Red Rain

thought I wanted them. And now, look what I’ve done, Roz. Look what I’ve done.”

“Lea, you’re not making sense. Of course you’re upset. I’m upset. Look at everyone here. We’re all going out of our minds with worry. But how can you blame yourself? You didn’t-”

“I brought them home. I should have known. Why didn’t I listen to Mark? To Martha? I can’t believe it, Roz. I tried to tell the police it’s the twins. I tried to show them the photos. But then Mark ran and they. . they ran after him. They wouldn’t have believed me, anyway.” She couldn’t hold back the tears any longer. Wrenching sobs escaped her throat.

Roz let go of Axl and wrapped Lea in a hug. “Stop. Stop it. You’re saying crazy things. How can it be the twins? You know that can’t be true. Lea, no one blames you. Mark doesn’t blame you.”

“He should. Don’t you see? He should blame me. When he knows. . Oh, Roz, when he knows. .” Another uncontrollable round of racking sobs.

“Aunt Lea is sad?” Axl gazed up at Lea. He looked about to cry, too.

She forced herself in control for his sake.

“Yes, Aunt Lea is sad, but she’ll be happy again soon. You wait and see, honey.”

“Evil. So much evil. I have proof, Roz. I have the photos. I wanted to show the police. But they wouldn’t look at them. I know you think I’m crazy. I know-”

“I don’t think you’re crazy, dear. I just know you haven’t had time to recover from that horrifying hurricane.”

“Recover?” Lea cried. “Recover?”

“Take it easy, please, Lea. You’re frightening Axl.” She wrapped him in another hug.

“Now here I am, I’m standing here helplessly while poor Ira and Elena are in there. My babies. They’re in such danger, and there’s nothing I can do. It’s-it’s too late!”

“Lea, the police are here. The FBI. Look at them all. They’ll get the kids out. I know they will.”

“No. You don’t understand. They’re helpless. They’re completely helpless. They can’t get them out. They can’t save anyone against so much evil. Martha warned me. Martha emailed me again yesterday. All the details. All the horrible details.”

Holding Axl between them, Roz pressed her cheek against Lea’s. “Stop. Stop. It’ll be okay. You’ll see, dear.”

They stood that way for a long moment. And then Lea pulled back when she heard cries and shouts of surprise from the crowd of parents.

“The front door is opening. Someone is coming out!”

66

A kid appeared in the doorway. Then two. Two blond boys.

It took Pavano a few seconds to recognize the Sutters’ twins. He struggled to recall their first names. Old- fashioned names.

Everyone seemed to move at once. The feds and the cops stepped back from the window. The parents pushed toward the kids at the door. At first they cheered, but then a strange silence descended as the doors slammed shut behind the twins.

When the parents realized that no more kids were coming out, the shouts and confused cries rose up again.

The two boys stood rigidly side by side, hands balled into tight fists at their sides. They wore jeans and matching black T-shirts. The sunlight made the blue arrows on their right cheeks shimmer.

At the side of the building, Franks tossed down the megaphone and went running toward the twins. “I’ve got you! Come with me! You’re safe!”

One of the twins raised both hands in a halt signal. “Stay back! Don’t touch us!”

“Don’t touch us!” his brother echoed.

Franks stopped short. “Why? Is there a bomb? What did they do to you? Did the kidnappers put explosives on you?”

“Stay back. Stay away.” Both twins motioned Franks to retreat.

Pavano saw Lea Sutter push her way through the crowd. She stretched her arms out to the boys as she made her way toward them. “Daniel! Samuel! What are you doing?”

How totally fucking weird.

Pavano stared hard at Lea. She stopped at the edge of the crowd. She didn’t run up to her two boys.

How totally fucking weird. She didn’t ask if they were okay.

Instead, she asked what they were doing.

Wouldn’t a mother want to know how her kids are being treated? If they are in danger?

“What are you doing?”

Pavano watched her as she repeated the question. Was that concern on her face? A mother’s concern? No. The question seemed to be a challenge.

“Boys, can you get over here?” Franks called. “You’re safe. We’ll make sure you’re safe.”

The twins made no attempt to heed him.

“Who’s in there?” Franks demanded, his voice amplified over the crowd, now hushed, tense faces watching the boys, watching the doors. “Were you kidnapped? How many are there? Is everyone okay in there?”

Pavano saw Lea Sutter take several steps toward her twins.

“Stay back, Mum,” the one with dimples called. They both motioned Lea back. They were twelve, but their voices hadn’t started to change yet. They had tiny angelic voices to match their faces.

Franks turned to the cops and agents behind him. “Careful. Those two aren’t moving away from the school. I think someone planted bombs on these kids.” That comment drew gasps and horrified cries from the crowd of parents.

“Get back, everyone!” Franks shouted. “Get back-now!”

“This is fucking weird,” Pinto muttered. Pavano nodded in agreement. The twins didn’t appear frightened at all. In fact, they had grins on their faces.

“We RULE!” the one named Daniel shouted. He thrust his fists above his head. “We rule the school!”

The other boy-Samuel-shook his fists in the air.

What the fuck are they saying?

“WE RULE THE SCHOOL!” they declared in unison.

Pavano saw Lea Sutter sink back into the crowd, her face pale with horror. Did she have tears streaming down her face? She turned away. Pavano couldn’t see.

“We need you to step away from the building,” Franks shouted. He moved toward the twins. The four feds followed him, hands on their holsters. “Put your hands down, boys, and come over to me. Slowly.”

“We rule! We rule!” The twins screamed. “Bright beginnings! Bright beginnings, everyone!”

Franks tossed the megaphone to the grass. He motioned his officers forward. “Okay, boys. We’re not going to hurt you. We’re just going to take you to safety.”

“I don’t think so,” Daniel replied. “We rule now. Bright beginnings!”

Pavano glimpsed something strange about the other twin. Samuel. What was he doing with his eyes? His face was turned away from the officers.

“Let’s get them!” Franks cried. Flanked by the other lawmen, he took off, trotting toward the twins, arms outstretched.

Screams burst out as a blast of red light-like a solid flame-shot over the crowd of parents. Silent but blindingly bright, it bulleted over the cars, over the street, leaving a fiery trail against the pale blue sky.

Startled, Pavano ducked. By the time he overcame his shock and turned to follow the fiery beam, he heard what sounded like the crack of a lightning strike-the hiss and crackle of a powerful electrical charge.

He gasped along with others in the crowd as the dark-shingled roof of the house across the street burst into flames. The flames licked across the top of the roof, then spread quickly down the sides. A tall tree leaning over the