Husk

“There simply wasn’t enough evidence to name a suspect.”

“What made you reevaluate your initial judgment of him?”

“Security systems,” he replied. His gaze reconnected with her eyes. “Locks did nothing to stop this man. He got through everything from household deadbolts to state-of-the-art electronics. It was the same with cameras. In every scenario where Kane encountered surveillance systems, all the cameras failed, capturing nothing but static. It didn’t matter if it was film in a standard VCR or a digital recording on a hard drive. And whatever was done to them stumped the pros we brought in to figure it out.

“Medical records show Kane suffered from mild retardation, not to mention having visual dyslexia. He dropped out of school after the seventh grade. Put simply, he didn’t have the brains or the skills to execute such jobs.”

Frank traced his scar with one finger while he spoke. “There was also something odd about his victims,” he added. “Kane would abduct a person from a high-rise downtown condo one day, then switch to picking off transients or runaways from the interstate. Inconsistencies like that led me to believe he was after certain individuals, not random victims like some of the profilers suggested.”

Melissa nodded thoughtfully. “Why go through all the trouble to sabotage security systems and risk working in confined environments like apartment buildings? Why not stick to remote locations, away from help or potential witnesses?”

“Exactly.”

“Well, if you’re correct, then this accomplice has been the real threat all along.”

Frank shook his head with a stern look of disagreement. “No. No way. Kane had help, but it was a team effort. If there’s one thing I learned from his history, it’s that he was rotten from the start. He liked to slaughter cattle as a child; collected knives and pitchforks; tortured other farm animals. He even gathered road-kill off the street like some people pick up fascinating stones. Sure, there might have been someone to help him figure out the more complicated ends of certain situations, but he was evil to begin with. I saw it in his eyes.”

“When was that?” Melissa asked.

He laughed without humor. “When he came back from the dead.”

CHAPTER 20

“Wow,” Tim’s mother said. “I wonder what’s going on over there?”

Tim glanced up from the passenger seat of the car. He’d been lost in thought, thinking about the evening ahead at Valleyfair, and feeling more than a tad nervous about seeing Mallory again. He knew it was just a casual outing, a simple get-together with the new girl, but there was also no denying the way his heart raced when he conjured the memory of her in his mind.

When he looked around, he noticed they’d pulled into the Wiesses’ neighborhood. Not far ahead, several squad cars occupied the street in front of the house across from Mallory’s, along with a white vehicle that bore an uncanny likeness to a hearse.

“That’s the Andersons’ place,” Tim said. “They’re on my weekend paper route.”

His mother pulled into Mallory’s driveway and shut off the engine. They sat in the car a moment longer, watching the police, wondering what could’ve happened to merit the response of multiple officers.

“Well, we can’t sit here and speculate about it all night,” his mom said. “How do I look, okay or too dressy?”

“You look awesome,” Tim replied. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d seen his mother so concerned with her appearance. She had on a delicate white sundress decorated with colorful wildflower designs, and she’d spent nearly an hour making sure her hair and makeup were flawless before leaving the house. Sam Hale, their neighbor across the road, ran his lawnmower right off the grass and into the street when he saw her come out to the car.

“Thanks, Tim, so do you,” she replied.

He grinned. “Yeah, right.” He wore a plain green tee shirt and a pair of denim shorts, having selected them specifically for their mediocrity. When it came time to tour the water rides at the fair, he wouldn’t worry about getting them wet.

They got out of the car.

Paul answered the door on the first ring of the bell and invited them into the foyer, where he was giving Lori Hanlon a crash-course on how to work the alarm panel.

“Hey, Tim,” Lori said. “Hi, Ms. Fleming.” The girl rocked on the balls of her feet, her fiery-red ponytail bouncing with each move. “Thanks again for the babysitting reference. Every bit helps for next year’s college fund.”

“Ready to go?”

Tim looked up and saw Mallory coming down the stairs. She wore white shorts and a yellow camo tee shirt that hugged every curve of her torso.

“Ready as ever,” he replied, thinking that if the house caved in around him he wouldn’t even notice.

Five minutes later they hit the road, all riding in the Wiesses’ Expedition. Despite the enormity of the backseat, Mallory slid up beside him, and their bare legs brushed together as they planned what rides to target first.

“Anything that goes insanely fast,” Mallory said.

“And upside-down,” Tim added.

“Or in lots of circles.”

“Of course!”

When they arrived in front of the fair gates at a quarter to eight, they scrambled out of their seats like a pair of sugar-fueled preschoolers.

“Have fun,” Mr. Wiess called out the window. “I’ve got my cell phone if you need to reach us; otherwise, we’ll meet you back here at around eleven-thirty, okay?”

“Got it,” Mallory confirmed.

“Will do,” Tim added.

Seconds later, they handed over their tickets to the admission attendants and headed inside, moving past the forward wishing fountain and main clock tower that marked the amusement park’s entrance.

On the other side of the clock tower, the thoroughfare stretched out to their right and left, its course lined with rides and shops and dotted by various concessions offering foods and drinks. Throngs of people moved from one attraction to another. Tim inhaled the unique blend of smells that lingered on the breeze: the faint mechanical scent of oil, grease, and diesel from the rides, mixed with the more noticeable aroma of popcorn, cotton candy, and deep-fried pastries.

They took the first left and hurried toward the Enterprise, a spinning contraption that looked like a huge, futuristic bicycle wheel lying on its side. Two-passenger gondolas hung along its outer edge. The ride began to spin at ground level, then a hydraulic arm gradually raised the whole machine to a vertical position, so the riders were going in high-speed loops.

On their first go, Tim sat in the back of the gondola with Mallory up front. Since there was no divider between seating areas, Mallory had to sit between Tim’s legs. Once the ride built up speed, she leaned backward against him, her fragrant hair blowing in his face.

At his request, they rode Enterprise three times in a row.

???

After the sun went down, the fairgrounds came aglow with a galaxy of colors. The ride lights flickered on, and the stars overhead faded behind a million twinkling, spinning, pulsing orbs of electricity and neon.

Mallory walked alongside Tim as they made their way down the exit ramp of The Corkscrew, having ridden the roller coaster for the fifth time since arriving.

“I swear it’s true,” Tim said. “It happened right here.”

“No way.”

“Yes way. The guy puked at the top of the first big loop and the barf landed on his head when the coaster came down the other side.”