message and get help.
“Miss, you haven’t been careful. You’ve let evil get too close. I warned you—I told you he disguises himself. Why didn’t you listen? He isn’t sure how much I know, or I wouldn’t be here. But I’ve seen things, his comings and goings. I’m the handyman. I have all the keys, see. And I have his brainwaves, see. I fixed the wiring. Reversed it, so I could read his thoughts, find out his plans.”
I tried to make my voice sound calm. As long as he kept talking, he wouldn’t hurt anyone. “You know his plans?”
He wheezed, then coughed deeply. Fire burned deep in his eyes. Sweat droplets swelled on his forehead. He leaned forward and enunciated more carefully, as if that would help me understand.
“I’ve told you. He won’t stop. He’s killed all those girls and he needs more. A fresh supply for his work.”
Sitting behind Charlie, Leslie began to twitch. Her eyebrow flicked spasmodically. Her knee bounced involuntarily. I wondered if she was having a seizure. I looked at Karen. Her lips mouthed a silent question. “Who is he?”
“All those young women. Dead. So much waste—”
“Who’s dead? What young women are dead?” Leslie cut in. “What’s he saying?”
Charlie didn’t respond. He went on, “See, the women weren’t blood. They had false bonds, no true connections. That’s why they had to die.”
Leslie asked again, “Who? Who had to die? Answer me—”
I shook my head, trying to quiet her. Karen touched her arm. Behind them, blocked by Davinder, Susan continued miming that we’d been visited by a man with a gun.
Charlie continued. “But the work’s not done yet. Life and death, love and hate, Satan and the Lord God. Everything’s the same to him. He spits at it all, pastes it all together as a circle. His work is evil, Miss Zoe. And evil feeds on itself, begets more evil. It’s an endless cycle. He’ll go on killing until somebody stops him.”
Leslie panted, “He means Tamara? The nannies? They’re dead? How does he know that?”
Charlie gazed through the window. I looked out and saw Molly take a running jump and leap over the horse, clearing it by inches. Landing, she turned to see if I was watching.
Amazingly, I was. I even smiled and gave her a thumbs-up, just as if nothing were wrong. She grinned proudly and was moving on to the parallel bars when, beside me, Karen suddenly stiffened. Somebody shrieked. And Leslie tackled Charlie from behind, grabbing for the gun.
“You sonofafuckingbitch! You killed them—”
Fearless, maddened, she clawed at him. When the gun went off, the bang was deafening.
THIRTY-EIGHT
CHUNKS OF DRYWALL FLEW THROUGH THE AIR, AND A HOLLOW ringing muffled all other sounds. Leslie stopped in midair, her face distorted in disbelief. Then she sank to her knees on the floor. Children turned to face the window; women shrieked. Karen and Ileana ran over to Leslie and held her, looking for wounds. Leslie hadn’t been hit, but she gulped air, yelping like a wounded dog. In the gym, children froze, staring at the observation room window, large eyes searching for their mothers.
Charlie got to his feet, holding the gun in the air. “Everybody calm down, now.” He wheezed through the ringing sound. “I don’t want anybody hurt.” His voice broke into a fit of coughing. “Sit down, please,” he continued. “I’m here for Miss Zoe. But I’ll take care of all of you, all of you.”
Coach Gene pounded on the door. “Everything okay in there? Open the door.”
Shaking, I got up and crossed the room.
“Don’t open it, miss.”
I didn’t answer. Charlie wouldn’t shoot me. with trembling hands, I moved the chair; Coach Gene flew into the room, gaping at the hole in the wall. “what the heck’s going on in here?”
“Just a little accident,” I said. “But everything’s okay.” I looked at my terrified friends. Susan was beside me, smiling stiffly, indicating that Gene should play along.
“We’re fine,” she said, drawing his attention to Leslie, who was still yelping on the carpet. women clustered, hugging each other. Gretchen, Davinder, and Ileana huddled together, bug-eyed. Karen had moved to the doorway and now sheltered Nicholas in her arms. All eyes were riveted on Charlie. “Jingle Bells” continued its maddening endless loop.
“who’s that?” Nicholas pointed to Charlie.
I remembered then that nobody knew. Crossing the room, I stood beside him. “Everybody. This is my neighbor Charlie.” I could barely hear my own voice. It came from far away. “He wants to keep us safe, so let’s all stay calm and