Chapter 15

The morning eventually came. With a pair of sore eyes and a burdened mind, Tamsin inhaled deeply and put on her jacket as she headed out.

"You going somewhere?" Bo, who was sitting in the kitchen, asked curiously with a sweet smile.

"Yeah, got a few things to do. Nothing important really. It shouldn't take me too long."

Bo smiled again. "Just let me know if you'll be home for dinner then."

Her voice, the look in her eyes, the way she posed herself...it was as if she was asking a lifelong partner if she'd come home for dinner. Last night's confession seemed to have not affected Bo at all. In fact, Tamsin started to wonder if Bo actually remembered any of it.

"Do you...remember what we talked about last night?"

Bo frowned a little. "A dream of mine?" She eventually murmured. "I...I guess I must have been half asleep or something. I kind of remember bits and pieces of it, but I don't remember much."

"Do you still remember that dream?"

"Yeah, dark place, blue eyes, and...I think that's it...kind of a weird dream, huh?"

Tamsin gave Bo a smile. She was somewhat relieved that Bo didn't remember the conversation.

"I'll see you later, okay?" She gave Bo a nod, before she exited the mansion.

Outside there was the winter drizzle. It shrouded the world with a cold, thin fog.

Tamsin entered her truck. She was so carried away that she didn't notice that folded sheet of paper tucked under her windshield wiper until she started the car. The windshield wipers started automatically, bringing the paper up and down, left and right. The paper fluttered like the broken wing of a giant white butterfly. As it fluttered, Tamsin noticed streaks of colors on the side that was folded in.

What the hell is it? She wondered as she got out and grabbed it. She had thought that it might be some sort of solicitation flyer, but it was actually a drawing. It was drawn with coloring markers, and clearly, it was drawn by a child.

Tamsin frowned at the drawing. On the paper, there was a half full whiskey glass. The glass had a diamond pattern on the outside. Inside there was a dark colored, pyramid shaped whiskey stone. The colors were bold, and the free formed lines looked quite cartoony.

She rubbed the paper with the tips of her finger gently. The paper felt moist but not soaked. It had been drizzling all night, so this drawing shouldn't have been on her truck for too long. Kira and Stella had just left for a school field trip and this mansion was gated, so it must be one of them... Maybe it was Kira who drew it? But, why? What was the significance of this whiskey glass? Was she trying to say something? Or maybe it was a childish gesture of...giving her a random gift? Would this have anything to do with the things that she was investigating at all?

Tamsin closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. She tossed the drawing to the passenger seat, but then with a second thought, she folded it and tucked it into her jacket pocket instead.

Tamsin drove across the town, and then she circled to the west side and entered the mountains. Unlike the mountains on the park side, this area didn't offer much beyond undeveloped deep forests and rarely visited steep cliffs. There were a few cabin rental businesses but since the cabins were so far away from the tourist attractions in town, the rental business was on the verge of shutting down - in fact the majority of them seemed to have been abandoned already. If it had been the peak season, some of the cabins might have been rented out, but during off-seasons, the area was completely dead.

Tamsin drove along the narrow, winding road, and eventually pulled in front of one of the cabins that was surrounded by thick woods. She pulled her car into the covered parking area, and there was a car parked there already, a green Corolla.

She frowned hard at the printed ad on the back of the car. It was an ad for Dylan's tshirt store. She remembered seeing this car in a photo that Dylan had sent her a long time ago. He had just purchased this car from a friend of his for a really good price, shortly after he had started the tshirt business. He had gone on and on about the ad he had put on the back of the car, about how it might bring more customers to his shop, and she dissed the color of the car, saying that it was a shitty green. She had seen it in the garage for the past few weeks. Now that she saw it parked here, it did seem like she had not seen it at home when she left this morning, or maybe even for a few days...?

She shook her head slightly, before she rang the doorbell.

The door almost immediately opened. In front of her, there stood Dr. Karen Wilson. She gave Tamsin a polite smile.

"Come on in," she said, yet there wasn't an ounce of joy or welcome in her eyes or her voice.

Tamsin went inside and scanned everything quickly. The cabin seemed old. She could easily point out six or seven places that were in need of maintenance. Then, there was the smell, a heavy blend of wet leaves, cold soil, hidden mold, and things that were rotten or dead. It smelled exactly like Crimson Rock.

"You own this place?" Tamsin went into the small open kitchen and checked out the fridge magnets. These magnets were practically sold in every trinket store in town.

"No," the doctor answered shortly, "but it's a quiet and isolated place. I figure it would be a good place for us to have a conversation, since you said on the phone that you really wanted to talk to me in private."

"Yeah I was expecting one of your patient rooms or a coffee shop in town or something...By the way, the car parked outside, it's not your car, is it?"

"I borrowed it from Bo. Mine was in the car shop," Karen explained.

"Good to know."

"Please, take a seat."

Tamsin sank into the couch with her legs crossed.

"So, what is it that you wanted to talk about?" Karen sat on the opposite side of the coffee table.

"Well..." Tamsin leaned forward a little with her hands locked and placed on top of her knees. "It's...about Bo."

"I hope that you don't ask me about her medical condition, because it is bound by-"

"The confidentiality stuff, yes I know. Trust me I'm not here for that today. If I wanted her medical records or something, I'd just break into your office and find it myself."

Karen wasn't amused. "Then what is it that you wanted to talk about?"

"I hope you don't think that I'm probing for things bound by that confidentiality shit, but...I guess what I'm about to tell you is probably related to this memory loss condition of hers."

"Is she forgetting things again?"

"Yes, and she was convinced that it was just a dream of hers."

"What did she forget this time?"

"Something that...something that is...very shocking and-I am actually wondering if she has told you about it before."

"To answer your question, I'd have to know what you are referring to first."

"It's..." Tamsin scratched her hair and leaned forward. "The conversation is just between you and me, right? I mean, this is gotta be protected by that doctor patient-"

Before she could finish, she stood up and headed to the door. "You know what, this is probably a mistake. I don't think I should have come at all. Just..."

"Tamsin," the doctor held her shoulder firmly. "Your secret is safe with me."

Tamsin hesitated for a moment or two, before she decided to sit down on the couch again. After a long pause, she finally started, "so...last night Bo came to my room and we-well I guess what we did last night in my room wasn't really that important, was it?"

She chuckled as she held Karen's gaze. There it was again, the cold, dagger-like jabs.

"Anyway, after that we started talking. She seems to...she likes to talk to me late at night lately. She...last night she had told me something that got me really concerned."

"What did she say to you that made you concerned?"

Tamsin didn't answer her. She just stared at a wooden bear statue in the corner of the living room for a long time, before she asked, "has she ever mentioned anything related to Dylan's death to you?"

"Yes, she has expressed to me how sad she was to lose him like that."

"No, I mean, the details of how he had died."

Karen frowned a little. "She did tell me that he died in a cave, where he had entered to mine some gemstones. She also told me recently that Dylan's death might not have been an accident at all. She said the police had reopened the investigation and said it could be murder."

"Has she ever mentioned any...anything about his death that...she shouldn't have known?"

"Such as?"

"Such as Dylan had something with him while he died?"

Karen opened her mouth and gasped slightly. "No," she shook her head. "She has not told me that. Why would you say that she shouldn't have known about it?"

"Because...not even the cops knew about it."

"I'm confused here. Dylan had something with him while he died, but the police did not find it on him?"

"No they did not."

"Could it be that Bo was wrong then? Maybe she thought that he had it with him that day, but in fact he didn't? I mean, she does have a memory loss issue."

"Let's just say that I do know that she was right about him having that thing when he had died. How would she know about something that even the police do not?"

Karen studied her for a long time. "Are you suggesting that she might be there when he died?"

"Well...that seems to be the only explanation that-but it's not possible, right? How would she be there? She couldn't be-the only person who were there were Dylan and the one who-"

"-murdered him?"

"I'm not saying that. I'm not saying that she-but, but it is weird for her to know about something that only the murderer would know, isn't it?"

"Have you told the police about this yet?"

"No," Tamsin shook her head immediately. "I just thought I'd talk to you first and see if-I mean, I'm just wondering if she has said something to you that would concern you, at all?"

"Not anything like that, but..."

"But what, doc?"

"Now that you have mentioned it, I do remember that...around the time of Dylan's death, during several of her appointments, she had talked about a dream of hers with great details."

"A dream? What kind of dream?"

"well...something about her being inside a dark place, with all these blue eyes around her."

"Dylan was found in a dark cave, with blue gemstones around him."

The doctor gasped and went quiet. "Well, it could just be...that she had heard from the police and then-"

"She told me last night that she was in that dark place with Dylan, and they-anyway, she said that he had something blue with him when he died. She said it was a blue eye that was staring at her. Did she ever mention that to you?"

"I don't remember her telling me that... A blue eye that was staring at her? What might that be?"

Tamsin took a deep breath. "A earring," she said as she avoided Karen's gaze.

"So she told you that he had an earring with him when he died?"

"No, I mean, yes, I mean...she didn't say that it was an earring until I asked her if that blue thing was an earring," Tamsin rubbed her palm along the top of her thigh.

"How would you know that it was an earring then?"

"Because..." Tamsin murmured painstakingly as she took the earring out from her jacket pocket. "I found it when I found him."

A long, awkward silence consumed them as they both stared at the small blue jewelry placed on the coffee table.

"You...you found this in the cave? You are withholding evidence from a murder investigation?" Karen eventually glared at Tamsin.

"Well what was I supposed to do, doc? I found Dylan dead in that cave, with Bo's earring with him. If I had said anything to the police, they would have arrested her and charged her with murder!"

"So you did it to protect her?"

"Yes, I...I didn't want to send her to prison. I mean, it must be a mistake. It couldn't have been her! She's...she's such a gentle person and she...she..."

"If she didn't murder him, why would she be there in the first place? What was she doing there?"

"I don't know. Maybe she remembered it wrong. You said it yourself, she has a memory loss problem. Maybe she wasn't there at all but-"

"-then how could she have known about the earring?"

"I...I don't know, but she can't be the killer."

"Then who else could it be?"

"I don't know! What difference does it make at this point?"

"She could have murdered your brother, Tamsin. And if it wasn't her, someone else might have murdered your brother. Don't you want to know who did it and see them brought to justice?"

"I know. I do. I'm devastated that he's dead, but this is Bo. She and I...we were..."

"You were what?"

Tamsin let out a deep sigh. "Has she ever talked to you about me at all?"

"Yes, but not much. All I know is that you two were good friends in highschool, and that you left town when you were young. You haven't talked to each other for over a decade."

"Actually...it was more than that. We were more than that. We were...very close when we were in school, and we weren't just friends, if you know what I mean."

"I think I know what you mean, but she married Dylan instead. They have had a happy marriage for over ten years, and you have been away."

"I know. It was all because of some misunderstanding and shit back then. We were both young and...you know how it is like when you are young and you are deeply involved with someone, both emotionally and physically, you tend to do stupid shit."

With every word that came out from her, Karen's face would drop a little bit more.

"Besides, happy marriage? It was not what I heard when she talked about her marriage. She settled with him because I was gone, and now I'm back. We...we really reconnected, and this time we are going to make things right."

"Forgive me for being a little surprised. It's just that Bo has never mentioned any of it to me before."

"Oh, it's okay. I don't expect her to. It's a secret between me and her. She wouldn't tell anyone who's not that close to her."

Karen clenched her lips tightly. "How would the two of you make things right, if I may ask?"

"We've talked about it a lot. I don't plan to stay here for long, and neither is she. After I wrap up everything here, I'm leaving and she's coming with me. You have no idea how excited she is right now. Last night we spent most of the time talking about getting a new apartment and everything. She wants a cat, but I'm kind of a dog person so we'll probably get both-"

"She had just lost her husband, whom she loved deeply. She's in pain, Tamsin. It's common for those who're dealing with a great loss to want to run away from it. That is exactly what she's doing right now. She's trying to run away. It is quite insensitive for you to encourage her to do so. If you truly consider yourself a close friend of hers, you should-"

"I'm not just a close friend of hers. We are lovers now. She has been, and she's still in love with me, just as much as I love her. You have no idea how great it feels like to finally be with her again, emotionally, physically, sexually-"

"That's enough!" The doctor hissed. She cleared her throat and softened her voice, "it's very normal for people who're in pain to seek consolation. I'm sure you are familiar with the concept of rebound sex."

"Oh it's definitely not just rebound sex, doc. Bo has told me that...since I left, I took a part of her away, and only when I came back did she feel complete again. She said that marrying Dylan was a mistake, and she was relieved that he was gone."

Karen glared at her with her jaws clenched. Had she not been clenching them so tightly, flames would have blasted out from her mouth. "She doesn't love you, Tamsin. Just trust me on this, okay? She probably said those things to you so you wouldn't turn her in."

"No, if she really didn't want me to turn her in, she wouldn't have told me about the murder at all. The fact that she has told me about his death, and the earring, is that...she trusts me with her darkest secrets. It's proof of her love for me."

"It is wrong to hide the truth from the police and from your family."

"I don't believe that she's the killer. I just don't believe it."

"Then how would you explain that her earring was found in the cave?"

"They were married. It wouldn't be too ridiculous to find a piece of her jewelry with him, right? He could have it with him the day he left the mansion. Maybe it just fell into his pocket or something."

"He clutched it tightly in his hand when he died. Don't you think it was his way of hinting that his death had something to do with the owner of that earring?"

Karen seemed to have noticed that she got a little too excited. She combed her hair with her fingers and let out an awkward smile. "Besides, who else could have killed your brother, if it wasn't Bo?"

Tamsin pulled her lips into a big smile. "You," she said as she stared straight into the doctor's eyes. "It was you who killed my brother."

"Ha!" Karen huffed. "That's ridiculous!"

"No, it's not, not at all. Had you not been the one who killed him and planted the earring there, how would you have known that he was holding the earring in his hand?"

"Well you said it yourself! He had the earring with him when he died."

"Yes, that's what I said. He had the earring with him when he died. I've never said that it was in his hand. How would you have known that, hmmm?"

"It's an educated guess and-"

"You'd have to find a much better excuse than an educated guess, doc."

Karen let out a frustrated sigh. "Look, it's not-it's not what you think, okay? Let's just...how about some water for both of us first? I promise that I can explain it."

"Alright."

Karen went into the kitchen, and got two glasses from the cabinet. She opened a bottle of spring water that she found in the fridge, and poured some into each glass. Before she handed one to Tamsin, though, she went back into the kitchen again and opened the freezer. "Almost forgot about the ice," she chuckled.

Tamsin took a glass from her. She paused, somewhat shocked, as she stared at the glass. It was half full, and it had a diamond pattern on the outside. The "ice" that Karen had put in it, was really a dark gray whiskey stone whose shape resembled a pyramid.

It looked exactly like what was drawn on that paper.

"Something wrong?" The doctor seemed concerned.

"Oh no, not really, it's just that..." Tamsin put the glass down. "It's a chilly day and I kind of crave some hot beverage. Do you happen to have any tea here?"

"I'm afraid that I don't have any tea here."

"It's alright. I wasn't that thirsty anyway."

Karen put her glass down on the coffee table. "I need to apologize to you. I lied to you, Tamsin. The reason that I knew that your brother had the earring in his hand was because Bo had told me about it. I didn't want to tell you earlier because I...I didn't know what to do with this either. I mean...Bo has always been a good friend to me. I have never-I didn't think it would be her either, but right after Dylan's death, during one of her appointments, she told me about a dream of hers. She had a heated argument with Dylan in a dark place. Things got physical, and she accidentally pushed him off the edge. He pulled her left earring off her when he fell. She feared that he might get really angry with him, so she cut his rope. Then, she climbed down and saw him lying there among the gemstones. She also saw her earring in his hand. I...I knew it wasn't a dream because the level of detail was just...disturbingly vivid."

"And you didn't report it because...?"

"Because I care about her."

"Then why were you advocating so avidly that I should turn her in?"

"That was...ummm," Karen muttered. Then she took her cellphone out from her purse. "Sorry, I gotta take this," she gave Tamsin an apologetic nod before she went into another room and closed the door behind her.

Tamsin huffed out a cold sneer and quickly texted something. Then, she sat there and waited.

Karen came out shortly. "Sorry, work," she smiled as she turned up the temperature of the A/C.

"Not a problem. Where were we at? Ah yes, I accused you of killing Dylan, and then you said you learned the details of the crime scene from Bo."

"Yes, and really, why would I ever kill your brother?"

"Because you are in love with Bo, but she's married to Dylan. You can't have her unless you take him out of the picture."

She enjoyed the look on Karen's face, before she added, "honestly, you are not gonna have her even without him. She has no feelings for you. To her, you are just an acquaintance. You are not even a friend."

"That is not true! She loves me!" The doctor finally snapped.

"Is it just your illusion, or is it something she said to you when she was being hypnotized by you?"

Karen's eyes suddenly widened. "H-ypnotized by me? That is just-"

"Your late father was a psychiatrist, who had extensive knowledge and experience with hypnosis. Have you not learned any tricks from him?"

"Well, that's not-even if I knew the basics of hypnosis, I did not-"

"Doctor, you and I both know that what I said was true. You are in love with Bo, but she's with Dylan. I'm sure you tried a lot of things, including hypnotizing her, but no matter what you do, she just wouldn't leave Dylan. You probably have tried hypnotizing her into killing him, but...well, she just wouldn't do it, would she? I mean, I'm no expert of hypnosis but you just can't hypnotize people into doing something that they don't want to do, can you? So, you decided that you are just going to kill him yourself. But, how could you be with Bo if you get arrested for his murder? Someone has to take the blame. After you killed him, you planted this earring in his hand. Then, you planted the knife and the boots in the mansion. But, those aren't enough for a conviction, are they? So you brainwashed Bo with all those crime scene details and made her believe that she might have something to do with it."

She watched Karen's face getting paler and paler. "But you can't have her running around telling everyone about it, not yet. It has to be the right moment. It has to be the perfect moment, like...when the police found the earring and started to suspect her, then they would search the mansion and when they found the knife and the other earring in that drawer, she would immediately remember everything. With all those fake memories crashing through, she would have a breakdown. All the hard evidence and a teary confession... who wouldn't believe that she was the killer?"

She smirked at the doctor's cold eyes. "I think it's called a trigger in hypnosis, isn't it? Should that happen or occur, Bo would do things that you told her to do. But, that trigger never happened, because they never found that earring of hers. They never considered her a suspect, and that was why they never searched the mansion thoroughly."

Karen wanted to say something, but with the muscle on her face twitching, she seemed to be unable to speak.

"The details aren't that important, really. I know it's you. I just don't know why you went through all this to frame Bo. How can you be with her when she's in prison?"

A weird, almost wicked smile appeared on Karen's face. "Of course I wouldn't send her to prison. Why would I?"

"Then why are you trying so hard?"

Karen's smile got bigger. She stood up and went into the kitchen. She poured the water that was left in her glass into the sink, and rinsed it briefly. However, she seemed to have been too absentminded to close the faucet all the way. The dripping faucet, along with the humming A/C, had become the only sound inside.

"Are you gonna confess, or are you gonna stab me right now?" Tamsin stood up and crossed her arms in front of her chest as she stared at Karen.

"I'm going to do neither. I'm just curious. How do you figure it out?"

"It's not that hard, really. It has to be someone who can access the mansion, someone who's probably good at climbing, for example, a climbing club member like you. This person also has to have a motive. Once I knew it wasn't Bo, I knew it was you."

"How do you know it wasn't her?"

"A lot of things. She doesn't have it in her for one. It was also weird that she hadn't mentioned the dream at all to me when I first came back. You'd think that someone who's really mentally unstable would mention bits and pieces, especially when she had seen him in the morgue, and learned all the details of where and how he was found, but she has said nothing. When I found the knife, the boots and the other earring, though, things suddenly poured out. And also, the fake memories that she had. It wasn't right."

"What do you mean it wasn't right?"

"The earring found in Dylan's hand wasn't the left earring. If she had really been there and seen it in his hand, she wouldn't have thought she had lost her right earring, and her story would have been different. I know that you chose those earrings because of that oversized wedding photo in their suite. In the photo she was wearing them, and that would make it perfect evidence. I also know you are probably dying to know why I know that you planted the wrong earring but...it's a secret between Bo and me and I don't want to tell you, ever."

Karen wasn't angry or upset this time. She just smiled. "I guess I did make mistakes, then, but it won't matter anyway."

"Oh yes, it will matter, when I tell the cops and the FBI what you've done."

Karen smiled and shook her head. "Let me tell you what's going to happen here next."

"Oh please, I'm dying to know," Tamsin drawled.

"Nobody called me earlier. I made a call to Bo. In a few minutes, she will come over here, with a gun, probably one of your father's guns, or maybe even your grandfather's, but that's not very important, isn't it? The important part is that she will shoot you and kill you right here. Right when she does that, I'll show up, because I just couldn't shake off this bad feeling I had while I talked to you over the phone when you mentioned that Bo asked you to meet at this secluded cabin. I just have this gut feeling that something bad is going to happen when the two of you meet, so I come here and happen to witness the shooting. In panic, I'll call the police, and they'll swarm this place. They'll find your dead body, with a fresh gunshot wound, and her holding a gun whose barrel is probably still hot. Surely, they'll arrest her. As a key witness, I'll testify that she indeed has shot you, but as her doctor, I'll testify that she's too mentally unstable to stand trial. It will be very convincing when she describes the whole thing as a terrible dream of hers in front of everyone. It will be more convincing when they finally find the earring, the key evidence that links her to her husband's murder. Eventually, she'll be put in a psychiatric facility, which I'll later transfer to. There, she'll be behind electric fences and heavy gates. She'll be locked inside a bare room with no one to console her but me. She'll realize that I'm the only one who's there for her. She'll forever be mine."

Tamsin's jaw dropped. "You are fucking insane!" She exclaimed in anger, as she allowed herself to picture briefly what Bo's life would be like, should that happen. The look in Karen's eyes, that level of confidence and determination in her voice, chilled Tamsin's bones. It reminded her of those cult zealots, of those serial killer lovers, of those who were twisted and believed in madness.

"The police will never believe your story! You rented this cabin and you came here even before I did."

"I did rent this cabin but I didn't use my name or my credit card. I used Bo's, while she was at an appointment in my clinic last week. She also left her car there that day, so I could use it today. When she comes over later, she'll use my car."

Tamsin was about to argue that someone would notice that it was Karen who drove the green Corolla this morning, but then she wondered, why would the police investigate at all? Would they really suspect anything that Karen or Bo had to say was a lie, after they found Bo's car in the covered parking space, her holding a gun, and a dead body that apparently had died from gunshot wounds? Bo would have a confession so perfect that they would not look further. The case would be closed so fast and why would the cops even bother to check any surveillance cameras nearby, or talk to any witnesses? Even if they found a small discrepancy or two, they would just dismiss it, unless they firmly believe that Bo wasn't the killer, but why would they when they already had everything in front of them?

No one would trust Bo like she did, but she'd be dead.

"You had this all planned out, didn't you?" Tamsin bit out.

"Well, I didn't expect you to give me a call and ask for my help. My original plan was to have Bo ask you to come here with her, but I guess it will work out this way nicely as well. It doesn't really matter, afterall, how and when the two of you come here."

"She has no motive to kill me. The cops know that."

"Yes, she does. You found her earring. You suspect that she might be the killer, and you confront her when she shows up. The two of you argue inside the cabin, and then out of fear and anger, she shoots you. This is going to be the story that I tell the police. This is going to be the story that she tells the police. You can't tell a different story because you would be dead."

"You are not gonna get away with this! You think I'm just gonna sit here and wait for Bo to come and shoot me?"

"Sure, you'll probably want to try to escape, or punch me in the face, but...don't you feel so relaxed that you don't even want to lift a finger?"

Tamsin's blood ran cold when she realized that she wasn't able to move at all. It was as if her entire body was suddenly petrified. "What did you do to me?!" She yelled as she collapsed into the couch.

"Hypnosis is like magic, isn't it?"

"You can't make Bo kill me. You couldn't make her kill Dylan. You can't force her to do things that she doesn't want to do."

"I can, with the help of those pills she's been taking."

"Then why weren't you able to hypnotize her into killing Dylan, hmmm?"

"It should have worked! Dylan was an anomaly!" Karen seemed to be enraged. "But...you won't be one. Just relax. Allow yourself to sink into the clouds, Tamsin. You are sinking, sinking, sinking…."

No, no, this shit is not happening! I can not be hypnotized right now! Tamsin screamed internally as she fought Karen's voice. However, she was completely trapped inside the web woven by the humming A/C, the dripping faucet and Karen's voice. The wicked melody pulled her deeper and deeper despite her struggles.

"Everything will end soon," Karen said softly. "And I promise it won't hurt at all. Be happy, that someone you love will take your life. Don't you worry about her, Tamsin. She'll be happy with me. She'll love me, forever and always..."

Karen's voice seemed to be so distant now, like it was from another universe. And Tamsin's eyelids got heavier and heavier.

No, no, don't listen to her. Don't go to sleep! Don't go to sleep!

A car pulled in front of the cabin.

"Ah, she's here." There was so much excitement in Karen's voice, that it was shaking a little.

Then, the doorbell rang.

No, Bo. Tamsin screamed. No. Don't come in. Go away. Go away. Leave. Run!

She couldn't make any of those words heard, though, for she was completely consumed by the power of hypnosis. She fell into the endless darkness, as she murmured Bo's name.

A/N: This is such a hard chapter, but Dylan's killer is finally revealed! More explanation of how she made everything happen will come in the next chapter, along with the drawing that Tamsin has found on her truck. The mystery is far from ending!