take a lot of vitamins. I eat when I’m hungry. Let’s sit on this log. I hope this story you’re about to tell me is interesting or you might be the one sliding down the mountain. After I push you.”
Myra turned around and sat down. She was almost giddy at the way Annie now focused on her. Her eyes appeared less glazed. She seemed to be completely aware of her surroundings and she also appeared to be interested in what Myra had to say.
Annie picked up a thick twig and started to dig in the dirt at her feet. “Well? I’m listening, Myra.”
“I hope you can handle this, Annie. Nellie always said you were the toughest of the three of us, but I’m not sure anymore. Before I tell you what I came here to say, I want you to promise you won’t ever breathe a word of this to anyone if you decide not to help. Can you do that?”
“Of course I can do that. Who would I tell? As you can see, I live here, cut off from the world. I’ve been an island unto myself for so long, I wouldn’t know how to … whatever it is you think I might do. That’s a yes,” she said firmly.
Myra talked for a long time. When she was finished, the hole at Annie’s feet was so deep she could have stuck both feet into it.
Annie turned sideways on the log to stare at her friend. “You did all that? You … you’re a criminal! Charles helped you! Amazing! And you never got caught! You of all people, Myra! This is so unbelievable! Why aren’t you a nervous wreck? Of course you can use my house in Manassas. I’ll do whatever you want me to do.” Annie leaned forward, so close their noses almost touched. “Tell me again how you got even with the man who killed your daughter. I didn’t know you could skin a person alive. I know the Indians used to do it but I thought that was just in the movies.”
Annie’s eyes were completely focused now, bright and alert. Myra retold her story, embellishing it a little more for Annie’s benefit. When she finished, Annie clapped her hands.
“You’re afraid you’re going to get caught, is that it?”
“Yes. We need to have a plan in place if that happens. I want you to sell me this place on the mountain. I want to see the construction plans and Charles and I want a tour of the catacombs. I want you to return to the States as soon as the Barrington farm is completed. Even though they’re working on it round the clock it won’t be finished much before the end of the year. Maybe next year. A lot depends on the weather conditions. When I bought it, I put your name and Nellie’s on the deed.”
Annie continued digging at the hole. “I can’t sell this place to you. Something about Spanish law. Because … I think it has something to do with the right of sanctuary. No one in authority can take you away if you are inside the wall. When we … I was renovating it all, I wanted to take down the wall but the law said it had to remain intact. The laws of sanctuary, and they are ancient, are somewhere among my husband’s papers. He told me about it once, but … I didn’t want to think about things like that back then. I will, however, deed this place to you or Charles or whomever you designate. That much I do know I can do. Very distant relatives deeded it to Armand when he was only six years old. Myra, are you asking me to join the Sisterhood?”
Myra turned to page nine of Kathryn’s playbook. “Well, hell, yes, Annie. And we’re going to need a good portion of your fortune. Like me, Annie, you have no family to leave anything to so don’t think too hard on the matter. Can you think of a better way to use all that money? Nellie doesn’t have a fortune but she’s indispensable because she’s a judge.” Myra flipped to page ten, her face flaming. “A fucking judge, Annie. Think about it!”
Annie reared back to stare at Myra. “Can you teach me to talk like you do these days? Why don’t you blink when you use dirty words?”
Myra fingered the pearls around her neck. “Absolutely not. Ladies do not talk like that. I was … I was trying to make my points, to shock you so you would listen. Kathryn at times is rather … spirited and extremely verbal. I picked the lingo up from her. So, are you in or not?”
Annie stared across the mountain and then down at the sparkling blue sea. “Will I fit in, Myra? It’s been a … I don’t know if I can leave here. There is something so comforting about sanctuary. My family … died in those waters down below. I stayed because it made me feel closer to them. I don’t have a grave to visit like you and Nellie have. That’s what’s kept me here all these years. How can I leave here? Tell me how, Myra.”
Myra’s voice was soft, gentle. She wrapped her arms around Annie’s bony shoulders. “I can’t tell you something like that. You have to find the way, the need, and do it yourself. You can come back here anytime you want. No one can ever take your memories away from you. What’s in your heart will always be there, Annie. Always.
“I know this is a lot to throw at you at one time. I want you to think about it and give me your decision before Charles and I leave. If you opt to stay here and rot away, I’ll have to make other plans.”
A veil dropped over Annie’s eyes. “When did you become so cruel, Myra?”
“When I finally opened my eyes to the justice system. Plus, Nellie tells me stories of what goes on in those courthouses. We, the Sisterhood, just want to make things a little better. With my money—and I don’t care one little bit if I use the whole amount—and Charles’s expertise, we are making a bit of a difference. Unfortunately, there are a few people out there who would like to see us fail. At the moment, we’re on top of it, or at least one step ahead. That could change at any time. We could use you, Annie. You have to want to do this. There’s nothing else for me to say.”
Annie’s head jerked forward. “Yes, there is one more thing. Tell me about Barbara talking to you. I want to hear every word. Tell me how you feel when that happens. That’s if you don’t mind sharing your daughter with me.”
Tears gathered in Myra’s eyes. “Oh, Annie, I don’t mind at all. It all started with Nikki. She and Barbara were so close. She told me that Barbara visited her, talked to her. Always when she was stressed, at her wits’ end. She comes to her old room and rocks on her chair with Willie. You remember Willie, her stuffed bear?”
“I remember, Myra.”
“One day I was standing by the sink, worrying. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Charles or the girls; I did. I guess I’m just a natural born worrier. I heard this voice saying, ‘Go for it, Mom.’ I whirled around and no one was there. Then she started to talk to me. All I could do was cry. I was so happy. It was almost like I had her back for just a few seconds. It doesn’t happen often, Annie. I can’t summon her. She seems to know when I need her the most. That’s when it happens. Maybe it won’t happen for you. Maybe it won’t happen for Nellie either. It might, though.”
Then Myra told a lie, something she wasn’t proud of, but she did it anyway. She knew Barbara would forgive her. “Annie, before I came here, I had … I wasn’t sure if I should or not. It seemed like such a monstrous thing to ask of you. In the end, I decided to come because I thought I could help you. Barbara said I should give you a kiss and a hug and I should tell you things on the other side are fine. So, here is the kiss and hug.”
The two women hugged one another, tears rolling down their cheeks. It was just a small lie and if it helped Annie, then it was worth it.
“Mom, you are something else. I guess I can’t make a liar out of you. You told her the truth when you said things were fine on this side. Give her another kiss and hug.”
Myra leaped to her feet and looked around. Her eyes were wild and yet full of hope. “I will, I will,” she whispered.
“Okay, enjoy your vacation. By the way, one of those tunnels goes all the way down to a cave at the bottom and on out to the sea. There’s only one, Mom. Perfect getaway. Nikki and I found it when we came here the summer after graduation. Ask her about it. Aunt Annie knows about it, too. Talk to you later.”
“What? What’s wrong with you, Myra?” Annie asked. “Are you all right? Are you having a heart attack?”
Myra