Jessica took the book from her daughter, opened it, glanced at the illustration on the title page. It was a woodcut illustration of the moon.
Jessica closed the book, flipped off the light.
'Not tonight, honey.'
Two Am.
Jessica sat on the edge of the bed. She had felt the stirrings inside her for a few days. Not the certainty, but the possibility of the possibility, a feeling once removed from hope, twice from disappointment.
She turned to look at Vincent. Dead to the world. God only knew what galaxies he conquered in his dreams.
Jessica glanced out the window, at the full moon high in the night sky.
Just moments later she heard the egg timer ding in the bathroom. Poetic, she thought. Egg timer. She got up, scuffed her way across the bedroom.
She flipped on the light, looked at the two ounces of white plastic sitting on the vanity. She was scared of the yes. Scared of the no.
Babies.
Detective Jessica Balzano-a woman who strapped on a weapon and faced danger every day of her life- trembled slightly as she stepped into the bathroom, and closed the door.
EPILOGUE
There was music. A piano song. Bright yellow daffodils smiled from the window boxes. The common room was nearly empty. It would soon fill up.
The decorations on the walls were bunnies and ducks and Easter eggs.
At five thirty they brought dinner. Tonight it was Salisbury steak and mashed potatoes. There was also a cup of applesauce.
Charles looked out the window, at the long shadows growing in the forest. It was springtime, the air was fresh. The world smelled like green apples. Soon it would be April. April meant danger.
Charles knew there was still peril in the forest, a darkness that swallowed the light. He knew that girls should not venture into the woods. His twin sister Charlotte had ventured into the woods.
He took his mother's hand.
It was up to him, now that Roland was gone. There was so much evil out there. Ever since he had come to live at Devonshire Acres he had watched the shadows take human form. And at night he heard their whispers. He heard the rustling of leaves, the swirling of the wind.
He put his arm around his mother. She smiled. They would be safe now. As long as they stayed together, they would be safe from the bad things in the forest. Safe from those who would do them harm.
Safe, Charles Waite thought.
Ever after. ix
