“Don't you think it's like really weird?” Alice asked. “That this shit happens on the anniversary of your son's… you know…”
“Barney's death,” Natasha said. “Yes, it's an unpleasant coincidence, to say the least.”
“That does seem very odd,” Leslie said.
“Maybe it isn't a coincidence at all,” Ward said. “If this Gismano character has been watching us, he knows what today is.”
“He marked it on the calendar,” Natasha said wearily.
“Maybe this Gismano guy set all of that up,” Leslie said. “And timed it all for the anniversary. Tonight.”
“You ever think what if he killed your son?” Alice said, without looking up from the Game Boy screen.
“He didn't,” Leslie said reflexively “Barney died from faulty wiring. Nobody killed him. It was an accident. This guy Louis loved his son. I doubt he would murder an innocent child.”
“Leslie's right,” Ward said, wondering if Gismano could have rigged the wiring to electrify the place where Barney stepped, wet from swimming in the pool. It was too monstrous an act to consider. Or could he have done it believing that Ward or Natasha would be killed, and he hadn't considered that the boy might be the victim? No, Ward couldn't believe that kind of indifference to a life so precious was possible. He and Natasha had never considered that pos sibility, and the investigators would surely have found evidence to point to tampering, and they hadn't. The ground-fault interrupter hadn't been put on the line and saturated ground had allowed the electricity to find its way out through a bare spot in the insulation and kill his son. Barney had not fallen into a trap that had been set for Ward. Ward's heart palpitated at the thought.
Ward also let himself wonder if the virus might have been a killer's doing and that the hacker's and Trey's murders were committed by the ex-soldier to cover his trail. Not that it mattered now.
Ward said, “Right now we just have to keep him at bay until help gets here, which should be very soon. Todd will get word out and his guys are on their way here.” And he wondered if Todd had indeed made it out to a good signal.
Leslie said, “Can we talk about something else? He's just a crazy man, and talking about him won't get rid of him. We have to figure out a plan to kill him.”
“Did you guys ever have a seance to talk to your son? Maybe he like has an idea. Seances are so cool.”
SEVENTY-THREE
Ward opened the. 38 and looked at the candle's reflection on the brass circles, the contrasting silver primers in their centers. He closed the cylinder carefully, hearing the positive snap of steel on steel as it locked back in place.
Sitting in the silence, he heard a squeak over Alice's Game Boy that was so slight he almost missed it. The women heard it, too, and turned toward the sound. His house had been built using expensive hardware throughout, but even the best metal hinges, when not lubricated regularly, would make a noise when opening.
“Natasha, take Leslie and Alice to our bedroom and lock the door,” he whispered. “You can escape through the window. Once I know he's in here, I'll yell.”
“Maybe it's Todd,” Natasha whispered back.
“No, he'd knock,” Ward whispered.
Alice turned off her Game Boy and looked at Ward. Without saying anything, Leslie took the butcher knife, Alice lifted her tote bag, and they followed Natasha out of the room, moving fast down the hallway.
Ward blew out the candle, got behind the chair, and aimed the. 38 at the kitchen door thirty feet away across the dining table. He heard the bedroom door slamming shut behind the women. He blinked and waited for his eyes to become fully accustomed to the darkness.
Using the back of the chair to brace his extended hands-one gripping the weapon, the other under the butt- Ward felt his gun hand shaking. Never in his life had he been in mortal danger. He knew Louis Gismano was in the kitchen; to get into the rest of the house he had to come through the kitchen door, which Ward could just make out. Once through the door Gismano's choices were to make a hard left turn to the foyer, or come in the darkness straight toward Ward through the dining area. When Louis left the kitchen to come into the den, he would be in range. The only problem was that Ward had never fired a gun at any living thing before.
“Louis,” Ward said in a louder than conversational tone. “I know why you're here. What happened to your son was a terrible tragedy, but it wasn't my wife's fault. There are people with guns coming any minute. You can just go,” Ward said, his voice breaking up slightly. “I have a gun. I don't want to shoot you, but I will if you don't give me any choice.”
He jumped at the sound of Natasha's voice drifting eerily out from the kitchen. “Little guy, Mama loves you so very much.”
He knew the recorded voice came from the stuffed bear that had been stolen.
Ward wondered if his mind was playing a trick on him, or if there was a figure filling the kitchen doorway.
Rage replaced his fear, and remembering Todd's instructions, and trusting his instincts, Ward let his brain tell his hand where to send the bullet, and he slowly tightened his grip, squeezing the trigger back evenly. For a split second when the trigger broke, his hand jumped, bright light filled the large space, and the explosion deafened him. In the flash Ward saw a man standing there. As Ward's eyes adjusted, he was sure the door frame was now empty.
“Shit,” Ward said.
He was answered with a loud, eerie burst of laughter and Natasha's recorded voice: “Little guy, Mama loves you so very much.”
John Ramsey Miller
The Last Day
SEVENTY-FOUR
Holding hands, the three women strode in controlled panic down the hall in the dark, entering the master bedroom. Natasha slammed and locked the heavy door after them.
“The killer is in the house?” Alice asked.
“Not now,” Leslie snapped.
“Well, excuse me for asking questions,” Alice shot back. “There is a maniac after me.”
“Sorry, Alice,” Natasha said. “Why in God's name are you two here? It isn't fair. We have to get you both out safe.”
“What about you?” Leslie said, holding the knife down by her side.
“He wants me,” Natasha said. “Worst case, he gets me. Go, you two. Out the window. Go to the road and flag down a car, or turn right and go to the subdivision and call the sheriff.”
Taking the window crank in hand Natasha started turning it counterclockwise and the window began to slowly open out. As she was about to get it open enough for them to get out, there was an explosion, loud even through the solid door.
“Ward!” Natasha cried out.
“Was that a gun?” Alice asked.
“Ward must have shot at him,” Leslie said, hopefully. “Maybe he got him?”
Or maybe he shot at Ward. “Leslie, you and Alice go now! Get away while he's in here.”
“What about you?” Leslie said. “I'm not going anywhere.”
Alice went to the window and looked out. “It's a long way down,” she said. “I could get hurt jumping down there.”
“You could get killed in here,” Natasha said. “Now go. You, too, Leslie.”
