After a warning to control his emotions and not to reveal too much too soon, Gibbs followed as Ben led the way to a private sitting room on the inn's main floor. The deputies had already located the family and asked them to wait there. One deputy was directed to watch for Tony and keep guests from entering the room. The other flanked Ben as they entered the room. Gibbs hung back by the door, waiting to see how this would play out.
"What is the meaning of this interruption, Sheriff Griffin?" Olivia Donner asked formally. She managed an imperious glare even while looking up at them from her wheelchair.
Ben kept his voice carefully neutral and returned the formality she'd used in addressing him. The woman never had much use for him, and considered his and Rory's relationship a dirty little family secret. "We'll be out of your hair soon, Ms. Donner." Unless we find you're an accessory to murder, he thought to himself, knowing Olivia and her oldest grandson had always been close. Close enough that she might also have indirect involvement.
"I came out to ask Mr. Gibbs and Mr. DiNozzo a few more questions about the accident at the mine."
"Well, find the other one and get on with it, preferably in town, not here," Olivia demanded coldly.
Gibbs frowned at the way she referred to Tony.
Tom stood next to his grandmother and placed a hand on her shoulder. "There's no need to be rude, Gran," he said, looking at the others apologetically.
"This commotion is upsetting our guests."
Oh, they're about to get a whole lot more upset, Gibbs thought.
"As it happens," Ben said, "I'd like to speak to all of you too."
Tom looked surprised and turned to Gibbs. "You don't hold us liable for Mr. DiNozzo's accident, do you? I did warn you about staying on the trail."
Gibbs stepped forward and answered. "No, I hold the person that shot at us liable. Whoever did that is the reason we were off the trail," he said, playing along with Ben.
"What's that got to do with us?"
"That depends. Will you allow my deputy to collect your rifles for ballistics testing, or do I need to get a warrant?" Ben gambled, knowing they hadn't searched the woods and had nothing to test. Yet. He really just wanted to gauge Tom's reaction.
Olivia looked sharply at Tom, but he seemed taken aback. "Wait…you think I shot at them?"
"Did you?" Ben asked.
"Of course not! Go get the damn rifles if you want to check them," he gestured angrily.
Ben glanced at his deputy and jerked his head toward the second floor, then turned his attention back to Tom and Olivia.
"What the hell is going on, Ben?"
Ben narrowed his eyes and stared back icily. "My friends and family call me Ben, and you're neither, you bastard."
Olivia and Tom both spoke at once in protest, and he shut them down with a furious shout.
"Shut up!"
Olivia gave him a stony glare. "Unless you are going to explain why we were herded in here and placed under guard like criminals," she demanded, "You can leave now, and go get your warrants."
"We're here because one or more of you are criminals," Ben shot back. "Earlier tonight, the remains Mr. DiNozzo found in the mine were identified."
"So? What has that to do with us?" Olivia asked, a little too hastily.
Gibbs watched Tom carefully, noting a flicker of something crossing his features before they settled into a bland mask. Oh yeah, he was hiding something all right. They both were…but what was it, exactly?
"It has everything to do with you," Ben hissed angrily. "But you already know that, don't you?"
"Why don't you just spit it out instead of dancing around whatever this is about," Tom said with an edge of derision in his voice.
Gibbs had to hand it to Tom; the man had nerves of steel. He wasn't admitting to anything.
"You know damn well it was Rory we found in that dank hole."
Olivia just glared at them, malice in the old eyes.
Tom shook his head. "That can't be; Rory drowned!" he disputed.
"The hell he did. You just staged it to look that way."
"The boat could have gotten loose in the storm," Olivia interrupted, "and Rory could have fallen in the mine, just like your friend did," she ventured, inclining her head at Gibbs.
"Stop shielding him!" Ben thundered at Olivia. "And you," he growled at Tom, "You always hated him. I never could understand why."
"What makes you above suspicion? You were the last person to see Rory alive, and you argued with him that very morning. Ree and I saw it." Tom retorted. "You have no proof I did anything to Rory," he added smoothly.
"No?" Ben held up his arm. "Then why is his bracelet in your room? He was wearing it when I left him that morning. By the way, we were arguing about you making his life hell. I was trying to get him to leave here."
"My room?" Tom muttered in surprise. "What bracelet?"
Ben went on in a rush, pointing at Gibbs. "Why is the jacket worn by the person who shot at them hanging in your closet?" he asked.
Tom sat slowly on the sofa behind him, stunned into silence. Olivia turned angry eyes on her grandson. "I told you. I warned you letting that doppelganger stay here would be our downfall. They're bad luck, harbingers of death…evil. I know what you did, she told me. And now history will repeat itself."
It was mostly nonsensical babble, but there was an admission of guilt within it. Ben looked at his one-time best friend. "How could you do that to us…to him? He was your brother!"
"What lies did she tell you?" Tom demanded, turning his attention to Olivia. She stared back defiantly, refusing to answer.
She? Gibbs thought. Who are they talking about?
Tom looked up at them bleakly, shaking his head in denial. "Rory was already dead when I found him," he confessed.
"You're lying," Ben spat.
Tom's reply was interrupted by the sound of heavy footfalls approaching. The deputy sent to retrieve Tom's rifles returned. "Ben, one of the rifles is missing."
Gibbs heart lurched in his chest as Ben turned to the deputy and asked, "Has anyone entered or left the inn?
"No, sir."
Where was Tony?
Gibbs broke in, fixed on the last part of the old woman's rambling. "Ms. Donner, what did you mean when you said history will repeat itself?"
Gibbs' gut cramped when Olivia stared ahead stoically, again refusing to answer. A deflated Tom spoke instead.
"No more lies," Tom said. "They know…somehow they know. It's over now, Gran."
"Almost over," Olivia said in an undertone, her eyes distant. "She'll send the evil spirit back where it belongs. History repeats."
"What have you done?" Tom asked her fearfully.
Realization struck Ben and Gibbs at the same time. "Where is Rhianne?" Ben demanded.
NNNNNNNN
Tony remained quiet, putting on a front of docility as he was forced back into the boathouse at gunpoint, and directed to stop by one of the boats moored inside. He kept a tight grip on his cane, hobbling awkwardly and leaning heavily on it so Rhianne would think he needed it more than he did. The cane was the only weapon he had at hand.
He was dimly aware of Rory's return in his mind, and sensed he was holding back, trying not to affect Tony's concentration. Still, emotions bled through the link and he tried to identify them. The foremost was uneasiness and regret at placing Tony in danger.
Rhianne held the rifle confidently; she knew how to use it. She jerked the rifle briefly toward the pack still hanging over his shoulder. "Dump it out."
Tony did, and watched as she spread the contents across the board with one foot.
Rhianne spotted Gibbs' spare cuffs in their leather pouch, and toed them toward him. "Put those on."
Dammit. He picked up the cuffs and before she could object to the position, cuffed his hands loosely in front of him. He still had a fighting chance. "You came in the other door, right?" Tony asked. "How much did you hear?"
"Enough, Rory," she said as she picked up the evidence bag holding Rory's knife and stuffed it in her pocket.
"I'm not Rory. If you heard, then you know it's no use covering for each other any longer."
"Is that what you think I'm doing?"
Tony ignored her question. "You shot at us, didn't you? Used the inn's log to find which trail we took. You're a lot smarter than you let on," he complimented, trying to get her to confess aloud so Rory could hear. "Pretty convincing lie you've been living all this time, and the way you made Tom look like a suspect with the jacket? Priceless. You put the bracelet in his room too, right? Were you covering for him, or yourself all this time?"
Rhianne grinned madly at him. "Guess."
"Oh, I think you know I have it figured out now," Tony said. "It was you all along, wasn't it?
The temperature suddenly dropped sharply and the lights in the boathouse flickered eerily. He caught flashes of Rory manifesting behind his sister, watching closely.
"What are you doing?" she squinted at him in suspicion. "Stop it."
"I'm not doing anything. It's Rory," he told her. "We never would have found him if you hadn't shot at us, you know. Wearing Tom's jacket that day was a nice touch. Still, you made a big mistake when you did that."
"That mistake is about to be corrected." Rhianne glared and adjusted her grip on the rifle threateningly. "You talk too much."
"I've heard that before."
"Get in the boat," she ordered. "I won't be locked away. You're going to help me escape."
"Now, why would I do that?"
"Because if you don't, I'll shoot you, and then go to the house and shoot everyone there. First your lover, then Ben, then everyone else."
His pulse quickened at the threat to Gibbs, and Rory's outrage and terror at the threat to Ben echoed though his mind. "You'd do that to your only family, and innocent bystanders?"
"Innocent," she scoffed. "Tom and Gran are hardly innocent." She leaned forward, an almost gleeful expression on her face. "Yes, I'd do it to them too. I've done it before," she whispered conspiratorially, an insane light in her blue eyes. "More than once," she added.
Oh, God. Who else had the homicidal woman killed, and why had no one stopped her?
Rory slid into his mind, a warm and comforting presence and ready to confront his murderer. It's going to be all right, Tony. I'm with you now and I'm not going to let her kill again. He closed his eyes and gave Rory control.
The lights flickered again and then went almost painfully bright, distracting Rhianne. He opened his eyes and stepped closer to her. She raised the rifle warningly and looked up at his face. The rifle lowered a bit as she paled and stumbled back in shock at the suddenly blue eyes, exactly like her own. Then hate and fear filled her expression.
"Rory. Gran was right…it really is you."
"Why did you do it, Ree?" Rory asked through him. "What did I ever do to make you hate me that much?"
"You stole Ben from me!" she screamed. "He was mine, and you bewitched him with your unnatural ways," she spat.
"That is Gran and Tom's bigotry talking. Ben loved you like a sister, but he was never yours, not that way."
"Because of you!"
Rory shook his head sadly. "No."
"I wanted him to find you," she shot back spitefully. "To see what I did to your face," she said with a smile full of hate. "It was Tom who hid what I'd done, took your body away. Even though he never saw you like that, Ben still suffered all these years, and I'm glad."
Like the song went, tale as old as time. All this pointless tragedy over a crazed woman's hidden obsession and unrequited love, Tony thought.
"You've been pretending to be mentally incapacitated to avoid being held accountable, right? How many others were there?" He asked, remembering what she'd said about killing more than once.
"Oh that," she said dismissively. "My poor parents were so concerned about my mental state; they talked about having me committed. I couldn't let that happen, so I arranged for a little car accident on the mountain."
Tony could feel Rory's horror at her callous description of the murder of their parents, and righteous anger toward Tom and Olivia. They could have prevented the other deaths if they'd allowed Rhianne to face justice for Rory's murder.
"I don't know how or when things went so terribly wrong in you Ree, but it's long past time you got some help," Rory told her.
Rhianne laughed. "What makes you think I want help?"
There seemed to be a shift in Rhianne's demeanor. Tony tensed, ready to react as her features twisted into a rictus of hate and anger.
"Get in the boat now."
He was dead if he let her take him away in the boat. "No."
Rhianne raised the rifle higher. "I won't ask again."
He could feel Rory slide gently out of his head, and sensed his determination to prevent his sister from doing any more harm. He smiled, knowing Rory was about to appear.
Rhianne scowled at Tony's smile and then uncertainty broke over her features as his eyes changed back to green.
Rory appeared near Tony's side, finally able to be visible to others now that his killer had confessed. Rhianne went white. "Rory," she breathed through bloodless lips. "What is happening?"
Tony steeled himself for what was coming.
"Justice," Rory replied, stepping closer. Brutal slashes appeared on his face and neck, streaming blood. He held out his arms toward his sister as cuts opened across his wrists, then widened gruesomely. Blood materialized on his clothes, flowing in small rivers from his arms and spattering the wood beneath them as he moved.
As connected as they were, and even though he'd seen this already in a vision, the ghastly sight made Tony queasy.
"Get away!" Rhianne raised the rifle and fired at her brother. The shot went through the ghost and they heard it thud into the far wall. "I killed you, Rory, and I'll do it again."
"That won't work," Rory told her, still moving closer.
"This will," Rhianne said, shifting her aim to Tony. She fired.
NNNNNNNN
"No!" Rory shouted, anticipating her actions. He surged forward, pushing the rifle barrel off-target just as she fired.
Tony gasped and collapsed to the boards. His head smacked into the wood, and he lay there stunned as Rory and Rhianne grappled over the rifle. Finally, Rory wrested it from her grasp. It flew a few feet along the boards, and then slid off into the water. He shot her a dark, furious look before turning back to Tony.
Rhianne stood frozen, staring her hands. Blood materialized, covering her hands and dripping on the floor in fat droplets. It comingled with the blood left by Rory's ghostly wounds.
Rory knelt next to Tony and looked back at her. "Too much blood on your hands Rhianne…you'll never be rid of it," he said, preternatural power in his declaration. Rory faded away as she watched.
Rhianne uttered an angry curse and scrubbed her hands wildly over her clothes, but the blood remained.
Tony lay on the floor, cuffed hands clasped over a deep graze cutting a furrow through his side. His head throbbed from banging into the boards and blood seeped through his fingers.
A flush of warmth spread through his side and the blood flow slowed. Thanks, Rory, he thought.
Rory's guilt and remorse filled him. You got hurt again because of me.
You saved me, he thought back. That would have been a kill shot. Tony felt Rhianne's hands on him, pushing him toward the boat, and he fought desperately, but his strength was depleted. Rory, I think you'll be able to appear to the others now. Please…, he asked weakly. Please go get Gibbs.
Hang on, Tony. They're already on their way. I can hear them.
Rhianne finally succeeded in logrolling him into one of the boats. He groaned as he landed awkwardly, cuffed hands trapped under him, and legs askew. He flinched as Rhianne jumped in next to him, unwound the mooring lines and tossed them onto the platform.
Tony's reserves were nearly drained, from both the link and his wound. He struggled to sit up and pushed himself forward as far from her as he could. The blood flow from the graze increased again. He imagined Jethro's order in his head. Don't you dare get dead. It gave him strength.
"Rory," Tony called softly. Nothing…the link was quiet.
"It's no use calling him back; he can't help you now."
"You don't have to do this."
"It's his fault! He should have stayed dead!" Rhianne raged.
"What are you going to do?" Tony asked as Rhianne sat in the rear of the boat and started the motor. She carefully moved them out of the boathouse opening and onto the lake, guided by the light of the moon breaking through the clouds.
"We're going to take a little ride and I'm going to show you the deepest part of the lake…up close," she taunted. "Then I'm going to drop you in. Maybe they'll never find you, just like what should have happened the first time."
The link flared to life again. We're coming.
Would they catch up in time?
Tony looked at the black water surrounding them and considered buying time by throwing himself out of the boat.
"I know what you're thinking," Rhianne smiled evilly as she steered the boat out toward the center of the lake. "Don't. The water's already cold this time of year. You wouldn't last long." Another shark-like smile and a shrug. "Then again, go ahead if you want," she said, almost daring him. "It might be fun to see how many times I can drive the boat over you before you stop coming back up," she told him.
Crazy ass bitch. Maybe he'd get a shot at knocking her overboard instead. Tony just stared back behind her, at the boathouse lights retreating further away and hoping for a sign they were being pursued. He watched and waited for Rory to talk to him again, trusting he would lead Gibbs to them.
The sound of another boat motor grew louder in the distance, and a spotlight swept back and forth across the surface of the water, trying to pinpoint them.
They're coming…hold on, Tony.
"There's a symmetry to this, you know, Rory," Rhianne began. "You're going to die the way everyone believed you died before." She looked around and sighed. "I think I'll even join you. Just to be sure this time. I can't swim, you see. I never learned."
Tony had nothing to say to that. In her madness, she'd sunk completely back into the delusion that he was Rory. She never intended to use him to escape. She was determined to make sure 'Rory' died again, even if she had to die with him. She was cornered and she knew it. She had nothing to lose and nothing to live for. His years in law enforcement taught him there were few things more dangerous than a violent and unstable criminal in that very position.
Rhianne cut the motor and they began to drift. The light from the other boat found and steadied on them. The sounds of the approaching craft grew louder as it neared, but he could still hear her.
"It's time, Rory."