ll sue down to your last penny. You’ll never see another dime from me, or another grant.”
The floor of the trailer seemed to drop out from under Oscar. He’d wondered about the NDAs at the time, but signing seemed harmless enough. He’d thought Montague only wanted to protect Robin’s memory, that she wouldn’t ask for anything they wouldn’t be glad to give.
“NDAs are null and void when it comes to hiding evidence of a crime,” Tina said, though she didn’t sound certain about that.
Montague raised an eyebrow. “A crime that happened over a hundred years ago? With everyone involved long dead? This isn’t a police investigation, it’s an archaeological dig.”
Oscar wasn’t entirely sure she was right…but he also wasn’t sure she was wrong, either. If they tried to report what they found to the police, someone might come out just to make sure the bodies weren’t fresh, but beyond that…
“Do you really want this hidden just because your great-great uncle was involved?” he asked at last.
Montague arched an eyebrow. “I suppose your family no longer has a reputation to protect, since they lost whatever standing they had in backwater West Virginia when the distillery closed. But the Montague name carries weight still. Do you have any idea how many southern universities have buildings named for us? There are no less than four my grandfather donated in memory of Noah. If word gets out, there will be months of bad press while the institutions in question dilly-dally over whether or not his name should be removed. Investors are a nervous bunch, and stock in our companies will fall.”
“So it’s ultimately about money.”
“Reputation and money are the same thing. An agreement between gentlemen was all that was needed to secure funding in Noah’s time, and that is still true today at certain levels of society.”
Among those sufficiently wealthy, in other words. Oscar hadn’t thought the situation could get any more depressing, yet here they were.
A gust of wind rocked the trailer, and Montague frowned.
“Now, if there are no more impertinent questions, I’m afraid we must evacuate.
I’m not happy that you failed to put Robin to rest, but I acknowledge the tropical storm is arriving sooner than expected.
Once it has passed, you will return and rectify the situation.
Move Robin along, abide by your NDAs, and I will let bygones be bygones and continue to support your future endeavors. ”
“This isn’t over,” Dr. Lawson growled.
Montague shook her head. “I think, Ruthie, you’ll find that it is.”